All right. Time to actually get to plot and stuff. So, have fun, you guys :)


The ground continued to shake, small cracks forming in the concrete floor of the warehouse, growing larger by the moment as the sky outside turned a sickening shade of green and the wind began to howl, shaking the metal siding. Lightning flashed and thunder roared, sharp light and sound splitting the sky, threatening to blind and deafen the group huddled in the eye of the storm.

The roof shuddered above them, shingles snapping. Dean looked up, the scene striking him as comfortingly familiar. He almost expected an army of angels to appear and save them all.

Shingles flew from the roof, metal flying off into the wind as rain began beating down on them. Lilith turned her face to the sky. "It is done," she whispered, shedding all pretense of childlike innocence. "You have lost."

Dean felt himself collide with concrete that was more pebble than solid rock as Castiel dove sideways and tackled him out of the way of a collapsing section of wall. The whole place was coming down as earth and sky split.

Across the room, they could see Ruby fall to her hands and knees, her attention finally turning from Sam long enough for him to scramble away. He crossed the room, sticking close to the wall and avoiding falling shingles and sections of steel and concrete from the collapsing building to stop beside Dean and Cas. "What the Hell is going on?"

"The Seal was broken," Castiel explained, struggling to be heard over the roar of the wind and the crumbling of the ground. "Lucifer has been freed."

With a final loud crack, the floor beneath them split, opening to reveal a gaping chasm of red light. The world went silent for a minute- the wind stopping its roar, the lightning and thunder ceasing, the breath catching in the humans' chests- before a cloud of oily black smoke erupted from the hole, swirling through what was left of the warehouse, creating a dark tornado.

Dread settled over them, hanging on their shoulders, landing in their chests. They had failed. Despite it all, despite following Heaven's orders, learning to fight as mortals should, and being pulled from the depths of Hell, they had failed. Lucifer was there, on Earth, spinning in a cloud of despair and death and destruction before their very eyes.

The cyclone calmed, the smoke settling on the ground between Ruby and Lilith, and began to change. It shrunk, bubbling down, and solidified, forming mass and muscle and dark skin as they watched. It paled, became recognizable, became human.

It opened its eyes- the whites glowing bright in the destruction of the storm, the irises an unearthly violet- and smiled. He glanced down at himself, his smile widening as his eyes took in the sight of the baggy jeans, dark t-shirt, and hooded jacket that had formed from the smoke. "Well," he muttered, smoothing out the clothing, "I always did like to keep up with the times."

He looked back up, running a hand through his short blonde hair, his eyes settling on Lilith. "Babe," he breathed. "Aren't you just cute as a button?"

Lilith smiled up at him. "I can find a different body, if you want. One more pleasing."

Lucifer stepped forward, settling a hand on top of her head. He knelt until he was level with her, still smiling. "I know how much you like the kiddies. Shame we couldn't have any of our own. Got close, though. We still tried. You're fine just the way you are."

He reached out with his other hand, cupping Lilith's face, and pulled her in for a kiss. Sam, Dean, and Cas knelt by the wall, watching in fascination and frozen- by fear or demonic telekinesis, they couldn't tell.

The male demon moaned, breaking the kiss for a moment to look into his lover's milky white eyes. "I've missed you," he said.

"Missed you, too," Lilith cooed.

"Why'd you take so long?"

She blinked. "What?"

"The Seals, babe. What took you?" He ran the pad of his thumb over her cheek, smiling, looking deep into her eyes, fingers cording through her hair.

"The other side got in the way," she said. "It wasn't easy, you know."

Lucifer nodded. "Neither was waiting in Hell." With a quick flick of his wrists and a flash of his eyes, her neck snapped, killing host and demon in an instant. "And I'm not a patient person, Love."

He released his hold on the now-dead body, his head cocking as it fell to the floor with a hollow sound. The demon stood and looked around, as if really seeing his surroundings for the first time. His eyes lit on Ruby, cowering in the corner, and he smiled.

"My Judas," he whispered, sauntering over and holding out a hand to help her back to her feet. Her silver eyes shone up at him, untrusting, for a moment before she reached out and took his hand. "I believe I owe you, my dear." He pulled her up and rested a hand lightly on her back. "I need your help to get acclimated. Much has changed, I'm afraid."

Ruby nodded, her sliver eyes trained on the ground, body shaking violently under the creature's touch. "Of course, my lord."

Lucifer smiled. "Such formalities. Please. I have a name."

She bowed her head. "My apologies, master. Lucifer."

"Much better." He pulled her closer, wrapping his whole arm around her, his devilish smile widening. "I think we're going to be good friends, my dear. Don't you?"

The lower demon nodded again. "Yes," she whispered, voice shaking.

"Good." He tightened his grip, twisting long, pale fingers into the fabric of Ruby's jacket before finally letting her go. She sagged back against the wall.

Lucifer turned his attention from his newest lackey to the three humans who were still hunkered by the opposite wall, watching the scene unfold and hoping to get away relatively unscathed. With a wave of his hand, the trio was pinned to what was left of the wall that had nearly crushed Dean earlier, their bodies spread flat, faces screwed into identical glares of defiance as the ultimate evil began walking toward them.

"Well, well," the Devil said, stopping in front of them and drawing his hands behind his back, inspecting them as if all three were paintings in a museum that specialized in cheap knock-offs. "I see we have some mud-monkeys in our midst."

Dean growled at him, but was smart enough not to taunt. The damn thing had killed Lilith with a flick of his wrists, after all. This demon was the one that had started it all, was the one for which Hell had been created. No, he was smarter than that.

"What's this?" Lucifer asked. "The Mighty Dean Winchester without some kind of retort? I must say, I'm disappointed, boy. I was so hoping to engage in some witty repartee before sending you back to Hell."

"Bite me." He was smart, but sometimes he just couldn't help himself.

"Not my job. I've got puppies for that."

"You can't take him back," Cas spoke up. "He belongs to God."

The demon laughed. "They all did. In the beginning." He stepped up to the angel until they were eye-to-eye. "Things change. They come to me willingly now. But you knew that, didn't you, Fallen?" He glanced back at Dean, that horrible smile back on his face. "You're both mine. And I don't share."

"You won't win." Sam this time, undoubtedly wanting to get a word in edgewise before they were all torn and shredded and sent to Hell. "We won't let you."

The Devil turned toward him, a look of false shock on his face. "Ouch. Now that hurt. Son." He spun again, turning back toward Ruby. "We're going. There's something I need to finish and time is of the essence."

"What about them?" she stuttered.

He shrugged. "I'm a big softy at heart. I'm going to let them live to see the end of their world. Isn't that nice?"

Ruby nodded, pushing herself slowly from the wall and wobbling a bit as she tried to stand on shaky feet. "Very nice," she echoed.

"That's what I thought." Lucifer looked back at the men he had pinned to the wall. "You can't stop me," he stated simply. "Even God Himself has lost that power now." And with that, he strode out of the decimated warehouse, Ruby trailing close behind.