Castiel didn’t respond at first when Mika stated that she didn’t trust him, but she was thankful for his efforts to bring Dean back into the fold. Truthfully, he had only done it on orders, and he had been too late to commit to those orders. Dean Winchester was only alive, as long as he was useful, and unfortunately, Castiel knew that. He tapped his fingers against his leg as Alastair’s voice broke through the silence around them once again, echoing off the walls. Then, came Mika attempting to appeal to his humanity, which he wasn’t even sure he could humor…but he did.

As she told him that what they were doing wasn’t right, Castiel felt a glimmer of doubt in his stomach. He turned his eyes away from her, staring at the ground near her feet for a moment. Truthfully, Castiel hadn’t done much of his own research on this deal. He was following Uriel, who was following order from their superiors, something Castiel was afraid to even begin to question.

“Uriel…” Castiel started, ignoring Mika’s angry words as they echoed Dean’s personality almost too well. He raised his hand in frustration, dropping it quickly against his side, “Uriel receives revelation from our superiors. Who am I too question their will? I don’t like this. I would much rather just use the brute force that we have always used to get through to someone like Alastair, but the superiors believe that THIS is the action. This is what we have to do. And…”

Castiel turned his eyes up to the ceiling briefly, listening as he felt Uriel return but in a different part of the warehouse. He narrowed his eyes, hearing the voice of a young woman, and he tilted his head, “And his methods are to be questioned…by humans, not angels. Is Sam Winchester here?”

Castiel asked the question absentmindedly, and he turned his eyes back to Mika’s, both questioning her and warning her. If Sam Winchester was in the building, everything was going to fall apart, and it was going to fall apart quickly.



Duke felt a bit of relief at Esme’s words, even if everything in him wanted to lock her in the basement and make her stay. He could pick her up. He could carry her down and she wouldn’t have much of a say, but she would hate him for it. So, as she pressed a kiss to his nose, and her words sank in, he sighed, “Alright…I believe you. But you don’t jump in unless it’s absolutely necessary. I don’t wanna have to patch you up when this is all over. Okay?”

At her request to go to the RV and grab some things, Duke’s heart fluttered but he choked down the excitement, just enough that she couldn’t tell the difference between the excitement and his nervousness…something he was getting way too used to doing around her. It felt like lying, which he hated. He stood from the floor, pulling her with him with a nod, “Alright. We’ll grab what you need, and we’ll head out. Cason, text me that address. We gotta get there before…”

As Duke turned to walk out the back door with Esme, Sam stepped in, breaking the news to them that the angels had taken Anna. Duke’s eyes turned to saucers, and without looking around at anyone else, it hit him that they had to hurry. This was turning into more than just Dean being forced to do things he would never want to do. This was turning into a hostage situation, a stalemate and quite possibly a hostage exchange between the Winchesters and the angels.

“Alright. Let’s go. We gotta go.” Duke said quickly, pushing past Sam with Esme in tow. He pulled her toward the RV, and he quickly patted himself down as he released her, shaking his head, “I’ll be right back. I gotta run into the house for a second…”

After she was out of his eye sight in the RV, Duke waited for the door to closed and then he slid around the side of the RV and out toward the lot, jogging as lightly as he possibly could on the gravel. If he could get to the truck and get out of the lot, he could make this work on his own. There was a chance he could make it in time, and with Cason’s help, they could finish this…together. The girls didn’t have to be in any danger.

He pulled his truck keys from his pocket, opening the drivers door and slamming it behind him as he entered the truck with shaky hands. He turned the ignition and frowned. Nothing but clicks. The radio came on. The lights came on, but the truck didn’t start. That wasn’t possible, “What the hell?!”

A knock at his window caused Duke to flinch, turning to the window to see Bobby standing there, holding his starter relay in his hand. He dangled it by the wires and Duke opened the door, dropping heavily onto the concrete. He threw his hands up and Bobby sighed, “You’re not runnin’. Not this time. Not alone.”

“So this is what we’ve come to? We’re tearin’ my engine apart?” Duke scoffed back at Bobby, glancing toward the RV as he waited for a very pissed off Esme to come out at any moment.

“It’s your starter relay. I can put it back in within thirty seconds. But it was enough to allow that girl to catch up with you, and force you to take some backup. I may be a hick…but I’m not stupid, and you’re my son.” Bobby scolded Duke, stepping a bit closer. He poked Duke in the chest and took a deep breath, “This is bigger than you and your savior complex, boy. You need backup, and Mika ain’t out there just runnin’ around waiting for you to show up, anymore. Take…Esme.”

“And if I get her killed? Hmm? Who gets blamed for that? Who would I blame for that?”

“She’s a grown woman and she’s not letting you out of this lot. So, here’s an idea…DON’T GET HER KILLED!” Bobby shouted at him out of nowhere, which caused Duke to flinch, turning his eyes to the ground like a little boy as Bobby seethed in front of him. After a moment, Bobby calmed down enough to place a hand on his shoulder, “No one…is dying tonight, son.”



Cason watched Nat’s face as she seemed to relax a bit. Her sheepish smile told him that, as she voiced the source of her concern. Smiling softly, Cason nodded and he pressed a quick peck to her upper lip, “I know…I know. But there’s nothing that’s going to stop me from getting back to you. I had an iron rod shoved through my spine, and I still managed, didn’t I? I’m a bit harder to kill than that…”

He laughed softly, and reached both his hands up to rub her upper arms in the best effort he could give to soothe her, “And you’re right. I’m the only one that can do this. I’m the only one who won’t act on emotion, as long as you’re not there. So, you can help me stay alive by staying here…”

As soon as Cason finished his words, Sam burst through the door and Cason could smell the demon blood all over him before he ever spoke. But hearing that Anna had been taken, Cason growled loudly and closed his eyes. His entire plan shattered, right there on the floor. Now that the angels had Anna, they had leverage, “Why would the angels take her? What would they even want with her, if they’re planning to keep Alastair alive, for now? It makes no sense.”

As he spoke his questions aloud, he pulled away from Nat and quickly approached Sam, shoving him, “And how could you let them?! You’re full of demon blood. Is she?! What? You both went on a bender, together? So, now the angels have a demon nuke that they can torture and bend to their will, because you couldn’t keep Ruby away from her for one night.”

Cason lowered his voice and he leaned a little closer to Sam, “And now, chances are, I have to die and break your sister’s heart…because of you.”

He stepped away from Sam, and walked quickly to Bobby’s desk, grabbing a pen and a sticky note. He wrote the address to the warehouse, only about 45 minutes away on the piece of paper, and he walked back up to Sam, slapping it roughly against his chest.

“They’re here. Get there fast and you better hope…BEYOND hope that Anna is still alive when you get there. Or Ruby’s next on my list, whether you’re shielding her or not.” Cason seethed at him, and without saying goodbye, he disappeared, reappearing in a dark corner of the boiler room, just out of sight of Castiel and Mika.

“I can hear you.” Castiel muttered softly, turning toward Cason. Cason froze momentarily, a bit of fear bubbling in his stomach before he gathered his defiance and courage and slowly stepped out of the shadows, his eyes first shifting to Mika, before back to Castiel’s face. “If you’re here to save him, I’ll have to stop you.”

“I’m not here for anyone but you, bud. We need to talk.”



Anna opened her eyes, blinking in the dim light of the room Uriel had stashed her in. As she came to, she pulled at her right arm, realizing that both her arms were tightly locked to a pipe nearby with a twisted and mangled set of handcuffs. As she shifted to sit up a bit straighter, she looked down at her ankles and they were also chained to the same pipe. She was still only in Sam’s t-shirt, and she had no idea where she was. A soft sob left her throat and she tried her hardest to listen for any sign of anyone that she knew, but all she heard was the roar of water rushing through pipes and clanging of metal pipes around her.

“Hello?!” She called out, and after a few seconds, Uriel appeared in front of her and he chuckled.

“Ah. You took a while to recover, little one. There’s not much use in screaming. No one but your girlfriend downstairs can hear you, and she can’t come to you.” Uriel explained simply. Anna turned her eyes up to him, as she attempted to appeal to some sort of sympathy. Maybe if she made herself as small and weak as possible, Uriel would simply let her go.

“Please. Please let me go. Whatever you’re wanting Sam to do, I won’t stop him. I won’t get involved. I’ll just walk out the door and I’ll walk…I won’t even call anyone.” Anna pleaded, but Uriel only laughed harder, before mocking her, tilting his head back and forth.

“Stop groveling. I know your type. You and Sam Winchester…the special ones…the kings and queens of Hell. You’re one of Azazel’s favorites, destined for greatness. Yet here you are, crying at my feet…begging me to release you. If I had Sam Winchester in my hands, a knife to his throat, you would trow yourself on a fire to save him. It’s who you people are.”

