A/N: Well this is it folks - the grand finale! :D To quote the well-coiffed and eternally hot Jared Padalecki: "Hope ya'll like it!"

Since the show never really got into too much detail, I've taken quite a few liberties in my description of Hell. This is just how I pictured it and I hope you like my spin on it. (Crowley's never-ending line-up version just wouldn't have worked for this story - it would have made for an extremely boring rescue attempt - lol!)

Previously: After a conversation with Cas, Dean (and Lisa) realize he isn't cut out for suburbia and he leaves Lisa only to arrive at Bobby's to find that Sam tampered with a spell to send Laney to Hell so she would stop trying to get his soul back. Sam had then attacked Bobby but Bobby managed to lock him in the basement. Dean uses the same spell to go into hell after Laney but when Cas is about to pull them both out, he tells Laney and Cas that he's going after Sam and Adam too.

~x~x~x~x~x~

CHAPTER 11

Bobby had watched as Dean finished reading the spell and simply grunted in pain before falling back on the fold-out couch next to Laney. A heavy silence fell over the room for a few drawn out seconds before he spun to narrow his eyes at the angel.

"Why would you let him to do that?" he spat angrily. "You practically encouraged him! You're supposed to be his friend!"

"Because he needs to," the angel answered solemnly.

"Bullcrap. He don't need to go back into hell! He's still trying to deal with the first time."

Cas sighed and let his gaze drop to the motionless face of his truest friend, green eyes staring vacantly back up at him. "I believe he is finally ready to rejoin the fight for freedom, Bobby, for free will and for humanity. But for Dean, his first priority will always be to save those he cares about."

Bobby glowered at him. "This ain't about your war," he growled. "This is about my boy not dyin'."

The angel didn't reply right away and they both stood in silence for a long moment, staring with hope and anticipation at Dean's still face. Cas finally glanced over at the older hunter with a furrowed brow. "Last year, fighting this war with Dean and you and Sam was unlike any other fight I have ever experienced," he told him quietly.

"How's that?"

"Angels are righteous beings. They will die for God and for Faith and for a cause without a moment's hesitation, yet it is a rare thing for an angel to willingly die merely for a friend or for the love of another. You and the Winchesters, my friends, you do that without thinking."

Bobby's eyes softened. "You did it too," he pointed out, the anger slipping from his voice.

"And I would do it again," Cas nodded. "I understand now why you do it. It was Dean who taught me that the oneis just as important as the many." He pursed his lips a little and looked back at the unconscious pair on the couch. "You must know that Dean is in love with Laney," he explained. "It is in his nature to risk everything for those he loves."

His head suddenly jerked upright and his stare grew distant. "He's back," he said simply before flickering out of sight.

~x~x~x~x~x~

~x~x~x~x~x~

Laney grabbed Dean's forearm, her fingers bruising his flesh and her blue eyes wide and panicked. "No!" she gasped. "You can't stay here! We have a plan. Bobby and me have a plan; we'll get them out that way. Let's stick to the plan." She tugged him frantically towards Cas and the gate the angel was standing in. "We can use Kharon Hounds. There's a door in the cage...the hounds can get them out - not you!"

Cas pursed his lips but didn't say anything until Dean gave him a questioning look.

"Kharon Hounds cannot help," the angel admitted, looking to Laney. "Your plan will fail."

"But there's a door," she insisted. "A back door into the cage."

Cas nodded. "Yes, but neither angels nor demons can access it or pass through it. A Kharon Hound is a demon."

"Okay, tell me everything you know about this door, Cas," Dean demanded urgently.

"It is actually a crack in the wall," Cas explained. "One only a human soul can pass through. Left there by Michael when the cage was built so that Lucifer may release the vessel he had taken on the day he was first imprisoned. Michael had claimed it was an opportunity for his brother to show mercy but in truth it was a pointless gesture as Lucifer has never been merciful. There was never any doubt he would twist and torment that soul into one of his own demons so its freedom was never an option and over the millennia, the door was simply forgotten."

Dean growled and barely resisted the urge to throw his hands in the air. "Why am I just hearing about this now?" he demanded. "I could have tried to get Sam out months ago, Cas!"

"I only heard tell of it this week," the angel apologized.

"Okay, how do I find it?"

Cas shrugged. "If you find the cage and your soul is pure, you should be able to see it."

The hunter gave Cas a despondent look, thinking that last requirement was sure to rule him out. "What the hell is a 'pure' soul?"

"Yours is," his friend replied without hesitation. "A soul worthy of heaven."

Dean nodded, doubt still nagging but willing to chance it on Cas's word. "Okay then." He tugged his arm to free it from Laney's grip but she didn't let go.

"I'm coming with you," she said firmly.

"No you're not!" was Dean's instinctive and immediate response.

"Well I'm not leaving you!" she exclaimed, her eyes narrowing into what Dean was starting to recognize as her seriously stubborn look.

"Laney, I've been here before; I know how this place works." He began to pry her fingers off his forearm. "Besides, we only have one knife."

"I'm not letting you stay in Hell by yourself, Dean," she rasped. "I'm not leaving you down here. I'm not."

