章節 296: Tripping Down the Rabbit Hole by Charbonne (SupernaturalxLucifer)
Latest Update:September 14th, 2020
Summary: Gabriel wakes up in a nightclub. Not that he minds. After all, he's used to being in places like that all the time. What's really confusing is that Lucifer runs the place and apparently enjoys life amongst humans. Oh, and he's a consultant for the LAPD. It gets even worse when a dead body appears bearing a strong resemblance to him. What the heck is happening here?
Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13198941/1/Tripping-Down-the-Rabbit-Hole
Word count:44k+
Chapters:8
Chapter 1
Well, It's a Rifle
Gabriel groaned as he opened his eyes, thinking that for once, he'd like to wake up someplace pleasant. The Bahamas. Fiji. Rio De Janeiro. Heck, he'd take being in Apocalypse world again if it meant that his head wasn't throbbing incessantly. Which, honestly, the loud thumping music? Great for a party, not so great for an archangel that was probably nursing one hell of a hangover that he couldn't recall drinking enough for.
He reached out blindly, grabbing onto the first thing he could reach, and cracked his eyes open when the item rolled under his palm. A tiled wall holding a toilet paper dispenser greeted him, and he cocked his head to the side, confused. A further perusal of his surroundings and he discovered that he was inside a bathroom stall, wedged between the toilet and the wall. Well, this was awkward.
He fumbled a bit as he grabbed onto the toilet bowl and pulled himself unsteadily to his feet. Ugh, this was why he stopped doing drinking games with the Aesir. They always seemed to be completely into drinking excessively, and while Gabriel could match them drink for drink, he wasn't the one famous for it. Which, that reminded him. What party had he been at that he was passed out in the bathroom drunker than a skunk?
And would the room stop swaying? It was almost like he was on a boat in the middle of the ocean. Ugh, he was both hung over and drunk. Great. Whatever bender he'd gone on had to be one of the best ones he'd ever run across. There was no way he'd come away from a party that good if he could help it. Heck, he couldn't recall the last time he'd been hung over. Either way, he just felt awful, and his wings only reminded him that he was in a much too small stall.
He froze, his brow furrowing as he looked behind him. Golden brown wings extended from his shoulders, and he reached back to poke at them and pull at one feather before retracting with a hiss. Oh, that didn't feel great. Never mind then, he had wings. When did they become physical? They weren't supposed to be. Which, he'd argued with Asmodeus about for hours before the demon prince sewed his mouth shut. Actually, thinking about it, wasn't he in the middle of another apocalypse?
Yeah, something was fishy. There was no way he managed to zap himself to somewhere else. He was in the same place as those Winchesters, Lucifer, Castiel, Jack, and all those survivors. He had been completely unwilling to leave to save himself, understanding that he was likely going to die facing Michael.
Which, oh look. There it was. A nice stab wound in the middle of his chest. That might actually explain his dizziness and general unsteadiness. However, that did not explain how the hell he ended up in a bathroom stall at what sounded like some kind of rave party. Okay, yeah, sure, raves were great, but this was ridiculous.
He slumped down onto the toilet and took a deep breath. Okay, he was in some weird place after getting stabbed by his brother. Which yeah, he was going to have some very choice words for Michael the next time he talked to him. The hell did he do? Somehow zap Gabriel to some weird afterlife? As far as he knew, angels went to The Empty. They didn't have an afterlife. Which meant either Michael had decided to screw with him and chuck him into some pocket dimension (really, Michael did not have enough imagination to throw Gabriel into some kind of crazy scene like this) or he was somewhere else.
Well, the first thing Gabriel needed to do was figure out exactly where he was. Which meant that he had to change his getup. Now that his head was starting to stop feeling like a bongo drum, he could definitely hear the music better, and it certainly didn't sound like a rave. Night club? That was likely. Maybe.
He snapped, but didn't feel his grace accommodate his desire. Looking down, nope, he was still wearing the getup he'd been stabbed in. Wonderful. Snapping again didn't produce the desired effect, so he sighed and closed up his jacket, thinking that appearing in the middle of a night club with what looked to be a gallon of blood on his shirt was socially unacceptable. Not to mention it'd attract the type of attention that he didn't want to have. He glanced back toward his wings and sighed. Okay, those needed to go. How was going to be tricky.
In the end, he managed it by figuring out that they retracted, kind of like a cat's claws. Well, that was handy. Stepping out of the stall led him face to face with his appearance, which nope, that hadn't changed from the vessel he was wearing. Good thing he'd sent his vessel's soul to Heaven years ago. He had a feeling said vessel wouldn't have appreciated the face lift he'd gotten from Loki. Giving himself a once-over, he determined that he didn't look too much like he was supposed to be a corpse, which was a bonus.
Stepping out of the bathroom, he decided to follow the sounds of music, thinking that he had to figure out where he was. That led him to what looked like the most exclusive night club he'd ever seen, with dancers and people well… It was a good thing he wasn't a good little angel anymore, otherwise he figured his little divine sensibilities would be offended. His eyes scanned the crowd, thinking this had to be a heck of a party place if it was this busy every night.
Gabriel stepped down the stairs, careful to use the railing and avoiding the various people coming and going. He knew he was getting looks, but it wasn't like they could do anything to him. Making his way to the bar, he took a seat and considered his options before the bartender came over. "Double of scotch, and hope you don't mind some questions."
