Alex, Dean, and Sam came to the kitchen and found Chuck once again making pancakes and bacon for himself. Not wanting to talk to Chuck any more than necessary, Alex immediately went to pour himself some coffee, casually mentioning that the trap for Amara was almost ready and only the final touches remained. When these words were spoken, Chuck, who was cooking pancakes and bacon, froze for a moment, and his face twisted into a wide smile that was impossible to notice because he was standing with his back to everyone.
Quickly hiding his smile, Chuck slowly hummed as if it really hurt him to hear that his sister would end up in a cage again. And as her brother, he once again had to make a difficult choice between the universe and his family. Alex ignored Chuck's response and simply poured himself some coffee. Sipping his coffee, he leaned against the kitchen table, watching the conversation between Dean, Sam, and Chuck.
"Chuck, you just need to talk to him," Sam spoke first, sitting down at the table with a mug of coffee in his hands.
"I can't. And I don't see the point," Chuck replied in a carefree tone, flipping the pancakes in the pan.
"Why not? It would benefit both of you," Sam asked, trying to get Chuck and Lucifer to talk.
"I can't give him what he wants," Chuck replied in the same carefree tone, deftly tossing the pancakes and catching them on a plate.
"And what does Lucifer want from you? A new toy or a hug from daddy?" Alex asked, slowly sipping his coffee.
"Unfortunately, nothing like that. Although maybe a hug too... He wants the same thing everyone does. Sister, family, you humans — everyone wants an apology," Chuck said, shaking his head as he put pancakes and bacon on the plates.
Dean wanted to say that he definitely didn't need any apologies from the bastard who had ruined his and his family's life. And that the best apology from Chuck would be if he just dropped dead. But Dean said none of this and continued drinking his coffee. Chuck, having finished distributing the pancakes and bacon onto plates, placed the food in front of Dean and Sam.
Seeing the food prepared by Chuck in front of him, Dean grimaced for a moment and pushed the plate away, saying he wasn't hungry. He definitely didn't want to touch anything Chuck had made. Chuck just shrugged carelessly at Dean's refusal and calmly sat down at the table, starting to eat the pancakes and bacon. Sam looked at the pancakes and bacon in front of him and also refused to eat, because he felt it wasn't the time for food.
"Well, just apologize to him then. He's not asking for a weapon or Heaven and Hell as a bonus. He's waiting for just a couple of words from you. And maybe a little pat on the back with the words 'I appreciate you, son,'" Dean said, continuing the topic of conversation.
"I can't apologize if I'm right. He wants an apology for the fact that my attention wasn't focused on him for an eternity. First he got angry when the other Angels appeared. Then he got angry when I created worlds. And in the end he got angry again when I created you humans. He always had a reason to be angry. And I don't see the point in apologizing for what I did if I did what I thought was right," Chuck said in a calm tone, slowly gesturing with the fork in his hands.
"Then just lie to him. Just say those cherished words in a roundabout way. And then hug him and give him a puppy or a hellhound. You'll still be right, and your little boy will get the cherished gift for his Christmas," Alex said, approaching the table with the coffee pot.
With a carefree smile on his face, Alex poured coffee into Chuck's mug, acting as if he, like everyone else, simply wanted the same thing as the others. Alex barely suppressed the nausea in his stomach from having to behave this way in front of Chuck. But he comforted himself with the fact that in the end he would get the cherished payment for saving this world and would be able to take a week-long vacation with his entire family.
Chuck raised his gaze to Alex, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face, as if he had really started considering Alex's advice. Dean raised his gaze to Alex and slid his coffee mug over, asking him to pour some. Dean also wanted to end this farce as quickly as possible, and if Alex sped up the process, he would only be glad.
Pouring coffee into Dean and Sam's cups, Alex returned to his place. Taking a sip of coffee, Chuck still looked thoughtful, as if he was really considering Alex's advice. In reality, Chuck was already mentally in the finale of his story, where he would reveal his true identity and, as per all the clichés, tell that he was the real villain in this story. And after that he would revel in the fear and despair when this universe would burn and then end up inside his stomach.
"Fine... Look, Lucifer wants the same thing everyone does — for Amara to be gone. Let's give him a little more time to cool down... And then..." Chuck said, setting his coffee mug on the table.