"Go with Cas," he practically growled at her. "I need you to get back to Bobby's."

"No," she repeated adamantly, grabbing his sleeve again. "If this doesn't work then you'll be..." Her voice hitched at even the thought of what would happen to Dean. "No…you're not gonna be down here alone...no. Just...no."

He gripped her forearms just below the elbows and started pushing her firmly towards the gate. "Laney, Go with Cas," he said sternly, muscling her into the dark shadowy gate and right up against the angel, who thankfully had the sense to seize her arms from behind to restrain her. Dean's eyes locked on hers. "I've got one chance to save my brother. One chance, but I would leave him down here in a heartbeat before I would risk you coming with me. Don't you understand? I'd leave him if it meant keeping you alive."

She stopped her struggling, her eyes fixing on his with a slightly stunned expression. Dean swallowed, realizing he had just put it right out there how much he cared; how much he was willing to give up for her. He loosened his tight grip and lowered his arms to take her hands in his.

"Do you remember that night we were kids," he added more gently, "Sammy was sleeping and you were lying next to me and I told you that I would take care of you?"

She nodded, tears starting to pool in her lower eyelids.

"Well I meant it," he told her. "I meant it and I didn't do it then but I can to do that now. Please just let me do that, for once. I need you to be safe or I can't do this and Laney, and I can do this. I can get Adam back for you. I can get them both back."

Cas cleared his throat from behind her. "Dean, I must leave now or the demons will sense me and our presence will be discovered."

As Dean acknowledged Cas's warning, Laney's fingers squeezed tightly around his on both hands. "Don't die," she whispered, her voice pleading with him, begging him. "Promise me you won't die."

The hunter managed to pull a slightly cocky grin from somewhere inside him. "Don't plan on it." He leaned down and planted a quick, almost chaste kiss on her lips before stepping back away from the gate and giving Cas a nod.

"Be careful, Dean," Cas said solemnly.

Dean spared his friend a smile of thanks. "Just be here when I get back," he said then Cas and Laney were gone, leaving him standing in the bleak, inhospitable plain alone.

~x~x~x~x~x~

~x~x~x~x~x~

Cas was only gone for a few seconds before reappearing in Bobby's study. Laney immediately gasped and sat up, small flashes of white light shooting out of her eyes and mouth, but Dean's unconscious form didn't budge. It took Bobby no more than a few seconds to figure this out and he demanded to know what had happened and what was going on, his voice laced with near panic.

Cas explained Dean's decision, expecting yet another angry outburst from the older hunter but instead Bobby slumped his shoulders and dropped down into the nearby armchair with a resigned sigh. "Well, you did just finish saying it's in his nature to risk his life for those he loves," he said with a defeated shrug. "That sure as shit includes Sam."

Three heads turned towards the motionless hunter sprawled on the couch next to Laney. The brunette remained silent and simply placed her hand tenderly on Dean's chest but Bobby fidgeted and grumbled in his chair, wishing he had a bottle of whiskey at hand and feeling utterly helpless. It looked like the Winchester brothers were in this one alone. Hopefully this time their never-ending supply of determination, love, and self-sacrifice would see a happy outcome to this madness. Bobby couldn't help but think that given their track record, that wasn't likely.

~x~x~x~x~x~

~x~x~x~x~x~

Dean didn't waste any time. As soon as Laney and Cas disappeared, he closed his eyes and thought of Sam. The image that came to mind was his eight-year-old brother looking up at him, grinning ear to ear with his long bangs flopping down over his hazel eyes. When the surroundings didn't change, he decided to follow the blood river back upstream and around the pile of bones again. After all, it had worked last time.

He rounded the corner to find the bleak, inhospitable landscape stretching as far as the eye could see and growled his disappointment.

He should have known this time wouldn't be as easy. As Bobby had pointed out, time and space worked differently down here so it wasn't like there was a set distance or direction between where he was now and Lucifer's cage. Instead this place was perception-driven and space could fold in on itself to allow a more direct passage from one location to another. Finding the cage was based on him making a connection with Sam, as he had with Laney, but with Sam in the deepest, darkest corner of Hell and no doubt in such agony he was practically out of his mind, it made sense that it would be more difficult to connect with him.

Dean concentrated harder, his thoughts drifting from young Sam to adult Sam, from innocent Sam to the blood-junkie that had become Ruby's puppet, from the angry teenager walking away for Stanford to the look of utter love Dean had been given just before Sam jumped into the pit. He kept pushing forward, trying his hardest to not let the stench and the constant din of screaming souls distract him. He noticed a few demons here and there and managed to give most of them a wide berth. Only two passed by close enough to notice he wasn't a demon and he made quick work of both of them with Ruby's knife.

After what seemed like hours of aimless wandering, he found it. Lucifer's cage.

Not very aptly named, he thought as he laid eyes upon it for the first time. It wasn't a cage or a box or a prison at all, but rather a giant temple built of white stone, it's color and splendor in stark contrast to the sharp protrusions of coal black rock that composed the craggy hill on which it was perched. There were Enokian symbols etched into the walls of the impressive towers at each corner. Michael certainly hadn't been half-assed about things when he had it built. It was actually quite a breathtaking sight, or would be if it weren't for the hundred or so demons milling about on the plain at its base and the dull roar of a hundred murmured prayers. After all, this was their place of worship.

