Thank you so much Gredelina1 for the quick beta job. You're a star. Also thanks you to SandraEngstrom2 for all the help and support.

Chapter Six

Dean scrambled to his feet. "Amara!"

She was there, right in front of him. After all this time, the weeks of searching and chasing down leads she was actually there. She looked a little amused at his awed reaction, possibly seeing something in it that wasn't there. Some echo of the kiss Dean was resolutely not thinking about maybe. Whatever it was, he didn't have time to decipher it.

"Amara," he said again.

She smiled coquettishly. "Who were you expecting?"

"You. I mean no one. I mean I was hoping. I've been looking for weeks. And I couldn't… But you're here." He nodded decisively. "Good."

She looked at his empty hands and frowned. "You don't have a weapon."

"I don't," he agreed.

"And there are no angels here."

"No. And you can't go, okay? If they show up you have to stay."

"They cannot kill me, Dean," she said, almost apologetically.

"I know, and believe me, I don't want them to."

His mind seemed to be working in reverse it was so slow. He knew what he needed to say, but his thoughts and words weren't cooperating.

"You don't want me dead?" she asked, clearly confused.

"No," he said fervently. "I need you."

She brought a hand up to his face and cupped his cheek. He bore the touch for a moment and then stepped back slowly and shook his head to clear it.

"What do you need, Dean?" she asked in a soft, seductive voice.

"I need help." He was mortified that his voice came out rough and strained with emotion. She was going to misread all of this as desire. Maybe that would help his cause.

Her eyes softened. "What's happened?"

"It's Sam, my brother. He's in Hell, and he's hurting so much, and it's been so long and I should have…"

He stopped babbling as she pressed a hand to his chest. "Calm, Dean," she said, and though it was softly spoken, it sounded like a command and he obeyed. He purposely slowed his breathing and closed his eyes, marshalling himself.

"Sam's in Hell," he said. "He got trapped in there. It's not the first time. I don't know how much Crowley told you, but he was there before, and he was… damaged, hurt bad. We have to get him out before he's gone completely."

She nodded thoughtfully. "You have been looking for me all this time, following me, because of this?"

"Yes," Dean said emphatically.

"Oh. I thought you'd found another way to attempt to kill me." She sounded regretful.

"You knew?" Dean asked. "You knew I was following you?"

"Of course, Dean. We're connected. Had I know what you needed, I wouldn't have hidden. I only came tonight because I finally grew tired of our dance."

Dean took a moment just to absorb that, the knowledge that while he'd been searching the country for her, she'd probably been just ahead of him, watching from the shadows as he grew more and more desperate. All that time Sam had been suffering because she thought he might attempt to kill her.

"I'm not trying to kill you," he stated. He couldn't say wouldn't though.

"I know. Now, tell me more. Your brother is in Hell?"

"With Lucifer."

"Hmm, Lucifer. I remember him." Her tone was undeniably bitter. "And he has your brother trapped"

"Yeah, and we have to get him out. He's going to destroy Sam."

She nodded slowly. "I will help you…"

"Thank you," Dean said fervently. "Thank you so much."

"…on one condition," she continued.

"Anything," Dean said without thought.

"Tell me how he came to be trapped."

Dean looked into her fathomless eyes and knew that she wasn't asking for information. She already knew the answer. She was asking because she wanted to see if he would tell her the truth. There was no guarantee she'd help if he was honest, but he was almost certain that she would not if he lied.

Dean swallowed hard. "We went to him for help."

"Help with what?"

"You," Dean said. "We were scared of what you were going to do to the world. We thought we had to stop you before you could hurt more people. We thought you were going to end it all, and we knew Lucifer had helped God trap you before."

She smiled slightly. "Do you still think that now?"

"Yes," Dean replied honestly.

"And you want to work with me anyway. You must love your brother very much."

Dean didn't reply.

She drew a breath and looked out over the lake. "I expected you to try at least. You're a warrior, I told you that before. Of course you see me as a threat. It makes sense that you think you have to stop me. You don't understand me, Dean. But you will. Coming to me now for help is the first step."

"You'll help me?" Dean asked.

"I will. I told you I would."

Dean closed his eyes and let out a breath of relief. "Thank you," he said sincerely. "We have to do it fast, and we can't let Lucifer out. He has to stay in the cage, or it'll all be for nothing." The whole world would be destroyed.

Her expression remained serene. "That is not a problem for me. I will go to him now. Would you like me to bring him here or is there another place for you?"

"Wait!" Dean said loudly, afraid she would leave already. "You can't go alone."

She tilted her head to the side. "You can't come with me. It's far too dangerous."

Dean took a breath, held it for a beat to calm himself and come at it rationally, and then said, "You need me to come. Lucifer isn't going to step aside and let you just pull Sam out. You need me to get Sam out while you deal with him. And I need Cas."

"Cas?"

"Castiel. He's an angel. Not one of the ones that came after you, but he's got a halo. He's good though, family, and Sam will need him, too."

"This will be very dangerous," she said.

Dean locked eyes with her. "You're God's sister."

