At Hell's Gates

by mrsemmettcullen12

What if Sam had a twin sister? This is the story of Dean and Sam with a sister, Alex.

42. Kings and Queens

This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think.

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines. I am SO sorry that it has taken me forever to update. School has been kicking my ass lately! Anyway, this story is getting a little long, so I may begin writing the sequel/continuation soon! Thanks for sticking with me and still reading! It is very much appreciated!

Chapter 42

Previously in At Hell's Gates:

As Sam finished muttering his apology, Lilith's blood finished pooling into a large round circle. A bright white light shot straight up from the middle of the circle of blood as the siblings looked on in horror.

"Come on, guys, let's get out of here," said Alex, grabbing the sleeve of Sam's tan jacket.

"Dean, Alex. He's coming," whispered Sam, staring into the bright white light.

Alex's other hand grabbed onto the arm of Dean's jacket and she stood between her two brothers, watching as the bright white light continued flooding into the room.

Dean looked on for a second longer before grabbing Alex's free hand and running towards the door. Alex grabbed Sam's hand and just as they reached the wooden doors, they slammed shut. The siblings stopped in their tracks. Dean and Sam tried using the door handles, but the door wouldn't budge at all. The white light burned brighter, even beginning to burn holes straight through the wooden doors. A high-pitched whistling sounded throughout the room as Dean and Sam exchanged wide eyed glances with each other. They turned around, standing behind Alex. All three of them cringed at the bright light, holding one hand out to try and block the light. Each of them used their other free hand to attempt to block the whistling sound from their ears. Once they released there was no stopping the light, each sibling held both hands up to their ears, falling to their knees from the crippling sound. The light only seemed to burn brighter and the noise only seemed to get louder. Sam and Dean were on either side of Alex now as the light finally overtook the entire room.

Alex opened her eyes a minute later to see that she was seated in between Sam and Dean. They were now on a plane, a cartoon playing on the TV screens in front of them. She removed her hands from her ears, nudging Sam and Dean to do the same.

"What the hell?" whispered Dean, taking in his surroundings.

Sam shook his head.

"I don't know."

A beep sounded and the captain's voice came over the speakers in the plane.

"Folks, a quick word from the flight deck. We're just passing over Ilchester, then Ellicott City on our initial descent into…"

"Ilchester, weren't we just there?" asked Dean, looking over at his siblings.

As Alex nodded in the affirmative, the plane suddenly jolted to the right. Alarms began sounding in the plane and the oxygen masks dropped down from the ceiling. Dean, Alex, and Sam each located one, grabbing it and putting it over their faces. They held onto the empty seats in front of them as the place took a nosedive towards the ground. Dean looked out his window, his eyes widening as the plane headed towards the ground.

Alex opened her eyes once again and found that they were now driving down a road, Sam switching the dials on the radio. The stations were all talking about things such as nuclear missiles and warfare. Sam finally sighed and gave up on the radio, turning it off completely instead. He shook his head, sighing sadly.

"Guys, look, I-"

"Don't say anything. It's okay. Now we just gotta keep our heads down and stay low, alright?" said Dean.

Sam's eyes widened, but he nodded with agreement.

"Okay."

"Well, first things first, how did we end up on soul plane?" asked Dean.

Alex shrugged.

"I don't know, angels, maybe? You know, beaming us out of harm's way?" she suggested.

"Yeah, well, whatever. It's the least of our worries. We need to find Cas," said Dean.

A few hours later, Sam, Alex, and Dean were walking through Chuck's house, looking for Castiel. There was debris strewn everywhere, as if there had been a rather large, blow-out fight there. As Sam stepped into the hallway by the staircase, he was whacked in the head with a baseball bat. He stumbled backwards, holding a hand to his head in pain.

"Geez! Ow!" he yelled.

Chuck's eyes widened.

"Sam!"

"Yeah!"

"Hey, Chuck," said Alex.

Chuck looked over at her, just now noticing her and Dean.

"So, you're okay, Sam! I mean, my last vision, you went like, full on Vader. Your heart was 250, your temperature skyrocketed to 107 and your eyes were black!"

"Your eyes went black?" asked Dean.

Sam turned to look at his siblings, gulping nervously.

"I didn't know," explained Sam.

"Where's Cas?" asked Dean, looking over at Chuck once again.

Chuck's shoulders slumped and he looked defeated as he answered.

"He's dead. Or gone. The archangel smoked the crap out of him. I'm sorry," said Chuck, shaking his head.

"You're sure?" asked Alex sadly.

"Yeah, he like, exploded. Like a water balloon of chunky soup."

Alex's face paled at the disgusting visual Chuck had just described to them. Dean shook his head, looking down at the ground.

"Cas, you stupid bastard," he muttered under his breath.

Sam turned to face him.

"Stupid? He was trying to help us," replied Sam.

"Yeah, exactly," responded Dean.

"So what now?"

"I don't know."

"Oh, crap," said Chuck.

"What?" asked Alex, turning her attention back over to him.

"I can feel them," whispered Chuck.

"We thought we'd find you here," said Zachariah.

The three siblings turned to see Zachariah standing in the kitchen, flanked by two men that they had never seen before. Zachariah kicked some rubble out of his way as Dean staked towards him.

"Play time's over, Dean. Time to come with us."

Zachariah stepped forward, but Dean pointed a finger over at him.

"You just keep your distance, asshat."

Zachariah halted, looking confused.

"You're upset," he stated.

"Yeah, a little. You sons of bitches jumpstarted Judgment Day!"

"Okay, sure, we may have let it happen, but we didn't start anything. Right, Sammy?"

Zachariah winked at Sam, whose face was cold as he stared at the angel.

"You had a chance to stop your brother and you couldn't. So let's not quibble over who started what, let's just say that it was all our faults and move forward. 'Cause like it or not, it's Apocalypse Now. And we're back on the same team again," said Zachariah.

"Is that so?" asked Dean.

"You wanna kill the devil and we want you to kill the devil."

"And I'm just supposed to trust you? Right. Cram it with walnuts, ugly."

"This isn't a game, son. Lucifer is powerful in ways that defy description and we need to strike now. Before he finds his vessel."

"His vessel? Lucifer needs a meat suit?" asked Alex, scoffing.

"He is an angel. Bends the rules. But when he touches down, we're talking Four Horsemen, red oceans, fiery skies, his greatest hits. You can stop him, Dean. But you need our help," finished Zachariah, a smirk on his face.

"You listen to me, you two-faced douche. After what you did, I don't want jack squat from you!"

"You listen to me, boy! You think you can rebel against us? As Lucifer did?" yelled Zachariah, stepping forward.

He glanced down at Dean's clenched fists and looked taken aback. Blood was dripping from Dean's closed palm onto the floor.

"You're bleeding," said Zachariah.

"Oh, yeah. A little insurance policy in case you dicks decided to show up," said Dean.

Zachariah looked confused, but his eyes widened with fear as he saw Dean pull open the door that divides the kitchen from the living room. Dean placed his bleeding palm on the symbol drawn there and the three angels disappeared in a flash of bright white light. Dean glanced around the kitchen, seeing no sign of the angels. He looked up towards the ceiling.

"I learned that from my friend Cas, you son of a bitch," said Dean.

"This sucks ass," said Chuck, shaking his head sadly.

Dean and Alex looked up as Sam re-entered the motel room they were currently staying in. Sam tossed each of them a small bag he had been hiding in his jacket.

"Here. Hex bags. No way the angels will find us with those. Or demons either, for that matter."

"Where'd you get it?" asked Dean, looking at the small bag in his hands.

"I made it," answered Sam.

"How?" asked Alex, reloading her gun.

Sam hesitated in his answer, causing Alex and Dean to both glance over at him.

"I, um, learned it from Ruby."

Dean nodded and walked towards Sam.

"Speaking of, how are you doing? Are you jonesing for another hit of bitch blood, or what?" asked Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes at Dean's blunt question. Sam put his hands on his hips.

"It's weird, but to tell you the truth, I'm fine. No shakes, no fever, it's like whoever put me on that plane cleaned me right up," answered Sam.

Dean turned back around and began working on his gun again.

"Guys, I'm so sorry. I screwed up. Look, there's nothing I can do or say that will ever make this right again-"

"So why do you keep bringing it up?" yelled Dean.

Alex flinched at his loud, harsh tone. Sam sighed, casting his eyes downward as Dean turned to face him.

"Look, all I'm saying is why do we have to put this under a microscope? We made a mess, we clean it up, and that's it. If this were just like any other hunt, we would already be out there looking for the thing," said Dean.

"So, let's go find the devil," said Alex, a hint of nervousness in her tone.

Alex groaned as she laid on her bed later that day, listening to the newscasters on the TV debating about why all of this weird weather was cropping up all at the same time. Dean was in charge of the remote while Sam sat at the kitchen table in the motel room, reading the newspaper. Just as Dean flicked the Power button, turning off the TV, a knock sounded on the door. All three of them suddenly looked up, confused. Dean got up first, heading for the door with his gun in his hand. Alex and Sam followed directly behind him. Sam beat Dean to the door and looked through the peephole. He opened the door and saw a girl about Alex's height standing in front of him. She gasped when she saw him, looking as if she was about to cry or faint.

"You okay, lady?" asked Sam.

"Oh, Sam. Is it really you?"

Sam glanced back at his siblings, confused. The girl stepped closer, touching his chest. Sam quickly looked back in front of him.

"And you're so firm!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide as she looked up into his face.

"Um, do I know you?" asked Sam.

The girl removed her hand from Sam's chest and shook her head.

"No. But I know you. You're Sam Winchester. And you're-"

She looked into the room, where Dean and Alex were sitting on the end of Dean's bed. The girl's smile faded as she took them in.

"Not what I pictured," she finished.

Alex scoffed, glaring at the girl as Dean just looked confused. The girl's face brightened again as she took in Sam.

"I'm Becky," she said.

She brushed past Sam as she walked confidently into the room, stopping once she was in the middle.

"I've read all about you three. And I've even written a few…"

She trailed off, looking embarrassed and sheepish as she giggled and looked down towards the floor.

"Anyway, Mister Edlund told me where you were."

"Chuck?" asked Alex.

She and Dean stood up from the bed as Sam slammed the door closed, locking it behind him as well.

"He's got a message. But he's being watched. Angels. Nice change up to the mythology, by the way, because the demon stuff was getting kind of old."

"What's the message?" asked Alex, crossing her arms over her chest impatiently.

"He had a vision. 'The Michael Sword is on Earth. The angels lost it.'"

"The Michael Sword?" asked Dean.

"Becky, does he know where it is?" asked Sam, ignoring Dean's question for now.

"In a castle. On a hill made of forty-two dogs," answered Becky.

"Forty-two dogs," stated Dean, sounding skeptical as he exchanged glances with his siblings.

