"Yo." Dean walks into the library with two beers. "Don't suppose you got a 20 on the darkness."
"Uh, well, I thought I had something earlier. Half a town flipped their gourds and started attacking people." Sam says, taking a beer. "But it turns out they'd eaten rabid possum meat."
"Okay, they do realize that possum is a giant rat, right?" Dean asks.
"It's a marsupial." Sam corrects.
"Huh?"
"Not the point. Check this out." Sam turns the laptop to Dean. "Um, a couple was axe murdered in Fall Rivers, Massachusetts at, wait for it, the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast museum."
"A B&B and a museum. Yeah, that doesn't sound like a tourist trap at all." Dean says.
"I mean, the thing is the inn was Lizzie Borden's actual house. In 1892, she hacked up her mom and stepdad there. Or allegedly hacked them up. She was acquitted and spent the rest of her days in Fall Rivers hounded and persecuted by the townspeople."
"So you're thinking revenge killing?" Dean asks and Sam shrugs. "Why now? It was probably some psycho fan who's seen too many slasher flicks."
"Could be, but the inn was locked up. No signs of entry or exit. Half a dozen guests. None of whom saw or heard any intruders." Sam says.
"Well, maybe the intruder was actually competent. Wait a minute. I know what this is. This has something to do with your freaky fetish for serial killers."
"It's not a fetish."
"Oh, please. I bet you and Rissa roleplay serial killers all the time in the bedroom... or the car."
"Shut up, Dean." Sam rolls his eyes.
"Ew." The twins grimace.
"You've always wanted to see that house." Dean tells Sam.
"Dean, two people are dead." Sam says, looking up. "In Lizzie Borden's home, we got no leads on Amara, I say we check this out." Sam shuts his laptop and stands up. "Besides, the entire Borden clan is buried in Fall Rivers -- including Lizzie."
"What do you want to do about Cas?" Dean asks.
"Oh, he's knee deep binge watching The Wire. Just started season 2." Sam says.
"Oh, he's not coming out any time soon. All right." Dean says.
+++
"So, I guess now Lizzie Borden has her own doll." Sam says as they walk around inside the lobby of the museum and B&B. Sam is holding Athena, the girl's head on his shoulder as she sleeps.
The teenagers and Billy walk around, looking at all the stuff. Jacob keeps his kids' hands in his, making sure they don't touch anything.
"Yeah, went a little overboard on the crazy eyes." Dean says.
"No, it's absolutely not a crime scene anymore." Their attention goes to the innkeeper who is on the phone. "The room's been cleaned and you're not even on the same floor. There's no reason to cancel." He sighs and hangs the phone up.
"People still freaked out about the murders, huh?" Dean asks.
"Some find it exciting. Can I help you guys?" Mason asks.
"Yeah. We'd read about the tragedy and I'm a bit of a history buff. I just wanted to ask, do you think the killings had anything to do with Lizzie Borden? I mean, her ghost or whatever?" Sam asks.
"Probably some crazed fan broke in, right?" Dean asks.
"These are great questions, guys. Ones we usually answer for our paying guests." Mason says.
"Right." Sam says, taking his wallet out.
"Mason! You forgot to cancel the bakery order!" His mother yells, storming in.
"Mom! I'm with customers." Mason says.
"$200 worth of Danish and no guests to eat it!"
"These guys can put away a few."
Sam shrugs in agreement.
"This is coming out of your paycheck!" She storms off.
"Of course it is." Mason sighs.
"I'll take Danishes." Nathan says.
"Yeah." Billy nods.
"Whew! Working with family can be tough." Dean says.
"Tell me about it." Sam mutters, earning an offended look from Dean.
"20 years. You'll have your pick of rooms." Mason says, taking the money.
"We'll take the one the couple was in." Sam says.
"The deceased couple?" Mason asks.
"Uh-huh. We came a long way to see ghosts. We figured there's the most unrest there." Dean says.
"Oh, uh... so sorry. We-- we already rented that room out again." Mason says.
"What? To who?" Sam frowns.
"Some young lady. Paid a really good price for it." Mason says.
The family share looks.
"This, uh... this young lady." Jacob says. "Kind of... dark blonde, light brown hair. Brown eyes, yea high."
