Title: The King Arises
Wordcount:3011
Rating: PG
Characters:Sam, Adam, Meg, Lucifer, Michael
Summary:Sam falls into the Pit… and blunders his way into becoming Lord of Hell. Another prequel to "Lunch with Heaven and Hell (and a Mechanic)"
Spoilers/Warning: All five seasons, none for season six.
AN: This is another prequel to "Lunch with Heaven and Hell (and a Mechanic). This story is not meant to be taken any more seriously then that one.
Many thanks go to viridian_magpie for the beta work.
Sam wrapped his arms around Michael as they fell. He could feel Lucifer in the back of his mind, raging at him, but all Sam really felt was peace. Finally, he'd done something right.
Michael twisted in Sam's grasp, and Sam knew that the archangel would smite him if they weren't falling. Sam wasn't looking forward to hitting whatever ground was at the end of this. He closed his eyes.
After a long time- Sam had no idea how long- he felt Lucifer pulling away from his mind. He opened his eyes to see Adam light up and knew he was doing the same. Lucifer was being torn from his body, as Michael was being taken from Adam. The two humans continued to fall.
They landed hard. Sam just managed to roll with the landing so that they weren't hurt but Adam simply groaned and did nothing else.
For a long moment, Sam just lay flat on his back, Adam on top of him. Neither of them moved. Sam could see lights circling above them: Lucifer and Michael.
One of the lights darted down toward them but stopped about eight feet up, pressing against some sort of barrier. "That looks weird," Sam slurred. He blinked at the sound of his own voice and shook his head. The room spun around him, and he didn't move for a long time after that. Somehow, he knew it was Lucifer that was closest to him.
Adam still hadn't stirred. Sam finally shifted him and sat up slowly. He stared at Lucifer. Sam didn't know how, but the fallen angel was easily recognizable, even though his true form was completely alien in appearance. And the light should have blinded Sam, but he didn't even need to squint.
"What is this?" Sam finally asked. "Why aren't…"
Lucifer shifted. "This cage can only hold angels," he said. "You and your half-brother fell right through." Sam blinked. Lucifer was speaking in Enochian, yet Sam understood him perfectly.
"It worked," Sam said. He grinned up at the archangel. "I won."
"Yes," Lucifer said sourly. "Congratulations, Sam. Now you're in Hell."
"But so are you," Sam said. He looked down at Adam, who had shifted so that he was using Sam's leg as a pillow. "I wish Adam wasn't," he said. "He doesn't deserve to be here."
Michael drifted down. "And you think we do?" he rumbled.
Sam glared up at him. "Definitely, you two do," he said. "And I'm sure I do too."
"You are a fool, Samuel," Michael said. "You ruined everything, destroyed any chance for paradise for millennia,"
Sam smirked up at Michael. "Then I'm a fool who won, Michael," he said. "Free will won, not your destiny crap."
Michael scowled and drifted away from Sam.
He looked around slowly. "So, this is Hell," he said.
"A part of it, yes," Lucifer said. He was actually smiling at Sam. "The very center."
Sam felt a little more settled now, so he shifted Adam off his leg and tried to stand up. He was wobbly, but he made it up, leaning against was nearby roughly hewn wall. "We're in the center of Hell?" he asked.
"Well, technically, the center is above us," Lucifer said. "The center of my cage."
Sam nodded as he looked up past Lucifer toward the center of the cage.
"He trapped us here, brother. Why are you answering his questions?" Michael snapped.
Lucifer turned toward him. "Because Sam won. He overpowered me fairly, and he won. He's still mine, much as he'd hate to admit it. Why can't I be proud of him?"
Sam blinked. He wasn't sure he wanted Lucifer's pride, to be honest.
Michael snarled at Lucifer. "He's nothing more than your destined vessel, Lucifer," he snapped.
Lucifer smiled serenely. "Yes," he said. "He was made for me. And he was made strong enough for me.
"Plus, I'm looking forward to what's going to happen to him and your vessel next," he said.
"What?" Sam asked.