"Are you sure you got that right?" asked Alex.

"It doesn't even make sense. But that's what he said. I memorized every word," said Becky, ending her sentence in a whisper as she stepped forward, placing her open palm on Sam's chest once again.

Dean and Alex watched her do this, Alex holding back her laughter as Dean just looked confused.

"For you," whispered Becky.

"Um, Becky, um, can you please quit touching me?" asked Sam.

"No," replied Becky, her eyes closed as she moved her palm in circles over Sam's firm chest.

Alex's smile widened as she heard a knock on their motel room door an hour or so later. She bounded over to open the door and Bobby smirked as he saw her standing in front of him. Alex practically jumped into his arms and he hugged her firmly. She let him into their room, shutting the door behind him.

"Thanks for coming, Bobby," said Dean, as he pulled Bobby in for a hug.

"No problem. I'm just glad to see you three all in one piece," said Bobby, finally hugging Sam last.

"You weren't followed, were you?" asked Dean.

"You mean by angels, demons, or Sam's new super fan?" asked Bobby, giving Sam a sideways glance.

Sam chuckled uncomfortably.

"So you heard."

"Oh, I heard all about it, Romeo."

Bobby's eyes slid over to Alex and Sam gave Alex a warning glare. Alex winked and blew him a kiss, causing Sam to smile.

"So. The Sword of Michael, huh?"

"You think we're talking about the actual sword from the actual archangel?" asked Dean.

"You better freaking hope so," said Bobby.

He walked over to the kitchen table in the small room and pulled out a mythology book. He opened it to an earmarked page and pointed to the large picture located there.

"That's Michael. Toughest son of a bitch they've got. He commands the Heavenly Host. During the last big dust-up upstairs, he was the one who booted Lucifer's ass to the basement and he did it using that sword. So, if we can find it…" said Bobby, trailing off.

"We can kick the devil's ass all over again," finished Sam.

"Alright, so, where do we start?" asked Alex.

She sat across from Sam and Bobby at the table. She wore one of Sam's sweatshirts and a pair of yoga pants, holding a steaming cup of hot tea in her hands. She was suffering from period cramps and the boys knew to steer clear of her on those particular days of the month.

"Divvy up and start reading. Let's try and make sense of Chuck's nonsense," said Bobby.

Sam nodded with agreement. He stood up, heading over to Dean's bed. A whole stack of Bibles was lying on the end of Dean's bed. Sam stood hesitantly over them.

"Kid? You alright?" asked Bobby.

Sam turned to face his family then.

"No, actually. Bobby, this is all my fault. And I'm sorry," said Sam.

Dean sighed angrily.

"Sam."

"Lilith did not break the final seal. Lilith was the final seal."

Bobby looked over at Dean, who was practically glaring at Sam.

"Sam, stop it," warned Dean.

"I killed her, and I set Lucifer free."

"You what?" asked Bobby, sounding appalled now.

"You guys warned me about Ruby and the demon blood, but I never listened. I brought all of this on," said Sam.

Bobby stood up from his chair, his chest rising and falling as he took in deep breaths.

"You're damn right, you never listened. You were reckless and selfish and arrogant."

"I'm sorry," said Sam, his eyes welling up with tears.

"Oh, yeah? You're sorry you started Armageddon? This kind of thing don't get forgiven, Sam. If by some miracle, we manage to pull this off, I want you to lose my number. Do you understand me?" asked Bobby.

Sam looked down at the floor, nodding. Alex stood up from her chair, looking at Bobby.

"Bobby, don't you think you're being a little-"

"Alexandra Marie, don't you dare stand up for him!" yelled Bobby.

Alex shrank back in her chair, her eyes filling up with tears at Bobby's tone of voice. He never yelled at her. She looked over at her twin brother from her seated position, willing him to look over at her.

"There's an old church nearby. Maybe I'll go read some of the lore books there," offered Sam, not looking Bobby in the eyes.

Bobby nodded.

"Yeah, you do that," answered Bobby.

Alex watched sadly as Sam left the room. She grabbed her cup of hot tea and stormed away from the table, purposely shoving into Bobby as she walked past him. Bobby grabbed her by the elbow, whirling her around to face him.

"Don't you dare touch me after what you just said to Sammy! You of all people, Bobby!" yelled Alex, angry tears falling from her eyes.

Bobby let go of her arm and Alex laid down on her bed, curling up into a ball.

Thirty minutes later, Dean and Bobby were sitting at the kitchen table, poring over books and Bibles. Alex was sound asleep on her bed.

"I would've never guessed your daddy would've been right," said Bobby.

"Right about what?" asked Dean.

"About your brother. What John said about save Sam or kill him. Maybe…"

"Maybe what?" asked Dean.

"Maybe we shouldn't have tried so hard to save him," answered Bobby, shrugging.

"Bobby," sighed Dean.

"He ended the freaking world, Dean. And you and I weren't strong enough to stop him. That's on us. Hell, even Alex couldn't stop him. The person he's been the closest to his whole entire life couldn't get through to him. Look, all I'm saying is, your dad was right."

Dean suddenly sat up straight at the mention of his father.

"Dad."

Dean pushed his chair away from the table and walked over to his bed. He grabbed his duffel bag and began rifling through it until he found a plastic Ziploc bag full of cards. He searched through the plastic bag until he found exactly what he was searching for. He smirked and walked back over to Bobby, who was still standing at the table.

"What is that?" asked Bobby.

"It's a card. From my dad's lock-up in Upstate New York. Here, read it," said Dean, handing the card over to Bobby.

"Castle Storage, 42 Rover Hill," read Bobby, still sounding confused.

"Castle on a hill of forty-two dogs," said Dean.

He pulled out his cell phone and began dialing Sam's number.

"So you think your father had Michael's Sword all this time?" asked Bobby.

Dean shook his head in confusion.

"I don't know, but I'm not sure what else Chuck could've meant."

"Yeah. Okay. Well, that's good enough for me," said Bobby.

As Dean turned his attention back to his cell phone, Bobby suddenly punched him in the chin. Dean went flying backwards and landed on the floor. As he used the edge of his bed to pull himself up, Bobby kicked him hard in the stomach, sending Dean flying through the wall and into the coat closet. Alex sat up from her sleep, screaming as she saw Bobby's eyes, which were now pitch black. He smirked and stepped forward, grabbing Dean by the shoulders. Dean watched as two more demons walked through the door, one a woman.

"I always knew you were a big, dumb, slow, pain in the ass, Dean," said the woman, smirking at him evilly.

Alex glanced over and saw Ruby's demon-killing knife on the nightstand. As she quickly moved to grab it, the male demon grabbed her by the leg, pulling her backwards. Alex kicked at him, hitting him in the face. Dean listened to her struggle, wincing when he heard Alex hit the floor with a thud. The male demon had Alex's arms pinned behind her back and the female demon smirked as he handed her Ruby's knife.

"Ruby?" guessed Dean.

"Try again. Go back further," she replied.

"Meg," whispered Alex.

Meg smirked over at her.

"Hi. You know, our father's among us now and we're all dreamy again. It's Heaven on Earth. Or Hell. You know, we really owe your brother a fruit basket or something," said Meg.

"You know what, fuck you, bitch," said Alex.

She winced in pain as the male demon tightened his hold on her arms. Meg smirked and walked over to Alex. She slapped Alex across the face, the slap sounding throughout the whole entire room.

"You two are the only bump in the road. So every single demon is just dying to get their hands on you two," said Meg.

Dean smirked sarcastically.

"Well, get in line."

"Oh, I'm in the front of the line, honey."

She smirked as she handed the knife over to Bobby. Bobby took it from her and held the knife to Dean's throat. Alex looked on in horror as Bobby brought back the knife, ready to stab it into Dean's heart.

"Bobby, no!" cried Alex.

Bobby's eyes returned to normal at Alex's scream and instead of stabbing Dean, Bobby plunged the knife into himself, groaning in pain. Bobby fell to the floor and Dean charged toward Meg. He punched Meg in the face, causing the other demon to let go of Alex. Alex watched as the demon grabbed Dean, pinning him to the wall. Just as the male demon punched and kicked Dean in the stomach, Sam opened the motel room door. His eyes widened in horror, but then he walked into the room, seeing Bobby's body on the floor.

"No!" yelled Sam.

Meg hit Sam in the face with the telephone from the room and Sam fell against the wall.

"Hey there, Sammy, did you miss me? Because I sure as hell missed you," smirked Meg.

"Meg," said Sam.

Meg giggled and Sam threw a punch. Meg ducked and then she began attacking Sam.

"Not so easy without those super special demon killing powers, is it, Sammy?" taunted Meg.

Alex took action then, pulling the knife from Bobby's abdomen. She rushed over to Dean, who had just briefly gained the upper hand, knocking the male demon to the floor. Alex quickly stood over him and brought the knife down into the demon's chest. The demon yelled in pain as he died and Dean stood up, groaning. Meg stood in the middle of the room as Alex approached her. Meg opened her mouth to scream, the demon escaping from her body. The cloud of black smoke disappeared into the night.

Alex ran ahead of her brothers as they carried Bobby inside the emergency room of the nearest hospital. The closest nurse rushed over to Alex.

"What happened?" she asked, glancing at Bobby.

"He was stabbed!" yelled Alex.

The nurse snapped and a gurney was wheeled over to them. Dean and Sam laid Bobby down on top of the gurney and the three siblings watched them wheel Bobby down the hall and around the corner. Sam tried to follow them, but the nurse stopped him.

"No, we can't just leave him," said Sam.

"Just don't move. I've got questions for you three," said the nurse.

She walked away and Sam ran a hand through his hair.

"C'mon, we gotta go," said Dean.

Sam shook his head.

"No, no way, Dean."

"The demons already know where the sword is. We've gotta get to it before they do or it might be too late already. Come on!" yelled Dean.

Sam looked back towards where they had wheeled Bobby, but then followed his siblings out of the hospital and over to the Impala.

Dean pushed the gas pedal down as far as it would go, heading for the storage space. Once they were there, each Winchester sibling grabbed at least two loaded guns from the trunk. Dean led the way to the storage space that their father used to rent and picked the lock quickly, Sam and Alex keeping a lookout. As Dean pulled the large door open, he saw two dead men lying on a Devil's Trap that was drawn on the floor. The three siblings stepped carefully inside, noticing another dead man farther inside the huge storage space.

"I see you told the demons where the sword is," said Zachariah, appearing out of thin air directly in front of the three of them.

The siblings all looked over at Zachariah and his two henchmen.

"Oh, thank God, the angels are here," said Dean, a sarcastic grin on his face.

"And to think, they could've grabbed it any time they wanted. It was right in front of them," said Zachariah, shutting the still open storage door.

"What do you mean?" asked Alex.