"What then? You might not have noticed, but we don't have time. The end of the world is already at the door. How much longer will this period of calm last?" Dean said in a serious tone, reminding him of the current situation.
"Chuck... Um... Let's do it your way... We'll give Lucifer a little more time to cool down. And then we'll tell him you're ready to talk. Would that work for you? You'll both talk it out, and then maybe you'll reconcile," Sam intervened, trying to speak more carefully unlike Dean.
Chuck looked at Dean and Sam with a calm gaze and took another sip of coffee. Pretending to consider this option, Chuck set the mug on the table and nodded slightly, showing he didn't mind. Seeing that Chuck wasn't against the conversation, Sam breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the first part of his plan to reconcile Chuck and Lucifer had gone successfully.
Alex, watching this, hid his smile behind his coffee mug as he took a sip. Despite all this, he was genuinely amused by how well Chuck was playing the role he had written for himself. Finishing his coffee, Alex put the mug in the sink and left under the pretext that he still had things to do.
What he definitely didn't want was to become part of this upcoming fake family conversation. Waving goodbye, Alex left the kitchen and headed to his room. Stopping at the door, Alex looked at the door to Sam's room, and a slight smile appeared on his face. After all, he had plans not only for Chuck but also for Lucifer.
Still smiling, Alex entered his room to finish preparing the double trap. After all, he knew that after the so-called reconciliation would come the assembly of the dream team, in which he would unfortunately also have to participate. Taking the trap and tools out of his inventory, Alex sent Amara a message about what was happening in the bunker.
Amara replied quite quickly, writing that she knew about it thanks to their connection with Dean. Chuckling at the fact that Amara had been eavesdropping on this entire farce, Alex put his phone aside and got to work. He only had to finish the last details of the trap and everything would be ready. While Alex was busy with his work, making sure the trap would work perfectly, there was a knock at his room door.
"Hey, do you want to be the third party in the upcoming conversation?" Dean asked, entering Alex's room.
"I think I'll pass. I'm finishing up with the trap," Alex said, holding a black cube covered in carved inscriptions in his hands.
"Are you done already? And how? Does this thing work?" Dean asked, taking the black cube from Alex's hands.
"It needs a couple of tests. Otherwise, everything is perfect. We just need to stroke Chuck's ego and pull the key trick. And it'll be ready," Alex said, lighting a thin cigar and slowly spinning in his chair.
"And then we'll have to endure Sam's lectures. You do realize he's definitely going to say 'no.' Even if it's a fake plan," Dean said, placing the black cube on the table.
"Of course I do. Chuck loves all these tragedies. And he definitely won't be able to say 'no' to Dean Winchester, who will want to sacrifice himself by locking himself in the cage with Amara. After all, you're the key that will lock the cage from the inside. Sam will of course be angry about this plan. But you just need to play the older brother card," Alex said, stopping his spin in the chair and placing the thin cigar in the ashtray.
"It's easy for you to say: just play the older brother card. And are you sure Chuck won't use his other power to recharge the batteries in the trap?" Dean sighed heavily, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Of course I'm sure. Chuck will decide to show off his light, show what a sparkling and bright asshole he is. But even if he does it differently, the trap will still work. Only then we'll have to resort to Plan B..." Alex said thoughtfully, reaching for the cold tea.
"Forcibly ripping out the second half," Dean finished, rubbing his eyes from fatigue.
Alex nodded slowly, taking a sip of tea. Dean continued rubbing his eyes, feeling tired from everything that was now happening in his life. But he wasn't angry that he had learned the whole truth about what was really going on in the world. The only thing that still angered him was that he, like a monkey in a circus, had to jump to Chuck's applause instead of breaking that bastard's jaw.
Clenching his fists until they cracked, Dean took a deep breath to gather his thoughts. And no matter how much he wanted to, he still needed to entertain Chuck a little, and after that he would fully get even for the deaths of all his loved ones and friends. Calming down, Dean looked at the offered bottle of cold tea and took it from Alex's hands. Taking a sip of the cold tea, Dean breathed a sigh of relief and finally calmed down. Taking another sip, Dean returned the bottle to Alex and stood up from the bed.
"I think Sammy has already managed to drag that capricious archangel out of his room. And now the next stage of the fake reconciliation," Dean said, preparing to leave Alex's room.
