Fic: Brimstone Synthesis - Chapter Two
Title: Brimstone Synthesis (or How Samuel Winchester Escaped From Hell To Go Stand Under A Streetlamp)
Author: ikira
Pairings/Characters: Gen. Sam, Michael, Adam, Lucifer, Bela, Meg, OMC, OFC, a general chorus of demons, hellhounds and other denizens of Hell.
Rating: PG-13.
Word count: ~8k
Spoilers: through 5.22 "Swan Song." AU as of Season 6
Warnings: Some swearing, violence, disturbing imagery, grossness, unnatural creatures, bad cooking, good cooking, bad plans, rituals, flaming chariots, angels, demons, hellhounds, dragons, and pretty much anything that can be found in Hell.
Summary: Sam is trapped after falling into Lucifer's Cage. It is cold, dark, and empty, and alone anyone would be driven mad. But he hadn't been alone in his fall, and he isn't alone now. This is the story of how Sam found family, conquered personal demons, conquered regular demons, and escaped from Hell. And everything in between.
Author's Notes: dollarformyname was an AWESOME beta, and I love her to pieces. This part's a fair bit longer, but stuff happens, so it evens out I think. Cross-Posted to adamwinchester, spn_gen and sn_fic.
*****
It was in the middle of Sam's story about Bloody Mary that something finally happened. Sam was just getting to the part where he had confronted Mary in front of the mirror, and both he and Adam were really getting into the story when there was a loud bang somewhere just to their left. Sam and Adam both jumped and shouted, scraping knees and legs on the floor as they scrambled to get to their feet in a hurry.
They stood side by side, clutching at each other's jackets and peering as far as they could into the darkness where the sound had originated.
"What was that?" Adam whispered, and although Sam really didn't want to know, he began moving toward the source of the noise.
"I don't know, but we should probably find out."
"Are you crazy?" Adam hissed, jerking Sam around to glare at him, "Considering your life so far has been pretty much nothing but a horror movie, you'd think you would know the stupid moves to avoid! You never go check out the strange noise! That's when the monster jumps out and kills you!"
"Dude, me and Dean used to be the ones who'd jump out and kill the monster. We do stupid stuff like that all the time."
"Yeah, but with weapons!"
"True," Sam said, and then he started walking towards the sound again, "but right now we're both technically possessed by archangels with one of them on standby and one who's really pissed off. I don't think there's anything even in Hell that would want to tangle with Lucifer if I lose control of him."
Adam seemed to accept Sam's line of thinking with minimal grumbling, because he quickly fell into step just behind Sam's right shoulder. Sam was kind of glad because technically Adam was their only source of light in the Cage, so if he hadn't come, Sam wouldn't really be able to see much of anything. He hoped it wasn’t anything too serious though, thinking of how Adam had died the first time. Flashbacks would not be fun down here.
They had moved forward only a few steps when the sound happened again. It was still a loud banging, but now Sam could make out a bit more. It sounded more like something hard on metal. And beneath the banging, he could hear a few more sounds, but they were impossible to make out. The banging was now continuous, and Sam glanced over at Adam. The younger man glanced back, and then they both continued moving in unison, hearts beating faster than usual despite the defenses and abilities of their angelic guests.
Then, after what felt like walking the length of a friggin interstate, the boys saw something in the dark. Shimmering vertical lines that looked almost like -
"Are those...bars?" Adam asked softly, not yet spotting the source of the noise. Sam stepped closer, the lines coming into focus.
"They are," Sam said. Though they were no metal that he had ever seen before. They were pitch black and shiny like obsidian, but covered in a faint, oily sheen. There was something about them that was both holy and unholy. Sam couldn't tell if he wanted to press himself up against them or run screaming in the other direction. Lucifer was oddly still and silent in the back of Sam's mind.
"I didn't know this place had an end." Adam walked over to the nearest bar and brushed his fingertips over it. The bar was as thick as Sam's neck, but the spaces between them looked large enough that even he might be able to squeeze through.
"I don't think Lucifer knew either," Sam responded absently, running his own fingers over the metal. "I don't think this usually happens. I mean, look at the spaces. We could probably fit through that. It doesn't make sense. Why have a cage if your prisoners can escape?"
"Well, this place wasn't really built to hold us, was it?" Adam suggested. "Maybe this is good enough to keep the Devil in."
"Maybe," Sam reluctantly agreed, eyeing the space between the bars, "or maybe there's more here than just bars keeping things in." He hesitated for a moment, then thought ‘screw it’. He reached out with an extended hand and put his arm through the gap.
Nothing happened. He wiggled his fingers on the other side, but there were no flashes of light, no searing pain. Just anti-climactic finger wiggling.
Adam raised an eyebrow. "So much for that theory."
Sam grinned at him, and then began to try and squeeze through the bars. He had gotten his head out when something occurred to him, and he froze. Horror passed through his mind, and he quickly tugged himself back into the Cage before Lucifer could catch on.
"I can't leave," Sam muttered, feeling devastated. To be so close to freedom, and then having to knowingly trap himself, this was a new kind of Hell.
"What? Why not? Did something happen?" Adam was at his side with his hand on his back in concern. Sam shook his head, refusing to look his brother in the eye.
"I can't leave. If I get out, so does Lucifer. And I can't allow that after everything we went through to get him in here in the first place."
Adam looked just as devastated for a moment, so Sam was quick to reassure him.
"That doesn't mean you're stuck here. You can get out, and then Michael will help you get home. Maybe even take you straight back to your mom."
Adam looked like he was considering it for all of two seconds, and then determination slipped over his features. "I'm not leaving you alone here."
"Adam, you don't belong here. You weren't meant to be stuck here with me."
Adam shook his head vehemently. "I don't care. You're family and you’re all I’ve got left, and I'm not leaving you."
"Adam, you -”
"No!"
The two stared at each other, neither willing to give a bit.
Eventually Sam broke the silence, "You realize that I can out-stubborn you, right?" He asked quietly. Adam snorted.
"I'm a Winchester too, remember? Besides, I'd like to see you make me go. You might be able to get me past the bars, but you can't push me any further without coming through them yourself."
Sam couldn't really argue with that, so he fell silent again. This time it was the banging noise that broke the silence.
"Why don't we just go figure out what that noise is, okay?" Sam finally offered, "We can figure out the rest later."
"Sure," Adam agreed quickly, and the two headed off again, walking along with the bars to their right.
It didn't take them too long to find the source. They could see even from a fair distance away that the noise was someone taking some sort of blade and hacking at the bars of the Cage. The boys shared a confused look, and then started walking faster towards the person.
"Hello?" Sam called out, and the person stumbled and froze mid-swing.
Finally the pair got close enough that they could make out the mystery figure, and it was Sam's turn to freeze as his brain attempted to process what his eyes were seeing.
"Bela?"
Bela stood fully, and brushed her hair back over her shoulder. "Sam Winchester, always a pleasure. And who would this be?" She gestured to Adam.
Sam spluttered, attempting to recover from shock. Bela looked no different from the last time he had seen her, nor did she sound any different. Same cultured accent, same confidence and class in every move she made. It was like no time had passed for her at all, and Sam immediately felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise.
"Christo," he hissed at her, and sure enough she flinched back and her eyes turned black. Adam jerked away when he saw that, and started looking wildly between the two of them. But just as Bela was jerking back, something else moved forward from right behind her and snarled, and suddenly Sam was seeing an actual hellhound for the first time. He shouted and scrambled backwards, pulling Adam behind himself.
"I'll ask you not to do that again, thank you." Bela spat, recovering quickly, "It's considered quite rude down here. And you're upsetting Princess here." And she began to pet the huge beast on the head.
"Princess?!" Sam asked incredulously, not taking his eyes off of the hellhound for more than a second. He was suddenly very glad he hadn't been able to see the things when they had killed Dean.
The hellhound was massive, easily reaching Bela's waist at the shoulders. It had skin that looked more like black scales than anything, with a thin long tail with spikes running from tip up the spine to the base of the head. The head had two pairs of eyes that glowed like fire, curling ram-like horns, and a gaping mouth full of serrated and jagged teeth that could easily bite through the bars of the Cage, let alone a human throat. Its paws had claws as long as steak knives and probably twice as sharp. It was one of the most terrifying creatures that Sam had ever come face-to-face with, and with his rap sheet that was saying something.
"Yes, I think it suits her," Bela responded, running her fingers along the hound's back. "She doesn't like it when I'm threatened, so I suggest you avoid making me upset?" She smirked, and Sam was reminded of how much of a pain in the ass this woman had been.
"So what are you doing here?" Sam finally asked, trying to get to the matter at hand, "How did you even know we were here? What's going on?"
Bela held up a hand to stop the flow of questions, and then began inspecting her nails. "I am here to help you escape. It wasn't hard to find out you were here; all of Hell is talking about the failed Apocalypse, and how you dragged Lucifer back into his Cage by saying yes. No one has shut up about it since you got here."
Sam was, quite understandably, suspicious. "So wait, let me get this straight. You overhear that I've fallen into Lucifer's Cage and you what? Just decide to up and leave whoever you had on the rack and mount a rescue?" Sam laughed, shaking his head. "And you probably want something in exchange right? That's the way you work."
Bela glared at him. "I have never worked the rack, you ass, so don't you ever accuse me of sinking to that level."
"You're a demon, and even as a human you weren’t exactly innocent and sweet," Sam countered bitterly, "You must have been down here for several hundred years by now! And you’re telling me you never once tortured some poor bastard? Bullshit." He decided not to tell her why he was so offended by the idea that she had been in Hell but had never tortured anyone. Either she'd be smart enough to figure it out and he couldn't stop her, or she wouldn't and it wouldn't matter. Adam, who had been silent throughout this exchange, did look at Sam with a hint of suspicion, but he refrained from commenting.