The bartender, a guy that looked like he was in his late twenties, blinked and looked him over. "Depends on the questions." He poured Gabriel's drink and slid it over.
"Oh, these are gonna be some weird ones, but I'm kind of a weird guy, so don't worry about it." Gabriel took a sip of his drink and blinked in surprise. Oh, good stuff. He glanced over the crowd and shrugged. "First weirdo question. Where am I?"
"You're not high, are you?"
The bartender looked him over, and Gabriel snorted."Eh, might be a bit, but just humor me here."
"Lux night club, L.A."
"Oh, City of Angels, huh? Never heard of a Lux in the city though. How long's it been here?"
The bartender looked at him like he was crazy, but hey, Gabriel figured he could be excused. Eight years in captivity by a demon meant that he was a bit behind on the times. Apparently the bartender was going to either humor him or take pity because he stated, "Since 2011. Mister Morningstar bought it and gave the building a makeover."
That caused Gabriel's eyebrows to rise. "Morningstar?"
"Yeah, Lucifer Morningstar. He's usually here in the evenings. Doesn't seem like he is tonight though."
Gabriel gave the man a disbelieving look. "Lucifer. That's his name? Wow, did his parents hate him?"
"If you hear him talk about his father, I'd say at least one of them did." The bartender shrugged. I don't get into it. I'm not paid enough to."
"Fair point." Gabriel shook his head. "Well, thanks for the info." He reached for his pockets and patted them down, finding his wallet and noting how much was in it. It wasn't a whole lot, but he could certainly have a few drinks and relax for a bit. He shook his head and ordered up another drink, scanning the crowd. It was really too bad he had a stab wound in his chest because he was pretty sure he could do with a distraction.
"You look like you'd be his type."
Gabriel's head whipped around to stare at the bartender, trying to figure out if the man was serious. "Excuse me?"
"He has a type. Mister Morningstar, I mean." The bartender looked at him with interest. "He does favors for people, and you look like you might be looking for one."
"Really." Gabriel didn't know which was worse. The fact that he probably looked like some kind of hobo, or that he might actually need some kind of help. Probably a mix of both.
"Really." The bartender shrugged. "I mean, his favors are good, and I hear he's got some people in high places to help people, so it couldn't hurt to ask for one, right?"
"With a name like Lucifer, you really think it's a good idea to ask for a favor from someone who's named after Satan?"
As the bartender shrugged again, Gabriel blinked and leaned back. Okay, that was informative. He was left wondering about that as the bartender gave him another scotch before he shrugged it off. He must look really pathetic then. Besides he had to figure out what was up with this Lucifer guy and hope that it actually wasn't his brother. As much as he learned his tricks from Luci, he couldn't be sure that he'd survive an attack from his elder brother at the moment.
Which, it really sucked that he was taking the whole responsibility thing seriously. There were plenty of women giving him appraising looks and all he could do was shake his head at each of them. But, he thought with a sigh, he couldn't partake. Not in the women. He had to figure out just what in the world was going on.
It was a while before something interesting happened. Gabriel had decided to engage the bartender in a bit of small talk when someone came up to the bar and reached over to grab a bottle and glass. Blinking, Gabriel watched the man pour himself a measure of whiskey before he replaced the bottle. Maybe it was the lingering feeling of dizziness, or maybe it was because Gabriel was having a pretty weird night, but he decided to speak up. "Whoa man, you can't just reach over the bar like that."
The man, who definitely pegged as the tall, dark, and handsome type, stopped and glanced over to him before seeming to do a double take. Eyebrows rising high over dark eyes, the man looked him over a bit before he groaned and spoke in a distinctly British accent. "Oh great. Let me guess. Dad has a message for me? Well, you can go back and send him a message: Bugger off!"
"Uh, I don't know your dad?" Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Besides, what makes you think I'm the messenger type?"
"Oh please brother, don't take me for a fool." The man took a sip before pointing at Gabriel. "After all, what else would the Messenger be doing visiting me?"
"Okay, one, I'm not your brother. Two, I really doubt I'd be delivering messages from your dad." Gabriel crossed his arms, giving the man an unamused look and suppressing a wince. "Three, I'm not any kind of messenger." At least none that this guy would be familiar with.
"Well, I'm not lending you money again." Gabriel gave the guy a weird look. "What? You still owe me for the last time I lent you money, Gabriel."
Gabriel's eyes narrowed, and before he thought about it, his wings were already unfurling from his back as he grabbed the guy's arm. He tried to fly off to take this guy away to talk privately but all his wings proceeded to do was knock over part of the bar's contents as all talk suddenly ceased. He simply locked eyes with the guy he had a hold of and sighed. "There's wings coming out of my back, aren't there?"
"Yes, there are, and you should know better than to show yours off, brother." The man looked them over before looking back at Gabriel. "Are you going to tuck them away now?"
"Trying to, thanks." And Gabriel was. Unfortunately he wasn't doing it fast enough before the guy got a disgruntled look on his face and grabbed Gabriel by his arm to start tugging him along toward an elevator.
Gabriel was left trying to keep his wings from flailing around, gritting his teeth as the movement jostled his stab wound. The fact that the man was manhandling him was enough to either prove to Gabriel that he was weaker than he liked, or the guy was more than what he seemed. His own angel blade was likely missing, which meant that he couldn't just stab the man if he got violent, but he could still smite him.
