[Fic] "Damnation for Salvation"

[lux_tuli]

Title: "Damnation for Salvation" - Chapter 1 through 3

Fandom: Supernatural

Rating: Mature

Pairing(s): Lucifer x Dean Winchester

Characters: Dean Winchester, Lucifer, Sam Winchester, Gabriel, Meg Masters, Death, Chuck Shurley
Word Count: 7,918

Summary: [S5 AU] The Devil visits Dean in a dream and makes an offer that he cannot resist. A plan that promises to render him useless to Michael along with sparing Sam.

Originally posted: March 6, 2017

Sam may have found his dreams constantly plagued by the Devil trying to tempt him into saying yes but oddly enough Dean’s dreams had remained angel free until now. Not Michael or his lackeys intruding to push their agenda.

 

No, they preferred to corner him when he was awake and tried to use their Heavenly persuasion to get him to agree to be Michael’s meat puppet, from unleashing deadly illnesses on the brothers to Zachariah zapping Dean to a future, to show him the fruits of him saying no to Michael.

 

The one that finally steps inside his dream is not who he expects.

 

“I think you missed the turn for my brother.” Dean greets the Devil, who appears in the lounge chair beside him as he was watching a strip tease by some beautiful women. Though, he is grateful that Lucifer has come to visit him instead so it gives his brother at least one night of reprieve.

 

The archangel has a look of disgust as he gazes straight at the women and snaps his fingers, dispelling them. It was just as good as dumping cold water over him.

 

“Hey, this is my dream! I have my-” Dean protests but any further comment is cut off by the Devil’s curt response.

 

“My visit here is no accident nor mistake.” Lucifer crosses his legs and props his arms up on his knees, making himself at home inside his head, which Dean does not like one bit. If only he knew of a way to expel an angel out of his head, though he doubts angel banishing sigils worked inside dreamscapes.

 

“So what? You campaigning on behalf of St Douche now?” Dean snorts. Satan was not having any luck convincing his brother, what good did he think he could do try to sway his mind about Michael?

 

“You watch your tongue when you speak of my brother.” The Devil snaps, he could see that cool composure break as anger coils around his face, and Dean feels something well inside his throat as he starts coughing. He wraps his hands around his neck and struggles to suck in air. Screw fucking angels torturing him and his brother. Lucifer might have fed some bullshit to Sam about never lying or hurting his brother but he had never extended such courtesy to him.

 

Lucifer waves his hand and he is able to breath normally. He heaves in a deep breath as he glares at him but the Devil does not meet his gaze as he focuses on flattening the fabric of his jeans.

 

“I have a proposition for you.”

 

“Sorry, bud, but you’re not my type.” He says with a cheeky grin. Okay, it was a half life. His vessel was quite attractive but Dean had a policy of not shagging assholes, especially not creepy douche angels that wanted to wear his younger brother as a prom suit.

 

In a blink, Lucifer is standing before him, lifting his body out of the chair and choking him.

 

“Is that all you pathetic mudmonkeys can think of, intercourse? Don’t be absurd, as if I would sully myself by engaging in such crude debauchery with you maggots. Now, if you would kindly shut your mouth and listen then you might like to hear about my proposal.” The Devil sneers out.

 

“And why would I give a fuck?” Dean spits out. The archangel might hold the advantage of being an almighty celestial being but that was not going to mean that he was just going to roll on his belly and surrender.

 

“Because my plan would entail rendering you permanently unusable as Michael’s vessel and additionally I would not require to take Sam. Surely, you want to protect your precious baby brother?” Lucifer taunts him, targeting his protective older brother tendencies.

 

“That sounds a little too good to be true kind of deal to me. So what’s the cost?” Dean was not naive nor stupid to think that this kind of plan would be without a major consequence. Nothing was ever that easy. The Winchesters never had that kind of luck.

 

“You become my knight of hell.” Dean had no idea what a knight of hell, he had never heard of it before, not even during his stint in Hell. Either way, it certainly did not sound good, especially at the prospect of being under the Devil’s thumb.

 

“Screw you. I am not going to be your bitch.” He voices his opposition to the idea.

 

“Take some time to seriously to think over my offer. Considering all of your other options, I would say you couldn’t hope for any better outcome than the one that I have offered to you.” The Devil does not grow violent when he rejects him. The hand around his throat relinquishes, dropping his body back down into the chair, before he takes his leave in a flutter of wings.

 

---

 

When he sees Sam stretching out in the twin bed beside his, looking particularly relaxed for once, Dean does not have the heart in him to tell him about his late night encounter with Lucifer.

 

Dean loses any interest in even considering Lucifer’s offer when Becky gives them a hint about the Colt being in the possession of a demon named Crowley after the fiasco that is the Supernatural convention. He could just solve all of their troubles by shooting the Devil with it.