"I did come off the rack," Bela admits, "but it was because I escaped, not because they let me down."
"Really." Sam scoffed.
"Yes, really. It was thanks to Princess here." She rubbed the hellhound around the ears. "I was on that Godforsaken rack for who knows how long. Then one day when the demon assigned to me was...working, Princess here comes along. It was the distraction I had been waiting for since the beginning. I escaped, and when the demon tried to catch me, I killed him with his own instruments. Then I fed him to Princess." Her smile turned feral.
"Ew," Adam contributed.
"And I'm supposed to just believe that you managed to escape from a device that has been holding damned souls since the beginning of Hell?" Sam narrowed his eyes, brow furrowing.
"Great thief, remember?"
Sam snorted, but decided to let it drop. Whatever the truth was, Bela was there now, and that was his most pressing concern.
"Okay, so you're here. Why are you here? Why do you want to help us escape?"
She settled down against the hellhou - Princess' side, seemingly completely at ease despite the fact that she was standing outside of the Cage containing SATAN. "You were right before. There is something I want."
"Of course."
"What is it?" Adam asked, suspicious as well but willing to hear her out.
"You two are the first humans to ever enter Hell without dying first in a long time. And because you aren't technically dead, you have nothing binding you here. You can get out without going through the same channels as demons." Her eyes flickered black.
Sam immediately saw where she was going. "So you let us out of here, and we bring you out when we make our escape."
"Pretty much."
Sam worked his jaw, clearly thinking it over. Then he came to a decision.
"Okay. You take Adam and get out of here."
"What?! No, you are not pulling this on me again," Adam snarled, whirling around to face Sam with his hands clenched at his sides.
"Adam, I've already said that I can't get out. I can't let Lucifer escape."
"Well then, I'm sorry Bela but I guess you're out of luck," Adam told the demon, sarcasm making him sound more like Dean than usual.
"You are going, Adam. Now I have someone capable and willing to drag you the whole way."
"Not if I have anything so say about it!"
"Um, boys?"
"Adam, you can't stay here, this isn't where you belong!"
"Oh, and you do?"
"Yes!"
"Boys."
"You are so full of shit, Sam. Where the hell do you get off telling me what to do?"
"I'm your older brother!"
"So? When has that ever mattered to me before?"
"Boys!"
"What?" They both spat at once. Bela looked seriously unimpressed.
"If you would listen for a moment, you would find out that Lucifer won't be a problem." She cocked her hip and smirked, clearly too smug for words. Adam was hopeful, even though he really didn't know this woman. Sam was not.
"Bullshit."
"I'm not lying," Bela insisted, raising her hands in a surrender position. "Do you really think I would have come all the way down here without having a way around that problem? Please, Sam, I'm not an idiot."
Sam bit his tongue to keep from spouting his initial reaction, which would have been less than cordial. "Alright. I'm listening."
"It's simple really." Bela turned her back on them for a moment and walked a few steps away, then returned with a canvas sack. "I perform a ritual on this side, you perform a ritual on that side, you pass through, Lucifer doesn't. Simple. I've already started, which is why there's even a barrier on this Cage to begin with. Otherwise your prison would be just an endless void to you."
Sam glared at the bars in question. "We've already tried getting out. It's possible."
"Yes, because I've done half the spell. The part that allows humans to pass. It wasn't that difficult really, seeing as this was designed to trap angels, not humans."
Something occurred to Adam, and he pulled Sam to the side. "What about Michael?" Adam whispered, eyeing Bela. "I don't want to leave him behind, and if her spell makes it so that angels get left behind..." He trailed off, and then suddenly his eyes went unfocused. He listed gently to the side, and Sam had to grab him by the arms to keep him upright. Sam had half a mind to start counting again to see if the change took as much time as before.
All too soon Adam's body snapped to attention, and Michael was once again in control.
He looked Sam over, as if making sure he was okay, and then glanced at Bela. She clearly knew something was going on, but not what, and Sam was okay with keeping her in the dark for a bit longer. Michael turned back to Sam and smiled.
"She will need my help to perform the spell if it's the one I am thinking of. I will not be going with you."
"What?" Sam hissed quietly. He grabbed Michael more firmly by the shoulders and just barely resisted shaking him a little. "Dude, you are not staying here. You can go ahead with Adam before she does that spell thing, get out while you can and then I'll follow if it works. We can't leave you behind."
But Michael shook his head sadly, "You need me here to perform the spell. It won't work without my help on the inside. I must be the one to restrain Lucifer as you leave the Cage. I must pull him out of you so you can escape."
Sam stared at Michael in horror. "There must be some way to -”
"No. There isn't"
Sam and Michael stood silently for a moment. "Sam." Michael smiled again, wistful and sad. "You may be stubborn as a Winchester, but I'm an archangel. I am very patient, and I guarantee that I will win this argument." Sam started to protest, but Michael raised a hand, cutting him off. "Besides, this is what I want."
"What? Why would you want this?" Sam shook his head, letting his arms drop from Michael's shoulders to wrap them around himself.
"I will not be alone. I will be with my brother again. And, although he will be very angry, I have missed him dearly. Besides," Michael grinned, "eternity together is a long time. He can't stay mad forever, right?"
"I...you really want this?"
"Yes. Take Adam and go with Miss Bela. Escape from Hell and go back to your brother where you belong."
"...okay," Sam said quietly, feeling miserable. It felt like betrayal to even consider leaving Michael behind after all his help with Lucifer and being trapped, but he knew a losing argument when he saw one, and that argument wouldn't be a battle so much as a slaughter.
"Are you two all finished with your pow-wow?" Bela's voice cut across their discussion, and Sam turned and walked back to the bars.
"Alright. What do you need us to do?" He felt Michael come up beside him, and somehow it made him feel a bit better.
"Here," Bela reached down and picked up the blade she had been whacking on the metal earlier. "Take this angel blade and -”
"That's okay," Michael interrupted her softly, pulling out his Sword, "we have one already."
Sam almost burst out laughing at the shocked expression on Bela's face. Unfortunately she recovered quickly and glared at Sam.
He just grinned, completely unapologetic.
"Yes. Well then. I suppose you know what to do next then?" She was obviously flustered and turning bitchy to compensate. Sam wasn't worried though, because he was pretty sure Michael knew how these spells worked better than she ever could. Hell, he'd probably made them.
Sure enough, Michael dragged his blade across his palm, and then ran them up and down two of the bars. The metal was quickly coated in red, and then Michael stepped back. Bela immediately reached into her sack and pulled out another knife that looked vaguely similar to Ruby's knife, and dragged it across her own palm, copying Michael's actions. The bars hissed where the two bloods mixed. Then Bela started chanting in something that sounded vaguely like Latin but far more sinister. At the same time Michael started chanting in Enochian.
As the two chanted, the two bars began to glow golden, lighting up the area outside the Cage for the first time. There wasn't much to see beyond, just more rough terrain, and the hellhound pacing behind Bela. Lucifer's Cage must have been very isolated. Sam couldn't even hear anything on the other side, not even the cries of the damned that he was certain were everywhere. He turned to nervously watch Michael, not sure what he was supposed to do in this whole process.
Eventually the two chanting finished at about the same time, but the bars were still glowing. Bela smiled with far too much pride on her face. "Well now, we're just about ready. Here." She passed a piece of blood-soaked rope that she had just pulled out of the sack through the bars and into Sam's hands. "Tie this around your waist."
"Wait," Michael called, gripping Sam's shoulder. "Both of you should blindfold yourselves. I won't be able to pull Lucifer out of you while in a vessel. I don't want to hurt you."
Sam nodded, swallowing thickly. They were doing this. They were actually getting out, and leaving Michael behind. He took a steadying breath, and then began ripping some rags off of the bottom of his shirt. Bela pulled a piece of cloth out of her sack. Sam tied one of the rags around Michael's eyes for when Adam came back to himself, and then tied the second rag around his own eyes. Then he took the bloodstained rope and tied it around his own waist.
"Now pass me the end of the rope," Bela instructed. Sam wished for a second that she had told him to do that before he blindfolded himself, but Michael stepped in and passed the end through the bars.
"I will leave Adam now," Michael told them both. "Please make sure he makes it out of the Cage before you start."
Sam couldn't see Michael, but he was close enough to be reached. Sam wrapped his arms tightly as he could around Michael's shoulders.
"Thank you," Sam whispered, squeezing his eyes shut behind the blindfold to trap the water in his eyes. "Please be safe. I am going to miss you."
"I will miss you too," Michael said softly. He returned Sam's hug, squeezing just as tightly. "Please be safe as well. I give you all the blessings and protection I have. You will need it to get out of Hell alive. But if anyone can do it, I believe it is you."
Something about not being able to actually see Michael was making the entire goodbye even harder. "Thank you. I'll do my best to take care of Adam."
"Good, and yourself. Oh, and Sam?"
"Yes?"
"I don't really think you are an abomination. I think you are one of my Father's best works. You and your brothers. Please tell Dean that when you see him."
Sam choked on a watery laugh. "I will. Damn, I can just picture his face now."
"I hope you see the real thing soon."
"Me too." Sam let go of Michael, and stepped away. "Goodbye, Michael."
"Goodbye, Sam. Adam."
And then Sam had to squeeze his eyes shut even behind the blindfold as pure white light began spilling out where Michael had been standing. Warmth passed around and through Sam, exactly what he thought being in the presence of an angel should feel like. Bela cursed on the other side of the bars.
