Cowboys and Angels

30. Into the Mystic

BUNKER - SAM'S ROOM

Sam was lying in his bed, tossing and turning. Lucifer's voice sounded.

"When your brother was trapped in Purgatory you were here with a girl and a dog. You can't win this, Sam. You're just not strong enough. You didn't even bother trying to find him. And I know that if you're gonna beat the Darkness, you have to be ready to watch the people you love die."

Sam opened his eyes and bolted upright. He got dressed in plaid, stood at a table and was cleaning weapons. Dean entered the room behind him wearing his 'dead guy' robe and held a newspaper.

"Hey," Dean greeted.

"Hey," Sam replied.

Dean walked over to Sam and asked, "How long you been up?"

"I don't know."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? 'Cause you haven't left the bunker in days."

A gun clicked. Sam said tersely, with his back to Dean, "I'm fine."

"Well, good. 'Cause I think I found us a case." He looked at the paper. "Harold Miller, 65." The newspaper had a picture of a man with a graying moustache under the headline 'Retiree found slain'. "A resident of Oak Park, an old folks' home, was found yesterday in his room with his head bashed in. But get this -- the doors were locked and there was no sign of break-in."

Sam didn't respond and continued to look at the gun in his hand.

Dean rolled his eyes and walked around to face Sam, who was still cleaning the gun. "I figure it's worth a look. What do you think? Oh, and best part is, Oak Park is 15 minutes from here." He smiled. "It's in our backyard."

"And what about the Darkness?" Sam asked. "What about Cas? We haven't heard from her."

"Okay, first of all, we've got zero on Amara. And Cas -- Cas will be fine. She always is."

---

Lucifer/Castiel was standing at the edge of a lake, feeding the birds. The birds were squawking. Shr walked over to a bench and sat down, crossing her legs and smiling. She looked over to the playground where children were playing and sighed contentedly. A man in a gray suit walked over to another bench. He looked around nervously before sitting down. Lucifer/Castiel got up and walked towards a nature path; the man got up and followed her.

Lucifer/Castiel was walking down the path, whistling. She came to a stop in front of a giant tree. The man in the suit came up behind her and pulled out an angel blade.

Lucifer/Castiel said, "All the parks in the world, and I pick one with an angel in it." She turned towards the angel.

"I saw you," the angel told her. "Couldn't believe my eyes."

Lucifer/Castiel winked at the angel. "Well, believe them. It's beautiful out here, isn't it? It's funny. The things you think you're not gonna miss at all, you end up missing the very, very most."

The angel advanced on Lucifer/Castiel. "Enjoy it while you can."

Lucifer/Castiel raised her hands as if in surrender. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! I come in peace, brother."

"I am not your brother, Lucifer."

"Well, I'm not looking for a fight. In fact, I am your only hope at beating the Darkness. I heard you, uh... Heard you kids had your big shot at the title, and you missed it." He winced and placed a hand on the angel's shoulder. "You don't need to be afraid, brother. I am out of that awful, awful cage. And I'm here to save you all. Lucifer ex machina."