Author's Note: Thanks again for sticking with me through everything! Please read and review!
I don't own Supernatural.
***Dean POV***
February 18, Morning
"Nothing yet?" Sam asked Dean.
"No," Dean said, skipping coffee and grabbing a beer from the fridge. "She's still not picking up the phone. Krissy said she was home last night, though, for a little while. But she won't answer me."
"You'd think she'd understand," said Sam. "I mean, she should understand better than anyone, right?"
"Yeah," Dean said. He knew Ember well enough to know that it was more likely that she was upset because he hadn't told her about his attraction to Amara when he had had the chance, rather than because of the attraction itself, but he didn't say this to Sam.
"Well, you'll make up," Sam said. "She probably just needs a little space. Meanwhile, I found us a case. Maybe. Check this out."
***Sam POV***
February 18, Afternoon
Sam wished Ember were around, but she wasn't answering her phone… even for him.
She wasn't answering texts either, which was extra weird.
Still, Sam had other problems. Sam and Dean had embarked on a journey to get the Hand of God, a supernatural relic said to wield great power. It had been sunk on an American submarine during WWII, so Castiel had sent Dean back in time to retrieve it.
As was usual for the Winchesters, the plan had almost immediately gone awry. Castiel was supposed to accompany Dean, but he had been kicked off the submarine almost immediately by angel warding. Now, they were looking for a way back so that Dean could get home.
"Wait a second. I think I have something," said Sam finally. "The spell of gathering, it's an incantation used to focus the power of celestial beings, angels, against all drawn forms of evasion. The spell is designed to clear all mystical or occult blockages. I mean this is highly theoretical magic, it's never been used before, but it sounds like it could work."
"And the ingredients?" asked Castiel.
"Uh…" But as he read the ingredients, Sam's heart sank. "All but one. That's why it's never been used before. It requires the power of an archangel." He shut the book in anger.
Castiel, however, looked thoughtful. "Well Sam, we may as well try."
"We don't have time for long shots, Cas," said Sam. "Even at full power you're not strong enough." Dejected, he walked away to look for more literature.
When he came back into the room twenty minutes later, however, Castiel was cutting up ingredients and putting them into a metal bowl. "Hey. Cas, what is that?"
"It's your spell of gathering," said Castiel.
"Are you nuts?" Sam said, alarmed. "You're not strong enough, Cas! You could get hurt!"
"You find a better option?"
"Well, no," Sam admitted. "But… without a serious boost to your angel power, that spell won't even work!"
"My strength may surprise you," said Castiel.
"Wait a second," said Sam. "I remember Bobby told me when you needed strength to retrieve us from the past, you used him to power up. You touched his soul, right?"
"That's right, I did that," said Castiel, still cutting ingredients. "But that procedure can be fatal."
This could work. We could get Dean home, and get the Hand of God. "Use my soul," Sam said earnestly. "That way maybe you'll have enough power to wield the spell."
"That isn't necessary," said Castiel.
"It's worth the risk," Sam argued. "Cas, Dean needs our help. I trust you."
Suddenly, Castiel began to laugh. It was a long and creepy laugh, and it made the hair on Sam's neck stand on end. "What?" he asked, confused.
"Oh, it's just - I don't need you anymore." Sam looked at Castiel, horrified. Even Castiel's voice had changed. Something was terribly wrong. "I mean, Dean's the one with the link to Amara. Why have I been trying to spare you? I mean, maybe it's because you're like the girl who kept turning me down at the prom."
No. And just as a horrible thought occurred to Sam, he felt himself be slammed against the bunker's support columns.
"I will touch your soul," Castiel said in his high, creepy voice. "Just because you asked so nicely. And I'll use your spell to blast through the warding and retrieve Dean and the uh, Hand of God, and then when Dean comes back and he finds this place decorated with your guts, I will tell him the truth, Sam. I'll just say, 'Dean -…"
At this point, Castiel switched back to his own deep voice. "… Dean. He knew the risks. He wouldn't take no for an answer.'"
Sam knew, now, who he was speaking with. "Lucifer."
"In the flesh." Sam watched, horrified, as Lucifer put his hand inside Sam's stomach. And then Sam lost consciousness.
-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-
Sam was in horrible pain. He didn't think much time had passed since – Lucifer. Castiel fell to the floor beside him, and Sam scrambled backward.
"Sam, it's me," said Castiel's deep voice.
"Cas?" Sam asked. "Why?"
"I wanted to be of service to the fight," said his friend. "And only Lucifer can beat her."
