[Beat the Devil]
LAWRENCE, KANSAS, PRESENT DAY
MAP ROOM - BUNKER
Dean, Sam, Holly, Nate, Cas, Jack and Mary were all sitting around the map table. The table top was covered in the remains of dinner - beer bottles, plates and pizza boxes. Dean reached into one of the pizza boxes and got a slice. Cas and Jack looked on in disbelief. Dean took a bite.
"Dean, you can't possibly eat another. That's your seventh piece." Cas noted.
Dean replied with his mouth full, "No, it's not."
"Castiel's right. I counted." Jack said.
Dean said to Jack, "Okay, first, don't be narc. And secondly, seven pieces is perfectly normal. Nate, stop giving me that look."
Mary was watching Dean with a warm smile on her face, amused by her son.
Sam was amused and judgy. "Uh, it's really not."
"It's not even a whole pie." Dean reasoned.
Holly rested her hands under her chin. "Bet you he can eat one more, plus some."
"Was he always like this?" Jack wondered.
Mary giggled, got up, and began to clear the table. "Even as a baby. John and me, we used to call him our little piglet." She leaned over and rubbed his shoulder affectionately. "Holly was the same way. Always hungry."
Dean, with his mouth full, dropped the remainder of the slice. "All right, I'm done."
Mary leaned over his other shoulder to take his plate and smiled at Holly. "With love."
"Mm." Dean hummed.
Nate looked at Holly with an amused expression.
Sam handed Mary his plate. "Thanks Mom. You know what, let me help you."
Sam stood and collected some pizza boxes then followed Mary into the hallway. At the table, Dean motioned to Cas to slide one of the remaining pizza boxes down to him. Cas did and Dean and Holly began to dig out another piece. Nate laughed and smiled. Sam and Mary walked down the steps into the hallway.
"Hey, Mom, um, how you holding up?" Sam asked. "You haven't really said much since you got back, you know -- how you're doing. How it was over there and..."
"It was hard. But somehow, I always knew that you... you, Holly, Nate, and Dean would come and save us. And you did." Mary replied.
"Mom?"
"Yes, Sam? Sam?" Her voice became robotic.
Sam asked puzzled, "Mom?"
"Sam? Sam? Sam?" The beeping of an alarm began to accompany each word.
SAM'S BEDROOM - BUNKER
Sam woke up from a dream and was lying in his bed. He gasped and jolted awake, the beeping noise was his alarm. He reached over and turned off the alarm. He rubbed his hands down his face and folded back the covers to sit up on the side of the bed. He dragged his hands down his face again and blinked, trying to wake up.
BUNKER - LIBRARY
Rowena was standing at a table. She organized the ingredients for the spell to open the rift. Sam, Holly, Nate, and Dean were packing their gear.
Rowena pulled out the fruit. "Fruit from the tree of life."
Sam was kneeling in the background testing flashlights.
Rowena pulled out the bottle of blood. "Blood of a most holy man."
Dean's checked and locked the barrel of a shotgun. Holly did the same with another gun.
Sam got his siblings' attention. "Dean. Holly."
Dean and Holly looked up. Sam walked over and tossed Dean a package of glow sticks. Dean tucked them into his backpack. Nate handed Holly a pack of bandages.
Rowena reached up to pull Dean and Holly's hair out. "And ah..."
"Ow." Dean and Holly complained.
Rowena put the pieces of hair into the bowl. "Two somethings from the other side."
Cas entered the room.
"Hey. How's Gabriel?" Sam and Nate wondered.
Dean reached into a storage unit and pulled down a box of ammo.
"He said he needed a minute alone. He wanted to extract his grace by himself." Cas used air quotes. "In private."
Sam looked up with a slightly disturbed expression.
"So I left him alone in Dean's room." Cas continued.
Dean looked up, alarmed. "You what? No."
Sam smirked a little at Dean's reaction. Holly covered her mouth to hide her laugh and Nate looked amused. Cas tilted his head, puzzled.
"I hate to interrupt, but I can't be the only one to noticed the rather glaring hole in this plan." Rowena said.
While Rowena spoke, Sam and Nate packed some glow sticks into their backpacks. Dean checked his handgun before putting into it his pack. Holly twirled her knife before putting it into her backpack.
Rowena continued. "We open up the rift, it gives us a day to find and save your Mom and the boy. And it's a very big world over there, and you're not even sure where they are, so..."
While Rowena spoke, Sam loaded his handgun, as did Nate. Holly's gun was already loaded. The four hunters had been listening to Rowena while they work.
"She's right. The clock may run out on us." Cas said.
"Yeah. It might." Sam and Nate agreed.
Sam released the slide on his gun and tucked it into the back of his waistband.
"Yeah, well we don't have any better ideas." Dean replied.
"Mm, that's inspirational." Rowena muttered.
Gabriel walked into the room. "Here it is! The final ingredient -- a fresh serving of archangel grace."
