A/N: Thanks to my guest reviewers! To phantomq3, if Circe could zap Gabe, she would have turned him into a pig, just because back in the day when they first started this little affair, she was still on a pig kick XD BUT, if she were able to change him now that she's moved on to dogs, she would make him a Corgi, hehehe. Good thing he's more powerful than she is and it won't work! :D

And thanks to ALL you wonderful people who never fail to make my day happy with the feedback! :D Hehehe I'm glad everyone was so excited to see Gabriel, I just wish the show writers would pick up on that and make it happen, too...

Anyways, enter Creepy Lucifer. (and speaking of Creepy Lucifer, Misha Collins rocks my socks, enough said)

Chapter 4

Sam fought as hard as he could to get away; his teeth were bared, enraged barks and growls ripping from his throat as he tried to twist free of the demons who dragged him along. The belt looped around his neck made it dangerous to struggle too fiercely, but the threat of being handed over to Lucifer was even worse.

He didn't even fully register the enormous old brick manse they'd ended up at, until the demons jerked him up the front steps. A startled blue jay took off in a flurry of wings but nothing else moved, probably frozen in fear at the evil radiating from the black-eyed pair. It was almost overwhelming to Sam, and he understood now why animals stayed clear.

"Hold on to him," Sideburns grunted, pushing the heavy front door open. Steel-toe had a firm grip on the free end of the belt, keeping it taut so that Sam couldn't shake it loose. A body was lying inside the foyer, half hidden so that only the feet were visible from his vantage point. Even from there, Sam could smell the horrible odor of death. As he was dragged inside, forced to keep up so that the belt didn't choke him, the hunter was able to see the rest of the body.

It was an elderly gentleman, dressed in a blue dressing gown and slippers; probably the owner of the house, but his expression of terror etched onto a ghostly, unmoving face as sightless eyes stared up at the ceiling confirmed Sam's fear: it was too late to save this one.

"You won't get away with this," the hunter snarled, before trying, "Cas! Cas, can you hear me?! Help!"

The desperate prayer wasn't likely to do him much good. If Cas had been able to reach him, he would have done so by now, surely. Sam didn't know if the angel simply couldn't hear him for some reason, or if he was actually incapacitated, which was a much more terrifying thought.

"Did you tell the boss?" Steel-toe grunted, using both hands to drag a still struggling Sam farther into the house, leaving the corpse of the owner behind in the foyer.

"Yeah, he knows. He'll probably be here any time, let's just get this mutt downstairs-"

"That won't be necessary."

Sam froze. Beside him, the two demons had straightened up, also falling still with their own intimidated trepidation. All sets of eyes locked onto the newest speaker, sitting in the blue, leather armchair by the fireplace in the living room they'd just entered. Sam gulped.

Lucifer.

The Devil's vessel was looking threadbare, but that only added to the horror of the vision he made. Although Lucifer was smiling, it did nothing to ease his appearance. Sam took a step backwards; an icy dismay settled over him. The movement seemed to stir Steel-toe, as his grip hardened on the belt he was using to collar Sam. The demon cleared his throat.

"Sir, we- we've brought you Sam Winchester. We've determined that this is him, he's been turned into a-"

"Yes, I can see it's him," Lucifer informed the demon, not pulling his intense gaze away from the dog. Sam wanted to whimper under the scrutiny. His heart was starting to race, instinct demanding that he either bolt or attack the threat—and attacking the fallen archangel would do no good at all.

The hunter took another step back as Lucifer rose to his feet. The Devil moved like a snake, smoothly and coolly slipping towards them as his smile only stretched all the wider at Sam's attempt to pull away. When his hand reached out, Sam yelped and tried to scramble backwards. Steel-toe was holding him tight, though, and he had nowhere to run.

"Now, now, Sam," Lucifer crooned, setting a heavy palm on the Golden Retriever's head. "There's no need to get upset."

Sam could feel his body shaking slightly from both fear and a desire to fight; he didn't like the Devil's hand on his head, didn't like the display of dominance that he couldn't shrink away from. Even worse, he could feel his limbs grow heavy, felt Lucifer's power holding him still, preventing him from running. The dog's tongue flicked out to lick his nose in discomfort.

"Take the belt off," Lucifer ordered the demon, not moving his hand. Sam growled as Steel-Toe hurried to obey. "Are you going to be a good boy, Sam?"

"Get your hands off of me," Sam snarled, hackles rising at the very idea of being called "good boy" by Lucifer.

The archangel merely raised his eyebrows, lips quirking up. "You haven't lost your fight, at least. That's good." The hand on Sam's head didn't move, and neither did Sam. Something between a growl and a whine slipped up his throat, though, when Lucifer's free hand came to stroke the hunter's neck.

