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

Chapter Fifty-Five

Dean wakes up on the ground. He hears gunfire in the building and runs toward it. Thunder crashes, lightning flashes, and Dean sees 2014!Dean on the ground, neck held down by someone wearing a white shoe. 2014!Dean opens his eyes and sees Dean. The someone shifts his weight; 2014!Dean's neck audibly breaks. The someone, Dean sees, is Sam but not; it must be Lucifer. He turns around and sees Dean.

"Oh. Hello, Dean" Dean stares at Lucifer. "Aren't you a surprise" Thunder and lightning; Lucifer is now behind Dean. "You've come a long way to see this, haven't you?"

"Well, go ahead. Kill me"

"Kill you?" Lucifer looks at the corpse of 2014!Dean. "Don't you think that would be a little...redundant?" Lucifer sighs. "I'm sorry. It must be painful, speaking to me in this—shape. But it had to be your brother. It had to be" Lucifer reaches for Dean's shoulder. Dean moves back. "You don't have to be afraid of me, Dean. What do you think I'm going to do?"

"I don't know. Maybe deep-fry the planet?" Lucifer examines a rose, but turns away.

"Why? Why would I want to destroy this stunning thing? Beautiful in a trillion different ways. The last perfect handiwork of God" Dean doesn't answer. "You ever hear the story of how I fell from grace?"

"Oh, good God, you're not gonna tell me a bedtime story, are you? My stomach's almost out of bile"

"You know why God cast me down? Because I loved him. More than anything. And then God created..." Lucifer smirks. "You. The little...hairless apes. And then he asked all of us to bow down before you—to love you, more than him. And I said, "Father, I can't." I said, "These human beings are flawed, murderous." And for that, God had Michael cast me into hell. Now, tell me, does the punishment fit the crime? Especially, when I was right? Look at what six billion of you have done to this thing, and how many of you blame me for it"

"You're not fooling me, you know that? With this sympathy-for-the-devil crap. I know what you are"

"What am I?"

"You're the same thing, only bigger. The same brand of cockroach I've been squashing my whole life. An ugly, evil, belly-to-the-ground, supernatural piece of crap. The only difference between them and you is the size of your ego" Lucifer smiles.

"I like you, Dean. I get what the other angels see in you. Goodbye. We'll meet again soon" Lucifer turns to walk away.

"You better kill me now!" Lucifer turns back.

"Pardon?"

"You better kill me now. Or I swear, I will find a way to kill you. And I won't stop"

"I know you won't. I know you won't say yes to Michael, either. And I know you won't kill Sam. Whatever you do, you will always end up here. Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter, we will always end up—here. I win. So, I win"

"You're wrong"

"See you in five years, Dean" Thunder and lightning; Lucifer is gone. Dean turns around and sees Zachariah behind him, reaching for his forehead with two fingers.

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

Dean leans against the kitchenette sink. Zachariah stands in front of him.

"Oh, well, if it isn't the ghost of Christmas screw you"

"Enough. Dean, enough. You saw it, right? You saw what happens. You're the only person who can prove the devil wrong. Just say yes"

"How do I know that this whole thing isn't one of your tricks? Huh? Some angel hocus-pocus?" Dean asks.

"The time for tricks is over. Give yourself to Michael. Say yes and we can strike. Before Lucifer gets to Sam. Before billions die" Dean considers this for a long moment, turning away from Zachariah.