Phoebe awoke with a start. She had been dreaming, and it had been far from pleasant. Lucifer had found them, long before they were ready for him. He was fire, flame, and destruction personified, a being from stories old. He had been utterly terrifying. Phoebe had tried with all of her might to overpower him, using Dean as a surrogate just as they had planned. But, when she went to use her new power it was like she had forgotten everything she'd practiced.

As she stood there, helpless, she watched as Lucifer took ahold of his knight. Dean laughed, a cruel, maniacal laugh that only nightmares could produce. She stood frozen. It was like time had stopped, but this had nothing to do with Piper's powers, and more to do with the horror of the scene that unfolded before her. Dean overpowered Sam, laying him out cold. With little regard for a brother that he had put his life on the line for time and time again, Dean sneered in Sam's face as he took the First Blade from his brother. Holding it up to the light, Dean looked at the blade as if a part of himself had finally been returned.

Phoebe watched as her little sister ran toward Sam, agony etched into her face. Dean turned toward her, flicking out an absentminded hand that caused Paige to fly backward into the wall. Her head made a thump as it hit, and Phoebe heard Piper scream. Or, had that been her? Just as Dean turned toward her, a look of intense malice in his eyes, the first blade gripped tightly in his hand, she had woken up.

Sweat poured down her brow as she questioned what this dream could mean. It had been a long time since she'd dreamt at all, as dreams usually found her while awake, in the form of a premonition. Could that have been what this was? She shook her head. No. She could not accept that the result of the upcoming battle was utter defeat, but she also couldn't help let fragments of doubt creep in. Her premonitions were never wrong. They always came to pass, no matter how hard she tried to prevent them.

She was pulled from her reverie by a knock on the door.

"Phoebe, are you awake?" she heard Leila's voice ask from the other side of the door.

Phoebe's breath caught in her throat. Where had the rest of them been during her nightmare? Castiel, Leila, Ruby, Leo, they had all been missing. What could that mean?

Leila knocked again. "Piper made breakfast if you're hungry."

The witch cleared her throat, "Uh, yeah, give me a few minutes."

Phoebe heard Leila's footsteps echo down the hall as she walked away and then took a deep breath. She would have to show her face eventually. Everyone was counting on her. Not to mention, the idea of Piper's cooking was an extremely comforting thought.

She had slept in Dean's bedroom the night before, and no one had protested. Something about it, the smell, or maybe just the thought that the real Dean, her Dean, had inhabited this space before, had allowed her to sleep. Phoebe didn't think sleep would have come anywhere else. She got up and opened Dean's small dresser, taking in the sight of what could be thought of as an excessive amount of flannel shirts, and picked up a familiar looking green one. She remembered. It was the shirt he had been wearing the day she had met him, not so long ago. The day she thought she could do nothing but despise the man that hunted for her kind. Thinking about that day, Phoebe recalled how well the shirt had brought out his emerald eyes, and admitted that even then she had been drawn to him.

Stripping out of the shirt she had been wearing for the past two days, she put on the flannel, relishing the soft, clean fabric on her tired body. It smelled faintly of whiskey and gunpowder, which calmed her. The shirt was more like a dress on her petite frame, but she buttoned it up anyway. Rolling the sleeves she felt comforted by the bagginess of it, and calmed enough to face the rest of her newfound family.

In the kitchen she smelled a few of her favorite smells: coffee and waffles. Paige, Leila and Ruby sat at the small dining room table, talking quietly over their heaping plates. Leo sat near Piper, who was still at the stove cooking more food than any of them could have possibly finished. Phoebe smiled a small smile, knowing that mothering, in any way she could, was just one of Piper's coping mechanisms. She wasn't complaining.

"Good morning, sweetheart," her older sister said, a little too chipper for the early hour.

Another coping mechanism, Phoebe thought.

"Hey," Phoebe said, putting on her own fake smile. "Really going for it this morning, aren't we?"

"Is it too much?" Piper asked, a knowing look on her face.

Phoebe laughed, "Maybe a little, but no one's upset honey." She hugged her sister and began filling a plate.

"Where are Sam and Cas?" she asked. "Still with that thing in that dungeony room?"

Leo nodded. "They thought it was best not to leave him alone. He's pretty dangerous."

Phoebe's mind immediately jumped back to her dream… premonition… She wasn't sure which to call it. The image of Dean as he moved toward her, that look in his eyes, haunted her.

