(Scene Change) Mallory and Cas are standing the empty chest.

"I'm gonna kill him." Mallory fumed.

"Well, we don't actually know if Crowley knew that this was empty."

"Cas, quit trying to be rational! Can't I just kill someone just because they're an annoying jackass?!"

"I'm not questioning your ability to do so-"

Mallory groaned in frustration. "That was the last crypt. We have nothing to go off of now."

"Perhaps Crowley did clear it out, and he is trying to maintain some leverage... We should reach out to him again."

Mallory curled her fingers over the edge of the chest's edge and clenched her hands in frustration. Cas reached out and touched her shoulder in an attempt to be comforting, but recoiled quickly as if doing so hurt him. He gave her a concerned look.

She breathed in deeply through her nose and exhaled. After a moment, she collected herself. "You're right."

"I know you want to save Sam, but we need to look at all our options. Even if it means returning to an option again that happens to be an annoying jackass."

(Scene Change) Dean, Sam, and Matthias are walking through purgatory. Dean is leading them, Matthias is helping Sam walk.

"Welp," Dean said. "I guess it makes sense why you're here..." He said to Matthias. "I'm not saying that it doesn't suck, cuz that seriously sucks balls, but it makes sense... Maxus wasn't about to let his little sister run off with an immortal monster. It'd ruin his plans... but on the flipside, it's cool that you guys met during the French Revolution."

Matthias perked up. "You know of it?"

Sam scoffed. "Know of it? Yeah, pretty much everyone does. It affected way more than just France."

"... Really? Did it all make a difference. In the end?"

"Yeah."

Matthias looked proud but sorrowful. "It pains me to know that I missed so many important events." Sam squeezed his shoulder in an attempt to be comforting. Dean, looking to cheer him up, spoke up,

"So you were alive during the French Revolution," he said. "Was Marie Antoinette.... You know... super hot?"

"Dean." Sam said sharply.

Puzzled, Matthias responded. "How would I know at which temperature her body rested?"

Dean's face fell in disappointment. Sam changed the subject.

"So you only met Maxus that one time when he killed you?"

"Yes, I had the misfortune of meeting Maxus for such an insignificant amount of time, and yet he proved himself a man who is not to be trifled with."

"We've only briefly met him once too," Sam noted. "He came to Dean after I got sucked in here, and he came to me not long after that."

"All part of his plan, I imagine," Matthias said. "He pays short visits as to make his subjects of torture feel that they can never truly be free from his scrutiny. That in itself is torture. How are we to know that he's not observing us now?"

Dean paused and glanced around in apprehension. "...True... " He said. "That's why the sooner we find Atticus, the better."

"How can we guarantee that once we find him, he won't just smoke out? I mean , we're not in the best place to create a devil's trap," Sam said.

"Well, I've got the chalk," Dean countered. "If we could just get him to a slab of rock or something-"

"And if we don't?"

Dean didn't say anything, but suddenly looked overwhelmed. "... I don't know man." He said quietly.

"Could you show me what a devil's trap looks like?" Matthias asked.

"Huh?" Sam looked confused.

"Um yeah, I guess," Dean said. "But why?"

"... I have an idea."

(Scene Change) Outside of a small cafe, Cas and Mallory sit next to each other at a table. Crowley appears across from them, taking a seat.

"I don't have time for a tea party," He stated, bluntly.

"Crowley, did you know that the crypt in Massachusetts was empty?" Cas asked, getting straight to the point.

"Okay, no pleasantries then," Crowley complained, "How are you Crowley? Oh, I'm doing wonderful, except for the small detail that some bloody mutt is trying to take Hell from me! I have to do damage control, Who cares about the crypts?!"

"You should care." Mallory said. "We're trying to find any way to kill Maxus so we can get him out of everyone's hair."

Crowley laughed bitterly. "So you don't know how to kill him? You don't even know how to kill yourself? That's rich!"

"It's not like killing a demon or an angel. We're on a different playing field. Lucifer knew, he was the one that created us, and Maxus somehow found out."

