Dean got in his car to head for the nearest bar. It had been a rough few weeks, no, make that a rough year, and he needed to get drunk. They finally had a tentative plan to stop Lucifer and the end of the world, but there were still so many things that could go wrong. Hell, they didn't even know how they were going to get Lucifer into the box even if they managed to get their hands on the rest of the rings to do it. It wasn't like they could just politely ask him to jump in.
"You have a point there," a voice answered Dean's unvoiced thoughts.
On instinct, Dean grabbed his gun and turned around the the back, shoving it into the face of the archangel he'd thought had just died not too long ago. When he saw who it was, Dean lowered his gun. "Seriously? How many lives do you have?
Gabriel just shrugged and smirked in response.
"We thought you were dead. We saw your body at that hotel, scorched wings and all," Dean said. He'd thought it was real this time. Burnt wings in the floor usually meant a dead angel.
"Let's just say I still had a few tricks up my sleeve. My plan was to go back into witness protection, and even better one now that everyone thinks I'm dead. I did my part after all. I gave you your next move," Gabriel said.
"Then why are you here?" Dean asked.
"Glutton for punishment. I couldn't help myself. I wanted to see how it would all end. As I'm sure you know, I have the power to sneak a peak into the future. I didn't like what I saw," Gabriel said.
"We fail," Dean realized as his heart sank. He knew it wasn't a good chance, but he still held some hope.
"No, actually. You got the rings and you managed to get Luci back into his home away from home. It's actually quite astonishing," Gabriel said. He had given them the idea, but he never actually thought they'd be able to pull it off.
"Well, damn. Now I'm gonna go to the bar to celebrate," Dean said with a big smile.
"Did you miss the part where I said I didn't like what I saw. It comes at a cost, Dean, a big one. As you were thinking yourself when I arrived, it won't be easy. Lucifer won't just jump in because you want him to, and it's not exactly easy to push him in either," Gabriel said.
"So how'd we do it?" Dean asked.
"Well, normally I wouldn't spoil the ending, but given that I'm not fond of this particular ending, I'll tell you. His vessel. You used his vessel to get him in," Gabriel said.
Dean was confused by what the archangel meant at first, but it didn't take him long to figure it out, and the look on Gabriel's face told him he was right. "No!"
Gabriel nodded. "It was the only way. Sammy managed to gain control and jumped right in."
"No! I would never let that happen!" Dean said.
"You didn't want to. He had to convince you that it was the one way. He was right, there wasn't really much other choice," Gabriel said.
"I'll find another way! I won't let it happen," Dean said firmly. He knew what Hell was like. There was no way he was going to let his brother condemn himself to that.
"Do you honestly think I'd be here if I didn't have another option? I don't want to see this happen either. I have a way to protect your brother. It's not really a resolution to the Lucifer problem though," Gabriel said.
"What do you mean?" Dean asked.
"I mean, this fight with Michael and Lucifer is going to happen if we do this, but I can make it so you and your brother isn't a part of it," Gabriel said.
"You know that an angel needs consent to take a vessel, right? Well, because of that, there's sort of an age limit. Young children can't be used," Gabriel said.
"That's not true. Cas used his vessel's daughter at one point," Dean said.
"She was almost a teenage. She had the ability to consent. By children, I mean like under eight," Gabriel said.
"What are you suggesting?" Dean asked. Actually, he had a good idea what he was suggesting. It was just so out there that he felt he had to be wrong. Gabriel couldn't really mean to do this.
"Your brother already has it in his head, Dean. He knows what it will take to get Lucifer in that box and nothing will change his mind. The only way to stop it is to make sure he can't consent anymore.
"You wanna turn him into a kid? How would that help? Eventually he'd get bigger again. That's if Michael or Lucifer didn't figure it out and change him back. Unless... Is your plan for me to say yes after you deage him?" Dean asked.
"I won't say the thought didn't cross my mind. You have to admit that the biggest reason for saying no is Sam," Gabriel said.
Dean couldn't deny that. Yeah, he cared about the world being destroyed, but his biggest reason was knowing that if he said yes and Sam did as well, his hands would be used to kill his little brother. He could never, ever consider such a thing. "Say I did that. What, would you just turn Sam back once it was all over?"
Gabriel shook his head. "It wouldn't be that simple. I could not leave a way for Sam to be turned back. Michael would put off the fight if he thought there was a way to either turn Sam back or wait for him to age. That's why neither of those things will happen. The spell I plan to use is a Pagan ritual. It's permanent and it slows down the aging process. He will age, but it will take centuries. Michael won't wait that long to take out Lucifer. But that doesn't mean you have to say yes. I could take your somewhere safe or you could come with us. Either way, it would be a dimension far form this one. You'd be safe, " Gabriel said.
Dean considered that for only a second before dismissing it. As much as the idea appealed to him, he couldn't do it. He couldn't just leave this world for Lucifer to destroy. He got a glimpse of what that could be like, courtesy of Zachariah and he just couldn't do it. One way or another, he had to stay. "No. If I agree to this, which I haven't decided to, I will stay and let Michael in."
"You're under the impression I'm giving you an option. This is not a request for permission, Dean, it's a courtesy. I'm merely informing you of what I intend to do. You decide what you want to do for yourself, but Sam is another matter," Gabriel said.
Dean glared at him, perfectly aware that he couldn't actually stop Gabriel. "Why?"
"Because it's the best outcome for him. You know that, but I'm not certain you'll make the right choice. So I'm afraid you don't get one," Gabriel said.
"What about Sam?"' Dean asked.
"He wouldn't make the right choice either," Gabriel responded.
"Why are you doing this? Why do you care enough to go to the trouble of deaging Sam and then raising him. I assume that's what you'd be doing," Dean said.
"You assume right. The demon blood should've destroyed Sam. It should've turned him into a mini Lucifer, just as it did to many of the other special children, but it didn't. Even after drinking gallons of it to kill Lilith, his soul remained mostly pure. I'm not willing to see a soul like that thrown away and condemned," Gabriel told him honestly. Dean was right, he was giving up a lot by doing this, maybe even putting himself at risk, but he was willing because saving Sam Winchester was worth it.
Dean turned around in his seat and looked at the motel room that his brother was currently in. "What...? What exactly will happen? Will just his body change or will he forget everything?" Dean asked.
"I've never actually done this, so I'm really just going off of research, but from the way I understand it, he will remember everything at first. Changing the mind happens at a slower rate than changing the body. His mind will regress eventually, probably within a few days to a couple of weeks. When it does, he will remember some. He should recognize names and faces. Whether he'll have all his memories intact, I don't know, but he will act like a child," Gabriel explained.
"So he'll remember me?" Dean asked. Maybe it was selfish of him, but he wanted Sam to always remember him. Yes, he knew it would probably be better for Sam if he didn't, but Dean just couldn't stand the thought of that.
"He should," Gabriel said.
"You do this, he's going to be angry as hell," Dean said. Sam would especially be angry at first when he had his adult mind. He wasn't going to make things easy for him.
"He'll get over it," Gabriel said.
"I want a few minutes with him," Dean said. This was going to happen. There was nothing he could do to stop it. He knew that. Honestly, he wasn't even sure he wanted. He had to say goodbye.
"Alright, but don't try to leave, Dean. I will know," Gabriel warned.
Dean nodded and got out of the car. The whole way to the motel room, he told himself that this was for the best. He told himself it would be worth it. He believed it too. Dean knew there was no out for him, but Sam could be free. It was all he ever wanted and now he had the chance. He could save his brother.