A/N: We're almost at the end...
There weren't enough words, Michael didn't think - the human language didn't have enough words, or a word fitting enough, to describe the anger coursing through his veins right then.
It was certainly an odd feeling. He hadn't been this angry at Lucifer during the Rebellion, and all things considered, compared to this, his fury for his Father thus far had been mostly tame. Now, however, he found himself not simply wanting the man trapped in the Cage. He found himself wanting him dead - and the only thing keeping him from following through with those desires was the fact that the universe still needed him alive to maintain enough balance to hold itself together. He regretted this necessity, but he'd never been more glad to see his Father at full strength, rising to his feet with that stupid grin on his face. Because it only meant Michael had the chance to beat him right back down again, to force him back to his knees, to destroy what was left of his pride and his arrogance and wipe that smug smile off of his stupid face once and for all. The archangel narrowed his eyes, blazing a bright blue, and paced forward a few steps.
It was a destructive kind of rage, one he knew was dangerous, one he knew he would have to tame in any other situation. But not now. No, right now he was going to let himself go. He was going to stop thinking, stop worrying for once, and simply let himself go, give in to the anger. Michael, at the moment, was not the archangel that had walked out of the Cage - yet he wasn't the archangel that had fallen into it either. He didn't know what he was, and he didn't really care.
Chuck was barely on his feet before Michael struck, plunging the sword into his stomach.
Adam's satisfaction would have been enough to bring a smile to his face if the shocked expression on Chuck's hadn't already. He pulled back just long enough to attack again before Chuck had the chance to completely recover from the attack, slashing the blade down across his shoulder and plunging it in without a second thought. Chuck screamed - and, oh, Michael relished the sound, milked it for all it was worth - before he shoved his Father backwards and stuck the sword through the wall behind him, pinning Chuck against it with the blade just as Chuck had done to him and Dean. He didn't hesitate, then, to land one punch after another - and he felt Adam rise back up into control along with him to join in, throwing punches until they couldn't anymore, until, archangel and demon or not, their knuckles became too sore, bruised and bloodied. But Chuck's face was even worse - something Michael took immense pride in.
"Michael," Chuck gasped, "stop, please-"
He pressed a hand against his Father's chest when Chuck attempted to shove himself forward, trying to loosen the sword enough to move, and curled his lips into a thin smile when his Father's gaze flicked up to his face. The man's pupils shrank at once, staring at him, but Michael simply smiled, cold as ever, without an ounce of mercy or compassion. "Go to Hell."
"And burn," Adam threw in with a growl, punching him again. They didn't look back, didn't care about the others for the time being; they only finally stood back, only for a moment, when the lights started flickering, when black goo began oozing through the cracks in the wall, the windows. Only then did they stand back, not enough to allow Chuck room to escape, but just enough for the goo to slither down the walls toward them. It circled slowly as Chuck writhed, alternating between yelling out desperate pleas for them to stop and help him, and screaming out curse words like Michael had never heard from him before, howling with absolute rage. It wasn't enough to stop the Empty from forming its portal, the opening cracking the wall open just behind Chuck. The sword fell loose for a moment - and Michael ripped it from Chuck's shoulder without a second thought - and Chuck reached forward as if to grab onto the archangel, as if to keep himself from falling backwards. Michael let him at first, but only so he could get a good enough grip on the front of Chuck's shirt to thrust him forward at the last second, shoving him inside and watching the goo swallow him as he disappeared into the darkness, into the Empty.
Satisfied, for the moment, that Chuck was properly subdued, Michael briefly turned away while Billie brushed past him to enter the portal after Chuck. Everyone else stared, first at Michael and then the tunnel of black goo, eyes wide with shock as if they hadn't really expected the plan to follow through. Michael didn't blame them, not after the ordeal they'd just been through. But there'd be time to focus on that later, to marvel over the fact that they had the upper hand. Michael simply lifted his gaze toward his brothers first, watching as Gabriel pushed himself forward first, followed closely by Lucifer. Raphael seemed a little more reluctant to follow, but he did so after a few moments; they disappeared inside one by one. Then Bela, Castiel, then Jack, then Jesse and Crowley and Rowena. Sam and Dean stood, but they didn't approach just yet.
