Author's Note: Time for a little angelic sibling rivalry. Remember how Season 5 Gabriel said Sunday dinner was Armageddon at his house, well, he didn't exaggerate. ;) Welcome to Chapter 8.

Chapter 8

Dean

Sam and Mom's crazy plan didn't go over well with the folks in Otherworld Bobby's camp. I knew it wouldn't, but damn it's frustrating. We're on a clock and we're constantly sitting around wasting time. Mom's people want to come, so we take them, but we have to get out of here. As much as I'd love for any version of Bobby to come through that portal with us, if it's not gonna happen, I'm okay with it. Let's go.

"They need time to discuss it," I mutter, leaving the room where Bobby's people sit around a table arguing with each other. Mom, Sam, Castiel and Jack follow me. "We don't have time for them to discuss it."

"Dean, we're asking a lot," Mom says.

"I know that," I say. "But it still doesn't give us more time before that portal closes. Look, if they haven't decided by—what is it?" I stop walking, staring at both Jack and Castiel who've gone stock-still. Mom and Sam stop too, looking concerned.

"What's wrong?" Mom asks. "Are you two…"

"That energy." Jack's voice is dazed. "It feels… my skin's tingling."

Castiel is pale as he looks straight ahead, then at me, Sam and Mom. "The last time I felt this type of disturbance was in Heaven, when all the archangels were home and…not getting along."

My eyes widen. "Not getting along?"

"There was lightning. Lots and lots of lightning."

"You don't think Lucifer and Gabriel…?" Mom starts, but Castiel takes off running.

"Shit." I chase after him, knowing Jack, Mom and Sam won't be too far behind.

I hear them, before I feel weird waves of tension in the air. I round the corner of a row of junker cars and nearly crash into Cass. He's rooted in place, watching, seemingly mesmerized by what's going on.

Lucifer and Gabriel are less than a foot apart, snarling in each other's faces.

"You can't change! You're incapable of empathy and love. You live to be worshipped or feared, or both!" Gabriel yells.

"I'm incapable of empathy and love? Really? You believe that? Look at me. No, look at me! Do you believe that?" Lucifer spits through his teeth, grabbing Gabriel's head with both hands and holding him in place.

I reach for my gun. Son of a bitch.

Castiel pushes my gun arm down, shaking his head.

Gabriel shoves Lucifer back, blue sparks flying from his hands. "I told you not to touch me!"

Lucifer throws both hands in the air. "Fine, then. I won't. Hands free. What are you so touch-shy for? Huh? Ass-modeus touch you? Bet he did, bet he did all kinds of disgusting, defiling things, and you let him because you're weak. You always were weak. Heard you got caught by him, because you were 'betrayed'. Betrayed by who, let me guess, one of your pagan pals? Dad went so wrong with you. If He'd kept you in line, you wouldn't have ended up like this. You'd have stayed your little ass with the family, and…"

"And what, taken sides? Maybe I'd have taken yours. Is that what you think?"

"I would have protected you, if you'd come with me. You were no good in battle. Dad saw to that. But I wouldn't have made you fight. Don't forget, He gave you a blade. I wouldn't have. I would have let you—"

"What? Chill in Hell, with your demons, while you tainted and tried to kill off humanity and fought our brothers to the death? Have them know that I chose you over them—which means I agreed with you trying to kill them?"

Sam, Mom and Jack arrive, crowding my back, trying to peep out at what me and Cass are watching. "Shh…" I breathe at them.

"I didn't want to kill them. I just—it was coming to it, and I knew Michael would kill me if Dad told him to. Raphael would too."

"But I wouldn't. Why do you think that was?"

"Because you were so damn spoiled! You didn't know anything about pain and doing things that caused it or death. You never got called on to help with the hard stuff. Where were you when we fought the Darkness and I took the Mark of Cain for Dad, to help him put down Aunty? Huh, where were you? Do you remember?"

"I was in Heaven."

"Yeah, Daddy left you and Raphael at home, safe, with the keys to Heaven, with simple orders to lock it up and keep it under wraps if we didn't come back."

"Lucifer, Heaven needs angels in it to run. All of you, the foot soldiers, you, Michael, God, were gone. If we had gone too, there'd have been no Heaven and what would God have had you all fighting for? Nothing! He'd have to start all over again. And then, Aunty would have won."

"He should have sent you on the other missions we went on, made you come with me at least," Lucifer growls. "I would have gotten you blooded. Those parlor tricks you let me teach you were nothing. But no, you didn't want to learn to fight or help us. You wanted to do whatever your heart desired." Lucifer pitches his voice high. "Dad, I want to frolic with the apes downstairs. Make me a monkey suit, will ya?" His register returns to normal, "And instead of saying, No, you should learn how to help your brothers do their work, He says: Sure! Go play. I'll handle the details. All you guys should be like Gabriel. Go live among the humans, see why they're such a great idea!"

I tap Castiel's shoulder, mouthing: What the fuck?

Is this actually happening. Two archangels, blue and orange sparks, blue for Gabriel, orange for Lucifer, arching from t-shirts, jeans, hair and fingertips, are squabbling like…like siblings, a big and little brother.

