Chapter 2: The Road to Nowhere

"The wreckage of my past keeps haunting me
It just won't leave me alone
I still find it all a mystery
Could it be a dream?
The road to nowhere leads to me..."

~Ozzy Osbourne

Out of all the people Dean had been expecting to come to the door, (a hunter, one of Bobby's long-lost friends – Hell, even a demon), Castiel was the one he'd least expected to see, disregarding the fact that Bobby had mentioned him mere hours ago. The angel in question looked as if he'd been dunked in a lake and hauled back out several times. His hair hung in wet strands on his face, and water dripped from nearly every available surface of his body. While the numerous scratches on his person had finally ceased bleeding, they still stood out against the angel's pale face. Castiel's sapphire blue eyes passed over Bobby and locked with Dean's.

"Dean…" he said quietly.

"Cas?" Dean's brow furrowed in confusion, and he ignored the sound of footsteps behind him.

"Dean, who—" Sam broke off in mid-sentence as he came to a stop beside his brother, his eyes widening slightly when he spotted the angel.

"Cas?" Sam said, bewilderment evident in his tone. Castiel shifted his stare towards the younger Winchester, his expression unreadable.

"'M gonna' grab a beer," Bobby muttered, edging away from the door and skirting into his kitchen.

"Where the Hell have you been?" Dean demanded, automatically taking a step forward. "I've asked for your help a dozen times over the past few days, and you choose to show up now?" Castiel's gaze lingered on Sam for a moment, and in that brief time, he thought he caught a glimpse of pity in the angel's eyes.

"I've been busy," Castiel replied, turning his head back to face Dean. The older Winchester raised his eyebrows.

"With what?"

"Running, mostly," the angel stated, stepping stiffly inside of the house and surreptitiously closing the door behind him. "From my superiors," he added, when Dean's confusion deepened. Dean shook his head.

"This got something to do with the archangel at Chuck's house? 'Cause Sam and I called him two days ago, and he said everything was fine," Dean said. "That the archangel had left his house mostly intact and hadn't bothered with him. But he failed to mention what happened to you." This last sentence was punctuated with a pointed glance at Castiel, who stood still, expressionless as ever. Dean rolled his eyes at the angel's lack of ability to take hints. "I seem to recall you saying that you were going to 'hold them all off,'" the older Winchester continued, shoving his hands in his pockets. Castiel blinked and shifted his weight, leaning slightly to the right.

"A mistake on my part," he answered. "I believed that I'd be able to hold them off long enough for you to stop Sam." He paused. "I was wrong. Had it not been for quick thinking on Chuck's part, I would not be standing here before you now." Dean caught Sam's eye, and the younger Winchester shrugged.

"Chuck saved your life?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows. Castiel nodded, causing Dean to laugh.

"You sure we're talkin' about the same person here, Cas?" The angel nodded again, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Chuck," Dean stated. "As in 'Prophet of the Lord, I-can't-brave-my-way-out-of-a-paper-bag' Chuck?" Sam cracked a smile at that, then quickly tried to hide it.

"You give him far too little credit," Castiel said, giving Dean a reproachful look. "He is a good man."

"Okay, sure, but what exactly did he do? Somehow, I can't see him goin' toe-to-toe with one of Heaven's fiercest."

"I was prepared to fight," Castiel answered, "but Chuck ordered me to run." Dean snorted.

"You've pretty much gone renegade now, and you still can't stop following orders, can you Cas?" Castiel lowered his gaze, causing Dean to feel a slight twinge of guilt.

"I fled," the angel continued after a moment, "and Chuck remained behind." Sam's brow furrowed.

"So, what, you just left him there?" The younger Winchester asked, a note of disbelief seeping into his tone.

"Chuck was, and nor will he ever be, in any danger from an archangel," Castiel said firmly. Dean shook his head and leaned against the wall of Bobby's house.

"Whatever. Chuck's safe, you're here mostly in one piece, and I guess that's what matters. What I want to know now is what our game plan is." Castiel stared at him blankly.

"Game plan…?" Sam stepped in as Dean opened his mouth to retort.

"What he means is that he wants to know what our plan of action is. We need to know where Lucifer and his demons are, and more importantly, how to stop them." Castiel opened his mouth, then closed it.

"I don't know," he said softly. Dean pushed off from the wall and stood up straight.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" He demanded.

"I don't know where Lucifer and his demons are, or how to stop them." The older Winchester's mouth dropped open slightly.

"Cas, you're a freakin' angel! How can you not know what to do? What did you do the whole however-many-thousands of years you've been up in Heaven? Sit on a cloud a play the harp?" Castiel met Dean's angry gaze with a defiant expression.

"Being an angel of the Lord does not automatically entitle me to infinite wisdom and omniscience."

"Tune in to angel radio, then!" Dean exclaimed. "Figure out what the higher-ups are saying. You can at least do that much, can't you?" Castiel broke eye contact with him at this comment, which caused a cold weight to settle in the pit of Dean's stomach. Sam nudged his older brother with his elbow.

"I don't think he can, Dean," he said quietly. Dean shot him a glare.

"Yeah, I got that, Sam." He glanced back at the angel, who was staring determinedly at the ground. "Why?" He asked, trying to keep the frustration out of his tone. Lucifer was out there doing God-knows-what while they were stuck standing around and talking in circles.

"I've been cut off," Castiel said, looking nothing short of miserable. "From Heaven, and from receiving orders and information through my superiors." He looked up at Dean. "I can only guess that Zachariah gave word of my betrayal." The older Winchester frowned.

"It wasn't a betrayal, Cas. You were trying to stop Lucifer from rising." Castiel inclined his head as if to say, that's precisely the point. Dean snorted. "Only the senior dickheads in Heaven would think that's actually a bad idea."

"So, where does that leave us?" Sam asked. It was probably a measure of how screwed they were that no one answered, Dean thought to himself.

"Well, this is just wonderful," he said sarcastically. "We've got a malfunctioned angel, Lucifer is most likely scrambling his army as we speak, and we don't even have a plan."

"Well, I can't exactly do anything about the malfunctioning angel," a gruff voice sounded from behind them, "but I might be able to help work out a plan. And I've got some beer," Bobby added, walking out of his kitchen, indicating the beer bottles held in his hands. "Want some?"

A/N: Well, first of all, I would like to thank all of those who have reviewed so far. You guys totally made my day, and thanks to you, I was able to shovel this out faster than I had anticipated. I have to say, however, that it's going to be a little bit before I can get chapter three out, mostly because it's longer and more action-packed. This was just a transition chapter. Anyways, please read and review! More reviews will definitely help me work harder and faster.