He put the vial on the table with a flourish. There is only a very small amount of grace in the vial. Rowena picked it and Dean, Holly, Nate, and Sam squinted to see the small amount.
Rowena had a sour look on her face. "This is what you call a serving?"
"That is the jet fuel of divine emissions."
Dean and Holly made an ugh face at the word emissions.
Gabriel went on. "It'll be more than enough to get the job done."
Rowena and Cas exchanged skeptical glances. Cas twirled his angel blade. Rowena poured the blood of a most holy man into the bowl. Gabriel ran his fingers down his angel blade, as if testing the sharpness. Rowena crushed the blood-covered fruit with the pestle. Dean tightened the straps on his backpack, face grimly focused. Holly slid her thumbs behind the straps, closing her eyes a moment. Rowena poured in the tiny amount of grace from the vial. Sam straightened his jacket, also serious and focused. Nate took Holly's hand. The contents of the bowl began to glow.
Rowena cast the spell. "Koth Munto Nuntox."
Rowena directed the spell with her hands and a glowing rift formed in the air at the end of the table. The rifts gently wavered in the air as they stared at it.
"Okay, everyone ready?" Cas asked.
"Yeah, all right." Sam said.
"Let's do this." Dean replied.
Holly and Nate nodded, and she squeezed his hand. "We're set."
They went to step through the rift when it began fritzing. Slowly, the rift went flacid, the top drooping over before it crackled and snapped out of existence. The two angels and the Winchesters watched, puzzled.
"Okay." Dean and Holly noted.
"Well, that was... fast." Cas commented.
"Very, very fast." Sam agreed.
Nate frowned. "Too fast."
Rowena looked sourly at Gabriel. "One could even say premature."
Gabriel looked flustered. "Um... I thought it would be enough."
"All right, great. What do we do now?" Sam wondered.
"Hell if I know." Dean and Holly said.
"You do know. We all do." Cas replied.
Rowena shot a frightened glance at Sam.
"We need archangel grace. Gabriel's obviously running a little low, and we don't know how long it'll take him to recover. So that leaves exactly one source on Earth." Cas explained.
A look of horror began to creep over Sam's face as Cas spoke.
"No." Sam said.
"I don't like it either, but there is no other way."
Rowena bit her lip and hung her head. Sam was shaken.
"We need Lucifer." Cas told them.
BUNKER - KITCHEN
Dean was leaning up against the counter, Holly was sitting on the counter, Cas was leaning against the table, Nate was sitting at the table, and Sam was sitting by the doorway.
"Obviously, I want to get Mom and Jack back. It's all I want. It's all I can think about. But we've been down this road before. Teaming up with Lucifer --" Sam began.
"We're not teaming up with him." Dean said.
"We just need his grace." Cas reasoned.
"Oh, 'just'." Sam replied sarcastically.
Holly shrugged. "We've trapped his ass before."
"Yes, and every time, it ends up the same way, with the Devil being on the loose again."
Cas turned to face Sam. "Look, Sam, I was used by Lucifer, too. It was the worst possible violation. So I-I'm not taking your reluctance lightly, but he is already out there, and we've been ignoring it and avoiding dealing with him because we're afraid."
Sam looked up at Cas, then looked down again. He still looked angry, but was also frightened and ashamed.
Cas continued. "We let Lucifer out of the Cage, and he has never stopped being our responsibility."
Sam raised his eyebrows and shook his head minutely, unconvinced but reluctantly listening.
"So?" Dean, Holly, and Nate pressed.
Sam was sitting with his fist against his mouth, thinking. He shook his head and leaned his cheek on his fist, looking dejected. "No, you're right. You're right. I don't like it, but it's our only choice. Another fun, great choice." His tone was sarcastic and anxious.
"Well, hey, bright side is, even if we do pull it off, we still only get 24 hours in the Apocalypse world. And Rowena's right. We'll be lucky to even hear a word of Mom and Jack, much less save 'em, so..." Dean clicked his tongue with a sarcastic two thumbs up gesture.
Sam smiled briefly, then his brow furrowed. "Wait a second."
"What?" Cas asked curiously.
BUNKER - LIBRARY
Dean, Holly, Nate, Sam and Cas walked through the map room into the Library. They looked around, but didn't see Gabriel or Rowena.
"Guys?" Dean and Nate called.
Rowena gasped. "Whoo, oh, ah."
Rowena stumbled out from behind a bookshelf. She only had one shoe on, her hair was disheveled and her clothes were askew. Gabriel popped his head above the same shelf, his hair is messy and he is only in his shirt and jeans. He moved to lean on the pillar, a book in his hand is covering his groin. Dean, Holly, Nate, Sam and Cas looked confused.
"Uh... we were just..."
"Reading. Books. Here in the, uh, library." Gabriel said.
Dean and Holly had a "you've got to be kidding me look" on their faces, while Sam's jaw has dropped in shock. Nate frowned at Gabriel, disapprovingly.
