Chapter Eighteen: Elephant Bones ((That Handsome Devil))

When Sam woke up, he found himself in his own bed. In his own room. On Earth. He propped himself up on his elbows, looking around. Everything was exactly how he remembered leaving it. All his books were on the shelves, his laptop was on the desk, glowing faintly, and even all his photos were tacked to their regular places on his bulletin board.

He remembered Purgatory. Chuck had tried to send them home, but…

He frowned. Something had happened, he knew it. He just couldn't remember quite what it was. It had been bad though. If he shut his eyes, he could make out a flash of something, of staring up at Dean from the floor. His brother looked terrified.

The door opened, snapping him out of his thoughts. He tensed; ready to attack whatever came through the door, only to have Dean pop his head inside. He caught sight of Sam and grinned easily.

"Hey Sammy, glad to see you're up. I got some breakfast if you're hungry."

Then he was gone again, and Sam just stared after him. He pushed the blankets back, getting out of bed to pad out of the room after him. His brother was in the kitchen, singing along idly to the radio, some old rock song. He paused in the doorway, staring for a moment. Dean was spooning eggs onto a pair of plates.

Sam sat at the small table, gnawing at his lip. Something was off. He'd been in trouble, he knew it. How had they gotten home anyway?

Dean set a plate in front of him. "Something on your mind?"

The younger Winchester peered at the eggs and bacon as if they would tell him all the answers. "Dean, how… what exactly happened with Chuck?"

Dean sat down across from his brother with his own plate, wasting no time in digging in. "You don't remember?"

Sam shook his head. "I remember most of it, but… some things aren't fitting right. I thought something had gone wrong."

"You mean the part when Lucifer came back?" He bit at a piece of bacon, watching as his brother nodded. "I guess you're wondering how Lucifer got involved and yet we still made it back?"

Another nod. Sam poked at his eggs with a fork.

"Gabriel. He used whatever power he'd picked up in reserve to beat Lucifer back quick enough for you to get back in the circle. Then we were sent home. The spell knocked you out for a while though. So you've been sleeping for pretty much most of yesterday and all night."

Sam frowned, thinking this all over. He didn't remember it, no matter how hard he tried. It made his head hurt when he attempted it. He took a bite of his eggs.

"Where's Cas?"

Dean tilted his head, a gesture that reminded Sam of the angel in question. "He went back to Heaven like he was supposed to."

The younger hunter gave him an odd look. "You just let him go?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Dean shrugged.

"But you and he-"

Dean gave him another easy grin. "Sammy, are you sure you're okay? You didn't hit your head or anything on the way home, did you?"

Sam scowled. "Of course not. I just thought you two-"

"Angels belong in Heaven. Humans belong on Earth. That's the way it is."

Sam frowned. His brother could be such a stubborn idiot sometimes.

"Anyway, if you're feeling up to it, I got a case for us. Dad emailed it to us this morning. He would've taken care of it, but he left a couple days ago on one of his own."

"A case? What about?" He bit into a slice of bacon.

"Shapeshifters."

Sam wrinkled his nose. He hated Shapeshifters. Too much trouble. "What's going on?"

"Apparently they're trying to do some sort of ancient ritual. I'm not really clear on all the details. They've got some sort of weapon that they're gonna use to do it. Dad says it might have something to do with opening a gate to another world."

"Like Purgatory? Or hell?"

Dean nodded. Sam knew they couldn't let that happen, no matter what. They had to stop it fast. "Where do we go?"

"Weird part is, it's just a couple of towns over." He flipped through a few pieces of paper their dad had sent them. "Finish your breakfast and we'll head out."

Sam nodded.

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Dean rounded on Chuck, grabbing the smaller man by the collar of his robe and yanking him face- to- face with the Hunter. Chuck let out a yelp, but didn't move, staring up at him with wide eyes.

"Why the hell didn't you warn us about this? Sam's gone!"

"I- I didn't know!" Chuck shrunk back as much as he could in Dean's grip. "I just saw you leave the circle, I didn't see why! I swear, if I had known, I would have warned you!"

Dean shook him a little for good measure, before Castiel's hand on his arm stopped him. He turned his head enough to meet the angel's eyes, staring for a moment before shoving Chuck back with an angry noise. He grabbed Castiel by the arm and started for the door.

"C'mon Gabe… we're going."

The archangel hurried behind them. Even he wasn't dumb enough to argue with Dean at this point.

Chuck stayed where he was. "Where are you going?"

The hunter narrowed his eyes. "To go kick the devil's ass and get my brother back."

They collected Crowley, who they found in the dining room throwing sugar packets at Bobby. They made it just in time; it looked like, since the guard looked about thirty seconds from lunging over the table to throttle the demon. Crowley had that effect on people.

