Missing in Action

"Strange."

Lucifer stood in the corner of the warehouse room at Resistance HQ, leaning casually against the wall, staring at the figure in the middle of the unfurnished room floating five feet off of the ground, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.

Leon, a few feet away, sitting on the floor with Kinsey and David, also watching the floating figure, looked back at him with a look of disbelief on his face.

"'Strange'...you don't say?" he asked rhetorically, his eyebrows raising as he looked back at his friend Jesse. "I guess where you come from people float around all the time, huh?"

Lucifer smiled patronizingly. "You miss my greater meeting, ex-Herald of mine."

Leon frowned in obvious disgust. "Would you quit mentioning that every five minutes, please?"

Lucifer shrugged, smiling guiltily. Jesse rolled his eyes. Every move or sentence that Lucifer made was a mockery, a soured sarcasm of the true meaning of the gesture or words he spoke – and, quite frankly, Leon was getting sick of it. He huffed and turned away, muttering – mostly to himself.

"Fine, be that way."

"Oh, Leon, you wound me..." Lucifer prodded further. His gaze flicked away as someone came into the room, trying to be quiet. Lucifer groaned. "Oh...great..."

"Nice to see you too, brother," Gabriel replied. Castiel was next to him, and wasn't bothering to hide his distaste at Lucifer's visage.

"What? You had no problem whatsoever when I was a rotting, half-corpse in a blonde man's vessel."

Castiel bristled and stared at him, his eyes full of pure hatred.

"Sam was my friend."

Lucifer stared back, eyes glinting. "Bad idea for people like us to make friends with mortals, Castiel. Truly horrible things can happen to them."

"So was Dean," Castiel continued, unperturbed.

Lucifer let out a breath. "Yeah, sorry, can't do much about that one...hey, if it cheers you up - Sam's still here you know."

Castiel narrowed his eyes and involuntarily took in a breath, leaning back as if struck. "He...his vessel is still viable? He's still alive in there?"

Lucifer nodded, grinning like a cat. "I'd let you say 'hi' and all...buuuuuut, I'm not gonna let you."

"What a bag of dicks," Gabriel muttered.

"Oh, come up with something original for a change, Gabe – heard that one before," Lucifer said, rolling his head in exaggerated exasperation.

"OK, you're a bag of rotten dicks."

Lucifer tapped his chin with his finger. "Weeeelllll, better, but still lacking that spark of originality".

"Unbelievable," Kinsey muttered from the floor, shaking her head.

"You got something better?" Lucifer taunted.

"Oh, no thanks," she answered.

"Well, something is obviously on your mind...care to share with the rest of the class?"

Kinsey turned her head around and looked Lucifer up and down.

"It is hard to fathom that you and Gabriel are two of the most powerful beings in the entire universe. I am sitting here listening to a couple of bickering, immature, petulant and whiny children, and realizing that it is no great mystery as to how the universe ended up in the mess that it is in now." She glared at him a moment or two longer, flicked her eyes to Gabriel, nodded to herself, and turned back around.

Lucifer turned to Gabriel and jerked a thumb in her direction. "She's got you on that one..."

"I seem to recall you being part of that analysis also," Gabriel shot back.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. "I meant in terms of coming up with an original insult...that one actually stung a bit..."

"What did you mean by 'strange'?," Castiel cut in. "We heard you say it when we were coming in here."

Lucifer indicated his head in Jesse's direction. "Him...something's off."

Gabriel looked over and squinted. "He's still channeling Angelic energy right? Because...that would be very, very bad if he isn't …."

Lucifer nodded. "He is. Just not as much of it as I expected."

Castiel moved closer to Jesse and looked over his shoulder back to Lucifer.

"Explain."

Lucifer smiled. "No 'please'?"

Castiel turned and glared at him. Lucifer held up his hands, palms up. "OK, ok, tough guy! Just funnin'..." He rubbed his chin. "No, I mean, when New Eden was destroyed, it not only took Michael with it, it also killed Sarah, Jones, Trevor, Angela, Robert and Milo...our new Archangels."

Gabriel frowned. "Aren't you missing one...what was it...Sneezy, Doc, Grumpy...?"

Lucifer's smile widened, but his face remained tense. "Stephen. And we decided to...move on from our arrangements with Stephen."

"'Move on'...?"

Castiel grimaced. "He means dead. He means that they killed him." He turned back to Jesse and sighed. "He was just an innocent child. But what should we have expected from you two?"

"Oh, look at who knows so much," Lucifer snorted. When Castiel glanced back at him, Lucifer lowered his gaze. "Believe you me, sonny boy, if you knew the stuff about Stephen that we knew about Stephen..."

Castiel rounded on him and stalked over to stand right in his face. "What? That we'd have killed him as well? Is that what you're suggesting?"

"Group hugs and a round of Kumbaya weren't going to cut it with that one, Castiel, believe me."

Castiel, visually upset, scanned Lucifer's face, then turned away in disgust. "So he was a mixed up kid."

"More than. He killed people, Castiel. Cold-hearted. Ruthless." Lucifer shrugged. "Actually, now that I say it out loud, I kind of maybe should have been able to work with him, huh?"

