"You. The visions. Everything. It was all you."
"Impressive, right?"
"And Rowena?" Lucifer gestured like a teacher, "Did as she was told. Groupies—they're always so eager. "
Sam kept a protective stance in front of his sister, now that he knew she and Lucifer had some kind of ancient past, he was determined to keep him away from her.
"So you did all of that just to…to what? Jump my bones?"
"Literally."
"I always knew you were a little gay…" Four eyes drifted down to the blonde.
"Shut up." Lucifer's tone was commanding but she just rolled her eyes, "We both know you don't control me, not back then, and certainly not now." Sam shifted the topic back on track, he knew the two would just be at one another forever otherwise.
"You wasted your time. 'cause, see, I know how this ends."
"Oh, do you, now?"
"Yeah. You'll taunt me, and you'll torture me, and I'll say no, and eventually, sooner than you think, our brothers gonna walk through that door and kick your ass." There was laughter, Grace would have kicked his ass herself, but given the size difference…the odds were not in her favor.
"Dean? You're betting on Dean?"
"We always have."
"Oh, Sam, you've got me all wrong."
"Yeah…right. I doubt that." Another disgusted, yet stern look from Lucifer to Grace who rolled her eyes at the continuation of attempted intimidation.
"Oh, no. I-I'm not here to torture ya—her maybe—I mean, I could. I could inflict pain like you can't even imagine. I could inflict such delicious, perfect pain. But that was so five years ago. No, I'm not going to harm a glorious little hair on your glorious little head, Sam."
"Then, what do you want?"
"To make you an offer you can't refuse. You see, Sam, you need me. And I'm gonna prove it to you." He placed the palm of his hand to Sam's forehead, and then to Grace's, sending them back into memories.
"So, the Aztec priests, they thought if they didn't sacrifice people, the whole world would end, so they built all of these temples. The most amazing ones are in Mexico City."
"Have you seen them?"
"Last year, my dad took me and my brother and sister on a trip to Mexico."
"On vacation?"
"Kind of a working vacation. Have you ever heard of a Chupacabra?"
"No."
"Okay, good."
"Look at that, Sam. A simple girl from a one-stop-light town, and you, the worldly, handsome-ish, Sam Winchester. No, she didn't stand a chance, you remember?"
"Yeah, Why are you—"
"Here, shh, shh, shh. This is the best part."
"Sam. You know I didn't bring you here to study, right?"
"You didn't?"
"No. I-I mean, I just think that you're smart and funny and cute. So, I mean, if you wanna make out…"
"Boom! That's it. That's what I'm talking about right there, man." Grace looked both confused, and disturbed, this was not something she ever needed to see.
"Kissing?"
"Hey, why am I even here, this has NOTHING to do with me." Lucifer waved her off, "Yeah, yeah, we'll get to you, Ava. Calm down." Grace frowned, "My names not Avarin, it's Grace, you know, like the very thing that makes you an angel."
"You might go by Grace on earth, but in heaven, your name was Avarin, can't change that anymore than I can change being the devil himself, sweetheart." He turned his attention back to Sam once again.
"This is the Sam Winchester that I remember. Bold, decisive, a Solid 'B" on the tongue action."
"What is this about?"
"You used to be a hero, Sam. Hell, you beat me. Now?" He sighed, shaking is head like a father would in disappointment "I don't know. I look at you—I don't even recognize you anymore."
The next place they went to was Stull cemetery.
"The Stull Cemetery."
"Bingo." Grace rubbed her arms, tugging her jacket tighter,
"Why are we here?" Lucifer rubbed his temple, "You're very annoying, ask far too many questions. But, I guess things will never change. "This is where the title fight went down"
"Hey, Ass-butt!" Graces eyes landed on Castiel, this was back when she was 18 or so, she and Cas had not really been close, but seeing him here, he looked just as tired.
"Oh, right, your little romance with Castiel. How's that going by the way."
"Do you really care?" Lucifer quirked a brow at her snarky attitude, "Hey now, I'm trying to make small talk, prove I'm not the bad guy."
"Prove your not…you literally live in a cage…IN HELL!" Castiel threw the flaming bottle of holy oil at Michael and he exploded into flames, his hosts scream's echoing in the sullen atmosphere of the grave yard. She had learned later that the guys name was Adam, another half sibling of her own.
