Synopsis: Sam Winchester buried his brother on a Saturday. Exactly two years later he returns to the grave and finds it recently excavated. The area surrounding it is blown apart like a bomb went off; the body is nowhere to be found.

Dean is offered two choices, say yes to Michael in heaven or say yes to Alistair in hell. What if, in true Dean Winchester fashion, he says yes to both? What happens when a human plays both sides of the celestial table? What can he become? And what if the soul returned to the body is one that is "out of time"?

Legalities: Supernatural belongs to Kripke Enterprises and the CW. I am not making any money off this, I am simply playing in the brilliant sandbox that Kripke created when he thought of the Winchesters and their supernatural world.

NO SLASH. This is set in an off-shoot of canon and is ultimately based in an alternate universe. Brotherly moments only. Rated-T for violence and mild-language. I will post updates on Wednesdays and Sundays, unless I get an enormous response in which case I may post earlier.

Chapter 10

Betrayed

A bolt of lightening crackled across the horizon before striking the road directly in front of the Impala. Sam jerked the wheel to avoid the smoldering pothole that would have swallowed both front tires. He'd barely regained control when another bolt forced him to veer off the road. Sam cringed when he felt the vehicle skid along the gravel and slide to a stop. He hazarded a look at his brother and frowned when he didn't see any reaction to his treatment Dean's beloved Impala. Things are still so different. He thought sadly.

Dean did swear when he was tossed against the passenger door jarring his entire body painfully. "Son of a bitch." He moaned as his right hand instinctively grabbed onto the door handle and he reached out to hold his brother back without thinking.

A grunt from Sam's seat at least informed him that they were both still conscious, so yeah, that was something. Ignoring his pain, he focused on what was happening to him. Dean could feel the darkness writhing inside him, he didn't know if it was 'his' soul, the 'demon' soul or that damn angelic grace; the only thing he did know was that he couldn't control whatever it was. He glanced over at his brother, Sam was breathing hard but he didn't appear to be hurt.

Ocean colored eyes turned toward him, "Seatbelt." Sam reminded him breathily.

The Impala jolted as bolt after bolt struck the ground surrounding the car, it vibrated with the power that coursed under the rubber tires. Trees splintered as tendrils of lightening smashed into them and the wind howled through the forest around them. Three sets of eyes spun as the storm raged full force in every direction they looked.

"They are here." Castiel closed his eyes and reached out with his grace, hoping that his brothers would sense his presence and stop this attack. He was surprised when his grace slammed into a solid celestial wall that he couldn't find a crack in. Frowning he leaned forward, "They are blocking me. "

Dean turned, "Wait your brothers are making you limp?"

"I do not understand that reference." The angel replied with irritation.

"Could you two just stop? In case you haven't noticed the sky is currently trying to kill us." Sam grunted as another blast of wind rocked the car. His face screwed up into a worried expression that reminded Dean of a memory. He couldn't quite place it, maybe it was something else that reaper bitch Billy had done to him. Grinding his teeth together he shoved his frustration down and pressed his left arm into the leather seat, the shock of pain re-centered his drifting attention just as everything died, the wind, the lightening, the car, everything.

Two angels materialized from the darkness, their vessels becoming clearer as they approached. Dean could sense the magnitude of the power pulsing around them; the buzz of their grace was far more than his current angel buddy cop possessed. Which means these are probably archangels. He knew from his limited experiences with the executive douchebags of Heaven that they 'smite first and ask questions later'. His gaze slid over to Sam and his insides went cold at the thought of them getting their hands on him.

"What the hell do they want?" There was no doubt who his question was aimed at, but Dean pinned the angel with his gaze anyway.

Castiel's eyebrows shot up when he couldn't answer the question, "I do not know. "

Screeching metal interrupted them when the door was ripped from its hinges and tossed away. A large African American angel grabbed Dean and hauled him from the vehicle. It was like lifting a feather for him, he tossed Dean to the pavement driving another dizzying wash of pain through the collapsed man.

Castiel disappeared from the backseat. "Seriously?!" Sam fumbled with the seatbelt trying to free himself from the vehicle. He had no idea what he was going to do against two angels. Hell, not just angels but archangels. None of this was going to end well, he was pretty sure of that. Suddenly Sam was thrown from the car. He landed in a heat several hundred feet away. A sharp pain in his shoulder let him know he'd landed badly.

Dean pushed up onto his knees, his left arm held protectively close to his body. He wanted to avoid showing weakness; unfortunately at the moment he couldn't simply cast off the pain. The power inside him bucked and crashed against the warded handcuff and every time it did, he could feel his body burn a bit more.

