Only one chapter to go after this!

Chapter Eight

Meg struggled as she was shoved towards a chair on one side of the room with built in restraints. Damian smirked as he manhandled her, and then slapped her across the face.

"Stop struggling or I'll personally skin your angelic boy toy over there," he sneered.

"Leave her alone!" Castiel snarled and while Meg was normally glad of his protective nature, he was just making this so much worse.

Damian laughed as he shoved Meg into the chair roughly and proceeded to strap her in. "Oh! This is too good. You actually care about her?" He grinned and grabbed a fistful of Meg's hair, wrenching her head back as he pressed his face close to hers, making her skin crawl. "You know… she used to be mine, back in Hell. And what a spitfire! Wouldn't have expected an angel to be able to handle this one. But then, she's hardly the demon she once was." Meg cringed as he pressed his mouth against her ear. "Maybe you need a demon to remind you what you used to be." His lips slid possessively down her throat as his hand groped inside her jacket, pulling out her knife and phone but lingering disgustingly.

"Give me one more reason to kill you," Meg told him coldly as Castiel strained at his manacles and spat curses he must have learned from Dean.

Damian chuckled and to her horrified disgust, he ran his tongue over her neck before he pulled away, handing her knife and phone over to Abaddon. "Maybe you still have some fire after all," he leered. "I like that."

"Touch her again, and I will kill you," Castiel snarled.

Damian raised an eyebrow at the challenge and leaned over, grabbing a fistful of Meg's hair and forcing his mouth against hers. She gave a muffled shout before she head-butted him and he broke away, slapping her across the face before he turned to Castiel.

"What are you going to do, halo? You can't kill me—you're a little tied up." he chuckled

Cas had gone dangerously calm. Meg knew this was when his enemies really needed to worry. "Maybe not right now. But the minute I get out of these chains, you are dead."

"I'm shaking," Damian said mockingly.

Abaddon was going through Meg's phone and she turned to the other demons. "The Winchesters are on their way. I want you all to be ready for them. They don't know they'll be walking into a trap."

Meg glanced over at Castiel, hating to see the distress in his eyes, how helpless he obviously felt watching Damian grope her. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

His brow furrowed and he shook his head. "It's my fault for coming here. It was a terrible plan. I was the one who broke your cover. And now the Winchesters will be captured as well."

"My cover was already blown," Meg sighed. She did have one thing going for her though. She had palmed the key before Damian had grabbed her. The only problem was that she couldn't get it to Cas. She was hoping that maybe, if she could swing things right, she would get the chance to pass it to him. If they could both get free, then maybe they could have a chance to fight their way out of here before the Winchesters got chained up too. Or at the very least go out together.

Damian went over to Cas and punched him heavily in the stomach, causing the angel to double over as far as his chains would allow. "You two make me want to throw up. I can't wait for you to watch me pluck all his feathers out, Meg."

Meg growled, jerking at her restraints, but there would be no moving them. They were demon proof anyway.

Abaddon sighed as she strode over to stand in front of Meg herself. "You know, I really hoped you would be one of the good ones. You had a lot of promise, but then you had to be a little traitor. I guess it's true; once a traitor, always a traitor."

"Wrong," Meg told her firmly. "I finally have found my cause. And it's not for any demon. Can't be a traitor if I was never on your side to begin with."

Abaddon snorted. "Yes—the Winchesters. They seem to inspire rebellion from all corners. Even Crowley isn't half the demon he used to be now that he's gotten so chummy with his human pals. The funniest thing about it is that you don't even realize what it's doing to you."

Meg glowered back at her. "What do you mean?"

Abaddon gestured at her. "You can't tell me you don't feel different. Weaker, less…demonic?"

Meg stayed silent, refusing to look at Cas even though she knew his eyes were on her. Yeah, maybe she did; she just still didn't know what that meant.

