Letting out a deep breath of relief and with a satisfied look on his face Dean exited the bathroom, steam escaping through the open door. Just like the first time he discovered the showers in the bunker. Constant amount of hot water left him unworried about ever having a cold shower. Unless he needed one. He tied the rope of the bathrobe lazily around himself, covering up the fact that he only had red boxers underneath.
Walking out to the library, he slightly tilted his head in confusion as he saw *Henry on one side of the table and *Sam on the other, noses deep in books. "Out of all the things you could be doing, this is what you come up with? – Dean asked annoyingly - *Henry, did you see the archives? The place has a but-load of cursed objects and other thingies. And, hey, *Sam, you know what this place also has? A dungeon! How awesome is that?"
"Yeah, Dean, that sounds great." said *Sam, not really paying attention to what Dean said. *Henry only raised his eyes for a second to glimpse at Dean looking like he hadn't even heard him speak.
"What am I, a freakin' ghost? And invisible hell-hound?" Dean was somewhat upset they weren't listening to him, and rolled his eyes in bigger annoyance when the actual hell-hound barked back at him. Ripper chose a spot right under the main staircase, finding it to be much like a little den, comfy and cosy. Not to mention that would be the perfect spot for a guard dog to be. Dean had to give him credit for that.
"Al right, I give up!" Dean said throwing his hands in the air. They did seem fascinated by the books they were reading, it just wasn't the excitement Dean was looking for. Guess he would have to give them time for all of this to sink in. As he walked away towards 'his' room, he threw one more glance at them, thinking how alike those two were. Dean hadn't noticed it before, with his own Henry, they hadn't had time for it. It still hurt Dean, not that he would ever show it, but loosing Henry was hard. He really wished his father knew what had happened, and he really wanted to make a connection with a grandfather that wasn't a total douchebag.
All thoughts on *Henry and *Sam dispersed when he walked into 'his' room. Or what he planned to be the other *Dean's room. Oh, yeah, Dean sorta had a plan.
He heard it what that *Lucifer said about family, home... So he figured, he might as well take advantage of the situation and make it as homey as possible. And if that didn't persuade him, the fact that *Abaddon was after them might. Heck, he might even threaten him with the Mark as the only possible means of disposing of her. Not that he would be so foolish to take it up again.
He looked around the empty room for a moment. On the desk, he set *Dean's duffle bag, the one that he was currently using, along with *Dean's clothes and... stuff... He would leave it there along with other things he decided to dig out of the trunk, a gun, a knife or two... *Dean's pictures of *Mom and *Dad and him and *Sammy. Even the one he found that had Ellen and Bobby on it, smiling happily with the boys. Nothing like the photo he had back home. So much more cheerful.
"OK, time to get this show on the road." He said rubbing his hands together. A thought occurred to him on the drive over that he might walk into that dream dessert again when he fell asleep tonight. The thought kinda freaked him out at first, but then he thought he might use it to his advantage. He developed a plan, and after careful consideration, he decided to roam the bunker's storage room, knowing exactly where to look to find the African dream root. He wasn't leaving anything to chance.
Now that everything was set, the dream root prepared, *Sam and *Henry otherwise preoccupied and Dean so ready to hit the hay, he gulped down the disgusting tea and almost considered throwing himself on the bed. Man, was he tired. Instead, he decided to play nice and walked over to the bed. Slipping under the covers, he turned off the lamp on his nightstand and laid on his back. Minutes later, he was out.
There it was again, that same dune. Only this time it seemed to be bigger, higher, as if it didn't want him to pass over it. Didn't it know it was going up against Dean Winchester? That man, when he set his mind to something, there is very little that can stop him. So with grunts and curses he climbed and climbed and climbed until finally he reached the top. Panting hard, but glad he lastly made it, he took a tired step forward and almost lost his footing.
Wobbling a bit, he managed to stay on his feet and sighed in relief. Finally, his eyes darted his surroundings and he frowned when he laid his eyes on that small tree. Pacing angrily right next to it, only one *Dean was there. Question was with one?
Dean wondered how this whole place worked. Last time he was here, both *Dean and *Lucifer were here and he thought *Dean could just close his eyes and come here. Was it really like that? If there was only one version in the dessert, did that mean the other was awake in the real world? No, not the time to ponder over such metaphysical questions.
"What do you want?" asked a coarse voice without turning to face Dean when he approached. The man before him seemed so tense and the voice echoed with anger, a part of Dean just knew.
"What happened?" Dean didn't ask, he demanded, worry and resentment in his voice. If something happened to Sam or Jack or Mom because of the man before him... Dean felt he could just kill him with his bare hands, right then and there. Whoever it was.
The man turned, revealing his true nature, those red eyes flaring at Dean. It felt like he was going to say something, opened and closed his mouth. There was a pinch of remorse in his expression, a sign of guilt. It felt like he couldn't take Dean's stare, and he just had to look away, feeling like he had failed him. Not that he should care. So why did he?
