Chapter Four
Gabriel sighed heavily as he accompanied Lucifer up to his box in the arena again. There were already hundreds, thousands, of people sitting in the Coliseum, waiting for the fight, and Gabriel wondered if anyone had any work to do in Lucifer's alternate Roman world or if they just appeared whenever he wanted to make a show.
There was a thundering of applause and 'hails' as Lucifer stepped out and acknowledged his 'adoring' crowd. Gabriel made a face behind his back. He glanced behind him as servants bustled over with trays filled with refreshments and a small table to put them on.
Once Lucifer was seated, he snapped his fingers at Gabriel. "Wine."
"Get it yourself," Gabriel grunted.
Lucifer glanced lazily over his shoulder at him. "Gabriel, this would not be the best time to test me."
"I don't know," Gabriel retorted, filling a cup anyway. "I thought that was always what I did best."
Lucifer gave a sly smile and accepted the cup Gabriel reluctantly handed him. He should have spit in it.
"You may be interested in Dean's opponent today," Lucifer told him as if he hadn't spoken. "I felt him poking around the doorway to the pocket dimension; thought I'd invite him inside."
Gabriel frowned but by then the fighters were being introduced and the crowd was going wild. He leaned forward to better see and caught sight of the gladiator who was going to be fighting Dean that day.
Gabriel's eyes widened in recognition. Even helmeted and with his grace nearly nonexistent, Gabriel would recognize that particular brother anywhere.
"No," he said.
"Yes," Lucifer chuckled, gulping his wine. "Let the fun begin."
Dean was actually underwhelmed as he saw just one fighter appear out of the opposite gate. It wasn't even a big dude, in fact, even from this distance Dean could see that his opponent was thinner than himself. Hopefully, this would be an easy fight.
The other gladiator was also helmeted, but he glanced around as if taking in the arena and the screaming audience. Dean decided to take the initiative, raising his sword in a bit of a flourish, which got the crowd screaming again, and started toward the other fighter.
Dean's advance snapped the other guy to attention and the gladiator gave his own sword a small twirl as if to check the balance of it, then came forward with a determined stride to meet Dean.
Their swords met with a clash as the audience instantly screamed for blood. Dean was shocked by the strength of the other fighter. He may be wiry but he was strong. And he spent no time in disengaging and striking again.
Dean leapt back, just barely evading a graze to his ribs. He cursed under his breath as he got his sword up again and blocked a series of blows that the other guy threw at him. This other fighter obviously knew how to use a sword, which was not good for Dean. He was going to need to step up his game here if he planned on getting out of this alive.
He struck out, none of his blows finding their target, but they made the other gladiator step back for a second, giving Dean a breather. Dean glanced over toward the opening into the barracks and saw Sam watching anxiously. He gave him a reassuring grin, though Sam wouldn't see it past his helmet, and then spun back around as his opponent advanced again.
Dean fought to parry all the blows this guy threw at him, having to jump back more than once, or risk getting gutted. Damn, this dude was relentless! But as Dean fought off the blows, he also thought there was something familiar about the other gladiator's stance, the way he swung his blade with surety but not without an almost elegant flourish. Someone very comfortable with a blade in his hand. The style looked like something Dean had seen before.
But despite the other fighter's skills, Dean was also used to fighting battles to win, because usually death was the only other option in his line of work. He may not have the style this guy had, but he did have the savvy and he wasn't afraid to play dirty.
He took a chance and the next time the other fighter swung at him, Dean stepped swiftly to the side and grabbed his opponent's sword arm, swinging him around and throwing him against the dirt with a whuff of breath.
Dean stood over him, his sword pointed at his opponent's throat, showing beneath his helmet. The crowd was calling for death, bloodthirsty freaks. He didn't want to have to kill the other gladiator, but he looked up at Lucifer. If it meant Sam's safety, then Dean would gank this guy if that's what it took.
He saw Lucifer standing up in his box, a smug look on his face as he held his hand, thumb out over the edge of the arena, ready to give his verdict.
But then Gabriel shoved ahead, and Dean saw the archangel pointing at him and his opponent, shaking his head frantically, his own shouting lost in the roar of the crowd.
