Chapter Two

He was gasping, pleading, screaming, just calling out desperately for something, anything to save him. The only thing he knew was pain. It blocked out all other senses, demanding the attention of his entire being. Inside of him, his vessel was crying out as well, curling himself into an impossibly tight ball at the back of their mind. Samandriel tried valiantly to shield him, but it was no use. The angel was too weak. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I never meant for any of this to happen, please forgive me, please, I'm so, so, sorry...

There was no relief, only a slight release of pressure when they wanted to ask him a question.

"For the last time, I don't know anything!" he pleaded, his voice cracking to a desperately high pitch. The demon shrugged. Suddenly its twisted face changed from an indifferent expression to a terrifyingly gleeful grin. It reached for his forehead...

"NO!" Samandriel shot up, wildly thrashing to escape whatever was binding him. On another plane, his wings were flailing frantically, but something was blocking him from flight. He was trapped, in a cage that he would never, ever be free from. Soon his torturers would arrive, only giving the minimum amount of time to heal himself. "No, no, no, NO!"

Something exploded overhead, sending sparks and shards of glass raining down on him. At the same time, he tumbled off of whatever he had been laying on, landing roughly onto the floor in a tangle of sheets and blankets. He looked around him. He was in a comfortable human room, coated with peeling wallpaper and warm hardwood instead of blood-stains and frigid concrete. Sturdy devil traps guarded every entry, even the window. The perimeter was lined with salt, some of it ingrained into the molding itself. Samandriel felt the presence of a friendly brother nearby. He slowly allowed himself to relax.

"Samandriel, are you alright?" the door burst open, allowing Castiel into the room.

"Castiel!" Samandriel sighed in relief at the sight of his older brother. There was no other angel he would rather be with at the moment. "Yes, I'm fine. I just had bad visions while I was unconscious, that's all."

"It's alright, you're safe here." Castiel assured him. He offered a hand and helped him up. Samandriel almost immediately fell back down, his shaky legs not yet ready to support him. Castiel took one of his younger brother's arms and slung it over his shoulder, helping him walk. They went into the main room. Castiel set him down in a chair.

"Hey, look who's up." Dean Winchester said as a form of greeting from the kitchen area. "Not that we couldn't tell, with all the explosions and all..." he grumbled, although his facial expression seem open to friendship. Samandriel was confused on how he should react, so he chose not to.

"Dean's just joking," Sam Winchester offered encouragingly from the well-loved couch on the opposite side of the relatively large room. His face was unquestionably friendly, although it seemed mostly based on pity. But, at least he was easy to read.
"Man, I forgot how awkward you guys can be when you're fresh outta Paradise," Dean said with a chuckle. He turned to the stovetop, stirring something with a spatula. "But anyway, how're you feeling, baby bird? Want some grub?"

"I'm feeling fine, right now." Samandriel responded, ignoring the fact that Dean had compared him to an infant avian (he may be in the youngest choir of warrior-ranked angels in Heaven, but it wasn't like he was some down-feathered fledgling just learning to fly). "And, although I appreciate the offer, food isn't necessary-"

"'-in order to function', yeah, yeah, I know, but it'll make you feel better." Dean held out the still-sizzling skillet for him to see. "See? I even put extra cheese in."

"No, really, I'm-"

"I would advise accepting Dean's offer," Castiel told Samandriel, a slight smile playing at his lips. "It will stop him from badgering you like a mother hen for the rest of the morning. Besides, eating is an enjoyable experience, even if it is overall useless and time-consuming."

"Cas, call me Mother Hen again and I'm making fried angel wings for lunch." Dean said, pointing his spatula at said angel threateningly. Samandriel was aghast that the Winchester would even think such a thing, but Castiel just rolled his eyes. Dean pulled some paper plates out of a cupboard and served up their food. The Winchester brothers joined Samandriel and Castiel at the sturdy, maple-wood dining table.

Castiel was right; eating was enjoyable. Samandriel had never really tasted anything before, or at least nothing pleasant (the iron tang of blood as it dripped down his face, the salt of sweat and tears as they invaded his mouth). This dish excited his taste buds, bringing them to life. It was smooth and somewhat watery, with an overlying sharp taste that was sweet, sour, and salty all at the same time.