 

He is running on adrenaline as they run towards William Jasper’s farm to confront Lucifer and pissed off that Jo and Ellen are dead. He could not stand to see anymore people that he cared about die, especially with the way they had sacrificed themselves so that the brothers could go ahead and get away from the hellhounds.

 

When they go out of the bushes they had been hiding in, Sam is the distraction to let Lucifer’s guard down as Dean delivers the bullet right into the Devil’s face. He feels victorious as the sound rings out and the archangel’s body collapses lifeless to the ground, neither one of them move and hold in their breath in anticipation.

 

They have won, Dean thinks as he lets out a shaky breath.

 

However, when he sees Lucifer’s body twitch and comes back to light, he can feel his face turn pale white and his feet are frozen in place as the archangel stands up, letting out an “oww”. He watches as the bullet wound heals itself and Dean knows then that he is screwed.

 

It looks like getting shot has only caused the Devil to be pissed off as he glares at Dean and then grabs him by the back of his head, tugging on his hair. The pain of the hard pull causes him to drop the Colt to the ground.

 

“Did you really think that it would be that easy, Dean? You would have been better off accepting my deal.” Lucifer hisses into his ear.

 

“Sammy, go!” Dean cries out, seeing Sam still standing there. He wanted him to run before the Devil could do anything to him.

 

“I don’t think so...not unless you are thinking of changing your mind.” Dean cringes as Lucifer strokes his face with his free hand before he snaps his fingers and sees roots pull up out of the earth, wrapping itself around his brother’s legs and holding him in place.

 

“Please, just let him go.” Dean pleads. Normally, he would just tell the bastard to go back to hell but for Sam’s sake, he’s willing to do almost anything.

 

“Aww, you beg so sweetly but those aren’t the words that I am looking to hear from you.”

 

“What do you want?” He groans out, only half sure about what Lucifer is implying.

 

“Don’t play stupid, I know you’re smarter than that.” It is a strange compliment coming from the Devil. All throughout school, no matter which town they were currently stopping in, he had always been labeled as the dumb jock. He has to admit, his deal is tempting as his brother would not have to worry about Lucifer anymore but at the same time he would be damning himself to oblige the Devil’s every whim and God knows what else.

 

“Would it also stop you from summoning Death and spare all these people?” Dean stares at the crowd of men standing lifelessly that have been possessed by demons, waiting for Lucifer’s next command. He has no doubt from what Bobby told him about raising the Horseman that it would require a major sacrifice, which meant all those poor souls.

 

“Yes.” The Devil answers with a cold smile, icy blue eyes shining. Dean’s body shivers at the word, as it was the very one that the angels had been seeking from him. A once simple word that now to the Winchesters carried an enormous weight of promise.

 

“Alright then.” Dean relents to accepting his deal but Lucifer looks at him in dissatisfaction.

 

“Your words are too vague. My brothers might be lax enough to accept such an answer but I will not. I need it to be clear and absolute that you chose this.” Let it be known that the Devil sure did not do anything by halves.

 

“For fuck’s sake, yes, I consent to your deal! You better keep your damn word or I will make your life a whole new level of hell.” Dean ignores Sam’s shocked look and shouts of demanding an explanation as he growls out his acceptance. His brother has no clue what he has done. He will probably hate him but at least he will be safe from Lucifer.

 

“Once we have given a promise, we are bound by our word.” The archangel relinquishes his grip, letting his body collapse onto the grass. He lands on his knees before Lucifer and it is so not a good start for his new future. Sam is freed from his restraints and he scrambles over to Dean. The Colt is left forgotten on the ground.

 

“I’m not that cruel to forbid a final farewell between brothers. I was once a brother too.” The Devil says somberly.

 

“Dean, what is he talking about!? What did you do!?” Sam demands hysterically, shaking him by the shoulders.

 

“I...you won’t have to worry about Lucifer anymore. I want you to go and live that happy pie eating life for me.” He does not want to tell his brother what he will become. He would rather have Sam remember him like this then whatever abomination he will turn into.

 

“Forget whatever deal you made with Dean, I say yes!” Sam stands up to face Lucifer.

 

“Sam, no!” Dean protests, tugging him by the leg of his pants.

 

“That’s very kind of you to offer, Sammy, but due to the stipulations of the arrangement that I made with your brother, I’m afraid that I am going to have to decline.” Lucifer gives Sam a sympathetic pat on the shoulder and he watches as his brother reels back as if he was burned. Dean lets out a sigh of relief that the Devil has kept to his word.

 

“Now, if you two would wrap up so that Dean and I can get going.” Lucifer steps away and focuses his attention on the group of demons, exorcising them all so that confused humans are left behind.

