Cas stared at Dean, Bobby and Mack, waiting, as Sam staggered behind him. After a beat, Bobby lowered himself to his knees. "Well, alright, then. Is this good, or do you want the whole 'forehead to the carpet' thing?" Cas didn't respond and Bobby looked at Dean. "Guys?" Sam and Dean started to kneel, but Cas held up a hand to stop them. "Stop. What's the point if you don't mean it? You fear me. Not love, not respect, just fear."

"Cas…" Sam began. "Sam, you have nothing to say to me; you stabbed me in the back." Cas glared, then addressed Dean and Bobby. "Get up." They did as they were told. "Cas, come on, this isn't you," Dean said. "The Castiel you knew is gone," Cas replied. "So what, then? Kill us?" Cas smiled in that same eerie, sinister way. "What a brave little ant you are. You know you're powerless, you wouldn't dare move against me again. That would be pointless. So I have no need to kill you. Not now. Besides… once you were my favorite pets before you turned around and bit me."

Dean swallowed hard, fighting back tears. "Who are you?" he asked, voice breaking. "I'm God. And if you stay in your place, you may live in my kingdom. If you rise up, I will strike you down. Not doing so well, are you Sam?" At the question, Dean looked over at his brother worriedly. He was leaning heavily on the table, and like… not-Cas… had said, didn't look like he was doing too hot. "I'm fine…" Sam cleared his throat. "I'm… fine…"

"You gotta fix him!" Dean yelled, suddenly angry as he rounded on not-Cas. The new God smirked at him, "Maybe I would have, if you had stood down like I told you. Be thankful for my mercy. I could have cast you back into the pit."

"Cas, come on, this is nuts! You can turn this around, please!"

"I hope for your sake this is the last time you see me." Not-Cas vanished and the Winchesters and Bobby stared at each other for a long moment, and then Sam's nose started to bleed. "Sam, are you okay?" Dean asked gently. Instead of answering, Sam fell to the ground, cutting his hand on a piece of glass as he was caught up in visions of his time in Hell.

"Understand. If you followed Raphael, if you stood against me, punishment is certain. There is nowhere to hide. The rest of you, our Father left a long time ago, and that was hard. I thought the answer was free will. But I understand now. You need a firm hand. You need a father. And I am your father now. Be obedient, children. Or this will be your fate." Cas stood in a meadow in Heaven, dozens of dead angels at his feet. "It's a new day. On Earth and in Heaven. Rejoice."

For nearly a week, there had been no sign of Cas. Sam had been in a coma since what happened in the lab in Bootback, Kansas. Dean had been working on trying to fix Baby after she had been ruined when the demon smoke had hit them outside the lab because that was something he knew he could control. He was currently on his back, trying to push the dented roof out with his feet. "Come on," he grunted. "Come on, baby!"

"So, you fixin' her or primal screaming?" Bobby asked, joining him. Dean extricated himself from the Impala, accepting the proffered beer from Bobby. "Ah, thanks. How's Sam?" Bobby shrugged. "He's still under. But alive." Dean drank from the beer. "And Mack?" he asked a bit quieter. Bobby was silent for a long beat. "Still not talking." Dean closed his eyes, exhaling slowly. "What about God part deux?" He opened his eyes again. "I got all kinds of feelers out, so far diddly."

"And what exactly are you looking for?"

"Exactly. What? Miracles, mass visions, trench coat on a tortilla? I don't know what I'm lookin' for," Bobby shrugged. "Ah, well, he'll surface." Dean went back to drinking his beer. "So say we do suss out where 'new and improved' flew off to…" Bobby began. "Yeah?" Dean raised an eyebrow. "The hell do we plan to do about it?"

"I don't know, Bobby, I got no more clue than you do." Maybe there was a time he thought he knew Cas, but ever since they derailed the apocalypse, Cas had become a whole new person who Dean didn't even recognize. He especially had no clue who he'd become now that he'd declared himself the new God. "I don't even know what books to hit for this, Dean," Bobby continued. "Well, figure it out!" Bobby stared at him in shock, and he took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. "I'm sorry. This ain't in no book. If you stick your neck out, Cas steps on it. So you know what I'm gonna do?"

"What?"

"Imma fix this car. Because that's what I can do. I can work on her 'til she's mint. And when Mack starts talking again and Sam wakes up, no matter what shape they're in, we'll glue them back together, too. We owe them that." Bobby nodded, "I'm with you." He headed back toward the house as Dean climbed back into the Impala armed with a mallet, attempting to hammer out the dent in the roof.

