Next Chapter, bit of world-building and foreshadowing. Thank you to my beta- Eff-Dot and everyone else for checking out my story. I will no longer have a set schedule for updating.

Lebanon, Kansas (2018)

"Thanks, Garth, for checking out that sighting. I know it's a ways out from Wisconsin, with Gertie's birthday coming up." Adam paused, his gaze dropping to where Kevin and Anna were poring over books. Possibly their last hope to keep Lucifer – and Sam – bottled up.

Even after all these years, it wasn't easy contemplating his brother's fate or acknowledging that Sam's sacrifice would account for nothing if they didn't find a way to keep Lucifer sealed. Adam pushed the ill feelings aside, reminding himself that it wasn't over yet. They still had time. "Hey, don't worry one bit, Adam. It's been a while since I've been on a ghost hunt, with the twins going through the terrible twos. This is a nice break." The humor and love reflected in Garth's tone for his children was something Adam could easily identify. His gaze moved from Kevin and Anna to his five-year-old daughter Samantha, named after her uncle and all he had left of his wife. She was working on her latest masterpiece. More than anything, he wanted to give his little girl a normal life, with no monsters, no impending apocalypse. It was something neither of his brothers had experienced and went up shit-creek for himself after his mother's death.

With each passing day, a normal life seemed more like a pipe dream. Even with a prophet and former angel searching daily for any information on how to stop Lucifer permanently, they'd come up with nothing in the last eight years. At best, any binding measures they'd found were only temporary.

It didn't help that the demons were doing everything in their power to tip the balance in their favor, and the angels were no help. His gaze dropped down to his busted leg. He'd be off it for another three weeks at least. The fact that he and his grandfather had tangled with Abaddon and managed to escape with an artifact connected to god made it worth the effort. Adam was pleased they'd made it out of that encounter with their heads still attached, notwithstanding his broken leg and Henry's concussion. "Right, keep me posted, and if you need assistance, Jody says Claire will be finished with her case in Boston next week and can help."

"Got it, now it's time to Garth this bad boy." The music was turned up in the background, and Adam shook his head before hanging up. Some things never changed, and despite fatherhood and lycanthropy, Garth was still an odd duck.

Pocketing his cell phone, he maneuvered his way over to his little girl, running a hand through her blonde hair, causing her to look up. Love shone in her blue eyes before she refocused on her picture. "Daddy, I'm drawing Grandpa a picture so he'll feel better."

"I'm sure he'll love it, Monkey," Adam replied as he bent down and kissed his daughter's head, then continued over to Kevin and Anna. Both were looking through different materials and pursuing other leads.

"The sealing spell you found within the Angel tablet could work with our acquired artifact. Theoretically, it could even depower Lucifer enough that we can end this permanently." Kevin shook his head, frustration coloring his features, as he looked up at Anna. She, like the prophet, was exhausted. The frustration was derived from the fact that Anna tended to throw herself head-first into anything, which had nearly gotten her killed multiple times. Adam expected it was a result of her thousands of years spent as an angel and being practically invulnerable, followed by a strong desire to see justice served against those who killed her human parents.

Sitting down carefully, mindful of his busted leg, Adam reached for one of the books spread out before Anna. "Here, let me take a look. You both need a break." Kevin just blinked at his words, his focus still off, while Anna didn't acknowledge the comment, her attention on Kevin.

"Kevin, it could work," at Anna's insistent comment, Kevin sighed, shaking his head.

"You know it won't. None of us can wield that object without dropping dead within seconds, and for that spell to work accurately it would take much longer."

Anna's features were set in a stubborn line, "As a former angel-."

Kevin slashed a hand through the air, "Former. You're as human as the rest of us. Face it, Anna, none of us can handle that object long enough for that spell to work."

Recognizing these two could argue indefinitely, Adam slammed the book Anna was looking through shut. Using the only threat that would make them focus on something besides arguing, Adam said, "Kevin, your mother just finished lunch and insists you both eat."

Kevin frowned, pinched the bridge of his nose at his words, and nodded. "Come on, Anna. Neither of us wants my mother breathing down our necks."

Anna didn't look happy, a frown drawing her brows together, but she nodded. "Right." Rising, she moved towards the bunker's kitchen, her usually predatory step missing, having been replaced by sheer exhaustion. Kevin followed doggedly in her footsteps, and Adam pulled the book and notes towards himself.

Looking at the spell, he knew Anna was correct. If given enough juice, this spell could solve the issue with Lucifer. However, even with the newly acquired god object, it wouldn't work. If anyone that wasn't an angel touched one of those objects, they would explode in bursts of unlimited power. Though the explosion would cause untold damage, it was damage only helpful in specific situations. Unfortunately, the only friendly angel who had been willing to listen, Castiel, had been reset to factory standards. At least, that was Anna's explanation for Castiel's later attitude and why they could no longer depend on him for anything.