Then the light and warmth seemed to reach a peak. "Michael?" Adam called out, suddenly free and alone in his own body for the first time since the Green Room. He sounded shaky again, and Sam reached out to push him towards the glowing bars but something beat him to it. Sam wasn't sure what exactly it felt like to brush hands with an archangel in its true form, but he considered himself lucky that his hand didn't burn off. Adam made a few protesting noises, but soon enough Sam could hear him scuffing his toes against the rocks outside the Cage. Then it was his turn.
"What do I do now, Bela?" He raised his voice slightly, making sure that he could be heard despite the presence of the angel.
"Now you try and get through these bars. We'll pull on you, the angel will pull on the Devil, and hopefully you split evenly and escape." She tugged gently on the rope to accent her instructions.
"Hopefully?" Adam snarled.
"Well it's not like this has been done before. We're in uncharted territory right now, what do you expect?"
"It's fine," Sam cut Adam off before more time could be wasted. "All we can do now is try." He tugged on the rope himself to indicate he was ready, and then moved to the bars. He grabbed both of them, one in each hand and then took a deep breath. "Everybody ready?" Bela and Adam sounded off, and a gust of warm air against his back indicated that Michael was ready as well. Sam swallowed, and then stepped forward.
As soon as he had started passing through, it felt like a huge barrier came down. It felt like something inside of his body was catching on the point right between the bars, and he just couldn't get any further. He vaguely thought he heard himself screaming as he began to pull apart. On one side he was being pulled on with the rope, and using his own power to try and push through, on the other side was a force like fire pulling him back. The rope felt like it was cutting him in half, the force felt like it was burning his skin, and whatever was inside of him felt like it was on the verge of shattering into a million pieces, taking him with it.
Just when he felt like he was going to explode, his whole being ripped in half. There was more screaming, though he didn't have a clue anymore who it was, and it felt like there was fire in his veins. Something jagged and sharp dug into his back, and something else felt like it buried itself into the very core of his being.
And then he was through the bars. He was just conscious enough to register that some sort of explosion had taken place, sending Bela, Adam, and the hellhound sprawling every which way, and then he passed out.
******
When Sam regained consciousness, he awoke to the sound of screams. It was just as bad as he had expected. He couldn't make out any words, there was just a general blur of noise in the air, but it was all screams. Occasionally one voice could be heard a little louder, or a demon's laughter would ring out. It was altogether very disturbing, and Sam found himself wishing for the silence of the Cage.
He moaned, and there was suddenly something hot and wet being dragged roughly over his face. He batted weakly at his attacker, but all his hands connected with were spikes and scales. He slowly let his eyes open. Sitting right in front of him was a double pair of eyes, but they burned with hellfire.
Sam jerked back away from the hellhound crouched in front of him and banged his head roughly on something behind himself. He winced, and then turned slowly, rubbing at his head more out of habit than any pain.
It was the Cage. He was seeing the Cage from the outside. He was free.
The bars he had passed through were no longer golden or bloodstained, but they were still smoking slightly. The ground outside where he had passed through was scorched and cracked, like some sort of highly localized nuke had gone off. The ground and stones were still glowing red, but a quick glance around the terrain told him that was pretty standard. When he glanced back at the cage, something caught his eye.
"Oh my God," he couldn't help but whisper.
It was Lucifer. He was in the cage, where he should be, and he was furious. But he was also beautiful. He looked like he was made of light and gold, molten and beautiful, with hair of wheat and light and crystal and skin of marble and snow. And most beautiful of all were his wings. There were two pairs, arching over his head and wrapped around his shoulders, and they looked like the softest whispers of clouds and music and lightning. He was beautiful and terrifying and awesome and Sam could see him.
Sam felt himself starting to panic. His blindfold must have fallen off and been incinerated when he was escaping. Humans should not be able to see angels without their eyes burning out, let alone archangels. He should have been crazy, his eyes should be gone; there should have been some consequence. But Lucifer was there, and Sam was fine.
Lucifer was raging and screaming, and Sam could hear his voice as well without his ears bleeding, but he wasn't really paying attention. Because Michael was there as well, holding his brother down as he raged, preventing him from hurting himself more. Lucifer was hurt, Sam could see it now as he half-consciously looked the angel over. He was burnt and bleeding, but still beautiful and deadly. Michael was straining despite Lucifer's struggles, beating his own wings to keep his brother at bay. Sam could see them too. They were equally beautiful as Lucifer's wings, but they were different. Where Lucifer's wings were light and ice, Michael's wings were fire and blood.
"Michael!" Sam shouted, trying to be heard over the din of Lucifer's struggles.
"Sam," Michael grunted, wrestling Lucifer to the ground and stepping on his back to pin him. "Are you alright?"
Sam gave Michael a shaky grin, stepping right up to the bars and pressing his hands against the metal. "I'm fine. Are you okay?"
"Yes."
If it weren't for the humor in Michael's voice, the way it could be seen in his (multiple) eyes, Sam would have never believed him. But giving Michael a once-over showed no serious damage, and it wasn't like Sam could do much anyways.
"I am glad that you escaped unharmed." Michael gave Sam his own once-over. Something seemed to catch his eye, and then Sam thought he saw shock flicker over the angel's inhuman features. But just as quickly as he thought he saw it, it was gone and Michael was smiling even brighter than before. "You will escape from here, Samuel Winchester. I know it."
Sam debated asking Michael what surprised him, but then thought better of it. After all, maybe angel expressions were completely different from human expressions.
"Here." Michael was suddenly reaching out with one arm, the others working to hold Lucifer down. "Please give this to Adam. It will help protect you through your journey." And then he held up his Sword.
"But won't you need it?" Sam asked.
"I have no intention of harming my brother ever again. You will need it more."
"Can Adam actually use it? Isn't this just for angels?" Despite his concerns, Sam passed an arm through the bars and grabbed the Sword gently by the blade, doing his best to avoid cutting himself.
"I gave Adam a piece of my Grace to keep. It will protect him and you, and allow him to wield my Sword."
"I...Thank you Michael. For everything."
"Thank you, Sam. You have reminded me of what my brother once was. Now I will stay with him until I can get that back, no matter how long it takes."
"Good luck." Sam smiled softly.
"You too. Goodbye, Sam. Be safe."
Sam waved goodbye, and then turned away from the Cage to start searching for Adam and Bela. He didn't look back.
******
He found Bela and Adam by following the hellhound's barks and growls. Both had ended up sprawled over the rubble a fair distance from the Cage, although neither looked too bad off. They were just coming to when he arrived, the hound speeding up the process by slobbering over them both.
"Good morning." Sam grinned as he came up beside them. He reached down and offered a hand to both and then helped them stand.
"Oh man, I feel like I got eaten by Ghouls again," Adam muttered, rubbing his head and squeezing his eyes shut against the pain.
"Don't even joke about that" Sam shuddered, and then he held out Michael's Sword.
"What's this?" Adam asked, taking the Sword on reflex.
"A parting gift from Michael. He wanted you to have it for protection."
"Michael? Is he okay?" Adam wrapped his fingers tightly around the hilt and brought the blade up to his chest like a treasured object.
"He was fine when I said goodbye. He and Lucifer are probably up for a long chat."
Adam opened his mouth to respond when the hellhound's whines cut him off. "Princess?" He turned to see what was upsetting the beast, "What's wrong?"
The hellhound barked, and then went back to nudging Bela's thigh with her nose. Bela was frozen and staring at her hands in complete shock. Sam felt his eyes widen in alarm.
"Bela? What's wrong?" He and Adam moved over to her side in concern. She slowly looked up at them, wonder still in her eyes.
"I'm human again," she whispered.
"Come again?" Sam looked her over, checking for head wounds.
"I'm human," she repeated, louder this time. And as they watched, a smile broke over her face like a wave, tinged slightly with hysteria. "I'm human, I'm..."
Sam narrowed his eyes, but figured he might as well check. "Christo," he spat.
Nothing happened. No one, even the hellhound, reacted to the name of Christ. Bela's smile grew even wider, until she was beaming at them both. Adam and Sam stared in shock.
"But how?" Adam asked, glancing at Sam like he might have a clue. Sam shrugged.
The question seemed to break through Bela's delirious joy, because her smile twisted into a look of surprise and, Sam thought, almost fear. Then she started waving them off.
"Well, isn't it obvious? Clearly the spell had something to do with it," she told them, like they were idiots for not knowing. Adam and Sam shared another look, and then both rolled their eyes, but chose not to comment.
"Well, come on. We can't wait around here," she ordered, and then turned to start walking towards what they could only assume was the exit.
She didn't even make it a step before she collapsed to the ground.
"Bela!" Sam shouted, and rushed to her side, Adam and the hellhound close behind. "What happened?"
"Ah, my leg," she panted, and then she pulled up her pant leg just enough for the group to see a large gash around her ankle. It didn't look too bad, but she was clearly not walking anywhere any time soon.
"Come on, I'll carry you." Sam reached out and lifted her into his arms.
"I'd rather you didn't," she hissed, and her reaction sent the hellhound into a fit of growling. "Down, Princess."
"It's fine."
"I'd really rather you didn't," she reiterated.
"You can't walk, Bela, so just let me - "
"No!"
Sam shut his mouth so fast his teeth clacked together. Bela glared at him from his arms.
Adam cleared his throat. "Would you rather I - "
"No."
"Well then what do you want us to do?" Sam huffed. If he wasn't holding Bela, he would have thrown up his hands in frustration.
"I'll ride Princess," she informed him primly.
Sam glanced at the growling hellhound, and had to admit she was big enough.
"Fine," he finally snarled, helping her onto the hel - Princess' back. "It really isn't worth it arguing with you."
"Thank you," she said, adjusting her arrangement on Princess' back so that she wasn't being poked by the spikes down her spine. "Believe me, this isn't the first time she's carried me, and it most likely won't be the last. Now come on. I know someplace we can rest and sort out what we're going to do. Come on, Princess."
