Escape From Hell

Disclaimer: We don't own anything from Supernatural, and we're not making any money from this fic

Summary: Sequel to the Trickster. Sam meets Ruby and Darkoda in hell, then the angels come... Spanking threatened, but not carried out. Yet

Warning(s): Spoilers for Supernatural; some swats given with the flat of a sword; violence; original characters

Authors: Cat/Kindred Isa

Timeline: Set after season five when Sam goes to Hell.

Ruby left the basement of the house she'd been in, frowning a little to herself. She was waiting to get the new demon-killing knife from the older demon Cody; but until she could get that, she was going to have to wait to get back to the surface.

Ruby walked along the deserted streets, hearing the sounds of hell hounds in the distance. It was safer in the basement, but the demon didn't feel able to stay there for long. It felt too much like a cage, even though moving meant she ran the risk of being captured and tortured.

There was a figure ahead of her, and Ruby paused, taking a moment or two to register who it was. "Sam?"

The world had gone dark for the young man as he had stood before his nemesis, only to say yes to the Devil. He was then engulfed in a brilliant white light. but that was his nightmare now that Lucifer controlled him with great strain, and sacrified his very life to get the devil back into his cage.

He now stood in this strange dark world, unsure as to where he was; and as far as he knew, he was in the cage with Lucifer and Michael.

The voice behind him took Sam Winchester out of his reverie, turning to face the woman, who seemed to know him. "Uh...Yeah? Do I know you?"

"Oh, I forgot..." Ruby said. "You won't recognise this form." She stepped closer to him, craning to see over his shoulder. "Ruby, remember?" She could hear the hell hounds, but fortunately, they didn't seem to have moved any closer.

Sam growled, hearing that name, and stepped back, shaking his head. "But we killed you in the church after you used me, bitch!" He had not been able to understand why the demon he had grown to know and had seemed to want to help him would want Lucifer free. "So what happened? You decide to play me the entire time; or just after Dean got out, huh?"

Ruby took her eyes off the road behind Sam to look at him. "You killed me? When?" She frowned. "I've been here in hell since Lilith took over my body... Haven't seen you since trying to kill Lilith when she was on shore leave, remember? Sounds like you have me confused with someone else."

"Ah, you betrayed me, and we killed you in the church after I killed Lillith and Lucifer got out." Sam blinked, looking completely confused. "W...Wait, that wasn't you? Then who was it; and um what?"

"Probably one of Lilith's cronies." Ruby folded her arms. "When you say 'killed', I assume you mean with the knife. The knife kills demons. For good. No questions asked." She paused. "Do you have the knife?"

"I...No, I don't have the knife right now. I um well, Dean does; and he's still up there and not in the cage," Sam said sadly, and sighed, looking away, suddenly feeling sick at the thought of having sex with some stranger. "Uhhh...So um...after Dean died, you were down here? So who the hell did I fuck?"

Ruby blinked. "Wait, you had sex with a demon? I thought you and your brother were all about hunting the bad things, not sleeping with them." She frowned. "And Lucifer got out? Sam, what did you do?"

"Uh, she used me to drink her blood; and I killed Lillith, breaking the last seal, Ruby. It is a long story, but then we eventually got the keys to his cage; and I said yes. I took him into me and let myself fall into the cage. So now here I am; and uhhh, yes, we had sex more than once. Drinking her blood...well got me well..you know..."

"Demon blood is dangerous, Sam! You really should have known better..." Ruby sighed. "Well, guessing Dean already got mad at you for that. Can't imagine him just letting you drink demon blood." She paused, head on one side, as she heard the unmistakeable sounds of hell hounds getting closer. "We can't stay here."

"Yeah, I know that now; but drank a lot of blood when I said yes to the bastard...Uhhh, Ruby, are those Hell Hounds? Like the kind that tore Dean up that night?" Sam asked, and looked behind them with wide green eyes. "Yeah, let's get the Hell out of here!"

Ruby moved past Sam, giving him a light push to get him moving. "You go on ahead. I'll catch up." She pulled out one of her hex bags. "A little way down the road, you'll see a house with a yellow door. It's safe there."

"Dude, a house in Hell? Man, this is beyond weird," Sam muttered, and then bolted for the house, unable to help but pant, hearing the dogs getting closer, their barks and growls even louder; finally getting to the house, scrambling for the door to open it. He was nearly panicked
by the time he got inside the house, panting hard. "Ohhh, God...This is not happening."