Dean frowned, but before he could get any more instructions, his legs were kicked out from under him by the other gladiator. He slammed into the dirt, losing his helmet and his sword in the process and the gasp from the crowd was deafening.
Dean blinked the sand from his eyes, scrambling blindly for his weapon as he awaited the inevitable stab from his opponent's blade.
But it never came. As he looked up, he saw the other gladiator was just standing there, sword held at his side. Dean snatched up his own sword anyway, scrambling into a cautious crouch, before his opponent simply dropped his own weapon in the sand and reached up to take his helmet off.
Dean frowned but then when the other fighter's face was revealed, he just stared, suddenly understanding Gabriel's frantic gestures earlier.
A familiar face stared back at him, just as surprised, dark hair plastered to his head with sweat.
"Dean?"
"Cas." Dean finally managed.
The angel reached down and gripped Dean's forearm, giving him a hand up. The crowd seemed uncertain of what they wanted to happen, but as Dean looked up, Lucifer had simply returned to his seat, watching them.
"We thought you were dead, man. How the hell did you get here?" Dean demanded.
"I took a bus," Cas said simply, looking around bewildered. "This is…"
"Crazy, yeah, but let's get somewhere we can talk." Dean led him back into the barracks where Sam met them with wide eyes.
"Cas!" he cried and pulled the angel into a swift embrace. "You're alive!"
"Yes, I'm as surprised as you are," Cas said, still looking a little bewildered as Sam pulled away.
"But what happened after you blasted all those angels away?" Dean asked him.
Cas shook his head. "Apparently I appeared on a fishing vessel in a coma, but I woke up in a hospital a couple days ago. It seemed the nurses thought me brain dead—I gave them a bit of a scare when I woke up." He shrugged. "After that I tried calling you two, but neither of your phones worked. When I called Bobby, he said you'd been missing for days, but he'd tracked your last known location. I went to investigate the hotel and found the portal. I just don't understand what happened."
Sam sighed. "We got trapped at the hotel with a bunch of pagan gods who were going to use Dean and me as a ransom to stop the apocalypse. Gabriel showed up and then so did Lucifer. Gabriel tried to create a pocket dimension to get us out of there, but…Lucifer hijacked it and made…this." Sam gestured helplessly around them. "I'm sorry you had to get pulled into all this too."
"It was unavoidable," Cas assured him.
"So I'm guessing Lucifer has your powers locked down too?" Dean asked.
Cas looked down then, shifting self-consciously. "Actually, since I've woken up, my grace is…well, it's essentially gone. The backlash from the banishing sigil seems to have knocked out what little power I had left. I am as good as human now."
Dean's heart clenched at the angel's simple pronouncement. Cas had said it with little emotion, but Dean could see the underlying pain in his friend's face. They had all known it would happen eventually with Cas cut off from Heaven, but to have that little time shortened so suddenly was a cruel blow.
"Dammit, Cas," he muttered.
"At least I know where you are," Cas said sincerely, reaching out to grip both of their shoulders. "And, well, as long as Lucifer's here he's not wreaking havoc over the earth."
"Yeah, except his ultimate goal here is to get Sammy to say yes," Dean said.
"But we'll find a way out of here before we let that happen," Sam added firmly. "Gabriel thinks that if we can wait Lucifer out for a little while he won't be able to keep up the pocket dimension indefinitely. Not without his…true vessel." Dean hated the way Sam winced as he said those words and his anger for the fallen archangel only doubled.
"Then what do we do in the meantime?" Cas asked.
"We do what we have to to stay alive," Dean said with a shrug. "Play our roles, I guess."
"Gladiators," Cas said blandly.
"Yeah, looks like," Sam grunted.
"Well, I'm glad you three ladies are getting to know each other, but you could all do with some training!" Flavius strolled up again and Dean rolled his eyes, which earned him a smack on the back of the head.
"Ow!"
"That's what you deserve for flubbing that fight, boy! That was half-assed at best! And you!" He jabbed his finger into Cas' chest, causing a frown to form between the angel's eyebrows. "I was promised you were an expert swordsman. Next time I call you both out into the arena, I want you to put up a good fight! You hear?"
