Great chapter. Liked the start, how they are on the road to save Sam, with Bobby being the one that stays cool and keeps Dean on the right path. Castiel, the scout, going in, finding out what's going on and getting them a way into the city. I really liked the talk between Castiel and Dean, it shows how much more perceptive Cas has become and how the brothers have touched him. He can't help but suddenly feel love and family, something he never was able to. And it's so typical for the brother to make him experience this. I think what really makes Dean so mad is not so much what Castiel did, but that it shows how much Sam was really stirred down that path. And that he, Dean thought it was all just Sam's choice. 

I also love how determined the three men are to save Sam, even if it cost them their own lives. They are family now, Cas being one of them. To see Bobby being strangled by ?, possibly one of the demons, Dean being close to being killed by Meg and Cas just vanished, wow, what's going to happen next?

And than there is Gabriel/The Trickster, one of my fav's, talking to Raphael. Asking him to do all those 'human' things, like speculate, have gut feelings, its almost funny. I love how Gabriel jumps in and tries to help now, just like in the show. I wonder what he is going to get out of Zachariah.

Sam, stronger than anyone would believe, not giving up, fighting the devil with everything he has and refusing to give up on his brother. What a power of will and faith. Faith in his brother, who can't hardly believe in himself anymore. But Sam knows better. How awesome is that? 

Really wonderfully written again and I just can't wait for more. Hugs, Vonnie

Author's Response:

I've always loved Bobby and the steady, no-nonsense influence he's had on the boys. And after meeting Jim Beaver, I now love Bobby even more. So it was natural for me to have Bobby continue to fill that role of stern parent, keeping his sons on track. 

And yes, I think Cas has learned a lot about humans since he's had his powers cut down. That was a telling moment for Cas in 5.13 when he admitted to Anna that Sam was his friend, especially given the fact that he seemed to be almost against Sam at times. But I think he's had a chance to really see into Sam's heart, and realise he was wrong about the 'boy with the demon blood'. 

I think also, had Gabriel been allowed to live, he would have helped in the end. I think that all his little interfering wasn't just to get the boys to say yes, but something else underneath - I believe he wanted to help them, but wasn't quite game enough to stand up to his family, like Dean accused him of being. And when Gabriel in the show told his brother that he was on the side of humans, I cheered. 

And yep, go Sammy. He is strong, and focussed...let's just hope he's strong enough to beat the devil.....

hugs

Jules

OO!  This was fabulous!  I especially loved the scene between Dean and Castiel.  It was very tender, and clearly paved the way for Castiel standing up to Lucifer there at the end!  I hope the boys hang in there!  

Author's Response:

Hi, Julie. Hope you're doing well.

Thank you. I worked very hard on that scene, actually. I wanted to make sure I struck just the right note with Dean feeling betrayed and hurt, but not entirely turning his back on his friend even though he's upset. And Cas reaching a new level of understanding with his human friends who have become like family to him. 

Thanks so much for reading. Hope you enjoy what's coming.

Jules

Loved this chapter and as tense and desperate everything looks at the end for our little group I'm so glad Sam saw Castiel, to know he's not abandoned and alone in this will make all the difference and give him the will and strength to go on. There were so many great moments throughout this chapter, Dean's wish to see his brother's smile again, "Sam's bright, dimpled smile at the end of it had been like a ray of sunshine in the darkness that had become their lives", their amazing vow to fight this together - "Okay, then, new plan - we all go in together. If one falls, the other two keep goin'. We gotta get to Sam" and then Castiel's thoughts on Dean's and Sam's bond and I believe he looked right to the very heart of it. As I said, loved, loved, loved it!

Author's Response:

Hi, hun,

Yep, Sam knows Cas is there, even though he can't move or respond at this stage. 

So pleased that you loved all the little moments - Dean's fragile hope for his brother's rescue, Team Free Will's determination to get to Sam and save him before it's too late, Cas examining the brothers' bond and realising just how much he's come to care for them both. 

It's all about brothers, if you break it right down. Sam and Dean, Lucifer and Michael, Cas and Gabriel - the list goes on. 

Thanks so much for sticking with it, hun.

Jules

Yes, chapter four!  I haven't read it yet but after a particularly rough day I can't wait to sit down and start, knowing beforehand it will be awesome!  Oh yeah, Jules - you're right about the contractions.  I've got to start focusing on the words coming out of Cas' mouth and not just his comely features.

Author's Response:

Hey, Dixie,

Comely features, eh? LOL. Have you seen Misha up close? He's gorgeous. And tremendously funny. So there's no wonder you were focussing on Cas' physical attributes rather than his speech - lol. 

Hope you enjoy the chapter, hun, when you finally get a chance to take a break. 

