"Where are the others?" Carly asked, peering around Dean.
"They've gone to take care of the next horseman while I stayed to find you," Dean admitted.
Carly laughed under her breath. "That was really idiotic of you Dean.
"Well, we both know I've never been the smartest," Dean shrugged as his gaze met hers. "Just come with me and I can fix this."
"I don't need fixing...not anymore."
She looked down at her feet before looking back at Dean with a sadistic smile. Her hand rose into the air as she whipped it to the right, causing Dean to go flying into the wall. When Dean hit, he stuck to it like glue as Sam had done to him months prior.
He struggled to break free but his arms would just fly back against the brick. Carly approached, looking him up and down before grasping his hand that still held the gun. She squeezed his hand until the pain caused him to drop the gun to the ground. When it clattered to the cement, Carly kicked it a few feet into the alley.
"This isn't you," Dean thought.
"This is me," Carly replied. Her words surprised Dean, which made her smile wider. "Yes, my ability to read minds has returned, but only when I am in physical contact with someone, so I won't get overwhelmed. I was born this way Dean, It's my destiny."
"I don't believe in destiny," Dean said, leaning his head as far forward as he could manage. "Nothing is ever set in stone."
"Some things are. This was going to happen one way or another. Whether it was at that diner or not. At some point, I would lose the battle within myself," Carly said.
"You're wrong."
"Am I?" Carly asked, stepping forward so their faces were mere inches apart.
"You're so much stronger than you give yourself credit for," Dean muttered.
"No, I'm weak and broken and a sorry excuse for a hunter," Carly said with a slow shaking head. "Now that my powers have been undormitized, I'm strong. I have the ability to never be hurt ever again."
"I would never hurt you," Dean thought.
"I know you wouldn't," Carly said, stroking his cheek with one hand before grasping onto his chin. "But if you try to get in my way again, I may have to hurt...you."
She stepped back and flicked her wrist, Dean landing on his feet. She began to walk away when Dean stepped into the middle of the alley. "Come with me and I can fix this."
"As I said, I don't need fixing," Carly said, turning back to face Dean.
"This isn't you."
Carly raised a brow with a groan. "Are we really going to do this again? Deny it as much as you want but this is me and I'm tired of pretending it isn't. Those demons who forced me to drink their blood made me realize Lucifer was right. Hiding this part of myself won't solve a damn thing."
"Just because it's a part of you doesn't mean you have to let it control you." Dean pleaded, taking a step forward. "You are just as much of the girl who fights evil as this one who consumes it. If you find balance, you can learn to control yourself and be the real you."
"That other part of me was weak. Why would I want to bring that part back to the surface?" Carly asked.
"Because hiding that part of yourself won't solve a damn thing," Dean said, quoting Carly's words.
She smiled to herself before meeting his gaze. "Wise words."
Dean took another step forward. The two were now only a few feet apart when he stopped. Dean outreached his hand and offered it to Carly.
"Let me help you. I'm not asking you to bury this side of yourself as detoxing and pushing it away doesn't work, but if you can learn how to balance yourself, it may just work. If we can defeat the last two horsemen, we can defeat Lucifer. Please...we need you...I need you," Dean admitted.
Carly looked down at his hand, clenching her fist. She squeezed her eyes shut while gritting her teeth before reopening them. Carly reached her hand forward when a gust of wind hit them both and they went flying into the wall behind them.
Dean looked up as a hand wrapped around his throat, lifting him into the air. Zachariah stood before him with a shit-eating grin. "It's so nice to see you again, Dean."
"How'd you find us?" Dean asked, glancing over at Carly who was being held against the brick siding by two angels.
"Those runes Castiel carved into you made it difficult," Zachariah said, jabbing Dean in the chest. "But when you idiots killed War, Lucifer wasn't the only one to sense the death. When we arrived, you were already gone, but when Famine died, we decided to go right as the feeling hit us. It wasn't long until we found you here."
"So, what's your plan now, Zachariah?" Carly asked, struggling against the angels holding onto her.
"Well, I think we're all going to go on a little trip as my men find Samuel and the traitor Castiel," Zachariah said, smiling wide.
"Don't hurt them," Dean gasped.
"Well, that all depends if they come peacefully, now doesn't it?"
Zachariah turned toward the angels holding Carly and nodded. They nodded in return before the trio disappeared. Zachariah turned back toward Dean with a smile before he slammed Dean's head against the bricks, unconsciousness taking hold.
Castiel and Sam had made their way to Santa Cruz, California. Castiel believed that Pestilence had gotten into the insurance company downtown as he noticed many sick near its presence. The two tried to plan their next move because if they weren't smart about this, Pestilence may end them first.
Now that they had less manpower, they had to plan their next move carefully. If they didn't, things could go wrong quite quickly. So, they spent the next few hours talking over their plan when Sam decided he needed some air. Castiel followed after him, even if he didn't actually need it.
Sam leaned up against the side of the building as Castiel came to stand beside him. Castiel noticed the worry on Sam's face and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Dean will find her."
"What if he finds her and it's too late?" Sam asked.
"She's stronger than you think. He'll be able to get through to her, I know he can just by the way he looks at her," Castiel said.
Sam turned to look at Castiel. "You noticed that too?"
"Yes, I have noticed the looks Dean has given Carly. Does that make you angry?" Castiel asked.
"I can't help it." Sam sighed, looking up at the starless sky. "Every time I see him look at her, squeeze her hand in comfort, and care for her I get mad. So mad I just want to punch that smile right off his face and pumble it into nothing."
