Chapter 12:
AN: Update yay! We're getting down to the wire. The next few chapters should be exciting. So without further ado, enjoy the next chapter!
When Sam finally reaches the warehouse, he parks the stolen min-van behind another abandoned building a few hundred feet away and approaches as quietly as possible. He picks the large padlock on one of the side doors and cautiously pushes it open. The inside of the warehouse is pitch black.
He's not even a dozen steps inside, his eyes barely adjusted to the darkness, when the industrial overhead lights are suddenly switched on. The unexpected brightness flooding the room leaves Sam momentarily blinded. Two large men quickly grab and restrain him.
When Sam's vision returns, he takes a look around. The warehouse is large and mostly empty. Dusty boxes of various sizes and materials scattered around the room are the only thing that remains of the warehouse's previous owners. Doors (and door frames that are missing doors) lead from the main floor of the warehouse to adjoined offices. There's a skylight in the ceiling, but like all the other windows it's coved up with plywood.
Far across the room Sam can see his family. They're tied together to one of the support columns. Half a dozen angels are watching them like hawks. They stand completely still, like statures, but Sam knows that they could kill his entire family with a twitch of his fingers.
"Well hello, Samuel," Sam turns to face the familiar voice. Zachariah.
"Let my family go," Sam demands. "You have me, now. You don't need them."
"Isn't that cute? Little Sammy Winchester wants to sacrifice himself for him family," Zachariah mocks. "But you seem to have forgotten the main rule of negotiation: you need to have something I want."
"I'll stay here, if you let them go," Sam suggests futilely.
"Trying to trade yourself for your family," Zachariah replies. "That's sweet, but get real Sam. I've already got you. What else have you got?"
"Lucifer, what about him?" Sam offers desperately. "If I could get Lucifer to show up, would you let my family go?"
"Oh, Sammy, Sammy, Sammy," Zachariah teases. "We already have the perfect bait to get your brother here."
Dean is traveling down US route 83 South at nearly 90 miles per hour when he hears the flutter of wings. He doesn't even have to look to know that Cas just angel teleported himself into the passenger's seat.
"Go back to Bobby's, Cas," Dean orders. Castiel ignores the order.
"This is a trap, Dean," Castiel states.
"No shit Sherlock," Dean says cruelly. He immediately feels bad and gives Cas an apologetic look. "I know it's a trap."
"Why, if you are aware of its nature, do you continue to travel toward Zachariah's trap?" Castiel asks.
"I don't really have much of a choice," Dean explains. "It's my job to protect Sam. If there's even a small chance that I can save Sam before he does anything stupid then I have to try."
"Then, I will go with you," Castiel declares.
"No, Cas, I want you to go back to Bobby's," Dean repeats his earlier order.
"It is too dangerous for you to go alone, Dean," Castiel argues. "You cannot fight against Zachariah's entire army by yourself."
"The two of us verses an entire angel army wouldn't exactly be a fair fight either," Dean counters. "There's no sense in both of us getting our asses kicked."
"You endeavor to protect Sam, but who will protect you?" Castiel questions.
"Dude, I'm Lucifer, Lord of Hell," Dean points out. "I don't need protecting."
"You are not invulnerable," Cas counters. His voice drops to almost a whisper and Dean almost misses what he says next. "You swore that I would not lose you."
"I'm sorry, Cas," Dean tells his lover guiltily. "But I have to do this. And I'm not gonna let you risk your life too. If you don't go back to Bobby's…"Dean trails off. The passenger's seat beside him is empty. Castiel must have teleported out while he was talking. Dean wants more than anything to be able to turn the car around, take Castiel home, and not leave their bed for at least a week, but that isn't an option right now. So, he continues to speed toward whatever fate awaits him at the small Colorado Springs warehouse.
"What do you have that will make Lucifer walk right into a trap?" Sam asks angrily.
"We have you, obviously," Zachariah points out. "Your brother would do anything to protect you. He went to hell for you. Do you believe he'd think twice about taking on some angels?"
"He's not really my brother anymore, is he?" Sam snarls.
"Of course he is," Zachariah replies. "He's just changed a bit. Now he's my brother too. I know that you think that Lucifer changed your brother. Honestly, I think you're brother has corrupted Lucifer more than Lucifer affected him." Zachariah turns to look at something in a different part of the warehouse that Sam can't see. "Speak of the devil."
Dean enters the warehouse through a window in the back office. He slips as quietly as he can into the main section of the building. The door between the rooms has long ago fallen off its hinges.
