Castiel's Loft, 7:00 PM

Jess sat there and listened to him. She heard everything.

And it was hard to swallow, to say the least. To hear demons and angels existed from the mouth of someone speaking in a relatively sane voice, in a relatively sane setting. Balthazar told her everything, or so it seemed.

He told her he was an angel. A former one, who had been cursed. Because oh yeah, curses existed too. He was cursed with being human by a very evil being that he knew formally as the Shadowalker...and it was the Shadowalker really that was the cause of everything.

In a nutshell, he said that the Shadowalker sought to kill someone that was trapped in a deep circle in Hell, and in doing so, he brought Sam and a few others into the crossfire. All for his vengeance. Because the guy he was hoping to kill...had wronged him somehow.

Prominently, she was told of two beings by the name of Castiel and Dean. These two knew Sam before Jess knew him. Dean was the one that they all went down to save or kill...Everyone's intention seemed to have been mixed up in the beginning...What she couldn't wrap her head around was, hey, if you're in Hell, aren't you dead already?

But Balthazar patiently explained that death was simply passing from one realm to another in usually a permanent basis. He explained that souls either were reaped into Heaven or Hell, there was no in between.

Dean was a demon and his soul, naturally, went to Hell. So he was dead...but what that man, that Shadowalker wanted to do was not kill him again, he wanted to destroy him. Apparently, there was a difference. Dying meant your soul still existed, just somewhere else. Destroying meant you simply no longer existed, no matter where you were...and that was what the Shadowalker wanted to do.

Balthazar said it was possible for a soul to be raised in resurrection but it was pretty illegal by heavenly standards, and he knew all about that. The only beings vile enough to do it, were apparently demons. And demons did it to create demons. A soul brought back by a tainted spirit, came back demon.

Sam was turned into a demon, and that was what made Jess reel in some shock. The one named Castiel, another being that Sam was familiar with before meeting Jess, had literally killed him, resurrected him again and he was born demon. So Sam had died...like she initially believed.

And he went to Hell. For no reason. So what if he knew a guy once from his past. He had a life with her, school. Normalcy. It made her angry. She could live with knowing it all didn't exist. As long as Sam was alive. And he was...human again. Balthazar pretty much explained that he had been cursed too. By this...Shadowalker. For no particular reason either. He seemed to have done these things for his own amusement.

Sam didn't remember her, as Balthazar had told her the first time. He was being affected by this Dean guy...who was also alive. Someone had interwoven fake memories into his life of a life that didn't exist. On both of them. Balthazar sort of implored that it wasn't really Dean's fault.

Funny how he as he said it, it looked like he was grinding his teeth. Like it was all something he didn't want to admit.

But it all really came down to this man, Dean. She never even met him, never saw him or heard of him through Sam's lips when she knew him, and yet she hated him. Because it was his fault that all this happened. Wasn't a demon a negative word or title to begin with? A word for a tainted spirit that didn't belong here. And that was what made her so angry. That some demon just decided to involve himself in Sam's life and take it over, put him through hell...and just because he turned human now, didn't remember what he was or had been, didn't make it all right.

It was alot to take in. It was a lot for anyone to take in. It was a wonder Lisa hadn't freaked out by now. When she offered to come with her, without question, Jessica was eternally grateful. But she supposed some part of her wondered if it was...outrageous. She wasn't incorrect in that assumption. Outrageous seemed like the understatement of the year.

But Lisa kept her cool. She didn't ask many questions. It was Jess that Balthazar was mostly explaining this to anyway, as if she was the only other person in the room. As if she was the only other person that mattered. Because she was the only one who really needed to hear this.

The bottom line was that Sam was alive. For the moment, safe. The fabrication in his memory made it apparent that he believed he was something Balthazar identified to be a "demon hunter." So was Dean though...and yet even then, Jess couldn't find it in her to sympathize. It really did sound like all this, this entire mess, was his doing.

She had a vague feeling he was keeping something important out, or several somethings. He didn't go into detail at all when she asked who tampered with Sam's mind, or Dean's for that matter. All he really said at this point, the "curse" on them was similar, that if one was affected, the other would be as well. They wouldn't die or get hurt if the other got hurt...it was just their memories that seemed to be affected, seemed to be synced together.