"Ass-butt? I-I-I-I still don't get that." Sam shifted, "Look, I appreciate the stroll down memory lane, but—"
"Sam, have I ever told you how much I respect you?"
"What?"
"What?" Sam and Grace shared a confused look as Lucifer looked between them, "Yeah…that synchronizing thing, very annoying. Don't get me wrong. I don't like you, never liked you—either of you—" his gaze once more fell on grace who just smiled, waved and blew a sarcastic kiss.
"You're—you're sort of prissy, and she's like one of those annoying little purse dogs…kind of looks like one with that curly hair, too." She rolled her eyes and flipped him off, "If you're done insulting me, Lucifer."
"Oh, I'll never tire of insulting you, it's just so much…fun." The two just stared each other down, until Lucifer grew bored and put his attention back on Sam.
"In this moment, when you stood toe-to-toe with me and won, I got to say, you had balls, kid." He turned and he walked away.
"Sam…why didn't you tell me about any of this?" she watched Sam interact with Dean in the memory.
"Dean, he didn't want to drag you into the problem. And who knows what could have happened, Grace."
"It figures, Protect the innocent. Even after all the shit we've been through."
"Exactly, after your mom died, we didn't want to get you involved, but when Cas brought you back in that hospital…we realized you were already too far in. it broke both of our hearts, you know?"
"Sam was willing to do the Hard thing if it meant saving the world." Grace watched as Adam/Michael grabbed onto Sam/Lucifer as he was about to fall back into the Cage.
"That's why Dean made me leave…the pain was too much." She watched the hole re-seal itself, Adam and Sam long gone.
"We both wanted better for you. Doing what we do, it destroys people."
"That Sam, and this Sam…That's not him anymore. You've gone soft, Sammy." The scene changed again and they were just outside the yard of some house.
"Have you thought about what you're gonna say to him?"
"Sam let her crash until her place was set for her to move in, thought it was really only a year that she lived in the apartment.
"Here's where it all changed, Sammy."
"It's just all so surreal."
"This is the worst thing you've ever done" Grace knew this memory, it was when they'd found out Amelia's ex-boyfriend was still alive, this was one of the hardest memories for Sam.
"Does he now they told you he was killed in action?"
"Really?"
"After the leviathans, when your brother was trapped in purgatory, you were here with a girl and a dog. You didn't even bother trying to find him."
"You know what? Not that I have to defend myself to you, but Dean and I promised we wouldn't look for each other, Grace too. She was only here until her apartment was finished."
"Right, and if he never came back, you'd be fine. Grace would be living a sweet little apple pie life without Castiel, working god knows where. I think with her body she'd be a fantastic porn star…or a stripper." Sam's eyes narrowed, and Grace looked about ready to stab Lucifer, herself.
"But he did, so you're not. Whatever happened to the Sam Winchester who was bold, decisive, and ready to sacrifice for the greater good?"
"Right here."
"And so why did you let Dean talk you out of closing the gates of hell? 'case the old Sam never would have done that, not ever."
"I didn't—"
"No, wait, here's my personal favorite is you doing every stupid thing you could to cure the mark, even after you knew it would go bad. And then to top it off, you had to set not just the darkness free, but little Ava here too?"
"My brother was dying."
"Yes, and you'd do anything to save him, and he'd do anything to save you, and that is the problem. Because of this, you are so overcome by guilt that you can't stand to lose Dean again, and he could never lose you. And so instead of choosing the world, you choose each other, no matter how many innocent people die." Sam's eyes widened, Satan was really lecturing him about his life choices, his hazel eyes drifted to Grace though as the words sunk in.
"You two are so co-dependent on one another that Grace had to die. She had to accept that Dean was the one to kill her, but he had to send you and Castiel off on a wild goose chase to justify his actions, he couldn't bare the thought of anyone else hating him. She had to die to save your asses. Avarin was meant to be kept Safe, she was never meant to be a weapon." Blue eyes drifted to the fallen angel
"You're gonna lecture me about hurting people? You?"
"You know I'm right Sam, you know it. and if I had my way about it, she'd be safe right now, away from you, Away from Dean, and out of reach of Humanity and that idiot, Castiel. I know that if you're going to beat the darkness, you have to be ready to die. You have to be ready to watch the people you love die. A long time ago you could have fought the good fight, kid, but not anymore. You can't win this one, Sam. You're just not strong enough."
