Author's Note: This will be a short chapter, due to the breaks in scenery. I've already gotten the next one underway. Thanks for reading! Also, any thoughts on what Crowley's blood may do to Sam? I'm open to ideas!

Onawa, Iowa

Outside of the car, Alice waited patiently for Bobby to finish the ass chewing he had begun. "Say it one more time, because I know you would not call me and tell me that you gave Sam demon blood," he yelled through the phone.

While she was glad she hadn't yet told him whose blood it had been, she was wishing she could take back her decision to call Bobby in the first place. Alice grumbled into the phone, "Would you have preferred it as a text message?"

"Look here, smartass—"

"Bobby, I have it on good authority that Sam won't make the trip to you without it. I had to make a tough choice and I did what I thought was best. Isn't that how you've been handling these situations for years?!"

"And in all my years of making those decisions, I was never stupid enough to give anybody goddamn demon blood!"

Alice sighed and rocked on her boots. "Sam will be alive when we get there. Isn't that the point? You wanted him back alive, right? This is the only way."

Another grunt came through the phone. Alice could tell she was going to be in the doghouse whenever she got back to Sioux Falls. "You can yell at me later. Have you had any luck finding a way to cure him," Alice asked as she glanced over her shoulder and looked back at Sam. He was still sitting in the car, staring at her through the windshield.

"Alchemy."

Alice frowned. "Alchemy? I don't see how—"

"We have a theory," Bobby muttered gruffly.

Alice paused and turned away from the car so Sam wouldn't see her expression or lip read the conversation. "A theory!? I figured we had something a little more concrete than a goddamn theory, Bobby."

"Well, genius, since there ain't any records of anyone stupid enough to drink it, we don't have a lot of options. Jenn and Eleanor Dearhart came up with a plan for us to try out."

Alice shook her head slightly. She had heard of some the 'cures' those two had worked on before; they got results but only by treading into some seriously unknown territory. "Well, if I had to choose someone crazy enough to make a cure for demon blood, they'd be the ones I'd pick. How's it going to work?"

"I've got the stuff for it. I just need you to drag Sam back here."

"Yeah, about that….," Alice said softly as she casually turned and surveyed the parking lot, spending a few extra seconds checking on Sam before she continued to slowly check their surroundings. He was still sitting there, staring at her. "What was he like last time this happened?"

"When?"

"When he went to Disney World," Alice snapped sarcastically. "What do you think—when he was binging on demon blood!"

The phone went silent for a second before Bobby spoke. "He was determined; you couldn't change his mind about what he was doing. He was convinced that what he was doing was right and we were in his way. He wasn't the Sam you know."

Alice glanced at the car again; he was still just sitting there staring at her, although this time he seemed to be smiling a little. "And how did his powers work? What were those like?"

"Alice, I'm not liking where this is going," Bobby said, concerned. "What's he doing?"

Turning away from Sam's staring, she hesitated. "He keeps spacing out, like he's concentrating on something else. Every time he does it, he fidgets and starts yanking on the restraints. He doesn't seem to realize he's doing it. Maybe it's nothing…I'm just getting an uneasy feeling."

"Or maybe that's just your senses returning. You gave him demon blood, you idjit," Bobby warned.

"Or maybe the small amount I'm giving him is doing more than keeping him alive," Alice said with a grimace. "Maybe it's fueling some demonic powers I'm not capable of handling out here in the open."

"Where are you," Bobby asked.

"About two hours from you. Middle of nowhere rest stop."

"A lot can happen in two hours," Bobby exclaimed. "You better haul ass and get him here before the shit hits the fan."

Alice turned back to the car, hoping that maybe Sam had just fallen asleep. She groaned when she saw the Impala's door hanging open and Sam gone. "I think it just did."

Fay Realm

Dean continued to struggle against the Fay that held the end of the chain still looped around him. Another blow across his back with the rough chain took him to his knees. "Stay," the Fay ground out in its gravelly voice.