"Which is the room we're in right now." Gabriel noted.
Rowena changed the subject. "Did you boys and lady arrive at a..." she shifted her weight uncomfortably, "decision?"
Cas stared at his feet resignedly. Dean, Holly, Nate, and Sam were still stunned.
Dean and Holly tossed a thumb over their shoulders at their brother. "Sam has a plan."
Rowena's hands were mashing some Fruit of Life in a bowl with a pestle. Lucifer woke up on his knees. His hands were tied with the magical cords. Rowena was standing behind Lucifer at one of the library tables. Dean was sitting on the table top with his back to her. Holly was sitting on the table.
Rowena noticed Lucifer. "He's awake."
Dean and Holly looked up. Lucifer raised his head. Sam was leaning against a pillar in front of Lucifer. Nate was leaning against another pillar.
"Oh, hey, Sam." Lucifer greeted.
Sam had his arms crossed in front of him with an angry expression on his face. Cas was standing across from Dean, Holly, and Gabriel were standing by the pillar that Sam was leaning on and next to the one Holly was leaning on. Lucifer looked around towards the table.
"Oh, look at this. All the people I love to torture in the same room."
Rowena cautiously walked closer carrying the bowl.
"What's the occasion, guys?" Lucifer asked.
Rowena put the bowl down on the floor in front of where Lucifer was kneeling.
"Ah. Okay, I think I see what's going on. You're planning a trip to save mother Mary, and you need my grace. Is that about it?"
Cas walked over and grabbed Lucifer's hair, pulling his head back. "Good guess."
Cas brought up his angel blade and made a small incision in Lucifer's throat. His archangel grace flowed out of his throat into the bowl with the spell ingredients. Once Cas released his head, the wound closed a bit and the grace only dripped out in small spurts. Lucifer looked up at Rowena, Dean, Holly, Nate, and Gabriel who were watching.
Lucifer looked at Gabriel. "Okay, you could've done this back at the bar. Could've drained me, killed me. What's this really about? Humiliation? Revenge?"
"Nah, those are just bonuses. See, we got a lot of work to do back in Apocalypse world, but not a whole lot of time to do it. So I realized something. I realized we could use you." Sam said.
Sam nodded to Rowena, who crouched down next to Lucifer. Rowena gathered power into her fists and cast her arms forward to open the rift. "Koth Munto Nuntox!"
The rift opened.
Sam put on his backpack. "Use you not to just crack the door open, but to keep it open. So we're gonna drain you. We're gonna keep on draining you."
Dean swung his bag onto his shoulder. "Like a stuck pig."
Gabriel wasn't sorry. "Grace on tap. Sorry, bro."
"And then, when we get back, then we'll kill you." Holly said, smirking.
Lucifer looked submissive. "Cool."
Sam asked Rowena, "You gonna be okay back here?"
"Aye. Someone needs to keep an eye on the Devil. Go. Save your mum." Rowena replied.
Gabriel turned to Sam. "You ready?"
Dean and Holly watched intently, letting their brother call the shots. Nate nodded encouragingly at Sam, who turned towards the rift and gathered his determination.
"Ready." Sam said.
Sam walked through the rift, followed by Cas, Gabriel, Nate, then Dean and Holly who gave Lucifer an evil look as they passed him. Rowena looked down at Lucifer with an expression of contempt.
APOCALYPSE WORLD - FOREST
The rift appeared in a forest at the top of a small hill. Sam, Nate, Cas and Gabriel tumbled out of the rift and rolled down the hill.
"Ow!" Gabriel cried.
Dean and Holly came through the rift, but skidded down the hill gracefully. Sam and Nate stood up. They each looked askance at Gabriel and Cas who were on the ground. Gabriel's face was planted firmly in Cas' crotch. Gabriel looked up and realized where his face was. He looked at Cas who gave him a disgruntled look. Dean raised his eyebrows at the two. Holly stifled a laugh.
"Oh boy." Gabriel scrambled to his feet, annoyed and embarrassed. "Yeah. Well, that was... fun. I could've used a heads up about this landing site."
Dean snapped into business mode. "Yeah. Thought we'd get spit out in the same spot, but this isn't it. All right, well Charlie -- the other Charlie -- said that Mary and Jack have an outpost in Dayton."
"Okay. Let's get our bearings and head that way. Cas, where are we?" Sam asked.
Cas closed his eyes and concentrated. "Uh, Kentucky. Northeast Kentucky. Or what used to be Kentucky."
Dean looked at the sky and pointed. "Which means that's north. Okay, so Dayton's that way. Roughly. Two days by foot but... that way."
"All right." Sam and Nate agreed.
The group began to move towards where Dean pointed.
It was raining. Gabriel was walking with his angel blade out and ready. Cas began to walk beside him. They talked as they walked.
"Have you, uh have you thought about what's next, after we get back to earth?" Cas wondered.
