Episode 18 – The Beginning of the End

Summary: Gabriel is in Lucifer's hands, leaving heaven leaderless. Dean, Cas, Charlie and Alex are separated while the world descends into chaos.

Author's Notes: A belated Merry Christmas to everyone who is celebrating! I hope this chapter will make your holidays more exciting either way :)

xXx

Should anyone ask him later, then Crowley will blame continuous exposure to the Winchesters over the span of several years. There's no other explanation as to why his first reaction to the explosion is grabbing the two women and teleporting them to the other side of the city where the woods grant them enough cover.

"What's going on?" Alex immediately shoots at Red, who's trembling slightly.

"I don't know – they were just able to enter, as if the warding was nothing! I grabbed the most important things and ran for it. Why're you back? Where's Dean and Cas? I've been reading what's going on on Twitter but it's pretty incoherent and I –"

"If you'd let us get a word or two in, Little Red, you'd know more," Crowley sneered, relishing the protest the nickname evokes.

"I'm way more badass than that little skank! I could take down a werewolf! If I had to," she adds a little softer and then, thankfully, falls silent so that they can fill her in.

Crowley has barely finished his epic tale of how he single-handedly defeated the False Prophet before Charlie's phone rings.

"It's Dean," she informs them. "Hey Dean – wait, I'll put you on speaker."

"So you're not alone Alex make it back to the bunker okay?"

"Yes," the girl in question confirms.

"Oh, no inquiry about my wellbeing?" Crowley drawls, voice dripping with fake hurt (though admittedly, it might sting a little – he was their biggest asset! He pulled his own weight even if he didn't have to!).

"Can it, douchebag. Let the grown-ups speak. We've got a problem."

"You and me both, amigo."

"Well, I got a kidnapped archangel."

"Maybe Lucifer just wants a happy family reunion?" Crowley quips, yet it goes ignored.

"I see your kidnapped archangel and I raise you a blown-up bunker," Alex cuts in, obviously growing rather impatient.

"What?!"

"I'm sorry, Dean," Charlie explains, "but there's nothing I could've done! They just… entered. My best guess is that Lucifer worked some mojo so that his gooney could cheat the wards."

"Damn it! How's my baby?"

"Huh?"

"The Impala, Charlie. What the hell happened to my car?!"

"I-I don't know, Dean."

A string of curses resonates through the line that leaves even Crowley impressed, and something about never letting the angel squad beam him anywhere in his life, ever.

"Seriously, squirrel? You kiss your lover with that mouth?"

"I do a lot more things to my lover with that mouth, now shut up or I'll trade you to Lucifer in exchange for him restoring my car."

"I'm sorry, Dean, but I really don't think… The entire bunker went up in flames, including the garage."

A beat of silence. "Just so you know – if Dorothy bitches about her motorcycle you get to tell her," Dean snarks, laying on the carefree sarcasm a tad thick. Either way Crowley would've seen right through him. Every demon knows the best way to incur Dean Winchester's wrath is to mess with his precious baby.

"I hate to interrupt this incredibly productive conversation," Alex complains, "but right now we're alone in the woods with Crowley, Heaven is leaderless and we kind of need a game-plan."

"Alright, alright. From the looks of it it'd be best if Cas and I stayed here a bit, help with the locals since they're all pretty much flippin' their shit. So either you guys join up or look of a safe place, best one with Wi-Fi. We're gonna need your service now more than ever. Yours, too, Alex."

"Right now no one knows where we are," Crowley speaks up, "and personally I'd like to keep it that way. I suggest we stay split up and I see to it that wicked sisters here stay safe and in exchange you don't trade me for a car, how's that, Dean-o?"

"You ain't got any authority here, Crowley."

Alex groans, snatching the cell phone away from Charlie. The redhead's breath hitches as the other woman's fingers almost touch her own, though Kahr never notices. Crowley mentally chuckles.

"Listen, Dean – I'm the last person to listen to a demon but Crowley has a point. We'll be open targets in DC and we don't have the protection from Lucifer's army that you guys have. So we're going to look for a new base of operations and then call you back."

"Aye aye, ma'am!" is Winchester's reply but before the huntress can terminate the call, Crowley nudges her with an elbow.

"Yes, alright – and Crowley will not be a bargaining chip in your quest for a car."

"Thank you."

"Fine," Dean grumbles. "You better keep 'em safe, you got that?"

