Author's Note: Sorry for the delay! I had extreme writer's block over the past few weeks, and the chapter just didn't want to be written. But I owe a major thanks to my brother for giving me new ideas to expand the story! So, really, these next few chapters basically come from him. Enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Supernatural.

The thing about books is they tend to make much more sense than real life.

Each story has a neat little arc: Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. He's spent years reading them; he's memorized the formula exactly.

But real life – well, it's far more messier. There's no rhythm, no pattern to anything. Everyone gets abandoned by the one thing they thought they could trust the most.

In his case, it's his family.

His father was the first to go. Just packed his bags and left the building, leaving his sons and daughters to fend for themselves. But with no God to turn to, his brothers and sisters had gone to the dark side.

That was a phrase he picked up from the comic books.

Heaven had been in complete chaos, and even though he'd tried to call order, to talk about his beloved tablets, no one had listened. So he'd left.

Until the Winchesters arrived.

He'd quickly realized he could get revenge on his brethren by using Sam, Dean, and Castiel, and formulated a plan to do so.

He'd succeeded, and now he could spend every waking moment alone in Heaven reading books.

He is content.

"Are you sure there is no way I can be of assistance?" Castiel persists, following Dean into the kitchen. The brothers are about to go on a hunt – just a simple ghost, nothing too spectacular – and they told Cas to stay at the bunker, afraid he'll mess everything up.

"Sorry, buddy, you're just gonna have to sit this one out until you can get better control of your human-ness," Dean replies, shoving some salt into his duffel bag.

Castiel sighs and retreats, collapsing onto the soft couch and staring at the wall.

"Sammy! Get a move on, we've got to go!" Dean calls. Sam stumbles into the room, his own bag slung over his shoulder. After a small wave to Cas, the boys bang out the door, and soon the engine roars and the Impala speeds away.

Castiel leans back against the leather, glancing around the room. He's unsure what to do with himself, as the Winchesters specifically instructed him to NOT interfere with anything.

But...they've been so kind to him, especially after all the damage he has caused; it only seems natural to try and repay them in some way. Maybe...maybe he can somehow interrogate Abaddon – attempt to gather some information on her unknown plans. It's the least he can do. And nothing bad can happen; she's locked up completely.

With this new goal in mind, he weaves his way through the building and into the dark, cramped dungeon. He was only in here for several minutes before, so he now seizes the opportunity to fully notice what the room looks like. It's built with large, stone bricks, each about the size of one's fist. Water drips from hidden pipes in the walls, and symbols are painted on every surface. Chains and tables are set up everywhere. On the far right corner hangs Abaddon, with every kind of metal wrapped around her. He slowly approaches. "Hello, Abaddon," he says, his voice dark.

She grins and looks up. "Castiel," she welcomes. "What a nice way to start my day."

"Shut up," Cas commands.

Abaddon widens her eyes, taken aback by his powerful attitude. "What can I do for you?" she asks.

Cas hesitates, unsure on how to go about the interrogation. "I would like to know what your plans are," he states simply after several seconds.

Abaddon laughs. "To kill Crowley, of course."

Castiel shakes his head. "Yes, but what else? There's more to it than just that."

Abaddon smiles and makes a zipping motion with her lips. "I'll tell you if you unlock me," she says in a sing-song voice.

Cas looks her in the eyes, about to say something, when suddenly...a funny feeling spreads over him...

It's like...he can't seem to move his body, or think of anything...he can only stare at Abaddon...

He doesn't even realize it when he raises the key and unlocks the handcuffs, then unwraps all the chains...and then...Abaddon gently places two fingers on his forehead...and...he...

All goes black.

"Well, that was a complete waste of time," Dean sighs, bursting through the door of the bunker. It's only been about 36 hours since they left, but they quickly saw when they arrived in the town that there was no supernatural activity, and staying any longer was pointless.

Sam drops their stuff onto the floor and shuffles down to his room, having had no sleep for the past day and a half.

Dean had managed to catch a few hours since Sam offered to drive first, so he goes into the kitchen, where he grabs an apple and a bottle of water. "Hey, Cas," he calls out. "Didn't I tell you to go food shopping? All we've got is a bunch of fruit."

When no one responds, Dean draws his eyebrows together and steps forward. "Cas?" he yells. A small shuffling is heard from the dungeon, and Dean, confused, heads toward it. He slowly opens the door and inhales sharply at the sight.

Instead of seeing Abaddon, he sees Cas chained up with blood dripping down the side of his face and a small cloth wrapped around his mouth. "Cas?" Dean says, his voice hollow. "What the...what the Hell happened? Are you okay? Where's Abaddon?!" he shouts, unlocking the handcuffs and ripping the cloth away.

"I came in here yesterday to try and question her, but she hypnotized me into – into letting her out of her traps. She knocked me out and I woke up like this, with her nowhere in sight," Cas gasps. He looks up at Dean worriedly. "I'm – I'm sorry."

Dean stares at Cas for a long moment. "You...you unlocked Abaddon," he says softly.

Cas averts his eyes. "I – yes, I did, but she – she hypnotized me and – I'm truly sorry, Dean."

Dean lets out a humorless chuckle. "I told you to really work hard at earning my trust back. So what's the first thing you do? You let the demon go." He gazes at Castiel, and the fallen angel can sense the loyalty breaking, the pain in Dean's voice.

Unfamiliar tears prick Cas' eyes. "I'm sorry," he repeats.

Dean shakes his head. "I can't do this anymore," he says, all emotion gone. He pulls Cas out the door and to the main room, where he throws one of the duffel bags to him. "There's weapons and some money in there," he says gruffly.

Cas looks at him, confused. "Why are you..." his eyes widen in realization, and his breath catches in his throat. "Dean?"

"You have to go. I don't care if you're sorry, just go. Get out. Please." Dean stares at him coldly before opening the door.

Cas clutches the bag and gazes at Dean. After a moment, he nods and steps out of the bunker. The door slams behind him.

Kevin shuffles into the room, yawning tiredly. He glances around. "Where's Sam?" he asks.

"In his room," Dean responds, taking off his jacket.

"And Cas?"

Dean stops for a moment, then clears his throat. "Gone."

Kevin furrows his brow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean he's gone. He did too many things wrong, and we can't trust him. He's gone."

Kevin bites his lip, unsure of how to respond. He can tell Dean is suppressing his emotions, pushing them back to the farthest parts of his mind until he can no longer feel them.

Once Dean goes to his room, Kevin hurries out the door and walks for several minutes until he finds Cas.

"Kevin," Castiel greets, putting down the duffel bag.

"Dean doesn't know I'm here," Kevin says. "I - I think my theory was right."

Cas looks at him, interested. "Really?" he asks.

"Yeah. There are three trials, like the others, except these will return an angel's grace." Kevin reaches into his jacket and pulls out the angel tablet. "I've only figured out one so far, but...when I've translated the rest, would you be up to completing them?"

Cas takes the tablet and stares at it, feeling it's weight in his hands. He shrugs. "I'm not good for much else, so if there's anything I can do to help...yes. I'll do the trials. What's the first one?"

Kevin grins. "Acquire the wings of an angel," he quotes.

Cas looks at him, puzzled. "But...there are no more angels," he replies.

Kevin looks up at the sky. "Except for one."

Cas follows Kevin's gaze, then gives a small smile. "Metatron," he whispers.

Author's Note: That's it! I'm quite excited for this plot line, as this is where the action starts. As always, if you notice anything wrong with the plot, do not hesitate to tell me. Reviews are beautiful things (just saying). 'Til next time!