Author's Note: This was an amazing episode, but I felt like they could've come up with a better excuse for not banishing the angels on that boat. Sam suggested this and Dean said, "No, if they get in here, we're dead." Which literally meant, "We can't think up a better excuse for not using a banishing sigil." So I thought of one instead. Let me know what you think in reviews. Also I'm not harping on the show, I basically think it's the best thing EVER. I don't own Supernatural.
***Dean POV***
November 5, Evening
Dean had never really intended to abandon Castiel, much less Ember, to the fate of whatever spell Rowena had done. It was as Sam had said… he simply needed some time to process the situation.
Azazel… and he had almost married her! He had almost married Azazel's daughter! "I know what you're thinking," Sam said. "But it's still Ember. It's always been Ember. She never even met Azazel."
"I know, Sammy," Dean said. "I know."
Before he could reach out to Ember and Castiel, however, they got a lead on Jack. He had last been seen by the girlfriend of an artist, Derek, whose eyes had been burned out in Bismark, North Dakota.
"Are we gonna call Cas?"
"He's got a lot going on," said Dean, shaking his head. "We'll cover this one." Truthfully, he was ashamed of how he had left things with the angel, but not yet ready to apologize.
Sam raised his eyebrows reluctantly, but nodded.
***Sam POV***
November 6, Afternoon
As it turned out, Derek the artist was a dreamwalker. He could visit other worlds in his dreams – specifically the Apocalypse world that their mother was trapped in.
"What the hell is Jack trying to do?" asked Dean.
Sam wasn't sure, but whatever it was, he had killed a man in the process. Again.
"A guy is dead," Dean said, echoing Sam's thoughts. "Look, I hate this too, but we've gotta be prepared."
"To kill him," Sam said, knowing what Dean meant but not really believing it. "Ember and Castiel's son. Really?"
Dean sighed. "I mean... I actually like the kid. I do. But, we're in worst case scenario land here."
"Yeah, but, Dean we need more information," Sam said, looking concerned. "I mean, we need to figure out what Jack wanted, and how dreamwalking even works."
Fortunately, they had a lead; Derek had been emailing with another, stronger dreamwalker, Kaia Nieves. Sam and Dean had just barely pulled up to the drug rehabilitation facility currently housing Kaia when instead, they found Jack! He had his hand around Kaia's wrist, and he was saying, "You will help me."
"Jack!" Sam exclaimed, running forward.
"Sam?" Jack asked, whirling around. He paid for his distraction; Kaia kicked him to the ground, and he let go of her arm in surprise. She then proceeded to punch him in the jaw and then run away.
"She hit me!" he exclaimed, baffled.
"Yeah, good," snapped Dean.
"No!" Jack exclaimed. "She's getting away!"
Sam and Dean grabbed Jack on both sides. "We're not letting you near her until you tell us what's going on," said Dean.
"No, I need her!" Jack protested. He was still struggling, but not very hard. Sam knew he could've shaken them both off if he'd really wanted.
"You need her like you needed Derek?" Sam asked. His voice wasn't accusatory, not yet… it was simply a statement.
"Yes!" Jack exclaimed.
Sam and Dean let go of Jack, exchanging worried glances.
"You don't... I'm– I'm doing this for you!" Jack exclaimed, looking at them with wild eyes.
Dean looked as surprised as Sam felt. "Oh, you killed Derek for us?" he accused.
Now it was Jack's turn to look surprised. "Derek's dead?"
"Wait, hold on a second," said Sam, feeling as though he had missed something. "Jack, tell us what happened. Everything."
"I left to try to get a grip on my powers," Jack explained. "I wanted to prove to you that I'm good, to do one good thing. So I did the thing you wanted the most. I experimented opening doors to other worlds. I could almost do it. I could get right to the edge. But I couldn't see. I could only feel around in the dark. I needed eyes. A seer."
"A dreamwalker," Sam said, and his heart filled with affection for the boy.
"Yeah," Jack agreed. "So I researched, like you taught me. That's how I found Derek. I didn't know if it would work, but it did. He dreamwalked and I joined him... in the Apocalypse World."
Sam heard Dean's intake of breath. "I could see what he saw," Jack continued. "And I saw… I saw her."
"Her?" Sam asked, his heart picking up speed.
"Your mother," Jack answered.
Sam exchanged a stunned look with Dean.
"She's alive," Jack continued.
"What?" Dean asked in shock.
"But she's in danger," Jack added.
"W-what does that mean?" Sam asked, his mind swimming. "What– what kind of danger?"
"It's easier if I show you," Jack said. He held out his fingers to the brothers in invitation. Dean leaned away, but Sam stepped forward. He knew what Jack had intended – Castiel had been in his mind at least once, and he had also seen Castiel read Ember's mind.