Amara pushed herself up; she seemed mostly okay now, stepping toward the portal, but she paused to offer Michael a faint smile, one that didn't quite break through the anger he could see sparkling through her own eyes. He wasn't afraid of her though, no, not right then. He knew that anger was all for Chuck at the moment, and he was ready to see her take it all out on him too. He nodded at her, and she stepped through into the portal, disappearing inside. Michael took a deep breath, bracing himself, and Adam lifted his gaze to Sam and Dean after a moment.
"You coming?" Was all the demon asked, cracking a smirk, before he turned them himself to step inside after the others, bringing them through the portal and exiting Heaven completely.
The sight that greeted them was more than welcome. Chuck was cornered by the other three archangels, Amara and Castiel; for the time being, everyone else seemed content to stand by and watch. Even Jack, eyes narrowed, didn't seem about to step in any time soon unless it was absolutely necessary - of course, Michael understood that, the kid didn't want to fight.
He didn't waste too much time dwelling on that, though.
"Guys…" Chuck held his hands up as his sons and sister approached. Michael was quick to join them, falling into place beside Lucifer and exchanging a cold glance with the Devil. There was a faint glitter of amusement sparkling through his eyes, watching their Father cower before him, but Michael saw mostly rage there, shining through his deep blue gaze as his eyes focused on Chuck again, listening to their Father's pleading with a cruel smirk on his face that held just as much compassion as Michael's did; absolutely none. "Guys, come on. Let's just talk this out…"
"Talk?" Amara mocked, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Oh, so now you want to talk."
"I think we've wasted enough time talking," Castiel growled, taking a step closer, and Michael and Adam couldn't resist grinning when Chuck immediately shied away from him again. They stepped forward at once, tightening their grip on the sword, and Chuck edged backwards. There was just something about seeing him so afraid, knowing he was defeated and still trying to weasel his way out of it at the same time, that made Michael feel a hundred times braver - and oddly, a lot more sadistic than before. But he could worry over that later (though he doubted he'd feel any real guilt, considering…), right now was about making the most of this while he could. Before it was over, before they slammed Chuck into the Cage and locked it behind him.
"Kick his ass!" Bela yelled from behind them, and Adam tugged their lips even further into a wider grin, huffing out a laugh - which turned into a growl when Chuck shot a glare over their shoulder toward the demon, pacing forward to block the man's view. Both Adam and Michael felt a rush of pure satisfaction when Chuck flinched away from them, and judging by the snickers that Gabriel and Lucifer offered from behind them, they weren't the only ones now.
Castiel was the first to throw a punch, with enough power behind it to send Chuck stumbling. Gabriel was quick to follow with an uppercut, and Raphael wasted no time then. Michael stood back with Lucifer for a moment, simply watching his younger brothers and aunt go at it, watching them take the chance to get the justice they'd all been waiting for for so long now. But that brought him to another concern; Lucifer wasn't attacking, simply standing by and watching - and Michael would have thought, out of anyone, that the Devil would be the most eager to land a few punches. But when Michael glanced over at him, Lucifer seemed content enough; he was smiling, if only faintly, as he watched the other four fight against Chuck, subduing the man easily with taunting words and striking him down, driving him backwards, deeper into the Empty. Adam and Michael glanced back and forth for a moment, content, then cleared their throat.
"You alright?" They asked quietly, nudging their shoulder against Lucifer's.
The Devil nodded, his gaze still trained ahead, and his smile widened slightly. "I'm great." He took a deep breath, ducking his head slightly, and narrowed his eyes. "He deserves this."
"He does," Michael agreed, watching his younger brother carefully. He looked back toward the others in time to see Amara lifting Chuck off of his feet, only to throw him backwards even further; the archangel eventually whistled to get one of his brothers' attention, and ended up tossing his sword to Raphael when the younger archangel turned to look at them again; he caught it with ease, and even managed a grin in their direction before turning to continue fighting; Michael sank back again, and Adam finally seemed to relax as well, with a quiet sigh.
"I never thought I'd get to see it," Lucifer admitted after a moment. Michael glanced over at him, then looked back toward the other, furrowing his eyebrows. "Dear old Dad finally getting what's coming to him - from all of them, no less, from you," the Devil marveled, shaking his head.
"I never thought I'd beat up God," Adam mumbled, and Michael and Lucifer laughed.
