Dean was packing his car for his last mission. He knew he probably wouldn't need any of the weapons he'd packed, as the only weapon he actually needed was Michael, but he always went into battle prepared. Besides, one way or another, he didn't plan on coming back this way for a long time.
Bobby and Castiel came outside just as Dean finished up. "Dean, reconsider this course of action, please," Castiel said.
Dean turned towards him. "Sorry, Cas, but I can't do that. The only thing I have left right now is my desire to make Michael suffer. It's one thing I'm not willing to give up. Besides, even if I do nothing, this will go down. Right now, Michael has Adam, and it's pretty likely that he got him to say yes or will do so. I can't put that on him. I have to get this done, that way both Adam and Sam will be free. Hey, Michael will accept me even if he has Adam, right?"
Castiel nodded. "If at all possible, he will want this to go down the way it is supposed to. That means with him in your body."
Bobby wheeled his chair over to Dean. "Where do you plan to go?"
"I don't know. I just want to get as far away as I can before I call him. I"m hoping that if this goes down far enough away, you guys won't get hurt. Uh, I won't be coming back for a long time even if I do live through this, I won't be coming back for a while. I'll need to be alone to figure out what to do next. But if I make it, I'll let you know," Dean promised Bobby.
Bobby took a hold of his wrist. "I will be expecting that call, boy. You damn well better make it."
Dean nodded. He bent down and hugged the old man for a second and then got up and turned to Castiel. "Thanks for everything, Cas. I know it didn't work out, but I still appreciate everything you did."
"That is the same for me. I would come with you if I could," Castiel said. At this point, he would serve no purpose to Dean. He was completely powerless. Besides, this wasn't like he would serve much of a purpose if he did have powers.
"I know. Thanks," Dean said. He gave them both one last look, before getting into the car and driving away.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Dean drove for hours before turning off to a deserted forest area. It was time to do this. He got out of the car and walked further into the woods, just in case someone happened to show up. He then looked up towards the sky. "Alright, Michael! If you want me, get your ass down here!"
"Now? You wish to comply now?" A voice said from behind the hunter.
Dean turned and looked at Michael. No, he looked at Adam, because it was Adam's body the archangel was using. It saddened him to see that Adam had been forced to house Michael, but what saddened him the most was that if he'd had the presence of mind to remember that Michael had vessel in Adam, he might have gone with Gabriel when he offered. He was ashamed that he would've considered abandoning Adam, but to be with Sam, he probably would've. It didn't matter now though. He had been too overwhelmed to remember, so here he was. "Get out of my brother and take what you want?"
"What makes you think I need you now? I have a suitable vessel. Now all I need to do is what for Lucifer to take his, and since you've come to give yourself over and I don't see Sam anywhere, I assume it'll happen shortly.
"If you weren't interested in taking me, you wouldn't be here right now. I'm guessing I'm still better than Adam. Plus, you want your true vessel to do that. And Lucifer will never get my brother," Dean said firmly.
Michael shrugged. "I suppose you're partially correct. You would be my better option. Your latter statement, however, is false. Your brother will say yes. I offer proof with your own offer to let me in. You have realized your destiny and so will he. If you came here hoping that I'd simply end Lucifer in the mediocre vessel he has now, I'm afraid you were mistaken. I will wait if I must. I'm sorry, but Sam's destiny is to die with Lucifer.
"You'll be waiting a while. So do it. Yes," Dean said impatiently.
Michael frowned slightly. Dean didn't seem the least bit worried about his brother, even after Michael told him he'd wait until Sam gave in. It led him to believe that he was wrong about Dean's reason for finally giving in. Why was he then? Dean had refused him for almost a year. He was he suddenly so ready to give in?
Michael decided to look at Dean's thoughts. He was shocked to find that the only thing Dean was thinking about was revenge. Michael didn't know what exactly Dean sought vengeance for, but his vessel seemed to wish for his suffering, and he believed that killing Lucifer would cause such suffering. He wasn't completely off base. "You want me to suffer. Why?"
