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Sherlock and John walked steadily towards the inn near Juror's Hollow. They had just been hired by Sir Henry Knight to investigate a massive hound. According to Henry, this apparent hound had killed his father when Henry was a boy. And the other day, when he went down to the moor, he had seen "the footprints of a gigantic hound."Sherlock sat himself down at one of the empty tables and closed his eyes, steepling his fingers against his lips in that telltale sign that he was entering his mind palace. John heaved a sigh and continued towards the counter to pay.Sherlock's mind was racing like a freight train, recalling exact details from Henry's story. He was attempting to work out the part he had found most puzzling. "Henry," Sherlock said. "What do you remember about this hound?"
"Not much," Henry admitted. "I was young and it was quite dark. But," he shuddered, "I do remember it's snarls. It's howls that pierced the air and made my blood run cold. I could not soon forget that."

"But the hound itself. Can you describe it?" Sherlock pressed him.
Henry's expression grew uncomfortable. " I can't."
Sherlock was incredulous. "You can remember the beast's snarls and howls, but you have not even the vaguest memory of what it looked like?"

"Sherlock," John interrupted, frowning pointedly at his flatmate.

"No, he's right," Henry sighed. "I should remember. I close my eyes and I can still see him being ripped apart. There was so much blood..."

"But...?" Sherlock prompted.

"It must have been because I was young...yes, I was young and afraid."

Sherlock's patience was wearing thin. "Get on with it."

"Mister Holmes, though I heard the dog and I saw its damage, I couldn't see it. I swear to you, on my life, that the hound was invisible."
 'Invisible,' Sherlock mouthed to himself. He furrowed his brow and this time spoke it aloud. "Invisible."Sherlock listened as, up at the desk, John was trying to book a room."Sorry, we can't do a double room for you boys," the man apologized."That's fine. We're not-" he started. The man continued to smile."Yes, right, that'll be fine," John relented.Unhelpful, Sherlock thought to himself, attempting to block out the voices invading his mind palace along with the general murmur of groups at other tables. Sherlock grunted in frustration and opened his eyes, watching as John walked over to the table Sherlock was seated at, flopping tiredly down into a chair next to the detective."Invisible," Sherlock said again, now for John's benefit. "Henry said the dog was invisible.""Maybe just forgot what it looked like," John shrugged. "Or didn't see it properly."Sherlock wanted to berate his flatmate. Surely, if John just looked at the information, at the facts, he would realize just how important the tidbit of information had been. Not the ramblings of a hallucinating man delirious with grief, but what Henry, at least, believed to be the truth. "No. If he didn't remember, he would have continued to be adamant about that," Sherlock stated. "And he saw the blood, he saw his father, logically, he would have seen the hound, if it could have been seen.""Are you suggesting that we have an invisible killer dog on our hands?" John asked him with raised eyebrows."I'm suggesting that there is more to this story than what we heard. We're missing something. We have to be." Sherlock folded his hands in front of his face and stared into the distance. John sighed and took a sip of his coffee. No sugar, John never takes sugar, Sherlock's mind supplied uselessly."You're the second ones today."John looked back over his shoulder at the man behind the counter. From his angle, Sherlock didn't have to. The man was facing two very tall men clad in jeans and plaid shirts, one wearing a leather jacket over top."The second...?" the taller of the two prompted slowly. Sherlock's brows furrowed and his mind began throwing pointless deductions at him. The taller one was the younger brother, the way the shorter stood in front of him in a subconsciously protective manner. Brothers, obvious. 6'4" and 6'1", Sherlock estimated. American. The older brother, the shorter one, was bowlegged. Sherlock swept away the deductions in agitation and focused on the conversation."Well we only have two-bed rooms, sorry," the man behind the counter told them.The taller one of them looked down for a moment. "Great. Perfect. We'll take one of those."The man smiled at them and gave them a key."Thanks," the shorter one, wearing the leather jacket, nodded, smiling, before turning around. The smile was immediately gone from his face. "Hey, Sam? Why does everyone think we're gay?""I don't know," Sam sighed in response. "Let's just find this hound and get the hell back to America.""Agreed."The two of them walked out of the inn, right passed John and Sherlock."Sherlock." John tapped Sherlock's shoulder.Sherlock turned his head towards him. "Yes?""Those two men. The ones who just walked out of the door. They're looking for the hound too.""It's a tourist trap, John. Everyone who comes here is looking for it," Sherlock said pointedly, having caught the information himself but wanting to see if John had observed and listened rather than seen and heard."Well, they certainly didn't seem to want to be here. At all. And they're American."Sherlock gave a pleased little grin and was up and out the door before John could even move. Upon spotting them, seated at the furthest table, Sherlock's eyes lit up. "Finally. Someone interesting.""What do you mean?" John asked."Sit. We look obvious just standing here." Sherlock positioned himself in a chair at the closet table and John sat next to him."What do you mean 'interesting'?" John repeated."Well, clearly they are American brothers who are here to look for the hound, but they're hiding something.""Oh, yeah, clearly," John grumbled. "What is it they're hiding?""I don't know," Sherlock admitted reluctantly. "But I'm going to find out."Sherlock leaped to his feet and walked briskly over to the brothers."Hello!" Sherlock said in that faked, overly cheerful tone he often used to get information out of unknowing people. The pair of brothers stopped their conversation to turn and look at him. "Yes, hi," Sherlock continued, plastering on a convincing smile. "I'm Sherlock, this is John. It's our first time here, and I was wondering if you had any ideas on where we should go?""How about Florida?" the shorter one muttered. "It's great this time of year. Oh wait." He turned to glare at his brother. "We're in England."Sam pursed his lips and shook his head slightly before turning to smile apologetically at Sherlock. Sherlock's eyes deduced rapidly at the closer proximity. Calloused hands, handle weapons often, experienced with wielding guns, likely knives, as well. Knicks and old scars on palms, wrists, and forearms. Hunters, then."Sorry about him. I'm Sam and this is Dean. It's our first time here, too.""Yeah, and probably our last.""Dean.""Sam, I had to leave my baby in a parking lot.""Your baby is in a parking lot in America?" John asked in surprise. Sherlock wanted to snort at the sheer stupidity of the question. John was different than the rest, surely, but he still had his moments."No, he means his-""His car, John," Sherlock muttered."Oh. Oh, of course.""So what brings you to England, then?" Sherlock asked, once more in that cheery tone, turning back to Sam and Dean. "You after the 'hound of hell' like from the telly?""'Telly'? 'Telly '?""Dean!""I hate this country. Yes, we're looking for the 'hound of hell'," Dean said, suddenly smirking for some reason. "They say it started attacking again?""First time in 10 years," Sherlock informed.Dean nodded, as if those were the words he was expecting to hear. Sherlock squinted slightly. Strange."Is it true that it's invisible?" Sam asked eagerly.Sherlock's perfected smile faltered. He officially catalogued these two into his 'variables'. "What makes you ask that?" he asked cautiously."Oh, just word on the street." Obvious lie. "Well, it was Henry that told us," John said."'Henry'?" Dean asked."Son of the victim," Sherlock said, biting back the urge to add, "obviously" to the end of the statement.Sam and Dean exchanged looks, eyes locking in a silent conversation. Close brothers, then. But why investigate this hound? They're hunters; to hunt it, perhaps? Pathetic shot for fame?"Sam, I think we have someone to talk to," Dean said."Agreed," Sam nodded. He focused back on Sherlock and John. "Thank you for your help," he said, not unkindly. The two of the two hunters got up and walked back to the inn, not a word shared between them."...What just happened?" John asked.Sherlock stared thoughtfully at the two brother's backs. "We've just helped them with something.""Yeah, alright, but what?""I'm not quite sure yet."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sam and Dean walked up to the bar and sat down.
"Who were those guys?" Sam asked as Dean ordered two beers.
"Natives." Dean snorted. "Proper, polite, yet inquisitive British natives."
Sam snorted. "Right okay. So. We definitely thinking hellhounds, then?"
"One way to find out."
Soon the manager walked over to them with the drinks.
"Hey, uh, can we ask you a question?" Dean asked as he took a sip of his beer.
"Is there a problem with your rooming situation?" The manager asked nervously.
"No, no it's not about that all." Dean said quickly. "We were just wondering about something else. About, say uh, 10 years ago, did anyone show up, offering people...things?"
"Things?" He asked.
"Yeah, like stuff they wanted. Anything." Dean said "It would have been a very professional-looking person, man or woman."
"Hmm." The man thought. "Now it just so happens that i know who you might be talking about."
Sam and Dean stared at him attentively.
"There was this man. Black coat. Black suit. Sort of short. Offered people anything they wanted. Half the bar left that night with a million pounds."
"Awesome." Dean sighed.
"This man. Was he American?" Sam asked.
"No. Of course not." The man scoffed. "We don't get many of you folk around here. English like the rest of us."
"Crowley." Dean groaned.
"Yeah, that was it. Crowley. You know him?" The man asked.
"Yeah. You could say that."
"Thank you." Sam told him.
The man walked away.
"Crowley?!" Dean asked indignantly.
"Are we surprised?" Sam sighed.
"Do we have any luck at all?" Dean asked instead of answering.
"We never have before. Why would it start now?"
"Awesome. Just awesome. So now we've got a whole bar full of people about to die. We don't know who or where they are. And Crowley's behind it."
"That pretty much sums it up." Sam nodded solemnly.
"Awesome." Dean said again.
"But apparently there's this Henry guy. He's a start." Sam supplied, getting up from the bar.
"Oh yay. More of the indigenous Brits. Exciting."
"Dean please."
"They called him 'Sir' Sammy! 'Sir'!"
"Yes i know Dean." Sam sighed pulling his brother to his feet. "Let's go. Sooner we kill this thing, the sooner we are out of here."
"Alright. You've convinced me. Let's go."
Sam rolled his eyes and the two of the walked out of the inn.
The minute they were in the sunlight, Sherlock came up next to them.
"Where are you two off in such a hurry?" He asked.
Dean smiled at him. "I don't think that's any of your business."
"We're going to Henry's." Sam said, glancing at his brother.
"Marvelous, i'll come too." Sherlock said.
"No." Dean said immediately.
"What?" Sam asked, ignoring Dean.
"John and i-" Sherlock pulled John to his side from out of the middle of the crowd. "-are working with Sir Henry. We were just on our way to see him anyway."
Sam looked at Dean and shrugged. Dean sighed but nodded.
"Fantastic. Now, it's not far from here-"
"Wait." Dean stopped him. "What's that sound?"
The four of them stopped and listened. At first they couldn't hear anything unusual. Then there came a noise, steadily getting louder and louder.
vworp Vworp VWorp VWOrp VWORp VWORP
With each "vworp", a figure translucently appeared in front of them, clearer each time.
John's mouth was hanging open.
Sam and Dean looked more confused than surprised.
Sherlock was stunned.
Before long, the shape was completely solid. It was a deep blue rectangular box.
"A police box?" John asked.
"Well, yes." Came a british male voice from inside. The door opened and a man popped his head out. He had a tall face and brown hair, and a look of constant excitement, rather like a child would have. He wore a suit and bowtie, along with a fez, which slipped off of his head rather quickly. "Though technically it's called the T.A.R.D.I.S."

