A/N: Thanks again for such a wonderful response ^_^ There's nothing to make a day better than to hear from you wonderful people!

CastielLover: Hahaha, he was such a great dog! But, one of them needed to be able to work a car and a phone, haha XD

Youya: Thanks for reviewing... if Gabriel gets the chance, he'll make quick work of them, that's for sure!


Chapter 11

Sam was getting hungrier, or the squirrels were calling more attention to themselves. He turned his back on one that was chittering at him from a high vantage point, tucked into one of the truck beds on a stacked pile of cars in the junkyard. It was the safest place they could think of to wait while Dean went and broke the Impala out of the impound lot, but Sam would have felt better if it was the familiar yard at Bobby's house. Even with the cover of the evening twilight, he still felt exposed.

"This… is… so… cool!" Zorro half barked, half whimpered yet again as he ran a quick circle around Cas. The angel was watching him with an expression of bafflement and discomfort, trying to trade stories with Sam in between the Chihuahua's rapid fire babbling.

"-by now, of course, I'm certain that Lucifer has been told of our escape. We can't stay in one place for too long," Cas went on. Sam nodded agreement, as did Zorro.

"Lucifer, ah he's bad juju, man… are you gonna fight him? Are you gonna kill him? He's still sorta like your hermano though, no? I've heard his wings look like BATS, those little fuzzy flying rat things, you know? Is it true? Hey, does he-"

"No," Cas replied with a short huff. "His wings are the most beautiful of all the angels', but brother or not, I won't let him harm this world."

"I can't believe those demons made you fight them," Sam growled, joining Zorro briefly so he could walk around the angel himself once, inspecting his friend for injuries. He'd absorbed the angel's story with alarm and anger, though it had taken quite a bit of prodding to get the whole truth of what the demons had done to him. "Dean said you were hurt, let me see how bad it is."

Cas gave him a look, and though the fierce gaze implied exasperation, Sam could detect a whiff of fondness. "I'm healed now. It took a little longer than it should have, but they weren't able to do any lasting damage."

"Good. We can't lose you, Cas."

The angel looked away for a moment. "Unfortunately, I don't seem to be as useful in this form. The sooner we can kill the goddess, the faster I can be helpful again."

"What?" Sam stared at his friend in dismay. Was that what Cas thought? "No… Cas, that's not what I meant. If the demons had killed you… god, Dean and I would be a wreck. It'd be like losing Bobby. Dude, you're FAMILY, we don't care if you're at full power or nearly human."

Cas paused, eyes coming back to regard the hunter. Even Zorro had fallen quiet, looking back and forth between the two of them with tail wagging at full speed. Sam held the angel's gaze, until finally Cas relented with a soft sigh. "Oh. Well… I'm, um… still here. I'm just relieved you managed to escape Lucifer yourself."

Sam gave him a nod, satisfied that he'd made his point, and that whatever wounds the angel had taken at the hands of those cowards were truly healed. Of course, the demons should have realized that taking on an angel—even if they'd tied and muzzled him—could only end badly.

Resisting the urge to chase that damn squirrel, however, was getting more and more difficult, especially when his stomach rumbled. The nattering rodent would at least make a couple of mouthfuls, long enough to get him through until they could kill Circe…

"So how many angels are there? Are you the most badass? Cause you seem kinda badass. Can they all turn into dogs or was that an accident? Are you staying on Earth now? I thought angels stayed up in the clouds, or at least that's what the pug across the street told me once, and-"

Sam had to smile a bit at the restraint Cas was obviously working very hard to maintain in the face of Zorro's continuous chatter. He had to admit it was a relief to hear the familiar rumble of the Impala rolling into the impound lot, though. He'd been putting up with Zorro all day. While the little dog's heart was clearly in the right place, Sam thought he might prefer the Chihuahua in smaller doses.

The Impala crawled around the corner, still hidden by the stacks of cars that created the broad aisles of the junkyard. Dean pulled her to a stop, switching off the engine and getting out.