"Angels fall, they slowly lose their powers, become more and more human." She gestured to Castiel. "Demons stop being demons, their humanity comes back like a plague. You should thank me, really; those torture sessions had to have done something for you," Abaddon told her. "You were such a pathetic thing when you came here. I could see how weak you were, but I gave you a chance, had you torture for me, and it made you stronger, didn't it? Until you ran off to your angel again."

Damian took the cue of Castiel being mentioned to punch him in the stomach again. Meg seethed in fury as Abaddon continued, scoffing, looking like she couldn't believe the situation. "You actually think you love the halo. And true love breaks a demonic soul down more than anything else."

Meg swallowed hard, looking over to meet Castiel's eyes and despite everything felt how true her love for him really was.

"I thought I might be able to turn you into a loyal little follower, but, no, you were beyond my help," Abaddon sighed.

Meg smirked up at her. "That's because I never came in here wanting to work for you, you egotistical bitch."

Abaddon slapped her across the face and then forced Meg to look at her by grabbing a fistful of her hair and wrenching her head back until her neck hurt. Meg's face was numb from the blow but she still managed to put on a defiant look.

"I should kill you right now," Abaddon said. "You're more trouble than you're worth."

"No!" Cas shouted before Damian punched him in the face, knocking his head back against the wall.

"But I'd rather you watch me kill the Winchesters and your precious halo first," Abaddon added. "Watching everything you seemingly care about being taken from you is a fit enough punishment for a traitor."

Meg let out a short laugh. "I love how you keep calling me a traitor when I was never loyal to you."

"You were loyal to Hell once," Abaddon reminded. "And I am the new ruler."

"Not yet," Meg shook her head. "As much as I hate to admit it, Crowley still has more pull than you do." Frankly, she didn't know if that was true, and it probably wasn't, but a little BS didn't hurt. "You really think all the demons are going to want to go back to how it was when Lucifer ruled? Crowley has made them into businessmen and independent contractors. They're not going to want to go back to the militarized disorganization of the dark ages."

Abaddon laughed, finally letting go of her hair. "You talk big, but you know how it's going to go. The Winchesters will come in here, try to kill me, and I'll gut them then flay them alive."

Meg smirked. "I know you haven't been around here long, but the Winchesters have a track record of getting rid of evil things like you."

Abaddon snorted. "Evil things like me? And you don't fall into that category?"

Meg shrugged. "Perks of joining the team."

Abaddon narrowed her eyes. "And why do you think you're better? Because a pathetic fallen angel thought you were worth a roll in the sheets? That doesn't make you one of the good guys, honey, that just makes you a pathetic slut."

Meg fixed her gaze on Abaddon. "Not that you would understand love—and trust me, for a long time I didn't either—but the relationship Cas and I have is so much more than that. But all the same, you wanted to know what it was like to make love to an angel? It's pure. It feels like absolution. And Castiel is a thousand times better than any demon."

She glanced at her angel, and saw the slight blush on his cheeks, but it was worth it for the furious look on Damian's face.

Abaddon shook her head. "As if you could be redeemed," she scoffed. "How long do you really think this angel will love you? After he gets his dirty rebellious thrills from bedding a demon he'll throw you away just like everyone else has."

"That is not true," Castiel growled. And Meg knew it wasn't, but the words had still stung, driving deeply into her insecurities.

"Because face it, from what I've heard of you, every cause you fought for, Azazel, Lucifer…that never kept you from the other demons hating you," Abaddon told her.

"It's true," Damian sneered. "Even Ruby was a better demon than you. At least she played disloyal but was really a true soldier. You were the exact opposite."

"Those causes meant nothing," Meg said. "Yeah, okay, once I believed in them, but when I saw how rare it was that Lucifer or Yellow-Eyes made good on their promises…it just didn't seem worth it. I found better causes to give my loyalty to. Better people."

The door opened and a demon came in. "My queen, the Winchesters are here." Meg and Castiel shared a frantic look. What the hell were they going to do now?