"You should have come down with us," Gabriel says.

"I didn't like to play in gutters," Lucifer sneers. "Michael didn't either."

"Yeah, but Michael wasn't literally hellbent on destroying Dad's creations because they got more attention than him."

"If I was hellbent on destroying creations that got more attention, I would have gone after you!"

Gabriel snorts, rolling his eyes. "Oh—you really want to go over who God's favorite kid was? Everyone knows it was you! You were his pride! Michael—Michael was a great warrior, but stiff. You had the personality, but you were—"

"I was what?"

Gabriel growls, sounding frustrated. "You were never satisfied. Nothing was ever enough. You're selfish and cruel and…" He stops, pointing his index finger at Lucifer like 'aha, I've got it now.' "…you're cancer! You feed on good cells, infecting them until they're ugly inside, like you, and then you spread, until you kill whatever it is you've touched. You ruined our family, because you couldn't stand that Dad loved anyone or anything else more than He loved you."

"Weren't you just criticizing me for blaming other people—"

"If you had sucked it up, and tried what Dad asked, lived among your host bloodline, involved yourself in their lives, you would have seen how beautiful and innocent and pure humans were, how fragile and how precious. You'd know that we needed to protect them, not tempt and taint them. You would have seen Dad's plan and none of this would be happening."

"There's your soft brain talking," Lucifer says.

"No, there's my inherent goodness talking. Where's yours? Oh, you don't have any. Dad messed up when he made you. He forgot to add a heart."

"Did Michael have a heart?"

"Michael loved Dad, and, for him, he'd suffer anything."

"Michael was a robot," Lucifer spits.

"Michael loved you," Gabriel says.

"He was willing to kill me."

"He didn't want to," Gabriel says, then shuts his eyes. "Neither of you wanted to kill each other, so why? Why couldn't you just—"

"Let Dad be right when He was wrong?"

"But wrong for what?" Gabriel demands.

"For giving humanity dominion of the Earth. For making them in His image. For belittling us." Lucifer's voice rings through the junkyard as it rises in fury. Gray clouds circle overhead, and I remember the lightning Cass mentioned. But, somehow, I don't think us trying to break this up will help anything. Might even result in one of us getting lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Temper, temper," Gabriel says, voice cold as ice as he clicks his tongue against his teeth. "I thought you said you'd turned over a new leaf. Don't you want to help these humans here? Impress your half-human son? Oh, wait. It's all an act. Everything with you is an act. And that kid of yours sees right through it."

I hear Jack suck in a sharp breath.

"He likes what he sees," Lucifer says.

"Kids like shiny new objects. You're new," Gabriel says. "But he'll know who you are as well as I do after a few days. You haven't changed one bit since Heaven, Lucifer."

"And you have."

Gabriel glares.

"You're not the little brother that ran away from us all," Lucifer continues. "You're a shattered wreck pretending to be him. And just so you know, I wouldn't have let him shatter you. He wouldn't have dared, if you'd been my right hand."

Gabriel makes a disgusted noise, backing away from Lucifer, inching toward us and about to catch us eavesdropping. I glance at Cass. We should probably go, but I want to hear the end of this. Castiel stays in place, not paying me any attention. Mom's hand squeezes my shoulder, her eyes questioning. Bet she thinks we should go. I shrug at her as she gestures in the other direction with her head. She's already turning Jack and Sam around when Lucifer's voice comes again.

"Before you run away, answer that questions I asked you earlier. Do you really think that I'm incapable of love and empathy?"

"No one capable of either would be able to do the things you've done," Gabriel says flatly.

"You don't think I loved God, or our brothers, or you."

Gabriel shrugs and Lucifer stares him down.

"You're lying."

Gabriel stays quiet.

"I loved our brothers, I loved you—I even loved Dad, a long time ago."

Gabriel looks heavenward as Lucifer crosses the distance between them, reaching out to touch Gabriel again and Gabriel practically jumps out of his skin. "Don't—"

"Don't touch you, got it." Lucifer puts his hands in his pockets. "But answer my question, without weaseling around it. Do you really think I didn't love you? I taught you things. I laughed with you. I offered you a place beside me. You can't think that I never loved you. I loved you more than Michael, you disloyal, ungrateful leech. I loved you more than Raphael."

Silence between the angels looms.

Gabriel fidgets. His back is to Cass and me, so I can't see his face, but Lucifer asks, "What? What's with that look?" His voice cracks.

Gabriel gives a dry laugh. "I want you to mean that."

"Mean what?"

"That you loved me and our family once. That some of my happiest memories of home weren't lies," Gabriel says. "I want to believe you."

"Then believe me and believe that I've changed, that I want to change!"

"I can't do that."

"Why?"

"Because I know you. I've known you since before the lights came on. If you were ever going to change, you would have done it back then, back when our family was still around to comfort you. But you're too proud for that, because to change, you'd have to admit fault. That you were wrong and someone else was right. You can't do that."

Lucifer breathes. "Will you at least believe that I loved you?"

