Cas sulked as he dragged his feet behind Michael. Michael continued walking at a brisk pace, glancing back only once in awhile to be sure Cas was still with him. He rubbed his temples as he looked back once again.
"Keep pace, Castiel," Michael commanded. "We will never retrieve the Ring if you keep slowing down."
"We will never retrieve the Ring if you don't know where you're going," Castiel bristled. Michael fumed.
"I know where we are going." He said.
"Perhaps but you don't know where the Ring is," Cas added. Michael stopped.
"I am the leader of this expedition. The only reason you're here is because I am a man of my word." He seemed about to say something more but stopped himself. He turned away and seethed. Then he turned back and said simply, "Let's...stop for a moment."
Cas frowned, and sat down sharply. Michael narrowed his eyes and sat down too. A thin line of sweat crawled its way along his hairline. Cas noticed his eye twitch slightly, and then he cringed as his eyes glazed over. His hand shot to his head. He started to tug at his hair and began yelling in agony. Cas gaped at the sight, and moved to help.
Suddenly his eyes cleared and a light sparked behind them. He was breathing heavily and he was looking around wildly, taking in his surroundings. His eyes found Cas and he struggled to find the effort to say, "Cas."
Cas jumped up and rushed to him.
"Dean?" He asked ardently. Dean nodded. Cas sighed happily and smiled.
"Are you alright? How are you holding up?" He asked, fervently. Dean shook his head.
"Listen to me," he growled. He pulled Cas closer. "I've been inside Michael's head and I know his plans. You can't trust him."
Dean took a moment to catch his breath before continuing, "If you don't die along the way, he plans to kill you after you've found the Ring."
"Dean, you think I haven't expected that from the start?" Cas asked. "He can't fool me with his gifts and flowery words."
Dean smiled and said, "Cas, you sly dog."
Cas smiled back. He and Dean just stared at each other for a moment, taking each other in and holding onto the moment. Then Dean's eyes went wide and he clutched Cas tighter.
"Dean-" Cas began, but Dean squeezed Cas's arm.
"There's more. You...you can't let Michael get the Ring…" He said laboriously. He winced, and strained to keep control. "If he gets the Ring...He's not going to expand Heaven. He's going to…"
Dean shut his eyes and pulled away. He clawed at the ground, but suddenly stopped. He stared at the ground for a moment, still breathing heavily. Then he swallowed and ran his hand through his hair. Carefully, he stood up. When he turned around, Cas could see Dean was gone.
"We need to go now," Michael said. He gathered himself and began to walk away. Cas was sure he must have some suspicion of what had just happened, but doubted he wanted to admit it to himself. But Cas hadn't heard the end of Dean's warning, and if Michael was suspicious it would be even harder for Dean to take control again.
Cas forced himself to get up and follow Michael. He tried to act as if nothing had occurred, but truthfully, he had been shaken up. His didn't know what Dean had meant to say, but he did know that he couldn't let Michael get the Ring.
"Sam, are you absolutely sure you want do this?" Bobby asked. "I don't like it one bit."
"I have to," Sam said.
"Once we begin, we must completely follow through to the end," Hannah said. "We cannot allow anyone else to free Lucifer. It must be us."
"I know," Sam said. Hannah bowed her head solemnly. Balthazar and Samandriel followed suit. Sam cocked his head to the side, as he realized they were unfurling their wings. The room exploded with light and he shielded his eyes. The next moment, the light had returned to normal and the angels had raised their heads.
"Let us begin," Hannah said.
Cas's bones were aching just as much as his spirit was. The only thing that kept him walking hour after hour, and fighting skirmish after skirmish, was the hope that if he just persevered a bit longer, Dean would come back. Every now and then, he could almost convince himself that it was Dean he was walking with, or that it was Dean who was wielding that great sword and fighting alongside him.
"Are we any closer to the Ring?" Cas asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes," Michael said.
"I somehow doubt that," Cas said. Michael scowled and continued walking.
"What do we have here?" A Southern accent asked. Cas and Michael turned to see a man step out from behind a tree. Several others appeared too, and suddenly they were surrounded. Michael's scowl deepened as the men pulled out knives. The first man to speak smiled, and his fangs glimmered in the faint light.
