Twigs snapped like breaking necks under their feet as they ran, the rising sun hot on their heels.

"What did you say happened to your friend?" The young paramedic chased after the man in front of her.

"He fell, his leg is bent at the wrong angle and he passed out," the man replied hastily.

The man led his sacrifice further away from town, they eventually came to a small cleared area with a large stone at its center. He stopped, allowing the paramedic to run out in front of him.

"Where i-umph!"

The man clasped his hand over her mouth and pulled her to the alter,

"It's been a long time since anyone has paid even the slightest amount of respect to the Feathered Serpent. If I offer him a sacrifice, he is sure to notice and reward me."

When the girl began to struggle, her throat was slit and she was laid out on the table.

"Quetzalcoatl! I beg of you, hear me and accept this sacrifice in your name. Witness that I am your humble servant"

Her blood flowed in rivers that warmed the cold face of the stone as the sun rose over it. Underfoot, a serpent meandered its way along the dirt, uninterested in the activity of the nearby humans.

"Hey Dean, up for a vacation in the Gulf of Mexico?" Sam looked up at his brother, eyes bright.

"I mean, we are kinda on a break. What made you think of this?" The elder Winchester sipped his coffee, and pushed some books aside to sit on the table.

"Well, I think I found a case there," he gave his brother a sheepish look, he knew how much Dean would appreciate an actual vacation. Getting nothing from Dean, he cleared his throat and continued, "There's reports of a guy down near Brownsville, Texas, who has been harassing the locals. Says here he would go door to door with a rattlesnake and chant in some kind of occult language."

"So he's just a nutjob," Dean replied dismissively.

"That's what I thought, but get this; there was evidence found of a human sacrifice. They ID'd the body as a missing local who was last seen with our nutjob. They took him in for questioning, and he told them he was searching for a missing god."

"Huh, that's different." Dean sat his mug down and looked to his brother. Sammy was giving him that puppy eyed look that usually meant he'd end up getting his way.

"I'll go get packed and we can head out."

Sam nearly jumped out of his seat, grabbing his laptop and running to his room.

The roar of the Impala cut through Brownsville as the brothers made their way to the police station.

"Why are you so hyped for this anyway? For all we know it's just some crazy human." Sam's excitement had shown through the whole drive down. Anytime they made a stop somewhere, he was rushing Dean. When they were back in the car, his leg bounced excitedly.

"It just seems different and interesting."

Dean scoffed, "Like how?"

"Like, I dunno, why is this guy searching for a lost god? It just feels different, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, whatever you say Sammy."

They strode inside and flashed their badges to the receptionist, "Agents Weiss and Hickman, we're here to interview the man you've got in holding."

The receptionist scoffed, "That guy, complete psycho. He should be locked away to rot in psych!"

At this time, the sheriff appeared, "This way, gentlemen. Don't mind Stacey here, she can get excitable."

"What do you make of this guy, Sheriff?" Dean asked with a cute smile.

"Whatever he's telling us, he really believes it's true. He answers every question we have, but if we bring up the victims he clams up. If you ask me, this case is as good as closed. Just need to get everything official. I didn't expect they would send you guys all the way down here for this."

"Since we're down here, might as well see the town. You wouldn't happen to know any good places to get a drink, would ya?"

On their way to the holding room, Sam was ignored while Dean and the sheriff exchanged flirtations.

"Woah, this guy's a character," Dean remarked as they entered the room.

Their man was adorned in a shirt of feathers with a winding snake depicted on his chest. He had a large piercing in his nose, and a tattoo of the sun on his forehead.

Sam flashed his badge, "Agent Weiss, I'm here to ask you some questions mister..?"

"Topiltzin."

"Right...listen what do you know about these people?" Dean slid forward the pictures of the missing people in town. Topiltzin glanced briefly at them before staring hard at Sam.

"Do you know what it is like to feel like you've been abandoned, seen as some kind of tainted freak just because of how you were born?"

Sam was taken aback, he cleared his throat, "listen did you kill these people? Alan, Margaret, Penelope, ring a bell?"

"My god has left me, my family shunned me for my belief. I am made to suffer because I was not born in his time of Glory. I needed to redeem myself if His eyes. I gave them to Quetzalcoatl."

"Right and that's this lost god you're looking for?" Dean supplied.

Topiltzin smiled, "The Feathered Serpent has answered my prayers, He told me of your coming."

"That's lovely, what'd he say?" Dean stood from his chair to lean over the guy.

He looked back to Sam when he said, "He has been waiting for the perfect sacrifice to give themself to Him."

The door to motel room swung open bringing in Dean and his bag full of greasy carbohydrates.

He plopped down on his bed, the room they got this time had an obnoxious pattern of stars, shaped like asterisks, in between loud diamond shapes in a faded blue.

"Chows on Sammy," Dean tossed the salad to his brother, "did ya find anything out about this Quitzellcoat guy?"

Sam was seated at the table, nose in his laptop just like he was when Dean left.

"He is the Aztec god of wind, and wisdom. Seen as a feathered serpent, one of the creator gods. He is the god that Moctezuma thought Cortes was when the Spanish discovered them."

"Fascinating," Dean said around his burger.

"He is also associated with the morning star, Venus...said to be a bringer of light.."

"You okay, Sammy?"