"Whatever," Dean huffed and got another, harder, slap to the head.
"That's 'yes sir' to you!"
"Yes, sir," he muttered.
"Now get out there to the palus and practice your swordplay with the others or I'll demote you to bestiari."
He strode off and the three men looked at each other.
"Let's go, we can talk more while we train, I guess," Sam said.
Dean sighed. He was really getting tired of this gladiator crap really quick. They may have had another ally now, but he wasn't entirely sure that was a good thing. Not if Lucifer decided to use Cas to get them to cooperate.
Dean glanced back at the arena, feeling the fallen archangel's eyes on him even though he couldn't see him at the moment. The day couldn't come quick enough that they ganked that son of a bitch.
Gabriel gave a relieved breath as Dean recognized who he was fighting. Damn Castiel. Gabriel's pest of a little brother was always showing up at the most inopportune times. Like when he had tried to break Sam and Dean out of the TV land dimension. Gabriel still kinda felt bad about what he'd made Cas endure there, but it had been for his own good—really.
He certainly didn't want Cassie to be at the mercy of Lucifer, though. Another piece of leverage for the fallen archangel to use against Sam—and one not nearly as important to the plot as Dean.
Lucifer smiled as he sat back in his seat to the disappointment of the crowd, leaving both gladiators to retreat from the arena, alive and intact. "You seem surprisingly relieved, Gabriel. Would it hurt you if I were to kill the little angel? You always were far too fond of our younger siblings, in my opinion. Kept some of them from being good soldiers with your doting—I mean, look at what happened to Castiel. Fallen and slumming it with humans. Though I suppose that makes you two peas in a pod, doesn't it?"
Gabriel's hand clenched into a fist, but he shrugged off Lucifer's words with well-practiced nonchalance. "You know having another person in here is just going to give you more work to do."
"Castiel has no powers currently. He's as good as human. Which also means he has nothing of value for me to take. But the Winchesters seem to have made him into a fond pet, and may be distressed if something were to happen to him, so he'll be good to have around as an expendable piece on my board if I need to teach a quick lesson."
Which was exactly what Gabriel had feared. But he folded his arms over his chest to show that he wasn't going to be intimidated. "I just don't understand why you're wasting your time here, bro. I mean, you could be out there causing all kinds of chaos and destruction but instead you're in here, in a stolen pocket dimension, toying with the heavenly vessels like this is all a game. Do you have to drag out the apocalypse longer than necessary?"
"You know as well as I that I'm not doing anything until Sam takes his rightful place," Lucifer said quietly.
"Okay, then what happens if Michael comes knocking on the door next and decides he wants his own vessel?"
Lucifer shrugged. "Then I suppose we'll carry on and have the fight right here. You'd prefer that anyway, not nearly as much collateral damage out there. Of course, as soon as the victor was proclaimed—and it will be me—I'll simply move on to bigger and better things as planned."
Gabriel shook his head. "Whatever. It doesn't matter what I say, I get it. And really, I know there's no coming back for you. You're too far twisted."
"And whose fault is that?" Lucifer snapped suddenly. "Who locked me up in the Cage?"
"Lucifer, you were too far gone even before that and you know it," Gabriel said, a pang of old hurt rising in his chest that he fought to reclaim; shove back into the dark recesses of his heart that he never let see the light of day anymore. "Once you might have fooled me into thinking that there was still hope but…" He snorted, regaining some of his composure. "Dad locked you away because you didn't give him any other choice."
"And yet," Lucifer said quietly, darkly. "He wants this fight to happen. It was written a long time ago. So, is it really my fault after all?"
Gabriel heaved a sigh. Yeah, never did pay to try and reason with Lucifer. "You know what, stick to your own delusions if that's what helps you sleep better at night."
Lucifer ignored him and stood, passing Gabriel and crooking a finger at him to follow. "Go to the kitchens and tell them to prepare a feast for the night. I think it's time I had a dinner guest."
"Great," Gabriel muttered. He followed Lucifer back to the palace and went toward the kitchens, passing on the message.