Castiel's shoulders sagged. "He killed people."

"Yep."

"And he was mixed up and cold hearted."

"Bonus points for Castiel."

Castiel turned back around, his face a mixture of anger and sadness. "You still don't get it, do you?"

Lucifer looked confused. "Get what? I did the universe a favor, Castiel. That kid was a walking horror film..."

Castiel shook and bowed his head, chuckling humorously. "And instead of helping him, or trying to reach out, you gave him powers. Godlike, angelic powers." He stared back up at Lucifer. "And then what? Did you instruct him on how to use them, Lucifer? Did you observe him under controlled conditions? Or did all Michael and you do was to turn him loose on an unsuspecting population?" The room went deathly still as everyone watched the exchange. Lucifer raised his eyebrows in comprehension, Castiel's point sinking in. Castiel took a step closer. "Make no mistake, Lucifer, you killed those people, every bit as much as Stephen did. You gave impossible power to a confused kid, that you couldn't have cared two damns about. So long as he fulfilled you and Michael's purpose, you couldn't have cared less about the person in there, or actually trying to reach him." He threw up his hands in surrender. "But what should we have expected? Lucifer...you have been, and always were...selfish, short-sighted, and only concerned with your own inflated ego. And people die all the time because of that. And you...you never learn. All you do is blame them."

Lucifer watched him, his glare cold.

"So spare me. You didn't do the right thing. You put down a rabid dog that you infected yourself. So just...spare me." He looked back at Jesse. "So, if it's not too much trouble for you to get to the damned point, what is wrong with Jesse's power?"

Lucifer continued to simply glare at Castiel. Finally, he cleared his throat and looked away.

"There's not enough of it. He should have absorbed the power that they took from him as soon as they died...and it's simply not there is all," he mumbled. With that, he turned on his heel and stalked out of the room.

Gabriel let out a low whistle. "Wow. I mean..."

"Don't you start too."

"No, no," Gabriel said, holding up his hands. "You didn't miss a beat, bucko. But I haven't heard old Lucy there take a tongue lashing like that since Dad did it all those so many years ago."

Castiel considered that and nodded. "Someone needs to tell him. He's been walking around here like he's the king of the coop, and I'm sick of him thinking that he's just going to get off scott-free...thinking that we should be grateful that he's here or something. That makes me feel sick. Every time another disaster happens to this world, I can't help but keep thinking that he was a big part of the reason it did. But he takes no responsibility for it. No blame." He shook his head. "I won't let him forget, Gabriel. Ever."

Gabriel nodded. "I don't disagree with you on any specific point there, little brother."

Castiel nodded in return. "Thank you." He looked back up at Jesse. "So, if he's right..."

"Probably wasn't lying..." Gabriel cut in, then twisted his lip, considering. "About that, anyway..."

Castiel shrugged. "What does it mean? Could the others...could they have survived that?"

Gabriel shrugged as well. "Might have. Or the Old Ones just absorbed their energy. Or ate it...whatever it is that those guys do." He shivered. "I'll tell you, Cas, I don't particularly want to go out like that...make sure I don't get ate, ok?"

Castiel frowned. "Eaten."

Gabriel smiled. "I know. I like Firefly is all."

"Series from Joss Whedon, circa 2000. Canceled too soon."

"Bingo. Wow, that tv and movie trivia thing that Metatron did for you is pretty damned impressive."

Castiel grimaced. "Thank you. If you ever figure out a way to undo it, I would very appreciative."

Gabriel frowned. "Whatd'ya mean? That's a totally cool ability to have."

Castiel shook his head. "Do you have any idea how much bad soap opera trivia there is?" Gabriel stared, then looked slightly horrified. Castiel nodded in response. "Exactly. Seventy years of 'Days of Our Lives'...there are mornings that I don't want to ever get up again." He rubbed his chin, thinking. "We need to know if they did survive. It's important. If there was any way out of there..."

Gabriel's eyes widened in comprehension. "Ah-so...you're thinking that if anyone made it out...then maybe Dean-o did also?" He shook his head. "Cas, Michael was definitely destroyed. That's the reason the whole damned Universe broke apart."

Castiel looked away from Jesse and back to Gabriel. "You heard him. Sam is still alive in there. When all of this is over...I'd..." He looked away. "...I don't want to be the one to tell him that Dean didn't make it, Gabriel. Do you understand? I have to know for certain."

Gabriel nodded. "I gotcha, pal." He walked over to the door. "Let's go see the witch, then."

Rowena was bent over the Book of the Damned with two of the Fates, Lachesis and Clotho. They were gripping the Book tightly on three sides, and the text on the page they had it open to was glowing. Castiel looked closely. It was odd...the glowing letters didn't appear to be written on paper at all, rather on a sheet of pure darkness. As he watched, the glowing letters swirled and spiraled in that black, some of them disappearing, some of them coalescing into actual words.

"There's one..." Rowena said breathlessly. "Has Atropos been there yet?"

Clotho grimaced. "Yes. Dead end."

"Damn," Rowena frowned, muttering in frustration. "Ladies, it's seeming to me that we haven't been finding anything viable lately...how long has it been since the last one?"

