Apologies for the cliffhanger (which I've kind of gotten used to, considering how Supernatural's season 7 has started). To be honest, aside from Gabriel, Lucifer is the one other character I have a hard time characterizing, what with him being scary as fuck pleasant (I can't even describe it properly). I hope I've done him some justice in this chapter. Hope you enjoy – here's chapter twenty-nine.
Chapter 29
In which the Devil you know is no better
All four of them reappeared in the designated meeting place – the wing of the National History Museum that was being refurbished. Shawn spotted Azrael and Gus waiting for them, the latter running forward to check on Shawn. "Are you all right?" Gus asked.
"I'll live," Shawn said, deciding he could be melodramatic about his apparent concussion later.
Azrael went over to Sam and touched his chest, whereupon all the cuts and blood disappeared. "Thanks," Sam said, taking a deep breath.
"Restore the angel wards," Castiel said to Azrael in an urgent tone. "He's com—"
That was as far as he got before the two of them were hurled back in opposite directions, Azrael going into crumbling foundation while Castiel took some scaffolding down with him. Shawn winced while Gus let out a startled squeak (which he would later deny), and Dean instinctively gripped the stock of a shotgun that he knew would be useless in this situation.
They didn't have time to worry about their angelic companions as suddenly the Lightbringer stood before them. Cartoons had of course taught Shawn that the Devil looked like a man with horns, a thin bad-guy mustache, supported a red cape, carried a pitch fork and clopped around in goat hooves along with a tail. Cartoons, he noted, were dead wrong. The man who stood in front of them was mild-looking, his face eerily serene as he surveyed the scene. The only thing unusual about him was that he had open wounds on his face, like his skin was blistering and peeling off due to extreme pressure.
"It's funny – on the one hand if you hadn't banished Zachariah I would have happily killed him," Lucifer observed. "On the other hand I am slightly grateful to him for alerting me to Sam."
Shawn stole a sideways glance at Gus and saw that his friend was rooted to the spot, abject terror on his face. And it wasn't the funny, scream-like-a-fourteen-year-old-girl or shit-in-your-pants scared; it was truly heart-stopping, wallow-in-despair, there-was-no-hope fear. And he was sure his face reflected the same emotion.
Lucifer shifted his attention to Shawn for the moment. "And to you. Meg fed me some interesting information – apparently if the Metatron does take you as a vessel he can find our Father. Is that true?"
"Totally false," Shawn responded, the lie coming out almost reflexively. "As far as I can tell Metatron just wanted to do some sightseeing and sample local delicacies – I was thinking of suggesting some fries quatro quesos dos fritos."
Lucifer regarded him carefully, and then smiled. "You're funny – which is puzzling because Metatron's a total bore. Still, regretfully this is the end of the line for you, Shawn. I'm a big boy, I don't need Dad interfering, and so I have to kill you in order to destroy any chance of finding Him before I meet Michael." He looked at the brothers. "And after that I'll take Sam too."
"Like hell," Dean said, rather poorly in Shawn's opinion.
Sam staunchly stood his ground. "I'm not going anywhere with you, and you're not hurting Shawn either."
Something shiny suddenly hurtled through the air towards Lucifer, but before it could connect he deflected it with similar weapon of his own, a blade of untarnished, otherworldly metal. The blade flew for Shawn's head but it was snatched away at the last second. Shawn had a moment to register its sharp end point a mere two inches from his face before Azrael lowered her hand.
"Azrael, sister," Lucifer greeted her. "You look well."
"Considering how you left me I suppose I do," she replied with surprising bitterness.
Shawn knew bad blood when he saw it. Sure the other angels probably weren't all that keen on Lucifer; still this actually seemed quite personal between the two of them. He watched Azrael shift her shoulders uncomfortably and remembered his glimpse of her ruined wings. He was willing to bet Lucifer had something to do with the state of her flappers.
