Hellooo lovely fans! I owe you another apology for my tardiness but I have been very busy in my actual life which I have now xD

This one's extra long to make up for it, and it was pretty hard to do. I'm still trying to juggle the two storylines and I'm really hoping that I pull it off

I own nothing

This chapter is dedicated to Polaris'05 because I made you cry and I'm sorry :P

Enjoy ^_^

Castiel had looked at what felt like every book in Bobby's front room. His searching was becoming more desperate now that it was definitely Dean's life that was at risk. There was no denying that he was closer to Dean than Sam, they had built more of a friendship, and after their recent trip into Hell ... they needed to figure out what this mark on Dean's soul could cost him, which was another reason he was trawling through these tomes. There were too many and too few reports at the same time, too many variations, too little fact, all speculation and children's stories.

His own memory was useless, he had regaled the tale himself, he had chosen to tell it that they were a man and a woman in love. The prospect of love had always fascinated him, he had watched how it changed people, the way they behaved, the way they thought. It was probably the most powerful force in the universe, people died for those they loved, they killed for them, they hated them and yet loved them still. It was very confusing.

But he began to understand it the longer he stayed with the Winchesters, he himself had done everything in his power to protect the brothers, killed and died for them. Unable to hurt them even when he had felt they had betrayed him. Also watching the way that they loved each other, especially Dean, throwing himself in the way of every danger they faced, regardless of his own safety. No matter how angry he was at his brother he always protected him, stood up for him, insisted that Sam was better than he could ever be and believed that with everything he was.

He had done the same for Castiel on several occasions too, defending him to himself when he was full of self-loathing and despair. He had given him back his trenchcoat which was a symbol that had meant more than the words Dean had said to him that night and there was no denying their now physical bond, the way that the angel could find the hunter without difficulty, meaning that the mark on his soul was having an effect. It would be useful to know exactly what that effect was and how far it extended. He knew if he didn't yield any answers here, which was looking increasingly unlikely, he would have to go to Matatron. Castiel frowned at that thought. The scribe would no doubt have several things to say. He had been putting off thinking of Metatron and the angel trials, he didn't want to complete them. But locking the gates of Heaven would force his family together and either sort things out or massacre each other, if the latter happened then at least the Earth would be protected.

He located his brother and appeared next to him.

'Metatron' he greeted.

'Castiel' Metatron said coldly, sipping his drink. They were in a smoky bar with tan panelling and red leather décor. 'Have you changed your mind then? Do you actually want to help your family now?' Castiel ignored the jibe

'I need your help' he said

'No'

'I thought you might say that, nevertheless this is important'

'More important than heaven?'

'I need to know of the effect of an angel's mark on a human soul.' Metatron's sarcasm dried up at once, he turned in his stool to face his brother

'And why would you need to know that?' he asked 'Getting handsy with the Winchesters?'

'The story is true, Metatron' Castiel said urgently 'I raised Dean Winchester from Hell by his soul and remade his body from it.'

Metatron choked on the drink he has just taken a sip of

'And what do you need from me?'

'Information. I need to know the truth to that story. What really happened and what the consequences were.'

'My dear boy, you really think I would give you such a twist?' he said incredulously, turning back to the bar. 'You don't start a book in the middle after all.'

Castiel put a hand on the scribe's shoulder 'This isn't a book, Metatron. This is real, and I need answers.'

'Then you have to earn them.' There was a pause, then Castiel retracted his hand and stared hard at the bar

'What must I do?' He asked the question, even though he knew the answer. This was a tactic he had learned from humans. Stalling. Metatron smirked, and Castiel felt a spike of anxiety.

'Well let's start off small first of all, shall we?' he said 'First, find the nephilim. Then we can talk' he swallowed the last of his drink and stood up.

'You'd better hurry, Castiel. Time is of the essence'

Then he was somewhere in western Philadelphia. Castiel could have followed him, but allowed Metatron his drama. He needed to think this over.

Dean turned his cell phone over and over in his hands. He was thinking about calling Sam. Just to check up on him. See how he was liking Brookhaven. He didn't really like hunting alone much anymore. Not since that woman in white case in Jericho. Not since he'd gotten Sammy back. He'd said he was only gonna stick around 'till they ganked yellow eyes but then something else had come up. Something else always came up. Dean wondered briefly what would have happened if he had ignored what that kid had said about slicing through his spinal cord. He wouldn't have been suspicious that Dean had had anything to do with his recovery and maybe he would have gone back to Stanford. Who knew?

