Fic: A Game of Chess
Title: A Game of Chess
Characters: Sam, Devil, Others
Rating: PG-13. Nothing you wouldn't see on the show.
Disclaimer: Sam belongs to Reaper. This story, however, belongs to me. Illustration by super awesome onyourmark from TWoP.
Summary: Sam has a job to do in Hell. He only wished he knew what it was. Sequel to The Plan In Action.
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
Part VI
Part VII
"In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:4-5
"Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." John 3:20
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." Matthew 5:14-5:15
"And God saw the light was good." Genesis 1:4
Patience was a virtue Lucifer had long since accepted he would need to keep. It was simply too useful. As a rule, it was often the best method to get what he wanted, especially from the human souls he so carefully chose to bestow his attentions on.
And as his physician, Uphir, had warned him, until Sam cast aside his earthly body, patience would always be required when dealing with the child.
Not that Lucifer always minded. However, he was a bit peeved that for right now, patience was coming in the form of a sick day. In his entire existence, he'd never allowed anyone to take time off for an excuse as pathetic as that they didn't feel well.
But Sam wasn't just anyone. Besides, after what the boy did in the warehouse, he did need to rest.
Lucifer put the video controller down and looked over at Sam. It hadn't taken him long to fall back asleep. Uphir had warned the boy's recovery rate would be slow, but Lucifer knew Sam would return back to work on his own much sooner than expected, probably even before he was ready. Sam had always been one of his most dedicated employees.
Quirking a small smile to himself, Lucifer waved a hand over the boy. "Let's try this again, hmm?" Immediately, Sam's still sleeping form materialized on the far more comfortable couch above him. Lucifer looked down at the ratty old blanket he'd purposefully left on the floor. He picked it up, stood, and placed it carefully over Sam. Lucifer gave a wry grin in remembrance. The last time he'd made such a gesture was when Sam had slept in a crib.
As soon as he was done, Lucifer stood back. Kiwi took the opportunity to lightly jump onto the couch. The tiny dog circled around on top of Sam, never once disturbing him. Then Kiwi laid down on top of Sam's chest, curled into a contented ball, and looked up at his boss.
Lucifer smiled and reached down to scratch the dog's ears. "You've done an outstanding job. There will be a promotion for all your work." Then he instructed, "When he wakes up and realizes what he's sleeping on, make sure that he finds the pillow and extra blanket hidden in the closet." Kiwi twitched in acknowledgement of the order.
Lucifer stood back again and sighed. "I will discuss with him his stubborn refusal to accept the temptation of his bed when he has recovered more, since I'm sure it will be quite the battle of wills. One I'll admit I'm even considering letting him win."
Giving Kiwi a playful wink, however, Lucifer gazed around the lavish penthouse and said mischievously to the dog, "The rest of the place, though, is still up for grabs."
Although he could easily materialize out of the room, Lucifer decided to take the less direct route instead. There was no need to hurry. He walked over to the elevator and the doors immediately opened. He stepped in, and the doors closed.
They opened again straight into the office he kept while in this reality. It was a large, richly decorated room, lined with dark bookshelves stacked with volumes of ancient tomes and an assortment of equipment designed for various evil purposes. At the far end next to the alcove sat his rather immense mahogany desk, and Lucifer saw to his satisfaction that his three most trusted advisors were already seated around it.
Lucifer took a seat on the other side of his desk in his own ornate chair. "Report."
"Astaroth is near defeat," Beelzebub informed him. "The fool left himself wide open. He placed most of his commanders and armies in one area at the outer edge of his realm, expecting to send them directly towards Leviathan's kingdom. Consequently, he was ill prepared for a battle within the remainder of his home territory. Invasion was effortless, considering he had no guard for a significant portion of his borders."
Leviathan gave an evil grin. "And since his troops were all concentrated in such a small region, they were ripe for the picking. Most have been slaughtered already."
Lucifer leaned back in his chair and nodded his approval. "Good. Remember, Astaroth retains his throne. Torture his staff if you want, but leave some alive as continuous reminders of his defeat. I want him thoroughly humiliated for his actions."
