Caged Heat

Sam tried to call Castiel first. When he received no answer, he called me.

"I'm here, Sam," I told him. Sam turned to face me. "What is it?"

"You're not gonna like this," Sam told me.

"I didn't like nearly turning human," I replied. "But... we heal. We grow. Now, I'm better than ever. So, tell me what you need."

"Where's Cas?" Sam asked.

I smirked, stepping closer. "Figures you'd call him first, and when I come, you wanna talk about him."

I stepped around him, hands in my leather jacket pocket.

Sam smirked, turning to face me. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you sound jealous."

I turned to face him. "Oh, believe me, sweetheart, I'm not jealous. I'm an Angel. You're a guy with no soul. Neither of us are supposed to feel anything by design. I've been breaking a lot of rules lately, and that rule is one of them." Sam smirked. I chuckled. "Cas' is looking for something of the demon Crowley's. We know what this is about. You and your brother want to go after him to try and get your soul back."

"Oh, you don't know everything, show off," Sam told me. "You don't know that we're making a deal with demons to help us go after him."

I raised my eyebrows. "What?"

"Like I said," Sam told me. "You're not gonna like it. What's Cas looking for?"

I smirked, looking away.

Castiel was looking for Crowley's human bones.

*

Sam and I walked into the house where he and Dean were staying.

Dean looked at me. "You actually showed. Wow, Sam, I owe you a chicken diner. What happened?"

"No big," Sam told him. "This is what friends do for each other."

Dean looked between us. "Okay, seriously, what happened between you two, or do I even wanna know?" Sam and I exchanged a look, smirking. Dean rolled his eyes, looking away. "Don't answer that."

*

I was working a ritual to locate Crowley. "It's not working. Crowley's hidden from me."

"Well, it looks like we're gonna have to try this the hard way," Dean told us.

I looked at them in confusion.

*

They asked me to bring them to their grandfather's compound, in his office. We were looking around for clues.

Samuel walked in. "Can I help you?"

*

Samuel looked at me. "If the other guy's Castiel, I take it this is Octavia."

"I take it you've heard of me," I replied.

Samuel barely nodded, looking at Sam.

I barely raised my eyebrows at Sam.

Sam shrugged.

"What do you want?" Samuel asked.

"We wanna know where Crowley is," Dean told him.

"If I even knew, why would I tell you?" Samuel asked.

"'Cause you're our grandfather," Dean answered.

"Samuel, I'm gonna get my soul back," Sam told him.

"Who says you can get it back?" Samuel asked.

"Me," Sam answered.

"Look, I'd like to help, but I'm sorry," Samuel told us.

"It's your grandson's soul," Dean told him.

"I can't," Samuel told us.

"What is wrong with you?" Dean asked. "Do you wanna work for Crowley?" He looked at me. "Ava, can you give us a minute?"

I disappeared, leaving them alone.

*

After Samuel declined them yet again, I brought Sam and Dean back to the house.

Castiel was sitting on the couch, watching TV.

Sam and Dean were sitting at the table, doing research.

I leaned against the wall. "Cas, you find what you were looking for?"

Castiel didn't look away from the TV. "Mm-hmm. It's very complex."

"Mm-hmm," Dean told him.

"If the pizza man truly loves this babysitter, why does he keep slapping her rear?" Castiel asked. "Perhaps she's done something wrong."

"You're watching porn?" Dean asked. "Why?"

"It was there," Castiel answered.

"You don't watch porn in a room full of dudes and Angels," Dean told him. "And you don't talk about it. Just turn it off." Castiel looked at his lap. Dean looked at Sam and me. "Well, now he's got a boner."

There was a knock on the door.

Dean stood, walking toward the door, opening it.

Samuel stepped inside. "This is what you boys do, sit around watching pornos with Angels?"

"We're not supposed to talk about it," Castiel told him.

I raised a hand toward the TV, using magic to turn it off.

"Why are you here, Samuel?" Dean asked.

"It's what Mary would want," Samuel told us. "Now, this is what I know. Whatever we bag ends up there." He showed us a map with a location marked. "That's where he tortures them, interrogates them. I don't really know. Only been outside the place, but it's a death trap. Nothing gets in that Crowley doesn't want in, and nothing gets out, period."

"Well, thanks," Dean told him.

"I wish you wouldn't do this," Samuel told us.

"Come with us," Sam told him.

"I may be soft, but I'm not suicidal," Samuel told us.

I raised my eyebrows slightly in acknowledgement.

*

Outside, the demon Meg and her three demons were waiting.

Meg looked at Castiel. "Remember me? I sure remember you, Clarence."

"Why are we working with these abominations?" Castiel asked.

"Keep talking dirty," Meg told him. "Makes my meatsuit all dewy."

"All right, simmer down," Dean told them. "We know where Crowley is."

"Great," Meg told us. "Do tell."

"Yeah, tell you, so you can just leave us for dead?" Sam asked sarcastically.

"You boys have serious abandonment issues," Meg told them. "You know that?"

"We'll show you, all right?" Sam asked. "But we're all going together."

"What?" Meg asked. "I'm just supposed to trust you?"

"No," Sam answered. "You're not that stupid. Give me the knife for a minute."

"No, I'm not that stupid," Meg told him.

"Do you want us to take you to Crowley or not?" Sam asked. Meg handed the demon killing knife to Sam. Sam used it to kill one of the other demons, making him flash with red, letting him fall. The two other demons started to advance. Sam used the knife to point at them, making them stop. "You saw him. He was more interested in killing us than getting the job don. I just did all of us a favor."

Meg nodded for the demons to back down.