"Too long," Lachesis answered, removing her hands. "We need to stop. I sincerely think that we're not going to find any more."

Rowena sighed and let go as well. The darkness faded from the pages, along with the glowing letters, and reverted to normal, calligraphic, hand-written script. She noticed Gabriel and Castiel standing there and smiled weakly. "Hello lads. Come for some company?"

"Not a casual visit, ladies," Gabriel winked. "Sorry to say."

"Well, we're exhausted, 'sorry to say'..." Rowena said, bending over, hands on hips. "Can't do any heavy lifting for awhile."

"We need a location spell," Castiel answered. "Can you manage that?"

Rowena nodded and bit her lip. "Barely." She frowned, considering. "Who will you wanting to be locating, then? I mean, I don't know if you've noticed the state of things around here lately, but I don't think a search is going to take very long, all things considered...not too many places left to be hiding..."

Castiel smiled grimly. "I need to know if anyone made it out of New Eden alive."

Rowena's frown deepened. "New...Eden? Castiel..."

Castiel held up a hand. "I know, Rowena, believe me, just please know that I wouldn't ask this of you if I thought it was a waste of time. Some new information has come to our attention - information that could mean that there actually were survivors."

Rowena looked doubtful. "What new information? From where?"

"We'll tell you later. For now, it's actually probably better if you didn't know," Gabriel grunted. "So, whatd'ya say? Can you pull it off?"

Rowena watched them both curiously for a moment, then shrugged. "Shouldn't be difficult. That entire section of the Universe is Old Ones Central right now." Her face turned serious. "Which complicates the matters of any survivors being still alive, you understand."

Castiel nodded. "I know. But it's...very important. Can you let us know when it's done?"

Rowena nodded and watched them go. She crossed her arms and looked over at Lachsis, the 'older' of the two Fates. She knew that it was only in outer appearance that way. They had all three, for all practical purposes, been created at the same time.

"Any chance the boys are right about that?"

Lachesis raised an eyebrow. "While it is true that I determine when a life is severed, this is not information that I normally share with mortals...no matter what the circumstances are."

Rowena smiled pleasantly. "Dear woman, I am tired. You are tired. There is little less for any of us to do right now except for a last, desperate stand, I would presume. My point is this: isn't it maybe a bit late to worry about bending the rules?"

Lachesis looked at her and finally smiled knowingly. She shut her eyes and appeared to be deep in concentration. "Interesting..."

Rowena tilted her head. "'Interesting' how?"

Lachesis opened her eyes and sighed. "I know that these are desperate times, witch, but there are simply some things I cannot divulge..."

"Just tell me if I would be wasting my time or not!" Rowena shot back, throwing her hands in the air. "Otherwise, I'm going straight to my bunk to take a bloody nap!"

Lachesis glanced at Clotho, who shook her head slightly. Lachesis sighed again and bowed her head. "I...I don't think your energies would be best spent sleeping dear," she said, smily slightly.

"Sister...!" Clotho shouted, shocked.

"What, sister?" Lachesis challenged. "I gave her no specific information. Just a suggestion as to how to spend her off-hours."

Clotho turned beet red, sputtering.

"Oh, lighten up, sister," Lachesis muttered, walking out of the room. "It's not like I actually told her that there were threads of life out there..." She turned slightly to Rowena on her way out.

And winked.

Dean Winchester opened his eyes groggily and rubbed at them. He cursed as he felt how dry and raw they were.

"Master?" a voice said somewhere near him.

He blinked around him, the shapes dark and blurry. One of them close to him, leaning over, resolved itself into the face of a bruised and bloody teenager.

"He's awake! He's awake! We did it!" the teen cried excitedly. The other three figures quickly circled around Dean. He looked around, still groggy.

Fire and darkness swirled in the air all around him. The teens were all tattered and looked like hell. They carried glowing swords, a dark substance like black blood dripping off of them, staining their clothes as well.

"Master, we teleported out of there when we saw that you were being attacked. You've been knocked out for...days, I think...it's hard to tell time around here..."

"Where...where am I, exactly...?" Dean muttered, trying to sit up and immediately regretted it. He leaned forward into a sitting position and placed his head between his knees with a groan.

"We're not sure, Master..." the teen replied, frowning. "We don't have the power to get away from the creatures...and we keep getting attacked...but with you back..." The teen looked at him hopefully.

Great, Dean thought. They still think I'm frikkin' Michael. Sorry kids, but Michael has left the building.

"Not yet," he managed to grumble, looking up at them. "I need to...recover my power." He looked all around them in every direction, squinting into the hellish air. He raised his eyebrows. "Shelter?"

The teen looked confused, then began nodding vigorously. "Yeah...uh...yes, Master. There's a cave...but we were afraid to move you...we've been taking turns resting there...it's easier to defend with just the one entrance..."

Dean held up a hand and nodded, wincing, his head splitting in pain. "OK, ok, calm down junior," he said. "Just...let's get into that cave, ok?"

The teen nodded and helped Dean up. "Then what, Master?"

I'd love to know the answer to that myself, pal, Dean thought.