"Good luck... You're going to need it. Or stronger booze to listen to all this," Alex said before Dean left the room.
"I'll refrain from alcohol for now... But when all this is over, you'll have to dig out something better than futuristic world whiskey from your stash," Dean said with a smirk, turning his head toward Alex.
"No problem. I'll even take you to the restaurant that Erina opened. You were practically drooling when we watched that anime," Alex said with a cheerful smile, lazily waving his hand.
"You bastard. How the hell did you manage to get Erina herself to go to another world?" Dean clicked his tongue irritably, genuinely not understanding how Alex had managed to persuade the proud food-obsessed girl.
"I'm the King of Demons, after all, and deals are in my blood. I gave her what she wanted," Alex replied in a carefree tone, spreading his arms.
Dean demonstratively rolled his eyes and left the room, leaving Alex alone. Alex yawned slightly and took out his pocket watch to check the time. Seeing how quickly evening had arrived, Alex was quite surprised that he had lost track of time while working again. At least he didn't have to deal with Chuck and Lucifer while watching their family performance.
Putting away the pocket watch, Alex looked at the trap, which was missing only one single detail, and then it would be ready. Taking the black cube in his hand, Alex twisted it slightly, and a click was immediately heard. The cube opened, and inside was another smaller black cube.
Taking a tool in his hand, Alex carefully applied the final symbol and twisted the cube again to close it. Having completely finished working on the cube, Alex rubbed his eyes, thinking about what to do next. And the only thing Alex could think of was to just lie on the bed. Climbing onto the bed, Alex wanted to lie down a bit until this entire reconciliation farce was over.
"I think a couple hours of sleep will be enough," Alex said, closing his eyes and lazily stretching.
Alex fell asleep peacefully, not worrying about anything at all. His main concern was only to continue playing along with this whole spectacle, and at the end kick Chuck in the balls, making him spit out what didn't belong to him. Sinking into sleep, a satisfied smile appeared on Alex's face because everything would soon be over and he would be able to take a short vacation before the next job.
He still didn't know about the other two worlds he would have to go to. But what he definitely knew was that he would have to go to school again, twice. And he had had such a hard time going to school in Forks, and now he would have to repeat it twice more. Thinking about the letters that had been gathering dust in his inventory for over half a year, Alex could only sigh and roll over to the other side to get rid of these thoughts about school.
An hour later, Alex woke up to a knock at the door. With difficulty opening his eyes, Alex rolled off the bed, falling to the floor. Getting up, Alex approached the door and opened it. Dean and Sam were standing on the threshold with different expressions on their faces. Dean looked as if he was glad that all this nonsense was over. And Sam was sincerely glad that his reconciliation plan had worked.
"What do you want? And what's with the faces? Did I sleep through the entire apocalypse and it's all over?" Alex asked with a yawn, covering his mouth with his hand.
"No, you got lucky, you didn't miss anything. Except for the long heart-to-heart conversation we had to watch," Dean said, looking as if he had watched a cheap melodrama shot on a cheap camera.
"So, did they like reconcile? And now you've come to brag about what good boys you are?" Alex asked again, rubbing his eyes to wake up.
"Yeah, like they reconciled. We came to get you to discuss the subsequent plans," Sam said, nodding and explaining the reason for their visit.
"Chuck decided to assemble the dream team?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Exactly. It's a long story, so grab your cube and come with us," Dean said, nodding and beckoning Alex to follow.
Alex yawned once more and approached his table. Taking the black cube in his hands, Alex rubbed his eyes to finally wake up and get rid of his terrible look. Taking everything he needed, Alex went out to Dean and Sam, who nodded to him. Alex followed Dean and Sam to the main hall, where Chuck and Lucifer were waiting for them. Walking down the corridor, Alex mentally communicated with Dean to find out the details.
He was curious if Chuck had decided to dig into Lucifer's head to speed up his reconciliation plan and move to the next stage. Dean thought for a moment and replied that he hadn't noticed anything like that. Alex nodded slightly, thinking that it would be difficult for Dean to notice if Chuck had really decided to dig a little into Lucifer's head.
