[A/N: Wow I am the literal worst. I will be truly amazed if anyone is still reading this, but here it is, I finally got around to updating.]

Chapter 8

Dean

"You've been looking for weeks. Where the hell is he?" Dean demanded, glaring at Gabriel as Cas physically held him back from swinging at the archangel (which he knew would hurt like a bitch, but he figured the satisfaction would be worth it).

"I told you, chucklehead, I don't know!" Gabriel retorted, eyes shining like gold fire as he glared back. "I've been looking and looking, but there's no sign of him. We'll only find him when he wants to be found." Guilt and anger warred for dominance on the archangel's features, and it was clearly killing him as much as it was the hunter that they couldn't find Sam/Lucifer. And suddenly Dean just couldn't take another second of this - the doubt, the anger, the sorrow, the confusion. He needed to get away.

Dean wrenched away from Cas angrily to storm outside. There was a cold wind blowing that stung his eyes and had him shoving his hands in his pockets as he made for the Impala, sliding into the driver's seat and leaning his head against the wheel and closing his eyes. The cool leather was familiar and soothing, but not enough to calm the anger and aching burning in his chest. For once Dean had no desire to switch on one of his tapes - he just wanted to sit here in the cold and the silence until it swallowed him up so he could just stop feeling.

"I wish I couldn't feel a damn thing," Dean whispered to the emptiness around him, to himself, feeling the now-familiar sting in his eyes that meant he was fighting back tears. Since he was alone, and felt no shame crying about the loss of his brother (in private, at least), Dean let a few drops fall before scrambling for his usual composure, taking in deep ragged breaths through his nose.

He didn't open his eyes when he heard the rustle of feathers next to him, though he could feel Cas staring at him. He just couldn't face the angel right now. During the last month, Cas had been his one constant, always there when Dean needed him - whether Dean wanted him there or not - but Dean had been avoiding talking about It. He knew they would have to, sooner or later. But right now Dean had to focus on saving his brother. Anything else was a distraction he couldn't afford, so any girly feelings he might have for Castiel got shoved into a box in the back of his mind to be dealt with later.

"Dean?" The gravelly voice was tentative. He rarely initiated conversation, not wanting to bother Dean or push him, possibly scare him away.

The hunter sighed raggedly. "What is it, Cas?" he mumbled, sitting back, still without opening his eyes. He had a feeling that if he met that piercing gaze right now he'd fall apart, and he didn't know if he'd be able to piece himself back together. He had to hold on - for Sam. For the whole damn world, really.

"I was thinking..." Again, he hesitated.

"About?" Dean prompted tiredly, cracking his eyes slightly to peer at the angel beside him. Cas was staring out the window, looking unhappy.

"Well...I think I might know of a way for us to find Sam."

Dean sat up abruptly, now staring intently at the side of Castiel's face. "What? And you're just mentioning this now?"

Cas glanced at him with a grimace. "I don't think you'll like it. I certainly don't," he mumbled, and Dean wasn't sure if he was meant to hear that last part, so he chose to ignore it for now, though he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Cas come on, you know I'll do anything to save Sam." He grabbed Cas' arm and squeezed tightly, looking imploringly at the angel when he met Dean's gaze with a sad smile. "Tell me."

Cas sighed. "I do know of your devotion to Sam. My thought was...if you were to say yes to Michael, he could trace Lucifer." Dean opened his mouth to protest, shocked that Cas would even suggest that, but Cas hurried on before he could get a word out. "It makes sense, Dean. And Gabriel and I could follow and maybe force Lucifer out of Sam, and Michael out of you. We might be able to save him - "

"Or I could end up in a fight to the death with my brother!" Dean snapped, cutting him off. "That's a terrible idea, Cas, no!"

Cas gave him a sad look. "It's the only one we have, Dean. It's the only chance we have to save Sam."

"I still can't believe you talked me into this," the hunter grumbled, crossing his arms.

"It will work, Dean," Cas insisted, though he sounded half-hearted, like he didn't really believe it.

"But - "

"Oh enough arguing, let's get this show on the road already!" Gabriel broke in impatiently. Dean and Cas looked away from each other. There were so many words still unspoken between them - Dean knew this could be his last chance to say them, and he knew that Cas knew. But Dean was terrible with words, and there was no way he was going into a major chick-flick moment when Gabriel was there. So instead Dean rested his hands on Cas' shoulder, waiting until the angel looked at him to offer a small smile.

"I'm coming back," he promised.

"I know." Cas didn't look sure at all, but he smiled back. Dean squeezed his shoulder and felt his stomach tighten with nerves. He leaned over to brush his lips against Cas' temple before pulling away, avoiding looking at the angel as he stepped away so he wouldn't lose his resolve. Gabriel took Dean's place by his brother's side, patting his arm reassuringly. They both watched the hunter with worry and just a bit of hope, praying to their long-absent father that this would work.