Sam looked back at Adam, but his brother just shook his head, and then started following her. Traitor. With nothing else to do, Sam fell in line.
******
Bela lead them through a tunnel in the rocks that was so dark that Sam was starting to think he was back in Lucifer's Cage and everything from meeting Michael up to now was just a hallucination. Only Adam continuing to act as a pseudo-light source convinced him otherwise. Thankfully before he could go crazy the tunnel came to an end, opening up to a huge chasm stretching as high as any of them could see above their heads. Adam whistled softly.
"We have to get through that?"
"Yes, but not yet," Bela told him, and then she steered Princess off to the side, toward a fissure running up the chasm wall. Sam felt like he was standing at the bottom of the Marianas Trench looking up at Mount Everest. The walls went on forever. Everything was cast in a red glow from the glowing rocks he suspected were true brimstone. The walls weren't perfectly smooth but jagged, and covered in ledges and shelves. Some were larger than others and seemed to form steps running as long as the wall itself. Sam could see how someone could almost mistake them for levels, though there really wasn't enough order to the whole area to be able to differentiate one level from the next. Hell was truly nothing but chaos.
He could see fires burning on some of the ledges and realized that the surfaces were covered in demons and tortured souls. He quickly turned away before he could make out too many details and walked over to where Adam was just wriggling through the fissure after Bela and Princess. It was a tight fit, but that made Sam feel a bit more secure.
"We can rest here while we figure out what's going on," Bela said as soon as Sam had cleared the entrance. She had already slipped off of Princess' back and had started pulling the knives out of her sack again. She handed Sam the angel blade, and kept the demon blade for herself. "No one ever comes down this close to the Devil's cage, so we shouldn't be found, but we should also take precautions."
Sam took the blade without question and tucked it into his belt loops. They were going to have to make some sort of sheaths for the knives and Michael's Sword soon, but it would do for now.
"Do you have any food in that sack?" Adam asked, settling down next to Bela and resting against Princess' side. Sam couldn't help but wonder how his brother had gotten comfortable with a hellhound so quickly.
Bela made a worried noise in the back of her throat. "Unfortunately, no. Demons don't need to eat, so I didn't bring anything."
"Too bad," Adam muttered, rubbing his stomach. "I'm getting really hungry."
"I know. I'm getting hungry myself," Bela sighed.
"I'm actually okay." Sam thought about it, but his body isn't really sending him any signals of discomfort. He wasn't hungry or thirsty or tired. Weird. "Is there anything around here I can possibly hunt for food?"
"The only thing I can think of are the imps." Bela squirmed in her seat. "And I would rather die again than eat one of those. They look like little rat people, but are vicious. Princess might eat one though."
"Mmm, no thank you then," Sam gagged, thinking of the few illustrations he'd seen of imps in the past. He bent down to Bela’s leg to take a look. “Do you have any bandages?” She wordlessly handed him a few scraps of fabric that looked like they had once been pieces of clothing. He decided not to think about it as he got to work on her leg.
"We're going to need food eventually. And water," Adam said quietly. Bela and Sam flinched, thinking of the long path ahead of them. There was no way anything human could make it through all those levels to the top without food or water. It was way too far.
"Bela," Sam pulled back from her leg, checking that the makeshift bandage would do for now. He had to slap Bela’s hand away as she tried to rub at the gash on her leg, "is there anywhere in Hell that would have food and drinkable water?"
Bela tilted her head to the side and seemed to think about it. "The only place I can think of would be at Belial's Palace. Demons don't really need to eat."
"Belial?" Adam asked.
"One of the Seven Crown Princes of Hell. They are the seven most powerful demons under the King of Hell himself, and basically rule over everything else. Belial is in charge of all demons associated with the sin of gluttony, so he usually has a fair amount of food around."
"Who is the King of Hell?" Sam asked, not liking the sound of that.
"Right now? No one. No one has ever been able to unite Hell under one rule since the last one was killed off almost 2000 years ago, though many have tried. The closest who came to it was Hell's General, Azazel. Why?"
Sam hissed through his teeth, and jerked away from the others. Bela and Adam startled at his sudden movement, causing Princess to start growling again, but he ignored it and started pacing, feeling the rage coursing through him. He had known that Azazel had been powerful. He would have had to be to be so close to Lucifer. But to find out that Sam had been fed the blood of one of the most powerful demons in Hell, if not the most powerful, when he was a baby? That was pretty good indication that he was even more of a freak than anyone originally thought.
"He's dead though," Sam eventually managed to spit out.
"Yes, that's what I've heard," Bela responded softly. She could see how agitated he was acting and was trying to calm him down a bit. Adam was watching Sam carefully. He had heard all about Azazel when the two had been swapping stories in the Cage.
"So no one is in charge here?"
"Well, technically the Crown Princes are a sort of in charge, but they don't really get along very well, so it's all pretty much in chaos. But I suppose that's pretty standard around here." She gestured around herself, and Sam thought of the layout. He couldn't help but silently agree. "In theory they chose the next King, because who will argue with them, but they all want to be King, so the decision isn't really going anywhere."
Sam tapped his knuckles against his lips, and then tried his best to calm down. It was irrelevant what Azazel had been. It was irrelevant who was in charge. All they needed to worry about at the moment was escaping from Hell. He needed to get back to Dean, make sure that he was alright after the state Lucifer had left him in. And before they could do that, they needed food and water. And to get those, they needed to be calm, and they needed a plan. He took a few more deep breaths, and then came back to settle down cross-legged with the others.
"Okay. This Belial. He has food and water. We need to get that food and water. What can you tell us, Bela?" Sam forced himself to slip into research mode. He always had a harder time staying mad when his mind was focused on learning every single aspect of a subject.
"Okay, this is what I know." Bela leaned in closer and lowered her voice. The boys followed suit. "Belial, like all of the Princes, is very powerful, but very paranoid. There's a lot of backstabbing going on down here, as I'm sure you could have guessed. His castle is really more of a fortress, and it's crawling with Gluttony demons because it's the only place in Hell that actually has food. So somehow we have to sneak past all of the demons just to get to the fortress itself."
"Sounds awesome," Adam interrupted. Bela glared.
"Right. The fortress itself is ridiculously over-fortified. Moats and spikes and soldiers everywhere. The only way in is through the front gate. After you get inside, the entire castle is a maze, and every surface is covered in rotting food. The only ones who actually eat the food before it goes bad are Belial himself and his court. Everyone else is stuck with what's left, which isn't much. The only other place that will have something edible is the Kitchens, which are somewhere deep in the center of the castle. If we want to survive out here, that's where we need to get to."
"Where did you learn all of this?" Sam was forced to ask. Bela shrugged.
"Demons love to gossip, and I've been gathering as much intel as I could to get out of here. Really, I don't know much more that what's considered common knowledge in Hell." She shrugged again, her expression morphing into something pained and helpless. "I wish I knew more so that we could actually make a half-decent plan."
Sam decided not to comment. While it would be nice to have some more details, he was used to going after all sorts of monsters and nasties with less information than she had just provided. He had to just start treating this like a hunt.
"Alright. Here's the plan for now." Sam pushed himself to his feet and looked the group over. Bela was wounded, and Adam looked like he was about to pass out. Escaping the Cage had clearly taken a toll on him. The only one that looked even remotely alert was Princess.
"Neither of you are in any state to do anything right now. Bela, you're wounded and Adam, you look like a zombie. So you two are going to wait here with Princess, and I'm going to go scout out this castle and see what I can find out."
"What? No, you can't go alone!" Adam shouted as he climbed to his feet.
"Adam, you need to sleep. I feel fine, so I might as well do something. You need to stay here in case something comes. Bela won't be able to defend herself."
"Excuse me?"
"Well, she might have some trouble," he conceded at the sight of her expression, "but regardless, if you came with me? You'd fall asleep on your feet and get us killed."
"But then why do you have to go now?"
"Someone should try to do some recon, don't you think?"
"But - "
"Adam!" Sam finally grabbed his brother by the shoulders, voice full of exasperation. "I've been doing shit like this for years. It's okay. I'll be fine."
Adam didn't look convinced, but Sam could out-stubborn the best of them if he had to, and Adam wasn't running on all cylinders at the moment. He finally caved in to Sam's gentle pressure on his arms, pushing him down to rest on Princess' side.
"Sleep, Adam. Bela or Princess can keep watch."
"I'll wake you if something is coming," Bela promised, shifting over to allow Adam to share the warm side of the hellhound. Adam made a noncommittal grunt, and then almost as soon as he lay down against Princess he was asleep. Bela turned back to Sam and gave him a calculated look.
"You better damn well come back. We won't survive unless all of us are together."
"I know," Sam whispered. He brushed Adam's hair back. He was kind of worried for a moment how quickly he had become attached to the younger brother he didn't know very well, but he supposed it was a blood thing. He caught Bela staring and straightened up. "So where am I going?"
She was evaluating him again. Whatever she was looking for, she either found it or didn't, because she suddenly stopped and gave herself a little shake. "You'll need to head up. Once you get back to the main pit, start up the path on your right. You should come up on a tunnel in the cliff wall. It leads to Belial's domain."
He started to head out, but she called him back. "Wait, there's a bit more you should watch out for. Down here, this far into Hell, not a lot of demons go. But that doesn't mean that no one comes down here. There will be more demons once you get through the tunnel, but the tunnel will be pitch black so you won't see anyone if they're there. The tunnel and just after it will be the most dangerous part of the trip."
He nodded in thanks. "Don't worry. I'll be careful."
"No." She shook her head. "Don't be careful. Be paranoid."