As he was leaving, he caught sight of Kali walking into a room at the end of the hall and he frowned, debating for a moment before he ran to catch up to her and see what she was up to.
"Kali," he called as he got to a storage room and saw that she was running her hands over the back wall where it looked like she had moved aside some crates to clear a spot. "What are you doing?"
She turned around. "The sense of the outside world is stronger here," she told him. "I think this is where the door is on the other side."
Gabriel crossed to the wall and set his palm against it, closing his eyes as he fought to orient himself in Lucifer's messed up version of his dimension. But then he detected the current flowing with his own grace and he drew his hand back.
"You're right," he said. "Unfortunately, there's not much we can do about it."
"I'm working on something," Kali told him. "Something to weaken the locks Lucifer has put on it." She looked annoyed suddenly as she stared at him. "Unfortunately, it seems I'll need your help after all."
Gabriel cocked an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Don't look so smug," she snarled and reached down toward a basket at her feet and pulled out a small jar. "Your powers are tied up in this place. I'll need some of your blood for the spell…and some of Lucifer's."
Gabriel shook his head slowly, not liking the sound of this. "Kali, are you sure this will work?"
"I know what I'm doing, Gabriel," she said insistently. "My question is whether you will help me or not."
Gabriel sighed heavily. "How am I supposed to get Lucifer's blood, huh? He sees everything, he's suspecting us to try to escape at any moment, and he doesn't sleep."
"You're the so-called Trickster," Kali snapped. "You'll think of something if you want to make it out of here alive with your precious humans."
Gabriel bit his lip. Not for one minute did he not think this was a monumentally stupid plan, but…what choice did they really have? While he did think it would be more foolproof to wait until Lucifer's power began to dwindle, there was also the chance that he could do something really bad in that time. And with Cas here now as well…maybe they didn't have the luxury to wait.
"Fine," he yielded. "How long is this going to take?"
"Now that I know where to direct the spell, the only thing I'm missing is the blood." She pulled a knife from her basket and handed it to Gabriel. "You first," she said, opening the small jar.
Gabriel rolled his eyes but took the knife and slit his palm, watching as blood dripped into the pot. When Kali was satisfied with the amount, she allowed Gabriel to pull his hand back and wrap a cloth around it. It was freaking annoying not being able to heal even a tiny cut.
"Now you just need to bring me Lucifer's," she told him.
"I'll do my best," he promised, mind racing with just how he would accomplish the task and glanced over his shoulder as he heard voices. "I'll meet you here later."
"Be ready," she said firmly. "Once I have the ingredients, I'm not going to wait around for you to collect your little friends."
"Don't worry, we'll be here," Gabriel told her.
If Lucifer didn't kill them all first.
Sam and the others spent the rest of the afternoon in the training area, where they mostly hit padded poles with wooden practice swords.
"This is stupid," Dean growled after less than an hour, throwing his sword down and going to sit on a bench nearby, grabbing a drink from a bucket of water sitting beside it. "We should be doing something, not swinging around fake swords like a bunch of idiots."
"I thought Gabriel said we just have to wait," Cas said, setting his own sword aside and leaning against the palus he'd been using for practice. "As much as I dislike that option."
"Yeah but there's gotta be something else we can do."
"Actually, there might be."
They all turned to see Gabriel striding toward them. Cas stiffened slightly, and Sam thought he saw the archangel look almost sheepish, an odd look on Gabriel.
"Hey, Castiel," Gabriel said simply.
"Gabriel," Cas replied, cautious.
"Sorry about, uh…you know, everything," Gabriel said with a shrug. "I was planning a perfect vacation destination, but Lucifer had something else in mind. You're okay?" he added almost as an afterthought.
"I'm fine," Cas replied stiffly. Sam watched as Gabriel shifted somewhat awkwardly. At least the archangel seemed to be apologetic for what he had put Cas through back in the other pocket dimension, just as much as he had been about the Winchesters.
"What do you mean, there might be something else we can do?" Dean asked, standing from the bench to join the circle.
Gabriel glanced around as if to see if anyone was listening. "Okay so, Kali may have come up with a spell that can weaken the dimension. She found the spot where the door opens on the outside, and she's going to try to blast her way out."
