Some time ago….

"So you will bow down, and profess your love onto me, your Lord...or I shall destroy you."

Castiel was staring at the ceiling as he uttered that startling threat, an expectant look on his face as though it were that simple, for them to drop everything, every value and morale they'd ever had, and worship him just like that.

He's lost it, Sam thought, paranoia sinking in like an icy chill creeping down his spine. His mind began reeling, more so than it had been an hour or so ago now that his memories were back, but nothing came to mind of what they could do. This was beyond anything they'd ever faced before, even more terrible and frightening than Lucifer had been during his short "reign" among the earth.

There was no denying it, no sense in feigning a strong sense of masculinity for the sake of preserving his pride or appear unhindered. Sam was terrified by what he saw before him, and judging from the expressions on both Dean and Bobby's faces, the feeling was entirely mutual. Castiel had "gone off the deep end" as it were, and was running on a power-trip that far surpassed that of any angel or demon, or even an archangel at that, and Sam had witnessed Lucifer's power first-hand, knew just how terrible his power could be in the name of his wrath. He'd splattered Castiel's body across a field with a simple snap of his fingers, and Sam had felt every ounce of juice that had gone into that maneuver, that had been enough to reassure him of an archangel's capabilities when provoked.

This time, the power was magnified, and it wasn't an angel they were dealing with, but a God. The new God as he'd referred to himself, and Sam could only guess what his idea of "destroy" meant. Vaguely, he imagined that Castiel would resort to the same punishment he dealt Rafael as a way of disciplining the three of them for their lack of cooperation. Sam wasn't too fond of the idea that his body might be splattered in a manner that mimicked Castiel's own spontaneous angelic combustion only two years before, but the threat was there nonetheless. They might as well be standing in a minefield right now considering how delicate the situation was, and that at any given moment one wrong move could blow them all away…..quite literally.

"Cas….please…." Dean began, his voice cracking with effort to remain calm but Sam could practically feel the torment raging inside him. He felt it too, though for him it was amplified due to The Great Wall of Sam having been ripped down, and the haunting memories of the last two years had come rushing back like a raging tsunami. Wincing visibly Sam attempted to ignore the echoing screams in his mind and the unbearable urge to collapse for he felt his very insides were trying to rip apart, and his head was splitting in two. Now was not the time to become the drooling twitchy mess he'd feared he'd become when the Wall finally came down. He needed to focus.

"Cas come on…" Dean continued, choosing his words carefully for fear of Castiel's wrath. "You know us okay? You know me right? We're only trying to look out for you just like you were always looking out for us. Don't let this turn you into something you're not Cas…let it go…..please…"

Castiel slowly descended his gaze from the ceiling to look at Dean with a mixture of nonchalance and satisfaction, the aura of satisfactory in his demeanor being the more terrifying above anything else. He looked too damned cheerful at the moment, in his own typically-stoic way, and smugly so at that, it was unnerving to see him this way considering the state of things.

"Dean," his voice was as it had always been these last few years, unrevealing of any emotion to a point where it sounded almost robotic, save for the rare occasion where he'd revealed a hint of feeling. "You are…like a soldier Dean…..Loyal, strong, cooperative until your superior 'crosses the line' as you have deemed my actions, but the moment an entity whose rank overpowers you commands your submission….you buckle…out of fear. You fear me now Dean, because I am no longer the 'tag-along' angel that followed you with barely a question…..I am no longer the angel who came at your every beck and call only to be shelved just as swiftly the moment my aid was no longer of use to you….Those days are over Dean….A new order has come…And you will either follow me…or suffer for your prideful ways."

Whatever color had flooded Dean's cheeks for his "audacious" comment was instantly depleted and his face blanched noticeably, but he didn't break eye-contact with Castiel, attempting despondently to keep his gaze on the "God" steady, but his fear was evident. Sam didn't know if he could've managed to utter a single syllable at the moment much less an entire sentence or two, and he was certain that Bobby must be feeling the same way for the older man had yet to voice his concerns at the moment, and Sam didn't blame him. If anyone could reach Cas, even in this state, it was Dean. Cas had always listened to Dean in the past, or the very least attempted to heed the hunter's advice.

Only this time he'd gone a little too far in following Dean's footsteps…..and look at how thing's had turned out. Not that Sam blamed Dean for this, he couldn't have prevented Castiel from opening the door to Purgatory even more than he could've stopped Sam from opening the door and setting Lucifer free three years ago.

