They leave him standing in an abandoned warehouse with the sprinklers going, and all Gabriel can think about is what Dean told him.

"This is about you being too afraid to stand up to your family!"

Too afraid. Dean said he was too afraid. And maybe he was.

"Come on, come on!" Brilliant, bright wings flutter with happiness as Lucifer trailed after his youngest brother.

"What's gotten you into such a state, little one?" Gabriel blinked blearily up, as he realised what exactly he had just smacked into. Michael was smiling down at him, cheerfully confused.

"There are lights on Dad's latest creation, apparently." Lucifer smiled at his older brother. "Gabe's just excited."

"Sorry I ran into you, Mica." Gabriel did look sorry, and his apology was genuine, Michael noted as he scooped the younger Archangel into his arms. "But the lights are so pretty, I just wanted to show you..."

Michael chuckled. "It's quite alright little one. Why don't you show both of us?"

So Gabriel did. He pulled both of his brothers towards the very top of the ball their Father had created, and pointed. "Look." Sure enough, a ray of lights, green, red, blue, and pink were spreading out across the sky.

"You were right, little brother," Lucifer murmured. "They are amazing."

Gabriel blinked in confusion when he found himself sitting in the snow at the North Pole, without really have intending to fly there. He was less surprised when Castiel appeared beside him. "You're going to ask me to fight them." Gabriel's voice was flat, and he refused to look at the young Seraph beside him.

"No." Gabriel blinked again, this time in surprise. "Something tells me that would not end well for me," Castiel informed him seriously.

Gabriel let out a short laugh. "No, you're probably right. I can't fight them, and I know that, but you don't, so you would have asked me, except you have a sense of self preservation, so you didn't. Good for you Cassie."

"Raphael would not agree with your faith in my sense of self preservation," Castiel told him.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "What'd you do to Raph?"

"Trapped him in Holy Fire."

Gabriel couldn't help it. "Did you really? How'd he take that?"

"Not well," Castiel admitted. "Will you at least tell me why you can't kill them?"

"Can you kill me?" Gabriel's retort rang out in the frozen wasteland.

Castiel was silent. "No," he said at last. "I couldn't."

"Is it supposed to be doing that?" The fledgling that Gabriel had spent the past few hours searching for spoke up as Gabriel landed on the beach. He was eyeing a small grey fish as it heaved itself out of the water.

Perhaps he was a bit too close, Gabriel decided. "Don't step on that fish, kiddo," he said cheerfully. "Big plans for that fish. Now what are you doing down here?" The fledgling finally looked up at him.

"Zachariah pushed me out of the Axis Mundi," the fledgling said quietly. "And I landed here. Am I in trouble?"

Gabriel froze. If Zachariah had really pushed this fledgling out of the Axis Mundi, than there were problems in Raphael's garrison. "Not unless you're lying," he finally responded. "But I don't think you are. Now. I'm Gabriel..."

"I know," the fledgling declared. "Raphael likes to complain about you."

Gabriel chuckled. "I'll bet. So what's your name?" He took a seat on a beach that would eventually become Normandy, and the fledgling smiled at him as he pulled it up onto his lap.

"Castiel," the little angel declared. "My name's Castiel."

Gabriel smiled. "Well then Castiel. How's about I get you home, and we'll see what we can do about getting you transferred into my garrison, okay?"

Castiel's face lit up. "Really?"

Gabriel laughed. "Really, really."

"Brother, we're at the Normandy Beach." Castiel spoke up, and Gabriel realised he was right.

"Sorry," the Archangel muttered. "Just thinking."

Castiel hesitated, but nodded. "I will leave you to your thoughts, brother. Just...please do not forget that helping doesn't mean you have to face our brothers." And then he was gone.

"Throwing your lot in with the traitor, brother?"

Gabriel groaned. "Go away, Raphael."

"The humans have done something interesting. It should be a miracle that they actually managed it."

Gabriel blinked at Raphael's words. "They've made you admit that they've done something interesting, which is a miracle in and of itself," he declared casually. "What've they done to impress you?"

"In a land they are calling China, they have built a wall. It stretches across the entire boarder of the north of the country."

Gabriel frowned. "Did you somehow develop a sense of humour? Because it sounds as though you're lying."

Raphael frowned. "No, they have done it. Allow me to show you." And suddenly, he was gone. Gabriel shrugged, and followed him, only to land beside the older Archangel on a walkway that stretched as far as the eye could see.

"You weren't lying," he said finally, as he examined the wall critically. "Wonder how they managed it?"

"Manpower, I expect. Hard labour." Raphael huffed. "It simply shows that they are unable to exist, in peace and harmony, as we do."

Gabriel shook his head. "I think we've proven that angels can't live together in peace and harmony, Raph."

Heaven's Healer huffed again. "Perhaps not. But they are worse that Michael and Lucifer it seems."

Gabriel froze. Blinked. Studied Raphael for a moment, and then blinked again. "Did you just...make a joke," he asked tentatively.

