You'll recognize the start of this from Changing Channels. Just the set up is the same, though, an a bit of dialogue. The rest is mine

For almost a week Sam and Dean tried to figure out anything that might lead them to how Spencer had been taken from the panic room. The kid had been brought their by them, put under their protection, and somehow they'd managed to lose him. That was bad enough. What made it worse was knowing that whatever had taken him was strong enough to slip in past all the wards on the property, past the wards on the panic room itself, and actually take him out of there. What on earth had that kind of strength?

There was one thing that they could think of, but neither one wanted to. It was, quite frankly, terrifying.

"Besides," Dean said, his tone clearly one of someone grasping at straws. "If Lucifer was gonna sneak in and kidnap anyone, don't you think he'd try going for you, not the kid?"

As far as reassuring things went, that fell pretty far from the mark.

But there was only so long they could devote to trying to hunt down their renegade nephilim. Finding him was important – it was extremely important – but there was still an apocalypse they had to stop. If Spencer really had been taken by Lucifer, there really wasn't anything that they could do, nor was there any way they could stop whatever Lucifer would use him to do. Castiel was insistent that they had no idea the amount of sheer power Spencer would be able to command if he put his mind to it. The only thing they could do was keep hunting, keep looking for Spencer, keep trying to stop the apocalypse any way they could, and hope to a God that wasn't listening that the world didn't explode.

Bobby was in agreement with them and sent them out on the first case he could find. Privately, Sam wondered if maybe the older hunter just wanted his home and privacy back for a little while.

That was how they ended in Wellington, Ohio, at the local police station investigating the death of a local man who had, it would seem, his head ripped off.

The officers weren't exactly pleased with the presence of 'FBI agents' on their case. That was kind of normal, Sam had learned over the years, and he didn't let it bother him. Though sometimes it could get just a bit annoying. Especially in moments like right now as the police officer looked him over with an expression that show pretty clearly what he thought of them in their fancy suits. "Once more time," The man said, annoyance vibrating over his voice. "…the FBI is here, why, exactly?"

"Might have something to do with one of your locals getting his head ripped off." Dean said, tactful as ever.

The officer looked like he was doing everything he could not to roll his eyes at them. "Bill Randolph died from a bear attack."

A bear attack. Sam exchanged a brief look with his brother. They were pretty used to civilians making up excuses for the supernatural things that they came across but, wow, that was quite a stretch for this case. "How sure are you that it was a bear?" Sam couldn't resist asking.

That earned him a strange look. "What else would it be?"

"Well, whatever it was it chased Mr. Randolph through the woods, smashed through his front door followed him up the stairs, and killed him in his bedroom." Dean said dryly. "Is that common, a bear doing all that?"

The officer shrugged. "Depends how pissed off it is, I guess." He must've seen something on their faces because he sighed and his voice suddenly attempted to sound placating, though he really just came off as patronizing. "Look, the Randolphs live way up in high country. You got trout runs to make a grown man weep. And bears."

"Right." Sam said. They weren't going to get anything else out of this guy. "Now, what about Mrs. Randolph? The file says she saw the whole thing."

"Yes, she did. My heart goes out to that poor woman."

Dean arched an eyebrow at the officer. "She said bear."

There was a brief moment of hesitation. "Kathy Randolph went through a hell of a trauma. She's confused."

"What did she say?" Sam asked.

The Hulk.

This woman thought her husband had been killed… by the Hulk.

Sam would've laughed at it if he hadn't gone out to the house to take a look. What he found there – he'd seen some strange things in his time and this was definitely going on the list.

Dean was sitting with the laptop when Sam came in the door. He looked up at him as he came in. "Hey. Find anything?"

Shutting the door behind him, Sam made his way over towards the table where his brother was sitting. He didn't bother joining him, though, he just stood there and looked down at him. "Well, uh, I saw the house."

"And?"

A half-laugh slipped out and Sam sort of wanted to shake his head. He knew how Dean was going to react to this. "And there is a giant eight-foot-wide hole where the front door used to be. Almost like, uh…"

"…a Hulk-sized hole." Dean finished for him.