Sam's heart raced, it had to be a coincidence right? Surely an Aztec god and an archangel wouldn't have any connection whatsoever, would they?

"Earth to Samantha?"

"Yea, I'm good. It's nothing," he shook his head to clear the thoughts.

"So how do we gank him?"

"Ahh, says here that one story tells of him burning himself to death."

"Why would he do that?"

"He was brought great shame."

"So what, we embarrass him in front of a crowd and he offs himself?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

The door opened easily for him, it was blessedly silent as he made his way into the room. The brothers were asleep, and miraculously didn't hear him enter.

Sam had the majority of his blankets kicked off the bed, the rest were wrapped tightly around him. Dean slept on his stomach, arms wrapped around his pillow and the gun underneath.

The man approached Dean's bed and waved a bundle of herbs under his nose while whispering a silent spell. He did the same to Sam before binding and dragging Dean from the room.

Topiltzin smiled at Sam as he carried his brother away.

The morning sun glared down on Sam, waking him up quickly. He sat up with a start, hunter instincts telling him something was wrong.

"Dean-"

The other bed was empty.

"Dean!"

Sam flew into the bathroom, his brother wasn't there. There was no note on the table and the Impala was still outside. Trying not to panic, Sam picked up his cell and dialed. Dean's discarded jeans began to play his ringtone.

In a worried frenzy, Sam through on his clothes and ran to the Impala.

Stacey was typing away at her desk, her newest pen pal in Brazil was about to get a lesson on the fundamentals of time travel and phone boxes, when the door flew open.

"Where were all the victims found!?"

"Agent Weiss! I was just about to call," the sheriff walked over,"our guy got out last night."

Sam rounded on her, fury in his eyes that made her take a step back.

"How did this happen!?" Noticing that his words made the sheriff tremble, he softened his voice and tried again, "who saw him last?"

"Officer Jenkins, he brought him back to his holding cell. Got him all locked up. When he came to check on him this morning, the guy was gone."

Sam examined every inch of the cell. As he was just about to leave, he spotted a red rose pinched between the bars on the door.

Dean woke with a start. He tried to get up, but found he couldn't move. He couldn't see anything, someone had tied a blindfold around him. He tested his restraints again, they held firm to his ankles and wrists. His back was against something hard and cold, he could feel the sun on his face. He must be at the sight where the other sacrifices took place. To confirm his theory, he heard someone chanting in another language nearby.

"Oh great Feathered Serpent, hear me now for your true sacrifice will be yours soon."

"I wouldn't count on it buddy," Dean wondered why he hadn't gagged him.

"But I am, he is destined to give himself to Quetzalcoatl."

"When I get outa here, I'm gonna send you straight to Hell."

"My god will protect me, I am a humble servant."

"Gods don't care about people. They only care about themselves. Nobody is gonna save you."

Dean felt something tighten around his wrist.

"Don't touch me!"

"Oh, I assure you, I'm not," Topiltzin chuckled.

Dean struggled against his restraints as something moved up his arm and around his neck.

"Shh, don't struggle dear. It will be alright."

Sam raced to the edge of town, Impala roaring it's approach. When he reached the designated turn off, he left the car and took off running. He carried with him a homemade blowtorch, a silver knife, and his pistol.

He wound his way through the trees following the game trail. When he reached the clearing, he stopped dead in his tracks.

Topiltzin was drawing sigils in the ground, chanting incantation.

Dean was bound to a big stone, a large white serpent had draped itself around his neck, laying it's head on Dean's shoulder.

"And so the sacrifice arrives, it's just as you said, my Lord," Topiltzin remarked, turning to the serpent.

"Samuel Winchester, I have waited so long for you to come to me." It's voice was soft, and alluring.

Sam pulled the torch out, "Get away from my brother!"

The serpent moved as though it were chuckling.

"Sammy! Get out of here!"

"No, Dean! Not until I put these two down."

"Oh Sammy, what makes you think you'll be able to kill me?"

"Don't call me Sammy!" He moved towards the stone, but stopped at Dean's cry.

The serpent was constricting around his neck.

"It doesn't have to be this way, dear. Surrender yourself to me, and I won't have to sink my fangs into your soft brother."

"Don't listen to it!"

Behind them, Topiltzin had finished his preparations, "What shall I do, great one?"

"I have no need of you anymore."

A harsh red light emerged from his eyes as he screamed, then fell to the ground, dead.

"What's going on? Sam, you okay!?"

"It killed him Dean." This thing had some powerful mojo to be able to do that. Sam sat the torch on the ground, "Let my brother go, I'll do as you ask."

"Sam!"

The serpent seemed to contemplate him for a moment before sliding down to Dean's chest where it lifted itself up to better look at Sam, "Well don't you have quite the silver tongue."

Sam struck out at the creature the same instant that it lunged for him.

As the serpent fell to the ground, Sam picked up the torch.

It was engulfed quickly, burning up with a soft cry.

Back in the motel room, Sam tossed a bottle of lotion at Dean.

"I'm not gonna use this and smell like a grandma."

"Fine, then just deal with the burns around your wrists and ankles." Sam smirked while packing up the last of his things.

Dean muttered before applying a small amount of lotion to his rope burns.

"We should at least see the ocean before we leave," Sam hinted.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Dean asked, picking up the last of their bags.

"Let's go stick our toes in the sand."