Whatever they had been expecting, it wasn't to be served tea in Cains living room.

Sam looked around as Cain carried the tray to them. It was a simple lived in home, soft and comfortable. It was obvious that Cain had lived here for years, it had that set in feeling.

As Cain walked in Sam stood up, reaching to take the tray from him. He was the youngest, he should be serving. Cain shrugged him away, stepping closer to hand out the cups of tea himself. Sitting back down Sam accepted his cup with a nod of thanks, slowly sipping at it, sighing in slight pleasure at the taste of honey.

"I don't usually have guests." Cain said in his low voice, sitting across from them. "Especially not as some people like you."

"We wouldn't have come to bother you unless we had to." Dean said. He could feel his brother take a deep breath and when he took a swing of his tea Sam could feel his hand shaking.

"I figured as much." Cain's eyes went to Sam who had remained silent the entire time. "Samael, Dean. You two can talk freely, I don't care about hell's politics or rules."

Sam swallowed hard, aided by the tea. "My apology, I'm just not used to speaking to a higher position freely."

"I don't care about it, speak easy, I'm retired from punishing for those minuscule slights." Cain said. "Now speak."

"We've been instructed to bring you back to Hell, the Princes are calling you to return." Dean said, taking the lead despite Cains allowance. "You are to create more Knights to serve Hell."

Cain snorted at that, taking a drink and putting it down on the table. "So, are you two planning to use that gun on me if I refuse?" Cain asked, almost barely gesturing to Sam's jacket.

Immediately Sam opened his jacket and took out the Colt that was still covered in the cloth. He leaned forward and placed it on the table, closer to Cain than to them. "We didn't feel safe if we left it in the car. I apologize if that is perceived as a threat."

"A threat only works if the being you're threatening would be harmed." Cain told them. "That gun might kill me momentarily but I'll be brought back. Nothing can kill me. I've tried."

That...was something they wanted to know more of but had no right to ask about.

"If you don't come back to Hell with us, we don't know what they're going to do to our mother." Sam said quietly. "Mary Campbell, she's a direct line of Azazel and she's currently with him in Hell. He's the one that told us to bring you back."

"So you're here bothering me because you lack the power to strike back." Cain said, leaning back in his chair. "Or because you think you lack the power to strike back."

"What do you mean Knight?"

"Stop calling me that." Cain told them, the corner of his eye twitching slightly. "You two are stronger than you think, and the so called Princes know it too."

"We know we're strong, better than certain demons in a way." Dean said. "But we're nowhere near as strong as you say we are."

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"Of course not." Sam quickly said. "We just...we're not quite sure what you mean by that."

"Why do you think the Princes gave you these tasks? Tasks that even they weren't able to do?" Cain asked rhetorically. "Because they want you to fail. I sympathize with your situation with your mother, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to go with you. And they know that. They want you to come back empty handed so that they can kill you."

"We already figured that part out, but not like we could just say no." Dean said. "We already know that they want to kill us."

"But you don't get why." Cain stated. "I've heard about the both of you even from here. I know about you two. Now. Why do you think that they gave you two of these tasks that they know are to be failed?"

"Because they want to kill us, we've said this." Dean told him.

Cain nodded. "Now, why do they want to kill you?"

Sam and Dean shared a look at that. "We don't know." Sam finally said. "We obey the rules and we do as they say. We listen to them and we don't complain."

"So think, why would they want to kill you?"

Sam stared into the depths of his teacup, turning it between his hands. "Because...you think we're stronger than them?"

"I don't think, I know." Cain said, leaning forward to refill his cup. He gestured for them to hold their cups out and they obliged, letting him refill them. "And if there's one thing they don't like, it's when any being is stronger than them, they see it as a threat."

"But we just want to be left alone." Dean said. "We just want our mother and each other, we don't want to be a threat and we don't want to...do anything with any apparent power."

"And you think they care about that? About what you want?" Cain asked. "They don't give a damn. All they care about is that you're stronger than them and more importantly, you don't know it."

"Even if we are stronger than them, it doesn't mean anything." Sam said, shaking his head. "We're not about to go out and attack them. We can't."

"Because the only thing holding you back is fear." Cain said. "You're afraid of them therefore you won't ever strike back against them, that's all they have going for them."

Sam let out a small breath and brought his cup up, sipping the tea slowly, tightening his grip around it. "So what do we do?"

"You learn how to use the full extent of your powers and your beings, unless you do that and get over that fear, they'll strike you down the moment you return to hell." Cain said, staring at them. He watched them silently, only moving to take his tea and sip at it as he did. "You two smell of magic. What spells have you done?"

"Our mother was killed by a hunter a few years ago." Sam said. "We managed to find and conduct a spell to break into the Empty and take her soul back.

Cain's eyebrow twitched upwards. "Impressive." he said. "How did you power such a spell?"

"We used human souls, over two hundred ones." Dean said. "Spent a while to get them."

"What a hideous act." Cain said softly, his tone chilling them to the bone. "Is there anything you wouldn't do for your mother? For each other?"

There wasn't even another option for that kind of a question. "No." they said in unison. "Nothing."

"No, I suppose not." Cain murmured, watching them. He got up and walked over to the kitchen table where there was a mess of papers. He grabbed one and then a syringe from a cabinet. He inserted the needle into his arm and the two of them watched as he slowly drew blood from himself. He then took the vial and inserted it into a pen.

"Why don't you just make a cut and use that?" Sam asked, the both of them getting up and following him.

"To make a cut is an act of violence. I've sworn off all acts of violence." Cain said as he started to write something on a spare piece of paper. "No matter how big or small."

When he finished writing he folded the paper and handed it to Dean. "Here's what you're going to do." he told him. "You're going to take the gun and this note and go to hell. Then, you're going to come back here."

Dean took the note from him and shared a look with Sam who picked the Colt up. "What are we going to do then?"

Cain raised an eyebrow. "I said, you're going to go back to hell, you alone Dean." he said. "Sams staying here."

They both felt their hearts skip a beat at that. "What?"

Cain reached out and took Dean's jacket by the fabric, pulling him away. "Go to hell with those two things, then come back here."

"But if you don't come with us, I won't be able to come back." Dean argued.

"Give them my note, that's all they need. And don't look at it." Cain instructed, looking at Sam who hesitated but handed Dean the Colt. "And don't dawdle either."

Dean swallowed hard but nodded, taking the Colt from Sam. "I'll be back." he whispered, leaning in to brush his lips against his brothers. "Soon."

Taking a step back, he took a deep breath and when he exhaled he was gone, only bits of sulfur remaining.

Sam stared at the spot where he had been. "You're sure they're not going to kill him?" he couldn't help but ask.

"No but short of me going there I did all that I could." Cain said, turning around and leaving the house. "Now, since you're here, you'll help me with the bees."

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