The demons backed down.

Sam started to walk away.

"Hey," Meg told him. "You just gonna keep that?"

Sam turned back, pointing at Meg with the knife. "You took this from us. I'm taking it back. We leave in one hour."

Sam walked away.

*

Sam was inside, packing up for the hunt.

I leaned against the doorway behind him.

Sam knew I was there. "You know, Ava, you could help."

"I'm ambivalent about what we're attempting," I told him.

"Well, breaking into monster Gitmo is not exactly a two-for-one in the champagne room," Sam told me.

"I'm not sure retrieving your soul is wise," I told him.

Sam stopped, turning to face me in confusion. "Wait. What? Why?"

"I want you to survive," I answered.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked.

"Your soul has been locked in the cage with Michael and Lucifer for more than a year," I told him. "And they have nothing to do but take their frustrations out on it. You understand? If we try to force that mutilated thing back inside of you, we have no idea what will happen. It could be catastrophic."

"You mean I die," Sam told me.

"I mean, you don't," I told him. "Paralysis. Insanity. Psychic pain so profound that you're locked inside yourself for the rest of your life."

"But you're saying you don't know anything for sure," Sam told me. "I mean, I could be fine."

"You could be, yes," I answered.

"Okay, then," Sam told me.

"But I severely doubt it," I told him.

"Well, if I'm not fine, then you fix me," Sam told me.

"Sam, I wouldn't know where to begin," I told him.

"Then you figure it out, Octavia," Sam told me. "Come on. Look, we get it back. And if there are complications, then we will figure out a way to deal with those, too."

"Of course," I told him. Sam turned away, thinking he'd won the argument. "Or we fail, and you suffer horrifically."

Sam stopped, thinking about what I said.

*

Everyone stood outside of Crowley's monster prison.

"Seems pretty quiet," Dean told us.

"It's not," I told them. "I can feel it. Meet me at the side door."

*

I teleported inside, opening a door to let Sam, Dean, Castiel and the demons inside the prison.

"This all seem a little too easy for you?" Dean asked.

"Way too easy," Sam answered.

We walked along the hallway lined with cells on either side.

"Is someone there?" a female monster asked. "Please. Please help me. You gotta get me out of here. Please." Dean looked into her cell, recognizing her. "You gotta get me out of here."

"Come on, Dean," Sam told him. "We gotta move."

In another hallway, I stopped, hearing something in the distance. "Wait."

"What is it?" Sam asked.

We heard Hellhounds barking in the distance.

"Damn it," Meg said. "Here come the guards."

"Hellhounds," Dean told us. "Go!" We ran for the nearest set of the doors. The two demons who were accompanying Meg hadn't made it, ripped apart by Hellhounds on the other side. Castiel and I closed the doors, holding them closed. Sam poured a salt line to keep them out. Castiel and I let go, turning to face the others. Dean sighed. "I knew this was a trap."

"What do you want, a cupcake?" I asked.

"All right, that should keep them out," Sam told us.

"Not for long," Dean told us. "How many of them are there?"

"Lots," Meg answered. "I'll be pulling for you... from Cleveland."

"What?" Dean demanded.

"I didn't know this was gonna happen," Meg told us. "Bright side, them chewing up my meatsuit ought to buy you a few seconds. Seacrest out."

Meg tried to vacate her host's body, but couldn't.

"A spell, I think, from Crowley," Castiel told her. "Within these walls, you're locked inside your body."

"Karma's a bitch, bitch," Dean told her. Sam took out the demon-killing knife. "What are you doing, gonna slash at thin air until you hit something?"

Sam held the knife toward Meg. "You can see them. Take this. Hold them off. It's our best shot."

"At Crowley," Meg told us. "Take it and go. You kill the smarmy dick. I'll hold off the dogs."

"How you gonna do that?" I asked.

Meg grabbed Castiel by the neck, kissing him, reaching into his trench coat to pull out his Angel blade, pulling away.

Castiel looked at Meg for a moment, grabbing her, turning around, pushing her against the wall, kissing her for a moment.

Dean pointed futilely around in surprise.

Sam and I exchanged a look.

Castiel pulled away from Meg.

"What was that?" Meg asked.

"I learned that from the pizza man," Castiel told us.

"Well, A plus for you," Meg told him. "I feel so... clean. Okay, gotta go."

Dean looked at the Angel blade. "Whoa, whoa. Is that gonna work on a Hellhound?"

"Well, we're about to find out," Meg told us. "Go."

Sam, Dean, Castiel and I took off.

Meg faced the shaking doors, preparing to fight the hounds.

*

The boys and I walked into a dark, unlit hallway.

"Can't see jack," Dean told us.

I looked down the hall to see Samuel slamming his bleeding hand over an Angel Banishing Sigil, making both Castiel and me disappear with a flash of bright white light.

*

By the time that I had found my way back to the prison, Castiel had already killed Crowley and saved the others. Meg had disappeared.

We stood outside of the prison, standing by the Impala.

"Thanks, guys," Dean told us. "Hadn't it been for you—"

"Crowley was right," Castiel told them. "It's not going well for us upstairs."

"If there's anything we can do—" Dean started.

"There isn't," I told them. "I wish circumstances were different. Much of the time I'd rather be here."

"Look, we know you've both got a steaming pile on your plate," Dean told us. "There's no need for apologies. We're your friends."

"Listen, Sam, we'll fine another way," I told him.

"You really wanna help?" Sam asked. "Prison full of monsters. Can't just leave them. Can't let them go."

Castiel nodded. "We understand."

Castiel and I teleported into the prison to kill all of the monsters.