“Us people?” Anna asked in a tiny voice, still not sure what her connection with Sam was, after all this time. They were like magnets, but no one had ever really explained to them why.

“Yes. You people. The abominations sent to serve as the leaders of the apocalypse. You’re drawn to each other like moths to a flame and how lucky for the two of you that you’re the only two left? It’s poetic. You’ll die for each other, over and over. You’ll kill for each other. You’ll sacrifice others for one another. And in the end? You’ll kill each other. Lilith will have you, one way…or another.” Uriel explained calmly. He shook his head, pointing toward the door to his left. “And the only thing standing between her…and you? Sam Winchester. Dean Winchester. Alastair remaining alive. Mika Chambers…remaining alive. It’ll all be over within the hour. I’ll smite you. Sam Winchester will lose his soul to all that demon blood. He will finish his story. And we…win.”

“You’ll never win because he’ll come for me. He will come for me. He always does.”

“He’s not coming…for you. He’s coming for his brother. See? In this whole tangled web you’re woven into? The Winchesters will always choose each other. That’s why we needed you both.” Uriel explained, stepping away from Anna to walk in a circle.

“You didn’t bring Dean here for information. You brought him here to kill him.” Anna realized out loud, scanning her eyes all along the floor around Uriel’s feet. “You brought us both here to kill us…all of us.”

“Just the ones that would interfere with my orders.”

Esme watched Duke, knowing he was more than likely still thinking about locking her up and forcing her to set this one out, but it seemed her kiss on his nose helped her words sink in a bit. She nodded at his response to her jumping in if things got bad. “You have my word. I won’t jump in unless absolutely necessary.” she told him honestly. After her request to go to the RV, Esme thought she felt something other than nervousness come from him for a split second, but she shook it off. She knew going to the RV would give him a chance to run off without her, but she hoped he wouldn’t. Once Duke helped her to her feet, she went to follow him out the back door, but Sam came bursting in with news about Anna being taken by the angels. Esme’s eyes widened to saucers, knowing that this whole thing had just worsened for them. This had gone from going and saving Dean from doing something he didn’t want to do to a possible hostage situation and hostage exchange, and she didn’t like it one bit. She couldn’t help but hope that Anna was alright.

Esme nodded at Duke’s next words and followed him out the back door past Sam. “Don’t worry, Sam. We’ll get her back.” she told him before the door closed. At the RV, she stopped briefly as Duke let her go and patted himself down. “Alright.” she told him. ‘You better not leave me.’ she thought as she jogged up the steps into the RV and shut the door behind her. Once inside, she quickly slipped off her boots and walked over to the bed, picking her jeans off the floor. She wanted to change into a pair of jeans quickly. By the time she got her sweatpants off and one leg in her jeans, she heard Duke’s truck door slam. “You gotta be kidding me!” she growled. She quickly slid her other leg into her jeans, buttoned them, and did her belt going to the door. She stopped hearing voices, and she sighed. “Thank you, Bobby.” This allowed her to return to her bag, grab a hair tie, and pull her hair back into a low ponytail. Grabbing a few other things and placing them in her pockets, then walked back to the door, slipped her feet into her boots, grabbed her jacket, yanked the door open, and walked out the door, slamming it behind her.

Esme angrily made her way across the gravel to where Duke had his truck parked, listening to the conversation between Duke and Bobby as she put on her jacket. She had just come around to the other side of the RV when Bobby yelled at Duke, causing her to flinch slightly and pause in her steps momentarily. ‘Is that what all this is about? He’s afraid he's going to get me killed.’ she thought. She closed the gap, glaring at Duke even though he was still looking at the ground. She approached Bobby, softening her face as she looked up at him. “Thank you for stopping him, Bobby.” she said gratefully, standing on her toes and kissing his cheek. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who sees he needs backup on this. Could you please quickly reinstall that so we can get going? The sooner we leave, the better.” Esme then quickly walked around the truck to the passenger side, opened the door, and got in. “You’re an asshole, you know that?” she told Duke angrily before shutting the door and crossing her arms over her chest.

MIKA

No matter what the motives were for Castiel raising Dean, Mika was still thankful because he literally brought back the light of her life and the one person she saw a reason to live in. It still scared her how badly she fell mentally when he died thanks to Lilith's hounds, how willingly she let grief just rule her life and body for those four months he was gone. Just one of the many reasons she was more determined to be there for Dean and keep him alive. It was partially selfish of her, but she never wanted to feel that lost ever again. She now knew what it must have felt like when Dean thought she was dead as teenagers.

Seeing Cas turn his eyes away from her made her wonder if he was beginning to doubt the legitimacy of this whole plan. Could she really get through to him? Make him begin to think for himself and not blindly follow orders that she had serious doubts about? She didn't know, but not seeing anyone else in the room with them to try, she figured she had to. She listened to his reasoning and she didn't buy a single word that came out of his mouth. It didn't feel like it was just that simple. Especially when he mentioned how he only knew of the orders through what Uriel told him. It all felt too suspicious to her. She watched as he looked up at the ceiling, sensing something new in the building she presumed, or more than likely Uriel's return which meant she didn't have long to try and get through to Castiel. “Cas I get it, you wanna be a good soldier but can you seriously stand there and believe what Uriel has been instructing sounds remotely believable or normal of your superiors? It's so clear to me he's going rouge on this” she practically pleaded in her frustrated state of mind.

“As for if Sam is here? How am I meant to know Cas? We got no cell service down here and I'm actually keeping up my end of the bargain of not telling anyone where we are” she replied, with a sigh.

When Cason showed up a few minutes later, she wondered initially who Castiel was talking to, until Cason showed his face. She gave him a questioning look, wondering why he was here, only to have her silent question answered as he said to Castiel that he was there for him.

NATALIA

Cason reminding her that even on death's door, he still found his way back to her and saved her life single handedly, made Nat nod once more. He was right, and she had trust in him; he'd come back unscathed. At his words saying her staying back was the best help she could provide in keeping him alive, she gave him a small smile. “I'll stay here, for you” she replied as Sam's entrance just completely drowned out her words back to Cason. Sam's words made her go wide eyed, in disbelief that angels would burst into their motel room and kidnap Anna when they wanted Dean so much. None of this made any sense to her whatsoever.

She watched as Cason pulled away from her, her hands reaching out to try and stop him going towards Sam, but he slipped through her fingers. She didn't know what to do as she watched Cason push Sam and scream at him for letting angels take Anna. Yet it was the accusations of Sam being high on demon blood that shocked her the most. “Sam…no” she sighed, raising a hand up to her mouth. She didn't speak loud enough for anyone to really hear her, she couldn't even walk over and stop Cason from being aggressive with Sam, she was just too stunned to stop her two favorite people from going at each other verbally. Anna being hopped up on demon blood she always expected, but she didn't expect it from Sam. How could he keep such a big thing from her like this?! It felt like such a betrayal. If Sam had ANY kind of responsibility in Cason possibly dying as he said, she didn't think she could ever forgive Sam.

As Cason walked away from Sam, she looked at Sam with contempt and confusion in her eyes. She didn't know how to react to his current state of what he just declared to the room, whilst Duke and Esme had made a quick exit to the RV. “How could you Sam?” She asked him, eerily calmly, but she just watched him look away.

SAM

As Duke and Esme headed out, Sam stepped aside for them to leave, giving Esme a nod to acknowledge what she had said to him. “We have to” he simply said back as she left the room, only to have his focus rapidly go to the one person he was actually dreading seeing and hearing the news…

Cason storming over to him and shoving him was no surprise. He knew Cason would be angry at him when he said what happened, so he just took it. “It wasn't our plan okay? We didn't want to do it!” He replied to Cason about the demon blood consumption. “We couldn't get rid of Ruby no matter how hard I tried…she was forced feeding Anna and would have kept going if I didn't drink her blood, I had no choice” he explained. “Then this angel showed up after Nat called and before I could even get between him and Anna, she was gone. Said he had to get her away from me…take away my chokehold so not to distract me…” he said, trying to remember everything Uriel told them both. “That's all I remember” he finished, deciding to ignore the comments about being at fault for possibly breaking Nat's heart if Cason dies trying to fix his mess.

As Cason walked away to Bobby's desk, he looked at Natalia with apologetic eyes, but the moment he saw the way she was looking at him, he had to look away when she asked him how he could drink the demon blood. He didn't have answers for her, knowing this was her finding out what had been going on behind her back. That for the first time, he had pulled a Dean level move and kept her in the dark over something. He only looked up again when Cason walked back to him and slammed the post it note on his chest with the address of a warehouse on it. He just nodded at him, taking hold of the note and checked it over. “I'm getting them all back…I swear to you Nat…I'm ending this” he swore to her but Nat could only look away from him. “Get them back and maybe I'll talk to you again” she said coldly, walking away, into the main room and flopping herself down onto the couch, back to Sam. Sam sighed, knowing he deserved the cold shoulder treatment before exiting out the back door and decided to take Mika's impala again as Dean's was still out of action.