She narrowed her eyes. "I am."

"So you can make sure we make it out okay."

She sighed and nodded. Dean wasn't sure what exactly her reluctance was, as she surely had the power to keep him, Cas and Sam safe. Dean needed to be there and he needed Castiel with him. They were family, and it was family Sam needed to see coming to get him out. Dean didn't know the details of what had happened to him while he was in Lucifer's clutches, but he knew it was something Sam was going to need help coming through. He wanted to be there from the very first moment to give him that help.

"I will not kill the angel," she mildly, "and I will free your brother."

"And you'll take me along?" Dean asked.

"Yes."

"Thank you, Amara. Really. I don't even…"

She smiled. "I know."

Dean's mind was racing ahead of him when he pulled the car to a stop outside the asylum that Crowley had made his lair. He was so close to Sam now, and soon he would have him out. The journey he had made there alone would be shared with his brother.

Castiel met him at the end of the road that lead to the asylum, standing beside the stolen car he had used to drive from their motel a few towns over. Dean saw he'd had the foresight to bring their duffels with him. That pleased Dean as they could leave straight for the bunker when they got Sam out. Sam would need to be somewhere familiar, home, even if he didn't see it as that.

"Where is The Darkness?" Castiel asked.

"I am here," Amara said, appearing behind him.

Castiel started comically and turned to face her. He didn't speak, but Dean thought it was more about fear than it was rudeness.

"Amara, this is Cas," Dean said, and when Amara's lips pressed into a thin line, he added, "Don't kill him."

She looked amused. "Are we ready?"

"More than ready," Dean said, pulling the demon knife from his pocket and nodding approvingly when Castiel slid his own blade into his hand.

Amara led them up the path to the door of the asylum, her head held high. When they came to the door, she just pushed and it banged open. There were scuffling footsteps and Dean caught sight of a demon running away from them along the hall. Amara stopped and flung out a hand. The demon skidded to a stop, arms pinwheeling, and then slid backward on the stone floor toward them as Amara drew back her hand. When he was a few feet away, Amara grabbed his shoulders, turned him, and gripped his chin. She tilted his head back and then leaned close with her mouth open. The black smoke poured out of the demon's mouth and into hers. Castiel shifted uncomfortably at his side, but Dean watched impassively. If she needed a snack to power her up a little more, so be it.

When the smoke ceased, Amara released the body and it dropped to the floor. She stepped over it and continued down the hall.

"Brown," a familiar voice called from behind the door, "is there a problem?"

Amara flung open the door and stepped into the larger room where Crowley held court. "No problem, Crowley," she said serenely. "Just a visit."

Crowley visibly paled. "Amara, good to see you. I don't think you've met my mother."

"Amara," Rowena whispered, getting slowly to her feet and bowing slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you properly at last. You know, I am sure, that I played my part in your freedom, and I just want to say how happy I was that I could do that for you, and how I am more than willing—"

"Leave," Amara said loftily.

"Of course," Rowena squeaked, without a trace of her usual confidence. She ran as fast as her tight gown would allow down the hall they'd entered and through a side door.

Crowley watched her go and then turned back to Amara. "Thank you. I have been telling the pestilential pest to bugger off for weeks now and she insists on hanging around like the proverbial bad penny. I owe you. Anything you want." His voice softened, became almost nervous. "What is it that you do want?"

"Not your head. Yet." she said simply.

Crowley looked relieved and tugged his collar. "Okay then. From the presence of Squirrel and his side-kick pigeon, I'm assuming Moose is the order of the day."

Amara frowned. "What?"

"You're here for Sam," Crowley clarified.

"Yes. We want passage to Hell to wherever this cage is housed."

"Can do," Crowley said, his voice strained. "It's just… Did they tell you who else is in that cage? I ask because Lucifer is not my number one fan. Or anyone's fan really. If he gets out… It's really best not to imagine."

Amara frowned. "Are you suggesting that he will best me?" she asked. "Do you not think I am a match for an archangel?" She infected the word with derision.

"Course you are," Crowley said quickly. "Sorry. Didn't think. No one is a match for you. Naturally."

As much as Dean was enjoying seeing Crowley scrabbling around for words that would not piss Amara off, he wanted to get it over with so he could get to his brother. Sam needed him.

"Amara," he said hesitantly.

"Enough," she said loudly, cutting through Crowley's complimentary babble. "Take us to Hell. Now."

"Yep. Sure." Crowley nodded vigorously. "One trip to Hell, coming up." He glanced at Castiel and a sly smile crept across his lips, "You know, I remember when you were plucking Dean out of Hell, not following him back in. My how things have changed."

"Crowley," Amara said in a warning tone.

"Yep. Hell. Here we go." He got to his feet and led them through a door behind the throne. Amara strode after him and after a moment to brace himself, Dean followed.

The journey through Hell seemed to take forever. Now he was so close to getting Sam out, Dean felt that every minute was a lifetime. He was hyperaware that Sam was waiting for him at the end of the journey, suffering in ways he didn't even want to think about.