So this is what it feels like, Sam thought whilst fighting a sudden urge to chuckle as the irony of their situation finally dawned on him. He pictured them three years ago, Lilith lain before him at the ready to receive the fatal blow he'd worked hard for two years to deal. Ruby at his side, encouraging him to continue with their plan, to ignore the muffled calls of his brother from just beyond the closed double doors, unknowing of her deceitful ways in regards to their plans to kill Lilith. The shamefulness and sheer dread he'd felt upon realizing exactly what he'd done, and that it was all his fault, the apocalypse could've been prevented if only he'd listened to his brother. But he hadn't, and the consequences had been beyond severe.

As they were now.

Only this time it wasn't him that had "gone off the map", but Cas. And here Sam stood, finally understanding the struggle his brother had undergone years ago, wanting to stop a family member from doing the wrong thing, uncertain of what moves to make for fear that said member would only be pushed away. Then to have the whole concoction blow up in your face anyway.

If there was Hell on earth, it didn't consist of demons versus angels. No it was of family, and the unending struggle to keep someone you love from falling into a dark abyss of self-destruction. Sam's inner turmoil threatened to break him once again with this newly gained epiphany, but he fought against it.

"Your silence is reassuring of your choice," Castiel interrupted Sam's whirlwind of thinking to take a step towards Dean, who blatantly flinched at the nearness of their new threat. Castiel made no move to hurt Dean, but then again he didn't need to, his previous display of the extent of his power was proof that he needn't lift a single finger to kill them. Sam braced himself, waiting for the moment when Cas would strike.

However Castiel soon switched his focus from his "once-faithful" friend…to Sam, whose initial urge was to flee, but where could he run to that Cas wouldn't find him? And what would become of Dean and Bobby if he left them hanging? No matter the choice he made he would die, and so would the other two. He chose instead to simply stand there, fingers tightening involuntarily around the angel blade he was holding, which was useless now.

Castiel moved forward just then, closing the distance between himself and Sam until they were face-to-face. Sam's six-foot-four height, aside from the physical advantage it gave him in most circumstances, was useless against Castiel's "soul power". Right this very moment he felt about four inches tall, which was strange for him but then again it could almost be considered comical given that Castiel was shorter than him and yet it was the "new God" that made this tall hunter tremble in fear. Sam thought randomly that he just might laugh about this later on, after the chaos had settled and everything was okay again, if by some miracle they managed to escape that is, but just now it wasn't very funny, not when at any given second Cas was going to smite him off the face of the earth.

"I gave you the second chance you earned solely upon your sacrifice Sam," Castiel spoke again, his expression lacking the previous smug and was now blank, almost cold. "You are to receive gratitude for the toll you paid for imprisoning Lucifer, a gratitude I presented upon returning you to this earth…though not without a slight failure."

If Castiel had truly been grateful for Sam's efforts it was impossible to tell what with his monotone voice and bleak expression. He hadn't asked to be brought back, had specifically requested that he not be resurrected once the cage was shut simply because it would be too risky. What if his release warranted Lucifer's freedom? Castiel's "gratefulness" was uncalled for in Sam's opinion, though not entirely unappreciated. But still, what did any of this have to do with their current situation? What game was Cas playing?

"However," Cas went on as though he hadn't the slightest idea of what Sam must be thinking, "considering your actions upon your use of that angel blade I feel far from grateful, as I'm sure you can understand."

What the Hell was he going on about?

"Therefore, it is only fitting…upon your attempt to take my life from me….that I relieve you of something you value….something your mundane ideology has deemed…..precious."

Precious? What the Hell did he mean by that?

Sam's eyes darted over to Dean, and a sudden cold swept over him as he contemplated what Castiel could mean by those words. The only "precious thing" Sam could think of that would be worthy of retribution in Castiel's view would be to kill Dean…and force Sam to watch in helpless horror. That was the only thing that made sense, the only thing that was certain to cripple Sam in such a manner that he was certain to succumb to total distraught. Castiel would be certain to find his revenge in Sam's pain…but why Dean? His brother had been nothing but supportive of Castiel over the last few years. Sure there had been times when their friendship had been strained, when Castiel had betrayed them on behalf of the celestial forces' master plan, but even then Dean still had held sense of loyalty to Cas.

Which obviously didn't matter now, if killing Dean was indeed Cas' plan.

"I require your soul Sam…right now."

So killing Dean wasn't on his agenda after all….wait….

"My….soul?" He could barely form the words much less wrap his head around it. His soul? What could Castiel possibly want with his soul?