The man turned toward the crowd and gave them a brief wave as he punched for one of the upper floors. As the doors closed, he turned to look over Gabriel. "Be glad that most of my patrons are likely too drunk to remember that you have wings. That still leaves the problem that you were sent with a message. Well, out with it."
Gabriel had managed to retract one of his wings by that point and glared at the man. "I told you, I don't have a message. Also, how the hell did you know who I am?"
"This charade is getting old. You damn well know how I know who you are." The man's hands were now shoved into his pockets, but his dark eyes seemed to try and bore into Gabriel. "Lucifer Morningstar. Your older brother? Does that ring a bell?"
"Well, I've gotta say, the vessel's an upgrade," Gabriel snarked. "Definitely better than the guy you were in before. Definitely have the dark and menacing bit down, though. A plus for effort, by the way."
"Vessel? What are you talking about?" Lucifer's eyes peered at Gabriel.
"Angelic vessel? How'd you get the poor S.O.B to say yes anyway? I know you were chasing down the Samsquatch to jump into and succeeded until he chucked you back into the Cage." Gabriel paused, finally forcing his other wing back into… wherever it went while it was retracted. "That… doesn't ring any bells, does it?"
"Nary a chime, I'm afraid." Lucifer appraised him for a bit. "I'm starting to wonder myself if you're my brother after all. He knows how to deal with his wings. You were just flailing yours about like some sort of epileptic monkey."
"Yeah, well, can we continue this conversation where I can sit down?" Gabriel was not enjoying the dizziness that had reared its ugly head while he'd been manhandled. "I've kind of lost a lot of blood recently and I'm not healing fast enough."
Lucifer's eyebrows shot up and he pulled out a cell phone. Dialing quickly, he held the phone to his ear as he pulled Gabriel out of the elevator as soon as it opened. "Oh, please tell me that you'll answer your ph-Oh, hello doctor! I have a bit of a question. Would you be willing to come to the penthouse?"
Lucifer pushed Gabriel down onto a couch and Gabriel's eyes shut of their own volition. He then hissed as he felt Lucifer start patting around his torso before undoing his jacket. He heard Lucifer's hiss of surprise and winced as Lucifer resumed speaking. "…No, I'm not having a crisis per se, but I have someone potentially bleeding to death. Looks like someone stabbed him in the chest." A brief pause where Gabriel swore he could hear someone arguing on the other end before Lucifer huffed with impatience. "No, I can't bring him to the hospital! He's not mortal. He flashed his wings off to the entirety of the patrons of Lux."
Gabriel cracked an eye open. Lucifer was pacing, running his hands through his hair and looking flustered. That was new. "Not sure who you're talking to, but I'm pretty sure I'll heal eventually. Not dying yet."
Lucifer snorted and pointed his finger at Gabriel. "You don't get a say little brother. I don't know what's going on here, but I intend to get to the bottom of this and punish whoever did this to you! …Sorry Linda, I wasn't speaking to you. I just have a very ungrateful brother on my hands at the moment."
Gabriel huffed before wincing. "Not saying I'm ungrateful Luci, but I barely know what's going on myself. Who's Linda?"
"My therapist." Lucifer rolled his eyes as he listened to something from the phone. "Yes, thank you doctor. I'll see you soon." Lucifer tossed the phone onto the piano in the room (Lucifer had a piano?) before walking back toward Gabriel. "She'll be here shortly. Meanwhile, you're going to tell me how this happened."
"Considering I know your track record for dealing with Michael? Not happening bro." Gabriel winced again as Lucifer manoeuvred Gabriel into laying down with his feet on the arm of the couch. "Besides, didn't you try and stab me before?"
"Why the hell would I stab you?" Lucifer looked genuinely confused. "I've never attacked you."
Gabriel snorted. "Yeah, sure, and the whole thing with the other gods never happened."
Lucifer leaned back and was staring at Gabriel again, and Gabriel got the distinct impression he was missing something. "Dear me, did you go and hit your head too? Is this some sort of trauma-induced amnesia or something?"
"When's the last time we saw each other?"
"Before I was thrown from Heaven. I became Father's jailer in Hell as punishment for rebelling." Lucifer was back to studying Gabriel. "I only recently quit that job and went to work for myself as the owner of Lux. What do you remember happening?"
No Cage. Lucifer didn't remember the Cage, or the Apocalypse. "You rebelled and Fell. Then you tortured the first humans into becoming demons and God had Michael throw you into the Cage."
"Why on Earth would Michael throw me anywhere?" Lucifer snorted. "And why would I torture the first humans when they weren't deserving of it? I'm the punisher of their crimes, I don't make them into demons."
Gabriel suddenly felt a sinking sensation. "And you've never heard the name Winchester before?"
"Well it's a rifle, I can tell you that much." Lucifer frowned. "That wasn't the answer you were looking for, was it?"
"No, it wasn't." Gabriel sighed. "Apocalypse never happened?"
"No." Lucifer stood and started pacing. "So, we both experienced different events, and I don't even know why you wanted to talk about a rifle of all things, let alone why you're insistent that the Apocalypse is imminent." A considering look crossed his face. "Oh, I get it now."
Gabriel arched an eyebrow. "Oh really?" he asked drily.
"Of course." Lucifer gestured upward. "This is another one of His tests."
Gabriel stared. "Come again?"
"Well it all makes sense now." Lucifer paused in his pacing and shook his head. "Apparently He sent you here with altered memories to try and get me to fix you. He wants me to do the right thing and help an angel." Lucifer sneered. "Well, that's not going to work now, is it? I've already figured out His little plan and I won't play His game."