Samandriel loved it.

"What is this?" the young angel asked eagerly, taking another bite. His eyes widened as he was met with the sensation again.

"Dean Winchester's World Famous Scrambled Eggs," Dean announced proudly as Samandriel quickly filled his mouth with another heaping forkful. He chuckled. "Guess you like them, huh?"

"This is the most pleasant experience I have had since I descended to Earth." Samandriel told him truthfully, devouring the rest of the eggs on his plate.

"Damn," Dean whistled, eyebrows raised. "'Guess I should cook more often."

"Do you have any more?" Samandriel asked him politely. He ran a finger along the edge of his plate, licking the remaining tang off of it. Not very dignified, but it was worth it. "Would you mind if I have some if you do?"

"Sure," Dean chuckled. He got up, bringing the skillet over. He plopped another serving onto the young angel's plate. "There ya go, Alfie."

"Thank you."

"So, Samandriel..." Sam said conversationally. "Who's Naomi?"

Samandriel felt his throat constrict. His muscles tensed and his hands began to sweat and shake. This couldn't be happening. Had they "rescued" him only to interrogate him again? What if-?

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Sam said hurriedly, seeing the angel's reaction. "We just want to help you and Cas, and in order to do that, we need to know who's causing all these problems."

Samandriel turned to his brother for confirmation. Castiel nodded.

"I assure you, Samandriel, you are completely safe here." the older angel told him confidently. "In fact, in your condition, it would probably be hard to find a safer place than with the Winchesters and I at the moment."

Samandriel slowly relaxed. He took a deep, shaky breath before speaking.

"Naomi is basically the dictator of Heaven," he began. "Once Castiel left, Heaven fell into anarchy once more. She took the opportunity to take control, literally. She's been using angels as her unwilling spies. At first it was just in Heaven- there was talk of a revolution, lead by a high-ranking Free Will sympathizer, but I heard almost immediately after that that the small force that had been rallied had been crushed- but then the Demon Tablet soon caught her attention. That's why she's been controlling you, Castiel. Not only were you close to the tablet and the prophet, but you could keep the Winchesters from suspicion, as well."

"I don't understand. How could she be controlling Cas without him knowing? How was she controlling you?" Sam asked.

"I don't know exactly how she was controlling Castiel, but I think it might have had something to do with the Angel Tablet, something so incredibly secret that I don't even think that Michael knew about its existence." Samandriel took another calming breath. "As for me, I was ignorant and naive. I was willing to trust Naomi simply because she had sent me on my first mission, at the auction. I thought that she had seen my true potential, that she thought I was important." his tone went bitter. "Little did I know that I was just a simple, disposable pawn that she was readily willing to exchange for information."

"Don't blame yourself." Castiel put a hand on his shoulder. "If she can control me without my knowledge, she can certainly manipulate you without yours."

"Well, either way, we need to find a way to stop her from calling you guys back to bible camp." Dean said. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. He looked to Cas. "Can you think of anything?"

Castiel shook his head. "Nothing without being temporary, detrimental, or both."

"Great," the older Winchester said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Maybe we should go to Garth's?" Sam suggested. "I mean, he has all of Bobby's old books. If anyone- well, anyone human- could figure out a way to fix this, it's him."

"Yeah, alright," Dean agreed reluctantly, "we'll go to Garth's."

A/N:

To hunter headquarters! I don't really have much to say, but if some of the facts don't line up with yesterday's (as in, January 23rd's) episode (which I still haven't watched yet), it's AU anyway. So don't let me see no complainin', y'hear?

Thanks to kb18142, SkyHighFan, Molly-Myles, Guest (please sign your name so I know who to thank!), Casismyfavorite, The Mysterious Shadow, Breezy-Night, SC, Dead-Knight-of-Darkness, and Dessiel for reviewing! It really helped me out, especially just starting. Sorry, I usually PM my response, but this week has been really busy for me. I'll try to from now on.

Thank you so much for reading! Please review if you liked it, and if you didn't, well, any feedback is appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not, have not, and never will own Supernatural or any of its characters, and any OCs I put in this won't matter, anyway. So please don't sue me.