Dean looked at the guy Cas claimed was Lucifer in shock. It couldn't really be him, could it? He supposed Lucifer could have changed his vessel, though he wasn't sure why, but how'd he get out of the alternate universe if it really was him? "This is Lucifer?"
"At your service," Lucifer said with a smirk.
"How'd you get out of the alternate universe, and where is our mother? I swear if you hurt her, I'll kill you!" Dean growled.
Lucifer looked to his brother with a quizzical look. Apparently, there were things Amenadiel hadn't explained yet.
"The Nephilim accidentally opened up a portal to another universe before he was born. It got trapped inside," Amenadiel explained.
"Wait, it's locked up. What the hell are we doing here then? We can just let it be," Maze said.
"Oh, no. It needs to be punished for what its done," Lucifer said in a dangerous tone.
"Maze, it has already been locked up twice. It got out. We can't take the chance that it will again," Amenadiel said.
"What are you assholes talking about? Where is my mother?" Dean demanded to know.
"Dean, this being and the one in the alternate universe are not the same being," Castiel said.
"Cas, you just said he was Lucifer," Sam pointed out. Honestly though, this man did not seem like Lucifer. He was an ass, but just from the few minutes they'd been around him, he seemed different.
"I said I think he is. I can sense his Grace, and it feels like Lucifer, but he's not the one that we released from the Cage twice. He's not the one who sired Jack or got locked in the alternate universe," Castiel said.
"Why do you say that?" Dean asked.
"Well, for one, his Grace is depleted, by a lot. It's also not as dark. It isn't corrupted by the Mark of Cain. This is not the same Archangel we've known. I would know. He spent months inside me," Castiel said.
"Then he can't be Lucifer," Dean said.
"I beg to differ. I am Lucifer. I am the Devil," Lucifer said with a proud smile.
Dean glared at him. "If you're not the asshole that we've known all this time, you're not the Devil. I'm not sure why you'd pretend to be."
Lucifer levelled the man with his own glare. "I don't pretend. I do not lie."
"We know all about Lucifer. Believe me, I was locked in the Cage with him for over a century. I've seen his real face," Sam said. He barely managed to contain a shudder as he spoke.
Lucifer looked at the Hunter in shock. "You what? How are you still bloody sane? Or alive? I did not design that place to hold a human."
"You didn't design it at all. God did to lock the Devil up," Dean said.
"You know, that's the only part that ever bothered me. Dad got credit for my creation. That cage was created by me, not him. Then the rumours got out of hand until the outrageous story that Dad locked me into it. It was both annoying and entertaining at the same time," Lucifer said.
"What are you talking about? I know that it was God that made that cage," Castiel said.
"Do you? You were just a little fledgling at the time," Lucifer pointed out.
"Michael..."
"Michael's an idiot," Lucifer said before he started to walk away.
"Where the hell are you going?" Dean asked.
Lucifer turned back to them. "Well my glass is empty. I need to refill it in order to continue this conversation. Perhaps you all ought to join me. I think drinks would help all of us. In any event, put the guns down. Even if you did shoot me, it wouldn't do much."
Dean and Sam reluctantly put their guns away and followed...whoever he was and the other two.
Lucifer immediately went to the kitchen and to the bottle of vodka on the counter.
"Pour me one while you're at it," Maze said.
"You're replacing that before we kill you," Dean said with a glare.
"Happy to. I'll even provide you with a better brand. Honestly, you ought to choose your liquor better," Lucifer said before refilling his glass, pouring Maze one, and walking over to the table and sitting down. He handed Maze her drink on his way.
Maze sat next to her boss.
"So, where were we?" Lucifer asked.
"You were trying to convince us that everything we know about the Devil is wrong," Dean said. His tone conveyed that he wasn't buying it.
"Well, not all of it. I'm sure you've got that I rebelled. That much is true. Your theory on why is probably wrong, but you've got a sliver of the story right," Lucifer said.
"Fine. Enlighten us on what the true story is so I can get on with killing you and your demon friend," Dean said before pouring himself a drink.
Maze laughed. "You wouldn't even begin to know how to take me out, but I welcome your efforts."
"I've been doing this a long time, sweetheart. You'd be far from the first demon I've killed," Dean said smugly.
"You've killed ruined souls who call themselves demons. I doubt you've ever seen one like me before," Maze said.
"Maze, I don't think now is the time," Lucifer said before addressing the others. "Now, I suppose I should start with how I rebelled and why."
"We know why Lucifer rebelled. He wanted to destroy humanity and God wasn't up on that," Dean said.
"What led you to that conclusion. Humanity never bothered me one way or the other," Lucifer said.
"You're lying. This story has been engrained in me since I was a fledgling. You hated humanity. You used the apple to prove that humans weren't worthy of existing," Castiel said.
"No. I don't deny using the apple to tempt Eve, but it wasn't because I hated humanity. No, that was just a means to an end. I was trying to prove a point. Of course, Dad wasn't too happy when I made that point perfectly," Lucifer said.
"What point was that?" Sam asked.
