A/N: I've named Kal's after the Finnish goddess of death, Kalma, just as a point of trivia. Originally, I wasn't planning on adding any original characters to this story and just working with the existing ones, but I needed a catalyst to get Hell to break open and provide an antagonist to Sam and Dean. Since the finale aired, I wish I'd used Abaddon, but since I jumped the gun and wrote this too early, I've ended up using an insane witch who likes the idea of unleashing Hell on Earth, and she may have a larger role to play later on.
Chapter Two - All Fall Down
As soon as Dean heard the voice, he knew what it meant. Feeling almost sick with dread, he looked over to where the twisting amalgamation of shadows and fire was closing in on Sam, solidifying into a more definite shape. If it weren't for the smoke, Dean was sure the sight of the Devil's true form would have blinded him, but he knew it could still do much worse.
Even though it was a strain on his eyes to keep staring at the figure, Dean didn't even look to see if that psycho bitch Kal was hanging round to watch the show, like she'd said. He tried to move closer to Sam and grab hold of him to drag him away, but the heat emanating from the form of the fallen angel felt like lava sliding across his skin. Wasn't Lucifer supposed to burn cold? That hardly mattered now.
"Sam!" he choked out, attempting to yell, but the lining of his throat seemed to be coated with ash. Blasts of hot air and debris were pummeling into him, pushing him away, and he knew Sam must be feeling it even worse.
The heat, however, wasn't the worst of what Sam was feeling. The younger Winchester stared up into the face of the creature that had tormented him for over a century in Hell, knowing he was completely trapped. Is this what it all comes to? he wondered. Stopping the Apocalypse...going through the trials, for this? The irony of it felt like a knife in the gut. Always, it seemed, that whenever he tried to stop the forces of Hell, he ended up playing right into their hands. First with breaking the final seal, and now with breaking down the walls of Hell. Why had Metatron never said? No-one they'd spoken to had ever thought that closing Hell's gates could backfire, except for a manipulative, insane witch who seemed to know more about the whole thing than she ought to. Maybe it was just that he couldn't avoid destiny after all. Perhaps he was always meant to be the one who brought the might of Hell raining down on Earth, even as he tried to prevent it.
The bitter sense of guilt hurt more than the flames licking at his skin.
"Let's do this thing properly, Sammy," Lucifer continued. "The party's a little late getting started, but I say we get this Apocalypse on the road."
Sam knew he had nowhere to run, but he was going to be defiant until his last breath. "You can't. Not unless I let you."
The flickering, twisted face leered at him. "You've already said yes once, Sam. No take backs."
And the next thing Sam knew was the blistering heat giving way to an impossibly freezing cold.
Dean cried out as he saw the flames engulf his brother's body, reaching out a futile hand towards him but helpless to do anything. Sam screamed too, but just for a moment, as the being of light shrouded by the smoke forced its way inside him. Then he fell silent.
No, this isn't happening, was still cycling through Dean's mind. He couldn't have lost his brother to Lucifer. He couldn't. Not again. Not like this. But if this was a nightmare, he wasn't waking up.
The gigantic form of the angel had vanished, but more shapes were emerging from the chasm now, beings of smoke streaming up into the air, accompanied by more ash clouds and the sounds of screeching and roaring that signified demons escaping from Hell. Dean was forced to notice it, but he only glanced briefly before looking back at the still figure of Sam. The smoke had grown so thick that he could barely see, but he could tell his brother wasn't moving. What had happened? Please don't let it be what I think it is. Please don't let him be possessed.
Dean began to crawl forward, the fragile ground beneath him feeling like hot coals, but he was barely paying attention to that. What was he supposed to do now? Assuming Sam was even alive and still Sam, there was no way out. On one side of them was a gaping Hell pit, and on the other was the solid concrete of the bunker wall, which was only coming down when the rest of the ground cracked and gave way. Which Dean feared it would, and soon.
At last reaching his brother, Dean reached out a hand to touch his shoulder. Sam felt shockingly cold compared to the near furnace that was engulfing them. That couldn't be good. "Sam?" Dean croaked out desperately, scared of what would happen even if Sam did respond, but there was no movement. Barely a second later, however, a fresh blast of hot air and ash erupted from the chasm, knocking Dean away again and leaving him coughing and gasping for breath.
