Sorry for the wait. School's really getting to me, but I managed to get this chapter and the next one down. Finally :P *dies*

Hope you enjoy! This is actually the longest chapter I've ever written, I'm quite proud of it. Please review!

"So Dean," Maria snapped, yet smiled slightly as she gripped the hunter's hair and wrenched his head backwards "Having fun yet?"

Dean growled, closing his eyes against the harsh lighting shining above him. It was already his fourth day in the hellhole, as far as he knew. He wasn't sure, as Maria could have been messing with his time just to disorient him. And damn, did he feel disoriented. He hated feeling so confused, especially when it was vital that he knew what was going on and when. If he was going to get himself and Sam out of there, he had to figure out how.

"You're being even more stubborn than I thought, Dean," Maria said, her voice lowering as she let go of Dean's hair. He dropped his head, attempting once again to break free of Maria's demonic hold. But as always, it held him fast to the chair. He flicked his gaze to the demon now wandering around him almost aimlessly.

"I told you," he smirked "I don't break that easy."

"But you are forgetting one thing, Dean," Maria said smugly from behind him "I've got all the time in the world. Even if it takes me eternity, I will break you down."
Dean opened his mouth to respond, but Maria interrupted as she swept back around into his view.

"I have a proposition for you."

"No."

Maria laughed, "You don't even know what it is. I could give you anything."

Dean rolled his tired eyes, "Yeah, for what in return? I said no."

Maria walked closer, boot heels clicking until she stopped a pace or so away from the hunter. She slid into his lap and folded her arms, smirking at Dean's growl.

"Don't worry Dean. I'm not that type of girl."

Dean's disbelieving gaze had Maria giggling like a little girl, and she patted his shoulder as she shook her head.

"Alright, you got me. I am. It's exactly the type of girl I am. And guess what? It's also just the type of guy Rafe is. You remember Rafe, right? He'll be talking to Sammy right about now."

Dean froze, his insides rolling into some kind of mushy soup at the thought of Rafe and his little brother. In the same situation he was in right at the moment with Maria. It made him sick. Depending on the offer, what would Sam do?

Dean knew that for his brother, Sam would do almost anything.

"What do you want?" Dean sighed. Hey, he thought It could always be worse.

Maria smiled, "Just a kiss, darling. And I'll tell Rafe to back off Sam. Simple as that."

Dean paused, glaring at the demon in anger and defiance. Maria smirked as the hunter worked it over in his mind. He figured it wasn't too much to ask, really. In the end, he nodded.

"This better not be some demon trick."

Maria chuckled, "Nope. And you know what? I'll even throw in a freebie, 'cause I'm feeling nice. I'll let you see Sam as well, if you like."

Dean raised an eyebrow. She was in a good mood. He had the sneaking suspicion that this would come back to bite him on the ass, but he nodded.

"Fine."

Maria leaned forward and Dean closed his eyes.

He felt her lips on his and stayed still. Maria pulled back slightly.

"That's not fair, Dean. I didn't ask for a one-sided kiss."

Dean growled and when she shifted forwards again, he kissed her back aggressively. Using just under twenty years of experience, Dean attacked her mouth with his, forcing her back as far as his frozen body would allow. Maria fought back, tongue invading. Dean didn't bother to think about the fact he was being manipulated very easily by a demon and breathed a sigh of relief when Maria tilted her head back and broke the contact. She smiled slightly at him.

"Happy?" Dean muttered.

Maria licked her lips, making Dean roll his eyes. He just wanted to see Sam, make sure he was okay. And make sure Rafe wasn't doing something he'd regret.

"I'll tell Rafe to back off. You can see Sam tomorrow."

Dean swore under his breath, but didn't fight the sentencing. He didn't want to piss her off and have her change her mind. He hadn't seen Sam in days and he needed to know if his brother was okay. That lack of knowledge was causing more tension in him than anything else – even the tiny cell or Maria's light attempts at torture. He knew she was only warming up; a demon that powerful certainly knew what she was doing, but for the moment Dean was quite happy with how her attempts were going.