"Uh, yeah, not so much, seeing as we still gotta find Jack and Mary. Ah, not to mention survive Michael and his super angel army." Gabriel replied.
"Right.
"Although, I did tick off some, uh, bucket list items recently. Got some revenge. Had sex with a 300-year-old redhead. But what's next for me? I don't really know."
"This world is, um, is obviously glutted with angels, but back home in our world you know it's -- it's just Naomi and a handful of others. They're trying to keep the lights on, but Heaven's dying, Gabriel."
Gabriel was shocked by this news. "You serious?"
"Very."
"And you think I could fix it? Yeesh. I skipped out on Heaven, Castiel. They wouldn't want me back. As far as they're concerned, I'm a screw-up. Hell, as far as I'm concerned, I'm a screw-up."
"Well, Heaven's been run into the ground by upstanding angels. Perhaps a screw-up is just the change we need."
Gabriel glanced thoughtfully as he considered what Cas had said. Sam, Holly, Nate, and Dean were walking about 20 feet behind the two angels.
Dean said Sam as they walked, "You seem different since we got here."
"Really?" Sam wondered.
"Yeah, like you're lighter, happier, more energetic."
"Like the happy Sammy I remember." Holly added, looking up at him.
Sam acknowledged Dean and Holly's comments. "I don't know. Maybe it's just, you know, Mom and Jack and... You know, I mean, we've been working at it so hard for this for so long, and now we're finally here. We're close. Can't you feel it?"
Sam laughed a bit, definitely happier than he'd been. Dean and Holly looked at him, pleased to see Sam smile. Nate smiled, happy to see his brother-in-law happy. Suddenly, a woman's scream echoed through the forest. Sam, Holly, Nate, and Dean stopped to listen and ran towards the noise. They passed Gabriel and Cas.
Gabriel said warningly to the Winchesters as they passed, "Not our world. Not our problem. Right?"
Dean and Holly shot a snarky glance at Gabriel.
APOCALYPSE WORLD - FOREST - NEARBY
A bearded man was struggling to fight off a humanoid monster that was trying to bite him. He yelled at the young woman with him. "Maggie, run!"
With a scream, Maggie jumped on the back of the monster and pulled him off the man who fell to the ground. The monster flipped Maggie off his back and to the ground. The monster screamed at her, baring its many teeth. Dean and Holly pointed a shotgun at the monster, but Sam beheaded it with a machete. The monster dropped to the ground as its head fell off. Dean extended a hand to Maggie to help her up off the ground.
"What the Hell was that thing?" Dean asked.
"What do you mean? A vampire." Maggie replied.
"It's not like any vamp we've ever seen." Sam said.
The vampire looked more like a traditional movie vampire, bald, mouth full of protruding teeth, pointy ears and clawed hands.
"Who are you?"
Her bearded friend climbed to his feet.
"I'm Sam. Uh, Dean, Nate, Holly, Gabriel and Cas." He pointed to each man with the tip of his bloody machete. "We uh..."
Holly interrupted. "We're not from around here. Tell me, what makes a bloodsucker look like that?"
"Starvation. When Michael's armies started to wipe out the humans, they didn't think about monsters or what happened to 'em when their food source dried up. Turns out, not eating makes them wild. Nothing but pure, stupid appetite." The bearded man informed.
"Which way you headed?" Maggie questioned.
"North." Nate replied.
"To Dayton? We were going that way too. We heard the rebels, Jack and Mary, set up a satellite colony there, an outpost."
Dean and Holly gave Sam and Nate a significant look.
"Wait. What do you mean you were?" Sam asked.
"Me, Floyd, the rest of our group, we were crossing north through the Morehead tunnel... stumbled into a whole nest of those things."
Dean and Holly looked on with concern while Maggie talked.
"Nine of us went in. Only me and Maggie came out." Floyd said.
"This tunnel, is it the only way north?" Dean questioned.
"There's a mountain pass, but it's a long way around. Tunnel's the quickest route." Maggie told them.
"If the long way is the safe way..." Gabriel began.
"No. We're already two days out from Dayton as it is. We don't have time for a detour." Sam interrupted.
Dean, Holly, and Nate nodded their agreement.
Sam continued determinedly. "Listen, we've faced worse than a nest of vamps before. Much worse. So if you still want to get to Dayton, we'll keep you safe. As far as we're concerned, we're going through that tunnel."
The travelers looked around at each other. Dean, Holly, and Nate nodded their agreement again to Sam's statement.
BUNKER - LIBRARY
Lucifer was still singing loudly and badly. Rowena was still sitting at the table. She had her fingertips to her temple. She was frustrated as she assembled a hex bag.
Lucifer sang, "I bet my money on the bob-tail nag. Somebody bet on the gray! One more time!" He laughed.
Lucifer saw that Rowena was able to ignore him, so he changed tactics. "Hey, come on, Red. I'm just trying to have a good time with you. Like last time. You remember that? When I surprised you at your hotel room? Oh. I mean, I even wanted you to put up a fight. I wanted a little bit of a tussle, but... you froze."
