Hybrid ¤ON HOLD¤

{9} Bye-bye Birdie

"Gryphon! Stop elbowing me!"
"Claire, I'm not doing anything."
"As if! Sam, could you move your seat up for God's sake?"
"Ask me that when you're seven feet tall."
"Claire, I don't think it would benefit my father for you to have more leg room."
"It's an expression, Cas. And Claire, if you don't stop complaining, I'll-"
"You'll what Dean?"
"I'll turn off the Wi-Fi!"
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Stay out of it Sam!"
"Dean, the lady on your phone is saying that you have missed a turn."
"I blame Claire."
"What? How is it my fault you missed a turn?!"
"Because you won't shut the hell up!"
"That is no way to talk to a small and innocent child!"
"Small and innocent my ass."
"You know what-"
"Claire, it might just be best if you stop talking now."
"You're supposed to be on my side! Dean's not the one you're doing the do with!"
"Oh, I so don't need to hear about that!"
"Dean, pay attention to the road!"
"Bitch."
"Jerk."
"Dick."
"Insufferable morons."
Ladies and gentlemen, a round of applause for the saviors of Earth.
They were all crammed in the Impala, which seemed much smaller now that they were geared up for battle and anxious to get it over with. The three supernatural creatures were crammed into the backseat with Sam and Dean up front. It had already been hours and needless to say, two angels, two hunters and a Claire don't mix well with small enclosed metal boxes.
The five of them were chasing Crowley's 'tip', armed to the teeth with knives, holy oil- which had all three backseaters uneasy- and of course, their trusty angel blades. The address Crowley sent them led to a large office building. Multitudes of people milled and worked inside, visible through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. A few security guards walked the perimeter and stood outside the main entrance. The large skyscraper looked very much out of place in its rural surroundings.
"Demons," Castiel observed from his window seat.
Dean glanced at him from the driver's seat. "All of them?"
The angel nodded in affirmation and Dean cursed under his breath. They would have a lot of fighting to do to get through to Crowley, which was when the real battle would begin. The five Winchesters piled out of the car and stretched their taut limbs, already on alert for the first sign of attack. The security guards did nothing, except share a menacing grin and move aside from the doors, letting their eyes flash black for a blink of time.
It was not reassuring in the least.
They walked cautiously through the desk, keeping carful eyes on the demons and one another. A receptionist greeted them with a malicious smirk at the front desk. "Are you the Winchesters?"
It was redundant. She knew who the Winchesters were; every demon knew who the Winchesters were. Dean nodded tightly anyway.
Her smirk grew. "You have a standing appointment to see His Grace. I'll take the youth first."
"What?" Dean reached a hand behind him to grip Claire's forearm the same time Gryphon did. "We're not splitting up."
She gave them a look that could almost be pitying if not for the dancing glee in her coal eyes. "I'm afraid you don't have that option. His Grace has requested that you divide yourselves into the eldest and youngest from each family."
Dean clenched his teeth, but the group turned in on itself in a mockery of a huddle. "I don't like this."
"Neither do I," Sam started and Dean just knew there was a second half coming. He proved him right by continuing, "But we don't have much choice. We have to split up if we want to get in."
"Yeah, because splitting up works in every horror movie, crime show, and Scooby-Doo episode." Despite her remark, Dean could see that Claire had resigned herself to Crowley's demands.
Dean sighed. "Fine, we'll split. Youngest and eldest, right? I'm the oldest born Winchester here, so that's settled."
Gryphon looked at Castiel. "What day were you created?"
"Six."
He sighed. "I was created on the fifth. I go with Dean."
"I'll go with you two," Claire decided automatically. "I'm an only child, so I qualify for both."
The receptionist interrupted from behind them. "His Grace sent down a memo: Hell Bitch Jr. goes with Moose and Dean's Lover."
"Just peachy," Claire huffed. "I guess that makes things clear. I hate this."
Gryphon glowered darkly at the elevators that would take them up to Crowley. "What's his game plan?"
Claire laughed mirthlessly. "Isn't it obvious? He's getting us at our weakest. Sam and Dean have that whole Best Brothers Forever gig going on, Cas and Dean are in love and don't even really deny it anymore and then there's me and you. He's got us away from the people who would make us strongest."
Dean shifted nervously. "We have to do this. It's our only shot right now at getting Crowley."
Uneasy nods went around the group. They turned back to the receptionist, who grinned smugly at their compliance. "Would the youngest group please go to the right elevator and the eldest to the left? They are enchanted, so don't try to switch at the last moment."
They started warily over to the elevator, but before the entered Castiel stopped Claire and Gryphon. "There's another enchantment. I can feel it. Once we enter these elevators we won't be able to teleport or fly."
Claire finished, "We will be completely cut off from fast means of transportation other than that of the Screaming-and-Running variation. The things we do for this world." She glanced at Castiel. "Cas, could you give Gryphon and me a minute?"
The dark haired angel smiled knowingly and moved to say his pre-mission good-byes to Dean. Claire looked at Gryphon, who seemed about to make a big romantic speech. She pulled him against her in a bone-crushing hug that said enough for both of them. He returned the embrace ten-fold. They had never truly needed words, but a few wouldn't hurt.
"Be safe," she whispered. "I love you."
"Take care of yourself. I love you too."
They pulled away from each other and the group once again formed a loose huddle, their captain ready to make a pre-game speech. "Okay, once we walk through those doors, there's no turning back. We go in there, we save the angel, we kill Crowley and we get out. And remember, that demon dies today, no matter what. Be careful and watch each other's backs. Stay safe."
They split apart into their respective elevators, the metal doors whooshing shut on their faces.
- - - - - - - - - -
The elevator dinged after three floors, depositing Claire, Castiel and Sam at the end of a dark, empty hallway. The only light in the hallway came from a slit under one of the office doors at the end of the hallway. The other doors were all opened and the rooms darkened. They each made sure to check inside the rooms as they walked down the hall, guns and blades held at the ready. Claire stopped the boys in front of the door with a raised hand.
"I count seven demons in the room. The angel is in the middle. They don't know we're here yet," she whispered. "Cas and I will pop in the back. Sam, you burst in all dramatic-moose-like."
They nodded at each other and that was it. Cas and Claire popped in the back and Sam burst in all dramatic-moose-like. The demons surveyed them, seven more blades appearing in the room. The battle begun.