"Good, you know what to do." Abaddon smiled and strode back over to Meg. "Well, honey, we'll see how loyal they are to you. Because things are about to get a lot worse for you and you friends." She nodded to Damian who handed her an angel blade. Abaddon tested it for sharpness and strode over to Castiel, gripping his chin firmly as she turned to smirk at Meg. "Now, what do you say we have a little fun to pass the time?"


It had been like pulling teeth, but as soon as they had gotten far enough away that it was unlikely the demons would find them, they had tracked down Crowley again and explained the plan.

The demon shook his head with a roll of his eyes. "I swear, you Winchesters. Can you ever come up with a plan that doesn't involve unnecessary derring-do?"

"Just shut up, and get us there," Dean said, checking that the Colt was fully loaded. "Meg just texted us and she's expecting us to make a move at any moment."

"Fantastic, because there's absolutely nothing about this that is going to go wrong," Crowley snarked. "Did you ever stop to think that Castiel and his tart might get kidnapped the instant they step out of the dungeon? Or, perhaps, that the well-know turncoat Meg has already traded loyalties again?"

"She wouldn't do that," Sam said firmly. Dean nodded in agreement. As crazy as it sounded, he couldn't deny he actually trusted Meg to stay loyal to them. She'd changed a lot in the last year.

Crowley shrugged. "Just stating the possibilities. Either way this is a terrible plan."

"Yeah, you've said that, now shut up and get us over there."

Crowley narrowed his eyes, folding his arms over his chest. "You do realize I'm doing you a favor."

Sam snorted. "Really? I thought we were doing you a favor. Yeah, you helped us track down the Colt, but besides that we've been doing all the work and taking all the risks."

"Why exactly do you think I hired you in the first place?"

"Dammit, Crowley!" Dean cried. "You want to save your kingdom? You want back on the throne? Sack up and take it! Your demons aren't going to flock back to you if you don't even try to lead."

Crowley narrowed his eyes at him, but then pressed his lips into a flat line. "I suppose you're right about that. Though the plan is still asinine at best."

"Yeah, we get it," Dean said. "But it was all we had."

"Then let's make sure it works," Crowley said and snapped his fingers.

Dean stumbled as they appeared in front of an old abandoned building. He sucked in a breath, looking around.

"Okay, so now what? How do we get in?"

"The back entrance; this way," Crowley pointed around to one side of the building.

Dean glanced at Sam who had his demon knife out, and they shrugged. Dean pulled out an angel blade. He kept the Colt hidden in his coat, not wanting to give their game away until they saw Abaddon.

He was glad he had his blade because the demons came out of nowhere.

He and Sam fought off a few of them, but then they just got supernaturally thrown into the ground and were forced to lay there, pinned as the demons surged forward and snapped manacles around their wrists.

"Crowley!" Dean yelled as he saw the demon standing off to the side having quickly gotten out of the line of fire. "You gonna help?"

"You tried your plan, now I try mine," he said and was gone before the demons could apprehend him.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean snarled as he was shoved onto his stomach and one demon's foot pressed into the back of his head.

"Two out of three ain't bad," the demon said before they hauled Sam and Dean to their feet.

They were dragged into the old asylum. Dean took note of the turns as they were led through the hallways and down an old cellblock to a door at the end of the hall. He recognized it from when they had come to rescue Meg from Crowley—it was the torture room.

He glanced over at Sam and gave his brother a longsuffering look. This did not look good. But then…maybe Meg had set it up this way, have all of them in one place so it would be easier for her to get them out.

One of the demons opened the door and shoved Sam and Dean inside. They stumbled and came to a halt.

Dean took in the scene at a glance and his heart fell. Abaddon and several other demons stood around the room. The Knight of Hell had a bloody angel blade in her hand, and she was standing next to Cas who was chained to the wall, shirt torn open and blood decorating his torso and face. Meg sat strapped to a chair a few feet away, looking a little rough as well.

"Welcome to the party," she muttered darkly.

"Son of a bitch," Dean growled.


Meg uselessly struggled against her manacles as Abaddon cut into Cas with the angel blade. Cas was trying to keep his shouts to a minimum, probably for Meg's benefit, but she could still see the pain etched on his face.

