ABANDONED CHURCH
People were hanging from chains. One man was bound to a chair, bleeding slowly into a goblet. Footsteps approached and Michael cut a small slice in the man's throat, which bled grace into the goblet full of blood. Michael took the goblet and nodded approvingly. "A little of this... a little of that" he added more grace from a vial, "...and..." he swirled the goblet, then forced the man in the chair to drink. "Yes. Good boy."
Michael watched as the man choked and gasped, then flamed out. "Hmm. Too much "that". How disappointing." Michael dragged the man's body from the chair and dropped it on the floor. There was a pile of bodies. He nodded, then looked to the line of people in chains, spun his knife, and cheerily said, "All right. Who's next?"
BUNKER
Mary and Bobby were going over weapons.
"Who goes to Duluth in October. Sure Michael didn't touch down in Orlando?" Bobby asked.
"Jo was pretty specific. Duluth," Mary replied.
"Yeah, well, angels ain't exactly known for their veracity."
Mary cleared her throat and looked behind Bobby, as Castiel entered. "No offense."
"None taken. I tend to agree with you," Castiel answered.
Mary handed a gun to Sam, who was at his computer.
"Here you go," Mary said.
"Thanks," Sam replied.
"Hey, what's that?"
"So I've been searching through police reports in Duluth. Cops just turned up a pile of corpses that was dumped near some train tracks just north of town and their eyes were burnt out."
"So Michael. We should go now," Castiel said.
"No. This isn't just Michael we're talking about."
"It's Dean," Bobby replied.
"Yeah. Cas, you know why you can't come with us, right?"
"My angelic presence would be sensed by Michael, thereby nullifying your hopes of a sneak attack," Castiel said.
"Yeah, sorry."
"And, you need us to stay here and babysit Nick, Jayci and Jack."
"It's not babysitting, Cas."
"Only in the sense that they're not infants, but they each have to be supervised. Jack is lost without his grace, Jayci will do anything to protect her her brother, Nick is... he's just a mess."
"Well, it-it's not his fault. Cas, Nick was housing, you know. He-he deserves a shot at rebuilding his life."
Castiel pursed his lips. "And yet every time I look at him, all I can see is the supreme agent of evil."
Jack entered, followed by Jayci. "You talking about Jayci's and my dad again? Look, I understand. Being around Nick - it's hard for us, too."
"Uh, Jack, Jayci, we're going to need you to sit this mission out. Not a permanent thing," Mary told him.
"I know last time, I sucked when it mattered, and I need to improve. So... that's what I'm gonna do. Jayci and I will do something fun."
"All right. Okay." Sam cocked his gun. "Let's move."
BUNKER - DUNGEON
It had been made up as a bedroom, with a Devil's Trap on the floor under the bed in the center of the room. A man sat on the bed with his back to the door. Nick flashed back. Lucifer killing with a snap in the Apocalypse World, Lucifer killing the desk agent in Hammer of the Gods (5.19). Nick held his head in his hands, breathing heavily. Lucifer killing Gabriel in Hammer of the Gods. Nick's flashbacks were interrupted by Castiel knocking on the door.
Castiel held a tray. "I brought you some nourishment. Now that he's, uh, gone, you-you must remember to eat."
"Right. Thanks." Nick sighed and looked at Castiel, who had his back to him. "I'm not him, Castiel."
Castiel sighed. "I know."
"But you still can't look at me."
"It's difficult. You don't remember all the things you did in his thrall, but I do."
"I know. I just don't - I don't... get it. I don't understand why I would do something like that, I don't, I don't get how I would let Lucifer possess me."
Castiel sighed and turned to face Nick. "You were in a lot of pain. And Lucifer saw vulnerability, and he, he exploited it."
"Is that what you tell yourself so you can be near me?"
"I guess so."
"I just don't know what kind of pain would make me allow Lucifer to possess me."
"It was your family."
"My family? Sarah and Teddy?"
Castiel nodded.
Nick gasped. "No." Nick flashed back to Sympathy for the Devil (5.01).
"It's you, Nick. You're special. You're chosen. Nick, I need you to say "yes"," Sarah/Lucifer said.
