Well we're at the end! Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed! And thanks again to Aini for betaing this ^_^

I've got a Season 8 angsty case fic with loads of whump coming next for you, so stay tuned for that Friday and maybe a sneak peek on Tumblr sometime before then =D

Chapter Eight

Dean brought an armload of armor into the infirmary where Sam was waiting nervously with Cas.

"Well, I tried to find something a little more substantial than the usual gladiator stuff but this is all they had in the armory," Dean said, setting the pile down on a cot as Sam stood and allowed his brother to help him buckle into it.

Sam didn't have much hope that it would do him any good against Lucifer but if the fallen archangel did agree to his terms, then Sam could at least hope to get out of the fight alive. The whole thing felt ridiculous; the armor and the gladiator pretext just seemed stupid and pointless. He wished he could just be in his normal jeans and flannel, but he didn't think he'd be able to come up with any of those here.

"I still don't like this," Dean muttered to himself.

"I know," Sam said simply. He knew well enough how he would feel if Dean did the same thing. He still vividly remembered how it had felt to watch his brother promise himself to Michael before he had pulled one over on Zachariah. As far as Dean was concerned, he was doing pretty much the same thing here even though his brother was in on the ruse. But despite everything Sam felt calm. He felt like he could handle this. Maybe just the thought of finally having a shot against Lucifer was helping him keep it in perspective. Especially now when, with Gabriel's blade, he might actually have a chance.

"Dean, just…just promise me," Sam said turning around to meet his brother's eyes. "That if things start to go bad, don't step in."

Dean glowered at him. "I can't promise that, Sam."

"Dean," Sam pleaded. "If the last thing I have to watch before Lucifer takes over my body is you dying…I won't have any fight left in me."

"He's not gonna take you, Sammy," Dean said firmly. "You're gonna shiv his ass and we're gonna go home."

"But if…" Sam said insistently. "Dean, as long as I know you're out there fighting this thing, I'll have hope."

Dean closed his eyes and let out a long exhalation. "Okay."

Sam was suited up in the stiff armor. He rolled his shoulders, feeling the unfamiliar weight of the added layers, but it wasn't hampering his movements, and he should be able to do what he needed to do. He took Gabriel's blade from the cot and tucked it carefully into the back of his belt, concealing it under the breastplate.

Sam turned to Cas who was still resting on his cot, unable to even sit up. The angel looked at him solemnly as Sam reached down to clasp his hand.

"Be careful, Sam," Cas told him.

Sam nodded and squeezed Cas' hand. "We'll get out of this, Cas, and get back home. I promise."

Dean's hand was on his shoulder then and Sam turned around.

"Ready?" Dean asked.

"No, but let's go."

Dean walked him to the entrance to the arena seeing the assistants bustling around, readying for the day's entertainment.

"Alright, I guess this is it," Dean said, his jaw tight.

Sam bit his lip but nodded. "Yeah. Just…watch out for Cas okay?"

Dean nodded and then pulled Sam into a hug. "Just…don't die, Sammy. Make me proud."

Sam felt his eyes dampen and he blinked swiftly before he pulled away.

Flavius, looking less pissed today and more like he was simply done with everything, came over to them and nodded to Sam.

"Time to get out to the arena, son," he said. "For the record, I do not approve of these kinds of fights, but I haven't really been allowed much say lately as it is."

"Oh Flavius, stop your moaning," Dean snarled and walked his brother to the gate, handing him a sword and a small shield.

The arena itself was empty but he could already hear the vast murmuring of the people. Fabricated or not, it looked like Lucifer had wanted an audience today. Sam swallowed hard, focusing on the press of Gabriel's blade against his lower back, and waited for the attendants to open the gate up before he stepped out into the arena, glancing over his shoulder at Dean.

Dean nodded and that gave Sam the confidence boost he needed to step out into the arena.

The audience roared with applause at his appearance but he didn't salute them, keeping his blade at his side, tense as he waited for the gate opposite him to open.

When it did the audience heightened their shouts several decibels as they saw that their own emperor would be appearing on the field that day. Lucifer raised his hand to the crowd and they screamed even louder. He was dressed in an imperial set of armor, bronze breastplate and greaves and even a short red cape flowing down his back. He held a short Roman style sword but not an angel blade. Not that it mattered, the regular blade would hurt Sam well enough. Sam caught sight of Gabriel standing at the gate Lucifer had appeared from and the archangel gave Sam a thumb's up.

Once Lucifer had stopped soaking up the praise of the crowd, he and Sam moved toward each other, meeting in the center of the arena.