Getting in, he started up the engine and began the drive to the warehouse, hoping he would make it in time.

Duke could feel Esme’s eyes on the side of his face as she glared at him. He had only felt that look, maybe once, the entire time he had known Esme. The thought of how angry she must be made his entire body shudder. Bobby simply backed up, dropping his hand from Duke’s shoulder as Esme approached him, thanked him for stopping Duke and kissed his cheek.

“Always.” Bobby muttered with a soft smile, giving the little starter relay a tiny toss into his other palm. He shot one more glare back at Duke, nodding his head toward the cab of the truck to tell Duke to shut his mouth and get in. He then stepped away from them both and walked around to the front of the truck, the hood still slightly ajar from his sabotage. He opened the hood, propping it open, and reached his hands in, replacing the part as he said he would, in less than thirty seconds.

Duke climbed into the truck, but not before Esme called him an asshole, which caused him to flinch. There was no teasing in her voice at all. She was legitimately angry with him, and just the thought of it caused his stomach to cramp painfully. He was almost physically unable to accept that Esme could even be angry enough to lash out at him. As Bobby slammed the hood and gave it a pat, telling them that they were good to go, Duke gave him a thumbs up and quickly turned the engine over, placing the truck in drive.

He drove in a semi circle, and then began their slow drive to the gates of Singer Salvage with a soft sigh. He didn’t turn to Esme, just stared out the windshield as he tried to find the words to say to her, anything that would make her hate him a little less.

“Listen…I know you’re pissed. And I know exactly why you’re pissed.” Duke started gripping the steering wheel tightly as he turned them onto the highway and he pulled his phone, glancing down at the address that Cason had texted him at some point. He recognized the area they were headed, but there was really nothing there. He had only been there once, for a vampire hunt. Narrowing his eyes for a moment to try and roll the reasoning for the location over in his mind, he found nothing and came back to trying to fix things with Esme. Speeding up on the highway, Duke glanced to Esme briefly.

“When we get done with all this, you can take a swing at me, if you want. I know, right now, you really want to. I get it. And I know that sayin’ I’m sorry ain’t gonna do nothin’ to fix it.” Duke explained slowly, gripping the steering wheel like it was going to disappear beneath his hands, “I’m not sorry for tryin’ to keep you away from this war. I’m not. I can’t live without you and you know that. These bastards can do whatever they want to me, but you and Mika? That’s the end for me. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost either of you. So, no. I’m not sorry for tryin’ to keep you safe. But I’m sorry for lyin’ to you…”



Duke pulled into the lot, and quickly turned the engine off, parking far enough away from the warehouse that they likely wouldn’t be heard, unless the angels sensed them in some way. He stepped out of the truck and quickly jogged over to Esme. Even if she was angry with him, they weren’t in the position to be pissy with one another. He waited for her to climb down, and then picked up her hand.

“So, I’m goin’ for Dean. I got more of a chance of gettin’ through there if Cason’s here. He’ll get me through. I also have Mika as some backup. You go try and find Anna. Maybe you can feel her emotions.” Duke offered quickly, taking Esme’s face between his hands as he stared into her eyes, “I love you. I love you more than anything on this planet and I need you to know that before we go in here. No matter what you do after this is over…you go in there with that in your head.”

He scanned her entire face, before pulling her face to his for a rough and passionate kiss. As he pulled back, his eyes were full of resolve, realizing that there was a real chance neither of them came out of this alive. He nodded his head, his hat barely tipping as his blue eyes lit up with mischief and he stepped away form Esme, reaching into the back of his truck. He grabbed his backpack, and tossed it onto his back, before jogging off toward the warehouse without another word, disappearing into the shadows.



“You really shouldn’t have come.” Castiel grumbled at Cason, when Cason finally convinced the angel to say three words to him. They walked in a circle, at a distance from each other, just outside the door from Dean and Alastair. Something Dean was doing to Alastair caused the demon to cry out, but his voice was muffled by what sounded like water…or his own blood. Cason gritted his teeth at the mental image, and he shook his head.

“Why, because your boss said to kill me if I did? But you…you’re having second thoughts about those orders. Why is that?” Cason asked in a soft voice, his eyes narrowed, studying Castiel. He watched ever twitch of Cas’ fingers. Ever brush of his shoes on the dirty floor, even the way Castiel’s vessel seemed to be sweating from the stress. “Where is he, by the way?”

“He went to receive revelation. And it seems, he has Sam Winchester.” Castiel muttered quietly, causing Cason to shake his head.

“No. Not Sam. He has Anna.” Cason explained, and that’s where he saw it. Castiel turned his eyes up to meet Cason’s, his eyes full of confusion, doubt and betrayal. Uriel hadn’t told Castiel of his plans. Uriel was using him as a hammer. Cason huffed a small and quiet sigh of relief. He could get through to the angel. He could feel it. “So, now that you know he kept that from you, tell me, why are you having Dean do this?”

“Because he’s doing God’s work.”

“God’s work? Wow. Torturing. That’s God’s work?” Cason chuckled loudly, stepping away and walking in the same old circle as Castiel did the same. Cason glanced to Mika, giving her a single knowing nod as if to say ‘I’ll fix this’. “See, last I saw, that’s the work of Hell…not Heaven. You have a torture master and his student, locked in a random room in North Dakota and…”

As he spoke, Alastair cried out and he could swear he heard Dean laugh. The sound obviously had an effect on Castiel, which Cason would happily exploit.

“Who are you, a demon to question the will of God?”

“What if it’s not the will of God, man? Do you know your higher ups? Not God. The people giving the orders. Do you know them?” Cason asked, and Castiel’s eyes scanned the floor, as if he was looking for an answer he had never thought to seek. He then glanced up at that same place on the ceiling, as if he could see Uriel. Cason nodded. “What if your ‘father’ doesn’t want this? Do you really think he would ask you to do this? Would he consider this righteous…or is that giant dick you brought with you pulling those strings, and sending you down a path of those good old ‘good intentions’. Buddy, we know where that leads. I’ve been there.”

“I don’t have to listen to you.” Castiel grumbled, and he began walking in a circle again as Alastair went rather quiet for a moment. Cason’s ear perked up, and he heard Dean talking. So, he continued his work.

“No. You don’t. But you are listening. Wanna know why? That feeling, deep in your gut? The one that’s nagging and clawing into your throat right now? That’s called doubt.” Cason explained, holding his hand out to Castiel. “All you have to do is shake my hand and this is over. I’ll pop into that room, gather what’s left of Dean Winchester, and I’ll be on my way. Me and you? We can work on this together. We’re a lot a like, if you would just talk to me. Two sides of the same coin.”

“I’m nothing like you!” Castiel snapped suddenly, as Cason scanned the angel’s eyes, seeing nothing but doubt and remorse. Cason nodded, long and smooth, pressing his lips together in faux understanding. He then placed his hands on his hips. “You should go.”

“Well, I don’t think I should leave until…”

“Uriel won’t hesitate to smite you when he gets here. Go. I won’t ask again.” Castiel barked at him, and Cason winced, but his mouth turned up in a smirk as he turned his eyes to Mika. He had broken Castiel. Castiel was showing him mercy. Castiel was saving his life. That meant, Castiel could be brought…to their side.

“Alright. Alright, I’m leaving.” Cason nodded, glancing up at the ceiling to listen for Anna’s heartbeat. As soon as he heard it, humming loudly from the demon blood, he nodded again and stepped over to Mika. “Do not leave him alone. Keep talking to him. Eventually, he will break. I’ll see you back at the house when it happens.”

He pressed a proud kiss to Mika’s temple, and then disappeared, reappearing on Bobby’s couch near Natalia, completely unharmed and in one peace. He fully…FULLY planned to go back later in the night and work on the angel some more. But for now, he would let him stew.



Uriel chuckled as Anna finished explaining what exactly Lilith had told her about her purpose. He shook his head and he kicked a bit of dust on the floor.

“And did she tell you that Sam would have to kill you?” Uriel asked her, his voice now level and calm, as if they were just having a conversation. Anna nodded, sniffling as she calmed herself and settled into being locked up for the time being. As long as Uriel was talking, she would stay alive. She knew that much. The chains rattled a bit as she shifted in her spot, curling her legs as best she could into a pretzel.

“Um. Yeah. She kind of mentioned it. She didn’t give any details.”

