p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Castiel sat in a stunned silence, he had no clue what he should say or how he should react to this information. The evidence had become overwhelming though, and he could no longer deny the truth. When the human brothers woke up from the sleep Gabriel had sent them to, Dean was quick to ask after him. Still in a form of shock, the youngest angel merely stared wide-eyed at his human, and then fled./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Castiel flew for quite a while, jumping to random places on earth, and eventually a few other planets, rapidly before settling on a small planet where he wouldn't be disturbed. Once there Castiel could not stop pacing and moving around – his skin felt too tight and his mind too busy trying to reconcile the information he had received./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Well, thought the young angel sarcastically, Lucifer emhad/em lied to him when they had met all those months ago. The archangel had claimed Castiel's father had fought for him, he had not revealed that he himself was the father. Castiel hated to admit it, but he could understand, he never would have believed it. As it was he had not believed the devil's claims./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"But with the memories Gabriel had shared it had become impossible to ignore the truth. Right now the young angel wished he could see his mother and get answers from her. But he was locked out of heaven, and even if he could get in, if he was found the consequences would be dire./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"In his anger and confusion, the young angel began lashing out with his remaining power, breaking rocks and causing rifts to appear in the ground. Once he had finally exhausted himself, he sat in the middle of the destruction and began to think./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"What was he supposed to do with this information? Why would Gabriel choose to share it now? Why would his mother have lied to him about the events? So many questions swirled in his mind, and there were far too few answers. All of this only served to confuse and upset the young angel further, he did not like not having all the information he needed./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Right now he needed to clear his head and find his next course of action, what was he going to do now? The only thing he did know was that he would still work to stop the apocalypse, though he still didn't know how. This information wouldn't change his mind on that, he would protect Dean and Sam, and all humans. Still shaken from the recent revelations, Castiel returns to his self-appointed task – attempting to find God, and protecting the Winchester brothers./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;" /p
/div
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"As the coming apocalypse heats up, the brothers begin focusing on more on figuring out how to stop the end of the world. Everything they find seems to be a dead end. Soon they are taking almost no regular cases, too many apocalypse signs to deal with and too few hunters./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"A trip to the past and a meeting with Michael himself, wearing his father as a meat-suit, leaves Dean shaken. Everyone is left reeling after two other hunters murder Dean and Sam. After running from Zachariah in heaven, and eventually being caught by him, the brothers are saved by another angel. This angel, one of the few to speak with God, shares with the brothers that the all-mighty does not intend to stop the apocalypse then he returns the brothers back to life./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"With their faith broken, Sam, Dean, and Castiel are left at a loss as to what to do. They valiantly continue their fight, but hope fades fast as no options are found. When their previously unknown half-brother, Adam, is resurrected by the angels as a back-up vessel, the apocalypse begins to feel even more inevitable. In his despair, Dean almost agrees to allow Michael to use him. He is talked out of it at the last minute, just as Michael is coming down. Sam and Dean are able to escape, but Adam is not so lucky and when the two brothers search for him after they cannot find him./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Not long after this event, the two siblings continue crossing the country attempting to kill the horsemen of the apocalypse. Hope is briefly renewed in Indiana. At first things seem dire – a number of the pagan gods have gathered together to prevent the apocalypse, using the two siblings as the crux of their plan. The flicker of hope appears in the form of Gabriel, coming to the rescue./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"The hope fades when Lucifer himself shows up, slaughtering his way through the pagans with ease. When he reaches the banquet room where the two remaining pagans and the siblings are, he greets the brothers surprisingly politely and asks after Castiel's well-being. The devil kills Baldur and is about to end Kali when he is thrown violently backwards./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"The hope sparks again as Gabriel stands between Kali and the Winchester's, and his brother. He hands a video over to the siblings, implying it's very important. Keeping himself between them, the smaller archangel protects the others from Lucifer as he ushers them out. The Hindu goddess is quick to evacuate the area, the brothers are more torn but realize that they will only be in the way and leave./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"When they return, their hope is extinguished again when they find that Gabriel has been killed. Out of curiosity they watch the