"Are you okay, Phoebs?" Paige asked, noticing that she had become dazed.

Phoebe smiled, "Of course! We're going to save the world today."

Paige didn't look convinced, but went back to eating her breakfast.

"I'm going to take Sam and Cas a couple of plates," Piper said. "They need to keep up their strength too!"

"Uh, I'm pretty sure Castiel doesn't eat," Leila stated. "At least, in all the time I've spent with him, he hasn't."

"Oh," Piper said, clearly at a loss for what to do with the second plate she'd made up.

"Just give them both to Sam," Leila said, with a coy smile. "He'll need both after last night..."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Piper asked.

"Let's just say I heard some things though the wall last night that I did not want to hear. These things indicated that his stamina may be somewhat depleted this morning," Leila said, shooting a smile in Paige's direction.

Paige smacked Leila on the arm, as the girl began to laugh.

"Keep it quiet next time, that's all I'm saying!"

"Leila!" Paige exclaimed, a look of horror crossing her face, and her sisters joined in on the laughter.

"Sorry, I thought we could all use a little comic relief this morning. It just happened to be at your expense."

"Oh, I cannot wait to embarrass the hell out of Sam," Piper laughed, walking out of the room with two plates in hand.

Phoebe smiled at the banter in the room, but still couldn't shake the unsettled feelings that had been brought to her in her dreams. She could see in Paige's face that she knew something was wrong, but her sister didn't ask, and Phoebe was grateful. What could she say? She couldn't plague this day, one where they were all trying to get some normalcy in before the world came down, with her negative, possibly psychic, thoughts.

The middle Halliwell finished piling her plate with every breakfast food imaginable before sitting down with her sister and her sister's charges. They all seemed on edge, but were clearly trying to make the best of their time together.

"How was watch duty last night?" Phoebe asked Leila, genuinely curious about what had gone on.

The blonde shrugged, "Honestly, other than opening his big mouth every five seconds to taunt us, demon Dean didn't do much. He never tried to escape or even fight us. He just sort of sat there in a really cocky manner."

"So he hasn't changed much at all then?" Ruby said, a smile on her face.

"Okay," Phoebe said, laughing, "That was a good one."

"But honestly," Leila continued, "I expected more from him. It's almost like he's biding his time, or waiting for something."

"Lucifer?" Paige questioned.

"Maybe," Leila replied. "But, whatever it is, I don't get a good vibe off of him."

"I'm not sure of the last time I got a good vibe off of a demon, so yeah, that checks out," Ruby said.

"Ruby, you used to be a demon," Paige pointed out.

"Yeah, I know. I also know I wasn't giving off any good vibes back then."

The four girls laughed, marveling at the predicament that had brought them all together. It seemed like yesterday they were nursing Leila back to health in the manor, and Ruby was wrecking Dean's beloved Impala. And now here they all were, eating breakfast together like a family, witch, whitelighter, hunter, and demon turned human, like it had never been any different. Phoebe was grateful for all of them in their own way. She never thought that by meeting the Winchester brothers, that she would also gain sisters.

Just then, Sam entered the room with a frantic look on his face.

"We've gotta go. Now."

"What's going on?" Paige asked.

"It's Lucifer. Dean just let slip that he's close. He knows where we are."

Phoebe exchanged glances with the rest of the table. It was clear that no one could believe what they were hearing. But, what Sam had said rang in her ears. Was this it? Was this the beginning of her dream, come to life? She wasn't sure what she had expected. They took all of this time to recuperate and rest instead of taking the fight to Lucifer like they had planned. They should have all known that he'd sniff them out sooner or later. She cursed herself for being selfish, and knew that the rest of them must be feeling the same way.

"Now!" Sam yelled, rousing the girls from the kitchen table and leading them to the room where they had been holding Dean overnight.

Dean was still inside the Devil's Trap, his hands bound by runed handcuffs, but he was standing now. His demeanor was unchanged from the night before. He looked cool, confident, like he didn't have a care in the world. His black eyes were showing, and it shook Phoebe to her core. He must have known the effect they had on her, because the minute she entered the room, his malicious smile grew wide.

"Hey there sweet thing! Did you hear who's coming? You all ready to use your witchy voodoo on me?" he taunted her.

She ignored him.

"Where are we supposed to go?" Ruby asked.

"The only place I'd feel safe right now," Piper replied. "The manor."