Ruby might not have had her demon slaying knife with her anymore, but she did have other weapons, and she stunned one hell hound with her hex bag, stabbing another with a dagger, and getting a claw raked hard across her side and arm for it. It wouldn't kill her, but it hurt like a son of a bitch. However, by then, she'd got enough time, and raced into the house, slamming the door closed as something that appeared to be an Enochian symbol flashed above the door on the inside.

Sam looked at the symbol above the door and raised a brow, panting hard in both terror and shock. "Uhh, is that Enochian? You have an angel symbol in Hell...Well, that is a whole load of messed up."

"It's supposed to be a protection symbol against the other demons." Ruby shrugged. "You'll have to ask Cody about it." She put a hand against her bleeding side, grimacing a little. "Oww... I need to bandage this."

"Shit, Ruby, we have to get that fixed up." Sam tore some of his shirt to bandage her side, tying it off gently. "So, you going to tell me what happened and who Cody is?"

"Not much to tell, really," Ruby replied, gritting her teeth at the pain. "Ended up stuck here. Can't fight my way through without a knife. Cody's been working on making a new one, but it's taking a while. She's the one who originally created the knife. Really old demon."

"How does one create a demon killing knife, and why would a demon create one to begin with?" Sam asked as he continued to work on bandaging her up, looking a little apologetic when she seemed to be in pain. "Sorry...So where do we find this Cody person?"

Ruby nodded to the steps that led down to the basement. "Down there, working in the forge. My guess? Cody deals in information. She probably bargained to get the knowledge to create the knife. I'm guessing fallen angel - the symbol above the door, you know?"

"Fallen angel as in like Lucifer? Why would a fallen angel want to kill demons?" Sam wondered and looked at the door to the basement curiously.

"Sam, I really don't know the full story here... but I'm in pain, and I need to rest." Ruby grimaced. "When she finishes the knife, I'm going back to the surface."

"To do what, Ruby? What will you do up there; and yeah, where is your bedroom so that you can rest?" Sam asked, and led her down the hallway to her room, helping the demon onto the mattress to cover her in blankets. "Relax, I am not in the mood for sex, so won't take advantage of you."

"Who says I'd let you?" Ruby returned, letting her eyes close. "You know what Hell's like. I'd rather not be here any longer than I have to. You can bother Cody, if you want."

Sam smirked at her remark, and got up from the bed to let her sleep, thinking he should probably meet this Cody; uncertain as to why she would help them. He left Ruby's room and headed down the hallway towards the basement, opening the door, heading down the wooden stairs
slowly into the dark room. His stomach ached in anticipation, but mentally punched it down. He was a Winchester, and there was no way that anything was going to be able to visibly shake him; especially after the recent events, besides Hell Hounds. Sam knew what those bitchs could do and did when they got a hold of you. Stepping cautiously into the room, Sam blinked, looking around. "Uh, you don't know me; but Ruby told me you would be down here, so no need to get, well all stabby or anything."

The demon - presumably Cody - looked up from the forge she was working on, creating a knife that looked exactly the same as the one Ruby had wielded originally. "You're one of the Winchester boys," she said, her voice revealling absolutely no surprise that he was here. "Not the one who was here before... am I right?" Her voice was soft, and a little sad.

"How did you know that, and why do you want to help kill Demons?" Sam looked at the demon, finding that she was a lovely one with dark hair and equally lovely amber eyes; but there was a sadness to her that was rare for demons. "How do you know how make a knife that kills Demons?"

Cody sighed a little, putting the knife to one side for now. "I didn't always want to kill demons, but the last time I possessed someone, something made me... remember... what I used to be." She shrugged. "The secret of the knife comes from a fallen angel. We made a trade. She told me the secret to creating the knife - and the first life the knife took was hers."

"She wanted to die, so told you how to create this knife?" Sam asked, and sat down on the stairs, looking at this young-looking demon with a sigh. "I didn't think any demon wanted to die by that knife; and I know from first-hand that being possessed is not something I would ever want to experience again."

"I haven't possessed anyone since then," Cody answered. "I now deal in information. She couldn't live with what she'd done as a demon, and so told me how to kill her." She shrugged. "When Ruby spoke of going to the surface, I gave her the knife to help in the battle at the gates."

"Uh huh, and why did she want to go up the first place? Also, how do you know about us exactly; but also, what do you know about us?" Sam asked, used to asking for information up on Earth; but then a thought escaped him. "Do I need to possess someone to get back then? Am I a demon?"

"Have you been tortured and twisted to become a demon?" Cody asked directly. "You don't appear to have been. Therefore, you're not a demon. You might be a spirit... but maybe an angel can recreate your body," she suggested. "And I know the Winchesters - two brothers, hunters. You and Dean are pretty famous down here." She glanced over at the knife. "It's nearly finished..."

