Chapter 3

Kevin and his mother had settled into a small, remote house outside Missoula, Montana. With the demons trapped in Hell, they were much safer, but everyone slept a little better at night knowing the Trans were off the grid. Kevin had a work shed behind the house; Mrs. Tran wasn't allowed inside, as they'd reached an agreement that she was more distracting than helpful while Kevin tried to interpret the tablets. The walls of the shed were nearly full with notes, symbols, and diagrams about Heaven and its angels. Everyone had insisted Kevin take some time off after the Hell Gates had been sealed, but it seemed as though he'd come back from vacation and hit the ground running.

"Damn, Kev," Dean remarked as he entered the shed. "Can't imagine where we'd be if our prophet wasn't in advanced placement!" He said the last two words somewhat mockingly, but grinned and was clearly impressed. Kevin returned the smile—he seemed more relaxed than any of them could remember seeing him. "You look good, man," Dean continued, patting him on the shoulder.

"Thanks," Kevin responded. "I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of this!"

Castiel walked around to examine the notes on the walls, then stopped at stared at one page in particular. "This is Enochian," he stated with fascination.

"Yeah, I've been able to get bits and pieces from what this thing says." Kevin pointed to the tablet. Cas nodded in approval.

"So," started Dean, "What's the good word?"

Kevin walked over to the long wall that was filled with the most scribbles and bits of paper. "This one has been a little different," he began.

"How so?" inquired Sam.

"That's the interesting part," Kevin said. "See, if you look—" Dean interrupted Kevin with a loud belch. Everyone turned to stare at him.

" 'Scuse me," Dean said. "Ugh, I am so stuffed—Kevin, your mom makes the best damn meatloaf I've eaten in a long time."

"That still doesn't mean you had to eat five helpings of it, Dean," Sam said.

"Shut up, Sammy," Dean answered grumpily. "Don't worry, there's leftovers for you, kid." He looked at Kevin, who was still staring at him incredulously.

"It was very delicious," said Cas helpfully.

Kevin furrowed his eyebrows. "Angels don't eat," he said simply.

"Your mother was… rather insistent," Cas replied awkwardly. Kevin nodded and gave the angel an understanding look.

"Anyway," said Sam, somewhat impatiently.

"Well, this one seems to contain more history than instruction," Kevin went on. "It seems Heaven's past is made up of a few Ages, or Eras."

"I believe we are on the sixth," said Cas with a nod.

"Oh! That's actually—super helpful," Kevin rushed over to his desk and began leafing through piles of pages.

"Kevin," said Cas, causing him to look up from his notes, "Does it say how many Eras there will be?"

"So far, I've only gotten up to seven," Kevin replied. "But it doesn't seem very definitive." He shrugged.

"I see." Cas squinted, deep in thought. His eyes flickered back and forth as if he was trying to work out a complex puzzle. Then they fixed on something far away, and widened as he turned back towards Kevin. "Does it say anything about how to bring about a new Era?"

Kevin's eyes glimmered with triumph. "Yes," he whispered, but all three heard.

Dean looked over at Cas. "Why would we want to fast-forward Heaven?"

"Because structurally, it's a complete overhaul," answered the angel. "It doesn't make that much difference to the human souls, as they are all contained within their own pockets of existence, but to angels…"

Dean raised his eyebrows. "You mean, we might be able to take away the power of some psycho angel kidnapper?"

Castiel grinned.

Twenty minutes later, Cas, the Winchesters, Kevin, and Mrs. Tran were all crowded around their small, round kitchen table. "So, Kevin," said Mrs. Tran boastfully, "Have you told the boys about the keys yet?"

"I was just about to, Mom," Kevin replied, as though she had asked him to clean his room. He sighed before continuing. "The tablet states that each of the new Eras of Heaven must be unlocked."

"So—there's some kind of key?" asked Sam.

"It seems so," Kevin answered. "But Metatron, or God, I guess, wasn't very descriptive."

"So—there's one little key?" Dean questioned, bewildered. "But it could be anywhere in the world!"

"I think there's only one," returned Kevin. "Or like, one at a time? It wasn't that clear."

"One at a time?" asked Sam. "You mean like if one is destroyed, another one… pops up somewhere? Or…" Sam's eyes got bigger as he stared at Kevin. "Or how there's only one prophet at a time?"

"I was wondering if it meant a person," said Kevin. He turned to look at Cas.

"That's a possibility," Cas confirmed. "Much of what is written is metaphorical."

"So I take it you've never seen one of these keys, in all your time up in Heaven?" Dean asked Cas.

"I am very young by heavenly standards, Dean," Cas reminded him. "I was born around the time the current age began."

"Well, is there anyone around who might remember unlocking some pearly gates?" Dean questioned skeptically.

"There are only four angels who might." Cas shook his head. "And the two that are still alive are locked safely in the cage."

"Of course," Dean swore sarcastically. "So how in the hell do we find this thing and-or person?"

"The tablet does have a few mentions about that," Kevin interjected. "You can put together a spell to cast on any item, and then that item will reveal to you the Key."

"It'll tell us where it is?" Dean sounded surprised.

"Well, it will indicate when you're close," Kevin replied weakly.

"So basically," said Sam, "we throw some magic potion on a piece of jewelry and go around playing hot-or-cold with it until it lights up?"

Kevin winced. "Yeah," he said. "Pretty much."

"We are so totally screwed," Dean muttered, shaking his head.