"I never thought I'd be capable of something like this." Michael shifted slightly, looking down to study their bruised knuckles before simply letting his hands glow to heal them again. Lucifer let out a quiet hum of agreement, watching the others for a little while longer. Only when they got closer to the Cage did Lucifer finally step in to call them off, and Michael stayed where he was to watch as his younger brother approached them. They parted to let him through at once, though not without Castiel offering another punch to a rather dazed-looking Chuck. He didn't quite seem to be injured, not completely - but, as Michael and Adam watched Lucifer withdraw the Haxon ring from his pocket and slide it onto his own finger, they knew that would change.
"Damn-!" Adam huffed out a laugh, leaning back. "Of course he did."
"Of course he did," Michael agreed, grinning.
He started forward slowly, absolutely in no rush. The Empty itself was waiting by the Cage, lurking just out of sight from Chuck, its head turned to watch the archangels silently. Michael eyed it for a moment as he approached, and held Adam back from flipping it off, before he turned his gaze back to his brothers again, watching the ring on Lucifer's finger glow.
Chuck's eyes widened, opening his mouth. "Wait-"
"This is for everything you put us through," Lucifer interrupted. His voice was quiet, so low that Michael and Adam almost didn't catch it. They paced even closer, until they were right beside Gabriel and Castiel, who had decided to observe from only a few feet away. Raphael still stayed close enough to subdue their Father, to keep him from trying to escape. "Never again, Chuck." With that, without waiting for a response, Lucifer winded back and slammed his fist into Chuck's face; the moment he made contact, Chuck went flying backwards as a rush of white hot energy slammed into him from the ring, engulfing him completely. He flew until he hit the side of the Cage, hard enough to rock it a little bit, tilting it violently before it settled again. And Chuck himself simply slid to the ground, unmoving and silent, and Michael and Adam stared.
Nobody said a word until Jack walked forward. He moved slowly, coming up beside Lucifer and looking down at Chuck; then he turned his head, looking up at his father, and nodded slightly. "Good job," he told the Devil quietly before crossing the distance between himself and Chuck, leaving Lucifer standing somewhat speechless behind him. Michael ventured forward to stand beside his younger brother, and Adam grinned as he nudged Lucifer's shoulder with their own again, but they went back to staring when Jack reached a hand out, enveloping Chuck in a bright, golden glow and lifting him up off of the floor of the Empty. He was unconscious.
Which made it easy for Jack to move him into the Cage, maneuvering his limp body through the door and simply letting him drop again. Billie slammed the door shut with her scythe, and the Empty was quick to react; it wasn't long before the black goo rose up out of the ground, creeping up the sides of the Cage, and Michael stared until the entire thing was covered in it.
Cheers erupted from behind them at once, and it didn't take long for the archangels to join in.
Gabriel was the first; Michael turned his head just in time to see him practically throw his arms around Castiel and lift the other angel up, much to the poor Seraph's surprise, and spin them both around furiously. But despite the startled expression on Castiel's face and the way he seemed to struggle in Gabriel's vice-like grip, he himself started laughing not too long after, a look of absolute relief and wonder flashing across his face as he stared toward the Cage. Gabriel released him after a moment, only to grab Raphael and offer him the same treatment.
"We won!"
Raphael shoved his hands against Gabriel's shoulders, but he was grinning. "We won."
"We won," Lucifer whispered, and Michael paused to glance back at him. The Devil shook his head slightly, still staring toward the Cage, then lifted his head to look up at them once more.
Michael simply smiled, and Adam huffed out a laugh. "We won," they agreed.
Lucifer shook his head again, his eyes still wide with shock. He continued to stare up at them for a moment, then paused to glance past them; Michael turned their head briefly to see Castiel pulling Jack into a hug, holding the smiling Nephilim close as they laughed over their victory, over the weight lifted off of their shoulders, over the relief of Chuck finally being gone.
Adam took a moment to sweep their gaze around. Crowley was smirking, though he tried to appear annoyed when Gabriel scooped Rowena up - instead of a hug, however, the archangel tugged her into a kiss, and Michael averted their eyes solely because he really didn't need to see his baby brother kissing anyone at all - Sam and Dean looked dazed but excited, making their way over to where Castiel and Jack were. Sam clasped a hand over Jack's shoulder and squeezed, but Dean simply ended up tugging them all into a firm hug, eliciting a bout of startled laughter from Sam and Castiel while Jack simply seemed to melt into the contact all at once. Jesse had retreated over to the Cage, to where Billie and the Empty stood.
Michael stared for a moment before remembering something else.
