I do not own Supernatural or any of its characters. I make no monetary profit off of this story.

Take Me to Church

"Walk the razor's edge
Cut into the madness
Question all you trust
Buy into the fear
I see the man ripping at my soul now
I, I know the man
I know him all too well…" – This Means War by Avenged Sevenfold

Chapter 1: This Means War

"Regretting your foolish decision to release my brother before me?" asked Michael, clearly still a little unhappy with Crowley for that. Rain continued to pour down, the king was grateful for it. It hid the weakness he was feeling at the moment, it masked his heartbreak and fear.

"Yes, I am. Are you going to go kick his ass, now?" snapped Crowley, keeping his chin up.

"Why would I bother? You and your little friends halted the apocalypse. I don't want to fight my brother if I don't have to."

"Because he's taken over Heaven and plans to rule everything." Answered Crowley, watching fury flash in the archangel's eyes for a moment.

"And? This your mess, you can clean it up." Retorted Michael, bluffing. He wasn't going to let Lucifer rule over Heaven, that wasn't his place.

"I let you out! He wasn't going to and you know it! So help me clean up this mess and give him the beating you should've dealt out centuries ago!"

"You seem quite desperate, Crowley. Afraid of losing Hell?" asked Michael, watching Crowley's expressions.

"No, someone just has to step up and stop him."

"So it's something else you're afraid of losing. Tell me what it is or you're on your own."

"Why? So you can get your revenge on me by whipping his ass and still harming who I fear for?"

"No so that when I go in there swinging, if I find they deserve to live, I'll get them out so that they don't become a casualty." Replied Michael, looking at Crowley. He had to admit, though he'd never do so out loud, that he actually did look like a king for once. Soaked by the rain with his chest puffed out despite the fear in his eyes and desperation in his heart.

"Dean Winchester. He has Dean." Stated Crowley, voice rougher than usual.

"The arrogant little bastard who denied me? I see. Somehow I'm not surprised. Rumors and whatnot."

"You can't just storm right in. He's got an army on his side. Some of mine, some of yours."

"Then I'll go and recruit those still loyal to me. Heaven is mine. Your side does not interfere with that, understood?"

"I don't want to interfere with that. On that note, then, Hell is mine. It stays mine. Is that understood?" asked Crowley, gaze narrowed at the angel. Knowing that Michael could blast him into a trillion pieces spread across the galaxy in the blink of an eye. Just not caring. Which, lucky for him, earned him some respect from the angel before him.

"Understood. I'll have a message sent to you to inform you of when I plan to strike. Have your minions ready. If his force is hit from both sides, there's nothing he can do." Answered Michael before vanishing, the sound of fluttering wings following him.

Xxxxxx

The elder archangel appeared in the center of Heaven, where factions were loudly arguing about whether to join or fight Lucifer. Every single one of them went silent upon seeing their general, all eyes turning to Michael. He looked around at the leaders of all the factions and nodded once.

"You have a decision to make. All of you. Brothers, sisters, my family. You can side with Lucifer and fight for him, betray our Father, betraying me, betraying the mission that was left to us. Or you can stand in the light, stand by me, fight at my side, honor our Father and our mission. The choice is yours. I cannot make you choose. Just know that regardless of how it will hurt me to harm you, if you decide to fight for Lucifer, I will destroy you because I will win." Stated Michael, voice amplified as he gave his speech, looking around at the leaders. One stepped forward after a moment of silence.

"Michael, he is going to make it paradise for us. There is no need to fight him, we should all join him."

"You fool, do you not remember that day? The day he betrayed us all? You truly think he has changed?"

"You're not listening. Paradise, Michael. Absolute paradise for us, no more fighting."

"There cannot be peace and true paradise if you are not willing to spill blood fighting for what is right. You are either with me or you are against me." Retorted Michael, narrowing his gaze at the angel. The angel shrunk back, clearly not brave enough to challenge the eldest archangel.

"We are with you, Michael." Spoke up one of the garrison leaders.

"As are we." Said another firmly.

"We aren't." spoke the one that had questioned him before vanishing, likely to gather his angels and go straight to Lucifer.

"We stand with you, General." Answered another.