“Considering how this ends for you, I feel absolutely confident in saying this. All those roads, you, the demon blood, the grand picture…it all leads to Lucifer.” Uriel chuckled, turning his eyes back to her with a smirk. Anna’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything at first. They knew about Lucifer. They knew that the seals were breaking to set him free, but in the back of her mind, Anna had hoped he was still a myth.

“Lucifer wants me?”

Uriel laughed, shaking his head and he pointed his finger at Anna as he did so, “Now that! That’s the Winchester narcissism rubbing off on you, little one. No. You’ll never have the pleasure of meeting him. But you play a very important role, probably the most important. And to fulfill that role, Lilith needs your body, not your soul.”

“Lilith wants to possess me? That’s why she wants me?” Anna asked, her eyes welling up with tears again. The sight caused Uriel to roll his eyes, clicking his tongue against his teeth sadly.

“Don’t worry. You’ll be dead, long before she even bothers to pick you up. Sam Winchester will have no idea, and he’ll be exactly where we need him to be. Have you ever heard the story of why Lucifer fell from grace? The real story?” Uriel asked in a softer voice. Anna shook her head, conceding to buying time by listening to his story. Uriel crossed his arms over his chest, and he nodded. “Well, I’ll go get you a bottle of water, and then it’s time for you to be educated about my brother. I’m feeling…judicious.”



Dean turned from Alastair, his face shocked as Alastair revealed to him that he was the first domino…the first seal. His spilling blood in Hell had started this whole thing, and he never even knew. Dean closed his eyes as Alastair continued, a single tear falling down his cheek as he gripped Ruby’s knife with white knuckles.

“When we win, when we bring on the apocalypse and burn this earth down, we’ll owe it all to you, Dean Winchester.” Alastair sang out to him. And Dean shook his head a bit, causing Alastair to pout in a mocking way, his ears catching the dripping sound behind him. “Believe me. I wouldn’t lie about this. It’s kind of…a religious sort of thing with me.”

Alastair glanced down and behind him, seeing the edge of the devils trap, washed away. He followed the drips of water up to the ceiling, smirking at the luck of a leaky pipe. Either he had a stroke of luck that could change the cosmic future of the world, or someone was letting him out. Alastair didn’t believe in luck…not really.

“I don’t believe you are lying. But even if the demon’s do win, you won’t be there to see it.” Dean grumbled, deciding to just kill Alastair and deal with the angels after. However, when he turned around Alastair was standing there, not chained. Not bound. He was free.

“You should talk to your plumber about the pipes.” Alastair teased, before punching Dean so hard that he stumbled back against the cart of tools, causing them to clang around on the floor loudly.

Esme sat silently in Duke’s truck, her arms crossed over her chest, her head leaned back against the seat, and looking out the passenger window as Bobby reinstalled the starter relay. She was more hurt than angry at Duke for attempting to leave her behind after agreeing to let her back him up. She fully understood his want and need to protect her, but they weren't dealing with your garden variety monster this time. They were dealing with freaking angels. There was no way in hell she was letting him go this alone, and Duke should have known that. He should have known she’d find a way to follow him if he left her behind. How could Duke even think she’d be okay with him leaving her behind with angels involved? At the sound of the hood slamming, Esme was pulled out of her head. She looked out the windshield and gave Bobby a thankful nod before returning her gaze out the passenger window. Esme remained silent as Duke started the truck, drove the semi-circle, and through the slow drive to the gate. When Duke broke the silence, she sighed silently but didn’t look over at him, just listened to him talk.

She took note of his pause and saw him pull his phone and look at it from the corner of her eye. Cason must have sent him to address at some point, and that’s what he was looking at. Before Duke started talking again, Esme shifted her gaze out the windshield, catching the brief look Duke gave her out of the corner of her eye. He was right; she did want to take a swing at him right now, and he was right about saying sorry wouldn’t fix it. Esme closed her eyes tightly and clenched her jaw and fists as he continued. ”Of course, you're not sorry for trying to keep me out of it.” she said in the softest of whispers so he couldn’t hear her. After a moment, she took a deep breath through her nose and slowly let it out through her mouth. “I’m not upset with you wanting to keep me safe, but did you ever stop to think how it would affect us if anything happened to you?” she questioned, her tone still angry. “Did you think about how we would get through losing you?.... I’ve lost you once, Duke. I won’t sit on the sidelines and let it happen again if I can help it.”

Esme raised a hand to her chest to fiddle with the pendants on her necklace, pausing her words momentarily, and sighed. The memory of the nurse telling her that Duke didn't make it came back to her briefly caused her tightly closed eyes to burn with tears threatening to fall. She pushed back the tears and mentally shook the memory away. She wasn't going to lose him tonight, not if she could help it. Esme was going to bring him home along with Dean, Mika, and Anna. They were all going to come home. Opening her eyes, she looked out the windshield. “You heard how well I took losing you last time. Can you imagine how bad it could be if I lost you again? How much more damage could I cause?....” she sighed heavily through her nose, shaking her head. “Plus, you know as well as I do that this isn’t a one-person rescue mission, even with Cason planning to pop in later. As good of a hunter as you are, no one would have let you go alone.”


After Duke pulled into the lot and turned off the engine, Esme took a deep breath and slowly let it out to collect herself, which gave Duke enough time to jog around the truck before she opened the truck door. As soon as she climbed down, Duke took her hand, and she looked up into his face as he spoke. “That sounds like the best way to do this.” she said before Duke took her face into his hands. As he stared into Esme’s eyes, she stared back into his, her features softening as he spoke again. She may have still been upset with him, but she knew she couldn’t go in completely mad because she knew there was a chance neither one of them would come out of this, but she tried to stay positive. Bringing up her hands, Esme rested them on the sides of Duke’s neck. “I’ve always known, and I love you, too. There’s nothing that I love more than you. Nothing.” she told him. Before she could say much else, he pulled her into a rough and passionate kiss that she quickly returned. When Duke pulled back, Esme saw the resolve in his eyes before he nodded to her.

She nodded back, seeing his eyes light up with mischief, and then reluctantly let him step away from her. She watched him grab his backpack, toss it onto his back, jog off towards the warehouse, and disappear into the shadows. “You better come back to me.” she whispered. Taking a deep breath, Esme jogged towards the warehouse and into the darkness, looking for a way into the building. After finding a way into the warehouse, she looked around with a flashlight she pulled from her pocket before concentrating on everything she could feel in the building, trying to hone in on just Anna’s emotions. Dean’s emotions were the first and the strongest, and if she was honest with herself, they scared her. She had never felt anything this intense come from him. Yes, she had always known he felt things more intensely than most, but this was new to her, telling her they hadn’t made it there in time to keep him from having to torture Alastair. Esme moved on from Dean, brushing over Alastair because she didn’t like what she felt from him. She then felt Mika’s worry for Dean and her distrust of Castiel, followed by Castiel’s doubt.

“Where are you, Anna?” Esme mumbled. She briefly picked up on Duke before she felt Anna, and a small, relieved smile came to her lips. “There you are.” she sighed. Concentrating harder on Anna’s emotions, Esme could feel Anna somewhat close. She was led to a room in one of the far corners of the warehouse. Carefully looking through the window on the door, she could see Anna sitting on the floor and chained in place, and she was alone. Trying the doorknob, she found the door locked like she figured it would be. “Don’t worry, Anna. I’m going to get you out.” Esme told her through the door, looking at her through the window. “Are you alright?” Esme then moved from the window, knelt in front of the door, placed the flashlight in her mouth, and pulled her lock kit from her breast jacket pocket. After several failed attempts, she sighed heavily through her nose in frustration. Just when she thought she had it, something prevented the lock from turning. Taking to her feet, she returned the lock kit to her pocket and studied the door as she removed the flashlight from her mouth. The door was solid, and it would take quite a bit to break it down.

Esme still attempted to ram the door and kicked it a few times, but not much happened. She wasn’t giving up yet. She still had one more option in her tool box. It was one option she didn’t use very often, but she saw no other way that would get the damn door open other than shooting its hinges or lock. Placing her flashlight between her neck and shoulder, Esme took a breath and rubbed her hands together while whispering, her eyes lightly glowing a light purple. She then hovered her hand over the doorknob; it glowed brightly and melted beneath her hands. Pushing the door open, she ran to Anna's side, dropping to her knees to look her over quickly. Being this close to Anna, she could tell she had drank demon blood, but she wasn’t going to say anything about it. “I’m so glad you’re alright.” Esme told her. “Now, let’s get you out of the chains and meet up with the others.” Looking away from Anna’s face, she looked down at the handcuffs and chains on Anna. Esme placed one hand on the handcuffs and her other on the chains on Anna’s ankles, being careful not to touch Anna’s skin, then softly mumbled some words, causing her eyes to glow lightly once again.

