"You really think Jesse will help us?" Sam asked as they stood in front of the small house."

Ruby shrugged. "You can be pretty charming. Well, the puppy-soul version of you, anyway. Hopefully you made a good impression on him last time."

Jesse had found his way back home, as it turned out. With his powers gone, his parents weren't in any danger. Sam rang the doorbell and smiled when Jesse answered. They'd timed it carefully, arriving during the two hour window where Jesse was home alone.

"Hi, Jesse. Do you remember me?"

The boy looked up at him. He'd grown taller since the last time Sam had seen him, but his eyes looked even older. He'd learned a lot. "You're Sam." He looked at Ruby and then between them, out the door. "Where's your brother?"

"That's kind of why I'm here to talk to you," Sam said.

They explained everything. Ruby had told Sam that was a terrible idea, but Sam had insisted that telling Jesse the truth was the only way this was going to work. They needed him to get his powers back to help them anyway, and once he did, he'd be able to read all their thoughts. Lying to him would only backfire horribly.

Jesse listened to their whole story, quietly, only interrupting them once to go get himself soda. He offered Sam one too, and when Ruby asked if she could have one he said, "I'm not sure if I trust you yet."

"Neither am I," Sam said. "But she'd on our side. For now, at least."

"Dr. Pepper or Coke?" Jesse asked.

Jesse had agreed to help them if he could, but the problem was the timing. They had to release Lucifer just long enough for Jesse to stop Death, or whoever Dean had recruited to get Sam's soul. Sam had no intention of housing Lucifer himself.

Ruby knew that was inevitable. Sam was Lucifer's true vessel. He'd said yes before, and the moment Lucifer was free, he'd go right back into Sam's body. But Sam didn't have to know that. Dean's plan, as bothersome as it might end up being had helped her speed things along inadvertently. If they freed Lucifer first, then even if they did put Sam's soul back in, Lucifer could burn it away.

They just had to hurry. Ruby zipped from one corner of the globe to the other gathering the ingredients they'd need to reopen the gate to Hell. Sam's blood was the key. They wouldn't open the gate wide, just enough for Lucifer's grace to get a hold on its vessel. Sam's blood would do the rest.

Whatever it was Sam had planned to try to keep Lucifer in check would fail, but she wasn't about to tell him that. He was busy acquiring holy oil and lining the empty cabin they'd found with anti-angelic sigils, to keep them hidden from Castiel, and to keep Lucifer trapped inside once they had him.

By the time Ruby got back with everything Sam had nearly every wall covered. "Nice work," she said, faintly impressed by his thoroughness. "This should buy us some time. They can't re-soul you if they can't find you."

Sam nodded, and continued working on the Enochian sigil he was painting onto the wall.

Ruby laid the ingredients out on the table and looked out the window. "It's ten minutes to midnight. Think Jesse's in bed?"

"Definitely."

"Be right back." She pointed at the jug of demon blood Sam had brought with him. "You should drink up, just in case." She knew he would, he wasn't stupid — even if he was still gullible.

Ruby vanished one more time, manifesting right outside Jesse's window, on his roof. He hadn't warded his room against demons or anything, but people generally found it impolite if she just appeared in their room while they were sleeping, and she didn't want to scare him off. She rapped on the window three times, just loud enough for him to hear.

Jesse stood up seconds later and rubbed his eyes before turning towards the window. He yawned as he pushed it open, and asked, "Everything ready?"

"Yeah."

"I can't be gone long, or Mom and Dad'll freak out."

"This shouldn't take long."

Jesse had agreed to help them under a few conditions: they'd either lock Lucifer back up after they were done (not a chance if Ruby had her say), or get Lucifer to take Jesse's powers away so he could stay where he was. Sam had told him truthfully that he didn't know if they could do either, but they'd make sure his family would be safe one way or the other.

Ruby took them both back to the cabin to find Sam ready to perform the spell. The blood-jug was completely empty.

"You don't waste any time, do you?" Ruby asked smugly.

"No. Midnight is the best time. It's when the veil is the thinnest." He brought the tip of his dagger to his thumb until a drop of blood welled up and turned it over, letting the red liquid drip into the bowl of herbs. There was a spark, and then another as the mixture caught fire, and Sam began chanting. "Mo-no-en-es geh zodee-sodoh-pah bah-bah-loh-en!" The floor beneath them started to rumble. Sam crouched down and put his bleeding thumb in the center of the circle of holy oil he'd made and continued,"A keh-nee-la nee-ee-seh vee-rah-geh." A small crack opened where Sam's blood had stained the floorboards and a beam of light shone through, so bright that even Ruby had to close her eyes. "Solpeth, solpeth ee saga!"

He's coming,she thought, suddenly tense with anticipation. This time she'd live long enough to see his reign. This time there wasn't a damn thing Dean could—

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Dean asked from behind her.

Ruby whipped around furious to see Dean and the horseman Death.

"This is indeed foolish," The Horseman said, looking from Ruby to Sam.

But it was too late. The light streamed right into Sam's eyes, faster and faster, as the hole in the floor widened. Lucifer's grace flowed into Sam, and Jesse's eyes glowed bright-white as his own power returned to him.

Ruby watched Sam, mesmerized and suddenly felt regret. Lucifer had returned, but she'd lose Sam again. She struggled with her own thoughts, trying to push away the sense of guilt she felt. This version of Sam didn't feel any guilt, why should she? She was doing what she needed to do, to free her king, to free her god. But she felt guilty, just the same.

Sam started screaming in the background, as Lucifer's grace filled him from head to toe. His back arched, and for a moment, he lifted off the floor entirely, wholly encased in light. Then the light vanished and he fell heavily to the floor, landing on his knees with one fist pressed straight down.