"Yeah." Mason nods.
"Holy, shit." Nathan mumbles, rushing towards the stairs, Jacob close behind him.
"Stay and question." Sam tells Dean, following the blondes, the others quickly following.
~ ~ ~
Nathan gets up to the room and, without even thinking, just barges right in.
Ophelia cocks her gun, quickly aiming it at the the intruder, before seeing Nathan.
"What the hell?!" She exclaims, lowering her weapon.
"You're alive." Jacob mumbles, rushing towards her. He tightly hugs her, the girl frowning, though she hides it after a moment.
"Holy, shit." Nathan whispers in shock, seeing the girl perfectly alive and unharmed.
"What the fuck, Ophelia?" Jacob scolds, pulling away.
"What?" She asks.
The twins quickly hug the girl, Ophelia only lightly patting their heads before making them move. They both frown up at her, sharing confused looks.
"You just-- you just come back to life and then-- and then ditch and we don't hear from you? You had all of us worried sick." Jacob tells her.
"Well, I'm not sure all of you..." Ophelia mutters. "But--" She grunts as Nathan crashes into her.
"I'm so glad you're okay." Nathan mumbles into her shoulder.
"Yeah. Yeah, me, too." Ophelia says, lightly patting him on the back. He frowns at the lack of effort she puts into her hug.
"Opi!" Evie races to her, practically shoving Nathan out of the way. Libby quickly joins the hug.
Ophelia quietly groans, but hugs the younger two girls.
"Yeah. Hi." Ophelia says, pushing them away from her after a bit.
"God, it is so good to see you, Bug." Sam says, tightly hugging his niece.
"Mm-hmm. You, too." Ophelia says.
Nathan frowns at her not seemingly caring about any sort of reunion.
"Where have you been?" Larissa asks.
"Just... around. Hunting and stuff." Ophelia says.
"Alone?" The three parents and Billy question in sync.
"Jeez. Take a chill pill." Ophelia mutters. "I'm a psychic with explosion as a power. I think I can handle myself."
"Do you know how stupid that is?" Billy asks her.
"Well, I'm still alive so it can't be that stupid." Ophelia remarks.
"What are you doing here?" Sam asks.
"I assume the same thing you're doing. Working a case." Ophelia says. "So... we done with all the mushy gushy shit? Kind of have stuff to do." She walks past them.
+++
"Yeah. No Lizzie in the attic, but we did find a homemade EMF generator. Turned that beast off and what do you know? No more signal." Sam says.
"Shocker. The, uh, flickering lights? Wired to timers buried in the walls." Dean says, holding up a timer with wires dangling.
"Come on!" Sam groans.
"Oh, and check out this baby." Dean takes a photo of Lizzie off the wall. "Huh? Covering up our very own sound system. I, uh, fished this out of the wall." He shows them a tape records and hits play, a crying and moaning sound playing on the tape.
"Crying in empty rooms." Sam says.
"And there's more. Running footsteps, uh, creepy whispers you can't make out. One flushing toilet -- not sure what that's about. The whole place is a hoax, man. It's a tourist trap just like I said."
"Yeah. But we still don't know how that couple got axed. I mean, how did the killer get in and out?" Sam asks.
"I don't know. Why don't we Sherlock that over a beer or something and a lobster roll? I got to get out of this doily coffin." Dean says.
+++
"Detective Madsen? Agent Collins." Sam shows his badge.
"You weren't feds earlier." Mason says.
"Well, um... my partners and I were undercover. Investigating the original murders." Sam says.
"Where the hell were you when my mom was being... oh." Mason starts to cry.
"I'm so very sorry, Mr. Kemper." Sam tells him.
"We're gonna find the son of a bitch who is doing this." Madsen promises.
"He had just finished locking up. No one was inside but him and Mrs. Kemper. Staff went home hours ago." Madsen says.
"And no suspects for the first murders either?" Larissa asks.
"Hi, um, I'm Agent Gabriel." Dean walks up. "Listen, I saw a guy hanging around earlier snapping some photos and he ran away when I tried to make contact."
"Let me guess. Short. Chunky. Baby faced?" Madsen lists.
"Yeah, that's him." Dean nods.
