CHAPTER ONE
It's been almost a month since Dean got out of Purgatory, with a little help from his friends and a lot of it from his enemies. See, he's a hunter- no,not the one who goes into the forest to get some deer or rabbits- he hunts everything except what your average human would think he does. His job is to kill monsters, everything gruesome from every nightmare you could have, he hunts it and helps keep the world safe for at least a little while longer. The job got him sent to Purgatory, a place where souls undeserving of a place in Heaven are sent to pay their price and be forgiven for the wrong they did before they died. Some manage to get out without suffering long-term torture, but most of them stay down there forever, going through agonising procedures to purify what's left of their souls. It drives everything, everyone, insane... Even the toughest of men tremble when a demon chains them up and starts slowly peeling of their skin, laughing triumphantly when they beg for mercy.
But Dean, he knew what was waiting down there. He knew what he needed to do to get out of the shackles and continue hunting monsters in order to survive. The story begins here...
One day, if you can call it that in Purgatory, Dean kills the demon holding him captive and escapes, running as fast as his bloody, painful legs could carry him, and ends up on a river shore. The water is clear and refreshing, so he cleans his face and drinks up before looking around for food. There are some berries in a small black bush, but he dares not eat them. You can never trust anything here, not even harmless-looking fruit like these are.
Suddenly, while sitting on the sand and looking into the distance, pondering about what he should do next, Dean hears a cracking sound from somewhere behind his back and jumps up in fear.
"Dean..."- a quiet, harsh voice says.
The shock quickly turns into a moment of relief, but heartbreak replaces the positivity as soon as his friend, Cas, falls to the ground. His trench coat is bloody and covered in dirt, but what really catches Dean's eye is how he seems tired and warn down, which is odd for an angel. Yes, Castiel, the angel of the Lord, is getting bloodied up in Purgatory. He put the needs and well being of all humanity ahead of his own job and got beaten up pretty bad. Cas had a civil war going on in Heaven, it was him against an archangel and, well, he won, but the price of victory was him 'dying' and coming back with no memory of who he was...Until Dean found him, that is. Then they wounded up alone and stranded in Purgatory, fighting desperately to find the other and figure out how to get out.
Dean runs to his motionless body and lays Cas' head on his legs.
"Cas?"- he asks, still shocked and worried for his friend. He doesn't move nor show any signs of life,-"Damn it, wake up!"- he yells, hitting Cas' face with his fist. A brief moment of silence follows, but then Cas' eyes widen as he takes a deep breath and looks at Dean with a shocked look.
"Why did you hit me, Dean?"- he asks quietly, sitting up and looking into Dean's eyes inquisitively.
"To wake you up, you stupid...How the Hell did you find me anyway?"
"You weren't very wise in covering your tracks these past few days. I've been on your trail since you killed that demon, but you were ahead of me. I finally caught up when you found this water source and- you didn't eat these berries, did you? They're poisonous, just so you know."
"Cas, hold up."- Dean says impatiently, eager to find out the details of Cas' time in Purgatory-"What happened to you? You look like crap."
"Oh, this? It should heal soon, I think. An unfortunate string of events brought me to a pack of demons and, well, we know each other from back up there. Needless to say, they weren't too pleased to see me again."- he explains calmly, concentrating on something in the distance.
"No? You think?"- Dean asks sarcastically,-"We should probably find a place to be when it gets dark... All sorts of things come out then."
"Indeed..."- Cas nods and they get up, searching for a cave or secluded part of land to spend the night in.
Some time goes by with them going around aimlessly, quietly talking and looking around for a good place to sleep, before they finally some across a wall of large rocks with a small entry way between two of them. They climb through and find themselves enclosed in a room-like place in the middle of the rock pile. It seems stable enough, but the fact that it was so easy to find and so convenient to them makes Cas think that something's wrong. Dean, however, has no problem falling onto the ground and letting out a deep sigh.
"I don't think this is a good spot, Dean."- Cas says uneasy, looking around the area, but there's nothing to be discovered except a small lizard-like animal making its way up one of the rocks.