No, that spell was useless, just another dead end. But when Adam returned his gaze to his daughter, he took a breath and continued looking. He wouldn't give up. Too many people had sacrificed their lives for this, and many others were counting on them to find an answer. Nodding to himself, Adam returned his attention to the manuscript and looked for anything that could help them stop the oncoming apocalypse.

Blowing Rock, North Carolina (2018)

When Alec began moving, Ben willed himself to calm down. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he started after his twin, who was walking towards the small town. "Where are you going?" Alec didn't pause, only snickered sarcastically at the question, and continued moving. Although Ben was still having a hard time focusing, he recognized that his reaction couldn't be helped. They'd just seen a god, spoken with a being beyond perception, something that before now was merely a myth.

His memory dipped to that moment when a creature of unearthly beauty with inhuman features looked upon them. Visualizing Loki made it hard to focus on anything else until he remembered Loki's words on the Blue Lady and her desire for his well-being. Fixing this reminder firmly in mind, Ben pushed down all sentiments of self-doubt, instead letting certainty replace them. He'd been right and his previous misgivings on kidnapping Alec, tangling with Lydecker, and risking recapture had been unfounded. Because now he had set proof that his decisions were the right ones. However, as his twin put more distance between them, Ben acknowledged his desire for companionship was another reason he didn't want to leave Alec's side.

He was simply tired of being alone.

Alec may hate him for abandoning and later kidnapping him. Nevertheless, Ben would take that hatred over the loneliness he'd suffered these past years. With his purpose renewed, Ben caught up to Alec, noting the suspicious glances being tossed their way as they entered the small town. It was a reaction he'd grown used to whenever he entered small populated areas and why he kept his time in them short. Unfortunately, his twin wasn't attempting to be subtle or attract as little attention as possible. Although, Ben didn't care for ordinaries or their opinions. He roughly pushed down Kelly's harsh words that sprang to mind.

Normally Ben made it a rule to attract no attention, because drawing unwanted attention inevitably led to Lydecker. More so than with his other siblings. He was aware that this attention was due to Alec having given them a blueprint for his face, which made it more difficult to stay hidden - even with America in its current state of decay.

Stepping closer to Alec, he grabbed his arm, wanting his twin to stop. Ben was flung away, and due to the unexpected move, he nearly fell on his ass but caught himself and straightened up, finding his twin glaring at him. Alec's look was vicious, and although he'd wanted a reaction from Alec, Ben didn't want to fight, and swallowing, he held out his hands in peace. His action only seemed to further piss off his twin, which Ben remembered vividly from Manticore. Alec was always more emotional when he was upset or angry.

Ignoring the few townsfolk whose looks had shifted from suspicion to open hostility, Alec finally went off, like a broken steam vent. "Did you see what happened, or, I don't know, notice we're not in the right state?" His thumb jerked to the sign that read 'Welcome to Blowing Rock, North Carolina.'

Ben felt his breath catch. That shouldn't… wait, Loki was a god, and that meant anything was possible, including their location on the opposite side of the country. Alec observed him, his features shifting from anger to disbelief. "You're actually accepting this lunacy. Like it's no big deal."

His twin's features twisted as he dropped a hand across his face, the sarcasm heavy in his words. "I hate to break it to you, bro, but that thing or whatever with its six bronze wings, brighter than the fucking sun and…." Alec paused and swallowed, fear briefly overriding his sarcasm before his features smoothed into an emotionless mask, and he nodded towards an empty parking lot before moving away.

Ben followed his twin, not bothering to placate any of the ordinaries looking their way. Stopping next to Alec when he paused, his twin's features remained unreadable before frustration colored his expression, then agitation as he ran fingers through his hair and bit his bottom lip. Nervous tics that Alec couldn't hide when he was riled or upset. After what they experienced, Ben didn't blame his twin since only his faith in the Blue Lady and a general acceptance that Loki had a reason for his visit made him feel somewhat calm and in control right now.

"Not human," at Alec's sharp words, his attention shifted to his twin watching him, his previous tension still there but now carefully hidden. "Underneath that light, the douchebag," Ben frowned at the insult and was about to correct his twin, but Alec barreled on, "had lots of eyes along its wings..."

This time, Ben interrupted because Alec couldn't deny this, "And was more beautiful than anything either of us has witnessed before." He could see Alec wanted to refute his words, but Ben crossed his arms, satisfied that Alec couldn't claim otherwise. Loki had appeared very inhuman for those few seconds, but he'd been captivatingly beautiful despite his inhumanity and sheer size. And with those bronze wings, well, he appeared as one would depict an angel.

