This chapter marks the end of season six and the very beginning of season seven.

I don't own Supernatural or any references to anything else you may recognize.

"So, H.P. Lovecraft opened a door to Purgatory in 1937 and Dr. Visyak came through?" I asked as we walked down the street. I adjusted the sling on my right arm and wriggled around a bit until it felt slightly more comfortable. I really hate this damn thing. Why the fuck didn't I let Cas heal me?

"Seems that way," Dean said with a nod.

"And she knows how to open the door?"

"Yep."

"And she knows that Cas and Crowley are after her?"

"Mhm."

"So why wouldn't she let us help her?"

"That's just Ellie," Bobby said, and I didn't miss the fondness in his voice. "She's independent and stubborn, and she's gonna get herself killed."

"You really care about her, don't you?" I said quietly, giving him a sympathetic look, and he nodded gruffly.

"So where is she?" Dean asked as Bobby directed us down an alley.

The older hunter shrugged. "She said to meet her here. I'll try her again." He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Dr. Visyak's number again. The sound of a phone ringing started up nearby, and the four of us followed it hurriedly. As we came around the corner of a big green dumpster, we saw Visyak sitting propped against it. "El?" Bobby asked worriedly as he knelt down beside her.

Her face lit up slightly as she saw him. "Hey…" She let out a strained laugh. "Guess I could've used your help after all."

Bobby gripped her shoulder reassuringly. "Just be still," he said gently.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"They took me," Dr. Visyak said. "I got away." She slowly opened up her coat to reveal her bloodstained shirt.

"Oh, Ellie." Bobby shook his head sadly. "What've they done to ya?"

She laughed weakly. "Everything. The demon I could've handled, but when the angel stepped in, I—" I saw the absolutely devastated look on Dean's face at this information, and I squeezed his hand briefly. Dr. Visyak sighed, looking ashamed of herself. "I told him, Bobby," she admitted. "They have enough to crack Purgatory wide open."

"Tell me," Bobby urged. "I need to know."

"They need virgin blood." She rolled her eyes. "That's a milk-run for them. And they need the blood of a Purgatory native, and, well… they've got plenty of that now."

"Have they opened it yet?" I asked.

Visyak shook her head. "Tomorrow. The moon—an eclipse." She closed her eyes briefly, and, when she opened them, tears were brimming in the edges. "I'm sorry, Bobby," she said plaintively.

Bobby's grip on her shoulder tightened. "No, it's okay," he promised her softly. "It's okay."

"I'm sorry…" she repeated, and a tear rolled down her cheek. "Really sorry…"

"Tell us where they are," he implored, but it was too late. Her eyes became unfocused, and her head dropped to the side. Bobby lifted her head with his hand. "El?" he said quietly, his voice thick with sadness. There was no response, and he carefully ran his hand over her face to close her eyes.

Suddenly, there was the sound of wings, and we spun around to see Castiel standing there. "I'm sorry this had to happen," he said flatly as Bobby got to his feet. "Crowley got carried away."

"Yeah, I bet it was all Crowley, you son of a bitch!" Bobby snarled, lunging for the angel, but Sam and Dean held him back.

I put my hand on the older man's shoulder as Dean released him and stepped forward. "You don't even see it, do you?" he asked the angel. "How totally off the rails you are?"

"Enough!" Cas said shortly. "I don't care what you think. I've tried to make you understand. You won't listen. So let me make this simple." His eyes narrowed threateningly. "Please, go home and let me stop Raphael. I won't ask again."

Dean got in the angel's face and said, "Well, good, 'cause I think you already know the answer."

Castiel shook his head with what actually looked like regret. "I wish it hadn't come to this," he murmured, staring at the ground. When he looked back up, all traces of emotion were gone. "Well, rest assured, when this is all over, I will save Sam. But only if you stand down."

"Save Sam from what?"

The angel disappeared, and we all looked around in confusion. I turned just in time to see him reach out for Sam. "Sam!" I yelped, but it was too late.

As soon as Cas touched Sam's forehead, he vanished, and Sam hit the ground.

"Sam?" I tried as Dean, Bobby, and I knelt down beside him. "C'mon, Sam, wake up!" I grabbed his arm to shake him, but, as soon as I touched him, I was assaulted with the sounds of police sirens. I released him and flinched back. "What the fuck was that?" I asked no one in particular.

