Roads Untraveled ~ Sam Winchester

Chapter Eighty-Two - Horn of Joshua

As the boys continued to talk, Eden stepped outside, deeply breathing in the fresh midday air. Her oldest friend was dead. Her mentor was dead. Her first family after the Garden was dead. They'd had their differences, of course, but she loved Alexander.
Sadness was soon replaced with anger.
Lucifer had been responsible for this and he hadn't even mentioned it. Eden knew he'd done that on purpose so that their fun wouldn't end, but now? The only thing she wanted to end was him.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a familiar yell in her head, followed by a large burst of primordial energy. She felt the Heavens, Earth and Hell quake with the words 'hear me.'
A layer of dark cloud washed over the sky, cracks of thunder and lightning accompanying it.
The boys came rushing out, looking up with nervous anticipation.
"You know what, guys, I think that's her." Dean mumbled.
"You'd be right... I felt it. I heard her." Eden growled. "I'll be back soon." She told them, disappearing in the direction of the calling in a rustle of wings.

Eden found herself in a large, unreadable chamber of some sort. Various flaming torches littered the room. In the centre of it, Amara stood, panting with the echo of a smile on her face. On the other side of Eden, stood Rowena.
"I was just told you died." Eden frowned at her.
"Yes, well, dear, death is rarely the end." The awed, breathless Witch told her.
"Eden, my Angel. It's been too long." Amara's smile grew as she turned to face her creation.
"I heard your call. I assume that was for God." Eden replied coldly.
Amara frowned, walking over to her.
"Something's wrong. Something's changed. What is it, Angel?" She asked, grazing gentle knuckles over Eden's cheek.
"I've had far too much happen to me in these last months to pledge myself to you anymore, aunty. Everything that has happened, everything that I have become was because of you. And now I discover that my oldest friend is dead." Eden's voice quivered with emotion; fear, sadness, emptiness, longing - it all contributed. "I can't stand by and let you be responsible for the loss of anyone else."
"We all have to sacrifice a little to build a lot, my dear." Amara replied, circling the girl. "Together, we could redo everything my brother failed at."
"I've been on this Earth since man's creation. Call me old fashioned, but I don't mind things the way they are." Eden told her. "Of course, it's not perfect, but neither are any of us - and that includes you."
"I never claimed to be perfect, darling." Amara chuckled.
They were interrupted by a gasp from Rowena.
"Well? What are the Winchesters preparing to do?" The Darkness asked.
"You've been keeping tabs on them?" Eden frowned.
"Of course."
"Mm, nothing. Paralysed with fear - they don't know what to do." Rowena shrugged as Amara walked towards her.
"You're right. You're actually handy to have around." She hummed, patting the Witch's cheek before walking off.
"So, what? Is it ultimate dream team girl band from here on in?" Eden raised her voice. "The Primordial Coven."
"Ooh, I quite like that, actually. Much better than 'Super Mega Coven.'" Rowena smiled.
Eden growled out in frustration, flinging a piece of wood she saw from one end of the room to the other.
"Did that make you feel better, darlin'?" The Witch smirked, wandering over to her. "Here, if it'll make you feel better, I'll send your boys a message. They think I'm dead? Well, not anymore."
She tipped her head back under Eden's curious gaze, her eyes went white. It lasted a few moments before she snapped out of it and looked to the girl with a smile.
"Back from the dead, Fergus." She recited the message she'd sent.
"So, that's it? That's all the help you're going to give?" Eden asked.
"Not at all. We're going back to them, ourselves." Rowena replied. "Once you've told me what they're planning, of course."
Eden nodded, telling her all the plans they had for Lucifer and Castiel's vessel and the need to put Lucifer back in the Cage or, at the very least, be able to keep him under control.
She then took Rowena's arm and teleported them back to the Winchesters who, by this point, had separated from Crowley. The brothers had found an old abandoned church to put their plan into action.