Blinking as he strained to see through the blackened and polluted air, Dean could make out the shape of a hand reaching up above the edge of the abyss and grasping for a hold on the uneven ground. And then, slowly, an unmistakably human form crawled out after it.
It didn't make sense to Dean at first. As he stared at it in confusion, he couldn't figure out how a human figure had made its way to the surface, when everything else down there seemed to be escaping only as part of the smoke and fire. But then as it gradually drew closer to him, he thought he understood. The face looking at him was one he recognised, but even though his eyes were stinging and it was difficult to see, he could tell how much it had changed. The skin was blistered and burnt, scorched black by the fires raging below. The blue eyes that had fixed on him were wild and furious, and Dean almost recoiled under the intensity of the stare. "Adam?"
As he said the name, it caused the man to pause. He glared at Dean for a moment, and then spat out his response. "Adam? Do you think Adam could have ever crawled out of there if it weren't for me?"
The words were full of anger that seemed to be directed at Dean, who swallowed nervously. "Michael, then, I'm guessing?"
"Yes, it's me," the archangel snarled at him. "The righteous angel who you and your abomination of a brother sent to Hell!"
He was looking down at Dean with pure fury in his eyes, and Dean found himself wishing he had somewhere to run to. There was nowhere, however, as Michael suddenly advanced forward, grabbing Dean by the collar and slamming him up against the concrete behind him. Dean quickly stole another glance at Sam, but it had just become apparent that Lucifer wasn't the only jailbreaker they had to worry about. If the Devil had busted out of the Cage, his playmate had too, and Michael had reason to be pissed off with both Winchesters. Dean found himself panicking as he realised he didn't even know how to deal with just Lucifer, let alone the archangel as well.
"Well, you're out now…" Dean began to attempt to reason desperately, but he was cut off by Michael's fist suddenly connecting with the side of his face. Stars erupted across his field of vision and he tasted blood in his mouth.
"You were supposed to be my vessel," the angel continued, emphasising that with another punch. "My sword! The weapon I was meant to use to fight Lucifer, but no. Instead, a pathetic human like you thought you could overrule destiny and lock me in the Cage. Well, that would never have lasted, Dean. Now I'm out, and I don't need you for anything!"
Dean braced himself for another punch, but then the angel faltered, and his balled fist flexed and fell to his side as his face contorted in a look of pain. A moment later he looked up at Dean again, and a noticeable change had come over him. "Why did you leave me down there, Dean?" He sounded as pained as he did angry, and Dean realised he wasn't talking to Michael anymore.
"Adam, I'm sorry…"
"You sent someone down there to get Sam!" Adam cut him off. "Managed to drag him out, but you forgot about me. You just left me there, and slammed the door shut. Have you any idea what it's like to be down there that long? Hundreds of years locked in a cage with the Devil himself! You can't even imagine it."
Dean honestly didn't know what to say. He felt bad about what had happened to Adam, but he had genuinely thought there was no way to get him out. "Adam…" he began again, but his half-brother raised his hand.
"Sorry won't cut it, Dean. You're gonna pay." Then his fist connected again.
Dean felt his head spinning. Pure fear was coursing through every inch of his body – fear for Sam, fear for himself, and fear for everything - but as he forced himself to drag everything back into focus, he noticed the change that had come over Adam again. Michael seemed to be struggling to keep a hold on who was dominant in the vessel. "You have no role to play in this Apocalypse anymore, Dean," the angel snarled at him. "You're just a troublemaker, and you're going to be punished for all you've done."
The next blow connected with his gut, and Dean doubled over gasping for air, which was already in short supply due to all the smoke. Through clouded eyes he looked up at the manic face of his half-brother, and thought that Hell really had left both Adam and Michael unhinged.
The archangel began to reach out for him then, palm open, and Dean wondered if it was going to be smiting or snapping his neck. Either way, he didn't think he was physically capable of fighting. Even though his instincts were screaming at him that he had to, he just didn't think there was anything he could possibly do by now to save either himself of Sam.