The sounds that he hadn't heard properly before, the shrieks, screams and howls of pain, taunted him as he knew at the end of the passage, Sam could be making those noises, too. Castiel seemed to sense his pain, as he walked at his side and murmured, "We're close now, Dean. We'll be there soon."

And then they were there. Crowley came to a stop at the point Dean recognized from before, but instead of stopping with him, he rushed past and into the cavern that housed the cage.

The bars were shrouded by smoke still, but even as Dean rushed towards it, shouting his brother's name, it began to thin in one spot. Hands were wrapped around the bars, but they weren't Sam's. It was Lucifer. As Dean got closer, he came into view.

"Dean," he said conversationally, "good to see you. We wondered when you'd show up again. It's been too…" He trailed off and Dean was sure he knew why. Amara was right behind him. "Well, this should be interesting," he said.

"Lucifer," Amara said, her tone neutral.

"It's been an age," Lucifer said.

Amara nodded.

"I assume you're here for my bunk buddy."

"I am here for Sam," she said. "You will free him."

"I would," Lucifer said, "but I just… don't want to."

"Amara," Dean breathed. "Please." He needed her to act already. He needed Sam out. He needed it like he needed air.

She stepped close to the cage. "Only when I say," she said softly to Dean.

Dean nodded and Castiel moved to his side. They were ready.

Amara raised her hands and gripped the bars of the cage. She pulled them apart slowly, and they curved and bent, opening a hole. Lucifer rushed at it and he held Dean's focus for a moment, but then the smoke disappeared and the subject of their mission was revealed. Sam was sitting on the floor of the cage, curled into a tight ball. Dean rushed toward him, barely conscious of the fact his path was clear, into the cage. The temperature immediately dropped to freezing, and the stone floor was icy against his knees when he dropped to them beside Sam.

"Sam! Sammy!" he gasped, taking it all in with his stunned and terrified gaze: the slashes in the fabric of Sam's shirt, the bloodstains, the wounds and Sam's lack of reaction to his voice. He grabbed Sam's face and forcefully tilted his head up to meet his gaze. Sam's eyes were open, but they were blank, unaware, his pupils dilated.

"Sam!" he growled, shaking him roughly. "Look at me."

He saw awareness return to Sam. He shuddered as his pupils shrank to their usual size and his eyes widened. "Dean?"

"Yeah, Sammy," Dean said, wide smile in place. "I'm here."

Sam looked over Dean's shoulder and Dean turned, too. Amara had Lucifer caught in her grip. He was pinned to the side of the cage, and he was spitting and snarling, struggling desperately to be freed.

"What did you do?" Sam breathed.

"Get him out, Dean," Amara shouted, her voice strained.

Dean turned back to Sam who was still staring transfixed at Amara and Lucifer's struggle. "Come on, Sammy," he said gently, drawing Sam's attention back to him.

Castiel appeared on Sam's other side and lifted Sam bodily to his feet with a hand under his shoulders. Sam swayed and Dean curled an arm around his back, supporting him as Sam leaned heavily against him. Castiel half led, half dragged them toward the hole in the bars. Dean felt a blast of heat sweeping over him as he exited the cage, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Castiel carried on dragging them along the path out of Hell, but Sam started to lag and stumble, and Dean called him to a stop. "Give him a minute, Cas," he said.

Castiel looked reluctant, but he let them stop and supported Sam as he leaned heavily against him.

"You okay, Sam?" Dean asked.

Sam nodded, his eyes squeezed shut and his forehead creased.

Dean moved to stand in front of him and gripped his shoulders. "It's okay," he said bracingly. "You're out."

"I'm out," Sam said weakly.

He opened his eyes and looked at Dean, and Dean reacted instinctively. He could see the doubt still in Sam's eyes and he wanted to reassure him. He pulled him against his chest and threw his arms around him. He felt Sam breathe out shakily, almost a laugh, and Dean squeezed him tighter.

"Out, Sam!"

"He will never be out!" Lucifer shouted behind them. Over Sam's shoulder, Dean could see Amara walking away from the Cage. The bars were bent back into the perfect shape they had been before. Through them he could see Lucifer's furious face. As Dean watched, Lucifer reached an arm out through the bars and shouted, "This is not the end. Take him if you like, but know that now he will always belong to me. Do you hear that, Sam? You are mine!"

Sam made a sound in his throat that Dean was reluctant to call a whimper and collapsed against Dean's chest, his head falling onto Dean's shoulder. "Sam!" Dean said harshly, but Sam didn't respond. He was unconscious. "Okay," Dean said, patting his back. "You're okay. Just take a minute. I'm here."

"We have to get out of here," Castiel said, reaching for Sam.

Dean nodded and eased Sam into the angel's grip. Castiel lifted him against his chest. Casting glances back every few seconds to check on his brother, Dean led them out of Hell.

So… HE IS OUT! I have accomplished what I started the story for. I have taken back control, and so I can stop crying over my poor Sammy's fate. That's not the end though. There is more story to come…

Until next time…

Hopefully…

Clowns or Midgets xxx