Sam frowned. "That will work?"
"Hopefully," Gabriel said.
"When?" Dean demanded.
"She's aiming for tonight, but the kicker is that I need to somehow get Lucifer's blood for the spell," Gabriel said.
Sam's eyes widened. "Lucifer's blood?"
"How the hell are we gonna do that?" Dean demanded.
"That's what I asked her," Gabriel snipped. "But she's not gonna do it herself and you guys aren't gonna get close enough to him so I guess it's gonna have to be me. But the rest of you need to be ready when Kali gets the spell done, 'cause she's not gonna wait for anyone. The instant that spell is cast, Lucifer will know what we're up to."
Sam and the others looked at each other.
"We'll be ready," he said. "Just tell us when and where."
Just then Flavius came out to the practice field, accompanied by two praetorian guards.
"Sam, you've been summoned to the palace by the emperor himself," Flavius said to the younger Winchester. "You go clean yourself up, boy."
Sam's stomach dropped and he looked frantically at Gabriel who held up his hands as if he had known nothing about this. "W-why?" he asked.
Flavius's face reddened as his eyebrows shot up. "Why? You're questioning the emperor?"
"No, it's just…"
"Then get inside and get a fresh toga on!"
Sam turned to Gabriel and hissed, "What is this?"
"I don't know, he did say something about dinner guests…"
"No way, you're not going in there alone," Dean said firmly.
"He's not gonna be alone," Gabriel insisted. "I'll be there."
"If it's just dinner, he probably just wants to talk," Sam said, though his stomach twisted even more, as he knew there was probably more to it than that.
"I don't like this," Cas said softly. "Sam, you have to be careful. Lucifer never does anything lightly. He could try to trick you into saying yes."
"I know," Sam said, swallowing hard.
"Sam! Time!" Flavius shouted from the door inside. The guards were still waiting silently.
Sam took a deep breath. "Well, it doesn't look like I have much of a choice with this anyway. Let's just focus on getting out of here as soon as possible." He stepped back toward the barracks, trying to ignore Dean and Cas' worried glances that followed him. Once inside, he washed quickly and changed into a clean, more formal toga which was long and took him a few minutes to figure out how to tie on properly. After that he accompanied the praetorian guards back to the palace where he was escorted into the atrium where a large fountain covered most of the sounds in the room, echoing off the tile floors and walls.
Sam wandered around for the better part of half an hour wondering how long he was going to have to wait here, before a servant came to escort him to another room.
This one was a very large and grand dining hall and at the head of the table, Lucifer lounged on a purple cushioned chaise, decked out in his imperial garments.
"Hey, Sam," he said with a slow smile. "I've been waiting to have a nice chat with you."
Sam drew his shoulders up, trying to appear less intimidated than he was feeling. The huge room felt eerie with only himself, the devil, and Gabriel who stood behind Lucifer's chair, looking tense.
"Have a seat, Sam," Lucifer said, motioning to the lounge to his right. Sam swallowed hard and strode over, taking a seat. Lucifer snapped his fingers.
"Gabriel, pour my guest a drink."
Gabriel made a face behind Lucifer's back, rolled his eyes at Sam and went to fetch a pitcher before he came back and poured a glass of wine that he placed in front of Sam. Lucifer watched him for several long seconds until Sam felt like his skin was going to crawl off his body.
"You should eat something," Lucifer told him finally. "I had all of this prepared for your pleasure. After all, I don't even need to eat."
Sam wet his lips and reached out tentatively to select a few dishes, placing several items onto his plate. Lucifer did the same and popped a small pastry into his mouth.
Sam cautiously took a bite of some sort of meat pie, but his stomach was so nauseous he could barely eat. He set it down and finally turned to Lucifer. "Look, I'm just going to get to the point. I know why you called me here, and the answer is no. I'm not going to say yes to you."