The four of them left the castle. The Impala was right where they'd left it, although at some point in the night it had gotten itself fixed up. The bumper was no longer hanging on by a thread, and all the dents were smoothed out. It looked as good as new. Dean suspected there was magic involved. Or he would have, if he'd been concentrating on anything besides finding Sam and beating the shit out of a fallen angel.

He wasted no time sliding into the driver's seat, where the keys were in the ignition, waiting for him. Gabriel and Crowley quickly got in the back, and Castiel's hand was on the passenger door before he thought better of it. He wondered if Dean would want him sitting in his brother's spot.

Dean saw the hesitation and frowned. "Get in, Cas, we gotta go."

The angel nodded, opening the door and sliding in. He offered Dean what he hoped was a comforting look. He wasn't entirely sure it worked, since Dean only stared at him for a moment before turning the car on.

The drive was quiet. No one wanted to talk. Crowley had tried to start a conversation, but was quickly shot three dirty looks. He muttered something about tough crowds under his breath, but didn't continue. Dean didn't play any music. He just drove along the highway.

Finally, Crowley had enough. He sighed. "Where are we even going?"

"To find Sam." Dean ground out.

"Yes, that's all well and good, but you look like you're driving back to my place." Crowley rolled his eyes. "You're not going to find them there."

Dean blinked, staring at the demon through the rearview mirror. He was right. For some reason, he thought Lucifer would be hiding out at the mansion they'd picked Crowley up in. But that wouldn't make any sense.

"So where do we find him then?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Believe it or not, I usually didn't go looking for him. Quite the contrary, actually. But I think I know someone who can tell me."

It was something at least. It was probably the best shot they had right now. "Alright. Where do we need to go?"

Crowley slouched back in the seat, leaning a bit against Gabriel. "Get off the highway in three exits. Then make a left at the end of the street."

Dean nodded, speeding up a little. Something touched his arm and he glanced down. Castiel's hand had settled there and he looked up, meeting the angel's eyes.

"We'll find him, Dean."

"Yeah, I know." He offered a weak grin, taking the exit Crowley instructed.

It was afternoon when they reached the place Crowley directed them to. It was a Laundromat. Dean parked the car, twisting in the seat to arch a brow at the demon. He only shrugged.

"You've got sources here?"

Crowley rolled his eyes. "No, I just thought we'd pick up my dry cleaning along the way. Of course I do. I wouldn't have brought us here otherwise!"

Dean opened the door to get out.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"To go find the devil!" Dean snapped. "That was kinda the whole point!"

"You're not going to find anyone in there to talk to right now."

"Why not?"

"It's the middle of the afternoon, Dean." Gabriel supplied. "Anyone Crowles knows won't be up and running until it gets dark, remember?"

Dean huffed impatiently. "So what do we do until then?"

The archangel nodded across the street. There was a fast food place there. "We could get some lunch."

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Dean chewed at his straw, wishing the soda in his cup were something a lot stronger. He was tired of sitting here, waiting for the stupid place to open up so they could pump some demon for information. Every moment they wasted was more time for Lucifer to hurt Sam. They needed to find him fast.

The restaurant was run by a few humans who didn't look any happier to be there than Dean did. They were the only four in the place for most of the afternoon. Dean just kept staring out the window towards the Laundromat, waiting for someone to come and open it. Crowley and Gabriel were talking about something, and Castiel joined in every so often. Mostly he just watched Dean in concern.

It was after midnight when Dean finally caught sight of a blonde woman unlocking the door. He jumped up from his chair, nearly knocking it over. The other three stared at him in surprise.

"It's open, let's go."

The four left the restaurant, crossing the street. Dean was ahead of them all, nearly leaving them behind in his rush to get into the place. It was a smaller building, and it looked like it had seen a few better days. There were washers lined in pairs along one side, making spaces in between them for chairs. Dryers lined the far wall, going all the way to the back of the building. There were fans blowing circulating air amidst all the heat from the machinery. The desk up front was empty.

The woman was loading a basket into the nearest washer. She took no notice as they came in. She had a serious look about her, and Dean couldn't imagine why she was running a Laundromat. Her pale blonde hair was tied back loosely, a few curls slipping out to frame her face. She wore a white sleeveless dress, the skirt ruffling around her legs as she moved from washer to washer.

"Lilith." Crowley spoke up, crossing his arms.

The woman stopped, staring at them over the washer. She scowled. "Crowley. What the hell do you want?"

"Now there's the warm welcome I was expecting," he grinned, moving past the others. "I was wondering if we could have a chat, love?"

She tilted her chin up, shutting the washer and turning it on. "What about?"