"Stop it," Sam barked hoarsely. "Stop it right now."

"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you," Lucifer said with a smile, fingers lazily slipping through Sam's fur. His movements were becoming more insistent, and Sam barked a furious warning. Still, the archangel didn't stop or move his hand from Sam's head, and he still couldn't move away with all that paralyzing power coming to bear on him. "Good boy…"

A shudder raced through the dog, disgust and fear leaving him cold. All he wanted was for Dean and Cas to save him from this horror, and oh god if Lucifer didn't get his hands off of him pretty soon…

"I said… Stop. It."

To his surprise, Lucifer did pause, taking a minute to squat down in front of Sam, shaking his head. "When will you learn to trust me?" the archangel asked.

"I'm supposed to trust you after your two goons here kidnap me?!" Sam barked. "Let me go, and we'll talk about trust!"

"I can't do that, Sam," Lucifer informed him with what sounded like a touch of regret, but which Sam didn't believe for a second. He was so distracted by the horrible way the Devil resumed his stroking and petting that Sam almost missed the fact that Lucifer was actually answering him.

Of course… Even Cas had been able to understand what he was saying, as a dog. Sam would have to be careful.

By now, Lucifer's wandering fingers had slid under Sam's chin, scratching in what would have been an incredibly satisfying way, had it not been the Devil. The hunter whined, closing his eyes to shut out the nightmare. He wanted to vomit; there was nothing pleasant about this at all.

"But, you know," Lucifer went on with a musing expression, "I could change you back, easily. One 'yes' from you-"

"No way!" Sam snarled, shuddering as the archangel delicately brushed one furry cheek. "Not now, not ever."

The Devil shrugged, not appearing overly concerned. "You're not ready to accept your destiny quite yet. I understand. You'll agree eventually, you know. Given the right push."

Stiffening, Sam tried to take a step back, but Lucifer's hand resting firmly on top of his head seemed to be keeping him in place with more than just a physical force. "What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded, though the hunter wasn't sure he actually wanted to know.

"Oh, nothing." Lucifer couldn't quite hide the smile, which only chilled Sam all the more. Nearby, the demons were exchanging silent looks in obvious confusion at what must have appeared to be a one-sided conversation, but they were now the least of Sam's concerns.

Thankfully, the archangel moved his hand at last, now rubbing both sides of Sam's face and ears. The oppressive power holding him down was lifted, though Lucifer was still too close for him to attempt running for it.

"I'm surprised, though," Lucifer added, eyes widening with what couldn't pass for innocence. "It's so rare to see you without Dean around. Or Castiel; I hear he's been spending a lot of time with you boys. I wonder where those two might be… I wouldn't mind having a… chat… myself."

Sam's blood ran cold, hackles standing up fully—no way to mask his rage and fear. A chat with Lucifer was likely a death sentence, or worse. The barely concealed threat brought another low, whining growl to Sam's throat, but it only made the archangel chuckle.

"Sam, Sam. You know I'd never do anything to harm you, and there's no reason for Dean or Castiel to get hurt, either. I mean, as long as they're willing to be reasonable… which, in this case, means not trying to fight me…"

"Yeah, like Dean's going to do that," Sam snorted, jerking his muzzle away from Lucifer. "You're not getting anywhere NEAR them."

"Is that so?"

The question was posed mildly, but there was an undercurrent of excitement that Sam doubted he would have detected as a human. He could almost smell Lucifer's anticipation, and in a split second he realized that as much as it would make the archangel's job easier for Dean and Cas to simply surrender, there was at least a part of him hoping for an excuse to hurt them.

And worse… they both knew he could.

"Don't you TOUCH them."

Lucifer didn't reply this time, just lazily returned his attention to stroking Sam's long fur. The hunter hated him for it, hated the flippancy with which the Devil held him in place and petted him, as though this was no big deal at all. He hated Lucifer for threatening his family, and he hated him for being excited to do it, knowing that neither Dean nor Cas would give in to him.

"Oh, Sam. You'll understand someday. Everything I'm doing, I'm doing for you, too. The gift I can offer you, the rewards you'll be given… you can't even imagine the wonders in store, when we're truly one-"

Without stopping to think, the Golden Retriever gave in to the instinct he'd been feeling since the moment Lucifer walked into the room; he twisted his head and bit down on the Devil's hand as hard as he possibly could.

A bellow filled the room, flooded with surprise and rage. Sam tasted blood. Though he knew he hadn't done any actual damage—not to an archangel—the hands stroking him were torn away, and the hunter bolted for the door. The demons who'd been standing by uselessly waiting for further orders scrambled to go after him, but it was clear that they were just as taken aback as Lucifer. Sam dodged through them, hearing the archangel's shouts chase him out the door.