"Stop it, Abaddon, this isn't going to change anything!" Meg yelled as the Knight made a particularly mean cut across Castiel's ribs and the angel flinched to one side.

"Of course not; that doesn't mean it's not fun," Abaddon said with a smirk.

The door opened then and more demons appeared, dragging the Winchesters with them.

Meg felt the last of her optimism leave her. "Welcome to the party," she muttered as she jerked at her restraints one more time.

"Son of a bitch," Dean growled and the demons shoved them to their knees.

"Boys, nice of you to join us," Abaddon said, finally leaving Cas alone to stride over to them. She reached down and grabbed Dean by the chin, digging her nails into his cheeks. "Dean, honey, you don't look happy to see me."

Dean smirked. "Oh, that's where you're wrong, sweetheart, I'm actually thrilled."

Abaddon cocked an eyebrow. "Are you?" She crouched in front of him, her hands trailing down his chest. "I heard you brought me something." Her fingers grazed over his stomach and hooked into the waistline of his jeans. Meg saw Dean turn his face away in disgust and fury as she slowly moved her hands around behind him and then checked the pockets in his coat. "Ah, there it is." Her face lit up and she pulled a leather wrapped item out of his inner pocket. She unwrapped it and revealed an old six-shooter. Meg's breath caught in her throat. The Colt.

Abaddon smiled and ran a hand through Dean's hair. "Thanks, darling. This is a dangerous item to leave lying around." She stood up and inspected the gun as Dean glared daggers at her.

"All right, listen up," she said, addressing all of them. "This is how it's going to go." She cocked the gun and trained it on all four of them in turn. Meg's heart stopped as the barrel slid over in her direction and then toward Cas. She knew it wouldn't kill an angel, but with his grace so low, she didn't want to know what it would do to him.

"One of you is going to cooperate and tell me where Crowley is," she said. "Or I start shooting and carving you up. And knowing you, someone will say something eventually. All of you are so sickeningly co-dependent." She stopped with the gun pointed at Dean. "So, what's it going to be?"

"Crowley's gone," Dean said firmly, shifting on his knees. "He dropped us here and split. Probably his idea all along to let us get captured. I have no clue where he is, but you're welcome to shoot him if you find him."

Abaddon nodded slowly. "Yes, or…" She swiftly turned the gun away from Dean and shot.

Sam cried out in shock and pain, toppling to one side as blood plumed across his right thigh.

"Sammy!" Dean cried, fighting against his manacles to help his brother. He turned to snarl back at Abaddon. "You bitch!"

Abaddon shrugged. "Works just as well on humans, it seems." With a swift move, Abaddon pulled the bullets out of the gun and went over to a drain in the floor, dropping them down it. "Oops," she said coyly as the tinkle of bullets could be heard.

"No!" Cas and Dean both cried and Meg watched, transfixed as the pieces of silver that would have stopped all of this disappeared down the drain.

Abaddon tossed the gun to one side carelessly. "So, now that your last hope to kill me is gone, your best bet is to tell me what I want to know. Then I might decide to be merciful and give you a quick death."

"We already told you we don't know where Crowley is!" Sam gasped out.

"You keep saying that, but I bet given the right leverage, you could make an educated guess." Abaddon nodded to Damian and he suddenly strode over to Meg wrenching her head back and pressing a knife to her throat.

"No, Meg!" Cas cried before Abaddon punched him across the face.

"You boys are always into saving the damsels in distress, right?" she asked the Winchesters. "I know the angel is nauseatingly fond of Meg here, but maybe you are too?"

Damian pressed with the knife and Meg felt blood drip down her throat along with the burn of a cut made from an angel blade. She could barely breathe for fear of the blade cutting deeper.

"Leave her alone," Dean said firmly.

"Hm," Abaddon said musingly. "They don't protest very heavily, do they?" She turned back to Meg. "So, I'm going to give you one last chance to prove yourself. You agree to kill one of them, I'll give you one more chance to join me. I'll even let you keep the halo as your little love slave."

