Chapter Text
Sam watches in awe as the flames before him descend to reveal the Devil himself. Lucifer’s eyes flash red as he moves towards the bars. He hears the angel take a deep breath as he catches sight of the King of Hell. “My old friend Crowley..” Lucifer acknowledges. Whatever Crowley responds with, it makes Lucifer laugh. “You’re too kind… to yourself.” Lucifer smirks. “What do you want of me?” He questions.
Crowley’s eyes move over to Sam and he walks out of the shadows, into Lucifer’s line of vision. Suddenly, he feels very small, and he’s wondering if this was the best idea. Sam drags his eyes up to meet Lucifer’s and the Devil’s face softens, just enough to be noticeable. He tilts his head, almost adoringly. “Sam Winchester…” He whispers. “My old roomie. Hug it out?” He grins.
Sam almost wants to smile back, in fact, he almost does . Crowley glances at Sam, judging if it’s okay to leave the two, then he and Rowena take their leave and it’s just them. Just the two of them. Just Sam and Lucifer.
Lucifer paces along the Cage walls, running his fingers along the bars. “I gotta say… I’m a little in the dark about this meeting…” He hums. “Mind telling me what you’re doing back here?”
“We need your help.” Sam tells him.
“ My help?” Lucifer questions with a scoff. Sam nods and he crosses his arms over his chest tightly. “Why would Sam Winchester ever need help from me ?” Sam’s head tilts towards the ground. Lucifer snaps his fingers. “Hey. Nuh uh uh. Eyes up here.” He instructs, and Sam obliges. “What do you need my help with?” Lucifer props himself up against the bars.
“The Darkness was unleashed.” Sam trails off and he almost drops his gaze.
“And you want me to help you put her back where she belongs.” Lucifer finishes. “Before she ravages the entire planet?” Sam nods, just a small tip of his chin. “I see… I did help dear old Dad seal her away, aeons ago.” Lucifer tips his head towards Sam. “Why come to me , though?”
“Um.. think of it as sort of a last resort. Dean didn’t want it to come to this, but I think.. I think you could help.” Sam says with a steady voice, one that’s obviously forced.
“Oh, well, yeah, I’m sure I could…” Lucifer hums as he flicks his eyes over Sam’s body and then he gestures at the fire surrounding the cage.. “Douse these flames, baby, let’s negotiate.” He whines.
Sam shuffles his feet. “I- I don’t think I’m gonna be able to do that..” He glances back at Crowley and Rowena. Lucifer groans dramatically.
“Really? You’re worried about them?” The devil scoffs. “Get rid of this fire and you won’t need to worry about anything ever again.” Sam opens his mouth to argue, but closes it before the words can come out. He settles for a simple shake of his head. “Sammy.” Lucifer says darkly.
“I can’t do that.” Sam tells him, his voice more firm than before. “I really- I just can’t.”
“How am I supposed to help you if I’m locked up?” Lucifer fakes a pout. “I mean, really, Sam, how the hell can I help if I’m in Hell?” He snickers at the wording.
Sam sighs. “Um.. I was really hoping you would just tell me..?” Sam sounds pathetic and he knows it. Lucifer stares at him blankly for a moment before laughing.
“Well, sure, I guess.” Lucifer’s smile grows menacing and Sam frowns. The light from the fire dims before his eyes and he steps backwards, away from the Cage as the flames begin to flicker and fade away. Sam distantly hears Crowley yelling at Rowena, but the next thing he knows he’s staring directly at Lucifer’s face.
And he’s not outside the Cage anymore. “Hey, bunk buddy.” Lucifer coos. “Sammy, the only way to get rid of her.. Baby, you need to get me out of here.” Sam shakes his head vehemently.
“No, Lucifer, stop asking me to do that, I can’t do that.” Sam expresses, but it’s more like a plea.
“You know I don’t ever really..” Lucifer pauses, pretending to search for words, “ask for things, right?” He steps closer to Sam and places a hand on the human’s shoulder. “Of course, if that’s what it sounds like to you, I can ‘ask’ again. I’ll ‘ask’ until I get a yes.” Sam backs away as Lucifer slowly begins to approach him.
~
Dean hesitantly walks down the stairs that lead into Hell, holding the box he was asked to retrieve. He jumps, just slightly, at Crowley’s sudden appearance. “Welcome to Hell.” The demon king says dryly.
“Where’s Sam?” Dean snaps.
“Oh, don’t worry about Sam.” Crowley instructs as he practically rolls his eyes. Dean glares at him.
“I’m sorry, have you met me?” He growls.
“I mean, Lucifer needs the Moose.” Crowley puts up a placating hand, “He’s not going to kill him..” He winces a bit, “..probably. You want to fight the Devil? There’s easy ways to flatline yourself, and that’s not one of them.”
Dean glares at Crowley. “We need to get Sam out of the Cage and away from Lucifer.” He commands and his voice is tinged with fear.