"Huh. Yeah, that's Len." Madsen says. "Total teddy bear. I went to high school with him. Obsessed with ghosts, but harmless."
"Ghosts? Hm. Is that a real issue around here?" Sam asks.
"According to the Chamber of Commerce, absolutely." Madsen says.
"Right." Sam mumbles.
"I'll send an officer to Len, get a statement from him."
"You know what? You guys got your hands full. We'll, uh... we'll drop by." Sam assures.
+++
"Well, so far we got squat that says ghost." Dean says. "Or anything remotely us."
"So maybe it's not our usual kind of gig? Maybe we're dealing with a serial killer." Sam says.
"Oh. Yeah. You'd love that, wouldn't you?" Dean remarks.
"You know, sometimes I think you're the serial killer." Ophelia tells her uncle who frowns.
Sam's phone rings and he answers it.
"Agent Collins." He states. "Really?" He asks. "No, thanks for letting us know." He hangs up. "Another axe vic. This one miles from the B&B."
"Lizzie left home." Dean comments.
"Apparently." Sam nods. "All right, Lissy, Nate, and I'll take the crime scene. You three take Len."
"Wha--" Nathan frowns.
"Equally split." Sam reasons.
"Rude." Nathan mumbles.
+++
The couple and Nathan get to the house.
"Who found the body?" Sam asks.
"Babysitter was home with the kid. Found the dad in the driveway." The officer says.
"Geez." Sam mumbles. "Thanks." They go inside.
"I heard Jordi's dad pull up outside and then there was this shout." Sydney says. "I went to look and I saw the blood before I saw him. I thought someone had spilled paint."
"And what about before? I mean, did you notice anything out of order? Uh, a sound? Smell? There's no detail too small." Sam says.
"No. It was like any other night." Sydney says.
"Mom!" Jordi calls, rushing over to her and hugging her.
"Jordi, are you all right?" She asks. "Did he see anything?" She asks Sydney.
"No. He was inside the whole time." Sydney says.
"Ma'am?" Sam calls. "We're with the FBI. I understand this is a terrible time, but if you could manage, I'd like to ask you a few--"
"You need to get out of my house. That's what you need to do." The woman states.
"Of course." Sam says. "Uh, we can do this tomorrow."
"Get out!" She yells.
The couple quickly leave.
+++
"Wow. I didn't expect to see her here." Dean says, looking at the Lizzie Borden mannequin.
"Well, gotta live your bliss." Len says. Dean chuckles.
"Boy, you are a Lizzie Borden... I don't think fan covers it." Dean says.
"That's superfan. And curator." Len says.
"More like psycho." Ophelia mutters.
"And is that what you were doing that night at the B&B? Uh, curating?" Dean asks.
"Oh, I-- I, uh..."
"Len, it's best just to go with the truth here." Dean says.
"I was trying to get a picture of Lizzie's ghost." Len says.
"And is that what I saw you with?" Dean points to an antique camera.
"Yeah. It's a... it's what the victorians used for spirit photography." Len says.
"Uh-huh. And have you captured any Caspers on that thing?" Dean asks.
"Well, I've seen Lizzie at her house." Len says. "She's this wispy, gray shadow. But she never shows up on film. Maybe I should go high-def."
"Maybe you should get a life." Ophelia quips.
"Why not go inside?" Dean asks.
"I'm not exactly allowed at the inn anymore." Len says.
"Shocker." Ophelia whispers.
"There's a minor restraining order. And there's a gag order not to talk about the restraining order. But you're federal agents." Len says.
"Buried the lead there a little, Len." Dean remarks. "Why don't you tell us about the restraining order?"
"It was Lizzie's 155th birthday and I couldn't get Lizzie's room so I stayed in the basement." Len says. "For a couple days. Weeks! I wasn't bothering anybody!"
"So it's safe to say that you know the inn pretty well." Dean says. "Let me ask you, did anything about tonight strike you as weird?"
"Just you banging on the window." Len says. His computer beeps. "Oh, God, no. I'm supposed to lead a live chat about the axe murders in Fall Rivers. I'm not Lizzie CNN."
"Yeah, I don't know why anyone would think that." Dean says.
"I'll close it down. Be right back." Len says.
"Okay." Dean says and Len walks out of the room.