"Vampires," Cas said. The man winked.
"And you must be angels," he said. "Pleasure ta' meet you."
Michael skipped the introductions and unsheathed his sword.
"Straight to the fighting, alright," the vampire said, and lunge forward.
Cas dodged him easily, and kept him at a distance with his sword. Meanwhile Michael was quickly cutting down the vampires. The lead vampire and Cas circled each other, waiting for the right moment to pounce.
"Your friend over there sure knows how to swing a sword," he said. Cas grimaced.
"He's not my friend," he said resentfully. The vampire put his hands up.
"Didn't know," he said. "Guess most folks down here end up with fighting with whoever they need to to survive. Although, we don't get many angels."
Suddenly, Cas heard Michael cry out behind him. He quickly glanced back to see one of the vampires had managed to scratch Michael's neck. The cut itself wasn't bad at all, but his pride was injured. Cas didn't need to keep watching to know that those vampires were going to suffer. He looked back, but the vampire took advantage of his distraction and pounced.
Cas jumped in shock. His reflexes took over, and he rolled to avoid the vampire's knife. He kneeled to get up, but the vampire attacked again and he was forced to stay kneeling. They continued to block each other's attacks. Cas knew it was only a matter of time until one of his blocks failed, so he moved quickly. His leg shot out and hooked around the vampire's, causing him to catapult to the ground. He'd clearly been caught off guard. He fell with a gasp, and his knife skidded away.
He looked up at Cas as he put his sword to his neck. Just as Cas was about to decapitate him, something stopped him. The vampire was smiling up at him, his eyes twinkling.
"You gonna kill me?" He asked. "You can go ahead, you won fair and square. But I can help you."
Castiel narrowed his eyes, and put more pressure on the vampire's neck. The vampire looked nervously at the sword, but he wasn't dead yet. He kept talking.
"I overheard you two bickering about the Ring of Light," he said. "I know where it is and I'll take you there if you don't kill me."
"You know where the Ring is?" Cas asked incredulously. The vampire nodded.
"Castiel, what are you doing?" Michael said, brushing vampire guts off his feet and onto onto the grass. "Kill the vampire."
"He knows where the Ring is," Cas said. Michael's mouth turned down.
"I know where the Ring is," he said.
"Is that why you were going in the opposite direction?" The vampire asked. Michael was speechless, and he gawked down at the vampire. Cas couldn't help but smile.
"Alright Castiel, you've had your laugh," Michael said.
"He can take us to the Ring," Cas said, and noticed Michael's grip tighten on his blade.
"We can't trust him," Michael spit. Cas rolled his eyes, but the vampire raised an eyebrow.
"Ya'll clearly don't understand Purgatory," he said. Michael's nostrils flared. "Down here, it's all about survival, no matter what it takes or who you have to work with. I want to survive, and teaming up with two powerful angels seems pretty good to me. So why the devil would I undermine that?"
Cas was about to fight for him, when he noticed Michael's facial expression change. It was incredibly slight, but Castiel knew every muscle and twitch in Dean's face. He recognized that slight squint in his eyes and jump of the eyebrow which revealed that Michael was, if not completely on board, at least curious. He guessed it had been the "powerful" adjective used in Michael's vicinity. After the adoration withdrawal, Michael must be willing to take whatever he can get.
"I have decided," Michael announced. The vampire raised his eyebrow quizzically at Cas, who widened his eyes sympathetically. "The vampire may travel with us, but I want you both to remember who is in charge of this expedition."
Cas sheathed his sword and offered the vampire a hand. He took it, and hopped up. He brushed some dirt off and offered his hand for a shake.
"I'm truly grateful," he said, his accent adding a ring to his words. "Name's Benny LaFitte."
"Castiel," Cas said, shaking his hand. He gave Michael a sideways glance. "And that is the archangel Michael."
"An archangel?" Benny asked. "Ya don't say."
"I do…" Cas said, tilting his head and pinching his eyebrows together. Benny smirked.
"Well, Castiel and Michael, what's say we find that Ring?" Benny asked.