The Devil Takes Hold

The gang sat silently in the living room. Cas and Balthy were the only ones missing from their little gathering. Moments ago they had all been woken up by Gabriel's screams and now the angel sat silently on the couch, curled up in a blanket with Custos while both Sam and Dean brushed their fingers through his soft feathers. Gabriel told them his dream and everyone agreed that enough was enough. They had all suffered from the nightmares and it was time to actually talk about it.

"They're different, but they all have to do with our family and that demon," Bobby hummed while he rested against the side of the fireplace.

"Who is this guy though?" Charlie questioned. "It could just kill us, but it has done nothing to us so far, but mess with our minds."

"Well, it is a demon. Maybe it wants to play with its prey before finishing it off," Kevin stated. The others nodded in agreement. Kev was right. It was demon nature to paw at their mice first before finally striking. What worried the group was when and how the demon would finally strike.

"Well, we've at least got some time before it makes its move," Sam hummed. "It's gotten all of us except for Cas, but we can't keep pushing this back now. The demon could hit Cas any moment and who knows what'll happen after." The others nodded in agreement. They didn't want to believe that their world was once again being threatened, but it was and they had to act.

"Um…hey," Balthazar murmured, walking into the room. Everyone looked up at the middle angel, forcing a smile.

"Hey, Balthy," Dean sighed. "We were just –"

"I know and you're wrong," Balthazar interrupted. Dean and the others frowned in confusion. Balthazar walked farther into the room, meeting everybody's gaze. He turned something around in his hands. It was a camera.

"What are we wrong about?" Sam questioned hesitantly.

"About the demon and the nightmares. Castiel isn't the last on his list. Cassie was his first and now my baby brother lives a nightmare every day." The others only stared at Balthazar in confusion. "Cassie….the demon is in him." An irritated groan broke past Dean's lips and the hunter pinched the bridge of his nose. Balthazar frowned at him. "He is! I saw –"

"Balthazar, stop," Sam moaned. "It was a nightmare, buddy. What you saw –"

"Was real!" Balthazar prompted. "Who did all of you wake up with after your nightmares? Cassie! Cassie has always been there no matter what!" The others grew silent and Balthazar took his chance. He lifted the camera up to reveal the picture, but suddenly froze.

"Balthy?" Bobby called out to the angel. The angel didn't respond. Instead he stood frozen in the center of the room. Dean stepped towards the angel only to jump back quickly. Balthazar bent over and vomited. Blood pooled from his lips, splattering the floor by his feet.

"Balthy!" the group screamed. Dean pushed himself forward and grabbed at the angel, keeping the angel from falling into the heavily growing red pool. Sam rushed up behind him. He pressed a hand to Balthazar's back, trying to sooth the angel. In the corner of his eye he caught the sight of something shiny. He turned, eyes falling on the camera Balthazar had just dropped. Sam's fingers grabbed at it, pulling it from the blood pool it had landed in. There was one photo on the screen and it made the hunter's stomach roll.

"Oh my…"

"Well, well, well," a voice tutted from the doorway. Cas stood in the doorway, shoulders slumped forward like a puppet and head turned to the right. The blue in his eyes had drained away and refilled with a dark black.

"No…" Dean whispered. "Cas…no. It can't…it can't…"

"Oh, but it can." The demon stepped farther into the room, eyes trailing to the angel suffering between Sam and Dean. "Just couldn't keep yourself from meddling, huh?" he said to Balthazar as the middle angel shivered violently against the two brothers holding him up.

"Who are you? What are you doing to us?!" Charlie shouted from where she stood side by side with Kevin and Bobby. The demon turned Cas' head upright and it's dark eyes fell onto Charlie.

"Just doing my job," the demon stated calmly. "Well, I'll admit I got a little carried away, but I was bored you see." Cas' lips curved into a sick grin.

"How couldn't we know? How couldn't we…" Dean trailed off as the demon cackled.