"Ah, right…" Adam murmured, narrowing their eyes. "That's right. It's time."
Lucifer offered them a weird look, but Michael didn't have to question that. He knew exactly what the demon was talking about; and so, as Adam had done, he relinquished full control to Adam for the time being to allow him to carry out his plan, content to settle down and watch. The demon's first order of business was to throw Lucifer a pointed look and a shrug, knowing full well that he probably wasn't going to like what was about to happen at first, but knowing it had to happen regardless. Then he turned, raising a hand, and yelled out into the darkness, interrupting the cheers and celebrations to get everyone's attention. "Okay people, listen up!"
Gradually, everyone quieted. Gabriel reluctantly put Rowena down, but he kept his arms wrapped around her, and Dean, Castiel, Sam and Jack pulled apart and turned to look.
Adam waited a moment, looking around to make sure he had everyone's attention, and Michael offered an encouraging hum as the demon took a deep breath to prepare himself. Then he walked forward, away from everyone else for the most part, but took a few steps toward where the Empty, Billie and Jesse stood. He locked their gaze on the Empty for a moment, narrowing his eyes at the oozing, black entity in front of them, before he turned around to face everyone else. Michael saw Lucifer's expression shift at once, realizing immediately what was about to happen, but Adam didn't give him the chance to step in and object. "This thing isn't over just yet. There's one last order of business-" Adam raised a hand, then pointed a single finger toward Lucifer; everyone's heads turned at once, Castiel, Gabriel and Amara's expressions darkening at once with the realization, while everyone else looked curious and confused, eyeing the Devil.
Lucifer stepped back slightly as Adam continued on, "now I'm sure everyone here has some conflicting opinions on Lucifer right about now. But I'd like you all to keep in mind that we probably-" The demon paused, narrowing their eyes, and shook their head slightly. "No, we definitely wouldn't have been able to do any of this without him. He's the one that initiated this whole thing in the first place, the one that had the whole plan when nobody else did."
Michael smiled slightly in approval, and Adam suppressed a grin and went on.
"Whatever you think about the guy, whatever he did in the past, it's over. It was Chuck. Not him. So keep that in mind when you hear what I'm about to tell you." Adam paused, seemingly mostly for dramatic effect, to make sure he still had everyone's attention before he continued, "Lucifer made a deal with the Empty for it to take him in Castiel's place when this was over."
Lucifer inhaled sharply, eyes glued to Adam, then swept his gaze quickly in Jack's direction. Adam was quick to follow on that front, and Michael finally rose up to control after a moment.
The Nephilim looked… shocked at first, stunned and frozen as if he didn't really know how to react to that news. He looked first toward Adam, and then toward Lucifer, and then Castiel - then turned his head completely to lock his gaze on Lucifer again, blue eyes wide with shock. Lucifer couldn't hold his gaze for long, it seemed, looking away once again with a grimace, and Adam and Michael took the chance to gauge everyone else's reactions for the time being. Sam and Dean looked equally surprised - Sam more so than Dean, honestly - and even Crowley seemed to be a bit startled by that. Rowena looked as stunned as Jack - but Raphael didn't seem to be surprised at all. He narrowed his eyes slightly, more contemplative than anything as he looked toward Lucifer, then back toward the black goo-covered Cage, and then the Empty.
Adam looked back up at Jack, and despite himself, Michael couldn't help but feel relieved at the sudden dismay that crossed the Nephilim's face, a mixture of emotions written there, mostly surprise and confusion, but also a hint of worry, disappointment and concern as he stared. Adam chose that moment to continue on, "he did it because he figured if anyone was going to die, it should be him. So that Castiel could live." He offered Jack a pointed glance at that.
The Nephilim didn't say anything for a while. When he finally spoke, however, his voice was quiet, uncertain, as he turned to take a step closer to Lucifer. "Is that… is that true?"
Lucifer hesitated, glancing down at him, then shot Adam a biting glare - to which the demon only responded by quirking their eyebrows. Then, taking a deep breath seemingly to steady himself, Lucifer leaned his head back, closed his eyes, and nodded. "Look, if anyone was going to die…" He trailed off, ignoring Gabriel's furious attempts at an objection, and even Castiel stepped forward and opened his mouth, seeming ready to protest to that as well. "It might as well be me, okay? Nobody-" Lucifer stopped, sucking in a breath, and blinked his eyes open. "Nobody needs me - at least not as much as you need him. You're better off with him," he added to Jack, jerking his chin toward Castiel, and the Nephilim simply stared at him with wide eyes, stunned. "He deserves to be here, with you, and the Winchesters, living whatever kind of life you live."
