Kate slammed the door of the Impala, though she was careful not to slam it so hard that it broke. She was walking a thin line at that point. The heartbeats of Sam and Dean were all too loud, even over the purr of her Catalina, and her mouth felt dry. Her eyes wandered over her surroundings in an attempt to distract herself only to fall on the Winchesters' trench coat wearing angel. His blue eyes narrowed suspiciously when they fell on her.

She allowed her eyes to flash with pale grey light when she looked at him. It was a silent warning not to bother her the way he had earlier. She could see the feathers in his wings, which she could only see due to being a Nephilim, ruffle in agitation. Zaphkiel was at her side in an instant, his own wings flaring out the way a swan asserting its dominance would. Cas immediately looked away, his eyes focusing on the mirrors he had propped up against the trees.

Both brothers turned to watch the wordless conflict between the angels. So focused on the potential fight, they almost didn't notice when Kate walked to her car and opened the glove box. There was the sound of her rummaging through the contents before she straightened up and tossed the boys a pair of reflective sunglasses for each. Sam looked down at the sunglasses with an unspoken question clear in his expression.

"The eyes are the windows to the soul," she quoted. "It's a good thing Zack and I ran into some cockatrices awhile back or you'd be out of luck."

"Don't you need a pair?" Dean asked, watching her carefully.

She raised her eyebrows at him, "Didn't your angel tell you? I don't have enough of a soul to burn. It won't be able to kill me the way it would you."

Both Sam and Dean blinked in surprise at the nonchalant way she had stated her advantage. The elder Winchester gave his brother a pointed look, as if her words proved his argument that she could hardly qualify as human. But Sam was more focused on the other aspect of her wording. She had stated that she didn't have enough of a soul. Didn't that mean she had some fraction of one?

"Let's set up the surprise party."

Without another word, Kate walked towards the mirrors. Dean raised his eyebrows as she picked up four of them and carried them under her arm as she walked towards the cave. Stronger than humans, he realized, but he had already known that from their little skirmish from before. Zack followed soon after, though the older angel took a larger load of mirrors with him. The two brothers exchanged a glance before moving to follow. Cas's grip on both their arms brought them to a stop.

"Don't turn your backs on them," he warned, his voice stern.

"I thought you know the angel," Dean asked.

"I can't remember exactly who he is," Cas explained. "But what he is, his entire rank is a myth among the Garrisons. He shouldn't exist."

"What is he?" Sam asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

Cas looked grim as he spoke again, "As far as I can tell, he's an Ophan. In the legends, they stood guard around God's throne. The archangels always said they didn't exist."

Both brothers stared at the blue eyed angel, trying to process what he had just said. Cas continued on as if he hadn't noticed the two watching him with looks that clearly said they thought he was nuts.

"We never thought them possible, regardless, as they are made of holy fire rather than grace," he mused. "To see one in existence…He would be incredibly powerful, more so than the archangels. But why would he be wandering Earth? And it doesn't explain why we were led to believe they didn't exist or why we can't remember them."

"Michael had Raphael set up the inhibitor program and Naomi wipe all trace of my kind."

Sam and Dean jumped as Zaphkiel appeared behind them with only the sound of soft wingbeats as a warning. Cas's eyes turned up to meet his elder brother's.

"Of course, it wasn't so difficult to do so as there were only five of us to begin with," he remarked. "If you three are finished agreeing that you trust neither my partner nor myself, we could use your aid."

He gave them a half-smile, though there was no emotion in the gesture, and picked up more mirrors. They watched in silence as he turned his back on them and walked back to the cave. Dean was the first to move, giving a shrug before grabbing a few mirrors himself.

"Come on," he snapped, sounding oddly cheerful compared to the last couple days. "Let's go skin a giant snake."

Dean kneeled behind one of the alcoves created by the rocks jutting from the cave's walls, watching the entrance. His attention returned back to Kate, who stood in the shadows of a small alcove with an angel blade in hand. Sam was outside the cave, up a tree or some such nonsense to keep an eye out. The Hunters had their sunglasses pushed down a fraction so that they could see for now. Both angels had left after a terse conversation in Enochian that Sam and Dean weren't privy to. It left the elder Winchester with a bad taste in his mouth.

