I do not own Supernatural. Comments and critiques are welcome if you are so inclined. : )

Chapter 2

"The creature has been with the demons for nearly 2 years. They obtained it before the apocalypse, and when Lucifer rose Crowley put his plans on indefinite hold. However, now that things have settled down…" Castiel trailed off.

"The Old buzzard has started up with his plans again." Bobby finished.

Castiel nodded, "That is why only now this information has surfaced."

"So how do we kill it?" Dean asked, twirling the knife absently.

Cass pursed his lips, "It is my hope that between an angel blade and the demon blade, one or both will work. The information I have managed to gather is sorely lacking...if you choose to help me, you should know we will be going in practically blind."

Sam shrugged, "We've had worse. So where do we find this thing?"

"The creature is at an abandoned warehouse complex outside of Des Moines, Iowa. We have one advantage; Crowley does not know we have learned of this. The element of surprise is ours. There will still be plenty of demon spawn to fight through however, which is why I wished to enlist your aid."

"We're in." The three hunters chimed at once.

…..SUPERNATURAL

"Dag blasted fence. I can't see a damn thing!" Bobby grumbled as he squinted through the darkness. The hunter was trying to cut a hole in the wire fence surrounding Crowley's warehouse.

"Having some problems with your night vision in your old age…gramps?" Dean grinned behind him.

"Shut yer mouth ya idgit. There ain't anything wrong with my sight. But why in hell Castiel had to pick a moonless night to kill this thing is beyond me."

With one last cut, Bobby grunted in triumph. Sam and Dean grabbed the gaping wire and peeled it back. Sam slapped Bobby on the back and crawled through, "Element of surprise old man, element of surprise."

Dean followed suit, "C'mon Bobby, lighten up…We're like ninjas…this could be fun."

Bobbies only answer was to let loose a string of profanity under his breath as he crawled through.

The hunters righted themselves and looked around. Dean rocked back on his heels and hooked his thumbs into his pockets, "So…"

"Castiel said he'd scout out an entrance to let us in." Sam shrugged.

Bobby snatched up his hat, which had fallen off when he crawled through. He slapped it against his thigh, clearing the dust. "Yeah, well he could have beamed us INSIDE the fence before poofing out, don't ya think?"

The three hunters crouched low and ran toward the giant complex. Dean barely contained a yelp of surprise when Castiel materialized in front of him.

"Jeezus! What did I tell you about zapping in without warning?"

Catiels face remained impassive, "My name is Castiel Dean, I am of no relation to the prophet."

Sam jogged up to the two of them, followed by Bobby, "So did you find an entrance?"

"The south side is unguarded from the outside. I was able to unlatch the door. However, there are enochian sigils barring me from further action. You will have to dispense of them in order for me to assist."

Dean nodded, "So does your spidey-sense tell you anything about what we can expect once we're in?"

Cass tilted his head in puzzlement, "Arachnids did not assist me Dean. I sense at least a dozen demons scattered throughout the premises, and that of one being I have not encountered. I presume it to be our target."

"You know where it is?" Sam eyed the giant building, grimacing at its formidable size.

Castiel shook his head, "The sigils are skewing my perception. I expect it to become clearer once you dispense of them."

Bobby cocked his gun, "We gonna stand here yapping like a bunch of women all night, or are we going to get this done?"

SUPERNATURAL

Time had long since lost meaning. It seemed like it been an eternity since she had last seen the sun, the moon, the stars. There was only cold and dim artificial light now. She supposed it was better than the absolute darkness that had been her only company until recently. Then of course, there was the pain and black eyed cruelty that laughed in glee as it inflicted its many tortures over and over. Aiyla was so very tired.

SUPERNATURAL

"Where the hell are we heading Cass?!" Dean yelled across the room, wrestling a demon for Ruby's knife.

The angel warily circled another demon who had managed to acquire an angel blade. "North! The presence emanates from the North!"

"Goddammit, of course we had to pick ourselves the southernmost entrance of this giant ass complex!" Bobby shouted, splashing holy water into the face of a demon. Sam took advantage of the Demon's distracted howl of pain. He approached it from behind and recited an exorcism in a flurry of Latin. The demon screamed in fury, smoking out and whirling high into the rafters, before disappearing from sight.

Dean finally managed to break the demon's hold and wasted no time plunging the knife into the demon's chest. He yanked the blade out as fast as he had thrust it in and tossed it to Sam. Sam caught it and whirled to plunge it into the heart of another demon who rapidly approached from his flank.

Castiel reappeared behind his own foe, choke holding it with one arm as he reached around and smited it with his free hand.

Dean sagged against a grimy cement beam, breathing hard. "That's six demons we've done in so far…six to go." He held his left side, grimacing against the burning pain of a knife wound.

Sam gasped as he rammed his right shoulder against another beam, popping it back into its socket. "Not including our mystery monster at the end."