Dean's eyes held nothing but fury in them. "Because you're worse than anything I've ever encountered in my life. You've done more damage than anything else ever has or could, and the worst part is that you think there's anything good about you. I hate you more than the demon that killed my mother and brought me into this life. I hate you more than Lucifer even. You took everything from me! The only thing I have left is the desire to feel your pain when you plunge your sword into your brother's chest. Right now, you cling to the belief that your following Daddy's will. You think that'll be enough to take away your pain. I promise you, it won't."
"I know that. I harbor no delusions that I will come out of this without pain," Michael responded.
"Maybe not, but you don't know how bad the pain will be. You can't even imagine it. When you finally feel it, you'll wish you were the one to die," Dean said. He knew this because it was how he felt. He hadn't killed his brother or even harmed him, but he lost him and it was slowly killing him. So he knew it would be worse for Michael. "That's the moment I want to feel from you. I want to see it break you."
Michael was quite surprised by the anger... no, the hatred Dean Winchester felt for him. Dean was supposed to be like him, but Michael had never felt such hate before. Even when Lucifer betrayed all of them, he never felt hatred. He never felt the need to live for revenge alone, as Dean claimed he did. But it didn't truly matter. All that mattered was that Dean had agreed. "I'm afraid I don't break easily, but if I will take you up on your offer if you're ready."
"Yes," Dean said.
Within seconds, Adam's body fell to the ground and Dean was engulfed by a bright light.
Dean could honestly say that getting possessed by an archangel was the most unpleasant thing he'd ever felt in his life. Michael's presence was overwhelming. Dean could feel his power as it weighed him down further and further until it successfully pushed down into the background of his body.
"I apologize for that. I know that it could not be pleasant," Michael said.
"What's wrong with Adam? Why isn't he getting up?" Dean asked from deep inside his own body. He could still see and hear everything, and apparently he could still speak to Michael.
"I sent his soul back to Heaven. That was my agreement with him. I keep my word," Michael said.
"Yeah, you're awesome," Dean said sarcastically.
Michael took a moment to familiarize himself with Dean's memories. It literally took seconds, however, it left him stunned. Well, one memory in particular left him stunned. The memory of his baby brother making it impossible for Sam Winchester to ever fulfill his destiny. Gabriel had used a Pagan ritual to turn Sam back into a child and then took him away. "No!"
"I guess you're not the only one who can screw with people, Asshole," Dean said.
"This cannot happen! It will centuries before he's old enough to consent! I can't wait that long!" Michael yelled. If Gabriel had been truthful to Dean, it would take a very long time before Sam would be old enough to consent, at least a half a millennium. And Michael was sure that Gabriel had been truthful. He would ensure his plan was successful. Michael could not wait that long. Lucifer could do too much damage in that amount of time. He could completely destroy Earth by then.
"Then let's get the show on the road," Dean suggested.
"This is not the way it's supposed to go!" Michael yelled in frustration.
"Well it certainly shoots your theory on free will down, doesn't it? You're not getting my brother, so I guess you're just gonna have to improvise. Think of it this way. It's an easy win," Dean said.
Michael sighed. This was not how things were supposed to happen, but Dean was correct. He would need to work with what he had. He would have to stop Lucifer in the vessel he currently wore. It was the only option.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Lucifer felt it as his brother took his true vessel. He'd felt it as he'd taken Dean and Sam's half brother as well, but taking Dean had much more significance. It meant the Winchester's were giving up. Well, Dean was anyway, and if Dean had, Sam would soon join, even if it took a tiny bit of persuasion. In any event, he could now find Dean with Michael inside him, which meant he could also get to Sam, since neither brother ventured far from the other.
When Lucifer made it to the battleground, Michael was there waiting. "Michael. I see you finally got Dean to say yes."
Michael simply nodded in response.
"Where's Sam?" Lucifer wondered.
"I'm afraid your vessel has been taken out of the equation," Michael said.