"Sure, we may have planted that particular piece of prophecy inside Chuck's skull, but it just so happened to be true. We did lose the Michael Sword and we truly couldn't find it. Until now, you've just hand delivered it to us."

"We don't have anything," said Sam.

Zachariah sighed and looked over at Dean.

"It's you, chucklehead. You're the Michael Sword."

Dean looked confused while Sam and Alex looked over at Dean. Zachariah smirked.

"What, you thought you could actually kill Lucifer? You simpering wad of insecurity and self-loathing? No. You're just a human, Dean."

"What do you mean I'm the sword?" ground out Dean, his teeth smashed together with anger.

"You're his weapon. Or rather, his receptacle."

"Holy shit. Dean, I think you're a vessel," whispered Alex.

"You're the vessel. Michael's vessel," answered Zachariah.

"How? Why me?" asked Dean.

"Because you're chosen! It's a great honor, Dean."

"Oh, yeah, life as an angel condom. That's real fun. But I think I'll pass, thanks."

"Joking, always joking, wow. No more jokes," said Zachariah, holding his fingers up to form a gun.

He pointed his fingers at Alex and then they all heard something snap. Alex fell to the ground, clutching at her ankle. Sam's eyes widened as he fell to his knees in front of her, pulling her ankle onto his lap.

"You son of a bitch!" yelled Dean, whirling around to glare at Zachariah.

"Keep mouthing off and I'll break more than her ankle," threatened Zachariah.

Dean looked back at Alex, who had tears running down her face as Sam looked at her broken and very swollen ankle in his lap.

"I am through screwing around. The war has begun and we don't have our general. That's bad. Now, Michael is going to take his vessel and lead the final charge against the adversary. Do you understand me?" asked Zachariah.

"And how many humans die in the crossfire, huh? A million? Five, ten?"

"Probably more, if Lucifer goes unchecked, do you know how many will die? All of them because he'll roast the planet alive."

Dean stared into Zachariah's face.

"There's a reason you're telling me this. Instead of just nabbing me. You need my consent. Michael needs my say so to ride around in my skin."

"Unfortunately, yes."

"There's gotta be another way."

"There's no other way, there must be a battle. Michael must defeat the serpent. It is written."

"Yeah, maybe. But on the other hand, eat me. The answer's no," yelled Dean.

"Okay. How about this. Your friend Bobby, we know he's gravely injured. Um, say yes and we'll heal him. Say no and he'll never walk again."

Sam and Alex looked up at Dean then, Alex now cradled into Sam's side. Dean continued to glare at Zachariah.

"No," said Dean.

"Then how about we heal you from… Stage Four stomach cancer."

Dean's eyes widened as he suddenly hunched over, holding his stomach and coughing up blood as he fell to the ground. He looked at the blood that he just spit out onto his palm.

"No," he managed to get out.

"Then let's get really creative. Um, let's see how Sam does without his lungs?"

Dean looked back at his siblings where Sam was now gasping for breath. Alex's eyes widened.

"Are we having fun yet?" asked Zachariah.

Zachariah stalked towards Dean, grabbing his chin in his hands and looking him straight in the face.

"You're going to say yes, Dean."

"Just kill us," ground out Dean.

"Kill you? Oh no. I'm just getting started," said Zachariah.

He let go of Dean's chin and stood up straight. Suddenly, from behind Zachariah, a flash of blinding white light entered the room. Zachariah whirled around and watched as Castiel stabbed one of his henchmen in the throat. The dead man fell to the floor as Castiel began fighting the other angel. Alex looked away and turned her attention back to Sam, who was holding onto his throat. She grimaced as the pain in her ankle continued throbbing.

"Sammy, calm down, okay? Castiel is here now and he's gonna get us all out of here, alright?" whispered Alex.

She saw out of her peripheral vision that Castiel had just gained the upper-hand, stabbing the other angel in the throat as well. There was another blinding flash of white light and then the second angel's body fell to the floor as well. Castiel stalked over to Zachariah then.

"How are you…?"

"Alive? That's a great question. How did these three end up on that airplane? Another good question because the angels sure didn't do it. So I think we both know the answer, don't we?"

"No. That's not possible," whispered Zachariah, looking down at the floor before looking up at Castiel once again as he spoke.

"It scares you. Well, it should. Now put these three back together and go. I won't ask twice," threatened Castiel.

Zachariah took in a deep breath as he stared down Castiel. He suddenly disappeared and Sam caught his breath, Dean stood up, and Alex moved her ankle around again. Sam helped Alex stand up and they stood beside Dean, all three of them staring over at Castiel.

"You three need to be more careful now," warned Castiel.

"Yeah, we're starting to get that," said Dean.

"Your frat brothers are bigger dicks than we thought," chimed in Sam.

Castiel shook his head.

"I don't mean the angels. Lucifer is now circling his vessel as we speak. And once he takes it, those hex bags will not be enough to protect any one of you."

Castiel stepped forward and put his palms on Dean and Alex's chests first. They groaned in pain and grabbed their chests as soon as Castiel let go. He did the same to Sam before Sam could move away and then all three of them were wincing as they held their chests.

"What the hell was that?" muttered Dean.

"An Enochian Sigel. It will hide you from every angel in creation, including Lucifer."

"What, did you just brand us with it?" asked Alex.

"No, I carved it into your ribs," answered Castiel.

"Hey, Cas. Were you really dead?" asked Sam.

Castiel looked down at the floor.

"Yes," he answered, looking back up at the three of them.

"Then how are you back?" asked Dean.

Castiel didn't answer the question, but left instead. The three siblings looked around the room, but he was completely gone.

A few hours later, Alex, Sam, and Dean were leaning against the windowsill as Bobby yelled at the doctor who had just delivered him the news that he was unlikely to ever walk again. The doctor ran out of the room, the siblings all looking amused standing over by the window. When the doctor was completely out of sight, Bobby turned his attention over to the three of them.

"Can you believe that yahoo?" asked Bobby.

"Screw him, you'll be fine," said Dean.

Alex and Sam avoided Bobby's probing gaze.

"So let me ask the million dollar question. What do we do now?" asked Sam, speaking up after an awkward moment of silence.

"Well, we save as many as we can for as long as we can, I guess. It's bad. Whoever wins, Heaven or Hell, we're boned," answered Bobby.

"What if we win?" asked Alex.

"Screw the angels and the demons and their shit apocalypse. Now, they want to fight a war, they can find their own damn planet. This one's ours and I say they all get the hell off of it. We take them all on, we kill the devil, hell, we even kill Michal if we have to, but we'll do it our own damn selves," said Dean, coming to stand in the middle of the room during his spiel.

"And how are we supposed to do all of this, you genius?" asked Bobby.

Dean just shrugged, throwing his hands up.

"I've got no clue. But what I do have is a GED and a give 'em hell attitude, I'll figure it out," answered Dean.

Bobby smirked, looking over at Alex and Sam. They shrugged and smirked right back at him.

"You are nine kinds of crazy, boy," said Bobby, looking back over at Dean.

"That's been said. But listen, you stay on the mend. We'll see you in a bit."

Dean put a comforting hand on Dean's shoulder before walking out of the room. Alex gently kissed his cheek, following Dean out.

"Sam?" called out Bobby.

Sam whirled around to face his pseudo father figure. Dean and Alex saw that Sam wasn't behind them, so they stepped back into the room to listen to what Bobby was saying to Sam.

"I was real awake and I know what I said back there. And I just want you to know… that was the demon talking. I ain't cutting you out, boy. Not ever."

Sam sighed deeply, nodding.

"Thanks, Bobby."

"You're welcome. And Alex?"

Alex perked up at the mention of her name, smiling over at Bobby.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you for sticking up for Sam. That wasn't me either and I hope you know that," apologized Bobby.

Alex smiled warmly at him.

"I know, Bobby. I know," she replied.

"You know, I deserve a damn medal for this. But you're welcome anyway," finished Bobby.

Sam and Alex smirked as they finally walked out of the room with Dean leading the way out of the hospital.

An ambulance drove by the three siblings as they stepped onto the asphalt parking lot, heading for their car.

"You know, I was thinking back there, guys. And maybe we should go after the Colt," said Sam.

"Why, what difference would that make?" asked Dean.

"Well, we could use it on Lucifer. I mean, you just said back there-"

Dean sighed angrily.

"I just said a bunch of shit for Bobby's benefit. I mean, I'll fight. I'll fight through the last man, but let's at least be honest. I mean, we don't stand a snowball's chance and you both know that," said Dean.

Sam looked away and Dean scoffed.

"I mean, hell, Sam, you of all people know that."

Alex pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth then, watching her two brothers closely. Sam sighed.

"Dean. Is there something you want to say to me?"

Dean looked Sam over for a brief minute before answering.

"I tried, Sammy. I mean, I really tried. But I just can't keep pretending that everything's alright because it's not and it's never going to be alright. You chose a demon over your own family and look what happened."

"I would give anything, anything, to take it all back," whispered Sam.

"I know you would, and so does Alex. And we know how sorry you are, we really, truly do. But man, you were the one that we depended on the most. And you let us down in ways that I can't even…"

Dean trailed off then, shaking his head sadly at Sam.

"I'm just, I'm having a hard time forgiving and forgetting here, you know?" finished Dean.

Sam nodded sadly.

"What can I do?" asked Sam.

"Honestly? Nothing. I just don't… I don't think that we can ever be what we were. You know? I just don't think I can trust you."

Dean shook his head and Sam's eyes filled with hurt. Dean headed towards the Impala, Sam looking down at the ground. As Alex heard the door open and then slam close, she looked over at her twin brother. Sam looked at her and Alex gave him a gentle smile.

"Come on, Sammy. Let's go," she whispered.

"Alex, can we talk about-"

Alex gave Sam a small smile.

"Sammy, I don't really want to have this conversation right now. Can we do this later. Please?" she whispered.

Sam looked at her, gulping nervously. He finally nodded after a few seconds, although it felt like forever to the both of them. Alex held out her hand and Sam took it, his large hand engulfing her small one. She led them over to the Impala and they both climbed inside.

The next day, Alex and Dean walked over to stand beside Sam, who was standing in the open doorway of Bobby's hospital room. Bobby was looking out the window in his room while sitting in his wheelchair, his back towards the three of them.

"We gotta cheer him up," said Alex.

"Look, we might have to wrap our heads around the idea that Bobby might not just bounce back this time," said Sam.

Dean and Alex looked at Sam, who shrugged sadly. He glanced down at the manila envelope Dean was holding in his hands.

"What's in the envelope?" asked Sam.

"From radiology. Let's just say, the doctors are baffled," answered Dean.

He handed Sam an X-ray of his ribs.

"Holy shit," said Alex, looking at the picture with Sam.

The X-ray showed Dean's ribs, which had all kinds of intricate symbols etched into Dean's ribs.