 

“Dean, you didn’t have to do this. We would have found a way!” Sam is crying now and it hurts Dean to think that he is causing his brother so much pain. But he knows that this alternative is better than the future that Zachariah showed him, watching the Devil roam the earth in his brother’s body. Better than having most of humanity wiped in a slapfight between two archangels.

 

His damnation was the only course towards salvation.

 

---

 

Lucifer flies him away to some upscale hotel room, which Dean bets he has crawling with demons, and deposits him on the bed while he paces around the room. He holds back his tongue to prevent any witty comments from sliding out.

 

“So, what now? We chill and watch pay per view?” Dean lets out a nervous laugh, though he finds nothing funny about his current situation.

 

“Not quite. We need to seal the deal before I can proceed to make you a knight of hell.”

 

“Whoa, wait, you mean like a demon deal?” He puts up his hands in protest as he can feel his face turning red, he had not thought that any part of his submission would involve kissing the Devil. Dean was no virgin but that would be just plain awkward.

 

But wait, Dean pauses as he remembers Lilith and that deals with her required something more than kissing as she had been the queen of the crossroads. If she required sex then what would their creator require? Oh God, what had he gotten himself into...he was going to lose his ass cherry to Satan.

 

Lucifer glares down at him condescendingly.

 

“I had instituted the policies behind those crossroad deals based off the angelic practices for contracts. Words are not enough to convey a promise, people can easily lie and deceive others. Actions speak much more louder. For angel to angel, the act would be wing grooming, which is a very private and intimate gesture. For angel to human, the human would have to perform a task to prove their sincerity.” He patiently explains.

 

“Contrary to popular belief, I am not a demon so you can get your thoughts out of the gutter. And as I said before, as if I would want to do such a lewd thing with you.” Lucifer rolled his eyes as if he had read his mind. Dean was not too sure of the extent of an angel’s abilities so he could not entirely throw it off the table. He was not entirely sure of what Cas to do, let alone an archangel.

 

“So, what are you going to make me do?” Dean asks. Lucifer strokes his chin in thought, fingers running over his stubble. Did angels even have to worry about shaving? Their vessel’s body stopped aging so he could only assumed that ceased any hair growth.

 

“I had sensed a slither of grace residue on you and your brother…” It was not really that strange. Every since he had been raised from perdition, he had often found himself in the company of Castiel. Though he was unaware that an angel’s grace could rub off on a human by just being in near proximity.

 

“Well, I do hang around Cas a lot...Don’t you even dare to think to send me to hurt him!” Dean cursed mentally as he had stipulated anything about his angel friend, which meant that Lucifer was free to do anything he wanted to him.

 

“Did your mother not teach you manners about speaking out of turn? Oh wait, I guess she didn’t.”

 

“You shut up about my mother! It’s your fault that she’s even dead!” Dean darts up from the bed and tries to shove the archangel to no avail as he is immobile like a statue. His hands recoiled as it was like trying to push a brick wall.

 

“And perhaps you should cooperate unless you want to join her.” The Devil stalks forward like a predator, causing Dean to backstep until he lands back on the bed.

 

“Now, if you are ready to listen. I was not referring to your seraph friend but archangel grace. You met my brother Gabriel?” Lucifer somehow manages to make an accurate guess, though Dean supposes that the odds were favorable with there only being one out of three chances of getting it right.

 

“And how you are so sure that it wasn’t Michael or Raphael?”

 

“Please, I know my brothers. Michael is very hands off. I bet he has his minions doing all the work for him trying to get to you.” Lucifer snorts as he makes a jab at the viceroy of Heaven.

 

“True...so what do you want me to do him? Kill him?” Dean says nonchalantly but Lucifer steps forward until his knees are rubbing against the mattress and digs his nails into his shoulder, causing him to let out a cry of pain.

 

“You will do no such thing. You will bring him to me to talk. You are not to harm him in any way. If I find out that you have, you will regret it immensely.” The Devil growls out. For being a rebel and abandoning his family, Lucifer seems to truly care about his siblings. Or maybe Gabriel had just been special to him since he was all too eager to duke it out with Michael.

 

“And I’m supposed to just find him on my own? Only ran into him last time because he wanted to find us.” Dean did not even dare mention the other incidents with Gabriel, back when he thought he was just a damn trickster.

 

“Very well, I shall aid you in locating him but from there you will be on your own. But before that, let me alter these Enochian sigils that you have on your ribs.” As grace floods into his body, Dean cries out in pain emitting from his chest. He sags against the sheets, feeling boneless, when Lucifer is finished.

 

“There...you are still warded against all other angels but I edited the markings to allow me to find you anytime that I please. Wouldn’t want my new knight to be able to get away from me so easily.” He smiles smugly at him and Dean is too tired to even complain.

---

Dean had not been looking forward to seeing Gabriel so soon after he had trapped him behind a ring of holy fire and called him a coward for not being strong enough to stand up to his brothers. And here he was, Lucifer’s bitch. He would to love to have a talk with God about how he made his angels to be such assholes. Cas had ended up being the rare exception.