Michael nodded at those who sided with him, merely glaring at the ones who didn't before they left. Once only those who supported him remained, he gazed around the room at them. It was a sizeable amount. More than the amount of angels Lucifer had. He only hoped that most of Hell would side with Crowley, if only just to limit the amount of blood that would have to be shed.

Xxxxxx

Dean Winchester's cries of pure agony rang out and echoed, the pain never once fading or ending. Except as a cruel trick to make him relax before setting another hooked whip onto his skin or flames up the back of his legs. Lucifer hadn't been lying when he said this was going to be worse than his stay in Hell.

"You know what must be the most hopeless for you? The fact that this won't stop by you simply saying you'll torture someone else. Well, actually it can, but I'm going to really put you in some serious pain for that to happen." Stated Lucifer before casually closing his hand in a fist, making Dean's bones twist and snap, putting themselves back together then doing it again.

"Fuck you, fuck you… you fucking… piece of shit…" stammered out Dean breathlessly before dropping his head back and screaming again. His voice not as loud, feeling like his throat was probably bleeding from all his screaming.

"You know, we could work out a little deal like that. You could help me trap Crowley here. I'll take you off of those hooks if you promise me you'll snap him onto them and pick up my whip for me."

"Eat shit…" breathed out Dean, clenching his teeth as more pain shot through his nervous system. He'd already bitten right through his tongue in one place, blood continuously filling his mouth.

"Really, I don't think it would bother him much, Dean. He's a bit of a masochist." Replied Lucifer in a bored tone before standing and picking up a bow, attaching a holy water soaked arrow to it and sending it right into Dean's knee. He earned himself another cry of pain and smiled.

"You honestly think I'd drag him here? Took Alistair's sorry ass thirty years to get me to torture people I didn't even know. You can do whatever you want to me, asshole. There's nothing you can do to get me to torture him." Stated Dean in a growl, that being the only way he could get his voice to be firm or commanding anymore. After having done so much screaming.

Lucifer rolled his eyes and started walking towards Dean to deal out more pain and punishment when he was interrupted. The demon that had interrupted him stayed a decent distance away and muttered to him. Dean wasn't sure what had been said but by the instant lashing out Lucifer did, literally knocking the demon's head off its shoulders, it couldn't have been good news.

"Something not going your way, again?" asked Dean, starting to sincerely consider no longer talking, each time he did hurt worse and worse. An icy glare was turned on him, one that gave him the deepest feeling of fear he'd had so far.

"Don't go anywhere, Dean. We'll be continuing shortly." He stated, then giving a smirk before leaving.

Xxxxxx

A rare silence settled on the pit of despair and eternal punishment. No shouting, no screams of agony, no demon doing their job. The souls just kept in cages in confusion, anticipating the next attack on what remained of their sanity. Every eye below horns was aimed up at a sort of pedestal of brimstone. Like the Pope's balcony.

It was rumored that Lucifer himself once stood up there, instructing the very first in Hell what to do, what this place would be. No current demons knew any that had been there at the time to confirm this but it was not hard to imagine it.

Now, their current king stood up there. A place he hadn't stood since he took over Hell and made the announcement that he was in charge. With all the events that had taken place recently, the factions taking sides like those in Heaven, every creature in Hell knew that whatever Crowley had to say was massive.

"Many of you have not approved of me, I know this. Many of you have plotted against me, either in helping make the apocalypse happen or in assisting Abaddon. Many of you still see me as a glorified salesman." He began, looking out at the masses. He saw some were beginning to leave, likely those on Lucifer's side, so he continued in a firmer tone.

"I may have been just a glorified salesman. Being betrayed by an angel, just barely helping rid the earth of the Leviathans, failing in acquiring all the tablets, even being kept prisoner once that didn't work out. Having nearly all of you betray me by going to Abaddon when it appeared as though she held all the cards. But do you know what all of these have done to me? Any of you? Any of you miserable cowards who would go and stand behind our creator who would snap you all in half? Do you know the answer?" his voice louder than it had been and rougher, speaking directly to those trying to leave.