"Yeah, well, Cas carved each of you one too."

Sam's cell phone began ringing, so he handed the X-ray over to Alex while he fished for his cell phone in his jacket pocket.

"Hello?" said Sam.

Sam looked at his siblings as the person on the other end of the line responded.

"Castiel? Um, St. Martin's hospital, why? What do you wanna? Cas?"

Sam looked down at his phone, hanging up. Sam sighed as he looked at his siblings. Suddenly, Castiel was walking down the hall towards them, stopping in front of them once he had reached them.

"A cell phone, Cas? Really?" asked Dean, raising his eyebrows.

Castiel sighed.

"You're hidden from angels now, all angels. I won't be able to simply-"

"Enough foreplay. Get over here and lay your damn hands on me," yelled Bobby, interrupting Castiel's speech.

The siblings looked at Castiel, who sighed deeply.

"I can't heal you."

Bobby spun his wheelchair around, facing all four of them now.

"Say again?"

Castiel stepped forward past the siblings, entering the room and standing in front of Bobby.

"I'm cut off from Heaven. Much of Heaven's power. There are certain things I can do and certain things I can't."

"You're telling me you lost your powers just in time to get me stuck in this trap for the rest of my life?"

"I'm sorry," said Castiel.

"Just shove it up your ass," replied Bobby.

He turned away from Castiel, turning back to face the window once again.

"Well, at least he's talking now," whispered Dean.

"I heard that," said Bobby.

Castiel walked back over to the siblings.

"I don't have much time and we need to talk," said Castiel, speaking to Dean.

"Okay?"

"Your plan to kill Lucifer, it's foolish. It can't work."

"Oh, well, thanks for the support."

"But I believe that I have the solution. There is someone besides Michael who is strong enough to take on Lucifer and stop the apocalypse."

"And who's that?" asked Alex, biting her lip.

"The one who resurrected me and put you three on that airplane. The one who began everything. God," said Castiel.

The siblings all looked at him curiously.

"I'm gonna find God," finished Castiel.

Dean sighed and grabbed Castiel by the arm, shoving him into Bobby's room with Alex and Sam following right behind them, Alex closing the door behind her. Dean whirled around to face Castiel, staring at him.

"God? God?" asked Dean.

"Yes. He isn't in Heaven, so He has to be somewhere," replied Castiel.

"Try New Mexico, I hear he's on a tortilla," smirked Dean.

Castiel looked confused for a split second.

"No, he's not on any flatbread."

"Listen, Chuckles, even if there is a God, He is either dead, which is the generous theory-"

"He is out there, Dean."

"Or He's up and kicking and doesn't give a rat's ass about any of us. I mean, look around you, man, the world is in the toilet. We are literally at the end of days here and he's off somewhere drinking booze out of coconuts, alright?"

"Enough. This is not a theological issue, this is strategic. With God's help, we can win. I killed two angels this week and I am now being hunted. I did it all for you and you failed. You and your siblings destroyed the world and I lost everything. For nothing. So keep your opinions to yourself," said Castiel, ending in a whisper.

"Well, we know you didn't come here to tear us a new one. What is it you want?" asked Bobby.

"I did come for something. An amulet," explained Castiel.

"An amulet? What kind?" asked Bobby.

"Very rare, very powerful. It burns hot in God's presence, it will help me find Him."

"Like a God EMF?" asked Sam.

Castiel nodded slowly while Bobby just shook his head.

"Well, I don't know what you're talking about. I've got nothing like that."

"I know you don't."

Castiel looked over at Dean then. Dean looked confused and then Castiel's gaze drifted down, to the amulet that Dean always wore, the one that Sam and Alex had given him for a Christmas as kids.

"What, this?" asked Dean, looking into Castiel's face.

"May I please borrow it?" asked Castiel.

"No."

"Dean. Give it to me."

Dean stared at Castiel, looking between the necklace and Castiel. Dean finally relented, pulling the necklace off.

"Alright, I guess."

Dean held it in his hands for a few seconds before gently placing it into Castiel's open palm.

"Don't lose it," warned Dean, his face very serious and his eyebrows raised.

"I'll be in touch," said Castiel.

"Great, now I feel naked," muttered Dean, rubbing his neck.

Castiel disappeared in the blink of an eye and Bobby sighed.

"When you find God, tell Him to send legs!" yelled Bobby, looking up towards the ceiling.

Alex smirked and then, Bobby's cell phone rang. He grabbed it from the table beside him, holding it up to his ear as he spoke.

"Hello?"

"Bobby. Bobby, damn it, can you hear me?" said the man on the other end of the call.

"I can't hear you. Where are you? Colorado? River Pass, Colorado. Rufus? Rufus?" replied Bobby.

Bobby's eyes widened as he heard gunshots fired on Rufus' end of the call. He hung up as the line suddenly went dead and he looked over at the siblings.

Dean stopped at the end of the damaged bridge which led into River Pass, Colorado. The bridge was destroyed, the other half crumbled into the small stream below it. Dena turned off the car and climbed out, Alex and Sam following him out of the vehicle.

"What the hell happened here?" asked Alex, squinting as she looked down at the crumbled bridge.

Dean kicked a rock off of the edge and it fell into the stream down below.

"This is the only road in or out," said Dean.

Sam pulled out his phone, holding it up to check for a signal.

"No signal," he said after a minute.

"Rufus was right, demons have got this place locked down," said Dean.

"Well, looks like we're hiking in then," said Alex.

"And the hits just keep on coming," said Dean, heading for the trunk.

Alex walked in between her brothers as they walked into the seemingly empty town. Overturned cars were all over the empty streets, sprinklers were still spraying water on the green front lawns, and kiddie pools were full of water, but no kids were playing in them. One particular car was still running, the driver's door wide open and the radio still on, playing "Spirit in the Sky." Sam reached inside, turning the key and shutting the car off. He sighed, but the siblings continued on, heading for the gas station at the end of the street. Alex gagged as they approached one car, which had a large puddle of blood surrounding the driver's side of the car. An abandoned baby stroller was by the front left tire. Suddenly, a woman approached them from behind, cocking her pistol. The three siblings whirled around quickly, their guns aimed at the stranger.

"Ellen?" asked Sam, looking at the woman.

They all lowered their weapons, including Ellen.

"Hello there," said Ellen.

She approached them, Dean hiking his bag further up on his shoulder.

"Ellen, what the hell's going on here?" he asked her.

She quickly threw holy water into Dean's face. Dean flinched, closing his eyes.

"We're us," said Alex.

Ellen gave them one last glance and then brushed past them, heading for the small white church building located behind them. They followed her inside the building, carefully stepping over the salt line on the front door. Ellen stopped once Sam had shut the door and she looked at them.

"I'm so glad to see you three," said Ellen.

She threw herself into a hug with Dean and Dean wrapped his arms around her. She let go after about a minute and then suddenly slapped him. Dean's eyes widened.

"I should open a can of whoop-ass on you. You three can't pick up a damn phone? What are you, allergic to giving me some piece of mind?"

She glared over at Sam, who had been smirking. His smirk disappeared as he cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"I gotta find out that you're alive from Rufus?"

"We're sorry, Ellen," apologized Dean.

"Yeah, you better be. You better put me on speed dial, kid."

Dean nodded.

"Yes, ma'am."

Ellen stared at them for a few more minutes and then briefly smiled before heading down the stairs. Dean turned back, gave his siblings a look, and then they followed her down the stairs.

"So what's going on, Ellen?" asked Alex.

"More than I can handle alone," she replied.

"How many demons are there?" asked Sam.

"Pretty much the whole town, minus the dead people and these guys."

They had all reached the bottom of the stairs and they were staring at a set of wooden doors. Ellen turned to look back at the three siblings.

"So. This is it, right? The end of times? I mean, it's gotta be."

"It seems like it," said Sam, nodding and raising his eyebrows.

Ellen nodded and headed for the set of wooden doors. She banged on them twice.

"It's me," she said.

Someone on the other side of the doors looked through a makeshift peephole to confirm her identity and then the doors were pulled open. A rugged, handsome man opened the doors and the strangers inside stared as Alex, Sam, and Dean walked in behind Ellen.

"This is Sam, Dean, and Alex. They're hunters, here to help," explained Ellen.

"You guys hip to this whole demon thing?" asked the handsome stranger who had let them into the room.

"Yeah, are you?" asked Dean.

"Mike's eyes turned black. And he came at me with a brick. Kind of makes you embrace the paranormal," said another man, who was sitting at the long table in the middle of the room.

"Alright, catch us up," said Sam, turning to face Ellen.

Alex and Dean turned to her as well. Ellen sighed sadly.

"I doubt I know much more than you. Rufus called. Said that he was in town investigating omens. All of a sudden, the whole town was possessed. Me, Joe, and Kellan were nearby-"

"You were hunting with Joe?" asked Dean.

"Kellan's here?" asked Alex, her eyes brightening at the mention of Kellan's name.

Ellen nodded.

"Yeah, I've been hunting with them for a while now. We got here and the place… Well, the place was just like you see it now. Couldn't find Rufus and then me and my boys got separated. I was out looking for them when I found you three," said Ellen, looking down at the floor sadly.

Alex's eyes filled with tears and she turned into Sam's chest.

"Shh, don't worry, we'll find them," said Sam.

"Either way, these people cannot just sit here. We've gotta get them out now," said Dean.

"No, it's not that easy. I've been trying. We tried to make a run for it once," explained Ellen.

"What happened?" asked Sam.

"There used to be twenty of us."

Alex's face paled as she took in the nine people plus Ellen who were currently in the room.

"Well, there are four of us now," said Dean.

"You don't know what it's like out there, demons are literally everywhere. We won't be able to cover everyone."

"What if we give everyone guns?" asked Sam.

"The more people firing, the more demons we can keep away," said Alex, glancing over at the pregnant woman, who looked terrified as she held lovingly onto her rather large baby bump.

"There's a sporting goods store we passed on Main Street on the way in and I bet they've got guns," said Dean.

"Alright. You stay, we'll go," said Sam, looking over at Ellen.

"What about-" began Ellen, but Sam cut her off.

"If the boys are out there, we'll bring them back."

Ellen nodded and the siblings headed for the doors they had just come through. The man who had previously opened the door for them nodded as they passed back through it and he shut it as they left. Dean stopped his siblings as they got to the stairs.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on. Why don't I just go?" asked Dean.

Sam and Alex stared at him.

"What, alone?" asked Sam.

"Yeah, someone's gotta stay here and start giving them shotgun 101."

"Yeah, Ellen," said Alex.

"No, it's gonna go a lot faster if you two stay and help, okay?" said Dean.

"While you go get guns and salt and look for Rufus, Joe, and Kellan? That's dumb, Dean," said Alex, rolling her eyes.

"I can handle it."

Alex looked at him curiously while Sam nodded, scoffing.