After a few seconds, the handcuffs and chains crumbled away under Esme’s hands. Looking back into Anna’s face, the glow faded from her eyes as she pulled her hands away. “Are you good to walk out of here?” Esme asked her. “We need to get down to the basement.” She scanned Anna’s face briefly before taking to her feet, then held out her hands to help her off the floor.

NATALIA

When Sam ignored her question as to why he was doing this and just left in a hurry, Natalia sighed. Running a hand through her hair she looked around the room, now very much on her own as everyone had left to either get Dean and Mika back or talk Castiel into joining them. Sitting on the couch, she wondered what to do, her foot rapidly tapping the floor. She wasn't getting any good feelings from the situation. She couldn't get how Sam looked pumped up on demon blood out of her mind. It was haunting as she never wanted to see her brother looking like that. It also saddened her to think he felt he had to do it to help Dean and Mika. Sitting still was just not an option for her at this moment in time, so she got up and went to Bobby's stash of alcohol behind his desk, poured herself a drink of whiskey and put the bottle back where she found it. Walking back to the couch, she lifted the glass to her lips and forced herself to only sip the drink even though she was wanting to just down it in one go.

So much of her didn't want to disturb Bobby, but she also didn't want to be alone. Downing the drink, putting the glass on the empty table, she looked out the window to see what Bobby was actually doing. She couldn’t spot him from where she was so she turned back round, standing up and deciding to just go outside to get some air. Every now and then she would check her phone for any kind of update but unsurprisingly, there was nothing. Walking over Dean's car, she saw the damage she did in daylight and actually winced. “How he didn't kill me for this I'll never know” she muttered to herself, reaching her arm through the broken window carefully and unlocking the door from the inside, where she took out the hammer she had thrown through it and inspected the rest. She saw the glass everywhere on the seating that wasn't outside on the gravel and I ew she had to clean it. It was the least she could do for Dean in time for when he returned home.

Looking around, she found one of Bobby's toolboxes and walked over to it, putting the hammer down on top of it before looking for a dustpan and brush, finding one, grabbing it and walking back to the impala. By hand, she swept all the glass that was on the seat into the dustpan and cleaned it up. Satisfied that the inside of the car was now glass free after she also swept up the floor, she carried the lot to the outside bin and chucked the glass fragments inside it. She hoped the small action would be enough to start her apology before putting the pan and brush down and heading back inside. Going back to the couch she sat down and a while later Cason returned beside her. Looking across at him, she saw him utterly unharmed which was a good sign, “hey, so..do you think your plan is working?” She asked him.

MIKA
As Cason and Castiel circled each other and started talking, she kept back and watched on. Ready to defend Cason if she thought it was warranted. They all hurt Nat by not helping Cason, she wasn't going to make it happen again. She looked towards the door when she heard spluttering, coughing and screaming from the other room. She didn't like it, she couldn't help but have a feeling if was getting closer to Dean getting more hurt. That dread only got worse when it suddenly got quiet for a moment and all she heard was Cason and Castiel talking with each other. Forcing her eyes back to the other two, she saw what Cason saw. Castiel was breaking, he was doubting everything Uriel had told him. He was actually listening to what Cason was saying to him, more than when she tried to get through to him. When Cason then finished speaking, agreeing to leave at Castiel's mercy, she gave a nod to his request in keeping Cas talking. Taken off guard internally at him kissing her temple, she let him leave to go back to Nat before looking back at Castiel.

“He's right Cas, you know he's right. I can see the doubt in your mind, it's written all over your face. You wouldn't have made Dean do this because you know it's not just or righteous.” She spoke calmly, stepping up to him a little bit more closely, not taking her eyes off of him.

Then it happened, she heard commotion in the room and her head snapped towards the door. Dean was in trouble, she could feel it in her gut and soul. “Open the damn door!” She barked at Cas, giving him a look that said she ain't playing anymore to make him open it. When the door opened, she stormed in with no real plan. Dean had ruby's knife, she had nothing. She just had to save Dean. Grabbing a crowbar off the ground swiftly, ignoring it was hurting her hand as she smacked it right around Alastair's head, just hard enough to make Alastair drop his eyes from Dean and turn his attention to her. With him now facing her, shebquickly grabbed Ruby's knife and plowed the knife into him, but missed the heart. “shit” she muttered as she took a step or two back, almost tripping over the crowbar she had moments ago dropped.

“Ah my students little lover!” He coyly teased, walking toward her, pulling the knife out of his shoulder and chucking it on the ground. “this'll be fun!” He smirked, Mika keeping her eyes on him to try and predict his next move. “I’m more to him than that” she replied, “I'd say!” He closed the gap, sniffing her, “there's definitely a fire in you, an ancient fire” He grinned, making her shudder at his closeness, understanding why Dean was actually scared of this guy. Without a second to open her mouth to retort back to her, he balled his fist and threw a punch, making her stagger backward as her head snapped sideways before she regained her balance and punched him back with all her might. She had to fight long enough for one of the others to get Dean out of here. “get Dean out of here!!” She barked out, hoping someone would hear her as she held her own as long as possible until she could no more.

Alastair grabbed her by the collars of her vest top, lifted her off the ground so she couldn't get a footing and slammed her against a pillar. She gasped as she felt the wind completely get knocked out of her lungs, and felt some kind of shank go through her spine. With a flick of his wrist, the chains that previously held him down now flew across the ground, up the pillar, over a pipe, back down and round her neck. Her skin burning hot as the iron coated chains touched her skin. She felt her feet lift up off the ground higher as the chains pulled her up, ripping the shank that was in her back out again, nothing below her to grab onto, the soles of her boots just sliding off the pillar as she felt herself being hung, the pillar scraping up her back as a guide for the chains, blood marking her trail upwards. Her eyes wide and full of fear. “now you stay right there for teacher. Class will be in session soon” Alastair coyly instructed, finger waving at her, going to turn back to focus on whoever else would be stupid enough to follow Mika inside the room, when Sam barrelling in eerily calm, arm reached out.

“Let them go and why are the demons killing Angels?!” He demanded to know answers, Mika watching as she scrambled trying to break free but each time she did, it just got tighter around her neck, and the less she was beginning to be able to move the lower half of her body. Her fingers unable to get under the chain to try and make some breathing space.This was it...this was truly her time to die after surviving an attack she shouldn't have years ago. Her extended time was done, game over. Tears welled up in her eyes as the realization hit her heart as well as her mind. She could barely struggle anymore, her flailing getting slower. Her vision blurred, voices becoming nothing but an echo and she couldn't even see where Dean was to say goodbye. She just hoped the others would look after him when she was gone, and look after Bobby. Oh god, Bobby. She couldn't say goodbye to Bobby, her Uncle, pseudo father, the man who basically raised her all through her teen years. Tears began to fall down her face.

“Dean…” she choked out, barely loud enough to even be considered a whisper. She didn't want to die like this, not here, not now. “Dean!!” She could have sworn she heard someone shouting at him, was that Natalia? Cason? Anna? Sam? She couldn't make it out. It could have even been Esme or Duke for all she knew, but their voices just all blurred into one sound. A voice seemed to scream again, but it was no good, she couldn't hold her eyes open any longer as she felt the last breath escape her lips, her head dropping down, her arms limp by her side, eyes closing. She was gone…..and she never got to say goodbye to any of them. She just wanted to see Dean one last time, die in his arms and not hanging like some demon trophy. She didn't even know if they got to Dean and got him off the floor, she didn't know if they killed Alastair or at the very least sent him back to Hell. She just wanted Dean….to feel his arms around her. To tell her it's going to be all okay and she isn't dying or dead.

SAM

Sam kept driving to the address that was on the post it note Cason gave him. Like Duke in his truck, he knew of the address, or at least the area of the address. The fact it was bare there, he knew why Uriel and Castiel chose that area of all places to hold Alastair. No humans could just stumble upon what they were doing and think they were all psychopathic humans just torturing someone. Though that didn't mean he particularly liked it. It meant he would have to be careful when he got there, making sure he did all he could to not get spotted and aware that Duke and Esme had a good head start on him. “Anna please be okay…” he kept muttering to himself to get himself through the drive. His hands were shaking from the demon blood coursing through him as he gripped the wheel tightly to lessen the shakes. He couldn't bear the thought of Uriel hurting Anna in any way and if he did, Sam was determined to kill the angel himself with his bare hands if he had to.

—-

At the location, he saw Duke's truck but not either Esme or Duke. “Dammit Duke!” He hissed, knowing Duke was no doubt just going in with no real plan. Turning the engine off, taking the keys out of the ignition, he opened the door and got out after pulling up behind Duke's truck. Normally he would have gone to the trunk and grabbed some weapons but he didn't see the point now, he was the only weapon he needed. Slapping the roof of Mika's car for good luck, he headed inside, hoping he would spot Duke and Esme at some point. He walked through the grounds, finding a way inside and sneaking around. It was then he found the hallway he needed with the room in question ahead of him.