Dean had never been here. After climbing off the rack, he had never been given free reign in hell and was constantly kept under Alistair's close watch, even though he'd had no interest in anything beyond the soul on his rack. Dean had never given himself to Lucifer, to serving hell; he had only tortured for his own selfish reasons - a way to forget the previous thirty years of pain. His will had broken but his soul had never turned demon.

Of course, that also meant if he got any closer, the worshippers would see he wasn't a demon for his human form did not hold the hideous twisted visage just beneath the surface that demons did. This was going to make getting to the temple difficult.

He looked around, not sure what to do, or even which side of the temple was the back, where this door was supposed to be. He tried to remember Cas's words. 'It is actually a crack in the wall' and 'If you find the cage and your soul is pure, you should be able to see it' Well, he didn't see any doors or cracks on the temple; just thick walls of solid rock. Maybe Cas was giving him too much credit - his soul was far from pure.

A couple of demons were headed his way, their trajectory taking them far too close for comfort. He sank to his knees with his head bowed in an attempt to blend in. It seemed to work and he exhaled in relief as the pair walked right past him. He stayed where he was with his head down for another couple of minutes, until he was sure they were a safe distance away. When he looked back up he gasped out loud at the sight before him.

There was a door, a plain, simple-looking wooden door with nothing around it just six feet in front of him. He shouldn't have been surprised he supposed; things worked differently down here – it was basically all about perception. He glanced anxiously around but none of the demons seemed to be reacting to its sudden appearance.

Swallowing nervously, he reached for the handle. It turned easily and he pushed the door open just a crack, wincing at the creaking sound and at the blackness he saw beyond.

Here goes nothing.

Holding his breath, he stepped in through the doorframe. It was pitch black inside and the only light from the flames and the bleak plain behind him disappeared when the door swung shut behind him with a whish and a soft click.

Damnit, he wished he had his Zippo. Unfortunately, besides his clothes, Ruby's knife was the only thing that had made it down here with him. He clutched it tightly in his hand, even though he knew it would do no good against his enemies in here.

This is when it occurred to Dean he had no plan. Short of finding the cage, he had no idea how to get Sam and Adam out of it. It wasn't like he could kick the crap out of both Michael and Lucifer with his bare fists, as much as he would like to. He realized with a lurch that he had more than likely just given the duelling archangels a third toy to play with.

He moved on anyway, unable to see even two feet in front of him. Feeling his way with his hands and feet, he shuffled forward for a few minutes before seeing a light in the distance up ahead. He rounded a corner to find John Winchester sitting on an ornate chair in a well-lit room, his right ankle resting up on his left knee. Dean blinked a few times in the light, noting it was actually John Winchester in his early twenties, the one he had met in his two trips back to the seventies, and not the scowling man with the pained eyes Dean had known as his father.

"Hello Dean," John greeted him calmly, giving him an insincere smile.

Dean swallowed. "Michael."

~x~x~x~x~x~

~x~x~x~x~x~

"It's been over five minutes," Bobby fretted. "That's half a day hell-time. That's too long. I oughta go get 'em."

"Either you or I going down there would be futile," Cas pointed out. "We would not be able to find them and we wouldn't last two minutes."

"Well I can't just sit here with my thumb up my ass!" the older hunter barked back. He had taken to pacing back and forth across the study floor, his animated agitation a sharp contrast to the angel's still stance by the couch and Laney's silent vigil from where she sat with her hand in Dean's.

Cas didn't reply but he did nod his agreement with Bobby's level of worry. It was taking a long time. He had expected it to take longer for Dean to find Sam than it had to find Laney because she was just inside the new, undiscovered gate, but the more Cas contemplated Dean's chances, the more he began to think he should not have let his friend stay down there. Better a broken, hollow Dean than none at all. It had been a selfish decision on his part and for that, he was now feeling guilty.

His musing was cut silent by the sound of an engine starting up and tires skidding in the driveway. All three of them jerked their heads up sharply.

"Sam!" Bobby hissed. "That's his car. Dang Houdini's got himself out of the basement!"

"We need his body if Dean retrieves his soul," Cas stated with a frown before disappearing in a blink from the room.

~x~x~x~x~x~

~x~x~x~x~x~

"Well, I have to admit, I didn't expect to see you here," said Michael with an amused look on John's young face.

Dean shrugged a shoulder. "Yeah, I'm just full of surprises."

Michael rose to his feet slowly. "That you are," he nodded, his smooth voice thick with arrogance. "What I'm wondering is why are you here."

"Why do you think?" Dean snapped. "I'm here for my brothers."

Michael arched an eyebrow. "You know, I'd almost forgotten about that door," he said, taking a step towards the hunter. He stopped and shook his head slowly. "But it won't do you any good, Dean."

"Just tell me where Sam and Adam are."

"And why would I do that?"

"Coz they shouldn't be here!"

"Neither should I."

"That's a matter of opinion."