"You don't want me going out there," stated Sam.

Dean looked appalled.

"I never said that."

"Around demons."

"I didn't say that!"

"Fine. Then let's go," said Sam.

He gave Dean one hard, last look and then he headed up the stairs. Dean sighed and nudged Alex to follow him as he brought up the rear.

Once outside, they moved swiftly, heading back towards the way they had entered the town.

"I'll get the salt, you two get the guns," suggested Sam.

"No, we'll stick together," said Dean.

"Dean, it's right there. Can we at least do this like professionals?" said Sam, grinding his teeth with frustration.

Sam walked onward, heading for the supermarket they had walked past earlier. Dean sighed, but he grabbed Alex by the hand and they walked towards the sporting goods store.

Sam was putting all of the containers of rock salt into a large white trash bag when the bell above the front door of the supermarket sounded, indicating that someone has just entered the empty store. Sam slowly and quietly stood up, looking over the shelf in front of him. Two teenage boys were standing at the front of the store, both of them with pitch black eyes. One held a baseball bat over his shoulder. Sam crouched back down and watched them through the large mirror hanging over the check-out counter. One of them stood with his back to him as he began putting multiple water bottles into his backpack. Just as Sam reached for his shotgun, the teenager turned around and ran towards him. The demon had his hands around Sam's neck, but Sam managed to squeeze out the Latin words he needed to exorcize the demon from the teenager. When the kid's grip became too much, Sam managed to break free and pulled a knife from his pocket, stabbing the teenager. The kid fell to the floor and then the other demon came up from behind Sam, swinging at him with the bat. Sam ducked and then swiftly stood up and stabbed the second demon straight in the throat. The demon fell to the floor. Sam looked down at the puddles of blood that were now pooling on the floor beneath the two dead bodies. He looked at the blood on the knife and touched some using his thumb. As he brought his blood-covered thumb closer to his mouth, the bell above the door chimed once again. Sam looked at the circular mirror and saw Dean and Alex walk inside the store.

"Sammy," called out Dean.

Sam sighed in relief and stood up from his crouched position just as Dean and Alex rounded the corner. They stared at the two dead demons and then up at Sam, who was breathing very heavily.

Back in the church, Sam, Dean, Alex, and Ellen were teaching all of the residents in the church with them how to properly load and use a shotgun. Dean handed a gun to the man who was in charge of the door.

"You know you way around a gun at all?" Dean asked him.

The man smirked and took the rifle from Dean's hands. He swiftly unloaded it and then set it down on the table in front of Dean, who looked down at it with a smirk.

"Hmm. Where'd you serve?" asked Dean, looking back up at the man then.

"Fallujah. Two tours. I got back a little over a year ago. Takes one to know one though. Where'd you serve?" he asked Dean.

Dean's mouth lifted into a slight smirk and then he looked at the man.

"Hell."

The man smirked, scoffing.

"No, seriously."

"Seriously. Hell."

Alex sat next to Sam as they watched the strangers get acquainted with their shotguns. Dean walked over to join his siblings.

"Hey," he said, sitting down between the two of them.

"Hey," said Sam.

Alex rolled her eyes and stood up.

"I'm gonna go find Ellen."

She leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Dean's cheek and then another to Sam's before walking over to talk with Ellen.

"What's wrong?" asked Dean, looking over at Sam.

"It's just… At the supermarket, those demons were possessing teenagers. I mean, I literally had to slit some innocent kid's throat."

"Come on, Sam, you had to."

"I know, I just… I just wish I could save people, you know? Like I used to."

"What, you mean when you were all hopped up on demon blood?"

Sam sighed, frustrated.

"I didn't say that."

Ellen approached them then.

"I'll be back," she told them.

"Where are you going?" asked Dean, looking up at her.

"I can't sit here on my ass anymore. My sons are out there somewhere. If I'm not back in half an hour, get these people out of here."

Sam and Dean both stood up.

"Ellen, wait. I'll go with you," volunteered Sam.

"Whoa, hold on. Sam, can I please talk to you for a second?" asked Dean.

Sam nodded and they headed out of the room.

"You wanna go out there again?" asked Dean.

"Dean, it's fine. You and Alex can just stay here, get them all ready for battle, and I'll cover Ellen."

"Why's it gotta be you?"

Sam rolled his eyes, smirking sarcastically.

"Oh, that's right, I forgot. You think I'll take one look at a demon and suddenly fall off the wagon as if after everything we've now gone through, I haven't learned my lesson."

"Well, have you?" asked Dean, his face deadly serious now.

Sam suddenly shoved Dean and Alex headed for the door, looking worried. Ellen grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"If you actually think…"

Sam trailed off, glaring daggers at Dean. He stormed back inside.

"So where'd you see them last?" asked Sam, walking with Ellen down Main Street.

"Up ahead. So, what's up with you and your siblings?" asked Ellen.

"Just… stresses of the job, you know how it is. I'm kind of surprised you and the boys are hunting."

"I don't want them to be, but if they're gonna do it anyway…"

"Might as well keep an eye on them," finished Sam.

He stopped and pointed to some smoke that was circulating through the air a few blocks in front of them.

"Is that a chimney going?" asked Ellen.

"Looks like it. Come on," said Sam.

He looked down both ends of the street before they both started walking towards the large white house at the end of the street. They headed in through the backyard, creeping around the corners cautiously and looking at all of the windows before walking forward. A bald man appeared in the window adjacent to them, so Sam and Ellen hid in the shadows along the house.

"I guess we found base camp," said Ellen.

The man left the window and Sam shook his head, looking at the chimney, which was still emitting smoke.

"Demons don't get cold. Makes you wonder what they're burning," said Sam.

He stalked forward slowly and as Ellen stepped out to follow him, she was suddenly grabbed from behind. She yelled and Sam whirled around. The male demon held her up against the wall as she struggled.

"Don't move, you black-eyed evil skank! And give me my mom back!" yelled the other demon.

Sam's eyes widened as he realized that one of the demons in front of them was Joe. Sam pulled the one man off of Ellen, but then that demon and another began fighting him. Joe attacked Ellen and Ellen stared into Joe's pitch black eyes. Suddenly, she struck out, hitting Joe in the face with her shotgun. Joe fell to the ground just as Sam punched his last demon, knocking him to the concrete ground.

"Ellen, run!" yelled Sam.

As Sam loaded his shotgun, another demon came up from behind, knocking Sam down to the ground. Ellen ran away back down the street where they had just come from and Sam looked up. Although his vision was a little blurry from the knock on his head, he saw two figures standing above him, their eyes pitch black.

"Got you now," said one, which was Rufus.

"You bastard," said Kellan.

Sam fell unconscious.

Dean and Alex were pacing in front of the door as the people around them sat at the long table praying. Alex was biting her lip nervously. Alex jumped as a banging sounded on the door. Dean walked over, looking through the peephole. He saw that it was Ellen, so he let her inside. She stormed into the large basement room, Dean shutting the door behind her.

"Where's Sam?" asked Alex.

Ellen set her shotgun down on the table and turned to look at Dean and Alex then. She shook her head and sank down into a wooden chair at the table.

"They took him?" asked the pregnant woman sitting across from Ellen.

Dean sighed and grabbed his own shotgun.

"Everyone, sit tight. I've gotta…"

Dean trailed off as he reached the doors. He looked over at Alex, who was looking at him. He cursed under his breath and then turned back around.

"Alright, we need to get a solid plan together. Ellen, tell us everything you saw," said Alex.

"Dean, one of them is in Joe. We've gotta get it out without hurting him. It called me an evil skank," said Ellen.

"Bruise a little easy, don't you think?"

"No, that's not what I meant. It called me a black-eyed evil skank. What kinds of demons are these? Holy water and salt roll right off. My son may be an idiot, but he's not stupid. He wears an anti-possession charm. So does Kellan. I mean, it's all kind of weird, right?" asked Ellen.

"The whole thing's off," whispered Alex.

"What's your instinct?" asked Ellen.

"My instinct? My instinct is to call Bobby and ask for help. Or Sam."

Alex rolled her eyes.

"Well, tough! We've only got the three of us, so let's figure this shit out," said Ellen.

"Alright. Do you know why Rufus came to town, was there a specific omen?" asked Dean.

"He said something about water, that's all I know."

Dean glanced over and saw the priest standing by the fireplace.

"Padre, do you have any idea what she's talking about with the water?"

"Um, the river ran polluted all of a sudden."

"When?" asked Alex.

"Last Wednesday. And then the demon thing started up the next day," answered the soldier.

"Anything else?" asked Dean.

"Maybe, but it's pretty random. A shooting star? Does that count? Real big, on the same exact night. Wednesday," explained the soldier.

Alex's eyes widened and she turned around to face Ellen and her older brother. She stood up from her seat and walked over to the nearest bookshelf, locating a Bible. She walked back over to the table and sat down in her same place next to Dean and across from Ellen. She opened the Bible and began searching through it.

"So, um, you think that all of this comes from outer space?" asked the soldier, crossing his arms over his chest.

"This isn't the X-Files, pal," remarked Dean, watching Alex closely as she continued flipping through the Bible.

She finally found what she was looking for and read from the Bible aloud.

"And there fell a great star from Heaven, burning like a torch. And it fell upon the river and the name of the star was Wormwood and many men died."

"Revelation 8:10. Are you saying that this is about the… the apocalypse?" asked the priest, looking very alarmed.

"Sure, you could say that," remarked Dean.

"Now, these specific omens, they're a prelude to what?" asked Alex.

"The Four Horsemen."

"And which one rides the red horse?"

"War," answered the priest.

She looked at Dean and Ellen.

"That cherry mustang parked on Main Street," whispered Dean.

Alex nodded triumphantly.

"You can't think that a car is-"

"That's the way I'd roll. I mean, think about it. It all makes sense. If War's a dude and he's here, maybe he's messing with our heads," explained Alex.

"Turning us on each other," said Ellen.

"You said Joe called you a black-eyed evil skank? Well, they think we're demons and we think they're demons. What if there are no demons at all and we're all just killing each other?" proposed Dean.

"Wait a second, just back up, please. It's the apocalypse?" asked the priest.

"Sorry, Padre," said Dean.

"So now you're saying that there are no demons and that War is a guy," stated the soldier.

"Well, you believed crazy before," said Dean.

A furious knocking sounded on the basement doors then and the soldier rushed over to see who it was on the other side.

"Open up, it's Roger!" called out the man on the other side of the doors.

The soldier looked through the peephole and then swiftly opened the door, letting Roger back inside. Roger was still dressed in his business suit from work, his glasses slightly askew and his red and blue striped tie undone.

"I saw them. The demons. They know we're trying to leave. They said they're gonna pick us off one by one," panted Roger, leaning against the table.

"Wait, wait, wait, what?" asked Alex.

