Eleven – An Audience with the King

"I can't believe we agreed to this," Jessica mumbled.

Meg rolled her eyes. She wasn't happy about this trip back home, either, but things were pointing in Crowley's direction until disproven.

"This may get us one step closer to getting Sam and Dean back," Jo said to Jessica.

"Or one step closer to landing permanent residency in Hell," Charlie muttered.

The five of them crossed the street to an abandoned building. Meg wasn't too surprised that the King of Hell's domain would be in a place nobody dared to step foot in. She was a bit surprised, however, to see no demonic guards standing at the doors. Easy in.

No alarms were tripped when the five of them went inside. Meg kept a hand on the angel blade she had tucked away inside her jacket. She was going to be face-to-face with the demon who had killed her. She wasn't sure how well she could fend off her want for justice before they could get any information out of Crowley.

"I was expecting something with more...red," Jessica said, slightly disappointed. "This seems like a normal building."

"We just got through the front door, Jess," said Charlie.

About halfway in their search for the King of Hell, two demons found them snooping around.

"Who are you?" demanded one, a stout female.

"Oh, don't act like you forgot about me," Meg simpered. "It's insulting."

The other demon, a tall, burly guy, glared down at her. "You were killed."

"Guess some things can't just stay dead." Meg shrugged. "We need to speak to Crowley."

"He's busy."

"Well, so are we." Without causing much of a scene, Meg knocked shoulders with both of the demons, strutting her way through the bricked halls. "We're on a tight schedule."

"You're trespassing!"

"Bite me, asshole."

When Meg found a pair of closed doors, she threw them right open, both clanging loudly against their respective walls. Ahead, there was one sole throne, her killer nested in it. He looked rather bored a second ago, as he had a demon rattling off useless information to him. But the second she crashed the session, an angry expression came over his face.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" he roared in outrage. Behind her, Meg could feel the presence of the other four companions. "I killed you!"

"Guess you didn't kill me hard enough," Meg said, smirking. "Does anyone really stay dead nowadays? I heard resurrection is the new trend in town."

"We need to talk," said Cas.

"Who are they?" Crowley gestured to Charlie, Jo, and Jessica.

"Introductions aren't needed," Jo spat.

"Neither is you barging into my domain." Crowley stood out of his throne, fists clenched at his sides. "Leave, all of you. If you don't, I'd be more than happy to kill you a second time, Meg."

"I'd be more than happy to try and kill you a second time, Your Highness," she hissed with the same amount of venom that he did.

"Meg, please," said Castiel, who now stood at her side.

"What is this?" asked Crowley.

"We know what you've done, Crowley," said Charlie.

"Please do enlighten me, Shirley Temple. Just what exactly have I done that's reached your pretty little ears?" Crowley mockingly batted his eyes at the redhead.

"You've abducted Sam and Dean, you've had demons possess them. You tell us where they are, and we might spare you."

Crowley blinked his dark eyes in confusion. "You mean those morons are actually riding backseat in their own bodies?"

Meg cocked her head. "Don't act like you don't know what we're talking about," she sneered to the king.

"I really don't, quite frankly. I've been dealing with more pesky matters than the Two Stooges going missing."

"It's Three Stooges," Charlie coughed under her breath.

Crowley rolled his eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about, none of you. Besides, even if they are in trouble, it's not my fault the big babies get themselves into more trouble than they're worth."

"But that doesn't make sense," Jessica stated aloud. "If you're absolutely sure you're not behind this..." She looked to the other four.

Then who is? Meg finished in her head.

"Have you heard about demons slaughtering hunters as Sam and Dean?" Jo asked coldly. "I doubt you would've missed that breaking bulletin."

"Any news about those two, I prefer to not hear unless it directly concerns me. Which this doesn't. Now, bugger off, or I'll make you."

"Five against one, my lord," Meg drawled. "You need to step up your threat game, it's gotten pretty weak."

"So have you, skank. Parading around with an angel and three humans looking for saps who got you killed."

"At your hand. I wouldn't go spreading the blame, my king. They didn't run the blade through me, you did."

"Okay, okay, personal crap aside," Jo cut in, cutting off the demon squabble, "if this isn't you, then...?"

"If he's not aware of Sam and Dean being possessed, he won't know anything," Cas said dejectedly.

"Think we can find a way to utilize your services?" Charlie asked the king.

"Not unless you give me a fair price," said the demon king.

"Charlie, don't bother," said Jo. "A demon's only price is your soul. We're not in a Hail Mary situation."

"Not another dead end," Jessica whimpered.

"Yes, another dead end, poor unfortunate souls," Crowley sneered. "Now, get out of my sight."

Meg snorted and spat in front of Crowley. "Some help you are," she said, turning her back on the King of Hell. "Looks like this is a bust, ladies and gent. Time to roll out and feel the bitter taste of defeat once again."

* * *

The group morale was, needless to say, low, when they all trudged back into the bunker.

Meg was frustrated more than anything. She just wanted a way out of this. She felt like she owed Castiel this favor since he plucked her from Purgatory. She wanted this done and over so she could be free of these invisible chains and go back to living on her own without any angelic supervision hanging over her head.

"New plan: never let Meg's ideas follow through," Jo growled.

Charlie was back to the laptop, continuing research. Jessica had gone someplace to either lie down or grab food, Meg didn't really care where the college girl went. Castiel was hovering over Charlie's shoulder.

"So what, it didn't pan out." The demon shrugged. "Shit happens, G.I. Jane."

"You know, I'd maybe like you a little more if you stopped with your annoying nicknames for all of us."

"Can you take your arguing elsewhere? I need to concentrate," Charlie told the two, face practically buried into the laptop. Cas pulled her slightly back so she wasn't kissing the screen.

"Fine, we will. How about let's settle it with a duel, eh?" Meg raised a brow at Jo.

Jo cracked her knuckles. "If it'll shut you up, fine. Let's."

"We better not find a dead body later on," Cas warned the two.

"No guarantees," said Meg.

Meg and Jo stood as far apart from one another as they went back outside. The gap widened as the two took their stances in their pretend arena. With no pre-battle banter, Jo took the first lunge. Meg, with her demon speed in play, easily countered. Meg noticed the hunter was barely keeping up with her moves. She was tempted to make it easy on her, almost tempted.

When Meg got a cut into Jo's cheek, she saw the fire in the hunter's eyes go ablaze tenfold. She welcomed the new challenge.

"Why are you training Malibu up?" Meg asked in a break in their fight. Jo was catching her breath, kneeling in the grass.

"She asked for it. She wants to contribute."

"Yeah, well, so far she hasn't been proving her worth."

"Look, you can bitch about her placement with us, but take it up with the angel behind this squad. We didn't orchestrate this, he did."

"I still can't understand why he felt the need to bring us back, four totally different personalities, to try and work together. He should know better about us, we're natural enemies."

"You'd think, but I guess he doesn't."

"Are we actually sort of agreeing on something here?"

Jo shrugged. "Perhaps."

"If Malibu really wants to learn something, send her my way. I can whip her ass into shape better than you ever can. She won't be fighting hunters, she'll be fighting demons."

Jo's face quirked into thought. "You'd have to get her to agree to it."

"So you think it's worth it?"

"Possibly. What happened with Sam and Dean, it won't be our last encounter with them."

"I can't keep saving her every time she's near death, either. I'm nobody's protector except my own."

"You say that, but yet you're still here."

Meg rolled her eyes. "It's not out of sisterly love or any of that bullshit. I'm here because I feel obligated to be. Believe me, I'm still not fond of this whole thing. But we gotta suck it up until those giants are back home."