Luck seemed to be with him for once, as he managed to evade the three, racing past the corpse in the foyer and burst out of the old manse. With fear and determination, Sam galloped full tilt down the long driveway towards the street with Sideburns and Steel-toe in pursuit.

"Sam! Hey, muchacho! The ditch! Around the corner! Get in the tunnel, I'll distract 'em!"

Sam didn't stop to question how or why Zorro had reappeared, nor did he hesitate to follow the advice. Whipping around the gate that stood at the foot of the house's driveway, Sam raced along the short stretch of fence and splashed ankle deep into the drainage ditch that ran parallel to the road. The "tunnel" was nothing more than a metal culvert pipe that burrowed into the side of the hill, barely big enough for Sam. He wiggled into it nonetheless, managing to turn himself around and hunch down deep within the darkened hiding place.

If they had seen him go in, though, he would never be able to squeeze all the way through to the other side…

Sam held absolutely still, listening with all his might. He hoped suddenly that Zorro wasn't going to get himself hurt.

"What th- damn it! Get outta here, you mangy mutt!"

From his vantage point, Sam watched as the two demons tripped into view, having apparently stumbled over the diminutive Chihuahua who'd gotten underfoot. There was a yelp of pain that made Sam's heart clench with guilt. But then, Zorro was tearing back up the other road, and the demons were casting frustrated looks in all directions.

"You don't think…" Sideburns said, pausing to scratch his head. "You don't think he just turned into that little rat-dog, do you?"

"What? Of course not, don't be a moron! …I mean, I don't think he did. Do you think he could do that?"

"Where did he go?"

Sam shrunk back into the pipe a bit more at the sound of Lucifer's voice adding to the mix. He could only pray that Cas's warding had stuck to him during the transformation, because if Lucifer could sense him, he was done for.

No one made a move towards the ditch, though, the demons contenting themselves to bluster about a smaller dog that had just run off. Sam could almost smell Lucifer's impatience. These two would be lucky to survive serving him.

"He was turned into a dog by either a powerful spell, or the goddess," Lucifer said, using the word like it had a vile taste. Sam didn't dare move as those icy eyes brushed over the pipe he was hiding in, then moved on. "He hasn't changed forms on his own. Sam couldn't have gone far… find him."

Sam still couldn't relax as the two demons hurried off down the road in search of him. Lucifer stood still as though casting out with his senses, displeasure evident on his face. The wards must have held after all. Sam's keen ears could just make out the brush of wings when Lucifer finally disappeared as well, but he continued to hold his breath in the dark. He wanted nothing more than to flee but wasn't sure yet if the coast was truly clear.

"Whoa, man, that was intense!"

Sam bit back a yelp of surprise as something small and furry squeezed its way past him in the crowded pipe. He couldn't see much of Zorro's face in the shadows, but the Chihuahua didn't sound nearly as frightened as he should have. Sam cocked his head.

"Are you crazy?" he asked the tiny dog. "Those were DEMONS."

"Right? Loco, man… loco. I hate those things, they don't smell right. Don't feel right, you get me? Just… ugh, evil."

That was an understatement. Sam was nudging the other dog with his nose before he even knew what he was doing, assessing for anything broken from the demons' heavy boots. Zorro whined softly. Again, the hunter felt a stab of guilt.

"You shouldn't have done that," he murmured, assuring himself that there were no worse injuries than some bruises. "But thank you. How did you even find me?"

The little dog gave himself a shake—a ginger one—and then grinned up at Sam like it was no big thing, like he hadn't just gone up against the Devil. Or at least the Devil's ankles.

"I told you! I'm Zorro el Poderoso! I'm a mighty hunter! Besides… you're the only thing in this town that smells like a dog-human. Not natural. But loyal, good, not like those demons. I'll get you back to your brother. Hermanos, you know? Sounds like fun!"

Sam was pretty sure that "fun" was the last word he would use to describe his current situation. But he couldn't wagging his tail slightly in amusement at the fiery little Chihuahua.

"Don't you have an owner—I mean, a human to get back to?"

A growl filled the tunnel. "She calls me Cupcake! And makes me wear sweaters! She put me in a BATHROBE, you hear me? I'm not going back, I'm going on a quest!" Without waiting for Sam's response, Zorro limped forward, nails clicking on the metal tunnel. He stopped at the gaping opening, tail high and alert as he looked around.

Turning to glance over his shoulder, Zorro called, "Coast is clear, we better go now before they get back."

Sam nodded. While perhaps not his first choice of companions, he had to admit that he was glad Zorro was there.

Now if only they could find Dean and Cas…