- - - - - - - - - -

The view from the top floor was amazing. At least, Dean would have noticed if he wasn't so preoccupied by the seemingly endless swirling pit that took up the majority of the open floor space and stretched from wall to wall.
"It's a Hell Drop, as they're called," Gryphon announced as they surveyed the drop. "Direct portal to Hell. Once you fall in, not even God could get you out. The ultimate death. There is nothing more final."
"Can you get us across?"
"I can fly us to the other side on this floor, but you have to realize that things are just going to get worse over there. It takes an enormous amount of power to open a Hell Drop. Crowley's not going to let it go to waste."
Dean nodded grimly. Gryphon placed a hand on his shoulder and in a blink, they were on the other side of the drop. In half that time, Dean was thrown against the wall and the ground around Gryphon erupted in a circle of holy oil near the precipice of the drop. A demon appeared in the circle with him, grasping Gryphon by the collar of his shirt and holding an angel blade to his neck.
The king himself emerged from the shadows, clapping his hands in a slow mockery. "Perfect."
- - - - - - - - - -

The first demon to move attacked Claire. The others followed suit, three ganging up on Castiel and two more attacking Claire and Sam each. Claire swung her blade at one attacker and successfully parried a swipe from the other. Sam stabbed one demon in the throat and threw a flask of holy water at one who was about to send a blade through Castiel's back. The angel stabbed one demon while smiting the other.
"Look out!" Claire flung her arm out at the demon who was shaking off the holy water. The motion ended in it being thrown across the room and through a wall.
They had all been so distracted by the fighting that they didn't notice the eighth demon to appear in the room behind the gaged and bound angel.
"Sorry, but duty calls," it smirked. A practiced flick of the wrist and a vial that appeared from nowhere robbed the angel of his grace in a second. "Oh, and you might want to get upstairs. If you hurry, you can still catch the end of the game."
Claire threw her blade at the demon but it disappeared and her blade lodged in the wall.
- - - - - - - - - -