 

And little surprise, Lucifer had dropped him off at a candy themed amusement park, telling him that his brother was somewhere in the vicinity. Probably choking down whatever kind of sugar that he could get his tiny dinosaur hands on. Though given that amusement parks tended to be targeted at a particular demographic, it was easy enough to pick out a grown albeit short man out of the sea of children.

 

“What a coincidence, didn’t think that I would run into you here, Dean-o.” Dean does not comment on how it was not a coincidence at all, not just yet at least. Gabriel is licking the largest rainbow colored lollipop that he has ever seen. That thing alone would probably give a kid diabetes.

 

“And where’s Samwich?” The archangel looks around, noting his younger brother’s absence right away.

 

“You could say that we went our separate ways.” He admits and Gabriel gives him an understanding look of sympathy, probably assuming that Sam had run off and consented to being Lucifer’s meatsuit.

 

“So, what brings you here? Aren’t you the kind of guy that would prefer to be at a strip club?” Gabriel eyed him cautiously.

 

Dean might only have a GED to his name but he was not dumb enough to come right out and say that Lucifer wanted to talk with him, though Dean was skeptical if it was just to talk. He knew that as soon as he dropped the Devil’s name that the archangel would go running.

 

“Yeah, I wish but you know, business calls.” He shrugs nonchalantly.

 

“So, you finding me here was not just coincidence. What do you want? I presume you are not here to tell me that you are ready to say yes to Mikey because you wouldn’t need me for that.” Gabriel’s tone instantly grows suspicious, though he does not dare to ask how he found him.

 

“I need your advice. Can you come with me?” Dean should not feel bad for lying to Gabriel. This was, after all, the guy that killed him hundreds of times just to prove a point to Sam. But even still, he could not help but feel a little bad about what he was going to lead him into. He did not wish Lucifer even upon his greatest enemy.

 

“Alright, buttercup.” He cautiously and Dean can feel his gaze on him as he leads him towards the entrance of the park.

 

The original plan was to lead Gabriel back to the hotel where Lucifer was supposed to be waiting at but apparently the Devil was impatient because Dean saw him by the front leaning over the flowerbed, presumably smelling the plants. He was not even trying to blend in as he was now wearing black bowler hat and a trenchcoat. It was freakin’ creepy.

 

Unlike any other human that would probably label him as some sort of child predator because of his choice of attire, Dean knew what he really was. An ominous sign of death.

 

“No, no fuckin’ way. You sold me out.” Dean can hear Gabriel’s footsteps stop as he freezes in place and sounds betrayed as he accuses him in a low hiss. Though it is too late for him to escape because as soon as he speaks, Lucifer’s attention is drawn towards them.

 

“Gabriel.” The Devil looks delighted as in sincerely happy to see the archangel as he walks closer to them, though not before plucking out one of the roses out of the ground. He holds it gently between his fingers before depositing it into his pocket. Let it be known that while Satan abhors humans, he has a soft spot for plants.

 

“Lucy. Since when do you have Dean Winchester under your thumb?” Gabriel looks between the two of them as he responds coolly. It was probably Lucifer’s presence that prevented him from smiting Dean as the look on Gabriel’s face told him that he was not so pleased with him.

 

Dean stays silent and lets the two archangels talk, knowing that it would only blow up in his face if he tried to smart mouth either one of them right now.

 

“Since we have come to a mutually beneficial arrangement but alas I’m not here to talk shop.” Lucifer plops his hands onto the other archangel’s shoulders in what others would call a friendly gesture but Gabriel was way too tense even if the Devil seemed genuine.

 

“What do you want from me?” Gabriel grinds out.

 

“Can’t I just hang out with my baby brother? You used to love our little adventures together.” Lucifer speaks fondly as he starts to presumably reminiscence over those times.

 

“Dear Dad, I’m not a fledgling anymore.” Gabriel rolls his eyes.

 

“Even still, you will always be my little brother.”

 

“And you insult me if you think I am going to fall for the bullshit excuse that your visit is simply to see me. Look, I’m not going to bat for you or Mikey so leave me out of your drama.” The shorter archangel crosses his arms in front of him defensively.

 

Whatever Lucifer says to him in response, Dean is unable to understand the words that slip out of his mouth. He probably switched over to Enochian so that their conversation was now private. Not even able to listen in anymore, all Dean can do is just watch their faces and their bodies to gauge the mood of the conversation.

 

Though, Dean’s ears perk when he hears the syllables for his brother’s name, Samuel, spoken in a weird heavy accent on Gabriel’s lips. And it is Lucifer’s turn to grow defensive as he turns agitated and huffs. Eventually, the Devil becomes so annoyed that he storms away and Dean can only just stare in shock.