'Hello boys' Dean looked up sharply. Crowley stood opposite him, in the same suit as ever, he looked around then frowned 'Well, boy, apparently'. Dean sprang to his feet, his hand going to the knife in his pocket. But the king of Hell had him against the wall in seconds, held there, struggling helplessly against the pure force of Crowley's will.

'You're alive then?' He growled.

'Obviously. Where's moose?'

'Screwing your mother, what's it to you?' Crowley gave him a look that was almost sarcastic annoyance if there was a look for that, and Dean crumpled to the floor. He was on his feet in seconds, tensed, ready to lunge.

'Don't bother. I can have you humping the wall again before you take one step.' Dean glared but didn't move. 'Moving past the pleasantries then. I hear you've started up a game with your freakishly tall better half of who can close Hell first. Now, mummy's here to tell you that if you don't stop with this silliness, you're going to break a window.'

'Please, God, enough with the crappy metaphors already, didn't you torture me enough when I was downstairs?' there was that look again.

'I don't think I'd ever tire of torturing you, Dean.' he said, almost wistfully. 'But to the point. You two knuckleheads are trying to close my kingdom. And I can't have that. You get me?'

'Still waiting for the point.'

'Always so impatient. Well I was mulling the problem over and I thought that you might want to make a deal.'

'You already tried that, remember? Sam won't break.'

'Oh, but you would have done, I know. This theory has already been tried and tested. Weak spots and whatnot.' Dean snorted, it wasn't a denial. It was common knowledge and had been the cause of no end of trouble. 'But there's no point in trying that again, I set one of you loose and you'll find some way to mess everything up. But here's the thing. You've noticed that your brother has been under the weather lately, due to all this trial business, yes?' Dean said nothing. 'Of course you have. he's not sleeping, or eating and all the shine has gone out of his glorious mane, am I right?'

Dean was physically forcing himself not to stab the self-satisfied bastard right in the throat, he wouldn't get near it, he knew, but it would almost be worth it to see his face. It was hardly anything worse than what he had put Dean through, in fact, he'd be getting off easy.

'And how do you know what my brother is acting like? You got the house across the street and a pair of binoculars, or just a hole in the wall?'

'I'm the king of Hell, darling' Crowley said, smugly. 'Someone tries to shut down my world and I know what the effects are going to be. It's part of the job.'

'Man, you are gonna feel so stupid if it's just a cold' Dean said, just for something to say

'More like a cancer.' Crowley replied, and Dean flinched automatically. 'That's right, squirrel. Your sibling is being slowly eaten away from the inside by all of the power he's wielding. Nothing human is built to withstand it, and the power itself has a sort of consciousness. It's looking for it's next fix. The completion of the sacrifice and the closing of the gates. Which is why Sam has been so bent on getting these trials done. The sooner he does, the sooner the power gets what it wants. But it will kill him regardless, if he takes too long in finishing the trials. It wants the life, the goal of that life, shutting off Hell, is just an added bonus as it were.'

'So what you're saying is ... Sam is dying?'

'Exactly.'

A jolt of fear shot through him and his nails dug into his palm so hard he could feel blood. It wasn't exactly the biggest shock. He had known that the trials would kill him but even without the last one he'd die anyway? The fact that he was snooping around after a hellhound wouldn't mean a damn thing if he didn't find a way to get that power out.

'How do I stop it?' he spat. The words tasted like acid, he hated asking for help, especially from a demon, especially from Crowley. He still remembered every second of his very recent trip to the pit, and that did not exactly instil him with confidence.

'You make a deal with me. Lucky for you and your brother, I happen to have the mojo to make it all rainbows and puppies.'

'And what do you want from me?'

'Now, of course there's a price. I can't work this kind of magic for free. There has to be a trade. You want a hellhound? I'll give you a hellhound, you need a soul to save? My larder is full of them, you can take your pick. You will be in the same position that Sam is in now. And your end of the bargain will come when you don't complete the final trial. If you do, then both you and Sam will die, instead of just you, which is the way you like it.'

'How do I know that you ain't just spouting crap?' Crowley smiled at him in a way that made his insides twist together. Crowley wasn't lying.

'You know me well enough to know that I always take advantage of the truth when it comes along, Dean' he said with a slight chuckle 'It's one of my best features. Now. I'll give you until tomorrow, when you go looking to save that worthless sot Reymes; and just as an added sweetener, if you kill the hound, I'll let him off his contract. And assume you accepted mine. That's the sealing of this deal. Mainly because I really don't want to kiss you.'

So ... you like? How am I doing with the multiple storylines. I am definitely not certain where this is going to go but I guess we'll see when we get here xD

Let me know what you think! Reviews make me happy ^_^

I have an important show tonight too, so wish me luck :D

Love you guys

Tibbins xx