maddi what do u think about hannah pulling bela out of hell
oopsie??
The mission is holy, even in this most sacrilegious of places. They choke on the pall of brimstone permeating the air as they dodge the defensive strikes of the hellhounds and demons guarding the abyss. Their wings ache: they’ve been flying for many days through hellfire that has the ability to burn feathers with just a few licks, and they have not been unscathed by Hell’s sentient protectors either.
It’s a reprehensible place. If it weren’t for their orders, they would not chose to be here. Who would chose this?
This human has, Hannah reminds themself with an uncomfortable grimace. Although who can say Bela Talbot knew what she was getting into when she bartered her soul all those years ago? She was only a child, after all.
And that is why Hannah was commanded to save her. With the threat of the apocalypse vanquished and Michael trapped with Lucifer in his cage, Castiel has risen to bring Heaven back to order. He reminded all angels of their original purpose: to protect the earth and all of its inhabitants.
Castiel is a curiosity, and so is his relationship with the Winchester brothers. It was with their influence that Castiel instituted new governance. For the first time ever, the angels democratize. A council was put in place to oversee Heaven, rather than have one individual - Michael - in a dictator position.
Upon a vote, the council decided it was in the best interest of not only Heaven, but Earth itself to send rescue teams into Hell. The misplaced, righteous souls that Hell has stolen do not belong there. Bela Talbot is among the undeserving.
Hannah is not ordinarily a warrior - their skills are better fit to administrate - but when Castiel himself asked them to retrieve Bela Talbot from Perdition and bring her to Heaven, they could not refuse.
They find Bela alone in a locked room, shackled to a thorny wall. Her head lolls to the side listlessly. Blood, scars, and entrails cover her self, making her appear grotesquely inhuman; but her soul is not so tainted, so disfigured, as to make her a demon.
Hannah lays a hand over her cheek; it feels cold. Something twists inside of them, wrenching their reaction into pity, perhaps nausea.
“Bela,” they whisper. Bela moans. “I am here to rescue you.”
Bela flinches away from their touch, puncturing herself further with the spiked wall, and the wrench inside of them tightens. Bela would rather be hurt than touched, even by them. A reedy whimper wails from her sealed lips.
“Hush, Bela.” They take Bela’s restrained ankles in their hands and unfasten the bonds, next doing the same to her wrists. When the shackles around her wrists come undone, she collapses forward and into Hannah’s waiting arms, but then she panics and tries to fall to the floor.
“It’s all right, Bela,” Hannah says. Instead of listening, Bela shakes her head; her whole spirit rattles with fear even as she tries, unsuccessfully, to break free from Hannah’s hold on her. She’s strong, and though she committed many sins in her life, she remains innocent in this corrupt place.
Hannah presses a healing kiss to Bela’s forehead, which stops her from trying to escape from them. “I won’t let anything happen to you,” Hannah promises. Their wings beat, lifting them both from the room. Cradled in Hannah’s arms for the rest of their ascent, Bela Talbot is saved.