"Then yes," Nick replied.
"Oh my God. Who could do that? Who could do that?" Nick wondered.
"A man broke in to your house, and you weren't there," Castiel realized.
"That was no man. That's not man. That's a monster. It's a monster, and then Lucifer found me and made me a monster, too." Nick sobbed. "Oh my God!"
MORGUE
The coroner pulled open the drawer to reveal the man. Bobby, Mary and Sam watched.
"These are just some of the victims. More are in the hall, a couple in a store room... we don't usually see this kind of action in Duluth," the coroner said.
"The injuries all pretty uniform?" Mary asked.
"Yep. The boys upstairs think maybe we're looking at a spree killer."
"If they were DOA, you have an ETA on TOD? Any sample DFA?" Bobby questioned.
Sam cleared his throat.
"DNA?" Bobby corrected.
"Uh, frankly we don't even know the precise cause of death. I mean, there were the neck wounds of course, but there was also considerable internal trauma, so-" her cellphone rang. "Excuse me."
"Yeah. Sure." Sam looked at Bobby. "DFA?"
"I've been fighting a friggin' apocalypse for 15 years, my FBI might be a little rusty," Bobby retorted.
"All right."
"Let's give them a quick once-over, see what they missed," Mary suggested.
They put on gloves and each moved to a body.
"Angel kills for sure, and not grunts. We're talking 5-star smitings," Bobby noted.
"Knife slits in the throat, but it doesn't appear they bled out," Sam said.
"He kept these people alive for a while," Mary realized.
Sam opened the mouth of his corpse, the original guy "Maybe these people aren't people. Looking at a vamp."
"Same here," Bobby said.
"Me too," Mary added.
"Why milk 'em if he's just gonna smite 'em?"
"And why is an archangel hunting vampires in the first place?"
Sam knocked on the doorframe of the coroner's office. "Sorry. Excuse me. Um, did anyone come to claim or identify these bodies?"
"Oh, yeah. A young lady. Said she heard about the killings on the morning news, thought she might know one of the victims," the coroner replied.
"And?" Mary pressed.
"She didn't. Then she disappeared, never even gave us her last name."
"Huh. Do you happen to have surveillance cameras outside?" Sam asked.
BUNKER - MAIN HALL
Jack was seated at a desk with Jayci as Castiel entered.
"Looks like about... two centuries of biblical lore. Light reading," Castiel said.
"I'm researching how long it takes archangel grace to replenish," Jack replied.
"Well, archangels being exceedingly rare, the data on that is woefully scant."
"The books say it can take from a month to-"
"A century. Yeah. Complicating factor being your human component, which slows the process." He paused. "Jack, um... mourning what you've lost... it's wasteful. Might be smarter to focus on what you still have."
"You don't understand what I'm going through."
"Yes, I do - a little. At the time of the Great Fall, when angels were banished from heaven, I lost what I thought was everything. I had no grace, I had no wings. I felt hopeless and useless."
"What did you have left?" Jayci asked.
"Well, uh... well, I had Sam and Dean. But I had something else that was extremely helpful. I had myself. Just the basic me, as, uh... as Dean would say, without all the bells and whistles. You know, Sam and Dean, they weren't born with their expertise. They've been at it since they were children. Failing, winning, developing over the years. Patience, persistence - those are skills too. The past, where you come from, that's important, but it is not as important as the future and where you're going."
Jack and Jayci looked thoughtful.
---
Michael, dressed in a tux, buttoned his sleeves and viewed himself in a mirror. He stilled, and the mirror image moved as though in pain.
Dean, in the mirror, demanded, "GET... OUT."
"I don't think so," Michael replied.
"You can't."
"Oh, but I can. Because, see..." Michael punched the mirror, and Dean was gone. "I own you. So hang on, and enjoy the ride."
BUNKER
Castiel was on the phone. Nick was in the room.
"That doesn't make any sense, Sam. I've never heard of an interaction between an archangel and a vampire, certainly not in this universe. And ... why would Michael be killing them? I mean, they're not a threat to him. Yeah, okay. Well, just let me know what you find out. Nick, are you, uh..."