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The four men stared at the newcomer with wide eyes. He grinned at them and bounced out of the door. He was followed by a tall woman with curly brownish blondish hair, a blonde man, and a red-haired girl, whom Dean winked at. She blushed. "Who are you?" Sherlock asked, being the first to speak up. "These are the Ponds, Amy and Rory." He indicated to the other man and the redhead girl. Rory and Amy waved."Amy Pond, huh?" Sam glanced at Dean. "Cute name." The Doctor continued. "This is-""I'm River." River, the curly haired woman said, grinning slightly. "Yes that's River." The man said fondly. "And i'm the Doctor.""The Doctor?" Dean asked. "Doctor Who?"The Doctor smiled. "Just the Doctor.""Well Just-the-Doctor, how did you get here?""We flew." Amy piped up. "In the T.A.R.D.I.S.""Oh, they flew Sam!" Dean said sarcastically. "It's not the craziest thing we've ever heard.""Wait, you called him Sam." Rory said suddenly. "Uh, yeah, i did." Dean said, raising his eyebrows. "'Cause that's his name.""Brilliant!" The Doctor's face lit up more, somehow. "You wouldn't happen to be Sam and Dean, then?"Sam and Dean looked at each other in brief confusion. "Yes." Sam said shortly."Magnificent!" The Doctor exclaimed. "But," he turned to Dean. "Where's your boyfriend?""My b-... Sam is right here, but, uh, he's my brother.""No, no you know the a-""Doctor." River interrupted. "Wrong year.""Oh!" He turned back to Dean. "My mistake. It's no matter. He'll be here soon."Dean's face was completely red. Sam was trying incredibly hard not to laugh. "Wait." John interrupted. "You FLEW. To Baskerville. In a police box." "The T.A.R.D.I.S, yes.""Sherlock, is this making any sense to you?""Sherlock?!" The Doctor smiled again. "Doctor." Sherlock nodded. "Wait you know him?!" John exclaimed, getting more and more confused with every question. "Of course. I realize that now. He looks different now. He had messier hair last time. A long blue tie. He was with a blonde girl.""It's good to see you Sherlock." The Doctor bounced forward to shake his hand. Sherlock obliged. "Doctor, this is my friend Dr. John Watson." He told him. "So you're a real doctor?" The Doctor marveled. "That's fantastic! How did you-""Sweetie!" River called. "In case you've forgotten, we actually did come here for a reason.""Right, right of course. Thank you darling." He bounded away from John and headed back towards Sam and Dean. "You two are hunting that hellhound, yes?" He asked them. "Good point." Dean took that as an opportunity. "Sam and i should really get on to hunting this thing before it kills a bar's worth of people.""Hellhound?" Sherlock asked. "Yes, hellhound." Dean said. "Big scary dogs who are invisible unless they're dragging you to the pit. Your kid, Henry? His dad sold his soul 20 years ago and it came for him 10 years later, like they always do. And now it's coming for Henry, along with a bunch of other innocent people.""So it's true then." River said nervously. "The hound really is coming for people to-""To take them to hell?" Dean finished for her. "Yeah it's true.""Oh my god." She started hyperventilating. "Darling, darling calm down. Calm down, it's going to be okay." The Doctor comforted her, rushing to her side. "Sam and Dean are here.""What's going on?" John asked hopelessly. "River thinks she may have sold her soul." Rory explained. Sam and Dean's eyes widened. "Hey, hey, River, it's going to be alright." Sam promised her. "I need you to tell me everything.""I was here 10 years ago, and this man approached me. He said he could tell something was troubling me, and well, he was right." River took a shaky breath. "He told me he could fix...it. And he did, but..." She gestured helplessly. "Did he tell you-""That i was going to be dragged to hell by a bunch of bloodthirsty invisible dogs?" River snapped. "No. No he did not."Dean laughed humorously. "Yeah that sounds just like Crowley. Okay, River, don't freak out too much. We'll gank this sonofabitch and then you can go back to, uh, flying your magic box.""How though?" Rory asked. "According to you, this thing is after lots of people. It's invisible. We have no way of knowing who it's going to get next. How would we do this without help?""You are not without help." A new voice said.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Everyone spun around. A man with dark tousled hair and bright blue eyes wearing a long, tan trench coat appeared behind them from out of nowhere. "Cas!" Dean exclaimed. "Now is not a good time to appear randomly.""Sorry Dean." Cas said, glancing at his feet. "What's going on?" John asked. "I honestly have no clue what's happening. Sherlock doesn't either, but he'd never admit it.""Au contraire, John. I am quite tuned in at the moment. Time travelers, hellhounds, selling your soul. Terribly delightful. Though the man in the coat is still currently a mystery to me.""Can you teleport?" Amy asked Cas eagerly. "Well, i can fly." Cas said, tilting his head slightly. "Oh more flying things!" John said wildly. "Marvelous!""Don't be cynical, John." Sherlock snapped. "It doesn't suit you.""How do you fly?" Amy asked excitedly. "Do you have wings?""Of course." Cas said. "Though your eyes cannot perceive them. Not even yours, Doctor.""What's that supposed to mean?" Dean asked. "The Doctor is from another planet." Cas explained. "Wh- you mean, like an alien?" Sam stammered. "Exactly like an alien.""Sammy," Dean muttered. "We should never have taken this job.""Do we know each other?" The Doctor asked Cas."No.""If you're all quite done, i am going to be dragged to hell tomorrow, unless we somehow stop that." River spoke up. Everyone shut up. "River," Dean asked tentatively. "Have your hallucinations started yet?""Hallucinations?" Sherlock asked, his interests peaked. "Yeah, nightmares, seeing things that aren't there. Hallucinations." Dean explained. "That's probably what Henry saw." Sam offered. "While i bet there was a dog on the moor at some point, i don't think there was the night he was there.""Fascinating.""No." River answered confidently. "I'm not going to have hallucinations. I'm not weak, like that Henry boy.""Ouch." Dean muttered. River narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Have you been chased by hellhounds before, Dean?" Amy asked. "Yeah." He said. "And doesn't matter how strong you think you are. They will happen.""But you're still here!" The Doctor said excitedly. "You must have found a way to stop it!""Well, no." Dean said awkwardly. "I, uh, i went to hell. It's just, well, Sam and i have this problem with, uh, staying dead.""Oh, good, so i'm not the only one." Rory said. "Do you die a lot too?" Sam asked. Rory nodded. "Yes, he does." Amy sighed. "How did you get out of hell though?" Sherlock asked, intrigued. "I have friends in high places." Dean grinned. "What's that supposed to mean?" Sherlock asked tiredly. "Cas. He, i don't know, pulled me out? Flew me out? I never really asked for details.""What are you?" The Doctor asked curiously. "It takes a lot of power to get a soul out of hell.""Yes it does." Cas said knowingly. "I have done it on multiple occasions.""So what are you?" John asked. "An angel." Cas said. The Doctor, Amy, Rory, and River all took a small step back."Don't worry about him." Dean told them. "Cas is really just a big teddy bear." "I am not a teddy bear, Dean." Cas said. "I am an angel.""Yes you are." Dean sighed. "Doctor, i think he's alright." River whispered. "We've been blinking this whole time. And it sounds like he can help me.""Alright. If you're okay with it, i am too." The Doctor kissed her forehead. "Doctor. Please don't kiss my daughter in public like that." Amy scolded. "Daughter?" Sam asked in surprise. "Mom, let him do what he wants." River said. "Mom?" Dean asked, extremely confused. "Yeah," Amy said, her face reddening. "How?""Time is fluid, Dean." Cas said. "Um yeah, you've said that before.""Do you time travel too?" The Doctor asked, interested. "On occasion. Not nearly as often as you." Cas answered. "So let me get this straight." Dean said. "You" he pointed to Amy and Rory "are her" he pointed to River "parents.""Yes.""Ok and you travel through time in a blue-""T.A.R.D.I.S." Amy corrected him quickly. Dean paused before smiling sarcastically and continuing. "You travel through time in a "tardis" with your daughter's boyfriend.""Husband." The Doctor corrected proudly. "Oh, oh, right. Of course." He turned to Sam. "They're married. She married an alien.""What's wrong with that, Dean?" Cas asked. Dean's face reddened and he looked down at his shoes. "Dean do you remember when we went back and met our parents?" Sam asked. "We were older then they were. Hell, we met our grandfather that one time and our dad was like six!" Dean considered that for a moment. "Yeah ok. Ok. Constant time travel. In a police box time machine. With your son-in-law alien. And you daughter. Yeah, why not?""It must have been crazy, meeting her for the first time." Sam said. "You have no idea." Rory shook his head. "We named her after herself." Amy said knowingly. "Yeah that didn't help me at all." Dean sighed. "How...?""Anything is possible when you're with a timelord." Rory shrugged. "Timelord?" Dean asked, clearly frustrated. "Are we still speaking American? Does anyone translate British?!""Timelord. As in a lord of time." Sherlock explained slowly. "Alright thanks." Dean deadpanned. "Figured that much out for myself as a matter of fact.""Actually, i have a question." John spoke up. "Despite the fact that i have basically no clue what's actually happening, i do seem to remember that there was a reason we were all here. Something about a large dog...?"Everyone stopped talking and turned towards Sam and Dean. "Well?" Sherlock asked. "Apparently you are the...experts." He managed reluctantly. John smiled at his friend's restraint. "Um, okay." Dean said finally. "Well i think it would be best if we split into groups. Group 1 is with me. I'm going to talk to this Henry guy.""Then i'm with you i suppose." Sherlock sighed. "Sir Henry knows me. It'll be much simpler if i go with you." "Awesome." Dean sighed. "At least we've split up the brainiacs." He smirked at Sam who rolled his eyes. "Alright Group 2, you're with Sam. We need to figure out how many people this thing is after. River, i think you should go with him.""Why?" She asked. "You were there that night." Sam said, catching on. "Theres a chance you might recognize someone who was there, too."She nodded, understanding. "Well then i'll go with Sam." The Doctor chirped. Sam glared at Dean. In response, Dean glanced at Sherlock and raised an eyebrow. "Group 3," Dean continued. "Is with Cas. You need to figure out where Crowley is keeping that dog and who he is going after first.""I can do that." John offered. "Me too. That sounds exciting." Amy said. "I, uh, i'm Group 1, then.""Awesome." Dean said as Rory walked over to him. "So what do you say we rondez-vous back here in, say, three hours?" Dean asked. Everyone nodded but no one moved. "So see you guys then." Dean said with a forced smile waving them away. Then the three groups parted ways.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"So you're the Doctor's companion." Sherlock said to Rory. "Yes." Rory said. "One of them. As you can see he's got quite a few at the moment.""Hmm. Yes." Sherlock said. "Tell me what's that like?" "What? Traveling with the Doctor?""Yes. Obviously.""Amazing, most of time. You meet lots of different people and see lots of different places." "Interesting. And what form is this for him?" Sherlock asked. "Eleventh.""Fascinating. Any idea how that works?""Oh, get a room, you two." Dean called back. Rory stopped talking. "I'd have said the same thing to you and your brother, but i think that would have deemed inappropriate." Sherlock snapped. "How much farther?" Dean glared. "It should be right around here." Sherlock smirked. The three of them rounded the corner in the direction Sherlock had pointed. When they reached the house, Dean whistled. "Not much for modest living, is he?"Indeed he was not. Henry's house was huge. "He got lots of money when his father died." Sherlock explained, knocking on the door. "Sherlock." Henry opened the door. "You came.""I did." He nodded. "And who are these men?" Henry asked about Rory and Dean. "Colleagues." Sherlock said. "I guess they want you to answer some questions.""Oh. Alright. Well come in." Henry opened the door wide enough for the three of them to enter. Dean walked in last, shutting the door behind him and laying a line of salt in front of it before continuing after them. "Nice place." Rory commented as they sat in a living room. "It belongs to the family." Henry told him. He took a deep, shaky breath. "So you said you had some questions for me?""Yup." Dean said as he walked into the room. "Your father died 10 years ago, yeah?" "Uh, yes." He shifted nervously on his feet."And he had a large amount of money so that's why you inherited so much i'm sure." He said skeptically. "Oh, um, yes, that's, that's why." Henry mumbled. "Uh-huh. So i take it a couple of nights after his death, you weren't at the bar, getting a ton of money from a little British guy in a long black coat?"Henry stared at him. "H- how did you kn-""Lucky guess." Dean smiled. "Sir Henry, that night, you sold your soul." Sherlock said. "While i'm not an expert on all this 'supernatural' nonsense, that dog, who came for your father, is coming for you. Tomorrow."Henry gaped at Sherlock. He laughed nervously. "That's- you're joking, right? This is some sort of test.""I wish." Dean sighed. "It's all true. And now your life is in danger.""Major danger." Rory emphasized. "Thanks for clarifying." Dean smiled at him. "Well, what-...what should i do?" Henry asked. "Don't leave your house." Dean instructed. "Lock yourself in a room, the less exits, the better. Windowless, preferably. You got any salt?" Henry nodded. "You'll need it. Pour a line of it in front of the door and any windows there may be. Air vents too. Do you understand?" Henry nodded again. "Good. And don't leave until we give you the 'all clear.' Capishe?" Henry nodded for the third time. "Good." Dean glanced at his watch. "Alright we've got 45 minutes. That should be enough time to get back and get a beer." He got up on his feet. "Good luck, Henry." He said seriously. Sherlock and Rory nodded at Henry as they passed. The three of them walked out the door and closed it firmly behind them.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"So are we going back to the inn, then?" The Doctor chirped. "Yep." Sam said shortly. "Oh that's exciting. I haven't been to an inn in a century. I always just stay in the T.A-""Wait, a century?" Sam stopped him. The Doctor nodded. "How old are you?!" Sam asked. "Lost count in the nine-hundreds somewhere." He shrugged. "Nine-hundreds." Sam shook his head. "Be glad Dean wasn't here to hear that.""Are we almost there?" River asked. "Right here, actually." Sam said as the turned down the street. They were faced by the inn. "Oh, it's very quaint." The Doctor marveled."Yeah. Quaint." Sam rolled his eyes. "That's the first word that comes to my mind, too.""Well, what are we waiting for?" River asked walking forward. The Doctor and Sam followed her. "What is it you are planning on doing?" River asked as Sam caught up with her. "Record books." He told her. "Every motel keeps records of who stayed there. I get the one from 10 years ago, then you can help me identify who might be on tonight's Hit List.""How? I don't remember everyone. That was 10 years ago!" River exclaimed. "River, i know." Sam said. "But you're the only person we know who was there, and knows what's going on. If we don't do this, a lot of people are going to die.""I know, me included." She said cooly. "You two go on without me." The Doctor said suddenly, staring sadly at River. "It seems i won't be much use anyway. I'll catch up.""Um, okay." Sam said tentatively. "Be careful."The Doctor attempted a smile. "Of course." He gave River a kiss and sped off in the other direction. "What was that about." "I don't think he liked the thing about you dying all that much." Sam guessed. "I was only telling the truth." "Yeah, well maybe you should figure out how to put a filter on that." Sam suggested. River said nothing as the two of them walked into the building. "Excuse me?" Sam asked as they reached the front desk. The manager came out, smiling. His eyes flitted from Sam to River and back to Sam. "Where's your boyfriend?" He asked, confused. "I don't have a boyfriend." Sam sighed. "Oh, right. Of course." He smiled. Sam rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Well i need to see the motel records.""Sir, those are confidential." He said slowly. "I can't just go handing those out to tourists.""What about members of Scotland Yard?" Sam asked showing him a badge. "But...you're American?" The manager said getting more and more confused. "They need someway to send people in under cover." He lay a finger on his lips. "Don't tell anyone."The man nodded. "Alright, those papers?" Sam asked. "Of course, inspector." The manager left to go find the papers. "Where did you get that badge?" River asked. "Sherlock had it." Sam shrugged, looking at it. "But i have no idea who G. Lestrade is."Soon the manager came back with a stack of papers. "These are it. I hope this is what you need." "Yeah, thanks." Sam said taking the papers from him. "Do we need to go through ALL of those?" River asked when the manager was out of earshot. "No, thank god." San said, setting the papers down on one of the tables. "Just the ones from 10 years ago.""Of course." She nodded, taking half of the stack. About an hour and a half later, Sam sighed and stared at River. "Alright. So this is great. We've reached 75. 75 people Crowley made deals with. This is just great.""Those were just the people i saw him talking to. There's probably more." River murmured. "I can't remember everyone.""Of course not. Hey," Sam smiled. "I couldn't have done this without you.""Thank you, Sam."Just then, Dean walked into the bar, followed by Sherlock and Rory. "Where's the Doctor?" Rory asked immediately. "I'm not sure." River sighed. "He left.""Are we early?" Dean asked. "Not quite." River said, looking at her watch. "Though you are back before your friend, Cas.""Cas isn't back?" Dean asked, suddenly worried. "Does that mean Amy isn't back either?" Rory asked nervously. "Or John?" Sherlock demanded. "No." Sam shook his head. "Not yet. But they have a few minutes. I wouldn't get too worked up ye-"Suddenly, Cas, Amy and John appeared out of nowhere in front of them. And maybe there was a reason to be worried.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Amy!" Rory rushed forward, followed closely by River.