Michael 's lips tightened. "Do you have any idea what you and your brothers have done? I was destined to face my brother in battle. I was destined to defeat him. I was destined to bring Paradise back, to end the bickering and the uncertainty that has plagued us since our Father left. I was..."

"Oh, give me a break," Dean interrupted with a snort. "I don't give a crap what you think you were destined to do. You were gonna take out half the planet, God's planet, and we weren't gonna let you do that without putting up a fight. We got given free will and you know what? We used it. You would have done the same thing if the roles were reversed and us humans planned on destroying half of Heaven in some pointless pissing contest. So suck it up and stop whining."

Michael's eyes darkened and he gave Dean a long, hard stare. The hunter held his gaze but could feel his hands start to tremble and was inwardly cursing his big, brash mouth for its complete stupidity. His bravado was constantly getting him in trouble but this time, it may have just earned him an eternity of torture at the hands of an irate archangel.

"Just think of it this way," the hunter shrugged with a nervous smile, trying to lighten the mood. "Now you and Lucifer can go all UFC on each other until the end of time and not bother anyone. You get to kick his ass over and over again."

"There would be no point in fighting now," Michael ground out.

"Course there is," Dean argued. "He's still your punk ass little brother. And you'll still prove you can take him, fulfil your destiny and all that crap, even if there isn't anyone here to see it."

He got no reply.

"Okay, speaking of little brothers," Dean continued. "Where are mine? Coz I'm kinda on a tight schedule here."

Michael pursed his lips. "And why would you think I would let you or your brothers leave?" he said coldly.

"Because you made that door for a reason," Dean answered heatedly. "Because at some point, when you built this place, you had some compassion for humans and had thought Lucifer should show some mercy to his vessel. Because you're better than him and you know it's the righteous thing to do."

Michael actually laughed. It wasn't a warm laugh or a humorous laugh but it wasn't a malicious 'I'm going to smite you now' laugh either. Dean's heart thumped loudly in his chest.

"Adam served me loyally," the angel said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "He can go. But I can guarantee you my brother will not show the same kindness to Sam."

Michael disappeared without another word but a door appeared just as quickly in the wall to Dean's right. The hunter turned towards it, debating whether to try it or go back the way he came into the darkness behind him.

Before he could decide, the door opened and Adam stepped through, looking exactly as he had the day Sam had pulled him into the hole in Stull Cemetery. His eyes went wide with shock when he saw Dean.

"What...?" He began to back away, his expression beyond scared. "Are you... no, no...where's Michael?" His eyes darted around the room. "He'll be back. You know he'll stop you!"

"Woah, Adam, it's me," Dean tried to calm him down. "Your brother Dean, remember?"

"Why are you... why would you pretend to be Dean?"

"Dude, who do you think I am?"

"You're Lucifer." The kid's voice went hoarse when he said the name and he was backing up but the door behind him was gone.

"No, I'm Dean. I swear, I'm really Dean. I found a door and there was this spell and Laney ... well, it's complicated but just trust me, I'm Dean. I'm not the Devil, dude."

Adam's expression changed from one of terror to one of confusion and within a few minutes, Dean had him convinced of the truth. He gave his half-brother the Cliff Notes version of what was going on and told him the plan was to find Sam and get back to Cas and the devil's gate. The elder Winchester's heart twisted in a knot when Adam explained that Lucifer rarely left Sam alone; that he didn't ever stop torturing him physically and mentally for more than a few minutes at a time.

He gave Dean a defeated look. "After what Sam did, Lucifer won't ever let him go."

Dean closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, hating the decision he was suddenly faced with. He could take Adam back topside right now. He realized his chances of saving Sam also were practically nil but if he left now, at least Adam stood a good chance of making it out alive. Laney could have Adam back. He would have a brother at least, if not Sam. He dared to even hope that he could have Laney. But if he stayed, all three Winchester boys would likely never make it out.

As if sensing Dean's dilemma, Adam spoke up. "I'm not leaving without Sam," he said simply. "So don't even think about trying to make me."

Dean beamed at him, a terrible weight suddenly lifted off his shoulders and his heart swelling with pride at the brave statement. Turned out this kid was a real Winchester after all. "You sure you're up for this?" he asked.

Adam gave him a dubious look. "Well, what was your plan?"

Dean shrugged. "My plan ended at the door, kid."

~x~x~x~x~x~

~x~x~x~x~x~

"Crap," Laney gasped, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as the angel disappeared to go after the escaping Sam . "A body. Cas is right. We'll need a body for Adam too. I forgot about a body."

Bobby grimaced, not wanting to say aloud what he currently thought the chances were of actually needing either Sam's or Adam's body. His worried eyes scanned Dean's, still lying unmoving on the couch. Damnit, Dean's body may be breathing for now but things weren't looking good for it to stay that way. Bobby dreaded the thought of having to deal with two soulless Winchesters and shuddered with the realization that he would likely have to kill them himself.

Laney must have deciphered the look on his face for she aimed those piercing blue eyes of hers his way and shook her head. "He'll make it," she assured him. "They all will."

Bobby's reply was interrupted by a jet of black smoke streaming out from the floor between the coffee table and the couch. Laney let out a sharp cry of surprise and tumbled backwards, the force of the wind billowing her hair around her startled face.

