spncentral | 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.

Current Mood: cranky

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Gabriel grinds his teeth as he finds himself unable to do anything but the one thing she'll let him. Which obviously, he's not going to do if he doesn't have to. "What, can't see in the dark?"

Claudia turned around, grabbing the leash and using it to pull Gabriel close to her. This close, he could clearly see how quickly her body healed the damage caused by the still sputtering sprinklers. "You want me to shut you up, too?"

He was hers, at least for now. A tiny piece of her wanted to show him that, show him how much power she could have, but instead, she kissed his cheek, then patted it. "Does it bother you to think about what you've lost, Gabriel? To know you were helpless to find me? I learned so many things from your brother, more than you ever would share."

Gabriel takes a step back from her. "You were better as a human. The things he did to and taught you aren't things that are great for your chances of getting Upstairs."

Rather than using the magic, she tightens her grip on the leash, wrapping it around her wrist to keep him from pulling any further away. "Upstairs? The place you did everything to get away from? I don't really see that as such a loss."

Nor, really, was it a loss when the sprinklers finally shut off, a few moments before the door opened with a greasy little demon cowering behind it like a shield. She gave a slight wave of dismissal, not wanting to spend any more time on it than necessary. "That'll do, Donkey."

Relief bloomed across the demon's face as he backed away, bowing repeatedly. Sure, the minion's name wasn't actually Donkey, but it was something to call him. She'd been just assigning names to them as she thought one needed to be distinguished, so to speak. A few of them had even seemed flattered by the so-called honor. The smarter demons had started betting pools on how long a given mook would last under that distinction. Attracting notice was pretty much a death sentence, and she planned to keep it that way.

"Come, Gabriel. We have a date with the devil."

"I left because of my brothers fighting and you know it?" he retorts before the water finally shuts off, followed by the door opening.

Gabriel grits his teeth as he moves forwards. He would really rather not be doing this. But right now, he doesn't really have much choice but to play along.

"And you would have killed at least one of them given half a chance. Something I think he hasn't forgiven you for, but you can always try apologizing. It won't be long."

She considered whether it was better to go by mostly mundane methods, or whether she should try to get Gabriel to fly them. Well, Donkey had brought a reasonable car, so she figured that would work for getting to the nearest portal she could activate without help. She might even feel a bit tempted to make it big enough to drive through.

"Considering that I'm the one who got stabbed, somehow, I'm not feeling a whole lot of sympathy for the devil." Yes, he's just made a Rolling Stones reference. May as well be a smartass, since he has the chance.

"Yes, you just made sure he got shoved back in the Cage, with company," Claudia commented. "Get in the car. We're going on a little trip."

And guess what the radio is playing, followed by other suitable themed pieces. But it was easier to drag him through one of the passageways she had readied than let Gabe find out some of the weak points in her control.

"He survived the experience, didn't he?" Gabriel retorts before getting in the car and folding his arms across his chest like a sulky teenager.

...And he would so burn out the radio if his powers weren't leashed.

"So did you," Claudia said, mildly. She wonders if he realizes that he's more pouty toddler who got told it's bedtime than sulky teenager, but pointing that out would be even more petty than the music mix.

So instead she decides it's worth the extra power, not to mention the amusement of leaving Donkey's ride in Hell, to do the large portal, and she keeps driving in silence.

Twenty minutes or so would do it, she figured, even if she drove like a little old lady. That was also tempting. Gabriel would probably expect her to drive like a demon, but, honestly, flashy maneuvers like that were a little boring.

Know what's also boring? Old lady driving. He's quiet for a few minutes before talking again. "I didn't realize turning into a demon would make you drive like an old person. Need your reflexes checked, Grandma?"

Time to see if he could get under her skin.

"It's funny you're the one acting a like two-year-old who got told they were out of ice cream, considering your age."

Nope, not real rise out of her. She wondered for a moment exactly what it was that had once made him so thrilling to be around. Lucifer, at least, was never boring or predictable.

What, Gabriel being awesome in bed doesn't do it for her anymore? Along with being willing to take her to whatever part of the world she wanted to for little mini-vacations or day-trips.

Gabriel's lips press together as he looks out the window. Apparently, she feels like being a pain in the ass.

The silence didn't bother her, not with his annoyance so palpable. And no, the sex didn't compare to what Lucifer had done with the mark, molding her into a creation that exceeded any other demon left in Hell. She would have told him as much. The Mark melded pain and pleasure together in ways she'd never been able to imagine before.

As the neighborhood got even more disreputable, she turned off to what looked to mortal eyes to be a dead-end street, and, just to see Gabe's reaction, she gunned it at the same time she reached out with power to key the portal to open.

If she was hoping for something dramatic, she's destined to be disappointed. Gabriel doesn't even bat an eye since even if they did smash into the wall at the end of the street, it's not like it would kill him.

All she gets is a "Oh, so you've remembered how to stop driving like a little old lady."

"What was that old threat I used to tell you? Ah, yes. Plucked like a Christmas Goose. Maybe I'll get to act on it, hmm?"

There weren't any roads in Hell, of course, but she spun out not far from their destination and walked along the outside of the car to open the door and pull Gabriel out of it by the collar. It might have been easier to tell him to come, but more amusing to drag him like a misbehaving puppy.

"We're here," she said. "Any last words?"

"Go fuck yourself," he says, scowling at her for dragging him out of the car. She shouldn't expect anything different, really.

She backhands him, hard enough to break bones if he'd been mortal. Possibly even kill, although she held back a little. "You need to learn some new lines, darling. Assuming my master leaves you with that ability."

A simple call was even easier her within the confines of Hell, and she smiled wickedly at him. It would be interesting to make him squirm, assuming she was permitted. He seemed so disgusted by her new lease on life, so shortsighted and arrogant in his belief he knew her better than she knew herself.

Given what tends to happen when one hits an angel, much less an archangel, that might not have been the most intelligent idea.

"Talk, talk, talk," he taunts. "You keep talking about what you or my brother is going to do."

"If it is anything like what he favored me with, you should feel honored," she said, a rapturous expression on her face as she remembered. Nothing she'd shared with Gabriel could possibly have prepared her, or given her such an experience. Even when he was tearing her apart, killing her by inches to destroy every last bit of mortality, it had been glorious. Well, perhaps not at the time, but it was her shortcomings, not Lucifer's.

"He made me his, as you never did. Your loss, Gabriel, my gain."

"He's the only angel with any interest in making demons whatsoever," Gabriel points out. "None of the rest of us are anywhere close to inclined to do so. We smite them, not make them."

Even as he talks, Lucifer's summons can be felt by Claudia. He felt his brother's arrival and was ready to have his chat with him.

"Is that what you want to do to me, sweetheart?" Claudia said, smirking. "Destroy me?"

She took up the leash again, walking backwards over a path she knew, leading him towards the place Lucifer had chosen. Finding out Gabriel's intentions was all well and good, but there were things that were meant to be done immediately.

"In a manner of speaking," he growls as he follows her. Handing her over to the Winchesters to cure will destroy the demon part, sure. Leaving the rest of her intact, more or less.

"You saw how well your little trick with the holy water worked. I don't want to give up who and what I am," she pointed out, and then stopped outside the door, waiting for permission to enter and present her captive.

The doors open and when they walk in, Lucifer raises his eyebrows. "You look like drowned rats."

He knew it was going to be the case, given Claudia's update, but still.