Rowena was distressed, forced to listen and relive those terrible memories.
Lucifer saw her distress. "You choked. So I choked ya. What was that like, burning to death? You know, I can't get that smell out of my nose, that ashy reek of burnt up ginger ass!" He laughed.
Rowena finally lost her cool and ran over to him in anger. She yanked his head up by his hair. "Shut your mouth! --Oh! You want to get inside my head, twist the knife? Two can play that game. Do you know what your grace is making possible right now? The heartfelt family reunion of Sam, Dean, Holly, Nate, Cas, Mary, and your very own son Jack. That's right. Your wee boy's over there, and he'll be so glad to see his three fathers and his mother. Of course, as far as he's concerned, they are his father. And you? You're nothing to him. Or me. Or anyone now. Nothing."
Behind Lucifer's back, the magical cords binding him began to falter. He stared at the rift in front of him. In a burst of anger, he broke the bonds holding him, rose to his feet and grabbed Rowena by the throat. Lucifer's eyes were glowing red. "Ah, Red. You shouldn't have made me mad. Step into my office."
Rowena was gasping and choking, her feet off the ground. With his powers he propelled them across the room, slamming Rowena into a wall. He wiped a hand across the cut in his throat, healing it.
"You know... you and Gabe, you kicked me when I was down. I didn't have any fight. I didn't have anything to live for. But you, you, you gave me something to fight for again. My boy. So for that, I'm going to be quick." Lucifer said.
Rowena barely gasped the word, "Defendatur!"
Rowena cast the spell and thrusted out her hands and sent Lucifer flying away from her, into the rift. She collapsed to the floor in a heap, clutching her bruises throat. Looking up, she saw that the room was empty and realized that Lucifer must have gone into the rift. She looked horrified at what had happened.
"Bollocks!" She said weakly.
Rowena was talking to herself as she packed her bag, put on her jacket, and went to leave. "Fine. This isn't how you wanted things to work out, but yes, Rowena, thanks to you, Sam, Holly, Nate, and Dean'll be trapped in some sort of nightmare universe with the Devil himself. And you're the only person who might be able to devise a way to keep the door back home open for them. But... Sorry, boys, girl. Au revoir, bon voyage, not my problem."
She turned to leave, but her conscience got the better of her and she turned back around and said angrily, "Bollocks!"
She opened the magic book again and began searching for a solution. "Bums bollocks."
APOCALYPSE WORLD - ENTRANCE TO THE MOREHEAD TUNNEL
Maggie pulled a flashlight from Floyd's pack and handed it to him. "You good?"
"What do you think? Second time's a charm, right?" Floyd said, pulling Maggie's flashlight out of her pack and handed it to her. He looked apprehensive.
"All right. Here's the plan. Stay close, keep walking. Anything moves, kill it." Sam told them.
"Let's do this!" Dean and Holly exclaimed.
The group pulled out glow sticks which and put them around their necks. Sam peeled back the corrugated metal covering the tunnel entrance. Dean took point, shotgun up as the rest of the team followed. Sam entered last, guarding the rear. The group activated the glow sticks and began to move quietly through the dark and creepy tunnel.
"Arggh!" Floyd cried.
Maggie screamed and everyone swung around, ready for combat.
"Sorry. Tripped."
Floyd startled as he started to get up and found the shredded backpack and bloody shoe of one of the former members of their group. The team continued through the tunnel until they heard a snarling and chewing sound. Their flashlights illuminated a vampire, eating the remains of one of the former group members. Maggie looked horrified.
"Wait, wait, wait. Let me." Sam said.
Sam approached the vampire, who turned to hiss at him. He beheaded the monster. Dean gestured with his head and the team continued past the gruesome corpse of the woman the vampire was eating. Nate took Holly's hand. A vampire dropped down from the ceiling behind Sam, unseen by anyone. As they continued, suddenly a vampire jumped out and grabbed at Maggie, who screamed again.
"Maggie! Maggie!" Floyd called.
In the bouncing beams of the flashlights there was a brief struggle as Dean pulled the vamp away from Maggie. It ran off down a side tunnel.
"You all right?" Dean asked Maggie.
Maggie nodded, wide-eyed. "Mm hmm."
"Let's keep moving." Nate suggested.
The group moved out, even more alert than before. They continued to hear rustling and low snarling echoing throughout the tunnels. They came to an open room-like area with water dripping from a hole in the ceiling. The hole let in some outside light and the group spread out a bit. There were a number of side tunnels, but Holly found that the main path was blocked by rocks.
"Hey. Got a blocked passage over here. We need to move some rocks." Holly said.
Cas and Gabriel tucked their angel blades away and went to shift the stones. Sam heard some rustling from a side tunnel behind him and went down it a short way to investigate. Maggie also heard rustling and saw a flash of movement.
