Alice sat on the motel bed, tapping her fingers against her knee nervously as she watched Sam sleep on the other bed. She felt kind of guilty for spiking his drink earlier, although she wouldn't have had to if his alcohol tolerance wasn't so bloody high, and was now waiting to make sure he wasn't about to wake up. It was time to get Dean Winchester out of hell. Alice glanced over to the end of her bed where her outfit for the evening, and please let it only be the one evening, was laid out. It was nothing exciting: black jeans, red shirt, black hoodie, and black boots. The only interesting thing was the plain porcelain mask placed on her pillow. As soon as she was sure Sam was asleep she got changed, not bothering with weapons she could summon them if needed, after all she was going as guide not guard. She also left a note for Sam, telling him that something had come up and she'd meet back up with him as soon as possible, and under absolutely no circumstances was he to have sex with Ruby. Admittedly that last part wasn't necessary but the demon was getting desperate and Alice didn't want to take any chances. Sighing she picked up the mask, turning it over in her hands several times before looking up into the mirror. She carefully fitted it over her face and it held perfectly, she turned to take one last look at Sam before disappearing.
Castiel was not one to admit defeat but he was slowly finding his faith in himself failing. It should not be so hard to find the righteous man, but he had found himself facing opposition at every turn and was now lost in what he could only think of as a labyrinth of tunnels and corridors. He heard growling behind him and hastened his step, unwilling to expend any more energy on the hell hounds pursuing him.
Hell was an interesting place to visit but Alice wouldn't like to live there. As a pagan and an archangel she could get in and out hell without all the hassle Castiel had probably gone through, and had done on many occasions. She was sat cross legged on a small ledge overlooking an intersection of tunnels which, given the information she'd gotten out of a rather unhappy demon, her target would have to pass through. Her target was the angel of Thursday. The angel who, with the best intentions in the world, would start the apocalypse. Alice was still more than a little conflicted about helping him, but he was only following orders and she couldn't really blame him for something she would have done. Besides Dean Winchester needed to get out of hell and she wasn't doing it.
Castiel stumbled down yet another dark tunnel, careful to keep one hand on the rough stone wall for balance. His grace was weak which was understandable given how cut off from heaven he was, but worrying none the less. Quite suddenly the tunnel opened up before him and he stumbled into a cave much larger than the ones he'd previously been in. It had many other tunnels leading to it and a faint light bled from the stone allowing him to see fully for the first time in ages. Before he could properly take in his surroundings a low growl made him focus on one of the far tunnels where he soon spotted the outline of a female demon who, if Castiel wasn't mistaken, appeared to be quiet old and therefore powerful. She moved into the cave flanked it appeared by two hell hounds, if the prints in the dirt were anything to go by.
"So you're the little angel who slipped through our defences?" She said with a pleased smile as she looked him up and down slowly. "It's a pity for you that you got this far." She continued smugly, tongue darting out to lick her lips. "I wonder if Alastair will allow me to keep you as a pet." Castiel raised his hand to dispose of the demon and her beasts but before he could one of them jumped on his chest, knocking him to the ground and snapping it's teeth dangerously close to his neck. "Now now none of that, I'd hate to have to damage you." The demon chanted gleefully, fully aware of how weak the angel was.
"Unfortunately for you I will have no problems damaging you." A female voice stated from above.
Castiel watched in amazement as what appeared to be a black shadow with a white emotionless face dropped down between him and the demon, it turned and with a snap the hell hound on Castiel disappeared. Upon further inspection Castiel discovered that it wasn't in fact a shadow but a person wearing a mask, probably a girl given the voice though the black clothing made it difficult to tell.
"Who the hell are you." The demon hissed, her fists clenching at her sides though she made no move towards the new comer.
"Me? I'm nobody important really, at least not at the moment anyway." She replied, and it was Castiel's belief that behind the mask she was smiling.
"Why do you protect him?" The demon demanded angrily. No one could possible have made it down here to help the angel, no one. "What is he to you?"
"That my dear is nobody's business but my own." The being in front of him growled and Castiel had to admit that he was wondering why this person risked their life for him. The demon hissed and the last hell hound growled, launching itself at the girl who merely raised her hand and watched as it burst into flames. She then turned her attention to the demon. "Begone with you." She hissed and the demon's mouth opened in surprise as black smoke began to pour out of it until the demon was completely gone.
Castiel watched as the girl, and he was now certain it was a girl, turned to him and offered him a hand up. Castiel accepted it wearily and allowed her to pull him to his feet, though he immediately took a step back, it was hard to tell but the girl gave off a sudden wave of sadness and immediately dropped her hand back to her side. Leaving Castiel to feel slightly guilty, an emotion he'd never really encountered before.