+++
"Four axe murders in two days and no leads." Madsen says. "The whole town's panicking like it's the purge."
"Yeah, not the whole town. Mrs. Pensky doesn't seem too broken up over the fact that her husband was butchered in her driveway." Sam says.
"You saw the body. She's in shock." Madsen says.
"Still."
"People have freaky ass reactions to loss."
+++
"Where did you see this?" Dean asks, holding up a drawing of the Mark of Cain.
"Uh, a site about ghosts? The paranormal?" Len says.
"Len, you might be the worst liar I've ever met. Tell me where you've seen this symbol. I'd take you down to the station and ask you there. But then we'd have to involve the local police, your restraining order." Dean says.
"Okay. Okay, uh... I was outside Lizzie's house a couple nights ago trying to catch a picture of her." Len says before explaining his encounter with the teenage girl. "I ditched her quick after that."
"And you didn't tell the police."
"A. restraining order. B. what am I supposed to say? I was hanging out talking murder with a little 12 year old girl in the middle of the night?"
"Where does the symbol come in?"
"She had it on her shoulder. I don't know if it was a scar or a birthmark."
"What did this girl look like?"
"Um... a girl." Ophelia rolls her eyes. "Amara." He says. "That's what she said her name was. You know her?"
"You said she was 12?" Dean asks.
"Maybe a little younger or older. Who is she?" Len asks.
"She's a runaway." Dean says. "Do you know where Amara is now? Is she still in town?"
"I don't know. Why are you looking for her?"
"I'm not at liberty to discuss that."
"You have to tell me. Please. I need to find her!"
"Why?"
"You won't believe me."
"Try us." Jacob says.
Len tells them about the rest of the encounter.
"I don't know what that girl did to me." He says. "But I haven't been right since. I can't eat... or sleep. I don't dream. And all the things I used to love? My Lizzie blog, the ghost conventions. They leave me cold. I put this whole collection on eBay last night. Now it belongs to some machinist in Ohio."
"Huh." Jacob hums, quickly remembering why that sounds familiar.
"Well, what about superfan, curator living the bliss?" Dean asks.
"Just playing the part of what I used to be." Len says. "You know... fake it till you make it. Or feel it."
"So is that what you were doing at the inn tonight? Faking it?" Dean asks.
"No. I was looking for Amara." Len says. "I want her to put me back. I've always been odd. And quirky. But I had a life, friends. And now... I remember how to talk to people, what to say. But I feel like I'm acting. Going through the motions. I'm like a robot puppet man."
"So?" Ophelia shrugs. "Just don't give a shit. That'll make it easier."
~ ~ ~
"Wait? Amara was here? How?" Sam asks, the brothers on the phone.
"Oh, and the real crazy? Apparently she's, like, 12." Dean says.
"What? How's that even possible?"
"It ain't Wheaties she's eating, I can tell you that much."
"Meaning?"
"Len. He ain't doing so hot. I think Amara sucked out his soul."
+++
"So, Amara's growing like a radioactive weed?" Sam asks.
"Yeah, by stuffing her face with souls." Dean says.
"Does that mean she's getting more power too? And for what?" Sam asks.
"I don't know. That tsunami's gonna hit us sooner or later. We'll deal with what we can deal with. All these spent shells Amara's leaving behind." Dean says.
"You don't think Len's our Lizzie Borden, do you?" Sam asks.
"No. I talked to his neighbors and except for me seeing him at the B&B, he's been here all night. So, we can't kill him because he hasn't done anything yet."
"Dean, we don't want to kill him. We want to save people, remember?" Sam reminds.
"Right." Dean snaps his fingers. "Your new rules." Larissa and Jacob both roll their eyes at him. "Why hasn't he offed anybody? I mean, it took Jenna all of walking downstairs to slit her grandmother's throat."
"I don't know. Maybe not everybody that gets their soul sucked out turns into a killer."
Nathan frowns as their conversation runs through his brain. He mulls over every other symptom they've mentioned. His gaze drifts over to Ophelia who isn't even paying attention to the conversation, just playing with her lighter.
"Or maybe he just hasn't got around to it yet. All right, well, I think the thing is we stick close until we figure out how to help him out. Which starts by you telling him he's got no soul."
"Me?"
