"Well, look who's back among the living!"

Adam rolled his eyes a little as Michael brought them further into the room. Both of them were a little surprised to see everybody was gathered around - well, everybody who mattered, that was. Lucifer was side by side with Sam, checking over a book, while Crowley and the red-head - Rowena - were reading over a paper. Castiel and Gabriel were peering over their shoulders, reading along, and Dean was in the far back, pacing the length of the room with a scowl on his face. Crowley and Lucifer both raised their heads in sync, it took Sam a good few seconds to rip his focus away from the book, Castiel only spared a half-second glance upwards, Dean just retreated as far away as he could without it being too noticeable that he was trying to distance himself from them, and Rowena and Gabriel both, not giving any shits whatsoever, continued scanning the paper.

It was Lucifer who had spoken, a smug smile written across his face, and Adam couldn't resist sneering back at him in response. He would have been angry if he wasn't so… well, content at the moment, but if he was being completely honest, he didn't think even Sam and Dean could piss him off right then. "And about time, too," Lucifer added slyly, looking back down at the book.

"We think we might have found something," Sam explained, shifting his focus back to Adam and Michael. He studied them carefully, and while Adam only stared, Michael had managed to tug their lips upwards into a very small, reassuring smile, one that was returned with ease. "Well, Belphegor did." It took a moment to remember that Belphegor was Lucifer.

"It's called the Crook," Lucifer began, tilting his head upwards toward them again. Adam raised an eyebrow, and a spark of recognition flared up in Michael's chest at that. "Lilith used it when she began sending demons to Earth. A way to keep them from straying - to call them back whenever she saw fit." The Devil straightened a little, adjusting his sleeves and leaning forward against the table as his smug smile seemed to widen ever so slightly. "It's basically a horn."

"Yes…" Michael blinked, seeming intrigued. "Yes, I do remember. It was talked about quite frequently in Heaven among the archangels. We were concerned…" He trailed off and shook their head a little bit, while Adam simply drew them closer to get a good look at the book. It wasn't anything he could quite make out, so he just squinted, glared, and spared another glance back up toward Lucifer and Sam, the latter of which reached behind him to grab something off of another table. He handed it over a moment later - a beer, as he'd tried to offer them before.

Adam just stared for a moment, silent, before slowly reaching out and taking it. He didn't say anything, though - no, he hadn't reached that point.

"The plan is for Belphegor to use the horn to call the souls and such back to Hell, and then Rowena's going to use a spell to lock them back in again," Sam was saying, opening his own bottle - a water, though, not a beer, and Adam quirked an eyebrow slightly but said nothing.

"It's basically a win-win situation. Souls go back in Hell…" Lucifer started, looking amused.

"Goodbye, apocalypse. Again," Sam finished, exchanging a glance with the Devil and giving him a small nod, which was returned only by a very faint, amused smile. Adam snorted slightly, while Michael just nodded, both intrigued and impressed by the plan. The demon looked down, twisting the top off of the beer, and Michael immediately brought it to their lips to take a sip. It tasted… well, it tasted like beer, and they didn't exactly like it, but… eh, what the hell, right? At least it had a taste. It had been a while since Adam had tasted anything… except blood, but…

"So how do you two feel about going to Hell?" Lucifer asked sweetly, and it took both Adam and Michael a good few seconds to register that he was talking to them. At once, the demon almost ended up spitting the beer out, while Michael just gave a sharp inhale, which caused both of them to choke. Lucifer just muttered a faintly surprised-sounding "oh" and fell silent.

Gabriel promptly started snickering. Even Crowley and Rowena coughed out a few chuckles. Sam just looked concerned, Dean hadn't paused his pacing, and Castiel just sighed.

"Uh…" Sam spoke up, awkwardly, as Adam just gasped, clearing their throat. Michael was holding the beer bottle as far away from them as possible, as if the damn thing had actually grown arms and had just actively tried to strangle them itself, not that the demon could even blame him, because holy shit. "Are you okay?" The hunter checked, waiting for the coughing to subside before he spoke up again, frowning.

"No!" Adam insisted, while Michael just cleared their throat, giving a half-hearted thumbs up. "What the fuck?!" The demon shook their head vigorously, while Michael just ended up putting the beer down on the table and backing away. Yeah, neither of them had liked that a bit. Gabriel was practically doubled over laughing then, and Rowena and Crowley were having even more trouble keeping their laughter at bay. Lucifer, however, was just grinning ear to ear.