Bobby reacted swiftly. He took a quick step backwards and started spouting a Latin exorcism, glad for his decision last year to get a more permanent anti-possession tattoo instead of relying on the more fallible charms. There was no chance the thing could get inside Laney with the insanely over-the-top tats she was now sporting so he didn't worry when the jet of smoke swirled around her before shooting upwards and escaping through the window behind her.

"Damnit," he groused with a frown. "They've found the gate. Won't be long now before more do and once word gets out, they'll be streaming outta here so fast we'll have no choice but to close it."

~x~x~x~x~x~

~x~x~x~x~x~

Adam led Dean back down the unlit corridor through which he had entered the cage, walking in front with his big brother's hand on his shoulder so they didn't get separated in the total darkness. Dean could hear Sam's screams long before he made out a flickering light around a corner up ahead. He unconsciously tightened his grip on Adam so much the young man groaned and pried his fingers loose.

They reached the end of the corridor and found themselves in a small balcony-type area overlooking a large stone room with a fiery pit in the floor at its center. Suspended in chains above the pit was Sam, his skin blistered and raw from the searing heat beneath him and the hooks ripping at his scorched flesh. Lucifer, looking like the vessel he had been in when Sam had gone to say 'yes' only without the peeling skin, was strolling around the perimeter of the pit, a satisfied smile on his face. He didn't seem to notice the two newcomers on the upper level.

It took all the willpower Dean had not to jump down there and come at the angel with both fists swinging. He hauled Adam down into a crouching position behind the corner and squeezed his eyes shut when Sam let out another blood-curdling scream of agony. He would have to wait for his moment. He would have to wait Lucifer out. Surely the dick would get bored at some point and leave, even just for one minute. That was all Dean needed - one minute to cut the chains and free his brother. He clenched his fists as another scream rang out, this one louder than the last.

Dean and Adam stayed as they were for another fifteen minutes, the older hunter's stomach twisting in knots of fury, guilt, and grief as he smelled burning flesh and listened to Sam's voice, broken and desperate, pleading with Lucifer to stop. His pleas just seemed to fuel Lucifer's wrath for they were always followed by another agonized scream. Dean was reaching his breaking point when a smooth, calm voice floated around the corner.

"I thought you would have come charging in by now," Lucifer taunted. "How long are you going to cower back there and listen to your little brother scream, Dean?"

Dean swore. He should have known. It wasn't like he'd ever been able to sneak up on an angel before. The Winchesters were screwed.

He stood up and stepped out, his hand absently shoving Adam back, making sure he stayed hidden.

"Oh, Adam and I are already acquainted," Lucifer smirked. "He's invited too."

Adam got to his feet and came to stand next to Dean, albeit just a smidge behind him. Sam was whimpering in his brief reprieve, clearly not even aware of his big brother's presence.

Lucifer grinned up at them both. "Fresh meat," he quipped. "Perfect timing." He jerked his head towards Sam. "This one's getting a little crispy for my taste." Another tall flame suddenly rose out of the pit, engulfing Sam, who screamed and writhed in pain all over again.

"Let him go!" Dean demanded, rushing down the small set of stairs so he was at the same floor level as Sam's torturer. "Stop! Just let him go."

Lucifer laughed. "Let me guess; you'll stay in his place."

"Well that wasn't exactly gonna be my first suggestion but if the offer's on the table..."

"It's not."

"Well then, why don't us three humans get out of your hair and you and your big brother Michael can have some quality family time."

Lucifer snorted. "Well we might have done just that had your brother not gone and interrupted our little soiree in Kansas and brought the party down here. Now there's no point so it looks like I just have you three to entertain myself with for eternity."

"This is between you two assholes," Dean countered. "Can't you just leave us out of it? After all, you don't even like humans."

"You're right, I don't, but do you have any idea how boring it is down here?" Lucifer's tone was smug and condescending and grated at Dean's every nerve. "No books, no dancing girls, not even HBO. But at least I've got three little mice now to keep me amused."

With that he outstretched his hand towards the hunter and Dean lost all awareness as an excruciating pain suddenly encompassed his entire body. He could feel his every nerve ending exploding in pain and could hear his flesh sizzling and burning in the flames now enveloping him. He fell screaming to the floor for what seemed like a long time, the pain never letting up, never subsiding. He felt a vague wisp of guilt for failing Sam and Adam and a flicker of regret that he would never see Laney again before the pain ripped any further coherent thought from his mind.

After what seemed a long, long time, the pain let up. Dean struggled towards lucidity to find Adam kneeling over him, wild-eyed and frantic. "Dean?" the kid called, clearly not getting a satisfactory response. "Dean?"

"I'm good," Dean managed to rasp, accepting his brother's help to sit up. He was almost upright when the room seemed to shake and he was thrown back into the prone position. He clasped Adam's arm and let the kid pull him up again before looking around the room.

The first thing he noticed was that Sam was no longer suspended over the pit. Looking around frantically he found a slumped, still shape that matched his brother's on the stone floor on the other side of the pit. "Sam!"