Meg took a shuddering breath, meeting Abaddon's eyes. This was a calculated risk, but…it may be their only shot. It would at least get her out of the chains and then maybe she could subdue Abaddon long enough for them to make their escape…

"Fine," Meg snapped.

"What?" Dean demanded. "What the hell, Meg?"

They were both watching her, as well as Castiel, but the angel had a more calculating look. She wet her lips and played the role. "I'll do it, Abaddon. Let me out."

Abaddon nodded to Damian and he growled slightly before he pulled the dagger from her throat and started undoing her bindings. Meg stood up slowly, rubbing her wrists. The key from the manacles was still in her hand. She reached up to pretend to wipe blood from her lip and quickly slid the key in her mouth to tuck it into her cheek.

"But just one thing," she said and strode over to Cas who watched her with a frown between his brows. She reached up and touched his cheek with one hand. "I'm sorry," she whispered then winked and leaned forward to kiss him. She pushed the key into his mouth and then pulled away, making sure to meet his eyes. He gave her a slight nod.

"Alright, let's do this," she said turning back toward Abaddon.

The Knight nodded and handed her an angel blade. Meg turned toward the Winchesters and took slow, deliberate steps over to them, trying to drag this out as much as possible, giving Cas more time to escape. Luckily it seemed like all attention was on her. Demons always liked a show.

Dean shifted closer to Sam, and Meg felt a stab in her chest as she saw actual fear in his eyes. Sam too looked somewhat uncertain, but it was hard to tell past the lines of pain on his face.

"Meg, what the hell are you doing?" Dean demanded, yanking at his manacles.

"Sorry, Dean, but I have always looked after myself, and I'm not going to stop now." She had too, always. Until she met Castiel and joined up with him and the Winchesters, then she hadn't had to anymore. And she'd also learned to look after other people. Which is exactly what she was doing now.

She reached down and grabbed Dean by the front of his coat, hauling him onto his knees. She met his eyes as she placed the blade into the hollow of his throat and she heard Sam's breath catch. Dean glowered up at her, until she gave him the smallest smile and winked, then his look turned understanding. He flicked his gaze behind her and Meg didn't turn, but she was sure Cas was making headway with his manacles.

"Well?" Abaddon asked impatiently, striding up behind Meg. "I'm waiting."

"Yeah, about that," Meg said. "I'm gonna have to take a rain check." She spun around, releasing Dean as she swung the angel blade back-handed and drove it into Abaddon's stomach.

The Knight of Hell gasped and staggered backwards. Damian ran toward her but she shoved him aside as she yanked the blade out of her gut. Her eyes turned black and she snarled.

"Oh, honey, you just made a huge mistake." She flung her hand up and Meg felt the thud of power against her chest, sending her sailing backwards to slam into the far wall and collapse onto the floor. She rolled several feet and barely got to her hands and knees before Abaddon was on her, driving a foot into her stomach and sending her back against the wall.

"You little bitch," she snarled. "You think you can defeat me? That you can cross me? You think I'm that stupid?"

Meg smirked up at her, blood dripping down her lip. "Well, you were the one who offered me another chance. I think that makes you pretty stupid."

Abaddon let out a shriek of anger and kicked her hard in the face. Meg saw stars, and Abaddon grabbed a fistful of her hair, hauling her up and slamming her against the wall.

"You think they'll take you back?" Abaddon demanded, slamming her back against the wall again. "Stop fighting what you are! Stop pretending you're one of the good guys. How long do you think it will really last? You can't fight your darkness forever."

"Maybe not," Meg grunted. "But I can at least kill you."

Abaddon laughed, "Seriously? You're going to try that again?"

She choked then, as a blade pierced her throat. Meg's rescuer yanked it out and threw Abaddon to one side. The glow of a halo was in her vision and Meg's angel stood there, fierce, and covered in blood with his shirt still ripped open, and damn she really didn't need to think about what this was doing to her right now.