"These events have made me a King. As your King, I command those of you still loyal to be prepared for a war, because that's what's going to happen. Is it likely I won't survive this endeavor? Very much so. I cannot promise you victory but I can promise you that if he wins…he will destroy every last one of you. I can also promise you that if you side with him and I win…that the punishment you will receive will be far beyond what even the cruelest of you could possibly imagine." He continued, fully believing in his own words, something stirring alive in his chest. Those who were leaving were now gone, all that remained were demons appearing on the fence or actually planning to stay on his side.

"I am your King. You will stand with me or I will rip your hooves right out from under you and trample your mangled corpses on the battlefield." He finished in nearly a growl before just walking away. He knew he couldn't make any of them fight, he couldn't make any of them side with him. It was a huge toss-up. He'd find out tomorrow how many were really on his side.

Xxxxxx

Gabriel was wandering around the bunker, clearly curious about all the books and items within. He ignored the looks Sam and Castiel were giving him, believing it was better to spend time entertaining himself instead of sulking like those two were.

"You know we should be brainstorming plans, right?" asked Sam in a tired tone, sounding almost defeated.

"Can't do that 'til CrowCrow gets back, Jolly Green." Retorted Gabriel, picking up a pirate sword that was hanging up, playing with it like a small child.

"What did you just call him?" asked Castiel, his confused expression slightly mirroring Sam's fairly disturbed one.

"Jolly Green. Like the giant from vegetable commercials." Answered Gabriel, barely paying attention as he swung the sword around.

"No, I understand that reference, I meant Crowley." Replied Cas, still very confused. Before anyone could answer, Crowley shut the door behind him and headed down the stairs towards them.

"Ah, speak of the devil and he shall appear." Stated Gabe, turning his head slightly, smiling.

"Yeah, we should really reinvent that phrase or something…" sighed Sam, rubbing his temples.

"On guard, you scurvy knave!" shouted Gabriel, using a very terrible impression of a pirate voice as he playfully thrust the sword at Crowley. The angel earned himself a dirty look.

"Who is letting the tiny one play with pointy things?" asked Crowley, looking over at Cas and Sam.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of brimstone this morning…" mumbled Gabe, rolling his eyes as he turned and put the sword away.

"What's the news, then?" asked Sam, sitting up and watching Crowley drop onto the seat opposite him.

"War." Blurted Crowley, pouring himself some of their scotch and taking a drink, wincing in disgust immediately.

"War? What do you mean war?" asked Castiel, leaning forward, his kitten-like expressions full of concern.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute. You cannot wage a war against Luci all by yourself, Crowley. And you know it." Said Gabriel, stepping over and sitting next to the king.

"I'm not. I'm waging a war against Lucifer with Michael." Answered Crowley, taking another drink despite hating the stuff. There was a dead silence at that as the gravity of his words hit them all.

"Is that a joke? You fucking with us?" Asked Sam with a chuckle one a man standing on a ledge might make as he joked about the fall not being that far down.

Crowley didn't get the chance to answer as Castiel suddenly flung the table across the room and dove forward. The angel grabbed Crowley by the front of his suit and drug him across the room, slamming him against the wall so hard that everything on it fell off. Sam didn't even have time to react so Gabriel reacted for him, waving his hand so the large hunter's chair scooted back and out of the line of fire.

"You son of a bitch! Was it not enough to release one of them!? You had to release them both!? You want to undo all the work we did five years ago?!" shouted Castiel.

Crowley, who now had scotch he disliked all over his face, glared at the angel. In a blink, he swung and hit Cas in the face, giving himself just enough space to shove him back and away. The angel fell on a chair that collapsed beneath him and swiftly returned to his feet. Sam stood up to separate them but Gabe raised a hand.

"Nope, nope." Muttered Gabriel.

"Cas will kill him. We need him." Growled Sam.

"No, he won't. Let them get this out of their systems. I imagine it's been building up since the purgatory thing." Replied Gabe, staying in his seat and watching like it was a boxing match on tv.

Crowley knew that Cas could kill him and actually expected it, so he figured he had nothing left to lose and made a drastic move. That drastic move being to dive at and tackle the angel. Castiel hit the ground hard, feeling bones in his vessel fracture. The angel swiftly rolled them after taking a few punches and pressed his palm to Crowley's forehead, stopping himself before smiting.