Storming ahead, he noticed the carnage around everyone, but he didn't let himself focus on it, deciding to solely focus on Alastair in front of him as he lifted his hand and focused on slamming Alastair against the wall and pinning him there. “Let them go and who’s murdering angels? How are they doing it?” He demanded, keeping his focus. “You think I'm going to tell you?” Alastair choked out, “yeah I do” Sam replied with a twist of his hand and making Alastair's eyes roll back to the whites.

“It's not us! We're not doing it” Alastair told him. “I don’t believe you”

“Lilith isn't behind this, she wouldn't kill seven angels. She'd kill a hundred, a thousand!”

Sam paused what he was doing as his nose began to bleed a little bit, which made Alastair sneer. “Oh go ahead, send me back. If you can!” He smirked in a slight sing-song tone. “I'm stronger than that. Now I can kill” Sam replied matter of factly, holding his hand right out, focusing and pulling Alastair out of the body with a golden flickering and crackling. Alastair starts screaming before he falls silent and his body falls to the ground dead.

Cason glanced up at Nat as she asked if his plan was working. He thought about it for a moment with his lips pursed and then he tilted his head to the side, considering his answer before nodding, “I think so, yeah. I gotta let it sit for a bit, if nothing goes wrong. If something goes wrong, hopefully someone will have the brains to go outside and call…”

He scooted a bit closer to Nat and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, just needing to feel her close to him for a moment. He still felt a bit…guilty? For leaving her behind, and for not giving her much of a choice or any agency, which wasn’t like him with her. Or at least, it hadn’t been when he had first met her. Maybe things were too deep now, for him to keep himself from practically tying her down, and he needed to find a way to deal with it, other than physically keeping her out of hunting. She would go insane.

“You haven’t been going insane while I’ve been gone, have you?” He asked gently, reaching his hand up to brush his thumb across her cheek. He thought for a moment, and then he sighed and shook his head, “Until I find a way to keep you tethered to me in some way, I just can’t have you running around near Angels. They’re unpredictable and ruthless…real similar to demons. The one in the trench coat? I think he may be coming to our side, which scares me almost more than when he was against us…”



Dean took another heavy blow to the face, then another and a few more, before he finally dropped to the ground, flat on his cheek with a groan. He wheezed, spitting a mouth full of blood, before defiantly picking his head up from the floor, just in time to see Mika blast the side of Alastair’s head with a crowbar. Reaching out to Mika, Dean was startled, when the arms that came around his torso weren’t hers. They were Duke’s.

“I got ya bub. I got ya. C’mon. We gotta go…” Duke started, before Mika stabbed Alastair and for a moment, Duke thought that she had killed him. His heart hammered with excitement, but seeing Alastair pull the knife from his shoulder and toss it aside like it was nothing caused Duke’s heart to sink. He sat Dean back down and slowly stood from the floor, his body low and ready to pounce if something went down. The wind flew out of his lungs as Alastair actually punched Mika, but she got him back, and Duke continued to step forward toward the demons back.

Castiel showed up next to Dean, wrapping an arm around Dean’s waist to hoist him to his feet. As Cas began to turn and walk out of the room with Dean, Dean peered up from his swollen eyes and in tandem with Duke, he cried out, his voice soft and hoarse but Duke’s echoing in the room, “Mika! No!”

“No, no, no, no, no. You son of a bitch!” Duke screamed, realizing that Mika wasn’t just chained to the pole, she was gravely injured, judging by the blood trail that was left as she was raised up the pillar. As Alastair turned to him, glaring down at him, Duke felt his throat tighten and he brought both his hands up, clutching at his chin as Alastair choked him. Just as he began to see stars, Sam barreled through the door and he slammed Alastair against the wall. Duke fell to his knees, but he quickly scrambled to his feet, coughing to try and catch his breath.

“Mika! I’m not leaving. Get off of me! Mika!” Dean cried out, trying to wrench himself from Castiel’s arms as his heart shattered in his chest. The longer he was away from Mika, the more he could feel her slipping away from him, until he couldn’t feel her in the room at all. His struggling in Castiel’s arms began to slow as his body went cold and numb, and he fell to his knees, Castiel simply leaning with him, until they were both on the ground.

“Dean, there’s nothing you can do. We need to go.” Castiel said simply.

“No! I won’t leave without her! I won’t!” Dean cried out, his face almost touching the floor until he heard Sam torturing Alastair, in what felt like an entirely different universe. He raised his head, watching his brother use his powers like they were second nature to him, and the ease in which Sam wrenched information out of Alastair drew the pit in Dean’s stomach even further down toward his feet. He was going to lose Sam and Mika, all in one night. But suddenly, Sam caused Alastair to spark and die, the simplicity of it shocking Dean’s heart and causing his ears to ring as he stared at Sam with wide eyes, struggling to breathe. “Sammy. Mika…”

Duke dragged his feet as he pulled his lip between his teeth, stifling a deep sob that broke from his throat as he approached Mika, where she hanged. He reached his shaky hands up, running his fingers along the chains as Mika’s blood rolled down the pillar, soaking into the front of his shirt as he stepped closer. He finally found one of the ends of the chain, and pushed it through another part, the chain falling loose, but still holding her body up a bit. Duke reached up, bracing her limp body by her armpit for a moment while he freed the rest of the chain, and her body fell forward onto his chest. With a strangled whimper, he stumbled back, and then leaned forward, falling with her onto the floor.

“Please, babygirl. Please. C’mon.” Duke’s shaky voice called out to her, as if there was a chance she would come back to him. He rolled her slightly, pressing his hand to her back, where he pulled it back, covered in enough blood that he closed his eyes tightly, tilting his head back with a soft sob. This wasn’t right and it wasn’t fair. Of all people, Mika deserved it probably the least. Duke placed his bloody hand on the back of Mika’s head and he brought her forehead up to touch his, his tears falling over her cheeks as he broke. It felt as if he had lost half of his soul. Someone had reached into his chest, ripped his soul in half and pulled it out, crushing it. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I was supposed to protect you…I always did. Please…”

Duke felt warmth against the side of his head, and a heavy weight pressing against his side as Dean crawled over to him, and leaned in. Duke didn’t budge, just tilting his face against Dean’s as they both cried, feeling every ounce of the other’s emotions, all at once. Duke knew that Dean had lost the one person on this planet that held him together. She was his constant and his peace. Without her, Duke couldn’t imagine the road that Dean might go down.

“Dean.” Castiel called out to them, and Dean didn’t budge, until Duke placed a hand on the back of Dean’s neck, squeezing gently. “Dean you have internal bleeding. I need to heal you.”

“No. Not until you bring her back.”

“I can’t.” Castiel muttered sadly, and he shook his head, standing above Dean and Duke.

“Why not?!” Dean cried out, causing Duke to flinch, but Castiel was unmoved as he reached down and grabbed Dean’s arm, disappearing with him. He reappeared outside the door with Dean, and leaned Dean back against the door, pressing his palm to Dean’s forehead. Dean’s wounds healed immediately, and he took a deep breath, glaring at Castiel. “Why can’t you bring her back?!”

“It’s complicated. Bridging the gap between life and death his hard enough, when it’s required of us. We can’t just interfere…especially not with Mika, and the nature of her death.”

“You mean to tell me that she died…” Dean started to question Castiel, but he couldn’t even finish the sentence as the absence of pain caused his stomach to cramp painfully, and he turned back to the door, pulling it open. He stepped into the room, his eyes falling instantly on Duke, cradling Mika in his arms, rocking with her as he cried. Dean rolled his shoulders for a moment, and then he stepped forward, reluctantly squatting on the floor in front of Duke. He didn’t speak to him, shoving an arm under Mika’s back, smearing his skin with her blood, and then he pushed his other hand under her knees, standing with a groan from the floor, and pulling Mika away from Duke. Duke didn’t move much, staying on his knees as he watched Dean silently press a kiss to Mika’s forehead, and then he walked out of the room with her.

Duke turned his face back to look at the floor in front of him, his entire body numb and shaking as a few random tears fell down his cheeks. He wasn’t even sure he was alive, outside of the heavy thud of his heart pounding in his ears. In that moment, he wanted to sink into the ground, or wrangle up some demon to make a deal that Mika would hate him for, for the rest of her life. He wanted to kill every demon that existed on the planet, and at the same time, he wanted to go with her. It was short sighted, and he would leave plenty of anguish and mourning in his wake, but it would be better than this feeling.