"Alright, let's do this," the older Winchester growled, walking around to the passenger side and opening the glove box to dig through. "Good thing we keep spare phones charged up. I just hope Bobby has some ideas."

"If anyone does, it'll be him," Sam pointed out—an exercise in futility, since Dean had no idea what he was saying.

"But if anyone does," Dean pointed out, flipping open an older phone and hitting some buttons, "it'll be him."

The three dogs gathered around Dean, though Zorro was still bouncing eagerly at Cas's heels. The older hunter eyed them—especially the Chihuahua—with a less than pleased expression, before setting the phone to speaker and kneeling to set it down on the ground where they could all hear.

"It's about time you idjits checked in," Bobby's surly voice spoke out after only two rings. "Where the hell have you been? I thought you'd finished that shifter last night."

"We did," Dean assured him, glancing around at the congregated dogs. "But, uh… well, we've hit a little problem."

"…What kind of problem?"

It was difficult to say if Bobby sounded more suspicious, exasperated, or resigned. Sam would have been amused if this wasn't so serious. He listened as Dean quickly filled Bobby in on their unfortunate run-in with Circe, and their even more terrifying run-in with Lucifer that had ended with Dean at least being turned human again.

"But Sam and Cas are still dogs," the hunter grumbled, as his eyes turned back to his audience. "And… this guy. Sam, this little rat-dog isn't a hunter too, is he?"

"RAT dog?!" Zorro echoed, before narrowing his eyes and growling, tiny muzzle pulled up over tiny teeth. Dean blinked and stared at him, while Sam tried not to laugh.

"Uh… no," he replied, shaking his head for good measure. "No, he's not. Well, not like a human one turned dog, anyway."

"You'd better believe I'm a mighty hunter! You should show me some respect, human! If you weren't Sam's hermano, I'd show you who you were dealing with! I'm not here for you to like me, it's not like we're actually man's best friend, you know! The only reason we were put here-"

"Whatever," Dean interrupted with a shrug. "So Sam and Cas need a way back into their normal bodies. I mean, Lucifer can break whatever curse this is, but I don't think asking him nicely for help is a very good idea."

"No shit. Okay, wait a second. I was reading up on the pagan deities not long ago, where did that book go…"

They listened to a sound of rustling and shuffling, as well as quite a bit of cursing and crashing of ancient books being tossed aside. Sam swished his tail impatiently; the movement caught his eye and he shot a paw out, trying to grab the wayward furry appendage. He had to shift in order to do it, though, and the tail moved with him. Sam tried again, growling a bit in annoyance. If he put his paw over it, maybe he could hold the damn thing still long enough to snag it with his mouth... yes! That worked perfectly-

"Sammy, what the hell are you doing?"

With his tail stuffed in his teeth, Sam froze, eyes tilting up to look at an incredulous Dean. "Um…" he muttered, before quickly letting go and giving himself an embarrassed shake. "Nothing?"

"Hmm," Cas mused, staring at him as well. He cocked his head to the side. "Dean was also starting to exhibit more and more dog-like qualities. This might not be good."

"Here we go," Bobby interrupted over the phone once more, before Sam had a chance to ask what Cas meant by that. "Circe. Greek goddess. She's not high on the chain… I'm surprised it worked on Cas at all."

Both Sam and Dean turned to the angel, who looked away and put his head down on his paws with a soft whine. Sam could smell his shame, and even Dean leaned over to rub his head without thinking about it.

"Hey, we don't have time for that," the hunter reminded Cas, though there was understanding in his voice. "You can still kick her ass. Okay? Bobby, does it say how to kill her?"

"Sort of. And it looks like you're the only one who can do it, Dean. I mean, Cas's blade might do the trick. Angels have never interacted with her, at least not when the lore was being written, so there's no way of knowing. But I'm guessing it's not available?"

"Right."

"A couple of demons tried to kill her and it didn't work," Sam added helpfully, before remembering that Bobby would only hear barking. He sighed.

"Okay, so why am I the only one who can do it?" Dean asked with a frown. "What, being mauled to death by a dog not good enough?"