"Guys!" Maggie called.
Floyd and Sam continued to check the side tunnels.
Sam called for his family's attention. "Dean? Holly? Nate?"
Dean, Holly, and Nate were on the other side of the large room, watching the angels while they move the rocks. They turned to look towards Sam's voice. Just then, a vampire jumped out and grabbed Floyd from behind.
"Floyd!" Maggie cried, rushing to help Floyd.
Vampires began to attack Sam. He pushed one off of him and kicked another one away. "I've got it. I've got it."
Floyd was screaming. A vampire jumped on Maggie and pulled her away from Floyd who was being dragged off his feet and into a side tunnel. Dean, Holly, and Nate moved to join the fight. A vampire grabbed Sam's arm, but he was able to push that one away too. Maggie was struggling. Nate put his shotgun around the vamp's neck and pulled it off of Maggie. The vampire slid away, but then turned and charged Nate. Nate put up his shotgun, but the vampire drove him back against the tunnel wall. They began to grapple for control as the vamp tried to get to Nate's throat. Two more attacked Dean and Holly. Sam was across the room and was attacked again. He pushed the vampire off, and moved to swing his machete when a second vampire grabbed his arm and twisted the blade out of his hand. A second vampire grabbed his other side, knocking Sam to his knees. Dean, Holly, and Nate saw Sam in trouble and they redoubled their efforts to break free from their vampire attackers.
"Sammy!" Dean and Holly cried.
"Sam!" Nate yelled.
As Dean, Holly, and Nate watched, Sam tried to fight off the vampires, but they were too strong. One vamp used Sam's hair to yank back his head, exposing his throat. The other one leaned over and bit Sam's neck, pulling out a huge chunk of flesh.
Sam shouted for help. "Dean! Holly! Nate!"
Dean, Holly, and Nate were all pinned and cried, "Sam!"
Blood spurted from Sam's throat in a huge fountain of blood. The vampire had severed Sam's carotid artery. Sam instantly became glassy-eyed and weak.
Sam gasped with his last breath, "Dean! Nate! Holly!"
The vampire kept Sam's head back. A massive amount of blood poured out of Sam's neck. Dean, Holly, and Nate, horrified at seeing Sam's fatal wound, were finally able to push their attackers away. They went towards Sam, but the vampire jumped on Dean's back. He fought to throw it off while he saw the two vamps quickly drag the limp Sam down a dark side tunnel. Maggie was standing there stunned when Cas rushed to her side.
Cas rushed down the tunnel that Sam was dragged down. "Sam!"
Dean managed to flip the vampire off of his back and beheaded it with a vicious swing. Another vamp appeared and Maggie screamed. Dean blew its head off with his shotgun. He heard Cas calling down the tunnel and rushed towards the angel.
"Sam!" Cas called.
"Sammy!" Dean and Holly cried.
Maggie stood horrified as Dean, Holly, and Nate rushed past. They could still hear growling and snarling down the tunnel. Gabriel came to stand beside her, shocked, as they watched the mouth of the side tunnel, looking for Cas and Dean. Cas walked out of the darkness and intercepted Dean at the mouth of the tunnel with a hand to his chest.
"Dean. Dean. Holly. Holly." Cas said, trying to get their attention.
Dean and Holly peered over Cas' shoulder. "What?"
"He's gone." Cas told them.
Dean and Holly were in shock, their eyes huge, unable to accept what Cas was telling them. "No!"
Dean and Holly tried to push past the angel, but Cas grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back. Nate grabbed Holly and turned her face into his chest. Dean fought him, desperate to get to his brother, but Cas gripped his jacket and stopped him.
"We don't have time!" Cas said forcefully.
Dean and Holly stared at Cas, breathing shakily with tears in their eyes. Gabriel, Nate, and Maggie reacted with sorrow. A lot of growling and snarling was coming from the pitch black tunnel.
"We can't save him."
Dean and Holly were horrified as what Cas was telling them started to sink in. They stared into the darkness where Sam was taken, then stared back at Cas. The angel was unable to meet Dean and Holly's eyes and looked down, grief-stricken. Dean was practically hyperventilating, frozen in sudden grief and horror.
Holly slipped in Nate's arms as a panic attack came on. Nate soothed her gently, despite the emotions he was feeling. He had to get Holly to calm down before they could move forward.
APOCALYPSE WORLD - OUTSKIRTS OF COLONY
The six survivors of the group were walking. Dean, Nate and Holly were walking ahead of the others. Dean and Holly's faces had a mask of numb grief and anger. As they walked, Dean and Holly kept flashing back to Sam's last moments in his head; Sam getting overpowered; Sam calling their names; the blood jetting out of Sam's neck.
Maggie approached Dean and Holly. "Dean? Holly? Um, about your friend... I'm so sorr --"
Dean and Holly turned and looked at her. They said nothing, but thinly veiled violence showed on their faces, frightening Maggie, who stuttered to a stop. Dean and Holly turned away and continued walking. Cas and Gabriel catch up to Maggie. Nate stepped back towards her. Cas put a comforting hand on her back and they all continued walking. Nate offered her a small smile.