"Nothing. Nothing. There's nothing. There's no information. There's no mention of my wife and son past the year they were... when they died. There's - there's nothing about the case being solved. Nothing!" Nick said.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I - I didn't know that," Castiel replied.
"If I were around, I would have been on those cops every single day, Castiel. But I was out of my head with grief. I said yes to Lucifer. I was a coward, and now-"
Castiel moved to put a hand on Nick's shoulder. Nick surged up and snapped his fingers. "Don't."
Castiel backed away, hands raised. Nick looked at his hand and Castiel looked suspicious. "Why did you do that?"
"Do what?"
"What went through your head just now?"
"Um, I don't know? Nothing? What are you - trying to get at?"
"Even though he's departed, there may be some of his influence still within you. Just-" Castiel reached out to touch Nick again. He laid his hand on Nick's chest, and a look of concentration and concern crossed his face. Nick looked worried. Castiel removed his hand. "Lucifer may have inflicted more damage on your psyche than we suspected."
"I don't have time for this. I'm not letting this go, Castiel." Nick turned and stormed away. "I'm gonna find out who killed my family."
"Nick! And then what?"
Nick left.
APARTMENT
A young woman, Lydia, laid on a bed. She looked up at pounding on the door. "Yes?"
Sam, behind the door, said, "Lydia Crawford, this is the FBI. Open up."
Lydia looked terrified, and ran for the window. Sam continued pounding on the door. "Open up!"
Sam broke the door open, gun drawn, and Lydia turned away from the window. Bobby and Mary followed him into the room.
"Hey! Stop!" Sam cried.
"Get away from me!" Lydia yelled.
"Don't move. We know who you are. We know you went to the morgue."
"We saw your license plate on the security cams and pulled your address. You should've ditched the car when you first got turned. Made this way too easy," Bobby said.
"You're not FBI. You're hunters."
"That's right," Sam replied.
Bobby pulled his knife.
"I haven't done anything wrong!" Lydia cried.
"No, vampires never do," Bobby said.
"My nest, we - we fed on animal blood." Sam lowered his gun. "We lived quiet lives, until... until he came."
"He? He who?" Sam questioned.
"I don't know his name, but.. he was strong. He tied all of us up and one by one he'd take blood from us. I couldn't see what he was doing, exactly, but every time there would be this explosion, and my friends would be dead. When he was coming for me, a couple of the others tried to att- tried to attack him. I was able to get away, but... they didn't make it."
"Why was he killing you? Did he say?"
"I don't think he meant to. It-it's just that... things seemed to go wrong. He wasn't killing, it was like... it was like he was experimenting."
"Experimenting? What for?" Bobby wondered.
"That's - that's all I know."
"Okay." He advanced on Lydia with his blade raised. "Nice chattin' with ya."
"Wait! Wait! I-I don't know what he wanted, I-I don't know who he was, but I do know where he is."
MICHAEL'S HOTEL ROOM
He entered with a lovely woman.
"Thank you. Oooh, Very elegant. But then, so are you," the woman said.
Michael, chuckled. "Thanks for showing me around." He uncorked some wine and poured two glasses. "I didn't realize there was so much going on in... where are we again?"
"Duluth."
"Of course. Nothing like where I'm from."
"What's it like in your hometown?"
"Hmm. Empty. Windswept. Dead bodies lying around."
The woman chuckled. "You're so funny. What a nice surprise, meeting you. I bet you were wondering what I was doing, all by myself in that bar tonight."
"I'm pretty sure I know exactly what you were doing in that bar tonight."
The woman set the glass down. "Oh, Michael. I am so not that girl."
"But you really are, aren't you?"
The woman reached her arms around his neck. "You're terrible."
"You have no idea."
The woman giggled, then moved her face up and werewolfed out, big teeth and green eyes. Michael grabbed her by the throat. His eyes began to glow blue.
"Did you honestly think I didn't know what you are?" Michael lifted her off the floor, still gripping her neck. "You think you picked me? I picked you."
He flung her across the room, and took a sip of wine as she turned to him, still on the floor.