Lucifer smiled. "You'll see, Sam," he said. "You'll see. But I'll tell you now, it's not the racks."
Sam frowned up at him. After a moment, he closed his eyes and sighed. "Blasted angels," he muttered. He pushed away from the wall and staggered over to Adam.
His half-brother was still asleep. "Will he be alright?" Sam asked worriedly.
Michael made a careless gesture with one of his wings. "He will wake unharmed," he said. "Unless you are so foolish as to take him and put him on the racks."
Sam bristled. "I'd never do that!" he exclaimed. "Unlike you, I actually care about my brothers."
Michael dove down at him. He hit the edge of the cage hard as Sam ducked.
Lucifer laughed at both of them. "Sam's not in the cage, Michael," he said.
"I care about my brothers," Michael snarled.
Sam snorted as he straightened up. "Could have fooled me," he said. "Considering all you wanted to do was kill one of them. And then from everything Gabriel didn't say-" he cut himself off.
"Gabriel?" Michael said. "Gabriel's alive?"
"No," Sam and Lucifer said at the same moment.
Lucifer shuddered. "Gabriel is not alive," he admitted.
He leaned down and got Adam into a fireman's carry. "Well, I'm not staying here," he said. "Great. It's going to be fun trying to get out." He glanced up at the archangels again.
It looked like Lucifer smiled at him. "Once you're out of the center, Sam, I think you'll actually find it quite easy to get out. But you might not find it easy to stay out."
"What does that mean?" Sam asked.
"You'll see, Sam."
Sam eyed him suspiciously and headed toward the tunnel he could see. Adam remained still and asleep on his shoulder.
Amaury looked up as he heard that strange tone. "Someone's actually running the gauntlet?" Darrah asked.
"This is the sixth one this century," Amaury said.
Darrah shifted. Both of them were in their natural shapes, just smoke on the air. "Let's go watch the gauntlet expel them," she said. "We can mock their comatose form."
"And then put them on the rack, if we get to them fast enough," Amaury said.
Darrah manifested a grin. "That too," she said.
The two demons headed for the tunnel entrance.
The gauntlet was at the center of Hell. No one knew what was there, but demons who could go all the way to the center and then return unscathed became leaders and warlords. Azazel and Lilith had both run the gauntlet before they could lay claim to the army of Hell in the plot to free Lucifer.
Most demons, however, were expelled out of the gauntlet and left nearly powerless. It took them thousands of years to regain any of their power, and they spent most of that time on the rack.
So, the two demons were disappointed when they reached the tunnel entrance, and there was a crowd already.
Darrah and Amaury were both fairly low ranked demons, and they'd never win the rights to torture the failed claimant. Still, they might get lucky enough to get to spend a bit of time mocking the demon. They found a spot where they could easily see the entrance, and waited.
And waited.
Most claimants didn't last much longer then an hour, but it'd already been more than two hours since all of Hell was alerted.
The demons settled in to wait.
Finally, nearly five hours after Hell was alerted, the gathered demons heard something from the tunnel. "Fight the good fight and remember, every minute, every day. Fight the good fight and remember, it's your only way."
"Singing?" One of the gathered demons asked.
"And the claimant is in human form," another said.
Then Amaury saw someone in the tunnel. For a moment, he thought it was a demon who was switching from human to demon form, he was that distorted, but then he realized it was one human form carrying another. The singing cut off abruptly.
"Oh, shit," the human form that had just walked out of the tunnel said.
There was something very familiar about him, but the power he gave off was incredible. This one had run the gauntlet successfully. And he was carrying someone else with him.
He shifted his burden a bit and narrowed his eyes.
The leading demon knelt down. Like a wave, all the demons either knelt or bowed, depending on which form they were in. Amaury noticed the claimant's confused stare, which was quickly wiped off.
"Do you know who I am?" he asked.
"You are our new leader," the lead demon replied. "You've survived the gauntlet and received the gift of power."
"Do you know my name?" he asked.
"No, my lord," the demon replied. "But you are familiar."