 

“What the fuck did you say to him? And why were you talking about my brother?” Dean demands of Gabriel.

 

“You know, despite how you chuckleheads might be the true vessels, the world doesn’t revolve around you two.”

 

“But I heard you say Sam’s name!” He insists firmly.

 

“I said Samael, not Samuel.” Gabriel responds harshly, emphasizing the single vowel distinction between the two names.

 

“Alright then who is Samael?” Dean decides to humor him, even though he still is not convinced that they were not talking about his brother.

 

“He was an angel of Death.” Gabriel replies simply. Dean notes the archangel’s use of the past tense in answering his question about Samael’s identity.

 

“Huh. Well, it looked to me like he and Lucifer had some bad history together since he got all prissy like that.” It had to be something because the Devil was normally much more calm and collected than that.

 

“I suppose you can say that. And shouldn’t you follow after your master before he gets more pissed off?”

 

“Look, I don’t have to explain myself to you but I am not doing this because I want to. This is the only option I got to save the world and my brother.”

 

“How? What does bending over for my brother accomplish?” Gabriel is skeptical of him.

 

“I am gonna become his knight so that Michael can’t use me as his meatsuit and that means Lucifer won’t need Sam.”

 

“You’re going to damn yourself to eternally serving Lucifer just to save Sam? And you’re trusting Lucifer to keep his word? You’re nine shades of crazy, dude.” Gabriel just shakes his head, in disbelief at how insane he was.

 

---

 

“Well, it’s about time you showed up, sweet cheeks. Thought I was going to have to lead a search and rescue crew to find you.” Meg teases Dean, leaning against the reception desk, when he finally shows back up at the hotel.

 

“Oh, please, Lucifer can tell where I am whenever he wants. If he was that concerned, he would just go and retrieve me himself.” Dean responds before he walks past her and towards the direction of the Devil’s room. The conversation might not have ended in his favor but Dean had completed his task as promised.

 

Lucifer, still wearing his earlier attire, was standing beside the window but rather than looking through the glass, he was looking down at a spearhead made of stone. As soon as the archangel takes notice of Dean in the room, he shuffles it into his pocket. It had to be something of sentimental value if he had been staring at it so intensely.

 

“What was that?” Dean cannot stop as his words curiosity slips through before he is able to stop it.

 

“It’s none of your concern.” Lucifer brushes him off.

 

“I did what you asked so can we proceed?” He moves the conversation along to a different and more pressing topic. The sooner that they went through with making Dean Lucifer’s knight, the better. He was paranoid that Michael was going to try to find a way to intervene before the deal can be cemented.

 

“Very well. It would be unwise to dawdle, lest Michael catch wind of what we are doing and try to put an end to it. I’m not convinced that Gabriel will stay entirely neutral.”

 

“You think he’s going to tattle on you?”

 

“Possibily, even if it entailed revealing himself to the Host.” Lucifer’s tone was unsure, unable to tell what Gabriel would actually do with the information that he had learned.

 

“So what exactly is this process to turn me into your knight?” Dean wanted it all laid out on the table before it happened so he did not have to worry about any nasty surprises hiding in wait.

 

“It will require your death. From there, you will be reborn as a demon.”

 

“Whoa, whoa, hold up, you mean that I am going to become the very thing that I hunt?” Dean throws up his hands.

 

“You did, quite willingly, enter into a Devil’s bargain. What else did you expect? And how would a knight of Hell be anything other?” Lucifer raises an eyebrow at his shock.

 

“And how can you be so sure that you will maintain a hold of me once you kill me? Wouldn’t a reaper come in and try to take me?”

 

“I’m still a psychopomp. No one is collecting you without my permission.” Lucifer states firmly, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

 

“Did you just admit to being crazy?” Dean howls out in laughter. He hears the Devil huff loudly as he rolls his eyes.

 

“Don’t be such a child. If you cared to pay more attention to the mythology that you rely so heavily on to hunt then you would know that a psychopomp is a being responsible for guiding souls of the deceased.”

 

“And how is that different from a reaper?”

 

“Reapers are unaligned. They do not answer to the Host like angels do. Psychopomp is a general label, spanning across different types. Reapers are just one kind.” Who needed an encyclopedia when the Devil was a walking and talking version of one?

 

“Huh, the more you know…” Dean scratched his chin. He then remembered Gabriel tell him that Samael was an angel of Death, which meant that he was another psychopomp, according to Lucifer’s description.

 

“So, Samael was another one of these psychopomps alongside you?” He says casually. As soon as the name slips from Dean’s mouth, he can feel the temperature in the room drop rapidly, turning chilly. He can tell that the coldness is coming right from the angry archangel.

 

“Do not speak that name ever again.” Lucifer growls out, grabbing Dean and tossing him with all the force of an archangel against the wall with a loud thud.