"I thought you two said there were no demons," argued the soldier, looking between Alex and Dean then.

"There's not! Where did you go?" yelled Dean.

"I thought someone should go out and see what the hell's going on!" yelled Roger.

"Where did you see the demons and what exactly did they say?" asked Dean.

"We've got people to protect," said the soldier.

He grabbed a shotgun from off of the table.

"Okay, let's slow our roll, this is not a demon thing," said Dean.

Then, Alex looked at Roger and he winked slyly at her. She gasped and Roger flashed his ring, quickly turning it.

"Look at their eyes! They're demons!" he yelled, pointing at Alex, Ellen, and Dean.

"Go, run, go!" yelled Dean.

He ushered Alex and Ellen out of the basement room first and ducked as the soldier fired off a round from his shotgun. Roger smirked as he watched them run away from the church.

Dean, Alex, and Ellen made their way to the demons home base, where Sam, Kellan, Joe, and Rufus were located. They broke through a window, Dean grabbing Rufus and Ellen grabbing Joe. Alex watched helplessly as Dean tried to get through to Rufus. Finally, after minutes of fighting, Rufus came around and realized that he had been hallucinating all along.

"Did you figure this out all by yourself, genius?" asked Rufus.

Alex smirked and Dean rolled his eyes, helping Rufus stand up straight. They walked inside the house, meeting up with Ellen and Joe.

"We all on the same page?" asked Ellen.

They all nodded.

"Good. Hi, Joe," said Dean.

Joe gave him an acknowledging nod. Alex smiled gently over at Joe, who smiled right back.

"Hey."

"Okay. Now, we gotta find War before everyone in this town starts-"

Dean was cut off by the sounds of bullets zinging through the air at them.

"Damn it. Where's Sam?" asked Dean.

"Upstairs," said Rufus, pointing to the stairs directly behind all of them.

Dean nodded and he and Alex headed upstairs, Ellen right behind them while she looked for Kellan. Dean reached the top of the stairs and tried the first door. Luckily, Sam was in the room.

"Dean! It's not demons, it's-"

"War, we know," said Dean.

He rushed over to Sam and began cutting the ropes that held him down.

"I just can't figure out how he's doing it all!" yelled Dean.

"It's his ring," said Alex, standing in the doorway.

Dean nodded.

"The ring, right! We've gotta move, guys, come on."

Dean helped Sam stand up and the three siblings rushed out of the room. As they ran from the room, they bumped into Kellan. As Kellan raised his shotgun to shoot them, Dean knocked it out of his hands. Alex grabbed Kellan's face in between her hands and forced him to look at her.

"Kellan, baby, it's me. I'm not a demon, it's War, one of the Four Horsemen pitting us against each other. Please, look at me."

Kellan shook his head and then his face brightened. He pulled Alex into his embrace and then kissed the top of her head.

"Sis, we've gotta go," said Dean.

Alex waved them off, so Dean and Sam took off running throughout the house, heading for War.

The two brothers caught up to War in a back alley, heading for his cherry Mustang. Dean grabbed him from behind and Roger chuckled. Sam pulled out Ruby's knife and he laughed even more.

"Oh, that's a sweet little knife. But come on. You can't kill War, kiddos."

"Oh, we know," said Dean.

Sam grabbed Roger's hand and held it down on the top of the hood of his car. Blood splattered all over Sam's face as he sliced off War's left ring finger. After it was gone, War and his car disappeared. Dean picked up the bloody ring off of the asphalt, looking around and wondering where War had disappeared to.

The next morning, Sam and Dean were sitting around a picnic table in a local park while Alex was saying goodbye to Kellan once again, over by the parked cars. The park was located at the top of a grassy knoll and Dean twirled War's ring around on his finger.

"So. Pit stop on Mount Doom?" he asked Sam.

Sam chuckled briefly, but then he looked calm and serious.

"Dean-"

"Sam, let's not," argued Dean.

"No, I want you to listen to me. Because this is really important. I know you don't trust me. It's just… now I've realized something. I don't trust me either. From the minute I saw that blood on my knife, the only thought in my head…"

Sam trailed off, shaking his head before he continued on.

"And I tell myself that for the right reasons, my intentions are good. And that feels true, you know? But I think, underneath, I just miss that feeling. I know how messed up that sounds, which means I know how messed up I am. But the thing is, the problem's not the demon blood, not really. I mean, for what I did, I can't blame the blood or Ruby or anything really. The problem's me. How far I'll go. There's something in me that… it scares the hell out of me. And within the last couple of days, I caught another glimpse," finished Sam, looking down at the wooden picnic table top now.

"So what are you saying?" asked Dean.

"I'm in no shape to be hunting. I need to step back because I'm very dangerous. Maybe it's best if we just… go our separate ways with you and Alex heading one way and me the other."

"Well, I think you're right," said Dean.

Sam looked up then.

"I was expecting a fight."

"Well, the truth is, I spend more time worrying about you than about doing the job right. I can't babysit you and Alex, you know how much I have to look after her. And I just can't afford to be any more distracted than I already am by watching her because you can't look after yourself anymore. And especially not now."

"I'm so sorry, Dean," whispered Sam, shaking his head.

"I know you are, Sam."

Sam nodded sadly and turned around to leave the picnic table. He turned back around when Dean spoke to him once again.

"Hey. Do you, um, want to take the Impala?"

Sam smiled sadly, shaking his head.

"That's okay."

Sam swung his legs over the picnic bench he was sitting on one by one. He turned back to look at Dean once he was standing.

"You take care of yourself, Dean. And take care of Alex too. I'll say goodbye, but it's not going to be pretty," said Sam.

Dean nodded, licking his chapped lips briefly.

"I'll watch out for her, but you take care of yourself too, Sammy, alright?"

Sam nodded briefly before heading over to the parked Impala. He grabbed his duffel bag full of clothes and his leather satchel carrying his laptop out of the backseat. As he walked around the back of the Impala, he ran his hand over it. He took a deep breath and then headed over to where Alex was standing with Kellan.

Alex laughed as Kellan tickled her sides. She saw Sam approaching and she pushed Kellan away gently. Kellan smirked and pressed a kiss to the side of her head.

"I'm gonna help Mom load the rest of our stuff up, okay, baby?"

Alex nodded and Kellan walked a few steps over to where Ellen and Joe were loading up their vehicle. Sam approached Alex and Alex looked at him, confused as she saw his bags slung over his shoulder.

"Hi, baby sister," whispered Sam.

He let his bags fall to the gravel and he pulled Alex into his arms, closing his eyes as he kissed the top of her head. Alex returned his hug, but then stepped back to look Sam in the eyes.

"Sammy, what's going on? Why do you have all of your bags with you?" she asked him.

Sam sighed deeply.

"Alex, I'm going to stop hunting for a little while."

Alex stepped out of Sam's reach. Dean cursed under his breath from his spot at the picnic table as he watched their exchange. Kellan looked over from his spot as well.

"W-what do you mean? What are you talking about, Sam?"

"Alex, I can't trust myself anymore. You know I can't hunt right now, Dean doesn't trust me. I need to figure out what is happening with me before I can keep on doing this. Please, listen to me," begged Sam.

Alex shook her head, her eyes filling up with tears. She threw her arms around herself as sobs began racking her body. Kellan cursed and ran over to her, catching her before she fell to the ground. He held her in his arms as they fell to the ground together. Sam's eyes were filled with pain as he watched his twin sister break down in front of him.

"Alex, please," whispered Sam.

"Kellan. I've got her."

Kellan, Alex, and Sam all looked over as Dean finally reached them. Kellan nodded in understanding and he brushed a few stray hairs off of Alex's forehead.

"I love you, Alex Winchester. Never forget that," whispered Kellan.

Alex nodded numbly and Kellan gently pressed his lips to hers. He stood up, Alex huddled into his side. He reached out, shaking Dean's hand before pressing a final kiss to Alex's temple. He stepped away and Dean pulled Alex into his arms. Alex pressed her face into his chest and sobbed even harder. Sam's face looked even more pained than before.

"I love you, baby sister. Never forget that," whispered Sam.

Alex finally looked up at Sam, her face tear-stained and red.

"Please don't leave me again. We can work through this together," pleaded Alex.

Sam shook his head sadly.

"This is something I have to do alone. I'm so sorry," whispered Sam.

He looked at Alex and then looked up at Dean. Dean nodded and Sam turned around, heading for a blue truck that was headed out of town. He climbed inside, chancing one last glance back at his siblings. Dean and Alex were both watching him climb inside the pick-up truck. Sam sighed and finally closed the door. The truck pulled away and Alex broke down once again.

Alex shot up in her bed, gasping for breath. She looked around at the dark motel room. She quickly reached over, searching for Sam's shoulder to shake him awake and watch stupid infomercials with her until she fell asleep again. She frowned when she realized that Sam wasn't sleeping soundly beside her. She glanced over at the clock and read that it was 4:30 AM. The events from the previous day came rushing back to her and she sighed, a single tear escaping and rolling down her cheek. She flung off her blankets, walking over to Dean's bed. She climbed into the empty right side of his queen sized bed and sighed when Dean threw his arm over her waist.

"You okay, little sis?" asked Dean, his voice gruff with sleep.

Alex nodded and squeezed his arm gently.

"I'll be okay. At least for right now."

She smiled gently when she heard Dean snoring again less than a minute later. She snuggled down into the blankets and closed her eyes, sleeping peacefully for at least a couple of hours.

Dean bobbed his head to the music as he drove along the highway late at night. He looked over at the passenger seat, where Alex was curled up into a ball as she slept. She had on a pair of jeans and one of Sam's sweatshirts that she had stolen long before he had left them. Dean sighed as he looked at her sleeping peacefully.

Alex watched as Dean stood over the bathroom sink in their motel room, cleaning off one of his many jackets using a wet washcloth. She glanced down at her cell phone and when she looked up, she jumped back in fright. Castiel had suddenly appeared right over Dean's shoulder and was staring Dean down. Dean jumped when he too finally spotted Castiel standing behind him.

"God! Don't do that," yelled Dean, slamming his fist down on the countertop.

"Hello, Dean," said Castiel.

Dean sighed, but turned around to face Castiel, who was standing very close to him. Dean looked down at the bathroom's tile floor, clearing his throat.

"Cas. We've talked about this before. Personal space."

"Oh, sorry. My apologies."

Castiel stood back and Dean grabbed his jacket off of the countertop. He walked over to the bed that Alex was sitting on, setting the jacket down beside her legs.

"So how'd you find us? I thought we were flying under the angel radar?" asked Alex, glancing over at Castiel.

"You are. Bobby told me where you two were. Where's Sam?" asked Castiel, looking around the room, his eyebrows pulled together with confusion.