Amy's arms were draped over Cas and John's shoulders. Her hair and clothes were matted with blood. She coughed and groaned.
"Amy are you alright? Are you okay? What happened?" Rory asked nervously.
He and River took her to a couch and lay her down. John went to go find some bandages.
"Cas, what the hell?" Dean demand.
"We found the hound." Cas said, his voice full of regret.
"Gee, ya think?!" Dean exclaimed.
"What happened?" Rory asked nervously.
"I don't know. It knew we were coming." Cas told them.
John came running back with the bandages and started dressing Amy's wounds.
"Well can't you fix her?" Dean asked.
"No, Dean." Cas said. "I've already used my powers to get us away from the hellhound alive. If i heal her, i'll be useless."
"Is she going to make it?" River asked.
"Maybe." Cas said. "The hound didn't want to kill us. Just scare us."
"Well, this seems a but beyond a little scare!" Rory yelled.
Everyone was quiet as Rory brushed Amy's hair out of her face.
"I hope this Crowley guy shows." He said wiping tears from his face. His voice was low and vibrating with fury. "Because when he does, i'm going to kill him."
"Rory." Amy whispered hoarsely. "Don't get yourself too worked up."
"Too worked up?!" Rory exclaimed. "Amy you're dying! I'm not- i can't-"
"I might not." She said softly. "Cas said maybe. That..." She took a shallow breath. "That means i have a chance. Right Cas?"
Cas looked at his feet.
"Right Cas?" Rory repeated.
"I said the hound didn't want to kill us. As in all of us."
"Rory." Dean had his head in his hands. "I don't think-"
"No." Rory shook his head frantically. "No. That's not- she's not-" his voice cracked.
"I wish i could tell you something different, but i've seen this before." Dean said sadly.
Tears started leaking out of Rory's eyes. Amy's breathing staggered.
"Rory." She said weakly. "Rory please don't cry. If you cry then i'm going to cry and i don't..."
"I'm sorry, i'm sorry." Rory tried to stop but he couldn't. He kissed Amy's forehead lightly and held her hand. A couple of tears slipped from her eyes before she passed out.
John shook his head in disbelief. "This morning i didn't think any of this was real." He marveled sadly.
"And once you figure it out, there really is no going back." Sam told him.
John laughed humorlessly. "You know what this means? Sherlock's going to take on supernatural cases as well as normal ones. No, this'll be great."
"What i want to know," River said. "Is how the dog knew you were coming. I mean, i assume Crowley told it, but how did he know?"
"Come now," a new voice said. "You didn't think i'd just let you kill my favorite pet."
The man was wearing all black, and sort of short, with an English accent.
"Crowley." Sam and Dean said at the same time.
"Hello, boys."
"So you're Crowley." Sherlock said.
"At your service." He smiled. "And your that detective who likes to show off. Which i can respect."
"Thank you."
"Why did you buy all these souls?" Sam asked.
"Two words, Moose. Good. Business." Crowley said. "Think about it, if it's not too straining."
Sam glared.
"He's only doing this because he can." Cas said. "The humans will think it was a string of wild dog attacks. Which at a place like this won't be that unexpected."
Crowley smiled. "Bravo Cas. Gold star. Yes, that's what happens when you're king. You've got to increase your kingdom."
"That's sick." Rory spat.
"There's no need to compliment me." Crowley said. "Unless i've done something for you?"
"You've almost killed my wife!" Rory yelled.
Crowley looked thoughtful.
"What?" Rory demanded.
"You're friends with the Doctor, aren't you." He said.
"What's that got to do with anything?"
Crowley smiled. "Nothing you need to worry about. Yet at least." He assured him. "Oh, and boys?" He turned to Sam and Dean. "If i were you i'd stop hunting my dog."
Then he disappeared.
"We need to find the Doctor." Dean said immediately. "Like, now."
"Why?" River asked nervously. "What's he planning for him?"
"I don't know. But it sure as hell won't be anything good."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The Doctor was walking swiftly back to the inn from the T.A.R.D.I.S. He was a little embarrassed at leaving like that, but he didn't regret it. Nothing could make him stand by and listen to River talk about herself dying. Instead he had gone off by himself to clear his head. He had even taken a little trip to 1674 for a little change in scenery. But he was back now. He needed to help everyone, especially River. Suddenly someone appeared in front of him. The Doctor's eyes widened. "Canton?" He asked in surprise. The man looked confused. "Come again?""Canton Everett Delaware III." He said. "America, 1969? You helped us with the Silence. How are you here, now?"The man, Canton, as the Doctor called him, opened his mouth, then closed it without saying anything. "Right. Well, listen, Doctor, i just lef-""Weren't you American, last i saw you?" The Doctor interrupted. Canton shook his head. "I don't know, was i?" He blinked once before continuing. "I just came from the inn down the way, and i ran into Rory and River and Amy.""Are they alright?" The Doctor asked anxiously. "Yes." The Doctor relaxed. "Well most of them.""What does that mean?" He asked, tensing up again. "It's Amy. She got herself attacked by one of the dogs.""A hellhound?!""Um yes.""Is she alright?" The Doctor asked anxiously. "No, you moron! She was attacked by a bloody hellhound!" Canton yelled. He took a deep breath. "Listen to me. Amy is going to die. And it's not going to be painless.""Well what can we do?" The Doctor asked. "I'll make you a deal." Canton said. "I fix mrs. Pond and you get to stay with your wife. Win, win, am i right?""You could do that?" The Doctor asked suspiciously. "Of course i can! Why would i tell you otherwise?""What's the catch?""The catch?" "Yes, the catch." The Doctor said. "I assume you've heard the If-Something-Seems-Too-Good-To-Be-True-It-Probably-Is saying?""Mate, i work in sales. Of course i've heard it.""I thought you were with the FBI?""Uh, part-time."The Doctor nodded but he still didn't agree to it. "Why are you doing this?""Well it sounds like we're friends, or something, so i'm just helping you out, mate." The Doctor nodded again. "Canton, what is an American FBI agent doing offering medical help with an English accent?""I'm...undercover.""You were fired!" Something about this seemed very wrong to him. "Doctor! Time is of the essence! Amy is about to die. Are you going to 'seal it with a kiss', so they say, or not?"The Doctor hesitated. •••Back at the inn's practically empty bar, Amy Pond sat up with a start. "Amy?" Rory exclaimed excitedly. "Rory. What happened?""What's the last thing you remember?" Rory asked. "I...i was looking for the hound with John and Cas... Did that hound attack me?!" She exclaimed. Rory nodded. "Oh my god." Everyone else in the room stared at them with stunned expressions. "Amy." Sam said slowly. "Not that i'm complaining, but how are you alive? Your guts were being held in by bandages!""I don't know." She said, looking up at him, her face reddening. "Well, how do you feel?" Sam asked. "I'm okay." She said. "No, really.""I'm fine." Amy insisted. "I feel normal.""John, take off her bandages." Dean said suddenly. "What?" John asked. "Just do it." Dean told him. "Why?""John, please.""Are you insane?""Do you want me to do it myself?" Dean burst angrily. "Go take off her damn bandages!"John raised his hands in surrender and walked over to Amy. He started unwinding the bandages; the closer he got to finishing, the wider his eyes got. "What is it, John?" Sherlock asked. "Her wounds." John stammered. "They're..."Everyone stared at Amy, who glanced away self-consciously. Her shirt was still soaked in blood, but her wounds were gone."Cas, was that you?" Dean asked slowly, after a stunned moment of silence. "No, Dean." Cas sounded just as confused as everyone else. "I have already told you that i don't have the power to currently."Dean nodded, his lips pursed and eyes closed, like that was what he was expecting. "Dammit." He said softly. "What?" John asked. "This is bad." Dean said, looking up. Sam's face paled, realizing what his brother was thinking, and he nodded. "Excuse me, but how on earth is this a bad thing?" Rory asked indignantly. River's eyes widened. "You don't think-""I do." Dean said solemnly. "The Doctor sold his soul for Amy to be saved."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The Doctor ran in through the front door to the inn. "Amy?" He called frantically. He saw her standing with Rory and his face broke into a smile. "Amy." He ran forward and gave her a tight hug. "Doctor, where have you been?" River asked. The Doctor ran his fingers through his hair, slightly red in the face. "Mostly in the T.A.R.D.I.S." He said. "River listen to me. None of us are going to let you die. I need you to remember that.""Alright, Doctor." River said softly. "Yeah." Dean cleared his throat. "Well that might not be the only problem we have now.""Meaning?" The Doctor asked. "Doctor, did you meet anyone on your way back here?" Sam asked him. "Well, yes, but just Canton.""Who now?" Dean asked. "Canton Everett Delaware III." The Doctor explained. "He helped us kill the Silence back in '69.""Kill the si- you know i'm not going to ask." John started then stopped. "1969?" Dean asked. The Doctor nodded. "The guy must have been pretty old then." "No." The Doctor said, confused. "He looked almost exactly the same.""Did he have an english accent?" River asked suddenly. "Yes, which i found strange. Don't you remember Canton having an american accent?" River groaned. "Doctor, that wasn't Canton. That was Crowley.""Crowley? As in hellhound Crowley?" The Doctor asked anxiously. "How many other Crowleys do you know?" Sherlock asked. "I don't understand." The Doctor said. "It was Canton. It looked like Canton.""Maybe your friend Canton is the meatsuit Crowley is possessing." Dean said. "I bet you he had no clue that it was a guy you had met before.""Well then we've got to get him out!" Rory exclaimed. "If he's being possessed, then we need to-""I don't think that is a good idea." Cas said. "Why not?" "Canton is dead." Cas said. "We have killed him multiple times. The only thing keeping him alive is the demon inside him. If we exorcize him, not only will Canton definitely be dead, but we will no longer know what Crowley looks like. Also River-""Alright thanks Cas." Dean interrupted. "Doctor, what exactly did Crowley offer you?""Is it important?" The Doctor asked "Very.""Just that he would save Amy.""And?""And that i would-" realization dawned on him "-get to stay with River.""Dammit.""Doctor!" River gasped. "How could you?""He said he would save Amy." The Doctor said fiercely. "And he did didn't he?""Yes, but at what cost?" Amy demanded. "Doctor, you get an afternoon!"Everyone was silent. "No." Dean said. "No. That's not going to happen. We're going to stop that son of a bitch." Dean smiled to himself. "And his little dog, too." He glanced at Sam, who shook his head. "Doctor we're going to save you and River." Sam said. "And everyone else."No one said anything. "So we have to kill who knows how many hellhounds," River started. "That are invisible," the Doctor added. "And about to kill who knows how many people," Rory continued. "At who knows what time," Amy said. "At who knows exactly where," John kept going. "Protected by a powerful-" Sherlock continued. "-possessive-""-full-of-himself-""-mass-murdering demon,""Who is also the king of hell," Cas added. "And looks like an old friend?" The Doctor finished. "You have little faith." Dean told them. "Do you even have a plan?" Amy asked. "Nope." Sam smiled. Everyone stared at them, utterly horrified. "We're just gonna wing it!?" Rory asked. "Please don't say that." Cas said. Dean chuckled. "Fine. We're just....making it up as we go?"Sam and Dean glanced at each other and grinned. "We had better get started."