"Well, I gotta say this, Sam, at least you showed up," Lucifer told him with a small smirk.

Sam wasn't baited by that though. "You do remember our terms?"

Lucifer sighed in a longsuffering manner. "Yes, yes, no powers or any foul play. Now are we going to get on with this duel? Give the people what they want?"

Sam nodded and took a stance. Lucifer didn't even wait that long to start swinging.

Sam just barely got his shield up in time to stop the blow and the sword rang on the metal. Sam shuffled backwards and took a steadier stance, preparing for the next blow Lucifer threw at him. Even if he wasn't using his powers, he still had a strong arm.

Sam struck out with his own blade and Lucifer simply leaned to one side with a smile before he threw another barrage of hits at Sam who caught them all on his shield, unable to keep from backing up.

His forearm was already starting to go numb from the constant blows and his shoulder was aching. He had to speed this up.

The next strike Lucifer tried, Sam simply ducked under and rolled to one side, slashing with his blade to catch the back of Lucifer's leg that wasn't protected by the greave. A cut opened and Lucifer let out a small grunt of surprise, before it started to close again almost immediately.

Sam regained his feet, panting. "First blood," he said.

Lucifer smiled, but his eyes were dark, dangerous. "A scratch. You're going to have to do better than that, Sam."

And then he lunged forward, thrusting the sword directly at Sam's chest. Sam threw himself to one side and crashed into the sand. Lucifer stabbed down at him and Sam rolled over once more to escape the blow. Lucifer's sword drove into the sand and Sam took that moment to swing his legs around, kicking the fallen archangel in the backs of the knees.

Lucifer didn't fall, but he staggered to one knee and gave Sam enough time to get up.

Good thing too, because fury flashed through Lucifer like lightning and he surged upright with a snarl, slashing with his sword.

Sam hurriedly brought the shield up, but caught the blade wrong so that it glanced over the top of the small shield and cut into his arm.

Sam cried out, gritting his teeth as blood dripped down his arm, soaking into his tunic. Lucifer followed that up instantly with a sweeping blow that would have sliced Sam open if he hadn't been wearing armor. Thankfully the leather breastplate he was wearing kept the sword from gutting him but the blunt force of the blow still threw him back into the dirt.

The crowd was shouting encouragement to their emperor as Lucifer pounced on Sam, slamming one foot against the elbow of his shield arm and forcing the already numb limb to tingle. Sam cried out as Lucifer simply kicked the shield off of his limp arm before shoving his hobnailed sandal against Sam's chest, blade pointed toward his throat.

"Looks like I win, Sam," Lucifer said as the crowd shouted in the stands, holding their thumbs down for Lucifer to stab Sam. "Not exactly surprising, is it?"

Sam grit his teeth and grabbed Lucifer's leg behind the knee, twisting quickly to unbalance him. Lucifer toppled and Sam turned, snatching Gabriel's blade from its hiding place, and bringing it up to stab underneath of Lucifer's breastplate.

The archangel roared, grabbing at the blade as he scrambled away from Sam, giving the hunter one last kick to the face.

Sam sprawled back in the sand and rolled to regain his footing as Lucifer drew the blade from his side. Blood poured down the archangel's leg and spattered the sand below.

Lucifer threw the blade aside and his eyes flashed red. Sam only had a moment to prepare himself before Lucifer raised a hand and he was flung twenty feet across the arena. Sam landed hard, breath driven from his lungs and sand in his mouth and eyes. He heard Dean shouting at him and forced himself to his knees only to have Lucifer reach down and grab him around the throat, hauling him directly off his feet, choking for air.

"It's over, Sam," the devil snarled and flung him back into the sand. Sam hit his head, dazed, and cried out as Lucifer grabbed a fistful of his hair and wrenched him onto his knees, pressing his sword to Sam's throat. Sam fought, but Lucifer held him firmly, nearly wrenching the hair from his scalp. Lucifer growled and slammed Sam's head back into his armored knee then threw him to the ground.

Sam tried to drag himself away, searching for what had happened to Gabriel's blade, but Lucifer slammed his nailed boot into Sam's side and the hunter felt several ribs crack. He cried out in agony, collapsing and curling up. Another kick caught him in the lower back, before Lucifer shoved a foot against his hip and forced him onto his back. Sam stared up at the furious face of the devil, fear arching through him. Lucifer knelt over him, digging a knee into his broken ribs. Sam keened and struggled under Lucifer as the point of his sword teased at the hollow of his throat.

"It's time to give up, Sam," Lucifer said. "I won."

