Not What He Seems

Chapter 12

"Hey, Beau!" Riot calls out, storming up to him.

"You know," Beau says, "I am very impressed. Dogs really are a man's best friend, huh?"

"What gives?" Riot demands. "A soul's a soul, right? Equal sacrifice?"

Beau chuckles. "In all honesty, I thought your sacrifice meant just a little bit more, given that you're not even going to get a thank you."

"Then why'd you let Mrs. Tran win instead?"

"I'm not in charge here, buddy," Beau says. "I'm just the beautiful face."

Riot narrows his eyes.

"I'd imagine you were right, though," he says. "You made more of a sacrifice because they don't know who you are. Mrs. Tran, on the other hand, was a beloved member of their team. It's cruel, taking her soul. They're going to miss her much more than they'd miss their dog."

"So, that's it?" Riot asks. "Letting me sell my soul just wasn't mean enough?"

"It's a bigger sacrifice for the whole team, giving it to Mrs. Tran," Beau explains. "But don't worry. I'm sure you'll have to bail your boys out again in no time. From what I hear, this is a fairly regular occurrence for them."

Riot glares at him.

"Now, if that's all, I suggest you head home before they notice you're missing," Beau says. "Breaking out of the car was one thing, but breaking out of a locked motel room? They're bound to notice you're not a normal dog."

"And the Winchesters?" Riot asks. "And Kevin? What happens to them now?"

"Oh, don't worry," Beau says. "They'll be fine. They just have to wait for Mrs. Tran to give up her soul, and they'll be back in two shakes of a puppy's tail."

Riot clenches his jaw and walks out. As much as he hates to admit it, the guy's right. He really shouldn't be caught outside the motel room if he wants to keep his dog act up. It's only a matter of time before Dean decides he's more trouble than he's worth. If he was willing to give up Mrs. Tran's soul without a fight, he's definitely not above suggesting they get rid of the dog if it seems like it'll make things a little easier.

He just can't wait until he's home and until they're home and he can try to comfort them and cheer them up and...

And he's not sure even the cutest of dogs could do that.

He sighs. So maybe he can't cheer them up. The best he can do is just be there like a normal dog and not add to their worries. Hopefully, they'll make it home not long after Riot. He doesn't really want to be left alone, and certainly doesn't want them alone.

Which is where they are now.

Alone.

With a greedy god and his dumbass of a right-hand man.

What are the odds that this is still a trap, and Beau ushered him out right before it could go down?

Riot turns around and sprints back where he came from. He can only move so quickly on human legs, so, as a last ditch effort, he shifts into dog form in the middle of the street, completely unconcerned that there could be people watching. Every second he saves matters.

He bursts through the door, where Dean and Mrs. Tran are... fighting? He pauses, and it only takes a moment for him to realize that Mrs. Tran's eyes are red, and that he's definitely not looking at her anymore.

He looks around helplessly. What does he do? He doesn't know how to kill a demon. He...

But then he sees the demon tablet just laying in the corner of the room. He hesitates, but, seeing that the two in front of him seem incredibly distracted trying to kill each other, he's pretty sure he can make it. He darts towards it and picks it up in his mouth before hiding down a hallway and waiting. There's nothing more he can do right now. He's just a dog. He can't fight a demon. But he can guard the tablet.

And that's what he does.

He hears the fight from his little corner of the building. He hears Crowley repossess his former vessel. He hears the guy bitch about the tablet disappearing. And then he hears the guy vanish.

Riot breathes a quiet sigh of relief. He did it. He took the tablet. He finally did one thing right. He can toss it to Winchesters, run, and hopefully get back to the motel before they do.

Until Crowley appears right in front of him. He seems surprised, seeing a dog by his feet, but he moves on from that pretty quickly.

"Were you keeping this just for me?" Crowley asks in a mocking falsetto, reaching for the tablet from Riot's mouth.

Riot growls as loudly as he can.

"Oh, bad boy," Crowley scolds him. "C'mere, give it over."

Riot growls again.

"Oh, for hell's sake," he mutters. He reaches down and grabs the tablet straight out of Riot's mouth, almost taking a tooth with it.

Riot immediately shifts into human form and grabs the tablet, and, though he can't get it from Crowley's grasp, he can try to keep the demon from taking it from his.

"Sam!" Riot yells.

"Oh, isn't this interesting," Crowley remarks. "A skinwalker, calling to the Winchesters for help?"

Riot grits his teeth and pulls on the tablet harder. Crowley doesn't even seem to be struggling, holding on to his end.

"You're the dog I saw in the church, aren't you?" Crowley asks.

Riot doesn't answer, too focused on holding onto the tablet. Come on, Sam, hurry up!

"I take it they don't know," Crowley says. "They find you, they're just gonna see a naked man fighting over a hunk of dirt with the king of Hell."

"Sam! Dean!" Riot tries again. He'll take whatever help he can get at this point.

"Careful, bud," Crowley says. "They find out, they'll kill you. Doesn't matter how much you do for them; they'll kill you on sight if they find out what you are."

Right on cue, Sam turns the corner. In the blink of an eye, Crowley's gone, the tablet gone with him. Riot just freezes, not sure what to do. On one hand, he's absolutely pissed that Crowley just left with the tablet, and even more so that he probably could have done so at any point, and purposely waited for Sam to show up.

On the other hand, he's currently standing in the middle of a supernatural auction house, butt naked, in front of his owner, who has no idea who he is. Riot's been naked frequently enough since he was turned that it doesn't phase him, but it's going to be very hard to play this one off, and he definitely can't turn into a dog to get out of it.

"What are you...?" Sam stares at him uncomprehendingly.

Riot sighs. "You know what? Don't even ask."

He walks past him and towards the door, exasperated. He really thought he had it this time. He really thought he was going to be able to help, and look where that got him.

"Who are you?" Sam asks. "What do you need the tablet so badly for?"

Riot glances over his shoulder at his owner. "Doesn't matter. Just, for future reference, next time you get your hands on the thing, let Kevin memorize the spell and hand it off to the angels. It's probably a hell of a lot safer with them."

Without waiting for a response, he walks out, changing into his dog form right as the door shuts behind him. Now he just has to get back to the motel before his owners do, and he's all set. He can just lie down with Sam in bed and mope in peace.