video he gave them. In the beginning Gabriel informs them of the one way they can win – by using the horse-men's rings to open the cage and shove Lucifer back in. Then the video turns into a porno, starring the way-ward archangel himself, which confuses both brothers immensely./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Crowley, a clever demon that had helped the rag-tag team in their effort to defeat the devil, returns to help in the fight against the remaining horsemen. More importantly, he has a way to locate Death, who had been risen in Carthage all that time ago. Unfortunately, this requires the Winchester's adoptive father to sell his soul to the demon, an act he does while the siblings are busy dealing with the fall-out from Pestilence's viral attack./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Dean is the one to meet Death, strangely at a pizza shop in Chicago. Much to his surprise, unlike the other horsemen, Death wants to help. He is willing to turn his ring over and even share exactly how to use the rings to open the cage./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"The plan is set – Sam has to allow Lucifer to take him as a vessel, and remain strong enough to take control. Or at least remain in control long enough to open the cage and jump in./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"It is not a plan Dean likes, it's not a plan anyone likes, but there is no choice. Armageddon has passed the point of no return, there are no other options left./p
div style="mso-element: para-border-div; border: none; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;" /p
/div
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"The beginning of the end starts in Detroit, much like the Devil had predicted so long ago. The brother's make the trip, accompanied by their adoptive father Bobby and their adopted angel Castiel. The weight of the world sits heavy on everyone and they travel in silence, anything to be said has already been spoken. Although physically light, the rings feel like a black hole in Dean's pocket./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"When they arrive there is no grand manor, no lavish suites or fancy home. Instead, Satan has created his base in an old, abandoned duplex. It's swarming with demons standing guard and the temperature feels like winter in the surrounding blocks despite the warmth in the rest of the city./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"As in everything else they do, Dean accompanies his brother into the building as they openly announce their presence. The demons that greet them aren't the most polite as they roughly drag the pair up the stairs into a dilapidated room where the devil waits./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Even Lucifer seems surprised when Sam claims that he wants to say yes to being a vessel. The boys are surprised when he doesn't immediately evacuate his current host for his true vessel, instead questioning how serious Sam is about this. Then Satan reveals that his knows their plan, that they intend to use the horsemen's rings to open the cage and the possessed Sam will jump in./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"When Sam stubbornly sticks to plan and agrees, Lucifer leaves his deteriorating vessel in a flash of blinding light. During the few seconds everyone is unconscious on the ground, Dean fishes the rings out of his pocket and speaks the incantation that opens the cage door./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"At first it seems as though Sam remains in control, until the devil reveals himself to be in control and he closes the door taking the rings with him. He leaves Dean stranded and reeling. Castiel believes that the Armageddon fight is inevitable now, and even Bobby has given up. Dean himself feels like everything is lost and spiraling out of control, when an idea hits him. Insane, reckless, and probably won't even work, but it's all he has left. So he picks up the phone and makes one last call./p
div style="mso-element: para-border-div; border: none; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;" /p
/div
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"The oldest siblings in existence meet at their chosen battlefield, an old cemetery. The weather matches the mood, feeling like the cusp of a storm rolling in. They speak, expressing their regrets and wishing they did not have to fight./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Lucifer practically begs his brother not to, that it doesn't have to be this way. But Michael is too stubborn, too caught up in doing what he believes is right and wanted of him. When it becomes apparent that this fight won't be stopped, the brothers begin to circle each other, measuring the other and planning their potential moves./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Both of them are distracted by the roar of an engine as the impala is driven into the cemetery by Dean, having received the location of the fight from the prophet. Boldly, Dean attempts to talk to his brother – hoping that buried somewhere within Lucifer, Sam can still hear him./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Michael is unamused and starts towards Dean to remove the distraction when a call gets his attention. Bobby and Castiel have also joined Dean, and it is Castiel who interfered. The fallen angel throws a bottle filled with burning holy oil on the viceroy of heaven, and he disappears in a burst of flame./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Now it is Lucifer's turn to be unamused, as he questions the actions the younger angel took. Castiel, for his part, blatantly lies to the devils' face. Angrily, Lucifer informs the angel that it was not his place to interfere. In order to punish the almost