"Sammy?!" he called into darkness.

Sam was just starting to respond when he felt the presence behind him. The hair on the back of his arms stood up. His gaze flashed around as he tried to determine just what was going on. "Dean?!"

"Sam, stay down." Dean bit out as he forced his way past the pain and managed to make it to his feet.

"Dean Winchester." A deep baritone broke the silence.

Sudden pain lanced through the eldest Winchester's head and he dropped to his knees again when it blinded him momentarily. Dean's right hand clutched at his temple as flash after flash after flash of every moment he had spent in hell assaulted him simultaneously. When the memories came from his experiences one at a time he could handle them, but having them crammed down his throat and into his head all at once was more than he handle. He wanted to reach out, to know if Sam was okay, but he was barely holding onto reality.

An arm slipped around Sam's throat and his assailant locked it into a chokehold. He tried to elbow his attacker in the stomach or throw them over his shoulder, but the angle made it impossible for him to get any leverage. His vision was starting to blur as his windpipe was crushed beneath the supernatural strength of whatever the hell was behind him. "Ak..kkkk…."

"Calm down, Sam." A raspy voice he didn't recognize whispered in his ear just before he dropped into unconsciousness.

Dean gasped as the images and pain combined to new levels. He barely heard the voice above him.

"You've caused me a lot of trouble Winchester." A tall well-built man stepped in front of Dean, his hands interlaced behind his back like he didn't have a care in the world. This angel certainly wasn't afraid of the thing kneeling at his feet.

The pained man forced his gaze up; the archangel smiled but said nothing more.

"Am I supposed to know you?" Dean spit out the words along with a mouthful of blood.

The smile died and the man leaned over fisting his hands into Dean's short blonde hair. With no effort at all he lifted until only his booted feet brushed the ground. Dean grunted with the pain, but didn't make any other sound forcing his eyes to focus on the son of a bitch in front of him.

"Yes." The angel answered coldly.

Dean's peripheral vision caught Sam's body tumbling to the asphalt in a boneless heap.

"Sam!" He cried. Dean tried to free himself from the bastard looming over him, but his arms simply wouldn't cooperate. The archangel released him and Dean dropped to his chest with jarring pain.

"You took something from me Dean." Leaning down the angel gouged his fingers into the ruined flesh along Dean's left arm. Ignoring the intake of breath at the increased pain, "Eventually I'm going to want what you promised." His warm breath ghosted across his captive's sweaty flesh. "Until then, I'm taking little Sammy for some 'one on one' time."

Rage coursed through Dean at even the thought of Sam being taken. "You hurt him and I swear to god…" He seethed. He felt like a nuclear weapon waiting to explode and he knew that it was only a matter of time before he did.

Leaning back he looked up at the archangel, he missed the celestial being stepping up behind him. The cuff was slapped onto his right wrist and suddenly all his buzzing power was absent. And the skull splitting pain that tore into him was unlike anything he'd ever experienced. Dean couldn't focus, couldn't even remember his own name let alone how to fight back. But there was one word he would never forget, even if he'd wanted to, and it was screaming inside his head, Sammy!

"I am sorry it had to be this way, Dean. But you left us no other choice." Castiel stepped around from behind him and the moonlight illuminated the angel's face. He glanced over at Sam's unconscious form and wondered if the kid had any idea his destiny truly was. Castiel doubted it. "We need to take your brother for the time being."

Dean found his voice, "You do this and I'll rip your fucking feathers out, one by one." His menacing tone dropped and ice nearly dripped from every word as he glared at the angel. Contempt and hate warred behind the hybrid's shifting eyes. They were flickering between black with green and full inky darkness.

The angel felt something stir inside him as he stared at the incapacitated older brother. He had a hard time placing the feeling; he felt actual concern for these Winchester brothers. But he couldn't go against Raphael, it would mean his death if he did and he couldn't help Dean if he was dead.

"What happens to Sam is not my call." Castiel walked around and squatted down, "I have never seen anything like you, Dean." He raised an eyebrow. "None of us has." He started to say something else, but a second flutter had him standing up and moving away from Dean. "Uriel, Sam Winchester is over there." He pointed at the heap near the front of the Impala.

The archangel stepped closer to Dean. He pulled his angel blade out and pushed Dean over, so he was looking directly into the eyes of the only living being that had ever betrayed him. "Dean Winchester. I've been looking for you."

