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It was never about willpower. All the determination in the world couldn’t overpower an archangel in charge, one who had an eternity to steel his own resolve into a kind of single-minded focus no human could match.
It was never about willpower.
It was about similarity.
***
No.
NO. You don’t get to kill my brother to work up the nerve to kill yours.
That was the first time Sam’s protests gave the Devil a pause.
“What did you just say to me?“
You don’t want to kill Michael. You just begged him to give up the Apocalypse and walk away with you.
“And he refused. Don’t you see, Sam? This has to happen.“
Not if you let me take you back into the Cage.
The Devil sneered. “So I should let him defeat me without a fight? I don’t think so, Sam.“
Face it, Lucifer. You’ve already lost.
“Now have I? How so?“ Only Lucifer could sound mild and seething at the same time.
Because if Michael kills you, you’ll be dead, but if you kill Michael, you’ll have nothing to live for. There will be no Garden on Earth, Lucifer. Nothing you promised me, nothing you promised yourself. You’ll destroy everything around you because you’ll be hollow. And you’ll do your best to destroy yourself, too. Believe me. I’ve been there.
“You think you can compare yourself to me?“
We are your True Vessels for a reason. It took me a long time to understand that, but now I do. You don’t want to kill Michael any more than I want to kill Dean. Both Dean and Michael can be idiots when it comes to following orders. To them, Dad said so is enough reason for anything. But you and me, we are different. We don’t let anybody dictate what to do with our lives. In fact, just about the only thing we wouldn’t do for our brothers is to follow orders right alongside them. Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me you’re willing to fight and kill Michael for a destiny you don’t even want.
The Devil never admitted any of Sam’s words were true. But his resolve, once unbreakable, fractured for just the few moments it took his Vessel to wrestle control back from him and end the Apocalypse once and for all.