"Maybe." Nodding his head towards the laptop, Sam asked "What do you got?"

"Well, it turns out that Bill Randolph had quite the temper. He's got two counts of spousal battery, bar brawls, and court-ordered anger management sessions." He looked up and Sam knew what was going to come out of his mouth before the older Winchester even said it. He knew Dean's sense of humor far too well. Sure enough, the older Winchester chuckled and grinned at him with that stupid little boy smirk he got when he thought he was being funny. "You might say you wouldn't like him when he's angry."

Ignoring his brother's rather special sense of humor, Sam let things roll through his mind. He was slowly starting to get an idea here. "So a hothead getting killed by TV's greatest hothead." Oh…oh, hell. "Kinda sounds like just desserts, doesn't it?" He ignored Dean's snort and shook his head as the pieces of the puzzle in his mind clicked into place. "It's all starting to make sense."

"How is it starting to make sense?" Dean demanded.

"Well, I found something else at the crime scene." From his pocket, Sam pulled out a bunch of crumpled up candy wrappers and let them drop to the table. "Candy wrappers. Lots of them."

Sam walked away and started to pull off his coat as he listened to his brother slowly piece together what Sam had realized. "Just desserts, sweet tooth, screwing with people before you kill 'em—we're dealing with the Trickster, aren't we?" Dean pushed up to his feet and turned so that he could face Sam.

"Sure looks like it." Setting down his coat, Sam looked back at his brother.

"Good. I've wanted to gank that mother since Mystery Spot."

For a second Sam hesitated, not quite sure what to say or what to do. He knew what he wanted to do but he also knew that Dean wasn't going to like it. Still, he had to try. This was the end of the world they were talking about here. He couldn't afford to let his worries over upsetting his brother get in the way. He'd already upset Dean plenty enough. What was a little more for the greater good? "You sure?"

"Yeah I'm sure." Dean said immediately, tone and face both saying a clear 'what the hell, Sam?'

"No, I mean are you sure you wanna kill him?"

That definitely had Dean's attention. "Son of a bitch didn't think twice about icing me a thousand times."

Memories flashed in Sam's mind and he had to fight not to shudder. Even if he could look back on that time now and see it clearer, clear enough to know what it was that the Trickster had been trying to do, it didn't take away from the nightmares that he still had sometimes. Mystery Spot had taken Sam's greatest fears and laid them right out there in front of him. Not just Dean's multiple deaths, but the months that never were, the time without his brother that had given him his first glimpse into the kind of monster that he could really be without Dean at his side. Sometimes Sam thought he could hate the Trickster for showing him that part of himself. Sometimes he thought he hated himself more for not listening while he still had the chance.

Pushing back the memories, Sam had to fight to keep his voice steady and his expression clear; that was in the past. "No, I know, I mean, I'm just saying…"

"What are you saying?" Dean cut in. "If you don't want to kill him, then what?"

"Talk to him?"

His brother looked like Sam had slapped him. "What?"

"Think about it, Dean." Sam said, spreading his hands out in entreaty. He needed Dean to hear him on this. "He's one of the most powerful creatures we've ever met. Maybe we can use him."

"For what?" Dean demanded.

Was he serious? Sam understood that Dean didn't like the guy, though personally the younger Winchester thought it might be because the two were just a little too alike, but couldn't Dean see past that just for a moment? Sam tapered down his annoyance and put on his best convincing voice that he had. "Okay, Trickster's like a Hugh Hefner type, right? Wine, women, song—maybe he doesn't want the party to end. Maybe he hates this angels-and-demons stuff as much as we do. Maybe he'll help us."

Dean stared at him. "You're serious." He said slowly.

"Yeah."

"Ally with the Trickster."

He tried not to flinch. "Yeah."

"A bloody, violent monster, and you wanna be Facebook friends with him?" A sneer curled his lip. "Nice, Sammy."

