Sam walked into the library a few hours later, all ready to go when the time came. The others were there too, with Maze added to the group. "Any word from Amenadiel?"
"Not yet. I suppose we just have to wait for the bloody thing to make its move on another angel. Father knows I hate waiting," Lucifer grumbled.
Sam looked over at Jack, who had a very sour look on his face. "Are you alright, Jack?"
"He's fine. He is sulking because I will not allow him to come with us," Lucifer said matter-of-factly.
"I'm not sulking," Jack grumbled. It wasn't fair. He should be able to go. He could help. His powers might be able to stop the being that was trying to claim his father's identity.
"Of course not," Lucifer said with an eye roll.
"Damn, you're getting into this 'daddy' thing, aren't you? Who ever would've thought you'd be paternal," Maze said with a laugh.
"Jack, your father's right. It's too dangerous," Sam said.
"But you get to go. You have no powers at all. You're the one who would be useless in a fight. You should be the one that has to stay," Jack said angrily. He regretted his words mere seconds after they came out of his mouth. Sam had been the first friend he'd had here. He'd given him a chance when Dean just wanted to kill him. It just wasn't fair that he didn't get to go and help.
"Jack! Apologize! Then you're wait in your bedroom until I return!" Lucifer said sternly
I'm sorry, Sam. I didn't mean it," Jack said genuinely before getting up and leaving the room.
"Damn. Kid's pissed," Gabriel said.
Lucifer sighed. He didn't like how upset Jack was, nor that he had to punish him This was the first time Lucifer had had a problem with him since finding they met. He hated it. He didn't like being the stern, unfun parent, but he couldn't allow Jack's life to be put in danger, nor for him to be disrespectful to someone who didn't deserve it.
"This is probably our fault. We let him help us, and we probably shouldn't have," Sam said.
"Don't judge yourself for that. No, he shouldn't have been hunting, but you had a child thrust on you. You had to make do. Plus, it probably helped that he looked much older than he is," Lucifer said.
"And you've been hunting yourself since you were like nine. It makes it a little sense that you may not see it as a big deal for someone like Jack, especially since he looks older than he is and has powers," Gabriel added.
"Nine? Hunters are idiots. Not only do they stupidly think they can take on things that could crush them like bugs while barely touching them, but they actually teach their brats to do it as well?" Maze asked in disgust.
"We've saved a lot of lives," Sam said with a glare. He had never been the biggest fan of hunting, even now, while he'd accepted it, he wished he'd had had a normal life, but he understood the need for people like him. He was with Maze about the kid thing though. Kids shouldn't be taught how to hunt.
"And how much of a difference do you really think you make? You think the few monsters you get rid of makes a dent in the thousands that exist, especially when more are created every day?" Maze asked.
Sam didn't have an answer for that. It was a question he'd asked himself a lot. That was why he'd been so for shutting the gates of Hell, even at the expense of his own life. That would put a significant dent in the whole thing."
"That's enough, Maze," Lucifer said.
Just then, Amenadiel appeared. "We're ready. It's made its move."
Lucifer looked at Gabriel. "Are you sure you'll be alright, little brother?"
"I'll be fine. Just make sure you win this fight," Gabriel said. He didn't know what he'd do if Lucifer, Sam, and Amenadiel didn't come back. A part of him wanted to go with them just because he felt helpless sitting here, but even if he had enough Grace to be useful, he wasn't sure he could handle it. He was still very screwed up because of what happened to him.
Amenadiel snapped his fingers and teleported them all with him out of the bunker.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
The four of them appeared Moments later in an alley just as Lucifer's creation was about to take the Grace of the angel he had pinned against the wall of a building. Amenadiel immediately used his power to push the two apart. He then snapped his fingers to transport the angel back to Heaven.
Lucifer, meanwhile, approached the thing he'd created so long ago. "Hello. It has been a while, hasn't it?"
He looked up in astonishment before pulling himself to his feet. He could feel the other being's Grace. It was almost exactly like his, only a tad lighter. "It's not possible."
"Oh, unfortunately, it is. Did you think I wouldn't return to deal with you? You should've stayed where you belonged. No, it wouldn't have been fun, but you would've remained alive," Lucifer said.
"Who are you? You're not me," he said.
"Holy crap. It think really does think it's you," Maze said.
"Yes, it appears that theory was accurate. It is clearly delusional now," Lucifer said.