Gabriel sighs and his next words are shaky. "I really want to. But I'm not that soft angel you knew anymore. You acknowledged it even. You're a good liar, a good actor, a conman. So good that I can't tell, but I don't want to have to tell. I want to know that my brother wouldn't lie to me about something like that. But it's what you do. You manipulate and say what people want to hear, so you can snake your way into people's hearts and hurt them."

"Gabriel…" He stops as Gabriel whirls around to walk away, coming right for us.

I don't know what we look like as Gabriel comes face to face with out group. Blue electricity still crackles around his body, making me step back, feeling the heat.

I open my mouth, but hope Cass will come up with something to say before I have to, or Mom, or Sam, or even Jack, because damn. "Ah…"

Gabriel's withering glare kills anything I could have said. He shares that glare with our entire group, before storming away, grumbling things in another language that don't sound kosher.

I hear Sam and Mom say something to him, but they get nothing in reply.

Jack comes to stand between Castiel and me, eyes on Lucifer still in the spot he'd been in when Gabriel had left.

"He looks sad," Jack observes. "Very sad.

But sad over what Gabriel said, or something else entirely?

I got nothing to say, as the King of Evil—Satan himself—blinks rapidly and looks skyward, a suspicious hint of glitter in his eyes, before he puts his back to us and walks away.

Later that night, Bobby tells us that his people have agreed to come with us. And even later than that, Gabriel never comes to bed. I go out to check on him, even after Sam and Castiel warn me to leave him alone. I can't, not after what I saw. That was brutal. I'm not gonna go hug the guy or anything, but I'll feel better if I can say that I saw him tonight and that he's nowhere near Lucifer right now. I don't have to go far to find him. He sits alone atop the rusted roof of a car, counting stars. I give him a blanket, that he takes without a word, then go back to the little cabin Sam, Jack, Castiel, me and Gabriel share, setting up my cot and falling asleep.

I dream about Hell… and depressed archangels.

"You're letting Lucifer drive the bus?"

It's the first thing Gabriel's said since telling Lucifer off yesterday. Everything else has been nods, grunts, and glares in Lucifer's general direction. He tries to be wherever his brother isn't, which is easy because Lucifer seems to be avoiding him too.

"Yeah," I say. "That way we know what he's doing the whole time and Cass can watch him." I shrug and offer the guy a pat on the shoulder. He frowns at me, but nods and heads for the jeep parked just in front of the old school bus we salvaged from Bobby's yard and readied for a road trip. It's tight, but it fits all the refugees and it's quicker than walking.

"We've got about an hour and fifty-seven minutes before the rift closes, Dean," Sam says, as he walks around the bus.

"Let's move!" I call out, heading for the jeep. I jump in the driver's seat with Gabe in back already. Jack's riding with us, because under no circumstances will he be riding with Lucifer—but where is he? I look around and spot a teenaged figure walking in the opposite direction of the jeep and the bus.

"I'll get him!" Sam says, jogging off after Jack. A minute later, Lucifer hops off the bus and follows. I snarl, grinding my teeth as I watch my brother and the Devil talking to Jack.

"What are they talking about?" I ask.

Gabriel sighs. "Jack thinks he can take Otherworld Michael on himself, and wants to stay behind to do it."

"What?" I demand. "Of all the stupid… Did he tell you about his plan and you're just sitting here?"

Gabriel looks annoyed. "I can hear them talking. Angels have super senses when we want them."

"Well, what he wants is not happening." I start to get out, but see Lucifer patting Jack's back and Jack nodding, and then the both of them walk back towards us. Sam grimaces and trudges after them. "What just happened?"

"Lucifer talked sense into him," Gabriel says, slumping down in the backseat and putting a hand over his eyes. "The kid's riding with us, right?"

"Damn straight," I snap, making sure Lucifer gets his ass back on the bus, while Jack stays with Sam. I nod at seeing them walking this way and put my keys in the ignition. Revving the engine, I look back at Gabriel who's still leaned back with his hand over his eyes. "Hey, you okay back there?"

"I'm not gonna get carsick if that's what you wanna know."

"That's good to know," I mutter, "but for real? You're okay with the plan?"

"The one where we force Lucifer to stay trapped here?" He lowers his voice and glances behind us at the bus. "Yeah, totally good with it. Best plan any of you have had in a long, long time."

I don't know if I fully trust that answer, but if it doesn't involve him actually having to skewer Lucifer, I'm sure he's okay with turning his back on his brother. Either way, I'm shoving his ass through the rift before he can change his mind.

"You get enough Twinkies for breakfast?" I ask.

"I'm about as good on power as I'm gonna get right now," Gabriel murmurs. "I'll do my job." He meets my eyes briefly before pulling a pair of sunglasses out of his backpack and relaxing again, like he's on a real road trip. I know he didn't sleep at all last night, so I don't bitch at him.

Jack and Sam reach the jeep, climbing in, Sam shotgun, Jack in back.

"Let's move." I put the jeep in drive and navigate us through the sad remains of what was once the state of Ohio.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading. Don't be afraid to let me know what you think. Please review!