"My unicorn," she managed to say.

Castiel smiled and took her hand, pulling her toward him.

Abaddon was getting up and she was pissed. The other demons were standing around with their blades at the ready, but the Knight of Hell spun on them in fury.

"Kill them, you damned idiots!" she rasped, her hand clutching the hole Castiel had made in her throat.

Damian and the others rushed forward. The Winchesters were struggling on the ground still. She could see Dean working on his manacles awkwardly backwards and figured Castiel must have passed the key along.

"The Colt!" he yelled at them.

It was then that the doors slammed open and more demons piled in, but instead of joining the fight, they just stood there.

Everything stopped for a minute, Abaddon looked up, even more pissed, before her eyes widened.

Slow footsteps clacked across the floor and Crowley suddenly appeared, hands clasped behind his back. "Heard you were looking for me?"

Abaddon growled. "You little bastard!" she snarled.

And then it was a full-on skirmish. Crowley's demons rushed Abaddon's and started going at each other. More of Abaddon's men came into the room, but didn't get anywhere. Dean had gotten himself free of the cuffs and was dragging Sam to one side of the room so he wouldn't get trampled. Meg grabbed a dropped angel blade and started looking for the Colt, her and Castiel fighting back to back. Abaddon was going directly after Crowley herself and shockingly, the King of Hell was holding his own.

A grunt sounded out behind her, and Meg spun around to see Cas lying on the floor, stunned, and Damian in his place. Her breath caught in her throat as he leered at her.

"Finally," he said. "I got you alone."

Meg snarled and lashed out with her blade, but he caught her wrist and twisted, forcing her to release it as his own blade pressed against her throat. He shoved her back against the wall and pressed his body close to her, hemming her in. "I've been looking forward to this," he hissed close to her ear, his mouth grazing her skin. She struggled, but he forced her back, taking both her wrists in one hand and pinning them above her head. "Uh-uh," he tsked, tracing his blade down her throat to her chest. "I've been waiting for this for a long time. You know you're not strong enough to fight me off."

She growled as he teased the knife at the collar of her shirt. "You know, I would have been so much better than your halo too. But you'll never get to find out now. Because I'm going to kill you, Meg, and hell, I'm going to enjoy it."

"Not on my watch."

Castiel's arm wrapped around Damian's neck and yanked him backwards. Meg wasted no time in kicking him in the balls. Damian yelped and doubled over and Meg snatched the angel blade from Castiel's hand and simply drove it into Damian's gut. He cried out and fell to the ground, Meg going with him, straddling him and stabbing him over and over again with the blade.

"You can go to hell, you bastard!" she snarled. "I've been waiting for this, and hell, I'm enjoying it!"

"Meg!" She barely heard Cas calling her name until he physically dragged her off of Damian's destroyed meatsuit and held her tightly in his firm grip. She struggled at first, but he turned her around, pressing her face into chest, his mouth against her temple.

"Meg, he's dead, stop," he murmured against her skin.

Meg gasped for breath and finally sagged against him, feeling his grace more sharply. She could feel her darkness rising, the demonic energy pounding through her. She knew her eyes were black and she closed them, taking several deep breaths, before Cas pulled her back and looked down at her.

"It's okay," he murmured, taking her face in both his hands.

Meg let out a deep breath and allowed her eyes to change back. She was still shaking from adrenaline, but she nodded. "Sorry," she whispered.

Castiel smiled, stroking her hair. "You're okay, now."

"Cas! Meg!"

They suddenly remembered that there was a fight going on and spun around. Dean was holding off several of Abaddon's demons, planting himself in front of Sam who was on the ground behind him, clutching his bleeding leg and a knife in the other hand.

Cas scrambled for his angel blade on the ground and they jumped into the fray.

As Cas went to the Winchesters' aid, Meg glanced around and saw the Colt lying under a table where Abaddon had tossed it. She surged forward, taking out one demon who got in her way and snatched it up.