Sam woke up later that afternoon, heading out to help Dean with the car while the elder Winchester filled him in. Over the next several weeks, they started hearing reports popping up about Cas. He killed off religious leaders, forced the KKK to disband, got rid of motivational speakers, and so much more. Eventually, due to the body count, it became clear they had to do something. So, they summoned Crowley to ask for his help. "No. No! NO!" Crowley yelled as he appeared in the Devil's Trap, glass of whiskey in one hand and decanter in the other. "Come on!"

"Don't act so surprised," Bobby chastised. "My new boss is going to kill me for talking to you lot," Crowley glared around at them. "Well, you're lucky we're not stabbing you in your scuzzy face, you little piece…" Dean started before getting cut off by Sam. "Whoa, wait! What new boss?" he asked. "Castiel, you giraffe."

"Cas?" Mack echoed quietly, earning a look from her father. "Is your boss?" Bobby asked. "Is everybody's boss. What do you think he's going to do if he finds out we've been conspiring?" Crowley paused. "You do want to conspire, don't you?" Bobby deadpanned, "No. We want you to just stand there and look pretty." Crowley smirked. "Listening."

"We need a spell to bind Death," Dean informed him. "Bind? Enslave Death? You having a laugh?" the demon king stared at him, flabbergasted. "Lucifer did it," Dean reminded him. "That's Lucifer," Crowley stressed. "A spell's a spell," Sam shrugged. "You really believe you can handle that kind of horsepower? You're delusional!"

"Death is the only player on the board left that has the kind of juice to take Cas," Dean stated, each word coming out of his lips like a knife to his chest, though he hid it well. "They'll both mash us like peas. Why should I help you with a suicide mission?" Crowley demanded. "Look!" Bobby snapped. "Do you really want Cas running the universe?" Crowley looked down, pouring himself another drink from his decanter.

"Daddy?" Dean paused in Mack's doorway, looking back at her. "What bug?" he asked softly. "Is Death going to kill Cas?" He sighed to himself, forcing himself to remain composed as he made his way back over to her bed. "He might, baby. If Crowley gets us the spell we need, we'll be able to use Death to stop Cas." She sat up against her pillows, staring at him. "But why can't we find another way to stop Cas? So he doesn't have to die."

"I don't think there is another way, Mack," he told her sadly. "There has to be another way!" she insisted. "Cas can't die. He can't. I don't care if he's made bad choices, Death can't kill him." Dean raised his eyebrows, tilting his head back to look at the ceiling as he fought back tears. He agreed with Mack, but couldn't tell her that. They didn't have any other options. As soon as Crowley delivered the binding spell, they were putting their plan into motion. "I'm sorry, bug," he apologized quietly. "No! Promise me! You gotta promise, Daddy. You can't let Death kill Cas."

"Okay. Okay, Mack, I promise," he nodded, unsure if he would be able to keep it. "I won't let him kill Cas." Mack nodded, calming down and settling back down under her blankets. As soon as her eyes closed, Dean dropped his façade, allowing a few tears to slip down his cheeks. He slipped from the room, swiping at the offending droplets leaving wet trails on his face. He'd finished fixing Baby, which meant he had nothing else to distract him from the pain in his chest that had been there since Cas showed up at the lab in Bootback.

He headed downstairs, the whole house quiet. Sam and Bobby had already went to their rooms for the night. Going into the kitchen, he grabbed an entire six pack out of the fridge, taking a seat at the table. He drank until he was numb to the pain and then he stumbled over to the couch and passed out there.

Crowley had finally delivered the spell accompanied by the note, 'BYE FOREVER YOU FOOLS KISSES C'. Bobby worked on translating the spell so they knew the ingredients. "Well, we've got most of the stuff, but we're going to have to make a run for a few things," he told them. "Like?" Dean asked, sitting on the couch with Mack curled into his side. "Like an act of God crystalized forever."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sam questioned. "I think it means an actual crystal. See, lightning strikes sand at the right angle- it crystallizes into the perfect shape of itself."

"Lightning. An act of God."

"Jinga," Bobby nodded. "You got yourself a fulgurate and we're gonna need a biggie." Dean frowned, "And let me guess… rare." Bobby shook his head, "I found records of an auction. Winning bidder lives nine hours from here." They headed out to the cars, the Winchesters following Bobby in the newly restored Impala. "Stay with Bobby, bug," Dean told his daughter. He and Sam went ahead, distracting the security guard and sneaking inside to find the crystal. Dean found it in a fancy office/library space. However, he was distracted by the sound of a gun cocking.