Sam blinked at the somber warning, but took it for what it was. He thanked her again, and then pulled out his angel blade and left the cavern.
Author: ikira
Pairings/Characters: Gen. Sam, Michael, Adam, Lucifer, Bela, Meg, OMC, OFC, a general chorus of demons, hellhounds and other denizens of Hell.
Rating: PG-13.
Word count: ~8k
Spoilers: through 5.22 "Swan Song." AU as of Season 6
Warnings: Some swearing, violence, disturbing imagery, grossness, unnatural creatures, bad cooking, good cooking, bad plans, rituals, flaming chariots, angels, demons, hellhounds, dragons, and pretty much anything that can be found in Hell.
Summary: Sam is trapped after falling into Lucifer's Cage. It is cold, dark, and empty, and alone anyone would be driven mad. But he hadn't been alone in his fall, and he isn't alone now. This is the story of how Sam found family, conquered personal demons, conquered regular demons, and escaped from Hell. And everything in between.
Author's Notes: dollarformyname was an AWESOME beta, and I love her to pieces. This part's a fair bit longer, but stuff happens, so it evens out I think. Cross-Posted to adamwinchester, spn_gen and sn_fic.
*****
It was in the middle of Sam's story about Bloody Mary that something finally happened. Sam was just getting to the part where he had confronted Mary in front of the mirror, and both he and Adam were really getting into the story when there was a loud bang somewhere just to their left. Sam and Adam both jumped and shouted, scraping knees and legs on the floor as they scrambled to get to their feet in a hurry.
They stood side by side, clutching at each other's jackets and peering as far as they could into the darkness where the sound had originated.
"What was that?" Adam whispered, and although Sam really didn't want to know, he began moving toward the source of the noise.
"I don't know, but we should probably find out."
"Are you crazy?" Adam hissed, jerking Sam around to glare at him, "Considering your life so far has been pretty much nothing but a horror movie, you'd think you would know the stupid moves to avoid! You never go check out the strange noise! That's when the monster jumps out and kills you!"
"Dude, me and Dean used to be the ones who'd jump out and kill the monster. We do stupid stuff like that all the time."
"Yeah, but with weapons!"
"True," Sam said, and then he started walking towards the sound again, "but right now we're both technically possessed by archangels with one of them on standby and one who's really pissed off. I don't think there's anything even in Hell that would want to tangle with Lucifer if I lose control of him."
Adam seemed to accept Sam's line of thinking with minimal grumbling, because he quickly fell into step just behind Sam's right shoulder. Sam was kind of glad because technically Adam was their only source of light in the Cage, so if he hadn't come, Sam wouldn't really be able to see much of anything. He hoped it wasn’t anything too serious though, thinking of how Adam had died the first time. Flashbacks would not be fun down here.
They had moved forward only a few steps when the sound happened again. It was still a loud banging, but now Sam could make out a bit more. It sounded more like something hard on metal. And beneath the banging, he could hear a few more sounds, but they were impossible to make out. The banging was now continuous, and Sam glanced over at Adam. The younger man glanced back, and then they both continued moving in unison, hearts beating faster than usual despite the defenses and abilities of their angelic guests.
Then, after what felt like walking the length of a friggin interstate, the boys saw something in the dark. Shimmering vertical lines that looked almost like -
"Are those...bars?" Adam asked softly, not yet spotting the source of the noise. Sam stepped closer, the lines coming into focus.
"They are," Sam said. Though they were no metal that he had ever seen before. They were pitch black and shiny like obsidian, but covered in a faint, oily sheen. There was something about them that was both holy and unholy. Sam couldn't tell if he wanted to press himself up against them or run screaming in the other direction. Lucifer was oddly still and silent in the back of Sam's mind.
"I didn't know this place had an end." Adam walked over to the nearest bar and brushed his fingertips over it. The bar was as thick as Sam's neck, but the spaces between them looked large enough that even he might be able to squeeze through.
"I don't think Lucifer knew either," Sam responded absently, running his own fingers over the metal. "I don't think this usually happens. I mean, look at the spaces. We could probably fit through that. It doesn't make sense. Why have a cage if your prisoners can escape?"
"Well, this place wasn't really built to hold us, was it?" Adam suggested. "Maybe this is good enough to keep the Devil in."
"Maybe," Sam reluctantly agreed, eyeing the space between the bars, "or maybe there's more here than just bars keeping things in." He hesitated for a moment, then thought ‘screw it’. He reached out with an extended hand and put his arm through the gap.
Nothing happened. He wiggled his fingers on the other side, but there were no flashes of light, no searing pain. Just anti-climactic finger wiggling.
Adam raised an eyebrow. "So much for that theory."
Sam grinned at him, and then began to try and squeeze through the bars. He had gotten his head out when something occurred to him, and he froze. Horror passed through his mind, and he quickly tugged himself back into the Cage before Lucifer could catch on.
"I can't leave," Sam muttered, feeling devastated. To be so close to freedom, and then having to knowingly trap himself, this was a new kind of Hell.
"What? Why not? Did something happen?" Adam was at his side with his hand on his back in concern. Sam shook his head, refusing to look his brother in the eye.
"I can't leave. If I get out, so does Lucifer. And I can't allow that after everything we went through to get him in here in the first place."
Adam looked just as devastated for a moment, so Sam was quick to reassure him.
"That doesn't mean you're stuck here. You can get out, and then Michael will help you get home. Maybe even take you straight back to your mom."
Adam looked like he was considering it for all of two seconds, and then determination slipped over his features. "I'm not leaving you alone here."
"Adam, you don't belong here. You weren't meant to be stuck here with me."
Adam shook his head vehemently. "I don't care. You're family and you’re all I’ve got left, and I'm not leaving you."
"Adam, you -”
"No!"
The two stared at each other, neither willing to give a bit.
Eventually Sam broke the silence, "You realize that I can out-stubborn you, right?" He asked quietly. Adam snorted.
"I'm a Winchester too, remember? Besides, I'd like to see you make me go. You might be able to get me past the bars, but you can't push me any further without coming through them yourself."
Sam couldn't really argue with that, so he fell silent again. This time it was the banging noise that broke the silence.
"Why don't we just go figure out what that noise is, okay?" Sam finally offered, "We can figure out the rest later."
"Sure," Adam agreed quickly, and the two headed off again, walking along with the bars to their right.
It didn't take them too long to find the source. They could see even from a fair distance away that the noise was someone taking some sort of blade and hacking at the bars of the Cage. The boys shared a confused look, and then started walking faster towards the person.
"Hello?" Sam called out, and the person stumbled and froze mid-swing.
Finally the pair got close enough that they could make out the mystery figure, and it was Sam's turn to freeze as his brain attempted to process what his eyes were seeing.
"Bela?"
Bela stood fully, and brushed her hair back over her shoulder. "Sam Winchester, always a pleasure. And who would this be?" She gestured to Adam.
Sam spluttered, attempting to recover from shock. Bela looked no different from the last time he had seen her, nor did she sound any different. Same cultured accent, same confidence and class in every move she made. It was like no time had passed for her at all, and Sam immediately felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise.
"Christo," he hissed at her, and sure enough she flinched back and her eyes turned black. Adam jerked away when he saw that, and started looking wildly between the two of them. But just as Bela was jerking back, something else moved forward from right behind her and snarled, and suddenly Sam was seeing an actual hellhound for the first time. He shouted and scrambled backwards, pulling Adam behind himself.
"I'll ask you not to do that again, thank you." Bela spat, recovering quickly, "It's considered quite rude down here. And you're upsetting Princess here." And she began to pet the huge beast on the head.
"Princess?!" Sam asked incredulously, not taking his eyes off of the hellhound for more than a second. He was suddenly very glad he hadn't been able to see the things when they had killed Dean.
The hellhound was massive, easily reaching Bela's waist at the shoulders. It had skin that looked more like black scales than anything, with a thin long tail with spikes running from tip up the spine to the base of the head. The head had two pairs of eyes that glowed like fire, curling ram-like horns, and a gaping mouth full of serrated and jagged teeth that could easily bite through the bars of the Cage, let alone a human throat. Its paws had claws as long as steak knives and probably twice as sharp. It was one of the most terrifying creatures that Sam had ever come face-to-face with, and with his rap sheet that was saying something.
"Yes, I think it suits her," Bela responded, running her fingers along the hound's back. "She doesn't like it when I'm threatened, so I suggest you avoid making me upset?" She smirked, and Sam was reminded of how much of a pain in the ass this woman had been.
"So what are you doing here?" Sam finally asked, trying to get to the matter at hand, "How did you even know we were here? What's going on?"
Bela held up a hand to stop the flow of questions, and then began inspecting her nails. "I am here to help you escape. It wasn't hard to find out you were here; all of Hell is talking about the failed Apocalypse, and how you dragged Lucifer back into his Cage by saying yes. No one has shut up about it since you got here."
Sam was, quite understandably, suspicious. "So wait, let me get this straight. You overhear that I've fallen into Lucifer's Cage and you what? Just decide to up and leave whoever you had on the rack and mount a rescue?" Sam laughed, shaking his head. "And you probably want something in exchange right? That's the way you work."
Bela glared at him. "I have never worked the rack, you ass, so don't you ever accuse me of sinking to that level."
"You're a demon, and even as a human you weren’t exactly innocent and sweet," Sam countered bitterly, "You must have been down here for several hundred years by now! And you’re telling me you never once tortured some poor bastard? Bullshit." He decided not to tell her why he was so offended by the idea that she had been in Hell but had never tortured anyone. Either she'd be smart enough to figure it out and he couldn't stop her, or she wouldn't and it wouldn't matter. Adam, who had been silent throughout this exchange, did look at Sam with a hint of suspicion, but he refrained from commenting.