"Hello, boys." The Witch greeted in her usual sultry tone.
The Winchesters turned, their curious eyes instantly turning bored when they saw her.
Eden walked out from behind her.
"She was with Amara." She said.
The brothers looked to Rowena with raised brows.
"I was assisting the likeliest victor for my own gain, come on, it's what I do." Rowena gave an emphasised shrug.
"But apparently, she's grown some humility." Eden continued. "She wants to help."
"How the Hell did you even survive?" Dean asked.
"It's a long story. I'm sure it can wait until Fergus gets back from... Wherever it is he went to."
"I hate this." Sam sighed, turning away from her. "The plan, I mean."
"Yeah." Dean mumbled.
"Where did Crowley go, exactly?" Eden asked.
"Yeah, we're essentially all set up. He should've been back by now." The younger brother frowned, motioning to the Angel warding on the floor in the centre of the chapel.
"You'd think since he was the one that boxed us into doing this, he'd have the decency to-"
"Show up?" Crowley's voice came from behind them.
They looked over, seeing he was holding the Horn of Joshua, wrapped in a tan coloured cloth.
"He does." The King continued, walking around the freshly painted warding. "Because, without the bait, well, a trap really isn't a trap, is it?"
"So, that's it?" Sam scoffed, pointing to the Horn as Crowley placed it down on one of the church pews. "Doesn't look like much, does it?"
"First impressions can be deceiving, Moose." Crowley replied. "For instance, I once thought of you as dull and plodding." Sam's head tilted, waiting on the final verdict. "Oh, Nevermind. Bad analogy." The King's eyes rolled, earning a snigger from Eden who, in turn, got a look from the younger brother.
"Sorry..." She mumbled.
"For the record, we still think this is a bad idea." Dean interjected. "We should be using Lucifer, not icing him."
"I'm aware." Crowley replied. "So I'll be standing right here, should you hesitate. The hand that giveth can so quickly taketh away."
"Yes, we get it." The older brother mumbled, getting back to work on the last few pieces of the plan.
"So, mummy, you were telling us your fascinating tale of resurrection." Crowley turned to Rowena. "But you never did say exactly, where you'd been this whole time."
"That's because you were late." Eden commented.
"Same as you, Fergus." Rowena sneered. "Hiding. Once the Dark Prince knew I was alive, I wouldn't be."
"No mucking about like last time." Crowley pointed an accusing finger at her. "The warding and the Holy fire won't keep an Archangel but for a moment. If he shows up at all."
"Oh, he'll show." Dean said, lighting a match to throw into the summoning spell he'd set up in a bowl on the floor. "He's too hungry to take Amara out and we've got the blaster to do it."
He threw the match in, rearing back as the contents of the bowl ignited.
He then took out a few pieces of paper from his bag, reciting the summoning spell written on them.
"I summon you to make an offer. The weapon by which its bearer can crush the Darkness forever." He finished, looking towards the Angel warding.
A bolt of lightning seemingly came from nowhere and Rowena turned to hide herself in one of the adjoining rooms.
As soon as Lucifer appeared, the plan was enacted.
"Sam, now!" Dean ordered.
Sam lit a whole box of matches up, throwing them on the Holy oil that encircled the warding.
Lucifer turned around to face them with his signature smug smirk, his arms folded.
"I'm sorry, your prayer implied that I'd be... Joining the team, but I'm just not feeling the warm and fuzzy here." He said.
"You're joining." Eden growled. "It doesn't mean we have to like it or welcome you with open arms."
"Wow! Hey, Eden! Surprised you're here. Did I underestimate the 'magical love bond' you and Sammy have?" Lucifer scoffed.
"Massively." Sam glared at him.
That was when Lucifer made eye contact with the Horn of Joshua in its spot on the church pew.
"Wow..." He whispered, covering his mouth. "There it is. Powered up by dad, himself. Well, that bad boy, plus me - that ought to take her out, alright. Let's get to it." He clapped his hands together in anticipation, then motioned down to the Holy fire. "Douse the flames." He looked around to everyone, who made no effort to move. "Or don't?"
Dean sliced his hand, slamming it down on the side of a church pew where some pre-drawn Angel warding laid.
It glowed and so did the warding Lucifer stood on.
The Devil began to convulse, blinking back some sort of unwanted energy.
"Cas?" Dean called out. "Castiel, show yourself!"
What had once been plainly Lucifer, contorted until a resting scowl appeared.
"Dean?" Cas' gravelly voice said.
"Cas." The older brother breathed, moving passed everything to approach him.
"What are you doing? What-what's going on?" Cas asked, clearly confused.
"Cas, listen to me, we don't have a whole lot of time, okay?" Dean instructed.
He'd barely finished when Cas' face began to contort again. He hunched over, gripping his knees as he let out a loud groan.
"Cas?!" Dean exclaimed. "Castiel, show yourself!"
There was clearly a battle going on inside the vessel. Mixtures of Cas' grunts and groans mixed with Lucifer's filled and echoed in the room until it was interrupted by a blatant Lucifer laugh.
"Whoo! He's got to what?" The Devil asked, looking up at the older Winchester from his hunched over position. "You boys, ooh, you almost had me there for a minute, but these mail-order spells - they're just not what they're cracked up to be, are they?"
"Cas, expel him! You gotta kick Lucifer out, you hear me?" Dean ordered.
"Honestly, I think he's happy with the arrangement." Lucifer said, standing up straight and taking a step forward in the warding. "I mean, he did invite me in and all, Dean."
"Cas!" The older brother continued.
"Cas!" Lucifer mocked him. "Hand over the weapon. What do you say? Or we can just wait for this warding to fail and I'll take it."
"Not bloody likely." Eden growled as everyone else glanced down to the warding that was already faltering.
And then, it failed. Fortunately, the Holy fire still held up... For now.
"Bloody Hell." Crowley breathed.
His body flopped down onto the pew behind him as his red smoke poured out of the vessel's mouth.
Everyone watched as it travelled above them towards the Devil, who's mouth opened, consuming the smoke.
The remaining trio, plus Rowena, who had stepped out, glanced to one another in mild horror and confusion as Castiel's vessel went limp, his eyes falling closed.
"Well, that's interesting..." Eden commented.