"Yes, I swear on the charred remains of your baby."

There is another growl but Alex cuts the connection before Dean can get another word in. Crowley chuckles as Kahr starts listing possible hide-outs, thinking with a wistful smile that the Impala is definitely a step up from the three pigs his mother sold him for.

xXx

While Dean is on the phone with their sisters in arms, Castiel does his best to help his own siblings to the best of his ability.

Washington has been slipping more and more into chaos while the angels try their best to retrieve as many humans as possible from the debris that the Beast of the Sea left behind while a knot of people with cameras and microphones are gathering around the monster's corpse.

Hannah, meanwhile, is hyperventilating – which should be impossible seeing as angels do not require oxygen.

"Calm down," Castiel tells her, but she shakes her head vehemently.

"How? Gabriel is gone! What are we supposed to do? He always knew the best course of action –"

"And you will do your best to do him justice, Hannah."

"I cannot –"

"Yes, you can, Hannah, and you will. He regarded you as his second in command. Our brothers and sisters will agree and accept your orders."

She takes a shuddering breath, glancing around the wrecked street. "So much destruction, Castiel. So much death. We cannot stop it."

"Gabriel never promised that either. Keep up what you have been doing – help the people, coordinate with Miss Kahr and Miss Bradbury. Let Dean and me worry about finding a way to rescue Gabriel and to defeat Lucifer."

Her features soften at his words, a tentative smile tugging at her lips. "You place a lot of faith in that human, Castiel."

"He is the Righteous Man."

"Not this time. Someone else broke the first seal."

"I know. But he is…" Castiel trails off as his eyes find the man in question as he is snapping something at the phone in his hands. "He is the best chance we have and he will not fail us."

Hannah is quiet for a moment. "It must be wonderful, feeling like you do."

She might not be calling it by name, yet Castiel hears her actual message clearly, so he nods since it is the truth.

"Very well then. Let's get back to it."

With that, Hannah squares her shoulders and if Castiel were still able to see her wings, he would probably see them extend. She flutters off after murmuring a "Thank you" and Castiel wanders over to his partner, whose face is a battlefield of warring emotions.

"What happened?"

Dean's expression hardens immediately, as if he had flicked a switch. "Charlie and Alex got to find a new HQ 'cause somehow demons blew up the bunker. Including my car."

"Oh no, Dean, I'm sorry!"

Dean seems surprised at Castiel's reaction, even more so when Castiel wraps his arms around him and pulls him into a tight hug. But he knows what that car means to Dean – and what it means to himself as well. He has spent long periods in the car, trying to understand how his partner can feel so at home behind the wheel. Castiel never quite understood the appeal, yet having Dean beside him always was sufficient for himself.

Some of the tension oozes out of Dean's shoulders after a few moments and by the time he squeezes Castiel's shoulder in unspoken thanks, Dean has pulled himself together again.

"So are we going to join them on their quest for a new base?"

"Nope, I guess we're needed here, especially with Gabe outta the picture."

"Yes. Hannah feels herself lacking the leadership qualities required to fill in, yet I seem to have given her an adequate pep talk."

Dean smiles and – mature adult that he is – ruffles his hair. "You're good at those. Come on, there's civilians milling about that Beast and that can't be good."

The first reporters, none of them the woman from the White House press room as Castiel notes, spot them when they reach the Beast's rear. It is even more impressive up close and Castiel barely resists the urge to touch its scales, glistening wetly in the sunlight even though the last breath has left their owner long ago.

"What's you plan, Dean?"

"No clue, but what better way to get the message out than those sharks, eh?"

"Dean –" Castiel tries again, even more confused now, but his partner is already climbing – actually climbing – onto one of the enormous horned heads of the Beast, maneuvering past the hole Gabriel's blade left in its side and calling the herds in front of the thing to attention.

He cuts a beautiful figure and Castiel decides that Dean would have made for a great general in ancient times.

