The sun was just beginning to sink below the horizon when Sam and Emily pulled up to the warehouse. They gathered up their weapons, climbed out of the Nova and headed towards the crumbling structure. A rush of wind along with a chorus of flapping wings sounded behind them. The two hunters spun around and were shocked with who it was they saw.

"Cas?" Emily said in a whisper.

"Oh my god, you're alive." Sam breathed. "What happened? We thought you had been kidnaped by demons."

"A demon." Castiel corrected. "And her reasons for doing so were only to make Crowley believe that I was dead. But more importantly, what are you two doing here?"

"We came to save Dean and Madison, bu-" Sam's words were cut short.

"I told you not to return to this place." Castiel said, his gaze trained on Emily.

She quickly looked to the ground. She knew that she had no excuse for her actions. Not one that Castiel would buy into at least. Sam seemed to sense her discomfort and placed his arm around her shoulders. Emily looked up and smiled at him, grateful for the support. Sam returned the smile. Castiel eyed the two with an expression that could not be easily read. He turned his head and looked away, unnerved by the unfamiliar sinking feeling in his gut.

"We need to leave as soon as possible." He attempted to speak calmly but his voice betrayed him and cracked as he uttered the last few words of his statement.

Emily was quick to protest. "But what about Dean an-"

"They'll be fine." Castiel snapped. "The demon I spoke of earlier has already made plans to help them escape."

Emily and Sam exchanged a glance before following Castiel back to the Nova. The angel walked quickly, arms at his sides and fists clenched tight. Emotions that he couldn't comprehend welled up inside him. He felt empty, yet full, like his heart was going to burst and he didn't understand why. Cas had been standing in front of the Nova for a full five minutes now, though he didn't realize it. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Emily staring up at him with wide eyes.

"Cas, are you okay?" She asked quietly.

"I'm fine." He grunted.

"Well, it's just that..." Emily's voice trailed off as she cast her gaze downward at the car door.

Castiel looked down and saw that his fingers were gripping the door handle tightly. He let loose his grasp and was astonished to find that the metal had been bent to match the shape of his hand.

"Sorry." He muttered gruffly.

The two syllables had only just rolled off the angel's tongue when a figure appeared out of thin air and lunged at him. Castiel found himself being pushed to the ground by two forceful hands on his chest. He looked up at his attacker and felt immediate betrayal when he saw her face and realized her identity.

"Hester!" He grunted. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Only what needs to be done." She hissed in response.

The blonde angel keep him pinned to the earth with one hand, in the other she held her silver blade high above her head. Her stance resembled a cobra, coiled and ready to strike her prey with deadly venom. Castiel looked to Emily and Sam with the intention of telling them to run and save themselves. But alas, he found the two hunters to be in situations unfortunately similar to his own. An angel who was called Virgil had Sam's body pressed against the side of the Nova. Castiel knew the full potential of Virgil's strength; Sam wouldn't be escaping his grasp anytime soon. Emily was being held by Simeon, an angel that had fought in Castiel's garrison prior to the evasion of the apocalypse.

"Simeon!" He called to the angel for aid.

"I'm sorry, brother." Said Simeon, avoiding Castiel's gaze. "This is how it must be."

"Take the girl to Raphael." Hester commanded. "Make certain he knows it was I who was responsible for her capture."

Simeon nodded and wrapped his arms around Emily, preparing to fly her to heaven. But before he could manage to get even an inch off the ground, a sickening slice was heard. Everyone's turned their heads in shock as they watched Simeon's eyes glow white. He fell to the ground, an angel blade driven into his back. An single arm wrapped Emily's middle and another pressed a blade to her throat. Crowley's face appeared from over her shoulder, grinning triumphantly.

"Sorry, darling." He said, addressing Hester. "Looks like I win this time. Long live the king."

The demon disappeared, and Emily along with him. Hester and Virgil immediately released their captives and followed, vanishing in a clamor of fluttering wings. Sam helped Castiel from the ground and was handed a blade of his own before the angel vanished.

Sam clenched his jaw and raised his arms defeatedly. "Great."

12345

Amanda took a quick glance at the surrounding hallways to make certain that she was alone before pushing open the door to the room where the two hunters were being held. She walked over to Madison first.

"Hey!" Dean shouted. "The hell do you think you're doing?"

"Helping you escape." She replied calmly. "Do me a favor and try to keep your voice down, will you? I don't want to attract any unnecessary attention."

Amanda then pulled a set of keys from the inside of her leather jacket and hurriedly undid the locks on the chains. She helped Madison down and then moved to Dean, releasing him as well. The very instant he was free, Dean grasped the demon's throat and slammed her against the wall.

"Alright, what's the deal here?" He snarled. "Is this some sort of trick? You bust us out of this crap-hole and gain our trust, then stab us in the back when we aren't looking? I can tell you right now it won't work, sister. I know what you did. Killing Cas, that was a bad move."

"Castiel isn't dead." Amanda stated.

Dean laughed, "Yeah, like I believe that crap."

"I'm not asking you to believe anything, Winchester." She snarled. "If you want to stay down here and rot, that's fine with me."

"Dean..." Madison said quietly. "I think we should go with her."

"What? Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I am." She nodded. "I mean, it's not like we really have much of a choice. This place is a fucking maze, we'll never be able find our way out without help."

Dean took a moment to study the demon he had pinned to the wall before sighing and releasing her from his grasp. Amanda huffed and walked over to the door, peering outside before motioning for the two hunters to follow her.

"This way." She whispered.

They followed her through a long, narrow corridor, up two flights of stairs, then down one. They slipped down a hallway, through a large room and finally, they made it to a set of large double doors. Amanda snapped her fingers and the doors opened. Faint and pale moonlight seeped from cracks in the clouded night sky and into the dark and dreary building. Dean and Madison hurried through the open doorway, once they were outside, Amanda snapped her fingers a second time to close the doors.

"Ah, Amanda. There you are. I was being to wonder if you had been caught."

The three turned in the direction the voice had come from. A dark figure leaned against the building, head tilted downward. He straightened up and began to walk towards them. Once he was out of the shadows, they managed to make out his face in the dim light of the moon.

"Balthazar?" Dean said in disbelief.

The angel ignored the hunter while Amanda scoffed.

"Balthazar." Dean repeated the name.

Again he was ignored.

"Hey!"

"Oh, sorry." Balthazar spoke with heavy sarcasm. "Were you talking to me?"

"The hell are you doing here?" Dean snarled

"I'm here to help you two idiots escape." The angel stated flatly. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll show you to your brother."

"Balthazar, wait!" Amanda called before the angel could vanish.

Balthazar stopped and took a step back, eyeing the demon with curiosity. She pointed to the sky and he immediately understood.

"There's been a change of plans." He said, turning back Dean and Madison. "Amanda will take the two of you to Sam. I have some family matters I must attend to."

And without another word, the angel was gone.