Saved by Satan (Part Four of the Letters to Satan Series)
Soon, the Winchesters and their angels were in Lawrence, outside the building the other Michael had taken residence in. “This is a trap.” Our Michael tells Lucifer quietly. “This is too open. Too easy. He has to have a plan, or some trick.”
“I know, Brother. But he has my son.” Lucifer smirks at Michael. “Besides, weren’t we going to take him out together anyway?” Michael smiles back, a familiar glint appearing in the eyes of both as they hefted their weapons. On the side, the Winchesters mobilize with Castiel. Lucifer looks over at them. “When we get inside, get Jack and get him out of here. Let Michael and I take on Captain Dickhead.” Castiel nods back, and together, they storm the building, taking out a multitude of monsters on the way.
Inside the penthouse, Michael starts to drum his fingers. “Tick Tock. Jack, your family is running behind.” He says with a smirk. Jack struggles, now tied up and gagged in the corner. He was being a bit too obstinate for Michael’s taste. Jack glares, murmuring a string of curses through the gag. Michael sighs, going to pour himself another drink.
…
“He’s in there.” Michael nods towards the penthouse door. He and Lucifer line up on either side of the double doors, the Winchesters splitting up on either side. “On three! One. Two-”
“Three.” Lucifer says, judo-kicking the doors off the hinges. They all run inside to see the other Michael facing the door, drinking a glass of wine.
“About time. I was wondering if I made it too DIFFICULT for you all.” He sneers over the top of his glass. The other Michael smirks, slowly rising from his seat. “Now where, oh where, are the Winchesters?” He asks as the others move behind Lucifer. With a flick of his fingers, Castiel and Sam are thrown back into the wall, while Dean is dragged forward to his feet. “There you are.” He smiles down at Dean, who angrily spits at him.
Lucifer turns to see his precious son tied up and gagged, and is instantly filled with rage. “It’s okay, Sweetheart. Daddy’s going to take care of him.” Lucifer pulls the gag out of his mouth and slits the rope with his grace, ushering his son towards a recovering Castiel and Sam outside. “Go with them. You’ll be safe.”
“Dad, no!” Jack cries, latching onto Lucifer’s shirt. “It’s a trap!” Lucifer turns to see Michael touching Dean’s forehead, gasping as he reenters Dean’s body. The old vessel of the other Michael collapses, empty. Dean rises and turns slowly, his eyes flashing blue.
“Now, this is a lot better.” The other Michael says, rolling Dean’s shoulders. “Thank you for returning this meat suit. Now, are we going to do the same song and dance as last time?” He asks with a sneer. Lucifer moves to stand in front of Jack protectively.
“Go, Son. I’ll rejoin you momentarily.” Lucifer promises, but Jack shakes his head.
“No! Please don’t hurt him, Dad! If you kill Michael like this, you’ll kill Dean too!” Jack whines pitifully, hands latching onto the back on Lucifer’s shirt.
“We might not have a choice, kiddo.” Lucifer tell him sadly, glancing over at his Michael as he moves to stand beside him, nodding. Together, the two archangels stare down the other Michael, who laughs.
“You couldn’t hurt this pretty face! No matter how hard you try!” Other Michael says with a laugh. Sam and Castiel recover, grabbing Jack and pulling him away from Lucifer.
“Dad!” Jack cries, but Lucifer just gives him a sad smile.
“I’ll see you soon, Squirt. Go with them.” Lucifer says, squaring up for a fight.
…
“Let me go! I need to go back!” Jack fusses, trying to pull away from a frustrated Castiel. “I need to help Dean and kill Michael!” He tries to fight, but can’t do much without his full strength. Sam and Castiel get him into the backseat of the Impala, Castiel sliding in with him to keep him inside. Sam hurriedly gets into the front and starts the car, trying to ignore his apprehension over leaving Dean’s fate in the hands of two former enemies.
“Jack!” Castiel snaps in frustration. “There isn’t anything you can do! You don’t have all of your power back yet. The best we can do is regroup and find our own way to rescue Dean. Like we always do.” Jack huffs, but doesn’t talk anymore. Small tears run down his face as he tries to think of a way to get away from Sam and Castiel.
Sam glances back in the rearview mirror from time to time, checking on Jack. “I’m sorry, Jack. But we can’t let you go toe-to-toe with Michael yet. Not until you’re stronger.” He says, trying to think of a way to distract the kid. “Hey, I bet you’re hungry. We can stop and get some burgers in the next town.” He offers, but Jack turns his nose up, sniffling.
…
“Great. How are we going to explain this?” Michael asks, groaning as he recovers. The other Michael had handed them both their asses on a platter. It seemed he had supercharged his grace somehow. He goes over and helps Lucifer up. “We should have been able to take him. What’s wrong with us? I know I’m a little rusty, and you’re still running on half a tank. He still shouldn’t have beat us this badly.”
“I don’t know. I do know he’s not going to stop, and he isn’t dead yet. We still have a job to do.” Lucifer grumbles, glancing around. The Other Michael had left suddenly, hesitating just before he delivered killing blows. “What bothers me is that he let us go. Why didn’t he kill us when he had the chance?” Lucifer kicks some rubble left over from the fight nearby, growling.
Michael pauses, thinking. “Because he’s saving his strength for something else. Why waste time with us when there’s a bigger fish to fry? Someone he holds a grudge against?” Lucifer pauses, raising an eyebrow in a silent question. Michael rolls his eyes. “Father, you dumbass. He wants to challenge Father and find out why he abandoned me…I mean, him. It’s probably why he is after Jack. He doesn’t have enough juice yet, and regular archangel grace isn’t going to cut it.”