Take care,

Jules

Fantastic,  why didn't Cas tell Sam that he hadn't been abandoned, it would have strengthened Sam's resolve.  How is Dean doing against Meg? I have to wait a whole week to find out whats happened to everyone.  Can't wait.

Author's Response:

Hi, Maureen,

Well, Cas didn't really have a lot of time - lol. But Sam knew help was there - he'd recognised Cas' voice and would have known Dean wasn't too far away. As for how Dean's doing with Meg - well.....there may be a surprise coming....

Jules

What a heartbreaking moment when Dean found his amulet in Sam's duffle and then put it around his neck. Thanks to the amulet, the Dean I know is back and ready to fight for his little brother.  Poor Sam, Lucifer is  brainwashing him by telling him lie after lie, torturing him in every ways. I'm worried that Dean'll arrive too late to stop Sam to say yes, Lucifer is working hard to break him and Sam is so closed to loose it. What's going to happen next, can't wait to know. 

Author's Response:

Hi, hun,

Oh, didn't it break your heart when Dean let it drop into the rubbish in the first place? I actually yelled at the computer! Thankfully I was at home on my own at the time.... So Jane and I wanted Dean to find the amulet - we toyed with Sam having it in his pocket and actually handing it back to Dean, but it worked much better this way, with Dean finding it then being told what it means to Sam. 

And yes, Sam is being mentally tortured by Lucifer, who will stop at nothing to get Sam to say yes. Sam's barely hanging on......

hugs

Jules

Great chapter!  The suspense is killing me!  Your writing is excellent.  I don't normally read AU stories but favor fics that are true to the show (like a missing episode) but this is truly superb!

(This is trivial, I know, and please forgive me for being a tad forward but I don't ever recall hearing Cas speak in contractions, such as 'don't', he would say 'do not'.  Like I said, trivial, but just something I noticed a time or two.)

Author's Response:

Hi, Dixie,

Thank you! My beta and I try very hard to stay as close to canon as we can, even if it is AU. But on the rare occasions when I dabble in AU, it's the storyline that puts it in that particular category, not the way the boys act. Because actually, I don't like AU, surprisingly enough. (so someone tell me why my two longest stories were both AU.....*throws up hands*....)

And it's fine, there is nothing to forgive. But with me being so anal and knowing Cas plays a big part in this story, I have been carefully listening to Cas' speech patterns over the last few episodes that I've seen, and he has actually started throwing a few contractions in. 

In 5.16 Dark Side of the Moon, when he's speaking through the TV to Dean and Sam, he says "Don't go into the light." 

And again in 5.13 The Song Remains The Same, when he's talking to Anna in the warehouse, he uses doesn't, we'll and we've. And back at the motel with the boys, when he's telling them Anna's plan, he uses who's, she's, it's, and I don't.

Dean's finally rubbing off on him - LOL.

It brought me up short when I heard it too, because it was so unlike Cas to use contractions. My ears perked up when he said it, and I remember thinking - ooh, Cas used a contraction....and there's another one - oh my gosh!

And it's not trivial - it was a bit of a concern, and I thank you for letting me know. There's nothing worse than some little off-character moment to jar you out of the story. I remember reading a brilliant fic once, and I was hooked....until the author had Dean stamp his foot in anger.....and I thought - meh, can't picture that.

hugs

Jules   

Jules

what an incredible chapter. I Love Lucifer putting Zacharia in his place, damn bureaucrat. Glad Dean got his amulet back and finally realised the true meaning it has for Sam. The connection to his brother. And Sam being buried alive - chilling visuals. Brilliant job

Debbie

Author's Response:

Hey, Debbie! Only a week and a bit to go now. Are you coming across for the Melbourne Con? I'll be at the Sydney one on the 8th. Looking forward to seeing Misha again, and really excited about meeting "Uncle Bobby". 

Oh, I loved writing that scene with Lucifer and Zachariah - I hate that pompous pr*ck, so I thought who better than Lucifer to put him in his place. 

Yes, Dean's got the amulet back where it belongs - I needed that, and so did Jane. That scene just gutted me when Dean let it drop. And Sam's really going through the mill with the mental torture. Lucifer's a master at it, and he won't let up. 

Jules

Wow, another awesome chapter Jules with so much going on.  

Much as I can’t stand Lucifer I loved how he put that pr*ck Zachariah in his place and zapped him away, bet he’s not so pompous now!  All it needs now is for him to be taken out permanently!   And though Satan seems to be taking care of Sam it is only for his own ends, so however weak Sam is physically hope he can stay mentally strong.

Awesome idea having Cas go to Gabriel to try to get his help and although the archangel  couldn’t be persuaded at least he told Cas that Lucifer was in Detroit.  And good point - I’m sure Castiel was only allowed to pull Dean from hell after he had broken the first seal.  