That just aggravated Jessica some more. Really, whoever it was, was about as aggravating as this Dean was.

It was pretty much night time when he finished, occasionally stopping to dig into the fridge and get out drinks. She took a coke like Lisa and leaned back, occasionally sipping. By nighttime it was stale and gross to the taste, but she kept sipping it because it gave her some sense of normalcy.

"I'm really sorry about this," said Balthazar, taking a swig off his third vodka. He almost didn't look inebriated, but his eyes were slightly more hooded and his shoulders were less tense. It seemed like he had been carrying the burden of this knowledge for a long time. She couldn't blame him for passing it on. It seemed terrible to hold it in. And he was an angel...and she believed that. Not because he was extraordinarily good looking for a man, but because it was his walk, his stance...Like he had been something great in the past, something he was proud of. It's something you might have seen in a washed out old boxer that used to be headline news in the past, but he was nothing now.

And he didn't seem to care. His adamant request to explain all this to Jessica was the only spark of life she saw in him. He had lost something great, something he believed he wasn't going to get back ever again.

"It's okay," said Jess. "I mean...it's a lot...to understand, to follow...but I think I'm getting it. I kind of figured...when...Sam died. That there was always something more to the story. That family was so kind...so sweet and they never harmed a fly. Sam included. I would have never guessed all this naturally...but I knew something was wrong. Every time I looked in his eyes...I guess you could say I felt something. I didn't think I was tasting a tiny part of his world every time."

"It's a vast world...Most of what I've told you, is something you see in a movie series or television show...It's hard to accept that it's all real. That everything you haven't seen proof of is actually real...I want you to know, I'm not crazy...like your friend may believe," He shot Lisa cold look. The other girl had long since stood up from the seat next to Jessica on the couch and stood at the window. She was either watching the neighboring complex or counting the ticks on the clock while the sun set.

"I don't believe you're crazy," said Lisa quietly.

Balthazar remained skeptical but he also didn't seem to think Lisa's opinion really mattered anyway because he turned back to Jessica. "Listen. The good thing is that...I think your presence here is a help. I think you showing back in Sam's life will trigger all his old memories back. Maybe not all...maybe enough. You're a heavy reminder that he had a normal life for a good part of his existence. I think he needs that in his life...I think he needs you back."

"I need him," said Jess fervently. "I do. I wouldn't have come all this way if I didn't...I want to see him. Do you know where he is?"

"I don't-"

She broke off when the doorbell rang. All three of them looked up with Jess and Lisa immediately looking Balthazar's way. He got up with some effort and staggered towards the door.

"By the way, Castiel..., you know the Fallen I mentioned? He's my roommate...so expect his random cameo at some point. I'm sure he's going to be stopping by before he heads off to wherev-" He opened the door and cut off at the sight of Sam and Dean. Sam was naturally taller than him by almost half a foot. Balthazar stared up at him to find the hunter placing his hands in his jacket pockets looking rather sheepish. While Dean looked strangely urgent, looking exasperated that it was Balthazar that answered the door.

"Hey...Balthazar, right?" Dean said rather airly. "Hey, is Cas here? I wanted to catch him before he left?"

"He hasn't been here. He probably already left," said Balthazar pointedly, in a tone that made it clear that this was a very bad time.

Dean spotted Jessica and Lisa over his shoulders and his face reddened a bit. It was a bit amusing to see him angry in human form. As a demon, if he was angry, he was smiling, and if he was smiling, you were dead. It was funny to see something so humane on the face of a demon. Just like his apparel which was also pretty funny. He was wearing a black t-shirt and blue jeans with black and white flannel that he had opened over a dark t-shirt. He looked like a kid...like a fresh-out-of-college kid.

Balthazar still wasn't used to it.

This was the King of Hell?

He expected to see that thought reflected across the faces of Jessica and Lisa, but Jessica only had eyes for Sam. Her eyes were as wide as they could go, her lips parted and he could see the color drain from her face entirely, making those blue eyes seem very prominent.

