Hell

    Crowley looked up upon hearing shouts of protest, arching a single eyebrow as the doors to the throne room were flung open. The demons tossed a blonde woman to the floor and she slid a few feet before grunting, pushing herself up with shaking arms.

    The blonde looked up and met Crowley's gaze. "Where is he?" she growled, taking notice in his current attire. The demon was back in his normal suit and out of his cage, seated on his beloved throne. "Where is Lucifer?"

    "He hasn't returned," Crowley said simply. "And I have my followers who so graciously let me out." He leaned forward. "Did you really think you were going to take my throne?"

    "I don't care about the damn throne, Crowley," Cassandra snapped, rising to her feet. She went to take a step forward when the demons grabbed onto her. One look from Crowley sent them back to the door and Cassandra continued towards the throne. "I honestly don't give a crap who rules what. I just need to know where Lucifer is."

    "You think I'd want you to find him? You two combined are worse than the Darkness herself! I'm not a bloody idiot, Cassandra!" Crowley roared.

    Her shoulders slumped and she sighed, staring up at him with pleading eyes. "Please. He's going to hurt Sam and Dean and I need to stop him. Crowley, I just need an estimate. Once I'm in the general area I can sense his power," Cassandra begged.

    Crowley's expression faltered but he shook his head, refusing to give in.

    Cassandra's helpless demeanor shifted back into hostility and she straightened her posture. With one snap of her fingers, all of the demons in the room, with an exception of Crowley, disintegrated into a cloud of dust. She continued towards the King of Hell until she curled her fingers around his shirt collar, yanking him towards her. "Do you really want to get on my bad side? I'm not in a good mood, Crowley, so I'd suggest you don't make this harder than it already is."

Crowley stared back at her with wide eyes. She wouldn't hesitate to smite him and they both knew it. He wasn't Sam or Dean. She didn't care for him. "I don't know," he whispered truthfully.

Cassandra cocked her head to the side before grabbing his forearm and closing her eyes.

She could see Crowley back in the sixteen-hundreds in another body. She shook her head slightly. Too far back. She skimmed over a young boy, a ship, countless demon deals. Her lips curled into a smirk when she caught a glimpse of her, Sam, Dean, and Bobby six years earlier. She tried to ignore Demon Dean and stopped on his memories of the last few weeks. Lucifer hadn't returned and a few demons decided it was safe to let Crowley out. There was no sign of the Devil.

Cassandra released his arm and slowly opened her eyes. "You're lucky I'm in a merciful mood," she told him calmly. "Don't expect to be spared next time." She turned on her heel and walked out, the echo of her heeled boots sending eerie chills racing down Crowley's spine.

What the hell was she?

Dean lay sprawled across his bed, arms crossed over her chest with his headphones covering his ears. He let the music blast out and try to take over. His eyes were clenched shut in a desperate attempt to sleep. He just wanted to sleep, but every time he closed his eyes the memories of Cassandra's betrayal would cloud his vision.

Giving up, the Hunter sat up and grabbed the ring from his bedside table and ran his thumb over the diamond. He sighed. How stupid he was not to listen to Crowley weeks earlier. If only he had just realized that Cassandra hadn't been strong enough to resist Michael and Lucifer. He knew her, so why did he have so much faith in the woman who had a broken past?

A knock on his doorframe pulled him from his thoughts and he looked up to see Sam. He slid his headphones off of his head. "Hey," Dean greeted.

Sam nodded at him and licked his lips. "Y'know, looking at that thing won't help you. It'll just make things worse."

Dean only sighed, and Sam's gaze softened.

"We're gonna get her back, Dean. I've been trying to locate her. Right now I'm following a trail of bodies that started in Nebraska. It's run dry, though. I'm just waiting for a few sheriffs to call me back with an update."

Dean shook his head. "You're not gonna find her." His gaze dropped to the sheets. "She doesn't want to be found," he muttered. "When Cassandra wants to leave, she leaves and she stays gone until she's ready to come back." Dean looked up. "And she's not gonna come back."

"She'll be back, Dean," Sam assured him. "Whatever hold Lucifer has on her will break and she'll come to her senses. She's Cassy. She loves you. She won't be able to stay away too long."

~*~

Cassandra wandered the corridors of Heaven, her gaze skimming over each door until she stopped in front of Michael's office. Glancing around to make sure that no one followed her, she quietly opened the door and slipped in. Gently closing it, she spun around.

"I've been waiting."

Her gaze rose towards the desk to see Lucifer sitting in the chair, his feet propped up on the desk with his hands resting in his lap. He smirked. Cassandra returned the gesture. "I had trouble finding you."

Lucifer sighed and nodded. "Yes, well, I had to ward myself from Amara which meant that no other angels could know where I was. Sorry 'bout that."

"Crowley's taken back his throne. I just came from seeing him," she informed, almost as if it were some pointless topic they were discussing to fill the time. Almost like it wasn't a report.

Lucifer waved his hand, not at all worried. "I'll get it back easy peasy. Maybe I'll even let you have it." He smacked his lips together. "Anyways, we need a plan to defeat Auntie Amara and we have, well, nothing." Lucifer swung his legs off of the desk and rose from the chair. "Shall we recruit some angels?"

Cassandra stared back straight into his  glowing red eyes and her lips curled into a smirk. "We shall." Her eyes flashed a deep blue and she followed the Devil out of her father's old office and down the corridors in search of an angel.

For quite awhile Lucifer and Cassandra had wandered the halls of Heaven in silence, their senses on high alert for any angel. After half an hour of pointless wandering, they spotted an angel checking up on each Heaven. Lucifer leaned against the wall and pressed a finger to his chin, watching with an amused smile while Cassandra simply stood next to him with her arms crossed against her chest.

After three doors, the angel stopped and looked up with wide eyes. "Lucifer."

"Jofiel. How's it hangin'?" the fallen Archangel greeted.

Jofiel's gaze shifted over to Cassandra who smirked and gave a small wave. "Hey, Sweetheart. Remember me?" she asked sweetly. She cocked her head to the side. "Or have you guys shoved the abomination to the back of your minds after my father pulled me in with him?"

Jofiel's gaze started to wander, panicked.

"Easy, there," Lucifer warned.

"So perfect. Castiel, one of Heaven's most wanted, possessed by Heaven's most hated," the angel mused, shaking his head.

"Cassandra and I come in peace. We just want to be a part of the action again. We want to lend a hand," Lucifer told him simply.

Jofiel glanced over to Cassandra, almost as if he was looking for confirmation, and she flashed him a sickly sweet smile. He eyed her warily before turning and shouting, "Brothers!"

Before he could cry out again, Cassandra snapped her fingers and the angel disintegrated into a cloud of black smoke. She waved her hand, brushing it away from her and Lucifer, and sighed and glanced at her uncle with a shrug. "What's the plan now?"

Within minutes, the dynamic duo found themselves in some type of meeting room surrounded by angels. Most stared back at Lucifer and Cassandra in fear, others with intrigue.

"Okay, guys. So, trying to smite the Darkness was a bust, huh? You had all of the power of Heaven behind you. Couldn't even slow the bitch down," Cassandra addressed while leaning on the table, her gaze shifting over each and every angel in the room. Most looked away, guilty. Some wondered how the hell she knew what she did considering she had been on Bunker-lockdown for a month.

"Well, no need to feel like abject losers," Lucifer continued. "You learned a valuable lesson here. You need us." He and Cassandra glanced around the room in search of an answer, but they were only greeted with silence. "Alright. Not giddy with awe."

"You... exploded Jofiel," one angel chimed in.

"Or did Jofiel explode himself?" Lucifer returned, pointing to the angel as he spoke. He shrugged. "Just sayin'."

"God cast you out of Heaven," another angel said. He looked to Cassandra. "And you're an abomination."

She rolled her green eyes. "And, yet, your almighty leader was the one who created me and wanted to use me to win the Apocalypse. Still want Michael back?" she asked with raised eyebrows. Cassandra snickered and let out an amused sigh. "Ah, who am I kidding? The dude's a mess. He's like an extra crispy fried chicken wing, just more in the brain than the rest of him. Your fearless leader is a loon." She slammed her hands down on the table. "And next to Lucifer, it is my right to rule." She cocked her head to the side and grinned. "And who better than both a Hunter and a human to make the world better?"

"You're working with the one son that God cast out of Heaven," the angel repeated.

"It was my father, actually," Cassandra corrected.

"The same person who killed you, if I'm not mistaken," Lucifer told her. He turned back to the angel and swung his leg over his, lowering himself into his lap. "And who do you think spread that tabloid headline? It was Captain G, the Eternal One. And why?" Lucifer rested his forehead on the angel's, intimidating him with gentle bumps. "Because I didn't buy into His obsessive-compulsive love for mankind."

"Mankind is His creation," the first angel defended.

"Oh, come on!" Lucifer whined. He pulled his head from the angel's and stood up, pacing the room. "It's not like He invented the Prius, which actually works. I don't have to tell you people what a mess mankind is. The Salem Witch Trials... Third Reich..." He clicked his heels and straightened his arm out in a salute. "Twin Towers. And, sure, every once in awhile, He'll send down a little plague to straighten them out, but it's nothing permanent. Humanity brought us Hiroshima and got a redo. I merely questioned His priorities, and I got the boot."

"He said you're evil," the second angel said.

Lucifer and Cassandra both narrowed their eyes at him in a glare, and every angel turned to stare at him in shock. He was just asking for Cassandra to kill him.

"Incarnate," another angel corrected nervously. "E-Evil incarnate."

Cassandra sighed as she leaned against the back wall, her arms crossed over her chest. "Look, I majored and got my doctorate's degree in psychology, but I'm pretty sure it's just simple marketing. He's creating a need in the consumer's mind." She tapped the side of her head. "Can't be a Super Savior if you don't have a Super Villain." She gestured to Lucifer. Her mind briefly flashed back to Joshua. She was their Savior. God was gone; he gave the job to Cassandra. She shook the thought away.

"So, what are you offering?" another angel inquired in a monotone.

"Well, a way out of this pickle," Lucifer told her simply.

"By 'pickle,' you mean the Darkness."

Lucifer nodded.

"You can reason with her?"

"Well...I doubt that," the Devil said as he sat on the edge of a table, arms crossed over his chest. "But I can lock her away. This time for good. Done it before." He and Cassandra took notice in all of the confused expressions exchanged around the room. "Oh, Pops didn't tell you that, huh?"

"Once you've... gotten rid of her, you'll want... to... stay around?" The angel's voice rose an octave higher with each word, and Cassandra smirked at his fear. Good. He should be scared.

"Oh, I like the way you think." Lucifer clapped his hands together and grinned. "Man, am I jazzed! Hey. If it makes you comfy, could call me God."

Angels started to exit the meeting room when Heaven rumbled. Angels stumbled, lights flickered, and a dark cloud of smoke started to rush down the corridors. Cassandra's head snapped up from conversation with an angel and her gaze drifted to the doorway where Lucifer stood, happily awaiting the impact. Her eyes widened as it raced through the room, knocking every angel to the floor, including Lucifer. She fell to her knees and bent forward, covering her head until it was gone.

Cassandra slowly met Lucifer's gaze as they both rose to their feet and took each others' sides. The latter brushed the sleeve of his trenchcoat and Cassandra raked her fingers through her blonde locks.

"Well, that...that was a little payback, ladies and gents," Lucifer announced as angels checked on one another, making sure everyone was okay. "I don't think Auntie Amara appreciated your little half-assed smiting. And, uh, guess what; this...this is just a teeny taste of what's to come. So, clearly my expertise is gonna come in handy. 'Cause God knows what's next." He stopped and sucked in a sharp breath, closing his eyes as he cringed. "Ouch. I almost forgot. Um... God doesn't care."

