A/N: This is something I've had sitting in my docs for a while now, and I thought I'd just go ahead and bite the bullet and upload it. I tried to do a different style of writing, and it's based off Plead The Fifth on YouTube, the fansong. If you haven't seen/heard it, go do that. Anyways, yeah, here it is.

Of course he had heard him. Castiel had heard the Righteous Man screaming, pleading for help for thirty years down in Hell, and how could he not? All of the angels heard the cries of agony and screams for release, but Castiel seemed to be the only one who couldn't just ignore them. He heard every shriek as Alistair cut into his flesh, each quiet whimper of pain. Please. Please stop. He'd beg. Oh god, let me out of here. Please I can't take it anymore! He'd cry aloud. Every single sound the Righteous Man made from thousands and thousands of miles below his feet cut down to his bone and resonated throughout his body. Castiel would frequently find himself on the highest peak of the Himalayas just to try and escape the sounds of torture that sent shivers down his spine and made him desperate for anything to drown out the sadness and anger.

Then, out of nowhere, they stopped. The cries of pain and torment died away and once again his thoughts were his own. He had sighed to himself, thankful for the quiet, not understanding what the sudden silence meant. Over the next ten years he had heard nothing and he had been so grateful. Then he had been called to meet with Michael, which in and of itself was shocking, but after hearing his new mission, his heart plummeted. He was to retrieve the Righteous Man, to raise him from Perdition. The dots connected and he realized with a sadness he had never felt before, that he had broken. The Righteous Man had broken, gotten off the rack in exchange for torturing souls. Castiel had agreed, as he was supposed to, to save the man who had been screaming in his head for thirty years.

For the first time in far too long Castiel had a purpose, something to quell the itch that had settled under his skin. So, he gathered a small battalion of his brothers and sisters, and he stormed Hell. His brothers and sisters fell one by one by his side, but Castiel knew they were expendable, as was he. All that mattered was the Righteous Man rising back to the Earth. Amidst the fighting and chaos Castiel saw it, through splashes of his brethren's blood and within the eternal flames he saw the brightest, most beautiful soul he had ever laid eyes on, his breath caught in his throat and he knew, without a doubt, that was the Righteous Man. He stormed forward, stabbing and slicing his way through the thick swarm of demons that had descended upon him, until he reached the torture rack. He reached forward to grab the Righteous Man, not expecting to be fought, but the Man sliced forward, searing his Grace with an unholy instrument of torture. Castiel hissed in pain and fought back against the Righteous Man, but they were well matched and Castiel had to think fast. Quickly, he reached forward and grabbed his arm, searing his grace to the soul to keep him secure, and started to lift him upward, the radiant soul continuing to thrash and shout next to him. No! I can't leave! This is what I deserve! I deserve to be here! Castiel tried to ignore him, but his heart was breaking for this poor man who felt he had done so wrong he didn't deserve to be saved. When he reached the surface he put the soul, piece by piece, back in its body, marveling at the beauty of the corporeal form the soul was made for. Before he could do much else, he felt something in his middle, much like a hook, and suddenly he was being pulled upwards, back to Heaven and away from the Righteous Man.

They had told him to leave him alone, his part was done and he could rest, but Castiel had gone behind their backs and snuck off. He found the Righteous Man after he had entered an old gas station, and he spoke gently, asking just for his name, but his voice was too strong, too powerful, for human ears, and after watching the tall man with the deep green eyes and the bowed legs fall to the ground, screaming in pain, Castiel had drifted away on a wind, deciding to leave him alone. But, like the curious cat, he eventually found his way back to once again trying to speak to that broken soul he had cradled in his arms. He whispered softly, no louder than a breeze on a summers' day, but once again he watched the man cry out and double over, holding his bleeding ears as the mirror shattered above him and an elder man took him away from the room. Crestfallen, Castiel returned to heaven, and as he breached the gate, Michael was waiting for him.

You have been found out Castiel. He had said disapprovingly. We know you've been trying to communicate with Dean Winchester.

Before Castiel could try to deny or affirm it, Michael had given him a new mission; to aid the Winchesters, namely Dean, to make sure they remained alive. Castiel agreed naively and searched over the globe for a vessel, eventually finding a devout man by the name of Jimmy Novak who was willing and worthy to host Castiel's divine essence. Castiel took his body, taking a moment to get used to the feeling of his Grace ebbing and flowing under the constrictive skin, when he heard the summoning spell, and he knew that was his queue. In a moment, he vanished and reappeared outside of a run-down barn where he knew inside stood that luminous soul. Tingling with anticipation, he blew the doors open, immediately feeling the first bird shot enter his chest as he stepped inside. He walked forward, the lights above him blowing out and showering him in sparks, as his raw power swirled and boiled underneath his borrowed skin. His vessel was assaulted with bullet after bullet, but they did not faze him, even when he reached his charge and the knife entered his borrowed heart, he plucked it out and dropped it on the ground. If only he had known how much his life would change as green stared into blue in the old barn, electricity fizzling and crackling around them.

"I am the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition."