A/N: Cas, sorry about this, too...


Chapter 9

Dean slammed his shoulder against the door of the pen as hard as he could, over and over, shouting the entire time. It did no good; the padlock refused to give, and the chain links wouldn't yield. He could only watch, fury and fear flooding his heart, as the demonic Dobermans attacked his best friend with a vengeance.

"Cas! Get off him, you sons of bitches!"

The other demons were laughing, raucous and giddy with mad delight, as the Dobermans tore into Cas. The angel couldn't even get his feet under him, couldn't lift his head more than a foot off the ground, with how low they had secured the leash on the wall. His awkward attempts to bat the dogs aside didn't even slow them down. The two easily knocked him off his paws, double-teaming the fallen angel.

With the muzzle preventing Cas from biting or even barking, the only sound Dean could hear from his friend was a muffled, high-pitched cry of pain. The agonized yelps ripped into the hunter; there was no worse torture than watching this, unable to help.

"Cas!" he shouted again, banging against the cage once more. His eyes darted all around his pen, looking for something, anything, that might help him escape and run to the angel's aid. There was nothing. Across the aisle, even Captain was on his feet, an angry string of barking tearing from his throat.

Sinking down to his knees and clutching the kennel wire, Dean watched the scene with eyes burning, his vision blurring slightly but not enough to block out the horrific sight.

"Get him!" one of the demons cheered, all of them crowding around as the Dobermans pressed their advantage. Cas was on the ground, legs scrambling to roll over onto his side, but they weren't even giving him the chance to get off his back. One of the dogs slashed out with wicked claws, catching Cas's unprotected underbelly and scoring a deep gouge that left blood welling up to stain the white fur.

Again, the angel's yelp couldn't quite make it through the muzzle holding his mouth closed, but it was enough for Dean to feel like he himself was being ripped apart. The other Doberman had leaped in as well, obscuring the hunter's line of sight; everything was a flurry of fur and blood, with the sound of Cas's muffled cries blending into the laughter of the spectators.

"You cowards," Dean seethed, turning his head from the gruesome display of cruelty.

There was another yelp, but this time it had come from one of the demon dogs. Dean's head shot up. Even pinned down and outnumbered, bleeding from a half dozen places, the angel was still a fighter. Dean watched as Cas lunged as far forward as he could, the blunt end of the muzzle striking one of the Dobermans full in the face. It was enough to knock the dog backwards, whimpering.

"Yeah!" Dean shouted, pulling himself up slightly on the fence, hope rising. "Go, Cas! Fight 'em!"

He had no idea what the demon-dogs were saying to each other, the snarls and growls meaningless, but Dean could tell that they were pissed. The pair had backed off, giving Cas a moment to find his footing again; they were squared off now, all three low to the ground with ears fully down and back, hackles on full rise. There was a cold spark in Cas's brilliant blue eyes, promising that he wasn't going to let this be an easy fight.

Realistically, though, he was still at a major disadvantage. One of the Dobermans sprang in, distracting the angel, who tried to swipe at him. The second demon slid in the other side with jaws open wide, sinking his teeth into the back of Cas's neck.

This time, the yowl of pain was even louder than before, high and agonized behind the muzzle. Dean felt his heart stop, silently mouthing pleas for his friend to fight loose. The Doberman was unshakeable, though, snarling with vicious intent. He wrenched Cas back down to the floor by the scruff, leaving the other free to attack the angel's belly and flanks once again, teeth and claws slicing mercilessly into the angel.

Blood was starting to pool now, and Dean could see the thick, red stuff on the Dobermans' jaws and feet. His pulse quickened in fear for Cas; why weren't the wounds healing themselves? If the angel couldn't fly properly, did that mean… did that mean he couldn't heal himself, either?

"Stop!" Dean cried out, trying to reach fingers through the space in the chain links. "Stop, you're killing him!"

His shouts went unheeded. Trapped on his back, Cas couldn't do much to fight back, couldn't defend himself against the savage attack. Scores of jagged gashes covered his body, teeth marks dotting his fur as Cas whined repeatedly, so full of pain that Dean ached from the very sound.

Then, one paw lashed out—only one. Even in the dog's form, there had never been any who could match Cas's speed. The angel caught the Doberman mid-lunge, the beast's neck stretching towards him with the intent of sinking his teeth into the Husky, but the strike never landed home. Instead, with a horrific sound of tearing flesh and the gurgle of frothy blood, the Doberman fell to the floor.

Dean, along with the entire host of demons, froze and stared wide-eyed as the wounded dog thrashed and writhed on the ground, blood gushing from his gouged out throat. No one had expected that, and for good reason; demons weren't supposed to be that easy to kill. But it seemed that the demon was as vulnerable in this form as Cas was, because after a moment, the silent spasms turned into death throes, and the demon never got back up.

No one moved. Dean wanted to cheer, but even without a dog's senses, he could feel the fury sizzling in the air from the rest of the demons. He hoped Cas wasn't about to pay too dearly for that.