~*~

Cassandra sat in Michael's old chair with her feet propped up on the desktop, a photograph from the old box of mementos he kept in her fingertips. Lucifer paced the room but she ignored him, smiling slightly at the blonde teenage girl that stared back at her. No matter how much Lucifer corrupted her mind or turned her against Humanity, there would always be apart of Cassandra Moore that longed for her sister back. If only Jess could see her sister now...

"I hope you aren't going soft," Lucifer spoke up, raising his eyebrows at the Nephilim.

Cassandra glanced up at him under her long, dark lashes and scoffed, shaking her head. "A human could only dream," she deadpanned, rolling her eyes and returning her attention to the photograph. She ran the pad of her thumb over Jess' face. "I simply miss my sister. Is it a crime to love somebody?"

"Do you miss Dean Winchester?" Lucifer challenged.

"Of course I do," Cassandra said. She shrugged and sighed. "I'm a natural blonde, but I'm not stupid. I know he'd never take me back, not after this." She looked up. "He's just a man. I can get over him."

"I noticed that no matter how many hallucinations I filled your mind with, you still found a way to love Dean." Lucifer started towards the desk and lowered himself on the edge, leaning forward until their faces were inches apart. "Anything you'd like to tell me?"

"No," Cassandra said, keeping her voice steady and her face expressionless.

"So you're not soulmates or anything of the like?"

Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Lucifer, if we were soulmates then don't you think I'd be with them instead of you right now? Look, there's a small chance we could use them if they got their hands on another...Hand. It doesn't mean I'll jump into Dean's arms and drive off into the sunset in Baby. It means I'll be an ally until Amara is no longer a threat." She pocketed the photograph. "Business is business."

"Let me ask you something."

She crossed her arms over her chest and arched an eyebrow expectantly.

"You were pretty screwed up before you figured out your powers. You could have an episode from the slightest trigger, yet you wanted to deal with other people's problems. How exactly did you plan to do that?"

She shrugged. "I learned to separate my emotions from everyone else's. Obviously, we had mock sessions and such. I passed each one with flying colors. I wanted to help people and I was willing to do that. I think that's why I decided to be a Hunter before everything literally went to Hell."

"You like helping people?"

"I did." She nodded.

"So, you didn't feel anything when those two female Hunters were blown up in Carthage?"

Cassandra's jaw clenched at the memory of Ellen and Jo Harvelle. She could hear her screams ringing in her ears and she could still feel Lucifer's hands dragging her away from the window before he rendered her unconscious.

"You didn't feel anything when you found out that I killed Gabriel, your favorite professor in disguise? Your own personal guardian angel. Word around Heaven is that he killed the son of a bitch that raped you your Freshman year."

She clenched her fist in anger and she could feel her nails digging into her skin. After a moment, she could feel the warm trickle of blood seep from her palm and drip into her lap.

"You didn't feel anything when I bashed Dean's face in with Sammy's fist time and time again? Or when I exploded Castiel or snapped Bobby Singer's neck? You're telling me that none of that affected you?"

Cassandra did everything in her power not to snap, and she knew that her eyes quickly flashed a deep blue judging by the triumphant smirk on Lucifer's face. Castiel's face. She sucked in a sharp breath. "That was the old me; the weak me. I'm different now and I have you to thank for that."

"So, if by any chance, Dean were praying to me right now to summon me and I brought you along, you wouldn't betray me?"

She cocked her head to the side. "Of course not. After they wished you away to the cornfield, I'm the one that slammed Dean into a wall and choked Sam." Cassandra hadn't even noticed that she quoted Dean. It had been so long since she last heard the phrase that she forgot about Jimmy Novak and the warehouse they had found him in when she first met the Winchesters. But Lucifer knew. He had both Castiel's and Jimmy's memories, and he could remember Dean saying those exact words.