Sam looked to Cas, who nodded, and then to Paige. Phoebe could read the look that passed between them at that moment, and she felt a pang of jealousy course through her. They had each other's backs, the way two people who love each other should. She looked back at the man who once loved her, and that she still loved fiercely, and could barely keep herself from flinging herself at him. She wanted to will the demon out of him, but she knew that was impossible.

"Let's go," Sam said, pulling her from her reverie.

Leo stepped forward to grab a hold of Dean, ready to orb him out of the bunker, but Dean was having none of it. She watched as Dean's fists, still cuffed, came up together and hit Leo's chin. The smack reverberated off of the basement walls, and Leo sank to the ground, unconscious.

"Oh my god!" Piper's voice rang out, as Sam and Cas flung their arms around the demon, restraining him from doing any further damage. It had been reckless, what Leo had done, but Phoebe still couldn't believe her eyes.

"Paige, orb as many out as you can, and come back for us," Piper said.

"No!" Phoebe cried, remembering how so many had been missing from her premonition. "We have to go together."

Her sisters looked at her, concern in their eyes, but to Phoebe's relief they didn't question her.

"Cas," Paige started, "Blink Sam and Dean to our attic, I"ll bring the rest."

Cas nodded, and before anyone could say another word, the three men were gone. Phoebe knew it would take a great deal of strength for Paige to orb this many people at once. However, she also knew that each and every person in their little family had a role to play in the coming fight. They needed to be together to avoid disaster.

As they all linked hands, Piper placed her free one on the chest of her husband. Phoebe watched as her sister summoned all of her strength and orbed the six of them out of the bunker. When they materialized, Phoebe took in her surroundings and felt herself calm just slightly at the familiarity. If this was where her final battle was to take place as a Charmed One, she wouldn't have it any other way.

The oriental rugs, boxes of things that she, her sisters, and her nephews had all grown out of were reminders of the fact that life had gone on after tragedy. Regardless of what they had felt, or what they had gone through, the attic had remained a constant reminder that things would go on. That their future was secure. In the coming years Phoebe had never felt equipped to give that up, and now was not the time to falter in her beliefs.

Cas and Sam still had their arms around a struggling Dean, who was doing everything he could to break free of their grasp. Phoebe knew how strong he had already been, but now that he was a demon, she could tell the angel and the hunter would not be able to contain him for long.

"Paige, Piper, get the crystals," she shouted.

The sisters did as instructed, and began to form a pentagram with them around the demon and his former friends.

"Sam," Paige started, "When I say now, you and Cas let go of him. Trust me."

Sam and Cas both nodded, though their faces were riddled with concern.

"Now!" Paige yelled, and as the two men recoiled from Dean, Paige slid the final crystal into place, creating a glowing, blue cage around the demon. He was trapped. Dean looked around at the glowing blue lights and immediately began to rage against them. As his body hit the forcefield, he screamed in pain. Phoebe felt her heart ache, but knew this had been the only way to control him quickly. Dean snarled and yelled when he realized there was no escape.

"You only have so long, sisters. I won't be trapped here long. Lucifer will set me free!"

Piper ripped up a few of the oriental rugs, "Sam, Leila, start making a Devil's Trap. Phoebe, Paige, Ruby, arm yourselves with potions, anything you think might be useful. I am sure Lucifer will not be alone. Castiel, can you heal Leo? He can go to the Elders for any additional help or information they're willing to give."

Phoebe marveled as everyone began to do as they were told. Looking at her eldest sister, she saw a fire blazing bright. She knew there could be no one else to lead them into this battle. She was fighting for more than the rest of them, for Wyatt and Chris, and for the future that her youngest child had come back from the future to stop from coming true. The stakes were higher for her than anyone, and Phoebe would do everything she could to make sure that her nephews had a beautiful future to grow up in.

Fueled by her love of family, Phoebe set to work, readying herself for what she knew she must do. Refocused, she felt her powers stir inside her, and it gave her a bravery that she hadn't felt before this moment. Part of her knew that because of Dean, she had lost sight, for a moment, of what truly mattered most. Another, deeper part of her knew that he had shown her a way to brave the losses of her past, and make different, better choices. She could see a clearer path now, one that would hopefully allow a brighter day to dawn on the manor, and her family.

Sam heard the front door of the manor slam open.