Maria stood up and let Dean get to his feet. She forced him to walk back to his cell, the short trip quickly becoming ingrained in Dean's memory. A left, down the hall, a right, and halfway down the corridor to his cell. He knew where Sam's cell lay, and he couldn't resist a quick glance at it as he passed. Sam wasn't in there, but it didn't make a difference. Sam was stuck in a cell smaller than a shoebox, and Dean was sure it was going to get on the kid's nerves. Hell, even he was twitchy after being caged up in that cell for hours.

Maria shoved him back into his own little room and locked the door behind him. Dean fell awkwardly, landing on his side. His legs curled up due to the lack of space and Dean found himself stuck on his left side, face pressed painfully into the cold concrete floor and the top of his head jammed in the corner tightly. His arms were folded firmly between his chest and knees, which made sure there was no chance of him shifting his arms – or any other part of his body, for that matter.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Dean yelled, already starting to get a headache from the pressure being exerted on his head by the solid concrete corner.

/\/\

"You wanna run that by me again?" Sam asked, hoping to buy time. Because what Rafe had said had not gone over well in his head.

"You heard me."

Yeah, I heard you
, Sam grumbled in his head Doesn't mean I liked it.

Rafe was smiling smugly, looking for all the world like the cat that got the canary. Sam glared at him, eyes narrowed. There was no way in Hell he was going to kiss Rafe.

"Look, Sammy," Rafe said, the nickname grating and Sam snarled quietly "Your brother is stuck with Maria at the moment. And as you know, that woman is one mean bitch. She didn't get her powers by doing nothing. And I happen to know that what she's got planned for Dean certainly ain't gonna be pretty."

"You think I'm just gonna do anything for Dean? Dean can take care of himself. He's stronger than he looks," Sam snapped, pissed off. Sure, he might actually agree to Rafe's demand if Dean was in danger, but the demon didn't need to know that. Whatever leverage he could get over Rafe would be one less thing Rafe could use against him.

"Fair enough," Rafe shrugged, nonchalant. He stepped forward and produced something from his pocket. Sam didn't have the time to register what it was before his sight suddenly vanished. Rafe tied the blindfold firmly around Sam's head, the hunter tensing his muscles reflexively.

Hearing now heightened due to the loss of his sight, Sam heard Rafe step around the chair to stand in front of him. The demon's hands rested on the hunter's forearms and Sam hissed, surprised.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

"So, Sammy," Rafe continued, his voice low but breath hot against Sam's face "You gonna reconsider that answer?"

"Fuck you Rafe."

The demon laughed quietly. Sam closed his eyes behind the blindfold, tilting his head to the side to escape the demon's fingers now twirling through his hair. A disgusted shudder ran through the hunter, making the demon chuckle and lean forward until his forehead rested against Sam's.

"Having fun?"

Sam spoke through gritted teeth, "Get the fuck away from me."

Rafe started to say something, but paused. Sam waited tensely as Rafe was silent for a long few minutes. He wondered what the demon was doing when Rafe suddenly stepped back away from the hunter.

"Looks like you're safe. For now," Rafe said, sounding angry "But Dean ain't gonna be able to protect you forever."

Sam breathed a deep sigh of relief, not entirely understanding but knowing that Rafe was backing off. Whatever Dean had done, Sam was grateful. He just hoped his brother was okay.

Rafe ripped off the blindfold, Sam blinking in the sudden light as the demon untied him and dragged him from the room. Sam stumbled behind Rafe until they reached the cell that was fast becoming a twisted version of home. Rafe all but threw Sam in and locked the door, the hunter barely able to get into a semi-comfortable position before the door slammed shut.

Sam sighed. Dean would be okay. Right?