"Though I have consumed many….and the power they give me is fulfilling enough….one more soul could only add to my advantage…..even if it has been torn."

It seemed only yesterday when he'd awoken to find himself in the panic room, lying in the same cot he'd occupied before, and wondering exactly what he'd done to end up there. In the past it had to do with his addiction to demon-blood, and the havoc it would wreak on either his physical aspects or unsuspecting victims that stood in his way when he was on a mission that ultimately involved Lilith.

During the first moments after his initial awakening he'd spent time contemplating, thoroughly, all the things he could remember post-Archangel Smackdown…but he'd come up with nothing. Just an endless void of confusion and the underlying sensation of having done something wrong…but he hadn't known what. Only to find out that he'd spent a better part of the last couple of years walking around without a soul…and without a care in the world outside his own personal need. He hadn't realized the extent of his sinister deeds whilst soulless until his memories had come flooding back, and the realization of what he'd done had been bad enough to break him apart…almost literally.

And now to have the threat of becoming soulless again….it was more than Sam could bear at the moment. He didn't want to be like that again, to become that person again.

Before he could contemplate further of what kind of future he would have without his soul, (there wasn't much to contemplate, he knew what his soulless self was capable of) Castiel had made a move and in the next instant Sam found himself against the nearest wall, with Cas' hand wrapped around his throat, and that cold blank stare now turned sinister.

"Sam!" He heard Dean call out but made no move to reprimand Cas, it would only make things worse if they provoked him further. He and Bobby could only stand and watch as Castiel made to rip out Sam's soul, who appeared to not have heard them.

"This will hurt momentarily…but in the end it wont matter."

It won't matter? This sudden change in Cas had Sam's head spinning. Not that he'd never witnessed the extent of Castiel's wrathful side first hand, but rather he'd never expected he could be this…sadistic was the best word for it. Sinister and outright uncaring that he'd once been there friend. Their family.

Sam's eyes were locked on Castiel's, blue-green irises focused on his blue ones, it was like a staring contest except that it lacked the trivial nature. It was as though breaking eye-contact meant converting to total submission, and even though Sam was in a helpless situation he wasn't ready to give in. Not completely.

Castiel's free hand went straight for Sam's stomach, instantly pressing inward and erupting the worst pain Sam had ever felt in his life, so much that he had to close his eyes against it. Sam felt as though an entire row of red-hot pokers were being inserted into his lower abdomen, searing his flesh and burning his insides as they went.

He could hear Dean and Bobby screaming his name, but he dared not open his eyes to look at them, it would be too much and the pain was overwhelming enough. There was a bright light that Sam believed must be coming off of Cas, leaving him to assume that it was his soul-power showing by way of emitting him in its glow. It was getting brighter and brighter until he not only sense it all around him, but feel it too as though it were a tangible force. Then just as quickly as it had come, the light went out, evident in the fact that Sam was now staring at darkness on the back of his eyelids. The pain was gone too but it's lingering effects were still in effect; exhaustion and a soreness not of the body but of the mind…and soul perhaps?

"Sammy?" He heard Dean's voice some ways away, faintly almost as if in a dream, and Sam wasn't sure if he were in Heaven or that he'd woken up from some terrible nightmare only to find that the last two years had never occurred. A vision maybe? Was his psychic ability acting up again?

Slowly, he opened his eyes…and was presented the glamorous view of a large city, it's lights penetrating the darkness of the night alongside the bright stars glittering above. There were mountains in the background, their rugged peaks stretching far into the sky as though reaching for something. The city was circular, surrounded by trees and what appeared to be vast fields in the distance.

Sam had no memory of a city like this and, apparently, neither did Dean and Bobby, who Sam came to find, upon his glancing about, had been standing nearby…..and were equally confused about the sudden change of setting.

Neither of them spoke for several moments, allowing each other to take in what had just happened…..or almost happened. At least that's the way it felt in Sam's opinion, but he wasn't sure. Was it possible to physically feel your soul inside you? He felt no different then he had mere moments ago, but that didn't necessarily mean nothing happened…or maybe it did. The silence continued on, only now the trio was staring amongst each other, eyeing each other in order to reassure themselves that they truly were okay….for now.

"So…," Bobby broke the awkward silence by asking the obvious, "anyone have the slightest clue as to our new location?"

Dean, mouth slightly gaped open in a dumbfounded nature, could only shake his head as he went back to scrutinizing the unfamiliar scene before them. Sam reciprocated the movement, adding a shrug for good measure.

Bobby grimaced in reply to their inaudible answers, "Thought so."