AN: This story was written for the SPN-J2-Big Bang over on Livejournal. It is also cross posted on my AO3 page. (I can be found as Queenbagelcat there.) I was lucky enough to have an amazing peice of art created for my story by the talented kingstoken which I have used as the cver art. I recommend you check out all their work on AO3. (Also as kingstoken.)

The first chapter of this story replicates most of episode 13.23 but then veers sharply into AU territory. I felt I had to include of the action so that the rest of the story made sense. Obviously this means that there are spoilers up to and including that episode. This story was betaed by the fantastic and wonderful Shadowhuntingdauntlessdemigod who provided excellent assistance. Therefore any mistakes are completely mine.

The pounding at the door grew louder as Bobby dragged Mom out the room by her arm. A blue-white glow seeped around the edges, silhouetting the solid steel. Dean knew that it had to be Michael. He ignored the little shiver of dread that ran through him every time he thought about the archangel. It creeped him out more than he liked to admit that his body was designed to be the perfect meatsuit for the angel. Glancing at Sam and Cas he saw both the determination and fear in their eyes.

The rattling at the door grew more intense. Dean had thought that the holy fire back at George's Gas & Go had distracted the archangel long enough that they got away before he could track them. Looks like he was wrong. Shooting a worried peek at Sam and Cas, he waited, taking the moment to calm his breathing. Maybe the warding would hold. Maybe they could buy Mom and Bobby time to get Maggie somewhere safe. With a horrible clang, the thick door fell, ripped from it's heavy hinges by enormous force. Dust and smoke swirled, illuminated momentarily from the fading angelic light and then Michael strode through the door like an old west outlaw. Except he was far more deadly than any gunslinger.

Dean pulled his gun from the back of his jeans. Out of the corner of his eye he caught Sam doing the same thing. Across the table, the soft snick of an angel blade let him know that Cas was armed and ready. For a long second Michael sized them up, but Dean didn't hesitate, he opened fire. The bullets he and Sam were shooting might as well have been pebbles for all the effect they had on Michael. Stepping from the edge, the archangel floated down towards them. Cas flipped his blade and lunged. Dean had seen his friend fight many times before and, had it been any other opponent, his money would have been on Cas, but Michael backhanded Cas so hard that he flew across the table towards them. Cas landed in a heap at Dean's feet, his blade clattering as he fell.

"You really thought you could run from me?" Michael asked with disdain.

Dean couldn't help but spare an anxious glance down at his unconscious friend. Sam took the opportunity to bravely step in front of them both, meeting Michael at the end of the table. The archangel landed a jab and violent right hook that knocked Sam off his feet. It pained Dean to see his brother hit the ground hard and slide to the wall, but he used that second of distraction to pull an angel blade from the weapons bag sitting on the map table. Turning he charged at Michael, but faster than he could think, the archangel caught his arm, and twisted him forward. The blade went flying and Michael wrenched him back again, his hand a vice around Dean's right wrist. A brutal fist smashed him in the face and Dean saw stars. Then he was pulled down and the archangel's knee drove into his gut, driving the air out of his lungs as he fell to his knees. Dean felt the pain as his head snapped back from another mighty blow to the face. He blinked as his ears rang and he swayed. Michael grabbed his throat. The inhuman pressure strangled his air flow and Dean knew that God's most loyal warrior could crush his windpipe in an instant. Still, if he was gonna die today, he wasn't gonna go easily.

"How did you…" Dean croaked, desperate fingers seeking a weakness of any kind, but Michael's arm was like a rod of iron.

"Get here? Easy. I made a deal." Michael hissed as he squeezed a fraction tighter and outlined the arrangement he had made with Lucifer. "And now, this world is mine. I can save it, purge it of sin." There was a maniacal glint in his dark eyes that lusted for holy death and destruction.

"Oh, yeah, 'cause that really worked on your rock." Black spots were starting to form in his vision, but Dean refused to give up. He ineffectually pulled on Michael's wrist as the angel sneered at him.

"I'm not perfect. Yes, I made mistakes. But, second time's the charm. And you... " Michael paused, constricting even harder. Dean gasped for air, grunting with the effort of getting even a tiny amount of oxygen. His blood was pounding in his ears, and he couldn't help a cry of pain as Michael hauled him to his feet by his neck and wrist. Dean fought to stay conscious.

"And you, Dean Winchester will be the first life that I take in this world, first soul I save. Some would consider that an honor." The fanatical zeal in the archangel's eyes pissed Dean off. Honor his ass. Michael was nothing more than another self-important dick halo who believed his own hype. Struggling, the angel's grasp loosened by a hair's breadth and Dean painfully sucked in a smidge of air.

