A/N: Hi, guys! Fun fact, if you didn't already pick up on my titles, every title of every chapter of this story has been a song title. I highly suggest this week's song. It's Turn Off the Lights by Panic! At the Disco. It's a very good companion piece. Enjoy!
Oh, Chicago. It's been so long since I've seen you. After I had to leave the sweet old lady in Missouri, I spent a couple days here. This pizza place was my favorite and the best I've ever had. That's why I told Sam and Dean to meet me here. Earth's simple pleasures. But I was also smart and brought one of Hell's simple pleasures, too. A couple of applesauce pouches full of a particular Scottish vintage I've grown rather fond of. Mmm...I spun around on my barstool, waiting for the rest of my party to show up.
"Can I help you?" the bartender greeted me. Hot damn, he's cute.
"I need a deep-dish meat lovers," I ordered, "And a bottle of top shelf whiskey."
"No problem," he wrote it down and slid it across the wire, "You know, that's quite a lot of food and booze for such a little girl. What are we eating and drinking away this time of night? Bad date?"
"Family, if we're being honest," I chuckled, fully aware that I could break this guy in half. Yet, he had the audacity to call me little, "I'm waiting on my brothers to get here."
"Don't get along with your brothers?" he guessed.
"Not exactly," I shook my head, "I love my brothers. I really do. We've been fighting lately, though. Fingers crossed we can fix things tonight."
"You're family," the bartender slid a bottle of whiskey to me, "I'm sure they'll come around soon enough. What's your usual poison of choice? Something tells me the whiskey's not for you."
"Vodka sour," I gave him a look, "Whiskey's alright once in a while, though. Why?"
"Here," he mixed me a drink, "On the house. You look like you could use it."
"Thank you," I smiled sweetly, "I really appreciate it."
"You're welcome," he gave me a wink, "You need anything, let me know, ok?"
"Ok," I sent him off on his merry way.
"You know," Lucifer took the barstool next to me, "I really wish I wasn't in your head right now. Do you know how long it's been since I've had good pizza? It sounds so good."
"Sorry," I rolled my eyes, "If you want, you can enjoy it by proxy."
"Thanks, Lena," he laid his head on my shoulder, "You know how to treat a lady."
"Lucifer," I kept my voice down, "I love you, but you're a pain in my ass. You know that, right?"
"Aww," Lucifer cuddled closer, "I knew you loved me."
"Swear," I shook my head.
"So!" he chimed, "Drinking your troubles, are we?"
"You mean the big ass bottle of whiskey?" I figured, "That's not for me. Dean sounded pretty pissed on the phone, so it can't hurt to grease the wheels a bit."
"Good call," Lucifer praised, "Get them good and drunk, then BAM! Get them to tell you where one of my brothers are and drain his grace. Sound like a plan?"
"Wait," I stopped him, "You're awfully adamant about me taking archangel grace. Care to tell me why?"
"To heighten your buzz," he explained, "When you got both sides in your body, it's a beautiful, yet volatile mixture that would allow you to assume the powers of God. But the kicker? You'd end up getting me out of your head and I know you've enjoyed me being your copilot."
"It's aged me horribly."
"No," he clarified, "That's the demon blood aging you horribly. Besides, you still look adorable. In fact, you look even better now than what you did when I finally met you for the first time."
"Yeah," I scoffed, "Because I'm doped up on your minions' blood."
"That, too," Lucifer agreed, "But the whole good girl gone bad thing? You wear it well, princess."
Words I never thought I'd say again, "Thanks, Lucifer..."
"No problem," he kissed my cheek, "Now, your brothers are outside parking the car. If you need me, you know where I'll be."
Lucifer evaporated from the barstool and went back into my head. Here I am! Hello, Lucifer. /Hi, Lena. How are you? Just peachy. How are you? Can't complain. I'm stuck in your noggin, but all in all, it's cozy up here. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. Your thoughts are a weird place to be. Did you know that? Hey! There are certain things in there that are meant to be private. Relax. I'm not paying Fredrico a visit. That's all you. I don't need to see you in that kind of light. Hey, look! Sam and Dean are here!