"Find them," a familiar voice said, and a chill went up his spine. Lucifer. The last time Sam had seen the Prince of Hell, he had been inhabiting a vessel named Nick. One that was able to hold him better than most could. The voice he heard could only have come from the very same vessel, newly freed from the cage along with his master.

He felt the vibration of feet coming up the stairs. This was it. The moment they had all been preparing for was here, and Sam was terrified. Not because it seemed like an impossible fight to win, he and Dean had seen many fights like this, but because this time, he didn't have his brother by his side.

"Phoebe," he heard Paige ask from behind him, "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," her sister replied.

As soon as she had said those words a horde of black-eyed demons entered the room. There were 15, maybe 20 of them entering the room, and they were on the offensive immediately.

"Sisters!" Piper shouted. "Now!"

In unison Paige, Phoebe, and Ruby threw as many vanquishing potions as they could, causing several of the demons to burst into flames. Castiel had already started chanting an exorcism as a demon ran toward him, knife gleaming. He fought back with an angel blade of his own, and stabbed the demon square in the chest with it.

Piper was attempting to blow a she-demon up with her powers, but was having a hard time as the demon kept dodging her blows. Sam backed her up, the demon blade feeling strong in his hand. As he landed a blow in the demon's back, Piper blew up a demon that had crept up behind him, poised to strike. The two nodded their thanks to one another and continued fighting back to back.

For a moment, Sam was distracted by Paige who was orbing herself, Ruby, and Leila from place to place, the three of them striking unsuspecting demons from behind with vanquishing potions and the demon blade. As so many demons were struck down, more kept pouring in from the entrance to the attic, until the seven of them stood in a semi-circle around Dean's cage, facing a horde of Lucifer's minions.

Forgetting what they could sense about their odds in this fight, the Winchesters and Halliwells fought, harder and harder, doing what they could to keep the demons at bay. Just as Sam was beginning to feel like all might be lost, he watched Phoebe's feet leave the ground. He had never seen her levitate before, but she could not have picked a better time to demonstrate her power. As she rose up to the attic ceiling, she began hurling vanquishing potions at every demon in sight. When she would run out, Paige would orb more to her. This was the distraction that the rest of the group had desperately needed.

As Sam continued to fight, he could feel the horde thinning. Looking to Phoebe, Sam saw a grin on her face that told him they were retaking the room. But, before they could truly revel in their victory, the reason that all the demons were here in the first place, walked through the attic door. Sam's stomach lurched at the sight of Lucifer's vessel. He was clothed head to toe in black, with short, sandy-blonde hair, and a face that hadn't aged since the last time he had seen the Winchesters. A bored sneer was plastered on his face, as if he had known all along that he was going to have to do all the hard work himself.

Thunder cracked, stopping every demon, hunter, witch, and angel in their tracks. Everyone in the room watched as Lucifer's sickly, broken, black wings were reflected in a shadow on the wall behind him, and his eyes turned a haunting red. Raising a hand, The Prince of Hell pointed to Phoebe with two fingers, and flicked them toward the ground. This action brought the wide-eyed witch to the floor with a loud thump.

"Phoebe!" Paige yelled, running to her sister who had been laid out, unconscious. Castiel ran toward her as well, with the intention of healing her, but Lucifer was quicker than he anticipated. With another flick of his fingers he threw Castiel against the nearest wall, and smirked as the angel slumped to the ground in pain. The rest of the group stood defensively, with their weapons and potions brandished and at the ready.

"Hey guys!" Lucifer said, his voice less menacing than his presence. "How come I wasn't invited to the party?"

"Lucifer," Sam growled. "What are you doing here?"

The devil rolled his eyes, "Sammy, don't you find that question a little redundant? You're here, my most powerful Knight of Hell is here, not to mention my favorite little brother, and The Charmed Ones. How could I not come here? It's like an all you can smite buffet!"

Castiel's eyes narrowed as he got up from where his brother had thrown him, "Lucifer, you are not going to smite anyone!"

"There he is!" Lucifer turned to Cas, "How are you, my little rogue angel? You haven't changed a bit! Same trench coat, same overbearing sense of altruism…"

"Lucifer!" Sam yelled. "Cut the crap, okay. We know why you're here. We knew Rowena's plan, and we know what you're planning to do now that she's sprung you from the cage. Whatever element of surprise you think you had, it's gone now."

Lucifer stuck out his lower lip, mockingly, "Aw, Sammy, why do you always have to ruin my fun?" He chuckled, "Well, if you truly know my plan then you also know that there's no way you can stop me."