"What are you doing?" an irate voice demanded from the front of the room.

The crowd of demons jumped, and Dean's face darkened into a glare again as Meg stormed forwards. He had just opened his mouth to warn her in no uncertain terms to stay the hell away from Cas, when she snapped, "Quit screwing around and leave him alone, unless you're all hoping to die. He's still an angel, you morons. We're supposed to be watching for Sam! Now get that carcass out of here and get back to work!"

The four demons who had been watching scrambled to obey, two of them grabbing the dead Doberman by its limbs and hauling it towards the back. A bright red blood trail followed them, but at least it wasn't angel blood. The other demon-dog hadn't let go of Cas's neck yet, giving the angel a warning shake and a growl as Meg approached and knelt in front of them.

"What are you doing?" Dean demanded, straining to see around the demon. Her only response was a cool glower over her shoulder, but he could see that she was holding another leash in her hands.

"So you don't try using those super special claws to scratch your way out," she said to the angel, swiftly wrapping the leash around his forelimbs to lash them together. "We wouldn't want you running off, would we?"

Dean saw Cas try to twist away as Meg rubbed his furry head, a muffled protest barely audible through the muzzle. She only snickered, getting to her feet and turning back towards the front. The other Doberman finally let go, teeth stained red with Cas's blood. Dean winced at the myriad of wounds covering the angel's body, and the way he could only lay on the ground, sides heaving with the effort of his labored breaths.

For a second, Dean thought the demon dog would stay and attack again, now that Cas was even more tightly restrained. From the way it prowled around him, a low, continuous rumble in his throat, he was certainly considering it. Meg turned back towards him, frowning.

"You had your shot, tough guy," she snapped. "Get up here, I need your nose to help find the other Winchester."

The Doberman stood over Cas, growling something that Dean couldn't understand, then finally turned to trot back towards the front. He and Meg disappeared out the door, which swung closed with a heavy thud to leave the two captives with a brief reprieve.

For a second, the only sound in the room was the soft whimpering of frightened dogs all along both aisles, and Cas's tight, heavy breaths. Dean pushed himself into the corner of his cage, trying to see the front door. He didn't have a good view from this vantage, but after a quiet minute in which the demons didn't come bursting back, the hunter whirled to turn his attention to the angel.

"Cas!" he called out, praying to keep hearing those belabored gasps for air. As long as Cas kept breathing, he was still alive. "Cas, you with me, buddy?"

Of course the angel couldn't actually answer, but he heard Cas rustle slightly in reply, a soft whine from deep in his throat. Damn this cage! Dean hit the wire fence again in frustration, desperate to hurry to Cas's side. He needed to see the damage for himself, needed to start cleaning those wounds, needed to do something.

"I can't reach you," he growled. "How- how bad is it?"

The angel whined softly again. Dean winced, biting back a ferocious string of curses as Cas shuffled around inch by inch so he could see the hunter. With his front paws bound together, and the leash confining his head to a relatively small area of movement, and the wounds still oozing blood, it was obviously a painful challenge.

"Shit, Cas, don't try to move," Dean warned. The hunter's voice broke slightly, but for once he didn't even care about acting tough. "Just… take it easy, okay?"

Stubborn as ever, the warrior angel only huffed a bit, continuing to maneuver around so that his head was pointed in Dean's direction, then he collapsed down onto the dusty floor into a sticky pile of blood. The Husky's head lolled to the side, blue eyes falling closed. It had taken a toll just to move that far, Dean could see. His friend was breathing even harder now. On every few exhales, he shuddered, and the hunter prayed that nothing was broken.

Dean rubbed his face with one hand, watching Cas with a sick pit in his gut at what he'd just witnessed. "I'm gonna get you out of here, buddy," he murmured. "Are you… are you healing at all?"

The angel's eyes fluttered open and he met Dean's gaze. For a moment, he didn't move, but then his head bobbed up and down in an almost imperceptible nod. The hunter sat back on the ground of his cage, releasing a long breath of relief. Okay. That was something.

"Can you fly?" he asked. "Just enough to get out of that?"

This time, Cas sat up slightly—or struggled to, though with his paws tied together, the best he could do was lift his head off the ground. He was shaking his head, though, looking from the bloody gashes on his underbelly to Dean.

The hunter nodded understanding; Cas couldn't fly while using all his power to put himself back together.

"Okay…" he murmured, clearing his throat to get rid of the froggy sound betraying his distress. "Okay. Just heal. You were awesome, Cas, you really were. I'm gonna get us both out of here and then we're going to find Sam. We'll be alright."

If only Lucifer hadn't taken his phone away, damn it! Even though Dean knew his pockets would be empty, he couldn't help patting himself down just in case. The damn archangel had even gotten his pocketknife, though. So much for picking the lock.

"Wait!" Dean exclaimed, sticking his foot out in front of him. "I forgot! Please be there, please be there- yes!"