"I know your name," another demon said. "And I don't understand how you ended up there."
The claimant turned at the second voice. "Who… Meg," he growled.
She looked up at him. She was in human form, and smiled at him. "Heya, Sammy,"
"You don't get to call me Sammy," he snarled. "It's Sam."
She flinched back. "Of course, Sam," she said.
"Sam?" the lead demon asked. "Not Sam Winchester?"
Sam smiled. "That's me. I overpowered Lucifer and trapped him back in his cage. Unfortunately, I was taken to Hell with him. And now… well."
"Now you are the Boy King," Meg said.
Sam shifted, but smiled slowly. "Apparently so," he said. "Meg, come here."
"Of course, my lord," she said, though she looked extremely nervous.
"Show me where to go," he said. "Somewhere I can keep my half brother safe."
"You have a brother beside Dean?" she screeched.
Sam didn't say anything, but he did smile at her.
He glanced around. "Leave, now," he ordered.
Amaury felt the power in the order and, left along with nearly everyone else.
Darrah laughed as they left. "Well, no torture, but Hell has a new Lord."
"And Lucifer's trapped again," Amaury moaned. "That means that we won't get to kill all the humans."
"Well, who knows? Our new Lord overpowered Lucifer, so maybe he'll be able to invade Heaven as well as Earth."
Amaury smiled. "That'd be fun," he said.
Sam sat by Adam's bed and watched his half brother sleep. Adam had been asleep for nearly a day now. Sam had spent as much time as possible with him but apparently, he was now a Lord of Hell and powerful enough now that he was pretty much it's ruler. None of the other Lords wanted to fight him, not yet.
Meg was sarcastic, and he sensed that she didn't want him here, but she was the only demon he knew right now, and, for the moment, he needed her help.
It didn't help that the demons considered Adam to be Sam's advisor, since he'd also survived their trek from the center of Hell, though he wasn't as powerful as Sam since he didn't actually walk out of the center. They were calling it the gauntlet for some reason.
Adam moaned and rolled over. Thankfully, Meg had taken Sam to Azazel's mansion in Hell, which was actually quite comfortable, if rather morbidly decorated. Sam intended to take the mansion as his own, and he'd redecorate as soon as he could.
"Hey, Adam," Sam said as Adam opened his eyes slowly.
Adam looked confused for a long moment. "Sam? What's going on? Where are we? Where's Michael?"
Sam sighed. "You're alright?" he asked first. "Michael said you'd be alright, but I wasn't sure. You've been asleep for a day now."
Adam groaned and sat up. "I'm fine," he said. "He didn't hurt me after I said yes."
Sam closed his eyes. "But he hurt you before you said yes, didn't he? Dean and I thought that's what happened."
Adam twitched, but didn't answer. "Where's Dean?" Adam asked after a moment.
"Hopefully, nowhere near us," Sam said. "But I don't know for sure."
"Where are we?" Adam asked.
Sam sighed. "We're in Hell," he said.
"What?" Adam screeched. "How did we end up in Hell?"
Sam pushed his hair back and sighed again. "It's a long story, Adam," he said.
Adam crossed his arms. "Tell me," he snapped.
Sam sighed and began to explain. Once he was done, Adam didn't move for a long moment. "You mean we're stuck here?" he asked.
Sam shook his head. "I don't think so," he said. "Neither of us was dead when we fell into Hell. Plus, well, you don't deserve to be here, Adam. You should still be in Heaven."
Adam rolled his eyes. "Whatever. We both know that the angels screwed us all over."
Sam laughed. "Yeah, they did," he said. He sobered. "You don't blame me, do you?"
Adam shook his head. "Naw, dude, you were just trying to stop it."
Sam nodded. "Thank you," he said.
Adam shrugged. "So, what does a Lord of Hell and his advisor do?"
Sam shrugged. "Well, right now, we're going to get something to eat. I've got a demon I can… well, I can't trust her, but she's better than the other options. We'll use her for now. I sent her to get some food you and I can eat to us. Despite the fact that we're in Hell, we still need to eat."