 

“Alright, alright. Calm down, Elsa.” Dean says to pacify the archangel.

 

“Do I look like a Disney princess to you?”

 

“Wait, you’ve seen Frozen? You watch Disney movies?” Dean’s mind is blown that the Devil understood his reference. He was pretty sure that Cas would be totally clueless if he had said the same line to him.

 

“You’re insufferable. It’s a pity that Michael will not be taking you because it would have been interesting to see you drive him towards insanity.”

 

“I might have handed myself over to you but I never promised that I would make it a pleasant experience.”

 

---

 

The next bullet point on the agenda was to conduct the ritual to transform Dean, which involved his death and subsequent rebirth. Dean was wary of leaving his life in the Devil’s hands but he had no other choice. He had been expecting some elaborate ritual involving blood and incantations but all Lucifer told him was to get comfortable.

 

He felt odd lying down on the bed, especially when Lucifer lowers himself onto the mattress and leans over him ominously. Lucifer had not even told him how he was going to kill him. He was expecting a knife through his chest or a smiting if he wanted something quicker.

 

But no, what Dean gets is a simple brush of a hand against his cheek before he is out like a candle.

 

He is met with complete darkness and he feels like he is floating. In the distance, he can vaguely spot out a bright orb emitting light. It gets clearer to see as it comes closer to him until it is right in his face. It was brighter than anything else he had ever seen, more so than even the bits of angelic grace that he had seen. The orb moves back a few feet to put some distance between them.

 

Dean just stares at it in awe, which apparently is not what the orb wanted as it purposely bumps into his face.

 

“Ow, what was that for?” He grumbles as it flies a little further away.

 

“You want me to follow you? Okay but you didn’t need to be so rude about it.” Granted, it was not like the orb could talk back to him. He wondered if it would get snarky with him. Regardless, he followed the orb until the dark started to wane and it got brighter and brighter.

 

Next thing Dean knows, he is awake on the hotel room bed, the orb that he was following after nowhere in sight. Instead, he is faced with the not so welcome sight of Lucifer. He is too weak to sit up and roll off the bed.

 

“Drink.” The Devil is holding his bleeding wrist out to him as soon as he joins the realm of the living once more.

 

“Ew, gross. No way, man.” Dean tries to feebly push his arm away but the archangel insists.

 

“Do it or you will ruin our plans.” It was bad enough that drinking blood had practically ruined Sam with the addiction but what would it do to him? Reluctantly, Dean takes a hold of Lucifer’s offered wrist and presses his lips against it. He lets the cold blood slide down his throat and he finds the coppery taste unpleasant.

 

However, Dean feels his strength restore with every drop swallowed.

 

He feels full when he finally manages to push Lucifer’s hand away from his mouth. Taking the opportunity, Lucifer rises up from the bed and grabs a hold of a jar that he has sitting on the drawer. He dips his two index fingers in and coats his wound with the substance. In a matter of minutes, Dean watches as the wound closes up and completely heals.

 

“What kind of mojo is that?” He asks as he sits straight up, shuffling awkwardly on the bed. Lucifer levels him with a brief look before placing the jar back in place on top of the drawer.

 

“It’s angelic in nature.” The Devil answers vaguely.

 

“So the big question, did it work?”

 

“Why don’t you check?” Lucifer tilts his head towards the direction of the bathroom. Dean stares in disbelief because he does not see anything different about himself and starts to think that it did not work.

 

“I don’t see….” Dean starts but is interrupted by Lucifer tugging on the back of his hair and he catches a flash of black eyes in the mirror before he can complain about the rough treatment.

 

“Oh...I don’t feel too different though.” He did not even feel like he was super juiced up with powers. Heck, Sam got cool powers with his demon blood fix.

 

“Because for most, the process of a human soul whittling down into a demon is much longer and painful. We don’t have the luxury of time so it had to be expedited.”

 

Soon after, Lucifer exiles him from the room so that the archangel is left with some privacy. What for, God does not even know since He hasn’t even given a damn about the world facing the Apocalypse. When Dean asks about their next item of business, he is brushed off as Lucifer replies that it will be handled later. Cryptic, much?

 

“Welcome to the fun bus, Dean-o.” Meg greets when he walks down the stairs to the ground level of the hotel, still playing at being receptionist. Though he wonders if there was any humans left inside the hotel by this point. He doubted it.

 

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get so smug with yourself. This still doesn’t make us buddies.” Dean still had not forgotten that she had possessed and pretended to be Sam for a week.

 

“You may be a knight but you shouldn’t ostracize the other demons because you are still thinking like a human.” She warns him.