Turning, he found the man and woman who owned the house, the man holding a shotgun pointed at him. "Hi. Uh… I don't want to hurt you. Really," he told them. "I'm the one with the firearm, son," the man answered. "I get that," Dean nodded. It didn't take long after that before he'd disarmed the husband and tied both him and his wife to chairs with duct tape back to back, complete with gags over their mouths. "Okay. Yeah. Good," he nodded when he'd finished. Sam, Bobby and Mack came into the room with the rest of the spell supplies. "Hey, guys. Uh, so this is Dr. and Mrs. Weis," he gestured to the couple. "Hi. Sorry," Sam told them.

"I found the God thingy," Dean pointed to a purple crystal in a glass showcase. "Well, let's light this candle," Bobby said. Dean smashed the glass, taking the crystal out to give to Bobby. Dr. and Mrs. Weis watched them with wide eyes as they performed the ritual. "Te nunc invoco, mortem. Te in mea potestate defixi. Nunc et in aeternum!" Bobby lit the contents of the bowl on fire. "Um… Hello? Death?" Dean looked around. "You're joking."

Dean turned around, finding Death standing in the middle of the room, leaning on a long cane. "I'm sorry, Death. This isn't what it seems." Death glowered at Dean. "Seems like you bound me." He raised his hands and a gold wispy infinity symbol appeared briefly around his wrists. "For good reason, okay? Just, uh, hear us out. Um… Fried pickle chip?" Dean held out a bag to the Horseman. "They're the best in the state."

"That easy to soothe me, you think?" Death asked, though accepted the offering. "This is about Sam's hallucinations, I assume?" Dean furrowed his brow. "What?" Death looked over at his brother, "Sorry, Sam. One wall per customer. Now unbind me." Sam shook his head, "We can't. Y-yet." Death frowned. "This isn't going to end well." Sam continued, "We need you to kill God." Mack looked at her father desperately, but he avoided her gaze.

"Pardon?"

"Kill God," Bobby repeated. "You heard right. Your… Honor." Death smirked, "What makes you think I can do that?" Dean swallowed, still avoiding his daughter's burning gaze. "You told me." Death studied him, "Why should I?"

"Because… We said so, and we're the boss of you. I mean… Respectfully."

"Amazing."

Dean's shattered heart dropped in his chest and he heard Mack whimper as they turned to see Cas had appeared in the room. He looked so bad, with sores all over his face and hands. It reminded Dean of how Nick and Mack had looked when possessed by Lucifer. "Cas," Sam breathed. "I didn't want to kill you, but now…" Cas said. "You can't kill us," Dean interrupted him. Cas' cerulean gaze fixated on him, and he was instantly rooted in place. "You've erased any nostalgia I had for you, Dean."

Over by Bobby, Mack whimpered again, clinging to him tightly. "Death is our bitch," Dean continued addressing Cas. "We ain't gonna die, even if God pulls the trigger." Cas' gaze flickered over to Death. "Annoying little protozoa, aren't they?" Death smirked. "'God'? You look awfully like a mutated angel to me. Your vessel's melting. You're going to explode." Cas shook his head, "No, I'm not. When I finish my work, I'll repair myself."

"You think you can because you think you are simply under the weight of all those souls, yes? But that's not the worst problem. There are things much older than souls in Purgatory, and you gulped those in, too."

"Irrelevant. I control them."

"For the moment."

"Wait…" Dean looked from Death to Cas and back, "uh, what older things?" Death explained in his signature vaguely disinterested tone. "Long before God created angel and man, he made the first beasts- the Leviathans." Dean furrowed his brow, "Leviathans?" That's when Mack piped up. "Those hunted the Obsidian Perierunts." Everyone looked at her in surprise. "The what now?" Dean asked. "And how do you know about those?" Death addressed Mack.

"I met some. They saved me from vampires."

"What happened to them?" Death asked curiously. Dean was looking back and forth between him and his daughter, unsure how to feel about the interaction. "John killed them," she muttered, averting her gaze. "Anyway, I personally found the Leviathans entertaining, but God was concerned they would chomp the entire petri dish, so he locked them away. Why do you think he created Purgatory? To keep those clever, poisonous things out. Now Castiel has swallowed them. He's the one thin membrane between the old ones and your home."

"Enough," Cas protested. "Stupid little soldier, you are," Death told him. "Why? Because I dared open a door that he shut? Where is he? I did a service, taking his place," Cas shot back. "Service?" Death echoed. "Settling petty vendettas?" Cas glared at him. "No. I'm cleaning up one mess after another- selflessly." Death frowned, "Quite the humanitarian."