"Let's do this." Dean took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. "Hey, Michael - you got your ears on? This is Dean Winchester, and I'm saying yes. You hear me you son of a bitch? Yes! My answer is ye - " His words were cut off with a sudden cry of pain as Dean fell to his knees.

There was no warning. One minute he was speaking to empty air, the next all he could see was white light. All he could hear was a high-pitched ringing, buzzing sound that filled his head until he felt like it was going to explode. Every inch of his being was filled with this...presence, that crushed and burned and tore at the very essence of Dean Winchester. It was worse than any torture he'd endured in Hell. Distantly he could hear Castiel yelling his name, but it was barely audible over the musical voice murmuring to his consciousness.

Well well, this is a surprise, Dean. Vaguely, Dean recognized Michael, but he couldn't quite focus through the haze of agony that he felt sure was slowly killing him.

Oh Dean, I know it hurts, but that's because you're still fighting me. Accept me, and this will be a much more pleasant process. Well, less painful for you, anyways.

Get out of my head! Dean tried to yell, but his vocal cords were no longer his. He couldn't move, couldn't speak - he was no longer in control. Terror gripped Dean, and he struggled wildly but he couldn't even twitch a finger.

I'm sorry, Dean. But you've already said yes to me. It's time to fulfill our destiny together. Let's go find our brothers, shall we?

Dean wanted to protest. He wanted to cry for Castiel and Gabriel, he wanted to scream. He wanted to be in control of his own damn body. But he'd given that up on the slim chance he might be able to save his little brother, and now he had to pay the price.

The last thing Dean saw before his will crumbled was the tear-filled eyes of Castiel, the last thing he heard was the angel he loved crying his name. Then the fire of Michael's Grace consumed him, and Dean fell into darkness.

Castiel

He threw Gabriel's arms off of him, swiping absently at the tears falling from his vessel's eyes. "We have to go after them, Gabriel!"

"I know, Cassie, I know. But we don't know where Michael flew off to, and...Cas...I know you felt it, too." The archangel's voice was uncharacteristically gentle. Both angels had sensed Michael's Grace, much more powerful than either had expected, and had felt Dean's consciousness fading before Michael had vanished.

"No. No. Dean is not lost. He's just...he's been temporarily over-powered by Michael, that's all." He hadn't lost Dean - after all they'd been through, he knew how strong Dean was. He knew the hunter could withstand Michael. Besides, he'd promised he would come back and Dean always kept his promises. "He's coming back, Gabriel," the young former Seraph insisted, but his voice was almost a plea for reassurance.

Gabriel hesitated. "I'm sure he is, kiddo. But we don't know what state he'll be in after Michael vacates the premises. Are you ready for that?"

"I'm getting Dean back," Cas said stubbornly. "We have to follow him, Gabriel. He'll take us to Lucifer and then we can...we can..."

Gabriel sighed. "We'll stop them from killing each other, Castiel. Somehow. For now, let's focus on finding them."

Cas nodded and reached with his Grace, joining it with Gabriel's. As their essences intertwined their power grew, and they could sense their older brothers like a lighthouse in the dead of night, guiding them to the hunters they'd lost and still hoped to save. Together, the brothers honed in on their destination and, with only a flap or two of their wings, they were on their way.

Gabriel

He had a bad feeling. As he and Castiel shifted through time and space, flying towards their feuding brothers, Gabriel just knew that this wasn't going to be a happy ending. He had hope, but facts were facts and the odds did not look good.

So Gabriel did something he hadn't done in a long time, not since he fled his home and changed his identity to escape the war his family had taken up.

He prayed to his Father.

O Father, I don't know if you're listening - actually, I bet you are. But I don't know if you particularly care about the prayer of the prodigal son. What I do know is that you care about the Winchesters, and about this planet. You care about the humans and don't want to see their world destroyed. So wherever you are, whatever you're doing, Father, I beg of you - help us. Give us the strength to save our boys so they can save the world. I don't ask much but I'm asking you this. Father, please. Help us.

The archangel had no idea if his prayer had been heard, or if it would be answered. Experience led him to believe the answer was no, but hope - that damnable idea that he could never quite squash - had him thinking that maybe all wasn't lost.

His hope was crushed when he and Castiel landed in the field and the first thing he saw was Sam (Lucifer) stepping on Dean's (Michael's) throat, a cold grin on his face.

A/N: So...hey, guys. I'm sorry I didn't update this sooner, I just lacked inspiration. I'm not even sure how I feel about this chapter. Is anyone even still reading this? I know I've been gone for a while but hopefully I didn't lose you guys due to the hellatus. How are y'all doing? I've been downright terrible but I'm back and god does it feel good to be feeding my fanfiction needs again. I missed this website so much you don't even know. *sigh* Anyways, this fic is probably only gonna have like 2 maybe 3 more chapters, and then an epilogue and it'll all be over. From what I saw, everyone seemed to be torn between two options but the only common one was option 2, so I'll be going with that one. God saves the day - should be fun, right? Right. I guess that's all. Please review!]