"What?" Dean pressed urgently. "What was what?"

"When I touched Sam right then, I didn't see hellfire," I replied. "I—"

"Wait, see?" he interrupted. "Since when d'you see his flashbacks?!"

"Since they started," I said offhandedly. "Anyway, I didn't see hellfire or hear screams or laughter—I heard police sirens."

"Well, that's good, right?" Bobby asked hopefully. "As long as he ain't seein' Lucifer, that's good."

"It's better than we hoped," Dean agreed hesitantly, and I gave a short nod, though I wasn't so sure.

Sam's hearing those police sirens for a reason. Something weird is happening inside his head, and, regardless of whether it's Lucifer or not, it can't be good.

~Supernatural~Supernatural~Supernatural~

"Anything?" Bobby asked as he walked into the panic room.

I shook my head slowly as Dean said, "I can't just sit here, Bobby! I gotta help him!"

Bobby sighed. "Dean…"

"Y'know, dreamscape his noggin! Something!"

"Ya know what Cas did," the older hunter said calmly. "The dam inside your brother's head is gone, and all hell's spillin' loose. We dunno what's goin' on inside."

I suddenly got an idea. "Guys, I can—"

"I don't care!" Dean exclaimed, completely ignoring me. "We have got to do something!"

"Guys—"

"And we will," Bobby promised. "But, right now, we got sixteen hours till they pop Purgatory. I'm down one man. I can't afford to be down two."

"Guys, would you just—" I huffed as Dean talked over me again.

"Yeah, and how's that goin', huh?" he snapped. "We got no line on Crowley. We got no line on Cas. Balthazar's MIA. I mean, all we got is Sam goin' through whatever the hell this is!"

"Okay, listen!" I shouted, getting to my feet. Both pairs of angry eyes flicked in my direction. "You have me," I said simply.

Dean frowned. "No offense, Gari, but you—"

"Yeah, yeah, I don't have any super awesome demon witch powers, I know," I said dismissively. "But I can see Sam's flashbacks for some reason."

"Yeah, so?"

I rolled my eyes. "So I can at least figure out what's going on, can't I?"

Dean's eyes widened slightly in realization. "Okay, try it."

"It doesn't always happen," I said as I reached for Sam's arm, "or maybe it does. He's never had—"

I stopped talking abruptly as I touched Sam's arm. I could hear Dean calling my name, but his voice grew fainter and fainter until it went away completely. I looked around and found myself in the back of the Impala. Sam was driving, and there was an unfamiliar woman in the passenger seat. My stomach flared with jealousy, but I quelled the feeling as I tried to figure out what the hell was going on. I'd never actually been in one of the flashbacks, and this was unlike any of them I'd witnessed. He was just driving and talking to the strange lady.

All of a sudden, his eyes met mine in the rearview mirror, and, at the same time, I was blinded by a white light. Sam slammed on breaks, and I was thrown back into the real world.

"What…the fuck…was that?" I breathed heavily, and I noticed that I must have let go of Sam when the light came.

"What happened?" Dean asked worriedly. "What's going on?"

"He—he's just driving," I answered, feeling inexplicably drained. "He and some chick are driving in the Impala. He saw me, and there was this bright light, and—" I saw Dean slip his flashlight back into his pocket. "The light was you," I realized. "He saw it—I saw it—in his mind! He's still picking up on some of what's going on here!"

"Wait, you're sayin' you were inside Sam's mind?" Bobby asked, looking more than a little overwhelmed. "How's that work?"

I shook my head. "I dunno. That's never happened before, and the other thing has only happened twice—well, three times now, counting when Cas first took him down."

"Bristol," Dean said slowly, "and Grants Pass. That's why you just fell over when we were about to leave the station." I nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Sam didn't want me to," I replied. "I was planning on talking to him about it, but, with everything that's been going on lately—namely, me being captured by Crowley—I just haven't really had the chance. And the whole 'seeing his flashbacks' thing—he just found out about that at Grants Pass. I think he just kinda guessed because I freaked out the same time as he did."

"He didn't even flinch." Dean slammed his hand on the table in frustration. "Goddamnit, this is what happens when we keep stuff from each other!"