He refused to rise to the bait. Holding his ground, Sam met his brother's eyes. He wasn't going to let Dean pick an argument and distract him from this. "The world is gonna end, Dean. We don't have the luxury of a moral stand. Look, I'm just saying it's worth a shot. That's all. If it doesn't work, we'll kill him."

Sighing, Dean shook his head, and Sam knew he'd won. "How are we gonna find the guy, anyway?"

"Well, he never takes just one victim, right? He'll show." Once he did, they'd figure out some way to talk to him, to convince him to help them. They needed all the help they could get.

Sam's predictions proved true. It wasn't much later that they heard a call over the scanner that seemed to fit what they were waiting for. As soon as they heard the call to send everyone, that the officer couldn't even begin to describe what it was he was seeing, the two Winchesters armed themselves with regular weapons and their stakes, just to be safe, and they set out to the address on the scanner. They were as prepared as they could be to talk to the Trickster and to, if he wasn't willing to talk, try and deal with him. Not that any of their past attempts to take him out had proved effective so far.

Only, when they arrived at the warehouse, it was immediate right from the start that something was up. The two hunters climbed out of the impala and looked around the empty area with identical looks of suspicion. "There was a murder here, and there's no police cars?" Dean said slowly, eyes scanning around them. "There's nobody. How's that look to you?"

"Crappy." More than crappy. A bad feeling was building.

It didn't stop the two from getting their things from the trunk, though. They'd walked into crappy situations before – and into plenty of traps, which this admittedly had all the makings of. Their job made it kind of impossible for them to walk away from these things. Even if they weren't here to try and talk to the Trickster, they'd still have to go in. If he wouldn't help them, his tricks still had to be stopped. If they didn't handle it, who would? This was their job.

Armed with stakes and flashlights, the two made their way inside the warehouse.

What they found inside wasn't at all what they expected.

It was dark when they first went in, dark enough that they had to turn on their flashlights almost immediately, which made no sense because it was daylight outside. The bad feeling in Sam's stomach grew as his flashlight flicked on and he found himself staring at a place that most definitely wasn't the inside of a warehouse. It looked like…like a giant forest. Immediately he turned around, only to see that the door they'd just come through was gone. He turned himself to look at his brother, who was also looking around. "What the hell, dude. Where'd the door go?" Dean demanded. He looked at the trees all around them and then back at Sam. "What the hell?"

"I don't know." Sam said slowly.

"No, seriously – what the hell? Weren't we just in a warehouse?"

Reaching out, Sam waved his hand where the door should have been and only came up with just air. There was nothing there. Nothing at all. So, this wasn't just an illusion then. Alternate dimension? Another loop like the one he'd set Sam in before? The thought of that made him feel a little sick. Unconsciously, he scooted just the slightest bit closer to his brother. It wasn't like he'd really be able to stop it if anything were to happen to Dean. The Trickster had proved that time and time again at the Mystery Spot. Nothing Sam had ever done had managed to save Dean. But the younger Winchester couldn't help the need to be close to Dean anyways. Even knowing he couldn't stop anything didn't keep him from wanting to try.

His brother wasn't blind. Dean noticed the way that Sam inched towards him and it only served to send his temper up even more. This bastard had screwed with Sam one too many times. The hell if Dean was going to let it happen again. "C'mon." He said, clapping a hand on Sam's shoulder to get his attention. He used his flashlight to point ahead to a break in the trees where it looked like a small path sat—the only one in sight. "I've got a feeling we're supposed to head that way."

"Probably." Sam agreed.

The two set off towards the trail together. There wasn't much else they could do. They were in the Trickster's world here, for whatever purpose he planned. Just standing around doing nothing wasn't going to get them anywhere.

If Sam walked in a way to make sure that he kept his big brother in sight, or if Dean stayed just a bit closer than normal, neither one of them commented on it. They both walked the trail with the thought that what was waiting at the end was most likely going to be something dangerous, and potentially insane. What they hadn't expected was for the trees to open up suddenly and reveal a rocky, sandy inlet bracketed by two giant cliffs, with ocean stretching out in the distance – and the Trickster sitting atop a giant rock right in the middle of the beach.