There are a few angels standing just inside the door frame. He takes out the first with the silver angel-knife through the back of the neck and then uses the momentum to stab the next angel in the side. Both go down before they even realize that Dean's there. He overpowers a half dozen more angels before a familiar voice brings him to a halt.
"I think it's time you put the knife down and stopped killing my soldiers," Zachariah phrases it as a suggestion but it's obviously a command. "Unless you want my brother, Ecanus, to squeeze your brother's neck until it snaps." Dean looks over to see an angel with dark curly hair (obviously Ecanus) standing next to Zachariah. The angel has his hands resting on Sam's throat. His grip, at the moment, is loose, but Dean knows that could change in a second. Dean's eyes dart around the room looking for some way out.
"Now Dean," Zachariah no longer sounds amused. "Or would you prefer that after killing your brother we move on to the little kiddies."
"Ok, fine, just chill dude," Dean tries to placate. "I'm putting the knife down."
"Restrain him," Zachariah commands the other angels.
"Easy chuckles," Dean growls as the angels roughly bind his arms.
"Still so defiant, Dean," Zachariah states. "Even when you're trapped like the vermin you are."
"Ok junkless," Dean retorts. "Just stop bragging and kill me already so all these nice people can go home."
"Oh, Deano," Zachariah says. "No one is going home."
"Why the hell not?" Dean demands. "You don't need them after you've killed me. They're innocent. You could let them go."
"But Dean, we aren't going to kill you," Zachariah explains. "At least not yet. That wouldn't accomplish anything. We're only in stage 1 of the apocalypse. If we kill Lucifer during stage 1 everything goes back to normal. That's not what we want. We need the apocalypse to be in full swing: the four horsemen, rivers of blood, amphibian downpours, the whole shebang, before we exterminate Lucifer."
"Wait , you guys are hoping for the apocalypse?" Sam questions from where he's still being restrained by Ecanus.
"Of course, although it really isn't as bad as everyone says it is," Zachariah continues. "When we win there will be heaven on earth. It'll be peace and love 24/7 for all of eternity. The problem is that we can't exactly crank up the dial on the apocalypse ourselves. No, we're the good guys. That's your brother's job."
"How many people will die so you can have your little Stepford earth?" Sam asks heatedly.
"More than a few," Zachariah replies. "But you know what they say, you can't build paradise without breaking a few eggs."
"Dickless bastards," Dean mutters as he pulls against his restraints.
"Why now?" Sam wonders. "Lucifer rose 13 years ago. You seem to be taking your time."
"Like I said before kiddo," Zachariah smirked. "Your brother has corrupted mine. Lucifer used to be gung-ho about annihilating this shit stain of a planet. He used to understand how corrupt you vile little apes are. But your brother changed him. He'd rather drink beer and work on that hunk of junk car than rain down fire and brimstone. He decided he'd rather protect the planet than destroy it."
"What does that have to do with my family?" Sam snaps.
"So rather than face us and damage to his precious planet, Lucifer hid," Zachariah continued as if Sam hadn't spoken. "He just disappeared right off our radar, along with anyone who was close to him. Like you Sam. He kept you and your whole family out of our sights for a long time. Until recently. We found a way into your dreams Sammy-boy. Then you said my name and it was like a hundred signal flares going off. It was so simple to find you."
"Why?" Sam questions. "What do you want with us?"
"We're going to give our brother a choice," Zachariah explains. "Either he plays his part and gets the apocalypse back on track or he watches his family suffer the consequences." *muffled thump* *muffled thump* *thud* Dean looks up when he hears the series of quiet noises. They appear to be coming from the roof. Everyone else seems to be too wrapped up in Zachariah's rant to notice. He listens hard, trying to determine what's making those sounds. Is that whispering?
"So what do you say Dean-o?" Zachariah asks Dean, startling the hunter from his thoughts.
"What?" Dean asks. He was too distracted to catch the last couple of things that Zachariah said.
"You should really be paying attention," Zachariah taunts. "I'm giving you a choice. Are you going to start raising some horsemen or will Sam's family have to suffer for your stubbornness?"
Dean doesn't have a chance to answer before all hell breaks loose. A small army of demons breaks through the plywood-covered skylight into the warehouse. At the front, leading the charge is Castiel.
AN: That's all for now. For anyone who was wondering Ecanus is the angel of writers. I needed an angel name, so I thought including him would be interesting. In my head Ecanus looks like Neal Gaiman. The next chapter should be the last one (other than the prologue). It will include THE fight scene and the aftermath. It should be exciting. Keep an eye out for it within the next few weeks. I'm off to my real job now. Until next time : )