/\/\

Bobby stared at the far wall, unseeing in his exhaustion. The search for the Winchesters wasn't going well in the slightest. They were still no closer to finding the boys and Castiel was becoming increasingly snappy and angry about the whole search. The old hunter wondered if it was because the angel felt guilty. But then again, did angels feel anything at all? But, hypothetically speaking, Bobby thought, if he could feel, then his supposed guilt would be completely unfounded. Castiel hadn't been with them at the time and wasn't their babysitter. The brothers got into trouble all the time and granted, this was a hundred times worse than anything else they'd ever encountered, but they were strong and could handle it for a couple of days. Then again, it was looking like the search could go on for a long while yet. There were still no clues as to where they were being stashed.

Bobby sighed, rubbing his eyes. As he blinked, the hunter realised Castiel had appeared and was standing by the far wall with a newcomer.
The woman was stunning. She was about eighteen or so, wearing jeans, sneakers and a pale blue t-shirt. Her hair was a beautiful red colour, subtly tinted with brown streaks and highlights. It hung loosely down to her mid-back. She stared at Bobby with a superior, haughty look in her smoky grey eyes, enhanced by her perfectly done makeup. If there ever was an angel, this was the most perfect example Bobby had ever seen.

"Bobby, this is Archangel Ariel," Castiel said quietly "She's helping to find the Winchesters."

"And save their stupid asses," Ariel added with a toss of her head.

Bobby muttered under his breath, "Nice to meet you, too."

Ariel rolled her eyes, one hand on her hip, "I've got an idea of where they might be, if either of you are interested to know."

Bobby instantly looked up, extremely interested. Maybe this search would actually end quicker than he'd thought. Maybe he'd get those boys back in one piece, or as close to it as possible.

"I'm not sure exactly, so I'll have to make sure before I go storming in there. I want to be prepared. But hopefully it won't take me too long," Ariel continued in a high-and-mighty tone "I have got the general idea of where they might be. It's tricky because they're being shielded by the marks Castiel placed on them, plus Maria and all her demonic wards. I'll keep searching."

And with that, Ariel vanished in a fluttering of feathers and wings. Bobby glanced at Castiel, who looked strangely dejected.

"How long until she knows for sure?"

Castiel shrugged, and Bobby raised an eyebrow. Something was seriously wrong with the angel. It was obvious. But before the hunter could even contemplate saying something to Castiel about it, the angel shot him a glance. And there, Bobby found his answer. Castiel felt guilty. He knew it wasn't his fault but since when did that ever make the guilt lessen? The angel felt as if he should have done something more to protect them.

Castiel vanished, leaving Bobby alone with his thoughts.

/\/\

"Rise and shine Dean, my darling!"

Dean swore at the 'wake-up' call, "Not like I got any fucking sleep."

The hunter had spent the night cramped up and with a mother of a headache. It was still tingling in the back of his head and in his temples, threatening to reappear when he moved. He knew Maria would be coming soon to haul his ass out of the cell and take him to Sam.

"Speak of the devil," Dean muttered as he heard footsteps approaching his door. The creak of metal on metal rang out loudly as the door screeched open and Dean could finally get the legroom to twist around onto his back and into a more comfortable position. His headache flared up, pounding at his skull violently and the hunter groaned, glaring at Maria.

"Hi Dean. Wanna see Sammy today?"

"I'd love to. Mind helping me up?" Dean shot back.

A moment later he felt the demon power exerted over his body lift him to his feet. Maria forced him to walk down the hall, but instead of their usual left turn, Maria kept him walking straight forward. She kept him going down the corridor until they reached a more dimly lit section of the bunker (as Dean had taken to calling it. The Bunker of Demonic Doom was his affectionate name for it). A few turns later, and the pair stopped. The door they were outside was different to the others Dean had passed. These were huge, solid metal double doors, much like a warehouse's doors. Dean could see the track they slid open on, and Maria used her demonic powers to effortlessly open one side. She pushed him into the darkened room and slid the door shut behind him.

