Dean woke up to the sound of screaming.

Really, this wasn't altogether unusual for him. He was a hunter. He encountered people screaming all the time. Night, day, in his sleep, you name it. What was really strange was the fact that he was in a temple with a goddess, an angel, an alien, another hunter, and dozens of people with god-like strength and speed that were very well armed. You'd think he wouldn't have to put up with it here.

As it is, before he even registered what was happening, he was awake and out of the bed. He could hear at least six people screaming and shouting, and the distinct sounds of fight. He'd be out there already, but he had stupidly taken his shoes off before going to sleep. Normally he wouldn't have even thought of doing that, but Nemesis had sworn they were safe. Really, it was his fault for listening.

He didn't have any weapons. Daniel had disarmed him with the threat of not allowing him to see Sam or Cas if he didn't hand them over (and the Doctor, but he didn't really care about that).

So, basically, he was running through the maze like temple heading towards what sounds like a really awful fight, completely unarmed. Fuck.

That wasn't even the worst part. While he was in the hallway, he saw the Doctor running out of Cas's room. Goddamn it.

He pretended not to notice the Doctor as the three off them (soon joined by Sam) ran towards the throne room where they'd been earlier.

The room was covered in blood, mostly the crimson of a human's, but some of it was the gold ichor of Eris's gods. Eris herself appeared to be uninjured as she gaily fought her sister's warriors, killing some and injuring all who stepped in front of her. Each of them picked up some sort of weapon that had been left on the ground after its yielder had fallen and not gotten up.

Dean joined in the fight without hesitation. His feelings about Cas and the Doctor were weird and strange. But this was something he could do with his eyes closed.

Every swing of the sword was instinctual, every injured or shocked cry of an enemy like music. They may have been gods, but he was Dean Winchester. He didn't take shit from anyone.

A tall pale man with the same green eyes and black hair as his siblings fought Sam and Cas. He was laughing as he whirled around the two of them, like it was a game. Sam almost got him, but as he lifted his blade, the Master snuck behind him and placed two fingers on each of his temples. At first, Sam looked simply stunned. Then his eyes briefly flashed red, and he started screaming and writhing in agony. He fell to the ground, the Master standing over him triumphantly. Sam tried to say something, but couldn't get the words out. Instead, his mouth shaped a single name: Lucifer. The Master looked mildly surprised. Dean knew, whether the Master did or not, that the wall was broken.

Dean tried to get to the master, but Eris's son blocked him. Dean decided that he would do. His smile was vicious as he fought with Dean, anticipating and blocking every move Dean attempted, making harsh blows whenever possible. He was an amazing fighter, but he underestimated Dean's protective nature. Once you hurt someone he loved, you were done.

As fate would have it, the mistake was that ended their fight was the god's. He focused too entirely on Dean and didn't see the body lying cold on the ground just behind him. He stepped back to gain leverage for what would certainly have been a killing blow, and instead fell to the ground.

Dean wasted no time. He raised the sword above his head, and swiftly plunged it into the god's heart, gold blood painting the blade. For a single moment, his body changed. His skin turned black and green and red, his eyes alight with fire. Arms grew from his sides and backs, each holding some sort of weapon that could have severed a spirit in half, but was too important to take notice of people. Then, as suddenly as he had changed before, he returned to the handsome man who looked like Eris.

The room was filled with a loud screeching sound. The humans slammed their hands over their ears in pain, but the god's searched the room for a source. They found it in Eris, standing in the middle of the room, her face contorted in deep pain. "Makhai!" she shouted. Black tears streamed down her face to the floor, where their corrosive nature caused a hole to appear.

Eris's shock did not last. Instead of pain, rage was the dominant emotion in every part of her body. She threw her hands out to the sides, pushing humans and gods alike to the wall, all except Dean. She held her hand in front of her, curling it as though around a neck.

Though Dean was halfway across the room from the grief-filled goddess, he felt the affects of her power. He dropped his golden sword and reached his hands up to his throat in an attempt to pull away a hand that wasn't there. His body was lifted half a foot from the ground as his lips began to turn blue.

"STOP!" Another voice shouted. Eris payed no attention to it until she crumpled to the ground, her spell undone. The people that she had moved to the walls stayed there, but Dean fell back to the floor, gasping loudly for breath.

Eris didn't stay on the ground long. She rose up, snarling at Nemesis, who had stopped her from killing the green-eyed hunter. "Stop, sister? This filth killed the most precious of my sons. How can you possibly expect me to spare the little cockroach?"

Nemesis met her sister's angry eyes without flinching. "You had no right to come here. You disobeyed ancient laws, and your son payed the price for it."

"You attacked us yesterday when you had no right!"

"You were massacring innocents! I had every right to intervene! And why do you act so angry? You all escaped unharmed. Perhaps you screech because your plan didn't work, or because your precious pride was wounded-"

"Enough!" Eris shouted suddenly, flinging a ball of black fire towards her sister, who moved out of the way just in time. Eris continued to attack her, but Nemesis either moved or deflected the fires with her sword. Finally, Eris took out her own sword and attacked more directly. The two weapons met, gold against silver. The two were evenly matched. They had an equal amount of battle experience. To her advantage, Nemesis was calm and focused. But Eris was insane and perfectly willing to play dirty.

Dean saw the gleaming silver before anyone else did. He vaguely remembered looking at the book of Nyx. Eris had been holding a dagger in the picture, one that was specifically used for stabbing people in the back. Πόνος was carved into the blade. Dean wanted to shout, but the words caught in his throat.