"What DID you DO?!" Dean's gruff voice asked again, the tone suggesting he is not to be mess with right now.
"Doesn't matter. It has all been mended." *Lucifer finally said, some annoyance in his voice.
"If you don't tell me what happened right now, I swear to God, I will..." Dean threatened, knowing full well, there wasn't really anything he could do.
Expectedly, *Lucifer gave him a you-will-what? irritated glance, but sighed heavily instead of snorting back.
"It was a trap... – he said emotionlessly – But they were handling it... Jack is a good fighter..."
Dean's eyes went wide as *Lucifer mentioned the kid. Jack was in a fight? He let him come on a hunt? Was he out of his mind? The kid was clearly still learning, he wasn't ready for that. And just like that, Dean felt engulfed in a parental worry. Just like when Sam was a kid. He didn't even realize how much he cared about Jack up to that point.
"If Jack got hurt because of you..." Dean's face went comically red, but *Lucifer just waved his hand at him.
"Jack's fine..." he replied, but there was something so disturbing about his tone, the way he emphasized the name, almost like...
"Who isn't fine?! – Dean figured and shouted – Who got hurt?!" Could it be Mom? He knew she was supposed to come in a few days, and figured she must have by now. Maybe Michael and Lucifer? Dean flinched at his own thought. Why the hell would he care if they got hurt? Why the hell would this *Lucifer feel guilty if they got hurt? NO, no... Deep down, Dean knew, but his mind just refused to let him say it out loud. So he just glared furiously at *Lucifer, barely restraining himself from punching the guy in the face. He had seen a lot, and this *Lucifer didn't scare him one bit.
"Like I said... I has all been mended..." *Lucifer said dismissively and turned his back on Dean.
Dean snapped. Disregarding the fact that *Lucifer had all the power in this dream dessert and could just send him flying, he grabbed *Lucifer's shoulder and in a quick motion swung him around. Grabbing his collar and getting into his face, he yelled out of the top of his lungs "IF SAM GOT HURT BECAUSE OF YOU..."
"Would you relax? Your brother is fine. A bit of bruised ribs, but otherwise completely fine." a familiar voice lied and Dean couldn't hide his surprise. Neither could *Lucifer. Finally meeting his doppelganger, *Lucifer's eyes flared a brighter shade of red. He didn't know what to think when it came to Lucifer. On one side, he hated him because of what he did to Sam, and then pitied him for his ability to hold a grudge and care too much about what others thought of him, but he also envied him. Almost no angel would spare him a glance; much less start a war, an apocalypse over him and his rise. *Lucifer pushed those thoughts away and glared at the newcomer. A question was forming in his head.
As if Dean could read his mind, he frowned at Lucifer, knowing just by his tone it was in fact him, and asked "How the heck did you get here?"
"Archangel – Lucifer said pointing at himself and then pointed all around – Dream... Not that hard to invade dreams of a person sleeping next to you." Sending a devilish smile Dean's way, he asked "But how are you here?"
Dean ignored the question, not sure himself of the answer, and released *Lucifer from his grip. Now glaring at the other Devil, he asked in a form of a statement "You are all tapped out. You're not powerful enough to dream-walk."
"It's a long story – Lucifer said with tad sadness in his voice – one I aim to fix. But to do that, I need you in your world and him... Him in his..." Did Lucifer just say he needed him? What was going on back there? As much as he wanted, needed to know, Dean realized what Lucifer was doing there. The exact same thing he was trying to do. Persuade the other *Lucifer to go back to his world.
Neither of them knew, he was already waging that decision, waiting for the other human half of him to come see him so that they could talk. After what happened, his determination wavered, and he found himself wondering why wasn't his *Sam enough. Then guilt started to settle in as he realized he left his brother alone. This Dean was just an imitation of him, not the real deal, and as such couldn't protect *Sammy the way *Dean could. They way *Sammy deserved it.
"It was about god-damn time. – Dean burst out – you have no idea what we have been dealing with." Oh, yeah. That got everyone's attention. Time for the show.
When he made sure both Lucifers were staring at him waiting for answers, curiosity in Lucifer's and slight worry in *Lucifer's eyes, Dean started, glancing over at the combination of himself and the Devil that was *Lucifer "You said there were no angels, no demons, no big threats... What would you consider *Abaddon to be?"
It was almost funny to see himself and those red eyes go wide with fear. "No...No... Impossible... *Cain took care of all the knights..." *Lucifer stuttered.
"Looks like he missed one." Lucifer had to add.
" Oh, Cain certainly missed her. And then she vanished like over 50 years ago. Or so everyone though. She didn't vanish, she time travelled to the future. To right now." Dean explained.