Crowley stepped closer to her, sliding an arm around her narrow shoulders. "I think this would be better suited in your office." He turned back to the others. "Give us a minute, alright? Just try not to break anything."

Lilith huffed. "Break anything and I'll take it out of your legs."

The pair went into the back of the Laundromat. Two angels and a human stared after them.

"She seems nice," Dean said finally.

Castiel tilted his head. "I don't think she seemed particularly friendly."

"Sarcasm, Cas."

"Oh."

Gabriel frowned, watching the door for a moment before moving to stab buttons on a dryer. "I'm gonna see what I can break."

"Obviously your brother's not a fan," Dean shrugged, taking a seat beside one of the washers. Castiel sat beside him.

"Of course not," the archangel huffed, clicking the buttons back and forth between the regular and delicate cycle. "I hate Lilith. Despise her even. She's a real bitch. Now Bela, she's a demon an angel could get used to."

"Who's Bela?" Castiel asked.

"Bela's kinda like Crowley's personal demon assistant or something. I'm not real sure on the specifics. But she's holding things down while Crowley's out playing around with us. She's a demon, yeah, but she still remembers how to be a human. So I like her better. Or maybe it's just the accent. I think I have a thing for accents."

Dean snorted, rolling his eyes.

A few customers came in while they were waiting. No one spoke to them; they just loaded their washers and dryers in silence. Gabriel gave up after awhile, just sitting on top of the washer nearest to Dean. Castiel watched clothes spin in a dryer.

"What's taking so long?" Dean grumbled. They'd already been here for an hour, and the two demons hadn't left the office yet.

"Conversations with those two always take forever," the archangel replied with a shrug. "They have to get most of the arguing out of the way first. Those two can fight for awhile."

A bell jingled near the door, signaling a new customer entering. None of them paid it any mind. Gabriel was trying to convince Castiel that he could fit inside one of the dryers if the younger angel helped him, and Dean was listening idly. It wasn't a half bad idea, really.

A flash of red in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He looked up over the washers as the bell jingled again. There was no one there. Curious, he got up, heading to the door. Castiel watched him, before Gabriel distracted him. He took his eyes off Dean and moved to pull his brother out of a dryer before he could put his theory into application.

Dean pushed the door open, poking his head out to look around. There were a few cars in the parking lot, and it had rained a little while they'd been inside. He instinctively looked toward the Impala to check up on it.

A girl stared back at him, arms folded across her chest with a small smile. Dean blinked. It was the redhead from before, the one who'd brought him and Sam to Purgatory. That must have been what he'd seen inside. He left the Laundromat, jogging up to her quickly.

"You!"

The girl made no move to leave. She just waited for him. "Hello."

He wasted no time in conversation. "You need to help us. Luci has my brother and we need to get him back. You're an angel, right? You brought us here, you can help us get to him."

She shook her head. "I can't do that. I might be an angel, but I don't have anywhere near the level of power that Lucifer has."

"There's gotta be something you can do!" Dean threw his hands up. "You yank us off our own planet or whatever, and then ditch us here to save the wonderful world of Purgatory without so much as an explanation on where we are. Then you show up days later after all the bad shit's gone down and there's nothing you can do to help? Why'd you come back at all?"

For all that Dean was ranting at her, the angel's face remained calm. "I didn't say I couldn't help you. I just said I couldn't send you to them."

His eyes widened. "Okay then, shoot. What can you do?"

"I can tell you how you can stand a chance at defeating Lucifer once you find him."

"We've actually got a shot at this? How?"

She slid her hands into the pockets on her green jacket. "There's a weapon. It will amplify the power of the angels you have with you. It should be enough to give you something to work with, even in Purgatory."

"What kind of weapon?" Dean glanced back toward the door of the Laundromat, wondering if Gabriel or Castiel would follow him.

"I'm… not exactly sure. I've never seen it."

He scowled. "Well that's freaking helpful."

She sighed. Even that was done with a sense of calmness. "Only one angel knows where the weapons are distributed in Purgatory. He'll be able to tell you what you need and where to get it."

The hunter rolled his eyes. Just what they needed. More seek- and- finds for people with information they needed. As if they had all the time in the world, and his brother wasn't most likely being tortured by the devil in ways unimaginable.

"Who do we have to find?"

"You already know him," she smiled a little.

Dean frowned. "Don't tell me it's Gabriel. Cuz if that little bastard's been holding info back from me again, I'll shove him in a dryer myself."

She shook her head, her red hair moving across her shoulders. "It's not Gabriel. Or Castiel."

It wasn't either of them? She'd said 'he', so Jo didn't count. Did he know any more angels?

The girl seemed to think he was taking too long to come to his own conclusion. She chuckled softly. "He runs a little nightclub on the edge of town."

Dean's eyes widened. "Fuck."

Balthazar.