It's how the Bible described their true forms, but the Bible was not always accurate with its depictions or information. This was one of the reasons he never believed its teachings with any confidence since there was so much room left for interpretation. Also, he questioned certain events and beliefs mentioned in the Bible. His need for clarification was never sated with the Bible's written words and excuses. Having been written by ordinaries, which meant it was flawed because almost every written work over humanity's history contained inaccuracies. Inconsistencies, some glaringly obvious, others less so, but they were still there. These discrepancies made him question every piece of information recorded in human history.

Ordinaries' history.

It made Ben wonder if the Bible's depiction of Angels were wholly accurate, thinking perhaps pre-Christian groups had seen pagan gods and believed them to be angels. Or maybe the angels masqueraded as pagan gods…

Either way, Ben had never felt more confident that the path before him was the correct choice. He would not stray from it because the Blue Lady still believed in him, and Ben would not let her down. His gaze refocusing on his twin, and he shrugged, letting the confidence he felt soak into his tone. "Yes, I'm aware that our rescuer -" Ben had no doubts that the only reason they weren't dead or being tortured by Manticore was because of Loki - "was less than human, but don't you want to know why he sent us here?" Gesturing to their surroundings, his gaze moved to the photo Alec had kept a hold of. "Or gave us that little bit of info on our DNA donor?" Ben wanted to know why they were exact duplicates of the man in the picture.

That shouldn't be right. While some of their characteristics would have been retained from Dean, they should have also taken a few characteristics from their birth mother. Yet they were exact clones of Dean. This made Ben more curious about the man smiling in the picture, who'd rested an arm across his brother's shoulders, grinning at the camera with a carefree confidence that seemed genuine. It was very similar to Alec who, even in childhood carried himself with an innate cockiness and confidence which was never forced. Still, maybe that's why Loki sent them here. Possibly this small town had some clue concerning the man who donated his DNA to Manticore, thus allowing himself and Alec to be created. Was he a good man, like Bruce, or was he flawed like all other ordinaries? Mind jumping to the gangs who killed Bruce, and the stranger who touched him in private places, ignoring his pain and pleas.

Ben refocused on his twin when he noted Alec's raised eyebrow and blatant disbelief. "You really believe we're better off at that thing's whim?" Ben wanted to interrupt, but Alec continued. "Instead of back at Manticore…" The tension radiating along Alec's frame seemed to triple. He looked ready to spring away, showcasing their cat DNA. But instead, he swallowed, licked his lips as his tension bled out, and refocused on him. Alec's disbelief had shifted into pity.

Ben hated that look. He nearly snarled, except just as he was about to respond, the temperature dropped, and he noted Alec's attention was no longer on him. His face now displayed shock that was swiftly replaced by guilt, fear, and love…? What was his twin seeing that left him trembling, his eyes wide, glassy, and hurt?

"Rachel…?"

What? The Berrisford girl, Alec's secondary target?

Except that was impossible. The girl had been killed in the explosion triggered by Manticore. Ben remembered it perfectly: Alec's cries of pain, Manticore's soldiers closing in, and the girl's locket still in his pocket. So it couldn't be her, and he turned around to see what had caught his twin's attention. Then promptly backed up, only stopping when he bumped into Alec, hackles rising in agitation. The cat in his DNA wanted to screech and run from it. Because although he'd felt comforted in Loki's presence, even with his general inhumanness, this thing left him feeling the exact opposite.

Fear and dread.

Its face might have been a woman once but was now something else entirely. Her blond hair was stringing and ratted like a nest. Her face was distorted in a grotesque manner, like someone had decided to stretch the woman's features, then patch it up with other pieces of skin to make it solid. Her body and clothes were in a similar state. Altogether it was horrifying.

Ben realized with dawning horror that it was focused on Alec and not in a good way. A murderous hatred filled its eyes as it watched his twin, which only made him move closer — wanting to block its presence from Alec, whose trembling had worsened as he whispered Rachel's name. Why? Looking over at his brother, he still found guilt and love in his expression, but looking back at the specter, monster? Whatever it was, Ben knew that thing couldn't be the Berrisford girl. They looked nothing alike, and more importantly, that girl had cared loved his twin, but this thing looked like it wanted to murder him in the most painful way possible.

"Alec," he was about to push his unresponsive twin away from the thing that was drifting closer. Ben wished he still had his gun. But it stopped when a man stepped forward. The stranger's general appearance was unremarkable. Plain weathered features, brown-gray hair more gray than brown, medium weight, and height. But his brown eyes held a sharpness, somewhat like Bruce's, that made Ben straighten unconsciously. Uncertain if he should push his twin to run, or wait to see what the stranger wanted.

"So what brings you, boys, to our small town of Blowing Rock?" When the cold vanished, Ben snapped his gaze back to the thing, and, finding nothing, blinked in astonishment. Just what the hell was that thing?

