Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural. Kripke and the CW does. (Lucky people)
Author's note: It's been like forever and a day since I posted a Supernatural one-shot but finally, I have a new one! This take places directly after 'Lucifer Rising'. Enjoy!
Beta: Thanks to Teresa!

Lucifer Rising

Lucifer had risen.

Those three words were enough for Dean to use more gas and speed harder down country roads, trying to get as far away from the church as possible. They weren't ready to take on Lucifer. Heck, he wasn't sure if they ever would be. They needed a plan, they needed to regroup. They needed to get in touch with Bobby. There was so much that they had to do and so little time.

The absolutely first thing that they needed to do though was talk. He risked a glance at his brother from out of the corner of his eyes. Sam sat pressed against the door, head resting against the glass. His eyes were closed but Dean knew he wasn't asleep. He swallowed thickly, overcome by guilt. He should never have turned against Sam, he should never have said Sam should stay gone. He wished he could fix them but he had no idea how.

He couldn't believe it had come this far. He couldn't believe they had both let themselves be manipulated and used by the demons and Angels. Nice world this was, where the good guys weren't even the good guys. In the end Castiel had come through for them but it had almost been too late. No, it had been too late. Sam had broken the last seal.

It was pretty ironic. They'd spent their entire lives hunting for things that go bump in the night, they had killed what they needed to, to save people and now, now they had brought on the Apocalypse and possibly doomed the earth. Dean had broken the first seal, Sam had broken the last one. Yeah, they were on a roll.

Thunder struck suddenly and loudly, making Dean flinch. The sky had been gray before, now it was more like black. Considering it was midmorning, that wasn't good. Raindrops started falling down hard, clattering against the windows. Dean was forced to drive slower now unless he wanted to get them killed, which in any case might be doing the world a favor.

His eyes burned with fatigue. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept properly and wasn't sure when the next time would be but he needed to rest. And so did Sam. So much had happened. Sometimes, Dean wished he could go to sleep and not wake up. It would be so much easier. Nothing had ever been easy though and he was a fighter.

He drove on until he reached Bobby. The rain had not stopped falling.

"Sam." Dean said.

Sam's eyes slowly blinked open. He sat up straighter and took in his surroundings. Dean could see panic and fear briefly flit over his face before Sam schooled his expression into a neutral one. Dean wished he could say something to tell Sam this wasn't like last time, that they were just here to have a place to stay. His throat refused to work though.

He just got out of the car. Sam followed. They grabbed their stuff from the trunk and headed up to the front door. It swung open before Dean could even knock. An immense look of relief swept over Bobby's face.

"Boys, it's really good to see you both."

"You too, Bobby."

When Bobby stepped aside, Sam and Dean entered.

"What happened?" Bobby asked as soon as they were seated in the living room.

"I broke the final seal." Sam spoke up.

Bobby looked at him in confusion.

"That demon bitch had been playing us all along. She's been using Sam's powers to free Lucifer. Killing Lilith was the final seal." Dean explained.

Bobby whistled and stood up to grab the whiskey. Dean took the offered glass and gulped it down, feeling it burn his throat and loving it. He should probably eat something first but truth be told, he wasn't all that hungry.

"Guess the fight for the world has really begun now then. Where were your Angel pals in all of this?"

"Don't even get me started on them. Let's just say Cas is the only one of those sons of bitches we can trust at the moment." Dean replied, clenching and unclenching his fist. If Zach ever showed his face again, he was going to punch the son of a bitch. He didn't even care he would most likely end up breaking his fist. It was a matter of principle.

"Well, then, I better start rounding up the hunters. It seems like I have some calls to make. First, we need to further demon proof this house if we want to keep Lucifer out. Why don't you boys get started on that? Use salt and every ritual you can think of."

Dean nodded his head in agreement and rose from the couch.

"Dean." Sam said softly.

Dean turned back, seeing so many different emotions in his brother's eyes.

"Later, okay? Let's first do what Bobby asked." Dean said softly.

Sam averted his eyes and nodded. They set to work, starting with salting every possible entrance to the house. Next up were symbols. Everything they remembered went on the floors and the walls. It probably wouldn't keep Lucifer out very long but it was something. If they needed it, they could still hide out in Bobby's panic room. It probably still wouldn't do them much good but it gave them some kind of advantage. It had to.

An hour later and Bobby was still on the phone. Sam and Dean had in the meanwhile succeeded in demon-proofing the house. Every little crack, every possible entrance way was covered in salt and they'd made an extra circle around the living room.

Careful not to tread on any of the salt, Dean went into the kitchen to make a couple of sandwiches. He was still not particularly hungry but he knew he needed to eat something and so did Sam.

When he returned to the living room, he found Sam leaning against the wall next to a window, arms crossed and staring outside. His eyes were slightly glazed over and Dean figured he was lost in thought.