"And how would you know? What are you, really? A flyswatter?" Cas jabbed at the Horseman. "Destined to swat you, I think," the Horseman returned. "Unless I take you first." Dean swallowed as Death smirked. "Really brought his own press, this one. Please, Cas. I know God, and you, sir, are no God." Dean intervened, "Alright, put your junk away, both of you. Look, call him what you want. Just kill him now!"

"Alright. Fine," Death replied. Cas snapped his fingers, releasing Death from the binding spell. "Thank you. Shall we kickbox now?" Cas stared at him. "I had a tingle I'd be reaping someone very, very soon." Self conscious, Dean started to back away from the Horseman. "Don't worry- not you," Death told him. He picked up the bag of pickle chips, taking a seat at the desk to eat them. Cas vanished from the room. "Well, he was in a hurry."

Death promised to make another eclipse if they got Cas to go back to the lab so he could return the souls to Purgatory. Dean didn't think they would even be able to reach Cas, let alone convince him to go with them to the lab. However, when Sam prayed, Cas did show up. They headed to the lab, Cas weak as he sat on the floor, leaning against the table, and told them what to grab for the ritual. "We need the right blood. There's a small jar- end of the hall, s-supply closet." Sam nodded, "Got it." He went off to get the jar.

"Dean?" Dean went to Cas' side. "What, you need something else?" he asked. "No. I feel regret, about you and what I did to Mack and Sam." Dean swallowed, "Yeah, well, you should." Cas stared up at him sadly. "If there was time, if I was strong enough, I'd- I'd fix Sam now. I just wanted to make amends before I die." What little was left of Dean's broken heart was crumbling. "Okay," he nodded. "Is it working?" Cas asked. "Does it make you feel better?"

"No. You?"

"Not a bit."

Despite the words, Dean put his hand behind Cas' neck, gently guiding him into a kiss. It lingered, despite the fact that Mack and Bobby were in the room watching. When Dean broke the kiss, he kept his forehead against Cas', eyes screwed shut as he tried to keep the tears at bay. "Where's Sam?" Bobby asked after a moment. "It's go time." Dean hurried off to find his brother, but returned with just the necessary jar of blood. He shook his head at Bobby's questioning look, hurrying over to draw the symbol on the wall before it was too late. "That's good enough. Okay, step right up, Cas."

Bobby and Dean helped Cas to his feet, guiding him over to stand in front of the sigil. While Dean supported him, Bobby began the recitation. "I'm sorry, Dean," Cas apologized one last time. Bobby finished and a bright light shot from of Cas' body as all the souls returned to Purgatory through the portal. When it died down, the angel's body collapsed to the floor and was still. "Cas?" Mack called out, joining her father and grandfather figure at his side. Bobby was checking for a pulse. "He's cold," he muttered.

"Is he breathing?" Dean asked. "No," Bobby shook his head. "Maybe angels don't need to breathe." It was a desperate thought. How many times had Cas talked about how angels didn't have a heart, didn't sweat, didn't have normal human functions? "He's gone, Dean," Bobby murmured. Mack gave a sob beside her father, but Dean refused to cry. "Damn it. Cas, you child. Why didn't you listen to me?" Suddenly, Cas shot up, gasping for air. "Cas?! Hey! Hey! Okay. Alright."

"That was unpleasant," Cas stated. "Let's get him up. Easy, there." Dean and Bobby each grabbed one of Cas' arms, helping him to his feet once more. "I'm alive," Cas observed in surprise. "Looks like," Bobby said. "I'm astonished. Thank you- both of you." Bobby gave a rye smile. "We were mostly… just trying to save the world."

"I'm ashamed. I really overreached," the angel expressed. "You think?" Dean queried. "I'm gonna find some way to redeem myself to you," Cas promised. "Alright, well, one thing at a time. Come on. Let's get you out of here. Come on." Mack trailed close by as he and Bobby helped Cas toward the exit. "I mean it, Dean," Cas said seriously. "Okay. Alright. But let's go find Sam, okay?" Instead of responding, Cas suddenly doubled over, groaning in pain. "Cas?"

"You need to run now! I- I can't hold them back!"

"Hold who back?"

"They held on inside me. Dean, they're so strong."

Dean was confused. "Who the hell-?" he started. "Leviathan!" Cas cried. "I can't fight them. Run!" Mack clung fearfully to her father, and he turned, yelling at Bobby. "Go! Go get Sam! Go get Sam!" Bobby hurried toward the exit, but Cas straightened up and flung Bobby, stopping him from leaving. "Too late," he said, his voice distorted. Black goo started dripping from his body. "Cas?" Dean whispered. "Cas is- he's gone. He's dead. We run the show now. Ah. This is going to be so much fun."