All Along the Watchtower Part 1

Lebanon, Kansas

"Okay, let me just get this straight," Dean started. "So… we beat the Brits, we kicked their psycho, tea-swilling asses, and instead of popping champagne and headin' to Vegas, we get Lucifer."

Mary adjusted Grace on her lap. "And you're sure it's him?"

"Yeah." Sam nodded as he looked at the photo. "That's his old vessel, too."

"How is that possible?" Robert asked.

"Crowley, I guess." Sam shrugged.

"And now he's dead." Mary's brows furrowed.

"Well, that's what Hess said," Angela replied skeptically. "But Crowley's a freaking cockroach. I'll believe he's gone when I see the body and burn it."

"We don't need Crowley. We need Rowena." Sam replied. "I mean, she's the one who can slam Lucifer back into the Cage."

"Great. So, where is she?" Robert questioned.

Sam called Rowena and waited for a few moments as the phone rang.

"Oh, hey, Sammy." Lucifer's voice rang through.

Sam inhaled sharply and looked at Angela, a hint of fear in his eyes.

Angela's brows furrowed in concern. "What is it, baby?"

Sam put the phone on speaker so everyone could hear.

"Oh, if you're looking for Rowena, she is presently indisposed," Lucifer commented. "Which is a delicate way of saying, I stomped on her face till the white meat showed, and then set her on fire, just in case. Ah. Gingers. It was messy and… screamy, but it had to be done, Sam. I'm about to be a dad. You can understand that, right? Can't raise the little nipper from a jail cell now, can I? Speaking of… you know where your little pal Castiel is?"

"Go to hell." Sam clenched his jaw angrily.

"Ooh! Good one." Lucifer retorted sarcastically. "Witty. I'll use that in the future. All right, well, I'd love to chat with ya, but, uh, why waste my time, right? It's not like you matter. I don't need to put on the old Sam suit anymore, do I?"

Angela's eyes lit up angrily. "You know, if you think we're just gonna let you walk—

"Oh, hey, Angie!" Lucifer interrupted. "I know you guys are gonna try, you know, whatever. Whatever you're gonna try. But you can't kill me." He taunted. "You've never been able to kill me. And with, uh, witch bitch gone, you can't put me back in the Cage, so like I said… you don't matter. Okay? Buh-bye. Buh-bye." He finished before ending the call.

~/~\~

"You know," Dean limped into the room. "Lucifer's right. We can't kill him and we can't slam his ass back in the Cage."

"Yeah. Okay." Sam closed his laptop. "So, maybe we play for time. Find Cas and Kelly, keep 'em moving. If Lucifer can't find them, he can't hurt them."

"You think Castiel is gonna go along with that?" Robert asked.

"You think we'll give him a choice?" Dean retorted.

"And the baby?" Mary questioned.

"Hopefully, we can still siphon off its grace," Angela answered. "If not, uh… we'll figure something else out."

"Yeah, we better," Dean muttered.

"All right, then." Mary grabbed her gun. "Kind of always wanted to punch the Devil in the face. So, how do we find them?"

"All right, look, we know Kelly's gonna have that kid soon. Like, really soon. And according to the lore, whenever a Nephilim is born, there are signs." Sam explained. "Uh, storms, outbreaks of disease, uh, plague of locusts."

"Things get Biblical." Angela clarified.

"Exactly." Sam nodded. "That much power into the world, whenever and wherever it happens, things get weird."

"So, we're looking for something… weird." Mary replied.

"Yeah. Story of our lives." Dean smirked.

~/~\~

"Hey, listen to this," Dean handed Sam his iPad. "Two-headed calf was born in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho. That's weird."

"That is weird." Mary agreed.

"Yeah, but not our kind of weird," Sam muttered. "Look, whatever this thing is gonna be, it—it's gonna be big and bad—

"You rang?" Crowley appeared in one of the chairs. "Hello, boys. Bambi."

Angela punched Crowley square in the face and held the demon blade to his throat. "Did you do it? Did you let Lucifer out?!"

"I didn't 'let'—

"Don't!" Angela snapped angrily.

"Moose, a little help here!" Crowley pleaded.

Sam sighed heavily. "Angie, wait."

"Seriously?" Angela, Dean, Mary, and Robert asked simultaneously.

"Look, just don't kill him. He worked the Cage spell with Rowena." Sam reminded. "Maybe he can help us."

"And what if he can't?" Robert asked.

"Well, then we kill him." Sam shrugged.

Angela huffed and let go of Crowley, who stood up and put the chair upright.

"Cage spell? Thought you had mother for that."

"Rowena's dead," Dean informed.

"Really?" Crowley asked skeptically.

"Yeah, really. Lucifer." Sam replied.

"Funny," he mused. "I always thought I'd be the one to kill her."

"Crowley… why did you do it? Save Lucifer—What did you want?" Sam asked curiously.

"I wanted to win," he answered. "I perverted mother's spell, put Lucifer in a vessel of my own making because I wanted to win. You have any idea how many people have made a play for my throne over the years? Lucifer, Abaddon, blah, blah, blah, blah. Too damn many! I thought if I could put the Devil on a leash… my own personal nuke, no one would ever dare challenge me again."

"Yeah. That worked out great." Dean muttered sarcastically.

"All ended with me narrowly escaping death by hiding in a rat."

"Wait," Robert frowned. "In an… actual rat?"

"Wasn't too bad, really," Crowley admitted. "Gave me time to think. You know, I've been focused for so long on keeping my job. Never realized I hate it. All those whining demons, the endless moans of damned souls, the paperwork! I mean, who wants that?"

"You." Sam scoffed.

"Unh-unh. Once, maybe."

"So, why are you here?" Sam questioned.

"Well, whenever there's a world-ending crisis at hand, I know where to place my bets. It's on you, you big, beautiful, lumbering piles of flannel. So if you'll forgive my transgression, I'll make it worth your while."

"Which means?" Dean narrowed his eyes.

"After we put Lucifer back in his cage—together—I'll seal off the Gates of Hell." Crowley offered. "You'll never see another demon again, apart from, of course, yours truly."

"You would do that?" Mary raised her brows.

"Why not? They stab me in the back, I'll happily stab them in the front, the sides, and right up their black-eyed asses. So… we have a deal?"

~/~\~

"This is what you do when I'm not here?" Crowley asked as he watched the hunters research. "Type?"

"Yep," Dean muttered.

"Wait a second," Sam started. "I got something. Okay, two hours ago, there was a massive power outage in the Pacific Northwest."

"Sounds like the right kind of weird," Mary replied.

"Oh, yeah." Sam agreed. "Wait. They tracked the outage to an address in North Cove, Washington, to a house currently being rented by one James Novak."

"That's Cas," Dean replied. "Let's roll."

"It's about time." Crowley groaned impatiently as he stood up.

Angela swiftly stabbed the demon knife through his hand, pinning Crowley to the table.

"Aah!"

"Think we're gonna trust you out there after what you pulled?" Angela glared icily. "Hmm? No. You stay here, you sit down, and you shut up."

A/N: Hey, y'all, I hope you liked this chapter! I can't believe that there is only one more left. Love y'all, xoxo :)

~Emily