Very quickly Alex ignored this fact — he didn't care if Chuck had done something to Lucifer or not. It was no longer his problem and didn't concern him. The main thing was that everything moved according to the planned plan, and if Lucifer's brain turned into mush, it was just a minor detail. Reaching the main hall, Alex saw Chuck and Lucifer, who were even sitting on the same side of the table like a reconciled father and son.
"Since you've brought your buddy. Maybe now we can talk about the important stuff? Or maybe we should have a popcorn get-together?" Lucifer said in a sarcastic tone when Alex, Dean, and Sam entered the main hall.
"Shut up, Lucifer. If you hadn't acted like a whiny little bitch, we would have moved on to this part a long time ago," Alex said, tossing the black cube onto the map table.
Lucifer wanted to snap back, but Alex gave him a blank look, reminding him how it could end. And Chuck definitely wouldn't be able to stop it. Remembering those past two times when he had been beaten, Lucifer slightly moved his neck, remembering it all perfectly. Chuck didn't react at all to his so-called son being humiliated. His gaze was fixed on the black cube that Alex had brought.
And only from the inscriptions on the cube did he understand that this was a working trap and it would definitely be able to contain Amara. Not showing it on his face, Chuck had already mentally built his plan on how to turn this trap into a battery that would drain the second half of Amara's power. Dean and Sam hid their smiles behind serious expressions. But that didn't stop them from laughing at how Alex had once again put Lucifer in his place.
"Well, I'm glad you two have reconciled and all that... So, to the main point. Amara," Alex said, sitting down at the table and lighting a thin cigar.
"If we skip the whole part about balance that you already know about, which I already explained to Dean and Sam... We need help to weaken Amara. Lucifer and I alone won't be able to do it," Chuck said, immediately moving on to the important part.
"I agree. It will be difficult to use the cage if Amara is breaking free," Alex said, nodding and resting his cheek on his fist.
"And for that we need any help you have... Dean, Sam. Your turn. Who do you have in mind?" Chuck said, shifting his gaze to Dean and Sam.
"Crowley and his demons. It's not much, but it could weaken Amara a bit," Sam spoke first, offering his option.
"Also Rowena. Despite the fact that she's quite the snake and always looks for benefit for herself. She, let's say, owes us," Dean continued, playing along with this farce.
Chuck slowly nodded his head, agreeing with everything being discussed at the table. But in reality, he really needed to weaken Amara enough. He wasn't lying when he said that he couldn't handle Amara alone. And if cannon fodder was used for this, he would be sincerely glad if he didn't have to do anything.
And he would only have to take the final step, playing the card of a brother who wants reconciliation. Chuck even caught himself thinking that he had written too many reconciliations for his character. Thinking that next time he would need to write his character better, Chuck returned to listening to the discussion at the table.
"Oh, boys. I don't want to interrupt your tirade about assembling a team of rejects... I mean, the dream team. But where is your pocket angel? Or do you think I'll come to Heaven and everyone will just obey me?" Lucifer responded in a lazy tone, quickly changing his words after meeting Alex's gaze.
"Do you think if Cas goes with you, the Angels will follow you?" Dean asked, looking at Lucifer with a blank gaze.
"At least I won't have to kill anyone... We need any help so badly... And daddy won't want to go to his group of fans. So your pocket angel remains, who will conduct the negotiations," Lucifer said with a cheeky smile, interlacing his fingers, showing how hard he was trying to play on the same team.
"Then why do we need you there? As a cheer squad? Or a creepy bodyguard whose appearance will scare the poor angels?" Alex asked, pointing his thin cigar at Lucifer.
"Exactly, my friend Death. As a creepy bodyguard... After all, we need to show that we're all on the same team... See, I can play in the same sandbox with you too," Lucifer said with an innocent smile, cheerfully spreading his arms.
Alex, Dean, and Sam looked tiredly at Lucifer, who remained the same idiot despite the current situation. Lucifer, in response to these looks, continued to make innocent eyes, as if he was a model child and was really ready to play with other kids in the same sandbox.
Seeing this, Alex was sure that Chuck hadn't turned Lucifer's brain into mush — he was still the same idiot as always. Rubbing his forehead, Alex said he would go for Rowena. Dean and Sam decided to go for Crowley, who at that time was still thinking about how to get his throne back. Taking his phone out of his pocket, Alex wrote to Castiel that he would have to play on a team with Lucifer. Castiel replied with a question mark.