The moment Jack's fingertips touched Sam's head, he was transported. He saw the Apocalypse World, as Jack had seen it, through the eyes of the dreamwalker. And there, in a cage, was his mother, groaning in pain and crying for help. She looked much thinner, and helpless, and hopeless-
The dream cut off, and Sam snapped back to reality. Jack's eyes were hungry for approval, while at the same time concerned. "Mom," Dean said helplessly.
"I was so close to her," Jack explained. "I could've touched her. But, Derek wasn't strong enough to hold the connection."
"Wait!" said Sam, surprised. "You didn't burn him out?"
"No, I stopped!" Jack protested. "Derek, he wasn't strong enough, but he knew someone who was. Kaia, she's the key."
***Jack POV***
November 6, 6:14 PM
Jack was glad to be back with family. But there was something worrying him.
"You were right," Dean was saying. "About Mom. You were right. This whole time, we should've been looking for her."
"Dean, I was just hoping," came Sam's slightly higher voice from the front seat of the Impala. "I didn't know. Anyways, it doesn't matter. Now that we do know–…"
"We find her, no matter what it takes," finished Dean.
"Yep," Sam agreed.
There was a pause. "Kid, you okay?" asked Dean.
"Jack?" asked Sam.
Jack tried to put his thoughts into words. "You thought... You both thought that I could do that, that I could kill Derek," he protested, upset.
"Jack, we, um... We didn't know what happened. We figured, m-maybe it was an accident or– or..."
"Like the security guard," Jack said. He supposed he could understand this, though he didn't like to think about it.
"Yes," said Sam. "Exactly. Like that. Jack, we were worried, okay? You know, when you disappeared, you were in a dark place. And we didn't know where you were going."
Jack thought for a moment. "I was scared," he admitted. "I was upset. But... I just wanted to do a good thing. And then I was going to come back. You, and Dad, and Mom – you're my family."
"Yes, we are," agreed Dean. "Finding our Mom, you... You did a good thing, kid. You did a real good thing," said Dean.
Jack smiled, a feeling of love swelling within him.
***Dean POV***
November 6, 8:29 PM
Dean had been able think of nothing but his mother since Jack put the vision of her in Apocalypse World into his head the previous afternoon.
Since then, things hadn't gotten easier. First, angels had captured Kaia, and Jack, Sam, and Dean had barely managed to rescue her from them. Now, Kaia was refusing to dreamwalk for them. Complicated. Things always had to be fucking complicated.
To make matters worse, Castiel had finally joined the group. Dean knew that Sam had called him after they'd found Jack, but Dean didn't want to think about the apology he knew he owed his best friend.
"It's a curse!" Kaia argued with the brothers. "When Derek dreamwalked, he was free. He could go see beautiful things, to worlds that were paradises. I wish it was like that for me, but it's not. I only go to one place– the Bad Place. It's just blood and death and monsters."
Dean was growing impatient. "Well, it sounds like a lifetime of bad dreams, but–…"
"Bad dreams?" Kaia scoffed. She pulled up her sleeve, revealing several long scars. "When I get hurt over there, I don't wake up sweaty. I wake up bloody. This scar, it's not the only one. I'm sorry about your mom, but I can't help you."
"All right, fine," said Sam, resigned. "Um... we can find another way. We, um..."
But Dean had had enough. He felt sorry for the girl – he really did. On an ordinary day, she would've been the type of citizen that he and his brother would assist in saving from "The Bad Place." But today was no ordinary day. He pulled out his gun and cocked it, brandishing it at Kaia. "Get in the car," he snapped.
"Dean!" exclaimed both Sam and Castiel.
"Get in the car!" he yelled again. "Get in the damn car!"
Castiel stepped forward and put two fingers on Kaia's head, forcing her into a deep sleep. He picked her up, and kept one finger placed on her forehead so that he could monitor her dreams.
"Thank you!" Dean exclaimed. "C'mon, let's go!"
***Castiel POV***
November 6, 11:02 PM
Castiel was, once again, full of emotions. He was proud of his son, and relieved to have him back. He was worried for Ember, whom he had left, still sleeping, back at the house in Conway Springs. He was worried about what would happen when Jack found out about Ember. For now, he wanted Jack to have at least this one victory… then they would discuss Ember.
Dean seemed to have the same idea. "Cas… look, man. I'm sorry, for, um… for the thing. I just… I just needed to wrap my head around it. Of course we'll help, man. As soon as we get back."
"I know," Castiel nodded. "And… thank you."
***Jack POV***
November 7, 2:15 AM
"Where am I?" Kaia said upon awakening.
"We're at a gas station near Sioux Falls, South Dakota," Jack told her. "Where the walls between universes are thinnest. We'll be there in twenty minutes or so. We need your help."
"I'm sorry about my brother," Sam added, leaning over him. "If you want to leave, you can. But we need your help."
It had been decided that Sam and Jack would attempt to convince Kaia to help them, while Castiel and Dean protected them from other angels that might want to attack.