Ruby swallowed and took a step towards him. "My lord?"

Lucifer lifted his head and turned to her, smiling beatifically. "Well done, child."

Ruby fell to her knees, tears spilling down her cheeks. Lucifer was free. He was free. And Sam was…well she wasn't sure, exactly. If he'd still been a soul, he would've been trapped somewhere inside his own head, but this new Sam wasn't even a soul…so whether he still existed at all was a complete mystery. Part of her, more than she cared to admit, hoped he was still in there. She turned over her shoulder to look at Jesse, gratefully.

But the boy was busy staring at Dean. "You really just want to help him, don't you?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, I really do. Listen, whatever he told you — he's not my brother. My brother's soul is still down there." He pointed at the hole in the floor. "And I want to get him out. But he needs his body. You get that, don't you?"

"They're both right," Jesse said suddenly.

Lucifer focused on the boy, and Ruby took a few steps towards him. "What do you mean?"

"Dean wants his brother back. Sam's soul should be free. But you…" Jesse pointed at Lucifer. "You just took over a body that had someone inside of it, too. Even if that Sam doesn't have a soul, he has a mind. He has a will of his own."

Lucifer looked mildly offended. "He's an empty vessel. My empty vessel. He called me back so he could be complete again."

"No he didn't," Jesse said. "He just wanted to stay alive. He wanted to stay himself." He shook his head. Then he walked over to the small hole in the floor Lucifer's grace had poured out of. "Can you get Sam's soul out of there?" he asked Death.

"I can, but he needs a body," the horseman answered.

"Take me with you," Jesse said.

The horseman smiled, genuinely surprised by the boy. "Do you know where we're going?"

"A bad place. Someplace nobody should be." He looked up at the horseman. "What are you waiting for?"

"No—" Ruby said, just before they disappeared. She looked at Lucifer, panicked.

"There's nothing they can do," he said calmly. Then he turned to smirk at Dean. "Even if the horseman frees your brother's soul…where will he go?"

Dean glowered at him, but said nothing.

Barely a minute had passed before Jesse and Death returned…with Sam.

Ruby's jaw dropped as she tried to understand what she was seeing. Death was cradling Sam's body in his arms and laid him down by Dean's feet.

"How…?" she asked, unable to stop herself from getting closer, staring down at the body.

"He needed a body, so I made him one," Jesse said matter-of-factly.

"You…wow," Dean said as he dropped to his knees beside his brother. "What about his soul…is he gonna be okay?" He looked up at Death questioningly.

Death shook his head. "As I told you, I can hold off the memories of what he has suffered through, but only for a time. As much as he wants to, he must resist trying to remember. If he does, then the wall that I've built in his mind will begin to crumble." The horseman turned to look at Lucifer. "This is quite the anomaly. Your cambion is fascinating."

Lucifer nodded at him. "He's one of my most powerful weapons."

"I'm not yours," Jesse said, shaking his head.

"Your power comes from me," Lucifer said, narrowing his eyes. He pulled Sam's body up to his full height and walked closer to them, looking down at the other Sam with disdain. "Without me, you're just an ordinary human."

"I know, and that's fine. But while you're here, I can still do things."

"Yes, you can do great things," Ruby said, desperate to get things back on track. Something was terribly wrong here, and if she didn't act quickly it could all fall apart. "Stay with us, we'll make sure you and your family are safe."

Dean scoffed.

"We will," Ruby insisted.

Jesse shook his head. "I just want everything to go back to normal again. But this…isn't fair." He sighed and looked up, meeting Lucifer's eyes. "We sent your brother home, you know."

"Oh?" Lucifer asked.

Ruby could feel his displeasure rising. They'd set Michael free, and that meant he'd come after Lucifer.

"And your brother, Adam too," Jesse continued, turning back to Dean. "He's in Heaven again. Thing is…we really didn't want the whole Apocalypse thing to start up again, so…everybody up there is kind of…grounded."

"Nobody can get in or out?" Dean asked.

"New souls may enter, but no angels will leave," the horseman said with just a hint of a smile. Then he turned to Lucifer. "Including you."

"Pardon?"

"You're going home, little boy," said Death. "And you and your brother will work things out. You had a lot of time together after all, I'm sure you talked some things through." He took a step forward.

Lucifer took a step back, Sam's eyes wide. "You can't be serious."

"I am always serious," said the horseman. Then he placed his fingers on Sam's forehead. His eyes lit up bright as Lucifer's grace was expelled forcefully and the house shook as the archangel was pulled back home. Ruby caught Sam, and kept him from falling. He blinked and looked around at the others in confusion.

Jesse's eyes flashed once and he nearly collapsed, as he became human again. Death caught his arm and smiled at him. "It's done."

Dean looked up at Sam, standing next to Ruby, then down at the other Sam, who housed his brother's soul. "This is weird."

"You got that right," Ruby muttered.

"It's weird," Jesse agreed. "But it's fair." He looked up at Death again. "Can you take me home?"

The horseman nodded. "Dean?"

"Yeah, we're ready too." He looked back from Ruby to Sam one last time and said, "My brother never finds out about this. Understand?"

Ruby nodded, and caught Sam doing the same next to her. "We can do that. We'll stay off your radar, you stay off of ours."

Death took a slow breath and clasped his hands together. "Well then, I'll be seeing you all again at some point. Try not to make it too soon." With that he disappeared, taking Jesse, Dean, and the other Sam along.

The cabin felt empty after they left, and Ruby stared at the empty floor where they'd been a moment earlier. She didn't know how Sam would react. She didn't know what to do next. She had no plan, for the first time in her existence, and it was terrifying.

Sam let out a small huff. "You wanna go get some fries?"

Maybe it wasn't that terrifying, after all.