With a flourish and a grin, the hunter pulled his spare lockpick from his boot, kept for just such an occasion. Lucifer hadn't thought of everything! Cas picked his head up again, watching with interest, as Dean jumped to his feet and pushed the pick into the padlock of his kennel.

"Come on…" he grumbled under his breath, face tightening into intense concentration as he jimmied with the lock. "Come on, baby!" Dean stuck his tongue between his teeth, looking upwards and using only his sense of touch and years of practice at this. It took a few seconds, but before long there was a satisfying click, the padlock opening at last.

Grinning broadly, but biting back any exclamations of excitement, Dean pushed the fence door open, savoring the feel of freedom as he hurried out of his cage. There was a collective scrabbling from all the other pens as the dogs pressed closer to their own doors, though fortunately they still seemed to be too frightened to bark.

Dean's only thoughts were for Cas. He rushed to the angel's side, dropping down to his knees and reaching shaky hands out to hover over his friend, afraid to touch him lest he hurt the wounded warrior.

"Damn it," he whispered, seeing the horrible slashes—the flow of blood seemed to be slowing, at least. "Hang in there, buddy. Let me get you loose."

Cas whined, a soft, miserable sound, as he strained to push his head closer to Dean. The collar around his neck pulled tighter at the movement, but the angel just tilted his face up, eyes pleading for the hunter to get rid of the hated muzzle first. Dean nodded, fumbling to undo the straps that dug into Cas's face. The contraption fit like a sleeve over his snout, binding his mouth closed, so Dean had to tug a bit to get the damn thing off.

The angel didn't make a sound, but as soon as he was released from the muzzle, he opened and closed his mouth several times in evident relief to be free, tongue licking his snout. The leather had left his fur matted down where it had been cinched so tightly, and Dean had to wince in sympathy.

"There you go," he murmured, keeping his voice as low as possible so as not to draw attention from any demons that might have been lurking in the front room. "I've got you, buddy. Hold still… god, Cas, that was seriously badass, you know that, right?"

Cas let out a soft woof that Dean couldn't decipher, but he looked like he was smiling a bit. At least, as much as a dog could. He held still as Dean quickly unwound the leash from the angel's paws and threw it aside with an angry glare.

"Almost there." Again, the hunter grimaced as he unbuckled the collar they'd put him in, pulling it free and leaving it to dangle from the fence, still attached to the leash. He jumped up, glancing over his shoulder to make sure none of the demons were on their way to check on their prisoners. "Can you stand?"

The angel nodded his head, still working his mouth slightly, and pushed himself up onto his paws. He wobbled a bit, releasing a strangled whine that made Dean want to go out there and kill every single one of the bastards who'd done this to Cas. The angel's legs shook, almost giving out, so Dean grabbed him around the middle and held on tight, supporting his friend until Cas found his footing again and could stand on his own.

Looking up at him, Cas woofed in what Dean took to be quiet appreciation. The hunter nodded, but his eyes were busy roving the angel to determine the extent of the damage that had been done.

"Whoa… you look better already," he said, noting that the blood itself was mostly gone, leaving rust colored patches on the angel's furry coat. "We gotta go, Cas. Come on."

Dean hated that his friend couldn't have a bit of a rest, knowing that he'd just gone through a lot, but there just wasn't time. As long as he could walk, they needed to take advantage of that and get out. Cas was a soldier, though; he would understand. The dog nodded again, shaking himself out, but then looked back to where Captain was watching them silently.

Cas growled a bit, then turned his piercing gaze up at Dean. The hunter blinked. "What, Cas?"

Again, the angel looked at Captain, then at the other dogs in the other pens. Dean followed his gaze, then sighed in aggravation. "We don't have time-"

Cas cut him off with another growl. Trotting over to Captain's pen, he pawed at the padlock before turning to Dean expectantly.

Hell, it might give them a distraction, at least. It'd be harder for the demons scouting around outside to find their tracks and scents among all the others. Besides… Dean didn't really like dogs, but leaving this lot here with the demons was just wrong. Grumbling in agreement, the hunter hurried over to the kennel and pulled out his lockpick again. Somewhere down the line, one of the caged dogs yipped excitedly, rattling the fence, echoing through the otherwise silent pound.

"Hey!"

Dean and Cas both whipped around in alarm. The heavy door to the front room fell closed with a bang, the four demons rushing in with eyes full of threat and blackness.

"Shit, run, Cas!" Dean shouted. Maybe they could come back to free the other dogs later, but in the meantime they were outmatched and outnumbered. He and Cas turned, both bolting towards the back where a bright red sign heralded a much needed exit.

"Get back here! Stop him!"

Dean felt the powerful force slam into him from behind. There was no time to react; the hunter could see the wall approaching fast as he flew towards it, but he couldn't catch himself. The hard concrete was unforgiving and solid, and the last thing Dean heard was the meaty smack as he collided with it, before everything went dark.