Author's note: Hello! I'm not sure where this story will go, but I know I'm going to kill Cas in it. More than once. A lot. So, be warned! It is set in season 11, so SPOILERS! Mercy is town I made up just to serve the purpose of the story, so, if there is some inaccuracies, I'm sorry. Also, I'm Bulgarian, sorry for my English and any stupid thing I am going to write here. Feel free to correct me.

Important note: If you are reading my story for a first time just keep going and enjoy! For my regular readers, first of all, thank you! Second, there is some changes here. The plot stays the same, just the grammar mistakes are corrected and the writing is better. A huge Thank you! for AlexHamato for helping me to improve my English and my writing and for making this story better. So, tell me what you think :)

10.12.2015 Wednesday

The Bunker, Lebanon, Smith County, Kansas

"Hello, you have reached Castiel's phone. He can't answer right now, because he is watching crappy porn or he's on a bender, or both. Please leave a message!"

Dean couldn't help but smile, hearing his own voice on the other side of the line. He was proud with his particular ingenuity each time he encountered the angel's voicemail.

"Hey, Cas. Look, since there's no news from Amara for couple of weeks now, I found us a case. Some strange deaths not too far from here. Sammy's got a nasty flu, so if you wanna help me, I'm leaving early tomorrow morning. I'll text you the coordinates in case you can't reach me 'till then. See ya!"

Dean could actually do it pretty easily himself, but after the fiasco with Rowena's spell, all that Metatron-crap, and endless delving in books for something related to the Darkness, he thought it would be good for Cas to get some distraction. He also needed to go out hunting. It seemed centuries since their job was focused on digging up graves to salt-and-burn bones. Sometimes he missed the Apocalypse.

10.13.2015 Thursday

Mercy, Smith County, Kansas

Dean smiled to a nice, redhaired waitress as she was topping off their mugs. She smiled back politely and moved on with other customers.

"Really, Cas? Third cup?"

The angel shrugged and sipped his coffee.

"I really like the flavor. I haven't taste this kind of coffee before," he said. "So, tell me about the case."

Since it was so early in the morning and they were dining at the small town's only cafe, there were a lot of people. Dean and Cas chose a table for two in the back, next to the large front window. The hunter took note of the exits and glanced briefly at the visitors. A little later, while he was enjoying a huge portion of pancakes with whipped cream and maple syrup, Castiel had already drunk two cups of a local "famous coffee" that was flavored with cinnamon.

"Okay." Dean cleared his throat and opened the folder left in front of him on the table. "Six deaths in ten days, all in pairs. First, Adam McCarthy and Edward Norton, 28, friends from elementary school. Both worked for the electric company."

He pulled the photos of two men and put it on the table in front of Castiel.

"There's no apparent cause of death, local sheriff found them in an abandoned warehouse in the industrial zone, after the company failed to contact them nearly 24 hours. The pathologist suggests heart failure."

The angel nodded and took another sip of coffee.

"Next," Dean pulled out two photographs and placed it before him, "Emily and Lenore Ellsworth, twins. They came home for the weekend from college and decided to go for a walk to the river. Found there a day later, holding hands. Again, no visible external injuries. Cause of death is presumed heart failure.

Castiel nodded thoughtfully, staring at the faces of two young girls in the photos. Dean pulled out two more shots.

"Latest are Evelyn and Jared Carmichael, mother and son, 52 and 26 years, found in their home after Evelyn's second husband couldn't reach them on the phone all day. Same cause of death."

"I see," Castiel nodded again, "What do you think?"

"I don't know." The hunter shrugged. "Demons kill more… you know, bloody. Maybe a witch? I was thinking that, first of all, we look at the bodies. But the pathologist is absent until tomorrow morning, so it's best to start with the first crime scene."

"The warehouse where they found workers from the power company?"

"Yeah. That's our best option for now."

Abandoned warehouse, "Marvel Leeds Electronics," Mercy's outskirts, Kansas

"Creepy." Dean shuddered, closing the trunk of the Impala. "If it is a witch, hex bags can protect us. If not," he slipped Ruby's knife into his belt and swung an iron crowbar around to test it, "It's better to be prepared. We'll go carefully and try not to split up."

"I'm not a child, Dean," Catiel said dryly.

"Yeah, whatever." He rolled his eyes and opened the door to the warehouse.

Dean stepped into the dark room, holding the crowbar cautiously ahead. He could feel Cas' presence behind him, even without have to turn to look at the angel. Despite how pleasing the morning sun was outside, the warehouse was devoid of the sun's warmth. Dirty, tall windows only let in enough sunlight to barely see in front of him. After a few minutes, however, the hunter could sufficiently see around him. He blinked a few times, so that his eyes could adjust to the darkness.

Remains of old machines covered with dust and cobwebs stuck against the walls. There was a large pile of scrap metal on the left side of the entrance, as if to remind the hunter of what had this place had been before it was abandoned.

"Dean." He felt Cas' hand on his shoulder, his voice alarmed. "I sense something."

"What?" Dean asked without turning around.

"I'm not sure." Castiel paused for a moment. "It is... strange, unfamiliar."

"Okay," Dean said, "Keep your radar on."

As he walked forward, Dean was still looking around cautiously. Cas' warning had left a bitter taste in his mouth. It hadn't happened often to encountered something that was unknown to a celestial creature.