"Good," he said, unconvinced. "Come with me. Dean has a Hand of God."

Cassandra's lips curled into a smirk. "Where to?"

Lucifer and Cassandra appeared in an abandoned church, Lucifer standing in a circle of spray paint and Cassandra off to the side near Crowley.

"Sam, now!" Dean yelled.

Sam struck a match against the box and dropped it into the ring of holy oil that surrounded Lucifer. They watched as it burst into flames, only earning a smirk from the Devil that sent chills racing down everyone's spines save for the Nephilim.

"I'm sorry. Your prayer implied that I'd be... joining the team, but I'm just not feeling the warm and fuzzy here," Lucifer said, swaying slightly with his arms crossed over his chest. His gaze drifted over to the Horn of Joshua and his eyes lit up. He brought a hand to his mouth in awe and shock. "Wow. There it is. Powered up by Dad himself. Well, that bad boy plus me and Cassandra...that ought to take her out alright." He clapped and rubbed his hands together. "Let's get to it. Cassandra, be a dear and grab it for me. Careful not to touch it, though. It's a one-hitter, as you remember."

The Nephilim nodded and started towards the Horn when Dean grabbed onto her wrists. Her gaze rose to his eyes and she could see just a bit of hope, but with hope there was hesitation. "I'd let go of my wrists before I smite you," Cassandra threatened in a sickly sweet voice.

Dean shook his head. "You'd never do that. You still love me no matter how much Lucifer has corrupted you. You spared me at the Bunker."

"Oh, really?" she challenged with raised eyebrows. "I was just up in Heaven and, Lucifer, correct me if I'm wrong, I smote not one, but two angels because they questioned me and turned against us." She leaned forward and her lips skimmed across Dean's. She could hear his breath hitch in his throat. "Imagine what I could do to a human with one thought," Cassandra whispered.

As she reached behind Dean to grab the Horn, he latched onto her wrist and spun her around, pinning her back against his chest. Cassandra threw her head back and laughed, grinning. "I know you don't want to hurt or kill me, Dean. I know you're still carrying that precious diamond in your pocket. Make this easy for both of us, will ya? Maybe then I'll let you live."

Dean leaned forward and his lips brushed against her ear as he smirked. "If you were going to kill me then you'd have done it already." He trailed his free hand down her side and he felt her shiver under his touch. "But you can't."

Cassandra scowled. "Doesn't mean I can't hurt you." She jumped up and kicked her legs back, sending Dean stumbling a few steps. When she spun around to land a punch to his jaw he slapped a cuff on one wrist, then the other. She growled and tugged at the chain, and her heart started to race when it wouldn't snap. Her gaze snapped up to the Hunter. "What is this?"

"Enochian cuffs."

She shook her head. "No. No, I took those. I destroyed them!" she screamed. She turned to Lucifer who watched her in shock. "You watched me destroy them."

"I'm still trying to get over the fact that Dean actually put handcuffs on you without the intention of any kinks," Lucifer admitted, his lips parted slightly. He was serious. He was actually serious right now.

Cassandra stared back at him in disbelief as Sam grabbed onto her bicep and tugged her away from the holy fire. She struggled against him but it was no use. With those cuffs she was rendered human.

Dean, no longer distracted by the blonde to his right, sliced his palm and slammed it against a sigil next to him. Cassandra furrowed her eyebrows and watched as Lucifer started to shake.

"Cas! Castiel, show yourself!" Dean roared.

Breathing heavily, Lucifer's demeanor shifted. "Dean?"

"Cas," Dean breathed.

He glanced around, disoriented and confused. "What are you doing? What's—What's going on?"

"Cas, listen to me. We don't have a whole lot of time, okay? You have got to—"

He started to shake and writhe around again, almost pained as grunts escaped past his lips. Cassandra chuckled quietly and shook her head as she pulled a bobby pin from her front pocket. Every handcuff, no matter how supernatural it was, had a key. She rolled her lower lip between her teeth in concentration, pretending to focus on the scene in front of her as she wiggled the pin in the cuffs.

