"Sam?"

"Dean?"

Dean sighed and shrugged his corners, staring up at The Lid. "Do you ever worry about when you're gonna go?"

"That's pretty deep, Dean." Sam let some of his leaves move to the inner side, nearer the perforation. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I guess." Dean sounded like the most depressed tea-bag to ever grace the box. Bobby, who was further down, and intended to stay there, rustled his corners too, bumping Dean.

"Not this again. You're the one who ripped your seams trying to keep Sam here."

"I know, Bobby."

"It was, by far, the stupidest thing you have ever done."

"I know, Bobby."

"Idjit."

Dean sighed again, shifting his leaves. It was true. To keep Sam in the box, he'd torn part of himself. Who knows what could happen to a torn tea-bag... he rustled his corners again, crumpling slightly. He wondered what his father would have told him in this situation.

"Dean?"

"Yeah?"

Sam shuffled closer, nudging him on the perforation.

"I appreciate it."
"Thanks, Sammy."

They heard it coming before they saw anything happen. The ground seemed to shift underneath them, there was an unholy screeching howl, and suddenly, The Lid opened, light flooding them.

"No!" Dean yelled, trying to squirm closer to Sam. "Not yet! No!" But Dean was ripped from Sam, and pulled through, into the light, before being dropped for what seemed like forever, landing slumped on a hard, cold floor. The chamber was barely big enough to fit him, his bottom corners touching the other side of the pit. He stared up at the small disk of blinding light, and then yelled as something fell on him, around him, choking and suffocating.

"Hello, newbie." It hissed. Dean could feel it wrapping itself around him. Dean felt violated.

"Who are you? What are you?"

"Feisty..."it hissed again, a delighted note of menace in it's voice. "I'm Alasdair. And I'm here to make your time here a little easier. Just say you'll join me, and it'll all be over quickly."

"And what if I don't want to, milk-sap?"

"Well..." Alasdair chuckled. Something, nearby, was roaring and gurgling. "You'll be in for a world of pain."

The roaring stopped as suddenly as it started, and then, without warning, boiling, burning pain spread through Dean as the chamber filled with water, drowning him. He screamed and writhed, just making Alasdair the evil milk laugh more.

"Go with it, Dean! Diffuse with me! Become like me, enjoy the pain!"

Dean fought and struggled, but as he lost all sensation of having seams and corners, he felt he was losing his mind. He started laughing. The searing, burning pain became so relentless that he was, in effect, numb to it.

"Alright... I..."

At that moment, something shining and solid burst through the watery tomb, causing Alasdair to screech in anger and pain, before holding Dean tight and lifting him back into the air.

"Who..." Dean choked, unable to see his saviour. "What..."

"Shh." His saviour replied, seemingly all around him. "My name is Castiel. I have saved you to return you to the world."

"Why?"

"Your job is not over yet. But I must warn you. The place I return you to will not be the same place you left. It will be spoiled, rotten and dark. It will be your job to keep it in check."

"Why me?"

"I cannot say. I just follow my orders..."

Yawning, Chuck opened the bin and watched the teabag fall from the spoon into the pile of garbage. He could have sworn he heard it scream. He needed more sleep. He looked down at the mug of tea and sighed at it's ever-so-slight tan.

"Goddamn cheap tea bags."