Raphael shrugged. "You have been upset." His face softened, ever so slightly, but Gabriel knew that his brother was concerned. "I have been worried. I understand why you are upset, and that I can do nothing to truly fix the problem but," he sighed. "I thought that maybe I could give you some joy. I know you like to see the things they come up with. And the view from this wall of theirs, no matter why it was built, is spectacular." He leaned, and looked out over the edge.

Gabriel leaned beside him, and smiled sadly. "Thank you, brother."

"Gabriel, where are we?"

"Normandy," Gabriel said distractedly.

Raphael glanced around. The place felt familiar somehow, but "This is not Normandy."

Gabriel frowned, and finally looked around, before bursting out into peels of laughter. "We're on the Great Wall of China! You brought me here, years ago, when they had first built it. You said it was impressive, and the view was spectacular. Remember?"

The severe look on Raphael's face softened as he looked around. "I remember," he said finally, before looking at his younger brother. "Why did you run?"

Gabriel hesitated before he answered. "Because Heaven was all wrong," he said finally. "Michael was acting cruel, and you were acting cold, and nothing was right. I mean, Mica was expecting me to act like him. To be cold and cruel in the way I ran my garrison. And I watched Heaven tear itself apart, and I couldn't do it. So, I left."

Raphael frowned. "And you will not come back?"

"No." Gabriel's reply was short. "It's happening all over again. I can't watch one of our brothers die, Raph. You know I can't."

Raphael sighed. "Very well. I cannot force you to come back. But you understand, I will have to tell Michael that you are alive?" He sounded sad about this, Gabriel noted.

Gabriel looked up at his brother. "I know. I understand." I forgive you went unsaid. Raphael nodded, slightly unsure, and took flight, leaving Gabriel to himself.

"Luce isn't coming back, is he?" Gabriel's voice was loud, but it sounded quiet, too quiet, over the roar of the waterfall before them.

"No." Michael's voice sounded just as soft. "He isn't."

Gabriel sank down to sit beside his older brother. They didn't speak again, merely sat together, the oldest Archangel taking some comfort from the youngest, as they both watched the water tumble down, down, down, falling into the pool below the cliff.

Oldest and youngest.

United in Silence.

"You've been hiding, little brother." Michael's voice is loud, even over the roar of the waterfall.

"Bugger off Mica. I'm not coming back." Gabriel's voice was loud as well, although it was more snappish than Michael's.

"You would side with the Morningstar? Gabriel, I expected better from you." Michael frowned at him. "Really though. You like humanity too much to side with him. Why won't you come home?"

"I'm not siding with either of you!" Gabriel finally yelled, whirling around. "I can't do it, not again, so I won't! I like humanity!"

Michael scowled. "They're worthless little monkeys," he said shortly.

"I didn't ask your opinion," Gabriel said shortly. "Now fuck off."

"No. I just found you again. I'm not leaving until you promise to come home."

"Fine," Gabriel spat. "I promise to come home when you and Lucifer have worked out all of your differences, and consider yourselves to be brothers again!" And then, he vanished, leaving Michael alone, in front of a waterfall in Venezuela.

"Can't we all just get along?"

"Luci! I'm home."

"You're my brother, and I love you. But you are a great big bag of dicks."

"Dad loved you best. More than Michael. More than me."

"Brother, don't make me do this."

"No one make us do anything."

"He's dead."

Raphael whirled around to face "Lucifer. Whom do you speak of?"

"Gabriel." The Morningstar looked about ready to cry, even as Michael appeared. "Raphael, I killed him."

Michael looked about ready to shiv Lucifer right there and then, but Raphael held him back. "Why?"

Lucifer sniffed unhappily. "He stood up to me." He glanced at his brothers. "But he said he wasn't doing it for you," at this he tilted his head to Michael. "He said he was doing it for people."

Michael stared. "I will annihilate you," he said quietly.

Lucifer shook his head. "Mourn. I give you a week to mourn. Then we will fight." He took a steadying breath. "I just...I thought you should know. He died honourably." And with the sound of wings, he was gone, leaving Michael and Raphael standing outside the gates of Heaven, realing in shock.

"He's dead."

"Too afraid to stand you to your family!"

"Look."

"No. I couldn't."

"Big plans for that fish, kiddo."

"Throwing your lot in with the traitor, brother?"

"Did you somehow manage to develop a sense of humour?"

I forgive you.

"Luce isn't coming back, is he?"

"I promise to come home when you and Lucifer have worked out all of your differences, and consider yourselves to be brothers again!"

"No one makes us do anything!"

"He's dead."

Nuntius.

Messenger.

I'm so, so sorry. Really. I promise.

So, everything mentioned place-wise in this story actually exists. The lights mentioned at first are the Aurora Borealis, or the Northern Lights. The Great Wall of China is, (duh), the Great Wall of China. The Beach of Normandy was stormed during the Second World War, and is in France, as I recall. And the waterfall in Venezuela is Angel Falls, which, I like to head canon, is where Lucifer actually fell to begin with. Get it? And Angel Falls? No? Fine.

I don't own Supernatural. (Or the grey fish)

Reviews will make me write something happy. Flames will only bring more sadness and despair.

~Silver Rose