"Thank you." He mumbled, unwilling to cause his saviour any more distress, and she was his saviour even if he would never admit it out loud.
She didn't seem evil, though he'd long learnt that nothing was as it seemed in this place. She wasn't very tall and rather slim as well, though it was obvious from the way she'd handled the demon that she didn't need physical strength. She held a sense of power and familiarity that both reassured and scared Castiel especially her eyes, a light piercing blue that he felt were looking not only through his vessel but his grace as well.
"You've been dragging your wings through the mud again Cassie." She said as though she hadn't heard him.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Demanded Castiel, suddenly less inclined to play nice with the girl.
"Who I am is of no importance. As for what I want, I want to help you complete your stupid quest alive."
"Why?" Castiel asked suspiciously, this girl shouldn't even know about his quest yet alone want to help.
"I'm bored." She shrugged. "And have invested interest in getting Dean Winchester, aka your righteous man, out of hell."
"Why should I trust you?"
"Well I did just save your life, that's got to count for something." She sighed as she lent back against a wall.
"What if I refuse your help." Castiel was still suspicious, no matter how honourable the girls apparent motives.
"Then I'll follow you around like a devoted puppy while you get lost." She informed him happily.
"Fine." Castiel sighed with a slight note of defeat. "Which tunnel would you suggest?"
She nodded towards the tunnel the demon had emerged from and they set off.
In Alice's opinion Castiel hadn't changed in the time she'd been gone. He was still to obedient, to suspicious, and to curious for his own good. But then again that was the reason he had been one of her favourites. He hadn't spoken to her directly since they'd started walking, she'd heard muttered incantations and, in what she could only assume was a fit of desperation, a muttered christo, but he hadn't asked her any direct questions. He had tried slipping into her mind but had quickly realized it would lead nowhere and given up. Alice had been doing her level best to keep a watchful eye on Castiel no matter how far ahead he walked as well as the tunnel in front of them, after all wouldn't want him getting jumped by anything nasty. She was considering suggesting they stop, she was tired which meant the younger angel had to be exhausted, but before she could Castiel stumbled and barely caught himself from falling face first onto the cold hard ground.
"Maybe we should stop and rest for awhile?" Alice proposed gently.
Castiel opened his mouth, probably to say something insulting Alice thought, before closing it again just as quickly. He could see concern in the girls eyes and she appeared to be tired herself, if the way she was slouching was anything to go off of. Sighing he nodded, leaning against the wall.
"You should sleep." She suggested as she sat down with her back against the wall, her legs crossed underneath her.
"Angels don't sleep." He told her, glaring when she snorted at him.
"Don't not can't, you'll feel better if you do, trust me."
Castiel eyed her suspiciously for a moment, as if trying to determine her intentions, before lowering himself to the ground. Within moments the angel of Thursday was fast asleep. Alice sighed, removing her mask carefully and rubbing a hand across her face. With any luck the rest of this little excursion would pass without incident and they'd reach Dean Winchester in a couple of days, hell time of course, which meant she'd be back topside within 48hours of having left. She looked down at the mask sullenly, it was a bloody nuisance having to wear the thing but it was a necessary evil, she couldn't have anyone recognizing her. Castiel slept for a good 4hours, much to his distress, and Alice had to refrain from pointing out they'd probably have to stop again, she didn't want to be stared into oblivion. For her part Alice had only dozed on and off during their pause, to worried about being discovered or even better Castiel wandering off to sleep very deeply. They headed off again, Castiel moving with a bit more energy now and Alice had to smile maybe they'd do okay after all.
It surprised Castiel how easily he accepted the strangers silent company. She rarely spoke without being spoken to, save whispered warnings when she spotted something up ahead. But the silence wasn't strained. They advanced well, running into no troubles as they did, although the atmosphere was heavy and weighed on Castiel greatly. The girl didn't seem to be quite as effected by it as he was but it did weigh on her. They had travelled quite some way, and reached another large cavern before she spoke up.
"We need to stop and rest."
"No, I must complete my mission." Castiel growled, rounding in the girl.
"Well good for you." She hissed, eyes flashing dangerously. "But I'm very close to my limit, which means you're not much better."
"How do you know that. What makes you think that I am as weak as you?"
The girl growled and Castiel suddenly found himself pinned to the wall, unable to move to put up a fight.
"I have a lot more experience with hell than you do little angel, and you would do well not to push your luck." She whispered.
Castiel's brow furrowed, it was a threat but at the same time it wasn't. She didn't want to hurt him, it was a warning she could hurt him but she didn't want to. Castiel bowed his head.
"I apologise, I didn't not mean to be so disrespectful. I do not know what came over me."
"I do." She said, letting go of him and stepping back. "It's this place, it's poison."
Castiel nodded, straightening up as he watched her slide down to sit against one of the walls. "I'm sorry I did not mean to lose my temper with you." She whispered, dropping her head to her knees.