"Cas?" Dean asked. "Castiel, show yourself!"

"Oh-hoo-hoo-hoo! Whoo!" Lucifer exclaimed, laughing and grinning. He met Cassandra's gaze before looking back to Dean. "Uh, he's got to what? You boys..." He chuckled and shook his head. "Ooh, you almost had me there for a minute, but these mail-order spells... they're just not what they're cracked up to be, are they?"

The warding beneath his feet flickered.

"Cas, expel him! You got to kick Lucifer out! Do you hear me?" Dean yelled.

"Honestly, I think he's happy with the arrangement. I mean, he did invite me in and all, Dean."

"Cas!" Dean shouted in desperation.

"Cas!" Lucifer mocked.

Dean recoiled at the action and narrowed his eyes in a glare at the Devil in frustration and anger. He briefly glanced at Cassandra out of the corner of his eye, oblivious as to what she was doing. She met his gaze and rolled her eyes.

"Hand over the weapon. What do you say? Or we can just wait for this warding to fail and I'll take it," Lucifer growled.

Cassandra escaped the cuffs just as she heard Crowley's voice and before she knew it, a cloud of red smoke disappeared into Lucifer's—Castiel's—body. His head slumped forward and he swayed slightly, unconscious. She glanced over to Crowley's body and furrowed her eyebrows. Three souls in one vessel. Would it even be able to hold it?

"You know, he's been gone a long time. I mean, what do you think is going on?" Sam questioned after a while.

Dean shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe Cas isn't willing to play ball. I mean, you said it yourself—he wanted this."

"Can't you people do anything right?" a Scottish accent shouted from behind.

Cassandra turned to see the redheaded witch she recognized from when she escaped the Cage. Sam and Dean had told her about Rowena, but she hadn't met her again until now.

"Whilst all this dithering goes on, we're losing time! Look! The warding's beginning to fail!" Her voice was frightened; desperate. She feared Lucifer.

"Come on, Cas. What the hell?" Dean growled, eyeing the flickering warding warily.

Cassandra's cuffs clattered to the ground and she landed a blow to Sam's jaw, sending him flying back. He groaned as he slid into the wall, clutching his head. Dean's eyes widened and he glanced over to Cassandra and gulped. She cracked her knuckles and laughed.

"Still part human, Dean, and still a Hunter. I just hunt something different now." She started towards Dean and smirked when she caught Rowena's fearful expression out of her peripheral vision. "Don't worry, Copper Top. I won't leave you out of the fun. I know you hate your son so maybe I'll be nice and let you watch me kill him first." Cassandra swung for Dean and he ducked and lunged for her middle, but she simply stepped to the side. "What happened to you? You used to be able to get the jump on me."

"Unlike you, I'm not hopped up on Devil Grace and mind control," Dean retorted, turning to look at her.

Cassandra's eyebrows rose. "Devil Grace, sure, but mind control?" she repeated. "Sweetie, this is all me." She gestured to her body. "The Cage gave me time to think. You didn't love me, Dean." The Nephilim shook her head. "You loved that you could control me and that I let you. You loved that I was helpless and vulnerable and weak; but the moment I took Michael's side you realized that I was a little too crazy for you to handle. It's why you locked me up, right?"

"We locked you up for your own good. Your father killed you, Cassy!" Dean yelled. "What makes you think Lucifer is any different?"

"Unlike Michael, Lucifer knows what he's doing. He's not following imaginary orders blinded by his loyalty to an absent father. You always were like Michael. I guess I was so desperate for my family to care about me and to love me that I used you as an alternative," Cassandra sneered. She kicked Dean back and he stumbled but never fell. "I was stupid to do that."

"You were lost and broken and you needed someone. Michael wasn't there for you, Princess. It was me. It has always been me." Dean's voice cracked and tears threatened to well in his eyes.