"Don't you mean us, darling?" a voice with a Scottish lilt came sounding through the door.

"Rowena!" Dean yelled, throwing his hands in the air and cackling. "I thought Luci was going to kill you after you freed him!"

"What were you saying about the element of surprise, Samuel?" the witch asked, ignoring Dean, and resting her arm in the small of Lucifer's back. The fallen angel and the witch looked at each other almost lovingly, and Sam felt his guts churn.

"Sammy, if you actually know what's coming, then I take it you'd be willing to strike a deal," the devil remarked.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, incredulous to the fact that no fighting had taken place yet.

"We don't have time for this," Piper said, stepping toward the devil. "The Charmed Ones don't negotiate with demons!"

"Well then, it's a good thing I wasn't talking to you, sweet cheeks," Lucifer said in an irritated tone. He silently looked Piper up and down and then nodded to Rowena, as if signaling something to her.

Before anyone could react, Rowena conjured a fireball in her hands and threw it at the eldest Halliwell. Piper was barely able to duck out of the way when the next one was coming at her. There was no time for the witch to react. Sam watched as if it were in slow motion as Ruby jumped from her place standing behind Piper, to in front of her.

"No!" Sam shouted, but it was too late. Ruby absorbed the impact of Rowena's fireball, and fell, face first, to the ground, her body unmoving. Rowena, not shaken by her accidental attack on her former right hand woman, readied herself to throw another fireball at Piper. Lucifer held up his hand to stop her, as Sam rushed to Ruby's side.

Flipping the girl over, Sam felt for a pulse at her throat, but there was nothing to feel. Ruby was dead. Just like that. Sam felt a wave of emotion course through him. Ruby hadn't always been his favorite person, but there was a piece of him that had loved and trusted her, and an even bigger piece of him that had believed that, in her human form, she may have had the power to redeem herself after all the hurt she had caused as a demon.

"You killed her," Sam said, his voice barely audible, unable to believe what he was saying.

"Sam," Lucifer said, seeing an opportunity. "I know you cared for Ruby. She had a future ahead of her as a human, I'm sure. Take my deal Sam, and no one else has to get hurt. I promise."

"What deal?" Sam asked, through clenched teeth.

"Give yourself to me to use as my vessel. Give me your brother to rule by my side in hell. If you do this, I will leave Earth alone, and focus my efforts elsewhere. This, I swear to you."

"Sorry if a promise from you isn't very reassuring," Sam replied, his eyes never faltering from Ruby's lifeless body.

"I'll bind myself to this promise, Sam. I'll have Rowena secure it with a blood oath! Whatever will make you believe that this is your best bet when it comes to protecting the ones you love. Think about it. No more fighting, no more loss, just an eternity of peace within yourself. It's what you deserve after everything you've been through."

Sam looked at Ruby, and felt anger rise in him. It was more anger than he had felt in a long time. He looked up for the first time, but he did not look at Lucifer. He looked at Paige, tending to Phoebe, tears streaming down her face because her newest charge had given everything she had to protect her other sister. Knowing that she should have been there to protect Ruby, she looked completely shattered. He looked at Piper, the closest thing he had ever had to an actual sister, who was holding her stomach defensively, devastation written all over her face as she comprehended what Ruby had done for her. Lastly, he looked at Dean, smirking in a way that made him look completely unhinged. He was stuck in an unnatural state that his own brother had chosen to put him in. He was unable to think for himself, and totally devoted to chaos.

Looking back at Ruby, and thinking about how far she had come, he knew he had to fight. For his love of family, for the good of the world, but most of all, for his brother. Dean would never let Sam live the rest of his life as a shadow of himself, and Sam couldn't let what Ruby had done, be done in vain.

Sam stood and turned to Lucifer, acting as though he was really considering what the demon had to say.

"Sam, no!" Castiel shouted, but the Winchester didn't budge.

Taking a few steps toward the demon, the corner's of Sam's mouth turned up. Lucifer looked confused and almost expectant as he awaited the answer from his ideal vessel.

"You know what Luci?" Sam said.

Lucifer's breathing stopped in anticipation.

Sam's smile fell, "Screw. You."

Author's Note: Hey readers! I hope you enjoyed the beginning of the battle for the fate of the world! Things are about to get wild! As always PLEASE review and tell me your thoughts. i am always excited to hear your feedback!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING! XOXO AryaUnderfoot