Dean looked around now that Maria's power over him had ceased, but it was useless. It was deep black wherever he looked and there wasn't even the slightest sound he could hear. If Sam was here, he was being extremely quiet about it. What the hell did Maria have planned for him?

Slowly the lights began to turn on. They faded in until the massive room was dim and barely lit. Dean adjusted to the new low light and looked around properly. In front of him was a tall metal wall. There was no way he could scale it. But to either side, the wall stretched out in a long tunnel, and then each end turned off in their own corridor. It quickly dawned on Dean that he knew where he was.

"You wanna see Sam?" Maria's voice called out into the air "Go find him."

"I'm a rat," Dean sighed, trying to decide between left or right "A rat, in one goddamn huge maze."

In the end, he shrugged and went with right. It didn't really matter much, did it? Not like he knew where he was going. As he reached the end and turned, he paused.

"Sam?"

He waited, but got nothing in return. Dean continued down the corridor until he met a crossroads. Left, right, or straight ahead? With a frustrated sigh, the hunter kept going forwards, calling out his brother's name every few seconds before waiting for a reply. As he ran deeper into the massive metal maze, Dean heard the faint sound of someone out in the low light.

"Sammy? That you?"

Just a faint scrabbling noise answered him. Then, as Dean chose a left-hand turn and jogged down the corridor, a muffled voice echoed.

"I'm comin' Sam. Keep calling," Dean yelled out into the maze, ducking down another tunnel and running towards his brother.

"Mmm-ff," came the response, aided by more scrabbling and muffled banging.

As Dean skidded around a right turn, he ran into a widened corridor. A little way off, the shadowy figure of Sam sat on the floor kicking at the wall with his bound feet. Dean ran to him and dropped to his knees beside his brother. Closer, it became apparent that Sam was tied hand and foot, and was also blindfolded and gagged.

"Sam, you okay?" Dean asked as he reached for the blindfold.

A savage growl echoed out of nowhere, startling Dean and making Sam freeze. Dean could see his brother's heart beating a million miles an hour, even in the dim light. He put a hand on Sam's arm to calm him down, assure him that he was actually there. The growl lowered and faded slowly, Dean looking around for the source.

"You take that blindfold off, and I'll make sure Sam never sees again," Maria's voice called out, ghostly and disconnected.

"What about the gag?" Dean yelled, feeling Sam lean against him still shaking.

"Fine. But I can see you, Dean. Don't screw up. You wouldn't Sam to be permanently blind because you couldn't do as you were told."

Dean swore under his breath as he untied the gag. Sam spat it out, coughing and breathing heavily.

"You alright?" Dean asked, grabbing Sam's shoulders and shaking him. The younger nodded, "Yeah, guess so."

Dean set to work freeing his brother from the rope around his wrists and ankles. Within seconds Sam was free – relatively – and Dean helped him stand.

"Where are we?"

Dean shrugged, "It's like a giant maze."

"I don't suppose you remember the way out?" Sam asked, gripping Dean's arm tightly as he tried to keep calm and steady on his feet.

The older hunter paused, thinking back, "Nope."

"I didn't see that one coming," Sam said dryly, forcing out a laugh. Dean rolled his eyes and looked around. He could remember the last two or three turns, but before that…

He grabbed Sam's hand and dragged him down the way he'd come, the younger yelping in surprise and pain as Dean swung around the corner and didn't compensate for his brother's weight behind him. Sam slammed into the wall and dropped to his knees, wincing. Dean swore and stopped.

"For Christ's sake Dean!" Sam snapped as he grabbed his stomach "Be careful! I can't see, remember?"

"Sor… are you alright?" Dean knelt down beside his brother. Sam pushed his hand away and hissed in pain. He protested again as Dean pressed a hand against his stomach, but the elder ignored him.

"Come on Sam, what the hell'd he do to you?"