"I did come off the rack," Bela admits, "but it was because I escaped, not because they let me down."
"Really." Sam scoffed.
"Yes, really. It was thanks to Princess here." She rubbed the hellhound around the ears. "I was on that Godforsaken rack for who knows how long. Then one day when the demon assigned to me was...working, Princess here comes along. It was the distraction I had been waiting for since the beginning. I escaped, and when the demon tried to catch me, I killed him with his own instruments. Then I fed him to Princess." Her smile turned feral.
"Ew," Adam contributed.
"And I'm supposed to just believe that you managed to escape from a device that has been holding damned souls since the beginning of Hell?" Sam narrowed his eyes, brow furrowing.
"Great thief, remember?"
Sam snorted, but decided to let it drop. Whatever the truth was, Bela was there now, and that was his most pressing concern.
"Okay, so you're here. Why are you here? Why do you want to help us escape?"
She settled down against the hellhou - Princess' side, seemingly completely at ease despite the fact that she was standing outside of the Cage containing SATAN. "You were right before. There is something I want."
"Of course."
"What is it?" Adam asked, suspicious as well but willing to hear her out.
"You two are the first humans to ever enter Hell without dying first in a long time. And because you aren't technically dead, you have nothing binding you here. You can get out without going through the same channels as demons." Her eyes flickered black.
Sam immediately saw where she was going. "So you let us out of here, and we bring you out when we make our escape."
"Pretty much."
Sam worked his jaw, clearly thinking it over. Then he came to a decision.
"Okay. You take Adam and get out of here."
"What?! No, you are not pulling this on me again," Adam snarled, whirling around to face Sam with his hands clenched at his sides.
"Adam, I've already said that I can't get out. I can't let Lucifer escape."
"Well then, I'm sorry Bela but I guess you're out of luck," Adam told the demon, sarcasm making him sound more like Dean than usual.
"You are going, Adam. Now I have someone capable and willing to drag you the whole way."
"Not if I have anything so say about it!"
"Um, boys?"
"Adam, you can't stay here, this isn't where you belong!"
"Oh, and you do?"
"Yes!"
"Boys."
"You are so full of shit, Sam. Where the hell do you get off telling me what to do?"
"I'm your older brother!"
"So? When has that ever mattered to me before?"
"Boys!"
"What?" They both spat at once. Bela looked seriously unimpressed.
"If you would listen for a moment, you would find out that Lucifer won't be a problem." She cocked her hip and smirked, clearly too smug for words. Adam was hopeful, even though he really didn't know this woman. Sam was not.
"Bullshit."
"I'm not lying," Bela insisted, raising her hands in a surrender position. "Do you really think I would have come all the way down here without having a way around that problem? Please, Sam, I'm not an idiot."
Sam bit his tongue to keep from spouting his initial reaction, which would have been less than cordial. "Alright. I'm listening."
"It's simple really." Bela turned her back on them for a moment and walked a few steps away, then returned with a canvas sack. "I perform a ritual on this side, you perform a ritual on that side, you pass through, Lucifer doesn't. Simple. I've already started, which is why there's even a barrier on this Cage to begin with. Otherwise your prison would be just an endless void to you."
Sam glared at the bars in question. "We've already tried getting out. It's possible."
"Yes, because I've done half the spell. The part that allows humans to pass. It wasn't that difficult really, seeing as this was designed to trap angels, not humans."
Something occurred to Adam, and he pulled Sam to the side. "What about Michael?" Adam whispered, eyeing Bela. "I don't want to leave him behind, and if her spell makes it so that angels get left behind..." He trailed off, and then suddenly his eyes went unfocused. He listed gently to the side, and Sam had to grab him by the arms to keep him upright. Sam had half a mind to start counting again to see if the change took as much time as before.
All too soon Adam's body snapped to attention, and Michael was once again in control.
He looked Sam over, as if making sure he was okay, and then glanced at Bela. She clearly knew something was going on, but not what, and Sam was okay with keeping her in the dark for a bit longer. Michael turned back to Sam and smiled.
"She will need my help to perform the spell if it's the one I am thinking of. I will not be going with you."
"What?" Sam hissed quietly. He grabbed Michael more firmly by the shoulders and just barely resisted shaking him a little. "Dude, you are not staying here. You can go ahead with Adam before she does that spell thing, get out while you can and then I'll follow if it works. We can't leave you behind."
But Michael shook his head sadly, "You need me here to perform the spell. It won't work without my help on the inside. I must be the one to restrain Lucifer as you leave the Cage. I must pull him out of you so you can escape."
Sam stared at Michael in horror. "There must be some way to -”
"No. There isn't"
Sam and Michael stood silently for a moment. "Sam." Michael smiled again, wistful and sad. "You may be stubborn as a Winchester, but I'm an archangel. I am very patient, and I guarantee that I will win this argument." Sam started to protest, but Michael raised a hand, cutting him off. "Besides, this is what I want."
"What? Why would you want this?" Sam shook his head, letting his arms drop from Michael's shoulders to wrap them around himself.
"I will not be alone. I will be with my brother again. And, although he will be very angry, I have missed him dearly. Besides," Michael grinned, "eternity together is a long time. He can't stay mad forever, right?"
"I...you really want this?"
"Yes. Take Adam and go with Miss Bela. Escape from Hell and go back to your brother where you belong."
"...okay," Sam said quietly, feeling miserable. It felt like betrayal to even consider leaving Michael behind after all his help with Lucifer and being trapped, but he knew a losing argument when he saw one, and that argument wouldn't be a battle so much as a slaughter.
"Are you two all finished with your pow-wow?" Bela's voice cut across their discussion, and Sam turned and walked back to the bars.
"Alright. What do you need us to do?" He felt Michael come up beside him, and somehow it made him feel a bit better.
"Here," Bela reached down and picked up the blade she had been whacking on the metal earlier. "Take this angel blade and -”
"That's okay," Michael interrupted her softly, pulling out his Sword, "we have one already."
Sam almost burst out laughing at the shocked expression on Bela's face. Unfortunately she recovered quickly and glared at Sam.
He just grinned, completely unapologetic.
"Yes. Well then. I suppose you know what to do next then?" She was obviously flustered and turning bitchy to compensate. Sam wasn't worried though, because he was pretty sure Michael knew how these spells worked better than she ever could. Hell, he'd probably made them.
Sure enough, Michael dragged his blade across his palm, and then ran them up and down two of the bars. The metal was quickly coated in red, and then Michael stepped back. Bela immediately reached into her sack and pulled out another knife that looked vaguely similar to Ruby's knife, and dragged it across her own palm, copying Michael's actions. The bars hissed where the two bloods mixed. Then Bela started chanting in something that sounded vaguely like Latin but far more sinister. At the same time Michael started chanting in Enochian.
As the two chanted, the two bars began to glow golden, lighting up the area outside the Cage for the first time. There wasn't much to see beyond, just more rough terrain, and the hellhound pacing behind Bela. Lucifer's Cage must have been very isolated. Sam couldn't even hear anything on the other side, not even the cries of the damned that he was certain were everywhere. He turned to nervously watch Michael, not sure what he was supposed to do in this whole process.
Eventually the two chanting finished at about the same time, but the bars were still glowing. Bela smiled with far too much pride on her face. "Well now, we're just about ready. Here." She passed a piece of blood-soaked rope that she had just pulled out of the sack through the bars and into Sam's hands. "Tie this around your waist."
"Wait," Michael called, gripping Sam's shoulder. "Both of you should blindfold yourselves. I won't be able to pull Lucifer out of you while in a vessel. I don't want to hurt you."
Sam nodded, swallowing thickly. They were doing this. They were actually getting out, and leaving Michael behind. He took a steadying breath, and then began ripping some rags off of the bottom of his shirt. Bela pulled a piece of cloth out of her sack. Sam tied one of the rags around Michael's eyes for when Adam came back to himself, and then tied the second rag around his own eyes. Then he took the bloodstained rope and tied it around his own waist.
"Now pass me the end of the rope," Bela instructed. Sam wished for a second that she had told him to do that before he blindfolded himself, but Michael stepped in and passed the end through the bars.
"I will leave Adam now," Michael told them both. "Please make sure he makes it out of the Cage before you start."
Sam couldn't see Michael, but he was close enough to be reached. Sam wrapped his arms tightly as he could around Michael's shoulders.
"Thank you," Sam whispered, squeezing his eyes shut behind the blindfold to trap the water in his eyes. "Please be safe. I am going to miss you."
"I will miss you too," Michael said softly. He returned Sam's hug, squeezing just as tightly. "Please be safe as well. I give you all the blessings and protection I have. You will need it to get out of Hell alive. But if anyone can do it, I believe it is you."
Something about not being able to actually see Michael was making the entire goodbye even harder. "Thank you. I'll do my best to take care of Adam."
"Good, and yourself. Oh, and Sam?"
"Yes?"
"I don't really think you are an abomination. I think you are one of my Father's best works. You and your brothers. Please tell Dean that when you see him."
Sam choked on a watery laugh. "I will. Damn, I can just picture his face now."
"I hope you see the real thing soon."
"Me too." Sam let go of Michael, and stepped away. "Goodbye, Michael."
"Goodbye, Sam. Adam."
And then Sam had to squeeze his eyes shut even behind the blindfold as pure white light began spilling out where Michael had been standing. Warmth passed around and through Sam, exactly what he thought being in the presence of an angel should feel like. Bela cursed on the other side of the bars.
Then the light and warmth seemed to reach a peak. "Michael?" Adam called out, suddenly free and alone in his own body for the first time since the Green Room. He sounded shaky again, and Sam reached out to push him towards the glowing bars but something beat him to it. Sam wasn't sure what exactly it felt like to brush hands with an archangel in its true form, but he considered himself lucky that his hand didn't burn off. Adam made a few protesting noises, but soon enough Sam could hear him scuffing his toes against the rocks outside the Cage. Then it was his turn.