"Well, as Shakespeare once said, eat me, dickbag."

xxxxxx

Sam's head was ringing from the archangel's blow. His vision was blurry, and he was struggling to figure out which way was up. But even as he scrambled against the cool stone floor to get to his hands and knees, he could hear Dean mouth off to Michael. Fear for his brother surged through him as he turned his head, following Dean's ravaged voice. Michael had Dean by the throat. It would take less than a thought for the holy invader to snap his neck or crush his windpipe but still Dean was defiant. Although he admired his big brother's refusal to submit, terror washed over him. He couldn't lose Dean. Not like this.

Frantically trying to push back his rising panic, Sam forced himself to think, but no viable solution presented itself. The weapons they had were useless, they were completely outmatched, and there was no place to run. If Michael killed his brother, Sam would make damn sure that he'd follow Dean into death. This time he wasn't going to be left behind. Cas would just have to find a way to keep Jack safe. He spared a fleeting thought for Mom, Bobby and Maggie, hoping that they had bought them enough time to escape.

From his spot on the floor, he shot at glance at where the angel had Dean gasping. Michael smiled and Sam heard something in his brother's neck give with a sickening crunch. Unless he came up with something right this second, Dean was dead. Strangely, a faded memory spun out from his whirling thoughts like a piece of debris from a tornado. Godzilla vs. Mothra.

"Jack, Jack. Jack, I don't know where you are, and I don't even know if you can hear this prayer, but we need you. We need you." Sam whispered in desperation. The only being powerful enough to take on Michael was Jack. But his prayer was going to be too late. Unable to look away, he watched as Michael slowly lifted Dean by the throat, feet dangling as the archangel pushed him against a steel support post. Dean was only able to make a rough gurgling sound now and Sam's heart almost froze as he watched what looked like his brother's last moments.

Suddenly a golden blast of light shot by Sam's head and blasted Michael backwards. Dean dropped heavily to the floor. Risking a glance to check on his brother, Dean was moving and breathing for now, so Sam centered his attention on the powerful beings in front of him. Using the wall at his back as support, he climbed to his feet. Jack was at Sam's 12 o'clock, the dregs of his powerful blast lingering in the air like the remains of an echo. The younger Winchester could hardly believe his eyes, relief and amazement flooded through him.

"I heard your prayer." Jack reported to him calmly, eyes never leaving Michael. A swoosh of wings, and Lucifer appeared a few feet away. Sam felt himself flinch. With every fibre of his body telling him to run, Sam didn't hear Lucifer's glib comment, but thankfully the devil was more focused on Jack than on Sam right now. The idea of his tormentor, the star of all his worst nightmares being within arms length, talking to Jack so casually was abhorrent, but Sam's flight or fight response was too overloaded to do more than shove that horror away for now.

Michael rose painfully to his feet, and Sam instinctively wanted to tell Jack to run, to save himself, but his words collapsed into ashes in his mouth. Jack faced Michael, invisible power radiating from his slim form in waves. A power so strong that Sam could feel it, could almost taste it, like ozone before a storm. It squeezed against his eardrums, and he found his breath trapped in his throat as he waited to see what would happen when the storm broke. Raising a hand, Jack stepped forward, and the power intensified and thickened.

"You hurt my friends!" Jack accused. Michael began to yell in pain as the nephilim closed his fist. "You hurt my family!" Jack shouted, voice hoarse with anger, and Michael fell back to his knees.

From close by, Sam heard Lucifer whisper an impressed "Whoa" under his breath. It was a sentiment that Sam reluctantly shared. It felt wrong for the kid who was normally so sweet to be so vindictive, to use his power to torment and extract revenge. But considering what Michael had almost done to Dean, Sam could relate. Lucifer reached out a tentative hand to tap Jack on the shoulder and Jack startled, as if he had forgotten the others in the room. Whatever Jack was doing to Michael stopped and the archangel slumped against one of the pillars, in obvious pain, but neutralized for now. By the stairs, Sam saw Dean slowly drag himself to his feet. Sam had to close his eyes as gratitude overwhelmed him. Dean was alive. Cas too began to stir, but Sam couldn't stand down. Tension hung heavy and thick in the air, with Lucifer and Michael both in the room - they weren't out of the woods yet.

"Lucifer, we had a deal!" Michael groaned from the floor. The Morningstar looked vaguely guilty and snapped at Jack, eager to leave, but the nephilim turned to face his father.

"What does he mean?" Jack asked, both curious and suspicious. Lucifer stammered, obviously trying to come up with some sort of lie to avoid the question. Dean had managed to get to his feet, leaning against the base of the stairs as he watched the confrontation. A bit breathless, Sam could tell he was hiding pain, but if there was one thing Dean knew, it was how to talk their way out of trouble, so he answered Jack's question.

"They had a deal. Lucifer gets you, and Michael gets everything else. He's gonna nuke our world, Jack, just like he did his." Dean panted out. Lucifer shook his head in denial and Sam's anger flared. Leave it to the Devil to try and weasel out of any responsibility for the danger he let into this world.

"Is that true?" Jack questioned, and Sam was sad to hear the wishful note in the young man's voice.

