"Mmh, good morning, sweetheart." Jack said in his morning voice, his thumb rubbing over my bare back.
I smiled sleepily and rested my chin on his chest. "Morning, Jack."
Someone knocked on the door and the doorknob jiggled. "Hey. Why's this door locked?" Cass said from the other side. "Get up. We got a case."
He sighed softly. "Okay, Cass." he said and started to get out of bed, but I pulled him back to me.
"No. Five more minutes." I said as I cuddled close to him.
He groaned softly in complaint, but wrapped me in his arms and kissed the top of my head. "Five more minutes."
"Jack, Anna." Cass knocked on the door again.
"Be out soon." Jack replied with a sigh, kissing me and getting out of bed, putting his boxers back on and opening his drawer.
I laid in bed for a little while longer before finding my bra and underwear, putting them on and the a dark blue shirt that Jack tossed to me; putting the shirt on and the black leggings I wore yesterday before the two of us heading out and into the main room where the angel was.
"Where's Sam and Dean?" Jack asked.
"They've gone out. I need to head out as well to meet up with them." Cass answered, "Will you two be okay here?"
"We're fine. Go find Sam and Dean." I said, having Cass nod and disappear in a flurry of invisible wings.
I looked at Jack. "What'd you wanna do now?"
"Shopping? Movie? Dancing?" he suggested.
"You hate dancing." I reminded him.
"But you don't." He answered with a smile, wrapping me in his arms and kissing my forehead, brushing my hair behind my shoulder.
"Anna. Jack." Cass appeared once again.
I jumped slightly. "Cass. What're you doing back here?"
"Change of plans. Sam and Dean got us a case." Cass took our arms and we disappeared in a bright flash of light, appearing in front of the two brothers as they sat on the hood of the Impala.
"Busy night?" Dean asked with a smirk at us.
"Dean! Seriously. We've been here for all of one second. How could you know?" I asked.
"One, you're wearing his shirt. Two, you look like you guys haven't slept. Three, lucky guess." he answered.
"Let's leave the interrogation for later. Right now, we need to pick up Rowena at the motel." Sam said.
"Rowena?" I asked as we all got into the Impala, me being squished between Jack and Cass once again.
"Yeah. She's helping us with tracking this monster." Dean answered as we drove down the road; the whole car ride was awkward silence until we got to the motel, getting out and heading into the motel, heading up to their motel room.
"Rowena. We're ready to head out." Sam said as he knocked on the door to a room.
The door opened and Rowena stepped out, closing the door. "Then let's go, shall we?"
I looked at Dean and he sighed before nodding and all of us walked out of the motel and packing into the Impala. The drive there was unbearable. But, luckily, it wasn't much of a drive.
We got out and the two brothers gave me a gun and Jack and Cass angel blades before we all entered the house.
"Something's burning." I noted when a burning smell filled the air the closer we got to the kitchen.
"Yeah. Looks like it's that guy." Dean answered as he put his gun away, pointing to a dead guy with his chest split open and his eyeballs missing.
"That's disgusting." I said as I put my gun away as well, walking over to the kitchen of mangled body parts.
"It looks like he's cooking them." Jack said as he opened a lid to see blackened flesh, closing it again.
"Aw, come on." Dean sighed.
"Seriously. How does this keep happening? I thought we had him this time." Sam said.
"My money's on witchcraft." Dean said.
"Always blaming witches." Rowena said.
"Cause a lot of times it is witches. Your tracking spell was supposed to make this easier." Dean said to her.
"Huh! There I was in the middle of a glorious rosewater and vanilla-oil massage, hidden away at an exclusive desert spa, when you called, begging for my help." Rowena said.
"Well, because we've been chasing this guy for weeks. What's your point?" Dean asked.
"My point, Dean, is that you asked for my assistance, and I obliged. And while the killer eluded us, he looked like he was here quite recently. I'd call that a success."
"Oh, yeah, that's a success." Dean picked up something and tossed it to Sam.
"Okay, looks like our dinner guest here is Dennis Barron. He's 43, and this is his house. No signs of forced entry and no restrains." Sam said.
"Well, not...everything." Jack said as he showed us the shedded skin of a snake.
"Maybe it's his pet?" I guessed.
"This place doesn't exactly scream "snake guy." Sam said.
"Not enough Pantera posters, for one." Rowena spoke.
Jack coughed and we all looked at him. "There was some pepper on something. I don't know. I'm fine. I'm not dying."
"Okay, so, what? This guy's some real Houdini?" Dean asked.
"Well, however he's avoiding us, he's now claimed the lives of at least six people in northern New Mexico. That we know about." Cass said.