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Alright, so."Everyone was standing around the impala's trunk. Dean had propped it open and they could all see they wide range of artillery the brothers had. "You sure do have a lot of weapons." The Doctor said uncomfortably. "Yeah, well, in our line of work, you never know what's going to come in handy." Dean said without looking out of the trunk. He reached into the very back, and rummaged around a bit before pulling out a very old looking clay jar. He gave it to Sam and then went back to searching for things in the trunk. "Do we have enough?" Sam asked him. "Maybe. We might be a couple short." He responded. "Does anyone here own a pair of glasses?" Sam asked everyone. Most people shook their head, but the Doctor and Rory nodded. "Could we barrow them?" Sam asked. They handed the them to him and he handed them to Dean. He grinned. "Awesome." "What have our glasses got to do with anything?" Rory asked. "And what's in the jar?" John asked. "Holy oil." Sam said. "If you look through glass that has been heated over it, you can see hellhounds.""Well that would be useful." River said. "Damn right it would." Dean said turning around, his fist full of glasses. "Sam, if you please."Sam dumped a small spot of holy oil on the pavement, and Dean lit it on fire. He took each pair of glasses and waved them over the little fire. Then he and Sam passed them out to everyone but Cas. "Oh," Dean turned around after putting the oil away. "And uh, don't break those. 'Cause we don't have any more."Everyone nodded. "So what now?" Amy asked. "There's not a lot that can kill a hellhound," Sam explained, tucking the gun Dean had handed him into his waistband. "Have any of you ever fought with any sort of knife, or blade?"Most people shook there head tentatively, but Sherlock nodded. "Great." Dean said, tossing him a long silver blade. Sherlock caught it with ease. "This is yours then.""What is this?" Sherlock asked. "It's an angel blade." Cas said. "The name is slightly deceptive, though. It does not only work on angels.""Cas has one too." Dean told him. "So does Sam." He tossed Sam a blade. "River, Doctor, you two need to be with one of us a all times. Let's see..." He started counting people. "Alright let's pair up. River, you're with me. Sam, how about you take the Doctor. John, you go with Cas, Amy, Rory, you two stick with Sherlock.""Do you really think it's a good idea for us to split up again?" Amy asked nervously. "Amy, we get how you feel, but yes. I do. If the Doctor and River both have hellhounds after them, we don't want them coming to the same place." Sam explained. "Split them up and split up the danger. At least a little bit.""Well, why don't just take two groups?" Amy suggested. "Combine the four, so mare people can be working to protect others.""Actually that sounds like a great idea." Dean said. "Cas, John, why don't you come over here?" He called before Sam could say anything. Sam grit his teeth before saying, "Alright, Sherlock, Amy, Rory. You're with me.""Now," Dean said, getting back into his trunk. "Which of you canfire a gun?""I can." River said immediately. "Me too." John said. Dean smiled as Sam sighed. "Awesome." He pulled two pistols out of the trunk. "These have salt rounds instead of bullets." He told them. "It won't kill the hounds, but it'll slow them down, hopefully long enough for one of us to kill it."Dean handed them the pistols and turned around to close the trunk. "Hey, why don't you just take Sherlock, too?" Sam hissed at him. Dean laughed. "Ok, i'll take Amy off your hands."Sam raised an eyebrow. "One less defenseless person for you to worry about." He persisted. "Fine." Sam sighed. "Hey! Ames!" Dean called. "You're with me." He turned to Sam. "There you go."Sam rolled his eyes and walked back over to his group. "Hey Cas?" Dean asked. Cas looked up and Dean waved him over. "What is it, Dean?" Cas said. "We need someone to go after Crowley." Dean told him. Cas tilted his head slightly to the left. "Even if we kill the damn things, Crowley is going to keep sending more, especially since he knows we're here now.""But Dean, i want to help you." Cas insisted. "This is helping. Sam and i can't go. We need to make sure these people don't die. I need you to do this for me."Cas hesitated. Then he nodded. "Alright Dean." He turned around to fly away, but Dean stopped him. "Cas."Cas stared at him. Dean cleared his throat. "Just be careful." He said. "I want you back in one piece."Cas smiled. "I would tell you the same thing, but whatever i say, you seem to do the opposite.""Touché." Dean laughed. "Good luck, Cas.""You too Dean." Cas nodded. Then he disappeared.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Where did Cas go?" Amy asked. Everyone but Dean was staring at the place he had just been. "He's going to try to stop Crowley." Dean said. "Are you sure he can handle something like that all on his own?" River asked skeptically. "Yes." Dean's eyes flashed angrily before he continued. "In the meantime, we need to try to get these people to safety." "How exactly are you planning on doing that?" Sherlock asked. "Well we could just tell them." Sam suggested. "What?" Dean scoffed. "They'd think we were insane. How would that help?""No, tell them that the moor is under attack and they need to barricade themselves in their rooms. Block all doors and windows. That sort of thing."Most of them nodded like that was a good idea, but Dean still looked doubtful. "That won't keep them out long though. With salt or anything...""I know Dean, but what more can we do?""Dean sighed. "Fine. Fine. We're just going to pray that we stop this before everyone gets torn apart and dragged to hell." "Dean." "I'm just telling it like it is, Sammy. Anyone stupid enough to sell their soul doesn't deserve to have a sugar-coated truth.""Didn't you sell your soul?" The Doctor asked disdainfully. "Yes. And i went to hell was tortured until i broke the first seal and started fricken Armageddon, so i'd say that was pretty stupid." Dean spat. "Woah. Dean." Sam exclaimed. "Calm down."Dean took a deep breath. "It's just some people sell their soul for money or fame and that makes me sick. So, we know the Doctor sold his soul to save Amy, but what about you, River? What are you damned for?"River didn't say anything. "If it was money i'm sorry for dissing your wish." Dean apologized. "It wasn't money." She snapped. "Alright." Dean raised his hands in surrender. "You don't want to say, don't say. It's your choice.""Don't you think we should be helping those other people?" Rory asked with a small voice. "Yeah." Sam said. "Yeah, let's go." He led the group back to the inn while Dean came in last. They stopped in front of the door. "Which of you is the best actor?" Sam asked them. John glanced at Sherlock. "Awesome." Dean said. "Sherlock, we need you to run in there, all franticly, and somehow get it out that we're under attack and everyone needs to lock themselves in their rooms. Capishe?""Don't speak to me like i speak to Anderson." Sherlock snapped. "I'm guessing that's a bad thing, but i really don't know. Look, i'm just trying to work quickly here." Dean said. "In case you forgot, we've got about 70 people on death-row, here.""Of course i didn't forget." Sherlock said. "I'm going." Sherlock opened the door and ran in, leaving the rest of them outside. "Do you really think he can do this?" Sam asked. "Of course." John snorted. "It's not like he's never faked anything before."•••Inside, Sherlock was making a scene. Everyone had started staring at him the moment he barged through the door. "What is it, Sherlock?" The manager asked. He was breathing hard until he doubled over and clutched the table for support."Sherlock!"The manager and his friend ran over to him and helped ease him into a chair. "Sherlock, can you tell me what happened?" He asked. "I was...was taking a walk on the...the moor." He said, breathing heavily and stuttering. "Did you see the hound?" One of the guests asked eagerly. "In a manner of speaking." Sherlock said to them. He then turned back to the manager. "There are hundreds of them. Marching together." Someone gasped. "They're headed this way.""Are you serious?" The manager asked. "I saw it with my own two eyes!" Sherlock insisted. "We are all in terrible danger! If those hounds get to you they will tear you apart!"The bar was silent, save for Sherlock's staggered breathing. "What should we do?" Someone asked softly. "Barricade yourself in your room." He told them. "Lock the doors, the windows. Don't let anything in or out. The should hold them off long enough.""Long enough for what?" The manager asked."Long enough for us to kill them." Sherlock stood up, brushed off his jacket, and walked swiftly out of the door.•••"There we go." Sherlock said as he arrived back to the group. "Nicely done." Dean nodded, looking in through the lobby window. "They're all going to their rooms as we speak.""So they'll be safe?" John sighed with relief. "I hope so." Sam said. "What do we do know?" The Doctor asked. Dean looked at his watch. "We've got a half an hour before this all goes sideways. Why don't we salt this building, at least as much as we can. Lobby, stairs, doors, hallways. Anything to slow them down.""Sounds like a plan." Sam said. "Your group can get the lobby and the main stairwell. We'll work on the doors and hallways and such."Dean nodded. "Alright. My group! That's River, John and Ames. Follow me." He waved them into lobby and smiled at Sam before closing the door. Sam rolled his eyes. "Alright. The rest of you, you're with me. I guess we're headed upsta-""Actually i have a question." Sherlock said. Sam sighed, biting his lip before smiling fakely. "Of course you do.""Isn't it smarter to be going after the hound?" He asked. "Stop it at it's source? Why are we putting salt across doorways?""Okay." Sam said. "Stoping it at it's source. I like it. Where is it exactly?"Sherlock pursed his lips. "But if we don't know where it is now, how will we know where it is later?" Rory asked suddenly. "Cas is on it." Sam promised. "As soon as he comes back, we're going to go hunt this son of a bitch down. Until then...""Are you sure we can trust him?" The Doctor asked. "The angels i've met have not exactly been loyal. Or friendly.""Cas isn't like other angels." Sam assured him. "Not at all. He'll be back.""Are you telling me he's never once betrayed you?" Sherlock asked, latching on to the Doctor's theory.However, Sam seemed indifferent to his accusations. "Are you determined to find a fault in this plan?" He asked angrily. "Look i would trust Cas with my life. I have. Multiple times. He hasn't let me down. Oh, and for the sake of your pretty face, i wouldn't talk about Cas like that around Dean." He added. Sherlock narrowed his eyes but refrained from saying anything. "Okay then." Sam huffed. "Let's go salt some doors."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Cas flew to the moor. It was kind of like purgatory. Dark, barren, full of trees. And monsters.
He began walking towards the place where they had last found the hound.