"Pity," he said sarcastically.

"We have good reason to believe that Maxus got that information from the crypts somehow," Castiel said. "So please, if you think there is anything that could help us, let us know."

Crowley lowered his eyes. "You found nothing of value in the other ones?"

"No."

"The crypt in Massachusetts was empty when I found it. I just assumed Azazel cleared it out, but it could have been Maxus."

Cas and Mallory shared a look of disappointment.

"Where are Moose and Squirrel in all of this?"

"Maxus has them... trapped for now. They're safe, but Sam is injured and running out of time." Cas explained.

"Sounds like Maxus has us all under his thumb at the moment."

"Yeah... What about you? Maxus pay you a visit yet?" Mallory asked him.

"Yes."

"What happened?"

Crowley sighed. "He gave me a warning that the demons would rise against me and I would lose Hell rather than him taking it by force."

".... And what is he planning on doing with you?"

"He didn't say."

They sat in uncomfortable silence.

"Well," Crowley said again. "I will go and see if there's anything in Hell that may be of help to you... but to be frank, I don't feel comfortable wearing this meatsuit."

"Okay... what do you want us to do about it?"

Crowley smiled. "Just hold on to this one for a moment." He looked pointedly at Cas. "And don't leave a single scratch on it."

"Crowley-" Cas said, standing up. "We're not going to babys-"

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

But Crowley had already opened his mouth and out came a plume of red smoke. Behind them sat a middle aged man wearing a baseball cap, a plaid shirt, and greasy jeans. He opened his mouth in shock as the smoke filled his nostrils and mouth. He slumped in his chair for a moment then bolted upright, his eyes shining red. The new Crowley smelled his dirty hands.

"Blech! I smell like a mechanic... Oh well, Ta ta!" He said to Cas and Mallory, who were now left with Crowley's original body, sagging in its seat like a rag doll.

(Scene Change) Maxus is on the other side of the street of the cafe, sitting on a bench outside of a pet shop. He smiles as he watches Cas and Mallory deal with Crowley's abandoned body. Maxus stands up and walked around the pet shop and into a parking lot. He spots a beautiful woman putting groceries into her car.

"Excuse me?" He said, getting her attention. She was tall and blonde and looked to be in her thirties. She smiled as he approached her.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"Yes, actually. I need you to do me a favor."

The woman suddenly looked hesitant. She took a step back from him, but Maxus grabbed her from behind the neck and pulled her closer to him. He balled his fist and punched it through her stomach. A bright white light glowed around her, until it gradually turned into thick black smoke. She closed her eyes and breathed in sharply, taking in the smoke. When she opened them again, they were demonic.

"You make a beautiful demon," Maxus said. She smiled back at him.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Pay a friend of mine a visit." He rested his fingers on her forehead, emanating white grace around them.

(Scene Change) Crowley is back in hell in his new vessel. He is in a storage room, shuffling through artifacts. Visibly frustrated he is talking to himself aloud.

"I can't find a bloody thing..." he mumbled. He took out a large stack of books and began fingering through them.

"What are you doing?" A deep voice said behind him.

"I'm looking for something, obviously." He said, rolling his eyes and continued to search.

The burly demon grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. "You can't be in here without Crowley's permission."

Crowley's face fell for a moment, and he remembered that he is not in his usual vessel. He played it off and said,

"I have his permission. He sent me to find some old records for him. He's upstairs doing some sort of contract."

The burly demon seemed to accept his answer. "You new here?"

"Yeah."

The demon laughed. "I can see why Crowley got a new demon to do his dirty work. Nobody else would want to."

Crowley stopped. "What do you mean?"

"You'll quickly learn that Crowley doesn't give a rat's ass about anyone other than himself. He'll use you up and spit you out without a second thought."

Crowley became irritated. "Well, that's just Hell for you! Do you expect a leader to coddle you and hold your hand? We're obviously here for a reason, and it's not to be babied."