"You Winchesters…" the demon huffed. "You're so blind when you're faced with saving or losing your family. You should have listened to Sam that night not to trust those djinn. Your little scare fest worked, but not on everyone. They put me into you, Dean, when linking your mind with Castiel's and when you touched sweet little Cas…" Dean eyes widened, remembering the black smoke that had entangled Cas. The hunter's stomach rolled and he held a hand to his mouth as bile rose up the back of his throat. The demon grinned at the Winchester's reaction. "You want to know something, Dean?" the demon taunted. "Your angel was waking up on his own." Eyes widened around the room. "If given a few more days he would have been fine, but you Winchesters don't do patience do you?" A high laugh bubbled from Cas' throat and dark eyes bored into the shocked group. "And now it's going to cost you everything!" With a flick of his wrist, Balthazar started shaking harder. His eyes widened in terror as more blood flew from his mouth and his skin turned a sickly grey. Sam and Dean grabbed at the angel, trying to keep him from collapsing and giving all the comfort they could muster.

Gabriel struggled on the couch, trying to run to his little brothers, but Custos held him down with a big paw. Still, the angel's shouting and cursing did not go unnoticed. With Sam, Dean, and Balthy busy the demon turned to the others. He grinned at Gabriel.

"Oh are you jealous of your little brothers? Do you want to play too?" the demon teased. Waving a hand, the demon set up its next surprise. The house violently shook, sending picture frames and books falling from the walls. A giant crack broke the room in two and red flames shot up from deep within it. The hungry fire licked at the walls and the furniture. The hungry red flames prowled throughout the house, blocking the doors and windows. In a matter of seconds the small family was caged up like a nest of rats. Bobby tried to get through the flames, reaching for Gabriel on the couch, but the flames burned his hands. Luckily, the angel wasn't alone in his prison of fire. Custos sat with him, covering the angel with his body and ignoring the flames that burned his fur. Being a hellhound helped against the flames, but also being half human dog made him slightly less resistant to burns. Still, the puppy did what he could.

The demon watched them, smiling as Charlie, Kevin, and Bobby were burned in attempt to reach the angel and hellhound puppy.

"I'm sorry that our game has to end like this," the demon sighed. "My job was to spy on you, but like I said I grew bored and then cocky. Now my cover is blown so…" The house shook again and the beams in the ceiling started to creak and crack.

"Why?" Sam shouted from Balthazar's side. "Why spy on us?" The demon rolled his eyes.

"Too keep an eye on you for Lord Crowley of course!" The demon tapped a finger at what once were Cas' eyes. "What better way to keep in the times? I've seen where your baby angels and their families live, I have seen the traitors of hell work with you, and I know all about your vampire friend and Goddess searching for the lost angels. I have seen everything and with this knowledge hell will tear your precious world down brick by brick starting right here."

"You son of a bitch!" Dean screamed, launching from Balthazar's side. Sam reached for his brother, but he was too late. Dean hurled himself at the demon and grabbed at Castiel's throat. His eyes burned with rage and he slowly started to squeeze. The demon laughed at the gesture.

"Really? Do it! Squeeze his throat till it collapses," the demon taunted. "Murder your favorite angel with your own hands! Do it!" Dean ground his teeth together, hand shaking around Cas' throat. His grip loosened. He couldn't do it.

The demon's playful grin grew and with a burst of power Dean was sent flying and crashing into the fireplace.

Crack! Dean yelped as his head made contact with the heavy stone of the fireplace and his vision swam, darkening at the corners. Warm blood trickled down the side of his face, dripping into his eyes and splattering to the burning floor. He tried to pick himself up, but he collapsed right back onto the burning floor. Balthazar could feel Sam's urge to rush to the down Winchester, but the hunter stayed put, continuing to hold the middle angel as blood dribbled down his lips and chin. Instead, Sam called out to his brother. Dean didn't act like he could hear him though. He just stared at Castiel's slumped body as flames licked at his skin.