APOCALYPSE WORLD - INSIDE THE MOREHEAD TUNNEL
Shadows cast from an industrial fan acted as a window to the daylight outside. Sam was lifeless, with blood-covered hands. Sam was lying on his back, slightly propped up by his backpack, arms out at his sides in a crucifixion pose. His eyes were open and unseeing with a gaping, bloody wound on his neck.
APOCALYPSE WORLD - OUTSKIRTS OF COLONY
Dean, Holly, Nate, Cas, Gabriel and Maggie approached an area with a number of boards coated in sigils which had been nailed to trees.
"We must be getting close to Dayton. On the outskirts at least." Maggie noted.
Cas groaned in pain, staggering. Maggie looked at him in concern.
"I-I-I can't. This... warding is too strong." Cas said.
Dean and Holly stopped a little ways apart to look at one of the wards. Gabriel went over to one and drew his angel blade down the middle of the sigil. He placed his other hand on the sigil and it began to glow red. All of the sigils in the clearing were glowing red and being burnt away, including the one that Dean and Holly had been staring at. Nate watched as they glowed. As they burned out, Cas gasped, able to move freely again. Gabriel returned to his side and suddenly, a human fighter rushed from behind a tree, a rifle pointed at the group.
Cas held up a hand. "Whoa."
Dean, Holly, and Nate cocked their guns, but only brought it up to their waists.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. We're--we're not here to fight."
Another armed human came over a small rise and Dean, Holly, and Nate turned to address this new threat.
"We're just looking for..."
Mary Winchester and Aurora appeared beside the first human fighter. Mary had her gun out, but lowered it slightly when she saw and recognized Cas.
Cas saw her. "Mary."
Dean and Holly turned to see his mother approach the angels and Maggie. Nate turned to see his mother-in-law. She hadn't see them yet.
"Castiel?" Mary asked.
Mary stopped and looked around for her sons and daughter. She saw Dean, Holly, and Nate. They saw her with a somber look on their faces. They walked towards each other. Mary was in awe.
Mary stared into their faces. "How did you even find us?"
Mary pulled Dean into her arms and he bent into her hug willingly. Her face was one of relief and joy. Dean looked like he was fighting not to cry. Mary pulled out of the hug and hugged Nate and Holly and looked into their faces. Her smile slid away as she realized something was wrong. Dean and Holly just stared at their mother, tears in their eyes.
"Dean, Holly, Nate... where's Sam?"
A single tear fell from Dean's eye and he had to look away for a second. Holly swallowed a sob gripping Nate's hand as two tears made their way down her cheeks. Dean and Holly's lips trembled, but they were unable to say anything. Mary's face fell as she realized what Dean and Holly's silence and tears meant.
APOCALYPSE WORLD - INSIDE THE MOREHEAD TUNNEL
Sam took a huge gasping breath, eyes widening then closing as he breathed again. He sat up, panting for air. Sam slapped his hand to his neck looking for the fatal would, but although he pat his neck, there was no fresh blood or ragged skin. He stared at his hand in disbelief then looked around the small room, confused. Sam climbed to his feet. He continued to pat at his throat, but other than a lot of dried blood on his face, neck and clothing, he was fine. He turned to look around. Lucifer leaned out of the shadows, a flashlight shining up into his face like he was telling a ghost story.
"Boo!" Lucifer exclaimed.
Sam gasped in fear and jerked back away from Lucifer, who laughed. Lucifer was relaxed, sitting on a box. He turned off the flashlight.
"Hey, Sammy."
"No." Sam replied in horror.
Lucifer lazily played with a spider web. "Yeah, I mean, you could do the whole pinch yourself, rub your eyes thing, or you could put on your big boy pants and just, you know, cut right to the realization that yep, it's me."
Sam said in disbelief, "Y-you -- you... You brought me back."
Lucifer stood casually, running his fingers over a nearby pillar. "I did. You're welcome."
Sam's eyes glistened. "Why?"
"Oh, well, I'm getting to that."
Sam gasped, remembering that Lucifer was supposed to be tied up back in their world. He grew concerned. "The rift. The rift. Rowena."
"Oh, she's okay. I mean I -- I was going to kill her, but she blasted me here before I had a chance to, so... It's great, self-defense. But, uh, I was coming here anyway."
Lucifer shrugged. Sam was confused.
"But we drained you." Sam answered, puzzled.
"So how did I have the juice to pull off my little Lazarus trick? Uh, that's a long story, but I was basically tracking you here, and then I came across a handful of Michael's angels and I... ate 'em. I guess it's not really a long story, is it?"
"What do you want?"
"What do I want? I want what everyone wants. I want a personal apology from Pop. I want rerun-free, year-round episodes of Drag Race."