"You chose this?" Sam said in horror. "You have to fight, Cas! Eject him now!"
"I can't! It's taking all my strength to keep him from killing you. And besides, we need him!"
"No Cas, we don't!" said Sam. "We'll find another way to stop Amara!"
Castiel shook his head. "We need him to save Dean."
"You can't time travel," said Sam.
Castiel shook his head again. "Only Lucifer can. Listen. And this is very important. Ember-…" And here, Castiel grimaced. "The Demon Bond. Again."
Comprehension donned on Sam, with horror. "But how? Lucifer's not-…"
"Archangel," Castiel said, gritting his teeth to get the words out. "Made… demons. Can do whatever-…" Castiel grimaced again, abandoning his speech. "You need my blood," he finished. He pulled a flask out of his pocket, his hand shaking, and cut his hand, his blood dripping into the flask. He gave the flask to Sam, who pocketed it, and then Castiel disappeared.
Sam breathed a sigh of relief. He was gone… but what about Dean?
Suddenly, Castiel and Dean reappeared in the room. Sam didn't hesitate. "Dean - THAT'S NOT CAS!"
Dean stared at Sam, then at Lucifer. A sheepish, gleeful look crossed Lucifer's face. "Cat's out!" he yelled. He threw Dean across the table, and Dean landed on the floor on the other side, against the wall.
"I feel a burden lifted," said Lucifer. "You know, this whole, deep cover thing… it wasn't terribly well thought out. Donning this - this Cas mask? This grim face of angelic constipation? It just - ugh. And then, teaming up with you two. I mean, I thought you boys were insufferable as mortal enemies, but working with you." He shook his head. "That's the soul crusher."
Sam made a small movement, his hand going toward a knife in his back pocket. The movement drew Lucifer's eye, but instead of the knife Lucifer saw the flask in Sam's front pocket. "Thanks for reminding me," he said. At Lucifer's bidding the flask with Ember's blood in it came loose and spilled on the floor. Lucifer immediately vanished the contents.
"NO!" screamed Sam.
"What was that?" asked Dean.
Lucifer smirked. "Ask your girlfriend," he said. "Oh, wait."
Sam heard a horrified, choked sound from the opposite side of the room, and knew that Dean had understood.
"Why the faces, boys?" Lucifer asked. "You should be cheering. We have a common enemy. With the Hand of God, Amara will be no problem. I mean, I will have killed you both by then, but still. Come on."
Lucifer held up the Hand of God. "NO!" Dean screamed.
Lucifer closed his eyes and waited for the effects of the power to come, but nothing happened. Sam cut his hand with the knife, and began to draw the angel banishing symbol on the wall, unknown to Lucifer.
"It's kicked!" Lucifer screamed angrily, and Sam and Dean both let out a sigh of relief.
"Well. Who'd've thought the Hand of God would turn out to be a one-hitter?" asked Dean.
Lucifer tossed the Hand of God onto the table, and angrily advanced toward Dean. Sam finished the angel banishing symbol and touched it hurriedly, however, and Lucifer disappeared with a yell of rage.
There was a beat. Dean looked slowly at Sam. "What did he mean about Ember?" Dean asked his brother.
"A Demon Bond," he said to his brother sadly. "I… I'm sorry, Dean."
Dean looked at him, stunned. "But that's – Lucifer's not a demon!" Sam could see panic setting in.
"Castiel showed up for a second earlier when Lucifer was trying to kill me. He said... because Lucifer made demons…"
Sam started over, trying to think it out. "I mean, I suppose Lucifer was the one who came up with the whole 'Demon Blood Bond' thing in the first place, so he would know how to invoke it. As long as he had the right v-…."
But Sam didn't finish the sentence, because Dean let out a scream of fury. Without looking at Sam, he picked up the vanquished Hand of God off the table and hurled it at a glass statue on the top of the bookcase. The statue shattered into a million tiny pieces, but Dean was already gone.
***Dean POV***
February 18, Evening
"Are you sure this will work?" asked Sam.
"No," Dean said. "It won't work if she doesn't want to show. But the ritual will work, yeah. I mean, I guess. She's a demon now, isn't she?"
"I think so, yeah," Sam agreed.
"It worked on her and me both when we went dark before." He determinedly avoided Sam's eye. Instead, he concentrated on the incantation. "Ember, venit coram me…"
Ember appeared suddenly. She wore jeans and a belly shirt, with long hoop earrings. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders, and her eyes flashed black. She looked bored. "Dean Winchester," she said cruelly. "I wondered when you'd figure it out."