His own death flashed in his mind a few times, thinking that this must have been how Esme felt when he died. It didn’t feel fair. It didn’t feel real. At the same time, he was feeling everything at once, and he knew…he didn’t want to live without Mika, not after all these years. As he brought his hands up in front of his pale face, he just stared at them blankly, barely blinking. This wasn’t real…



Anna’s head snapped up as she heard Esme’s voice, her heart hammering in her chest with excitement. Esme had come for her! Which meant that someone was likely with her, which meant that maybe they were getting out unscathed, and no one was going to die. She looked up toward the window of the room and rattled her chains, before swallowing heavily at Esme’s question.

“Yeah! He hasn’t hurt me yet. I’m just stuck here!” Anna called back to Esme. Anna’s foot tapped nervously against the pipe it was chained to as it seemed to be taking Esme a while to get through the door. Of course the door was reinforced and heavy. Uriel would never trust Anna not to find a way to break free from her handcuffs while high on demon blood, and if she could break free of the handcuffs, some flimsy door wasn’t going to hold her back.

But Anna’s eyes went wide as the doorknob was melted from the door, and the door swung open. She stared at the door for a moment, as Esme ran to her, and her eyes caught up, turning to look at Esme. She wanted to ask her how the hell she had managed to melt a steel doorknob, but she didn’t have it in her to ask. She just wanted to be released from the chains.

“Y-you look good too. I’m assuming Duke is with you?” Anna asked, but she couldn’t carry on her questioning, which was eventually going to land on the subject of Sam. Esme crumbled the handcuffs and chains with some sort of power that Anna could have never dreamed that she had. In shock, Anna scanned Esme’s eyes, watching the bright light fade from them with wide eyes. She nodded nervously at Esme’s question, and she scooted back against the wall, sliding her body up onto her feet without touching Esme’s hands.

She nodded quickly once again at the instructions Esme gave, but before she stepped off to hurry downstairs, Anna shuddered and she couldn’t help but ask, “Esme…are you…are you a witch?”

She didn’t expect an answer, and shook her head, closing her eyes tightly with her brow furrowed, “You know what? Don’t answer that. Let’s go help the others.”

Anna stepped off finally from her place against the wall, and she jogged out the door, looking around the warehouse for any sign of a stairwell. Luckily, the lights were brightly shining down on the only stairwell in the hall, and Anna scoffed at their luck, running toward them, keeping at a pace to keep Esme close. She rounded the top of the staircase, quickly running down the stairs, almost taking two at a time as she only thought of one thing…to get to Sam before he got himself killed.

As she reached the boiler room, she could hear the chaos taking place in the other room, and she ran toward the door. As soon as she reached the door, she could hear Sam screaming at Alastair, and her heart dropped to her feet. Alastair would kill him. He would kill him and in the most brutal and creative way possible. But her eyes…landed on Dean.

“DEAN!” She cried out, as she pulled the door open and sprinted toward him, reaching back and grabbing Esme’s hand. No matter what, they needed to stay together. The questions could come later on. As she approached Dean, she looked up, just as Sam killed Alastair and the wind was knocked out of her lungs. Everything around her went silent, and Anna watched Alastair’s body slump over, dead. She couldn’t tell if the ringing in her ears, and sudden slow motion of the entire room was relief, or if she was afraid of Sam, in that moment. Sam had killed Alastair with his powers, snuffed him like it was nothing. Anna willed her heavy legs forward, as Sam panted. She crashed into his back, her eyes wide and her breathing ragged and terrified as she wrapped her arms around his waist, holding onto him for dear life. If she could have cleared her mind enough, the sight not far from his feet would have broken her, but she could see and hear nothing else other than Sam’s shirt against her cheek, his hot skin radiating against hers as she listened to his heart hammering.

“He’s dead. It’s over. He’s dead.” She breathed, panting as her heartbeat synced with Sam’s and she closed her eyes tightly.

As Esme stood with her hands stretched out to Anna, she watched Anna react to what she had just seen her do. She sighed inwardly and held up her hands. “Yes, I came with Duke.” she told her as she stepped back, showing she wouldn't do anything to Anna. Of course, Anna would be wary of her after seeing her melt the steel doorknob and then crumble the handcuffs and chains under her hands. She didn't mean to scare Anna in any way with her magic, but it was the only way to free her quickly. Thinking about it now, she should have given her a bit of a warning before going straight into it. And now, out of the whole group, Anna was the only one who knew Esme could use magic. She wondered if Anna would bring it up to anyone later after they were out of there. The first person she could see her telling was Sam. Momentarily getting lost in her thoughts, she didn’t see Anna nod to her instructions, but her next words pulled her out of her thoughts. A slight smirk played at the corners of her mouth at the question. ‘Of course, you’d ask that.’ she thought.

Esme had already started to shake her head when Anna told her not to answer. She may not know what exactly she was, but she was sure she wasn’t a Witch. She may know how to use magic thanks to her Godmother, who was a fairly powerful Witch, but that didn’t make her one. “Yes, let’s.” she responded with a nod. Once Anna stepped off, Esme followed closely behind her, looking for a stairwell leading down to the basement. Lucky for them, it was lit up brightly. Esme could have laughed at the luck, but now was not the time to laugh. Following Anna to the staircase, she could feel her stomach cramping with anxiety already for what they would find. Pieces of her visions flashed before her eyes as they descended the stairs. She wished she wouldn’t have to see any of it, but something told her that no matter how much she wished, she would see exactly what she saw in her visions. Before they reached the boiler room door, Esme could already feel the emotions radiating from behind it, and she didn’t like it at all. Then, she could hear the chaos taking place in the room.

Esme swallowed heavily as she ran to the door with Anna and heard Sam yelling at Alastair. Her stomach cramped more, fearing that he was going to get himself killed. When Anna opened the door, Esme didn’t have a chance to take anything in with her eye before Anna cried out Dean’s name, grabbed her hand, and pulled her toward Dean. Her eyes became saucers as they landed on Dean, with Anna pulling her closer. He looked exactly like he did in her vision. Pulling her gaze from Dean, she looked over at Sam just as he used his powers to kill Alastair. She watched as she watched Alastair’s body spark and slump over. At that moment, Esme didn’t know if she should be scared of Sam or relieved that he killed a major threat, as if it were nothing. Anna’s movement pulled her gaze from Sam, and she looked around the room, her eyes falling on Duke. She felt frozen where she stood as she stared at his back, watching him free Mika’s body from the pillar before he collapsed with her to the floor. Her eyes welled up with tears as he looked just like he did in her vision.

“No. Out of everything I saw, I didn’t want this to be true.” she whispered softly to herself. “Mika didn’t deserve this.” Hearing Duke’s words to Mika’s body, Esme wanted to go over to him, but she was still frozen to the spot, her whole body feeling like lead. It only got worse and was followed by an aching burn in her chest when Dean crawled over to Duke and cried with him. It was all becoming almost too much to handle. Esme knew that she would lose him mentally if she didn’t go to Duke soon. She knew that he’d run off and become reckless and get himself killed. She also knew that they could lose Dean as well. Taking a breath, Esme was about to walk over to them when she heard Casteil speak to Dean, causing her to narrow her eyes at the angel. She wanted to yell at him for not stepping in and stopping this from happening. Esme flinched just as Duke did when Dean cried at Castiel, pulling her slightly from her frozen state. When Casiel disappeared with Dean, Esme looked at Duke’s back sadly as she sniffled.

Her mind was racing with thoughts of what Duke would do once they got out of the warehouse and back to Bobby’s. She knew he more than likely wouldn’t do anything until the numbness wore off, but she knew he would do something that would result in him doing something stupid. Esme was once again pulled from her thoughts when Dean re-entered the room, now healed, walked over to Duke, and took Mika’s body from him without a word. She watched as Dean placed a kiss on Mika’s forehead and then left the room. When Dean was out of sight, Esme looked back at Duke, her heart dropping at his state. Willing herself to move from her spot, she quickly went to Duke and dropped to her knees in front of him as he brought up his bloody hands and stared blankly at them. Esme forced back her tears as she looked at Duke’s blood-soaked hands, trying to be the strong one for them, then looked into his pale, tear-stained face. “Duke, My Love?” she said sadly before gently pulling his hands from in front of his face. She wanted to tell him it would be alright, but she couldn’t because she felt like it wasn’t.

“Look at me.” Esme told him as she gently took his face into her hands. “I’m here…. I’m here, My Love.” She scanned his face, trying to read his thoughts, stroking his cheeks with her thumbs. She knew he blamed himself for Mika dying and was devastated about losing her; she could feel that strongly, and it caused her chest to burn intensely with pain. She knew he probably wanted to track down a demon to make a deal to bring Mika back, and he probably wanted to kill every one of them at the same time. But what she could never think of was him wanting to die with her, even if she should have. It was a thought she couldn’t allow herself even to touch on. ‘Don’t check out on me now. Not until we get back to the truck or home so I can take care of you.’ she thought. Esme leaned forward a bit, then gently pulled Duke’s face closer to press their foreheads together gently. “Don’t blame yourself for what happened. In no way is this your fault.” she told him softly but matter of fact. “And I’m sure she’d tell you the same…. I may not have known her well, but I know she wouldn’t want you blaming yourself for what happened.”

