The Impala pulled up to the side of the road a little ways away from the middle of the crossroads. Dean put the car in park and then pulled the keys out of the ignition, stepping out of the car, Ella and Sam following closely behind. Dean slowed as he saw the outline of Oshea's mangled body in the distance. Sam frowned deeply and slowed down as well, touching Ella's arm. "Maybe… you should stay here." He said quietly. "This isn't going to be pretty."

Ella nodded and turned away, quietly returning to the Impala and standing against the side of it.

Dean stood over Oshea's body. He swallowed and turned his head to glance over his shoulder. "Sam.."

Sam watched Ella a moment then stepped away from her and walked over to Dean. When he saw the body, he swallowed hard, rubbing his face a little and furrowing his brows. He had seen this all before, only last time it had been his brother. He took in a deep breath and looked away from the body to Dean. "You need me to…" He said quietly, letting his voice trail off.

Dean nodded slowly, turning away and walking back to the car. Sam took a deep breath and knelt down, scooping up her limp and torn body from the road. He carried her a little ways from the crossroads, into the woods and laid her down carefully before going back to the car, blood staining the front of his shirt. He paused and moved over to Dean, saying in a low voice. "We should burn her body…," He said quietly. "If you let me get the things out of the trunk I can do everything and you guys can go back to the hotel. I'll walk back…"

Dean nodded, still not saying anything as he got back into the car, and Ella walked around the car and sat down in the passengers seat, staring blankly in front of her. They let Sam get what he needed from the trunk and then they drove away.

xx

A few hours later, the hotel door opened and Sam stepped into the hotel room. His jacket had been tied around his waist and his shirt was stained with dirt and blood. The room was terribly quiet so that his footsteps sounded like thunder and echoed against the walls. Wearily, he rolled his shoulders and walked to his suitcase, grabbing some fresh clothes before going to the bathroom. In a few moments, he stepped out again, wearing a clean button down shirt and jeans. He stuffed the filthy clothes into his suitcase then sat down on the edge of the bed, running his fingers through his hair. Castiel had vanished without a word after Oshea had left and had not returned.

Ella was curled up in her bed, halfway hidden beneath the covers, shaking slightly. Dean was sitting at the small table set up in the far corner of the room. He was leaning back in the chair, the same stoic expression from the crossroads still on his face as he stared at the wall in front of him. Sam looked between his brother and Ella then sat down beside of Ella on the bed, stroking her back gently.

xx

ONE WEEK LATER

xx

Sam leaned his elbow against the edge of the Impala's window, resting his temple against his knuckles. He glanced in the rearview mirror back at Ella and sighed, rubbing his eyes before glancing to Dean. He was opening his mouth to ask where they were heading now, when he saw something in the rearview mirror. He looked up sharply and narrowed his eyes as he saw the familiar khaki trench coat. "Dean, stop the car." He said through gritted teeth.

"We need to talk," Castiel said quietly.

Ella turned her head quickly and saw Castiel sitting in the seat next to her.

Dean slammed on the breaks and pulled off to the side of the road, stopping abruptly. "Get out of my car."

Castiel's brows furrowed. "Dean, we need to talk. There is another seal in danger."

Dean turned his head and stared at Castiel incredulously. "You're kidding me, right? You refuse to help us, you disappear and we don't hear from you from a whole week, and now you need our help? Sorry, buddy, we're done being your little puppets."

"You do not have a choice. As I told you before, Dean, I dragged your soul from Hell for a reason. This reason. Because only the one who started this can finish it. If you do not help us then I will throw your soul back into Hell." Castiel said, his eyes narrowed faintly.

Sam's brows furrowed. "Dean, what does he mean 'the one who started this?'"

Dean ignored Sam's question and turned back to look at Castiel again. "Go ahead, do it then," he said, throwing his arms up. In the backseat, Ella continued to glare at the man in the trench coat.

Castiel narrowed his eyes. "I do not understand your hostility, Dean."

"You sent us on a suicide mission, Castiel!" Sam snapped, turning around in the seat to face the angel. "We were outnumbered and Ella died because of it!"

"That was not my fault." Castiel said, keeping his eyes on Dean.