"Listen up!" he shouts and immediately all cameras and microphones are being re-directed at him. "I'm sure you got questions and I ain't got all the answers but I'll explain this best as I can. This here," he taps his foot for emphasis, "is the Beast of the Sea, summoned by the First Prophet. As you can see, the Beast is dead, as is the Prophet, but we couldn't stop it from destroying most of the capitol, so sorry about that. Now I got no idea what form of government or police or fuck if I know we still got, but it's gonna be a shit show. There's a few people out there who know what we're dealing with and how to fight 'em, so stick to them if you find one. If not, I heard there's this hashtag called 'MorningStarRising' and they'll help you – they're friends of mine, they know their shit, alright? Other than that be sure to stock up on salt, iron and holy water, and there's a website that's got more intel that I've got time to give 'ya right now." Dean tells them the web address, his chest heaving as he takes a deep breath. "Capiche?"

Castiel can see the reporters opening their mouths to shoot of a million or more further questions, though they are interrupted by the sound of someone slow-clapping in the distance.

Along with the entire group, Castiel turns towards the noise, his pulse speeding up at the thought that it could be Lucifer – yet it is merely a tall, dark-skinned man in a bespoke suit, smiling pleasantly at his onlookers.

"What an inspiring speech, Mr. Winchester," the man say, though his praise rings false to Castiel's ears. "If I were one of the millions of people out there without a clue about what's going on, I would be completely reassured by your address just there. Really."

"Listen up, douchebag, you got something to say, just freakin' say it. Maybe start with who the fuck you are."

"Oh, how rude of me. Apologies," the man sneers. Castiel decides he dislikes this man a great deal. "My name is Brian Remy, I'm Lucifer's press secretary."

"Lucifer has a press secretary?" Castiel cannot help but wonder out loud before he thinks better of it.

Remy turns towards him, sending him a blinding smile full of too-white teeth. "Of course he has. He won't coordinate his social media campaign himself, now, will he? A former angels such as yourself should know things like that."

"Listen, dickhead," Dean snaps before Castiel can voice his indignation, jumping down form the Beast head and closing the distance between him and Remy. "You can take all your 'follow Satan' bullshit, 'cause at the end of the day Lucifer doesn't give one flying fuck about you or any of us humans. You ain't believing any of that crap he's selling about letting you live, do you?"

"How eloquent you are. Really, I can understand why you are the only weapon Heaven still has."

Dean is already balling his fist but a hand on his elbow stops him from taking a swing. Castiel doesn't let go then either.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Remy addresses the still rolling cameras. "I admit that there cannot be any guarantees that following the devil in this apocalypse will keep you safe forever. However, it will exempt you from a gruesome death at the hands – or claws – of the various monsters that will find their way onto the earth to wreak havoc. I urge you to consider which option will bring you less trauma during the next days and weeks: This man's way," he lists, pointing at Dean, "which requires untrained civilians to fight tooth and nail against an unknown enemy they have never believed existed and against whom they are completely powerless; or our way. Declare your allegiance to Lucifer by carving an upside down cross into your skin where it is visible and no demon will harm you. All relevant details can be found on our YouTube channel and our social media platforms. Do you have any questions?"

The mob of reporters immediately explodes with inquiries. Dean looks ready to take this man's head off, so Castiel drags him off, away from the knot of people.

"Dean, he isn't worth it. Lucifer will crush him as soon as he isn't worth keeping around any more. Safe your energy for something more important."

"Like what, Cas? What the fuck is left for us to do?"

"Helping people, Dean! Hunting things! And while we're doing that, we will figure out a way to end Lucifer and stop this madness."

Dean looks ready to argue, though Castiel captures his lips with his own before the hunter can argue. It might not be the fairest tactic, yet it proves to be effective.

"That was cheating," Dean murmurs, slightly breathless.

"Apologies."

"You know, you're honestly really good at these pep talks, Cas. Come on, let's get outta here."

They wander off, Brian Remy still answering the reporters' questions behind them.

xXx

Abandoned server building, Louisville – one and a half weeks later

Back in Oz, when Charlie had to choose between staying there with Dorothy and returning to earth in order to help her honorary brothers with the apocalypse, it was an easy one to make.

She expected horror, fire and brimstone. And she expected the Winchesters to find a solution that would put an end to the entire thing.

What she didn't expect was sitting in an abandoned server building in Kentucky, protecting the servers with her life to maintain the online services she's providing, while the world around her comes crashing down in a cascade of hellfire and anarchy.

Sure, Charlie has it good in their strong building with electricity, running water and two skilled fighters. Crowley's proven useful with food runs and Alex – well, she's shown she can talk kids down from panic attacks, stand up to douchebags in the neighborhood who wouldn't ward their houses and keeps training and looking so hot that Charlie can barely concentrate when she does it.