Cas still regretted that. He hadn't meant for anyone to get hurt. And now the Doctor was on death row because he had saved her. Why did he always mess everything up?
Suddenly Cas stiffened. To any normal person, the woods were still and empty. But he knew better. Ever so slightly, he slid his blade out of his coat sleeve. He glanced around the moor, not making any sudden moves. When he didn't hear anything, he slowly continued walking, knife still in his hand.
There was the snap of a twig right behind him and he spun around, pinning the person to one of the trees, his blade pointed under her neck. His eyes widened. The girl's long brown hair framed her round face, and fell onto her leather-clad shoulders. She grinned.
"Howdy, Clarence."
Cas stepped back, releasing her from his tight grasp. "Meg."
"Oh it's nice to see you too." She shook her head.
"What are you doing here?" He asked her.
"Well i could ask you the same thing."
"I'm looking for Crowley." Cas told her.
"Crowley is here?" Meg groaned. "Sorry, you can count me out of this one." She turned to go.
"Meg, wait." Cas stopped her.
"Cas, Crowley wants me dead. And i want him dead. Considering how your humans always want him alive, i am not any help to you."
"Not this time." Cas said. "None of us care if he lives or not."
Meg raised her eyebrows. "Okay, i'm interested."
"Crowley has a pack of hellhounds set on a bunch of innocent people." Cas told her.
"Okay, now i'm not interested."
"Meg you've killed them before." Cas reminded her.
"Yeah, and i wasn't exactly a pleasing experience." She shot back.
Cas sighed. "Please Meg. I could really use your help."
Meg sighed and stomped her foot angrily on the ground. "Dammit Castiel. Fine. I'll help you."
Cas smiled. "Thank you Meg."
He kept walking, and Meg followed.
"Where are you headed, Clarence?" She piped up.
"The spot where we last saw the hound. Hopefully that will help lead me to Crowley."
"So you are looking for Crowley."
"Crowley's dogs, which are most likely with Crowley." Cas explained.
"And what do we do when we find him?" She asked.
"Well i was thinking you could distract him while i go alert Sam and Dean."
"Distract...how?" Meg asked skeptically.
"However you wish." Cas grinned.
Meg smirked. "Castiel, you sure do know how to make a woman go all tingly inside."
Cas nodded. "Thank you." He stopped walking. "Here. This is the place."
Meg looked around. "Cas this is literally just a random spot in the forest."
"I know where it happened Meg." Cas said without looking up from his inspecting the ground.
"Whatever you say, Clarence." She shrugged. "Though if you're expecting a trail of footprints, they don't leave any. They get the job done and then they disappear."
Cas bit his lip and stood up. Meg was smirking.
"Well, what do you propose we do?" Cas asked her.
"We could always just summon him." She suggested.
Cas immediately shook his head.
"We're trying not to get his attention. I think summoning him would-"
"You asked what i thought and i'm telling you." She interrupted. "We summon Crowley, while he's here you get the boys, or whatever and then we get him to tell us where the hounds are. And then i can kill him." She added.
Cas thought for a moment before. "Alright. That's a good plan."
Meg grinned. "Well, let's get going."
•••
Cas dropped the match into the bowl and there was a puff of smoke. When it cleared, Crowley was standing there, arms folded.
"Castiel." He said. "I have to admit, this is a surprise. I was expecting you to try to get to me without my knowing."
"I was." Cas told him. "This was not my idea."
Crowley raised his eyebrows. Then Meg walked out from behind a tree."
"Hiya, Crowley." She chirped.
"Meg." Crowley glowered. "I was beginning to wonder where you'd crawled off to."
"Oh i bet you were." She sneered.
"Where are the hounds Crowley." Cas demanded.
"You mean when they're not attacking people?" Crowley asked. "Well this may shock you, but see, hellhounds live in hell."
That did seem to shock him. "So they have no place on earth?" Cas asked.
"No." Crowley shook his head. "Sorry. Can i go now?" He gestured the devil's trap he was standing on.
"Call off your dogs." Meg said. "Then we'll maybe talk about letting you out."
Crowley smiled. "You're going to have to do better than that. I do control these dogs. I can set them on you, even from in here."
"Cas. You should go." Meg said.
Cas nodded and disappeared.
"I'm not afraid of your pets, Crowley." She told him.
He sighed.
•••
"Dean." Cas said appearing behind him.
Dean jumped. "Dammit Cas." He sighed. "I told you not to do that."
"Sorry."
"What is it Cas?" Amy asked.
Everyone gathered around them. Sam raised an eyebrow and Cas nodded.
"We've found him."
"We?" Dean asked.
Cas nodded again.
"Who's we?" John asked.
"Me and Meg."
"Meg? Meg?!" Dean asked.
"Who's Meg?" The Doctor asked.
"A demon." Sam explained.
"She is helping us." Cas insisted.
Dean sighed. "Fine. Fine." He looked at the rest of the group. "You guys ready to do this?" He asked.
Rory and Amy squeezed each other's hand.
John shifted his grip on his gun.
Sherlock nodded curtly.
River grinned.
The Doctor looked sadly at her.
Sam and Cas both nodded confidently.
Dean smiled.
"Let's go gank this son of a bitch."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

~30 minutes ago~
Whilst he was salting doorways, the Doctor was feeling conflicted, which was not a feeling he terribly fond of. He was, of course, indefinitely grateful that he had been able to say Amy. And like Canton, no, not Canton; Crowley, had said, he did still get to be with River. And he was glad about that too.
So why did he feel so miserable?
"Oi, Doctor!" Rory called. "Are you okay?"
The Doctor hadn't realized he had been staring off at nothing. He glanced up in surprise.
"Yeah!" He said, maybe a little too quickly. "I'm fine." He smiled.
"Doctor, you're not fine. You're on death row." Rory frowned.
The Doctor shook his head. "Sam and Dean will take care of it. I know they will." He said confidently, still smiling.
Rory looked sadly at him, his eyes filled with concern.
Suddenly, Rory's face changed. His face turned a grayish color and his eyes paled. His face was contorted in a way that didn't even look his anymore.
The Doctor's eyes widened and he scrambled backwards and onto his feet.
"Doctor?" Rory asked nervously, looking normal again.
"I...uh...i've just got to..." The Doctor was slowly backing up until he tripped over an umbrella. "Oops."
"Doctor!" Rory rushed over to him.
"No!" The Doctor gasped. "I'm fine. Really. I just...i'll be right back."
He took off across the inn and dashed into an unoccupied room, closing the door firmly behind him. He ran into the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror, running his fingers through his hair. He was breathing heavily. What was happening to him?
"Tough day on the job?" A voice from behind him asked.
The Doctor span around. He glared. "Crowley."
Crowley smiled. "Glad to see you've finally caught on."
"You tricked me."
"King of hell. Tricking kind of comes in the job description."
The Doctor took a deep, shaky breath. "What do you want?"
"Doctor, i'd like to think of myself as your friend-"
"You own my soul!" The Doctor exclaimed.
"Yes, i'm afraid that i can't change that." Crowley apologized unapologetically. "Alien souls are rare, even among demons."
"Then what?" He demanded.
Crowley moistened his lips. "How are things between you and your sweetheart?"
The Doctor looked confused. "What?"
"How did she act when she found out you'd sold your soul?"
"Why...why do you want to know?" The Doctor stammered.
"I'm interested! After what she sold her soul for-"
The Doctor's mouth opened slightly and he squinted his eyes.
"Oh." Crowley smiled. "You don't know? Your woman is a proud one."
"What do you mean?"
"River sold her soul for you." Crowley grinned at the shocked look on the Doctor's face.
"Wh-...why?" He stammered.
"Something about escaping her destiny and not killing you, blah blah blah, i missed the details." Crowley said dismissively.
"Sh-what?!" The Doctor gasped.
"You're not too good with words today, are you?" Crowley said.
"What does that mean?" The Doctor asked.
"It means you're having trouble speaking clea-"
"Not that! River!" The Doctor interrupted. "Her destiny, what does that mean?"
"Well, as far as i gathered, it was her destiny to kill you, but she didn't want to so she sold her soul so she wouldn't have to." Crowley shrugged. "Though now that it comes to it," he said thoughtfully, "she sort of ended up doing it anyway. Just not in the way the fates imagined it."
"What?" The Doctor asked.
"Well if she hadn't brought you here, the redhead wouldn't have gotten hurt and then you wouldn't have sold your soul for her. Funny how that works, isn't it?"
"How...how do i know if you're telling the truth?" The doctor asked tentatively.
"You don't." Crowley grinned. "But that's part of the fun."
The Doctor fell into a chair and put his face in his hands. Then he ran his fingers through his hair and looked up, but Crowley was nowhere to be seen.
•••
"River!" The Doctor called, dashing down the stairs. "River!"
"What is it sweetie?" River asked, running around the corner.
"I just ran into Crowley upstairs," the Doctor started.
"Is he still up there?" River asked angrily.
"No, no, he's gone." The Doctor promised. "But River, sweetie, did," he swallowed "did you really sell your soul for me?"
River's face paled. "Crowley told you that?" She whispered.
The Doctor nodded. "Is it true?"
River bit her lip and nodded.
He threw his arms around her as tears rolled down their cheeks.
"I'm sorry, River. I shouldn't have sold my soul. I shouldn't-"
"Shhh. Shhh, Doctor i'm not mad. You saved my mom. I'm the one who should be sorry. This is all my fault." River said sadly.
"No, it's not." The Doctor insisted. "You-"
"Doctor!" River exclaimed suddenly horrified. "What's happened to your face?!"
"What?" The Doctor's hands flew to his face, but nothing seemed to be wrong. "What's wrong with my face?"
River took a deep breath. "Nothing. Now. It was-"
"Grey-ish? Pale eyes. Strangely contorted?" The Doctor suggested.
"Yes." River said startled. "Is that something that happens often to you?"
"No. No not at all." The Doctor said quickly. "The same thing just happened with Rory."
"What do you think it means?" River asked.
"The hallucinations have started. It means you've almost passed into the veil." Dean said, stepping into the doorway. "You're starting to see things like they'd be in hell."
The Doctor and River stared at him.
Dean looked back and forth between them. "Were you two crying?" He asked.
River wiped her eyes angrily. "If you say anything, Winchester, i swear-"
"Hey, consider me warned." Dean said. "I won't tell anyone."
Suddenly, in a rustle of wings, someone popped up behind Dean. The three of them jumped.
"Dammit, Cas." Dean sighed. "I told you not to do that."