Alex began biting her lip and pulling at her cuticle as she looked away from Castiel's face. Dean stopped packing his duffel bag for a split second, but then he resumed his packing, shrugging on his dark blue jacket as he spoke.

"Sam is taking a separate vacation from us for a while."

Dean took in a deep breath and then turned to face Castiel once again.

"So. Did you find God yet? Or, more importantly, can I have my damn necklace back please?"

"No, I haven't found Him yet. But that's why I'm here. I need your help."

"With what?" asked Alex.

"A God hunt? We're not interested," said Dean, rolling up the sleeves of his jacket.

"It's not God, it's someone else entirely."

"Who?" asked Dean.

"It's an archangel. The one who killed me."

"Excuse me?" asked Dean, raising his eyebrows.

"His name is Raphael."

"You were wasted by a teenage mutant ninja angel?"

Alex chuckled.

"I have heard whispers that he's walking the earth. This is a very rare opportunity."

"For what?" asked Alex, standing up and stretching her arms and legs.

"Information," explained Castiel.

"So, what? You think if we find this guy, he's just gonna start spilling God's address?" asked Dean.

"Yes. Because we are going to trap and interrogate him."

Both Alex and Dean looked over at Castiel then, whose face was deathly serious.

"You're serious about this?" asked Dean.

Castiel turned to face him.

"Yes," responded Castiel.

"Give us one good reason why we should help you out," said Alex.

She slipped on her brown boots and began packing her duffel bag as Dean was doing previously.

"Because you're Michael's vessel, Dean. And no angel will dare harm you because of that."

"Oh, so I'm your bullet shield."

"I need your help. Because you are the only one who will actually help me. Please," begged Castiel.

Dean nodded slowly.

"Alright, fine. Where is he?"

"Maine."

Dean nodded and Alex shrugged on her black leather jacket. Dean grabbed his own duffel bag and Alex and Castiel followed him out of the spacious motel room, heading for the Impala.

Dean parked along the curb across from the local police station in Waterville, Maine.

"And we're here because…?" asked Alex, looking over at Castiel expectantly, her eyebrows raised.

"A deputy sheriff laid eyes on the archangel," explained Castiel.

"And he still has eyes?" asked Dean.

Castiel ignored his remark, so Dean sighed and stuck his hands in the pockets of his pants.

"Alright, so, what's the plan?" asked Alex.

"We'll have to tell the officer that he witnessed an angel of the Lord, and then the officer will tell us exactly where the angel is."

"You're serious?" asked Dean, staring into Castiel's face.

"You're actually going to walk in there and tell this guy the whole truth?" asked Alex, disbelief lacing her tone of voice as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Well, why not?" asked Castiel.

"Because. We're humans. And when humans want something really, really badly, we just lie about it," explained Dean.

He began fixing Castiel's jacket, shirt collar, and tie while Alex handed Castiel a fake ID badge, telling him to place it in one of the many pockets of his tan trench coat.

"Why would you lie?" asked Castiel.

"Because. That's how you become the President," said Dean.

Alex smirked and followed Dean across the street to the local police station. Castiel followed reluctantly behind the two of them.

"Are you W.B. Framingham?" asked Dean, approaching an African-American police officer who was standing in the very front of the police station.

The man turned around, nodding as he faced the three of them.

"I'm Lazlo Jones, FBI. These are my partners, also FBI," said Dean.

Alex flashed her fake ID badge with ease, but Castiel just stood there, staring at the police officer. Alex sighed and discreetly nudged him with her elbow. Castiel jumped and reached inside his jacket, pulling out his fake badge and flashing it as well. Dean smiled as he reached over and turned Castiel's badge right-side up.

"He's, um, he's new," whispered Alex.

She winked at the police officer standing in front of them.

"Would you mind if we asked you a few questions?" asked Dean.

"Yeah, sure. Talk here though," said W.B., pointing to his right ear as they walked forward, farther into the police station.

"My hearing's all blown to hell in this one," he stated, pointing to his left ear then.

"Did that just happen recently?" asked Dean.

He followed Alex into the office, sitting in a chair across from W.B.'s desk. Alex sat down in the other chair while Castiel was left to stand in between them.

"Yes. Gas station thing. That's why you're here, isn't it?" asked W.B, staring at the three of them expectantly.

"Yes it is," answered Alex, smiling at the police officer.

"Would you mind just running us through what happened?" asked Dean.

"Well, a call came in. Disturbance out at the local Pump and Go on Route Four."

"What kind of disturbance?" asked Alex.

W.B. shook his head slowly, sighing.

"Would not have believed my eyes if I hadn't seen it myself. We're talking a riot. Full scale."

"How many?" asked Dean.

"Thirty, maybe forty. An all-out, kill or be killed combat."

"Any ideas as to what set them off?"

"It's angels and demons probably," said Castiel.

Alex's eyes widened at his outburst as Castiel looked at W.B., nodding his head.

"They're skirmishing all over the globe right now."

"Um, come again?" asked W.B., looking thoroughly confused now.

"Demons," said Castiel.

"Demons! You know, drinks, adultery. We all have our demons, W.B.," said Alex, smiling politely over at the police officer.

"Yeah, I guess," said W.B., looking over at Castiel once again.

"Anyway, what happened next?" asked Dean.

"A freaking explosion, that's what! Oh, they said it was one of those underground gas tanks, but I don't think it was."

"Why not?" asked Alex.

"Well, it wasn't your usual fireball, but it was, um…"

"Pure white," stated Castiel.

W.B. looked over at him, his eyes wide as he nodded his head with agreement.

"Yes. The gas station was leveled, everyone was just… It was just horrible. And then I see this one guy, just kneeling there. Real focused like. Not a damn scratch or bruise on him," explained W.B.

"Did you know him?" asked Alex.

"Donnie Finnerman."

"And let me guess. Then he just vanished into thin air?" asked Dean.

"Uh, no."

W.B. looked at Dean like he was stupid or crazy.

"He's down at St. Pete's."

"St. Pete's," repeated Castiel, talking with a dramatic whisper and nodding his head.

"Thank you," said Alex, looking at Castiel and shaking her head.

"I take it that's not Raphael anymore?" asked Dean, standing with Alex and Castiel as they looked through a window outside of Donnie Finnerman's hospital room.

"No, just an empty vessel," explained Castiel.

"So is this what I'm looking at if Michael jumps my bones?" asked Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"No, not at all actually. Michael is much more powerful. It will be far worse for you."

Dean nodded, looking away from the hospital room. Alex sighed, biting on her lower lip as she looked over at her oldest sibling.

Later that night, Alex sat in an old armchair as she watched Dean pace across the room, the Bible in his hands. He was skimming through the book as he walked across the old hardwood floor. Suddenly, a whooshing sound filled the room and both Alex and Dean looked over towards the entryway, where Castiel now stood. Dean placed the Bible in his hands down on the table in front of him and then looked back over towards where Castiel was currently standing in front of them.

"Where have you been?" asked Dean.

"Jerusalem," answered Castiel, walking further into the front room now.

"Oh and how was that little trip?" asked Alex, smirking sarcastically over at Castiel.

"Arid," replied Castiel.

He placed a very old looking jug on the table next to Dean's open Bible.

"What is that?" asked Alex.

"It's oil. It's very special and very rare."

"So this ritual of yours, when's it gotta do down?" asked Dean.

Castiel took a seat in an old dining room chair across from Dean's standing form.

"Sunrise."

"Tell me something, you keep saying we're gonna trap this guy, but it feels like we're trying to trap a hurricane with a butterfly net," said Dean.

"No, it's much harder than that."

"Do we have any chance of surviving this?" asked Alex.

Castiel looked over at her.

"You two do."

"So odds are, you're a dead man tomorrow," stated Dean.

"Yes," answered Castiel, looking over at him.

Dean scoffed.

"Wow. Well, it's your last night on Earth, so what are your plans?" asked Dean.

"I just thought I would sit here quietly," answered Castiel.

Alex smirked and Dean rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

"Dude, come on, anything? Hmm? Booze, women?"

Castiel glanced away at the mention of women and Dean stopped walking around, looking over at Castiel with his eyebrows raised.

"You have been with a woman before, right? Or an angel, at least?"

Castiel scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably and looked anywhere but at the two siblings.

"You mean to tell us that you've never been with a woman before?" asked Alex.

"Look, I've never had an occasion, alright?"

Dean looked appalled while Alex just chuckled at Dean's expression. After a few minutes, Dean finally stood up straight, nodding his head.

"Alright," said Dean.

He walked over to the table and grabbed his jacket, beginning to put it on.

"Let me tell you, son, there are two things I know for certain. One, Bert and Ernie are gay. Two, you are not going to die a virgin, alright? At least not on my watch," said Dean.

He finished putting on his jacket and closed the Bible on the wooden table.

"Let's go," said Dean.

He headed for the door, Alex smirking as the two men left.

Dean watched as Castiel glanced around the room nervously, avoiding looking at the scantily clad women around them.

"This is a den of iniquity, I really should not be here," whispered Castiel.

Dean sighed and put his glass of beer down on the table in front of them.

"Dude, you full on rebelled against Heaven. Iniquity is just one of the perks now."

He glanced over to the side and saw a beautiful blonde woman approaching their table, looking straight at Castiel.

"Oh, show time," whispered Dean.

"Hi. What's your name?" she asked Castiel, her voice very sultry.

Castiel stared at the woman, not answering.

"Cas! His name is Cas. What's your name?" asked Dean, smiling over at the beautiful woman.

"Chastity," she replied.

Dean's eyebrows rose.

"Chastity?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Wow. Well, he likes you and you like him, so have at it!" said Dean.

He picked up his glass of beer and began drinking from it once again, smirking as Chastity grabbed Castiel's hand from his lap, standing him up.

"Come on, baby," she encouraged, leading him towards the back rooms.

As Castiel walked past Dean, Dean stood up, grabbing Castiel's arm and stopping him from walking on any further with Chastity.

"Oh, hey, listen."

Dean handed Castiel a wad of cash from his jacket pocket, shoving it into Castiel's open palm.

"Take this and if she asks for a credit card, say no. Now, just stick to the basics, okay? Do not order off of the menu. Go get her, tiger."

Dean smirked and Castiel looked at him.

"Don't make me push you," warned Dean.

Castiel sighed deeply, but took the money and then Chastity led him to the back rooms, Dean smirking after them.

About ten minutes later, a scream was heard from the back rooms. Dean's smiled faded and he rushed over to the back hallway, parting the black curtains which blocked it off from the front room and heading towards the middle of the hallway, where Castiel was standing. Chastity brushed past him roughly and Dean looked at Castiel, his eyes wide and his eyebrows raised.

"What happened?" asked Dean, disbelief evident in his tone of voice.

Castiel just shrugged.

"I don't know. I just looked her straight in the eyes and told her that it wasn't her fault that her father Gene ran off when she was a child. It was really because he absolutely hated his job at the local post office," stated Castiel.