Sam is really going through the mill here, first with Zach and now with Lucifer trying to convince him Dean hates him but all credit to him for staying strong.   Unfortunately Lucifer is now bringing out the big guns and is playing mind games, making Sam believe he is in a coffin, like when he buried Dean.

Surprised Bobby has not slapped Dean upside the head for his defeatist attitude but thank goodness the older Winchester finally got angry and slammed Sam’s duffle at the wall, spilling its contents and revealing the amulet which Sam rescued from the rubbish bin.  And it is a testament to how down Dean is that Bobby had to explain that to Sam the pendant meant Dean and that he also had to tell him just what his death at the hands of the hellhounds had done to his little brother and how the amulet was all he had to hang on to.  At least hearing that has now given Dean the determination not to give in to Michael and to find and rescue Sam.  Thank goodness Bobby’s idea to locate one of Lucifers minor demons worked,  which in turn gave them the exact location of the devil himself.

Dramatic end to the chapter as Lucifer is really upping the ante here as he has to resort to mental manipulation to try and break Sam, such is his determination not to give in and become his meat suit.   Just hope Dean, Bobby and Cas get there quick as Sam sounds like he is going through hell in his head.

Totally gripped by this story, and so looking forward to the next chapter.

Sarah






Author's Response:

Hey, sis,

Awww, thank you! Yes, I rather enjoyed Lucifer giving Zachariah sh*t. Pompous a-h. Taken out permanently? Working on it...

Yes, pulling Dean out of hell - remember when Petra emailed the group with her thoughts on that after the season 4 finale aired? I think she was right. I think Zachariah held the angels back until Dean broke, then sent them in to rescue him. Horrible thought, but...

Oh, Bobby would have slapped Dean, but the boys have been through so much he decided to go easy on him. This time - lol. 

And yep, Lucifer's in it to win. No matter what....

Jules

hey Jules,

you know that I love this part to pieces but I just wanted to say again about Dean finding the amulet and how you wrote him getting Sam's point (well Bobby helped)--that exactly what I felt missing from 5x16 re: Dean. The boys aren't perfect but while I felt that Sam got it and understood why Dean was so upset, I really waited for Dean to also understand Sam's POV and he didn't...Although I doubt that Show could describe that scene as good as you just did :D

See you next week!

Author's Response:

Hey, Pink!

I do know how much you love it - thank you so much for that. And you know how much that bugged me, too, how Dean just gave up on everything, including the sentimental value of the amulet. Oh, Dean.... And I know that Sam felt gutted, not just because Dean threw away his present, but also because his big brother had given up. Dean needed a jolt to get him back on track, and finding the amulet in Sam's duffle gave him that jolt. 

Thank you so much, hun. Talk to you soon - I still have an email to answer from you - lol. I'm so slack...

Jules

Jules, your story is leaves my heart pounding and you expect us to wait for an update???

you are a cruel, cruel woman!

Author's Response:

Hey there! Great to have you along for this crazy ride.

Cruel? Who, me? You've been talking to Denise, haven't you - ROFL. 

Well, yes, I expect you to wait for an update. One whole week. Seven days. One hundred and sixty-eight hours.  Ten thousand and eighty minutes.

Shutting up now....lol. 

Thanks so much for that - I'm really thrilled you're enjoying it. Not too long to wait now - it's already Thursday night here in Australia, so one more day. Twenty-four hours.  One thousand four hun....oops......*grins*....

Jules

There are so many things you have covered that I also believe, Cas was held back from rescuing Dean in Hell! I'm sure of that, he could have got there sooner.

Zachariah is more like a Demon than an Angel, but Lucifer is cold, mad and evil, thats worse, and what he's doing to Sam is just...

At least Dean has found the Amulet, and I am looking forward to seeing Meg next time, she is my favourite Demon, in a love to hate sort of way. 

Great Chapter/s (thought I'd left a review on no.2 but it seems not to be there! Computers hey lol)

Jacq x

   

Author's Response:

Thanks, Jacq.

That was Petra's worry, too, that the angels held back until Dean actually broke the seal. So I had to include that as a nod to her theory, because after Zachariah's little reveals in Lucifer Rising, I wondered, too.

And yep, Zachariah is just as horrible as any demon. Actually, apart from Cas, and Anna before she went off her banana, there is nothing about the angels that I like - they're all just as bad as demons, in my book. I wanted to smack Michael with something very sharp and heavy after what he said to Dean. And the way he just wrote Sam off until he'd finished his little speech.....

Yes, Meg's pretty good entertainment value, isn't she? She's good at being very bad.

Thanks hun - and I know what you mean about computers. I think they're possessed....*looks furtively around*....

Jules