"Now, summon your master."
BUNKER - MAIN HALL
Castiel was flipping through a book, as Nick paced on the phone.
"Detective, my wife and son were murdered in Pike Creek, Delaware. You're a police lieutenant in Pike Creek Delaware. If you can't help me, who can? ...Hello?" Nick closed the phone. "You gotta be.... You know what a cold case is, Castiel?"
"It's-" the angel began.
"It's a case too unimportant for anybody to care about. My wife and son are dead. Gone. Forever. My life is gone with them, and, uh, nobody cares. These cops don't care."
"I'm sorry, that sounds very difficult."
"Difficult. Yeah, you know what's difficult? No evidence. There's no fingerprints, there's no DNA, I mean how does that even happen? I mean there was a witness who came forward and said they saw someone coming out of the house, and then they said they didn't see anything at all, and the case died. Like everything else."
"Nick - you, on the other hand, you've been given a second chance. You're not dead."
"You don't understand."
"Oh, I do."
"Why, because your body was stolen?"
"Because I am occupying someone else's. All angels have to, in order to walk the earth. This... this was Jimmy Novak."
""Occupy"," Nick repeated. "Sounds like a cleaned up way of staying "steal." And, uh, Jimmy? Is that his name? They all right with that?"
"Yes, he was."
""Was.""
"Jimmy is dead."
"Castiel, you're just a stone cold body snatcher. You're no different than Lucifer."
"We... we need to look in on Jack," Castiel replied as he walked past Nick, but stopped before he got to the door. "You know, in all my thousands of years, what happened to Jimmy Novak and his family is my greatest regret."
MICHAEL'S HOTEL ROOM
He handed a glass to a seated man, then sat himself, next to the woman from earlier.
"You first," the man said.
"One hundred year old cognac. Strong notes of vanilla and apricot..." Michael drank, "and zero notes of silver." The man also drank. "I appreciate you accepting my invitation."
"Yes, well, the ever-tactful Melanie," the woman said, "thought a refusal might be unwise. She thinks you're a god."
Both men chuckled.
"An archangel. But close," Michael replied.
"And I'm the leader of a werewolf pack. Why on earth would an archangel care about us? About me?"
"I admire you. Eating on the run, surviving, despite being stalked by those venal humans, who think of you as nothing but vermin."
"My pack has survived and prospered for centuries, despite the humans."
"Yes, well, I'm new to town, and from my perspective, the real monsters of this world, the ones that cheat, cover, lay waste to this planet, are the humans. Who made them top dog? Pardon the pun."
"God, I suppose."
"God who? Between us, Phillipe, God's on permanent vacation. Gone fishing. Demons and angels don't seem to be much of a factor here, so, I'm in charge."
"And what do you want from me?" Phillipe asked.
"You and your kind, you are who you are. You kill, but not for sport, for trophies - to live. There's a purity in that. Isn't it time you had your due?"
"Our due?"
"There are ways to enhance your - let's call them "talents"."
"And these ways are..."
"Fully tested. There were some misfires early, I will admit to that. But I have cracked the code."
"And now what? Do you propose we wage a way on the humans, keeping only as many of them alive as we need for slave labor and a steady food supply? Because I love that world, but believe me, it's an absurd dream."
"Is it? Why be the hunt-"ed", when you can be the hunt-"er", hmm?"
SUNNY EXTERIOR
There was a knock on a door. A gray-haired woman opened the door to reveal Jack and Jayci. "Can I help you?"
"Mrs. Kline?" Jack and Jayci said.
"Yes?"
"We're friends... of your daughter," Jack told Mrs. Kline. "Kelly."
"Oh." A man, Mr. Kline, came up behind her.
"My name is Jack. This is Jayci."
"So is mine!" Mr. Kline replied.
"I know."
"Well please, come in," Mrs. Kline offered and Jack and Jayci entered.
Inside the living room, Mr. Kline, Jayci and Jack were seated. Mrs. Kline brought Jack and Jayci a glass and sat as well.
"Jayci and I were in the area and wanted to say hello," Jack said to Mrs. Kline. "Thank you. Kelly always had such nice things to say about her family."