"It was not your fault, I am as much to blame." Castiel whispered, sitting down next to her. "We need to rest."
The girl snorted her agreement, letting her eyes fall closed as she did and Castiel observed her for a moment before following suit. It was a few hours before he woke up and when he did it took him a moment to realise what had woken him. Every thing was perfectly silent as usual and there were no changes to the lighting or the atmosphere but something seemed off, and then he saw it. The girl had moved and was now crouched down slightly in front of him, two silver blades in hand and eyes scanning the room. She nodded towards the far side of the cavern where something appeared to be moving around as if searching for something. Castiel heard a muffled curse and the figure moved away, the girl watched the tunnel it had exited by intently before releasing a relieved sigh and relaxing against the wall.
"Why not just kill it?" Castiel asked her.
"His absence would have been noticed easily. I heard him muttering to himself, he was sent to find something he lost." She explained.
"Do you know what?"
"Probably this." She supplied producing a key from her pocket. "I nicked it from him before I found you, you're probably going to need it." Castiel took the key from her and turned it around in his hand a few times before putting it in his pocket, nodding his head in thanks. "We should get going, with any luck we can finish this in one stretch." She told him as she helped him up.
Castiel was sceptical but didn't comment, in his mind they hadn't made much progress at all but the girl seemed confident and it was hard to argue with that. He was curious as to what the key was to but he doubted his questions would get any answer so he left it, if she was right he'd have it when he needed it. They stumbled along for some time, or more exactly Castiel stumbled the girl merely dragged her feet slightly. As they did Castiel noticed the sounds of the damned, the tunnel didn't look any different but the screams of the tortured souls could be faintly heard, growing stronger the farther they went. The girl didn't appear to be effected by it, at least not on the surface but it was hard to tell with the mask in the way. He wondered why she wore it, or more importantly why she didn't want to be recognized as that was the main reason people wore masks. Then again she appeared to know her way around down here so she was probably well known and didn't want to risk anyone seeing her help an angel. At the same time she obviously wasn't a demon, he'd made sure of that, but he couldn't think of anything else she could be. He was so busy puzzling it out that he didn't realize she'd stopped until he walked right into her.
"Sorry." He said, looking around for the reason they'd stopped.
They were in another intersection, this one with a lot more light than the other ones they'd been through.
"This is as far as I go." The girl informed him, as she jerked her thumb towards one of the tunnels. "You'll find Dean Winchester at the end of that tunnel, it's not very long."
"Why aren't you coming.'' Castiel demanded, conscious that it could all be a trap.
"I'd love to, but unfortunately Dean Winchester is under the care of a demon by the name of Alastair. A demon I would rather never run into again, so I'm afraid you're on you're own." She replied curtly.
Castiel eyed her suspiciously for a moment weighing his options, it soon became obvious that he didn't have a choice.
"Thank you for your help." He said politely, watching as her eyes lit up.
"Don't mention Cassie." She said happily before adding in a more serious tone. "Seriously though don't, know one needs to know about my involvement here. Just pretend you did it all on your lonesome okay?" Castiel nodded, slightly confused by the request. "Alright get going then, the righteous man's been down here long enough don't you think." She gave him a shove in the direction of the tunnel and he headed off.
She had been right, the tunnel wasn't very long, and at the end of it was a large locked door which the key she'd given him fit perfectly. He entered the room cautiously, looking round it with care. The only occupant appeared to be the young unconscious man strapped on the rack in the centre of the room, who Castiel approached slowly. He was about half way across the room when he heard something behind him however before he could turn around something threw him into a table of knives.
"Welcome angel, I've been expecting you." A male demon stated as he approached him. "I'm surprised you made it this far but don't worry you're on my turf right now and I assure you you won't be leaving.
Alice wasn't sure why she hadn't left already, she'd been down here long enough as it was and it was probably going to take her another hour to reach a workable exit. But she just didn't feel right leaving Castiel until she was sure he'd finished his stupid quest. She lent against the wall tapping her finger against her crossed arms nervously, perfectly ready to fry any demon trying to get to any of the cells. The screaming of the damned was getting to her more than she'd expected. She had almost convinced herself to leave, had even started walking back to the tunnel, when she heard a loud crash coming from the tunnel Castiel had taken. It was impossible to spend nearly a week with another angel without becoming attuned to them and right now Castiel was radiating pain and if she wasn't mistaken fear as well.
"I'm here as a guide not a guard, I'm here as a guide… Oh who the hell am I kidding." She growled taking off after Castiel.