Happy place, Lena. You need me to put you in one? No. I'm good. It's Sam and Dean. If I couldn't handle them by now, I was in the wrong profession. I can do this. Ok. Could I get, like, a magazine...? Or a Netflix account? No...Nothing beats a good book. Think I could get those Supernatural books? I want to see how Dad wrote me. I mean, I've seen what he did with the Bible. Yikes. But these are different. Lucifer, shut up!
"Hi, Lena," Dean spoke softly, unable to go any louder with Sam towering behind him.
"Hey, boys," I put on a fake smile, "What's up?"
"We need to talk," Sam sat on my right while Dean sat on my left.
"I thought so," I waved the bartender down and got a couple of empty glasses. Now would be a good time for the whiskey. But then, I took a quick look around, "What? Traveling sans angel these days?"
"Cas is busy," Dean brushed me off. So quick to answer. Maybe Cas and I have a little more in common these days. Then again, I did kind of pit them against each other last time we spoke.
"Lena," Sam took my hand, "Why? Why are you doing it?"
"Doing what?" I wanted to hear him say it. I wanted to hear both of them say it. I'm juicing and it's making them worried. We've been down this road.
"You know damn well what," Dean snapped with fear in his eyes. Sweet, delicious fear.
"What?" I spoke calmly, only adding to his levels of pissed off.
"Demon blood, Lena," he snarled, "Consider this your intervention."
"I thought my intervention was back in a hotel room in Kansas," I remembered. The night Crowley sold me out.
"It was supposed to be," Sam threw back his whiskey like a champ, "But you..."
"You hulked out and left!" Dean wasn't taking the back seat here, "You know you shouldn't be on this crap, yet you're downing it like it's going out of style!"
"Sorry," I shrugged, "It makes me strong. It makes me feel good. What's so bad about that?"
"Lena," Cas popped up out of nowhere. We really do need to get him that bell, "I don't think you understand what it's doing to you. To your physical being."
"Hi, Cas," I smiled, forcing the unnecessary tears back. Hey, Lucifer? Yo! Think you could do a girl a solid and get rid of that? What? Princess doesn't want her feelings anymore? Hell no. I can do a lot of things to ease your pain, but that's not one of them. Whatever you have to do then. Alright, Lena. I'll see what I can do. Thank you.
"Look," Sam chimed in, "I know what you're feeling right now. Been there, done that. I know you can get hooked on the power and the strength it gives you. And I know you think you need it, but you don't. You're using it as a crutch."
"No," I thought it over, "I'm using it as the fuel for my fun. It's not like I'm hurting anyone. In fact, I'm killing demons for this. Is that not for the greater good?"
"It's a suicide mission!" The vein in Dean's forehead grew more and more prominent.
"A little hypocritical, don't you think?" I pointed out, "Coming from the biggest martyrs I've ever met in my life."
"That's for us to do," Sam tried to get his brother to settle down, but I feel like Dean could punch a hole through a brick wall. Between the anger and the adrenaline, "We've been the chosen saviors of the world since day one. Hell, we've done it a time or two before."
"Yeah," I nodded, "Martyrs. That's the very definition. It's your job. It's your job. You guys can say it until you're blue in the face, but when my brothers are busy saving the world, that leaves me to fend for myself. That's what the demon blood does for me. And I have to say it's doing a damn fine job."
"But at what cost?" Dean jumped down my throat, "That's when you join a gym, not start drinking demon blood!"
"Lena," Cas explained, "Every drop of demon blood is chipping away at your mortal soul. It will..."
"So, what you're saying," I cut him off, "If the demon blood completely chips away my mortal soul, I'll become immortal?"
"No," he went on, "It will consume you and it will kill you. You don't deserve that."
