And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Genesis 1:30-31


In Redwood National Park

Chuck Shurley strode through the woods with the two small chunks of wood cradled in his arms. They were dark and rough with age. He looked at the way that the area greeted the sunlight. He liked the play of the shadows on the earth and the smell of the redwoods in the wet world. He liked this place; it was good.

The spot that he selected looked like so many others, but he knew that it would be important. He wanted to choose a spot that was near water, and it had to have enough sunlight to encourage growth.

He lowered himself onto the soft earth, and began scooping away until he had a small hole in front of him. He gently set the piece into the earth and smoothed the earth back over it with a few sweeps of his hands. He moved a little ways up the hill and did the same thing again. Into each mound he breathed out a small blue breath. The tinted air lingered above the mound and then seeped into the earth.

A thousand years was a long time for some. This place had to start with all of the best advantages if it were going to work. He had already found spots for the other pieces that he had carried before. These last two were going to be the final ones. The ones that would help it all begin again. And it would not be like it was before; now, out of the chaos there could be peace.


Gunnison Island

Castiel had been sitting by Dean for some time. He had been exploring Dean's memories, trying to find a way to draw him out. He wanted to replace Dean's soul sliver, but he did not want to do it until he could heal some of the manipulated memories. Sam chose to join him. He lowered himself into a cross-legged position on the other side of Dean and waited for Castiel to acknowledge him.

It was a long wait. Castiel was not really here; he was focused on Dean's thoughts at the moment. Just when Sam was about to give in to the demands of his cramping leg, Castiel looked up at him. "Hello, Sam."

"Hello, Cas. How is Dean doing today?"

"I have had a breakthrough since I took you on the memory tour." Castiel sounded hopeful, and it was contagious. Sam let his face break into a smile.

"That's good. That's really good. What did you figure out?" Sam seemed ready to burst out of his skin.

"I believe, that with the help of Crowley, we can use the power of the souls to manipulate his memories. We can interact with him if we insert ourselves into the positions of people that are already communicating with him. For instance, when he was at the dining room table with that family, you could take over the boy's position and I could take over Lisa's position. Since he spoke with them, he could speak with us."

"Do you think that it will work?"

"If Crowley helps. That is the part that may be hard to accomplish. He seems rather fond of bringing up his role as the new King of Hell over and over. He is quick to point out that he does not wish to help us."

"Yet here he is. Why is he here?"

"I have yet to figure that out. He does have a vested interest in keeping the borders up, but he does seem to be overly...present." Castiel looked out at Crowley who was, for the moment, speaking with Balthazar in the distance.

"Well, he is a crossroads demon. What do we have that we can trade?"

"Nothing."

"We'll need to do better, or we have to think of a benefit that he will value. For now, take me on another tour. Maybe we can plan our final path through his thoughts. I wish that I understood how this connects to the borders being lowered."

"I am not sure yet either, but Alastair was in there. I think that there is something in Dean's memories that can be used to bring down the borders. I think that we need to figure it out before he gets to it. Dean has a connection to Heaven and Hell. I believe that if Alastair can connect him to Purgatory, then he will be able to free himself and everything else that has been restricted."

"So Dean is a trigger?" Sam looked concerned and edged closer to his brother.

"Maybe, or maybe he is just a vessel of information. He is Michael's vessel, and the Righteous Man. You and your brother are also connected rather linearly to the first brothers, Cain and Abel. Unfortunately, for you and Dean, there is much that could be at play here. Neither of you were ever destined for a simple existence." Castiel looked at Sam with sadness. It was a look that said that he would move Heaven and earth to fix this. It was also, though, a look of defeat.

"All we can do is try to fix this. Whatever happens later, at least there will be one more in the fight. Let's go get Dean." Sam reached over Dean and grabbed Castiel's hand, squeezed it as though he was willing him to hope, to fight, and then Castiel squeezed back. Maybe there was a little hope left.

Memories

"So there are three key memories that were placed here. Three memories that we need to fix in order to get him out of his own head?" Sam asked Castiel from inside of one of Dean's quieter memories. To Sam it looked like Dean was sleeping peacefully, but with the way their lives were, and with the wicked looking jawbone blade laid across Dean's "sleeping" chest, Sam knew that this was not truly a peaceful moment.

"Yes, I think that we will begin with this moment. Dean thinks that he has become a demon." Castiel reaches over and pulls back Dean's sleeve to show Sam a brand that was etched into Dean's skin.

"What is that?" Sam stooped down peering at the mark.

"The Mark of Cain. Dean chose to take on the mark in order to defeat a demon and stop another end of world scenario." Castiel lowered the sleeve and looked up at Sam.

"Mark of Cain, as in Cain and Abel?"

"The same." Castiel stepped back from Dean and Sam did the same.

"So this is the last memory and where we will begin?"

"Yes, and we will work our way back through this to the memory that I showed you of the water supply and the Leviathans. I think that I have shown you enough of the smaller surrounding memories for you to get a the full view of what Dean is facing. When we finish fixing the second memory, I will send you back out. The final memory will be one that I enter alone."

"Why? I could help."

"You can help me more from the outside. I will be in a memory that does not have a second presence that I can safely occupy. I would be distracted by you being there, and it could compromise my focus. On the outside, you can keep an eye on Crowley, make sure that he does not deviate from the plan."

"Balthazar and Israfel are more than capable of watching Crowley."

"I think that you see things that they might miss. You might also watch Mary too."

"Do you think that she will be a problem?" Sam looked unhappy at this thought. He had just gotten his mother back, a mother that he never really knew. It would be just like the Winchesters to get something good only to have it torn away a few seconds later.

"In my experience, I find that often times suffering comes to us from unexpected places. Just be watchful, Sam."

With that the two stepped back and watched the memory play out. Crowley spoke to Dean, a long monologue ending with a request for Dean to come howl at the moon. Sam looked to Castiel and was greeted with a shrug that seemed to say, I didn't make this one. Having seen enough, they left the memory and returned their consciousnesses to Gunnison Island.

Gunnison Island

They would rest for the night before taking on the dreamwalk. It was necessary for Sam to be in the best possible condition. Israfel moved to his side by the small campfire. Her arm brushed his as she settled down, crossed her legs and looked out into the night. They had spoken since he woke up. More so, they had not spoken of the bond. It just was, and Sam could feel the draw of her even when she was not in sight. He felt warmth in her presence now, like she was all around him; although, she was merely at his side.

Are you in my thoughts? Sam sent out a short question to test the connection.

Israfel moved her hand over to his and gave it a little squeeze. I am. You are worried about Dean.

Yes, I don't see this working. I think that I will fail. I do that a lot.

Have faith. You are capable of so much, Sam. I have watched you do so much already. She spread her wings a little and allowed one to drape across Sam's shoulder.

Since you have been watching, then I am sure that you have seen all of the horrors that I have caused. You say that I am capable of so much, but really, I have always only been capable of destruction. Even when all of my intentions were good, I failed, and I destroyed. I am not sure if I am really capable of saving anything.

She took his face in her hands and looked long into his eyes, I have faith in you. Please have some faith in yourself, in Castiel, in Dean, and in the possibility that good things can happen.

Sam felt the breath from her slightly parted lips and considered closing the gap between them, but he didn't. He slowly stood and began walking to clear his head before going to sleep. I will try.