He'd set his stage here sort of perfectly. In an absent sort of way, Sam had to admire the being's sense of dramatics. His seat on the rock put him dead center on the beach, with the two cliffs coming out on either side to frame the horizon perfectly behind him, showcasing the crashing waves as well as the dark clouds that were building out over the ocean. It was a very well set up display that served to put Sam and Dean both even more on edge. That feeling only grew as the Trickster grinned broadly at them and flung his hands out to either side. "Winchesters! Welcome to my little island paradise! Do you like?" He drew his hands back in and rested his elbows on his knees, his hands dangling free. "I made it just for you."

Sam kept careful watch on those hands. Most trouble was brought about by a snap of his fingers. Even if they were too far away to stop him, it was better to be prepared.

"Great, gorgeous." Dean answered him, his voice a low growl that clearly showed just how annoyed and fed up he already was. "Now how do we get out of here?"

"Leaving so soon?" One of the Trickster's hands came up to rest over his heart in a horribly faked expression of offense. "Deano! That hurts my feelings. I worked so hard on this for you."

Oh, yeah, that doesn't sound ominous at all, Sam thought to himself. He pushed back the worry and instead reached out and laid a hand on Dean's arm, a silent request to let him handle this. When his brother stayed quiet, Sam took a small step forward. "We aren't here to mess with you or anything like that. We just, we want to talk to you. We need your help."

The Trickster tapped a finger against his lips. "Hm, let me guess." Drawing his hand out, he pointed out towards them. "You two muttonheads broke the world, and you want me to sweep up your mess."

"Please." Sam said. "Just five minutes. Hear us out."

For a moment the Trickster just looked at him and Sam hoped with everything he had that it meant the creature was actually thinking about what he said. Then his expression melted into that familiar smirk, the one that said he'd already caused trouble and was planning to cause so much more, and Sam braced himself for whatever was coming. But the Trickster didn't snap, didn't do anything. He just kept smirking as he told them "You know, I first started to set this up to show you bozos how to play your roles. I had this whole, awesome TV Land thing planned out. I mean, it was beautiful! But, then I realized there was a much more important lesson for you to learn."

Sam and Dean shared a quick 'oh shit' look. "Oh yeah?" Dean said with as much false bravado as he could. "And what's that?"

The Trickster's smirk grew wider. Deliberately, he ignored Dean's question and he clapped his hands together. "I tell you what, boys. You manage to survive my little game, then we'll talk. Until then," He hopped up to his feet and spread his arms wide. "Welcome to Survivor: Trickster Edition! Hosted by none other than yours truly – Loki!" In a move that was far more graceful than Sam would've credited him with, the Trickster—Loki, it would seem—jumped down off the rock and landed nimbly on his feet. "Oh, but wait, we can't forget our special guest star!"

He snapped his fingers and the brothers both startled as Castiel came crashing into the sand between them. Dean immediately lunged forward. "Cas!"

Loki's grin was both amused and mocking. "Aw, how adorable. Glad you could join us, Cassie! I was hoping you'd be here. Good of you to follow along like the little stalker you are. It makes our casting complete. Now, the fun can begin." Taking a step back, the Trickster looked from one face to the next. Castiel and Dean were pushing up from the sand and Dean was drawing Castiel back, bringing him back towards Sam. When Loki snapped, they all startled, but nothing seemed to happen. At least, not that they noticed. But Loki was still smiling so it must've done something. "Let's see how well you three can play." The Trickster said. "You're in my own little reality, safe from pretty much everyone and everything. There's no escape, no rescue. You've got no tools, no weapons, no supplies – and no powers." The last bit he directed at Castiel, though both hunters startled. He'd taken Castiel's powers? When they turned back to Loki, the trickster just laughed. "Have fun!" he called out.

With a snap, he was gone.