But other than that? The world's become a shit show, just like Dean said.

For the past week and a half, governments all across the globe have been loosing all their common sense as well as their grip on the population. They declared martial law, the USA federalized the National Guard and they're now using military troops on home soil and one after the other, the countries closed their borders, with the lone exception of Canada.

At the same time the snow that's been covering most of the Northwestern hemisphere has melted, only to be replaced by boiling heat. During the third week of August in Kentucky, temperatures in the 90ies aren't uncommon, though they've been climbing steadily and aren't expected to stop doing so any time soon. Other places around the globe like the Eastern regions report incredible heat waves to the point that water's becoming scarce. The first conflicts have already erupted and Charlie is scared every time she checks Twitter for updates about the unrest.

Not that America is faring any better – while only last week the law and common sense still applied, ever since the weekend people've been behaving more like monsters than humans.

"How's the world?" Alex' voice interrupts Charlie's depressing musings.

"Still spinning." She tries for a smile, though fails utterly. "How're the hunters?"

A dark shadow passes over Alex' face. "They're getting killed left and right. We're down by a third that I know of; I still haven't reached nine others and those who remain are starting to complain that it's no use having a system when everyone should start looking out for themselves instead."

"Damn, those bitches."

"Yeah."

"We know any estimates of total losses?"

"Not that I've heard. I guess the governments are all a bit too occupied to bother with statistics. Why?"

Alex shrugs. "I guess I'd just like to know there's still more humans than monsters on this world."

"Then stay away from Twitter, the stories ain't nice."

The huntress flops down on a chair with a heavy sigh, rubbing a hand across her eyes. Then completely out of the blue, Alex asks, "Do you ever wonder if it's worth it? Fighting like we do?"

"Well…"

"Because I mean, we know from the angels that God's real. He's just up and left. So if he gave up on us, why should we keep fighting?"

Charlie can see where she's coming from – she really can. In the past ten, eleven days she's wished more than once to be back in Oz, during a short night on her improvised fort of blankets when everything was too dark and too hopeless. But…

"What's the alternative? Do nothing? Watch as those kids two streets over get torn open by hellhounds? Sit back and say 'fuck it all'?"

"Well, maybe!" Alex snubs, jumping to her feet. "If God can just wash his hands of all of this, why not us, too? Instead we're running around, trying to put a plaster on a severed arm and it won't stop the bleeding no matter how hard we press! Where's the Second Coming? Where's Judgment Day? If it's all going to end anyway once Lucifer's through with the earth, then why not put us all out of our misery?"

Charlie has no answer, no words to make it better. So she does the only thing she can do – pull Alex in a hug and stifle the panic she feels when the strongest woman she knows breaks down into sobs.

xXx

Remy & Vause building, Washington, DC

"You think he'll come?" Lucifer asks into the room. Brian ignores the questions since it's not directed at anyone other than the archangel, who is strapped to an office chair, unable to escape.

"If you ask me that one more time, bro, I swear to Dad, I'll end this world myself and rob you of all your toys."

"That's what you think this is? A childish tantrum?"

"Yeah, 'cause you've always been soooo mature," Gabriel mocks. "'Daddy loves me the best! Humans are stupid!' Come on, change the tune already."

"I did what all of you were too blinded by faith to try."

"Yeah, and now Daddy's gone and he still doesn't give you the attention you want. Your life must suck, Luci."

Brian tunes them out at that point. The first time he heard them arguing about God like he is a real person instead of a concept that Brian though ridiculous until a few weeks prior, it was confusing and exhilarating. Now it's simply annoying and distracting him from the important work that he and his team are doing.

His subordinates are all skilled workers, upside-down crosses etched into their skin and ready to work eighteen hours a day to ensure they're not deemed superfluous. Nothing motivates the workforce like the threat of being burnt alive.

"Sir?" One particularly dedicated young woman (single mother of two, oh-so keen on protecting her own) steps closer, showing him her tablet screen.

It's hard to make sense of the image on display – it looks like some sort of rift; completely dry and void of wildlife.

"What am I looking at?"

"The Euphrates."

"What?"

"This is the first picture that's been posted. The Euphrates has dried out."

Suddenly, the tall, suit-clad form of Lucifer himself is standing next to them, pulling the tabled from the woman's hands. She shivers, yet stands her ground.