"Ya found me. Whatcha gonna do now?" His eyes never shifted from the dark human eyes of the angel's vessel as Dean poured all the malice and rage in his soul into those few words.

"Oh Dean, you're going to help us turn your brother." Uriel said with a smile.

Dean's gaze shifted and his nose started to twitch as darkness rushed through him. He felt the angelic side of his soul starting to bend under the demonic rage. The damn cuffs alternated between ice and fire; with a stubbornness honed by the life he'd led, Dean shoved the pain away. "The hell you say." He grunted.

With a look of pleasure the angel glanced to his left, Raphael remained silent and nodded once granting permission.

Uriel stepped forward and with agonizingly slow precision he pulled the holy blade along Dean's left cheek. The instantaneous shock was more than just the blades edge sliced though his skin and it nearly sent him into the waiting darkness. The pain was blinding and he bit his lips closed when anguish gurgled to the surface. He hadn't spent millenniums on the rack without learning how to compartmentalize his pain.

Uriel leaned down and whispered, "It hurts worse for you because of the twisted darkness in your soul. It's a bit like holy water, only worse. The pain will spread like poison through your system, building until it fries your brain like an egg." He glanced over at the other two angels. "Too bad we won't be here to see your head explode. That would be a sight worth sticking around for." Uriel's eyes dropped to Sam's unconscious form, "But we have other things to break."

Raphael tipped his head toward the prone Winchester and Uriel stepped forward roughly yanking Sam over his shoulder, headless of any injuries he might have.

Dean watched with a stony expression when Sam didn't so much as twitch. His gaze shifted to Castiel and he narrowed his eyes, anger and pain driving him past any point of return. The increasing wash of agony was making it almost impossible to keep his eyes on all three angels as they walked toward the door. "I'm gonna kill every single one of you." He ground out before spitting blood onto the floor.

Castiel frowned as he looked at the bright red blood that now stained Dean's teeth and together with his shifting eyes it made him look like something out of a biblical story. Of course now that he considered it, Dean would have filled the role of avenging angel quite nicely. That was a sobering thought, a human soul with all the power of heaven and hell at his beck and call.

Dean didn't blink as he watched the sons a bitches that were taking his baby brother away. He wasn't sure what was worse, the moment he'd realized that he couldn't be saved and he would be going to hell or having to watch heaven's hosts steal Sammy away. He could feel the anger building inside him, driving the pain back and clearing his head. "I swear on my mother's grave that I will burn all you to the ground if you do this." The promise in his words was low and menacing; there was no doubt that Dean would carry it out, given the chance.

Castiel's eyebrows drew down at the threat. There had been very few times in his life that he'd felt genuine fear. Staring at the enraged demon-angel lying at his feet was rapidly turning into one of those times. There was no part of him that doubted whether or not Dean would carry the threat out. But that wasn't what scared him, under the mask of impotent rage Castiel saw an older brother that still loved his little brother with a singular devotion. That was something that the angel could understand. He too loved his brothers and he wanted to ensure their continued survival, but he wasn't sure if their current plan would allow for that.

Uriel leaned down and patted the incapacitated hybrid on the cheek. It was patronizing and pretty much a shitty thing to do, but it would also piss off the thing lying at his feet. "Tell you what sparky, you survive this? I say, take your best shot." Uriel quipped. He glanced over at Castiel, "Stay here until the poison burns his demonic soul back to hell." Uriel ordered without a second thought and then he and Raphael were gone; and so was Sam.

Dean went cold inside at the blank space above him. He had no way of knowing where those feathered asshats had taken Sam and to make matters worse he was stuck with the bastard that let it happen.

An image of Sam on a rack with meat hooks piercing his flesh flickered through Dean's mind. A red haze settled over the world he was looking out at, it reminded him of his time in hell. Did that mean that Sam was in hell? Was he going to spend time in hell before this was all over? If that were in his brother's future, Dean would change it. There was no fucking way he would allow Sammy to suffer as he had.

Footsteps returned his attention to his current situation. With an effort that would have made his father proud, Dean rolled to his knees ignoring the pull of the damage flesh along his arms. With a grunt of pain he teetered as nausea rolled through him. It started along the angel blade injury and exponentially increased the further down his body it ran.

Castiel stared at the demon-hybrid as he rolled across the wet soil; Dean's face was a mask of pain and hidden determination. His blue eyes shifted up to where Uriel and Raphael had stood. He clenched his teeth, feeling like a dog left to heel their dirty laundry.