powerless angel, and to keep him away from the coming fight with Michael, Lucifer banishes the fledgling to a pocket dimension of his own creation./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Dean once again attempts to reach his brother and the devil finally loses his temper with his vessels older brother and throws him. When the boys adoptive father shots him, Lucifer simply makes a motion and snaps the mans neck without even moving. In his anger he returns to Dean, continuing to assault the human./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"When the light glints of the impala, striking an old toy just right, Sam and the devil are hit by a tidal wave of memories. Of Dean and Sam and their whole life, and in the wash of memories Sam is able to take back control. The younger brother is quick to dig the rings out of his pocket and open the cage door./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Before he can jump in, a voice calls his name. Michael has returned, and is demanding the destined fight. The human ignores the angel and begins to fall backward into the hole, Michael reaches out, trying to pull them back and prevent this. Instead he too is dragged into the cage and the hole closes./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Castiel does not know where he is, and frantically searches for a way out. Trapped in the confined space all he can think about is Dean and Sam, and the desperate attempt to derail the apocalypse. With no warning a golden light begins to surround him and the young angel fights harder, not knowing what's happening now. When he can see again, he finds himself back on the cemetery field. Sam and Lucifer, and Michael and Adam are gone. Bobby lays dead on the ground, and Dean kneels broken over the horsemen's rings./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"The young angel feels rejuvenated, and realizes that all of his power, long since faded, has returned. He may even be more powerful than he was before, and without even thinking about it he heals Dean of his physical injuries. Once finished, the angel moves to Bobby and returns him to life./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"The world has been saved, but the psychological toll it has taken on the few who knew is immense./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"The hunters who have died trying to prevent the whole ordeal./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Dean who has lost his brother, his whole reason for living./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Bobby who has lost his son./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Castiel, who lost and regained his faith, fought against his family, and learned information that still has him shaken to the core./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Dean made a promise to his brother, he returns to a woman he loves and tries to live a normal life./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Bobby turns to hunting and alcohol, and buries his emotions./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Castiel buries his turbulent emotions by returning to heaven, and working to restore order/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Castiel flew for quite a while, jumping to random places on earth, and eventually a few other planets, rapidly before settling on a small planet where he wouldn't be disturbed. Once there Castiel could not stop pacing and moving around – his skin felt too tight and his mind too busy trying to reconcile the information he had received./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Well, thought the young angel sarcastically, Lucifer emhad/em lied to him when they had met all those months ago. The archangel had claimed Castiel's father had fought for him, he had not revealed that he himself was the father. Castiel hated to admit it, but he could understand, he never would have believed it. As it was he had not believed the devil's claims./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"But with the memories Gabriel had shared it had become impossible to ignore the truth. Right now the young angel wished he could see his mother and get answers from her. But he was locked out of heaven, and even if he could get in, if he was found the consequences would be dire./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"In his anger and confusion, the young angel began lashing out with his remaining power, breaking rocks and causing rifts to appear in the ground. Once he had finally exhausted himself, he sat in the middle of the destruction and began to think./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"What was he supposed to do with this information? Why would Gabriel choose to share it now? Why would his mother have lied to him about the events? So many questions swirled in his mind, and there were far too few answers. All of this only served to confuse and upset the young angel further, he did not like not having all the information he needed./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Right now he needed to clear his head and find his next course of action, what was he going to do now? The only thing he did know was that he would still work to stop the apocalypse, though he still didn't know how. This information wouldn't change his mind on that, he would protect Dean and Sam, and all humans. Still shaken from the recent revelations, Castiel returns to his self-appointed task – attempting to find God, and protecting the Winchester brothers./p
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/div