"And how would you have helped?" I retorted. "Made another deal with Death, built another wall? I'm sorry, but I doubt there's a chance of that happening again." I rolled my eyes. "He kept it from you because he knew you'd go psycho until you found a way to fix him. This is Sam—he prioritizes. And he's always last on his list of priorities."

"She's right," Bobby nodded. "Sam wouldn'ta wanted to mess up killin' Eve with his own problems."

"We wouldn't have just given up—" Dean started, but Bobby interrupted.

"Dean, think about it," the older man said. "If Sam had come to ya and said his wall was fallin', d'ya really think you'd have stayed in Grants Pass for even one more minute?" Dean looked away angrily. "Didn't think so. Look, I'm not sayin' what Sam did was particularly smart… But he knew how you'd react, and he knew we had to get the job done."

The older Winchester huffed rebelliously as he realized that we were right. "Okay, fine," he said finally. "I get it. I don't like it, but I get it." He gave me a hard stare, but his sharp green eyes were scared and desperate. "Can you do it again?" he asked. "Go back in his mind? Stay with him?"

I shook my head slowly. "I don't think I can keep it up for that long. Just that little bit of time took a lot out of me. Maybe if I'd done it a few times before, but now…" I shook my head again. "I'm sorry. I'll check in on him again in an hour or so, if you want."

"Alright, if that's the best you can do."

"Okay, stop," I said shortly, crossing my arms over my chest. "Dean, I get that you're freaking out and everything, but don't you think I am, too? Not only is Sam unconscious with a broken wall, I just discovered I can enter his mind just by touching him. Now, really, do you thinkI'd even be talking to you if there was any way I could be there with him this whole time?!"

"I'm sorry," Dean said, dropping his gaze. "I didn't mean—"

"I know you didn't," I broke in gently. "But we can't just be jumping at each other while Sam's like this and Dumb and Dumber are about to open Purgatory. We've gotta figure out where this ritual is happening."

Dean turned to Bobby. "Balthazar?" he asked.

Bobby nodded. "I'll get right on it."

~Supernatural~Supernatural~Supernatural~

Sam's back suddenly arched off the cot, and Dean and I rushed forward. "Gari, see if you can see anything!" Dean ordered, and I obeyed as he continued calling Sam's name.

I touched Sam and was once again blinded by a brilliant white light, but this one felt different, more natural. I released Sam's arm and blinked rapidly as my eyes adjusted to the darkness of the panic room. Sam was motionless once more, and I couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"What did you see?" Dean asked.

"Just a bright light," I replied confusedly.

"Like when I was shining the flashlight?"

"No, it was different. It felt… natural, I guess. Human. Like… not man-made, but not the sun, either." I frowned and stared down at Sam. "I dunno. It was weird."

Dean sighed. "Well, it looks like he's okay for now," he said doubtfully. "Man, I need a drink." He got up and walked over to the table, then grabbed the whisky bottle and poured himself a full glass. He started to take a sip, but he paused and held the glass out to me.

I shook my head. "Just gimme the bottle."

Dean stared at me for a minute. "You sure about that? I mean, last time you drank straight from the bottle…" He trailed off, and I knew he was remembering that night I'd gotten pretty much wasted and slept with Soulless Sam.

"Well, it's not like I have to worry about that happening again, now, is it?" I snapped.

"Suit yourself," he shrugged, and he handed over the bottle. I took a swig and let out a low breath as the whisky burned its way down my throat.

"Are we having a party, then?" a sarcastic, distinctly British voice asked, and I looked at the open doorway of the panic room. Balthazar stood behind Bobby with a smirk on his face. "Well," the snarky angel said, glancing around the room without entering, "at least you mudfish finally got the angel-proofing right." He raised his eyebrows at Sam's unconscious form. "How's Sleeping Beauty? You didn't steal any kisses, I trust?"

I wasn't really sure if that mocking question was directed at Dean or me, so I decided to keep quiet and let Dean talk. "What the hell took you so long?" he snapped.

"Honestly?" the angel said, smirking slightly, "I was having second thoughts."

"About?"

"About whether to help you. I was thinking maybe..." Balthazar shrugged. "Maybe I should rip out your sticky bits instead."