"Is that a no on Hell?" Lucifer checked, tilting his head faintly to the side. Adam just stared at him, almost in disbelief. "I mean, it won't be so bad," the Devil continued, raising an eyebrow. "It's not like it's the Cage, I mean. All we'll be doing is finding a horn, blowing said horn, sucking the souls in and slamming the door shut behind them, or whatever." He gestured a hand vaguely. "And then we leave again. Simple."

"I- why?" Adam demanded, still dumbfounded, but surprisingly not irritated at all. Michael was just speechless, staring at his brother. "Why us?"

"I need an angel," Lucifer responded blankly, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back slightly. Gabriel rolled his eyes slightly from where he stood, and visibly bit down on his lip and looked away as the Devil continued idly, "the few demons that have seen Lilith's chamber have said that most things are encrypted in Enochian."

Adam just stared at him, eyes narrowing slightly. He had to bite his tongue, as well, to keep himself from reminding the Devil that he could read Enochian, considering he had been an angel before, anyway. Michael's own confusion seemed to mount even further at the thought, both of them left wondering what the hell Lucifer really wanted with them.

"Besides, I don't wanna walk through Hell alone. That's just depressing," Lucifer added conversationally, shrugging slightly. "If it's even empty, that is, so…" He quirked an eyebrow questioningly, and Adam shook their head a little bit, trying to clear his mind. Michael had fallen silent, though, and after a little bit of prodding, the demon realized that the archangel was genuinely considering it. Adam tore his gaze away from Lucifer at once, blinking.

"You can't be serious," he insisted, and Michael shrugged their shoulders slightly, frowning. "You want to go back to Hell, halo? What the fuck?" He demanded, not quite angry, but most certainly puzzled. They had just gotten free - and maybe it had been rocky for a while, but even Adam had to admit that it was better than the Cage, better than Hell.

Think about it like this- Lucifer wants us down there for a reason, Michael explained, and Adam raised his eyebrows slightly. He can decipher Enochian easily - I mean, I literally taught him the language, and it was the first one I'd learned from… The archangel's thoughts faded out, just for a second, before he continued. Point is, he doesn't need us for that, but there has to be a reason. One he just can't say now, I guess- for obvious reasons…

"Ugh…" Adam groaned.

Come on, Michael encouraged, it'll be fine. You wanna help save the world, don't you? Adam didn't respond, only quirked an eyebrow, and there was a long, awkward pause from Michael, before the archangel continued, so that, you know, this can all be over and the universe can be safe and we can actually get back to our life and be free and, oh, hey, nobody dies?

"Ugh," Adam groaned, yet again, but he gave in, much to the archangel's delight. Truthfully enough, the demon couldn't withstand Michael's pleading for too long - he didn't even know why, but he always ended up caving. "Fucking hell… fucking archangel… fuck." The demon scowled and turned his gaze back to Lucifer, who was smirking once more, pleased as ever. "You, you can go to Hell."

"That's the plan. I'll see you there," Lucifer responded with a low snicker, and Adam twitched slightly, about to retort, but Michael reigned him in again. The demon huffed, but he wasn't as irritated as he would have been. Honestly, he kind of welcomed the interruption this time, having missed it for long enough. "Shouldn't take you too long to get settled then, right?" The Devil added, turning toward Sam, who nodded and spared a glance down at the book.

"No. Rowena, Crowley and I are going to be in the crypt, and Dean'll be waiting by the rift while Cas and Gabriel keep watch-" Sam responded, only to be interrupted by Gabriel.

"Actually, I'd like to go with the three musketeers over here," the archangel spoke rather coldly as he spoke that last word, and Lucifer's head slowly turned in his direction, eyebrows raising ever so slightly. Michael paused, and Adam glanced between the two as Gabriel narrowed his eyes toward Lucifer, who only cocked his head in response. "Just in case. Michael's still not at full power- if something goes wrong, then they're all toast. Besides, someone has to make sure this guy doesn't try anything. Isn't that right?"

Dean grunted slightly, almost in agreement, and even Castiel seemed to agree, sparing Lucifer an oddly hostile glance before rooting his gaze back to the list, silent as ever. Michael only frowned slightly, biting back a sigh, and Adam had to keep back a snort - honestly, he wasn't even worried about that. Lucifer's intentions seemed good enough, but even then, Adam's only problem with it would be how Michael would take it - but, since Michael wasn't worried, the demon wasn't going to dwell on that too much right then either.

Sam seemed to disagree, glancing between the two with a frown. "Don't you think you'd be more useful up here?" He checked, looking over at Gabriel.