 

They get into a small argument where Dean insists that even if he is a demon now, he has not changed and will not treat demons any differently despite technically being on their side now. It was just a technicality, his transformation had not changed his mindset. Meg tries to insist that his attitude would just lead the other demons to revolting against him and trying to kill him. At the heated climax of the argument, both are taken aback when the desk suddenly catches on fire for no reason.

 

Both scrambled around for a fire extinguisher, which becomes unnecessary when Lucifer steps down the final step on the stairs and uses his iciness to put out the flames.

 

“I suppose that I should not be too surprised that pyrokinesis manifested inside my brother’s sword.” He says in mild amusement. Dean remembers the lore that Bobby, well he supposed demon possessed Bobby courtesy of Meg and her friends, had pointed out about Michael having a flaming sword.

 

“I did this? Does this make me a firebender now?” Dean grins cheekily.

---

Lucifer is rather secretive in that he does not inform Dean of the details of his plans, even though he is supposed to be his knight of Hell. Instead, he trusts Meg, for whatever reason. However, he does manage to overhear their conversations from time to time, which allowed him to gain some insight to what the Devil was planning.

 

“Father, should I go retrieve some weapons from your crypt? Perhaps the lance…?” Dean overheard Meg just as he was about to turn around the corner but he stopped himself, pressing himself against the wall to listen into the conversation.

 

A low sigh comes out of Lucifer before he finally responded, “No, I don’t think that will be necessary.”

 

“But, my lord, you might have secured Dean Winchester but surely that would not stop Michael from-” She protested.

 

“I’m quite aware of how stubborn my brother is. And despite the circumstances, I do not have any desire to kill him. He is still my older brother, even if he has rejected me. I will let you know if I change my mind.” Lucifer cuts the conversation to a close and Dean can hear the heels of Meg’s shoes clinking against the floor as she walked away. Once she is a distance away, Dean is about ready to turn around and walk towards the direction he came from but is stopped by Lucifer speaking, “You can come out of hiding, Dean.”

 

Awkwardly, Dean turned around the corner and looked at the Devil straight in the face, feeling like a little kid that got their hand caught in the cookie jar. His face was unreadable and had his arms crossed in front of his chest.

 

“I totally wasn’t hiding...just you know…” He laughed nervously, trying to pretend that he had not been intentionally eavesdropping.

 

“You have clearly forgotten that I can sense you no matter where you are, there is no hiding from me.” Lucifer says coolly, not sounding as if he was angry with the fact, which was not what Dean had been expecting.

 

“You knew that I was there the whole time…!”

 

“And the other times as well. Did you think that I wouldn’t notice? Regardless, what you have learned is of little consequence.” Dean supposed if he truly intended to keep the information a secret, Lucifer would have done something much sooner.

 

“I’m surprised that you aren’t going to kill Michael, sounds like the easiest way to be done with it.”

 

“I don’t want to kill Michael any more than you would want to kill Sammy. That would be the absolute last resort.”

 

“So, how are you going to stop him, hmm?”

 

“I will find a way, don’t worry you pretty little head about it.” Lucifer brushed him off.

 

---

 

Dean is taken off guard when he goes to grab some coffee in the kitchen of their current base of operations, an old mansion, when he stopped in place as he finds Chuck tied up to a chair, mouth gagged with a bandana.

 

“Chuck!? What are you doing here?” He gasped and went over to the prophet, removing the bandana from his mouth.

 

“You know, I did not sign up to be a prophet and I certainly did not sign up to be kidnapped by the Devil. Aren’t I supposed to be protected by an archangel?”

 

“I am an archangel.” Lucifer spoke up from behind him, Dean had not even noticed his presence. He felt a bit of pity when Chuck looked at the Devil in absolute terror, “Relax, I’m not going to kill you, not when your mind is filled with such valuable information.”

 

“I don’t know how you expect anyone to relax in your presence.” Dean pointed out as Lucifer walked closer, stopping once he stood beside him.

 

“A pity.”

 

“Look, I don’t know anything man! Ever since Dean made that deal with you, I haven’t gotten much of a glimpse of anything.” Lucifer seemed to consider this, tapping his fingers against his chin in thought.

 

“Oh, but you saw our deal?” He gave Chuck a predatory grin, which caused him to wince, “Nice try, but I did not used to be Heaven’s strategist for nothing.”

 

“C’mon, is this really necessary?” Dean complained.

 

“Yes, it is. As you know, I am cut off from the Host, I cannot hear my siblings over angel radio so I am left in the dark in regards to their plans. Just because I have the advantage right now does not mean that I should be any less careful.”

 

“Luc-”

 

“Thus spake the Devil.” Lucifer cut off any further protest and all that’s left for Dean to do is frown at his retreating back.

 

“Sorry, Chuck, I wish I could let you go but he’s the boss.” Dean sighed reluctantly.

 

“Tell me, Dean, why did you chose this? You could have said yes to Michael and ended this whole situation already.”

