Before I start this, I want to give a huge shout out to R. W. Winters, who is the author of Song Remains the Same and the creator of Alex Winchester. I take zero credit for her or her relationships with Cas, Dean, or Sam.

If you do not read SRS first, you will not get the full impact of this story. So, go read that then come back and enjoy this fic. However, if you don't have time for a 130+ chapter work of art, then feel free to read this; odds are you are going to get confused though. Take chapters 1-124 from SRS then fill in the blanks with SPN canon up until this point.

Things are a little jumbled around and not canon to make this story work. Middle of Season 9 before Dean gets The Mark of Cain. Gadreel has already left Sam and tried to team up with Metatron. Gadreel and Castiel are working together to stop Metatron from taking over heaven, however they are too late and Metatron puts all of the angels back in heaven and seals it. Cas and Gadreel are stuck in heaven, but are able to imprison Metatron.


Alex growled, pacing back and forth beside the table nestled in the middle of the room. Her fingers laced together and rested above her head. Dean shot her a sidelong look and sighed, "Al, stop that. You are going to wear a hole in the floor." He sat back further in his chair, a hand running through his hair, "We will find him." She huffed loudly and plopped down beside her brother, her face etched with sick worry. It had been four days since she had heard from Cas. Four days of pacing, praying, screaming, throwing breakable objects, and worried glances from her brothers. How many times were they going to be separated? She let out another long sigh. If God was still there, he must get off on watching their relationship suffer. Her mind raced with possibilities. Last she saw him he was working with Gadreel – a thought that brought a chill to her spine in the first place – to find Metatron and stop him. Had he failed? Was he dead? Stop thinking like that.

The sound of Dean's phone ringing snapped her out of her thoughts. He groaned and sat up in his chair, reaching for the phone. He flipped it open and pressed it to his ear, "Yeah?"

A few seconds passed before his brow furrowed in confusion, "Slow down, what?" Dean nudged Sam's shoulder, pointed at the TV and mouthed 'news' before scrawling something on the paper beside him. Sam's long frame rose from the chair and sauntered tiredly towards the television on the other side of the room. He turned it on and flipped through the channels, finally landing on the news.

Alex stared at the images on the TV before standing and walking over to her twin. Her head cocked slightly. "Hundreds of people are reporting 'lapses in consciousness' worldwide. Months of time seemingly erased from their memories. Police and Doctors are leaning towards a new drug craze, as most are reporting they were 'chosen by angels' and were 'vessels for the divine'. Meanwhile, police in Atlanta gun down a violent persons after officers were 'savagely attacked'. The man was shot four times and still advanced on the officers, only going down after the fifth shot. Riots are breaking out in the city as protesters become outraged by the 'brutality' of the officers. There have been several more reports of shootings in the area by police, but none have been confirmed. More on this story at 10, now lets go back to the thousands of Americans 'out with the flu'. Reports say that people are running extreme temperatures and many hospitalized." The anchorwoman jabbed an arm at her co anchor "Remember to get that flu shot, Jim."

Dean had ended his call and walked over to where the twins stood. His face was pale and his lips were pulled into a tight line. Alex shifted her gaze to him, "What the hell is going on?" He slowly ran a hand over his face, his head slowly shaking. He growled and spun around, throwing his phone as hard as he could at the wall. Alex's eyes grew wide as Sam stepped forward, "Dean?" He just shook his head. "So… uh," he slowly turned back to face his siblings "that was Crowley. Guess that," he gestured to the TV that was now playing some upbeat commercial for a children's movie, "is just as bad as it sounds. Like heaven's pearly whites all sealed up and Croatoan bad." Alex, who was chewing the side of her thumb nervously, dropped her hand to her side - her mouth opening to say something but she couldn't find the words. Sam stared at Dean with a confused look plastered on his face, "Dean, are we sure Crowley isn't lying?" Dean simply shrugged and let out an exhausted huff of air, "Honestly Sam, I don't know. But did you hear that? Sounds about right to me." He clenched and unclenched his fists at his sides a few times before storming back over to the table and ripping the paper off the pad with a little too much effort.

Alex stood frozen in place, her dropped hand now resting over her mouth. Her mind slowly started losing its grip. Thoughts and worries and 'what ifs' started flooding over her. What if Cas got sent back to heaven. What if that's why he isn't answering… What if he is sealed away with no way out. Is this 2014 all over again? If it is, then the demons are behind it. Is this Crowley's doing? Why would he be warning us? I need to find Cas. Now. Alex finally broke and sprinted to her room, earning two confused looks from her brothers. Sam turned to Dean, but before he could open his mouth Alex was running from her room and headed for the stairs of the bunker; a duffle bag draped across herself, several random shirts and papers in her arms, and a set of keys dangling from her mouth. Sam crossed her path and snatched the strap to her duffle as his twin tried to sneak past him, "Alex, what the hell are you doing?" Her hazel eyes were wide, darting between Sam's. "We gotta go. Get your shit." She tried to rip herself from Sam's grip, but it was useless. "Where are we going?" he asked with an irritated tone to his voice. Dean nodded knowingly at his sister before turning his gaze to Sam, "Atlanta".


The drive from Lebanon to Atlanta was one of the longest any of the Winchesters had ever endured. Sure, they had been on many other 15 hour drives - but rarely straight through, and never under this kind of stress. The siblings kept quiet the entire drive, even Dean left the radio off which was quite unheard of. Alex kept her head against the cool glass in the backseat, Sam dozed off still recovering from the effects of the trials even after Gadreel and Cas healing him. Dean kept his hands tight on the wheel as he sped down the highway towards Georgia.