Bobby gave the angel an exasperated look, as though he didn't take Balthazar seriously at all. "And what did ya decide?" the older hunter asked.

Balthazar sighed as he handed a piece of paper to Dean. "Well... Cas and Crowley are there. That's where the show gets started."

Dean took the paper and glanced down briefly at the address before fixing that piercing gaze of his back on Balthazar. "Alright, well, give us a minute to pack up, and then zap us there."

The angel blanched, and he shook his head vehemently. "Oh, no, no, no, no. I don't think so."

"Balthazar!" Dean said, half-exasperated and half-pleading.

"I'm betraying a friend here," Balthazar said. "A very powerful friend. We all are. So I think I've stuck my neck out far enough already." He gazed at us all in turn before saying, "Good luck," and disappearing.

~Supernatural~Supernatural~Supernatural~

"You can't just stay with him?" Dean asked as I followed him around the panic room. He was convinced that I should stay behind with Sam, and, while I didn't want to leave Sam alone, I also didn't want to let Bobby and Dean go into this fight even less prepared than we already were.

"I'm going with you, Dean," I replied stubbornly. "And that's final. It's not like I'm doing much good here, anyway. I can't help him." I glanced back over my shoulder at Sam. "I'm useless here," I mumbled.

"Okay, fine, whatever," Dean relented. "But I need you to do something for me first."

"And that would be…?"

"Try to go in Sam's mind again," he said, and, whatever I was expecting, it wasn't that. "Try to tell him what's going on. See if you can talk to him and tell him we're all okay and that we're gonna stop Cas and Crowley."

I nodded slowly. "I'll see what I can do." Dean nodded once and turned to go. "Nuh-uh," I said, grabbing his arm. "You're staying right here with me. I don't trust you not to leave without me."

"Aw, c'mon, Gari," Dean sighed.

"You better still be here when I get back," I said warningly, and he gave me a reluctant nod.

Please let this work, I thought as I knelt down beside Sam and placed my left hand on the side of his face. Alright, here goes nothing. I closed my eyes and opened my mind.

I could feel the change in my surroundings before I opened my eyes. When I looked around, I was in a gloomy forest. What is this, Canada? Sam's Hell-dream is in Canada?

I glanced down at my hands and noticed that I was slightly translucent and fuzzy, like a hologram. Hm, didn't notice that last time. I batted at a branch hanging in front of my face, but my hand went straight through. Okay, that's trippy.

"Focus, Gari," I said aloud, and I frowned at the scratchy quality my voice had. It was like I had a bad connection or something. "How long can I keep this up?" I sighed as a weird spasm temporarily distorted my hands. "Crap. I gotta find Sam."

With that, I took off walking in a random direction. Should I call his name? I wondered. But what if there's something else in here besides the two of us? Hell, what if he's not in here at all? It seemed like I walked for hours, and I still hadn't seen any sign of Sam. Okay, this is taking way too long.

"Sam!" I called loudly, dismissing my previous worries. "Sam! Sam, where are you?"

"Gari?"

"Shit!" I jumped and spun around to see Sam staring at me bewilderedly.

"How are you here?" he asked, stepping toward me with a relieved smile on his face. "I mean, I saw you in the mirror earlier, but I didn't know it was you until—" He stopped smiling suddenly, and he frowned as he seemed to remember that this was me.

Oh, great. So we're apparently back on weird terms again. I shifted back and forth on my feet awkwardly. "Okay, can we just act normal for a minute? I dunno how long I can keep this up."

He nodded, and I could sense his attitude change to all-business. "Yeah, okay, fine. What's going on?"

"We're going after Cas and Crowley," I said. "They're in Bootback, Kansas, same place they had me, and we're about to head that way."

"Are you kidding?" he exclaimed angrily, and I flinched. Really, I should've expected that. "You're going after them without me?"

"Sam, the eclipse is tonight. This is our only chance to stop them. It's now or never."

"You can't go without me!" he protested.

"Well, yeah, we can. I hate to say it, but you're stuck here until you find a way out. You're on your own this time." I bit my lip in hesitation. "I'm sorry," I said quietly. "That came out much ruder than I intended."

"It's okay," he replied, and a small uncomfortable silence passed between us.