"Famous? Famous for what, exactly? Sending demons back down the Hell? I know that I was Lucifer's vessel, and no one would hurt me; but also know that Dean was to be Michael's. I didn't think we were that famous, though, just known."

Cody shrugged. "That's certainly one thing you're famous for. But do you know how many people - even hunters - don't bother to try and exorcise demons? Just kill the host, and hope it would kill the demon too? It's the sort of thing you get remembered for, like it or not." She folded her arms, and asked, in what appeared to be a casual way, "Did you meet any of the angels?"

"Angels? You mean like Michael? He is a dick, by the way, just so you know; and well, we did meet a few, yes."

"I missed all of the excitement when your brother got pulled out of hell," Cody said, her voice neutral. "Is it true what they said? An angel did it?" She watched Sam's face, her expression unreadable.

Sam looked at her and nodded, not sure what more to say on the matter; but would tell her at least what he could. "Yes, it's true. An angel came and brought him out. Man, I thought I would never see Dean again; and there he was at my hotel door."

"Your brother was lucky," Cody said slowly. "Once hell has you, very few people are able to break free - and then only by possessing people."

"So is that my fate, then? To only escape by possessing people once the others find me? Am I to eventually become a demon?" Sam gulped and sighed, looking at his hands sadly, not wanting to possess or hurt anyone to escape the fiery pit. "I wish Cass was here right now; at least he could get me out of this mess - but I knew the risks and my fate once I surrendered my body."

"I don't have all the answers," Cody said apologetically. "The best way of finding out is by going up. But you need to fight your way out. This is hell's basement level, and getting out will be hard."

"Basement? How many levels are in Hell anyway?" Sam knew that she was right; or there would be more demons Earth, meaning everyone would be possessed if it were that easy to escape. "So guessing we manage to get out of the pit, or I am in for one hell of a long vacation here with only being able to escape with smoke."

Cody shrugged. "It probably depends on which way you travel. The knife I've created will kill the demons - but other weapons will harm them. It's just better to have the knife." She reached out to pick up the knife. "You could even go now..."

Sam gulped and turned nervously, hearing the distant howls of the hell hounds roaming in the streets looking for him, knowing he was a major target. The human looked at the knife and knew that he needed Ruby with him, owing her a large debt to help her out too. "What weapons? And
Ruby is too weak to come out right now. We have to move fast when we are ready...Those bitchs want my meat bigtime; and I know I have a target on my back."

"Demons heal fast," Cody replied. "We kind of have to, what with being tortured all the time. And, yeah, you're going to draw a lot of attention, being a soul who hasn't been twisted into a demon yet. I might have something that can help - but it won't shield you from them entirely, and you need to be careful."

"What could possibly help shield me when most of the demons down here want my ass for sending them back down here? I am not exactly on their Christmas card list down here." Sam Winchester gulped, and nearly jumped, hearing the loud howls with wide green eyes, knowing that, if it wasn't for the Enochian on the house, the hounds would be tearing him into pieces. "Will those doors hold? Because those things have found me."

"You saw the symbol above the door, right?" Cody asked. "Angel symbol of protection. It'll hold. However, when the time comes to move, you need to move quick. Hit hard, hit fast, and don't let up. And I'm not talking about a shield like you would think... a while back, I traded for something that would make it seem like someone has a demon soul. It's not perfect, and won't hold up to intense scrutiny; but it's the best I have."

"Um okay; but you do realize that once the demons really know I am down here, I am toast, right? I am basically in deep here; but I'll take what I can get."

"No form of protection is perfect, Sam." As she spoke, Cody reached for an amulet. "But Ruby will help you."

"We will need to wait till she is back to full strength first before we make our move, though; and what about you? Are you just staying here alone down here?"

"I'm tired, Sam," Cody answered. "I don't have the strength to fight anymore. There isn't anything left for me up there." Despite her words, however, there was a strange look of almost longing in her eyes.

"You would be the first demon that wouldn't want to be up there on the surface then, Cody, but something tells me that you want this too. What more could you want than to be up there, where you won't need to be scared anymore?"

"...What more could I want?" Cody echoed. "My life back? Selling my soul seemed like a good idea at the time, but hindsight's a fine thing, right? Didn't even get the full ten years..." She sighed.

"You made a deal with a crossroads demon, didn't you? Why did you do that? And it does suck that you never got the full time you had left. What happened?"