"And you are?"
"Hey, snapping necks and cashing checks—that's what I do."
"And why the sudden interest in her?" Sam nodded to his sister, Lucifer turned, a mild look of interest on his face, "She's special, to all of us in heaven. She was the original model for Eve, you know, but god decided to go with model number two, brown eyes, and brown hair, taller. He loved Ava, we all did. She brought a lot of joy to heaven, even after Humanity flourished."
In another second they were all back inside the cage, Lucifer pulled his hand away.
"I know this is a lot to take in, so if you need to take some time and noodle on it, that's cool. But, uh, the world is ending, clock ticking and such, if you follow me." Lucifer chuckled, Grace stared at him, her perspective a bit skewed now, as more memories came flooding back.
"What do you want me to say?"
"A little word, uh, starts with "Y," ends in "E-S" okay you don't like me." Sam was flat out ignoring the fallen angel now, Lucifer sighed, "I get it, I get it. Sometimes I don't like me, either. But Gabriel and Raphael are dead. God went out for a pack of smokes and never came back. And Michael well, let's just say prison life hasn't really agreed with Michael. These days he's usually sitting in a corner, singing show tunes and…touching himself."
Grace was disgusted at that bit of information, she'd gotten flashes of Michael and the angel had always been stern, but kind, in millennia past she enjoyed visiting him almost as much as she'd enjoyed keeping Castiel company.
"That's…gross, I mean considering he's still technically inhabiting Adam…and Adam's my brother too…"
"Yeah, it's not a pretty sight. "
"So you're it?" Lucifer chuckled.
"I'm it! And, hey…I-I'm not the good guy. We—we both know I'm not, but, uh, the darkness? She's the end of everything. But I can beat her. We can beat her."
"Compelling argument, but if you were the only one who could beat her, why am I here now?" Sam looked at Grace who was sitting camper style in another corner of the cell.
"She has a point."
"She's a failsafe. That's her purpose. I'm the only one who knows how to lock the Darkness away. It's you and me. Together. So, come on, Sam. Make the right choice. The big sacrifice one more time, man. Sam." She didn't know what bugger her more, Lucifer's revelations, his shifts in morality, or Sam's uncertainty.
"It's time to save the world, man." There was a long moment of silence, Sam seemed to evaluate his option before he finally responded.
"No. No." Lucifer looked like a snobby, teenage girl being denied a date to prom
"What do you mean, no?"
"You heard him, Lucifer, back down." She was starting to get annoyed by the childish antics
"Okay, now, Sam, I got to tell you, this is selfish, man. Everything that—"
"You are done. It's over, Lucifer." Sam and Lucifer both looked back into glowing blue eyes, Sam found some more courage, pushing himself back to his feet as he got into the ex-angel's face.
"And you know what? You talk a good game. You do. Hell, you almost had me sold a few times, but then I thought, what if you're right? What if you're telling the truth? What—what if you can beat her?"
"I can." Lucifer's voice echoed in the vast space.
"Even though, last time, it took you, her, and three other archangel's. oh, yeah, and capital "G," God." He gestured to Grace who's eyes still glowed brilliantly in the darkness of the area.
"Oh, Okay, what, you mean the deadweight?" Grace let out an almost animalistic growl, "I'm right here, jack ass." Sam kept laying into Lucifer, regardless.
"But let's say you gank her. Then what?"
"I move to L.A, solve crimes."
"Wrong. Then you go about starting the apocalypse again because you're an old dog, and that's your old trick."
"Hey, first off, you don't know that. Second, even if I did, that's better than what she has planned."
"Is it? Really? Because this is what I think. I think whoever wins, you or the darkness, everyone else loses. So, no. my answer is no. This isn't cause of Dean, Or Grace or—or the past. This is about me having faith in my friends, having faith in my family. We will find a way. I'm ready to die. And I'm ready to watch people I love die. But I'm not ready to be your bitch."
Lucifer sighed again, Sam still in his face, staring him down. "Okay. Plan B." then he reeled his fist back and sucker punched Sam.
"NO!" in the distance she could hear Dean.
"Sam?!" there was heavy footfall now as Lucifer flung Sam right into Grace, knocking the wind out of her, her eyes stopped glowing and faded back to normal as she held her head, which had knocked into the metal of the cage.