"What do I do now, Bela?" He raised his voice slightly, making sure that he could be heard despite the presence of the angel.
"Now you try and get through these bars. We'll pull on you, the angel will pull on the Devil, and hopefully you split evenly and escape." She tugged gently on the rope to accent her instructions.
"Hopefully?" Adam snarled.
"Well it's not like this has been done before. We're in uncharted territory right now, what do you expect?"
"It's fine," Sam cut Adam off before more time could be wasted. "All we can do now is try." He tugged on the rope himself to indicate he was ready, and then moved to the bars. He grabbed both of them, one in each hand and then took a deep breath. "Everybody ready?" Bela and Adam sounded off, and a gust of warm air against his back indicated that Michael was ready as well. Sam swallowed, and then stepped forward.
As soon as he had started passing through, it felt like a huge barrier came down. It felt like something inside of his body was catching on the point right between the bars, and he just couldn't get any further. He vaguely thought he heard himself screaming as he began to pull apart. On one side he was being pulled on with the rope, and using his own power to try and push through, on the other side was a force like fire pulling him back. The rope felt like it was cutting him in half, the force felt like it was burning his skin, and whatever was inside of him felt like it was on the verge of shattering into a million pieces, taking him with it.
Just when he felt like he was going to explode, his whole being ripped in half. There was more screaming, though he didn't have a clue anymore who it was, and it felt like there was fire in his veins. Something jagged and sharp dug into his back, and something else felt like it buried itself into the very core of his being.
And then he was through the bars. He was just conscious enough to register that some sort of explosion had taken place, sending Bela, Adam, and the hellhound sprawling every which way, and then he passed out.
******
When Sam regained consciousness, he awoke to the sound of screams. It was just as bad as he had expected. He couldn't make out any words, there was just a general blur of noise in the air, but it was all screams. Occasionally one voice could be heard a little louder, or a demon's laughter would ring out. It was altogether very disturbing, and Sam found himself wishing for the silence of the Cage.
He moaned, and there was suddenly something hot and wet being dragged roughly over his face. He batted weakly at his attacker, but all his hands connected with were spikes and scales. He slowly let his eyes open. Sitting right in front of him was a double pair of eyes, but they burned with hellfire.
Sam jerked back away from the hellhound crouched in front of him and banged his head roughly on something behind himself. He winced, and then turned slowly, rubbing at his head more out of habit than any pain.
It was the Cage. He was seeing the Cage from the outside. He was free.
The bars he had passed through were no longer golden or bloodstained, but they were still smoking slightly. The ground outside where he had passed through was scorched and cracked, like some sort of highly localized nuke had gone off. The ground and stones were still glowing red, but a quick glance around the terrain told him that was pretty standard. When he glanced back at the cage, something caught his eye.
"Oh my God," he couldn't help but whisper.
It was Lucifer. He was in the cage, where he should be, and he was furious. But he was also beautiful. He looked like he was made of light and gold, molten and beautiful, with hair of wheat and light and crystal and skin of marble and snow. And most beautiful of all were his wings. There were two pairs, arching over his head and wrapped around his shoulders, and they looked like the softest whispers of clouds and music and lightning. He was beautiful and terrifying and awesome and Sam could see him.
Sam felt himself starting to panic. His blindfold must have fallen off and been incinerated when he was escaping. Humans should not be able to see angels without their eyes burning out, let alone archangels. He should have been crazy, his eyes should be gone; there should have been some consequence. But Lucifer was there, and Sam was fine.
Lucifer was raging and screaming, and Sam could hear his voice as well without his ears bleeding, but he wasn't really paying attention. Because Michael was there as well, holding his brother down as he raged, preventing him from hurting himself more. Lucifer was hurt, Sam could see it now as he half-consciously looked the angel over. He was burnt and bleeding, but still beautiful and deadly. Michael was straining despite Lucifer's struggles, beating his own wings to keep his brother at bay. Sam could see them too. They were equally beautiful as Lucifer's wings, but they were different. Where Lucifer's wings were light and ice, Michael's wings were fire and blood.
"Michael!" Sam shouted, trying to be heard over the din of Lucifer's struggles.
"Sam," Michael grunted, wrestling Lucifer to the ground and stepping on his back to pin him. "Are you alright?"
Sam gave Michael a shaky grin, stepping right up to the bars and pressing his hands against the metal. "I'm fine. Are you okay?"
"Yes."
If it weren't for the humor in Michael's voice, the way it could be seen in his (multiple) eyes, Sam would have never believed him. But giving Michael a once-over showed no serious damage, and it wasn't like Sam could do much anyways.
"I am glad that you escaped unharmed." Michael gave Sam his own once-over. Something seemed to catch his eye, and then Sam thought he saw shock flicker over the angel's inhuman features. But just as quickly as he thought he saw it, it was gone and Michael was smiling even brighter than before. "You will escape from here, Samuel Winchester. I know it."
Sam debated asking Michael what surprised him, but then thought better of it. After all, maybe angel expressions were completely different from human expressions.
"Here." Michael was suddenly reaching out with one arm, the others working to hold Lucifer down. "Please give this to Adam. It will help protect you through your journey." And then he held up his Sword.
"But won't you need it?" Sam asked.
"I have no intention of harming my brother ever again. You will need it more."
"Can Adam actually use it? Isn't this just for angels?" Despite his concerns, Sam passed an arm through the bars and grabbed the Sword gently by the blade, doing his best to avoid cutting himself.
"I gave Adam a piece of my Grace to keep. It will protect him and you, and allow him to wield my Sword."
"I...Thank you Michael. For everything."
"Thank you, Sam. You have reminded me of what my brother once was. Now I will stay with him until I can get that back, no matter how long it takes."
"Good luck." Sam smiled softly.
"You too. Goodbye, Sam. Be safe."
Sam waved goodbye, and then turned away from the Cage to start searching for Adam and Bela. He didn't look back.
******
He found Bela and Adam by following the hellhound's barks and growls. Both had ended up sprawled over the rubble a fair distance from the Cage, although neither looked too bad off. They were just coming to when he arrived, the hound speeding up the process by slobbering over them both.
"Good morning." Sam grinned as he came up beside them. He reached down and offered a hand to both and then helped them stand.
"Oh man, I feel like I got eaten by Ghouls again," Adam muttered, rubbing his head and squeezing his eyes shut against the pain.
"Don't even joke about that" Sam shuddered, and then he held out Michael's Sword.
"What's this?" Adam asked, taking the Sword on reflex.
"A parting gift from Michael. He wanted you to have it for protection."
"Michael? Is he okay?" Adam wrapped his fingers tightly around the hilt and brought the blade up to his chest like a treasured object.
"He was fine when I said goodbye. He and Lucifer are probably up for a long chat."
Adam opened his mouth to respond when the hellhound's whines cut him off. "Princess?" He turned to see what was upsetting the beast, "What's wrong?"
The hellhound barked, and then went back to nudging Bela's thigh with her nose. Bela was frozen and staring at her hands in complete shock. Sam felt his eyes widen in alarm.
"Bela? What's wrong?" He and Adam moved over to her side in concern. She slowly looked up at them, wonder still in her eyes.
"I'm human again," she whispered.
"Come again?" Sam looked her over, checking for head wounds.
"I'm human," she repeated, louder this time. And as they watched, a smile broke over her face like a wave, tinged slightly with hysteria. "I'm human, I'm..."
Sam narrowed his eyes, but figured he might as well check. "Christo," he spat.
Nothing happened. No one, even the hellhound, reacted to the name of Christ. Bela's smile grew even wider, until she was beaming at them both. Adam and Sam stared in shock.
"But how?" Adam asked, glancing at Sam like he might have a clue. Sam shrugged.
The question seemed to break through Bela's delirious joy, because her smile twisted into a look of surprise and, Sam thought, almost fear. Then she started waving them off.
"Well, isn't it obvious? Clearly the spell had something to do with it," she told them, like they were idiots for not knowing. Adam and Sam shared another look, and then both rolled their eyes, but chose not to comment.
"Well, come on. We can't wait around here," she ordered, and then turned to start walking towards what they could only assume was the exit.
She didn't even make it a step before she collapsed to the ground.
"Bela!" Sam shouted, and rushed to her side, Adam and the hellhound close behind. "What happened?"
"Ah, my leg," she panted, and then she pulled up her pant leg just enough for the group to see a large gash around her ankle. It didn't look too bad, but she was clearly not walking anywhere any time soon.
"Come on, I'll carry you." Sam reached out and lifted her into his arms.
"I'd rather you didn't," she hissed, and her reaction sent the hellhound into a fit of growling. "Down, Princess."
"It's fine."
"I'd really rather you didn't," she reiterated.
"You can't walk, Bela, so just let me - "
"No!"
Sam shut his mouth so fast his teeth clacked together. Bela glared at him from his arms.
Adam cleared his throat. "Would you rather I - "
"No."
"Well then what do you want us to do?" Sam huffed. If he wasn't holding Bela, he would have thrown up his hands in frustration.
"I'll ride Princess," she informed him primly.
Sam glanced at the growling hellhound, and had to admit she was big enough.
"Fine," he finally snarled, helping her onto the hel - Princess' back. "It really isn't worth it arguing with you."
"Thank you," she said, adjusting her arrangement on Princess' back so that she wasn't being poked by the spikes down her spine. "Believe me, this isn't the first time she's carried me, and it most likely won't be the last. Now come on. I know someplace we can rest and sort out what we're going to do. Come on, Princess."