"Sorry."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

~now~The team walked towards the forest. They stopped right on the edge. "Dean, why doesn't my group go with Cas to Crowley and Meg." Sam suggested. "Your group could start looking for the hound.""Didn't Crowley say that they weren't on earth, though?" Dean asked. "Well, yeah, but they can't just appear out of nowhere. There must be some kind of door or something. Also, they should start attacking soon. There's no way they're just chilling in hell."Dean nodded but glanced at Amy, who looked horrified. "Chilling in hell?" He grinned at Sam. "Shut up." Dean looked back at Amy and bit his lip. "Hey, why don't Ames and Sherlock switch groups." He said. Sam raised an eyebrow. "I'll need the extra gun power." Dean insisted. Sam sighed but nodded. Dean smiled at Amy, who looked grateful as she ran over to her husband. Sherlock walked over, expressionless, and stood next to John. "Alright, so, i'll call you if we learn anything." Sam said. "Awesome." Dean nodded. "See ya later, then."Dean turned and started walking off, waving his hand for his group to follow. He, River, Sherlock, and John soon disappeared in the woods. Sam turned to his group. "Okay Cas. Lead the way."•••"Castiel." Crowley was still standing in the same place, looking extremely bored. "You came back. And you brought friends. Hello, Moose. Doctor. Don't really know those two." He gestured to Rory and Amy. "Meg." Sam said, blatantly ignoring Crowley for the time being. "Hiya Sam." She grinned. She was leaning on a tree, twirling her knife in her fingers. "Long time, no see." "Not long enough.""You know, i don't get why you hate me so much.""Meg, has Crowley said anything?" Cas asked. "You can ask me, i'm right here.""Shut up, Crowley." Sam said. Crowley scowled. "Yep." Meg said brightly to Cas. "The hounds are about a mile east. There's a cave in the cliffs of the moor. They're going after a man name Marcus Pierce first."Cas smiled. "Good job, Meg.""How do you know he was telling the truth?" Rory asked. "Just look at him." The Doctor said. He hadn't stopped glaring at Crowley since they had gotten there. In the fading sunlight, the rest of them hadn't noticed the state Crowley was in. The rest of the group, minus Meg, stared at him, eyes flicking to the various cuts and scrapped that littered his body. "Take a picture." Crowley told them, straightening his suit. "It'll last longer.""Did you torture him?" Amy asked incredulously. "Oh, i'm sorry i got you the information you needed." Meg snapped. "Don't you think there was another way you could have found that out?" "Who are you and how familiar are you with demons?" Meg asked her. "Meg, Amy. Amy, Meg." Sam said. "Rory, Meg. Meg, Rory. Doctor, Meg. Meg, Doctor. And that's Crowley. Are we all introduced? Good. I'm going to call Dean.""Why?" Rory asked. "Because," Sam said, taking out his phone and dialing the number. "I said i'd call him if we learn anything. I'd say the hounds' location could be important."Rory nodded, understanding. Sam put his phone up to his ear. "Sam." Dean's voice came through the phone. "Dean.""What's up?""We know where the hounds are.""Where." Dean said quickly. "East. About a mile. Cave in the moor cliffs.""Awesome.""Yeah, we'll meet you there.""Alright see you." Dean hung up. "'Kay." Sam turned to the rest of the group. "We're going to go meet up with Dean and the rest. Thanks Crowley." Sam smiled. "You've been a huge help."Sam waved his hand and one by one, Cas, Meg, Rory, and Amy followed. "Doctor?" Amy asked. The Doctor was still staring at Crowley. Crowley glanced at him with slight apprehension. "Why did you tell me?" The Doctor asked him. "What could you possibly have to gain?""I told you, sweetie." Crowley smiled. "I just thought you'd like the truth. We're friends, after all."The Doctor grabbed the folds in Crowley's jacket. "Doctor!" Sam shouted in objection. "Do not call me Sweetie." The Doctor growled. "And we are not friends." He told him. "I have lots of friends. Of all different species. You, Crowley, are not one."The Doctor let go of Crowley and walked back to the group. Rory and Amy looked at him, worried as they started walking east. Crowley cleared his throat. "Uh, guys? You're not...you're not going to leave me here, are you?"Meg glanced hopefully at Sam who shook his head. 'Later' he mouthed at her. She looked put out, but nodded. "Guys!" Crowley called. "Moose. Common Moose, we can work this out. Let's bargain-"But the group had already disappeared into the thick forest. "Bullocks."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"C'mon." Dean flicked his phone closed. "Sam says the hounds are about a mile away from where they are, so that's a bit less for us."River and John both nodded and started to walk off, but Sherlock just looked at Dean strangely. "Sherlock." John said, turning back around. "Is everything okay?""Are we sure Dean should be the one ordering us around?" Sherlock asked. Dean raised an eyebrow. "You'd think his daddy issues would make him unstable." Sherlock continued. John paled. "Sherlock. No. Not now. Please.""And then there's the fact that he lost his mother at such a young age."Dean pursed his lips and looked at the ground. Sherlock shook his head. "All that anger, Dean. It's not good for you. Neither is the fact that you hate yourself. Not exactly a favorable quality in a leader." Sherlock ended murmuring not-so-quietly to John. "Sherlock!" John protested. "Not that it's been easy for you of course." Sherlock continued. "Always on the road, not having a home. Always in danger, always having to protect your little brother. You've seen more suffering than most, i can see that, you've dealt with much. All that death you've seen... But that does not mean that you should he allowed to have Joh-" he stopped, his face reddening slightly. "That we should just leave our lives in your hands." He continued hastily.Dean, lips still pursed, smiled grimly and started to turn away. Then he swerved back and punched Sherlock across the face. "I have a deduction, you ass." Dean spat. "If i can get the jump on you like that, a hound from hell would have no trouble tearing you apart. So how about you shut up about crap you don't understand. But if you think you can do this on your own, then by all means, take your boyfriend and go. It won't be my fault then when you're found in pieces tomorrow morning."Sherlock rubbed his jaw and said nothing. Dean took a deep breath, rubbing his hand. "Dude, you have the sharpest cheekbones..." He shook his head. "So who's still coming with me?""I am." River said. "Sherlock, we should stay with him." John suggested. "Despite whatever issues you say he has, he does know what he's doing."Sherlock didn't object. "Alright then." Dean saidHe turned around and walked off, River next to him, with Sherlock and John behind. •••The group stopped in the middle of a canyon-like space in the middle of the forest. "Say, you think it's been about half a mile?" Dean asked, staring at gaping cave in the rock wall. Sherlock shrugged. "I go by kilometers, like the rest of the world."Dean let out an exasperated sigh. "Ok, well i'd suggest you put on your glasses right about now."Dean slipped his hipster-looking glasses onto his face. Sherlock, John and River did too. "Hey, River." Dean said, concerned. "You haven't been saying much. You okay?""Of course she is." Sherlock deadpanned. "She's only on death row.""Sherlock, shut up." Dean snapped. "He's right." River sighed. "When you're mostly not likely to last the night, you don't really feeling like getting involved in any pointless arguments."Dean bit his lip. Sherlock lowered his eyes. "River." Dean said softly. "You're going to be alive tomorrow. You and your husband. You'll both be fine, i promise."River stared at him in amazement. "Why are you doing this?""Doing what?""Risking your life to save me? To save us. You don't even know who we are. We just met yesterday, and you're laying down your life for us.""Would you rather i not?" Dean asked. "No, i just don't understand it.""I guess..." Dean paused. "I guess you remind me of someone i know. Brave. Independent. Headstrong." Dean pursed his lips. "But i always help people. Risking your life kinda cones with the job." "Sh-...Sherlock?" John, who had been silent, staring out at the moor, finally spoke up. "You may want to look at this."Sherlock, River and Dean all turned around their eyes widened. The moor behind them was littered with hounds. Hundreds of hounds. Through their holy watered glasses, the four could make out their smokey forms facing them, their beady eyes glowing red. Dean swore loudly. "Dean." River's voice wavered. "What do we do?"The two opposing groups stared at each other. No one moved. "Do we run?" John asked quietly. "You can try." Dean said."Well do we stay?""You probably shouldn't.""Which is smarter?" River whispered. "Neither." Dean answered. "Which is safer?" John asked. Dean thought for a moment. "Neither.""Well thats fantastic." Sherlock hissed. "Do you actually have a plan?"Suddenly one of the dogs howled loudly. All the other's ears pricked up and their eyes narrowed. "Running sounds good to me." River suggested. "Yep." Dean agreed. The four of them bolted in the opposite direction, a pack of gigantic hounds at their heels.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

River, John, Sherlock, and Dean ducked under trees and jumped over roots. The further they ran, the closer the dogs got. "Dean!" River shouted. "What do we do?""I'm working on it!""Work ok it faster!" Sherlock told him. "This canyon doesn't go on forever. It stops in a dead-end in about 8kilometers." "Okay, thanks. There's no pressure then." Dean snapped. Sherlock rolled his eyes. Suddenly, John tripped over a root that had appeared put of nowhere. "Sherlock!" John yelled as he fell. "John!" Sherlock's eyes filled with panic. "Dammit." Dean muttered, pulling his gun out of his jacket. "River, run. We'll catch up."River hesitated, but she eventually ran off. Dean started towards John, but Sherlock beat him to it. As he tried to help John to his feet, to hounds caught up. Dean's face paled as one hound howled and sunk his teeth into John's ankle. John yelled in agony. He sunk to his knees. Sherlock was livid. He roared and jabbed his blade straight into the hound's skull. It whimpered and was still. As Dean shot off all the hounds in the front, Sherlock picked John up off the ground and ran out of the fray."Common, Dean!" He yelled. "Dean!" Came Sam's voice. "Sammy!" Dean yelled without stopping, shooting hounds with one hand, stabbing with the other. Sherlock and John looked up. Sam was standing at the edge of the canyon with Cas, Meg, Amy, Rory, and The Doctor. "Where's River?" The Doctor asked frantically. "She ran ahead!" Dean shouted. "Doctor!" Amy yelled as the Doctor ran off. She and Rory ran after him. "John's been hurt." Sherlock yelled. "We need to get him out of here. He's-" He chocked. "He's losing a lot of blood.""Sammy, you need to get all of them out of here." Dean told him, firing his gun. "Do you SEE how many of these things there are?!""What about you?" Sam asked, already starting down a ridge in the canyon towards Sherlock and John. "I'm staying." Dean confirmed. "Someone's got to stop them from having free range on that hotel.""Dean!" Sam protested, grabbing Sherlock's hand and pulling him and John up to his level. The three of them went up the wall the way Sam had come. "That's suicide!""Then have Megstiel stay." Dean suggested. "But someone needs to stay here, and someone needs to get everyone to safety." "But-" Sam started helplessly. "Sam, stop talking, it's distracting." Dean stabbed his knife into a hound's head. "Or do you want me to die? And for god's sake, Cas, are you just going to stand there?"Cas and Meg were standing next to Dean in seconds, blades drawn. "Hiya, Dean." Meg chirped. "Meg." Dean said darkly. "Seriously, is that the only way you people know how to say hi?"Sam through up his hands in defeat, and ran off in the direction of the Ponds, with Sherlock and John on his heels. •••"River?" The Doctor called. "River!""Doctor?""River!" The Doctor's face lit up as he ran towards her voice. The two of them ran into each other a couple of paces ahead. The Doctor embraced her. "River, i'm so glad you're alright." He told her, hugging her tightly. "You too, sweetie." River whispered, returning the gesture. "River?" Amy and Rory came running over to them. "Oh, thank god you're alright.""I'm fine mom." River said, rolling her eyes. "How did you get out of that canyon?" Rory asked her. "I climbed." She shrugged. "That was one of the most ridged pits i've ever been in."The Doctor sized up the walls of the moor, then nodded. "What about that bastard, Crowley?" River asked. "Did you see him?""We did." The Doctor nodded stiffly. "Is he dead." She asked stoically. "Well, no." Amy said. "But as far as we know, he's still trapped in that satanic circle a couple minutes back.""Well then. Maybe we should go pay him a visit." "River, you can't-""Can't what?" She demanded. "Kill him? I know that. I have nothing that CAN kill him. But incase it slipped your mind, this... Thing owns my soul.""He owns the Doctor's, too." Amy reminded her. "But Crowley...he's dangerous. Sam and Dean-""Oh, Sam and Dean." River waved her hand. "Who cares what they think. Who put them in charge anyway?"Amy hesitated. "And you've never been much of a rule-follower yourself." River added. "Why start know?""I just don't think-" she tried again. "It'll be fine." River assured her. "You said he was trapped, didn't you?"Amy gave up. "Alright."•••"Dammit!" Sam kicked a tree. "Where are they?""We should get back to the inn." Sherlock urged him. "We need to get John some help." "No! Well, yes, but no. We need to find them.""Why?" Sherlock asked surlily. "Because if we don't, Dean will kick my ass, that's why." Sam snapped. "Assuming he lives that long." Sherlock muttered. Sam said nothing. "And you're sure they were here?" Sherlock continued. "Aren't you?" Sam said shortly. Sherlock sighed. "Yes, they were. And they went that way." He pointed defeatedly off into the woods. "Why would they-" Sam stopped mid-question and his face paled. "Crowley."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Why are we running after these clearly still-living people when we have some more pressing issues at hand?" Sherlock demanded, running after Sam, John still in his arms.
"Because of Crowley." Sam said.
"Crowley?" Sherlock asked, jogging to keep up with Sam.
"Yes, Crowley. Maybe you remember him. He's kinda the reason we're all here right now."
"I know who he is." Sherlock spat irritably.
"Well, the Doctor and his friends, who are OUR friends, just by the way, are going straight towards him." Sam explained.
"But what good does it do them to go to Crowley? What are they hoping to achieve?"
"I don't know." Sam sighed, till running. "If they want to kill him, they don't have the right tools. Only you, me, and then the three back there have weapons that can kill a demon. I'm guessing they want to talk to him. Which is worse. You can't 'talk' to Crowley. He's the most manipulative...thing i've ever met."
"Is this another...human thing?" Sherlock said 'human' like it was a horrible disease.
"What?"
"Running off like that. Without a plan, without a purpose?"
Sam thought for a moment. "Yeah i guess so."
"Marvelous. And i suppose while we're running after these idiots, John will just be a side-thought?"