The devil cackles at the screen, his voice full of unadulterated glee. "This is precious! Gabe, you gotta see this…"

He zaps away to wave the image in front of the archangel's face while Brian and the woman follow on foot.

"How very Revelation of you," Gabriel drawls, rolling his eyes.

"Isn't it?" Lucifer turns around and addresses Brian again as he hands him back the tablet. "Keep an eye on it, I want to know the second that the river fills with blood."

The woman gives an aborted whimper and Brian can't stop his eyes from widening dramatically. Apparently, though, Lucifer is feeling indulgent for he doesn't chastise them for their response, however limited it was, and instead explains, "Drying up their water resources was the last blow. Next stop: outright civil war, and it will claim so many victims that the riverbed fills with their blood. I'm counting on it. Carry on."

Brian swallows hard but goes back to work.

xXx

Jamie hates being a prophet. He really hates it – waiting for a vision that doesn't come, hoping for a key to safe the world that simply refuses to be found. All he gets to do is watch his country go down the drain, with criminals thinking it's their land now, and all those without the means to protect themselves constantly in fear of death. It's like the Southside, only expanded.

He'd help, go down there in a heartbeat but nope, Hannah's ordered him to stay because it would suck to loose the only prophet they have, even if he's climbing the walls since it's all he gets to do.

Even Jesse helps, accompanying angels on rescue missions. It was his idea to establish large refugee camps near storage buildings or in cities with intact supermarkets. Half of all the angels are tasked with protecting those facilities all over the world against Lucifer and his gooneys and it seems to be working and keeping the death toll down.

It still sucks for Jamie. Yet when the next vision finally hits him, he remembers why he complained so much… it hurts, but even while his skin feels like it's on fire Jamie tells himself that it's better this way – this way he get's to contribute.

The vision hasn't been over for even ten seconds when he reaches for the phone Hannah gave him. It takes a bit to manage a conference call since his hands are still shaking but then, both Dean, Cas and Charlie and Alex are on the line with him.

"Please tell me it's something useful," Dean demands without even bothering with a greeting.

"I guess? I mean… I saw volcanoes erupt. Lots of them, and it'll be disastrous!"

"Shit," Charlie curses. "Do you know where? I'll get a warning out asap."

"Like, uh, Central America? A whole bunch of them were in Guatemala, near the Pacific."

Dean grumbles something unintelligible and Jamie hears Castiel ask him what's up.

"I'm saying this doesn't give us jack! What're we supposed to take from that, you tell me that! Death and destruction, and not a single fucking clue about how we're gonna stop these damn fuckers…"

"Wait, Dean – that's it!" Castiel practically shouts.

"What?" echo Charlie, Alex and Jamie simultaneously. It would have been funny if the situation were any different.

"Death! Jamie said the eruptions would claim countless victims. With a toll so high, I am sure that Death himself will appear like he did in Chicago."

"So what? You're thinking that you Dad's telling us to bug the guy after all? Ask for his help?"

"Maybe. I do not see any other reason for this vision. Except we are missing something that will allow us to prevent it from happening at all."

Jamie shakes his head, then realizes that they can't see him. "No, nothing like that."

"You sure, kid?"

"Yeah! Who's the prophet here?"

"Alright, alright. So we're going to… Guatemala? Where even is that place?"

"South of Mexico."

"Well, one of the angel's gonna give us a ride," Dean grumbles and Jamie recalls what he heard about the bunker and how all the cars got destroyed. That must have been an awesome car if a guy like Dean's still sad about loosing it.

"Okay boys, you do that," Charlie interrupts Jamie's thoughts. "But I also got something – might be nothing but Jamie, you could run it by Hannah, okay?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"I've been getting really strange news from India and other Hindu countries. Like people disappearing or gangsters frozen in place so that people can escape them. Maybe the angels wanna look into that?"

"I'll tell them," Jamie promises and wishes Dean and Castiel luck with their mission.

xXx

Chennai, India

Jeenal is running, incredibly glad for the trousers she is wearing. She would not have been able to escape her pursuers this quickly in a Sari, that is for sure.

All she knows it that the group of three – two men, one woman – have black eyes, which was her cue to flee. She has read everything she could find online in the past week and a half and asked her parents to buy salt for her protection, though they refused.

"Don't believe that propaganda," her mother told her.

So Jeenal snuck out through the back door in order to buy some herself, only to run into the very creatures she sought to protect herself against.