Cody shrugged slightly. "I did it to save my husband's life, but raiders came to our town and killed me and our son." She said it almost in the same way one would be telling a story - and a bad storyteller, at that; flatly and with no emotions.

"Oh, man, I am sorry to hear that. How long did you have as a family? I don't know what I would do if I ever lost Dean again; and can't imagine what he is going through."

"Losing family is hard..." Cody said, nodding slightly in agreement. "We only had five years together. I never got a chance to see how badly it affected him, and I hope he didn't lose his mind..."

"Well, that was a long time ago; and wish I could tell you, Cody. It is sad that you lost your family and had only five years. I nearly lost my mind, to be honest, when Dean was torn up by Hell Hounds."

Cody grimaced slightly. "That doesn't really help me think that he might have got over it... It would have been a little bearable if I'd known he'd be all right."

"I am sure he mourned your deaths but lived his life until he died. We all miss our loved ones, but we always learn to live with what we've lost. I am sure you were always in his heart and mind; but he is in a better place now, I'll bet," Sam replied, not knowing what else to say on the matter about her worrying over her husband's well being. "Is your son here? I really hope not, with this being a horrible place for a child."

Cody shook her head slowly. "No. He's in heaven. Admittedly, maybe that's not the best place for a child - from what I was told - but it's far better than here." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, changing the subject. "What weapons do you prefer using? Guns or knives?"

"I use guns more than anything; and what about your husband? Where is he now? Here or Heaven?" Sam asked, and looked at the demonic woman before he sat down on the stairs.

"He's not here..." Cody answered. "I guess he's in heaven..." There was a strange look on her face, though, as if she wasn't quite convinced of that. Wordlessly, she went over to the weapons cache, taking out a couple of guns.

"You guess he is in Heaven...Cody, is he not dead? I thought you died a long time ago, from what Ruby has said. She said you were ancient...Damn, did you marry an angel?" Sam asked with wide green eyes, looking at her, figuring that she must have been married to an angel if he was guessed to be in Heaven, not really saying that her husband was dead.

"No..." Cody said - and then sighed. "Well, okay... I did. But honestly? It wouldn't surprise me if he is dead now... The deal was for him to be left alone if he stayed out of the war... With the apocalypse, how could he do that?"

"I don't think any angel could stay out of the battle on the apocalypse, but only know a few that were involved. Not all them made it through, but I do know Castiel survived. One faced Lucifer to save us and protect us and a hotel full of people from him and lesser Gods. He perished like a warrior, to be honest, and also knew about the keys to the cage." Sam said and sighed, remembering what had happened in the past months.

Cody raised her eyebrows. "And... which one was that?" Her voice had returned to being flat - as if she had some idea of the answer, and was afraid of it.

"His name was Gabriel, but he had stayed out of it until the last minute. I owe him a debt for taking that fall; and he even said it was time he stopped hiding and doing what was worth while after some time; but Cass did die too but was brought back. I guess some angels are brought back by God, and hope he was one of them. He didn't deserve to be stabbed like that for us."

"Damn it!" Cody said - rather uncharacteristically, for her. She looked - for a moment - like she wanted to punch something; but then simply slid down to sit on the floor, closing her eyes briefly. "I told him to stay out of it..." Her voice was muffled from where her face was pressed into her folded arms, resting on top of her knees.

Sam looked at her with wide green eyes, and stood up to kneel next to her. "Gabriel was your husband, wasn't he, Cody? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you or just come down here to give you bad news. If it does make you feel better, he died a warrior and was brave to the last, getting us out of there; and Cass came back, so maybe he will."

Cody shook her head, still not looking up. "They all say God has abandoned the Earth... Why would he care enough to bring Gabriel back?" Even though her face was hidden, her shoulders shook as if she sobbed silently.

"And yet God brought Cass back before I was sent down here. He must still be around, and I can't see why he won't bring Gabriel back too. I am so sory, Cody," Sam said, and held the fallen woman, knowing she needed to mourn her husband and son.

Cody shook her head, clearly not about to let herself hope. She only cried a little - as much pain as she was in, she was too used to keeping how much it hurt back. She wiped her eyes and looked up at Sam. "Then there really is no point in going with you and Ruby to the surface."

Sam shook his head looking at the demon before him. "No, we can't just leave you here to be trapped in this house. I..." The human turned, hearing the sounds of screams, dogs howling, and the sounds of an intense battle going on in the distance. "What is that?"

Cody shook her head slightly, staring at the door. "It sounds like..." Her eyes widened. "That's what happened before... when the angels rescued your brother. If they're here, you can go with them!"

