(1) The Devil's Hybrid (D. Winchester)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Sam hears a knock at the door and approaches it slowly. He turns the handle carefully, then flings the door open. The doorway is empty. He closes the door, turns around and sees: Lilith.

"Hello, Sam"

"I've been waiting for you," Sam tells her, her eyes turn white.

"Where's the knife, Sam?"

"On the nightstand. By the bed" Lilith begins walking toward the bed, then stops. She stoops down and lifts the rug: beneath it is a Devil's Trap. She rolls her eyes and touches the edge of it with a finger; the mark flares and burns away. She stands to face Sam.

"You're gonna have to try a lot harder than that"

"How 'bout this?" He reaches out a hand and concentrates; a wind rises and blows her hair back, but he has no other effect on her.

"You're strong. But you're not that strong. Not yet"

"So why don't you throw me around then?" Sam asks.

"Because I can't, and you know it. You're immune to my charms. Seems we're at a stalemate"

"Why are you here?"

"To talk," She tells him, Sam scoffs.

"Yeah, well, I'm not interested"

"Hmm... even if I'm offering to stand down? From the seals... the apocalypse... all of it?"

"You expect me to believe that?"

"Honestly? No. You were always the smart one. But it's the truth. You can end it, Sam. Right here, right now. I'll stop breaking seals, Lucifer keeps rotting in his cage. All you have to do is agree to my terms"

"Why would you back down? Why now?"

"Turns out, I don't survive this war. Killed off, right before the good part starts" Lilith tells him.

"What do you want?"

"For it to go back to the way it was. Before I had angels to deal with 24/7. The good old days, when it was all baby blood all the time"

"And what do you want in return?" Sam asks her.

"Your head on a stick. Dean's, too. And I'll take the Mikaelson girl as well, know someone who will pay a pretty penny to get their hands on her, again. Call it a consolation prize. So what do you say, Sam? Self-sacrifice is the Winchester way, isn't it?"

"You really think I'm stupid enough to fall for this?" Sam asks.

"I make a deal, I have to follow through. Those are the rules, and you know it. Are you really so arrogant that you would put your life before the lives of six billion innocent people? Maybe it's all that demon blood pumping through your pipes. Man after my own heart"

"You think I'm like you? I am nothing like you"

"Then prove it. Going once" She turns and walks to the bed. "Going twice"

"Fine" he states, she turns back.

"Swell. By the way, a contract with me will take more than a kiss" She sits on the bed. "A lot more. Don't worry. The dental hygienist in here? She wants it bad" She pats the bed. Sam approaches; Lilith runs a hand up his leg as her eyes turn white. She takes him by the collar and pulls him down on top of her. When he gets close enough, he grabs the knife and tries to stab her with it. She counters his attack and flips him over, grabbing the knife. Before she can attack, the door bursts open and Dean, Erika and Chuck enter.

"I am the prophet, Chuck!"

"You've got to be joking" Lilith leaves Sam and approaches Chuck.

"Oh, this is no joke," Dean tells her, Lilith looks to Erika, both women just staring. Lilith smirks, Erika shifts slightly, defensively. The room begins to tremble, and a great white light pours in through the windows. This builds over the following. "You see, Chuck here's got an archangel on his shoulder. You've got about 10 seconds before this room is full of wrath and you're a piece of charcoal. You sure you want to tangle with that?" Lilith gives Sam one last look, then pours screaming out of her vessel's mouth.

......................

Dean pats Chuck's shoulder as they stand outside of the motel.

"Thanks, Chuck" Dean tells him, he nods. "Erika's going to take you home" Chuck nods again as Erika appears, Chuck jumps. She offers him a smile.

......................

Chuck opens his front door and looks to Erika.

"You didn't tell them about my....." she pauses and cocks her head making sure to phrase it right. "Connection with...."

"Lucifer" Chuck offers, she nods. "I've seen you change," Chuck tells her. "I've written you as a villain and I've written you as a hero" he offers her a smile. "You're one of my favorites" he admits. "Because there's so much to you, so much hate, and pain, and death, and suffering, but I know that there is so much love, and kindness too, I've seen it, if I'd told them about Lucifer, they'd assume the worst of you, but they need you, Erika" she looks to him. "And I think you need them, after Pamela.....you need a human anchor, someone that keeps you tethered to your humanity, Pamela was right about you, you know. You are so much more than a monster" She offers him a smile.

"Thank you, love," she tells him before she starts to walk away, she takes five steps before vamp-speeding away.

........................

Dean is driving, Sam is in the passenger's seat, Erika in the back. The rear window is still busted, still clumsily covered in a tarp flapping in the wind.

"So a deal, huh?" Dean asks.

"That's what she said"

"To call the whole thing off – angels, seals, Lucifer rising, the whole nine?"

"That was the gist of it"

"Huh"

"What?" Sam asks.

"You didn't think once about taking it?"

"You kidding me? Dude, you two spent all day trying to talk me off the Lilith track"

"I'm just saying..."

"She would have found some way to weasel out of it. And all it would have cost us was our lives"

"Yeah, I guess you're right" Dean agrees looking to Erika.

"Anyway, that's not the point," Sam tells them.

"What's the point then, love?" Erika asks, Sam looks to her.

"The point is, she's scared. I could see it. Lilith is running"

"Running from what?" Dean asks.

"Don't know. But she was telling the truth about one thing"

"What's that?"

"She's not gonna survive the apocalypse. I'll make sure of that" Sam tells them, Erika smirks at him, he smiles back at her. Erika glances to Dean who starts smiling, she smiles warmly at him.