Chapter Twenty-One:
Do the Wrong Thing

All he wanted was to be able to do the right thing, to make up for everything he had managed to ruin along the way. This had been his original intention, as it were, but as he found himself bound and beaten in the back room of some unknown location he had to face the reality that he had failed this time. Cas continued to try and look on the bright side of things - this is what Dean would have done - but with each passing moment he found it increasingly difficult to do such. He also knew that if he survived this, he be spending the rest of his time on Earth devoted to helping Sam and Dean. Not that he minded that much, it was still the fact that he had tried to help and failed.

Thinking back Cas tried to trace the origin of how he had managed to screw the case up and find himself where he was now. His mind felt fractured, and the memories were a haze, but if he focused enough he could almost create a timeline. Cas tried to focus on the evening he had been at the Gold and Silver Gentleman's Club looking for Dean. He had known that he was there, but he was unable to locate him directly. He found this to be strange, but found he was able to locate Sam. Thinking Dean wouldn't be far off he went to Sam looking for Dean. Sam was uncomfortable, but knew that Dean wasn't too far off from where he was. Thus, Cas scanned the club.

Unable to locate him still yet he returned to Sam and asked him to find his brother. He informed Sam that he was in desperate need of speaking to Dean; he had a case that would be a interest to him. Cas was delighted when Sam was able to locate Dean, but as he exited the building he found the two were at one another's throats. This didn't seem so unusual to him, humans would often do such things, but he needed Dean to focus on the case at hand. Cas filled him in on the details and left. Easy in, easy out. Or so he had believed it to be.

Cas had to strain his mind now to remember the details that followed. He could remember showing up in Dean's motel room; making him almost leap out of skin - or at least, that's what Dean had said, despite the fact that he wouldn't be able to really do such - and waking Sam. He found it to be an odd request, waking Sam in the fashion that he had, but Dean had asked him and he was trying to make up for having frightened him moments earlier. Sam, he could remember, wasn't too pleased with the idea of being awakened by a looming angel. Still, Cas found some amusement in his reaction despite the discomfort to cause the younger Winchester.

He could remember the drive to the morgue, Dean handing him an identification badge, and checking in on the corpse of a dead woman. He had tried to revive the woman, with mild success, but Dean had overreacted and shot her. He could remember that, as well as trying to explain to Dean his intentions, but after that it became a bit of a blur. He had knocked the doctor out, unintentional but required to handle the task at hand, and the heated debate between Dean and himself. He could also recall leaving, abruptly, but he couldn't remember the reason. And then, the swift taste of shroud in his mouth, muffled speaking, and someone laying hands upon him.

While he was unable to make out much of what was being said between the two captors, he had been able to figure out that he was being held captive by two people; a man and a woman. Cas had tried to break the bonds that held him, but he found he was unable to do so. His mind strained for answers, but the best he could come up with was he was being held by a sigil. If this was the case, he feared, he was dealing with someone more dangerous than just humans. This had all but been confirmed, however, as he listened to the two of them bicker back and forth; one was quite well versed in angelic lore, the man, and the woman seemed to be upset about something. Cas was unable to discern what was bothering her, but he knew she wasn't quite as well versed as he was in his kind.

Cas found that his memories became hazier and hazier as he tried to remember what followed the man laying his hand upon him. He could remember a strange feeling coming over him and the quasi-visions he had after, though. The best he could figure was the man wasn't a man at all, but a shape shifter and using him as his new skin, but had to keep him alive and used him as a mental link. This would explain the reason he knew he was bound, but was still having vague memories of speaking to Dean and Sam at the motel, the heated fight between himself and Dean, and the car wreck. There was also a disjointed memory of a man, the owner of the club, and the woman skinning him alive. Cas could only hope that Dean would be able to find it in himself to look beyond him allowing himself to be caught, cloned, and leaving him in a comatose state.

The last thing Cas could remember was speaking with Dean in his mind and trying to convince him that what he was experiencing was his own fractured mind's attempt to make sense of what had happened. He knew that if he could reach Dean, jostle him awake long enough to send a message to Sam, that he would be able to rest easy knowing that rescue was coming. But before he could say everything that he had to he was back to the room, the taste of the shroud cover once more filling his mouth, and muffled speaking. Except now it was two men, which confused him for a moment until he remember the fact that he was likely dealing with shape shifters.