"Not going out there alone. I am taking you both up to the surface." Sam headed to the door just as it opened, suddenly seeing a beautiful male blond standing there with his angelic sword bloody. Sam gasped, but then smiled. "G...Gabe?"

Gabriel panted, looking at Sam, and urged him to get to the door. "Let's go, Sam...We need to get out of here while Castiel holds them off."

Cody spun on her heel, racing for Ruby's room without letting the angel who had just appeared see her face. She slipped into the bedroom, giving the demon's shoulder a rough shake. "Up. Get up."

Gabriel helped Sam towards the basement door, and they headed upstairs while other angels fought to keep the lines open. Sam put a hand on his shoulder, halting their leaving the house. "Wait, Gabe...We have to get Ruby."

The angel nodded, and they ran up the stairs to get Ruby to escape, knocking on the door. "Come on, Ruby...We can't hold the line for too much longer."

Ruby started awake, wincing hard as she jostled her wounds. "Wait, what?" She headed to the door.

"You're not seriously staying here, are you?"

Cody half-turned at the sound of the familiar voice, but barely got her bearings before she was shoved hard through the now-open door, Asra following her out of the room, muttering something about stubborn fallen angels under her breath.

Gabriel and Sam had just got to Ruby's bedroom door when Cody was shoved into the angel's arms, with his hazel eyes widening. "D...Darkoda?" Gabriel asked, seeing his wife, with his eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I...Is that you?" He then wrapped his arms around his fallen wife, close to sobbing. "I...I missed you and lost you..."

Darkoda stiffened - just a little - before her arms slowly came around Gabriel, closing her eyes briefly. "Gabriel... I missed you too..." A couple of tears stood in her own eyes.

"Probably not a good idea to stand around hugging," Asra said. "With, you know, a battle going on."

Gabriel looked at Asra and spoke. "Just got my wife back after two thousand years of being apart, so think I can hold her a while." The blond then kissed Darkoda passionately, and still felt the tears falling. "I was lost without you...Please don't leave me again. I don't care if you are a demon; you're still my wife."

Darkoda hugged Gabriel tightly, returning the kiss. "I couldn't help it... I did sell my soul. But... I don't want to leave you again," she admitted, and then lightly touched his hair, blinking. "You cut your hair..."

"Maybe I'd better go join in the battle..." Asra headed to the door, and then paused, looking out and spotting Castiel. "Uh... maybe I'll just wait..."

Gabriel smiled a little and kissed her again. "Yes, I cut it for the modern world; but could always grow it out again if you wish it, my lovely bride. I do want you back, and love you so much." He then smirked when Asra spotted Castiel.

Castiel gave Asra a very stern look with his blue eyes in his current vessel, shaking his head.
"Oh no you don't, Asra, you are coming back with me; and I promise you that I'll have you bent over something for a good spanking. You disappeared on me again, and what did I say you would have should you do that again after how many times now? At least ten in our centuries together?"

Asra folded her arms across her chest. "I had a good reason for it..." She turned to glare at Darkoda. "You disappeared on me again... Seriously, Uriel makes you remember, and you come back to hell?"

Darkoda stayed in the circle of Gabriel's arms, but frowned at her friend. "Can we not go there?"

"Uhhh..." Ruby stumbled a little, hand pressed to her side, where blood could be seen seeping through her bandages.

Castiel put his hand on Ruby's wounds, healing her, and then looked at his long time lover with disappoval on his handsome face. "That doesn't matter, Asra, you are still getting a spanking; and if you keep this up, I will bend you over right here and now."

Gabriel looked at Darkoda. "You could have come to me, Darkoda...You could have always come to me, my love. I am not proud of what I've done in my past after the loss; but I will always be here for you."

"Uh, no... let's keep that part private," Asra said, taking a slight step backwards. "I'm sorry," she offered, looking like she truly was.

Darkoda looked down briefly. "I'm a demon... you're still an arch angel, Gabriel. I didn't think you'd want me," she admitted quietly.

"Thanks," Ruby said, stepping a bit nearer to Sam. "Uh... What's going on?" She addressed the question to him.

"We are getting out of here," Sam replied, and he took her hand, kissing her passionately. "And for the record, I would prefer you to that bitch that fooled me."

Gabriel watched this and smirked. "See, babe, we can handle the whole demon and angel thing if you'll come with me?"

The group soon headed out of the house with weapons to protect themselves, getting into the battle with other angels, working to get out of the basement of Hell, blood spilling on the ground with a fierce energy that none could ever imagine unless they had lived centuries before. The angels soon helped the others escape a face worse than death to get to the surface.