"You cheated," Sam gasped out. "You used your powers. The deal is off!"

Lucifer let out a humorless snort. "I cheated? That's rich."

"I never said anything about angel blades," Sam panted. "You really thought I was going to walk in here without something that can actually do you damage when you can do anything you want to me? I just call that fair."

Lucifer's face darkened even more and he pressed the sword harder against his neck, cutting into his skin and making it hard to breathe.

"You will say yes to me," he snarled.

"I won't," Sam hissed. "You can't force me to give my permission."

"Oh, we'll see about that."

Lucifer stood and snapped his fingers. Sam rolled painfully onto his side and watched in horror as several guards swarmed Dean from where he was standing at the gate to the arena, dragging him out onto the sand toward Lucifer.

"Sammy!" Dean shouted, struggling against the guards, his hands tied behind his back. One simply punched him in the stomach before he was thrown to the ground at Lucifer's feet, several swords pointed at him.

"Bow to your emperor," one snarled.

"Like hell," Dean growled and a guard kicked him in the back, causing Dean to crumple with a yelp. Sam winced, sure that Dean's wounds would have been reopened again.

"Leave him alone, Lucifer!" Sam snarled.

"I'm done bargaining," Lucifer said. "My patience has run out. And it was you who forced my hand, Sam."

More guards were coming into the arena now and Sam felt a fresh horror overtake him as he saw Cas being dragged between two of them. The angel was dropped next to Dean, deathly pale and moaning in agony.

Lucifer snarled and kicked him in the stomach. Cas howled and curled weakly into himself.

"You son of a bitch!" Dean growled.

"Please don't hurt them," Sam pleaded, swaying on his knees.

"Will you say yes?" Lucifer asked him.

"Sammy, don't," Dean snapped.

Sam ducked his head, unable to look at his brother and the angel as he said it, throat tight. He shook his head. "No."

Lucifer shrugged. "Then you'll regret your decision. Guards, prepare these traitors for execution." He turned to Sam as Dean and Cas were dragged to their feet. "I trust you know well enough how treachery was punished in ancient Rome, Sam? It's a rather gruesome one."

Sam swallowed hard. He knew. Crucifixion.

"It will take them a long time to die like this," Lucifer said with a cold glee. "Maybe enough time for you to give me your answer. I promise that the second you do I will release them and heal them up good as new."

"Why should I trust you?" Sam demanded, searching around for that damn blade. "You cheated in the fight and you'll cheat in this too."

"Sam, you wound my honor," Lucifer told him and snapped his fingers. A post appeared next to him and he reached down to haul Sam up, shoving his back against the post. He snapped again and ropes appeared and cinched tightly around Sam's chest and arms, crushing his injured ribs painfully.

"I want you to have a nice seat for the entertainment," he said, patting Sam's cheek before turning back to the guards who held Dean and Cas. "Now, for the grand finale of today's entertainment…"

"I think you should check the scheduling again, you missed something."

Lucifer spun around and Sam craned his neck to see Gabriel striding into the arena. He too was dressed in armor and Sam was surprised to see that the archangel had his own blade in his hand. He must have picked it up from where Lucifer had tossed it on the arena floor.

Lucifer sighed. "Gabriel, what do you think you're doing?"

"Taking my stand," he said firmly, meeting Sam's eyes with a wink. Sam frowned wondering what the hell the archangel had in mind. He just hoped he actually had a plan and wasn't just trying out a futile attempt to distract Lucifer.

"You're going to fight me, brother?" Lucifer asked.

"Well, I was gonna do karaoke, but I thought that might mess with historical accuracy."

Lucifer shook his head. "Always with the jokes, Gabriel."

"Come on, Luci, we've been through this before," Gabriel told him matter-of-factly. "You're a whiny attention-seeking brat and someone needs to teach you how things really work. I guess since Michael's not here this time, it has to be me."

"Excuse me?" Lucifer's eyes flashed and he took a step forward.

"You heard me," Gabriel said. "Now you wanna keep kicking around the humans or do you want to pick on someone your own size?"

"You're really going to make me do this, aren't you, brother?" Lucifer asked, snapping his fingers at one of his guards who brought over his own angel blade.

"Yeah, I'm afraid so," Gabriel cringed.

"Okay then."

Lucifer and Gabriel flung themselves forward, meeting in the middle with a clash of steel that sent sparks through the air. Sam watched with bated breath as the two archangels danced around each other in a furious fight. Until Lucifer kicked out at Gabriel and the younger archangel went skidding across the sand.