And after that Alex explained everything to his brother about what was happening. When Alex, Dean, and Sam were about to leave, Lucifer couldn't miss another opportunity to ruin everything. Raising his finger, Lucifer cleared his throat slightly, showing that he needed to clarify a few more questions.
"What else, Lucifer?" Dean asked, turning to Lucifer.
"What do you mean, what else? Maybe you'll clarify about this little thing that's supposed to hold my aunt?" Lucifer asked with a smile, reaching for the black cube.
"It's a cage for Amara. And that's it. No more, no less," Dean replied in a gloomy tone, snatching the black cube from Lucifer's hands.
"Really? Then where is the little key for this cute box... Or maybe the key is here right now? In our friend Death's pockets? Or somewhere else?" Lucifer asked with a smile, looking at Dean with feigned surprise.
"That's none of your business. Do your job and shut up," Dean said in a rough tone, handing the black cube back to Alex.
"Ah, I think I get it. Wonderful. Dean Winchester in his best repertoire," Lucifer said with a smile, clapping his hands as if he understood what was happening.
Lucifer's smile only grew wider as he watched Dean's reaction. And he was sure he had guessed correctly. Lucifer was sure that Dean had decided to do what he always did, and it really amused and entertained him. Dean frowned even more, looking at Lucifer. Preparing to snap back, Dean heard Alex's voice in his head saying that he needed to play along.
After all, this was the perfect chance to talk about the key. Dean frowned even more, which only confirmed Lucifer's guess. Chuck also understood what the key to the new cage was. And he was momentarily surprised by what Alex had decided to make the key from.
But instead of being upset that the script had changed a little, Chuck was very glad that in the end an even bigger tragedy would unfold. Sam, who was about to stand up to go for Crowley, heard this strange dialogue and looked at Dean and Alex with suspicion.
"Dean, what's going on?" Sam asked, feeling something strange in this conversation.
"Nothing. It's just a cage and nothing more," Dean replied, showing he wasn't going to discuss it.
"It's all about her... Sam, it's about Dean's girlfriend," Lucifer responded in a lazy tone, not hiding his desire to see the subsequent drama.
"You shut up... And I'll explain everything to you later," Dean said, pointing his finger at Lucifer, then turning to Sam.
"Well, just think about it, Sam. There's a cage, but no key. Where could the key to this cage be... Do you think none of us knows your favorite trick? The older brother who always protects the younger one," Lucifer continued, heating up the atmosphere even more.
"Is he right? Are you going to do this?" Sam asked, frowning even more, slowly beginning to realize where Lucifer was leading.
"I told you to shut up!" Dean said through clenched teeth, staring at Lucifer.
"Oh, come on, Dean. We bared our souls right in front of you. Now it's your turn. Go on, Dean!" Lucifer said, lightly egging Dean on, not hiding his amusement.
"I've tried to kill her several times... And it never worked... So this is the best outcome. If the key is locked together with Amara, she definitely won't be able to escape from the cage. That's what you wanted to hear!" Dean snapped, following Alex's prompts in his head.
"Quite. And now explain this to your younger brother. How Dean Winchester is going to lock himself up with the greatest evil in the entire universe... And I'll happily watch," Lucifer said, propping up his cheeks with his hands.
When Sam heard what Dean was planning, his eyes widened from an excess of emotions. In one moment, a multitude of emotions flared up inside Sam because his brother was going to lock himself up with Amara. Sam's gaze shifted to Alex, who hadn't said a word to refute it. Sam hoped it was just a stupid joke and that Dean wasn't really going to lock himself up with Amara.
But seeing the serious expression on Dean's face, Sam understood that his brother was really going to do it. In Dean's head, Alex's voice sounded again, hinting that he needed to continue playing in this spectacle. Throughout this entire dialogue, Alex continued to prompt Dean on what to say.
Dean looked at Sam with a heavy sigh, showing that he hadn't wanted to talk about this at such a moment and that he hadn't wanted to talk about it at all until the very last moment when it would already happen. There was a sympathetic expression on Chuck's face, but in reality he was fully enjoying this drama. Chuck caught himself thinking that he might miss this a little. Just a little.