Lucifer’s eyes widen. He couldn’t let his son have his grace stolen again. He had nearly died last time! “We need to move Jack somewhere safer. The bunker isn’t safe enough, and that bastard knows how to get to him there.” Lucifer growls, mind whirling.
Michael gives him a soft smile. “Don’t worry. I’m already two steps ahead. We just need to add the finishing touches.” He extends a hand to Lucifer, who stares at in blankly. “Trust me.” Michael whispers, and Lucifer slowly nods, taking his hand. The two disappear from the mostly destroyed building.
…
“Eat something. Please.” Castiel begs. The untouched cheeseburger sits in front of Jack. The Nephilim glares at Castiel and Sam obstinately, refusing to speak. “Jack, if you don’t eat, you won’t regain your strength. And you won’t be able to fight. Is that what you want?” Castiel reprimands, half-tempted to shove the food into his mouth.
“Cas, give it a rest.” Sam sighs from behind his laptop screen. “He’ll eat when he gets hungry enough, and we need to be planning our next move. Michael and Lucifer haven’t returned yet, which means something went wrong. We need to be preparing to take on the other Michael.” Sam and Castiel continue to talk as Jack glances around the burger joint.
Jack was worried about his daddy and Uncle Mikey. They should have been here by now. He was also worried about Dean. How long could he survive the Other Michael, trapped with him in his own head? Absently, he starts to eat slowly. Castiel was right about one thing. He needed to be strong again if he was going to help. Castiel and Sam briefly notice him starting to eat, but don’t say anything in fear he would stop.
“Hey kiddo! You need more to eat than that! Especially if you’re going to get your strength back.” Lucifer says, grinning as he and Michael appear next to their table. Jack’s eyes go wide, and he jumps up, throwing his arms around Lucifer. The archangel freezes, not having expected any hugs so soon. At least not in front of everyone. “Hello to you too, Squirt.” He says softly, stroking the back of the Nephilim’s head.
“Dad! What happened!” Jack asks, looking up into Lucifer’s eyes after a few moments. “And what took you so long? And is Dean okay?” He asks, his eyes full of faith that his father had fixed everything. Dean had to be okay. Lucifer shifts nervously.
“Dean is fine.” Michael answers, snorting. He was a little miffed he hadn’t gotten a hug from the kid yet. “The other me beat us up and left. He’s saving strength. I think he’s saving up strength to go after Father.” He says, eyes flicking over to meet Castiel’s eyes. The two angels greet each other silently.
“What? But he can’t kill God! Can he?” Sam pipes up, his brow furrowed. “And why would he want to kill him anyway? Why not ask God to come back and fix his universe?”
“Because it’s not what he wants. He doesn’t want God to fix the world. He wants to break it, and break the rest of God’s creations. Anything he values over us.” Michael says softly, wringing his fingers. “To get even for being abandoned. The Other Michael isn’t aiming to win. Just to do as much damage as possible, in this universe and his.”
Sam curses loudly, then continues. “Well, what are we supposed to do? We can’t just sit around while Michael destroys everything!”
Jack cuddles up to Lucifer quietly, just wishing everything would be okay. Lucifer strokes his back softly before interjecting. “We will do what we can. What you can do is go back to that cute little bunker of yours and find a way to summon God, or match his power.” He says, one arm tightening around Jack. “And I’ll take my son somewhere safe. The Other Michael wants to use him, and I won’t let him be taken again.” Lucifer watches carefully as Jack looks up to meet his eyes, looking for any sign of resistance.
“Absolutely not! Jack comes with us!” Castiel protests, standing up. Jack seems to shrink in Lucifer’s arms, not wanting to upset anyone. “His mother entrusted me with his care! And you know nothing about raising children! I-”
“And you do?” Michael interjects, eyes growing sharp. “I seem to remember Lucifer helping me raise most of the angels, including Gabriel and yourself.” His fingers drum against the table as he stares Castiel down. “I get that you want to do right by Jack’s mother, but Lucifer is still his father. You have no right to keep him from his son.” His eyes flash a severe blue. “It’s Jack’s choice, and I’ll back it either way. But you don’t speak for Jack. If he wishes to accompany Lucifer and I, then you WILL let him. Besides, he’s safer with us than at a bunker with ineffective warding.”
Castiel swallows, but is unwilling to back down completely. “Where are you taking him? If you have somewhere safer, I will allow it. But I need to know where he is.” He insists stubbornly. Michael rolls his eyes, exasperated. He didn’t take the time to build a secret fortress just to tell everyone where it was.
“Son, what do you want?” Lucifer asks, raising Jack’s chin gently to meet his eyes. “I won’t force you to come with us if you want to stay with them. I’ll understand.” He whispers, trying to hide his aching heart.
“I want to come with you.” Jack says, moving closer to bury his head in Lucifer’s chest. “Please? I don’t want them to get hurt because of me. When Michael comes back.” He says. Lucifer strokes his head tenderly, hiding his hurt. He had wanted Jack to choose him because he wanted to, not because he was afraid of putting others in danger. Then again, he was glad his son would be safe.
“Jack, no!” Sam says, standing up to move towards them. He was too late, though. Lucifer and Jack disappeared as Lucifer flew him to safety. Michael smirks at Sam and Castiel and shrugs.
“We’ll in touch.” The archangel says, taking off before he could hear any more protests.