"You seem a little rusty, brother," Lucifer said, stalking toward him. "Must be all that poor living."

Gabriel spun around as Lucifer stabbed downward and kicked the devil in the groin. Lucifer's eyes widened and he huffed a breath as Gabriel regained his feet.

"I know you think you taught me all my tricks but you didn't," Gabriel told him. "Sometimes a kick to the nuts is all you really need."

Lucifer snarled. "You really have fallen, brother. And here you are, with your powers locked down, and no backup."

Gabriel cocked an eyebrow. "Who said I didn't have backup?" He spun around toward the stadium. "Kali, now!"

He dove to one side as a ball of fire shot out of the stands to the crowd's shock and roared over Lucifer. Sam's mouth was agape as he felt Lucifer's hold on him slacken. The ropes and stake disappeared and he collapsed to the ground.

Lucifer was screaming, his clothes and skin smoldering.

"Holy Greek fire—Batman." Gabriel smirked. "Whew, bet that hurts like a bitch."

"You insolent…"

Lucifer lunged at Gabriel and the younger archangel darted back but not before Lucifer waved a hand and Gabriel choked, collapsing to his knees and clutching his chest.

"I warned you not to cross me, Gabriel. Now I'm going to have to do something I'll really regret."

"Yeah, not as much as me," Gabriel said, and thrust his blade toward Lucifer, looking as if he was going to stab him in the throat.

But that wasn't what happened. The next few moments were a blur and Sam watched it rapt horror as Lucifer just barely dodged the blade and grabbed Gabriel's wrist. With one vicious twist, he wrenched Gabriel's arm around and down, burying the blade into his own stomach.

"Gabriel!"

Sam looked over at the weak cry, seeing Cas watching with horror, leaning against Dean. The guards were gone, maybe dispersed after Lucifer had taken that major hit with the holy fire.

But that wasn't the only thing disappearing. The crowds were gone now, and the constant roar wasn't coming from them anymore. In fact, Sam could feel it through his feet, under the sand, more a rumbling now.

Lucifer released Gabriel from his hold, recognition and horror washing over his face as the younger archangel collapsed on the ground, groaning. The arena started to crack apart and Sam scrambled to make it over to Dean and Cas, trying to help them to their feet in some attempt to escape whatever the hell was happening.

"You…" Lucifer snarled at Gabriel, who smirked from the ground, a chuckle escaping his throat and painting his lips red with blood. "No!"

"What the hell is going on?" Dean demanded, shouting over the thunderous cracking.

"Gabriel's power is supporting this pocket dimension," Cas replied. "With him fatally injured…it won't stand."

"What the hell do we do?" Dean demanded.

"Hold on," Cas said grimly.

Sam cast one last glance at Lucifer, staring at him in hatred, before he and Dean and Cas clutched at each other as the sky itself fell down on top of them.

The roaring stopped abruptly. Dean's first thought was damn, please not back in Heaven again… but he still felt the wet painful sensation of fabric rubbing on an open wound at the small of his back, and when he opened his eyes, he was looking at an ugly carpet.

"Ugh, Dean?"

Dean pushed himself upright and glanced over to see Sam doing the same, wincing and curling an arm protectively around his side. Sam was back in his normal clothes, and so was Dean for that matter. They were also back in the hotel conference room.

"Sammy, you okay?" Dean asked.

Sam nodded, looking bewildered. Cas was lying next to them and Dean crawled the few feet to touch his throat, looking for a pulse. Cas stirred at the contact and groaned, eyes fluttering open.

"Dean? Sam? Are—are we…?"

"We're back," Sam assured him, looking around. "Gabriel…"

"Over here."

Dean turned and saw Kali sitting on the floor by the opposite wall, Gabriel's head propped in her lap. The archangel's eyes were glazed over, but he was still alive. Barely.

"Gabriel, why would you do that?" Cas demanded, trying to sit up, but gasping in pain as Sam reached out and propped him up.

The archangel smirked. "Come on, I got you out of there, didn't I? And, trust me, it was the only way we were getting out of there. I realized that when Lucifer got pissed off and threw me into a wall and the dimension started to crack, so…"

"So you decided to let him stab you?" Cas demanded.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. "Like you have any right to lecture me on stupid plans, kiddo. I heard you carved a banishing sigil into your chest and ended up in a coma."

Cas clenched his jaw but looked away. Sam glanced around the room and Dean had a feeling he knew what he was going to ask. "Where's Lucifer then?"

"Gone, for now," Gabriel said wearily. "With his injuries, it will probably take him a couple days to regroup. I suggest we take the same initiative." He coughed and blood spattered against his chest. "Dammit."