That's when Alec pushed around him, heartbreak and guilt reflected in his eyes as he looked around. "No, where…?" At the indrawn breath, Ben snapped his gaze back to the man, noting how he focused on his twin as Alec looked around frantically. A realization seemed to strike him before his features settled into grim lines and he looked at Ben.

"Listen, I think it's best if you two follow me." Alec wasn't listening, but Ben nodded for him to continue. The man's eyes moved to Alec, then focused on him again, a perceptiveness in his gaze. "We've had a string of young men go missing over the last few years," he said, staring knowingly at Alec, who wasn't paying attention. Ben felt his breath catch at the obvious hint. "Why don't you boys swing by my office and we can talk." Ben could tell it wasn't a request and nodded.

Seattle, Washington (2018)

"Direct-!" A sharp indrawn breath, followed by stutters, caused Rehel, known to the monkeys and transgenics as Director Elizabeth Renfro. Or Madam X as she'd come to prefer since coming to Earth. Her eyes met those of X6-787, who was watching her in stunned shock, his features having paled, eyes bugged out as they swept… over her wings? Could he see her true form?

That should be impossible, except… wait a minute, her father spoke of implementations written into the transgenic DNA beyond the obvious that would eventually make themselves known. Was this ability to perceive beyond the veil, which only a few gifted monkeys distinguished, one of them? And why now…? Rehel was very aware that something of this perception did not exist earlier… More importantly, was it just this X6? Rehel shook aside that possibility. No, this gift to perceive the unknown would be within all of them.

Dropping the report she'd been studying, Rehel moved before the X6, hiding her true form behind layered warding, and touched the boy's forehead. Erasing the last few seconds from his mind, she replaced the memories with the conversation that should have occurred. "Your duties were performed excellently. Report back to your superior." The transgenic blinked in confusion, looked at her, and blinked again before straightening into a smart salute, the confusion gone.

"Director." Turning about, he marched towards the barracks, his form straight while his thoughts were set on the path she'd placed in his mind. It's one of the things she appreciated about her father's new creations. They were still talking monkeys, but they were superior in all respects, and in some ways, she could even see why her father had loved humanity so much. The transgenics were the epitome of what humanity could achieve.

Excellent examples of this were Michael's vessels. Dean Winchester, though above average for a human, had been nothing special. However, his clones, X5-493 and 494, were geniuses capable of feats only a few gifted humans could achieve in their short lifespan. And every single one of the transgenics held this capacity. It was another reason she'd faithfully followed her father's orders and protected the transgenics, but if they could perceive beyond the veil… Not even her protection would be enough if the demons or Eve discovered the transgenics' existence.

"Father, you are making my job far more difficult." Rehel smiled with little humor at the complaint since she would do anything to please her father, even when it required protecting the transgenics and living amongst these filthy talking monkeys. Now with this hiccup and possibly more following, it would be doubly important to retrieve Michael's vessels. She paused on that thought: Father had specifically expressed that Heaven and Michael were not to learn about X5-493 or 494. She'd always wondered at this and why he left Michael without his true vessel, then created replicas of that vessel—specifying that no others from Dean Winchester's DNA were to be created.

Rehel broke off her internal monologue as Qaniel entered her office. Known to most as Quinten, like herself, he was bid to watch over the transgenics, though, unlike herself, Qaniel was softer and bore no ill-will towards humanity. He found their habits fascinating. But her brother, despite being an oddball, was a professional and thankfully kept his opinions on humanity to himself. Recognizing the tightness radiating from his grace that put her ire to shame, she held up a hand. "I take it you are aware that the transgenics can perceive our true forms, which likely means they can distinguish much more than just ourselves."

His lips tightened, and he nodded before moving to the TV monitor set up in her office and pushing in a DVD. "I'm afraid, sister, there's more." Rehel raised an eyebrow in question, nodding for him to continue. Qaniel set the video to play, and she watched as Lydecker attempted to recapture X5-493 and 494. She felt her breath catch, not even trying to mask the shock crisscrossing along her grace as she saw what had left her brother so shaken. There on the screen was their elder brother, the archangel Gabriel.

Lebanon, Kansas (2018)

Kevin watched as a ghost slammed a young man into the wall, a move that would have paralyzed a normal person. But this guy was different. Kevin didn't understand how he recognized this difference, but he knew something like that wouldn't impair the young man too severely. At least not beyond what had already been damaged. Blood was starting to drip from his mouth, only adding to the stream running from his nose.

"Please, Rachel…!" The ghost didn't hesitate and shifted her arm into his chest, her cold dead fingers closing around his heart, squeezing.

Kevin sat up and nearly screamed but forced himself to take deep breaths and winced when the migraine came on. It was terrible, but even as the migraine intensified, he wandered off to find something to cure it. The images of the young man and the ghost killing him began to fade.