"Aye, but this is the first one I've seen in the flesh. Did they all have these blackened lips?" Rowena asked.
"Yeah, it just black patches of skin around their face and neck." Sam answered.
"Yeah, but we're more focused on their missing eyeballs." Dean said.
"Do the black lips mean something?" Jack asked Rowena.
"Darling boy, everything means something. Be a dear and bring the snakeskin." Rowena said to Jack.
"Okay, Sam and Rowena, head back to the motel and do some research while Cass, Jack, Anna, and I grab a cup of coffee." Dean said to them.
"We'll grab you guys some." I told Sam and Rowena.
💠💠💠
"I gotta say, I feel pretty good about bringing Rowena in on this one. She and Sam might have a chance at cracking it." Dean said as he sat next to Cass in the booth.
"They do have many books." Cass said.
"Yes, they do." Dean nodded and sniffed a little.
"Hey, Dean? You okay?" I asked when he stayed quiet for far too long.
"I'm fine, Anna." he waved me off.
"What you're doing, even just sitting here drinking a cup of coffee is a Herculean feat. I can't imagine the willpower to keep Michael imprisoned." Cass said, "so. Are you really fine?"
"I don't know, Cass. But that's what I'm supposed to say, right? I'm fine, just keep on moving? That's what we all say." Dean said.
"No, Dean." I shook my head.
"Okay. There is this pounding in my head. It never stops. Michael's in there, trying every second to get out. And I can't let my guard down. Not for a second. I'm barely sleeping."
"That's not sustainable." Cass said.
"No. No. It's probably not. But...there's no point in complaining about it. It's on me."
"No. It's on us. We are here to help you." Cass said.
"I know that. And I appreciate that. I do. But before the kid gets back, I know I agreed to give you guys time—"
"Hey, Dean. And we will find a solution." Cass said.
"Okay, but if you don't...we still have Plan B."
"No." I said stubbornly.
"Coffin. Ocean. Done." Dean listed off.
Jack came back over to us and sat in the booth next to me, clearing his throat.
"Are you alright?" I asked.
"I'm fine." He answered.
"Hey, see? Look at that. Everyone's fine." Dean said.
"What?"
"Nothing." Dean said to Jack.
"Okay. These killings. It seems like they're a ritualistic quality to the crime scenes. It's almost liturgical." Cass said.
I looked at Jack and Dean's blank faces. "Highly religious."
"I knew that. I just wanted to make sure you knew what it meant." Dean said to me.
"Sure, Dean," I smiled.
"Maybe we're wrong and this isn't a monster after all. Maybe it's just a sick person who's been getting lucky." Cass said.
"Anyone who could do this is a monster. Even if they're human." Jack said.
"The kid's not wrong." Dean said and picked up his ringing phone. "Yeah? Okay. Got it." he hung up. "Sam and Rowena's got something."
We got up and paid for our drinks, heading back to the Impala and driving the short way back to the motel, walking in and opening the door to the room.
"What do you guys got?" I asked as I sat on the arm of the couch as the other three sat on the couch.
"We made some progress." Sam said.
"This is like an A.V. club presentation." Dean said.
"What's an A.V. club?" Jack asked.
"It's a special group for people who don't play sports." Cass said.
"Yeah, him, he's A.V. club." Dean pointed to Cass.
"Excuse me. But this is a little more pressing than your bickering. I believe we are hunting a gorgon. An ancient, corded being with an affinity for snakes and a hunger for human flesh." Rowena said.
"Snakes for hair? Like Medusa." Dean said.
"You know about Medusa?" Rowena asked.
"Clash of the Titains" Turns guys to stone?" Dean said.
"Oh. That's the exaggeration version. It's not stone. More of a venom-included paralysis. Hence, the black lips." Rowena said.
"And that's why the victims didn't fight back." I said.
"And the snakeskin, which, frankly, was a bit on the nose."
"Yeah. So we expanded our search based on this new information, and we found 17 unexplained deaths that could fit our guy. Last three months, moving west across the southern U.S."
"Legend has it, every few months, the gorgon goes on a spree and gorges itself." Rowena said.
"Like a snake. That makes sense." Dean said.
"So, is there anything in there that explains why the gorgon keeps eluding us?" Cass asked.
"According the mythology, it was believed that when gorgons ate the eyes of their victims, they could see a glimpse of the future." I said.
Rowena looked impressed. "Yes. And that is the reason that he sees you coming."
"So, even if we use your tracking spell again, he'll know." Cass said.
"So....how do we get him?" Jack asked.
"I don't know." Sam answered.
💠💠💠
Sam's phone rang and he picked it up, answering the call from Dean. "Hey. What do you got?"
