Transmission from the Trickster

Chapter 23

"Wow," Ketch breathes. "This is what the apocalypse was going to do to our world?"

"Apparently," Sam replies. "Come on. Let's go find Dean."

"Great. Where do we start?"

Sam whips around to see Gabriel standing there, unamused. It's clear that he doesn't want to be here, but what matters is that he is. He may have put up a fight, but he didn't leave them hanging. It's almost like he's a loyal member of the team.

Instead of making a big deal out of that and wasting precious time, Sam just says, "Now, we figure out where we are."

"What do you mean, figure out where we are?" Gabriel asks. "You've been here before, haven't you?"

"Well, no, not here here," Sam says. "Just here as in this universe. But I'm sure it's not going to be too hard to navigate." He tries not to think about the fact that for all he knows, this may not even be the right continent. Hell, Dean and Cas may be on a different continent than Mary and Jack, who could all be on a different continent than them. It's a big world out there, and almost impossible to navigate.

Gabriel groans in frustration. "Great. That's just peachy."

The three of them walk in silence for a few minutes, until suddenly, Gabriel pushes them both behind a bush, crouching down with them as well. Ketch tries to say something, probably to ask what he doing, but Gabriel slaps a hand over his mouth before he can.

It's just seconds later that they hear people talking, voices they've never heard before. Sam peeks through the bushes, trying to catch a glimpse of who it is, but all he can see are unfamiliar shapes. Finally, one of them steps in just the right place, and Sam can just barely see passed him.

He elbows Gabriel to get his attention and whispers, "It's Cas, and if Cas is there, Dean's gotta be there, too."

Gabriel looks through the bushes as well. "Alright, then. Let's go grab them and go. On three. One, two —"

He doesn't finish three, instead just disappearing, which doesn't come as a shock to anyone. Sam and Ketch run after him, but by the time they reach him, there are already two dead angels lying there, wings scorching the ground, and he's holding the third by the shirt collar. Dean and Castiel are just standing back and watching, confused.

"Okay, but, just, jog my memory a bit, will ya?" Gabriel asks the angel. "Where did I go when I left?"

"I don't know," the angel tells him. "You didn't exactly send a postcard."

"Did I at least stay on this planet?" Gabriel asks, sounding exasperated.

"I don't know," the angel repeats.

Gabriel rolls his eyes. "God, you're so useless." He puts a hand on the angel's forehead, about to smite him, then pauses. With a sigh, he drops his hand to his side. "I'm just popping in. I'll be gone in a day, so no need to make a big deal out of this, okay? Don't want to distract the almighty Michael with some fruitless search when I'm sure he has higher priorities, right?"

The angel just watches him suspiciously.

"I'm giving you a 'get out of jail free' card," Gabriel tells him. "I suggest you take advantage of it before I change my mind."

The angel disappears without another word. Gabriel crouches down next to one of the now dead angels, shutting his eyes out of respect. "You're a hell of a lot more loyal in this world," he mutters. "Sucks that it had to end like that, Commander."

"Do you know him?" Dean asks, incredulous.

"I knew all of them," Gabriel replies, then adds as an afterthought, "Well, I knew them in our world. And 'knew' is a very vague term, really. I was aware they existed in our world. Doesn't matter. Let's go find your mom and the kid and get out before the rift closes, m'kay?"

"How?" Ketch asks. "You could have used the angel. He could've brought us to Michael."

"Ah, but see, we're actually trying not to find Michael," Gabriel tells him. "While you and the moose were slacking, Mr. Angel Dude told me Michael lost them, and he's no use to us without them. So, I think now is the time for aimlessly walking around the place until we find someone with some semblance of what's going on, hm?"

Dean scoffs. "Who put you in charge?"

"I did. Just now." Gabriel flashes him a smile. "Alrighty, let's get going."

Fortunately, it's not long before they run into another human. He points his shotgun at them and tries to shoot, no questions asked, but Gabriel teleports to him and grabs his gun before he can fire a shot.

"Hey, we're looking for someone," Gabriel tells him. "Have you seen them? A blonde girl, probably like forty years old, and her little magical kid?"

As horrible as those explanations are, the guy does seem to know who he's talking about. "Yeah, some camp four or five hours that way by foot —"

"I'm gonna need something more concrete than that," Gabriel interrupts. "State? City? Address would be ideal."

"There are no states anymore," the guy tells him. "Haven't been for years. I think they're somewhere in what used to be Dayton, Ohio, but don't quote me on that, and don't tell 'em I told you. Can I go now?"

Gabriel pats him on the back. "People like you make me regret ever having faith in humanity. Go. Shoo. Run back to your people." He turns back to the new Team Free Will. "Alrighty. Ohio, here we come." He tries to put a hand on their foreheads to teleport them away, but pauses when he notices a problem. "I don't have enough hands for this."

Suddenly, they all find themselves in a different part of the apocalypse world, covered in trees and bushes. Sam is about to ask why he was going to put a hand on their foreheads when he apparently doesn't need to, but knowing him, it's probably just because he likes the dramatic effect it adds.

"Is this it?" Ketch asks. "The apocalyptic camp?"

"I don't think so," Gabriel replies. "Take that as a good thing. If we landed smack dab in the middle of the place, you can bet your ass we'd have some hunters on our tails, and while I would make it out alive, they'd probably turn you lot into Swiss cheese."

"Then where are we?" Sam asks.

"Middle of Dayton, Ohio," Gabriel replies. "If your friends are here, we'll find them soon. We've got twenty-three hours before the rift closes. If we don't find them by then, we're leaving them behind."