Finally they found themselves in a little open space somewhere in the middle of the room. Resigned, Dean lowered the hand that held the crowbar to his side.

"There's nothing here," he said with disappointment, facing the angel.

Castiel stood a few feet away and his face visibly darkened.

"I'm not sure. There is something unfamiliar and dangerous, but I cannot determine it precisely." His lips formed a thin line, his eyebrows gathered thoughtfully. "I have this feeling of imminent danger, but I can't name it."

"Can't you just mojo around the room?" Dean suggested, " Maybe we miss something."

Castiel's eyes glowed in soft blue when he used his Grace.

"I don't sense anyone else, besides us," the angel said, "But all my senses are screaming to get my charge out of here."

Dean squinted at him, "You still consider me as your charge?"

"Of course." Cas sounded a bit surprised.

"I...uh, I didn't know that." The hunter wasn't sure what he was supposed to say.

"I realy think we should go," the angel said hesitantly.

"Yeah," Dean nodded. "There's nothing here."

"Don't be so sure."

The voice was deep and strangely familiar and came from all directions. The two men immediately took a defensive position, Dean raised the crowbar defensively and Cas summoned his angel blade. Leaning against one another, back-to-back, they tensed and looked around.

The figure emerged from the shadows and stood so that both could see it. It was a tall man in his late thirties, dressed in a suit.

The hunter's eyes widened in surprise. "You're..."

"Dead?" The newcomer finished for Dean, the shadowed face slipped a hint of a smile. "Try again."

"Raphael?" Cas muttered through clenched teeth. "It can't be!"

"Why, Castiel?" The archangel took a few steps and the two men followed his movements with their weapons. "You think you're the only one of Daddy's favorites?

Dean glared at the archangel."You are behind all of this?"

Dean was frantically looking for a way out. Both he and Cas were aware that the archangel could destroy them with a flick of his hand.

"Killing a few people is always the easiest way to get the Winchesters come to you." His gaze swept on Cas, "And as I correctly assumed, their faithful dog will run along."

"What do you want, Raphael?" the angel hissed.

"Isn't it obvious?" The archangel shrugged casually, but his eyes darkened. "You killed me."

"It's me you need." Cas swallowed nervously. "Let Dean go."

The archangel looked at Castiel, amused.

"Faithful to the end, Castiel?" He pulled the angel blade from the sleeve of his jacket. "But you entrust your allegiance on the wrong side."

With a flick of his hand, Raphael threw the hunter aside, hitting nearby wall and falling to the ground with a dull moan. The crowbar slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor.

Cas gritted his teeth and swung forward. The angel blades met in the middle with a metal ring and fiery sparks. The archangel's left fist struck his jaw and filled his mouth with blood. Cas swung again, but his brother escaped the blade and grabbed him by the collar. The archangel dug a knee into his abdomen, leaving Castiel breathless.

Dean sought support in the wall, trying to get up. His vision was unfocused; probably from when he hit his head on the floor. His back ached and he could barely stand on his feet, but his fingers tightened around the handle of the knife and he frantically sought a way to help his friend.

Raphael slowly and methodically was beat Castiel. He had knocked Cas on his knees and pounded his bloody face with the handle of angel blade. The angel's own weapon was lying a few feet away, out of reach.

The archangel yanked Cas on his feet, fingers closed around the neck of his younger brother, face inches from his ear as growled through clenched teeth:

"One, Castiel."

Then his free hand swung and Dean saw in slow motion how the blade sank into his friend's chest. There was no time to react because the archangel threw Castiel's limp body against him and he lost his balance. His head was once again hitting the wall and his eyes flashed sparks. He tightened his hands around the angel to protect him as much as possible from the impact.

The sight of sticking out of Cas angel blade sickened him. Dean could not say exactly how far it was from his heart. His friend was lying with his head on hunter's chest, blue eyes wide open, staring in horror archangel reaching out to him.

"Last words, Castiel?" Raphael growled.

Raphael's fingers curled around the hilt and twisted the angel blade into Cas' chest, cutting the flesh, carving deeper, leaving weeping blue marks on the skin. From angel's lips uttered an unwilling, painful moan.

"No." Dean almost cried, "Please!"

"Dean... I'm sorry." Castiel barely spoke before the blade stuck deep into his heart.

The hunter's cry merged with the burst of bright white light. Dean squeezed his eyes shut as they filled with tears and his hands tightened around the lifeless body. He was praying in mind for all of this to be just a bad dream from which he was going to wake up any moment in his bed, trembling and scared to death, but Cas will be alive, will be fine.

But it wasn't. When, after an endless moment, he forced himself to open his eyes, Raphael was gone. In the warehouse, the silence was unbearable. Hot tears streamed down the face of Dean Winchester, he made no effort either to hide them or even wipe them away. He had just lost his friend. Castiel was dead. Everything happened so quickly, it all seemed so wrong and unreal. The world slowly was disappearing around him, leaving only the body in his arms.

"Cas..." he called in desperation, although it was clear that he would not get an answer. "Please ..."

If at this point anyone was looking from above, if there was someone out there, a silent witness of what had just happened, they would have seen a picture imbued with grief and sorrow. The man sat with his arm around the dead, bloody body, refusing to let him go even in death. From either side of him, burned into the dirty floor, were imprints of a pair of huge black wings.

Author's note: So, any thoughts?