She approached like a ghost, the movement enough to call all of their attention. Balthazar backed up a step, opening the door further as she shifted behind him. Dean stared at her, startled, but she didn't pay him any mind. Dean didn't exist to her. It was all Sam.

Wordlessly, she raised her hands to his face and placed her hands on his cheeks. Balthazar kept his eyes on Sam's expression the entire time. For anything. A flicker. Anything. But Sam just raised and eyebrow, politely confused. Perhaps thinking she was mentally challenged. He could see why he'd think that. When she approached him, she almost glided across the loft.

"Uh...Is this normal?" Sam looked up at Balthazar. "What is this...a fortune telling?"

"She's too hot to be like Missouri," Dean reminded him, leaning in to mutter. "Cutest psychic I've ever seen though."

"Sam," Jessica finally said, fighting to keep her voice steady. "Do...Do you know who I am?"

Sam simply looked at her, looking deep in her eyes, probing silently almost. But in her hands he shook his head and gently took a hold of her wrists. "No? Should I?"

"I'm-"

"You know, maybe we should all come in. This is sufficiently awkward enough for me to offer alcohol for stimulation," said Balthazar between them, he reached past Dean to close the door behind him and awkwardly made for the couches.

Dean grabbed Balthazar's shoulder and pulled him aside. Now if either of them were in any state they were in before, that'd be a brawl to the death. Too bad Dean didn't know it. They way he was looking at Balthazar, in that threatening sort of Dean way was enough to irritate him.

"Where's Cas?" Dean all but demanded. "How's he getting there? My Dad's truck is still out there."

"Castiel...," Balthazar began rather sharply, addressing his younger brother's full name rather than that abhorrent nickname. "Castiel does not need any sort of human transportation to get anywhere. And you know that. You'd never be able to catch up to him."

He knew what he was saying was pretty much saying that he knew what Castiel was and he was only speculating at this point that Dean knew too. But the obvious look on Dean's face, the understanding, told him that Castiel did indeed tell his clueless human that he was an angel. He should have known. Castiel did mention swearing a life debt to Dean...and while that could have done subtly(with Dean thinking he was a little odd for the recitation)...but Dean knew Castiel was an angel...and Castiel must have proved that somehow.

And I was one too. And I hated you. A lot. I still kind of do. You're nothing but trouble. Even as a human. Look at all this. My guardian fallen has left me behind to protect you. And I don't even like you. And he's doing it for you. Because that's all he cares about, that's all that will ever matter to him is you.

Well, best not to be vocal with his thoughts.

"I need to find him," said Dean after a long moment.

"There's no reason for that," said Balthazar exasperatedly. "Castiel is otherwise indisposed at the moment. This is the safest place you can remain for tonight."

"Why? What is it with tonight?" Dean looked around at them all, exchanging a puzzled look with Sam as he settled slowly on the couch next to a very dejected looking Jessica. She was still looking at him in an odd way...Like a mixture of two emotions. Happiness and sadness rolled into one. Dean didn't get it. She was probably crazy...or a good fuck for this douche.

"Can someone explain to me why everyone has to bolt out of town out of freaking nowhere? Can someone explain why my Dad and Cas know each other?" And no, Dean didn't give a damn that there were two civilians here. Not at this point. "I know what Cas is. I'm sorry Sam."He tacked that on the end. "I never really got the chance...I just didn't...have the ...time...I guess. But regardless..I want to know what the hell is going on."

"Tell me what, Dean?" Sam stared up at him confused. "What about Cas?"

Balthazar opened his mouth to speak but the one who spoke wasn't him. It was the one that Dean had yet to hear.

"Tell you that he's going to die tonight," said Lisa, her eyes on the outside of the curtain that she meticulously closed and faced them all, with her beady gaze resting on Dean. "Like you."

There was a brief silence as they all looked at her, then Lisa raised a hand towards the living room as a whole. Her voice came out terrible and deep, further unlike the voice that anyone of them heard a second before.

"Mea sunt: Adiuro te per virtutem caeli
Quatenus constringo vos submittere
Adiuro te derelinquetur terra, quod coram te."