"The existence of Free Will. That's what I wanted. I wanted to be able to get out from under my father's dictatorship. I wanted to show him and my siblings that there was something besides his law. I'd wanted to prove that for some time, and with the Mark of Cain, I finally had the balls to do it," Lucifer explained.
"You're lying," Castiel said.
"No, he's not. Castiel, whatever you may think of him, whatever I do, he doesn't lie, ever. And I was there when he fell. I know what happened better than you do," Amenadiel said.
"Then why have we been taught for so long that it was different? And if we were being lied to, why didn't you relieve us of the lie?" Castiel asked.
"Most of the story was a result of the situation being jumbled up through bad rumours, but that part was fabricated by Michael. I think he believed he'd receive a better outcome for the apocalypse if you thought you were fighting someone who was trying to destroy God's creations. It was a much better fight than with a man who simply wanted to make his own choice. Don't get me wrong, I don't agree with what Luci did. I believe Father's word is law," Amenadiel said.
Lucifer rolled his eyes in response.
"But it wasn't as bad as Michael made it out to be," Amenadiel said.
"I'm not buying this. I know that bastard wanted the end of the world. He hated humans. He said that to me himself," Dean said.
"I said nothing of the sort because we've never met before today, and the thing you have met is not me. It is nothing more than something I created and locked away," Lucifer told him.
"And why would you do that? If you're telling the truth, why would you create something that could destroy the world? You claim that isn't what you wanted," Sam said.
"It wasn't my intention. I locked it up as soon as I created it. I knew how dangerous it would be. It was made up mostly of my Grace," Lucifer said before taking a sip of his drink.
"You're saying you cut out the majority of your Grace and out it into this being? Why would you do that?" Castiel asked. He couldn't understand why any angel would deplete himself of his power, let alone use it to create something else.
Lucifer sighed. "Look, when I first began carrying the Mark of Cain, I considered it a blessing. It helped me stand against my father. But the Mark..."
"Skip this part. We know about the Mark," Dean said shortly.
"Yes, I heard one of you was stupid enough to bare it. I'm guessing you," Lucifer said. When all he got was a glare in response, he continued. "Anyway, the Mark was corrupting all of my being. I had to get rid of it without actually destroying it. I transferred to Cain, but it wasn't enough. When it was given to me, it was infused in a piece of my Grace. That piece began infecting the rest of it. I had to remove it before all of me was infected. So, I cut it out and infused it with a semi-corrupted soul."
"You put it in a demon?" Sam asked in horror.
"No, it wasn't a demon yet. Dad only knows what it could do with demon powers as well as my Grace," Lucifer said before taking a sip of his drink.
"So, you're saying that the dude we've been fighting for years isn't the Devil, but just a creation of the real Devil?" Dean asked.
"Precisely," Lucifer said with a smile.
"I need another drink," Dean said before turning to the bottle of vodka still on the counter.
"Pour me one too?" Sam said. His mind was racing. How could everything they'd known about the Devil since the apocalypse started be a lie? Suddenly a startling thought hit him. "Wait, what about Jack? What does this make him?"
"Who is Jack?" Lucifer asked.
"The Nephilim. And from everything I've gathered, he is a Nephilim," Amenadiel said.
"He is not a Nephilim! That bloody thing that created him isn't an angel!" Lucifer said firmly.
"But you are. Face it, Luci. He's your son," Amenadiel said.
"How is that possible if he didn't sleep with Jack's mother?" Sam asked.
"Thank you. Listen to him, brother. He makes sense," Lucifer said before turning to Sam. "You're the smart one, aren't you?"
"Luci, this being is made up almost entirely of your Grace. And your Grace is what makes you who you are. The boy is yours," Amenadiel said.
"It is preposterous!" Lucifer yelled.
"This argument doesn't matter anyway. We'll be keeping Jack away from both of you," Dean said with a glare towards Lucifer. Even if this bastard was the real Lucifer, he was still evil. He was still the Devil. He'd created some being that was wreaking havoc on the world. Plus, Dean really didn't believe that whole Free Will story.
"Well, we still need to know what Jack is, Dean. We need to be able to tell Jack what he is when we find him," Sam said, Jack had disappeared a few days earlier after accidentally taking a life. They'd been looking for him since.
"The boy isn't here?" Lucifer asked before smiling and standing up. "I will prove to you, brother, that the boy isn't mine. If he's mine, I should be able to sense him, even with depleted Grace. If I can't, he's not mine. After all, you can't sense him, can you?"
"No. I've tried since I learned he existed," Amenadiel said.
"You can really sense him? You can bring him back?" Sam asked Lucifer.
"Sam?" both Dean and Cas said at once.
"We need to find him somehow. If he can find him, we have to take any risks that would come with it," Sam said. He understood their worries, but Lucifer, if it was Lucifer, was their best bet at finding Jack.
"No, I can't sense him because he's not mine. This is just to prove my brother wrong," Lucifer said.
"Ugh! Stop the denials and just look for the brat already," Maze said.
Lucifer closed his eyes and began concentrating. Mere minutes later, he opened his eyes and groaned. "Bloody hell."