"You're right." She nodded. "It was always you. It was you that landed me in the Cage in the first place! I could've been normal or dead but you decided to kidnap me and force me into this life. You call yourself a hero and say that you save lives, but what about the ones you break? Everyone you've ever cared about has died or betrayed you. Think about that, Dean."

"You're supposed to be our Savior," Dean argued. "The next Jesus or some shit. Joshua had faith in you. He was rooting for us, remember? We're the good guys."

Cassandra scoffed and shook her head, circling the broken pew as Dean scurried out of her reach. "No, Dean, you are the good guy. But happy endings don't exist. Surely Mommy and Daddy taught you that by ceiling fires and ambitious demons."

Dean tried not to be offended by her words. He knew that this wasn't Cassandra speaking. Not his Cassandra, at least. "Please, Cassy, I love you. Sam loves you. Cas loves you. Hell, even Crowley cares about you! I can't lose you like this. Come back to me," Dean begged.

She laughed. It was dark and heartless. "We both have a common enemy, Dean, and I stayed around so that I could get the jump on her, but now with that pretty little Hand of God sitting there, Lucifer and I can take her on ourselves; put our plan into action within days. I have a throne awaiting me and revenge to serve."

"No, Cassy, you have a boyfriend and a ring waiting for you. You have an empty Bunker and a bestfriend that want you to come back. Sam and I miss you; the real you."

"You never knew me, Dean. Just face it." She scoffed. "I don't know why you're so attached. We weren't even together for a year, but you're following me like a lost puppy. You said you'd be there for me until the end, so where were you when I was rotting in the Cage for seven-hundred years? Hell is not the end, Dean! It's just the beginning!"

Cassandra wrapped her hand around the fabric of Dean's jacket but froze when she heard Sam spit out words of Latin. She glanced at him over her shoulder to see him hold a cross towards Lucifer, flinging holy water at the body. She laughed. Crowley needed someone to save his ass.

"You gonna kill me?" Dean asked through gritted teeth.

Cassandra turned back to face him just as the cloud of red smoke retreated from Lucifer's body and back into Crowley's vessel. She shook her head and smirked. "No. You were right. I can't kill you."

"Crowley," Sam said.

"Useless," the demon replied. "Lucifer's hold on him is too strong."

"Lads, the fire!" Rowena screamed as the ring of holy fire dimmed out to nothing but scorch marks.

Cassandra eyed Lucifer with a murderous glint in her eye. But that look in her eyes wasn't for Dean. "But he can."

"Ah. Trick me?" Lucifer inquired. "You lied to me. You know, I could have been your warrior." He smiled. "Ah. Who needs ya? Well. It's just like Crowley to leave right when the party's getting started. Have a seat." He waved his hands and Sam and Dean collapsed into an unbroken pew, leaving Cassandra standing. He watched as she walked over and snatched the Horn from the bench next to Sam and took Lucifer's side. "As much as I get a giggle out of you two, and I do, there comes a time when every relationship has run its course. So..."

Lucifer trailed off and curled his fist. An invisible force cut off Sam's and Dean's airways as they gasped for breath. He clenched his fist even tighter and began to smirk when a window in the back of the church blew out. The Devil stopped and he and Cassandra spun around to see a brunette in a flowing floor-length black dress step into the church.

Cassandra's eyes widened in shock and she let Lucifer snatch the Horn from her grasp. She glanced over at Dean who held a similar expression, and she could hear his heart pounding in his chest. Despite his connection to Amara, he feared her. They all did.

"Oh, Lucifer. Dear nephew, my, how you've changed," Amara greeted. Her gaze shifted to Cassandra. "You must be my great-niece that I've heard so much about. Michael's daughter, if I'm not mistaken. Cassandra, is it?"

The Nephilim remained silent.

"You're a creature of such power, such beauty and potential, and you side with him. I have to say, that's kind of disappointing."

"I wasn't aware that it was my job to please you," Cassandra replied, her voice steady.