"What?" Lucifer asked with an edge to his voice.
"Sam is gone," Michael said.
"You mean he's dead? Please, either of us could bring him back. Have you forgotten that we're, archangels," Lucifer asked. As he said it though, he couldn't help but be nervous. Michael knew all this, yet he seemed sure that Sam was unreachable. What was going on?
"It's more complicated than that, brother," Michael said as he approached his brother. He touched Lucifer's forehead, sharing his vessel's memory of Sam and Gabriel with him.
"No! He wouldn't dare!" Lucifer raged as he shrunk away from his older brother. Gabriel had somehow managed to survive and had not only managed to steal his vessel, but also made him unusable.
"I won't deny that it surprises me as well. I would've expected him to try to stop us, but he knows this action won't. It appears he has a soft spot for your vessel and doesn't want to see him reach such a terrible end," Michael said.
"He will pay for this! I will kill him for betraying me!" Lucifer fumed.
"It won't get to that point, Lucifer. It's time," Michael said.
Lucifer looked at his brother in disbelief. "You can't be serious! This is not the way it is supposed to go!"
"No, but it's the only way. I don't like having to do it this way, but I cannot allow you to destroy Father's creations while you wait for Sam to age, and we both know you will," Michael said. He truly hated this. It was supposed to be at least a mostly fair fight. Instead, it was more like an execution, because Lucifer barely had a chance of fighting against him in that vessel.
"They are not worth saving!" Lucifer snarled before lunging at his brother.
Michael allowed his full power to make itself known as he pulled his brother up the shirt and tossed him through the air like a rag doll. The Earth shook and and the sky opened up as it all went down.
Lucifer picked himself up and glared at his brother. "I'm not going to make this easy for you." He knew he couldn't win in this vessel. He was going to lose this fight. But he would not fall to his knees and let his brother execute him like an animal."
"I don't expect you to," Michael said.
Lucifer charged his brother again and slammed him to the ground so hard that he heard a crack in the ground.
Michael kicked his brother off of him and got up. He pulled Lucifer up by the back of the shirt and turned him to face him. "I never wanted this. It didn't have to happen! If you had not betrayed us, none of this would've happened!"
Lucifer headbutted his brother, sending him a few feet away and to the ground. "You are the one who betrayed me! You locked me in the cage!"
"You rebelled!" Michael yelled as he approached him. He grabbed him and pushed him onto one of the many graves in the cemetery, breaking the headstone. He conjured his blade and bent down over his brother. "You turned against us!"
"No! You turned against me!" Lucifer snarled.
"You left me no choice! Just as you have now. I'm sorry," Michael said before plunging the knife into his chest. Lucifer was engulfed in white light as he died and there was a burned outline of his wings when he died. The weather problems and earthquakes stopped with his death.
The hand with Michael's archangel blade shook wildly as he looked down at his dead baby brother. No part of his body had ever shaken before in his long life. Every action he'd taken had been with firmness, steadiness, and with no regrets. Even when he didn't like an order, he carried it out without sorrow. But never had he been asked to kill his brother, and not just any brother, his first. Lucifer had been the very first being, aside from their father that he ever loved. He raised Lucifer since the moment he was created. He'd cherished him. Now his brother laid dead, killed by him.
The pain was so bad, almost unbearable. He'd been meant to protect Lucifer, but instead he'd been forced to kill him. Dean was right. Michael had known it would be painful, but he didn't think it would be nearly as bad as the hunter had warned him it would be. It was. It was excruciating. Why had he fought for this so brutally?
Underneath Michael, Dean felt all of it. He felt all of Michael's pain. It was as Dean had expected, though not nearly as satisfying. He did take some pleasure in it, and he certainly didn't feel any sympathy for Michael. The bastard made his own bed, and he made it necessary for Dean to have to let his brother go. It seemed fitting as far as he was concerned. But Michael's pain didn't relieve Dean's pain. It didn't give him Sam back.