"Have you told him about this?" Castiel asked.
Sam sighed. "Not really, my jealousy has no ground to stand on. Carly and I are no longer together and from what it sounds like she doesn't want to be in the same room as me once this whole thing is over. I destroyed whatever we had into smithereens, so me getting angry over someone else caring about her is childish."
"It's because it's Dean, isn't it?"
"Yeah, if it were anyone else, I probably wouldn't be as angry as I am, but because it's Dean I just...get so mad. I hate that her smile isn't toward me but toward him. I just can't get the feeling to go away because I loved her...I truly did, but I ruined that and nothing can fix it."
Castiel went to squeeze Sam's arm when a breeze hit the both of them. They turned to find two angels standing a few feet in front of them; blades in hand. Castiel and Sam shared a look before stepping forward with arms crossed.
"Zachariah sent us to collect you," The blond-haired one said.
"Well, tell Zachariah that we're fine just where we are, isn't that right?" Sam said, turning to look at Castiel.
"Indeed it is," he replied, an angel blade sliding out from under his sleeve.
"Come with us before things get ugly," The brown-haired one demanded.
"Don't worry I love when things get ugly," Sam said.
Sam and Castiel ran at the angels. Sam went for the blond-haired one and Castiel went for the other. Castiel had an angel blade but Sam did not. So, he did his best to dodge and when he had a good shot he knocked the blade from the angel's hand. It went flying across the lot as Sam jumped for it, the angel tackling him.
The two rolled around on the ground as Castiel killed his angel, the body collapsing with a burst of light. He noticed Sam was struggling and knew he needed a weapon. Castiel stepped forward and yelled. "Sam catch!"
Sam turned his head to find Castiel had an angel blade in hand. He pulled his arm back and threw it just as Sam knocked the angel aside. Sam jumped up and caught the blade. Once in hand, he tackled the angel and straddled him, lifting the blade above his head.
Sam went to strike when the angel yelled. "If you kill me, you'll never find Dean and Carly."
The words made Sam stop short. His face scrunched in confusion as he looked over at Castiel who was just as confused. When he looked back, Sam kept the blade raised but stopped moving it toward the angel's chest.
"What are you talking about?" Sam asked.
"Zachariah found them first and took them. I know where he's keeping the pair. I can lead you to them," The brown-haired angel admitted.
"Castiel, do you know where they would take Carly and Dean?" Sam asked.
"Yes, I believe I do."
"Well, look at that," Sam said, turning to look back at the angel beneath him. "Looks like I don't need you."
Sam's hand rose into the air once more and this time he jammed the angel blade into the angel's chest. After a flash of light, the body went limp beneath Sam. He wrenched the blade free and threw it back to Castiel as he rose to his feet.
Dean felt a hand on his chest, shaking his shoulder. At first, he ignored it. He was sleeping and man was it peaceful. Then the events of the prior night came back to mind as he shot up, eyes wide open. He turned to find Carly was the one who had shaken him awake.
"Are you okay?" Dean asked, catching his breath.
"Yeah, but where are we?"
Dean looked around and recognized the room. The same gold molding around the ceiling, the same doorless walls, and the same metallic table, this time no burgers in sight. This was the exact same room he had been trapped in when Sam went to kill Lilith.
"It's a prison made by the angels." Dean sighed. "I was here when Sam went to kill Lilith. There's no escape, other than an angel teleporting you out. Last time, I had Castiel, but they won't let him get even close to this thing without killing him."
"So, we're trapped?" Carly asked.
"Well, if you do as I say then you won't be trapped for long."
Carly and Dean stood up to find Zachariah across the room at the marble fireplace. He turned away from the lit fire to face the both of them with crossed arms. He offered for Carly and Dean to take a seat; both refusing.
"What is it you want?" Dean asked, crossing his arms just the same.
"I've wanted what I always wanted...order. This battle between Lucifer and Michael that you all continually try to stop is set in stone. For millennia, we have planned for this, and having it ruined by a hunter, an angel, and two half demonic nitwits cannot continue. I'm here to make a deal with you...both of you," Zachariah said, looking toward both of them.
"And what would that be?" Carly asked.
"This battle will happen whether you want it to or not. If you give in, letting Michael possess you, Dean, and letting Lucifer possess you, Carly, I will let everyone else you care about live happy lives. Ellen, Jo, Bobby, Sam, and even Castiel. They will be left alone, I promise," Zachariah said.
"And what about us?" Dean asked.
"Both of your souls would go to Heaven, I'd make sure of it. I could even give you a shared heaven if that is what you wish," Zachariah said.
"If we refuse?" Carly questioned.
"If you refuse, we may have to be more forceful. You both have to understand that this is meant to happen. The longer you both deny your duty, the more people could die while Lucifer is on Earth. Doing this will most certainly kill him and remove him from the equation altogether. Wouldn't dying to save the world be a good way to go?" Zachariah suggested.
"If you let us go with our plan, we can defeat Lucifer and there won't have to be a battle at all. Wouldn't that be better in the end? No one has to die," Dean insisted.
"Oh, you don't know, do you?" Zachariah asked, laughing under his breath.
"Know what?"
Zachariah leaned forward with a smile. "If you open that cage with the key you are trying to put together you can throw Lucifer back in, but there's a price. He has to be possessing his true vessel for that to happen."
"Which means…" Carly muttered.
"Either you or Sam would have to go with him."