The Power of Two:

It wasn't the cold ground or his bruised and sore back that caused him to awaken, but instead was the power that Nathan felt. On the surface it seemed simple, almost familiar and for a second he almost thought that it was Castiel. But as it got closer, he knew that it wasn't so. It was stronger, way stronger than anything Cas could put off; it was over powering, and it was bright but it also had a darkness to it—almost like an intent.

It made Nathan shudder and he knew that it would be worse if he kept his eyes closed, and knew that even if he tried, he wouldn't be able to keep them shut even if he wished it. And so he opened his eyes and found himself staring up at the Devil, who had made a point of looming above him. Nathan didn't want to be fearful, but he couldn't help it; this was bigger than any of the Monsters or Angels that he had run into while he was in Castiel's company.

"Nice to see you're awake."

"I think we have different definition of 'nice'." Nathan mumbled under his breath as he painfully pushed himself upright.

"Now I can definitely tell that you're a Winchester; the mouth this family has..." Lucifer shook his head.

Nathan didn't say anything, his lips turning into a thin line as he pursed them. Lucifer crouched down, his arms resting on his knees, with the toes of his boots but an inch from the outline of the sigil—he didn't say anything either, just pinned Nathan with a stare; one that Nathan was sure he'd never forget.

He felt a chill go through his whole body. "W-what do you want from me?" he asked, despising himself for the fact that he had stuttered.

Lucifer grinned at that. "I want to know everything that you know, I want you."

Nathan stared at him, what the hell did that mean? Whatever it was though, he didn't like the sound of it. "They will find me, and they will take you out." Nathan said through bared teeth.

"Don't you know I own your soul." Lucifer cocked his head, the look on his face pleased.

"What?" Nathan demanded, staring at the Devil in disbelief.

He didn't feel like he didn't have a soul, but he knew that that wasn't how it worked. He looked down at himself and found that the material over his heart was burnt away; all the way through his sweater and tee. His eyes widened in horror because branded into the space over his heart and into his delicate skin, was an intertwining symbol; one that wasn't recognizable. But the skin wasn't raised like a fresh brand, but looked almost like a tattoo. His fingers trembled as he reached up and ran his finger across the exposed skin; he couldn't feel it, he couldn't feel that mark—it was like it was a part of his skin. He sucked in a breath and his eyes snapped up to look at Lucifer; it was almost like it ran right through him.

Nathan's eyes widened as he realized what that could mean. He quickly reached behind him, trying to get the spot on his back and his fingers came in contact with burnt material and smooth, exposed skin. The symbol that the Devil had burned into him ran straight through; through his body, his heart and his soul—the Devil owned him.

Nathan swallowed hard; Lucifer owned his soul.

He was frozen to the spot, unable to jerk away, move away from Lucifer's hand as he reached out and cupped his neck in an oddly gentle matter.

"I own your soul and you are mine." Lucifer hissed, his thumb running across Nathan's bottom lip.

"Find anything?" Sam asked as Castiel finally reappeared.

Bobby and Dean's eyes snapped up to him; desperate for any answer—hopefully it was a good one.

"Well?" Bobby demanded when Cas had yet to say anything, dread filling the pit of his stomach; silence from Castiel was never a good thing.

Castiel forced his face stay its usual blank self; he was disappointed in himself for his failure. "I could not locate Lucifer or Nathan."

"Why not?" Bobby growled, upset; he'd been on the compete edge every since the brothers and Castiel had come back, minus Nathan. This was different than any Hunt; this was the Devil.

Cas stared at him blankly; very much disliking the fact that he seemed to be the only one that kept getting blamed for their current situation. He has done nothing wrong from start to beginning. He wasn't wrong when he brung Dean back from Hell, helped them with 66 Seals, when he purged Sam of all Demon blood or took Nathan under his protective wing. Not when he located the Colt or when he rescued the brothers. The only problem was the fact that in or to transport a person, he had to accompany them; and that takes time; after he had saved Sam, he was too slow in getting back to Nathan, him and the Devil gone when Castiel arrived—and the summoning spell complete.

"The spell that Lucifer cast is blocking the location of Nathan, as well as having the undesired effect of Masking Lucifer in the process." Castiel spoke, not allowing himself the pleasure of speaking through his teeth. "I cannot find him unless he purposefully shows himself."

Sam furrowed his brows for a second as he thought, and then they shot up when he realized something; remembered what Lucifer had said to him. "We actually do know where he is."

"We do?" Dean said in surprise.

"Well," Sam winced a little. "We know where he's going to be three weeks from now."

"How could we know that?" Dean looked at him in confusion.

"When you were knocked-out, Lucifer said something along the lines of: I would say YES, three weeks from now in Detroit."

Dean huffed out a breath. "And when the hell were you going to say something?" he growled.

Sam rolled his eyes. "We been over this; I told you now so there's no trouble."

Before Dean could probably make a rude comment, Cas spoke first.

"Lucifer predicted that you would say YES, what makes you say that he will be present for this?"

"He does have a good point," Dean agreed.

Sam glowered at him for a moment before he narrowed his eyes. "Why wouldn't he want to be there if I said YES? It would mean that he won; that he defeated the Winchesters and could have his rule of the world."

Dean squinted at him for a moment. "And are you going to say YES."

"Of course, Dean; that was my plan all along." Sam said sarcastically, not able to help the roll of his eyes. "Of course I'm not gonna say YES, jeez!"

Dean glared at him. "Bitch,"

"Jerk," Sam glared right back.

"Boys!" Bobby growled, grabbing their attention. "If we're finally going to defeat the Devil and get Nathan back, we'd better start planning."