"I'm sorry... about all of this," Jack added, before Kaia could open her mouth again. He was holding her in place with his powers, but also filling her with a sense of comfort, as his father had taught him. "I was like you, Kaia, afraid of my powers. But it doesn't have to be like that. You said that you wished that things could've been different, and that's why you reached out to Derek. Derek thought that you could help me, and I could help you."
"Why do you keep saying his name?" Kaia snapped. "Derek's dead because of you."
"No," Jack said. "He was killed by the angels that pursue us. Please. Five seconds."
"What?" Kara asked. Jack was no longer holding her in place, but either she had not yet realized this or she had no immediate desire to move.
"Give me five seconds to show you what Derek saw, what I saw with him," Jack pleaded. "It wasn't just the Bad Place. It was... everything. It's... amazing."
"We'll give you anything," Sam pleaded with her. "Money, a home… amnesty. But most importantly, we can help you. Your dreams can be free of the Bad Place. You didn't have any bad dreams while you were with us, did you? You slept for just over 5 hours."
"It's – wait, I did?" Kaia asked, looking at her watch in stunned silence. "I never sleep that long!" Slowly, she looked at Jack. "Five seconds," she agreed.
Jack touched his fingers to Kaia's temple. He showed her visions… of the Apocalypse world, and of the beautiful world of flowers that Derek had shown him. "I can direct your mind," he said into her head. "Only you can dreamwalk, but I can steer."
When he pulled his hand away, Kaia was looking at him with a slight smile on her face.
"Our powers can be good," he said. "We can do good in this world."
He felt a hand on his shoulder, and realized that it was his father.
***Sam POV***
November 7, 2:38
They had been doing so well! They had almost made it to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. This was where the walls between universes were most then, according to Derek. He and Jack had convinced Kaia to help them open a door to Apocalypse World.
Then, suddenly, a large car had run them off the road. Out of the car piled eight angels, and the group had no choice but to make a run for it. And run they had, into a large and abandoned boat near where the side of the road met the water. They ran up to the top floor of the boat, where the angels trapped them.
"Hey, Dean, maybe if we let 'em in and then we blast them all away," Sam suggested.
Castiel shook his head. "I don't know what multiple banishments would do to Jack, and I don't want to find out."
"I've survived one before," Jack said. "It stings a little, but it was okay."
Castiel nodded, looking out the window. "Now's the time, then. They've split up. I can take three of them out with a banishing spell, and you can ward the boat against the other four."
"Thanks, Cas," said Dean.
"Love you son," Castiel said to Jack with a nod, and headed out the door. A second later, there was a wave of bright light, and only four angels remained outside.
That was still four too many. Sam and Dean raced to ward the doors.
"Jack, can you do anything?"
"I can try, but they'll hit me with angel radio again," he said. He was getting up off the ground, and Sam realized that Castiel's banishing spell must've hurt him more than he'd let on. Sam knew that angel radio always made Jack's ears hurt as well.
Suddenly, a giant shock wave rocked the boat, and the brothers both struggled to keep their balance.
"Okay, all right, so then we go out guns blazing," said Dean. "We take out as many as we can. Kid, sorry to drag you into this. This was not your fight."
There was another large shockwave, and Jack looked panic-stricken. "If they get up here, they'll kill you all and take me. All four of these are stronger, warrior angels. Dad taught me how to tell."
"Wait, Jack!" said Kaia. "You said I could help you find the door to another world, right?"
"Yes," said Jack.
"Then let's do it!" said Kaia. "Let's get out of here."
"Can you take us to our mom?" asked Sam.
There was another shake, and this one almost sent Kaia careening into Jack.
"I don't know," Jack said. "I think so."
"What if something goes wrong?" Sam asked.
Another loud shake.
"Something already is going wrong!" Dean said wild-eyed. "Jack, do it!"
Kaia sat down, and Jack stood behind her, ready for her to dreamwalk. "Are you ready?" he asked.
"No," said Kaia. "Let's go."
Jack placed his fingertips on Kaia's temples and his eyes began to glow.
"Okay, I'm there," Kaia said. "I'm in the Bad Place."
"Let go," Jack instructed.
"I can't!" she protested, her face wrinkling in panic.
"Yes," Jack said. "You can."
Sam turned instead to the warding on the doors, and realized with alarm that it was slowly crumbling from the giant shockwaves.
"Jack, now!" screamed Dean.
The room shook again. "I see her," said Jack.
"No!" Jack gasped suddenly. "Focus!"
There were more shockwaves. Dean and Sam both held their angel blades at the ready. Any minute now the angels would burst through the door…
"I'm losing it!" Kaia screamed.
"Almost. Almost!" screamed Jack.
Suddenly, Sam felt a tug on his belly, and everything around him began to glow. He could hear screaming…
The next thing he knew, he was in a dark forest, full of greens and blacks.
This was definitely not Earth, nor was it Apocalypse World.