"Cas, come back," Dean whispered. His eyes drooped and his body slumped further to the floor. "Come back to us." Sam screamed at his brother, but Dean was too far gone. The older Winchester passed out, blood from his head wound pooling around him.

Balthazar turned his gaze from the beaten hunter. He gagged, spitting up blood and black stuff from inhaling so much smoke. His body felt weak and on the verge of collapse, but that was the least of his worries. All his worries were on the angel standing a little ways away from his shivering body. He needed to get through to Castiel. He needed to get Cas to fight back. He tried to move his body, managing it a little bit. With all his powers going to burning the house, the demon's hold on Balthazar had stopped. His body still felt shot though.

Balthazar tried to sit up, ignoring the shaking of his body and the pain burning in his chest. On noticing Balthazar's movements, Sam quickly pushed him back. Balthazar struggled against him, pushing the hunter away. He tried to get to his feet, but they buckled right under him. Instead, he suited for crawling. He pushed from Sam's protective hold and forced himself through the flames, holding his wings tight to his back to protect them from the growing fire. The demon was so engrossed in tormenting the others with its hellfire it didn't realize Balthazar's movements until it was too late. Balthazar wrapped his arms around Castiel's waist and pulled his brother's body in for a tight embrace.

"What the –"

"I know you're in there, baby brother," Balthazar whispered. "You've got to fight it. I know it's hard, Cassie, but you have to."

"Kick this thing in the ass!" Gabriel's voice shouted across the rooms. Custos barked after him.

"Yeah, angel! Come on!" the others shouted past the flames. "Wake up!" The demon laughed at their attempt.

"You forget. I'm a powerful demon. Do you really think that little pipsqueak –" The demon sucked in a breath, eyes bulging and mouth falling open. He clutched at his head with both hands. "What? How are you…" Black eyes flickered, going from their dark color of black to a familiar blue.

"Help me," a small voice whimpered. It was Cas' voice. Relief flooded through Balthazar and he held on tighter to his baby brother.

"It's okay, Cassie. We're here. You can do it," he urged. Cas shook in Balthy's hold, eyes flickering as the demon tried to take over again. Tears streamed down Castiel's face.

"I can't! I…it's…" Balthazar cupped Castiel's tear stained cheek and pressed their foreheads together.

"You can. Fight the nightmare. Make it into something else. Save yourself. Save us." Balthazar smiled sadly at his baby brother. "You never could in your dreams. You had to watch us fall apart, but not anymore. Fight it, Cassie. Save us!"

"ENOUGH!" the demon shouted through Cas' lips. It shoved Balthazar away, sending the angel tumbling to the floor. The others watched on in horror, screaming with helplessness. Balthazar just forced himself back up, glaring at the demon. He forced himself towards it, but the demon held out a hand and Balthazar's entire body was hit with a shock wave of pain. He collapsed to the floor; eyes wide and mouth open in a silent scream. Breathing felt impossible. Each gasp he tried to pull in seemed to go nowhere. His heart felt like it was being shredded within his chest and his vision grew fuzzy and dark. The demon bent over his convulsing body and greeted the hurting angel with a sneer.

"Goodbye, Balthy," it growled, holding a hand over Balthazar's head. Balthazar waited for the end, but it didn't come. Instead a scream burst from Castiel's lips and the angel's eyes flicked back and forth between black and blue. Cas's body bent over, his arms wrapping around his stomach. Bright, white light bloomed from Cas' body, lighting up the room. His screams grew and soon black started to pool from the angel's mouth. The black in his eyes disappeared along with the black smoke that hightailed it out the nearest window.

Cas fell to his knees and the white light dimmed. The angel looked out over his family and burning home with fogged over blue eyes. He held up a hand and the flames instantly died. The doors and windows sprung open and smoke disappeared from the house. Castiel lowered his hand when finished and collapsed to the hard wood floor, body falling limp. Balthazar reached out for his baby brother, taking his hand before being pulled into darkness as well.