After a few more minutes, Michael picked himself up off the ground. "It's over."
"What's the damage?" Dean wondered. He had told Bobby and Cas he didn't consider his problem anymore, but he still wondered what was left of humanity.
"The battle wasn't nearly as bad as it would've been had Lucifer been at full strength. There was of course loss of life, but it was minimal compared. Paradise will not happen, but it was never my desire in the first place," Michael said. Paradise had been what Raphael and many others wanted, but Michael only every fought because he felt he had no choice. It was what his father expected of him. "As I promised a while back, your mind will be intact when I leave you."
"What about Sam and Gabriel?" Dean asked. He wanted to be sure his brother would still be safe, that Michael wouldn't seek retribution for ruining the plan.
Michael sighed. "One brother has already died by my hand. I have absolutely no desire to hunt down another. But I cannot bring Sam back to you either." Well, he supposed he could if he searched long enough, but he saw no reason to. Gabriel had made his intention not to come back clear to Dean. He saw no reason to interfere.
"Just as long as you leave them alone," Dean said.
"You have my word. Goodbye, Dean," Michael said before vacating his vessel and flying home, taking his brother's body with him.
Dean finally felt the invisible weight that was holding him down disappear. He had control of his own body once again. He just stood there for a while looking around, trying to figure out where he went from here.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Gabriel felt the death of his brother. He never thought he would, but apparently when an archangel died, every other archangel felt it. It was a combination of emptiness in pain. It was like someone just reached inside of him and tore a chunk of him out.
"What's wrong with you?" Sam suddenly asked from across the archangel. The two of them had been sitting in the living room watching TV, both on one of the couches, when a strange look reached Gabriel's face. Sam could only describe it as a mixture of shock and agony.
Gabriel straightened his features. He wouldn't let Sam see him lose it. "Nothing. Hey, it's getting late. How about we get you ready for bed?"
Sam thought about arguing that he didn't want to go to bed, but decided against it. He was a tiny bit tired and he really wouldn't mind getting away from the archangel. "Fine, but I'll go myself. I don't need you to help get ready for bed."
Gabriel nodded and watched the boy disappear up the stairs. He waited to hear the door close before burying his head in his hands and crying. His brother was gone, and despite how much of a dick he'd turned into, Lucifer was still the older brother that took care of Gabriel. "Damn it! You dickheads just couldn't stop!"
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Up in his room, Sam opened the drawer with all of pajamas in it. He grumbled as he sifted through the childish pajamas. Everything in there consisted of stuff with teddy bears, dinosaurs, superheros, or some other kid pictures on it. It never ceased to piss him off.
After looking through every pair of pajamas he had, Sam finally found a pair he could deal with. They were a blue short sleeve pair with baseballs all over the shorts and a big baseball on the the top.
Before bed, Sam decided to go back downstairs and get a glass of water. The first thing he noticed was that Gabriel wasn't in the living room anymore. Sam walked towards the kitchen and heard a crying sound. As the kitchen came into view, he saw that it was Gabriel that was crying. Well, it was more like little whimpers, but he was still upset.
Sam felt bad and wondered what was wrong for about two seconds. Then he remembered that he shouldn't care, not after Gabriel kidnapped him and forced him to go through his childhood all over again. In fact, this might be his chance to get the hell out of there. Gabriel wasn't watching his every move right now. He wasn't listening for every sound he made. Maybe since he was so upset, Gabriel's archangel senses wouldn't be as strong. He could get out of there.
Of course, Sam knew it wouldn't be easy even if he got away from Gabriel. He was in some kind of weird dimension. But there had to be a way out of it, right? And Sam was a Winchester. If there was a way out, he'd find it.
Sam decided he was going to go for it. He wasn't sure he'd get another chance like this. He had to take it before it was too late. He quickly, yet very quietly walked back out to the living room and towards the door. He turned back just for a second when he reached the door, to make sure there was no sign of Gabriel busting him. There wasn't, so he walked right out.