Things have been quiet since the resistance had been put down. Of course there still were smaller groups and random individuals who decided they wanted to overthrow the angels through small actions, but they too have become quieter when they learned the resistance had been attacked and decimated.

Samandriel had been there. He had not done a lot compared to the more experienced angels, but he was nonetheless glad to have been invited for the fight of the century. He had been one of the first to take down a guard, a feisty redhead who did not want to give up so easily. But Samandriel was stronger and he'd killed the girl quicker than she could sound the alarm. It was a great experience, but he had to return to his nine-to-five job: guarding the main gate. He was one of the 'lucky few' tasked with guarding everything any resistance member would want to destroy.

But only angels knew where the headquarters were located. Even then, nobody was stupid enough to launch a full-on attack on the base. And so, guarding the building, while a noble cause, became a tedious chore during which nothing happened. Samandriel dreamed of a promotion that would take him away from the gate.

Nothing ever happened here. So when three people came to deliver a fallen angel, it was both the highlight of his career and so strange he wasn't certain whether they had come to the right address, or even whether he should let them in.

Samandriel sped to the door and opened it a little, just enough to look through. Two ladies and a young man had come to deliver the fallen angel Castiel. Samandriel had known him well – Castiel had been chosen over him for the spy job. Castiel did not look well, the wound in his stomach had closed and left a red circle and he only barely held it together. The three held on to him so he could not escape.

This was not the most incredible. The young man emitted a certain level of energy Samandriel had not felt in many angels. It could be pure angel energy, untouched and untamed, and therefore dangerous.

At the same time, Meg, Claire, and Sam knew Samandriel was an easy target, as Castiel had predicted.

"This is private property," Samandriel said. "What are you doing here?"

"You lost this angel, right?" Meg said.

"I… I guess so," Samandriel responded, a puzzled look on his face. "He's supposed to be dead." He had heard Uriel had put a blade between Castiel's ribs. Samandriel had been too busy taking out resistance members to witness it, but he, like the other angels, was convinced that Castiel had died. He truly was a tough one to get rid of. If only he'd stayed on the right track and hadn't allowed the resistance to corrupt him, he would have been great.

"He clearly isn't," Sam pointed out.

"We found him on the street like this," Claire said. "He's been healing, but he is unresponsive and it seems he's lost his mind."

Samandriel looked at the fallen angel. He didn't look right. Yes, the wound was healing, but there was no saying how his intestines were doing. Based purely on the dazed and absent look in Castiel's eyes, when he had them opened, it seemed his healing wasn't that strong yet and was still wasting his energy trying to get it to completely heal.

"Thank you," Samandriel said. "Your help is appreciated."

Samandriel took a step forward through an opened door, to take in Castiel to get rid of him for good. Meg moved a little closer to Samandriel and stood in his way.

"Don't we get a reward?"

"A reward?" His mind was racing and his gaze confused. Was there a reward? Did they have a system like this in place?

"He was still dangerous when we approached him," Meg said. "He attacked us."

"He slashed my elbow," Claire pointed out. She rolled up her sleeve and showed Samandriel a fresh scar she received during her latest scouting mission, something Samandriel couldn't verify.

"We risked our lives to bring you this angel," Sam said calmly to contrast with the brutality of the two girls. "Wasn't there a policy that states that if someone helps to bring fallen angels back to your organization, that they get a reward?"

Samandriel hesitantly looked at the group. He did not feel like doing anything that might put him in a bad position. But he did not know their policies regarding this situation and he did not want to get into trouble with these people – the young man's energy scared him – so he decided to give them some reward, kill Castiel and move on with his day.

"Come in," he said. He opened the door and allowed the group to walk in. "Wait here. I'll let you know what I can get you."

He turned his back to them so he could go to a supervisor and ask what they could spare. He only took a few steps when the tip of an angel blade was placed on the back of his neck. It stung a little, but Samandriel did not yet take action to stop it. He glanced aside, to a table placed to the side, where his own angel blade was lying.

"Open the door, Samandriel," Castiel said. Of course they'd lied. Without Samandriel, they couldn't get through a second door, which had been installed to keep non-angels out. Such as the two women and their friend.

"What happens if I don't?" the weight of the key seemed to have increased tenfold. He tried not to make it known where he had it on him, or even that he had it.