Castiel approached Bobby, who bled heavily from a gash on his forehead. "I will clear the way. I sense five of the six gathered several hallways down. He touched a hand to the old hunter's forehead.

"Oh goody, more hallways. This place is a fricken' maze. I feel like a goddamned hamster lookin' for the big cheese." Bobby raised his hand to his head, feeling the newly healed flesh in approval.

Cass approached Dean next. "Find the creature; I'll join you as soon as I finish dispensing with the demons. If you get the chance, kill it." He healed Dean and then disappeared.

Sam picked up the angel blade one of the demons had dropped, "Time to find the cheese."

SUPERNATURAL

Aiyla's screams of agony had lost their piercing resonance long ago. Her voice was almost nonexistent. Her vocal cords had been pushed beyond all endurance. She could barely manage a whimper now. If she had to guess, she had been here for roughly a week…but it was difficult to judge time when trapped within in a cold, unnatural place of metal and concrete. She missed the cool touch of a breeze on her skin and the glittering softness of moonlight on water. She longed to feel earth beneath her feet and hear the gentle melody of birdsong. She would gladly die for just a few moments to feel the sun heating her skin.

There had been three of them so far…her tormentors. The first had been a shuffling grandmother with a sewing basket nestled in the crook of her arm. She had smelled of gingersnap cookies and sulphur, and looked like she would enjoy knitting by a warm fire with a cat nestled at her feet. It turned out the only thing she had enjoyed knitting was sick patterns into Aiyla's thighs.

The next was a cherub cheeked little girl no more than six years old. She trailed a jump rope behind her and chewed on a licorice stick. However, this child did not jump with the rope; she snapped it with inhuman strength until Aiyla's back was a roadmap of bloody lacerations.

Yesterday a middle aged man wearing wire rimmed glasses, a tweed suit and bowtie arrived. Under one arm, he had carried a crisp new book. He didn't bother to read it. Instead, he tore out page after page and sliced her arms deeper than she ever thought mere paper could manage. All 398 pages worth. She had counted.

Each tormenter was different, and yet all so very similar. Every one sported the black soulless eyes of the damned and a unique penchant for cruelty that knew no bounds. After each torture session Crowley appeared. He tempted her with his deceptively soothing gruff voice and buttery smooth promises of no more pain; of sunshine and clean air and beautiful things. She had only to cooperate and allow him her soul. He called her Child of the Triad. She didn't know what that meant, but Crowley obviously believed it made her soul very special. She refused his offer after every encounter. But it was getting harder to say no and that terrified Aiyla as nothing else could. Pressing her cheek to the cold cement floor she lay on, Aiyla thought back over the past two years…

She had just barely turned seventeen when he had taken her from everything she held dear. At first he had been cordial, placing her in a beautiful room with beautiful things and telling her lie after lie about only wanting to keep her safe and needing her help. She saw right through his deception. Ever since she was a child, she had been able to detect deceit. To her, falsehoods were almost tangible in form. She could physically taste the acrid bitterness that deceit and pretense shed in her presence. After several weeks of her refusals, Crowley snapped. He snatched her by the hair and marched her to the edge of a large cylindrical concrete pit, threatening to leave her there until she submitted to his demands. She refused again. He made good on his promise, throwing her into the dark cavity. And there she'd stayed for almost a year and a half.

At first, he came weekly to ask her if she was ready to give him her soul…but then after a month or so Crowley went into hiding…and he forgot about her. Her only companion was a demon caretaker named Antoinette who occasionally remembered to provide Aiyla with food and water. Antoinette was as sadistic as any demon…however she also kept Aiyla from slipping into insanity. Demons did not take well to boredom and monotony, and Aiyla quickly realized Antoinette was not happy babysitting the Child of the Triad.

When the bored demon was not busy venting her frustration by beating on Aiyla, she would pass the time talking incessantly. Aiyla was convinced Antoinette was in love with the sound of her own voice. But Aiyla found some comfort in the times Antoinette would spin tales and relay news of the outside world. It was through Antoinette that Aiyla learned of the apocalypse and Crowley's subsequent fall from rank. She had smiled when Antoinette fretted he had been forced deep underground to avoid Lucifer's wrath. She had waited for the apocalypse with a feverish hope…having realized her only escape from this earthly hell would be through death. But even death was denied to her. The apocalypse was derailed, Antoinette told her, by two brothers, a fallen angel, and an old drunk. Antoinette spoke of them often, and always with contempt. But beneath the demon's bitter hatred of the heroes, Aiyla detected a deep seated fear and grudging respect. With Lucifer back in the pit, Antoinette spoke excitedly of Crowley's new position as king of hell. Still, months went by and Crowley never came. Aiyla began to think he had forgotten her, and she was doomed to spend eternity listening to Antoinette drone on and on. Then, just last week, the Hell King renewed his interest in her.

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