"Oh no, it's not that. Circe isn't that powerful, but there's a catch, if you want to kill her… lore says she can only be slain by one of her lovers. That's why she turns them all into animals, 'cause then she can control them, protect herself."

There was a long silence, as Dean opened his mouth several times, before closing his eyes. "Uh huh, and… and so you naturally just figured that- that I'm one of her lovers. You just, what, always assume it's me?"

"Pretty much."

"…Thanks a lot, Bobby," Dean snapped. "It was Sam, for the record."

"Oh. Huh. Course, she's a monster, I guess I should have figured."

"Hey!" Sam protested as his brother's scowl quickly changed to a smirk. So maybe it was fair, but the younger hunter didn't appreciate it being pointed out.

Cas, having ignored the exchange, sat back up and nodded to Sam with grave significance. "Then you're the only one who can kill her, Sam. We'll have to take her unawares, though, or she'll just order you to stop. It'll be impossible to resist her command."

Sam nodded, though he huffed in annoyance again over Bobby's remark. He heard his brother asking now if the lore said for sure that they would be changed back once they killed the goddess, but whatever the answer was, Sam tuned it out. He'd found his tail again, darting in with focused intensity, determined to catch the bothersome thing.

It was so cumbersome, having four legs instead of just two. Sam flopped onto his side, head shooting out to try grabbing the fluffy thing in his teeth again. He barely missed, the tail grazing his face so that the Retriever growled and flipped to his other side in one smooth motion, trying to catch it before it disappeared.

Finally, using the same trick of holding the tail down with one paw, Sam was able to clamp his jaws around it once more. Now, though, his back paws were caught up, leading the dog to do an awkward circular shuffle on the ground as he tried to get a better hold of the fluffy tail. Sam growled, vexed. This damn thing…

"SAM!"

There was a loud clapping, the sharp noise startling the Golden Retriever. With a whine, he dropped the tail and looked up to see not only Dean giving him an annoyed look flooded with worry, but a scrutinizing, troubled Cas as well. Sam cleared his throat.

"Um… yep, all good. I, uh… I got it."

"Dean called you several times," Cas informed him with a frown. "Are you feeling… less human than usual?"

"What? No!"

The angel continued to study him; none of them were paying attention to Zorro, who was apparently trying to copy Sam's antics with far less success and was running in small circles around the junkyard.

From over the phone, they heard Bobby ask, "Let me guess… he's starting to act more like a dog, right?"

"Bobby, tell me this thing ain't permanent!" Dean snapped, as Sam gulped. "She turned him sometime last night, do we have some kinda time limit here?"

There was a pause. Then, a sigh, and not one that was filled with hope. "It don't say how long it'll take, but… yeah, Dean. If they don't get changed back, Sam at least is going to end up completely dog. Don't know about Cas."

"Cas?"

They all turned to the Husky, who leaned back slightly at all the attention. The angel shook his head.

"I won't turn into a dog, any more than I would turn human from being in Jimmy Novak's body. My wings aren't compatible with this form, but I'm a being of pure celestial energy. My essence won't change."

"That's SO COOL, ángel!" Zorro yipped in unbridled delight.

"I'm guessing he's saying some kind of 'no'," Dean explained to Bobby with a roll of his eyes. "Look, I don't know how long Sammy's got, but we don't have time to come up with anything fancy. If Circe can only be killed by a lover or whatever, then we'll just have to roll with that. Anything else for us, Bobby?"

Sam heard Bobby sigh again. "Afraid not. I'll keep digging, though. And listen… you boys keep me in the loop, you hear, idjit?"

"Yeah, Bobby, thanks."

Dean hung up and ran his hands through his hair, exhaling slowly. Sam could feel his brother's anxiety, could smell his distress. And, while he wasn't exactly keen on the idea of being stuck like this forever… he could also see a potential upside.

"…Cas?"

"Yes, Sam?"

Sam stared at the ground, swishing his fluffy tail in a morose sort of way. "If for some reason we DON'T kill Circe, and I don't get changed back…"

"We'll kill the goddess, Sam. We'll get you back in your normal form."

