A/N: Did you guys wait long? *ducks from hurled stones*Sorry about that. I noticed that there were a lot of mistakes and details lacking in the first chapter, since I kinda posted it hot off the press (won't happen again) and I had to edit some things- w/c you may or may not notice if you bother to go back and read. So I made sure that this time, everything would be all smooth for you guys to enjoy.

I know, I know…enough with the ramble, on with the story…

"Cas?" He called out, eyes picking out various shapes on the ground, then looking expectantly up, remembering that the angel was the last he saw before everything went black...

His gaze landed on something tan and disheveled a few feet away.

It was a someone. All bloody and wounded...and dead. He was on his stomach with his face to the side, scarlet pooling beneath him. Blue, blue eyes staring blankly into the horizon.

Fuck.

"CAS!"

Dean half ran, half stumbled in a hurry over to where the heap of brown trench coat was; suddenly praying frantically to a God who he despised,that the bastard was actually fine and was just playing a sick joke on him.

But his brain was telling him otherwise. After every hunt and massacre and bloodshed he and Sam had been through, a single glance was enough to tell him if someone was already a gonner.

Screw common sense! He thought furiously, screaming back at the little voice inside his head that was insisting on something he didn't want to accept. Couldn't ever accept. Cas was a fucking Angel of the Lord! Definitely not human, therefore definitely not included in the list of the easily killed off. He was the one who yanked him out of hell for chrissakes! Hadn't he brought him and Sam back to life more than once? Without dying?

The hunter reached Castiel in a flurry of dust, falling carelessly on his knees beside the still angel.

"C'mon Cas, buddy. I'm here…c'mon man, quick fucking around and get the fuck up…" he said, grasping the angel by the shoulders and twisting him so that he was now facing Dean completely. The hunter tried to pull on a smile –even if it felt like he'd rather chew off his arm- just in case the bastard really was joking around. Trying to convince himself that all this shit wasn't really happening.

But it was futile. The half-assed smile slowly turned into a scowl, as the seconds ticked by and Castiel was still unmoving.

He couldn't even hear the words that were tumbling from his mouth anymore. The words kept coming and coming like an endless fountain. An odd ringing filled his ears as the image of Castiel, bloody and limp on the ground filled his vision, like thick, wet paint spreading and saturating itself on a once immaculate canvas. His body quivered from all the mixed emotions bottled up. Emotions which were now threatening to burst from its tightly sealed container.

Sadness and pain welled up in his chest, almost suffocating him. The heavy weight of guilt pressed at him from all sides, making him want to vomit his guts out. Regret filled his being to the very brim…

All these swirled inside him like dangerous storm…yet there was one feeling that stood above the rest-

Anger. Treacherous anger that gripped him mercilessly. Anger with himself. About God. About fate and destiny. About why all this was fucking happening to him. The fury rumbled in his chest, growing larger…hotter…churning like an endless furnace. From his innermost depths he could feel it rising…higher and higher…now accompanied by yet another element he couldn't identify…

All of a sudden, he was seized by an unknown force; his head tilted towards the sky, body going completely rigid, his eyes and mouth opened wide as a brilliant light illuminated from within him. A dull ache mapped itself across his back, settling on his shoulder blades; intensifying…deepening… until it felt like several rusty knives were carving the fucking world map simultaneously into his very skin.

And there it was…amidst his suffering…Castiel's voice, a ray of light; Rough, and low and soothing…telling him that this pain was only momentary. That this was for the best. That he was sorry. That this was all for him. That everything had always been for him. Only for him…

The agony seemed to go on and on for what seemed like an eternity…and then, just as abruptly as it began, it suddenly stopped.

Dean opened his eyes, still panting from the now non-existent pain, looked at his trembling hands- and choked back a scream, as his gaze landed on white, pristine feathers…huge feathers that were scattered on either side of him; some of the smaller ones drifting off, carried by a gust of wind.

At first he thought they belonged to the still unmoving angel, but was rather shocked when he realized that the feathers originated from a huge pair of wings…that were emerging quite obviously from either side of his back.

A whole new wave of sorrow crashed over Dean Winchester, as realization hit him like a rock. He was dead. And was supposed to remain dead. Until Cas gave up his very grace to save a useless piece of shit like him.

He gripped the angel tightly, wrapping his arms around the frail body, burying his face in the dark, unruly hair; his massive wings automatically shrouding them both, shielding them from the dark, ugly world that lay in waste before them.

His once unbreakable armor…had finally shattered into a billion pieces.

"I'm sorry..." Dean said weakly, lips trembling as tears streamed freely down his face; body shaking uncontrollably from the sobs he tried so hard to hold back.

"I'm sorry…so sorry Cas, oh god. I'm sorry." He whispered over and over again, embracing the angel tighter, pulling him even closer, if that were possible, unconsciously rocking him back and forth to a silent lullaby… not giving a fuck about angel blood now smeared all over his front.

He wanted to yell until his lungs gave out. Wanted to set anything and everything ablaze with the rage that was eating him alive…wanted to escape this horrible nightmare…to awaken on a motel bed, alarmed at his personal space being invaded, with deep blues gazing intensely at him; calming him…telling him that all was just fine. He wanted to hear that voice once more…assuring him repeatedly that things would be taken care of.

