Transmission from the Trickster

Chapter 52

Sam does his best to keep everyone away from Lucifer, but when almost a week has passed and there's still no sign of Gabriel, even Sam is beginning to think they should take him on. When the question of whether they should take on the devil is raised again by an eager Dean, Sam finally agrees.

All it takes is a little help from Rowena, who is thrilled to be participating in the devil's takedown after he killed her two years ago, to find him. The address they get leads to some type of abandoned warehouse, which seems like a great place to hide, but it's not entirely clear why Lucifer would need to hide. He's supposed to be wrecking havoc on the world like he always does.

Dean leads the way. He approaches the door cautiously, angel blade in hand, not that it will do much against an archangel. He gestures for everyone to stay clear, then slowly puts his hand on the doorknob.

It seems Dean's precautions were for nothing, because the door blasts open, coming completely off its hinges and taking Dean to the ground.

"Dean?" Sam says quickly, rushing to his side and struggling to push the heavy metal door off him. "Dean, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he says through gritted teeth.

Castiel pushes the door off him with ease and offers him a hand. Dean takes it and pulls himself to his feet with a grateful nod.

"What was that?" Mary asks.

"What do you think it was?" a familiar voice asks from inside the warehouse. "Lucifer's just being a drama queen, per usual."

Sam would recognize that voice anywhere, but even when he looks in the room, he's not sure he believes he's really looking at Gabriel. It's been days since he said he was going to try to talk to his brother. He couldn't have spent all week just trying to convince the older archangel not to kill Jack. What's going on here?

"Hey, so, Lucifer and I brokered a deal," Gabriel says, a big smile on his face like the brother he's so diligently defending didn't just literally crush Dean with a metal door.

Dean crosses his arms. "And what's that?"

"Easy peasy," Gabriel says. "Jack doesn't try to kill Lucifer; Lucifer doesn't snap you guys out of existence."

"With that said, though," Lucifer adds, "Jack, if you ever just want to talk, I'm always here for some father-son bonding time."

"I'm barely your son, and I want nothing to do with you," Jack says with a glare.

Gabriel claps his hands together cheerfully. "Perfect! Then we can all be on our merry way, and no one has to get maimed, murdered, or otherwise hurt in any way."

Jack looks back at Sam for help. It's no surprise that Lucifer was voting for a bonding moment between the pair, but they certainly didn't consider the possibility that Gabriel would be on Lucifer's side.

Given the fact that Jack has been alive for less than a year, and this time has been divided between two different universes and completely different people, it's no surprise that he's already come to see Gabriel as an extension of the Winchester family. He already knows Dean wants Lucifer dead and Gabriel wants him alive — though he doesn't know that Gabriel only made the deal out of fear for the kid's safety — and he needs a tie breaker. Naturally, that tie breaker had to be Sam, the only person who trusts Dean and Gabriel equally, at least in regards to dealing with archangels.

But loyalty aside, when it comes down to it, Lucifer has put him through hell, literally and figuratively, and Sam wants him dead. Gabriel may claim he's doing this to protect Jack, and it may be true, but Sam has to trust that the kid knows what he's doing. If Gabriel refuses to play, Jack is their only shot at defeating Lucifer, and they're not about to lose their shot over Gabriel's paranoia and long-lasting brotherly love.