"Wow, and I thought I was self-centered." Gabriel looked incredulously at Lucifer. "You really think God's doing all this crap to what? Make you good? Lucifer, you do realize that you make that choice, not Dad."
"Well, what's your explanation then?"
"If I had to wager a guess," Gabriel mused, "I'd say that Michael's screwing with me. Taking away my powers and making me unable to use my wings, that almost sounds like how Heaven deals with fallen angels, except I'm an archangel and that shouldn't be possible. So instead he made a pocket dimension and shoved me into it after stabbing me."
Lucifer snorted. "That's unlikely. No angel has that power."
"Hello? Did you miss the fact I said Michael did this to me?" Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Most powerful of the archangels Michael? Firstborn Michael?"
"Firstborn? In what universe is Michael firstborn?" Lucifer actually huffed a laugh. "Michael's my twin brother and we're both younger than Amenadiel. What makes you think that's changed?"
Part of Lucifer's statement struck Gabriel, and he wrestled with it for a moment before he blurted out, "Now there's a new one."
Lucifer had been heading to the bar but he turned again to address Gabriel. "What's a new one?"
"Well, you remember things differently, I can't use any of my abilities that I'm used to, and the Apocalypse and any mention of Winchester are nonexistent." Gabriel didn't know whether he should be relieved or annoyed by this turn of events. "I'm in another universe."
"That would be plausible except for one thing." Lucifer pointed toward Gabriel. "You look exactly like my Gabriel."
"Never said my theory was perfect." Gabriel shrugged, then regretted it. "Ow, did you know being stabbed sucks?"
"I'd imagine it's just as bad as being shot." Lucifer shrugged and started for the elevator. "I'm going to see if the doctor's arrived yet."
The 'doctor' Lucifer apparently knew was an older woman with blonde hair and glasses. Gabriel amused himself with the fact that it looked like Lucifer was completely oblivious to the fact that Linda was chastising him for calling her instead of taking Gabriel to the hospital, but then again, Gabriel wasn't sure what they would find in his makeup if he went. Either that, or his wings would just pop out of nowhere and make a bad situation even worse.
Either way, she seemed to order Lucifer around to get her the things she needed to stitch up Gabriel's chest wound and check him over completely before she sighed and turned her attention to her 'patient'. "So, I hear you're Lucifer's brother?"
"Um, kinda?" Gabriel shrugged. He'd been manoeuvred upright after Linda finished treating him, and was even now holding a glass of orange juice. Lucifer had seemed put out that Linda had refused to let him make a screwdriver for his brother. "It's complicated. How much do you know?"
"Well, Lucifer's the devil, he has a lot of siblings, and Heaven and Hell are very real places." Linda rose her eyebrows as she looked at Gabriel. "Does that cover it?"
"That's pretty accurate." Gabriel shifted to get comfortable. "Yeah, I guess I'm his brother."
"You guess?"
"That'd fall under the 'it's complicated' statement." He took a drink of the orange juice and made a face. "So no to anything alcoholic?"
Linda gave him a stern look. "You just lost a lot of blood. Alcohol isn't good for that. Or um…" She glanced toward Lucifer before returning her gaze to Gabriel. "No, it's definitely not good for blood loss."
"Lucky me." Gabriel smirked. "I got the one doctor that knows about angels, and she doesn't believe I can't get drunk off of a mai tai."
"And I'm still not that type of doctor." Linda shot Lucifer a stern look.
Lucifer spread his hands innocently. "What? I thought that you had plenty of schooling for medicine."
"Years ago." Linda snorted.
Gabriel smirked and shrugged. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm very well aware of the difference between a therapist and a medical doctor." He winked toward Linda. "It's the rest of my family that's been stuck elsewhere that aren't that up on human stuff."
"That is one thing I've been meaning to ask." Linda glanced between the two. "Lucifer's been on Earth now for five years, but you seem more human?"
"Doc, I've been on Earth for millennia." Gabriel grinned and gestured toward Lucifer. "That's the biggest difference between the two of us. He's seen the worst, and I've seen everything between that and the best."
Lucifer frowned. "Why haven't I heard about your earthly exploits?" A grin slowly grew as he added, "Don't tell me that Father has another disappointment in the family."
Gabriel bobbed his head a bit as he seemed to contemplate that answer. "Well, I'm not sure if you can call me a disappointment, but I guess I'm a runaway."
"Ah, bravo! Gave our Father a big middle finger, did you?" Lucifer strode over and clapped Gabriel on the shoulder. "Good for you! I'm glad that someone saw His hypocrisy for what it was!"
Gabriel gave Lucifer a dirty look. "Yeah, well, I'm not airing that dirty laundry for everyone to hear, so sorry if you think you're missing that opportunity."
Linda looked between the two and threw up her hands. "I'll just wait until your next appointment to hear all about it. Meanwhile I have plenty of things I need to work on."
"Yes of course." Lucifer waited for Linda to stand before escorting her to the elevator. "I'll see you then doctor."
Gabriel watched the two of them as Lucifer gave his goodbyes and frowned. When the door closed, he cocked his head to one side and observed his brother. "Wow, the Devil has a therapist. I bet that's been a hell of a conversation upstairs."
