Searching Purgatory [COMPLETED]

Chapter Seven

In the blink of an eye, Zoe was standing next to Dean in a huge parlor room filled with velvet furniture and white plush carpet. On the wall next to Dean was the smeared red circle of what Zoe assumed used to be an angel warding sigil.

Gabriel clapped Dean on the back. "Good work, Dean-o."

Dean raised an eyebrow at the nick name. "Don't ever call me that again."

"I regretted it as soon as it came out of my mouth," Gabriel agreed, still smiling.

"Where's Sam?" Zoe asked. She was pretty sure she would have noticed the giant had he been in the parlor with the three of them.
"He headed upstairs," Dean explained. "Meg, Cas, and Sage are with him, right?" Dean asked, looking at Gabriel.

Gabriel nodded. "No need to worry; Sam's covered on all fronts. Now, what're we supposed to be doing, again?"

Dean's expression hardened. "Finding Crowley." He turned and left the parlor, Gabriel and Zoe close behind.

The three of them wandered through the mansion, hoping to somehow stumble upon the king of Hell. It only took all of sixty seconds for Gabriel to get bored with the pointless meandering.

"We should split up," he volunteered.

Dean didn't even bother to look at him. "Not an option."

"Why not?" Zoe piped up. "We'd be able to cover more ground that way."

"Hunters never split up," Dean said roughly. "That's how people get killed."

"You and Sam split up," Zoe argued, folding her arms defiantly.

"That was different. We knew we had back up on the way."

"Come on, Dean," Zoe cried. "This place is basically a grave yard. What're you afraid of?"

Dean looked at her and she could see the wall he'd spent so long building up, start to fall down before he swallowed and glared at her. "As soon as we split up, we'll be vulnerable to all kinds of attacks and I'm not going to be responsible for somebody getting killed."

Gabriel smirked. "Your girlfriend'll be fine, Dean. Come one, this'll be faster anyway."

Before Dean could spit out whatever witty retort he had in mind, Gabriel grabbed his shoulder and disappeared, leaving Zoe alone.

"Well that was quick," Zoe muttered under her breath. She looked around at the flowery wallpaper and the dark wood furniture. Although she couldn't see anybody around her, she felt eyes on her, watching her every move. She shivered at the thought of walls having eyes and felt the goosebumps rise up and down her arms. Gripping the handle of the knife in her hand (a weapon Dean had told her was called an angel blade), she stepped forward and began making her way down the hall.

Zoe stopped in front of the first doorway, wondering how she was supposed to contact Dean or anybody else if she found Crowley, and turned the brass handle of the door. As she pushed the door open, an invisible force shoved her forward. Her hands shot out to catch herself before her head could hit the hard wood floor beneath her and her blade skidded out of reach.

The walls stopped spinning slowly but surely and Zoe's eyes fell on a pair of black shoes. Her gaze trailed up an expensive black suit to finally land on Crowley who was smiling down at her.

"And we meet again, Pet," he sneered.

Zoe glared at him as she pushed herself to her feet. "I am not a pet," she argued, her fists clenching at her sides.

Crowley tsked. "Oh but you are. It's pitiful that you haven't figured that much out yet. Trust me, I've been in your shoes and--as soon as they find out what you are--they'll use you up and toss you aside. They don't care about you. You just take up space in their Super Secret Boy's Club."

Zoe's jaw twitched angrily. "You don't know anything. You're just trying to get in my head."

Crowley shrugged. "I've been doing my own research on you, Pet. I know what you are," he sneered, "despite how hard you try to hide it."

Zoe paled. How could he possibly know? Then she frowned: he had to be bluffing.

Crowley raised an eyebrow. "Think I'm bluffing, do you?"

"I know you're bluffing. You don't know anything." She dove forward for the knife on the floor by Crowley's feet but he flicked his wrist and she flew backwards, slamming into the wall behind her. She struggled to move but was glued in place.

Crowley stalked towards her, a triumphant smile plastered on his face. He stopped directly in front of her and dug something out of his pocket. "My mother was a witch and--as much as I hate that woman--I have to thank her for what she taught me. It has come in handy at one point or another." Whatever he had in his hand, he stuffed into the pocket of Zoe's jeans before gripping her throat tightly in his hand.

Zoe's first instinct was was to panic but she quickly realized that Crowley wasn't choking her. He was just holding onto her throat and muttering something under his breath. The longer he mumbled, the more exhausted Zoe felt. Eventually, her eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped against the wall, unconscious.

When Zoe returned to the world of the living, Crowley was gone.

She tried to get to her feet but she realized she was already standing. She wasn't in control of her own body. It was sort of like an in-body, out-of-body experience. She wasn't really herself at all but...she was. She certainly didn't feel like herself. She was wearing a black suit and fancy black shoes. She was taller, bulkier, and she had...extra body parts.

"What the..." But when she spoke, it didn't come out of her mouth. It was just a wisp of a thought.

She was about to start panicking when the door flew open to reveal Dean Winchester.

* * * * * * * * * *

Dean threw the door open to see Crowley standing there, grinning like a douche. Dean's eyes scanned the room quickly, looking for any sign of Zoe. He knew splitting up had been a bad idea and had hurried back as quickly as possible. His eyes fell on the angel blade in the corner of the room and his blood ran cold. He was too late.

"What the hell did you do to Zoe?" Dean growled, gripping his own knife tightly in preparation to attack.

Crowley smiled. "Come now, let's not get too hasty. I'm sure she's around here somewhere."

Dean didn't wait another second but advanced quickly, gripped the collar of Crowley's jacket and throwing him against the wall. "I'm getting real sick and tired of your games, you son of a bitch," he spat. "Now where's Zoe?"

Crowley just started laughing, cackling happily as Dean's anger and frustration grew. Dean's rage peaked and he drove the angel blade in his hand into Crowley's chest.

But Crowley's skeleton didn't light up like a demon's body normally did. Instead, his eyes flashed a silvery blue and Dean was holding Zoe in his arms.