Sam stopped. He turned to face Sherlock "What would you like me to do, Sherlock? Because you clearly have some opinions."
Sherlock didn't say anything.
"Do you want me to just forget about the Ponds, about River, about the Doctor? Let me remind you that they are going to go 'talk' to Crowley. And he'll probably get out if we don't stop it. Do you want that?"
"No, of course i don't i simply-"
"If you think that you can get back to save your boyfriend on your own, then by all means go. Not that i don't like John, i do, he's great, but i need to stop Crowley."
Sherlock squared his jaw. Then he nodded. "Thank you, Sam."
Sam nodded.
"Hopefully we'll see each other again."
Then, John still in his arms, he ran off toward the inn.
•••
"River." Crowley exclaimed as she, Rory, Amy, and the Doctor approached. "Sweetheart. It's-"
River stepped forward and smacked him across the face.
"-so good to see you." He finished, smiling at her.
She glared daggers at him.
"So, clearly you aren't here to kill me, and while i'm sure you'd like to. you can't." He glanced at them, evaluating their weapons. "Did the moose keep all of the fancy blades?"
"Are there moose in Baskerville?" Amy asked.
Crowley smiled. "Just one, currently."
"Oh."
"So, i assume you're here for a reason, other then just saying hullo." He said, stepping back in his circle.
"We want our souls back." River said, aiming her gun at his head.
Crowley was unfazed. "Of course you do." He said nonchalantly. "But i have no reason to grant you that request."
"I could shoot you."
"River!" The Doctor protested.
"You could." Crowley agreed. "But that wouldn't do much, now would it."
River's eyes narrowed.
"Also, even in this damn trap, i can call my pets." He smiled.
A growling could be heard suddenly vey close to them. The four fumbled for their glasses. A gigantic hound stood behind them, ready to pounce.
"However," Crowley continued, everyone's eyes glued to the hound. "i might call her off, i you were to just break this trap here." When no one paid him any attention, he sighed. "I might even consider giving you your souls back." He added.
That got their attention.
"You'll give us our souls back?" The Doctor asked skeptically.
Crowley raised an eyebrow, smiling.
The Doctor glanced at River.
"All we need to do is break the trap?" She asked.
Crowley nodded.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Rory muttered.
River hesitated. "How can i be sure you won't back out?"
"You don't." He smiled.
They stared at each other for a minute. Then River aimed her gun.
"River don't-"
River fired at the circle, creating a crack in the trap.
Crowley licked his lips and rolled his shoulders. "Thank you." He snapped and the dog vanished. Crowley stepped out of the broken pentagram and glanced around at the trees.
"Now our souls." River demanded.
"Hmm. Yes. I said i's CONSIDER giving you your souls back." Crowley said, grinning at their paling faces. "I've considered it, aaaand i don't really want to." He started to walk away. "Oh, and one more thing." He snapped his fingers, and their glasses shattered. "There we go. Those were bloody annoying."
"I needed those!" Rory exclaimed.
"Shouldn't have doused them in holy oil." Crowley shrugged. "Now, if you'll excuse me, i might still be able to get some souls before the night is out."
River fired at him, but he had already disappeared.
Just then, a millisecond too late, Sam ran into the clearing. One look at their faces and then the empty trap told him all he needed to know. "Dammit!" He yelled stabbing his knife into the nearest tree.
He took a deep breath and yanked the knife back out, holding it loosely in his hand. He turned back to the other four, all of whom looked incredibly guilty.
"Well are you four happy now?" Sam asked them angrily. They cringed. "Did you get what you wanted? Is it worth it that's he's out and about, then? He didn't-" Sam gasped over dramatically. "He didn't trick you did he?" He asked in an over exaggerated whisper.
"Shut up, Sam." River snapped.
"What the hell were you thinking?!" He exclaimed. "What could you possibly hope to accomplish?!"
"Sam, Crowley owns our souls!" River yelled.
"I know!" Sam yelled back. "And we might have had a chance to save a ton of people and maybe even get your souls back. When Crowley was in. The. Trap." He said sharply. "Now he's out there, probably buying up more souls! He'll be able to order the dogs around much better when he can go see them! He could go get Dean killed! So i understand that Crowley owns your souls, but all of our chances at survival just decreased immensely when you let him out. Including yours."
"We're sorry, Sam." Amy said in a small voice.
"Yeah, me too." Sam sighed. "Now did he give any clues as to where he was going?"
The four of them were quiet, looking at their shoes.
"Oh my god, you guys." Sam groaned. "Sorry i yelled. But this is important. What did Crowley say before he left?"
"That he might be able to get some more souls before the night was out." Rory said quietly.
Sam let that sink in for a moment. Then his fave paled. "Aw no. That BASTARD." He yelled. "C'mon." He ran of through the trees, River, the Doctor, Rory and Amy close behind.
"What is it?" The Doctor asked. "What did he mean?"
"I'd bet you cash money Crowley's going to go get Sherlock's soul."
"What?!"
"John got attacked, and by now Sherlock should be back at the inn with him. By themselves."
"Sherlock would never sell his soul for someone." River protested. "He doesn't care enough."
"Well if i have my doubts about that, then Crowley certainly does."
They were quiet as they ran.
"Do you really think Crowley's going to get Sherlock's soul?" Amy asked.
"Not if we can stop it." Sam declared, squaring his jaw.
The four of them continued through the woods.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Dean!" Cas yelled. Dean dropped to the ground as Meg stabbed a dog over his head. Then he jabbed his knife into a dog charging to her side. It was a group effort. What with a couple hundred hounds against the three of them. "There's no way we can hold off this many!" Meg yelled. "They aren't dying fast enough!""Any bright ideas?" Dean asked."Yeah! We get the hell out of here!" She suggested. "And leave all those innocent people to be dragged to hell?" Dean exclaimed. "No way.""Innocent people who have sold their souls!" She countered. "Crowley's not going to let themgo, no matter what we do! Why should we die over it?""Meg, no-""Dean, Meg's right." Cas exclaimed. "This is not going to accomplish anything. Except we might die.""Fine!" Dean slashed his knife across one of the mutt's snouts. "How do we get out of here?""I'll take you." Cas said. He grabbed Dean's wrist but nothing happened. "Uh Cas?" "Yeah Dean?""We're still here." "Yes." "Why?""I don't know." He said. "Something's keeping us from flying out.""Awesome." Dean said. "Cas?""Yes?""You're still holding my hand.""Oh." He let go. "Hey lovebirds!" Meg yelled. "Remember me? The demon busy saving your asses?""Shut up Meg." Dean grumbled. "Can you get out?"As Cas and Dean took over stabbing dogs for her, Meg closed her eyes. "Nothing!" She said. "Dammit." Dean groaned. "You thinking Crowley?""Definitely. He must have put some sort of spell on the moor." Cas said. "We'll have to get out of here like a human.""Wonderful." Meg groaned. "'Cause that's worked so well for everyone else."Suddenly Dean cried out. Cas spun around to see him being pulled to the ground by a giant hound. It's claws tore into his back and ripped down his legs. It had it's teeth in Dean's shoulder before Cas got it off of him. "God, son of a bitch!" Dean groaned. Cas stared in horror at the deep gashes going across Dean's body. "Meg, we need to get him out of here!" Cas yelled frantically. "I can't keep this up for much longer." Meg yelled back, jabbing her knife into a leaping dog's abdomen. "Just heal him and get over here.""Right." Cas grabbed Dean's leg. Dean screamed in agony. Cas flinched backwards. "Don't..." Dean took a shaky breath. "Don't do that again.""You're a kinky little angel, Clarence, you know that?" Meg asked."Meg this isn't a joke!" Cas exclaimed. "This...spell or whatever Crowley has done. I can't heal Dean. He's..." Cas gulped, glancing warily at the crimson pool, steadily growing, on the ground around Dean. "He's losing a lot of blood.""Cas please. I'll be fine." Dean said weakly. "Just get me a damn bandage to wrap it up so i don't bleed all over the place." "Dean, a bandage is not going to help." Cas said worriedly. Dean's face was getting steadily paler. Suddenly his eyes widened. "Cas help Meg." He said, speaking fast. "Whatever happens to me don't st-"He passed out cold on the ground. Cas stared in horror at his barely-breathing body. "You heard the man." Meg shouted. "Get over here!" Cas bit his lip and ran over next to Meg, the two of them backing up so that they were in front of Dean. "He's not going to die." Meg tried to assure Cas. Suddenly someone appeared behind them. "I wouldn't be so sure."•••"John?" Sherlock whispered. He had lain John upon a table in the inn's lobby. "What?" John breathed shakily. He was barely conscious. "Good." He gulped. "You're alive.""Yeah i feel great, thanks for asking." John winced as he tried to move his leg. "How long was i out?""Seventeen minutes and forty-eight seconds." Sherlock informed him. "You lost a lot of blood.""I noticed." He felt lightheaded. "Did you at least wrap it up?""Wrap what up?""My ankle!" "Oh. No i didn't.""Sherlock!""You're the doctor, not me!""Well wrap it up now, dammit!""Right." Sherlock grabbed some bandages from the first aid kit behind the counter. As he wound them tightly around John's bit ankle, the door behind them was kicked down. The two of them stared, startled as Sam, River, Amy, Rory, and the Doctor came rushing in. "He's free isn't he." Sherlock said. "Who's free?" John asked. "Crowley."The others looked confused. "You mean, he's not here?" Rory asked. "Crowley? God i hope not." John said. Rory and Amy looked at Sam to see his reaction. He was staring at John. "You seem to have healed up well." He commented. "Those damn dogs only got my ankle, which still hurts like hell, so yeah, i guess." John gestured to his foot. "Well, that's good right?" The Doctor said. "Yeah..." Sam said distantly. "Sherlock, you haven't seen him, have you?""No. Not since Amy got hurt." Sherlock promised. Sam bit his lip, clearly deep in thought. "So Crowley's escaped." John said. "How?""They let him out." Sherlock deduced. "What?" Any and Rory looked at their feet, and River avoided making eye contact with anyone. "It wasn't completely our fault." The Doctor tried to say. "He-""Tricked you? Made some sort of deal he was able to worm himself out of?" Sherlock asked. River nodded. "And you assumed he'd come here?""He said he thought he'd be able to get more souls before the night was out." Sam said. "But if he didn't mean you then who?""You don't think he left Dartmoor?" Amy asked. "No." Sam said. "He knows we're after his pets. He wouldn't just leave.""How much time do we have, at any rate?" River asked. "Before we're dragged to hell by a couple of bloodthirsty dogs?"Sam checked his watch. "About two hours." He said regrettably. "Listen hour nest chance is to find Crowley. Anyone have any ideas as to where he might be?"Amy, Rory, John, River and the Doctor all shook their heads. Sherlock looked thoughtfully across the room. "What is it?" Sam asked anxiously. "Well no one here is selling their soul." Sherlock said. "According to you and your brother, Crowley wouldn't be able to get in here with all your salt everywhere. There's only so many people just wandering about the moor at this moment. And based on what i gathered from Crowley's personality, he's probably going to get someone you know, really hit you where he thinks it'll hurt. So, who do we know who, at this moment, is out and about, and probably in grave danger?"Sam's face paled drastically. "Dean."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"I wouldn't be so sure." Cas and Meg spun around. Crowley snapped and the dogs backed off, some disappearing, some simply backing off. The growling ceased. It was just them and Crowley. "I'm afraid our friend here is fading fast." He continued. Dean was still laying on the ground, passed out in a pool of his own blood. "Looks like he got mauled by some sort of wild animal.""He's not your friend." Cas glared, raising his blade. "Get away from him.""If that's what you want." Crowley said, raising his hands. "But i think you can tell, even without your mojo, that he doesn't have much time.""I suppose you wouldn't just do this out of the kindness of your heart?"Meg asked. Crowley laughed. "Ah, Meg. Forever the comedian.""What do you want Crowley?" Cas growled. "I want you to back off!" Crowley snapped. "Now as much as i'd enjoy watching you die, these are my pets you are killing.""And i suppose we back off and you heal Dean." Cas said. "That's the general idea." Crowley nodded. "Ideally i would be collecting that genius' soul, but his dear friend was not nearly as injured as i had hoped."Cas squared his jaw. "Dean wouldn't want us to do this.""It's too bad you can't ask him." Crowley smirked. Cas looked helplessly at Meg. She sighed. "As much as i hate the idea of continuing this, i hate the idea of giving Crowley what he wants even more. Don't, Cas. He'd be furious."Cas looked back at Dean's lifeless body. Crowley was right. Even with his powers being blocked, he could see Dean's life force fading away. Crowley didn't even bother to glare at Meg. "What's it gonna be, champ?"