"Did you just call me 'it'?" the object of the conversation asked with irritation in his voice.
"Of course. It's what you are," Lucifer said simply. "You're not human, or an angel. You're not any creature that has even been known to exist. You're a manifestation of my Grace, the Mark of Cain, and what was left of a human soul. As such, you're nothing more than an abomination."
"How dare you?! I am an archangel! I am the Devil!" he growled before waving his hand and sending the man in front of him flying several feet away.
Lucifer laughed mockingly as he pulled himself to his feet. "You honestly believe that? Like I said, delusional. It's not surprising, really. You were probably half insane before I created you. Adding my Grace and the Mark of Cain only made it worse. No, I'm the Devil. I'm cast out son of God. You are nothing more than my attempt to rid myself of something that was slowly destroying me."
"You're crazy. I am Lucifer, even Dad knows it. He apologized to me. Why would he do that if I wasn't the real thing?" he asked.
"Because he needed you. You refused to help stop Amara unless he apologized. He told you what you wanted to hear," Sam said.
"You buy this? You've known me a long time, Sam. You freed me, just like it was prophesized. You freed the Devil. That was me. You must know that," he said.
"Of course, it was you. No one is disputing that. That prophesy was misconstrued. It only really stated that Sam here would be my vessel and Michael and I would fight. The Cage was never part of it because I was never in it. It wasn't even created by Dad. It was created by me to hold you," Lucifer said.
"No," he said with a head shake. He didn't know what game these people were playing, but he was Lucifer. He was the devil, not this idiot.
"Yes. You were created and chained up by me. You did serve your purposes though. You gave me a son. For that, I will show you some mercy. I will make your death relatively painless. You must still be punished, of course," Lucifer said. He wouldn't go as far as he was planning when he arrived at the bunker, but it would still be punished for trying to kill Gabriel, and for torturing the person Gabriel loved.
His eyes flashed angrily. "My son!"
Lucifer laughed once more. "Your son? You actually think something like you could father a child? No, the boy is mine. He is made up of my Grace. He is connected to me. He is my son. He knows he's my son too. He calls me 'Father'."
"No!" he yelled before attacking. He grabbed the man in front of him by the throat and slammed him against the building.
Amenadiel raised his hand and threw the creature off his brother.
Maze got in the middle and took out her blades as the thing got up and made to go after Lucifer again.
"Move, Maze. I can handle this," Lucifer said.
Maze reluctantly moved out of the way.
"I don't know what you are, but I will kill you!" Lucifer's creation said.
Lucifer chuckled. "Will you? You're running out of Grace. It won't replenish either because you're not an angel. That's why you have to take it from other angels. Mine, however, is pretty juiced up thanks to my brother. I believe I will be victorious, and once I am, I can move on and focus on bringing up my son."
He bared his teeth and attacked once more.
Lucifer dodged its attack and slammed his fist into it's face, sending it across the alley. "You know my boy wanted to come with me tonight to help destroy you? That's all he sees you as. You're nothing but something that has to be stopped to him. Of course, I wouldn't allow it. I would never allow him in your presence, nor would I allow him to face danger."
He advanced as the man's attempt to goad him worked. He lifted him through the air and threw him like a rag doll.
"Luci, let's stop playing games. End it," Amenadiel said. He knew Lucifer was just messing with this thing. He was prolonging things because he wanted it to suffer.
"Fine, ruin my fun," Lucifer said before standing up. In seconds, he pounced on his creation. He jumped on top of him, pinning him to the ground. Then he placed a hand on his head to smite him. He wanted to make death just a little painful, and this was the best way he knew.
"Even if you kill me, it won't be over. Michael will come for you. You will destroy you and this whole place," he said.
Lucifer laughed. "Michael is locked in my cage. Plus, that's not really his style."
"No, the other Michael. The one from the other universe. He's planning to come here. He's gonna destroy everything in his wake, just like he's doing there," he said with a smirk. He might die here, but he could find solace in the fact that everything else would too.
Lucifer only stopped for a second before he slowly smote the thing to the point where it's vessel's eyes burnt out. Then he stood up.
Sam walked over and looked down at it. He couldn't believe it, but it was actually dead. It could never hurt him or anyone else again. "Thank you, Lucifer."
Amenadiel walked over to his brother. "If it was telling the truth about Michael…"
Lucifer sighed and nodded. "Bloody hell."