"So how did you know our Kelly? Through work?" Mrs. Kline asked.
"She basically gave us her start."
"So you were like her interns."
"Took you two under her wing. That's just like her," Mr. Kline said as both Klines chuckled. "We haven't heard from her in a long time."
"Well, she went traveling, but she couldn't tell us where."
"She really couldn't," Jayci said.
"So it was part of her... government work. Classified and all that," Mr. Kline determined.
Jack and Jayci nodded. Mr. Kline nodded sadly. Jack and Jayci noticed a book on the coffee table.
"Oh, please," Mrs. Kline said.
Jack opened it to reveal pictures of Kelly as a girl. "Is that her?"
"Mhmm. Sixth grade. She won the spelling bee. "Chrysanthemum" was the winning word."
"Lucky," Mr. Kline said. "We grew 'em in the yard."
"Forgive me, but, uh - Kelly told us she was pregnant. We didn't push for details, We felt she'd tell us more when she was ready."
"She, uh, she had the baby," Jayci told them. "A boy and a girl. Twins."
The Klines laughed... and cried and Mrs. Kline exclaimed, "We have a grandson and a granddaughter!"
"You do," Jack confirmed. "And in the time Jayci and I spent with her, she was an amazing mother. Her son and daughter love her very much."
"I can just imagine."
"She would sing, and talk to them, even before they were born. She made them feel safe, and wanted. Jayci and I heard her tell them that it isn't fate, or her, or their dad who sets their path - it's themselves, who they choose to be."
"I know it's nutty, but, Jack and Jayci here kind of look like her, see?" She held up the book again.
"I don't know. But, Jayci and I hope some day to have a little of her courage and purpose. We didn't mean to intrude." Jack stood to leave and Jayci stood as well.
"Oh, no, no, not at all."
"Hey, no," Mr. Kline said.
"We had to meet you," Jayci told them.
"If you see Kelly, tell her we miss her."
"We will. We miss her too."
Mrs. Kline hugged them. There were tears all around.
LYDIA'S APARTMENT
Lydia was packing to leave. As she turned to grab another handful, there were wing sound and Michael was sitting at her table.
Michael singsonged, "Lydia."
"I didn't," Lydia said.
"Of course you did. The hunters." He stood. "Why do you think I dumped your brothers and sisters in plain sight? Why do you think I let you escape?"
"You let me escape?"
"Rule number one: you can't have a trap without bait. That brings us to rule number two, which says once the trap has been sprung, you don't need the bait any more." Michael's eyes glowed, and Lydia flamed out, screaming.
BUNKER - INTERIOR HALLWAY
Jack, Jayci and Castiel were walking quickly through.
"Jack, Jayci, what were you thinking taking that kind of risk?" Castiel asked.
"It wasn't a risk," Jack and Jayci replied.
Castiel sputtered, "To-to go out there alone? Jack, Jayci, you have been on the radar of every angel and demon and power broker in creation since the day you were born and I'm sorry, but, Jack, you're not exactly yourself."
"Weak and defenseless, you mean," Jack said.
"I mean that the possibility of capture is real, yes."
"Jayci and I heard what you were saying, Cas, about me and her finding out where we came from. We never knew our mother. We thought the next best thing might be for us to meet the only real family that we have left."
"That is not- " Castiel visibly reined in his frustration. "Well, did it help?"
Jack and Jayci nodded and Castiel continued. "And you didn't tell them who you were, did you?"
Jayci scoffed lightly. "Of course not. We... wanted to. We wanted to tell them we were their grandson and granddaughter. They thought we actually kinda looked like her?" Castiel nodded in agreement. "Jack and I... couldn't tell them that she died. They just love her so much. We know we should have."
"What you two did you did from a place of kindness. I suppose there are worse ways to be human than to be kind."
"Have you heard from Sam? Did he find Michael?" Jack wondered.
"Yeah, he thinks so."
"So they're going to try to kill him?"
"Uh, no. No, the plan is subdue him using angel cuffs and spell work. They have to get Michael out of Dean."
"Good. And if he doesn't leave?"