Michael's hand touched his forehead and Dean closed his eyes, wondering if he was about to fall right back down into Hell or if that even meant everything since Hell seemed to have just burst its banks anyway. But then, whatever pain he'd been expecting didn't come. Instead, a scream sounded in front of him, and Dean opened his eyes again to see Michael crying out, intense white light bursting from him eyes. Its brightness intensified so quickly that Dean found himself having to shield his own eyes and turned away, but as the scream faded, he looked back in time to see the body crumple before him.
Then, from behind it, he looked up to see Sam.
Except of course it wasn't Sam anymore.
"The Cage really took its toll on him," Dean heard Sam's voice say, watching as Sam's hand was raised in front of him to show the blood coating it. It seemed that he had managed to physically punch through Michael's back to grasp his grace, and apparently crush it or tear it out.
Dean looked up into his brother's eyes, a sickening feeling washing over him as he remembered the last time he had looked there only to see Lucifer staring back.
"Me, on the other hand…" the Devil continued as he stared down at Dean, "When I got sent to Hell, I made it my domain; became ruler of everything down there. Michael, it seems, couldn't hack it. The Cage made him weak, especially with that vessel clinging onto him looking for protection. I wasn't expecting him to last long when we got out, but I'm still quite surprised by how easy that was."
The Devil was smirking, clearly thrilled by his newfound freedom and easy victory, but terrified though he was, Dean still gave him a defiant glare. "You get out of my brother, you son of a bitch."
Lucifer tutted. "Do you really think I'd do that unless you asked nicely, Dean?" he said as he stepped up beside Adam's corpse, nudging it with his foot to push it back over the edge into the abyss. Dean swallowed hard, realising that left no obstacles between him and Lucifer, and a space less than two metres wide for him to back away. "Actually, I wouldn't have done it however nicely you asked," Lucifer continued, advancing on him. "You see, you and your brother really caused a lot of problems for me, delaying the Apocalypse and all. Now Sammy I'm quite fond of, so I think I can forgive him, but you? Well, somebody's got to pay for this mess, and it may as well be you, Dean."
Lucifer took a final step closer and then closed a hand round Dean's throat, lifting him off the floor and pushing him back against the wall. Dean gasped for air, putting up a hand to claw at the fingers that had closed around his neck, but it was futile. "Sam," he choked out, hoping his brother could still hear him. "Sammy…"
The angel rolled his eyes. "Please, Dean, that won't work again. Sammy can't save you this time." As if to prove his point, Lucifer suddenly pulled Dean away from the wall and spun round to dangle him over the edge of the abyss, still holding him by his neck. Dean continued to gasp and choke, feeling his vision blurring, but knowing that even if the crushing grip on his windpipe relented now, he would only fall straight into the inferno raging below. A sense of utter despair washed over him. There were tears in his eyes, and not just from the aggravation of the smoke.
Lucifer looked thoughtful for a moment. "Now, Dean, I'm just wondering if I should tear you to pieces myself, or drop you down there to let them have their way with you." His eyes flickered downwards to the pit below. "There's quite a lot of them to come out, and if they encounter a Winchester on their way up…" He then gave a chuckle. "Well, let's just say I wouldn't like to be you."
Dean wasn't really listening anymore. Just drop me, he found himself thinking. He was past caring. He'd lost Sam, and even if he somehow made it up to Heaven, then he still would never see his brother again. Then there was Cas, who he'd lost less than an hour earlier when Kal had first flipped her shit and the ruptures in the ground had started forming. Cas had been the first to get swallowed up. Now what did he have left to live for?
Lucifer seemed to give it a moment's more consideration, then pulled Dean's face closer to his as he spoke. Dean found himself being forced to look into his brother's eyes as the Devil compelled that brother to kill him. "Well, as fun as it would be to torture you myself, I think I've had my fill of all that kind of thing with Sam. Now that I'm out, I've got better things to be doing." He then pushed Dean out to arm's length again. "Say hi to Alastair for me. Or, you know, anyone you haven't killed."
And then, for the second time in his life, Dean found himself falling...
falling...
falling...
into Hell.