"So, the gorgon can see you, me, Rowena, and Anna." Dean said over the phone.
"For the record, I don't love being in this little hit list." Rowena said.
"But can't see Cass and Jack?" Dean said.
"It's odd and glaring omission." Cass added.
"No. It's our shot." Sam chuckled slightly. "I mean, this guy—for some reason, he—he can't see angels."
"I'm not an angel." Jack stated.
"You're close enough. So, Jack, if you and I approach Noah on our own, we may surprise him." Cass said.
"Yeah. I-it's risky. But I think it's probably out best play." Sam said.
"Rowena. Get your tracking spell ready." Dean said and ended the call.
Sam stood up and pocketed his phone. "Okay. You got everything you need?"
"Aye, but I should mix up an antidote to the gorgon's poison in case one of you all get sloppy. I'll just need a wee bit of antivenom."
"Antivenom's a controlled substance. How do you—"
"Don't worry. I have a plan." She said and looked at Jack, smiling.
"I'm going to hate this, aren't I?" I asked.
"Most likely, yes." Rowena said to me.
Jack smiled nervously at the witch.
💠💠💠
Sam walked back over to us after having gotten off the phone with Maggie. "Okay. Everyone ready?"
"Yeah." Dean answered.
"He's less than an hour away from us and not moving." Rowena said.
"All right, well, break out the silver blades. Maggie says decapitation is the only way to kill these things." Sam said.
"But if we went off with their heads, then is more creatures gonna crawl out?" Dean asked as he handed us silver blades.
"Wait. Other creatures?" Jack asked.
"He's talking about "Clash of the Titans" again. Don't worry about it." I said to him.
"A few drops of this concoction should counteract any poison. Theoretically." Rowena said as she handed Cass a small vial filled with dark liquid.
"That's comforting." Cass said as he pocketed the vial in his jacket.
"Yeah, well, assuming you're not all paralyzed or eaten...off with his head." Rowena said.
"Okay. Let's go." Dean said and the five of us walked out of the motel and got into the Impala, driving to where Rowena had tracked Noah and parking just outside.
"Hey. Be careful in there." I said to Cass and Jack.
"We will." Cass nodded and the two of them went up to the door.
"Okay. It's go time." Dean said as the three of us got out of the car and got out our silver blades, heading through the already-open doors and seeing Cass laying on the ground, Jack struggling to get up after the gorgon slammed his knee into his stomach.
"Hello, Dean. Wish I could say it's nice to meet you in person." Noah said.
"Yeah. It's a real pleasure." Dean answered as Sam and I rushed at Noah and swung our blades at him, having him grab our collars and throw us into the cabinets.
Noah grabbed onto Dean's jacket and slammed his head into the wall hard twice, throwing him to the ground.
"Dean!" Sam shouted as he got up, helping me up and both of us running at Noah and being tossed aside like rag dolls. "Time for me to head out."
A blade sliced Noah's head off and he fell in pieces on the ground, the. It's of us seeing Jack standing above the dead body with a blood-smeared blade.
"You guys okay?" Jack asked as he helped us up.
"Yeah. Check on Cass. I got Dean." Sam said as he ran over to where his brother was.
Jack and I knelt next to Cass and I found the vial on the carpeted floor, pouring a few drops into his mouth and screwing the lid back on, the two of us waiting for it to take affect.
"Why isn't it working?" Jack asked me.
"I don't know." I answered, looking at Jack and shaking my head. "Jack. No. You can't use your powers."
"He's dying, Anna." he answered and pressed his glowing fingertips to Cass' temples, having him sit up a moment later.
"What are you doing?" Cass asked Jack.
"You're okay." Jack patted his back.
"Dean? Hey. Wake up! Dean!" Sam said, shaking his shoulder. "Guys! We need to get him back to the bunker!"
💠💠💠
"Jack. I'm sure Dean will get through this. He's a fighter." I said as Cass and I walked into Jack's room.
He looked up. "I hate seeing him like that. But he's gonna be okay, right? I mean, it was a fight. It was just a fight."
"Jack, everything we go out there's always a risk." Cass said.
"I-I can't think about losing him or Sam, or you, or Anna. I just—I hate thinking about it." Jack said.
"Yeah, so do I. But, Jack...you know, Sam and Dean and Anna. They're human. They're very extraordinary, brave, special humans, but they're—they're still humans." Cass said, continuing on. "And humans burn brightly, but for a very brief time compared to thing like us, eventually, they're gone. Even the very best ones, and we have to carry on. It's just—it's part of growing up."
"Losing people?"
Cass nodded. "Yes."