"So... so what are you doing out here, anyway?" I asked finally. "I mean, where are we? Is it Canada? It looks like Canada..."

"I dunno. Some forest in the Midwest," he shrugged, and I noticed just how tense he looked. He kept glancing around like he was waiting on someone—or something—to pop up behind him.

"Sam, what's going on?"

"I was, uh—I was being chased."

"By what, exactly?"

He gave a small, mirthless laugh. "This is gonna sound crazy, but, uh... Me. I was being chased by me. Soulless me, anyway."

"What are you talking about?"

He squeezed his eyes closed and rubbed his temples. "I just started remembering once I killed me—him," he said slowly. "It's still kinda muddled."

"What d'you mean?"

"Well, uh, I woke up on a park bench with no clue who I was, and this bartender named Robin has been helping me find out. We're on our way to Sioux Falls now." He frowned and shook his head. "I didn't remember you and Dean and Bobby. I didn't even remember your names until I killed him."

I got this strange, irrationally jealous urge to ask him if Robin was pretty and then go kick her ass, but I figured that this was all part of the process to wake up Sam, so I'd better not stop the chick that was helping him.

"Sam..." I said hesitantly, "you know this is all in your head, right? You know Robin's not real?"

"I know," he said sadly, "and, uh, I think she's a memory. I—I think I killed her, back when I was soulless." He was quiet for a moment, staring down at the ground. When he looked back up at me, his deep hazel eyes were full of wary hope. "You're real, though, right? I'm not hallucinating or anything, am I?"

"No, I'm definitely real," I assured him. "But I'm just not really here."

His eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "Wait, so, how are you here?"

"Um, I'm, uh, not really sure," I answered truthfully. "It's a new power to me. I've never done anything like this before. I mean, I've seen your flashbacks a couple times before, but this is just trippy."

"You're telling me," he agreed. "But how d'you keep seeing my flashbacks? I thought you lost all your powers after the detox."

"I did, too. Guess I was wrong." I still had no clue how I kept this power and lost all of the others, or how I'd managed to keep the whole Ella-dream thing. I couldn't help but think how helpful my ability to heal would've been. I'd never tried healing mental injuries, but I could've at least attempted something to help Sam. Now, even though I was able to tell him what was going on, I still didn't feel like I was doing a great job on the recovery front.

"What should I do?" Sam asked me, breaking me out of my thoughts. It pained me to hear how unsure and helpless he sounded. "Soulless me said something about us all being pieces of a puzzle, like there's more pieces of me out there, and he said something about the 'other one.' I think the other me is in Sioux Falls at Bobby's."

"That seems like a good place to start," I agreed. "Maybe you have to confront him, too. Didn't you say you didn't really remember anything until you killed the soulless you?" He nodded. "So I guess you've just gotta go kill the other other you."

"Oh, so there's nothing to worry about," he teased half-heartedly.

I smiled slightly, but it soon faded, and I gazed at Sam worriedly. "You've gotta wake up, okay?" I said quietly. "You've gotta beat this."

"I've beat the Devil before, remember?" he said with mock-casualty, and I could tell he was trying to seem upbeat for both our sakes. "This is nothing."

"You're right," I said, forcing a smile. "You can do this, Sammy—uh, Sam." A strange sort of pain flashed in his eyes when I corrected myself, and I had to wonder… Was he regretting everything as much as I was? Was he ready to forgive me and trust me and love me again? Now's not the time to be thinking about this! I reprimanded myself.

Suddenly, another spasm shook through me. "Gari?" Sam asked warily. "What's going on?"

"Oh, fuck," I sighed, and my voice cracked again. "I think I'm losing the connection."

"Wait, what?"

"I'm losing you," I said, and I could feel myself fading away. "It takes a lot of energy to do this, and, apparently, that's energy I don't have."

He reached out to me, but his hand passed right through me. "Wait! Don't go yet!" he begged desperately, and it broke my heart to see him so afraid. "Stay here! Please!"

"I can't; I'm sorry! I'm not strong enough!" I bit my lip as I saw that I was now almost transparent. I had to say it. I had to tell him, even if he didn't say it back. He might not make it outta this. I might not see him again. "You can do this, Sam," I repeated confidently. "I love—"

A hand on my shoulder shook me roughly, and I opened my eyes with a gasp.