"I wouldn't know. Our siblings don't talk to me unless they want me to do something." Lucifer turned from the elevator back to the bar. "So now that the doctor's not here, how about we have a drink to celebrate the fact we're meeting again after so long?"
"Ugh, please." Gabriel set his juice down and crossed his arms carefully as he watched Lucifer pour a couple of drinks for the two of them. "You know, I don't think my Lucifer ever cared about any humans ever in his life."
"Not even those… what did you call them? Vessels?" Lucifer finished pouring his drink and walked over to hand Gabriel his glass. "How exactly does that work, precisely? It sounds awfully like you ride around in people instead of your own bodies."
"You have to ask permission." Gabriel gestured to his body. "Take this guy. I've been riding around in him for millennia now, but I had to ask him for a week before he let me in. And believe me, if I didn't? There would be dead humans all over the place from seeing my true form."
"So like seeing our wings. Humans can't see those without some serious complications, not the least of which is obsession with the divine." Lucifer took a seat opposite Gabriel. "I'm still not sure about your alternate reality theory, but it's sounding more plausible."
"Yeah, well, this oughta be interesting to you. There's four of the highest tier angels back home, and you and me?" Gabriel gestured between the two of them. "We're two of them."
"Oh really? If you and I are two of them, then who are the other two?"
"Raphael and Michael." At Lucifer's incredulous look, Gabriel huffed. "What?"
Lucifer shook his head. "Michael and Raphael? They're both notoriously uptight and Raphael isn't nearly as powerful as he claims to be."
"Really?" Gabriel snorted. "I think that you're just jealous since neither one have fallen."
"Why would I be jealous of that?" Lucifer waved the statement off. "After all, I'm the one walking around down here with no responsibilities to our Father, while they're still following His orders without question."
Gabriel snickered. "Point." He sighed, taking a drink out of his glass and staring down into it. "Luci, I've gotta admit, this is probably the most normal conversation I've had with you since you fell. First time we talked, you tried to stab me, and the last time? Well, let's just say that you were blaming everyone but yourself for your problems."
"To be fair, I still blame God, but not for my fall. Everything else, on the other hand, is fair game." Lucifer looked into his own glass for a moment before he stood abruptly and walked over to the piano. "So Gabriel, have any requests?"
"Requests? Wait, you're going to play?" Gabriel looked incredulously at his brother. "Why?"
Lucifer gestured between the two of them. "Well, I find it fitting since we've been reunited. Now come, you have to have a request."
"Wow." Gabriel shook his head. He then sighed and wiggled on the couch a bit, thinking that lying down sounded like a good idea. "Nah, actually, I think… I think I might actually be tired."
Lucifer peered at Gabriel for a moment before he walked back over. "All right. Show me your wings."
"What?"
"Come now, if you're getting tired and you're not healing, then I should see how depleted your powers are." Lucifer gestured for Gabriel to turn. "Your wings are the best way to gauge that."
"I'd say buy me a drink first, but you technically did that already." Not that Gabriel was going to say anything, but he was nervous about Lucifer looking at his wings. He then frowned, wondering exactly how he was supposed to show them off. "Um…"
Lucifer sighed in exasperation and moved to stand before him. "It's as easy as breathing. Come on, you've been around since the beginning of time. It can't be that hard."
"Correction, I've been around since before time, actually." He sighed and concentrated on the sensation of displaying them. He then thought about flying, at which point a soft whoosh was all he heard as his wings reappeared. "Huh, that was easier than I thought."
Lucifer seemed to examine them with a critical eye, frowning as he walked around. He then let out a gasp that caused Gabriel to look over his shoulder. "Well, this isn't good."
"What's not good?"
Instead of an answer, Lucifer laid a hand on one of his wings and ran it along until Gabriel felt an uncomfortable sensation of skin on skin. "You said you were stabbed, right? What else?"
Gabriel snorted. "Besides one of your demons getting ahold of me and torturing me while draining my grace?"
"Your what?"
Gabriel could have laughed at Lucifer's confused look, but he rolled his eyes. "Grace. Angel mojo. The stuff we have instead of souls. Grace."
"Well first of all, that's a ridiculous term," Lucifer snarked. "Second, your wings are bald back here. At least half of your pinions are missing, and you have the beginnings of feathers regrowing. No wonder your powers are weak." Lucifer rounded back to Gabriel's front and sat down in another chair, watching Gabriel. "Just what kind of world are you from that you don't even know much about your wings?"
Gabriel snorted and pointed a finger at Lucifer, his eyes narrowing. "Hey, I know plenty about my wings. My wings are usually prismatic beams of light that stretch across multiple dimensions and I have six of them. I'm not used to having two or them being visible."
"Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but you have two now," Lucifer drawled. "Now, if they were in complete health, I would say that your powers are just fine, but as here an angel's wings reflect the state of our divinity, I'd say that you had a pretty rough fall."
"And I bet your wings are pretty much useless then."
"Oh no, quite the contrary." Lucifer waved a hand upward in a vague gesture. "Our Father has a sick sense of humor. I cut mine off, and they grew back."
Gabriel sat back, mouth gaping open as he digested what he was just told. "You cut your wings off?"
Lucifer gave Gabriel a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Of course I did. I gave God the biggest middle finger an angel could give by cutting them off and burning them. Too bad they have an annoying habit of growing back. Never affected my gifts, but then again, that's just the way of things, I suppose."
Gabriel sighed as he tipped his head back. "Well, got any plans for what I should do now? I don't know the state of your Heaven, and I'd rather not get smitten the moment I go up for a peek."