"Of course, my Lord," Asmodeus replied. "Your will be done." Then with a covert glance at the others, he asked, "How is the child?"
Lucifer silently regarded his advisors a moment before answering. "Sam is fine, although his body still feels the aftereffects of what happened. I do expect him to return to work almost immediately, however, so make sure things are ready for him. I don't want him to overexert himself while he recovers."
“He has no idea, does he?”
“He has many ideas, Beelzebub,” Lucifer corrected. “But none so far have formed into the right one. I've managed to throw him off the truth for now. I'm sure he believes that the portal was the source of the light and not that it was he himself. Make sure he does not find out otherwise."
Asmodeus hesitated before speaking his concern. “His soul is too bright, Lucifer. He's simply too good. It's almost like bringing an angel here. I saw his light as far out as my own kingdom, and that was with his living body still covering him. When he dies, who knows how bright he'll be.”
“That is a problem,” Lucifer agreed. He pulled out Andi's diary and turned it over in his hand. Then he placed the diary on his desk. “I did manage to dim him a bit before he came. However, it's practically insignificant since even when the boy sins, he usually does so either because his choice has already been manipulated for him, or for reasons associated with good - both of which unfortunately still give him quite a bit of protection. It's never sinning for the sake of sin. It's beyond annoying. But regardless, it is possible to tempt him on occasion. I will, of course, continue to pursue those avenues.”
Lucifer leaned back against his chair, pressed his hands together, and frowned. “I have a much bigger concern regarding him, however.”
His advisors said nothing, and patiently waited for their master to continue.
He didn't make them wait long. "Shortly before I wanted to bring him here, I received last minute word he was working on a case. It seemed Perdition was scrambling to make a vessel for him."
Asmodeus kept the puzzlement out of his voice. "Surely that's not unusual, given the boy's work ethic."
"Except I didn't activate him. He came across the case because he saw the soul of the victim."
All three stilled. Even Leviathan looked stunned. “A heaven bound soul?"
"It gets worse. The soul came to Sam for help, Sam did not go to her. She appeared where he was, and not where she died."
Beelzebub looked extremely grave. "A direct message from Him, then. No wonder you sped up the boy's arrival here."
"Yes. I had planned to take advantage of the opportunity the breaches gave in order to introduce Sam more into our," Lucifer hesitated, "way of life. But once I learned about the girl, it became quickly apparent his coming here was even more imperative than I thought. I had to take Sam out of His loop, before any more heaven bound souls could seek the boy out. She must have thought he was the light she needed to go towards in order to get to Heaven. Fortunately, I'm positive Sam believes it was his demon powers that allowed him to see the girl. Once the escaped souls from the breach are more contained, I'm sure He'll let Sam go."
Asmodeus gave him a shrewd look. "Then the Earth situation is even graver than we believed, if He used Samuel to inform you of His displeasure. That He even took such a step to communicate with you in any shape or form is almost unprecedented since the Fall."
"I agree, He's upset. The victim Sam saw was, after all, killed by an escaped soul from the breaches," Lucifer confirmed.
There was silence for a moment, before Beelzebub finally spoke what they were all thinking. “Do you think He will go back on His Word?”
“No,” Lucifer shook his head. “Sam is mine. Once I learned of him, I was allowed to take him. Father won't interfere, even if He'll occasionally use Sam for His own reasons.” Lucifer then mocked spitefully, "Remember, He never gives His favorite little darlings more than they can handle. It's obvious at this point that Sam is more than capable of handling us."
"You're playing with fire, Lucifer, bringing such a light into our darkness," Beelzebub warned. "While he may be capable of handling us, the boy is clearly not capable of handling himself."
"Nonsense," Lucifer contradicted. "He's quite capable of control. I have numerous reports that Sam didn't even attempt to close the portal until after his herder was caught up completely in the storm. They've bonded, and it's clear that Sam did not act until he believed the dog was beyond his grasp. I also will cover him as much as I can with my own darkness. Besides, I will be keeping Sam in his earthly form until he so chooses to discard it. That alone will prevent future incidents whenever he is in this particular realm."