As he spoke, the light level suddenly switched from low dim light to warning red. It was considerably brighter now, despite the dark tone of the red. Dean pushed Sam's t-shirt up to his chest to get a better look at whatever damage had been done to his brother's stomach.

"I'm fine," Sam insisted as Dean swore at the mass of bruising across his upper abdomen, a collection of fist-shaped marks dealt by Rafe. He was still pissed at being told to back off, it seemed.

"You might want to hurry up," Maria's disembodied voice resounded "I've got someone to keep you moving. Slow down for too long and he'll make sure you keep up the pace."

The low, dark growl echoed once again, this time uncomfortably close. Dean swallowed, knowing exactly what Maria had sent after them. He pulled Sam to his feet, this time putting an arm around his brother's shoulder before starting to move.

"Come on, we're gonna get out of this. Don't stop, Sam," Dean urged as he guided his brother through the turns he remembered. He quickly reached a point he didn't recall. He looked around, one hand running through his hair as he bit his lip and tried to decide. The new lighting didn't help his memory, and neither did the fact that all of the passages looked the same.

"Dean? What's after us?" Sam asked as Dean finally decided on one and ran down it as fast as he could whilst helping Sam.

"Hellhound, Sam. So don't stop moving, okay?" Dean hated how panic tinged his voice. Of course Maria would know one of the few things that truly scared him. Now the two of them were stuck in a godforsaken maze with exactly what scared them most. Sam was blind and he was being hunted by a hellhound. The light was low, the shadows long, and Dean had no idea where the beasts of Hell were.

The pair skidded through another intersection and raced down it, Dean hoping it was the way out. He knew he should have tried to remember the path as he was coming in, but he'd been too worried about Sam. And rightly so, he thought, as he looked over at his brother. Sam was doing his best to keep up, but he was limping and the main reason he was still upright was the fact that Dean had his arm still firmly around his shoulder. His breath was coming fast, both from exertion, pain and fear.

"You still going there, Sammy?"

Sam huffed as he stumbled and landed heavily against one of the walls. Dean went with him, cursing as he tried to regain his balance. Sam pushed himself back to his feet, wobbling unsteadily.

"Oh yeah, going great. And stop calling me Sammy."

Dean chuckled breathlessly. He looked ahead. They were within a few steps of another intersection. Dean hurriedly thought over his choices, painfully aware that a hellhound was probably bearing down on him at that exact movement. Just as he stepped forward, something heavy slammed into his back and he went down, taking Sam with him.

Dean went skidding halfway down the passage, past the crossroads. He scrambled to his feet, searching wildly for Sam and what had attacked them. In the dim red light, Dean could see Sam on the floor, back pressed up against the wall as he kicked out blindly (Dean would have rolled his eyes at the pun if he weren't so caught up in the situation) at some invisible attacker. Every few moments his booted foot would connect with something solid but Dean could tell he was missing most of the time.

"Sam!" Dean raced for his brother, dropping at the last moment to slide across the concrete floor and slam into the invisible hellhound. He hit it hard and shoved it away from Sam. One hand snatched at the creature, grabbing thick fur. Dean wrapped his hands around the beast's neck as it bucked and snarled.

He'd wanted to slaughter one of these creatures ever since they'd torn him up and dragged him off kicking and screaming to Hell. Ever since they'd helped Alistair torture him. He throttled the hellhound, almost sitting on it to stop it from escaping his grip. Just as the invisible beast's life started to fade away under his hands Dean heard a shout of panic and looked up.

Sam was fighting to get to his feet, but there was something pressing down on his chest – Dean could see the indentations of paws on his brother's shirt.

Shit. There's two.

Sam was pushing the monster back, hands out to defend and protect himself. He cried out as blood spurted from his arm from deep teeth marks. Dean swore and hauled himself to his feet, tossing the half-dead hellhound to the ground. He heard a sickening crack as he stepped forward and almost slipped. Dark blood seeped out onto the concrete under his feet. Dean didn't have the time to realise that he'd just cracked the monster's skull. Running on gut instinct, he ran for his brother.

