Chapter Seven
Sam sat on the stool with his back against the wall, watching over Dean and Cas as they slept on either side of him. He was exhausted but he wouldn't be able to sleep if he tried. Not with Cas barely alive, pale, every breath labored, and Dean twitching restlessly in his sleep with whimpers of pain every time his wounds pulled. Not with the worry that Lucifer could come in at any second and take them from him. Not that Sam would be able to do anything to stop him if he did, but he could try.
It was late and dark in the infirmary ward aside from a couple oil lamps that sat on a table nearby. Sam turned to check on Cas again, holding a hand right in front of his face to feel the small puffs of breath since he could hardly see the rise and fall of his chest. As he pulled his hand away, Dean shifted and moaned, and Sam reached out to readjust the blankets over his shoulders just as a figure stepped into the room.
Sam looked up, startled, but recognized Gabriel as the light from the lamp hit him. He sank back, adrenaline surging uselessly through his tired body as he rubbed a hand over his face.
"Hey," Gabriel said quietly, coming over and grabbing another stool before he took a seat on the other side of Cas' cot. "How is he?"
Sam shook his head. "Not much change."
Gabriel bit his lip and reached out to press a hand to Cas' forehead for a long second before pulling it away with a sigh. "For the record, I'm sorry this happened," he said, looking at his hands clasped in his lap.
"It's not your fault, not really," Sam said. "You did try."
"Yeah, but not hard enough, and not soon enough." Gabriel sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Truth is, Sam, your brother is right—I was a coward. Maybe I still am. Maybe I…maybe I should have been there for my family." He looked down at Cas with a sad, regretful expression. Sam could understand in a way. He'd left his family at times when he probably shouldn't have either. He wasn't exactly proud of it, but he had tried to make up for it and he could tell Gabriel was doing the same.
"You know, whatever happened before, Gabriel, you're here now and that's what matters." He motioned to Cas. "And when Cas gets better he'll realize that. Lucifer may be a lost cause, but I bet you have other brothers and sisters who still miss you."
Gabriel snorted derisively. "Yeah, I don't think Cas much cares what happens to me."
"Yeah, he does," Sam said with a small smile. "He's angry—that means he cares."
Gabriel studied the unconscious angel's face for a moment and his features softened just slightly. "Well, maybe you're right. But it doesn't mean anything if we don't get out of here alive."
Sam let out a long breath, looking up toward the ceiling, watching the shadows that the dancing flame from the lamp cast there. "You come up with any other plans?"
Gabriel shifted slightly, and Sam saw his discomfort out of the corner of his eyes. "Maybe. No good ones though."
Sam bit his lip and cautiously voiced what he had been thinking. "I have one. It's not really a good one either."
"It's probably better than mine," Gabriel muttered.
Sam took a deep breath, and glanced at Dean before he lowered his voice. "I thought I'd challenge Lucifer to a fight in the arena."
Gabriel's eyes blew wide. "Are you freaking insane?"
Sam let out a short humorless chuckle. "Yeah, probably. But I have to do something. If I can get him to honor a deal, then I may be able to get us all out of here."
"Using yourself as the bartering chip?" Gabriel asked blandly. "You think Lucifer will honor a deal like that? He only wants one thing, Sam—you. If you lose, he gets what he wants, and you'll be under his control. He'll likely kill the rest of us just for spite. If you win, he'll kill all of us to force your hand. It's a lose-lose situation!"
"I told you it wasn't a good plan," Sam said. "But what other option do we have? If we wait, he'll kill Dean and Cas and probably Kali too, and Cas needs help now. We don't really have a choice here."
Gabriel shook his head. "You know, you Winchesters are so insane you give me a run for my money. But I also kinda can't help but like you for it, you bastards." He sighed. "Look, I know I can't stop you, and I know it's gonna go bad, but I guess I'll give you my blessing. It's just crazy enough, that in the hands of a Winchester it might work—after all, you did beat me and that is definitely a feat."
Sam smiled slightly. He felt a little better that someone had okayed his plan even if it was Gabriel. He knew Dean wasn't going to like it, but Dean wasn't going to like how the rest of this war went either. The more he thought about it, Sam knew there was only one way to end this fight. Throw Lucifer back into Hell where he had come from. Sam didn't know how that was going to go, but it was a high probability that none of them would make it out of that fight alive.
"Well, thanks," he said.
Gabriel snorted. "Don't thank me. You'll probably die, or worse. I mean, Lucifer needs you alive, but it's not like he can't have some fun first, and trust me, you don't want to know what my brother considers fun."