Dean stared at her as if she were mental. Cassandra had made plenty of mistakes, but speaking to the Darkness like that would surely be her demise.

"I wasn't even aware I had a true destiny or fate considering I'm seen as an abomination."

Amara nodded and licked her lips. "Ah. So we are alike. I'm sure you see much of yourself in Lucifer but don't be fooled. My nephew isn't all he's cut out to be." Amara cocked her head to the side. "I can feel his Grace in you. It's been dormant for quite some time. Did you live as a human?"

Cassandra raised her chin slightly. "Seven years ago until my father pulled me into the Cage." She took a step forward. "Maybe you're right about us. Punishments that didn't fit the crime."

Amara chuckled. "Quick to change sides?"

"Those words never passed my lips, Amara." Her gaze drifted to Dean, and they locked eyes. "Working with Lucifer is one thing, but working with you is just being petty."

The Darkness grinned and followed her gaze. "You're the one Dean Winchester longs for. No wonder why I could never figure it out. You weren't even on Earth whenever I saw him. You were withering away in Hell." Amara snapped her fingers and Cassandra appeared next to her.

The Nephilim's lips parted in fear and anticipation. Amara wasn't there for her, but she had taken an interest in the Nephilim.

"I've been inside his mind. He wants a human life with you." She reached out and ran her fingertips along Cassandra's jawline. "One with no monsters. Perhaps children, maybe even a pet. He wants a life that he cannot have because something happened. Something dark and cruel."

Amara gripped Cassandra's forearm and she gasped. She could feel the Goddess rifling around in her memories. She could feel her flipping through thirty-three years worth of memories in less than a minute as everyone stood there and watched, too shocked and confused to make any move. Amara released her arm and her brown eyes fluttered open to stare back in Cassandra's green ones.

"You can't have children. That's a disappointment. Children are fascinating. You care for them. You care for humans." Her voice was soft and gentle, such a contrast to her personality and desires.

Cassandra glanced at Lucifer nervously. Amara had just exposed everything that the Nephilim claimed she was against, and Lucifer's glare proved every doubt he had about her.

"You'll make a good mother." Amara's soft demeanor shifted into hostile and she grasped Cassandra's arm. "But you have too much power. I can't have that."

The blonde screamed out, and she could feel her Grace leaving her body. First Lucifer's, then hers. She had never felt such pain before, almost as if someone were digging around inside her and pulling at each organ and nerve until they found what made her tick. What seemed like an eternity was only a minute in reality. Somehow, over Cassandra's screams, she could hear Dean yelling out in protest and struggling against his invisible restraints. The Darkness let go of the blonde and her knees buckled beneath her and she collapsed to the floor. Her eyes closed and darkness clouded her vision.

"You're cute, but you're useless to me as a human, just as you are to him." Amara turned her gaze to Lucifer. "I was tracking her—" She gestured to Rowena cowering in the back room of the church. "—when she left my side."

"You were safely sealed away. You're gonna wish you'd stayed there," Lucifer told his aunt. He held up the Horn of Joshua and Amara watched with interest as the Horn glowed a bright red, and the power slipped from the Hand into Lucifer's vessel. His eyes flashed white and Lucifer held his palm out towards Amara, throwing a beam of bright light towards the Darkness.

She held her arms out, embracing it, accepting it; welcoming it, even. Amara remained standing after it died out, not one hair on her head ruffled from the blast. Lucifer's eyes widened as she lifted her hand, effortlessly drawing the archangel towards her. The Horn slipped from his grasp and clattered to the ground.

Amara cupped Lucifer's face in her hands. "I think you and I need to have a nice, long chat."

"Cas?" Dean called out.

The Darkness turned her head towards Dean and flicked her wrist, releasing he and Sam from Lucifer's grasp. Before anyone could act, the Goddess and the Devil disappeared into a blinding light.

Rowena's footsteps echoed but dimmed as she retreated, desperate to escape any risk of death, leaving Sam, Dean, and an unconscious Cassandra in the church alone.