To his left he saw Castiel had picked himself up and went to stand by Dean. "What do you think, Cas?" Dean asked him in a low voice. "Can she take him on?"
"No," Castiel said, shaking his head. "Lucifer will destroy Azrael."
Azrael disappeared and then reappeared right behind Lucifer, swinging her archangel blade. He blocked it with his own, and then caught her around the throat. Azrael kicked him in the ribs hard enough to shatter bones in a normal human being, and then struck his chin with an open palm so that he let her go. There were a few impossibly fast slices of the shiny blades from both parties, neither of which connected, and then Lucifer gave his sister what almost looked like a gentle push that sent her flying back into covered pieces of artwork that Shawn hoped was not irreplaceable.
"This is ridiculous, Azrael," Lucifer said with a patronizing sigh as the other archangel struggled back to her feet. "I would ask you to stop, but we both know you're about as stubborn as I am. So allow me to be merciful and cut this fight off right here. It's about time I finished what I started anyway."
And then he stretched a hand out and a pulsating blue light began to glow from his palm. Azrael's eyes widened and Shawn met her stare and saw, much to his horror, fear. He had just about time to see her whirl around, flinging her weapon to Castiel, before the seraph in the trench coat ordered, "Shut your eyes!"
Shawn felt someone grab him and pull his head down; he clutched at the leather jacket and realized it was Dean. The blue light was so painfully vivid and unimaginably cold; he almost felt like he was back on the Alps. When he felt it was safe he opened an eye to see that Sam had covered Gus' eyes in turn.
Shawn looked to where Azrael had once been and found nothing. No trace that the bespectacled, somewhat snarky but still dependable angel of death hosted in the vessel of a girl who died saving a child once stood there. Something churned in his gut.
"That was anticlimactic," Lucifer observed. He turned back to the group, only to be deterred when Castiel stood in front of all of them, Azrael's archangel blade in hand. "Castiel, brother, please, I don't want to have to get rid of you too."
Castiel gripped the blade harder. "I can't let you do this, Lucifer."
Shawn knew that the seraph was no match for the Morningstar. He grimaced, knowing that there was only one way to even this fight now. And so, briefly saying goodbye to every sweet, last aspect he loved about his life, he opened his mind and prepared himself to say—
"Hey Luci."
Everyone in the room turned to see Gus standing by a far wall. To Shawn's utter bemusement, his best friend gave Lucifer – the freakin' Devil – a smile. A SMILE. "Gus?" he asked.
"Not Gus," Castiel said, whereupon Not!Gus yanked the white curtain off the wall to reveal a particularly large angel banishing sigil(i), only Shawn noted that there were extra Enochian symbols he had not seen in the one Dean drew at the warehouse.
Lucifer regarded it with narrowed eyes. "Really, sister, you're going to attempt to banish me?"
Not!Gus shrugged, and instead of answering he looked at Castiel. "Sorry Cas, you're going to get caught in this. Brace yourself."
And then he pressed a bloody palm to the center of the sigil. At once a white, hot light flashed, practically scorching the area in its brilliance. Shawn just managed to see Castiel get engulfed in it and wane, and a moment later Lucifer himself scowled and vanished as well. Shawn squeezed his eyes shut.
When the light had stopped trying to burn a hole through his eyelids, Shawn cautiously cracked an eye open. He found the Winchester brothers stirring, and Not!Gus with a hand still on the wall, although he was swaying and looked like he would slide down to the floor.
Not!Gus looked up and his eyes were curiously dull, as if he had been drained. "That's not going to keep the Morningstar away forever. I have to get you guys out of here."
"Whoa, Azzie, steady," Shawn said, reaching over to grab the body of his best friend by the arm.
It was weird to look at Gus and yet know Azrael was the one inside him. Azrael determinedly yanked Shawn over to where Dean had gone back to helping Sam up and, somehow managing to grab both brothers in one arm, they all beamed up.
Continued
i In the show these sigils have never actually been used on archangels, so it is unclear whether they will work.