Lucifer smirked. "Now, you see, Sam, I was trying to be polite, let you finish dinner first, but if you want to be blunt, then even better. But you seem to have misjudged me. I'm not stupid enough to just think you're going to say yes now. No. I know it will take more…convincing." The way he said the word made a shiver go up Sam's spine and he suddenly became very suspicious of the food set before him. Lucifer seemed to see what he was thinking and chuckled. "Oh no, Sam, you misunderstand. I would never hurt you. I'd just have to put you back together after all, and that would just be pointless. Why would I bother with poison or pointless beatings when I have so many other ways to hurt you?" He cocked his head to one side and picked up his glass of wine, drinking deeply. "Hopelessness, for one, is a very powerful tool in breaking someone down. Laboring under the delusion that you will be able to escape from this place…well, go ahead and think that if it makes you feel better. Keep the hope alive so it hurts all the more when I crush that tiny spark you have left."
Sam didn't dare look toward Gabriel; he simply kept his eyes pinned on Lucifer, trying not to let anything slip. The devil's eyes bored into him, seeming to reach into his very soul and it was everything Sam could do to keep from shivering.
"There are really so many things that you have yet to learn about me," Lucifer said, beckoning Gabriel back over to refill his glass. "Perhaps one day, you won't underestimate me."
As Gabriel pulled back, Lucifer lashed out and grabbed his wrist, glancing at his hand that had a strip of cloth tied around it. Lucifer pressed his thumb into Gabriel's palm viciously and the younger archangel yelped as red bloomed over the cloth.
"It's almost pathetic that you and your pagan slut thought you were going to get away with an escape plan without me figuring it out," Lucifer said in a cold, dangerous voice, all pretense of pleasantries gone. He shoved Gabriel hard in the chest and the archangel skidded across the room to stop against the wall. Sam jumped to his feet, a dinner knife in his hand. It was now or never. If he could get a little of Lucifer's blood, maybe he could make a run for Kali before Lucifer killed all of them.
"Ah-ah," Lucifer said and flicked his hand at Sam who was slammed back down into his seat, his hand opening against his will and the knife clattering to the floor.
"Come on, Luci," Gabriel grunted as he climbed to his feet. "You really think I would be that stupid as to come up with a plan so soon?"
Lucifer snorted. "Little brother, you think you are so much smarter than you really are. You may have been able to hide from everyone else, but I know you better than anyone. I know all your deceptions."
There were the sounds of struggle and Sam and Gabriel both whipped their heads around to see two guards hauling Kali into the room. She struggled and fought them but they were unrelenting.
"Kali!" Gabriel cried, starting toward her but Lucifer lashed a hand out and slammed Gabriel against the wall with his powers, pinning him there as he strode over to the goddess.
"You really think you can cross me?" Lucifer asked her in a cold voice. "You? A washed up, old world god who doesn't even have the juice to kill a disgraced archangel?"
She spat in his face and Lucifer lashed out, hand clenching around her throat.
"You pig," Kali choked out. "Your plan will never work. And when you are weak and on your knees at my feet I will burn you."
Lucifer smirked. "We'll see about that."
"Lucifer don't!" Gabriel cried out as a glow began in Lucifer's palm where he had it wrapped around Kali's neck. Her eyes blew wide and a scream was torn from her throat as Lucifer's eyes glowed red. Sam watched in horror as the glow from Kali's throat crept up Lucifer's arm and into his chest as if he were leeching her power from her.
Lucifer finally let her go and Kali slumped to the floor, unconscious or worse.
"Kali!" Gabriel cried and Lucifer finally let him and Sam free. Gabriel hurried to the fallen goddess's side and rolled her over before glaring up at his brother. Lucifer just looked on in cold satisfaction as he turned toward Sam.
"Let that be a reminder that I am in charge here. No one does anything behind my back that I don't know about. And nothing will go unpunished." He looked Sam straight in the eyes when he said that. "I'm done with you for now, but we will talk again very soon."
The guards came and took Sam by the arms, forcibly pulling him from the room as he glanced behind him at Gabriel, still crouched over Kali's prone form.
"You won't win," Sam told Lucifer firmly before he was out of sight. "I won't let you."
Lucifer shrugged. "Then get used to the idea of everything you care about being torn from you."
Sam tried to fight back the inevitability of despair. He was determined not to let Lucifer break him, but how far could he really go?
And how much could he really stand to lose?