Eris grabbed her sister by the shoulder and twisted her around. Nemesis hadn't expected it, and couldn't fight until it was too late. Eris plunged the blade deep into her sister's back, golden blood coating it. Nemesis gasped and tried to say something. Eris said soothingly, "Shh, little sister. It's time you rest." Eris slid her bloody dagger out of her sister's back. Nemesis started to fall to the ground, but Eris held her and lowered her down gently. Her hand rested an inch above her sister's chest, making strange motions. Red and black tendrils of energy started to rise up out of Nemesis curling into a ball in Eris's hand. Eris closed her hand into a fist around the energy, absorbing it into her own body. Her eyes never left Nemesis.

Finally, she stood. She looked tired, and her children were released from her hold and fell from the wall. "We leave," she ordered sharply.

The warriors started to finally overcome her power, peeling themselves from the wall, but as soon as that had, they fell to the ground, unconscious. Castiel, Dean, and the Doctor were the only one still moving. They ran for them as Eris began the spell to transport them away. The only one who got close to her was Castiel, but the Master saw him and grabbed him, taking the angel with them.

Just before they left, Castiel grabbed Dean's hand. For a moment, Dean didn't see the room or feel Castiel's hand. He only saw a bright rune, lines twisting painfully and contained in a circle to form a single angelic image. He didn't know why, but the symbol made him feel...warm. Dean heard something spoken, a single name: Amoriel. Then Castiel, and the gods, were gone.


After the battle, Dean stared at the spot where Castiel had stood only a moment before. It didn't seem quite real to him, as though Castiel would pop up any second, confusion in his ocean blue eyes. When he didn't, Dean collapsed to his knees. "Cas…"

It might have been hours or minutes, but eventually he became aware that someone was shaking him. "Dean! Dean, Sam needs help!" That snapped him out of it. He stared at the Doctor, who was staring at him worriedly. There were dark circles under his eyes and his skin was pulled tightly across his bones.

Over the past week, Dean had almost come to hate the man. Now he felt a strange sort of bond with him. They had both lost Castiel tonight. And even though they didn't say it, he knew that they would both do whatever necessary to get him back.

"Dean, c'mon, Sam needs you." The Doctor pulled him up from the ground over to where Sam lay. He had stopped screaming and was instead twitching lightly. Dean wasn't sure which was worse. He knew one thing though: his brother needed him. This, he could deal with.

Dean sat down next to him, but soon realized there was nothing he could do. Sam grabbed his hand and wouldn't let him go. That was somewhat comforting, for both of them.

The Doctor seemed to know something. He leaned over Sam's face and placed his fingers on the temples. After what he'd just seen the Master do, Dean was tempted to force him away, but he kept still. Whatever lay between them personally, the Doctor was an ally.

The Doctor closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to Sam's. After a few minutes, the twitching stopped and Sam's eyes closed. The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is he ok?" Dean asked."

The Doctor shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I don't even really know what the Master did. I looked into Sam's mind and there was a sort of...wall, I think? It was in ruins though. And whatever it was holding back is out in Sam's mind. I'll keep him sleeping for as long as I can, but I'm don't know how to heal this. I'm sorry Dean."

Dean sat still, his hand wrapped around Sam's wrist, unwilling to let go. A beat passed before he said, "I'm gonna kill that blond son of a bitch."


"Wake up!" An annoyed voice bellowed. A moment later, a hand crashed against metal. The powerful combination startled Castiel awake. His sight was blurry, and it took him a moment to realize where he was.

Olympus.

It wasn't how he remembered it from centuries ago. The pure white stone had been replaced with the same type in black. He could tell they were in the old throne room only by the plain silver cages that marked where the thrones used to be. Only four of them held any people. The remaining eight held only bones, some newer than others. Some still had blood on them.

Upon further inspection, Castiel realized that he was in a cage himself. But he was gold instead of silver, and had gems imbedded into it. The same words were inscribed on every bar, in the bottom and tops, repeated in English, Greek, and Enochian: The bird in the gilded cage dies. The bars and bottom were coated in some sort of liquid. Holy oil, he realized. One spark, and he'd go up in flames.

He raised his eyes to the person shouting. The Master stood grinning at him. The two were alone.

"Morning dove! Boy, you're in a right state, aren't you? You have got oil, all over you!" He trailed his fingers over Castiel's face. From them, a few tiny golden sparks burned. Castiel flinched. The Master grinned. "Well c'mon, don't be shy bird." Castiel didn't say anything. The Master didn't seemed troubled by the lack of response. "You know, last night, at the party, I was watching the Doctor, but he wasn't watching me. Well, he was watching me less than usual. But his attention was more or less on you. That, of course, made me curious. I mean, I know you're an angel, but really, you don't seem that impressive. We defeated you easy enough. But, he's always had horrible taste. Well, except for me. Exception to every rule and all that." Castiel said nothing. The Master frowned and grabbed Castiel by the chin, pulling his face towards him. "Are you even paying attention? Because I'm giving you all my attention, and I don't want to do that if you're not going to return the favor." Castiel didn't move or speak. Then, he headbutted the Master as hard as he could.

The Master's hands covered his face. "Ow, you fucking bastard! And yet," he said, removing his hands to reveal that his face was unharmed, "despite your best efforts, I don't seem to be in any pain. Pity. Still, can't have you think that you can go around doing whatever you want. Come on then, out you go." He opened a door on the cage that had not existed previously and grabbed Castiel by the neck and pulled him out the cage. Castiel tried to fight him, but as soon as he did, he found himself unable to move. He was completely powerless.

The Master tossed Castiel on the ground carelessly. His arm stuck out at a weird angle, and his neck ached from supporting his head. The Master circled him chuckling. "Poor little bird alone without his watchdogs. Whatever will you do?" The Master straddled his waist and put his hands on either side of his face. He leaned in close so that he was only a breath away from Castiel. "I can think of a few things." And he kissed him.