I am so sorry for the late update. I am kind of stuck in a writers-block when it comes to this fic.
Hope this will go away soon...

Hope you like this chapter^^.

Chapter 16

"Crowley? What the hell are you doing here? And how did you find us?!"

The demon's grin widened.

"I was just in the neighborhood. And to be honest? Your winged buddy glows like an illuminated sign. I just had to take a look at this and it looks like you need my help."

"Pah! Why would you help us? You're a demon!"

"And your friend up there an angel who suffers some serious mental problems. Get what I mean?"

Dean wanted to say something, but a pain wave silenced him and he slumped back to the ground and spat blood. His eyes wandered from Crowley to Gabriel and Sam, who still lay on the ground motionless. Apparently they were still unconscious and Dean wished at that moment nothing more than to be unconscious as well. Or no, he'd love to wake up in his bed and find out that all of this was just a terrible nightmare, that Cas was back to normal and Crowley was gone and not in front of him and...protecting him?

A crossroad demon protecting a Winchester?

Something was horribly wrong here, but at the moment the hunter could not worry about it, because his eyes went back to said demon and widened when he saw how he stepped forward a few steps. He kept Castiel in his eyes which suddenly turned red.

"Castiel. Well you look. How much did your new outfit cost? Let me guess: A lot of blood, which you had to shed on your way."

The Seraphim turned his bright blue eyes to the demon and Crowley felt an all too human shiver running down his spine, but he tried his best to keep up the eye contact with the angel. His grin also remained, because he wanted to show no weakness.

"Get out of here demon! Take care of your souls and leave us alone, because this is none of your business!"

"Hear, hear. Pretty big words for such a small, naive angel as you are, don't you think so Cas?"

The Seraph narrowed his eyes threatening and a few seconds later they glowed again in that heavenly light, as they had done before when he had attacked Gabriel and Dean.

"Keep your sassy mouth shut! Don't you know to whom you're talking?!"

The grin disappeared from the face of the demon and his expression became serious.

"I think I know very well to whom I'm talking here. You're just a small angel that fell. Such as you are not new to me. My father is a fallen angel, remember? You don't scare me!"

"I'm not a fallen angel! My brother Lucifer...he has shown me what is really inside me!"

Again, this wide grin appeared on Crowley's face.

"What's inside you? Sounds interesting. What dirty things did you and your brother do when you were alone? Oh wait...I will rather not imagine this..."

"THAT'S ENOUGH NOW!"

As fast as the grin on Crowley's face had appeared, it disappeared just as quickly when he saw how Castiel formed one of his energy balls and fired it quickly in his direction. The demon managed to save himself to the side before the pulsating energy ball could hit him. Where it struck, it left a large and ugly burnt hole.

"Apparently my father taught you more than I initially thought..." the demon gasped, as he stood back to his feet only to avoid just the next attack.

Dean watched the spectacle silently and he tried to get to safety and to crawl to his brother, but his body was too weak and he could feel the faint stretched her icy hand after him and get him and only a few seconds later he could no longer fight it. His eyelids closed and his head hit the dirty ground just moments later when he fainted...

Meanwhile, Crowley was fighting against Castiel, who threw an energy ball after another on him, but slowly but surely the Seraphim's strength was almost exhausted. He was panting heavily and sweat had accumulated on the skin of his human Vessel and his wing beats, with which he continued to hold himself in the air, become weaker and weaker.

"Now look at that. Apparently you can't deal with your new powers. Did your brother may have forgotten to tell you that you should not overdo it?"

"Shut the hell up!"

"Oho, what angelic words leave your mouth there Cas..."

The eyes of the angel narrowed and began to glow even more, just like the rest of his body.

"I said: Shut up!"

Crowley's own eyes widened as he realized what the angel was doing.

He had to react quickly because if he didn't, he would crumble to ashes, because Castiel was about to show him his true form. He must have been very much weakened to do something like that.

But this shouldn't happen because Crowley responded faster than him and he pulled an old dagger from his pocket and threw it into Castiel's direction.

Only moments later the dagger cut precisely through two of Castiel's wings.

Black feathers flaked off the ground, followed by drops of blood trickled from the wounds.

A loud, shrill scream pierced the air, ate into Crowley's ear canal and the demon had to cover his ears to protect them at least a bit. But he was not the only one who went onto his knees. The dagger must have done its job very good because the angel crashed onto the floor just a few seconds later and slid a few feet away from the demon.

Crowley scrambled quickly to his feet and brushed the dust from his clothes and watched Castiel how he was trying clumsily to come back to his feet, but the wound on his wings, and the wound on his leg, which he had gotten from Gabriel, has weakened him so much that he was no longer able to stand up.

Again, this nasty grin appeared on the face of the demon and his eyes were red again when the angel met his gaze.

"Now you're really a fallen angel."

Castiel would have liked to deducted his skin for those words, but he was not even able to fly, let alone stand up. No matter how hard he tried, he was too weak. Helplessly, he had to watch how Crowley slowly approached him. His eyes searched his angel sword, but it stuck far away from him in the ground. He had no chance to reach it before the demon that came steady closer. But too close the demon seemed not come, because he held a corresponding safe distance and slowly began to walk around him, like a lion stalking its prey.

"Just look at you Cas. You may look like your brother Michael when he was army commander of the heavenly legions, but it is only the appearance which resembles him. In strength, experience and understanding you lack considerable."

Panting, the angel gave Crowley a piercing look.

"How do you know that my brother was a commander? You're just a pathetic demon. You are not old enough to know that!"

The demon grinned again.

"Every one of us knows the stories that are told about you heavenly idiots. And do you really think you know how old I really am my dear Castiel? Are you really that naive?"

"Hold your tongue Crowley!"

"Or what little angel? Are you going to kill me~?"

"You goddamn -"

"My, my Castiel. Who wants to cuss here? Not that Daddy will be angry at you..."

"Shut up Crowley!"

"You're not in the position to threaten me Castiel, don't forget that."

"If you want to kill me, then just do it!"

The grin in Crowley's face widened and he came to a halt as he stood before the angel.

"How could I kill a magnificent Seraphim? What would I think if I would do that?"

Castiel's eyes widened.

"How do you know what I am? No demon has ever seen a Seraphim!"

"You're partly right Cas. In real life, a demon has never seen a Seraphim. And if he would, he would have not been able to tell another demon, as he would have been killed most likely. But there are records of you in the books of the humans. There are only speculations about you, but these are very interesting. And now when I see you before me, then I can only agree with these books: Pretty and powerful."

"Shall I feel honored now?"

"That depends on Castiel."

"What do you mean?"

A sinister glint appeared in the eyes of the demon.

"My next words will honor you. I can assure you."

"Oh yes? And what are your next words?"

The sparkle in Crowley's eyes grew stronger and his grin widened.

"Team up with me."