"I think Cassie boy can keep the souls away from Dean just fine on his own," Gabriel responded, cheerful once more, as he turned and patted his younger brother on the back. Castiel just narrowed his eyes and looked over at the archangel, almost a glare, but not quite; Gabriel only grinned cheekily in response. "Amirite?"

"I will protect Dean with my life, yes," Castiel responded stiffly. At those words, Dean visibly paused his pacing, just for a second, before he continued. Adam just raised an eyebrow at the both of them, and at the faint rush of pride from Michael's side, a small smile tugging at their lips; Adam wiped that one away quickly, shaking his head slightly and rolling his eyes.

"Well, the more the merrier," Lucifer spoke up, matching Gabriel's enthusiasm with ease. That seemed to annoy the archangel, who spared the Devil a faintly irritated glance as he continued on, "you're welcome to join us on our road trip. You know, if it gives you a little peace of mind." He offered Gabriel a sweet smile, then pushed himself back, nudging his shoulder against Sam's. "I'm gonna help them get set up at the crypt. Where's the extra shotgun?"

"In the trunk. It's loaded already," Sam responded, and Lucifer turned to leave at once, sparing Adam and Michael a brief grin as he passed before disappearing from the room. The hunter sighed and flipped the book shut, rubbing his forehead and stepping around the table.

"Wait, we're going now?" Adam questioned, eyes widening slightly.

"Well, it's best to get this over with as soon as we can," Sam said carefully, handing the book over to Rowena, who accepted it happily. "The salt circle isn't going to be able to hold for much longer, and if those souls get out, it'll be… bad. Really bad. So we have to act fast."

"Ah, jeez," Adam mumbled, shaking his head a little. He still didn't quite know how he felt about having to go back to Hell. He was just getting used to the idea of Earth - I mean, he was actually starting to like it, for fuck's sake. The demon made a face and looked down, reaching out for the beer again. Michael was silent, for the most part, but there was nothing but sympathy radiating from the archangel as he lifted the beer to their lips and took a much slower, careful sip.

"It'll be alright," Sam murmured, pausing beside them. He hesitated slightly, then took a deep breath and turned to face the demon and the archangel again, studying their face carefully. "Things seem a little… better between you two," the hunter said slowly, and Adam arched an eyebrow faintly in response, ignoring the slightly sheepish feeling that was stirring up in Michael's chest now. "Did you work things out?"

"We did," Michael spoke before Adam could retort with some snippy comeback, and the demon offered a slight scowl but didn't say anything. "Thank you, again, by the way."

"You still suck-" Adam started, unsure why he felt the need to at least say something rude to his brother, but Michael cut him off rather quickly before he could do so, reeling him back in and chiding him internally as they watched Sam's eyebrows furrow, bewildered, before the realization slowly crept in. Of course, it still had to be disorienting with them both talking to him at once, like this - Adam was almost, almost amused…

"Oooo-kay, let's go," Michael sighed, taking a few steps back, and Adam rolled their eyes slightly. "We should catch up with Bel, shouldn't we, Adam?" The archangel added quickly, and the demon twitched, ever so slightly. He still didn't like lying, even if it was for Lucifer, and even if it was to his good-for-nothing brothers, but… the demon sighed.

"Yyyyep."

"Yeah, so- good luck with the spell, hope it works," Michael chirped, and with that, he spun them both around to leave. Adam just gave a low hum, briefly catching Sam's confused gaze as the archangel marched them straight out of the room. It was only then, in between sips of their beer, did Adam suddenly burst into snickers; Michael only paused for a second, before continuing on, a bit of amusement creeping up in his chest for a second. "What?"

"You're an idiot," was all Adam said, swallowing a few more mouthfuls and clearing his throat slightly after he'd swallowed. "So… back to Hell, eh?"

"Guess so." Michael was silent for a moment, slowing his pace ever so slightly, but he continued on. Adam retreated after a few seconds, only holding enough control to continue sipping at the beer. The archangel waited, and patiently so, as the demon took another sip, speaking up again after they had swallowed. "If you really have a problem with it, you know we don't have to-"

"Oh, it's all good. Gives me a good chance to punch Lucifer," Adam responded casually, and Michael immediately spared a glance over their shoulder, just to ensure they weren't being followed by one of the Winchesters. No, it was only Gabriel, but he was still far enough behind - not that it mattered, as he already knew, anyway - talking with Rowena as they continued on. "Relax, halo, I'm not that reckless…"

"Just being careful…" Michael mumbled, clearly paranoid, but he turned ahead again and continued walking. "Anyway, if you say so. Just let me know if you're uncomfortable with it, and we can turn back, okay?" He checked, and Adam shrugged, taking another sip.

"Whatever, man."