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Forced To The Other Side AU

Claudia's been missing for several months, and Gabriel has turned everywhere he could think of upside-down to find her. He searched all of Earth aside from those few places warded against angels, he searched all of Hell--eliminating a ton of demons in the process--and even searched Heaven. All to no avail. It was like she no longer existed.

Then came a video with no return address. A porn video. One that involved demons, which made it... rather less than entertaining than the one he's done, given his own didn't involve anyone dying. One of those demons being an apparently possessed Claudia made it clear where the inspiration came from. The demon must have dug around in her head.

A couple of days of working on figuring out the location of the video later, he's figured out where to go. After dropping off the ferret and dog at the bed and breakfast due to not knowing how long he would be gone, he heads over there, appearing with an almost silent whisper of wings. He explores the building cautiously, keeping his power on a leash to avoid betraying his presence any more than absolutely needed.

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"You didn't respond to my first few messages, so I decided to be more direct," Claudia said, with a bit of a pout. "Guess I didn't make enough of an impression. I thought impaling the garage owner with a thrown rod from one of his client's rolling deathtraps would do it. Pity."

She pulls out the cookies once they're done and places them on a plate for the archangel.

"But I'm sure you've come up with several reasons why I might do such a thing. Take your pick."

A muscle in Gabriel's jaw twitches and he folds his arms over his chest, giving her a level glare. "I assume there's a reason you wanted my attention, demon? Wearing her isn't a real smart idea. For the record."

"You think I'm possessed?" Claudia asked, unable to help the wicked laughter that bubbles out at that idea. "Honey, I haven't felt more myself in ages. Your brother made a much better offer in the end."

Did he really think Lucifer would just have some lowly demon move in when he could claim her for himself? It seemed strange to think Gabriel thought so little of her value, or her new loyalties. "But I doubt he'd take it kindly if you messed with what's his."

Gabriel sees red for a moment and over half the light-bulbs in the room explode. "I see I'm going to need to have a talk with him."

By talk, he means very probably kill him.

"Could be the reason he sent me," Claudia pointed out. Then she gestured. "Have a cookie. I won't offer you the coffee, you wouldn't touch the damned stuff."

"Why would I trust food offered by a demon?" Gabriel points out. "I think maybe we should make a trip."

Hand her over to the Winchesters so they could use their demon-cure process on her.

She shook her finger at him in warning. "I don't think so, archangel. This was just meant to be a meet and greet. Nothing hinky on your end."

Whether or not there was on hers was still up in the air. Maybe Gabriel will come willingly. It wouldn't be unheard of. Curiosity and all.

He gives her a skeptical look. "You sure went to some effort for 'just' that. What do you want?"

He may be mentally searching for the location of the bunker so he could take her there.

"Hey, you gave me the 'hey, I'm not dead' visit," Claudia responded. "Maybe I thought I'd return the favor. We did have some good times, after all."

She shrugged a little spreading her arms in a pretense of surrender. "So, I'm not dead, as you can see. Anything else?"

Gabriel's expression doesn't change when he finds he can't fly out. He senses trap. "Yeah. How did my brother hide you so well, I couldn't find you anywhere on Earth, Heaven, or Hell?"

Time for a step back. Then another. He remembers the path he took to get here, which is apparently the way he needs to go to leave.

"You'd be surprised how inventive your brother can be," Claudia says as she moves to follow. There were other surprises in the building, but right now, she had to get close enough to spring them. Placing one hand in a pocket of her jeans, she did a somewhat discreet press of a few buttons to signal more electronic locks to seal the exterior doors. The place was intended to keep her safe, not necessarily him. Although she would have to probably play her trump card soon.

"And you might not want to see what is behind door number one."

Gabriel gives her a wary look as he takes another step back. Then another until he's out of the room. "Why's that?"

Actually, you know what? Screw it. With a snap of his fingers, the sprinkler system is on and spewing holy water everywhere as he takes off. That should slow her down enough to buy him time to get out. Discretion is the better part of valor here. Especially given she was obviously ready for him.

Well, that was a little annoying. And painful, but that didn't stop her from coming after him, grabbing the collar she'd prepared with her master's blessing for just such an outcome. Claudia would happily snap it around his neck when he was stalled at one of the doors.

Did she really expect Gabriel to go along quietly? She's a demon. And that cursed gum was just a taste of what sorts of things she was capable of as a demon.