"No!" I was back in the real world, and Sam was alone again. I spun around to face Dean. "Why'd you do that?!" I yelped. "I didn't even get to tell him—!" I stopped myself before I could complete my sentence. "I just needed one more minute!"

"We don't have one more minute, Gari," Dean said flatly, though he did look a little apologetic. "The eclipse is gonna start soon. Did you at least get to tell him what was going on?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I did. He's not happy about it."

"Didn't expect him to be." He fell silent for a moment, and he shot me a questioning glance.

"He'll be fine, Dean," I promised, knowing automatically what he was thinking. "Sam can take care of himself. You know that. He's beat the Devil before, remember? This is nothing," I said, repeating Sam's words from earlier.

"Yeah..." Dean said slowly. "Yeah, you're right. I just—"

"I know," I said quietly. "I'm worried about him, too." I stared down at Sam a minute before asking, "Did you call Ella?"

"Yeah," Dean said. "She's scared. She was determined that she was gonna meet us in Kansas, but I talked her into staying home."

"Did you tell her we might not be coming back?" I murmured.

"I did. And she said to tell you she loves you, and that, if we live through this, the first thing we better do is go back to Abbeville." There was a sort of sad affection in his voice, and, when I glanced up at him, I was surprised to see just how upset he looked.

"We're gonna make it through this," I told him with more confidence than I felt.

He shrugged and grinned widely. "Hey, and if we die, we'll always come back in a few months, anyway."

~Supernatural~Supernatural~Supernatural~

"I don't like being back here," I mumbled as we stared at the all-too-familiar building.

Dean swatted a tree branch out of his face as he glared at me and snapped, "Well, you could've stayed with Sam!"

I made a face at him and opened my mouth to retort when Bobby said, "Shut up, you two." He gazed through his binoculars a minute longer before turning back to us. "I count a dozen mooks, probably more."

"Demons?" Dean asked.

"Angels."

"Well, how the hell are we gonna take out that many angels?"

"We don't," Bobby replied. "We'll ninja our way in."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes as Dean sarcastically said, "Awesome. Yeah, till they hear your knee squeak."

"Shut up," Bobby said seriously.

"Oh, what, now you got thin skin?"

"No, shut up," the older hunter commanded. "You hear that?"

We all fell silent and listened hard. Suddenly, I heard a loud, repetitive booming sound. "What the fuck...?"

Dean stared at a puddle, apparently fascinated by the way it was rippling with every sound. "T-Rex, maybe?" he said jokingly. Any other time I would've laughed, but this—this was scary.

Bobby stared up at the sky, his eyes going wider than I'd ever seen them. "Holy mother of—"

A large cloud of demon smoke flew right at us, and Dean grabbed my arm as he yelled, "Get in the car! Get in the car!" We slammed the doors, and Dean had just gotten the car cranked when the demon smoke hit us so hard we were flipped upside down.

I had the sensation of flying through the air, and then I knew no more.

~Supernatural~Supernatural~Supernatural~

I opened my eyes slowly, letting out a groan as my body protested against the small movement. I couldn't feel my right arm, and I knew that couldn't be good. Not being able to feel your arm that's been broken in two places had to be a bad thing. "Guys?" I said hoarsely, craning my neck to try to see Dean and Bobby. Dean was just starting to wake up, and Bobby still wasn't moving.

Dean twisted around to check on the older hunter. "Bobby?" he called. "Bobby!" Bobby's eyes fluttered open, and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Dean," I croaked, "I think the demons crashed your car."

He shot me a glare as he pulled himself out of the flipped Impala. "C'mon, we gotta go," he said urgently, grabbing my left hand and helping me to my feet. As we limped toward the familiar building, I could've sworn I heard Dean muttering insults about the cloud of demons that had attacked us.

We hurried through the halls, knowing we didn't have time to search every room. We figured there had to be one bigger than the others, and, when we got close to it, maybe we'd hear Crowley or Cas or someone invoking the ritual.