"Well, I must be the great, grand exception to the rule," I assumed, "Because I feel fine. I must be compatible."
"You feel it, don't you?" Cas asked, sending chills down my spine. He knows, "You're coughing up blood? Getting intense headaches? Experiencing hallucinations?"
Lucifer...Any time now. Sorry, kiddo. He's got you pegged. Always the perceptive one, Castiel. Thanks. You're such help. Dick. I heard that. I KNOW!
"No," I finished the rest of my drink, "I'm fine."
"You're lying, aren't you?" She might be. Shut up, Lucifer. No one asked you.
"No," I lied through my teeth, "I told you. I'm ok. Just riding out the power trip."
"Lena, please," Cas took my hands, "You're very sick. Come back to the bunker with us. We can help you."
"What?" Sam thought it over, "A weekend of detox and she'll be back on her feet again?"
"Maybe a little longer," Cas figured, "She has been doing this for a few months now."
"Uh..." I jumped down from my barstool, taking the boxed-up pizza in front of me, "No thanks. I appreciate the thought, but I'm good. Besides, I got Crowley on ice downstairs and I'd hate to miss that."
"Excuse me?" Dean perked up, "You what?"
"Oh yeah!" I grinned, "I forgot to tell you! I totally took over Hell. Isn't that awesome? I have a whole kingdom waiting for me when I get back. Where did you think I was while you were looking for me? I headed to Wyoming, popped the gate, and here we are. Hell's all mine. It's pretty nice down there. I just redecorated."
"Lena, no," I was waiting for him to smack me in the nose with a newspaper.
"Uh...Lena, yes," I assured, getting a better look at the angel standing behind my brother, "Oh, holy hell, Cas...You're pretty."
The three of them backed away from me. Rude. I thought Sam was about to throw up. /You might want to be careful, Lena. Do you know why you can see Castiel? I'm not blind? You're looking at his angel form. Do you know how you're doing it? I suggest looking in a mirror. I don't understand. I checked the mirror on the back of the bar to see a pair of bright red eyes staring back at me. Those are nice, too. Wait a second. Lucifer, if I've been juicing with demon blood, shouldn't they be black, not red? You've been juicing with Crowley's blood. If it were a lower level demon you've been drinking, then they'd be black. He's pretty high up on the food chain. And your buddy Xander is, too. As far as the incubus demons are concerned, he's upper management. Neat.
"Lena," Cas was the only one who wasn't afraid to get close to me, "You need to come with us."
"I don't think so."
"You don't have a choice anymore," Dean put his foot down and played dirty, "What would Bobby say about this? You really think he'd be proud of you, knowing that, not only are you hooked on demon blood, but you're choosing it of your own free will? Hell no! He's back in Heaven, keeping an eye on you and disgusted by the person you've become."
"You don't think I have a choice?" my voice broke. The fact that he threw Uncle Bobby in like that brought out my inner bitch. Alright, Dean. You wanted me angry? You wanted me pissed off? Not a good idea. Lena…Settle down. It's alright. No! The son of a bitch played dirty. That was basement levels of low, even for Dean. The lights above the bar shattered along with the mirror and various bottles. I grabbed a pouch out of my bag and popped the top on it, "I have other things to do back in Hell, so if you'll excuse me."
Before I knew it, a blunt object smacked me in the back of my head, effectively knocking me out. Dammit...I was hoping this family reunion could've gone better, but oh, no. We couldn't have that. Heaven forbid.
A/N: Welp. That was fun. Nothing says excitement like a family reunion. Actually, all of my family gatherings since I was about fifteen have been hell, so…Ha! Irony. On the plus (or negative, depending on where you stand here) side, Lena's back with the boys. She's also full of Crowley's blood and Chuck only knows where the boys have taken her. We all know where they're going. We know what's going to happen. But now, if you'll excuse me, I have a bunch of pent-up energy and I'm going to get some work done. See you next chapter! xx