"You never did explain why the halos had to leave," he hissed to Kate.

For the first second, he wondered if she would even hear him. But her dark eyes flashed to him in the next second and he had his answer.

"Angels are like celestial flare guns," she whispered back. "Monsters are subconsciously aware of their presence and actively avoid them."

"And what about you?"

"I may not have a soul like yours, but I don't have enough grace running through me to work the same way."

"Well, the second we've ganked this bastard, I'm giving Cas a call."

The Nephilim gave a sharp laugh, "You're going to have to shoot him a prayer, Winchester. There's no service way out here."

Dean fished his cellphone out his pocket, pressing the display button so that the screen flashed to life. He could feel Kate staring daggers in his direction as he did so, no doubt angered at the flippant disregard for the fact that they were trying to have some type of stealth. Ignoring her clear anger, he flashed her a view of his screen.

"Really?"

A frown crossed her face and she pulled out her own phone. The thoughtful expression deepening as she looked down at the service symbol on her screen.

"Four bars," she muttered. "That's impossible. I was barely a mile away from here earlier this week…"

Both of them shut their phones off at the sound of a twig snapping far past the opening of the cave. Dean pushed his sunglasses back into place as he slipped his phone back into his pocket. His fingers brushed against the hilt of his own angel blade. They had opted for the strange metal blades over hunting knives or machetes as, in Kate's words, 'angel blades are the one size fits all for killing monsters'.

Kate peered carefully around the edge, catching a glimpse of a man at the mouth of the cave. She backed away within a second, but it had been enough to get a good look. The man was fairly tall, his body slim and facial features pinched. Mirrored aviators were perched on the bridge of his nose, a too big leather jacket hanging from his shoulders. He was licking his fingertips with a few obscene moans of enjoyment. His footsteps stopped within a few minutes, causing all three Hunters to stiffen.

He tilted his head back ever so slightly, inhaling noisily as if savoring the scent. A throaty chuckle echoed through the cave.

"You really think you can hide from me?" he asked. "I've heard talk about the FBI agents in town, but I've been around long enough to know what you are. Come out and play, little Hunters."

With a nod from Kate, Dean stood up and into the line of sight of the man. The basilisk's eyebrows rose and a wicked smile split his face.

"Look at that," he sighed. "I've met a lot of guilt-ridden fools in my life, but you take the cake. I could live for decades with the remorse you carry. Bet you taste delicious."

Dean gave a feral smile in response, "Why don't you come over and have a bite, then?"

"Because you're not alone," the beast laughed, licking its lips. "So much guilt and all in my home. I'm so very glad you invited yourself to dinner."

Kate stepped from the shadows, causing the basilisk's smile to fall slightly. Sam stepped into the mouth of the cave shortly after. And yet, the monster only spared Sam half a glance before returning his attention to Kate. She spun the angel blade expertly in her fingers. Even from behind her, Dean could see the area before her light up as silver blazed up in her eyes.

"Your kind is extinct," the man snarled at her, though he backed up a pace.

"Almost extinct," she corrected, and there was a new edge to her voice that both Winchesters noticed. "Probably best to make entirely certain before making assumptions."

"Looks like you're our little bitch tonight," Dean snapped.

The basilisk gave a sigh, taking off his aviators despite having his eyes closed, "I had rather hoped to avoid this. Comfortable clothes are so difficult to come by."

He dropped the aviators on the ground, shaking his head disdainfully. Eyes still closed, he rolled his shoulders as if stretching. There was the sound of something being pulled tight as the creature began to grow. Leather, fabric, and skin pulled taut until it began to tear. The man's jaw came unhinged as his head oscillated to either side, revealing curved fangs protruding from the roof of his mouth. Scales pushed out of the ripping flesh with a strange hiss.

The three Hunters stared in shock as the last remnants of the man fell away to reveal a dark-scaled, skink-like creature almost as big as the cave. Its eyes finally slid open, revealing nictitating membranes and red eyes with slit pupils. Never had either brother seen a reptile look quite so smug. Only Kate managed to speak aloud the thought they all shared.

"Motherf-"