Finally, we heard voices, and we stopped in front of a small door. Dean looked through the tiny slit of a window, then looked back at us and nodded. He eased open the door, letting an angel blade drop out of his sleeve. I wondered briefly where he'd gotten it and why I didn't have one, but I dismissed the thought as he beckoned us forward. I slipped my dagger out of my boot and entered the room after Bobby.

We were at the top of a small staircase that was at the back of a much larger room. Crowley and an unfamiliar black woman were standing in the middle of the room, and there was an intricate design painted in what looked to be blood on the wall in front of them. Crowley was reading aloud from a piece of parchment, while the woman appeared to just be standing there pointlessly. Dean must have sensed my confusion, for he mouthed Raphael at me and pointed at the black lady.

Dean flipped the angel blade around in his hand, making it easier to throw, and the blade went flying through the air straight at Raphael… only to have him catch it.

Raphael and Crowley turned to look at the three of us, and, with a wave of the demon's hand, Bobby, Dean, and I were thrown in different places across the room. Bobby fell down the stairs, I fell over the stairs, and Dean fell over the stairs, onto a table, and then onto the floor.

"Bit busy, ladies and gentlemen," Crowley said casually. "Be with you in a moment."

As Crowley finished the ritual, I struggled to my feet. Dean did the same, but he shot me a warning look, clearly telling me not to make a move yet.

After about a minute of nothing happening after the ritual, Crowley huffed. "Hm. Maybe I said it wrong."

"You said it perfectly," a deep, gravelly voice said, and Castiel appeared in front of the King of Hell. "All you needed was this." He placed the now-empty jar of blood on one of those damned medical trolleys.

"I see," Crowley said with a nod. He walked over to the wall and touched the blood on the sigil. "And we've been working with…" He tasted the blood and shrugged. "Dog's blood. Naturally."

"Enough of these games, Castiel," Raphael said, and his voice carried a certain commanding power that I'm sure every war general strived to achieve. "Give us the blood."

Unfortunately, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Angel didn't seem to be too bright.

Crowley stared at the archangel in disbelief. "You—ugh. Game's over," the demon snapped. "His jar's empty!" Raphael's eyes widened as he realized what that meant. "So, Castiel," Crowley continued, "how'd your ritual go? Better than ours, I'll bet."

Castiel smiled softly and closed his eyes. A bright, searing, golden-white light emanated from the angel, and I had to close my eyes and cover them with my hand to block it out. "You can't imagine what it's like," Castiel said as the light died down. He wore that same soft smile, and I found it very unnerving. "They're all inside me. Millions upon millions of souls."

Crowley raised an eyebrow. "Sounds…sexy." He took one last glance at the room before saying, "Exit stage Crowley," and disappearing.

Raphael took a wary step back as Cas advanced on him. "Now, what's the matter, Raphael?" Cas asked patronizingly. "Somebody clip your wings?"

"Castiel, please," Raphael begged. "You let the demon go, but not your own brother?"

"The demon I have plans for," Castiel said calmly. "You, on the other hand..." Castiel snapped his fingers, and Raphael exploded into soupy angel goo, just like Lucifer had caused Cas to do so long ago in Stull Cemetery. The angel blade Raphael had been holding dropped to the ground, and I gauged its proximity to me, only to realize that it was too far away for me to reach it without Castiel noticing. "So, you see," the angel said, turning to face Dean, Bobby, and me, "I saved you."

Dean nodded slowly, warily. "Sure thing, Cas. Thank you."

Castiel smiled smugly. "You doubted me, fought against me, but I was right all along."

"Okay, Cas, you were. We're sorry." Dean took a step toward his friend, his hands held up slightly in an expression of surrender. "Now let's just defuse you, okay?"

The angel cocked his head to the side, not comprehending what Dean was saying. "What do you mean?"

"You're full of nuke," Dean explained gently. "It's not safe. So, before the eclipse ends, let's get them souls back to where they belong."

Castiel just smiled and shook his head. "Oh, no, they belong with me," he assured Dean.

"No, Cas," Dean protested, "it—it's scramblin' your brain."

"No, I'm not finished yet," Castiel argued softly. "Raphael had many followers, and I must punish them all severely."

"Listen to me," Dean said urgently. "Listen, I know there's a lot of bad water under the bridge, but we were family once. I'd have died for you—I almost did a few times. So if that means anything to you... Please." Dean's voice cracked slightly, and my heart ached for him. "I've lost Sam. Don't make me lose you, too. You don't need this kind of juice anymore, Cas. Get rid of it before it kills us all."