"Oh really? Because we think differently," Dean said with a wry smile. "See, we found out a little something interesting about the orphanage you sent us to. There was apparently a staff member involved in the original murders… her name was Ella. So you sent us there, and all those spirits were like hit men, all gunning for our Ella. She died because she was trying to save your stupid seal. She died because you failed to mention to us she shared the name of someone involved in those kid's murders. So excuse us for being a little… massively pissed, at you. We're not helping you anymore."

Castiel's brows furrowed and he inclined his head. "I knew nothing about this," He whispered, the anger gone from his voice. Sam laughed bitterly.

"You expect us to believe that?"

"I do not lie," Castiel said, glancing to Sam then back to Dean. "My superiors did not inform me about this. I will go and speak with them." He said before he vanished again.

Dean sighed heavily and punched his fists against the top of the steering wheel. "You guys don't start walking you're going to get flabby," he muttered.

xx

Castiel appeared in an old, dark warehouse, walking between the tall beams that held up the arching roof. Moonlight was spilling through the holes in the upper part of the walls where fans were slowly spinning. "Uriel!" Castiel said, stopping in the middle of the building as the shadows shifted with the blades of the fan. He spun in a slow circle, looking around the warehouse as he said the name again, loudly. "Uriel!"

A bald dark skinned man in a suit appeared behind Castiel, expressionless. "Hello, Castiel."

Castiel turned to face him and took a step forward. "Is it true? What they said… did you know about this?" He whispered, his brows furrowing.

Uriel paced around him, his hands stuck in the pockets of his dark blue dress pants. After a moment of silence, he nodded. "Yes, I knew."

Castiel's brows furrowed as he walked closer to him. "You knew and you told me to send them there anyway. You had to have known that the spirits would react, that Ella would be killed. Why would you do that?"

A faint smile appeared on Uriel's lips. "Orders. From the others. See, I don't doubt the intentions of our superiors, unlike you," he said, continuing to circle around him as he spoke. "You're weak, that's why I had to lie to you, Castiel. You're too close to the humans in your charge. You would have told them, and things wouldn't have worked out as planned."

Castiel's brows furrowed and he stared at the floor as Uriel circled about him. He lifted his eyes as he was called weak and his jaw tightened faintly. "Letting the girl die was part of the plan, Uriel? Something is wrong. How can that have been our orders? I was sent to protect them not to send them like lambs to the slaughter."

"Because those are our orders, and no matter how wrong things seem to be getting up there, we must follow the orders of our superiors. You should know that better than anyone, Castiel. For millenniums, you've followed our orders without a trace of emotion or doubt. You were the most faithful of any of us, Castiel, but now you've started to express emotions, doorways to doubt."

Castiel lowered his eyes, staring at the floor. "Uriel… I am faithful and I am obedient." He paused. "But there is something not right here. You have to see that. If we were supposed to let them die, then why was I sent to protect them at all? Perhaps… perhaps one of the others is lying about our orders." He said quickly looked up at Uriel, his brows furrowing.

Uriel nodded. "Perhaps.. Perhaps they are. But it doesn't matter. Even if something is wrong up there, even if the angels are lying. Even if we are losing… rebelling is not an option, Castiel. Not for us." His voice was deep as he spoke, and when he finished talking, he swung his fist effortlessly at Castiel, sending him flying backwards against a wall, smashing the bricks to pieces.

Castiel grunted as he pushed himself up amongst the rubble, standing to his feet. He walked over the debris and crossed back to Uriel. He brushed the blood away from his lower lip then curled his hand into a fist, punching Uriel in the face. As Uriel staggered back, he punched him again.

Uriel caught Castiel's fist as it came near his face, the sounds of crunching bones was heard as Uriel's hand squeezed around Castiel's. He lifted the other hand in the air above Castiel and brought it down swiftly, hitting Castiel repeatedly. Castiel flinched as his hand was shattered and he jerked as he was stricken. Finally, he dropped to his knees, his arms hanging by his sides. He swayed slightly, tilting his head up to look at Uriel. Blood was running from his nose and lips and from a cut above his eye, leaking down his eyelid and into his lashes.

Uriel grabbed the collar of Castiel's shirt tightly in his fist, pulling his limp form closer. "You will obey our orders, Castiel. I don't care what they are, you will obey them." He swung his fist at Castiel one last time before backing away. Castiel heard the faint flapping of wings as Uriel left. Castiel fell backwards onto the cool floor of the warehouse. He laid there a moment, coughing as a little blood slid down from his lips onto the floor. He pushed himself up slowly and vanished.