Dean went and joined him, silently handing him a plate of food. Sam took it with a mumbled 'thanks' but didn't seem to have any intention of eating it anytime soon. Dean understood the feeling. His stomach was in knots, dread and a fear like he had never felt before filling him. They'd always been able to face what they fought, they always found a way to kill them in the end but this … this was so much worse, so much more evil, stronger and dark. Dean didn't see how a bunch of human hunters could be any match for a creature that powerful.

"Sammy, I'm sorry." Dean said eventually, breaking the heavy silence, "It was wrong of me to turn my back on you. I never should have."

"You didn't turn your back on me, Dean. You were always there. I turned my back on you, I trusted Ruby while I should have trusted you. And look what I did, what I've become. I thought I was doing the right thing, that my powers could save the world." Sam laughed humorlessly, "I should have known better. Nothing good has ever come out of anything demon-related. I won't blame you if you still want to kill me. You've got Ruby's knife, that should do it."

"Kill you?" Dean asked, confused, heartbeat speeding up, "Why would I want to kill you? You're my brother."

"That's not what you said in your voicemail message."

"Sam, I never said – " Dean broke off, mid-sentence. This couldn't be good. "Give me your phone now."

Dean hit the number for the voicemail message and re-played his message. Except it wasn't his message. It was his voice but not what he'd said.

"Son of a bitch. If this is Zach's doing, I'm going to personally send him to Hell!" Dean said angrily.

"What?" Sam asked confused, looking at him for the first time during their conversation.

"That's not what I said, Sam. I called you to tell you I was sorry. I would never – Sam, you have to believe me."

Sam studied him for a long moment before nodding. "I don't think it was Zach though. It was Ruby. Right before I listened to your message, I told her I wanted to do it your way. Then I heard what you said and … well, suddenly it didn't matter anymore."

"That bitch." Dean hissed, suddenly wishing he hadn't done her the pleasure of killing her fast.

Sam smiled wryly and continued staring out the window.

"Look, Sam, I know a lot has happened between us. We've been both been manipulated by the people, or well, things we thought we could trust. That's no excuse for what either of us did but we can work it out." Dean spoke, hoping to God he was right.

There was a knock on the door. The three hunters looked at each other in alarm. They weren't expecting anyone yet. Sam moved over to the window, glancing outside to see if he could make out who it was.

"It's Cas."

Dean hurried over to open the door, Bobby and Sam on his heels, weapons ready just in case. Dean swung the door open.

"Seriously, after all those times I told you to not sneak up on me, you start using the door now?" Dean asked incredulously.

"I cannot get in. One of your symbols must be Angel proof too." Castiel replied in his matter-of-fact voice.

"Oh. Right." Dean answered, wondering where on earth he'd made an Angel proof sign. As far as he knew, he wasn't even aware there were Angel proof signs. He scratched the back of his neck in confusion.

"Sam, do you –?" He turned around to find Sam already gone.

"Got it!" Sam yelled from upstairs.

Castiel crossed the threshold and wandered into the living room. Sam came back down.

"What? It was in one of Bobby's books. Figured it was better to be safe than sorry." Sam replied at Dean's raised eyebrow.

"Good work, kiddo." Bobby said, patting Sam's shoulder. They joined the Angel.

"Cas, what happened after you sent me away?" Dean asked.

"Chuck." Castiel said simply and didn't elaborate, "So, the final seal has been broken. Then end is upon us."

Sam flinched.

"Well, aren't you cheerful." Dean said. He knew it was true but that didn't mean he liked hearing it.

"Sam," Castiel started, turning to his brother. Dean braced himself, "This is not your fault. Your intentions were pure. This has been bound to happen since you were born. However, we did change destiny a little. There is hope."

"What would have happened if we hadn't changed destiny?" Dean asked.

"The earth would have been certainly doomed. Ruby would have become Lucifer's right hand. Sam would have died because he refused to swear his alliance. You would have died by Ruby's hand eventually. Without you two, the world falls." Castiel answered with that annoyingly serene smile of his.

"So what? Now the earth is almost certainly doomed?"

"The outcome is undecided, everything is possible now." Castiel answered, "We have to fight and stand together."

"We?"

"I have realized my alliance to mankind is far more valuable than my alliance to the Angels. I do not feel as if they are right. Mankind is not weak. You are flawed, yes but there is much more than that. There is love and loyalty, friendship and acceptance. The good outweighs the bad."

Dean grinned. "At least I've managed to teach you something."

"We must gather the troops."

Dean snorted. "Now you just sound like a war movie."

Castiel raised an eyebrow. Dean shook his head.

As if on cue, there was another knock on the door. Bobby went to get it. Ellen and Jo walked in. One by one, hunters started dribbling in until the house was packed. There were now several safehouses around the country, each holding a number of hunters. They were safer all together until they had a definite plan.

The future looked very grim but at the moment, all they could do was stand united and come up with some kind of battle plan.

The end

Liked it? Hated it? Let me know! Anyone else excited for season five! It'll be great :D