"Yeah."
"Why do I have to do it?"
"Well, because you've been there. You speak the language. He doesn't even know he's been hoovered yet."
"Well, yeah, but you have a better relationship with him than I do."
"Yeah, but you're better with that whole sensitive verbal massage."
"There is no sensitive way to tell somebody their soul's been sucked out by a prehistoric tween!" Dean shushes his brother. "And even if Len does believe us, is that supposed to make him feel better?"
"Fine. Probably couldn't handle the truth right now anyways. He's a little fragile right now. Okay, well, great, looks like we're babysitting a 30 year old man." Dean says.
"There may be someone else Amara got to as well." Sam says.
"Our hatchet man."
"Yeah. So, the murders started right around the time Len saw Amara, right? Well, the wife of the last victim, Dawn Pinsky, had this bizarre reaction to hearing about her husband -- like she couldn't care less. It was kind of the way I felt the whole time I was soulless."
"Oh, yeah, you were one chilly droid." Dean says.
"Dean." Larissa rolls her eyes, gritting her teeth.
"Anyways, the detective thinks it's shock." Sam cuts in. "But I think it may be mom lost her soul and picked up an axe."
+++
The next day, they're outside the Pensky home and Len is in the backseat with Ophelia, Nathan, and Jacob. Larissa and Dean are in the front seat, Sam at the house. Sam rings the doorbell, but doesn't get an answer. He looks back to them and shrugs.
Sam takes his phone out and calls somebody while walking back to the car. After getting off the phone, Sam gives Dean a new address he got from the babysitter and Dean pulls up while Len is ranting.
"Kitten videos, chicken and waffles, eucalyptus scent. I don't care for it anymore. Used to swoon for dark, curly hair. Now, not so much. Do you think I had a stroke? Or maybe it's a brain tumor. What's really freaky is all the stuff that used to make my skin crawl now seems... eh."
"I couldn't shake a guy's hand before. God, that wetness. Now I could lick the sweat off a stranger's--"
"No, no, no, whoa, hey!" Sam protests.
"Oh, my God!" Nathan exclaims, grimacing.
"Dude!" Jacob yells.
"Yeah. Any body part. I'm serious."
"These are minors." Jacob hisses, motioning to the two teenagers.
"I feel weird, man." Len says.
"Weird how?" Sam asks.
"Like something's hatching inside of me. Something dark... with wings." Len says. The hunters share a look. "What?"
"Nothing." Dean says.
"But you looked at them like you guys know what's wrong with me." Len says. Dean gets out of the car and reaches in, grabbing Len's hand, handcuffing him to the outside handle. "Hey!"
"Oh, my God, you whiny little bitch." Ophelia rolls her eyes. "You don't have a soul. Okay? Amara sucked that shit right outta you."
"What?!" Len asks.
"Whoa." Nathan whispers, giving her an incredulous look.
"Ophelia." Jacob hisses.
"Ophelia!" Sam and Larissa scold.
"You wanna be a little more blunt?" Sam asks.
"You guys weren't gonna fucking tell him." Ophelia says.
"How-- how is that even possible?" Len asks.
"Look, this is just so you don't get in trouble. All right, we'll be right back and then we'll figure out what to do with you." Dean says.
"Well, how do I get it back? My soul?" Len asks.
"Generally, you don't." Sam says.
"Wh--" Len sits back. "It feels good to finally know."
"See? We're all happy now." Ophelia smiles, getting out of the car.
"That-- we're talking about this later, young lady." Jacob says, quickly following her.
They go up to the house and Dean rings the doorbell before Sam knocks on the door.
"Hello!" Sam calls.
Dean goes to the window, looking inside, finding it a mess.
"Well, something happened in there." Dean says.
"The blue car is the mom's. We saw it last night." Sam says.
Dean picks the lock and they go in, having their guns at the ready. They split up. Dean opens the door to the basement, Ophelia and Nathan following him in.
Nathan tries to turn the light on, but it doesn't work. The three turn their flashlights on.
Dean notices something behind a rollaway bed and knocks it to the side, revealing two dead bodies. One's of a guy, probably around Dean's age, and the other is Mrs. Pensky.
"Oh, shit." Nathan whispers, placing his hand over his mouth.
