Chapter 14:
AN: Sorry for the amount of times I write Lucifer in this, I find it much more formal and fitting than the devil or Satan.
For I while we simply stared at the man (demon? Angel?) before us.
"He may be the devil reincarnate but damn can he work a white suit." I muttered to Dean who glared at me.
"Why thank you AJ." Lucifer replied. Ok, so him knowing my name was the tiniest creepy but hey, surprisingly not the weirdest thing that had happened today.
"Ok that's enough now, end of the world and all." Dean said, moving towards the devil. There was a pained look in Dean's eyes as he looked from his future dead corpse to the man that used to be his brother.
"You've come a long way to see this, haven't you?" Lucifer said, genuinely curious, like he had no idea what was going on and hadn't just killed the future version of the man in front of him. Dean rolled his eyes and walked towards the devil.
"Oh shut up and just kill me already." He said, making me flinch and step towards him, not that I knew what I would do if Lucifer actually followed Dean's orders.
"Kill you?" Lucifer asked, almost looking, well… shocked. He put a hand to his (if existant) heart and opened his mouth, which would have most likely made me laugh in any other situation.
Dean just looked at the man before him, trying to decipher his thoughts. I had to admit I was a little confused as to what would happen right about now as well. Would Lucifer kill Dean? Me? What if he kills Dean and not me? How will I get back? What do I tell Sam? Bobby? 'Oh yeah me and Dean, who'd I never met before but he's a rather nice chap, went to the future and Lucifer, dressed as you Sam btw, zapped him dead. Oh and he also killed his future self but yeah. Cheerio.' Yeah… not seeing that somehow.
"Wouldn't that be a little..." Lucifer began, his eyes wandering purposely over to the corpse of the future Dean, making the still living addition shudder and me cringe. "Redundant?" he finished, a devilish (ironic really) grin on his face. Dean tried to look him in the eye, but had to look away. I couldn't blame him, if I had a sibling I spent my whole life with who was suddenly possessed by 'effing Satan I'd be a little peeved too. Lucifer obviously realised this and sighed, turning away to admire a rose, holding the delicate ruby red creation in his calloused palm. The contrast to the white suit created a stunning image and looked almost like a pearl of blood in comparison.
"You ever hear the story of how I fell from grace?" Lucifer asked, still not facing us, still admiring the blossom of flaming crimson before him. Dean sighed overdramatically (obviously trying to cover up the uneasiness he felt).
"Oh, good God, you're not gonna tell me a bedtime story, are you? My stomach's almost out of bile." He grumbled, leaning on a collapsing wall, arms crossed. I slowly walked over to him, knowing he needed the back up (from his hunter senses) and just someone he knew to keep him calm. I honestly didn't want him to tempt the devil and punch him in the face or something. I kinda wanted both of us to get out of this alive and with all limbs intact.
"You know why God cast me down?" Lucifer started, obviously not caring that Dean was more interested in the speck of mud on his boots than the story he was about to be told. I wasn't about to admit I myself was rather intrigued. "Because I loved him. More than anything. And then God created..." Lucifer faded off, looking towards me and smirking. I stamped down the urge to shiver and stared right back, a cocky smirk on my own face. There was no way I was bowing down to the devil, even if I respected him the tiniest bit.
"You." He carried on, looking away from me and to Dean for the first time in the story. I wasn't willing to admit, even in my head, the devil having a staring contest with me scared the ever loving shit out of me. "The little...hairless apes. And then he asked all of us to bow down before you—to love you, more than him. And I said, "Father, I can't." I said, "These human beings are flawed, murderous." And for that, God had Michael cast me into hell. Now, tell me, does the punishment fit the crime? Especially, when I was right? Look at what six billion of you have done to this thing, and how many of you blame me for it." Lucifer looked away from us, a look of hurt and rejection in his eyes, that I couldn't help but feel sympathy for. He had simply stated his thoughts, been kicked out of home and his soul had moulded and festered due to this exclusion. Certainly, he didn't deserve this treatment at the time but now, now there was nothing to do for him. Oh great, I'm feeling sympathy for the devil.
"You're not fooling me, you know that? With this sympathy-for-the-devil crap. I know what you are." Dean spat, shaking me out of my internal monologue. Whoops, just me being swayed by Satan then. I'm one of those sorry souls all those shows are about, the ones who think maybe the devil aint so bad, as a dead corpse lies at their feet.
"What am I?" Lucifer asked, egging Dean on. Almost begging for a fight. I put a hand on Dean's bicep, a warning not to start anything with the devil or 'I swear to God I will beat the ever-loving shit out of you, you moron'. Dean simply looked at me, as if to say 'I'm not gonna hit him you idiot, just let me get in his face and have a good row.' I rolled my eyes and left my hand where it was, not realising I'd only known this man for just more than two days and we already had our own non-verbal means of communication.
"You're the same thing, only bigger. The same brand of cockroach I've been squashing my whole life. An ugly, evil, belly-to-the-ground, supernatural piece of crap. The only difference between them and you is the size of your ego." Dean carried on, almost begging the ex-angel to take a swing at him so he could hit him back (You would've thought Dean would've learnt not to hit angels but obviously that lesson hadn't stuck for long. And apparently neither had the broken hand he had nursed for a few weeks). Lucifer walked forward and I, expecting him to take a hit, pulled Dean back, glaring. But he didn't. Lucifer simply… smiled.
"I like you, Dean. I get what the other angels see in you. Goodbye. We'll meet again soon." He said, turning his back and walking away, obviously not worried about an attack to his back. Over confident, sassy son of a bitch if I ever met one, that devil is. Though to be fair he's kind of meant to be.
"You better kill me now!" Dean shouted, shaking my grasp off and moving forward. Lucifer turned around, an eyebrow up in confusion. "You better kill me now. Or I swear, I will find a way to kill you. And I won't stop." Dean said, almost pleading that Lucifer kill him. I didn't want to, but I realised what he wanted. He wanted it all to be over, he didn't want to become the man he is meant to become, he doesn't want to make decisions only he can make. Then I realised another thing, one we both knew, even if Dean didn't want to admit it yet. Dean had no choice, he had to.
"I know you won't kill me Dean. I know you won't say yes to Michael, either. And I know you won't kill Sam. Whatever you do, you will always end up here. Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter, we will always end up—here. I win. So, I win." Lucifer finished, a small, almost apologetic, sympathising smile on his face. He turned away, walking back towards the rose.
"You're wrong." Dean said, unwilling to let the devil get into his head.
"See you in five years, Dean." Lucifer said, putting the rose in his pocket. Just then thunder clapped above us, loud and deafening. I shouted for Dean but he couldn't hear me. I turned to try and see Lucifer but he was gone, the rose left behind in his wake. When I tried to move to reach for Dean all that happened was my hand reached nothing. And then… darkness.