The words carried with them a terrible power. Black chains came out of nowhere, glowing with faint white emblems as they wrapped around each of their wrists and feet. Sam and Jessica together on the couch, immobilizing them to the couch. Balthazar and Dean together where the two of them crumpled, forced on their knees as though their bodies were very suddenly rooted to the floorboards.

"What the hell?!" Dean yelled as he collided painfully with Balthazar's shoulder.

"Lisa?! What-?!"

"Shut up!" Lisa snapped, lowering her hand. She seemed mesmerized by her own show of power. "It worked...It worked for me...Me...a mere human. It actually worked."

"Lisa!" Jessica shouted, much more sharp. "What is this! What have you done to us?!"

"It's a binding spell...translated more or less from Enochian texts," Balthazar, struggling against his bonds. "Don't move, or they'll tighten around you to the bone."

"Don't move, Sam," said Dean unnecessarily. But he looked up to find Sam rather still, eyes on Lisa, he had one hand tight on Jessica's thigh as if to keep her still too.

"And it worked for me," said Lisa, marveling. She stepped into the living room, venturing past the coffee table to take a corner stance so all of them could look at her in plain sight.

"That goes to show you that even a human can contain the magic that all of you flaunt, doesn't it?" Lisa told them smugly, her eyes on Balthazar. "Really, that had to be the most boring story I've ever heard. All that angst and twist. It sounds to me like...you kept out all of the good stuff."

"Because let me guess, you already know it," Balthazar surmised, his eyes narrowing on her, smiling unpleasantly.

"I know enough...Enough to get by," Lisa replied, shrugging one shoulder nonchalantly as if they were talking about her favorite shoe company.

"So who sent you then? Only a powerful angel could give you the information to create such a powerful spell...And it didn't kill you to do it either...You must be a practiced witch to use a spell like that," Balthazar's tone was polite, almost as if he wasn't interested either. And yet Dean could feel the tense stillness of his shoulder against him. He was surprised that Balthazar was indulging her at all. Maybe he was buying them time. For what, Dean didn't know. Seemed like they were all screwed either way.

Castiel never said Balthazar was an angel too...but he was obviously well-informed. But even the supernatural world seemed to mete out crazies from time to time.

"Oh, you have no idea," said Lisa, looking down and smiling at him. "How long that took...But I wouldn't call me a witch. It sounds so insulting. I just managed to get a few spells down...and it worked for me. Perfectly."

"Lisa, what are you talking about? How did you get that spell? How were you able to use it? Why? What are you doing?" Jessica asked, struggling hard and feeling the cold metal slowly start to coil around her in a rather menacing manner.

"Shut up, Jessica. Jesus. Do you know how long I've been listening to you whine? How long I had to? I knew...I knew one day you'd get the message that you needed to get you back to him," She inclined her head towards Sam with a nod. "I knew this prick...couldn't resist giving into his sentiment."

She wasn't talking about Sam. She slowly turned to face Dean who glowered up at her. "I've immersed myself in you for the last four years...You. You were supposed to stay dead...but you got out of it...and they knew. They knew you would. They were going to kill you the moment you got out, but they couldn't find you. You were protected somehow...they knew the Fallen would come for you. They knew he couldn't resist...So they tracked him instead...And here you are..."

"What. The...hell are you talking about, you crazy bitch?" Dean snapped back.

"You really don't remember, do you? The little wingless angel wasn't lying," Without looking away from Dean, she nodded towards Balthazar. "You don't remember anything about what you did. About what you are."

"Is she insane?" Dean turned to Balthazar. "You get your chops off on the mentally ill, bro? Whatever floats your boat. Now call her off. What's the safe word?"

"I don't know who she is,"

"No, but I know you. I know all of you. I know all about every single one of you. I know what secrets you hide deep inside of you. You people don't think. You act and you don't care about the consequences. I know you. I remember you. I remember everything you did," said Lisa slowly, kneeling down in front of Dean and taking his chin rather roughly where long nails bit into his flesh. "I remember this face. I could never forget it...I remember this face while you stood in the center of my town and smiled as the world burned around you. You don't age. You still look the same to me. Do you remember? Shouldn't be too long ago to someone like you. It was only thirteen years, Dean...The night you came through and killed every single person in your path...Except me."