"Ember, please," Dean said.
Ember gave Dean her best simper, and moved closer to him. "You're going to make me do this in person, aren't you? Or else you're planning some sort of…" she rolled her eyes. "Rescue mission…" Her eyes flashed quickly to Sam, who was just as quickly thrown at the wall, where he was held, frozen.
Meanwhile, Ember moved closer to Dean. "So, look, Dean, it's been fun, but… you're kind of no fun anymore. I'm not gonna kill you, obviously, 'cause… well, like before, my human half gets really shitty when I do that, and frankly I just get tired of the nagging."
Dean could feel pressure on him, and realized that he, too, was frozen against the wall. Ember was bearing down on him, and she was so close now that if he had been able to move, he'd have been able to draw her blood with no effort. "My human half was so hurt, so… angry, about your deepest desire being Amara… but I wasn't even willing to admit my own deepest desire...not really. But guess who I called immediately afterward? And whoops, it looks like we erased only one of my two possible demon bonds."
Ember's eyes flashed black again for a second, and she moved even closer to him. Her arms climbed up his torso, and his anatomy responded against his will. She was so sexy, even though he was terrified, both for her and himself. Then she whispered, "Do you know what it's like to have sex with an angel, Dean?"
She backed up slightly, just enough to see the hurt, enraged look on his face. She smiled to herself. "You could try, maybe. That might be fun." She moved closer to him once again, this time rubbing herself on him. She leaned in and bit his earlobe. "Do you remember what it feels like, Dean? This freedom? This freedom… with me?"
But suddenly, she cried out. Charlie had come with a knife and a flask, as was the plan. Dean had known that Ember would expect Sam and Dean to be attempting to collect her blood… but Charlie would be unexpected. Charlie's knife had hit home, and blood had spurted out from where Charlie had unceremoniously sunk the knife into Ember's back. Ember gave a yell, and backhanded Charlie, who slid across the room, unconscious. Dean was temporarily unfrozen as Ember was distracted, and caught the flask, half full of dark red blood.
Dean just barely managed to cork the flask before Ember rounded on him again. She dove for the flask, but it was warded, and she dropped it with a hiss as it burned her hand.
Dean was once again frozen to the wall, and Ember advanced on him, a snarl marring her pretty face. "That's no matter," she said. "You'll never catch Lucifer." She gave him a twisted smile. "Speaking of which, did you know I kissed Cas? Not just after I found out about Amara, but before that, too. Right after you threw me across the room. It seems I always go running to Castiel when it really matters." And with that, she turned on her heel and disappeared.
Dean and Sam both ran toward Charlie, but she was already stirring. "I'm okay," she said softly. "I'm okay."
"Good," said Dean. "I'm going to go get some pie." And with that, he pocketed the flask and left the bunker, slamming the door on his way out.
***Dean POV***
April 5, Afternoon
TWO MONTHS LATER
Truthfully, if Ember had been at his side, she would've been ashamed of the way he was spending his days. He was around occasionally for the children, of course, but Krissy was 18 and more or less self-sufficient on their own. For the most part, Dean drowned himself in alcohol, lore, and more alcohol.
They had attempted to summon Lucifer like they had summoned Ember, but he never showed. Dean knew they would need something to bribe him with, to force him out of the shadows. Finally, in the beginning of April, Crowley had the answer. "A weapon," he promised over the phone. "One that channels divinity. Powerful enough to destroy a force like the Darkness."
-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-
"Sam, now!" Dean yelled.
Sam lit a match and dropped it onto the holy oil, which lit into a ring of fire around Lucifer, trapping him. Lucifer smirked and looked at Sam. Dean saw a look of sheer terror on his brother's face.
"I'm sorry," said Lucifer. It was so strange, Dean thought. He looked like Castiel, but his mannerisms were unlike Castiel in a way that was creepy and revolting. "Your prayer implied that I'd be... joining the team, but I'm just not feeling the warm and fuzzy here."
Dean and Sam glanced at one another. "Wow," Lucifer said, noticing the Horn of Joshua that Crowley had found. "There it is. Powered up by Dad himself. Well, that bad boy plus me... That ought to take her out all right." He clapped and rubbed his hands together. "Let's do it. Douse the flames."
Neither Winchester brother moved, nor did Crowley.
"Or… don't?" Lucifer said, snapping his fingers impatiently.
Dean cut his hand and pressed it against the wall. Lucifer started to shake.