At first, I thought that Dean was getting through to the angel. But I was wrong.

Castiel wore that soft smile again, and he looked at Dean as one would a small child. "You're just saying that because I won. Because you're afraid." I tried not to let my surprise show as Sam suddenly appeared behind Cas and picked up the fallen angel blade. "You're not my family, Dean," Castiel said matter-of-factly. "I have no family."

At that, Sam shoved the angel blade into Castiel's back. I waited for him to keel over or something—I'd never seen an angel die before, so I didn't know how it was supposed to work—but nothing happened. Sam released the blade and stumbled backwards, and I started to panic as I noticed just how weak he looked.

Castiel's smile widened as he reached around and pulled the blade out of his back. There was no blood on it, and it seemed like it didn't affect him at all. "I'm glad you made it, Sam," Cas said, nodding at the younger Winchester. "But the angel blade won't work… because I'm not an angel anymore. I'm your new God. A better one." He lifted his chin high, a righteous look on his already smug face. "So you will bow down and profess your love unto me, your Lord. Or I shall destroy you."

We stared at the angel and each other, unsure of what to do, until Bobby got down on his knees. "Well, alright, then. Is this good, or ya want the whole 'forehead to the carpet' thing?" he said to Castiel, barely hiding the sarcasm in his voice. Thankfully, God-Cas was just as clueless when it came to sarcasm as normal Cas. "Guys?" Bobby prompted. After a minute, the boys and I also started to kneel.

"Stop," Castiel ordered, shaking his head. "What's the point if you don't mean it? You fear me. Not love, not respect, just fear."

"Cas—" Sam tried.

Castiel rounded on him, and I resisted the urge to attack the angel. "Sam, you have nothing to say to me; you stabbed me in the back." Sam swayed slightly as Cas turned back to us. "Get up," he commanded.

"Cas, come on, this isn't you," Dean pleaded with him.

Cas's eyes narrowed. "The Castiel you knew is gone."

"So, what, then?" the older Winchester asked harshly. "Kill us?"

"What a brave little ant you are," Castiel said, his tone almost mocking. "You know you're powerless; you wouldn't dare move against me again. That would be pointless. So I have no need to kill you. Not now. Besides..." Here he smiled again. "Once you were my favorite pets before you turned and bit me."

Dean looked like he was about to be sick. "Who are you?" he asked, his voice full of disgust and despair.

"I'm God," the angel replied earnestly. "And, if you stay in your place, you may live in my kingdom. If you rise up, I will strike you down. Not doing so well, are you Sam?" he asked, though his back was turned to the younger Winchester.

My eyes immediately went to Sam, and I sidestepped my way around Cas until I was near enough to Sam where I could reach out and grab him if I needed to. "I'm fine..." he said weakly; then he cleared his throat and tried again. "...I'm... fine."

"You said you would fix him!" I reminded the angel desperately, never taking my eyes off Sam. "You promised, Cas!"

"If you stood down," Castiel said smoothly, "which you hardly did. Be thankful for my mercy." He narrowed his eyes slightly in Sam's direction. "I could have cast you back into the Pit." I stepped in front of Sam protectively, glaring at the angel-turned-God. He just gave me an amused smile and focused his attention back on Dean.

"Cas, come on, this is nuts!" Dean exclaimed. "You can turn this around! Please!"

Castiel fixed the older Winchester with an even stare. "I hope for your sake this is the last you see me," he said warningly, and then he disappeared.

I sighed and gazed up at Sam. He stared back down at me and forced a smile, but then his nose started bleeding. "Sam?" I said worriedly. His hand clamped down on my shoulder, squeezing hard, and I tried not to wince.

"Sam, you okay?" Dean asked, moving closer to his brother.

Sam's legs suddenly buckled beneath him, and the two of us collapsed to the ground. I heard him gasp in pain as his hand landed on a jagged piece of glass. Flashes of flames danced in front of my eyes, and then I saw something that reduced me to a shaking, crying mess.

In the middle of all the flames was Sam, and he was screaming as he burned. Pretty soon, I was screaming, too.

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