"That…" Jack furrowed his eyebrows, jerking his head back. "... no."
Lucifer blinked. "No-?"
"No," Jack insisted again, and, satisfied, Adam took a few steps back and crossed their arms over their chest, and Michael leaned back to simply watch the situation progress. "I'm not… no. That's not fair- neither of you deserve…" He ignored the startled expression that flitted across Lucifer's face, turning away and sweeping his gaze around until it rested on the Empty. "You're not taking my father. Any of my fathers," the Nephilim added sharply, taking a step forward.
The Empty didn't seem impressed. "We had a deal, kid."
"I don't care," Jack snapped.
"Yeah," Gabriel chimed in, pulling his arms from around Rowena to step forward. He made his way to Jack's side, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm with the kid here. Fuck your deal."
Adam and Michael grinned - Adam with triumph, and Michael with pride - while Lucifer just stared, eyes still wide with shock, as Castiel stepped forward next. He didn't say anything, but he situated himself right next to Jack on the Nephilim's other side and jerked his chin up to glare toward the black, gooey entity in front of them with a clear challenge written in his gaze.
One by one, everyone else moved forward, slowly but surely. Amara was the next to follow, coming forward to stand beside Gabriel. Raphael was right beside her. Next followed Jesse, squeezing himself in between Castiel and Jack. And then - to even Michael's surprise, honestly - Sam stepped forward, leaving Dean's side to take a stand next to Castiel. Dean followed after him quickly after that, arms crossed over his chest as he glanced back at an appalled-looking Lucifer before turning his attention ahead of them. Then, ever so slowly, Crowley and Rowena followed. Crowley arched an eyebrow at Lucifer as he walked forward, but he took his place next to Dean, and Rowena stood beside him - albeit somewhat hesitantly at that.
Bela heaved out a sigh, but came forward anyway. "Well, I don't even know the guy, but…"
Adam grinned even wider, victorious, and Michael honestly didn't think he'd been more proud of any of them in his life. He kept his gaze on his younger brother for a moment, watching a myriad of emotions cross his face as he stared at the others. But Adam was quick to redirect their attention again, walking forward to stand slightly in front of the line the others had formed in front of Lucifer, and turning to face Billie and the Empty again. Billie looked somewhat impressed herself, and actually somewhat amused as she leaned against her scythe and watched. Michael couldn't tell if the Empty itself was pissed or not at that point - the damn thing didn't exactly have an expression to tell what it was feeling - but he didn't really care, either. And Adam most certainly didn't; still grinning, the demon jerked their chin up slightly, challengingly.
"So I guess you can take Lucifer if you want to," he began. "But what you really want is to sleep, right? If you want Lucifer, you've gotta go through us… and we won't be singing any lullabies."
The pause that followed was exhilarating and agonizing at the same time; Michael was just about to prepare himself for another fight, more than ready to give it all he had, but Billie piped up before anyone else had the chance to. "Well, you heard him." She stepped forward and turned, curling her fingers a little tighter around her scythe and nodding toward the Empty. "You want to go back to sleep? Go back to sleep." She glanced back at the others and rolled her eyes briefly before turning back to the black, gooey entity in front of her, shrugging slightly. "Really, dealing with all of them at this point just isn't worth the trouble."
The Empty turned their head slightly in her direction, then back toward the others. But, ultimately, it ended up stepping back after a moment; it was outnumbered, and it knew that. Michael couldn't keep his shoulders from sagging in time, relieved when the entity stepped back toward the Cage; then, all at once, its physical form seemed to dissolve completely, slowly melting apart until the black goo that made it up sank straight into the floor below it, until there was nothing left. The Cage followed quickly after it; Michael stared, silent, until it disappeared. Until the Cage holding his unconscious Father and the Empty vanished into the darkness.
Adam tilted their head back and grinned, then looked down to stare toward the portal that was slowly opening up to take them back; Billie stepped aside, and Adam turned to glance back at the others again. They exchanged a few glances amongst themselves for a few moments, contemplative - then, without a word, in unspoken agreement, each of them parted to let Lucifer through, and Michael met his still-shocked brother with a smile when he made his way forward.
Now it was over.
Now, they had won.