Transmission from the Trickster

Chapter 1

A/N I'm writing this after ScoobyNatural aired, so the only thing I know about Gabriel is that he's alive, and I can make up whatever I want for what's happening to him because I don't actually know what the truth is. If you're reading this in the future, it'll probably be inaccurate, but whatever. If you know me (which you probably do if you're reading this) you know I have a habit of starting and not finishing fanfics, but hey, I can try.

Sam sits at a table in the library, staring blankly at his laptop. He's supposed to be looking for a case, but he just can't focus on anything.

It's the damn trickster's fault. The crazy thing is, he didn't even have to do anything this time. He's probably still lying in the now abandoned hotel, wings scorched on the floor, the same way he has been for the last eight years.

It's his mere existence that's the problem. He didn't need Dean to mention the possibility of Gabriel's involvement in the whole Scooby Doo fiasco from yesterday to think of him. The guy has a habit of throwing people in TV shows, which is something that can't be said of many people. He was completely expecting the trickster to be pulling the strings on the whole operation, only the jump out at the very end. It definitely wouldn't be the first time Gabriel had faked his own death.

But, of course, Gabriel had nothing to do with it, which would ordinarily be a relief, except that for once, he might actually be useful. They still need an archangel's grace, and Gabriel would be perfect for that, had he still been alive.

"Sam!" Dean claps loudly, snapping him out of his reverie.

"Huh?" Sam looks up, running a hand through his hair to get it out of his face.

"Have you heard a word we just said?"

"Uh..." Sam trails off. He didn't even notice Dean and Cas were out here at all.

"Dude, Cas is married," Dean tells him, sounding way too amused, like this is the funniest thing he's ever heard.

"Oh, good for him," Sam says absently, returning his focus to his computer just so he can zone out again.

"Sam —" Dean slams his laptop shut. "Seriously? 'Good for him'? I told you Cas got married and all you're saying is 'good for him'?"

"Yeah — wait, Cas got married? When? To who?"

"A djinn," Castiel replies. "Dean just told you this."

"An angel and a genie got married," Sam mutters. "Sounds like the start to a bad joke."

"No, this is real," Castiel says, tilting his head slightly and squinting his eyes.

"Hey, you okay?" Dean asks, sitting down at the table with his brother. "You seem kinda out of it."

"Yeah, no, I'm fine," Sam assures him. Disappointed, but fine.

"You sure?" Dean's tone quickly changed from concerned to teasing when he adds, "You missing Velma?"

"Am I — what?" Sam scoffs. "No! Not a chance in hell!" In all honesty, he hadn't even thought of her since they got back to the real world.

"Ah, sure you aren't," Dean says with a laugh. "Hey, dinner? We could get pizza."

Sam pushes himself up from his chair. "I think I'm just gonna go to bed."

"Go to —" Dean stares at him in disbelief. "It's, like, seven o'clock! Why are you going to bed at seven o'clock?"

"I'm just tired," Sam says dismissively. "Didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night."

"We never get a lot of sleep," Dean reminds him. "We're hunters. Sleep is a foreign concept to us."

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna embrace it while I can. G'night, Dean. Cas." Sam offers them a brief nod of the head before dragging himself back to his bedroom.

He really didn't get a lot of sleep the previous night. There was just too much to think about, and he can't sleep when his brain is constantly working, trying to sort things out.

Tonight is no different. There's a lot of tossing and turning before he finally falls asleep, and even what shut eye he does get doesn't last long.

It comes in flashes. Gabriel in a cell. Gabriel's bloody and beaten face. Gabriel's lips sewn shut. Gabriel humming for help because he can't open his mouth to form the words. Gabriel, Gabriel, Gabriel.

Sam bolts upright in bed, gasping for breath. What the hell was that? He's had a lot of nightmares in his life, but never anything like that. Sure, he had those visions a long time ago, but that was the demon blood talking. That can't be the case now. This didn't quite feel the same.

 And why was it Gabriel? Sure, he'd been thinking about the guy a lot, but not enough for it to haunt his subconscious. But apparently, he was wrong.

He slides back on his bed so he can lean against the wall, resting his face in his hands. He never really cared about the trickster, one way or the other. He was a tool, a pawn in their game as they tried to stop the impending apocalypse; nothing more. So why is this hitting him so hard?