Right on cue, Adam's stomach rumbled. Sam smiled as Adam flinched.
"Sorry," Adam said.
"Don't worry about it," Sam replied. "I've been there."
Sam sat back as Adam got up and stretched. "There are some clothes that should fit you in the bathroom. You might want to shower."
"Do I stink?" Adam asked.
Sam shook his head. "No, but sometimes just taking a shower helps."
Adam nodded. "It'll all be better after a shower and food?" he asked sarcastically.
"No," Sam said bluntly. "But…" he sighed. "We're stuck here for now, until I can get you out of here, and either back to Earth or with your mom up in Heaven."
Adam smiled wanly. "If it's possible," he said.
Sam nodded. "If it's possible," he agreed. "But it's not your fault you're down here. Michael dragged you along."
Adam shrugged and headed for one of the two doors in the bedroom.
"That's the door to the hallway," Sam said.
Adam changed direction smoothly and opened the other door. Sam smiled. Adam reminded so much him of Dean, it was almost scary.
Meg- that wasn't her real name, but she liked the name- entered the sitting room Sam and his "brother" were waiting in.
The brother smiled as she entered. "Oh, man, Pizza. I can't remember the last time I had pizza."
Sam laughed. "Too long, then," he said.
He took the pizza box from Meg and headed for the table in the corner of the room. He frowned down at the table but shrugged and set the box on it.
The brother found plates and Sam grabbed the six pack of coke that she'd also picked up.
"Go ahead and have a slice, Meg," Sam said. "I need to talk to you."
She sat down cautiously as nibbled on one slice as the two men demolished most of the rest of the pizza.
Finally, Sam sat back and glanced at his brother. "Meg, this is my half brother, Adam Milligan. Adam, this is… well, Dean and I call her Meg. She's a demon we've tangled with before. Literally, in my case," he grimaced. "What is your name, anyway?" he asked Meg.
Meg shook her head. "I prefer Meg, honestly. I always took the names of my hosts, but Meg fits me very well."
Sam shrugged. "Anyway, now that that's clear," he drawled.
Meg shifted. "Don't expect me to be nice," she said.
Sam actually smiled. "Never," he said. "I want to know if you can put your hatred aside and actually work with me. I am, apparently, now the de facto ruler of Hell. Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about actually ruling Hell."
Meg settled back. She did hate Sam Winchester, but, for power, she could put aside her desire for revenge.
"And don't even think about misusing what little trust I'll give you," Sam said coldly. "You are one of the only living demons that I know well enough to even call by any name. The rest are dead."
Meg nodded slowly. She wasn't really all that worried. She could handle Sam easily.
"No you can't," Sam said. "Maybe once, you could have, but I'm a lot stronger now."
She jumped. Adam stared at him, confused.
Sam smirked. "Oh, and I want to find some way of getting Adam back where he belongs."
Adam looked down. "Sam, you don't have to-"
"You don't belong here," Sam said. "You should have never been taken out of heaven."
Meg lost control of her form for an instant, dissolving into a cloud of black smoke. Sam and Adam both leaned away from her.
After a moment, she regained control and assumed human form again. "What?" she screeched. "He was in Heaven?"
Sam started snickering. Before long, he'd progressed to out and out laughter that didn't show any signs of stopping.
Meg huffed and glared at him. Adam just looked bewildered.
Finally, Sam got control of himself and wiped tears of laughter away. "Thank you, Meg. I needed that." He shook his had. "Anyway, don't think about it," he ordered. "It's none of your concern."
Meg scowled and tossed her head. "Fine," she grumped. "What about the war?"
"It's over," Sam said after he glanced at Adam. "No more. I'm going to call most of the demons back to Hell. Unless the angels attack, that's it. Plus, do you demons really want to destroy Earth?"
Meg sneered. "You're still human," she challenged.
Sam sat back. "I might be, I might not be. I'm not really sure anymore. But even though I am ruler of Hell now, I'll always be a Hunter." He grinned, more like a shark than a human. "Things are going to change around here."