Panicking from the pain and fear, Dean desperately looked around for anything he could use to escape. Not that he even knew where he was, or how to leave. Cold air blew in through the gaping doorway, offsetting the heat that seemed to be emanating from the door at the far end of the room. He shivered and tried to move back toward the open door. A firm yank on the chain left him gasping for air as he landed painfully on the rough floor. He coughed and choked as he lashed out at the Fay standing over him. A swat to his fevered head made him groan in pain.

"Ever the troublemaker I see," a clear voice rang out.

Dean struggled to regain his footing, trying to see through the black spots that were moving in his vision.

A tall Fay stepped in front of him, leaning down to be nearly eye level. This Fay was different from the rest of the filth that littered the place. This one was beautiful, not even a smudge of mud marred his ethereal appearance. Dean was surprised to see it and tried to recall the name Alice had told him. "Seelie…," he mumbled as he stared up at the Fay.

The tall Fay grabbed his jaw and lifted Dean until his bare feet barely brushed the ground. "Yes, I am Seelie, and you have caused my people undue embarrassment. Once marked as Teind, there is no place we can not find you. You will be delivered without any further delay."

As he spoke, his hand closed tighter on Dean's jaw until bruises began to blossom under his hand. "And to ensure this happens without any further unruliness, I am here to witness the transition."

The Fay released Dean's face and watched him fall to the floor.

Dean wheezed as he tried to pull air into his deprived lungs. "Transition?"

The Fay stared down at him. "A Teind is sacred. We spend years looking for you. Only the most beautiful and deadly will do. We mark you and when the time comes, we gather you. We feed you, and in doing so you enter in a fantasy filled reverie that could last eternity. When the contract comes due—"

"You send us to Hell," Dean spat from his place on the dirty floor. He couldn't hold back the coughing that tore out of his lungs. He was freezing.

The Fay's expression changed. "Our contract was made with Lucifer, back on the very day God shut us out. We forged allegiances that would ensure our survival as the universe's order changed."

"And that meant tossing us humans in the Pit."

"Do you know what would happen if Hell gained a Fay? It would be contorted into one of the darkest of Hell's soldiers. We sacrifice you, for the sake of all others. Your sacrifice serves a greater purpose, far more than your human life would have done otherwise. We consider it to a great honor."

Dean struggled to put his feet beneath him and slowly stood before the beautiful Fay. He waved a hand toward his own appearance. "Doesn't feel like an honor. Feels like dying," he coughed.

"Your flesh is burdened by sickness but that is meaningless," the Fay said, almost regretfully. "Your soul is all that is required by our contract with Lucifer. We provide only as the contract requires."

Dean paused at his words, confused. He remembered seeing disembodied souls before; great balls of light that seemed to be impossible to contain. "You only give him the souls…So the bodies in the wagon…"

The Fay seemed pleased. "Yes. Future soldiers for our realm."

Dean tried to hold back the cough that made his chest explode as the Fay leaned down and came face to face with him. "You were chosen by me. I had great plans for you, a capable general in our army. But with your deterioration I fear I shall have to find another."

"But without a soul—"

"Without a soul, you're perfect. Capable. Cunning. Fearless. The perfect soldier. You've seen those without souls. You feel repelled by them only because you feel the danger in them. Hell is a place of intangibility, a place for souls. There is no need for flesh in the pit."

Dean wheezed and tried to slow his chattering teeth. "So Lucifer gets a soul, and you get to keep the meat suit? Is that it?"

The Fay smiled. "Waste not, want not."

35.4700 N, 138.6197 E

"I want assurances that you're not involved with Dean's disappearance."

"How many times do I have to say it? I couldn't care less where the little shit has wandered off to," Crowley said. "He's probably off on a bender somewhere or shacked up with some waitress."

"Those do sound like things he would enjoy," Castiel stated. "But that doesn't explain why I can't find him."

"I just figured that by now the boys had some way to keep off Heaven's radar," Crowley said as he turned and looked up at tree canopy.