They were just outside of Marietta when an thick accented voice abruptly pulled them from their thoughts and sleep. "Hello, boys. Mouse". Alex jumped and reached for her blade. Dean's eyes shot up to the mirror, his face twisting angrily at the demon seated next to his sister. "Son of a bitch, Crowley." "Nice to see you too. You can put that away darling," Crowley gestured to the plain knife in Alex's hands, "You and I both know that isn't going to get you anywhere." Sam cleared his throat and wiggled the demon blade at him, "Yeah, but this will. What are you doing here, Crowley?" The King of Hell smirked and adjusted the sleeves of his all black suit, "Thought the all important Winchesters should know about the impending end of the world." His gaze flicked over to Alex who sat uneasily against the door of the Impala. "Also thought the Mrs. here should know about her precious winged hubby being locked up in the attic." Her breath caught in her throat, "How do we know you are telling the truth?" Crowley snickered, "You'll see for yourselves eventually." He glanced out the window at the mile markers flashing by in the darkness, "You do know you didn't have to come all the way to the peach state to see what's going on. It's everywhere, and just as nasty as the Croatoans. But, a little faulty if I do say so." He adjusted himself in the seat, his hands folding in his lap "A little too easy to kill. A little too slow. Not enough crazy. Unfortunately for mankind, there's nothing you monkeys can do to stop it."

Dean's glare was hard in the mirror, his voice rough and demanding, "Was this you?" Crowley smiled and shook his head, "When exactly would I have had the time to cook something like this up? Last I checked I was locked in your dungeon. However, your feathery friend Metatron and the Queen Bitch herself had plenty of time while I was in cuffs getting freaky with you morons." Dean growled and clutched the wheel impossibly tighter. Sam turned in his seat and looked at Crowley, his brow furrowed, "Metatron and Abaddon? How did that even happen?" "I'm guessing the angel got all hot and bothered when Castiel got involved. Abaddon probably smelled the desperation and came crawling to him like the bottom feeder she is." Alex shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers, "I thought Abaddon wanted to rule hell - not bring on the damn apocalypse." Crowley raised a brow at Alex, "I think you are forgetting she is a demon - a bloody Knight of Hell. She will take what pain and suffering she can get. Do you understand the publicity she is getting for this stunt?"

Alex sighed and leaned her head back against the window with a thud. Her brain swelled with pain and her eyes stung. All of this was way too much. Part of her didn't believe what Crowley said. He liked getting them riled up for nothing. She couldn't wrap herself around the thought of Cas being gone - again. He's just busy stopping Metatron - it is important. That's why he isn't answering. Locked in heaven? No way. Dean spoke up finally, holding up the paper in his hand. "Why is this important?" Sam looked at the folded paper, having forgotten about it amidst the chaos. "Heard a while ago from the halos upstairs that name was going to be important. I can't think of a better time to tell someone about it." Crowley turned his attention to Alex obviously done talking about the name, a grin creeping across his features, "Why so quiet, Mouse? You and the husband at odds again? You are eerily calm about your one and only being locked away for good." Alex snapped her head up, eyes darkening at the demon, "Believe it or not, I have a hard time trusting what you say." He simply smiled and turned his gaze out into the dark, "'Suppose you will see for yourself then, pet." And with the snap of his fingers he was gone.

Alex turned and kept her focus on the passing signs, attempting to keep the thoughts from her head. She focused on keeping her breathing even, but she couldn't stop the thoughts from creeping into her mind. She felt the slow burn of panic build in her gut as she curled her knees up into her stomach on the seat. She wrapped her arms around her legs and buried her face, her long dark hair tumbling over them. Her twin reached back and placed a warm hand on her shoulder, "Al, come on. Let's see if he is even telling the truth before we start jumping to conclusions." Alex shook her head still tucked into her knees and let out a sigh. "He's gone, Sam. I can feel it. I felt it four days ago when he wasn't answering me." An uneasy breath escaped her trembling lips. Sam's confused silence was enough for her to continue. She lifted her head, her sights trained out the window avoiding her twin. "I dunno, it was like a pop in my chest. Like something snapped. He hasn't answered me since." Sam ran a hand through his long hair, his face a picture of concern. "Like...your heart broke or something?" Alex's head snapped to look at her twin, "What? Shut up. No." She took in a shaky breath, trying to keep herself composed, "It happened when the angels fell too - when he lost his grace." Dean's worried look caught Alex's eye, "Why didn't you say anything?" She ran a hand back through her hair, tears gathering in her hazel eyes, "I was scared, Dean. I didn't want to believe it was happening again. Why do you think I have been a mess late-" She stopped mid sentence at the view in front of them. Both lanes of highway leading out of the city were at a standstill. Cars were bumper to bumper, honking at each other and trying to roll up as close as they could get. Alex opened her mouth to speak again, but the roar of four helicopters overhead stopped the words. Sam quickly reached for the dial on the radio and flipped it on. The sounds of the emergency tone filled the Impala and sent chills up the spines of the three Winchesters.

"This is not a test. The United States Center of Disease Control has issued a Nationwide outbreak of an unknown virus. This virus is incredibly dangerous causing the infected to become extremely violent and deadly. Avoid contact with affected persons. The virus is spread through contact with bodily fluids. Stay indoors, and may God bless your soul. This is not a-"

As if on cue, the radio cut out and went to static as two helicopters collided into each other in the sky. Dean slammed on the brakes and pulled the Impala onto the shoulder of the highway. His breathing was uneven and quick as he watched out the window. "Son of a bitch" he said quietly. Alex scrambled over to the other side of the backseat, her hands against the window. A group of at least four dozen people came walking up the highway. Their steps slow and staggered. Alex watched as, one by one, they ripped the people backed up on the road out of their cars and ripped into their flesh. Muffled screams and honking filled the air, panic rising back up in Alex's core. This was real. This was the end.