“And we will.” Crowley snaps back. “But we need to focus on Rowena.”
“Okay, great, let’s kill her.” Dean says.
“We need her to get your freakishly tall brother out of Satan’s clutches.” Crowley presses. Dean’s mouth forms a highly irritated frown.
“She’s not gonna help us.”
“She doesn’t have a choice.” Crowley glances down at the chest in Dean’s hands. He opens it and takes out the contents. “It’s called… a witchcatcher.”
~
Sam is backed up against the bars of the Cage with Lucifer’s hand combing through his hair. “Sam, dear, really, how long are you going to let this go on? I mean, I don’t want to be in here.” He sighs. “Do you want to be in here?” Sam shakes his head. “Hmm, didn’t think so. Let’s blow town, come on.”
Sam remains silent, earning him an eye roll from Lucifer. The fingers running through his hair grasp onto the strands. Lucifer pulls Sam’s head back and leans in towards Sam’s ear. “I’m nothing if not patient, Sammy…” Lucifer releases Sam’s hair and pulls away, grinning at the look of panic on his face. “How long were you in here the first time, hmm? Wanna break that record?”
“No.” Sam shakes his head. “Dean- He’ll get me out.”
“Will he?” Lucifer leers at Sam. “He didn’t the first time, why are you relying on him? In all fairness, I’m rooting for Castiel.” He winks. “Think he’ll get all of you this time?”
“Dean, Cas, whoever. Someone will. I have faith in them.” Sam tells Lucifer as he shifts anxiously under the fallen angel’s gaze.
“Ugh, ew.” Lucifer pretends to gag. “You know, have you ever thought about going into spiritual counselling? I think you could help a lot of people with that mindset.” He grins at the smile Sam’s holding back. “See? I know you still think I’m funny.” He gives Sam a playful shove that knocks him into the bars.
Sam winces as his shoulder makes contact with the metal. “You might find it funny, but I know someone’s going to get me out, Lucifer.” He says.
“Oh my dad, honestly, Sam…” Lucifer cackles. “You could get out of here, now. Like, right now. I just need a yes.” Lucifer trails off and he studies Sam for a moment. “Unless.. you don’t want to get out. You want to stay, don’t you?”
“No, no, I don’t.” Sam answers quickly. “I want to leave and I’m going to leave. But not because of you, you’re not getting out, I can’t let that happen. I won’t let that happen.”
“Hun, you can lie to yourself all you want.” Lucifer drawls, “But you can’t lie to me, remember?” He raises his hand and slowly closes it into a fist, and Sam groans as he crumples over from the sudden flare of pain in his chest. “Just say it, Sam.”
Sam raises his head, glaring at Lucifer. Lucifer tightens his fist and Sam groans again. “Even for you, this is weak.” Sam grinds out. “ No .”
“You see, you’re wrong. It’s this act of yours that’s weak.” Lucifer smirks. “It’s okay, it’s okay, Sam, honestly, it’s… entertaining.” He bends down a bit and yanks Sam’s head up by his hair. “We’ve done so much more with pain. I broke you then and I’ll break you again.” He whispers.
“Lucifer..” Sam groans. “I can’t, please, I’m sorry.”
“No, you aren’t.” Lucifer frowns and he lets Sam go.
Sam shakes his head, “No, God , I am, I know how bad you want to be free, and I’m sorry, but I can’t.” He stifles a cry as Lucifer flings him into the bars.
“You can’t do this, Sam.” Lucifer exclaims. “You know how many people you’re failing?! I’m the only one who can stop her, and believe me, she needs to be stopped.”
A hiss falls from Sam’s lips as he pulls himself off the ground. “And what happens after you stop her? You’re just going to pick up where you left off, right?” He asks. He knows he’s right when Lucifer hesitates.
“That doesn’t matter.” Lucifer says quickly. Sam cocks his head. “It really doesn’t. Whatever Amara has planned? It’ll be ten times worse.” He snaps as he stalks over to Sam. He brings his forearm up and presses it against Sam’s neck, pinning him to the bars.
“Just tell me how you stopped her the first time.” Sam rasps.
“Just say yes.” Lucifer counters. “You’re only hurting yourself, and you know that hurts me too.” He murmurs as he cards his fingers through Sam’s hair before placing his hand on Sam’s cheek. “Sammy..” Sam remains silent as Lucifer caresses his skin.
The cool hand on his face is suddenly gone as Lucifer spins away from Sam. The devil mutters something under his breath angrily. Sam tenses up, waiting for the pain in his chest to return. Instead of the previous method Lucifer had been using, he twists back around and takes a swing at Sam’s face. Sam cries out in both pain and alarm. “Plan B, baby.” Lucifer grins as he swings again.
~
Dean watches Rowena mix ingredients together for the spell, and he’s growing more annoyed by the second. “So this is supposed to slam Lucifer back in the box.. How long is it going to take??”
