"Maybe if we―"

"Maybe if you just stopped," Dean interrupted the King of Hell, walking into the warehouse where he and the fallen Angel of the Lord were hidden out, discussing ways to get into Purgatory, for their own, selfish purposes.

It had been a long journey for Dean Winchester to end up here; allowing Cas to work with Crowley to do anything, particularly freeing the Leviathans that had ended up killing Bobby and many, many others, was one of Dean's biggest regrets in life. Aside from the obvious―taking the Mark of Cain, killing Death, accidentally freeing the Darkness, etc., etc. And now Dean had several advantages: he was immortal and he was here, in the past, able to undo his mistakes. And like hell he was gonna undo them.

When Rowena cast the spell to take the Mark off of Dean's arm, it had worked―to an extent. Dean's soul had been split into two, equal and identical copies: one without the Mark, one with. This Dean, here in this warehouse, was the unlucky half who was stuck with it. He couldn't die, not even if he wanted to. He'd tried. He had lived through countless years on the charred remains of an earth completely ravaged by the Darkness. The upside was that because the Darkness had been freed, the Mark of Cain's poisonous effects on him were null and void. He was, essentially, a friendly demon. And he was here now, not knowing of the force that had brought him back.

And now he stared at the unlikely pair, one of whom stared at Dean guiltily like a deer caught in the headlights. The other tried smoothly to talk his way out of this disaster: "Squirrel! What are you doing here? Last time I saw you, you were living a happy life with your girl. What was her name, Linda?"

Dean scowled at him. "Her name's Lisa. As for what happened to me―" Dean blinked, revealing his demon eyes. "The two of you happened to me."

Crowley's eyebrows shot up. "Whoa."

Castiel rushed forward. "Dean, you're a demon? How did this happen?"

Dean backed away from him, returning his eyes to their normal color. "Once upon a time two idiots decided to break into Purgatory and accidentally nearly cause the end of the world."

"That doesn't answer my question, Dean." Dean stared at Cas deadpan.

"I'm not here to answer your questions. Please, just stop what you're doing. I know exactly what you're doing, and why. There is another way. Find it. Leave Purgatory alone. Please."

In the blink of an eye, Dean was gone, leaving a confused Crowley, and a conflicted Castiel.

"Well, that was something. Where were we?" Crowley asked.

Castiel shook his head. "What? You're just going to ignore him?"

"He's a demon! It's not like we can exactly trust him," Crowley shrugged.

"You're a demon," Castiel pointed out. "Are you saying I can't trust you?"

"We had a deal! I always keep my end of the bargain. He, on the other hand, just came in here demanding everything for nothing! It's a trick."

Castiel, though, wasn't so sure. He sensed Dean longing for him and flew off to check on him. He was both thoroughly confused and relieved to see that Dean was alive, well, and human. He didn't reveal himself, though; he just stood there watching Dean blankly watch tv.