"Are you gonna make it?" Dean asked skeptically.

"Bitch, please," Gabriel grimaced. "You know how hard it is to kill me." He coughed again and curled into himself a little. "Crap."

Kali rolled her eyes. "Yes, the mighty Loki. You're still going to need time to recharge."

"Yeah, yeah," Gabriel muttered. He pushed himself up with a groan, pressing a hand to the wound in his stomach before he eased himself into a standing position. Kali helped him up with a huff and supported him as he staggered slowly over to the group.

"I'm still getting my powers back obviously, but I'll spare a little," he said and reached down to touch Cas' forehead. The other angel inhaled sharply and stiffened before his shoulders slumped just a little more in relaxation. His face looked less pale and he was breathing easier.

Gabriel staggered, but wasn't done. He reached out again and touched Sam and Dean's foreheads. Dean felt the wounds in his back knit up. Not entirely, but well enough that they wouldn't reopen every time he moved.

Gabriel was pale now and breathing hard. "There. Can't have you fighting the apocalypse if you can't even stand."

"Gabriel, thank you," Sam said sincerely.

"Don't say I never did anything for you," Gabriel replied before his eyes rolled up in his head and he collapsed to the ground. Kali sighed, staring down at him.

"Idiot," she said, though Dean thought there was almost a fondness in her voice.

Cas reached out to set a hand against Gabriel's chest. "He's weak, but I think he'll recover given time to rest. And providing he doesn't overtax himself again."

Kali nodded. "I'll get him somewhere safe to recover. Oh, and…" She reached into Gabriel's coat and pulled out a dvd case. "He wanted me to give you this if he wasn't able to." She handed it to Dean with a disgusted look on her face.

Dean frowned as he looked at the cover. "Casa Erotica? The hell?"

"Don't ask," Kali said. "Now, I've got him. The rest of you should probably leave in case Lucifer recovers more quickly than anticipated. And boys? Don't call me for help. Ever."

Dean nodded. "No problem. But for the record, thanks for your help in there."

She gave him an impatient look and Dean helped Sam and Cas off the floor and they made their way out of the hotel.

Dean felt relief seeing the Impala still parked out front. "Well, at least my Baby's still here."

They drove to the next town and stopped at a motel—wonderfully nondescript—and got a room for the night. Sam had called Bobby on the way and told him what had happened but they were all too exhausted to drive straight back to Sioux Falls that night.

"Ugh," Dean groaned as he collapsed onto one of the beds. "I don't know about you but I am never watching Gladiator again."

Sam smirked. "Yeah, it's not so fun when you live it."

Dean sat up again and pulled Gabriel's dvd out of his coat. "Sam, get your laptop."

Sam wrinkled his nose. "Why?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "Come on, man, this is obviously a secret message or something. It might be important."

Sam sighed and got his laptop. The three of them crowded around as the video started playing. Dean frowned as it looked like it was just starting off as a regular porn video.

"That's inappropriate," Cas muttered to himself, but that's when Gabriel showed up in the video, with a ridiculous fake mustache and a waiter outfit.

"Oh god," Dean muttered, about to close the laptop, when Gabriel turned directly to the screen and spoke to them about the Horsemen's rings and how putting them together could form a key that would open the Cage and allow them to throw Lucifer into it.

And then it devolved into just porn and Dean hurriedly slammed the laptop shut.

"Well, okay, I guess that was useful, but I don't see why he couldn't have just told us this before," Dean muttered feeling like he needed a shower. In bleach.

"It was too dangerous in the pocket dimension," Cas said matter-of-factly. "Lucifer was eavesdropping on us at all times." He shook his head, muttering, "I don't understand why he chose this particular form of media to send his message, though…"

"But we know how to stop Lucifer now," Sam said and Dean turned to him seeing a light of hope in his eyes. "We just need two more rings and then we can actually do it. We can actually defeat Lucifer!"

"Hold on, Sam, we still have to figure out a way to get Lucifer where we need him. I mean, it's not like he's just going to jump into the Cage."

Sam shook his head. "We'll figure it out, just like you always say, Dean. But it's possible now! We have a way to win!"

Sam's attitude was somewhat infectious and Dean nodded, allowing himself a small smile. "Yeah, yeah we do, Sammy. And we'll do it together this time." He glanced at Cas too. "Right? Team Free Will."

"Team Free Will," Sam and Cas added.

Dean wasn't sure what would come next, but if they had even a snowball's chance to beat the devil, then…hell, bring it on.