Dean regained consciousness slowly. His head throbbed and he moaned as his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. Heavy chains bound him to a metal slate that was propped up against the wall. A table sat nearby, and upon it rested various weapons and tools that were undoubtably meant for torture. To his right, a door opened and in walked the King of Hell himself.

"Crowley." Dean grunted, glaring at the demon who stood before him.

"Hello, Squirrel." Crowley smiled.

"What do you want with me?"

Crowley ignored the question, but instead moved to the table, took up one of the knives and twiddled it in his hands. "Quite the girlfriend you've got yourself." He remarked. "Very feisty, just how I like them."

"She's not my girlfriend." Dean mumbled, looking away from the demon.

Again, Crowley elected to ignore his comment. "I tried not to have too much fun with her, really I did. But the stubborn ones are just so entertaining, it's hard not to get carried away."

"The hell did you do to her?!" Dean demanded, his voice now full of rage.

"Just a little foreplay." The demon answered, licking his lips as he did. "But enough about her, let's talk about that other wench you and brother picked up, Emily was it?"

Dean wasn't sure why Crowley would be interested in Emily, but was determined that the demon would gain no information from him. "Like I'd tell you anything."

"Oh, I think you will." Crowley smirked, then called over his shoulder. "Amanda, bring the girl in."

The door opened again and in walked a woman, who Dean presumed to be Amanda, wheeling a metal tumbril. She stopped in the center of the room and set it upright. Strapped to the tumbril was Madison. Her shirt and jeans had been removed, leaving her in only a tank top and underwear. Her legs and arms were covered with red streaks that would indicate that she had been violently whipped. A gash ran across her left cheek, just under her eye. Her hair was matted with clumps of dried blood and sparse pieces of broken glass. She lifted her head and shot Dean a weak smile before dropping it again. A rage like nothing he had ever felt before welled up inside Dean. He clenched his jaw and tightened his fists. He was going to make Crowley pay dearly for hurting her.

"So," Crowley began, a smug grin on his face, "we can do this the easy way, where you answer my questions and in return I let you two idiots go. Or, you can play hard to get and I'll force you watch as I carve little Maddie here into my own personal masterpiece. Might even hang her on the fridge when I'm done."

"You son of a bitch." Dean breathed, attempting to control his rage but failing. "I swear when I get out of here I will hunt you down and burn your sorry demon ass!"

"If you get out." Crowley corrected. "And seeing as I've got you tied up, that won't be anytime soon."

He walked over to where Madison lay bloodied and bruised. Taking the blade he had been fiddling with, he cut an x onto her thigh. Madison bit down on her tongue, determined not to give the demon the satisfaction of hearing her cry out in pain. The blood dripped down her pale leg and onto the floor, forming a tiny, red pool.

"You're gonna have to do better than that." Madison spat.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, I intend to." Crowley then turned to the woman, who had been standing and watching silently. "Oh and Amanda, do be a dear and take care of that pesky angel for me. We can't have him getting in the way of our plans again."

"Of course, father."

Father? Dean blinked in surprise, "Oh, so you have a daughter now too?"

"Mhmm." The demon nodded. "Bloody wife had twins."

"And let me guess, she was the favorite?" Dean asked, gesturing to Amanda.

"What can I say?" Crowley shrugged. "The boy was a complete pansy, a whiny little cunt, just like his mother."

"Gavin was an ignorant fool." Amanda added. "He subjected our entire family to shame and ridicule. He had no sense of loyalty."

"But you did." Crowley smiled proudly at his daughter. "Always at my side, devotion never wavering. Even going as far as to follow me down to Hell."

"So you let your own kid be turned into a demon?" Dean voiced with disgust. "Even for you that's pretty damn twisted."

"My father was right in his actions." Amanda cut in. "Emotion and morals cloud the mind, effect one's judgement. The process of removing a soul is painful beyond measure, but the result is worth it."

"Yeah, because who wants to have a heart when you can be a soulless bitch." Madison said with blatant sarcasm.

"Preciously." Amanda's tone was stone cold. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an angel to dispose of."

Castiel waited until Emily and Sam had both fallen asleep for the night before slipping out of the hotel room. The brisk autumn air felt cool against his skin, it was quite refreshing if truth be told. He walked a sort distance to a nearby farm that had been most certainly abandoned. While he could have used his angel powers to instantly zap himself to the spot he now stood, Castiel had opted for walking instead, as it would give him more time to plan what needed to be said. He remained still for sometime, waiting patiently for his appointment to arrive. Finally, he heard the loud flapping of wings he had been waiting for.

"Alright Castiel, I'm here." Said a voice from behind him.

"Gabriel." Cas greeted cooly as he turned to face the archangel.

"Yeah, yeah. Cut to the chase. What'd you call me out here for?"

"Crowley knows."

"Knows what?"

"About the Aestus, about everything."

"So what?" Gabriel rolled his eyes. "It doesn't matter, just so long as that s.o.b doesn't get his grubby hands on it. You're overreacting, Cassie."

Perhaps Castiel was overreacting, but if he was, it was only because he had a far more delicate matter on his mind. Crowley was just a front, an excuse for him to talk to Gabriel when his true intention was to bring up something else entirely. And now that he had his chance, Castiel was hesitant. He knew that his brother wouldn't react well, in fact, only days ago he himself would have thought that the very thing he was about to suggest was insane. But in the light of recent events, it was something that he now knew clearly needed to be done.

"There is...something else." Cas said quietly, after a moment of silence.

"Shoot."

"I think you should tell her."

Gabriel's face fell, "You know I can't."

"And why not?" Castiel was angry now. For what right did his brother have to keep a secret that was not truly his own?

"Because... Because I love her." The archangel muttered, his eyes avoiding Castiel's gaze. "And dammit, I'm not letting her get hurt again, not on my account."

"You know what, Gabriel?" Castiel said as he turned to walk away. "If you really loved her. You would own up to your responsibilities and tell her the truth."

When Castiel arrived back at the motel, he knew something wasn't quite right. It was cold, unnervingly quiet, and the air smelled faintly of sulfur. The angel reached into his trench coat and slipped out his blade. Weapon in hand, Castiel took a glance at his surroundings. He saw nothing too unusual. But then he heard it, the faint tap, tap, tap of shoes on concrete. He whirled around and came face to face with a dark haired young woman. She smiled up at him and her eyes turned solid black. A demon. Castiel took a step back and raised up his blade.

She edged forward and spoke, her tone sickeningly sweet, "Hello, Castiel."

Cas was confused, "Have we met?"

"No, but I've heard a lot about you."

Before Castiel had a chance to respond, two arms reached out and grabbed him from behind. His eyes widened in surprise and he tried to pull away. He couldn't. Whomever was holding him had a grip stronger than any he'd ever felt before. A strange warmth spread over his body and he felt himself grow weak at the knees. His captor released him and he feel to the ground. His head was spinning, his eyelids grew heavy. He could just barely make out a second male figure that came to stand beside the woman before his mind slipped into oblivion.