"Hey, Ass-butt!" She looked through blurry eyes to see Dean and Castiel.
"Dean. Uh, the other one." In another second Dean and Cas were in the cage as well. "Welcome to the party." Dean and Castiel looked between Sam and Grace as the former pulled himself back to his feet.
"Relax, they're fine, little roughed up, but fine." Taking in the looks on their faces, Lucifer's lips drew into a wicked smile.
"Scared?"
"Not even a little." An angel blade dropped down into Castiel's hand, and Lucifer's grin fell " Uh-uh-uh-uh. Moments like this, it's all about ambience." He snapped his fingers and some annoying song began playing from absolutely nowhere. That's when Castiel charged him. Lucifer grabbed him, whispering in his ear.
"C-Cas!" Grace tried calling out to him, but it hurt, everything hurt now.
"I can beat the darkness. Me, only me" Dean was By Sam's side the second Lucifer was distracted.
"Hey."
"Who are these two? They're a couple of apes. And her…well…she's not really important. You know I'm right, Castiel. You know it." Castiel tried to attack him again, but lucifer was still three steps ahead.
"You want to play that way?" Lucifer punched Castiel in the face, drawing blood from the angel's nose.
"We can't win." Grace forced herself to move, struggling to breathe she got to her feet as Lucifer knocked Castiel to the ground before jumping onto the fallen angels back.
"We don't have to win. We just gotta last a few minutes." Dean looked over to see Grace clinging to Lucifer for dear life.
"What is she doing?"
"Buying us time."
"Get off of me! You know I don't like your games!" she was in the air as he threw her against the bars, but Castiel had gotten back to his feet by now and attacked once more, swinging his blade. The fighting continued, but he hesitated when it came to striking Grace once or twice, however in his moments of hesitation she landed some harsh blows, all Lucifer was seeing was the smiling little girl from his past. It wasn't until he had Dean by the neck that he spoke.
"All right, Sam. I'm gonna make this real easy for you. You say the magic word…or your brother dies, and we both know you won't let that happen." Grace watched in shock as Castiel took a moment of distraction to knock lucifer to the floor. Then the two angels were back at it.
"STOP!"
"So, last words?" what happened next was a blur, there was a huge flash of light and then Lucifer was gone.
They were all finally out of the cage, seriously worse for wear.
"You're welcome. Anyone?"
"Bite me." Dean was tired, and frankly none of them were in the mood to deal with a snarky witch.
"I can make her do that." Crowley muttered, Grace narrowed her eyes, "So, what now?"
"About the Darkness? No clue."
"We'll figure it out."
"Or die screaming." Grace was seriously about ready to feed this woman to her sons hell hounds, she'd been on her nerves since the other day when they'd gotten into this mess.
"This has been a horrible train wreck, so we're done. Team-up over." Sam indicated to Rowena.
"What about her?"
"She stays." The red head looked proud of herself, like one of those prissy poodles from animated movies. "The rest of you lot, get the hell out of hell."
Stepping out of the run down warehouse Grace breathed in the disgusting, smoggy air of wherever they were, and smiled, happy to be topside again. Castiel looked a bit confused though. Dean turned back to look at his friend
"You all right?"
"I think so. I will be." Something was off, Grace couldn't be sure what though.
"Want me to give you a lift?"
"No, you three go on ahead. I'll catch up."
"Okay." Dean walked back toward the impala, tired and obviously sore, leaving Castiel and Grace alone.
"Are you sure, Cas?" his eyes drifted to her face and he smiled, "I'm sure."
"All right, but take care of yourself, okay?" Another, almost smile, "I promise, now go."
"Don't be a stranger, okay? I miss you being at the bunker." He nodded as she climbed into the Impala, with no idea that who she had just spoken to…was really lucifer.
So. Ch. 9 is done, have to say I kind of enjoyed this one, and I can't wait to delve further into Grace's/Avarin's relationship with Lucifer.
Let me know what you think guys, I love hearing from you. I know in the last chapter I think I left someone pretty well shocked, Which is good, I love keeping people guessing, it's kind of my favorite past-time, all things considered.
There won't be an update next weekend as I am away for Anime detour in Minneapolis from the 5-8th, but I will try and update the following Tuesday instead. Bear with me as I finish up my school year over he next 5 weeks.