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"As the coming apocalypse heats up, the brothers begin focusing on more on figuring out how to stop the end of the world. Everything they find seems to be a dead end. Soon they are taking almost no regular cases, too many apocalypse signs to deal with and too few hunters./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"A trip to the past and a meeting with Michael himself, wearing his father as a meat-suit, leaves Dean shaken. Everyone is left reeling after two other hunters murder Dean and Sam. After running from Zachariah in heaven, and eventually being caught by him, the brothers are saved by another angel. This angel, one of the few to speak with God, shares with the brothers that the all-mighty does not intend to stop the apocalypse then he returns the brothers back to life./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"With their faith broken, Sam, Dean, and Castiel are left at a loss as to what to do. They valiantly continue their fight, but hope fades fast as no options are found. When their previously unknown half-brother, Adam, is resurrected by the angels as a back-up vessel, the apocalypse begins to feel even more inevitable. In his despair, Dean almost agrees to allow Michael to use him. He is talked out of it at the last minute, just as Michael is coming down. Sam and Dean are able to escape, but Adam is not so lucky and when the two brothers search for him after they cannot find him./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Not long after this event, the two siblings continue crossing the country attempting to kill the horsemen of the apocalypse. Hope is briefly renewed in Indiana. At first things seem dire – a number of the pagan gods have gathered together to prevent the apocalypse, using the two siblings as the crux of their plan. The flicker of hope appears in the form of Gabriel, coming to the rescue./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"The hope fades when Lucifer himself shows up, slaughtering his way through the pagans with ease. When he reaches the banquet room where the two remaining pagans and the siblings are, he greets the brothers surprisingly politely and asks after Castiel's well-being. The devil kills Baldur and is about to end Kali when he is thrown violently backwards./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"The hope sparks again as Gabriel stands between Kali and the Winchester's, and his brother. He hands a video over to the siblings, implying it's very important. Keeping himself between them, the smaller archangel protects the others from Lucifer as he ushers them out. The Hindu goddess is quick to evacuate the area, the brothers are more torn but realize that they will only be in the way and leave./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"When they return, their hope is extinguished again when they find that Gabriel has been killed. Out of curiosity they watch the video he gave them. In the beginning Gabriel informs them of the one way they can win – by using the horse-men's rings to open the cage and shove Lucifer back in. Then the video turns into a porno, starring the way-ward archangel himself, which confuses both brothers immensely./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Crowley, a clever demon that had helped the rag-tag team in their effort to defeat the devil, returns to help in the fight against the remaining horsemen. More importantly, he has a way to locate Death, who had been risen in Carthage all that time ago. Unfortunately, this requires the Winchester's adoptive father to sell his soul to the demon, an act he does while the siblings are busy dealing with the fall-out from Pestilence's viral attack./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Dean is the one to meet Death, strangely at a pizza shop in Chicago. Much to his surprise, unlike the other horsemen, Death wants to help. He is willing to turn his ring over and even share exactly how to use the rings to open the cage./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"The plan is set – Sam has to allow Lucifer to take him as a vessel, and remain strong enough to take control. Or at least remain in control long enough to open the cage and jump in./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"It is not a plan Dean likes, it's not a plan anyone likes, but there is no choice. Armageddon has passed the point of no return, there are no other options left./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;" /p
/div
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"The beginning of the end starts in Detroit, much like the Devil had predicted so long ago. The brother's make the trip, accompanied by their adoptive father Bobby and their adopted angel Castiel. The weight of the world sits heavy on everyone and they travel in silence, anything to be said has already been spoken. Although physically light, the rings feel like a black hole in Dean's pocket./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"When they arrive there is no grand manor, no lavish suites or fancy home. Instead, Satan has created his base in an old, abandoned duplex. It's swarming with demons standing guard and the temperature feels like winter in the surrounding blocks despite the warmth in the rest of the city./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"As in everything else they do, Dean accompanies his brother into the building as they openly announce their presence. The demons that greet them aren't the most polite as they roughly drag the pair up the stairs into a dilapidated room where the devil waits./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Even Lucifer seems surprised when Sam claims that he wants to say yes to being a vessel. The boys are surprised when he doesn't immediately evacuate his current host for his true vessel, instead questioning how serious Sam is about this. Then Satan reveals that his knows their plan, that they intend to use the horsemen's rings to open the cage and the