Chapter 21

Dean and Sam were furious at Charlie. What was she doing? All she had to do was not speak the prophecy and then they would all be normal people, normal, happy people.

Charlie had her reasons, she wasn't ready to speak them aloud, but her free will let her do as God told her during their first chat she would. God never told her whether or not it was His will for her to speak the prophecy; just that she would. And He was right because she did just that. It was better than trying to fight destiny and it was the only way. The only way for Charlie to get the one thing she still cared about. The one thing she needed. She had a deal, and she'd fulfill her end so the other member would fulfill theirs.

Upon hearing Charlie's prophecy Michael pressed his hands to Sam and Charlie's foreheads sending them hurtling back to 2013. Dean however he left standing in front of him.

"I have a feeling we have had his conversation before, haven't we?" Michael told Dean who stood warily in front of him. Sure, in that vessel he was about 3 feet tall and a 15 year old girl, but Dean still felt the same power that had radiated from him when Michael possessed his father or Adam. This was Michael and Michael never changed even in his varying vessels.

"I don't know what conversation we're going to have," Dean lied. "So I can't answer that for you."

Maybe it was time that caused Michael to grow harsh and bitter, or maybe it was just the Apocalypse making him cranky, but now, as Dean faced Michael in Artemis, he smiled.

"You're trying very hard to not show how terrified you are of me. I do hope it is what I will need from you and not what I have done to you that is causing that fear."

Dean snorted but then realized that Michael never did anything to him. Sure, every time they spoke he had a stick up his *ss but Michael had, in general been nice. At least he never hurt Dean and had brought Sam back to life. Dean just couldn't like Michael because he wanted to ride Dean to kill his siblings.

"I'm sure these circumstances aren't very fun for you, but I believe they must be necessary. I do not know what my brother will do in the future, but I know what he did I Heaven, the first time we fought."

Dean couldn't help but be curious to what went down all that time ago and turned to Michael attentively. Maybe knowing the past could help them stop Lucifer now.

Michael seemed to know that would be Dean's answer so he sat down casually on a rock and began.

"When our Father created everything he first created Heaven, and then, even before he created the Universe, he created the angels. I, was the first angel, and then Lucifer. For all the time it took for the Universe to evolve from the original spark God gave it to the point where it gave us man we were happy. Lucifer was my brother as Sam is yours. We loved each other and we loved our father. Then, man evolved and God created the first two souls as he has every soul since. Gently he morphed the souls giving Adam and Eve their emotions, their interests, their humanity. Any being could see that the humans were different from anything else God created. Still, we knew internally what the future would hold for humanity. We saw your wars, your violence, your death and then our Father told us to love you violent, imperfect beings more than him.

I, as any good son would do, obeyed. I trusted my Father and knew that he had a plan far bigger than anything we could understand. Lucifer however became jealous. Why should angels who sit by the throne of God himself love, and honor beings that would have no qualms about hurting their brother if it meant getting ahead themselves. So, Lucifer went to our father and told him he would not honor and adore the humans for, unlike Him, they were not perfect and worthy of adoration." Michael's face grew sad as he continued on with his story.

"Our father grew angry at Lucifer and said that if Lucifer really loved God as much as Lucifer said he did then he would obey God's wishes and trust that God knew what He was doing.

Still, Lucifer refused. Together with 1/3 of the angels in Heaven Lucifer rebelled against God saying that he must be wrong because it was wrong for the angels to honor humans. My brother's army attacked those who stayed faithful to God. I was appointed the commander to protect those angels who followed and trusted our Father. The war against Lucifer's angels and mine is what my brother has based Hell off of. By the time I finally cast Lucifer from Heaven and into Hell, a place our ever loving Father created for his son, all of Lucifer's army and half of mine were dead. Two thirds of my brothers were dead because of Lucifer."

Michael concluded his story softly and inside Artemis he looked like a sad child. Finally, looking into Dean's eyes, he spoke again, "You must understand that I cannot let my brother cause that kind of destruction again. If that means in your time I am aggressive, and forward, and my brothers are downright evil then I am sorry, but no one wants to see Lucifer do to your race what he did to ours."

"I'm sorry," Dean told Michael truly meaning it. It didn't matter that his blood worked for Michael, Dean understood how they were perfectly compatible, "I did the trials that would allow a human to speak to God. During them Sam… he was hurting people and I couldn't stop him with words. So I stopped him with force."

"Then you understand. I love my brother, but I must protect humanity and my other brothers so, when the time comes, I will kill him."

"And I will help you," Dean whispered. It wasn't that he had lost his resolve the second time through; it was that Dean finally understood there was no other way. Lucifer wouldn't only keep coming back and keep killing people unless he was ended for good. Only Dean with Michael could end Lucifer so Dean would say yes. Not because of some abstract promise, but because only then can the world be saved.