He scrambled to his feet, no longer waiting for Adam's help and staggered towards the middle Winchester. Just as he reached him the room shook again and Dean was thrown down to his knees. "What the hell's going on?" he demanded of Adam, who was dropping to one knee on the other side of Sam, his face also full of concern for the battered Winchester.

Dean didn't wait for Adam's reply before turning Sam over, thankful his skin had healed and his clothes were back in one piece, as was customary in Hell once the torture stopped.

"Michael came in," Adam explained. "He demanded Lucifer let you go."

"He did?" Dean hadn't expected that. Maybe Michael wasn't quite the royal dick he'd always taken him for. He tapped Sam's cheek a few times, hoping for a reaction. He got it and Sam's eyes opened, bewildered and frantic, his hands clinging to both his brothers, fisting in the fabric of their shirts. Dean spoke soothingly to him to calm him and gestured for Adam to continue filling him in.

Adam nodded. "Yeah. They argued and Michael said they should settle this once and for all. He said it didn't matter if the victor didn't get the planet or that nobody would ever know who had won the fight. Said it was their destiny to face each other regardless and a bunch of other mumbo." He tucked his arm under Sam's other shoulder and helped Dean haul the largest of the Winchesters up to his feet.

Wow. Mr. Ego may have actually listened to him, to a lowly human.

"They're fighting for us," Adam continued as another rumble tore through the structure.

"What?"

"That was the wager. If Michael wins, we all get to leave. If Lucifer wins, he gets to do whatever he likes with us for good with no more interference from Michael."

Dean stared at the youngest Winchester, incredulous. He didn't like their fate resting on Michael's fighting skills. Lucifer was more ruthless, maybe even more determined. Michael had pride and arrogance and righteousness and the big rep upstairs but Lucifer had anger and hate and centuries of pent-up energy, all of which could be powerful motivators and weapons.

"Well I think I like option three the best," he told Adam as they hoisted a slumped Sam between them.

"Option three?"

"Yeah; we slip out the door while they're keeping each other busy."

Just then the side wall blew apart and Michael flew through it, sailing through the air and slamming right through the stone wall on the other side. Lucifer followed on his feet, his face like thunder as he stormed across the room and exited through the hole he had just made in the far wall with his brother.

"Yeah, this is one family spat we don't want to be around for," Dean acknowledged, hoisting Sam higher and heading towards the half-crumbled stairs they had descended when they came in.

Adam didn't argue and directed them back down the dark corridor towards where Dean had entered the cage. Sam was trying to take as much of his own weight as he could but wasn't succeeding very well and had yet to speak.

"I don't remember ever seeing another door down here," Adam said into the darkness when they had been walking for a while.

"Crap," Dean realized out loud. "Concentrate on the door. Think of something topside you want to get back to and the door should present itself."

He immediately thought of Laney, picturing her in his arms that night almost three years ago in Arizona, her blue eyes staring lovingly into his as his fingertips caressed her naked hip, her fast breaths hot on his neck as he nibbled and sucked at her ear...

He barely had time to wonder what Adam had thought of when there it was - the plain wooden door he had seen from the outside. He reached for the handle without hesitation and jerked it open.

Another rumble and an angry roar that pained their ears sounded from behind them so they stepped over the threshold quickly to find themselves standing on the plain on the outside of the temple. The door disappeared behind them and Adam gasped as he looked backwards and caught sight of the magnificent temple.

"Where are we?" he breathed.

"Still in hell." Dean said sharply, looking around to see a couple of demons taking notice of them and coming closer for a better look. "Crap," he mumbled, slipping himself out from under Sam's heavy arm and shuffling all the added weight onto Adam so he could draw Ruby's knife.

He stabbed the first demon who had clearly figured out they were human for she had lunged towards them with an angry snarl. Turning to face the second, he noticed more demons in the background perking their heads up and turning their way. He stabbed the second in the gut and turned to his brothers. "This is about to get ugly - run!"

~x~x~x~x~x~

~x~x~x~x~x~

Cas winged himself into the passenger seat of the black Dodge Charger. "Where are you going, Sam?"

The driver startled but maintained full control of the car through his surprise. "Go away, Cas. This is none of your business. Don't you have a war upstairs to fight?"

"My friends need me right now."

"Well I'm not your friend so leave me alone."

"You are my friend, Sam. You should know that Dean has retrieved Laney from hell."

"What!? How'd he do that?"

"He went in after her. And then he went back for you. So you see, you need to come back to Bobby's so we can put your soul back in your body once he retrieves it."

Sam snorted. "He'll never make it back out! Even if he finds the cage, which is doubtful, it's in the deepest corner of hell. He won't ever make it back to the gate I made for Laney with both me and Adam."

Cas furrowed his brow and cocked his head at Sam. "You are right." With that he disappeared, only to reappear five minutes and five miles later with a satisfied look on his face.

"Now Dean will make it out," he announced.

"What did you do?" Sam asked suspiciously.

"I have seen to it that he will make it safely back to the gate," was the angel's cryptic answer. "So I must bring you back to Bobby's."

He reached his hand out and touched the soulless man's shoulder, making them both disappear in a blink. The Charger coasted forward on the road for a few seconds before veering slightly right and eventually careening into the grassy ditch at the side of the road.