His thoughts were shattered, however, when one of the captors returned. Cas was unsure of what the noise around him was, but he was almost certain that there was another captive beside him. His suspicion was proven correct soon after when he heard the two shifters talking, loudly, about the captive next to him. The name 'Winchester' came up several times and Cas felt a sense of relief and defeat wash over him as he realized that he wasn't alone, but that one of the brother's had been taken hostage along with him. What made it worse was he knew that it was Sam, his dying hope, slowly vanishing as he knew now that Dean was his last hope and he was in a coma.

"Sam," he tried to speak through the shroud, "can you understand me? Sam." Cas knew it would be a long shot, but it was worth trying to communicate. He found he had no luck. Just as he was about to abandon all hope, the shroud was removed and he was face to face with those responsible for his capture. "You son of a bitch." he spat venom as he saw the man standing in front of him. "I will see to it that you're destroyed." Cas snarled.

Crowley scoffed. "Is that really what you want to say to the man who saved your life? I'm doing you a favor, Castiel." Cas tried to swallow his anger and direct himself enough to remain calm, but he found he was having trouble. "Besides, you try anything stupid and I'll make sure that Sam there never learns the fate of his dear brother, who is no longer in his coma, I might add." Crowley boasted. Cas could tell the demon was filled with an intense sense of self worth.

"What's this about?" Cas demanded. Crowley thought about it for a moment before waving his hand. The two shifters, one that looked identical to himself and one that looked like the club owner, moved in on where Cas was being bound. "I will end both of you." The shifters laughed and threw the shroud back over Cas' head. Through the shroud he could hear Crowley saying something to them, but he was unsure of what until the shroud was once again removed. "I demand you release me."

There was a long moment as Crowley allowed a smile to crease along the edge of his mouth. "Demand me? Who are you to make demands, Castiel? See, I don't know if you have noticed it yet or not, but you're bound to that seat with an Enochian Sigil." Crowley oozed pride as he directed his attention above. Cas followed his enemies eyes and saw what he was speaking of. "So, I don't think you'll be doing much of anything. Now, this is where you listen to me and I decide if you're worth keeping around or not. Understand me?"

Cas felt a sense of defeat as he watched Crowley speak to the shifters. "At least tell me what this is about." Cas reasoned. He knew that the demon had an inflated sense of self worth and loved to boast, so his best chance at defeating him would be to make him reveal his master plan. "I think I have that right, at the very least." Crowley considered, but said nothing. Cas looked over to his left and saw that Sam was still next to him. If he could reach Sam's mind like he had Dean's he might be able to make this work.

"What? You want me to tell you everything so you can ruin it like you've ruined the Winchester's lives? I think not. No, I'm not as stupid as you might take me for, Castiel." The angel knew the demon was walking right into his trap now. "In fact, I think your time is about done with us. David, do me a favor and remove this scum from my sight. I don't need him stinking up the place for when Dean arrives. You did have Sam call, right?" Crowley asked the shifter that looked like Cas.

"Ross had him call; I was off making sure things were moving along like we wanted." the shifter said. Crowley nodded and rested a hand on his shoulder. Cas watched as the shifter melted into a different form, one that looked like someone who could have been a friend of Dean's had he not chosen the life of a hunter. "What do you need me to do now?" he asked.

Crowley smiled and removed his hand from the young man's shoulder. "Well, it's simple. I need you to lead Dean Winchester to us. I'm sure you can handle that, am I right?" Crowley directed his attention back to the angel. "You, I still need you, so we'll have to move you along. But rest assured, Dean and Sam will die thinking you were the bad guy the whole time. Well, Sam might not, but Dean sure as hell will. Isn't that right, David?" the demon asked the shifter. The shifter nodded and left the room. Cas watched as the other one, the club owner, threw the shroud back over his head.

As the shifter went to move him, he heard Crowley remove the shroud that was covering Sam's head and say something, but he was unable to make out what it was. All he was able to make out was something about luring Dean. Swallowing his self loathing, Cas knew that if he was going to make an escape attempt he would have to do it when he was being moved and not bound by the sigil. It would be his only chance of doing it, but as he tensed himself and waited he found that nothing was happening.

Through the shroud, he could hear muffled shouts and a single shot being fired. There was a loud report as a body crashed on the floor followed by more muffled shouts.