"Well, I suppose I could offer you a favor."
Gabriel snorted without looking toward the other angel. "Yeah, that's a big fat no."
Lucifer chuckled and put a hand to his chest. "I'm wounded you think so poorly of me, brother."
"Sure you are." Gabriel sighed, then closed his eyes and concentrated on folding the wings back into himself. "This isn't going to get any easier, is it?"
"Not while they're injured, no." Lucifer looked bemused, a slight smirk playing across his face. "When they're healed, it should be as easy as breathing. Though if you're not used to real wings, I can see why you have trouble with them."
Finally getting the last wing tucked away, Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Ha ha. My wings are real enough."
"Of course they are." Lucifer stood, stretching before he looked Gabriel over. "You'll be fine up here? I need to go back downstairs and deal with my customers. Might even bring you a treat."
"Unless it's got enough sugar to put me into a diabetic coma, not interested." Gabriel sighed and laid back. Closing his eyes, he laid his arms carefully across his chest. Man, he was beat.
He missed Lucifer's considering look as well as the fact that he'd paused on his way to the elevator to retrieve his phone. Instead, he barely caught the quiet "Sleep well" before he finally slipped into slumber.
Lucifer paced in the main room of his club, annoyed with himself that he'd managed to somehow wind up losing one brother and gaining another. Not that Amenadiel would care about it, as he'd obviously returned to the Silver City. However, he knew he'd need assistance, and as that assistance was something that Maze couldn't provide, he was reduced to requesting his brother's assistance.
As it was, Maze had stopped by earlier that evening to check that he was alright. Lucifer had taken that opportunity to inform her that he had a guest that needed an eye kept on, and while she had rolled her eyes, she had gone up to find out what new problem had arisen. Now he'd tried to pray to Amenadiel several times, attempting to contact the only relative he knew that could throw light on the latest problem he seemed to be saddled with.
The fact was, Gabriel shouldn't be on Earth. God didn't want his messenger far from his side, not when Gabriel literally was the hub of contact with all of the rest of their brethren. It was his Gift, same as Lucifer's ability to draw out hidden desire and Amenadiel's ability to control time. There was no way that the Messenger, the one that made it possible for prayers to be heard, was down on Earth unless something biblical was going on and he was to announce something akin to the next coming of Christ or whatever Dad had cooked up.
There was also no way that Michael, of all people, would be the one that would try and kill Gabriel. Lucifer knew his twin quite well, and Michael was obedient to a fault, much like Amenadiel was. Unless Michael had finally cracked his gourd, which Lucifer highly doubted, then the only logical conclusion that Lucifer could come up with was that Gabriel was somehow telling the truth and somehow ended up in another dimension.
Maybe that was the point, he thought. Perhaps this was some sort of game his Father had cooked up to try yet again to get him to acquiesce to His demands and fix whatever mess He managed to make. Not that it'd do Him any good. Lucifer could already see through His scheme. If somehow dear old Dad had managed to pull someone from another universe just to get Lucifer to fix the problem, he wasn't going to take the bait.
Sighing, he looked down into his tumbler and stared at the amber liquid inside before he quaffed it, feeling the burn as the sound of wing flaps reached his ears. Raising a brow, Lucifer glanced behind him to see Amenadiel back in his robes, standing as tall and proud as he always did. Lucifer almost expected there to be a smug look on his face too, but surprisingly his brother didn't have one.
"I heard your call, Lucifer." Amenadiel glanced around, seeming to try and figure out exactly why Lucifer would call him of all people. "What trouble did you get yourself into this time?"
"Me? Trouble?" Lucifer snorted. "Don't be ridiculous, brother. I just wanted to call to see how the family's doing. Has Dad finally popped His lid about my refusal to go back to Hell yet?"
"I don't know Father's thoughts any more than you do, Luci." Amenadiel frowned, crossing his arms. "Nor do I believe that this is a visit to ask about our siblings. I haven't been back in Heaven but for a week, and I feel like you've already caused trouble."
Lucifer pointed toward Amenadiel after refilling his drink. "Ah, that's where you're wrong. Tell me, how is Gabriel doing?"
"Gabriel?" Amenadiel's brows rose in confusion. "I haven't seen him since I came here trying to persuade you to go back to Hell. Why?"
"Funny story, really." Lucifer walked over to settle himself on one of the couches. "I currently happen to be playing host to our younger brother, and he's been stabbed."
Amenadiel's brows lowered in annoyance. "That's not possible. Gabriel can't be on Earth. The last time he was sent down-"
"Was to tell some poor sod that she was pregnant. Yes I know that." Lucifer placed his tumbler down on the table before him, leaning forward. "But I just had to fix a problem of divine magnitude because our dear brother came to Lux and showed off his wings. In front of all my patrons. Needless to say, I had to do a bit of convincing that it was all part of a show or something because otherwise there'd be a line of people outside right now trying to get into my penthouse."
"He's in your penthouse?"
"Didn't I just say that? Of course he is." Lucifer leaned back, his brows drawn together. "That's not the only kicker. He insisted that Michael stabbed him and that I had attempted to stab him before. Not just that, he was blathering on about the apocalypse and rifles before he fell asleep."
Amenadiel crossed his arms, frowning as he shifted to glance upward. "Perhaps I should talk to him. I doubt that seeing you would do him any good."