"You talk big for someone who's new to the game," The demon said, standing a good foot over him. "Hell is Hell, but we still want someone we can trust. Over and over again, he's sold us out to save his own ass. He doesn't care about demons, he cares about staying in power."

"... Do all the demons feel this way?"

"Most of them do."

"Then why hasn't anyone rebelled?"

The demon stared him down. "Oh, we're planning on it. It's just a matter of time, but civil war is a messy thing." He started to walk out of the room. "Have fun being the leprechaun's new pet." He called out as he walked away.

Crowley hung his head and sighed. He slowly returned back to the books and began going through them again. He heard soft footsteps behind him. "I'm busy, you can go away," he said without looking up.

"Crowley, please." A sultry voice said. He whipped around and saw Maxus' beautiful demon standing in the doorway.

He stood there in shock. "Who the hell are you?"

She smiled and sauntered towards him. "I'm just a demon, but Maxus sent me here to check up on you."

Crowley eyed her with contempt. "I don't need a chaperone. Why didn't he just come down here and torment me himself?"

"He has better things to do."

Crowley scoffed and returned to his task.

She neared him. "He figured you'd be looking for information on the knife."

Crowley froze.

"You're not going to find it here," she said simply. "Do you really think Maxus hasn't taken the measures to make sure it didn't land somewhere in Hell?"

"If you have nothing else to tell me, you can leave," Crowley said curtly.

The demon smiled. "He wanted you to have a look around."

"What?" Crowley looked at her in confusion. She grabbed his wrist and they smoked out of the room.

(Scene Change) Matthias, Sam, and Dean are walking through purgatory. They are sneaking through the woods, on the hunt for Atticus. In the distance is shown a small group of people. The three encroach the group carefully. Dean, in front, pauses behind a tree, and holds out his arm to stop the other two. He points in the group's direction.

"Atticus is the asshat in the gray suit," he said to Matthias. Matthias peered around the tree, looking at the group of demons. They seemed to be arguing.

Atticus cornered another demon, looking desperate. "Trade me clothes," he said to the other demon. The demon gave Atticus a bewildered look.

"Uh.... no." Atticus froze when he saw the brothers off in the distance.

"Please!" He grabbed at the demon's shoulders but is pushed away. A couple of demons step away from the two, weirded out by Atticus' actions

Matthias stepped out from behind the tree and walked to them.

"Who the hell are you?" One asked him. The demons all scowled at Matthias, except for Atticus, who looked very afraid.

Matthias said nothing but reached out his hand towards Atticus. His hand burned with flames and the other demons backed away precociously. Atticus backed away from Matthias but was caught in a fiery blaze. Beneath him, a devil's trap was seared into the ground. The demon stood, frozen and angry. Dean smiled in triumph and he and Sam joined Matthias.

"Nice handiwork," Sam said to Matthias. The three looked at the distraught demon.

"Now what do we do?" Matthias asked.

"Now," Dean said, pulling out his knife and flipping it in his hand. "We get some answers."

(Scene Change) Crowley and Maxus' demon are walking though Hell. They seem to be in a large, dark corridor. There are demons mulling about, not really paying the two any attention.

"Why have you brought me down here?" Crowley asked her.

"When was the last time you spent anytime with your subjects?" She asked him. Crowley shrugged. "Demons are just like anything else in the world. They need guidance. Leadership. What have you done for Hell other than make it more efficient?"

Crowley looked annoyed. "You say that like efficiency is a bad thing."

"It is if it costs you loyalty."

They turned a corner and were now standing in Crowley's throne room. It was flooded with demons. One demon stood at the steps of Crowley's throne. He spoke to everyone in the room.

"Where is he now?" No one responded. "Huh?! Where is that son of a bitch?!" The demon paused. "Exactly. Ever since Lucifer, ever since Abaddon, Crowley hasn't given a crap about us. He's too busy schmoozing it up with a couple of hunters. That is not what we want from the king of Hell!" demons in the crowd cheered him on. "We need some who will take up back to the good days! Where we were feared as demons!" More cheering. Crowley peered around nervously.