Dean groaned. He only had one chance, he had to convince this bastard to help him. With a stilted intake of breath, "They're…gonna kill….my brother…you dick." He rasped out. Blood dripped off his lips landing with a 'splat' on the dirt, he clenched his eyelids shut, misery clearly evident on his face. Dean managed to look up at the angel, his gaze revealing the same black-green eyes that Castiel had seen in the cemetery.

Narrowing his own eyes he watched the hybrid try and haul his tortured body to his feet. What could possibly be compelling the demon-angel to harm himself every time he moved? Castiel knew that the poison that currently raged through Dean's system had to be debilitating and unimaginably painful.

A tiny bit of sympathy worked through the angel. He didn't want this being to tear himself apart trying to save his brother and he had no idea why he even cared. "They will not kill Sam."

"No, they'll just…" Dean groaned, blinking hard when he started to cough, his lungs burned with a white-hot fire that felt like it was burning him from the inside out. "They'll just turn him into-" Dean stopped and started to push upright until he'd managed to get to his feet, his body listing against the Impala as he did.

"A demon?" Castiel hazarded. Dean really didn't understand anything that was happening. He had no idea how the rules of heaven really worked, nor did he appear to understand how hell worked either. "They cannot."

Another image darted through Dean's mind, only this time it was of the angel standing in front of him. He was lying in a pool of his vessel's blood, his face distorted like it was melting. Power that exceeded anything he'd ever felt rolled off the injured angel. Dean had no idea what had happened or why he was seeing an image of this pee-brained idiot, but he was. So for reasons unknown Death wanted him to see this.

Dean glared at the angel, his cheek jumping as he clenched his teeth together in frustration. Whether it was from pain or anger, Castiel didn't know.

Drawing his eyebrows down, Castiel watched as black veins spidered out from the cut on Dean's cheek. His skin had a green hue to it and his body shook with the intensity of the poison coursing through his veins. But the vengeful look etched into his eyes told the tale of a soul that would never give up without a fight. It wouldn't matter how much it hurt or if it would eventually destroy his very existence, he would not stop. Heaven might have taken on more than they could handle when they stole Sam Winchester.

"How do you know that?" Dean bit out through his clenched teeth.

The angel sighed, "Sam is the boy with the demon blood. He will cannot become a demon. He carries inside him the potential to become something more." He raised an eyebrow before nodding at Dean. "Not unlike yourself." Shrugging he walked around Dean staring at the anomaly that was his twisted soul. "You are both abominations. God has no place in his kingdom things like you or him." His voice dropped as it picked up an edge, something about these Winchesters was unique, special.

"You call my brother an abomination again and I'll tear your throat out with my teeth." Dean promised before trying another tactic. "You always follow those douchebags orders? Or can you think for yourself?" Dean growled just as his knees buckled. Whatever that blade was doing to him, it really sucked ass. Currently he was regretting the fact he hadn't stabbed this angel back at the cemetery. Without Castiel he wouldn't have allowed himself to be sidelined. Seeing Sammy for the first time in thousands of years had thrown Dean off his game and he'd been unprepared for the angel's handcuff trick.

"A soldier that does not follow orders lives in chaos." Castiel answered evenly. He saw the hybrid teeter before steadying himself. "You will not last much longer. The blade-poison is accumulating in your brain stem, it will stop all activity in your body very soon." He turned and stared directly at Dean. "The grace you were given will be extracted and then you will go straight back to hell."

Dean spit more blood onto the slowly drying soil and then barked a wet sounding laugh. "You think I'm scared of hell?" He shook his head to clear his vision. "Ya kinda get used to the heat." He snarked.

"I know what you are afraid of Dean Winchester." Castiel tilted his head to the side. "And it is not hell. Nor Alistair and his many blades. The only thing that truly scares you, is losing your brother to the darkness. That demonic part of him that was dripped into his mouth at six months old. You have never cared what happens to yourself, only Sam."

Dean's voice was ice cold as he stuttered around the pain, "You don't know anything about me, or him."

"I know exactly everything about you and your brother." He walked around Dean and inhaled the cool air. "I have been watching you two since before you were born. Too bad neither of you lived up to your potential. The Winchesters had great 'potential'."

"Fuck you!" Dean seethed. "You peeping little bastard."

Castiel sighed. "Why are you fighting so hard? Let yourself go Dean. Let your brother go."

Pain coursed through him and his response sounded as though it was being ripped from a place so deep that Dean could barely admit it, "I…can't."

The angel nodded in satisfaction. "I know. That's why I am here."

TBC…

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Author's Note: For all those who reviewed the last chapter, thank you.