Prologue

Dean doesn't snap out of it all at once. The rustling of pedestrians on the sidewalk, the chatter of mothers and children and the heavy scent of hot dogs take time to reach his senses, to be processed.

Eventually though, he comes back fully. One thing he can't process though, is what just happened. Him and Amarra. They kissed. And somehow that wasn't even close to being the weirdest thing that happened. Her explanation (if it could even be called that) of what happened with her and God, what their beef was and how she wanted bliss for all mankind had left Dean reeling. He needs to talk to someone, to help sort this out. He needs to talk to Sam. Dean reaches into his pocket for his phone and the motion triggers a memory from before his conversation with Amarra. It seems impossibly long ago. But sure enough, there it is. One missed call from Sam.

Sam is with Lucifer. He has never been more afraid in his life. He can feel his heart beating rapidly behind his ribs, like a bird banging desperately against a glass window, trying to get through, to get out. He can taste the bile rising in the back of his throat. He can tell that he's shivering, shaking, probably visibly so. Everything he'd ever tried to forget about the Cage, everything he'd put away so meticulously and tried to bury deep, deep in the ground, comes rushing back. All the memories are here again and they're so much worse now that they're not just his past, but also his future.

Lucifer is standing on the far end of the cage. He hasn't touched Sam yet since he revealed the truth about the visions. Even through his blind panic, Sam can feel shame. How could he have thought that God would seek him out? He's nothing, nobody. He's Lucifer's chewtoy. Why would God ever be interested in him? So dumb, so arrogant of him to think that he'd be chosen by God for a higher purpose. Of course it was just Lucifer. It was always just Lucifer.

Lucifer has his back turned to Sam, his shoulders are relaxed and he's humming quietly to himself. In the distance, Sam hears the clanking and clattering of chains. The sound startles an unbidden tear from his eye.

Chapter 1

Dean kicks himself mentally for not having picked up the phone for Sam. The timestamp of the missed call tells him he was gone for over an hour. That's a lot of time during which his little brother could have gotten in trouble. He calls Sam back. The line beeps, and beeps. Eventually, it's picked up. Dean doesn't wait for Sam to say anything.

"Sam, are you OK?"

"Sammy-boy can't come to the phone right now, Dean-o. He's just a teensy bit busy."

Dean doesn't have to ask who it is. He would recognize those sing-song tones anywhere. Fear and anger spike in his gut.

"Lucifer. You son of a bitch. You leave my brother the hell alone!"

"Heh. That's actually funny phrasing, Dean. Because you see, your brother and I are in Hell. And we are alone. And he is, in fact, a little bitch."

Dean resists the urge to scream, to vomit. Lucifer has his hands on Sam. God knows what he'll do to him. God knows what he has already done.

"Lucifer. Get away from him, or I swear I will-"

The devil cuts in before Dean gets to finish his threat.

"What, Dean? What are you going to do to me? You don't even know where we are. Even if you did, you wouldn't know how to get here. Even if you could get here, there would be no way to stop me. I mean I'm just being realistic here, bud."

Lucifer says that last sentence with mock-sympathy and Dean can just picture the evil smirk on his face. The mental image quickly fades though when he hears something in the background. A noise. A strangled noise of pain and fear. And even though the speaker on his phone is tinny and the reception is poor, Dean knows. It's Sam.

"Lucifer. Put Sam on the phone." Dean doesn't know why he thinks that Satan will oblige him, but he can't not ask. He needs to speak to his brother, needs to tell him to hold on, that Dean is coming to get him. To Dean's surpise, Lucifer doesn't just laugh off his request. In fact, he welcomes it.

"Sure thing, Dean. Don't worry though if his voice is a little hoarse. That's just from all the screaming." Dean's blood is boiling, he can hear his pulse beating against his eardrums.

He hears shuffling, probably Lucifer walking towards his little brother. The line goes quiet for a bit. Then, he hears his brother's voice.

"Dean." The word is packed with pain, with fear, with desperation.

"Sammy. Sam, I'm coming to get you, okay? I'm going to find you and I'm going to save you and you're going to be fine." Dean's right hand is white-knuckling his phone, his left is clutching at his hair. He needs to find Sam now, right now.

"Where are you, Sam? Do you know where you are?"

"Hell. N-not sure where. Help me Dean, please. Please." Dean feels tears pooling in his eyes. The fear in Sam's voice (barely above a whisper) is palpable, it sends shards of pain through his chest.

"Sammy. You're going to be alright. I'm coming, I promise."

On other end, Sam says nothing. For a second, Dean thinks the line is dead.

Then he hears it: Sam's crying. Quiet, stuttering sobs make their way through the ether.

The sound abrubtly stops a few seconds later and Lucifer's voice returns.

"OMG, Dean. What'd you say to him? He's really upset! Don't worry though. I've got some stuff planned that'll make baby brother perk right up. Gotta go. Bye now!"

The line goes dead.