Sam got annoyed at Lucifer's flippant response. "Yeah, got it. Okay, right. We're done here."
Sam grabbed his bag and went to leave.
"Are you going?" Lucifer offered Sam the flashlight he had been playing with. "Here. It's dark out there."
Sam gave Lucifer a suspicious look, pulled out his own flashlight. and turned it on with a click. Sam turned to leave and the beam of his flashlight showed a hoard of vampires struggling to get into the room. They were held back by an invisible barrier, but the light stimulated them and they surged against the barrier, snarling and growling. Sam assessed the number of them and swallowed uncomfortably.
"Yeah, they're sorta... sorta all over there, and I'm holding them back." Lucifer told Sam. "They're just waiting for a little snap of my fingers, but I didn't want 'em flooding in her and eatin' ya again, not until we finished our convo."
Lucifer held his fingers ready to snap them while Sam stared in horror at the sea of vampires. Finally Sam turned, furious at Lucifer's games. "What do you want?!"
"I want what you already have -- a relationship with my son. Okay, there was a time that I would, you know, just grab him, but... I've grown."
"I'm sure you have." Sam replied sarcastically.
"I have, Samuel. I want my son, and you're gonna help me."
"How?" Sam asked, puzzled.
"Well, I don't feel like he'll give me a chance unless I come bearing gifts."
Sam still looked confused and suspicious.
"Yup. Boop!" He tapped Sam on the chest. "That's you."
Sam looked away, both conflicted and disgusted.
Lucifer continued. "Look, Sammy, I'm -- I'm not asking you to -- to like it or to like me. All I'm asking is that you acknowledge the truth, that I was the one who brought you back to life, that I was the one who lifted you from the darkness and into the light. Okay?"
Sam closed his eyes at that. Emotional pain and guilt evident in his expression, wanting to reject what Lucifer was saying.
"Apocalypse World, Michael's armies -- you really think you and your family can handle that stuff alone? You need me."
"And what if I say no?" Sam questioned.
Lucifer cleared his throat, getting frustrated. "All right, let me just make this really, really, really easy -- easy enough for even you to understand, Sammy. I'm gettin' to Jack, one way or the other. The only question is are you coming with?"
Lucifer turned on his flashlight and pointed it at the vampire hoard who snarled and growled. "Or that?" Lucifer raised his fingers as if to snap them and let in the vamps. "Your move, champ."
Sam turned and looked at the snarling vampires and considered his choice.
APOCALYPSE WORLD - SURVIVOR COLONY
People went about their activities in the camp. Armed guards were alert for outside attack as they escorted Cas, Gabriel, and Maggie into the colony. Mary, Holly, Nate, and Dean followed closely behind as they all walked through an open-sided shed that was the entrance into the center of camp. Maggie had her pack on the ground and was unzipping it. Gabriel was stilling on a fallen log, tearing a leaf apart with his fingers, looking dejected. Jack was agitatedly pacing behind the log while he talked to Cas.
Jack said under his breath, "No, he can't be dead. He can't be dead."
Cas put his hand on Jack's shoulder but Jack shoved it away. "Jack, I --"
Jack asked in anger, "Couldn't you bring him back?"
Cas flapped his arms in frustration.
Jack turned to Gabriel. "Why didn't you bring him back?"
"I'm not strong enough." Gabriel replied.
Cas was heartbroken. "Jack... If we could've, we would've. I'm so sorry."
Dean was filling a bottle from a large tub of water. He was preparing his pack to travel. "We have to go back, get his body."
Dean and Holly picked up their guns determinedly and started walking. Nate followed. Mary said nothing, but followed behind looking sad and lost. A bell started to clang, signaling an alarm of some kind. Dean, Holly, Nate, Mary, Jack, Cas and Gabriel all looked around in concern. Dean, Holly, and Nate's eyes opened wider as everyone looked at the shed that marked the entrance to the colony. A bloody, but alive Sam Winchester walked into camp. Sam looked around. Jack's face lit up, while Cas, who was standing just behind Jack, looked stunned.
"Sam." Jack said with joy.
Holly ran up to Sam and hugged him tightly. Sam picked her up and swung her around, glad to see her happy. He looked at Nate and they shared a smile.
Mary's eyes glistened with tears as she saw her youngest son alive. Sam walked towards his mother. Dean, who was standing beside Mary, had a look of shocked disbelief. Sam stopped with a hopeful look on his face. Then, Lucifer came strolling out of the shed behind Sam. Dean, Holly, and Nate spotted Lucifer and Dean and Holly tilted their heads, a confused look on their faces. Sam saw Dean and Holly's reaction, and closed his eyes, hanging his head in shame. Jack and Cas looked angry at seeing Lucifer. Nate pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes.
Lucifer spotted Jack and a soft smile crept across his face. "Hello, son."
Sam glanced cautiously at his brother, sister, and brother-in-law, but the three were still focused on Lucifer.