" No! It's not." Lucifer scoffed, but no one believed him, even Jack. Cutting a glimpse at Dean, his brother looked like he wanted to take a swing at Lucifer.

"Is that why you wanted us to leave?" Jack asked. Wait, what? Sam was puzzled by this revelation.

"Leave?" he questioned.

"He said - he said we'd go to the stars." Jack waved at Lucifer, sounding like a little boy who just realized that he'd been lied to. By now, Cas had recovered enough to be standing, although he was still a little wobbly.

"What, and you're just gonna leave the rest of us here to burn?" Cas' question was angry. Sam knew firsthand that the archangel didn't take it well when his manipulations were exposed. It was probably good that Jack was learning exactly the kind of dick Lucifer was, but it made Sam shake with fury, his face hot with frustration. Lucifer's pathetic attempt to paint himself as a good guy was so abhorrent that Sam's stomach heaved with disgust.

"Yeah, tell that to Maggie," Sam finally blurted in revulsion.

"What about Maggie?" There were tears in Jack's voice. The kid had taken his friend's death so hard, and Sam was sorry to hurt the boy further, but he needed to know the truth about his father.

"Maggie saw the eyes of the person who killed her - the glowing, red eyes." Sam couldn't hide his loathing for his torturer.

"You're gonna - you're gonna believe this guy? Come on, man! Sam's a hater! He would say anything to get you on his side." When Lucifer pointed at him, Sam tried valiantly not to flinch again. Dean was only a few feet away which was a profound comfort even if his brother was hurting, rubbing his aching throat. The situation was getting dangerously heated. Sam trusted Dean to keep an eye on both the growing argument as well as Michael who was painfully getting to his feet behind Jack.

"Tell me the truth!" Jack advanced on Lucifer, his eyes glowing gold and his right hand outstretched. There was a ring of command in his voice and Sam could feel the surge of power as he forced Lucifer to confess. Lucifer's eyes bled a golden glow as Jack's power gripped him. When the archangel spoke, it was in a monotone, compelled to tell the gruesome truth.

"She saw me when I was scouting out the bunker. She saw me and she screamed, and then...so I crushed her skull with my bare hands. And it was warm and wet, and I liked it." The sickening admission was made worse by Lucifer's smirk and obvious pleasure at retelling the murder. There were tears in Jack's eyes when he dropped his hand. No matter how necessary, Sam's heart broke for how hurt and disillusioned he looked.

"You're not my father. You're a monster," he said in disgust. Lucifer realized that he had just lost any influence he had over Jack. Shuffling back and forth in frustration he suddenly screamed out in angelic rage, forcing Sam to slam his hands over his ears. A wave of anxiety flooding over him. Other people might underestimate the Devil because he so often acted like a petulant toddler, but Sam knew better. Lucifer was a sadistic and diabolical monster, immensely powerful and cruel, especially when he lost his temper. There had been many times in the cage where Sam had borne the brunt of that wrathful fury. Frantically he rammed those memories away before they could overwhelm him.

"Okay. I tried with you. I really tried with you." Lucifer jabbed a finger at Jack, but the boy wasn't cowed by the archangel's anger and snapped back.

"Everything you told me was a lie," he accused.

"Because I told you what you wanted to hear, man. So what?! I killed the girl! Big deal!

She's a - she's a human! She doesn't matter!" Lucifer snarled. Again, Sam fought against memories of the archangel's savagery. He was afraid for Jack.

"So am I!" Jack ground out, practically spitting with fury.

"Yeah? And that's your problem. You're too much like your mother." Although he was no longer shouting, Lucifer's voice dripped with venom and hostility. Sam stepped a little closer, as did Cas. Jack never took his eyes off Lucifer but waved Cas away. They ignored him, needing to be close to the boy.

"Stay back. I'll handle him." Determined and angry, Jack stood toe to toe with his father.

"Will you? Oh, buddy. We could've been something, you and me. We could've remade the universe. It would've been great. We could've been better gods than Dad," Lucifer taunted bitterly, exposing his own frustration. The air buzzed with anticipation. Dean edged closer, and Cas looked both puzzled and suspicious at Lucifer's comments. The Devil continued, a simulation of disappointment in his tone, crocodile tears in his eyes "And I really wanted that, pal. I wanted that. But now if I can't have it with you, I... I don't need ya. I just need your power."

Sam's ears were still ringing from Lucifer's temper tantrum, but Cas must have heard the faint rasp as Lucifer dropped his archangel blade from his sleeve. Darting out, Cas shoved Jack out of the way of Lucifer's fierce backhanded slash. The blade sliced across Cas' chest, and he staggered, clapping a hand to the bleeding wound that had begun to ooze the blue-white luminescence of his grace.

"Cas!' Jack shouted, turning his back on his sire and following his chosen father to the ground where Cas slumped, clutching his chest. Sam wanted to check on his friend, but he steeled himself and stayed where he was. When Lucifer made a move towards Jack and Cas, Sam jumped in front barehanded to protect them.