The door was still open and she couldn't help the shiver that went up her spine at the sight. Torture room aside Alastair was currently standing over Castiel with a rather nasty looking blade, which she knew from experience hurt like hell. Without thinking about the consequences, something she was unsurprisingly good at, she threw one of the two blades she'd summoned at Alastair. It missed but it got his attention which was the main idea, he turned to her taking in her appearance with a sneer.
"Well well what have we here? It appears you have a saviour little angel. For all the good it will do you." He said to Castiel who was watching Alice in complete surprise. Something Alice was quite proud of, he hadn't showed this much emotion since she'd found him.
"Oh I wouldn't say that." Alice replied, her voice higher than usual. "I'm not a complete loser after all." Alastair grinned and launched himself at her and Alice cursed. "Me and my big mouth." Alastair knocked her to the ground slashing his knife across her chest and narrowly missing cutting her open. Alice tried to parry his knife but he knocked hers out of her hand. "Gods I'm out of practice." She groaned as she kicked him off and lunged at her knife. Alastair slashed her across the back, going threw cloth and skin this time round and she hissed wrapping her hand around her knife. The demon grabbed her hoodie yanking her back by it and ripping it, allowing her to slip out of it and turn around. Although her hair tumbled down around her face messily and she saw a spark of recognition from Alastair, damn it. She grabbed his knife hand and stabbed her knife in his arm, causing him to drop his blade.
"Well aren't you a feisty one." He growled, grabbing her by the throat.
"Bit of help wouldn't go amiss Cassie." Alice called to the angel who was slowly getting his bearings back.
"Oh I'm afraid he's going to be out of it for a while kid." Alastair laughed, tightening his grip.
"Oh joy." Alice gasped before lashing out, sending Alastair across the room. She hit the ground hard, doing her level best to get her head to stop spinning.
"Watch out!" Castiel cried out and Alice jerked her head up only to be met by a large wooden club.
Alice gave a shout as it connected with her face with enough force to crack her mask. She could feel blood trickling from her nose as she scrambled to get up. She ended up getting hit about 7 more times before she lost what little restraint she had and in the blink of an eye Alastair was gone. She slumped against the wall, doing her level best to blink the spots out of her vision.
"Are you okay?" Castiel asked as he knelt next to her.
"Oh I'm just dandy." Alice muttered, eyeing the young angel critically he had a nasty looking mark on the side of his head. "You?" Castiel nodded and Alice sighed, pushing herself up the wall. "Well you better get sleeping beauty out of here and back into one piece. Heaven know what Alastair did to him and made him do." Alice muttered, motioning to the unconscious hunter. "Oh that reminds me you better hurry up, Alastair won't be gone long."
Castiel nodded moving over to his charge but he hesitated.
"Why did you come back?" He asked her and she hesitated by the door.
Alice turned around to look at the younger angel, her younger brother she reminded herself and sighed.
"Wouldn't want you thinking I'm a coward would I Castiel." She replied quietly, taking off down the hallway before he could ask any more questions.
It took her nearer to 2 hours to get topside with her injuries, her body couldn't heal itself while in hell. As soon as she got her bearings, she was in central park, she located Sam and zapped herself over there before she could do anything stupid like pass out.
"What the hell!" Sam shouted as she appeared, immediately reaching for his gun.
"Keep your shirt on Winchester, it's only me." Alice replied taking off her mask an eyeing it critically, the thing was ruined and she was surprised it hadn't shattered with the force of the blow, she'd have to thank Hephaestus when she saw him next.
"Bloody hell." Ruby said from the bed she was sat on, and Alice should have put money on her turning up, she was staring at her like she'd grown another head and Alice shuddered at the though of the state her face was in.
"Nice to see you to." Alice muttered, Sam was staring as well.
"What happened to you?" He asked with no small amount of concern.
"I told you something came up." Alice muttered wandering over to the mirror and wincing as she took in the state of her face. "Coincidentally said something had a club."
"Nice shirt." Ruby remarked, motioning to her rather ripped red shirt.
"Hides the blood." Alice grouched.
"Blood?" Sam demanded, at her side in a second.
"Did I mention it had a knife as well?" She asked innocently, rolling her eyes at the bitch face Sam shot her. "I'll be fine Samuel quit your worrying." She muttered as she flopped down on the bed closest to the door. "Just need some rest is all."
"You've been gone almost three days, why didn't you answer your phone?"Sam asked.
Alice grunted questioningly as she fished her phone out of her jeans pocket, or what was left of her phone anyway she didn't remember getting hit on the thigh though given the state of her phone she'd have a lovely bruise.
"That answer your question?" She queried, Ruby had moved over to the door now arms crossed and face set in a scowl. Obviously no sex then.
"Get some sleep Alice we can talk when you wake up." Sam sighed, sitting down on the other bed.
"Finally." Alice groaned, letting her eyes close. She deliberately ignored the distant noise that meant Castiel had succeeded, she'd deal with it later.