possessed Sam will jump in./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"When Sam stubbornly sticks to plan and agrees, Lucifer leaves his deteriorating vessel in a flash of blinding light. During the few seconds everyone is unconscious on the ground, Dean fishes the rings out of his pocket and speaks the incantation that opens the cage door./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"At first it seems as though Sam remains in control, until the devil reveals himself to be in control and he closes the door taking the rings with him. He leaves Dean stranded and reeling. Castiel believes that the Armageddon fight is inevitable now, and even Bobby has given up. Dean himself feels like everything is lost and spiraling out of control, when an idea hits him. Insane, reckless, and probably won't even work, but it's all he has left. So he picks up the phone and makes one last call./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;" /p
/div
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"The oldest siblings in existence meet at their chosen battlefield, an old cemetery. The weather matches the mood, feeling like the cusp of a storm rolling in. They speak, expressing their regrets and wishing they did not have to fight./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Lucifer practically begs his brother not to, that it doesn't have to be this way. But Michael is too stubborn, too caught up in doing what he believes is right and wanted of him. When it becomes apparent that this fight won't be stopped, the brothers begin to circle each other, measuring the other and planning their potential moves./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Both of them are distracted by the roar of an engine as the impala is driven into the cemetery by Dean, having received the location of the fight from the prophet. Boldly, Dean attempts to talk to his brother – hoping that buried somewhere within Lucifer, Sam can still hear him./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Michael is unamused and starts towards Dean to remove the distraction when a call gets his attention. Bobby and Castiel have also joined Dean, and it is Castiel who interfered. The fallen angel throws a bottle filled with burning holy oil on the viceroy of heaven, and he disappears in a burst of flame./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Now it is Lucifer's turn to be unamused, as he questions the actions the younger angel took. Castiel, for his part, blatantly lies to the devils' face. Angrily, Lucifer informs the angel that it was not his place to interfere. In order to punish the almost powerless angel, and to keep him away from the coming fight with Michael, Lucifer banishes the fledgling to a pocket dimension of his own creation./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Dean once again attempts to reach his brother and the devil finally loses his temper with his vessels older brother and throws him. When the boys adoptive father shots him, Lucifer simply makes a motion and snaps the mans neck without even moving. In his anger he returns to Dean, continuing to assault the human./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"When the light glints of the impala, striking an old toy just right, Sam and the devil are hit by a tidal wave of memories. Of Dean and Sam and their whole life, and in the wash of memories Sam is able to take back control. The younger brother is quick to dig the rings out of his pocket and open the cage door./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Before he can jump in, a voice calls his name. Michael has returned, and is demanding the destined fight. The human ignores the angel and begins to fall backward into the hole, Michael reaches out, trying to pull them back and prevent this. Instead he too is dragged into the cage and the hole closes./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Castiel does not know where he is, and frantically searches for a way out. Trapped in the confined space all he can think about is Dean and Sam, and the desperate attempt to derail the apocalypse. With no warning a golden light begins to surround him and the young angel fights harder, not knowing what's happening now. When he can see again, he finds himself back on the cemetery field. Sam and Lucifer, and Michael and Adam are gone. Bobby lays dead on the ground, and Dean kneels broken over the horsemen's rings./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"The young angel feels rejuvenated, and realizes that all of his power, long since faded, has returned. He may even be more powerful than he was before, and without even thinking about it he heals Dean of his physical injuries. Once finished, the angel moves to Bobby and returns him to life./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"The world has been saved, but the psychological toll it has taken on the few who knew is immense./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"The hunters who have died trying to prevent the whole ordeal./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Dean who has lost his brother, his whole reason for living./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Bobby who has lost his son./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Castiel, who lost and regained his faith, fought against his family, and learned information that still has him shaken to the core./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Dean made a promise to his brother, he returns to a woman he loves and tries to live a normal life./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Bobby turns to hunting and alcohol, and buries his emotions./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Castiel buries his turbulent emotions by returning to heaven, and working to restore order/p