"You're guarding this post. I assume you can neither fly nor have access to angel radio," Castiel said. "Nothing ever happens here so they don't keep an eye on you. They won't come to your rescue. If you open the door, I will let you live."

If his opponent was anyone but Castiel, Samandriel might have won. Right now, Castiel had the upper hand. He was right.

"I can't do that," Samandriel said.

"I don't think you want to die here," Castiel said. After a long silence, he removed the angel blade from Samandriel's neck. The angel turned around, a shocked and confused gaze on his face. Castiel was winning, could have killed him, but he didn't. Was he letting Samandriel go?

"Angel leadership isn't always honest," Castiel said. "You're not the kind of fighter they're looking for when you've served your purpose and you have nothing left to offer, they will toss you aside. They'll kill you. If you open the door, I can guarantee you'll live."

Samandriel hesitated. He's seen aberrant behavior and heard the rumors. He heard about this resistance guy who became an angel and was more than ready to spill the beans to Zachariah and Michael. After giving the information, they killed the guy – his name was Marv or something like that. They hadn't wanted this Mark.

Samandriel then nodded to himself. Okay. He took the key out of his pocket. He walked to the locked door and opened it for the four intruders.

He didn't see the blade coming. Castiel hit Samandriel on the back of his head with the blade's heft and the angel slumped to the ground, unconscious. Later, Castiel could claim he deceived Samandriel and took him by surprise; he would not be killed for disobedience. And if Samandriel had any sense of survival, he could claim the same.

"Let's go," Claire said. The group walked through the door and let it fall in its lock. If they needed to make a quick escape, unless Samandriel would wake up, they could easily run back out again.

"Are you sure there aren't other doors to go through?" Meg asked.

"I don't believe there are," Castiel said. He turned his head to Sam. "This is a good plan."

It was certainly better than the one Castiel had before. In hindsight, he couldn't see himself going far beyond the door.

"Thank you," Sam responded.

"Focus on your role as a half-dead angel," Claire said. An angel could always walk around a corner and catch them. It would not help their plan if Castiel was not presenting himself as half-dead.

"I will, if you are willing to carry me all the way," Castiel said. Claire gave him a little shove.

"Don't push it."

Without any warning, Meg locked arms with Castiel, to keep up the facade. It was still as uncomfortable for him as it was before, while Meg did not seem to mind. Claire followed suit, but she was not as comfortable about this as Meg.

They wandered through the hallways and followed the directions Castiel provided them. The hallways were calm and peaceful and empty, a sharp contrast to the stress and adrenaline that rushed through their bodies. After all, it was only a matter of time before someone would find them. Castiel assumed the angels flew more than they walked, but it was still possible to come across someone.

Trouble came soon. They turned around a corner and nearly bumped into two angels who were walking somewhere in silence.

"What are you doing here?" the first angel, a brunette woman, asked.

"How did you get in here?" the other angel, an older man, then said. Neither of them fully trusted the situation at hand and they instinctively took their angel blade. They were going to be harder to convince than the younger angel.

"Through the door," Sam said. He tried to hide his stress – at least it sounded natural. "Samandriel let us in. He said to bring this fallen angel to Zachariah, but I'm afraid we got lost."

The angels eyed him and Castiel suspiciously. They felt the energy of both, which could confuse them and make them believe Sam was a young angel that now delivered Castiel to them with the help of two humans.

"What are you here for?" The woman asked. Either she did not know or she wanted to give them a chance to explain themselves. It was probably the latter.

"We found this angel half-dead," Claire answered confidently. "We thought you might want him back."

"Why didn't you kill him?" the man wondered.

"He fought back," Meg responded. "Also because of the reward your kind had promised if we return a fallen angel."

"Why didn't Samandriel accompany you?" the woman asked. "This fallen angel is still a dangerous individual."

That is when they realized they had not thought too much about the questions that the angels they encountered may have. They had no answers at the ready – they must have assumed they would easily be convinced. That was not an ideal situation.

"He's not that conscious," Sam responded. His tone was a little more hesitant. "I don't think he even realized where is now and what's going on. Samandriel thought it was safe."

"If he's not that conscious, how could he attack you?" The man asked. The two angels took a step closer to them, their overall demeanor shifting from cautiously curious to menacing.