"Relax, we can at least get some sleep."- he smiles and closes his eyes, resting at last.
Cas takes a deep breath before laying onto the ground next to Dean and facing him. They stare into each others eyes awkwardly before turning to lay on their backs in unison.
"Why are there no stars?"- asks Dean, looking up at what looked like a sky, but it's eerily empty and dark, without a single speck of light to pour a bit of confidence into their drained bodies.
"We're underground. There is no sky, therefore celestial objects can't be seen."- he answers quietly, hoping, somewhere in the back of his complicated mind, there would be something, anything, to prove that they weren't doomed down here. That they can get out... But the silence and cold air makes it harder for both him and Dean to feel optimistic.
"Oh..."- Dean nods and closes his eyes gently, waiting to fall asleep and get through another dangerous night, but at least he isn't alone anymore.
"This is where the Big Dipper would be..."- Cas whispers, pointing at the black space above them.
There's nothing there, of course, but somehow Dean can imagine what the stars would look like... What they looked like all those times he spent his sleepless nights observing them after a hunt.
"And here's Cassiopeia, my personal favourite, may I add..."- he points and looks over at Dean's smiling face looking up in interest,-"Orion, Castor and Pollux... and, oh, there's Corona Borealis! I named that one... well, I put the idea in an astronomer's head, but I like to think it was my doing."- he smiles.
"What's there?"- asks Dean quietly, pointing to a patch or darkness on his right hand side. Cas looks up and thinks for a moment before answering.
"The Hercules constillation... and Scorpius is south of that."- he answers patiently, looking around as if there was really something to be seen in the pitch black sky-like space.
They eventually fall asleep while Cas describes every constillation there is, which would take a long time for a person to do, but not for an all-knowing angel.
CHAPTER TWO
Cas wakes up a couple of hours before Dean and, when he can't find the heart to wake Dean from his seemingly peaceful sleep, he crawls out of their secluded area and starts looking around for other living creatures. He's looking for something, anything, that could help him and Dean get out of Purgatory safely and soon. After running into a couple of demons who had no intention of sharing any information with him, Cas smited the whole lot. He decides to try and find someone who's willing to negotiate and give him straight answers rather than him having to go to extreme measures to get them.
Finally, after what seems like two hours, he comes across a former crossroads demon who is willing to tell him something... for a fair price, of course.
"I want you to get me some werewolf skin, angel."- he says in an evil tone, shifting his eyes from normal to red.
"First, you will tell me what you know."- Cas demands,-"Or I can just smite you right now."
"Now, now... No need to get violent, I'm sure we can work out a deal."- the demon smiles deviosly and looks at Cas' lips with a dreamy look on his face, which makes Cas more than uncomfortable.
"This isn't a deal. You will give me what I want and, In exchange, I won't leave you as a dusty pile of ash on the ground. Have I made myself clear?"
This makes the demon step back and think for a moment before responding with an unwilling nod.
"There's this guy, see, I don't know him in person, but... you know? I hear things, interesting things."- he says in a cheery tone,-" Story is, he knows how to get you out of here, you just have to give him something in return."
"Something like?"- Cas rushes the demon, but he can't help but feel interested in what he has to say.
"Well your soul of course!"- he answers.
"If I was to give him... my soul... In exchange for someone else to be let out, would he accept?"
"Oh, look what we have here!"- the demon laughs in a squeaky tone with a large smile on his burnt face, it's probably like that from his time in the torturing chains,-"Little lover boy, are you? Do you have someone particular in mind, feathers? You wouldn't like her to get killed down here, would you?"
When Cas doesn't respond to that last bit, the demon grows even more amused.
"So it's not a her, ey? It's a him!"- he giggles and winks,-"You kinky little bastard."
"Thank you for the information..."- Cas says, ignoring the demon's jokes,-"You will die now."
And, with a flash of bright white light and a shreek of pain from the demon, he decomposes into a flaming pile of red and black ashes on the ground. Cas walks away triumphantly, but the thought of selling his soul to some demon makes his head pulsate with anger... But, for Dean, it's worth it.