Closing her eyes briefly, Esme lightly sighed, then nuzzled her forehead against his to comfort him a little. Placing a soft kiss on his lips, she pulled back just enough to look into his sad blue eyes. She wanted to believe that if Mika hadn’t gone with Dean in the first place, she’d still be alive, but she knew that Mika would have found another way to get to the warehouse, and the outcome would have been no different. Almost as if it was fated to happen, not that she totally believed in fate. If she were to blame anyone for this, she would blame Castiel. He had brought Dean and Mika to the warehouse and was there through it all, but he did nothing to stop Alastair from killing Mika. Thinking about him standing there doing nothing made her furious, and she clenched her jaw. Mentally shaking her head, she focused back on Duke as she fought to keep control of her emotions and not let the emotions in the room overwhelm her. Her main objective was to get Duke outside, into his truck, and back home. “Now, I need you to stand up so we can get out of here and go home.” she told Duke softly. “We’ve been here long enough.”

Releasing Duke’s face, Esme moved to his left side, slipped her hand into his pocket, pulled out his truck keys, and slid them into her pocket. He was in no shape to drive, and there was no way she would let him try. She then draped his left arm over her shoulders, wrapped her right arm around his waist, placed her left hand on his stomach, and hoisted him up off the floor with some difficulty. “Come on. Nice and slow.” she said softly once she felt Duke and herself were steady. Esme slowly led Duke to the door, holding him close to her, half fearing he’d run off. Once at the door, she opened it and pulled him through, down the hall, up the stairs, through the building, and out the next door. Once outside, she took a deep breath and led him to his truck. “We’re almost there.” she told Duke. At the truck, Esme pulled the keys from her pocket, unlocked the driver's door, opened it, and made Duke sit in the seat. She stuck close to Duke, mostly to watch him as the others got settled for the ride home. She couldn’t even bring herself to look towards Mika’s car or at Dean. It was far too painful at the moment while trying to stay strong for Duke.

Once they got back home and she got Duke to calm down and rest, she could break down in her own space, but until then, she would do her best to keep it together. She placed her hand on his thigh and looked into his face, her features soft and caring. “Please don’t bottle what you’re feeling.” she started in a loving tone. “I won’t force you to talk to me, but know I’m here to listen when you’re ready.” Esme brought up her free hand and gently placed it on Duke’s cheek. “All I ask is that you don’t hide from me…. I love you, and I want to be there for you.”

MIKA

Mika began to stir awake on a dark floor, the pain in her back and neck still evident enough to make her reach round with a hand and feel her back but felt no puncture wound. She then lifted the same hand round and up to her neck, but felt nothing there either. “What the hell?!” She gasped to herself, as she forced herself up onto her feet. Looking around she saw nothing but darkness all around. “Dean?! Duke!!” She yelled out, her voice only echoing all around her but no sign of any of them replying to her. “Where am I?” She asked herself, suddenly feeling cold, colder than she had ever felt before. She could have sworn she was just fighting Alastair, and for the briefest of moments thought she had beat him.

“Dean!!” She yelled out again as she began to force herself walking forward even if there was no sign of going anywhere in particular. Wrapping her arms round herself rightly, she kept trudging forward desperate to find the others, desperate to find Dean but with each step she began to remember more and more of what went down in the warehouse. Alastair shanked her on a pillar, then hung her with iron chains. She died…she actually died. “No…I can't have…” she began to talk to herself, wishing that a different outcome would come to fruition. The fear now set in that she was dead and she had no idea where she ended up, tears welling up in her eyes. It certainly didn't feel or look like Hell, and it most definitely didn't seem to Heaven so where was she? She had to find a clue from somewhere. So she did all she knew how to do…keep moving forward until she found something to help herself.

NATALIA

Hearing that Cason thought his plan was working made Nat nod. She really hoped it had begun to set the wheels in motion to work as she didn't know how their group could honestly stand against the angels on their own. They needed an angel on their side in her opinion if they were to have a single hope in winning this fight. As he scooter closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, she leaned into him and placed a hand on his thigh. She could feel he needed to be close to her as much as she wanted to be close to him, still worried about the others being in the proximity of Alastair and two angels. She still couldn't help but feel something bad was going to happen, despite trying to convince herself she was just being pessimistic because it was in her nature to be so.

His question made her smile slightly but not because she was happy, shaking her head. “Not too insane. I began the process of tidying up Dean's car for when he gets back. Cleared out all the glass anyway…” she explained as he stroked her cheek. At his next words, she listened. If any other person had said that to her she would have been creeped out, found it a red flag or controlling, but in their lives, especially her as a hunter, she understood why he wanted to do all he could to give her every advantage of never getting hurt. Hearing that Angels were just as unpredictable as demons, and certainly as ruthless was both surprising and yet not surprising all at the same time. She saw how cruel Uriel was, him calling her a demon whore still rang through her mind and that was nothing compared to what they were making Dean do right now. “If Cas is coming onto our side, I completely understand why that would terrify you more than him not being on our side, but I can't help but feel like we need him on this side of the fight. A man on the inside so to speak.” She replied to him truthfully. Giving his leg a gentle squeeze she sighed. “I just really hope this bad feeling I got in the pit of my stomach is wrong” she sighed.

“It feels like I only just got a family again, I don't think I can't handle losing any of them..not again” she admitted to him, knowing whatever she said to him would remain with him and not go anywhere else, unless it really needed to in a life or death situation. She leaned her head against his as they waited for any kind of sign that the group were heading back or an update of any kind.

SAM

As Sam regained his breath and composure, he let himself compute the fact that the badly thought out plan actually worked. Alastair was dead. He felt Anna's small frame crash into his back and her arms wrap around his waist, but he could barely move initially. Like Anna, he couldn't take notice of the sight off to his left near his feet as he took in her shaky words of Alastair being finally dead. He couldn't torment Anna anymore, or Dean. One big threat was finally defeated and now they had Lilith to focus on. He slowly placed his hands on Anna's arms, holding her to him closely as he let it sink in. “I'm sorry I went behind your back…” he whispered to her before finally looking down and seeing Duke cradling Mika's dead body. He felt like the wind just got knocked out of him, part of his mind wanted to see anyone other than Mika dead on the floor. He didn't want to believe he wasn't quick enough to save both Dean and Mika. “....m..Mika?” He stammered, finding it difficult to get her name out of his mouth for the first time in his life. His hands began to shake against Anna's arms, hearing Duke begging Mika to wake up and apologizing for not protecting her. That was exactly how he himself felt, as he was so convinced that him turning up and killing Alastair would save and protect her and Dean. He was convinced they would all come out of this alive and relatively unscathed, but he was wrong.

He was oh so wrong and now he's lost his older sister. The one woman he always saw as becoming the official sister he grew up with. That it would have always been him, Dean, Anna and Mika, against the world and the four of them would be the formidable endgame. Gripping tightly onto Anna's arms, he forced himself to keep it together as he saw Dean crawl over to Duke and Mika, sharing the moment of grief together. He felt so out of the situation, his mind beginning to completely disassociate, his tears as quickly they began to fall, seized. He couldn't even acknowledge the begging to Castiel to bring Mika back or Dean being taken out of the room to be healed against his will. He couldn't even truly acknowledge Dean re-entering the room and taking Mika's body from Duke, leaving Duke in the ground or Esme coming to Duke's side. It was only when Dean reached the doorway that he turned to his brother, “get to the car, I parked behind Duke's truck…I'll help get everyone else out” he said, but there was absolutely no emotion in his voice. A sure sign he had disassociated himself from everything.

“We gotta go…” he said to the others, knowing the moment he got outside he would have to call Bobby. He waited for Esme to get Duke off the floor and when they were all good to go, he followed Esme and Duke back outside, holding Anna's hand firmly in the hopes it would stop shaking. Pulling his phone out, keeping a hold of her hand with his free hand, he speed-dialed Bobby's home number and waited for him to pick up. He had no idea how he was going to tell him his niece died at the hands of Alastair, but he knew he had to.

“Bobby…it's Mika…she's uhh…she's…gone. Alastair killed her…” he stammered out when Bobby eventually answered, still feeling pretty mentally distant from the situation as he walked closer to Mika's car and where Dean was holding Mika's body. He glanced down at Anna, letting go of her hand to pull out the car keys, handing them to her whilst giving her the look to request she helped Dean get Mika's body into the car by unlocking the car for him, whilst he was on the phone. He needed help as he mentally couldn't deal with it all on his own and he hoped Anna could decipher his look.