 

“And let half of the planet be roasted? No thanks. Look, I know that this isn’t ideal and I like this as much as you do but I am doing this to save everybody.” Dean was starting to get tired of having to explain himself to other people.

 

---

 

“What is with you people calling me by my childhood name? I no longer answer to that name.” Dean had heard Lucifer hiss as he talked with an old man with a cane that he did not recognize. The man seemed unphased by his tantrum and raised an eyebrow at him. It was news to Dean as he thought that Lucifer was his true name.

 

“Well, if you would stop acting like a whiny brat as you were when you were a fledgling, perhaps I would reconsider addressing you by your chosen name.” Dean’s eyes widened in shock as the man had some balls to talk back to Lucifer like that.

 

“What do you want with me anyways? I didn’t complete the ritual.” Lucifer collected himself to ask calmly.

 

“No, you didn’t. Someone else did it in your stead.”

 

“Who?” There was confusion in the Devil’s voice.

 

“That buffoon Zachariah.”

 

“Ha!” Lucifer laughed loudly.

 

“Laugh it up all you want but you know the problem that this presents for you. Also, I dislike the notion of being bound to that uppity bootlicker’s will.”

 

“Well, perhaps you should consider going into an early retirement.”

 

“My job is not done until I have reaped God.” No way...that meant this guy had to be the Horseman of Death. Death had been raised even though Lucifer had not done the ritual, which Dean found to be rather alarming.

 

“So you keep saying. I mean, really, good luck finding him in the first place.”

 

“Are you even taking this seriously? You might have stolen away Dean Winchester and that prophet, too, but the chess pieces are still moving on the board along their predetermined paths.”

 

“I know. Free will is an illusion or so Michael always said,” Lucifer spoke through clenched teeth then sighed, “Dean, we have talked about this before.” Death did not seem surprised either to see him appear, instead casting an appraising look. Dean felt so tiny before the archangel and the horseman of Death.

 

---

 

Death decides to stick around as if he owned the place and it is interesting to see someone that did not take any of Lucifer’s bullshit. From what he had gathered, Death was about as old as God and thus much older than the archangels. More often than not, Dean finds him in the company of Chuck, who was no longer bound to a chair and given limited freedom around the mansion, for some odd reason. And when he’s not, he looms around Lucifer.

 

He had caught the two of them playing an actual game of chess and Dean cannot help but watch because he finds the action so strange. Not just that they were playing game but that Lucifer was being idle while Michael was still a threat.

 

“When was the last time that you had a proper opponent?” Death mused outloud.

 

“Hmm, probably the last time that I played against you. Michael tended to be too busy for a proper round and Gabriel had little interest.” Lucifer answered, crossing his arms and staring down at the chessboard. His eyes briefly darted over to Dean before focusing back on the pieces, “Speak your mind, Dean.”

 

“Why are you doing this instead of you know doing something about your brother?”

 

“A very good question.” Death added, which caused Lucifer to glare at him.

 

“There’s no need to be hasty. Consider this, I have spent eons in the Cage biding my time, I know how to be patient. Nothing good comes out of rushing in like a fool.”

 

“Or maybe you don’t know what to do about Michael and you refuse to accept the fact that you might have to kill him.” Dean retorted.

 

“You have always been too sentimental for your own good.” Death chided. Lucifer let out a low growl and knocked the pieces off the board with a swipe of his arm. The horseman was unamused, “Did you really have to spoil a good game?”

 

The Devil stomped away without another word, leaving a cold breeze in his wake.

 

“I don’t mean no disrespect but aren’t you poking a little too hard at the beehive with him?”

 

“Like that brat could do anything to harm me.” Death scoffed.

 

---

 

Dean found Death’s conversations with Chuck to be odd as the Horseman spoke as if they were old friends but that did not make any sense.

 

“Is this what you wanted?”

 

“Aren’t you supposed to be neutral?” Chuck replied incredulously.

 

“If I wasn’t, I would have already knocked some sense into those two boys.”

 

“Even if I did put an end to this, you seem to think that I can just allow him to wander free. How can I trust him after what he did?”

 

“I want to know why you care when you have already given up on the universe.” Suddenly, Dean was starting to get the feeling that there was a lot more to Chuck than meets the eyes because right now he certainly did not sound like the Chuck he knew. This was not the alcoholic hack writer but something much older, one that was tired and weary.

 

“As my greatest mistake, he is my responsibility.”

 

“By responsibility, you mean locking him up and forgetting about him.” The gears in Dean’s mind were slowly starting to turn and he had to slap his hands over his mouth before he let out a loud cry of shock. No way, Chuck was God. The asshole was sitting in front of them the whole time, playing them all like a fiddle.

 

“Whose side are you on anyways? So much for your neutrality.” Was the last thing that he heard from the conversation as he turned around and darted off.