Balthazar watched the two quietly, slightly amused by the back-and-forth. He was unsure if his cure would work, especially after witnessing the true and powerful demon for himself. Nonetheless, he would try. He was never really one for helping humans, however this was a special case.

He knew that this whole scenario was his doing. It was Balthazar who'd let Castiel die in battle. If not for that, this demon trapped before him would have been pulled out of hell long ago, only to be killed (along with the rest of humanity) in the battle of the millennium between Michael and Lucifer.

Balthazar did not agree with the plan. He figured that, if their Father treasured the humans so much, why plan for them all to be destroyed in a petty battle between brothers? He feared that it was not truly God's will. He had the opportunity to change that and took it. He'd made the trade of one angel's life for the life of every human, current and future. Of course, the other angels wouldn't see it that way. Rather, they would see it as a treasonous act against heaven. So he faked his own death during that same battle and escaped to Earth.

All had been going well until he decided to tune in to angel radio one day and by chance heard none other than Sam Winchester, praying for his brother to become human again. Balthazar was intrigued by the situation. He watched over the brothers in secret for a few days before realizing just how strong and dangerous a demon had been made due to his trade-off. This was just cleaning up his mess. If it was impossible to bring the demon to redemption, then he would smite him. End of story.

"Might I interject?" He asked of the still arguing brothers.

They responded at the same time:

"What?" From Sam.

"No." From Dean.

He addressed the demon, "you shut up, you have no say in this." He then turned to the hunter, "if you two can be done bickering, I'd like to take a look at his soul."

They again answered in sync:

"His soul?"

"My soul?"

They shared a mutually annoyed glance.

"I did say I might be able to help," Balthazar continued. "That is, if there's some bit of human soul left."

The demon laughed, "You're a little late for that, angel. I don't know what you're gonna find in there, but I'm pretty sure none of it's gonna be human." He seemed disgusted by the notion.

"I said hush," the angel scolded him before raising an eyebrow at Sam, awaiting approval.

"Whatever you gotta do, go ahead."

Balthazar dragged a chair over from the corner of the room. "You might want to sit down," he told the demon, "don't worry, this is only going to hurt a lot."

Dean took the chair and leaned back in it casually. "Hit me with your best shot, doc."

"Believe me," Balthazar said, shedding his leather jacket and rolling up his sleeves, "dirtying my hands with a soul like yours is about the last thing I wanted to do today." He stepped forward and pushed his fingertips into the demon's middle. Dean winced as the angel's hand disappeared into a hole made in his abdomen. Small tendrils of dark blue smoke escaped and swirled around his forearm. Not too long after, Balthazar slowly removed his hand and the smoke disappeared, leaving no sign of the event.

Dean stretched a bit in the chair and chuckled, eyes back to blue, demented smile still in place, "aw come on, I thought you said it was going to hurt. You can do better than that, angel. So what's the diagnosis, huh? Am I secretly a human?" He laughed a bit at that.

Balthazar paid him no attention, turning his back on him to talk to Sam. "Good news and bad news. And good news."

"What's the good news?"

"There is a spark in there. Barely anything and dying out, but it's there. Bad news is that it's not really enough to work with alone. But, good news, I can still do it with just a few more things."

Sam was relieved, "what things?"

"First of all, is that his body?"

"Yeah."

"All of it?"

Sam furrowed his brow, "what do you mean?"

"I mean we need every single bone, and it wouldn't be unlike a demon to hide a few." There was a low chuckle from behind him. The angel turned to see Dean's wide and manic grin and glistening blue eyes. "What's so funny?"

"Do I know how to think ahead, or what?" He replied with amusement, "tell ya the truth, I'm missing a couple pieces."

"You hid your bones?" Sam asked.

He shrugged, "I know hunters. It's all about the bones. I know what you're thinking, you'll never find them all."

"How many are there?"

"Six," he said proudly. "I'll give you a hint, one's in the pit." Another low chuckle, "so what's the plan now, huh?"

Balthazar stepped forward, "there's plenty of other ways. That one was just the least unpleasant. Other options include, but are not limited to, dunking you in holy water or burning you alive in hell fire."

"Hell fire, been there, done that. Quit trying to sound threatening, you're just not good at it. I don't suppose letting me out of here is an option? I just wanna have some fun, is that so bad?" He tilted his head to the side with an innocent smile.

"It is when 'fun' is killing innocent people." Sam retorted.

"Buzzkill," he murmured.

"I'm going to go put together plan B," Balthazar said to Sam, "can you keep an eye on him?"

Sam warily glanced at his brother, watching them intently, and nodded, "yeah, I'll be fine."

"Then I'll be back." He then disappeared with a rustle of invisible wings, leaving the brothers alone.

A/N: Boom, chapter. Reviews for the quick updates? I love you.