"Come again?" Dean says.
Bobby sits down across from Dean at the kitchen table. "This is the fifth call now. Every one of 'em said the same thing. Monsters fighting monsters. Vampires turning on werewolves. Ghouls killing revenants. Rugarus eating nixies."
"Nixies are toxic."
"Oh yeah, they still are. The rugarus all died after." Bobby opens his beer and stares at it pensively. "This don't make a lick of sense."
"Dean." Castiel's voice comes from behind them.
Without turning around, Dean answers, "Cas. I'm pretty sure I told you to fuck off."
"I need you to come with me Dean." Castiel walks into the kitchen and stands next to the table.
Dean eyes Castiel's trenchcoat angrily, but doesn't answer.
"Why and where?" Bobby asks for him.
"To see Sam. I think- this is his doing." Castiel says, staring at Dean.
"What's his doing...this monster smackdown?" Bobby scoffs.
"Yes. I don't entirely understand it myself, but it has to be Sam. I need to see him, but he won't see me."
Dean stands up and answers, "What does that matter, you can just bust into Hell, can't you?"
"I can, but Sam has...locked the entrance to the throne room. I have spent hours pounding on the door, so to speak, but he won't let me in. I believe if you went with me, he would grant us an audience." Castiel sounds equally embarrassed and exacerbated.
Bobby finishes the long drink of beer he'd been taking, "Throne room?"
Dean shakes his head, "Cas, I haven't seen him since he left here. It's been months. I think if he wanted to see me, he would have by now."
"Please come with me Dean. I know you're angry with me. You have every right to be, but please - I need to understand why Sam is doing this. If I'm wrong about him, if he isn't helping us, then..." Castiel turns away from Dean and stares out the window.
"Then what?" Dean growls.
Castiel sighs, "We need Sam's help."
Dean looks at Bobby, then back up to Castiel and nods.
When Dean can see again, he is standing (or at least his soul is standing) in an enormous room. The walls, if there are even any, are covered in a thick, black fog. In the center of the room is a set of stairs leading up to a massive throne carved entirely out of bone. There is a really bright light coming from above, but Dean can't get a good look at it. What is that, some kind of Hell chandelier?
Castiel walks slowly forward toward the throne, and looks up at the light.
"Dean! Cas! What a surprise!" Sam says from right behind Dean.
Dean whips around and stares. "Sam." He swallows as he sees Sam's eyes. They're different, worse, than they were last time he saw them. Not just yellow anymore, but yellow, white and nearly too bright to look at. On Sam's head is a crown - a bone crown.
"Do you like my aquarium?" Sam asks Castiel who is still staring up at the light.
Castiel turns to glare at Sam. "Michael and Lucifer are many things, but they are not fish."
Sam laughs loudly and claps his hands together. "Well, to me they are. They're domesticated, and very relaxing to look at. Just like fish in an aquarium"
"What's with the fog of doom, Sam?" Dean asks.
Sam looks back over his shoulder and says, "Make yourselves presentable."
All around them - pressed against the walls of the room - the fog shimmers as hundreds of demons form themselves into humanoid shapes. Not human though, not even close.
These are demons in their true form. Things that may have started off human, but have long since forgotten what that means. They're deformed by their sins, some of which manifest in a rather literal sense. Those consumed by greed have huge gaping mouths and giant hands to match their insatiable appetites. The wrathful are more animalistic than human, all teeth and claws.
Dean takes a step back as he sees something horribly familiar huddling in the far corner. "Is that...is that a Hellhound, Sam?"
Sam puts his hand on Dean's shoulder. "Oh don't worry Dean. That's just Meg." Sam takes a few steps forward and whistles, "Come here Meg. Come on. Dean wants to say hi."
The Hellhound turns slowly and trudges towards them, belly to the ground, tail tucked between its legs.
"Meg?" Castiel repeats in confusion. "You turned her into a Hellhound?"
"Yup." Sam says as Meg lies at his feet. "Then I had her kill all the others. She's the only Hellhound left." He looks at Dean. "I know, I know. You think I let her off way too easy, right? You can't tell - she's used to it by now, I guess, but - every time I speak it tears her insides to shreds. And that hurts, doesn't it Meg?" Sam moves to pat the Hellhound on its head and it whines miserably. "Yes it does, yes it does!" Sam croons.
Dean thinks he might puke.
"Sam. Are you responsible for the monsters turning against each other?" Castiel asks.
Sam raises an eyebrow and smirks, "Yes."
"How?" Dean asks as he watches Meg return to her corner.
"Possession." Castiel says.
Sam nods and heads toward his throne. He takes a seat on the third step up and leans back.
"But...the monsters are killing each other. Their souls are just returning to Purgatory, and none of my soldiers have seen any demons leaving the bodies of the monsters - so I assume they're being killed too. You're not reducing the size of their army - Eve can just bring them back! What is the point of this?" Castiel asks angrily.
"It's a Trojan horse." Dean says, "The demons are riding the monsters' souls right into Purgatory, aren't they?"
Sam smiles at him. "Exactly."