~x~x~x~x~x~

~x~x~x~x~x~

Miraculously, the brothers managed to escape the multitude of demons on the plain. Dean had stabbed any who had come too close with Ruby's knife and as they ran, the scenery around them morphed time and time again into so many different places that eventually, they lost their pursuers. On the bad side, however, Dean was fairly certain the alarm had been raised and their presence would be known throughout the underworld. Pretty much every demon in the place would be on high alert by now so they were pretty much screwed - again.

As they pressed on, it occurred to Dean that it was not a good sign Sam didn't seem to be fully recovering from his time with Lucifer. Physically, he looked fine. The wounds and the scorched skin all appeared to be healed, but he lacked strength and from time to time he would shudder and shake and his eyes would roll back in his head for a few seconds, causing Adam to stagger under his full weight. This could only mean one thing - Sam's actual soul had been damaged. That was why he wasn't healing fully like Laney had. The pain Lucifer had inflicted had pierced so deeply that Sam's actual soul remained tattered and scarred.

They were making their way through a series of large but empty torture chambers and Dean was on point with Ruby's knife held ready while Adam followed behind with Sam leaning heavily on his shoulder. It was obvious Adam was scared but Dean had to give the teenager credit; he followed Dean's every order without question and never once put Sam down or complained.

It was a couple of hours before Dean admitted they were completely lost. He had been concentrating on Laney, figuring the connection to her Cas that had spoken of would lead him back to the gate but every time he saw something that could be considered a road to follow, it led to somewhere teeming with demons or out into the open where they would surely be spotted and captured. If he couldn't follow the road, he wouldn't be able to get them back before the gate was either discovered or its magic faded.

"Well fancy meeting you here," came a man's voice in a English accent from behind him, startling the hunter out of his dark thoughts. Dean spun around to find Crowley standing there with a smug grin on his face.

The hunter just groaned and cursed under his breath, remembering Crowley's claim to be 'King of Hell'. He hadn't thought it was possible for things to get any worse.

"Well, don't just stand there twiddling your thumbs," Crowley rolled his eyes. "Follow me."

Dean snorted. "You're kidding, right?"

The demon shrugged. "Suit yourself then. If you don't want my help..."

"Why would you help us?"

The smirk reappeared on Crowley's face. "Why don't you let me worry about the particulars, huh Don Quixote? All you have to know is that you need out of here and with my help is the only way that's going to happen. King of Hell, remember."

"You haven't answered the question."

Crowley sighed in annoyance and snapped his fingers. A hellhound the size of a small horse trotted into the chamber from behind him, coming to stand next to its master. Here in hell, Dean could see the hound plain as day and figured Adam could as well from the chortled gasp the young man let out at its arrival.

"You remember Growly, don't you?" the demon smirked, patting the huge beast fondly. "See, if I wanted you dead or captured, you already would be. Let's just say I've made a deal and my end of the bargain is to see that you three make it back to your pitifully dull lives upstairs in one piece. I always keep up my end of a deal so..." He clapped his hands. "Let's get a move on shall we?"

Every fiber of Dean's being told him he couldn't trust Crowley any further than he could throw him but he really had no choice at this point. He only hoped someone topside hadn't sold their soul to the demon in exchange for this favor. Crowley already had Bobby's soul and Cas didn't have one to sell so that only left Laney...

God, please, no.

~x~x~x~x~x~

~x~x~x~x~x~

Another demon had just escaped through the gate in a column of angry black smoke when Cas reappeared in the study holding Sam by the shirtcollar. The angel gave the hunter a rough shove, forcing him down into the armchair and turned to Bobby.

"How many demons have come through?"

"Five," Bobby grimaced, knowing any damage or harm that came to anyone at the hand of those demons was squarely on their shoulders. He couldn't paint a devil's trap around the spell area for that would cancel out the magic and lock the gate and he and Laney couldn't fight the demons in their smoke form so they had simply been letting them out, making the excuse every time that Dean would be back soon and that would surely be the last one.

Cas cocked his head, a look of concentration crossing his face. "He is not back yet," he announced. "He is not back to the gate."

"We're not closing it," Laney spoke up, her voice both guilty and adamant at the same time.

"No," Cas agreed. "They will be here soon." He waved a hand and Sam was suddenly bound by ropes wrapped around his arms, torso and legs. "Don't let him leave," the angel said before disappearing once more.

Laney and Bobby barely had time to give each other bewildered looks before the angel reappeared with a man slumped over his shoulder. He lowered the body to the floor and Laney cried out loud and dashed over when she saw it was Adam. He was clean and whole but cold to the touch and she discovered quickly he wasn't breathing.

"I won't bring him back unless Dean retrieves his soul," Cas told her bluntly, answering her questioning glance.

"Where was he?" she managed, a lump forming in her throat at the sight of her only family, even if he was still dead.

"Below the ground at Stull Cemetery," Cas explained. "Only his soul was taken to Hell. I have restored him physically but will not give him life again until Dean returns."

Laney sat herself on the floor next to Adam's body. "You know, for an angel, you're pretty handy to have around, Cas," she smiled up at him.