Dean stared at her for a long time, saying nothing until he enunciated slow, looking right in her eyes. His tone echoed Balthazar. "I don't know who you are."

"Broken Glass," said Balthazar out of nowhere, and all of them looked his way. "It happened thirteen years ago when Dominion...when...a mission passed down the Celestial chain of command...failed...the demons came up from Hell and went rampant...like they were celebrating. They raised hell and destroyed and entire town, wiped it off the map...All we could find was a lot of bodies...and glass...just broken glass. They killed them all..."

"Save one," said Lisa, nodding slowly in Balthazar's direction. "Just one...He left me alive...For what...I'll never know..but I never forgot his face...never forgot...this face." Her grip on Dean tightened painfully.

He wrenched his face away. "Now you're both insane. I never once worked with a demon in my life. In fact...I'm a goddamn hunter. I kill demons in every direction I go."

Lisa stood upright and laughed a tinkling sound. "A hunter. That's just funny. Looks like that spell on your head is legit. No matter. Just because you forgot...doesn't mean everyone else has. I'm the hunter. I've been tracking you since the day you left...I swore I'd kill you...I swore on everything I had that you would die. "

"If I'm not a hunter like you say, then what am I, sweetheart?" Dean didn't bother masking the venom in his tone.

Lisa drew close to him again, set her lips a few inches away from his own, her tongue slipping out to slick across his bottom lip. "You're not a hunter, Dean...You're a demon."

Dean jerked in response, taking the opportune moment to slam his forehead against hers. But he missed by an inch. Her reflex was amazing, leaning back just in time as though she was expecting such a response to that accusation.

She laughed, another annoying, bubbly sound. "Not just any demon either. You're the big boss. The CEO. The head chairman. Prince. King. Devil. Whatever you want to call it. Don't look so surprised you guys. That's who he was. That's who he is. He's the same guy we'd all be prone to meet if we had red in our ledger up top. You don't remember it, but it's there. Your whole, horrible life. I know enough about it. Just like I know enough about the people present here. They're all here for you, Dean. All here...because of you. One way or another. Demons aren't subtle. We have ways of tracking your kind the minute you leave the hell you come from. The entire atmosphere changes. Crops die...Storm clouds...the whole business. Nature hates the invader...and nothing screams invader like a goddamn demon."

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked. "You're saying Dean's a demon? Dean's not a demon. He's not even remotely demonic. None of us are...At least...not me and him. I don't know about these other guys...but we're not."

"You're not," said Lisa, not looking away from Dean. "Like Wingless here said. You were a demon too...but you got changed back. Like him. Somehow. And your memory's been tampered with. Well...Heh. I was watching you too, Sam. My...sources basically said that if anything were to happen, it would start with you. I shadowed your movement too. Watched as you lived your normal little life in college with Jessica..Happy and ignorant of it all. You had to have forgotten. I imagine what actually happened to you would change your whole outlook. Wingless here wasn't wrong. Your head has been messed with. Repeatedly. It's kinda sad, actually...but...I knew one day that Fallen would come for you...But then I lost you. After all, I can't track demons when they enter Hell."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Look, you got the wrong group, girl," said Sam. "Dean and I are hunters. I've never met this...girl, Jessica. I've been a hunter my whole life."

"That's what they tell you, and that's what you believe. It's such puppetry," said Lisa, sighing in exasperation. "But it's not the truth. It's a lie. This whole thing is someone else's dream that was implanted into the two of you. I don't know how. I don't know why. I don't really care, to be honest, either."

"How do you know all this? About all of us. How do you know?" Balthazar instinctively moved and he felt his ankles grow numb from the tightness of the chains.

"I was almost eleven when he killed them...After that I found sources...various...sources. Magic was something I had to practice in. It wasn't long before I found someone experienced with all of it...A psychic, if you will. She knew about what I had seen...She knew a lot...More than I expected. I guess you can say that's when the little black block I put in my head to blot it out went down. I knew it was real. She told me I could kill this demon that I wanted dead...but I had to be ready...But then I found out he had died...and my chance was missed..but I still wanted to know...And I still knew, of those connections he had formed. She gave me an insight into everything happening. And I saw those he left behind when he died. Sam. The angel, Castiel. I knew his background...and I knew that they would stop at nothing to bring him back. And when they did, I would kill them."