"And why is that?" Lucifer narrowed his gaze. "You believe that the Devil is incapable of caring for our injured brethren?"
"On the contrary," Amenadiel stated. "If he thinks you stabbed him, I doubt he'd want to be anywhere near you."
"Well, there's just one problem with that." Lucifer cocked his head to the side. "According to him, you don't exist."
"I don't – Luci, that's ridiculous! Why would he believe I don't exist?"
"Because he thinks this is some sort of alternate reality where there's only four archangels and Michael was firstborn." Lucifer folded his own arms and watched Amenadiel. "I would really try to find out if it's true that he's not in Heaven, but.."
"I'll go check." Amenadiel sounded resigned. "Just keep an eye on him and try to keep him out of trouble."
Lucifer looked affronted. "You just like taking all the fun out of life."
"I know you Lucifer. You'll likely do something ridiculous and call it fun." Amenadiel snorted, rolling his eyes.
""All right, fine." Lucifer held up a hand. "I will attempt to keep my shenanigans to a minimum. Don't blame me if he decides to pull his own stunts."
Amenadiel blinked, looking confused. "Why would you think he'd do something like that?"
Lucifer smirked. "Because somehow I doubt he's the type that stays at home and reads. I get the feeling that he enjoys humanity just as much as I do."
The voices trickled into his dreams, causing Gabriel to shift and shake his head trying to dispel them. One-sided conversations that Gabriel couldn't even fathom. His face twisted in discomfort, slowly being roused from the sleep he was enjoying. When he opened his eyes, he was unprepared for the dark-skinned woman in tight black leather seated across from him. He pushed himself upright, wincing as he felt a pull on his stitches. The woman simply watched him, dark eyes peering at him while she flipped around a nasty-looking blade.
"You know, normally I'd go for a bit of BDSM," he snarked, "but I don't think I could handle that right now."
The woman blinked, eyes narrowing as she examined him. "Well that's new. An angel of God that likes the kinkier side of life." She leaned forward, catching her blade and propping her chin in her other hand. "So which brother are you?"
"Uh, brother?"
"Yeah, Lucifer's brother. You've got that whole divine vibe going for you." The woman rose an eyebrow, clearly studying him.
Gabriel snorted, shaking his head to see if that shook the cobwebs loose. "Wow, I must really be out of it. I can't even see your true form. You some kind of angel or something?"
"Hah! You wish!" The woman chuckled, bemused. "Demon. Hell's best torturer. Been up topside for years now."
Gabriel's face fell as he heard that. His hands clenched the couch as he stared at the woman. "Demon." He tried to summon up his angel blade, but found his hands suspiciously empty. He turned a glare toward the 'woman', hoping that his fear didn't show. "Yeah, I'm gonna pass on the sexcapades. I dunno who you're working for, but I've smote a demon prince. I doubt you're anything as high."
The woman's face started, pulling back and shaking her head. "Wow. That's a new one."
Gabriel glared harder, raising his hand to prepare to snap. "Yeah, well, tough nuggets lady. Had enough trouble with one of you. I don't plan on being another damsel in distress." He snapped, then frowned as he didn't feel the same rush of power that came from a smiting. He turned his attention toward his fingers, confused. "Um, that usually works…"
The demon giggled. "Oh wow, the snap of doom. I guess I should be quaking in my boots now, huh?"
"Shaddup." Gabriel was now glaring at his fingers, trying to figure out why it wasn't working. He had enough juice, he knew he did. So why wasn't the demon getting flambéed?
"Look, Lucifer told me to keep an eye on you. I'm not gonna cross him if I can help it." There was an unspoken note of something there that Gabriel could hear, but he sure as hell couldn't figure out what it was. "You still didn't answer my question. Which brother are you?"
"Give me your name, horse master, and I shall give you mine." Gabriel smirked, eyes twinkling in challenge.
"Wow, did you just quote Lord of the Rings at me?" The demon actually rolled her eyes. "Nerd."
"Hey, it's a classic! Besides, it's better than us playing nurse right now. I told you I'm not up for that."
"Fine, whatever." The demon flipped her blade around again, looking bored. "Mazikeen of the Lilum."
Gabriel blinked, trying to figure out what the heck a lilum was. He'd certainly never heard of a term. "That's a new one."
"What's that?"
"The lilum? Is that a new breed of demon or something?" Gabriel crossed his arms, making a face. "Kinda sounds like Lilith."
"I'm one of her children." Mazikeen rose an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you've never heard of that."
"Nope!" Gabriel shrugged. "Brand new info. Didn't know demons could have kids outside of a cambion."
"Did you hit your head or something?"
Gabriel snorted. "I wish. Maybe a concussion would make this all make sense. Name's Gabriel." Suddenly he gasped, his fingers flying to his temples as more murmuring invaded his head. "Ow! Turn down the volume, will you?"
Mazikeen tilted her head back, watching him with a frown on her face. "I didn't say anything."
"No, not you. Angel radio. It's louder than it should be."
"Angel… radio?" Mazikeen looked even more confused, and Gabriel scrunched his face up as he tried to listen in on what was going on. The volume only increased, and Gabriel pitched forward, groaning.
He hasn't been seen in a week-
God must have sent him on an errand-
Isn't he supposed to be here-
I thought he was with Barachiel-
Didn't he-
Why is-
Gabriel-
Gabriel-
"Gabriel!"