•••"I feel like we've spent a lot of this case running through the woods." John grumbled as they ran through the woods. Sam didn't bother with a response. "Are you sure about this?" Rory asked him. "It has to be." Sam said. "There's no one- i should never have left him alone.""Sam, this...whatever happened to Dean, it wasn't your fault." Amy tried to assure him. "Yeah. Okay." Sam said unconvincingly. "Just to be clear, we're going to the moor to confront Crowley and save all these people." Sherlock said. "Not just to save your brother?"Sam was quiet. "Sam?" Sherlock pressed. "We're going to need your help, you know." Amy said. "None of us know Crowley like you.""I know." Sam sighed. They waited expectantly. "What?""You haven't answered the question.""I- of course. Saving everyone is a priority." Sam said hastily. "Don't insult my intelligence." Sherlock snapped. "If we all are going to die today, the least you can do is tell the truth."We aren't all going to die." Sam said resolutely. Then he stopped running. "We're here." They were standing at the edge of the moor, looking down at the seemingly empty chasm. Sam pulled his pair if glasses out of his pocket, and put them on. "Do you guys still have yours?" He asked. Sherlock nodded. No one else did. "What happened?" Sam demanded. "Crowley didn't like them very much." The Doctor mumbled. "Fabulous." Sam fumed. "What about you?" He asked John. "Broke when i was attacked." He said indignantly. "Sorry they weren't my first priority.""Well this is great." Sam groaned. "Just great. Only two of the six of us can see the monsters we're fighting. This is just fantastic."The Doctor cringed. "Just...stay behind us." He suggested helplessly."Sam, we're sorry." River tried to tell him. "Yeah. I know. Let's move."Sam climbed down first. He used his flashlight to guide the rest of them down. "You see anything?" Amy asked as Sam helped her to the ground. Sam looked around, shining the light across the dark moor. There was nothing, which he found strange. This place had been crawling with hounds barely an hour ago. "No." He breathed. "I have a bad feeling about this." John said. "Yeah, well, you'd be crazy not to." Sam shook his head. "No i mean a really bad feeling." John insisted. "No dogs anywhere? Don't you think it's a trap?" "Of course it's a trap." Sherlock ridiculed. Sam nodded reluctantly. "You knew? And you're- we're going anyway?" Rory asked, startled. "You're welcome to stay behind." Sam said. "No he isn't!" Amy said. "So are we just going for it then?" The Doctor asked."That's the idea. Follow me."The group trailed after Sam as they walked quietly across the moor. Soon they came to a bend in the wall. Sam started to turn but then immediately pushed the rest of the group against the wall. "Found them." He mouthed. Cautiously, they peeked around the corner at the dogs. There were hundreds of them in a semicircle around a group of people. Cas, Meg, Crowley and- Sam's stomach dropped. Dean. His brother was unconscious by the wall, covered in blood. Sam swore silently. "Do you guys still have some weapons?" He asked as quietly as he could. River, Sherlock, and John nodded. Sam pulled out a sawed-off out of his pocket and handed it to Amy. Her eyes widened but she nodded. He grabbed a pistol and handed it to Rory. It wasn't going to be very useful but it was better then nothing. When he turned to the Doctor, the Doctor shook his head. Sam sighed but didn't push it. He didn't have anything else, anyway. He turned away from them and closed his eyes. "What are you doing?" River hissed. "Praying.""Really?" Sherlock demanded. "Now?""Shut up for five minutes would ya?" Sam snapped. 'Cas.' He thought. 'Get Meg to stall Crowley. I need you to listen up for a minute. We need your help. Please.'Across the moor, Cas' back straightened. "No." He told Crowley. "I won't do it." He glanced at Meg. "Meg, however has a counter offer." He pulled her forward. "I do?" She whispered. "You do. I need a moment." He muttered. Then he turned and faced the opposite direction while Meg struggled to think of something. "Sam, what are you doing?" John asked. "Is now really a good time-""Shut up. I'll explain in a moment." The group stared expectantly at Sam while he explained his plan to Cas. When he saw Cas nod from across the moor, he turned back to them.•••"That's a terrible plan." Sherlock scoffed. "Oh so you have a better one then?" Sam asked. "Because i'm all ears."Sherlock said nothing. "That's what i thought." Sam nodded. "Look i know it's not the best plan, but it's the only thing i can think of that has a snowball's chance of saving Dean and capturing Crowley. With just under an hour and a half to go, i'd say it's the best chance we got.""But...will it work?" The Doctor asked tentatively. "God, i hope so.""So...no, then?" Sherlock deduced. "Well, probably not." Sam shrugged. "Then why are we doing it?" River demanded. "Because" Sam hissed. "In less than an hour and a half, you and your husband and 70 other innocent people are going to be painfully dragged to hell by a bunch of bloodthirsty invisible dogs unless we stop that guy in the black suit." He gestured to Crowley. River glared. "Like i said if any of you have a better plan i'm all ears, and make it snappy, because if you've got nothing, we need to start this one now."No one said anything. "Alright then." Sam said. "One my mark. "Three. "Two. "One. "Go."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sam stepped back and the rest of the group ran at the dogs. John started yelling, and it soon spread so that all of them were. Sam grimaced. It would have been admirable if they weren't all probably about to die. Sam adjusted his grip on his blade and ran off to the side. He knelt down and started carving into the ground. Eventually, he looked up. So far no one was on the ground, so that was good. His eyes drifted to Cas, who was fighting Crowley, with the help of Meg. Then he saw Dean. Suddenly, his heart was in his throat, his stomach sinking. Dean needed help, badly. And Sam should be giving it to him. He had half a mind to get up and go over there. Who knew how long he had actually been passed out. What if a hound came at him? He was completely defenseless! Then he pushed those thoughts out of his mind. The best way to save Dean was to go through with this plan. He went back to his carving hurriedly.
Cas grunted with effort, but he was actually pleased. The out-burst had caught Crowley by surprise. That was the only reason he hadn't disappeared. He wasn't sure how long that was going to last, though. Sam needed to finish his part, and fast. No sooner had he thought this, then Sam yelled 'Now!' Cas grabbed Crowley's shoulders and pushed him towards Sam. Crowley stumbled backwards and right into Sam's devil trap.
"Oh come on!" Crowley groaned. Sam immediately pinned Crowley's arms behind his back and held his knife against his throat. "Really, Moose?"
"Call of your hounds, Crowley." Sam orderer him.
"Why would i want to-" he was cut off by Sam jutting his knife a bit into the base of Crowley's jaw. He yelped in surprise. Areas around the base of his skull started flashing a dull orange. "Alright, alright!" He gagged. He waved his hand and the dogs vanished.
"There we go." Sam smiled cruelly. "Now we can talk."
The rest of the group gathered around them.
"Just to be clear," Sam threatened. "I have been wanting to slice you into a million demonic pieces since the day i met you."
"So what are you waiting for?" Crowley asked. "I am clearly at your mercy. Unless..." He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Dean. Sam looked too.
"Priorities." Sherlock reminded him.
"Shut up." Sam hissed.
"Sentiment." Sherlock rolled his eyes. John nudged him, shaking his head.
"The deals." Sam steeled his gaze. "Cancel them. Take them back. All of them."
"Moose-"
"I mean it."
"I can't just-"
"Actually you can. And you're going to. These people don't deserve to die."
"So...what?" Crowley asked. "They should just have good fortune for the rest of their lives?"
"You can take that back!" Sam yelled. "Rather ordinary lives then no lives at all!"
"So i should never make any more deals?"
"Preferably no." Sam glared. "But i know that's not going to happen. All i'm asking you to do is break the deals."
"You know i really don't think i-"
Sam dug the knife a bit deeper into Crowley's neck. Crowley gagged and waved his hand frantically. Sam stepped back and Crowley straightened his suit. Sam glared at his and he sighed.
*snap*
"There." Crowley said. "70 some people just lost money or skills or love."
"And a one-way ticket to hell." River added.
"Yes, congratulations sweetheart." Crowley said to her. "Moose, be a dear and break this tra-"
"I'll break the trap when you heal Dean."
"Really?" Crowley groaned. "You two are so predictable."
"Common Crowley." Sam ordered.
Crowley sighed. "I really hate you two."
*snap*
Dean gasped and shot up, breathing hard. He looked around frantically before he seemed to realize what had happened. Then he let out a long breath and lay back down. It took all Sam had not to run over to Dean's side.
"The trap, Moose." Crowley reminded him.
"Sam i really don't think that's a good id-"
Sam sighed but mostly ignored Amy, and bent down, picking a crack in the edge of the trap with his knife. Crowley smiled and stepped out.
"Till next time, Winchester." He smiled at Sam. "So lovely to meet you all." He nodded at the rest of the group. Then he was gone.
It was as if the nine of them had all been holding their breath the whole time. The woods seemed to sigh with relief.
"Dean." Sam finally ran to his brother's side. He put his hands on Dean's shoulders. "Dean!"
"Yeah Sammy?" Dean muttered.
"How do you feel?"
"Oh marvelous. I kinda feel like i was just ripped apart. I've got one hell of a headache and my back hurts like a sonofabitch. But i've been worse." Rory raised his eyebrows. "Help me up." Sam put his arm under Dean'a and supported him to his feet.
Amy rushed over to help. "Let's get back to that motel and let'm know those hounds aren't a problem anymore."
•••
The group sat outside, crowded around a single picnic table. All had cups of tea, save Dean who refused. No one had said anything for a good twenty minutes. Finally
"Well." John said abruptly. "That was-"
"Awful?" Rory suggested.
"Interesting?" The Doctor supplied.
"Sort of scary?" Amy asked.
"Just another day at the office." Dean shrugged. Sam nodded.
"New." Sherlock finished. "It was new. Never seen anything like that. It was nice to be surprised, i don't think you appreciate how often that happens."
"Yeah well, next time we run across a pack of demon dogs from hell, we'll give you a call." Dean promised.
"Oh, please don't." John sighed.
"Where did Meg get to?" The Doctor asked. "And Castiel?"
"Who knows." Dean shrugged, struggling to keep his expression indifferent.
"They'll turn up eventually." Sam told them.
"They better." Dean muttered.
"What will you guys do now?" Sam asked suddenly.
"Go back to living." River said.
"Amen." Dean nodded.
"This was dangerous." Amy informed him. "But it's not the worst we've faced."
"Back to life on the road." Rory finished.
"I hear ya." Dean nodded.
"But what about you?" Sam asked Sherlock and John.
"Things are never going to be exactly like they were before." John shrugged. "But i imagine they won't have changed that much."
"Cases aren't going to stop coming." Sherlock continued.
"Oh, you wouldn't have it any other way." John pushed his shoulder lightly.
"Yeah, okay." Dean grinned. "Stay close, you two."
John glared at him.
"And you two?" Amy asked.
"Back to 'Merica." Dean grinned. "Finally. Get back to my car, to the job, honest-to-god American burgers, my car-"
"We have things we need to do." Sam interrupted. "Although flying home is going to be a joy with this one."
"Shut up." Dean glared.
"We could give you a lift." Amy suggested sheepishly. "If you don't like planes. It wouldn't be any trouble." She assured them hurriedly when they started to objet.
"No, we have plenty of room, and it would only take a second to get back." The Doctor continued.
"You want to fly us home in your magic blue box?" Dean asked.
"Why not?" The Doctor asked jovially.
Sam looked excited. Dean sighed. "Fine. But if you try to probe me, i swear to god-"
"Dean." Sam stopped him.
"Alright, alright." Dean brushed him off. "Let's go."
"Thanks for your help, Sherlock." Sam turned to him.
"Likewise."
"Do you think we'll run into each other again?" John asked.
"God i hope not." Dean muttered.
"Who knows?" Sam said loudly. "Maybe."
"Alright then. Bye Sam. Doctor. Amy, Rory, River." He nodded at each of them.
"Bye John." Sam nodded and so did everyone else. Sam turned and followed the group into the TARDIS. "What the hell was that, Dean?" Sam hissed.
"What? I get irritable when i'm hungry and i get hungry when i'm dead."
Sam sighed.
"Where is you car parked?" River asked.
"Yonkers." Dean said. "New York."
"Hold on." The Doctor smiled. "Next stop America."