"H...How?" *Lucifer's voice quavered as his eyes focused on the floor.
"Our father's father. *Henry Winchester. He was a Man of Letters; if you know what those are. He knew about what goes bump in the night and worked to stop it. He opened the door to the future and *Abaddon followed. She attacked us, threw us up against a car. Tried to possess your *Sam." Oh, that hit a nerve.
*Lucifer flinched and his eyes shot up at Dean.
"He's FINE." Dean mocked. Hurts when someone does it to you, doesn't it? When someone is withholding information when you're obviously worried. "Hey, at least *Henry gave us the key to the bunker, to our home." Dean stretched the word just a bit, making a point, but quickly continued.
"We, *Henry, *Sam and I, are safe for now, but it is only a matter of time before she finds us... I have no means to fight her – Dean lied – unless you want me to fight her the way I did in my world..." he deliberately trailed off, looking at Lucifer.
On cue, Lucifer picked up "Oh, no. Not that again!"
A dramatic pause.
"Not the Mark again. Then you will end up in that vicious circle again and then finally snap and take the Mark down... You'll release her. AGAIN."
*Lucifer seemed more alert than ever. Oh, yeah, he knew what they were talking about, Jack told *Dean. But he wasn't ready to face *Abaddon, much less his aunt, the Darkness. Guess he had to choose the less of two evils.
"Fine. Tomorrow, we go back. - *Lucifer stated and then gulped – That is if you know how to..."
Both Dean and Lucifer exchanged smirking, satisfying glances, not really believing they worked so well together. "Oh, we certainly know one way..."
Dean's dream root wore off and with a smile on his face, he vanished from the dessert. Lucifer looked at the spot he was for a second before raising his head to meet the other *Lucifer's face. It felt strange, sensing his grace, but seeing that face. Just didn't feel right. For a second, he wondered, if Dean was his true vessel instead of Sam, would things have been different? Better?
"We'll work this out. Together." Lucifer said as he put a comforting hand on *Lucifer's shoulder. Boy was that weird. Lucifer trying to consolidate someone, it felt strange even for him. So he quickly tried to pull his hand away, but something in his mind clicked and he was back in the cage. He gasped in confusion, but kept his focus on the small body crouching down in a corner, swinging back and forward.
"At least my dessert has the open skies above." a voice came from behind him and panic arose inside Lucifer as he swung around. Expressionless, *Lucifer stood behind him, not tense, but not relaxed either. His eyes gave away just a bit of curiosity as he leaned aside, trying to get a better look at Michael.
Lucifer followed the motion, trying damn hard to stay in between them. Michael's psyche was cracked as it was, all thanks to that *Lucifer. He didn't need him to break Michael completely. Protectively, he glared at a Winchester version of himself and clenched his fists.
"Don't worry - *Lucifer said almost caringly – he can't see us here. He is too deep in his own mind, his own hallucinations, I can see it now..." *Lucifer still managed to catch a glimpse of Adam, his little body shaking. "Jack told me... Told my *Dean what happened. I wish there was something I could do to help..." he sounded sincere.
"Why do you care?" Lucifer snapped.
"Why do you?" *Lucifer shot back, tilting his head aside in curiosity.
"Why do I what? Care?" Lucifer asked frowning in confusion.
"Yes. Why do you care? Your brothers and sisters either wanted you in cage or dead... – *Lucifer elaborated, but then huffed a laugh – though I have to admit, at least they cared enough to hate you. My family forgot about me... – he paused, but not wanting to give Lucifer a chance to reply to that, he continued – So why do you care? You do know that when you find a way to separate you from Michael, you will become useless. And add the fact that you're as powerless as I am... You will be discarded by all. Even the Winchesters. Why would anyone want to keep the Devil around?"
Those words confused Lucifer, he hadn't thought about it like that, he hadn't thought that far along. He just knew he had to help his brother. He hoped he'd get a chance to spend more time with Jack, but the Winchesters were more his family then Lucifer would, could ever be.
And then a thought crossed his mind. It seemed like the other *Lucifer was pitying him, but what if... What if he was still trying to figure out his own place in his own world? What if he was hurt that his own family left him behind, he is trying to find more connections? Of course. Jack... The extension of his own grace. 'Blood of his blood' so to speak.
"For a long time I didn't care... Even when I thought no one cared, it was unimportant to me... But spending time with him... – Lucifer glanced back at his brother – in this cage and in the cage out there... I saw how much it hurt him... My actions, my behaviour. And as much as he wanted to kill me... I didn't want to see him hurt." Lucifer explained. He hadn't noticed Adam's face lift up and look questioningly at him.
"So they care? Even if it seems like they don't?" *Lucifer drew his own conclusions, but deep down, he understood. Take what you get.
"I don't really know. – Lucifer replied – I guess after we fix Michael and me, I will find out."