The surviving hellhound leaped off Sam and sunk its teeth into his leg. Sam gritted his teeth, hands flailing and trying to pry the creature off. But it was useless; the hound shimmered in and out of focus and Dean shuddered in pure terror. It was the biggest hellhound he'd ever seen. He swore it was the size of a horse, coated in thick ebony black fur. Its eyes glowed fire red, almost lost in the red lighting. Dean's heart pounded hard as the monster vanished again.

"Dean!"

The sound of his name kick-started Dean into action. He leapt forward just as Sam was dragged off down the corridor by the leg. The younger hunter tried to grab at something; anything, but the walls and floor were slippery smooth. In a panic, Sam reached up with one hand to rip the blindfold off.

"Sam! Don't!"

Dean slid and grabbed Sam's arm before he could free himself from the blindfold. The hellhound stopped trying to drag Sam away, let go of his leg, and howled. Sam scrambled backwards into his brother as Dean shook at the sound of it. It was chilling, a haunting call that echoed off the solid walls as it died down. The click-clacking of claws on concrete resounded, the hound running down the corridor away from the brothers. It faded into silence quickly.

Sam was breathing hard, heart pounding like a jackhammer against his chest. Dean was frozen, terrified the beast would come back. Slowly, very slowly, the fear seeped out of him and thawed his body out. It was only ten minutes after the hellhound had left that he actually moved.

"Sammy?" Dean's voice was shaky.

Sam shook just as much, though he tried to calm himself, "Can we get out of here?"

Dean helped his brother to his feet, swallowing down his fear. The hellhound was gone, and the other… He looked behind him. He couldn't see it, but the blood pooled in a dark puddle gave him an idea. He was glad Sam couldn't see it. Hellhounds were scary when they were invisible, but seeing them was another story entirely. You'd think things were scarier if you couldn't see them, but Dean knew that hellhounds were the exception.

"Come on, can you walk?" Dean asked as Sam tested his foot. His leg was still bleeding, leaving a dark stain on his jeans. Sam nodded.

The pair started off down the closest corridor, away from the carnage and smell of death and blood. As they walked, Sam leaned on his brother for support.

"Jeez Sam," Dean remarked "You're really not having much luck, are you?"

"Not my fault I'm stuck with Rafe. It's just 'cause Maria likes you," Sam chuckled weakly "And speaking of that, what'd she make you do the other day?"

"Don't know what you're talking about."

"Dude, Rafe said Maria told him to back off because you did something."

Dean raised an eyebrow, "Because demons never lie, do they?"

Sam huffed and glared down at his older brother, "You weren't there. The bruises? That was 'cause Rafe was pissed that he had to leave me alone. So what did you do?"

"Is mouth rape a crime?"

Sam laughed, wincing as pain shot through his body, "I have to say, I'm glad it was you and not me."

Dean opened his mouth to reply but paused as he turned a final corner. There it was. The huge double doors that marked the way to freedom. Or at least back to the cells. Anywhere was better than the maze, Dean thought as he helped his brother toward it.

"I can see the door, Sam. We're almost out. Almost there."

"Well done, boys," Maria's voice called out "You had a little mishap back there, but you made it out."

"No thanks to you," Dean growled under his breath.

The doors opened slowly to reveal Rafe. The bright light from outside had Dean blinking and shading his eyes. The demon walked in and tried to grab Sam's shoulder. Dean stepped in front of him, defensive. Rafe simply sighed and sent Dean flying into the closest wall.

"Dean?" Sam called uncertainly as Rafe took hold of his shoulder.

"Hey Sammy-boy," Rafe called smugly, and Sam tried to pull out of his grip. Dean scrambled to his feet but before he could do anything, Rafe had his head slamming into the wall so hard he saw stars.
A moment later, he dropped to the ground again and slipped into darkness.