(Scene Change) Mallory and Cas are back at the bunker. In his arms, Cas is holding Crowley's limp meat suit.

"You know, If I made a list of days that have sucked the most," Mallory said. "This one would be pretty high up there."

"We need a new course of action," Cas said.

"Yeah. If we're not going to find anything here, we should see if Dean and Sam have made any progress." They walk towards the infirmary where Dean and Sam are.

(Scene Change) The cheering is still going on in Hell. Crowley slowly takes several steps back, trying to exit the room. Suddenly the cheering stops. All of the demons are frozen in place. Crowley himself is fine as is Maxus' demon. She gives him a crooked smile.

"What is this?" He demanded.

"This is the beginning of the end!" A voice said cheerfully from the front of the room. Crowley peered around the frozen demons and saw Maxus lounging on his throne.

"He is quite the actor, isn't he?" Maxus says, referring to the demon that was speaking earlier to the crowd. "One of my best."

"He-he was always so loyal to me..." Crowley said.

Maxus made a sour face. "But was he? Or was he just putting on a good show? How do you know that any of your 'loyal' subjects were actually loyal?" Crowley didn't say anything so Maxus continued gleefully. "I am so glad that I made it in time for this next act."

"What do you mean?" Crowley asked slowly. Maxus' eyes twinkled with excitement. Crowley suddenly hunched forward, choking. His mouth opened and red smoke spewed out.

(Scene Change to Cas and Mal)

"Do you feel comfortable just leaving Crowley's body here though? We don't want to be gone if he comes back." Cas said, looking at Crowley's body lying in a bed next to Dean. Mallory was standing between Crowley and Dean. Cas is on the other side of Dean's bed.

Mallory thought for a moment. "You're right." She stepped forward and Raised her hand to the ceiling. A devil's trap appeared above them, directly over Crowley. "That way if he does come back while we're gone, he won't have anywhere to go," she smiled. "Let's go."

She turned and they stepped towards Dean's body and Cas placed his fingers on Dean's forehead.

"Mallory!" Castiel exclaimed. Mallory spun around and saw that Crowley's body was gone.

(Scene Change) Back in Hell

Crowley's meat suit appeared at the step of his throne, crumpled in a heap. Crowley's red smoke filled his mouth and lungs. His temporary meat suit fell to the ground and Maxus snapped his fingers, causing it to disappear. Crowley lay lifeless on the ground for a moment then his eyes opened and he shakily sat up. He looked at Maxus who was no longer sitting in his throne, but was now in the back of the room with his blonde demon.

"Best of luck," Maxus said, sounding genuine. They stepped back and the scene whirred to life again. The demons in the room quickly spotted a confused looking Crowley still sitting on the ground. They angrily gathered around him. Crowley looked up as they closed in to see Maxus smiling down at him.

(Scene Change) "What the Hell?!" Mallory said, astounded.

"Did Crowley do that?"

"No- Maxus took him."

"But how did he know he was here with us?"

Mallory clenched her fists and her hand slowly inched towards the blade that was resting inside of her jacket. "This whole time. He's been watching us."

(Scene Change) Cars go zooming by on a highway. A body lies beneath a bridge, passed out. A close up shows that it's Crowley. His clothes are torn and ragged. His fine suit now ruined. He slowly opens his eyes and drags himself onto his feet and looks around. He spots a gas station a short distance away and makes his way towards it.

(Scene Change) Now inside the gas station, he wanders to the counter. The cashier eyes him, but asks, "You okay, man?"

"Where am I?" Crowley asked, voice ragged.

"... Alva, Kentucky... Look, do you want to borrow a phone? Maybe call someone? You don't look so good."

"Umm..." Crowley starts but the cashier hands him an old landline anyway. Crowley takes it.

"Got a number I can dial for you?"

"... No. I don't- remember any."

The cashier looked concerned. "What's your name, sir?"

Crowley looked at the young man with a blank stare.