Rowena pauses to glare at Dean. “About five minutes.” She says dryly. “Unless Sam says yes.” Dean tilts his head in confusion.
“And if he does?” Crowley questions.
“If Lucifer finds a vessel, he’ll be tethered to Earth. The incantation won’t work.” Rowena answers smugly, as though that’s not a big deal.
“I’ve got a lot of faith in that kid, but there’s a chance we might be fucked.” Dean says and his voice is tinged with anxiety.
“You think he’d say yes?” Rowena questions.
“I- I don’t know.” Dean stammers. “Whatever happened in the cage the first time around, it seemed like-”
Dean is cut off by a random demon entering the room. “I’m sorry, my lord,” He addresses Crowley, “I tried to stop him, but-” Castiel enters the room a second later.
“Cas?” Dean questions.
“Oh good, the angel’s here.” Crowley drawls out sarcastically.
Dean takes in Castiel’s sweating face and heavy breathing. “What’s happened?” He asks.
“Amara.. She’s-” Castiel pants, “-she’s alive. And she sent this message.” He unbuttons his shirt, revealing writing that was burnt or carved into his chest.
Crowley squints at the words. “‘I am coming’? Is that a threat?” Rowena smirks before returning to the spell.
“Or a promise?” Dean questions, his expression wary. He turns to Rowena, and he’s about to ask how long it’s going to take, when he hears Sam cry out from the Cage. Everyone turns to the doorway. “Sam?!” Dean yells. He runs to the door with Castiel right behind him.
Crowley starts to warn them not to, but they’re already outside the room before the words can leave his mouth.
~
Out of the corner of his eye, Sam sees two figures running towards the cage. Dean and Cas. He goes limp with relief before remembering that an archangel is beating the shit out of him. “Lucifer, wait, please, please .”
“Sugar, it hasn’t even been three minutes and you’re already starting to beg?” Lucifer barks out a laugh as he raises his fist.
“Hey!! Ass-butt!!” Castiel shouts. Lucifer’s fist pauses mid-air. He turns around and smiles.
“Dean! And uh- the other one..” Lucifer squints at Castiel. He snaps his fingers and they’re inside the Cage. “Welcome to the party.”
Dean glances down at his brother, whose lip is busted and he has blood trickling from his nose, and his face hardens. He glares at Lucifer. Sam spits out a glob of blood before he tries, and fails, to get himself off the ground.
Lucifer grins darkly at Dean and Castiel. “Scared?” He asks.
“Not even a little.” Dean tells him.
Castiel slides an angel blade out of his sleeve and Sam’s eyes go wide. “Cas, no!” He exclaims. Castiel frowns, but complies. “Don’t- He hasn’t said anything about Amara.”
Lucifer looks back at Sam and groans. “Hun, I have said plenty about Amara. You know what you need to do.” He shrugs. He turns back to Castiel, who’s prepared to fight. “Uh uh uh.. Moments like this, it’s all about the ambiance.”
Lucifer snaps and music begins to play. Dean and Castiel look around in complete and utter confusion. Sam just snorts and shakes his head. “The answer’s still no!” He shouts over the music. Castiel looks at Dean, who nods, and then he lunges at Lucifer with the blade. Dean runs over to Sam.
“Hey, hey, are you okay?” Dean mutters as he takes in his brother’s injuries.
“No, no, not really.” Sam replies. “Dean, we can’t win.”
“We don’t have to win.” Dean tells Sam, who tilts his head in confusion. “We just have to hold on for a few minutes.” Sam’s head snaps up at the sound of Castiel grunting in pain.
Lucifer is repeatedly punching the angel. “Lucifer, Lucifer, no!” Sam cries out, “Get off of him, please.”
“What, you care about him more than me? I mean, I know he got you out of here the first time, but man-” Lucifer clicks his tongue in disapproval, “He didn’t do it right. And I don’t think he’s gonna be able to do it again.” He punches Castiel again. Dean throws himself at the archangel.
“Dean!!” Castiel and Sam yell in unison. Lucifer practically tosses Dean across the Cage. He hits the bars and crumples to the ground.
“Sammy, we don’t need these two to stop Amara, you know that, right?” Lucifer asks, his voice soft as though he’s talking to a young child. “I can get rid of them now, and you’ll still end up saying yes eventually. Or… You could spare them the pain and get us all out of here now.”
Castiel gets himself off the ground and stalks towards Lucifer again. Lucifer grabs his collar and shoves him back to the floor. A white light begins to form underneath them. “Is it true that you can beat the Darkness?” Castiel asks quickly and quietly.
“Of course it is, Cassie, I don’t lie to Sam.” Lucifer smiles sweetly.
“Then yes.” Castiel tells him. A look of surprise crosses Lucifer’s face before he pulls himself into his new vessel. The white light spreads and blinds all of the Cage’s occupants and when it fades, the four of them, or, three of them, depending on how you look at it, are standing outside the cage.