"Yeah," Zorro piped up, hurrying forward to sniff at Cas again. "We've got an ANGEL, amigo!"

The younger hunter licked his nose. "But… if we DON'T… I mean, if I became a… a dog, you know? For good. Um… I mean, I couldn't really give consent, right? I'd be useless to Lucifer, no matter what he threatened or tricked me with. I couldn't ever be his vessel?"

Silently, Cas stared at Sam, head cocked. "I… am not sure," he admitted. "I imagine that Lucifer, in the vessel of a dog, would face similar obstacles of weakened power that I have. And it's true that you couldn't properly give consent. But he's powerful, Sam. Very powerful. There's a chance he could still turn you back himself, no matter how far gone your mind was. If so, you'd be even less able to resist him. It's a noble thought, but there's no guarantee it would work."

"But it MIGHT-"

"Whoa, whoa," Dean interjected, giving Sam a suspicious glare. "I know that's not you trying to quit on me, Sammy. You're not thinking about giving up, right?"

Sam looked away. "It's not giving up, it's doing whatever I have to-"

"Yeah, whatever you're saying, I don't want to hear it," his brother snapped in reply. The older hunter jumped to his feet, moving to the back of the Impala and popping the trunk so that he could pull out a pistol. "We're gonna gank this bitch, and that's all there is to it. We'll take the fight to her, hit her where she lives. Simple as that."

The heavy metal lid slammed back down on the trunk. Dean marched back over to the dogs, glowering down at them with a stubborn set in his jaw that Sam knew meant his brother was going to win this argument, no matter what. Spending his life as a dog didn't sound like a fun option, anyway, and what if Cas never got fixed, either? The younger hunter huffed, but dipped his head in agreement.

"Good," Dean grumbled. He paused, eyes roving over the three dogs before flicking to the Impala. "Damn it, I just washed her, come on…"

"No dogs in the car, right, Dean?" Sam couldn't help but woof with a canine smirk. Cas looked confused, but Zorro trotted right over, sniffing the wheels.

"Car rides are the best! You gonna sit next to me, ángel? This is going to be great, I LOVE car rides!"

"No. No!" Dean snapped, leaning over to shoo Zorro away. "Sam and Cas can come. That yapper doesn't get anywhere near my baby!"

Zorro growled, baring his little teeth again, while Sam traded an amused look with Cas. The angel didn't seem to have an opinion about it one way or another, but Sam stepped forward to draw even with Zorro.

"He's coming, Dean. He saved my life."

"Aw, come on, Sam! I hate little dogs! They get all hyper and pee on everything, he's not coming in the car!"

"We need all the help we can get, Dean," Sam pointed out, stubbornly setting his haunches back down to the ground in what he hoped was an obvious statement that he wasn't going unless Zorro was allowed to come along.

"Besides, he wasn't one of Circe's," Cas spoke up, coming to join Sam and dipping his head in agreement—albeit with a bit more reluctance. "She won't be able to control him."

The Chihuahua looked up at Cas with an almost tearful expression of delight, yipping a high-pitched squeak of excitement. Dean rolled his eyes, jaw set in obvious irritation, but finally lowered his hand to the handle behind him and jerked the back door open. The shrill, joyous barks intensified as Zorro scurried around in a circle, raced back to the Impala with clacking nails, and spitefully lifted his leg to the back tire before climbing in.

"Oh, come on!" Dean shouted, looking thunderous. "Sam, I'm gonna kick that thing back to Mexico!"

Biting back amusement, the hunter simply jumped up into the back behind Zorro, then wriggled over the bench seat to claim his usual spot riding shotgun. Dean was still cursing in bad temper as Cas also hopped into the Impala. The older hunter slammed the door before sliding in behind the wheel himself, shooting an irate glare at Sam.

"Next time, let's go back to that thing where you don't pick up women in bars, 'kay Sammy?"

Sam barked agreement, then cozied up to the window to enjoy the ride. He heard Dean grumble again, before turning the engine over and heading out of the junkyard, headed to find Circe to end this once and for all.