Dean rolled his eyes, scoffing and chuckling at the same time.

"Oh, no, man. This whole industry runs on absent fathers, it's just the natural order of things."

Dean looked back towards the front hallway entrance, where two men dressed all in black were headed for them. Dean's face turned deathly serious.

"We should go now. Come on," said Dean.

He grabbed Castiel's arm and steered him towards the EXIT sign that was hanging over the other door at the other end of the hallway, the two bouncers following them. Dean and Castiel hurried away, barely managing to get away in the nick of time.

The next morning, Dean, Alex, and Castiel were back at the St. Pete's Hospital, but this time, they were inside Donnie Finnerman's room, working on the ritual to bring Raphael back.

"When the oil burns, no angel can touch or pass through the flames or he dies," explained Castiel.

He began pouring the oil from Jerusalem out onto the floor, around Donnie's form.

"Okay. So we trap him in a steel cage of holy fire, but, um, one question. How in the hell do we even get him here?" asked Dean, glancing over at Castiel as he continued pouring the sacred oil onto the tile floor.

"There's… Well, almost an open phone line between a vessel and his angel," explained Castiel, setting the empty oil jar down on Donnie's bedside table.

"One just has to know how to dial."

Castiel walked over to Donnie then, standing behind him. Castiel crouched down, lowering himself so he could be cheek to cheek with Donnie and he began chanting in ancient Latin. Dean and Alex watched curiously.

"I'm here, Raphael. Come and get me, you little bastard," said Castiel, standing straight up once he was finished with his ritual.

"Just out of curiosity, what is the average caller wait time to speak to an archangel?" asked Dean.

Castiel looked over at Dean and Alex then.

"Just be ready," he warned.

Castiel pulled out a small box of matches and took one out from the box, swiping it and lighting it on fire. He threw it onto the circle of oil around Donnie Finnerman and the oil immediately caught on fire, creating a flame circle around Donnie. The three of them stood, waiting patiently for Raphael to arrive.

Hours later, Dean parked the Impala next to the house they were currently squatting in while they were in town.

"Well, that's a day of my life that I will never get back," said Dean, climbing out of the Impala and heading for the front door of the house. As Dean pushed open the front door, Castiel stepped in front of him.

"Dean, wait."

As they walked into the house, a bright white light lit up the entire front living room. In the middle of the entryway between the two rooms was Donnie, suspended from the floor. He had what looked to be large wings made up from the flashing white lights that suddenly illuminated the front rooms of the old abandoned house. Once he was done, Raphael looked over at the three of them standing in front of him.

"Castiel," said Raphael, his voice very deep.

"Raphael."

"Oh, you know, I thought you were gonna be impressive, but all you do is black out the rooms?" asked Dean.

"And the whole Eastern Seaboard," said Raphael.

As if to punctuate his point, lightning flashed through the window outside, a large storm brewing now.

"It is a testament to my never-ending mercy that I don't smite you here, Castiel. Right now."

"Or maybe you're full of shit," said Alex, crossing her arms over her chest with defiance.

Raphael turned his head to look over at her then. Dean glanced over at her as well.

"Maybe you're afraid that God will bring Cas back to life and smite you, you pansy ass," said Dean, smirking over at Raphael then.

"By the way, hi, I'm Dean Winchester and this is my little sister, Alex."

"I know who you two are. And now thanks to Castiel, I know where you are."

"You will not kill them. You wouldn't dare," threatened Castiel.

"Maybe not, but I will take him to Michael."

"Well, that sounds just terrifying, it really does. But, um, I hate to tell you, I'm not going anywhere with you," said Dean.

He grabbed a bottle of beer from the cooler by his feet, popping the top off and taking a long drag from the bottle.

"Surely you remember Zachariah giving you stomach cancer?" asked Raphael.

"Yeah, that was… That was hilarious," remarked Dean, a smirk on his face once again.

"Yes, well, he doesn't have anything close to my imagination," threatened Castiel.

"Oh yeah?" asked Dean.

Raphael began slowly stepping closer to Dean, his eyes trained on Dean's face. Dean glanced over at Castiel nervously as Raphael stepped even closer. Once he was only a few feet away, Dean smirked.

"Well, I bet you couldn't imagine one thing though."

"What?"

"We knew you were coming, you stupid son of a bitch," said Dean.

He looked over at Alex, who flipped open her silver lighter and threw it onto the circle of oil that was now surrounding where Raphael was standing. The bright orange and yellow flames rose up around Raphael and he stared at Alex and Dean.

"Well, don't look at us, it was his idea," said Alex, pointing over to where Castiel was still calmly standing.

"Where is he?" asked Castiel, ignoring Alex's comment.

"God?" asked Raphael.

Castiel nodded his head slowly in the affirmative.

"Didn't you hear? He's dead, Castiel. Dead and gone."

Castiel looked over at Dean and Alex then.

"You're lying," said Castiel, turning his attention back to Raphael.

"Am I? Do you even remember the twentieth century? Do you think the twenty-first is going any better? Do you think God would have let any of that stuff happen if He were truly alive?"

"Yeah, I'm sure your Father would be so proud to find out that his sons started the freaking apocalypse!" yelled Dean.

"Who ran off and disappeared, who left no instructions and a world to run?"

"So Daddy ran away and disappeared. He didn't happen to work for the post office, did He?" asked Dean.

He exchanged a glance with Castiel while Alex just looked worried and confused at his statement.

"This is funny to you? You're living in a Godless universe."

"And?" asked Dean.

"What, you and the other kids just decide to throw an apocalypse while He's gone?" asked Alex.

"We're tired. We just want this to be over. We just want… paradise," said Raphael, looking over at Castiel then.

"So, what? God is gone and now you think you can do whatever the hell you all want to do, is that it?" asked Dean, yelling at Raphael now.

"Yes! And whatever we want, we get!"

Raphael's voice rose as he also yelled and then the front room's windows shattered, making Dean and Alex duck from the blast. Glass flew through the room, causing Dean to shelter Alex from the flying glass by placing the upper half of his body over hers, protecting her. Once the glass was done, they both stood up straight, staring at Raphael once again.

"If God is dead, then why have I returned?" asked Castiel, yelling now to be heard over the raging storm that was circulating outside now.

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe Lucifer raised you?"

"No."

"Think about it. He needs all the rebellious angels that he can find. You know it adds up, Castiel."

Castiel stared Raphael down for a solid minute before turning to the siblings.

"Let's go," he said.

"Castiel. I'm warning you, do not leave me here," said Raphael, his bass voice eerily calm.

Castiel looked away.

"I will find you," warned Raphael.

"Maybe one day, but for today, you're my little bitch."

Castiel walked off, Alex following directly behind him. Dean turned back, smirking over at Raphael.

"What he said," yelled Dean.

He turned forward and followed Alex and Castiel out of the house and into the raging storm.

Dean glanced over at Castiel in the passenger seat as he drove down the highway. Alex was curled up in the backseat, asleep with Sam's sweatshirt draped over her tiny sleeping form.

"Hey, man, you alright?" asked Dean, glancing over at Castiel.

Castiel just continued to look out of his window.

"You know, I'll be the first to let you know that this crusade of yours is insane, but I do know a little something about missing fathers."

"What do you mean?" asked Castiel, still looking straight ahead out of the front windshield of Dean's Impala.

"I mean, there were times when I was looking for my father when… all logic said that he was dead. But I knew, in my heart, that he was still alive and kicking. So who cares what some ninja turtle says, Cas, what do you believe?"

Castiel paused for a moment before actually answering Dean's question.

"I believe that He's still out there."

"Good. Then go find Him."

Castiel looked over at Dean then, his face very serious.

"What about you?" asked Castiel.

"What about me? Oh, I don't know. Honestly, I'm great. I can't believe I'm actually saying that, but I am. I'm really great."

"Even without your brother?"

"Especially without my brother. I mean, I spend so much time worrying about the son of a bitch. I mean, I've had more find with you within the past twenty-four hours than I've ever had with Sam in years. And you're honestly not that much fun. It's funny, you know. I've been so chained to my family. But now that it's just me and Alex… Hell, I'm happy."

Dean smiled softly, but when he looked over at Castiel, he was gone. The passenger seat was empty, as if no one had even ever been sitting there. Dean's smile faded as he turned his attention back to the road lying in front of him.

Sam awoke in the middle of the night in his motel room, feeling as if something was off. He sat up, rubbing a hand over his face. As he looked over his shoulder, he shot off of his bed, seeing a man sitting behind him. He raced over to stand at the foot of his bed, just staring at the man in front of him.

"You know who I am," stated the man, looking over at Sam.

"Lucifer," whispered Sam, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"You are a hard one to find, Sam. Harder than most humans. I don't suppose you'd tell me where you are?"

"I'm dreaming? What do you want with me?" asked Sam.

"Thanks to you, I now walk the earth. I want to give you a gift. I want to give you everything you ask me for."

"I don't want anything from you, ever!"

Lucifer sighed deeply, taking in a deep breath and then shaking his head sadly.

"I'm so sorry, Sam, I really am, but Nick here is just an improvisation. Plan B. He can barely contain me without spontaneously combusting."

"What are you talking about?" asked Sam, his eyebrows pulling together with confusion now.

Lucifer stood up from his seat on the edge of Sam's bed.

"Why do you think you were in that chapel?"

Lucifer began walking forward toward Sam and with every step he took forward, Sam stepped backwards.

"You're the one, Sam. You're my vessel. My true vessel."

Sam's eyes widened with disbelief.

"No," whispered Sam.

"Yes," whispered Lucifer, nodding his head and raising his eyebrows.

"No. That will never happen," said Sam, shaking his head and letting a tear escape from his eye, falling down his face.

"I'm sorry, but it will. I will find you and when I do, you will let me in. I'm sure of it."

"You need my consent."

Lucifer crossed his arms over his chest, smirking.

"Of course, I'm an angel."

Sam smirked.

"I will kill myself before letting you in."

"Yeah, and then I'll just bring you back," said Lucifer, rolling his eyes.

He looked at Sam straight on, taking in a deep breath and then sighing deeply as he exhaled the breath he had just taken in.

"Sam, my heart breaks for you. The weight on your shoulders. What you've done and what you still have to do. It is more than anyone could bear and if there was only some other way, but there isn't. I will never lie to you, I will never trick you, but you will say yes to me."

Sam shook his head, smirking triumphantly.

"You're wrong."

"No, I'm not. I honestly think I know you better than you know yourself."

"Why me?"

"Because it just had to be you, Sam. It always had to be you."

Sam looked down at the floor, trying to force himself not to cry in front of Lucifer. When he looked up again, Lucifer was gone, having vanished into thin air. Sam sighed, letting another tear escape from his eye and roll down his face.