Oh, the irony.

She is a fast runner, has always been. Additionally she knows these streets, has been playing here ever since she was a child and her nannies thought she needed fresh air. What the demons behind her are lacking in knowledge, however, they make up for in supernatural skill.

"Hm, what are you going to do now, young lady?" the one with the beard drawls as he blinks into existence in front of her, blocking her path.

She turns, only to crash into the woman with the short hair, who pushes her off, propelling her right into the grip of the third thug, Mr. Tall-And-Muscular.

"Let me go!"

"How about… no?" the woman sneers.

"I have money! I can give you whatever you want!"

"We're not interested in money, sweet girl," purrs the man holding her just as the one in front of Jeenal raises a ritualistic knife.

She can't help it. She screams as loud as she can, though the demons don't seem to mind.

Then suddenly, just as the bearded man is about to stab her, he freezes mid-movement. One second later the tip of a sword appears in the middle of his chest and he falls forward, revealing the weapon sticking out of his back.

"What was that!" the female demon cries, her eyes darting around frantically. Jeenal hears her savior before she sees him – the wicker of a horse from above, and the next thing she knows is that the animal has descended from the rooftop of the house behind her and crushed the woman beneath their hooves.

"Let me go or I'll kill her!" threatens Tall-And-Muscular, which is when the rider turns his animal around, granting Jeenal a first glimpse.

Her breath catches in her throat. It cannot be. And yet here he is, saving her from the filth of the world.

A flick of his wrist and the Sword of Astra is back in his grip. He doesn't use it, instead he tightens the reins and barges forward, sending the demon scattering for cover and dropping Jeenal in the process.

The demon looses his head and the man on the white horse offers Jeenal a hand up and asks her to come with him.

xXx

"KALKI?!" Lucifer rages when he sees the Tweet for the first time, sent by some girl called Jeenal. "You're telling me that he's down here and attacking my men?!"

The woman in front of him, whatever her name is, is trembling like a leaf in the wind, stuttering out a response. "I'm s-s-sorry, b-b-ut it looks t-that w-way."

"ARGH!"

The rage fills every cell of his vessel, every last pore, turning his blood into furious acid. There is only one small voice, in fact more of a mental tug, that's pulling at him, preventing him from leveling this entire building and dancing on its remains.

Stop it, he snaps at his own mind. You don't know what this means.

Sure – Kalki is the last incarnation of Vishnu. Of course the little Winchester knows this, he is so predictable. He's gonna gather up all the good and faithful people and kill everyone of your team who gets in the way.

Annoying know-it-all, Lucifer snarls, then succeeds in stifling Sam's protests. But his anger is less intense now, more annoyed and really, why should he, the Morningstar himself, be intimidated by some lame Hindu God?

"Where was the last sighting?" he asks the woman who looks even more terrified now than she was a few seconds ago.

"Chennai, Southwest India," she manages, though it's a struggle.

"Leave Kalki to me. Brian –" the man in question takes a step towards him immediately – "prepare a press release or whatever it is you do. The Hindu Gods have long forfeited their right to his planet and if they decide to interfere with my plans, I will not hold back and smite them and all their followers."

"Of course. Do you wish to sign off on it once you return?"

"Don't ask stupid questions."

The next moment he is gone from DC and on an empty street somewhere in India. He closes his eyes, stretches out his wings on another plane, tries to feel for a powerful presence.

He finds Kalki several hundred miles further south, engaging ten demons who have rounded up a group of children.

"These are my followers, Lucifer."

"Is that a way to greet me? You should show me some respect, Kalki – after all I am the last face you will see on this earth."

"And what a bland face it is," the god mocks, swirling his fancy sword to, what? Show how pathetic he can look? Lucifer chuckles at his own jab since Sam's being quiet.

"This is my true vessel. I am more powerful than I ever was. You stand no chance against me."

"Let's find out," Kalki declares gravely and his horse rises onto its hind legs before galloping towards him.

And so it begins.

xXx

"Damn it!"

"Charlie?! Everything okay?"

When Alex is in the computer room, both of the redhead's hands are covering her mouth as her eyes are fixed on the screen. It's a video, playing on a loop. Really just a few seconds but it's enough.

On screen Sam – no, not Sam, Alex reprimands herself, it's just his body, that's Lucifer. So on screen Lucifer is fighting with a tall, bluish figure on a white horse brandishing a sword.