Hours had passed. The tears had dried up. The blood had turned brown and crusty. Dean now lay beside the deceased angel, still cradling him. He had run through everything he knew. His mind scanning the numerous dusty pages he had gone through before. He knew a lot of things. And he suddenly regretted having to know too much. Because it hurt like hell when he knew that there were some things that couldn't ever be fixed.

There was no mistaking it this time, no matter what he did. Cas wasn't off on some mission. He wasn't even dragged off to heaven by his brothers, which would have been loads better. The hunter thought bitterly, biting his lower lip until it bled; digging his fingers deep into the dirt as the figure of huge black wings imprinted clearly on the ashen ground where Cas lay, burnt itself forever into his memory.

Consciousness wafted through him like smoke. Weaving…curling…winding… urging him to rouse. He slowly became aware of thunder rolling above him; the scent of charred wood and…something like flesh filled his nostrils; stirring an impending migraine in his already tender head.

His eyes were closed; lids feeling too heavy to bother opening. But it was hot. Too hot for him to remain lying there face down, with the hard dirt cutting into his skin; tiny pebbles digging into the hollow of his cheek. He could feel the sweat dripping generously from everywhere; trickling down his forehead…his back…his thighs; making his hair stick on his face; stinging tiny wounds he didn't know he had. Probably scratches from the god-awful ground he was using as a bed right now.

Ah…fuck this. He thought. At least he was still alive, and still, apparently whole-he added to himself, absentmindedly checking if he was missing any of his limbs.

He didn't even know how he got here…wherever here was. He would have bothered to check though, if he wasn't feeling so damned tired and lazy at the moment.

Halfway through his idle musings, he sensed something stir… heard something stir. It was an odd sound though. One moment it would be like a low and guttural hum…and then it would turn into wild and erratic…gasping?

In all honesty, he wouldn't have minded and would have remained where he was for all eternity, if it wasn't for that something, which started to sound like it was actually trying to speak.

"Huuuuh…"

He squeezed his lids tightly…not wanting to be bothered by the little fucker.

"H-huuu…"

The thing sounded very old…and for some reason, very scared. He thought, amazed at his own observation, even with his eyes closed.

The something somehow brushed against his nose. It was apparently closer than he thought….and apparently filthier than he thought. It felt cold, clammy…grimy even. And the scent of decaying flesh began to smother him.

Before the thing had a chance to utter a sound again, he finally decided to crack his eyes open…

…only to let cry of terror erupt from his lips.

The thing…was a head, sticking out from the cracked earth. It could have been human once, but it was far from that now. Slimy, gray flesh stretched tightly across its misshapen features. Gashes covered its wide forehead, some were fresh, some held tightly together by thick black cords in the form of stitches. Its huge lidless eyes were sunken; pupils constricted into tiny little dots, several miniscule veins formed a map across its sclera, covering most of the supposedly white areas. Its mouth was stretched impossibly wide…so wide that the corners of its lips were torn severely, almost reaching its ears. Shreds of flesh ran vertically from its upper down to its lower lip; not letting its mouth open any further, every time it moaned.

He scrambled to his knees as fast as he could as he stared at it in shock.

"H-H-uu…" it continued to struggle, looking at him pleadingly.

He blinked, suddenly feeling sorry for the creature.

"H-heeeeeeeeeelp!" it finally managed to groan out, its voice, tired and grating from the effort.

"I…I…" he stuttered, at a loss for words. Help? Help how?

The thing was stuck from the neck down in the freaking ground! And whoever…whatever put it there made sure that there was no way in hell it was getting out easily.

He watched in pity as the thing tortured itself, twisting as much as it could, eyes still glued to his; its face contorting into what seemed like unbearable pain.

"D-doooown…" it slurred, eyes looking downward, widening even more…looking frantically at something he couldn't see. "…eat…eaaat meeee…"

Thought it wasn't that clear to him, it was quite easy to put two and two together by looking at the creature's terrified expression, and the words it spoke. He decided that he would give the poor thing a shot.

He inched closer to the head, and when he got close enough, he flexed his clawed hands gingerly, stuck his talons on the mound near the thing's neck, and started to dig.

When he finally got a glimpse of the grey skin of the thing's shoulder, the ground began to quake…

"P-pleeeeaaase…!" the creature, obviously frightened by now, began to struggle; heaving and stretching for all it was worth.

A deep rumbling came from below…building up with every shake of the trembling earth; cracks began to appear a few feet away, adding more lines to the already rough terrain, like a many headed snake, slithering at increasing speed towards them.

His tail lashed back and forth, twitching nervously as the sudden urge to make haste right the fuck now dawned on him. He put his back into it, pulling out bigger chunks of dirt and rocks, feeling like his spine would pop any second.

"Damn, you owe me big time…" he muttered under his breath; panting, tasting sweat on his lips.

Just as the thing's skinny, almost skeletal arm shot out; reaching to grab on to him, a deafening roar exploded. The thing gave him one last, desperate look, before disappearing beneath the surface in the blink of an eye.

A/N: Hmmm…Poor, poor Dean. Do you think I made him suffer too much? *smiles evilly* I think you guys know who's perspective was used in the last part. Anyhoo, how was this chapter? Did it make you feel like yer heart was wrenched out or anything like that? I wanna know, so go ahead and tell meh! I love the comments!

See ya guys in...about a week! ^_~