Sam felt a small shudder go down his spine. "I can only imagine."
"No, you can't. And you'd do better not to try."
Sam swallowed hard, but stood up before he caused himself to change his mind. "Can you watch them? I—I need to go talk to him."
Gabriel looked at him like he was insane, but gave a small nod.
Sam turned and slipped out of the barracks, and toward the palace. The guards let him in without any fuss, and for some reason that gave Sam a more ominous feel than anything. It was almost as if Lucifer had been expecting him.
He stopped in the middle of the large atrium, and wondered where he would find Lucifer.
He shouldn't have worried because the devil, of course, found him.
"Sam. I'm so glad you came to see me."
Sam turned around and took in Lucifer, looking regal and more dangerous than usual in his rich Roman toga, the color of blood. Sam squared his shoulders and stood tall. He wasn't shorter than Lucifer, but the fallen archangel had a way of making him feel small, insignificant, as if he were nothing but a bug to be trodden underfoot.
"We need to talk," he said firmly.
Lucifer smiled, clasping his hands in front of him and raising an eyebrow in expectation. "Is that so? Is it possible you finally have an answer for me?"
Sam continued to meet his gaze firmly. "No. I came to make an offer."
Lucifer cocked his head to one side. "And what kind of offer might that be, Sam?"
"A fight," Sam said, feeling more confident as he went along. "Tomorrow in the arena. You and me."
Lucifer looked delighted. "And the terms?"
"If I win, you have to let us all go," Sam told him. "And if you win…" He wet his lips, glancing briefly at the floor before he returned his gaze to Lucifer's piercing eyes. "If you win, I'll say yes."
Lucifer chuckled. "You will? Is that a fact?"
Sam nodded once. "I'll go willingly. I give my word."
"Poor foolish boy," Lucifer continued to chuckle darkly, shaking his head. "And how do you think this will go for you, hm? I could kill you with a snap of my fingers and you think you have any chance of winning a fight against me?"
"No," Sam replied honestly. "That's why we're fighting with just weapon and skill. You'll give me your word that you won't use your powers during the fight."
Lucifer raised his eyebrows. "Clever."
Sam glowered at him. "Will you agree to the terms?"
Lucifer stepped closer to him and it took everything in Sam to stand his ground and not flinch away as the fallen archangel leaned forward, his breath cold against Sam's ear, sending a chill down his spine. "Just this once, I'll humor you by 'agreeing' to your terms, but remember, Sam: no matter how this fight ends, the ultimate outcome will still be the same. If you don't say yes to me here, you will later. I still think our ultimate meeting place will be Detroit." Sam felt ice in his veins. This was the second time Lucifer had mentioned that. "And think of all the damage I can do between now and then. You sure you don't want to forgo all that and say yes to me now? Forgo a lot of suffering for a lot of innocent people?"
Sam drew away and turned to stare back into Lucifer's smug face. "As long as I'm still alive, I'm going to try to find a way to stop you. As long as I still have that hope there's no way I'm saying yes."
Lucifer smiled in an annoyingly knowing way and simply shrugged. "Whatever makes you feel better, Sam." He waved a hand dismissively. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Sam turned quickly and left the palace. He wasn't sure he was doing the smart thing—in fact, he was definitely not—but he knew he was doing the only thing that he could.
Gabriel looked up at him as he slipped back into the infirmary ward. "Well?"
Sam nodded. "It's done. I'm fighting Lucifer tomorrow."
Gabriel simply nodded back and stood. "I should get back to Kali. But, uh…if I don't see you before the fight tomorrow…" He reached up and clapped Sam on the shoulder. "Good luck, kid. You're gonna need it."
"Thanks." Sam said, and resumed his seat between Dean and Cas. He really wished that it was tomorrow already. That way he wouldn't have to dwell on what might happen during the fight and just how many ways it could go wrong.
Kali was sitting up in bed, reading a book when Gabriel got back to her. He was relieved to see her feeling a little better but her scowl told him she was still pissed.
"I didn't expect you back so soon," she told him then belatedly, "How is the little angel?"
Gabriel's face twisted up and his shoulders stiffened. "Not great," he said bluntly.
Kali looked at him curiously. "You actually care?" She sounded almost surprised and Gabriel bristled slightly at that.
"Well, he's my brother," he said and realized he meant it. Damn, he was going soft hanging around those Winchester assholes.
Kali snorted. "Well, it's good to know you have the capacity."