Lucifer sighed. "I will admit though, it is looking more likely that I will have to take a more active role in training him - especially since he sees through nearly every attempt I make towards tempting him to sin. I do plan on giving him more responsibility as time goes on, and although this realm - and his body - contain him for the most part, his presence will eventually be required in the Outer Realms as well. He will need to learn more control there, and I have the most experience in these matters. Still, it's been a long time since as one of His closest Archangels I shined of light myself, even if I still retain my light-bearing name."
There was another silence, broken only when Leviathan spoke again. But this time his voice was low and threatening. "If you have brought Samuel here in order to get back into His Good Grace, I am warning you now, Lucifer, that you will lose my alliance forever. I will not stand for it."
The tension in the room could be cut by a knife. Leviathan was risking death just making his bold statement. But Lucifer looked at his old friend, and decided to let the offense pass. Just this once.
"No, Leviathan. I made my choice, and I do not regret it. You know that. Better to rule here than serve there." Lucifer waved up towards the ceiling. Then he gave a small chuckle. "But sometimes talking to Sam does feel like talking to Him. The boy can be irritatingly preachy at times."
Leviathan nodded, accepting Lucifer's response. "I could not believe when he rebuked Astaroth. The boy was about to die, and still he took the time to chastise the demon about to kill him."
That got an hearty laugh from Lucifer. "Please tell me he did the eye roll. It's classic when he does that. His indignation is worth watching too. He's my only subject who both knows his place and forgets his place. Often both at the same time."
Then Lucifer sobered and emanated a quiet display of command. "But even though I do not want to stand within His Grace again, that does not mean I do not want to return to power. I may not care for His Love, but I want my power back. We were removed to this darkness unjustly. This was decreed permanent for all time." Bitterness crept into his voice. "Worse, when time does ends, our punishment continues. We will forever be damned, our voices in important matters unheard. Forced to endure retribution even though we are invaluable within the Grand Design. Good must be complemented by evil."
"But a human soul as the answer, my Lord?" Asmodeus asked.
"Believe me, I recognize the irony of using a human, Asmodeus, when it was His love of humans over us that lead to our Disgrace. But Sam is the perfect choice to regain our position in His Heavenly Kingdom. He can be our eyes, ears, - and most significant - our voice."
Lucifer swiveled in his chair and pointed a finger. "Not even you, Leviathan, can argue against the impact Sam has made with the staff in the short time he has been here." He looked at the others. "Tell me, my friends, when is the last time you have respected a human soul? He desires no power, and therefore is not full of false humility. He is not weak, unlike the rest of the humans we deal with. He does not easily fall for temptation. And yet, Sam works well with evil, even though he is not evil himself. He is untouched by his time with us."
Standing up, Lucifer made to walk towards the elevator. Asmodeus, Beelzebub, and Leviathan all stood, bowed, and followed him as Lucifer continued to speak.
"In other words, Sam moves freely in both realms - Heaven and Hell, good and evil. An extremely rare quality. The chasm is wide, and he can bridge our gap. He can regain for us the power we have so unfairly lost."
Leviathan still maintained his discontent. "I spend time enticing men to commit sins in direct repudiation of their faith, and now you are bringing in a soul that is directly tied to faith."
The elevator doors opened and Lucifer walked in, alone. He turned around to face Leviathan. "I am well aware that this is your main objection about Sam, Leviathan. You have more than made your position clear simply with your behavior since the boy arrived in Hell. But that is not a concern with Sam. He is not religious. He doesn't pray, read the Bible, or even go to service. In fact, the only time I have caught him even speaking to a priest about religious matters, I can assure you he most certainly was not asking about how to better worship Him. Father does not have an advantage with the boy."
Lucifer leaned forward to make his point. "But Sam understands the inherent weaknesses of humans, and that with me, evil deeds by souls in life do not go unpunished. He knows that in life, some rain must fall. Humans must be exposed to challenge, or else life is not worth living. It's only in winning and overcoming odds that we find true happiness and become successful. In fact, Sam probably has a better understanding of the Grand Design than most of the demons I know, let alone the humans."