Dean struggled against the invisible force pinning him to the wall. It did nothing. Dean was still immobilized against the plaster, Gryphon was still being held precariously above what could very possibly be his doom and Crowley was still standing there with that smug smirk on his face.
"That was perfect, truly beautiful. The way you played into my hands, literally flying into my trap. You puppets danced for me and it was exquisite."
"What do you want Crowley?" Dean was well aware of how fond Crowley was of his own voice and was hoping beyond hope that the others would finish up fast enough to get their asses back onto safe ground.
"We're going to play a game Dean. Just you and I. You see, you have a choice to make here and it's an exciting one, at least for me it is. On the one hand, you could complete your mission. You can get the grace I have harvested so far, I'll even extract what is inside me. Then you can go home, have a cup of tea, curl up with It's a Wonderful Life. I'll stop going after the angels and God. Your quest will be complete."
"What's the other option?"
Crowley shrugged nonchalantly, but the malicious mirth in his eyes told Dean he wouldn't like the answer. Crowley looked over at Gryphon, who was still being held slightly aloft. "Save the angel."
- - - - - - - - - -

"Damn it," Claire muttered as she pulled her blade from the wall. The now powerless angel looked as if he was about to start spouting questions but Claire was very much not in the mood for that. She silenced him with a wave of her hand.
"He's going to need help dealing with the loss of his grace. Cas, can you get No-Mojo here to an angel that can help? Sam and I have to get to Dean and Gryphon."
"Hannah would be very helpful. I'll take him to her," Cas agreed.
"Good. Help explain what happened and then meet us back at the Impala. We should be done by that time." Castiel disappeared with the angel and Claire turned back to Sam. "We should go, and fast too."
"What if Crowley finds us before we find him?"
"Please," she scoffed, "as if I would let those two go running off on their own. I've been tracking Dean's footsteps since he stepped in the elevator."
- - - - - - - - - -

Dean's mind whirled as he mulled over Crowley's ultimatum. He tried to come up with a way, any way, that he could get both sides of the coin but came up empty.
"Here's how you choose," Crowley continued. "I'm going to let you down from that wall." The king snapped his fingers and a demon appeared next to him with a vial of grace. "My demon is going to start running. If you chase after him, the angel will die. If you stay here, he lives."
Dean felt the pressure release from his body and the smirking demon took off at an inhuman speed down the hall.
"Which will it be Dean? The world or the Winchester?"
- - - - - - - - - -
Claire pushed open the stairwell door, Sam hot on her heels. "They're on the top floor. I don't want to risk the elevator 'mysteriously' breaking down."
As the two of them bounded up the stairs, aided by superpowers and gigantor legs, Claire kept a careful watch on Dean's movements. Years ago, when they had first met, both she and Gryphon had taken careful time warding themselves against tracking from other beings, even each other. Dean was her only connection to their location.
"Wait," Claire said, stopping Sam. "They're on the move. Actually-"
She was interrupted as one of the doors at the top of the stairwell banged open and two sets of frantic footsteps made their way down. The first person visible was the demon they had lost earlier. Dean was right behind him.
The demon smirked when he saw them. "No teams," he scolded before vanishing.
"No!" Dean leaped down the last steps in a desperate attempt to catch the demon but it was too late.
Gryphon was gone and all for nothing.
"Dean! What's going on?"
Dean only turned and noticed Sam and- crap- Claire when his brother grasped his shoulder. "Did you find Crowley?"
Slowly, Dean started, "Yes, we found Crowley." Claire might actually kill him for this.
"And," the girl in question urged.
"He offered me an ultimatum. Victory... for Gryphon's life."
Claire recoiled like she had been struck. Dean hated himself even more with every growing ounce of pain and disbelief in her blue eyes. "So where is Gryphon now? Because I know that you did not sacrifice him."
"Claire, I'm sorry-" Dean started.
"No, no, no, no, no. You're lying to me."
"There... there was a Hell Drop. There was nothing I could do!"
"There was nothing you could do?! Here's something you could have done: Not get Gryphon killed!"
Dean raised his hand to touch her shoulder but she smacked it away violently. To herself, the breaking girl whispered, "I should have stayed with him."
"It's not your fault," Dean reassured softly.
"You're right." Claire raised her eyes back to his, the grief and despair overwhelmed by anger and... hate. "It's your fault." She spoke calmly, not crying or screaming or breaking anything. She would save that for when she was alone, the only place she could ever be safe. "You had a choice and you chose the grace. You chose wrong. I trusted you and you took everything from me. Gryphon trusted you and you. Killed. Him. This is your fault. He died because of you."
She took a step back, but Dean felt like it was a mile. "I hate you."
And then she was gone.