"Who is that?"

"I'm not sure – the description says maybe Kalki-"

"Kalki?! The Destroyer?"

"Wait, what?"

Alex quickly explains the little that she knows of Hindu mythology, a little dazed because if Lucifer is real, doesn't that mean that God truly is the one and only God? What is a Hindu god doing here all of a sudden? Are all gods real?

Before Alex can fully come to terms with her crisis of faith, however, Charlie is pulling up another video. Then another. Then Twitter. All of them have pictures and brief clips, mostly blurry but some less so.

The two warriors bounce around the globe with no apparent pattern. They are both powerful and leave destruction in their wake – accidental in Kalki's case, fully intended in Lucifer's.

The final showdown transpires on the West coast of Central America, somewhere south of Mexico. Kalki does manage to wound his opponent, nicking Sam's – Lucifer's – cheek. Blood trickles down his face though it is nothing fatal, in contrary to the stab wound the devil inflicts on the god with Kalki's very own sword.

In the seven minutes it took for Lucifer's victory to happen and the thirty second clip to find its way online, two hundred and seventy-five Tweets reach Charlie's account, all saying the exact same thing: Because of Lucifer, the volcanoes on the coast of Guatemala are erupting.

All of them.

Charlie and Alex share a panicked look and Alex has hardly ever felt more helpless in her life.

xXx

When the shit hits the fan, it hits the fan extremely fast.

Dean and Cas've been in the Guatemala coastal region for barely two hours, scourging the land for any sign of Death in the area that Jamie described, when Lucifer and another figure crash through the air.

Lucifer doesn't catch sight of them, thankfully, but continues to beat the crap out of some bluish dude on a white horse.

"That is Kalki, the Destroyer of Filth," Castiel fills him in, explaining about the god's background and purpose while Haschmal keeps zapping them across the country, only to come to a crashing stop when an agonized cry echoes through the air.

"Look!" Castiel shouts and Dean turns around barely in time to see a large figure, god and horse, fall from the sky towards the ground.

Even where they are standing they can hear Lucifer's triumphant laughter, colored in Sam's familiar voice, and it makes Dean's skin crawl.

Suddenly it becomes blaringly obvious what's the reason for the volcanic eruptions that Jamie talked about: Lucifer's laughter fades away and immediately afterwards, the ground begins to shake.

The sounds of almost twenty gas explosions ring out like gunshots in a quiet neighborhood and steam starts to rise from the mountain chain, which apparently consists entirely of previously dormant and active volcanoes.

"Take us closer," Dean orders Haschmal, who obeys immediately and suddenly they're standing – what the hell?

"This a McDonald's?"

"So it would seem," Castiel replies, glancing around.

"This is the city of Escuintla," Haschmal explains as if that's gonna help them with anything.

People are rushing outside, gazing up towards the columns of steam. Haschmal nods at them and starts explaining to the crowd about what is going on. Dean watches until another angel appears and starts transporting the people away because, these fiery babies? Not gonna stay content with steam explosions, that's for sure.

Dean grabs Cas' sleeve and drags him with him as he sprints further towards the mountains, through streets of panicked bystanders until they end up in the lot of a supermarket, big ass building with lots of cars parked out front.

Dean spies it in under twenty seconds.

Snugly parked between a Mini Cooper and a Hummer stands a pale grey 1959 Cadillac Series 62. Three feet away there lies the lifeless form of a man, whose only crime probably was looking at Death funny.

"He's here," Dean whispers, tightening his grip on Cas' wrist. He remembers clear as day how eerie Death was when he spoke to his partner. But there's no way in hell Dean'll let the guy take Cas away, no matter what.

"There is no need to crush his arm, Dean. I am not going to reap your lover today."

Dean's proud that he doesn't jump. Much. Cas, on the other hand, flinches visibly and shuffles closer to Dean, who takes a step to put himself between the two without even giving it much thought.

"Well, excuse me if I ain't taking any risks."

Death doesn't reply but stare at him with those intense eyes. He holds his gaze, reminding himself that God sent a vision and that's why this is gonna work out.

Death's eyebrows twitch. "I see you have been returned to human form."

"Yeah, you'll get to take me down after all."

"Was the price worth it?" Death asks, though his tone is flat as if the petty events of the Winchester family are more tedious than interesting.