"We can explain that," Meg said. She walked forward to meet them, being the only one not projecting even a hint of fear or anxiety. "You see…"

Meg punched the woman in the face. While she staggered backward, Meg hit her on the side of her head. She fell to the ground, dropping her angel blade. Meg snatched the blade and pushed it into the woman's heart. At the same time, Castiel used the situation to draw his angel blade and take the man by surprise and killed him.

After the double murder, Meg stood up again. She turned her head and found Sam staring at her in disbelief and shock. Claire was only surprised.

"What?" Meg said. Sam shook his head.

"Nothing." He never knew Meg was capable of doing something like this.

"We need to hurry," Castiel said. He glanced at the dead angels. "They may have warned their brothers and sisters that we're here." Angel radio was a helpful tool for the community, but not for their invaders.

They left the bodies and picked up the pace. Their footsteps echoed through the white hallways, but they tried not to mask it. They had no idea how far away Michael's office was from their current position, how much time they had left. The confidence boost from earlier melted away with every step.

Another angel crossed their path – they could not neutralize him immediately. Their location was confirmed through angel radio and not less than seven other angels flew in to surround the group. Meg, Claire, Sam, and Castiel were easily defeated by the angels, which were older and much more experienced.

Each of the invaders was held in place by two angels. Meg let it happen to her, while Claire was more rebellious. Castiel and Sam remained quiet and they made eye-contact. Castiel hoped Sam was going to put all the untamed energy inside him to good use. Sam shook his head, for he was not ready yet and he did not want to risk the devil taking over for him and not giving back control.

So they remained captive and tried not to make it worse for themselves. In the meantime, the angels were discussing their strategy with no regard for their prisoners.

"Do we kill them, then?" A blond, younger-looking angel said.

"No, we will not," another angel responded. The blond frowned.

"Zachariah wanted them alive," a third said. "Let's bring them in."

The angels agreed with this plan. They flew to Zachariah with their prisoners, to the dark dungeons where they knew Zachariah would be. The sensation of flying was strange to Sam, Claire, and Meg, and Castiel noticed they showed side-effects of flying for the first time, such as nausea, dizziness, and a loss of orientation. To Castiel, it only felt strange that they could control their flying ability whereas he still struggled to do so.

"Zachariah? We've got them."

"Excellent," a voice from the darkness said and the lights turned on.

Zachariah grinned gleefully, for he had everything he could want during this moment. He had both Castiel and Dean in his grasp. He had Sam, now, too, who would be the key to breaking Dean and who would make a fine angel. Naomi would perfectly mold him if given enough time. Claire and Meg were a nice bonus, to kill when he was bored.

Sam and Dean locked eyes for the first time in two years – this was not how they had envisioned their reunion. Both refrained from calling each other by their names, as not to give Zachariah any ideas.

"You can leave now." Zachariah addressed the angels. "I can handle them."

The angels who brought the four prisoners to Zachariah flew away. Even though Zachariah was outnumbered, none of them tried to make a move. Zachariah had been around for so long, he was almost a mythical figure who did not go public often and whose fighting skills had become legendary.

Zachariah turned his attention not to Castiel, but to Sam, with an interested look. Sam, in turn, looked at his brother. Dean watched the scene unfold with a disapproving gaze, ready to fight if necessary, even though he still hung from the ceiling at his wrists.

"You're not an angel yet, are you?" Zachariah asked. "So young, so much energy… what happened to you, boy?"

Sam refused to speak. He did not want the enemy to know about his devil.

"So you don't want to share?" Zachariah said. "That's alright. You'll talk eventually. As for you…" He turned to face Castiel, an irritated look on his face. "You just can't die, can you?"

Castiel shrugged in response.

"I guess I've been lucky." He had been extremely lucky since he left the angels. He should have already died two times. Third time's the charm; he had not wanted to waste his last chance to kill Michael and Zachariah. He still had this chance, but it was decreasing with every wasted second.

"Maybe you were," Zachariah said. "But that won't last."

He took the angel blade in his hand.

"It's that we rid this world of you, for good this time."

A shadow fell over Zachariah; another angel had joined them. Zachariah did not finish the job of killing Castiel. His face darkened, for he was shocked and frightened. Castiel, who could see who had arrived, was likewise terrified and shocked.

Michael had arrived.