With one final message, Lucifer made his position clear before allowing the elevator doors to close. "Make no mistake, my ambition knows no bounds. We have never had an opportunity like this, and I plan on taking it. I want our position represented within His Kingdom, even if we can never return due to our Fall. I want our voice given back. Despite our fallen state, that power should never have been taken away from us in the first place, considering the importance of the service we unwittingly provide for Him. Sam can be the link between the two realms. All will be worth it, if he gets me a seat at His Table again - even if Sam is my delegate who sits there for me in my place."
Sam cursed. Forget world peace, right now he'd settle for a world currency. Or at the very least, more American money. He was hungry, dammit. He'd chased that last escaped soul through the rat-filled tunnels of Madrid for over an hour. Not even his team had been able to keep up. When Sam had finally caught the escapee, Sam had seriously considered letting the soul out just so that he could make the man suffer through the pain of vessel capture again.
Pushing around on the table the meager amount of coins he'd manage to scrounge, Sam sighed. No matter how hard he tried there still wasn't enough. He got up and tossed the one yen, one ruble, two pesos, and four euros into the trash, and then returned to his table. Somehow he was going to have to come up with a good excuse for everybody as to why he suddenly wanted to sign up for some foreign language classes at the nearest community college. Oddly, speaking Portuguese in particular would be a useful skill to have. There'd been a ton of escaped souls from Brazil. Apparently, Mardi Gras is quite the magnet for demon recruiters searching for potential sinners.
One thing was for sure, Sock was not going to find out about his so-called travels to other places. Not only had Sam had no time for sight-seeing, but the times he'd been allowed back on Earth to help out, all he'd seen were brothels, underground nightclubs, seedy hotels, and various other hell-on-earths. Sam suspected knowing that, however, would only add to Sock's belief that Sam was the luckiest bastard alive.
Sam gazed longingly at the McDonald's in the airport he was waiting in, and wondered who was going to pick him up this time. He hoped it was his dad instead of the usual demons. He'd never be able to convince Gladys to buy him a cheeseburger.
It had sucked when he'd missed his birthday goal by almost two weeks. There simply was too much work. At first, he hadn't minded it nearly as much as he thought he would, mainly because he'd been too busy to think about it. He'd spent the day as usual, going through cases, conferring with other reapers, developing plans to catch souls.
That is, until the Devil had decided to throw him a birthday party. Sam still hadn't forgiven him for that stupid birthday hat he had forced Sam to wear. At least Kiwi had also deigned to wear one, albeit in sympathy.
The only thing the Devil had remotely done to make up for it was allow Sam extra time on the phone with his mom and dad - a treat he occasionally got because as the Devil liked to mock him, Sam was 'such a Mama's boy, he'd check in even when he was running away.' Sam had been extremely grateful for the phone calls. He knew his parents couldn't handle it if they knew where he really was, so he always felt better after he checked in with them - even though he usually spent his time reassuring his mom he was okay by himself, and convincing his dad he still couldn't come home because he just wasn't over Andi yet. At least for that part he hadn't needed to lie.
Which made it all the more shocking when it was Andi who suddenly sat in the chair across from him.
"Hey, stranger," she said.
God, she was beautiful, even in her WorkBench apron. Sam didn't think it was possible for him to love her anymore than he did. He wondered if he'd ever be able to get over her.
"Andi? What are you doing here?"
"Funny thing, Sam. An hour ago while I was at work, this suddenly appeared." She took a red slip of paper out of her purse and put it on the table. Then she pushed it towards him.
Sam didn't need to see the little devil caricature on it in order to know it was a claim ticket for him. It was clearly addressed to Andi. It said the property - one Sam Oliver - was waiting for her at the SeaTac Baggage Claim. She could pick him up any time she wanted.
Sam quickly tried to cover. "Sock and Ben are such jokers. I called them to come pick me up - "
"It appeared out of midair, Sam." Andi made a gesture with her hands that mimicked an explosion. "Poof. Just showed up in a quick flame, and fell to the floor at my feet. Right in the middle of the plumbing aisle." She then leaned back, crossed her arms, and waited for him to respond.
Sam could say nothing to that. In fact, he suddenly found he could say nothing at all.
Andi leaned towards him, put a hand over his, and gently said, "I know, Sam."