"That depends."

"Ah."

Of course Death would get it right away. 'Cause it could have been worth it, seen from an objective point of view and not through Dean's eyes that are tinted with brotherly affection. If Dean can get Death's scythe and use it to kill Lucifer, then it'll be okay since the alternative would've been Dean serving Lucifer with Sammy on the other side, unable to kill his Knight-of-Hell-brother when the moment comes.

"Do you think you will be able to pull this of?" Death seems genuinely curious.

"I was gonna do it once before."

"True. However that was years ago."

"Sammy did this 'cause he knew I would do what I had to in order to make this right. I ain't stopping just because that bitch's wearing my brother's face."

The silence that follows is long and tense. Dean can feel his palms starting to sweat and he wishes he could grab Cas' hand, though somehow he doubts that'll put Death in a favorable mood, seeing as he doesn't really like Cas. For a brief second Dean wonders what his Dad would've thought about him…

"I take it you sought me out to ask yet another favor of me, Dean."

"Yeah. I would like to, uh, borrow your scythe. As far as we were able to figure out it's the only thing strong enough to actually kill Lucifer, so…"

Dean definitely does not like how the horseman's brows furrow at his statement, as if he's suddenly wondering about something that doesn't quite add up.

"How did you know I would come here?"

"There's a new prophet. He had a vision about these volcanoes," which are currently causing the earth to vibrate in addition to vomiting steam clouds, though Dean does his best to ignore that, "and the death toll it'd cause. So we figured we could try. I mean, yeah, we screwed up epically this time around, but… I mean, I'm trying to clean up this the mess, so maybe you could, I don't know, cut us a break?"

"You think after all that you, your idiotic brother and this puny angel have done, I will simply hand you one of the strongest weapons in the universe? Care to explain how you arrived at this presumption?"

Yeah, Death's not really on board with this.

"The vision," Cas cuts in, and Dean has to restrain himself from slapping a hand across his boyfriend's mouth 'cause he certainly won't make this better. "Prophets have been appointed by God. It is a safe hypothesis that he is also the one to send those visions, which means that God intended for us to know where you are today. He intended for us to find you and ask you for your scythe. This is your old friend asking you for a favor. This is the reasoning behind our actions. Sir," he adds belatedly.

Death appears to mull this over, still looking weary but at least not downright contrary.

After what seemed like to Dean half an eternity, Death reaches inside his suit jacket and retrieves the small scythe. Before handing it over he looks Dean straight in the eye.

"I am not a broken record, Dean, so I will not tell you not to screw this up. I will not comment at all. Just rest assured that this is the very last favor you ever get to ask of me."

Dean swallows but nods, reaching out and tentatively closing his fingers around the hilt. The scythe is a solid weight and surprisingly warm. He is sure that, if Death wanted to, it'd start overheating before Dean could let it go.

"We will only see each other twice more, Dean Winchester. When you return the scythe and when I come to collect you. Try to avoid both events occurring on the same day."

"I'll do my best, sir."

Death makes to walk off towards the supermarket as the first signs of the explosive eruptions start, however he stops after just four steps, turns around and bestows a look on Cas that could almost pass as smug.

It makes Dean want to pull Cas tight to his chest and never let him go.

Instead, Dean forces his lips into a smile as he holds up the scythe. "We've caught a break, how 'bout that?"

"I knew you could do it, Dean."

"Oh no, you played the 'your friend said' card. You're at least half responsible for this."

Cas surges forward and kisses him, happy and hungry, and it would have gone on, turned into one of the best make-out sessions they'd ever had, if it weren't for the fucking mountain ridge plastered with volcanoes behind them that's currently mid-eruption.

So they send a quick prayer Heavenward and two heartbeats later, they are gone from Guatemala.

The volcanoes erupt nonetheless, spewing rocks, dust, gas and pyroclastic material into the air. Later, Dean will hear estimates that almost 10 million people lost their lives due to the disaster.

Death had a busy day.

xXx

End Notes: OMG, there are only two chapters more to go! I can't believe it! I'll write them both before posting since the next one will end with the cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers and I don't want to risk you guys having to wait for too long. I hope to post on the 30th and 31st, or maybe 31st and 1st, so stay tuned!
And there'll be one last Interlude, I've decided, albeit a short one.

Anyway, I live off air and comments, so please don't hesitate to let me know what you thought!