"Sounds like quite an impeccable source, but you're an amateur at best. There are no seers. The only known seers have limited capability of viewing the future, save for one and that source has broken off into pieces. Never mind that. You didn't encounter a seer. You encountered a scheming angel with a chess game complex. Only an angel or a demon can plant falsities like this. Name it."

"No one you could care to know now, Wingless," said Lisa coldly. "But if you must have me name it...Her name was Metatron. And she...Well, she's not very happy with any of this...She wants a cleanup...and she enlisted me to start the first act."

Dean was going to say something, but he could literally feel Balthazar's body temperature plummet at the name. He spotted the look on his face, and found that fear was a strange color on him. This man was obviously an angel at some point. Psycho Lisa babble aside, he was Castiel's old friend and something had happened. Dean could make sense of that. That being said, he didn't exactly look the type to get frightened.

And yet the name...Metatron...It made him tremble.

Dean addressed Lisa, but he glanced at Balthazar again. "Whatever you say, psycho,"

"It doesn't matter what you remember. It doesn't matter. It doesn't change what you are. What you've done. Nothing you can ever forget and let go will change. I know you better than you know yourself...I know who you are. You're more than a normal demon. You were the King. You walked the path of a leader and you enjoyed every moment spent ordering people about and watching them die...That's who you are. That's who you'll always be," Lisa took a deep breath. She pulled the hem of her skirt up to reveal a thigh holster where she pulled out a black pistol. "I know how to kill a demon. I've been killing them for years...but imagine my surprise when I found out there was something that could kill them with a single bullet. They called it Stigma...Stigmatus Inferno. If you want to rough translate that...it means it's a disease that burns. One shot of this and you can watch a demon shrivel up in front of you."

"Good for me though, it works just as well on a human," She held it up with precision, pointing right between Dean's eyes. "How far do you think your Fallen boyfriend is? Think he's close enough to save you?"

Dean returned her gaze stoically. "He's not coming back for me."

"You don't think so? He went to Hell for you, Dean. He did everything to get you back. For some reason, he think you're worth that effort. He's gone you know...He'll do everything for you. Including stopping you from going down the bad path again," said Lisa. "Love like that. It doesn't grow on trees. You're fortunate to know it...and unfortunate that you'll never know it again."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Dean quietly, saying it for what felt like the umpteenth time. But this woman wasn't listening. He couldn't wrap his head around what she was saying, what she believed and what Balthazar...seemed to believe and indulge as well. It didn't make sense to him. None of it did. He knew what he remembered and what he didn't.

Looks like he was going to die for a lie. Go figure. He really did wonder if Castiel was close enough to come and rescue them, if he would at all. He did after all, leave for reasons unexplained...and he wasn't going inclined to believe her version of why. Why would Cas leave for him? That didn't make sense.

None of this did.

I feel like we've met before. I feel like I should remember you.

...it seemed logical to simply accept he had a past life.

But he shut it down. It wasn't true. He wasn't a demon. He never had been. She was insane. That was that.

"I don't remember," He finally said. "Look...I know you think you believe something. That I did something. I get that...I don't know it, and I don't remember it. Whatever you feel I did to you...I'm sorry. But these lives here, they're innocent. Let the girl go. Let my brother go...Balthazar. Let em' go...It's me you obviously have an issue with...Whatever I did on...this Broken Glass day or whatever. I'm sorry...Just take me. Just me. Leave my brother out of this,"

"Self-sacrifice is overrated. Don't worry, Dean. They won't be long joining you."

"Please," Dean pleaded, his voice cracking as he tried to edge towards her on his knees. "I'm sorry. Please. Please don't. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"I know," She countered solemnly, seeming to understand. Then her smile was back. "Say sweet dreams, Dean."

Cocking the hammer back, Lisa pulled the trigger.