Sam swallowed hard, and blinked back the sting of tears threatening in his eyes. He looked away in guilt.
"After you disappeared, it took Josie and I six days to crack Ben and Sock. It would have taken Josie even less time with Sock, but Ben stubbornly kept holding his ground. That is, until even he couldn't deny his worry any more. They finally spilled everything one night at the Brickhouse." Andi gave him a pointed look. "Everything, Sam."
Still avoiding her eyes, he tried again to cover. "You shouldn't believe anything those two - "
"I didn't. So I went to your parents."
And that was it. Andi knew.
She reached over and tilted Sam's chin up so that he was looking directly at her. "Your mom is sick from worry, despite your attempts to soothe her in your phone calls. Your dad can barely handle his guilt. I called them as soon as I got the ticket. They can't wait to have you home. They'll probably never let you out of their sight again. I'm to take you to them immediately. Everyone is there, at the house. Ben, Sock, Josie. They're all waiting for you to arrive. Even Kyle, who no, still doesn't know."
Then Sam finally spoke. In barely more than a whisper, and avoiding her eyes again, he confessed. "You're not supposed to know. He told me...I tried…I just wanted…"
But he couldn't finish.
This time it was Andi's turn to look down. She idly fingered the ticket laying on the table between them. "Well, apparently he's changed his mind."
Sam watched her. The shy way Andi was toying with the ticket raised his hopes. He quietly asked, "Have you?" He clarified when Andi looked up, confused. "Changed your mind, that is."
A wave of guilt crossed over Andi's beautiful features. She gave a deep sigh. "I lied to you, Sam."
"What do you mean, Andi?"
Andi got up and walked over to him. She pulled him up, and placed a hand against his cheek. Sam could drown in her eyes alone.
"You didn't always make me sad." With that confession, she tugged him close and gave him a kiss.
Oblivious to his surroundings, Sam deepened it. Andi was all too willing to oblige.
"Get a room already, losers."
Sam and Andi broke apart at the loud complaint. A wide grin was plastered on Sam's face, but Andi had the grace to look embarrassed.
Sam leaned in and nuzzled her nose. "Let's go home."
She nuzzled him back. "We will need to talk, Sam."
"Yeah, I know," he sighed. "But can't it be later?" He shot her a playful look. "I mean, why deny everyone the opportunity to fawn all over me sooner rather than later?"
Andi smiled. "Okay, you win. Fawning first. But we will talk, Sam. There's too much that still needs to be sorted out, and you know it." She kissed him again, then raised an eyebrow. "Sooo, is this what it's always like? Getting weird stuff out of the blue? Picking you up in odd places? What is with the baggage claim ticket?"
Sam rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it's his idea of a joke. Baggage claims are hell-on-earth, so they can be official portals from you-know-where." Sam added an extra layer of sarcasm to his words. "And since I'm officially his property, he makes someone pick me up whenever I go through one of these particular exits. He finds annoying me extremely funny. When I'm with him, he likes to tell me I'm carry-on."
Andi laughed. "Wow. That puts my pranks on Ted to shame. So why aren't you still in baggage claim?"
Sam grinned. "Let's just say I can be just as annoying. They let me wander after I threw a fit when they tried to put me on the carousel. I'm not a suitcase for God's sake."
Suddenly, Andi gave a mischievous grin and walked around him, clearly checking him out.
Sam looked at her, suspicious. "What? Do I have something on me?"
"Nah," she lightly teased. "Just checking to make sure they did their job right. I wouldn't want to claim damaged property, y'know."
"Not funny, Andi." But he was smiling like a fool anyways. He took her hand, and they walked towards the office by the luggage carousels.
"Mmm," Andi tilted her head against him as they walked. "Today's been a good day, Sam. You're home. Would you believe I even managed to park by your car? Must be kismet."
Sam stopped abruptly. "Please tell me you're joking."
Andi frowned. "No. It was definitely your car. It's in the economy parking lot." Then she seemed to realize what she just said. "Oh. Yeah. You've been gone for over two months, haven't you? That parking fee is really gonna suck."
Frustration welled up in him. Sam glared down at the floor and stomped. "I am so going to get you back for that!"