"I can't tell if you're desperate or brave." Growled Castiel before standing up, letting go of the king who wiped the spilled scotch off of his face with a grimace.

"You guys done with fight night? We gotta know exactly what's going on so we can plan accordingly." Stated Gabriel, looking perfectly relaxed in his seat. Castiel stayed standing and just folded his arms, being silent for now. Crowley slowly sat up, leaning back against the wall behind him and sighed before speaking.

"I told Michael about the situation. He's gone up to Heaven to rally any who will side with him over Lucifer. I've just been to Hell, rallying any smart enough to side with me over Lucifer. The war starts when Michael says so." Explained Crowley before leaning his head back against the wall.

"Okay. Cassy, you need to go see Mike. You're a valuable soldier, he'll want to have your input." Said Gabriel.

"That…might be a problem." Replied Castiel, Sam looked confused then eyes widened slightly.

"Oh, yeah. Um, last time Michael and Cas met, Cas kinda Molotov cocktailed him…" explained Sam.

"Okay, then Cassy and I will go see him together. In private. I'm still the secret weapon here. This might work out better than we'd thought, guys." Answered Gabriel, standing up, mind already working on strategy. He headed for the door. Castiel hesitated then followed him in silence.

Sam watched them go and then looked over at Crowley with a sigh.

"Your plan of action was to tackle an angel? Literally tackle an angel? Seems more like a Dean move than one of yours." Stated Sam after the door closed, picking up the bottle and walking over. He sat down on the floor next to Crowley, watching the king give him a suspicious look.

"Yeah, well, he grows on you." Retorted Crowley quietly. Sam nodded slowly.

"Yeah, he does."

"Are you going to use the gifts you've gotten for this, Sam? I'll offer you my blood for it if need be."

"No. No, I'm not gonna do things like that. I never needed it before to win, I don't need it this time. When we got here tonight, I had Gabriel cleanse me. Evil strengths or dark powers infect me. I'm not like you or Dean. I can't walk the line and make them work for good. It's too tempting for me to go overboard and lose control." Explained Sam, taking a drink straight from the bottle before offering it to Crowley.

"Well…I guess one of us here has to be an actual good guy, right?" asked Crowley, taking the bottle and taking a drink before grimacing again and sighing.

"It's really good scotch, I don't understand what your problem is."

"It's really terrible scotch. That's my problem. I need to be fucked up on blood to even enjoy it. Speaking of…" trailed off Crowley, reaching into his coat. He pulled out a syringe and sighed when he saw it was empty.

Sam stared at it for a few moments then took it from him and rolled up his own sleeve, not paying attention to the confused look on the king's face.

"What are you doing?" asked Crowley, brows furrowed.

"What's it look like? Listen, when I lost Jess…or my dad. Or Dean. I know it's not a healthy method but drinking helped me cope with the pain. You're not human so alcohol won't affect you the same, just like pain won't affect you the same." Stated Sam, pushing the needle in and starting to fill the syringe.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean you're not human enough to know how to deal with pain properly. It hits you like a freight train and you can't do anything to help it. Even if you know he's going to be okay, you can't get past the what if part." Explained Sam, pulling the needle out with a slight wince and handing the syringe to Crowley.

"You and your brother literally went out of your way to get me clean once and now you're just going to enable me?"

"When this is all over, we can force you clean again. Consider it a peace offering, I guess." Said Sam. Crowley stared at him for a moment then pulled his own sleeve up, pushing the needle in and plunging the blood into his system. His head fell back against the wall with an intoxicated sigh and he blindly lifted the bottle of scotch, taking a long drink before handing it off to Sam.

"Thank you." Muttered Crowley, turning his head and blinking slowly at the large Winchester.

"You're welcome." Replied Sam, taking as long a drink as he could and wincing as he sighed.

Crowley reached out and picked up the scotch glass he'd had that had somehow made its way over to them. He held it out and Sam filled it. They then clinked the glass and bottle together.

"To probably dying in the next 24 hours?" slurred Crowley.

"To likely death or dismemberment." Slurred Sam in response, giving a short chuckle before they both took a drink.

**(And there's that. Finally got the sequel going. Hope you enjoyed that, thank you for reading, please leave me a review on your way out.)**