"What were you thinking?! Why did you decide this on your own?!" Sam asked loudly, staring at Alex and Dean.
"Sam, listen. I suggested this myself. My connection with Amara is strange, but we're drawn to each other. And if this can be used to end all this end-of-the-world shit, I'll do it. We don't have time to come up with another plan," Dean said in a calm tone, making it clear that he had already decided everything.
"There's always another way! We always found another way!" Sam said loudly, refusing to accept this plan.
"And how did our other way usually end?! With even more shit! Every time we looked for another way, someone died because of us! And if this way Amara stays in the cage forever, then so be it! I know you'll try to save me. And that's why I went for this!" Dean replied in an angry tone, hitting the table with his fist, reminding Sam how things usually ended.
"Dean..." Sam started, seeing Dean's flash of anger.
Looking at Sam, Dean felt disgusting for having to do this. But he reminded himself that he had to do it for the plan to work. Sam wanted to continue speaking, but Dean raised his hand, showing that there would be no more conversation and they needed to get to business.
Dean grabbed his jacket and began climbing the stairs. Sam watched Dean go upstairs and shifted his gaze to Alex. Meeting Sam's gaze, Alex showed that he didn't like it either and that he had also tried to talk Dean out of it. Sam clenched his fists and, grabbing his jacket, followed Dean outside.
Playing the role of someone who needed to be between two fires, Alex rubbed his face. Making sure that Chuck had taken the bait, Alex didn't forget to take the cube so that Chuck wouldn't mess with it. And after that he followed Dean and Sam outside.
Coming outside, Alex saw Dean and Sam arguing. Sam was still thinking about talking Dean out of this crazy plan. But Dean continued to repeat that this was the only option and that Amara wouldn't get free again.
"Why didn't you tell me about this? If you had told me earlier, we could have found another way to make the key for the cage," Sam asked when he saw Alex, who had followed them out.
"That's exactly why. Sam, do you think I like this plan?... No, of course not. Who in their right mind is ready to sacrifice someone from their family," Alex said, shaking his head, once again showing that he didn't like it either.
"Sam, enough. I told you, I decided to do this myself... So just stop. Just enough," Dean said in a tired tone, showing his real exhaustion.
"But I let her out! If it comes to that, I should be the key. This is all completely my fault. All the people Amara killed — it's completely my fault... If I hadn't wanted to remove the Mark of Cain from your arm, this wouldn't have happened," Sam said, barely holding back his emotions, reminding him that it was all his fault.
"It won't work, Sam... Only thanks to Dean's connection with Amara could he become the key... So just stop. It's hard for me too... You weren't supposed to know about this," Alex said, placing a hand on Sam's shoulder.
Sam clenched his hands, feeling just terrible because Dean would once again have to sacrifice himself because of his actions. Sam's thoughts raced from one to another, but none of these thoughts helped him find a way out of this situation. Sam raised his gaze to Dean, and he gave him his usual smile that said everything was fine.
Sam wanted to say that nothing was fine. But he simply couldn't find a single word in this situation. After all, he understood that no matter what he said now, Dean would respond with the same words — that it was his duty. Smiling tiredly, Dean patted Sam on the shoulder.
At the same time, in Dean's head, Alex's voice sounded, praising him for such acting. Dean's entire image almost fell apart because of Alex's comment, but he managed to hold himself together.
Looking at Alex, Dean nodded, showing that they were ready to go for Crowley. Alex snapped his fingers, and Dean and Sam instantly teleported to Crowley. Raising his gaze to the evening sky, Alex sighed and, taking a step, disappeared from his spot.
To be continued...
(How could I do without all this family drama between Dean and Sam? Of course, I avoided it for a long time. But I finally had to touch on this whole topic again. Yes, Sam is being deceived, but he doesn't know it, and I feel sorry for him. Eh, and it's my fault. I'm such a jerk, of course. Well, it can't be helped, the plot is what it is. And before we move on to this day's farewell. Quick, yes or no. Alex and Dean will be thrown into Midgard to deal with Shinra. Yes or no. I'm waiting. If yes, I'll do all this. If no, I'll still do something. But first, I'm going to go eat. Peace, love, and you can't stop me now.)
Early access to chapters on my patreon: p*treon.com/GreedHunter