"Meg!" Sam called as he saw she had the Colt and she slid it across the floor to him. He snatched it and reached into his coat, tearing the lining and spilling out a handful of bullets. Meg laughed in relief. Of course they would have had a plan b.

But the fight was winding down. Abaddon seemed to have gotten the upper hand on Crowley, and had forced him back against the wall. The King of Hell looked a little worse for wear, his suit rumpled, several cuts showing through. Abaddon held him there with an angel blade to his throat and turned toward the fighting demons.

"I have your king," she said and the fighting stopped as they all turned to look. "Surrender to me, and I might show mercy if you profess your loyalty to your new queen."

The demons glanced around at each other. Crowley stayed still, but he was glancing over at the Winchesters.

"No," Dean said, striding through the demons to stand directly in front of Abaddon. Meg saw the Colt in his hand, pressed against the small of his back. "You will not be the new queen. You're going to die."

Abaddon chuckled. She flung Crowley away from her and the King of Hell crashed onto the floor in a heap. "Come on, Dean, you tried this already. It didn't go so well for you last time. You and your brother will be lucky if I keep you around long enough to peel the skin from your flesh. Unless you reconsidered my offer of letting me use that delicious body of yours as my new vessel."

Dean's mouth quirked up. "Well, sweetheart, you still didn't buy me that drink. You know I'm not that easy."

"My Queen! He has the Colt!" one of the demons shouted.

Meg watched in horror as Abaddon snarled and flung her hand out, flinging Dean backwards onto the ground. The gun spun across the floor as she strode forward the planted a foot in his chest. Dean grunted and attempted to get off the floor, but she only ground her heel into him.

"Dean!" Sam cried, trying to stand, but his leg was obviously unable to take any weight. Cas grabbed him and eased him back to the ground.

"Or, I can just get rid of you now and save myself the trouble," Abaddon said, raising her blade.

Meg skidded across the floor, grabbing the Colt and regaining her feet as she pointed it directly at the Knight of Hell. "Long live the queen," she said mockingly and pulled the trigger.

The bullet hit Abaddon in the center of her chest and she gasped, staggering back as it sparked. Dean rolled away and Meg shot again, this time right in the center of Abaddon's forehead. Her head snapped back and she screamed as bolts of power sparked through her body, then with a final jolt, she collapsed, her eyes burned out.

There was silence in the room. Meg stood panting, holding the gun. Dean scrambled to his feet and strode over to her, breathless, but he gripped her shoulder gratefully.

Crowley climbed to his feet and dusted his suit off, straightening it as much as possible before he turned to the gathered demons who were all staring at Abaddon's corpse.

"Well, I think it's obvious," he said. "I'm the king again. Anyone who has a problem with that can be subjected to the firing squad." He glanced at Meg and she glowered back at him, but didn't relinquish the gun.

Crowley held his hands out to the sides. "Now, kneel and swear fealty to me, your king."

The demons glanced at each other, but eventually all of them knelt. Crowley smiled.

"Feels good to be back," he said.

Meg and Dean went over to Cas and Sam. Dean knelt and helped his brother to his feet, supporting his weight and Castiel touched Meg's arm gently. She looked up to meet his eyes, a thousand emotions rioting in her that she couldn't make any sense of right now. She felt a storm inside of her and had no idea how to quell it. Castiel seemed to understand and said nothing, only pulling her against him.

"Let's get the hell out of here," Dean said, shifting Sam toward the door.

Crowley cocked an eyebrow at them.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked.

"You're welcome," Dean muttered. "Don't call on us again."

Crowley huffed, then added. "By the way, I left your giant hunk of metal outside for you."

Dean looked surprised, then angry, and turned to glower at the demon who simply smiled.

"You're welcome," Crowley snarked.

"Oh, and Crowley," Sam added. "Those souls Abaddon was farming…I would let them go if I were you."

"Of course, of course," Crowley said dismissively.

Dean grunted and rolled his eyes. "Let's go home."

The rest of them nodded gratefully. Home sounded like a good idea.