Gabriel sighed in frustration, holding his hands out appealingly. "Kali, what did I ever do to you to make you think everything between us was fake?"
She scoffed. "Of course you wouldn't remember."
Gabriel folded his arms across his chest. "Forgive me, but all I'm remembering right now is you hanging off of Baldur. And, oh yeah, you stabbing me in the fricken' heart. That's kind of blocking my memory."
She shook her head. "You know, I don't believe you sometimes."
"Well, right back at you, sweetheart!" Gabriel snapped.
"So you don't remember promising to take me to Paris and then going off to mess around and never coming back?"
Gabriel's eyebrows raised. "That's what this is about? Kali, by the time I was free, Paris was in the middle of a rebellion! And then…well, there was lots of unrest and then Nazi occupation."
"I would have enjoyed the Revolution," Kali told him.
Gabriel rolled his eyes. "That's not really the point."
"No, it's not," Kali agreed and finally stood, a bit wobbly, but able to keep her feet as she sized him up. "You could have come back anyway. That was all I wanted. But no, you have too many commitment issues, you lied to me for centuries about who you really were, and then you just ran off without a by your leave because for you that was easier than admitting you can't hold a healthy relationship with someone!"
"Oh for the love of…Okay, alright, I have commitment issues. I'll admit that. But my identity…Kali, If I could have told you, you're one of the only people I would have trusted with that information, but there were multiple reasons why I couldn't do that. Reasons I still can't say. Just…I want you to know that one of the greatest regrets in my life is not telling you who I was from the start—even though I'm pretty sure if I had, you would have fried my wings extra crispy."
Kali folded her arms over her chest, lips pursed as if considering, but he could see he was finally breaking down some of her barriers. "But honestly?" he continued. "This isn't the time right now. When we get out of here, we can argue all you want, but we gotta get out of here first."
Kali studied him. "You have a plan?"
Gabriel winced. "Sam's going to fight Lucifer tomorrow."
"Lucifer will kill him," Kali said simply. "And then the rest of us."
"I know," Gabriel said.
"Then what?"
He turned away, running a hand over his chin. "Let's just say I've kind of got a plan in my back pocket."
Kali huffed. "Gabriel, this isn't another one of your stupid suicidal plans, is it?"
Gabriel gave her his most charming smile. "Ah, you know me, sweetheart—those are the only kind I have."
She shook her head, and turned back to the bed, reaching under the thin mattress. Gabriel's eyes widened as he saw her pull out his own angel blade.
"How…"
"I found where Lucifer kept it and made a decoy before he completely stole my powers," she told him and rolled her eyes slightly as she admitted, "I got the idea from you."
Gabriel grinned and reached out to accept the blade. "Well, this will help a bit. If Sam can somehow manage to actually kill Lucifer in the fight tomorrow…hell, this whole thing will be over." Gabriel felt a slight twinge at the thought of his brother dead, but Lucifer was no longer his brother, not the one who had been there when he was a fledgling to teach him tricks and play practical jokes on Michael and Raphael. This Lucifer—the true Lucifer, he had come to realize—was the reason he had left Heaven to begin with.
"Let's hope for the best then," Kali said.
"Yeah," Gabriel agreed. But he'd be lying if he said he wasn't still expecting the worse.
Sam had just closed his eyes for a minute when Cas let out a moan and then he was instantly leaning over the angel, watching his eyes flutter as his head tossed to one side weakly.
"Cas?" Sam asked softly.
He heard Dean stir behind him and grunt as he sat up.
"Sammy? What's going on?"
"I think Cas is waking up," Sam said urgently, reaching out and clasping one of the angel's hands in his, squeezing gently. "Cas, hey, it's all right, can you hear me?"
Dean hauled himself upright and went to sit on the stool Gabriel had left next to Cas' cot the night before.
"Cas, buddy," he said. "Can you open your eyes?"
Cas finally did, the blue clouded slightly with pain and sleep, but he blinked several times and his lips parted, dry and cracked. A hoarse grunt escaped his throat, along with a choked off cough.
Sam hurriedly stood to grab a cup of water and Dean propped Cas' head up as Sam gently pressed the cup to his lips. Cas sipped some of the water gratefully, coughed a couple times with a wince and then closed his eyes, just breathing for a couple long second before he opened them again and focused on the two Winchesters.
"S'm…D'n?" he slurred.
"Yeah, we're here," Sam grinned, squeezing his wrist gently as Dean settled a hand on his uninjured shoulder. "How're you doing?"
Cas seemed relieved to see them both there and relaxed back onto the cot again with a wince. "Everything...hurts so much more...without my grace," he murmured.