He skids to a stop at the door he came in through, punching it when it refuses to open. Then he uses illusion to make himself invisible to the eye to slip his way through the building in an effort to find another way out. Possibly the air vents if he has to.

Her eyes glittered with an inhuman light as the holy water hissed and steamed off her skin. It was a joyous burn to her, clarifying things. She would have no real choice but to bring Gabriel to kneel before his brother before she handed him off. Gabriel had betrayed her master, and tried to kill him, so perhaps she would even be allowed to watch as he met his fate.

She was only a few strides behind when Gabriel winked out of sight, but that was not as effective as he might have planned. Drawing up short in a pretense of confusion, she followed his movements from the black, featureless orbs her eyes were, and with supernatural speed, she locked the rune-inscribed band around his neck, the seam vanishing like magic. He was theirs.

Gabriel swears when he feels it lock in place, spinning to aim a punch at her throat. He's not out of the fight just yet. If she was hoping he'd cooperate at this juncture, she's sadly mistaken.

She manages to block part of the blow, keeping him from leaving her gasping for breath for a few moments while he did who knows what else. Instead, draws back, holding her end of the leash that was attached to this one, attuned to only two beings in all creation.

"You will never again harm me without permission, Gabriel," she informed him, letting the new bindings twist and take hold to prevent him from finishing any such acts. True, it meant that if she consented in some fashion, or her master allowed it, he could act again, but outright forbidding him anything would be a great overreach. "I believe you wished a talk with your brother. Do I need to provide further restraints on you, or will you cooperate?"

Gabriel snarls when he tries to lash out at her only to find his body refuses to let him move. "Found something new to do with what you've been told to destroy, have you?"

Restraining him has successfully gotten his hackles up, so he'll only grudgingly cooperate. And only after more back and forth between them.

"Oh, I did throw it in the Lehman Fornax," Claudia said, shrugging a little as if it were no big deal. "But it doesn't destroy the knowledge, does it, hmm?"

He didn't need to know how exactly that information had been drawn out of her. "And if you fried my phone, it may be a while before we can leave. I can assure you that even had you slipped away, there weren't any exits you would be able to use."

And neither of them would be flying out of here until the wards were released, which could only be done from outside.

"So sorry to wreck your plans," Gabriel says sarcastically. "How will you ever survive?"

Even as he talks, his hands go up to yank her end of the leash out of her hands so he could run for it. After all, she only said he couldn't harm her, not that he couldn't do anything else.

Claudia lets him have his little game, because it wasn't the leash that gave her the power, exactly. He could try to run, but she had only to give an order and the magic would do the rest.

"Gabriel, you will not leave this building without me, nor will you be able to transport either of us to any location not approved of verbally." Perhaps he could find a way around it, but right now she had other problems. "And I would greatly appreciate an end to this shower. It's not doing my complexion any wonders."

She gave a slight chuckle. "Hell, I'll even offer you some of those answers you wanted. Like where I was."

"What, you don't think sunburned drowned rat is a good look for you?" he retorts, stepping back away from her. He's not really feeling the motivation to turn off the holy water. It's not like she's given him a direct order to turn it off.

He has to admit to some curiosity on if the collar would add any new conditions she has for him if he's out of hearing range.

"I think my lord is angry enough with you at the moment," Claudia pointed out, mildly. "He is very creative when it comes to acting on that anger."

She can't help a shudder at the thought, half in anticipation and half in dread at what the end of this day will bring. It was almost strange to remember that there had once been days when she had wanted to escape the pain rather than feel blessed by those attentions so lavished upon her. "Unless you would rather I ask for the meeting to begin here."

"Tell him I said he could sit on a cactus and rotate," he snaps. Gabriel is fairly certain Lucifer won't kill him. A little difficult for him to use Claudia to hurt him if he's not around to see her.

He takes another step back away from her, aware she wasn't the only one who looks like a drowned rat.

Claudia found his attempt to run almost amusing. As was his language. "You always did have a certain way with words," she said. "But it's time for you to stop running and face the music, so to speak. Stand where you are until I release you."

She knew it would anger him to be so controlled, for all that it was such a minor thing. They were both bound by Lucifer's will, but he had marked her, which was more than Gabriel had ever offered. If Gabriel was permitted to live, perhaps he would come to see her side of things, how she had been freed from doubt, from worry, from always having to consider if her actions were 'right.'

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