Gabriel gasped, the voices finally dying down as he felt sick. What the heck was going on? His attention suddenly shifted as someone snapped their fingers in his face. His hand shot out to grab the offending digits, and he looked up to see Lucifer crouching before him, frowning.
"What on Earth is going on? I've been trying to get your attention for five minutes."
"Something's wrong." Gabriel bit his lip before continuing. "Me tuning into the celestial airwaves shouldn't hurt so much."
"Well that's never bothered you before." Lucifer observed the younger angel with a frown. "You used to chatter with everyone over prayer."
"What?" Now that was crazy. He hadn't tuned into angel radio in millennia. Why was it bombarding him now?
"You're the messenger. Of course every message goes through your brain. You're like Heaven's cell tower." Lucifer looked rather perturbed. "You do remember that, right?"
"Uh, no." Gabriel rubbed his temples. "Messenger, yes. CB radio for angels, no."
"He does seem pretty out of it, Lucifer." Mazikeen was standing close to the bar now with her arms crossed. "What's wrong with him?"
"I honestly don't know." Lucifer's lips pressed into a fine line. His eyes were now searching Gabriel's. "What happened just now?"
"I don't really know. One minute it was quiet, and then Bam! Nothing but noise." Gabriel snorted. "I couldn't even shut it off!"
"And I'm sure that wasn't a pleasant experience." Lucifer glanced over Gabriel's shoulder with a bemused expression. "So, are those wings I see or are you just happy to see me?"
Gabriel hadn't noticed, but the moment he looked behind him, he groaned. He poked a finger at Lucifer who was now grinning in open amusement. "One, ew. Two, I can't control them. They seem to have a mind of their own!"
"Yes, well, premature ejaculation aside, I'm sure that those would cause quite the buzz if seen by the wrong people." Lucifer stood, brushing off imaginary dirt from his suit. "Are you all right? You didn't seem to be particularly enjoying this 'angel radio."
Gabriel sighed. "Look, I just want it to tone down. I can't think and it felt like I went a round with Mike Tyson and lost."
Lucifer's brow pinched together as he considered Gabriel. "I'm afraid I'm the wrong person to ask. You'd have to ask yourself, really, and I don't recall Gabriel ever having issues with his abilities."
The younger angel closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. He didn't know what was worse, the idea that Lucifer assumed he knew about himself, or that he actually didn't know what was going on with him. It was ridiculous to think that he'd been chucked into another reality, but then again, maybe the rift interfered with his death? Besides…
He looked up at Lucifer again, shaking his head gingerly. "So, where were you anyway? Not that I'm being needy, but the last time I was alone with a demon…" He shivered, recalling the feel of a needle jammed in his neck and his grace forcibly extracted.
"Oh!" Lucifer perked up and gestured toward Gabriel. "I asked for Amenadiel to see if he could find Gabriel – our Gabriel."
"And?"
"He came back with a big batch of zilch." Lucifer looked like he was chewing over the information. "Apparently Gabriel took a stroll down to Earth around the time that Amenadiel regained his wings and then everything went into radio silence. No one's heard a peep from him since."
"Which means you're back to the 'you're my brother with issues' theory?" Gabriel gave Lucifer a disbelieving look, hardly willing to trust that Lucifer was telling the truth. Heck, he wouldn't even be with Lucifer still if it wasn't for the fact that Gabriel still had any control over his own abilities.
"Well, yes and no." Lucifer turned toward the bar and poured himself a drink. "You see, I'm somewhat at a loss as to how to explain you. Our Gabriel hardly leaves Dad's side and the moment that he does, you appear. That hardly paints you as being two separate people. However, there's some inconsistencies that I haven't figured out yet."
Gabriel frowned, crossing his arms and gesturing. "Go on."
"Your wings, for example." Lucifer turned and pointed a finger, indicating the feathered appendages currently resting behind Gabriel. "Our Gabriel has white feathers with a blue sheen. Yours, however…"
Gabriel glanced back behind him. Yeah, they were still the golden brown from earlier, though Gabriel could see a speckle of lighter and darker feathers throughout now that he was studying them closely. He stretched one out carefully, examining it and then letting it fall back into place. "Not even close to being white."
"Exactly!" Lucifer poured another drink as Mazikeen decided to prowl around for her own. "I daresay that tells me that you're not him, unless Father decided to make changes without telling anyone. The last person whose wings changed was Amenadiel, and that was after his fall."
"You don't think that happened with Gabriel?"
"No." Lucifer handed Gabriel the other drink while taking a sip from his own. "He might not have been Dad's favorite son, but he at least had some favor and never went against his wishes, pranks with me aside. Unless he changed in the time that I've been down in Hell, there's no way that he could have had such a radical change."
Gabriel couldn't deny that one. Even the Host had a hard time changing unless something drastic happened, such as when the Apocalypse was in full swing and Castiel fell. The younger angel had rebelled because he didn't believe anything that was happening was according to what their Father wanted.
He was startled out of his thoughts when Lucifer clapped his hands together, looking over Gabriel with a considering look. "Well, now that we've got that out of the way, how is that stab wound healing? I noticed that you haven't been wincing or complaining about it. I take it your wound isn't causing any more issues right now?"
"No, it seems fine." Gabriel rubbed at his chest, wincing slightly, but it wasn't pulling or anything when he moved. It was just sore. He stared suspiciously at Lucifer. "Why?"
Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13198941/1/Tripping-Down-the-Rabbit-Hole
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