Sam and Dean shared a pained look and Dean rubbed his shoulder gently. "Yeah, I'm sure it does, man, I'm sorry."
"What happened?" Cas asked, looking between them anxiously.
"You don't remember?" Dean asked worriedly.
Cas took a shallow breath, shaking his head slightly in exasperation. "No, I meant…Lucifer…"
Sam's stomach dropped at the mention of the fallen archangel and the secret he was keeping from his brother and best friend. But Dean shook his head. "Bastard has kept to himself." He rubbed a hand over his face, which was lined with weariness. "But we need to come up with a plan fast."
Sam wet his lips and cleared his throat. "Actually, Gabriel and I talked last night…we kind of came up with a plan."
Dean looked up at him expectantly. "And?"
"And…" Sam took a deep breath and spit it out. "I'm going to fight Lucifer today."
He had known Dean wouldn't like it, had been prepared for his outburst, but Sam wasn't going to back down now, even as he sat wearily beside Cas while Dean paced around the cot furiously.
"I can't believe you agreed to fight Lucifer," he cried. "Lucifer, Sam!"
A grunted curse came from a nearby cot holding one of the other occupants and Dean reluctantly lowered his voice, jabbing a finger at Sam. "What the hell, man?"
"Dean, I have to do something before he kills both of you," Sam insisted.
"By getting yourself killed, or, possibly even worse, possessed?" Dean demanded.
"It's not up for negotiation," Sam said, standing up to face his brother. "I already made the deal and I can't back down now."
Dean shook his head, a cynical chuckle escaping his throat. "And right after you both talked me down from doing the same thing with Michael. You're such a hypocrite."
Sam felt rage flow through him and his fists balled at his sides. "I have no intention of saying yes to him, Dean! Trust me on that!"
"Then how the hell are you supposed to win?" Dean demanded. "Because I don't think Lucifer is exactly going to play fair!"
Sam shrugged helplessly. "I just have to try," he said quietly, all the rage eking from him, being replaced by a sense of finality. He was just ready for all of this to be over.
Dean just stood there, shaking his head. Finally, Cas spoke up from behind him. He was almost startled, having thought the angel was unconscious again.
"I trust you, Sam," Cas said sincerely. "Your strength…what I have seen you overcome already; I think if anyone could beat Lucifer, it would be you."
Sam's eyes pricked with tears at the angel's simple and honest words. He turned back to Dean and his brother closed his eyes, running a hand over his face before he sighed.
"Cas is right. You're strong, Sammy, stronger than me probably. I'm just…I'm scared."
"So am I," Sam admitted. "Which is why I need you to be with me on this."
Dean bit his lip and then reached out and cupped the side of Sam's neck with his hand. "You know I am, kiddo."
Sam smiled gratefully, looking from his brother to the angel, and then nodded back to the cot. "Now come on, dude, sit down before you tear your wounds open again."
Dean rolled his eyes but did as he was told.
Sam was about to go see about getting them breakfast, even though he wasn't hungry at all, but Gabriel strode into the room. Sam was surprised to see the archangel, thinking he wouldn't risk coming to see them before the fight.
"Gabriel," he said. "What's going on?"
Gabriel came over to them and then noticed that Cas was awake. He started slightly, and then his face softened. "Cassie?" he said hesitantly.
Cas shifted on the cot, looking somewhat uncomfortable. "Hello, Gabriel."
"Are you…doing all right?" Gabriel asked.
"I've been better," Cas admitted weakly, but with honestly instead of bite in his voice.
Gabriel pursed his lips. "Well, with any luck we'll be out of here today."
"Yeah, if Sam's insane plan works," Dean murmured, folding his arms over his chest. "Thanks for encouraging him, by the way."
"No problem. That reminds me," Gabriel said and reached under a fold of his toga. "I came to bring you something that might turn the tide a little." He held up an angel blade.
"Is that yours?" Sam asked, surprised. "How…?"
Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Kali. And, yeah, it's really mine."
"Which means that…it will kill Lucifer if you can manage a fatal blow," Cas said hoarsely.
Sam's breath caught in his throat. Could it be that simple? Was there any possibility that he would be able to end this here?
He reached out and took the blade from Gabriel.
"Promise me you'll kick him in the ass," Gabriel said. "And…maybe you can do what I couldn't."
Sam nodded and gripped the blade tighter.
"Now you should probably get ready," Gabriel told him. "I don't think Lucifer is going to want to wait much longer."
Only one chapter left now!