"Then they'll try to drive him out."
"And if that doesn't work?"
"Jack-"
"Cas, Michael has to be stopped."
"I know, and he will be - after Dean is-"
"No, Dean doesn't matter. You're all so focused on trying to save Dean and I get it, I understand, but - if he can't be saved, if it comes down to him or Michael - Michael has to be stopped. Caged, or killed-"
"And if that means that Dean dies too?"
"Then Dean dies. I know this Michael. I've seen what he's done to an entire world, and so have you. If stopping that from happening here means that Dean has to die, then... Do you think he'd want it any other way?" Jack left.
Jayci narrowed her eyes and yelled after her brother, "No one is killing Dean! He's one of our dads!"
SUBURBAN HOUSE
In the living room, a man was pouring tea for Nick and said, "Well, it is so good to see you after all these years. I mean, after that night you just disappeared, and I never knew what happened."
"Yeah, after I lost my family I couldn't stand being in that house one more minute," Nick replied.
"Nick, I completely understand."
"Do you?"
"I just hope these years have been healing and restful for you."
"My whole family was slaughtered, Arty. There's no restful for me anymore. Best thing I can hope for is that I catch the monster who did it."
"Well sure Nick, we all - we all want that," Arty told him.
"Do you though, Arty? 'Cause you said you got a good look at the man who left my house, and then you changed your story."
"I had to, Nick, because there was no man. I mean, I - in the heat of the moment I guess I thought I saw something, I wanted so much to help, but I was wrong."
Nick rose and walked to a window. "Hmm. Is that the window you were looking out of?"
"Ah-"
"What made you look out, Arty? You hear someone scream?"
"I - I don't really remember."
"The man you saw, was he rushing out, or was he casual?"
"Nick, I told you, I-"
"What, did he have a hammer? 'Cause that how the cops said he murdered my family," his voice broke, "he smashed their skulls over and over with a hammer."
"Nick, there was no man."
"Oh, Arty. Who got to you?" He advanced on Arty.
"What, what?"
"Somebody get to you?"
"N-no."
"They pay you off?"
"I mean - no!"
"Or were you just scared?" Nick pinned Arty to the wall by his throat. "Huh? Huh?"
"I just remembered wrong that's all there is to it."
"My family deserves justice, do you understand me? I deserve justice! I'm going to get justice! Do you understand me, Arty?!"
"I don't know anything!"
"Oh, I think you do, Arty. I think you do."
ABANDONED CHURCH
Sam, Mary and Bobby entered.
"You think vamp-girl was lyin' about Michael hanging out here?" Bobby wondered.
"Not sure why she would. I mean she has every reason to want him dead," Sam said.
"She wasn't lying about the slaughter happening here - whole lot of dried blood on the floor," Mary noted.
"Why was he killing them? And what does she mean by "experimenting"?"
"Don't look like he's here," Bobby told them.
The stained glass windows shattered as werewolves broke through them.
"Werewolves!" Bobby cried.
Sam unloaded a round into two werewolves, to no effect.
"Silver bullets aren't working! Nothing's working!" Sam yelled.
Sam, Bobby and Mary each fought with a different werewolf. Sam grabbed a blade and decapitated one.
"Well, that works," Bobby commented.
They continued fighting until all the werewolves had been beheaded.
"Is everybody okay? Anyone get bit?" Sam asked.
"No," Mary said.
"I'm okay. What the hell kind of werewolves were those?" Bobby wondered.
"Silver didn't touch them."
The doors opened to reveal Michael, backlit in red. He walked in slowly, raising his hand - which he used to grab a post as he staggered into the light, removing his cap as he did.
"Sammy. It's me," Dean said.
"Dean is it really you?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, it's really me."
"Are - are you okay?"
"No, I'm not okay!"
"But you got Michael to leave."
"No, I- I don't... I didn't."
"What?" Bobby questioned.
"He just - he just left."
"Why?" Sam wondered.
"I don't know. I don't know."
ARTY'S LIVING ROOM
Nick was covered in blood, holding a hammer, which he dropped on the table as he left. Arty was dead.