"What's the point? I mean, what's the point of being a cosmic being if everyone I care about is just gonna....leave?" Jack asked.
"The point is that they were here at all and you got to know them, you—when they're gone, it will hurt, but that hurt will remind you of how much you loved them." Cass said.
Jack looked to me, then back at Cass. "That sounds....awful."
"It is. But it's also living. So when Dean wakes up—and he will wake up—you just have to appreciate the time we all have together now."
Jack stood up. "What if he doesn't wake up? What about Michael? What if—"
"I don't know, Jack." Cass said.
"Okay, but I could use my powers."
"No, Jack. I get that you want to help, but you cannot—" Cass said.
"What is the good of having these powers if I can't protect the people I love?" Jack asked.
"Jack, I understand how frustrating it is." Cass said.
Jack sighed and walked over to the container where the snake was, setting his hand on it.
"You're keeping the snake?" Cass asked.
"Yeah. Rowena said that the gorgons can see people's fate. And Noah said that he could see me. That—that story."
"The story about the chicken and the snake?" Cass asked. "It was just...he was stalling."
"What does it mean?" Jack asked.
"Well, it's a story about greed mostly. I guess it's also—also about being willing to give up the thing you love...in order to kill the thing you hate." Cass explained.
Jack was silent for a while before speaking. "He said he didn't know if I was the chicken or the snake. Does that—"
A loud clattering and scream was heard down the hall and I ran down the hall with Jack and Cass, the three of us bursting through the infirmity door to see Dean knocking stuff over.
"Dean! Hey! It's me! You're in the bunker!" Sam shouted.
"I know where I am!" he shouted, then went silent, turning to us.
"Dean?" Sam asked.
"He's gone. Michael's gone." Dean said to us.
"How?" Jack asked.
"This is my fault. I let my guard down. I told you! I told you to let me take that coffin ride to the bottom of the ocean!" Dean shouted.
"Okay, Dean, just—" Sam was interrupted by a fain scream from Maggie, making us all run out into the main room, seeing all the other Hunters dead at the table and the floor.
"Maggie!" I shouted and ran to her, jumping back when a bright light glowed from her eyes and she fell dead to the ground, her eyes burned out.
Rowena came out and smiled, blood covering her neck as her eyes flashed blue. "Hello."
"Anna." Jack grabbed onto my arm and pulled me behind him.
"I could have burned them all, but I'm feeling very hands-on." Rowena said.
"Michael." Dean said.
"That's right. I thought you'd appreciate this vessel." Michael-Rowena said.
"You let her go." Cass said.
"Oh, please. She's much sturdier than she looks. Must be the hundreds of years of magic."
"Rowena never would have let you in." Sam said.
"She didn't want to say yes, but...I convinced her. I had no intention of keeping my word of not killing everyone here, but I think she knew that. If only Dean had used that coffin when he had the chance."
"Never too late for a good idea." Dean said. "Sam, get the cuffs."
Michael-Rowena threw up her hand and I went flying into Sam, Cass and Dean, knocking us to the ground.
"That's not very nice. And if we're not being very nice, what if....you could breathe?" she snapped her fingers and our airway was suddenly cut off. "It's a terrible feeling, isn't it? What if you were also blind?" she snapped her fingers again and everything went dark. "And what if you just hurt? But as fun as this is, I think....no more games. This time, you all die. This time, the world burns."
My airway was restored and I could see, looking around at the others and seeing them looking back at me with a relieved smile.
"Michael!" Jack grabbed an angel blade and stumbled back when Michael threw his magic at him. "Let them go."
"You think you can match me, boy? This power you have now—it's nothing, just a crutch." Michael said and was blasted back by Jack's powers.
"How dare you! Burning off your soul, you'll run out soon enough."
"It's worth the cost." Jack said.
"I should have killed you when I had the chance."
"I feel the same." Jack said, his eyes glowing golden again.
"I am the commander of this host! I am the cleanser of worlds! I will not be challenged by a child!" Michael shouted.
"I am not a child! I am the son of Lucifer! I am a Hunter! I am a Winchester!" Jack shouted, grabbing onto Michael's face and having all his grace fly out of Rowena and into the air.
"Jack! No!" Cass said worriedly.
"I won't let you hurt anyone ever again!" Jack shouted and Michal's grace flew into Jack's mouth.
"Jack?" Dean asked as we stood.
"Michael. He's dead." Jack said as he turned to us.
"Jack, are you, uh—" Sam wondered.
"I'm me again." Jack's eyes glowed a bright golden and the room lit up behind him, the silhouette of wings forming behind him.
Michael's dead! About time! And my boy got his powers and angelic-ness back!!!! I'm so proud of him.