"Cas!" Dean said. "Show yourself!"
"Dean?" Castiel said in his own low voice.
"Cas," Dean said quickly. "Before anything else, it's Ember."
Castiel began to shake then, but he shook his head. "I gave my blood. She -…"
"Lucifer destroyed it."
Castiel wasted no time. He cut his arm, dripping blood into Dean's waiting flask. The moment the blood was in the flask, however, Castiel began to shake.
"Cas! Cas, listen to me!" Dean shouted. "We don't have a whole lot of time, okay? You've got to-…"
But Castiel was already gone, and Lucifer was laughing with glee. "Oh-hoo-hoo-hoo! Whoo! Uh, he's got to what? You boys, ooh, you almost had me there for a minute, but these mail-order spells... they're just not what they're cracked up to be, are they?"
"Cas, expel him!" Dean said, pocketing the flask. Once again, it was plastic, and sealed with wards. "You've got to kick Lucifer out! Do you hear me?!"
"Honestly, I think he's happy with the arrangement," Lucifer said. "I mean, he did invite me in and all, Dean."
"Cas!" Dean shouted again, but Lucifer only mocked him. "Hand over the weapon. What do you say? Or we can just wait for this warding to fail and I'll take it."
Just then the spell-work began to die and the warding began to fail.
"Bloody hell," said Crowley. And with a puff of red smoke, he left his meat-suit and flew into Castiel.
Dean and Sam wasted no time. Dean pulled out both vials from his pocket, one with Castiel's blood and the other with Ember's, and Sam pulled a bowl out of his backpack. They mixed the two together, then dumped the solution over Castiel's head. "Solvite haec animarum. Liberum ipsi manebimus!" shouted Sam.
Castiel was shaking, and his eyes rolled up in his head, but Dean couldn't be sure if this was from the dissolution of the Demon Blood Bond or the war that raged inside his head.
"What the hell are you waiting on?" shouted Rowena from the corner. Dean gave her an annoyed look – he had honestly forgotten she was there. "Look!" she shouted suddenly, pointing at Crowley. A message had appeared, burned into Crowley's forehead: HELP ME.
Dean looked at Sam, and Sam grabbed a cross out of his backpack, holding it up to Lucifer. "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas..."
Meanwhile, Dean tossed holy water onto to Lucifer. Finally, red smoke exited from Lucifer, and Crowley (as they knew him) opened his eyes once more, gasping. "Useless," he finally said. "Lucifer's hold on him is too strong."
"Lads, the fire!" Rowena cried, as the fire holding Lucifer went out.
But it was too late. "Trick me?" Lucifer said, opening his eyes. "You lied to me. You know, I could have been your warrior." He smiled. "Ah. Who needs ya? Well. It's just like Crowley to leave right when the party's getting started. Have a seat." And suddenly, Dean found himself forced to sit. He looked at Sam, who was suddenly sitting as well. "As much as I get a giggle out of you two, and I do, there comes a time when every relationship has... run its course," Lucifer said. "So..."
Dean felt himself begin to choke. He began to struggle and gasp for breath. He was going to die. He was going to die, never knowing if Ember was safe…
Suddenly, there was an explosion, and a gaping hole appeared in the church. Dean was able to breathe again suddenly. When he had collected himself, he looked, terrified, to realize that Amara had blown a hole in the wall.
"Oh, Lucifer," she said, entering slowly through the hole she had made. She looked just like he remembered her: powerful, and seductive, and terrifying in her flowing black dress that looked somehow like robes. "Dear nephew, my, how you've changed. I was tracking her when she left my side." Amara pointed to Rowena.
"You were safely sealed away," said Lucifer. "You're gonna wish you'd stayed there." He held up the Horn of Joshua, and it glowed red as he absorbed its power. Dean wanted to look away but felt powerless to do so. Lucifer's eyes turned white, and he conjured a ball of fire into his hand, aiming it at Amara.
There was a blinding white light, and Dean thought sure she must have been obliterated. When the light began to dim, however, Amara was still standing there, seemingly untouched. She lifted her hand and drew Lucifer effortlessly toward her. He dropped the Horn of Joshua, and she cupped her hand on his face. "I think you and I need to have a nice, long chat," she said.
Then, in a ball of white light, they were gone.
Dean and Sam looked on in astonishment, the room suddenly silent.
The silence was broken, however, by Dean's phone, which began to ring. It was Ember's ringtone; he knew it immediately. She had set it up herself, one day in happier times.