Sam looked back at Adam, but his brother just shook his head, and then started following her. Traitor. With nothing else to do, Sam fell in line.
******
Bela lead them through a tunnel in the rocks that was so dark that Sam was starting to think he was back in Lucifer's Cage and everything from meeting Michael up to now was just a hallucination. Only Adam continuing to act as a pseudo-light source convinced him otherwise. Thankfully before he could go crazy the tunnel came to an end, opening up to a huge chasm stretching as high as any of them could see above their heads. Adam whistled softly.
"We have to get through that?"
"Yes, but not yet," Bela told him, and then she steered Princess off to the side, toward a fissure running up the chasm wall. Sam felt like he was standing at the bottom of the Marianas Trench looking up at Mount Everest. The walls went on forever. Everything was cast in a red glow from the glowing rocks he suspected were true brimstone. The walls weren't perfectly smooth but jagged, and covered in ledges and shelves. Some were larger than others and seemed to form steps running as long as the wall itself. Sam could see how someone could almost mistake them for levels, though there really wasn't enough order to the whole area to be able to differentiate one level from the next. Hell was truly nothing but chaos.
He could see fires burning on some of the ledges and realized that the surfaces were covered in demons and tortured souls. He quickly turned away before he could make out too many details and walked over to where Adam was just wriggling through the fissure after Bela and Princess. It was a tight fit, but that made Sam feel a bit more secure.
"We can rest here while we figure out what's going on," Bela said as soon as Sam had cleared the entrance. She had already slipped off of Princess' back and had started pulling the knives out of her sack again. She handed Sam the angel blade, and kept the demon blade for herself. "No one ever comes down this close to the Devil's cage, so we shouldn't be found, but we should also take precautions."
Sam took the blade without question and tucked it into his belt loops. They were going to have to make some sort of sheaths for the knives and Michael's Sword soon, but it would do for now.
"Do you have any food in that sack?" Adam asked, settling down next to Bela and resting against Princess' side. Sam couldn't help but wonder how his brother had gotten comfortable with a hellhound so quickly.
Bela made a worried noise in the back of her throat. "Unfortunately, no. Demons don't need to eat, so I didn't bring anything."
"Too bad," Adam muttered, rubbing his stomach. "I'm getting really hungry."
"I know. I'm getting hungry myself," Bela sighed.
"I'm actually okay." Sam thought about it, but his body isn't really sending him any signals of discomfort. He wasn't hungry or thirsty or tired. Weird. "Is there anything around here I can possibly hunt for food?"
"The only thing I can think of are the imps." Bela squirmed in her seat. "And I would rather die again than eat one of those. They look like little rat people, but are vicious. Princess might eat one though."
"Mmm, no thank you then," Sam gagged, thinking of the few illustrations he'd seen of imps in the past. He bent down to Bela’s leg to take a look. “Do you have any bandages?” She wordlessly handed him a few scraps of fabric that looked like they had once been pieces of clothing. He decided not to think about it as he got to work on her leg.
"We're going to need food eventually. And water," Adam said quietly. Bela and Sam flinched, thinking of the long path ahead of them. There was no way anything human could make it through all those levels to the top without food or water. It was way too far.
"Bela," Sam pulled back from her leg, checking that the makeshift bandage would do for now. He had to slap Bela’s hand away as she tried to rub at the gash on her leg, "is there anywhere in Hell that would have food and drinkable water?"
Bela tilted her head to the side and seemed to think about it. "The only place I can think of would be at Belial's Palace. Demons don't really need to eat."
"Belial?" Adam asked.
"One of the Seven Crown Princes of Hell. They are the seven most powerful demons under the King of Hell himself, and basically rule over everything else. Belial is in charge of all demons associated with the sin of gluttony, so he usually has a fair amount of food around."
"Who is the King of Hell?" Sam asked, not liking the sound of that.
"Right now? No one. No one has ever been able to unite Hell under one rule since the last one was killed off almost 2000 years ago, though many have tried. The closest who came to it was Hell's General, Azazel. Why?"
Sam hissed through his teeth, and jerked away from the others. Bela and Adam startled at his sudden movement, causing Princess to start growling again, but he ignored it and started pacing, feeling the rage coursing through him. He had known that Azazel had been powerful. He would have had to be to be so close to Lucifer. But to find out that Sam had been fed the blood of one of the most powerful demons in Hell, if not the most powerful, when he was a baby? That was pretty good indication that he was even more of a freak than anyone originally thought.
"He's dead though," Sam eventually managed to spit out.
"Yes, that's what I've heard," Bela responded softly. She could see how agitated he was acting and was trying to calm him down a bit. Adam was watching Sam carefully. He had heard all about Azazel when the two had been swapping stories in the Cage.
"So no one is in charge here?"
"Well, technically the Crown Princes are a sort of in charge, but they don't really get along very well, so it's all pretty much in chaos. But I suppose that's pretty standard around here." She gestured around herself, and Sam thought of the layout. He couldn't help but silently agree. "In theory they chose the next King, because who will argue with them, but they all want to be King, so the decision isn't really going anywhere."
Sam tapped his knuckles against his lips, and then tried his best to calm down. It was irrelevant what Azazel had been. It was irrelevant who was in charge. All they needed to worry about at the moment was escaping from Hell. He needed to get back to Dean, make sure that he was alright after the state Lucifer had left him in. And before they could do that, they needed food and water. And to get those, they needed to be calm, and they needed a plan. He took a few more deep breaths, and then came back to settle down cross-legged with the others.
"Okay. This Belial. He has food and water. We need to get that food and water. What can you tell us, Bela?" Sam forced himself to slip into research mode. He always had a harder time staying mad when his mind was focused on learning every single aspect of a subject.
"Okay, this is what I know." Bela leaned in closer and lowered her voice. The boys followed suit. "Belial, like all of the Princes, is very powerful, but very paranoid. There's a lot of backstabbing going on down here, as I'm sure you could have guessed. His castle is really more of a fortress, and it's crawling with Gluttony demons because it's the only place in Hell that actually has food. So somehow we have to sneak past all of the demons just to get to the fortress itself."
"Sounds awesome," Adam interrupted. Bela glared.
"Right. The fortress itself is ridiculously over-fortified. Moats and spikes and soldiers everywhere. The only way in is through the front gate. After you get inside, the entire castle is a maze, and every surface is covered in rotting food. The only ones who actually eat the food before it goes bad are Belial himself and his court. Everyone else is stuck with what's left, which isn't much. The only other place that will have something edible is the Kitchens, which are somewhere deep in the center of the castle. If we want to survive out here, that's where we need to get to."
"Where did you learn all of this?" Sam was forced to ask. Bela shrugged.
"Demons love to gossip, and I've been gathering as much intel as I could to get out of here. Really, I don't know much more that what's considered common knowledge in Hell." She shrugged again, her expression morphing into something pained and helpless. "I wish I knew more so that we could actually make a half-decent plan."
Sam decided not to comment. While it would be nice to have some more details, he was used to going after all sorts of monsters and nasties with less information than she had just provided. He had to just start treating this like a hunt.
"Alright. Here's the plan for now." Sam pushed himself to his feet and looked the group over. Bela was wounded, and Adam looked like he was about to pass out. Escaping the Cage had clearly taken a toll on him. The only one that looked even remotely alert was Princess.
"Neither of you are in any state to do anything right now. Bela, you're wounded and Adam, you look like a zombie. So you two are going to wait here with Princess, and I'm going to go scout out this castle and see what I can find out."
"What? No, you can't go alone!" Adam shouted as he climbed to his feet.
"Adam, you need to sleep. I feel fine, so I might as well do something. You need to stay here in case something comes. Bela won't be able to defend herself."
"Excuse me?"
"Well, she might have some trouble," he conceded at the sight of her expression, "but regardless, if you came with me? You'd fall asleep on your feet and get us killed."
"But then why do you have to go now?"
"Someone should try to do some recon, don't you think?"
"But - "
"Adam!" Sam finally grabbed his brother by the shoulders, voice full of exasperation. "I've been doing shit like this for years. It's okay. I'll be fine."
Adam didn't look convinced, but Sam could out-stubborn the best of them if he had to, and Adam wasn't running on all cylinders at the moment. He finally caved in to Sam's gentle pressure on his arms, pushing him down to rest on Princess' side.
"Sleep, Adam. Bela or Princess can keep watch."
"I'll wake you if something is coming," Bela promised, shifting over to allow Adam to share the warm side of the hellhound. Adam made a noncommittal grunt, and then almost as soon as he lay down against Princess he was asleep. Bela turned back to Sam and gave him a calculated look.
"You better damn well come back. We won't survive unless all of us are together."
"I know," Sam whispered. He brushed Adam's hair back. He was kind of worried for a moment how quickly he had become attached to the younger brother he didn't know very well, but he supposed it was a blood thing. He caught Bela staring and straightened up. "So where am I going?"
She was evaluating him again. Whatever she was looking for, she either found it or didn't, because she suddenly stopped and gave herself a little shake. "You'll need to head up. Once you get back to the main pit, start up the path on your right. You should come up on a tunnel in the cliff wall. It leads to Belial's domain."
He started to head out, but she called him back. "Wait, there's a bit more you should watch out for. Down here, this far into Hell, not a lot of demons go. But that doesn't mean that no one comes down here. There will be more demons once you get through the tunnel, but the tunnel will be pitch black so you won't see anyone if they're there. The tunnel and just after it will be the most dangerous part of the trip."
He nodded in thanks. "Don't worry. I'll be careful."
"No." She shook her head. "Don't be careful. Be paranoid."
Sam blinked at the somber warning, but took it for what it was. He thanked her again, and then pulled out his angel blade and left the cavern.