Cas returned the smile, finding he liked that he was helping and his help was being appreciated. It was a welcome break from the losing war he was fighting in Heaven.

"Handy my ass," Sam grumbled. "Just wait 'til he turns on you like he did to me and Dean. I like how everyone conveniently forgets that Cas could have stopped Lucifer from rising but he didn't. He's more to blame for the whole thing than I ever was. I didn't know Lilith was the last seal when I killed her."

"Nobody ever hung on to blaming you, son," Bobby pointed out. "And we ain't never forgotten it was you who took Lucifer down in the end."

"Well if you're so appreciative, why don't you leave me alone?" Sam snapped. "I'm fine the way I am. Leave me and my unwanted soul out of this."

Laney narrowed her eyes at him. "You're not fine. You sent me to hell!"

"Well, you're trying to stuff hell right down my throat so I guess we're even then," Sam countered.

"You were going to send Bobby there too. He's like a dad to you and Dean."

Sam shook his head. "I was just going to kill him," he said coldly. "It was Crowley who was going to drag him downstairs. Bobby's deal wasn't my doing."

None of the three humans noticed Cas's stance stiffen at the mention of Crowley and their attention was snatched an instant later by another stream of black smoke funnelling furiously out of the floor in the spell area. Cas stepped forward instantly and held a hand outstretched before him. The black smoke swirled and clawed upwards but was effectively pushed back down into the floor.

Cas frowned at Bobby and Laney. "This shouldn't be taking so long," he mumbled before his eyes widened and his stare once again grew distant. "Never mind; they're here."

He flickered out of sight and within seconds, reappeared for a single heartbeat before disappearing again. Adam immediately gasped for air and sat up, his eyes wild and streaming light and his limbs flailing. Laney cried out from where she sat next to him and threw her arms around his neck. "Adam! Adam, you're alive. Oh my God; you're alive!" Her voice broke into a sob and the teenager soon calmed and wrapped his own arms back around her, whispering her name hoarsely in her ear.

Bobby watched the emotional scene and glanced nervously back at Sam then Dean, neither of whom showed any signs of change. Then Cas showed up again, stumbling and swaying on his feet for a second before he once more disappeared.

Sam's eyes shot open, the white light shooting out of them for a split second before he started gulping in deep breaths of air from where he sat still tied to the chair. He whimpered and cried out frantically, jerking away when Bobby reached his side and immediately starting to twist and wriggle in an attempt to free himself from the ropes.

"Sam?" Bobby questioned, his heart thumping wildly as he tried to decipher if it was soulless Sam playing another trick on them or if his boy had returned. He hadn't missed the light in the eyes; presumably that was the soul returning. "Sam?"

"He's hurt," Adam informed them, released from Laney's grasp when she had turned to see what was happening and had scrambled to her feet to come and help Bobby. "Untie him. You have to untie him," he added.

That was all Bobby needed to hear for he immediately pulled out his knife and started to cut through the ropes. Sam was still panting and gasping and his eyes were darting around wildly before they rolled white and his head slumped forward, his body sagging into the rope bonds not yet cut. Bobby lifted the young hunter's head up to find he had passed out completely.

The older man was still working on cutting the ropes when Laney turned to look at Dean. He still wasn't moving. "Adam, what about Dean?" she asked, her voice quivering with dread.

"He was right behind us," Adam told her with a shrug.

Cas reappeared for the third consecutive time and promptly fell to his knees on the floor, his breath ragged and his chest heaving with exertion. Apparently raising people from perdition was strenuous work for he looked wiped. Dean suddenly gulped in a huge mouthful of air and his body jerked and flailed, causing him to roll off the couch and hit the floor with a thump. Laney ran to his side, practically yanking him around to face her as her eyes searched for signs he was okay.

Dean's lip curled up at one end in a cocky smile at the sight of her fretting over him. "Hey Laney," he uttered hoarsely. "Told you I wouldn't die." She pressed her hands to either side of his face, staring into his eyes with a rush of relief and for a moment, Dean thought he was going to get a kiss but she just grinned at him and turned to look over at Bobby, who had his fingers pressed against Sam's neck.

"He okay?" she asked, drawing Dean's attention to his brother.

"Sam?" Dean ventured, accepting Laney's help back up off the floor. Sam had yet to speak since they had left Lucifer's cage and Dean's concern was growing.

"He's alright." Bobby nodded and stood up, his hands on his hips as he looked around. "He's just sleeping it off," he said confidently. "How bout you, Cas?"

The angel was pushing himself to his feet. "I'll be fine."

"Well..." Bobby shook his head in disbelief as he took in the shaken-but-alive status of everyone in the room. A huge grin spread across his bearded face and there was a definite gleam in his kind, brown eyes. "Ain't ya'll a sight for sore eyes."

~x~x~x~x~x~

~x~x~x~x~x~

A/N: Sorry this took so long to post – this little thing called Christmas got in my way. I hope you all had a good one and all the best to ALL OF YOU for the New Year! I put the ending in as an epilogue but I'm posting it at the same time as this. I hope you liked this chap and especially hope you like the ending! *fingers crossed*