Castiel didn't say anything. He know the Enochian symbols he had placed in their very bones did indeed hide them from prying eyes but if Bobby was right and he had died, Dean's soul should be a burning beacon. "And your certain none of your lesser demons have interfered with the Winchesters? We have a deal."

"And our deal still stands. How goes the war upstairs?"

"It's endless."

Onawa, Iowa

Alice let the door of the rest stop's bathroom slam behind her. Sam wasn't in there. She had already scouted the entire area. He hadn't broken loose to use the bathroom or pick up brochures on the local attractions. She headed back to the car and yanked the passenger side door open. The syringe from the dash was empty and had been jammed into the seat where Sam had been sitting only a short time before.

She grabbed up the handful of zip ties and scrutinized them in the dim light. She grabbed her phone and called Bobby back. "I can't find him," she snapped as soon as he answered. "Looks like the zip ties were burned through, but I can't imagine how he did that."

"He's resourceful and full of demon blood. He's dangerous, Alice," Bobby said.

She stomped to the trunk and popped it open, looking for anything she could use to find him, or take him down. "Without more demon blood, he won't last long," she stated as she felt in her pocket for the last few of the blood filled syringes. "I've got to find him, Bobby."

"He doesn't want to be found," Bobby snapped. "He's on a mission. He wants to find and release Dean's soul. Check and see if there is a crossroad demon anywhere near you."

Holding back the urge to break something, Alice asked, "Yeah about that…some cross road bitch told Sam that Dean's soul isn't in Hell. If he really believes that, he might give up trying to make a deal for it. So what if he just makes a run for it? We might have a harder time finding him a second time."

Bobby paused at her news and frowned as he paced the kitchen. "Cas told me he can't find Dean's soul either. What in the hell is going on?"

"Let's sort out Dean's soul after I find Sam," Alice reminded him as she pulled a silver compass from her pocket. "Besides, I still have his bones in the hex box. We may need more help to figure all this out. Look, let's say Sam believed the demon. Where would he go, if he knows he doesn't need a crossroads demon?"

"You're thinking too hard, Alice," Bobby mumbled. "His addiction needs to be fully satiated before he can do anything else, and he knows it. He'll go looking for more demon blood before he goes looking for a way to find Dean."

Alice grabbed the map from the trunk and unfolded it, holding the phone in the crook of her neck. "I don't see any crossroad demons close to us."

"How far can he get on the blood he has," Bobby asked. "Any way to know?"

"He might make it a little more than an hour. Hard to say…"

"Look at the map and see how far from your location he might get," Bobby said as he moved to the map pinned on his wall. "You're in Onawa…."

"Yep," Alice mumbled as she stared at her own map.

Bobby frowned at his map and adjusted his cap. He knew where he'd go if he was Sam. "Any chance he might get a little farther than an hour?"

Alice shrugged and adjusted the phone. "I suppose he might. Depends on how much demon juice he uses, if he hitchhikes or steals a car and how fast he drives…Why? Do you see something on the map that I'm not?"

"Yep. Some place he'll go hog wild for. It's got demons and if that weren't enough, someone who loves to make deals. Someone who might actually be able to help him find Dean, for a price."

Alice frowned and scanned the small area she had circled on the map. "Don't mess with me, Singer. All I see is a few places he might find a random demon or two, if he's lucky."

"Think bigger," Bobby said with a tinge of guarded disappointment in his voice. "I'll leave now. You should too; maybe we can beat him there."

"I'm still not seeing anything," Alice snapped.

"That's cause you're tired…look north from your position. It would take him a little more than an hour…but it would suit his needs."

Following the original route she had planned out for them, she paused at the name Vermillion. Alice crumpled the map in her hands. "I'm going to kill that bitch!"

Author's Note: Personally, I'm excited to see what happens when everyone descends upon Vermillion! And Dean; Holy Shit! The Fay are more devious than I had planned. Now to find out how they get his soul out of his body. Let me know what you think, and don't hesitate to leave me suggestions!