Ophelia grunts as she gets hit over the head, the girl dropping to the floor, unconscious. Nathan turns, only to get knocked out.
Dean turns around, receiving the same fate.
~ ~ ~
Sam, Larissa, and Jacob go down the hall and see a closet door moving. They share looks and slowly approach it, keeping their guns aimed at it. Sam looks back at the other two who nod. He quickly opens the door, the three aiming their guns, freezing when they find Jordi on the floor, bound and gagged.
"Jordi? Hey, buddy." Sam gives his gun to Larissa and kneels down, helping the boy sit up. "You all right? Give me a sec." He starts to untie him.
"No!" Jordi yells.
The three hunters turn and find Sydney as she cocks the shotgun.
~ ~ ~
Dean and Nathan start to wake up, both tied to wooden posts. Ophelia is still unconscious, tied to a chair. Larissa, Jacob, and Sam are all tied to chairs.
"Oh, thank God. I thought you were dead." Sydney says. "Huh. I can't believe that I bagged all of you guys."
"Yeah, so it's Sydney, the killer babysitter." Sam says. "Not the mom. So what's the story? You gonna hack us up like the others?"
"I'm past that." Sydney says, a grin on her face. "You six are an offering to my new friend."
"Let me guess. Is your new bestie Amara?" Dean asks.
"You know her?" Sydney asks.
"Oh, yeah. We're tight. How'd you two meet?"
"A couple of nights ago, I got pretty sloshed. This, uh, smug, little trust fund dirtbag had just dumped me." Sydney says before explaining her encounter with Amara. "Have you guys ever seen the iced tea commercial? Where the lady is lying along the inflatable raft and she's just drifting along a sparkling pool? That's what it was like! Being with Amara. Bliss. No hurting. No sadness. No memories."
"So you don't want memories?" Sam asks. He hears a quiet groan, looking over to see Ophelia waking up.
"Did you have nice parents, Sam?" Sydney asks. "Because my folks treated me and my sister like human ash trays." She sneers, pulling her shirt up to reveal cigarette burns on her stomach. "I used to have to drink myself blind to even look at these. Let alone show anybody. And now I don't know what Amara did to me, but it's just skin."
"Right. Well, that's really... good for you." Sam says.
"No more waking up screaming from nightmares. No more flashbacks. Amara took away the pain. She lightened something in me."
"Except now you're an axe murderer." Dean says.
"I'm free." Sydney says. "Before there was always this constant voice in my head. "You can't do that. It's wrong. What if you get caught?" And now it's quiet. It's just me and what I want. And when you can do whatever you want, you don't have to get caught... and then you can really fly."
"Were you flying when you diced up that couple at the inn?" Dean asks.
"Oh. When I'd found out that that... puss-hole was taking another girl to the B&B, that's his deal closing move." Sydney says. "I didn't have to sit at home and cry about it."
"And what about the innkeeper's mom?" Jacob asks.
"That piece of jerky. She screwed me out of two weeks pay. I used to fantasize about killing her and now I'm living the dream."
"So that's how you got in and out. You worked there." Larissa says.
"Just for one summer." Sydney says.
"Oh, it didn't work out? Shocker." Ophelia tsks.
"What about Jordi's parents?" Dean asks. "Huh? What? Did they screw you over, too?"
"Not me." Sydney says. "Jordi. Where to start. Meth dealing dad, slut mom. No, I saved Jordi. And I'm going to take better care of him than they ever did."
"You have him tied up in a closet." Larissa sneers.
"Well, you said that we were, uh, we were an offering. Well, how do you plan on bringing Amara here?" Dean asks. "Don't tell me that girl's got a cell phone."
"I've been praying. And I know that she can hear me. I can feel it. She's close. She hasn't left me." Sydney says.
"Well, bring her on out. We've been hunting that bitch for weeks." Dean says. Sydney hits him with the butt end of the shotgun.
"She is a goddess!"
Sam jumps up and attacks Sydney. She fires the shotgun at him, but misses. Suddenly, she drops to the floor. The others look up, finding Len standing there, holding a bloody axe.
"Holy crap. I just did that."
"Hey. Hey. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Take this away." Sam takes the axe.
"The darkness is coming." Sydney says. "It's so peaceful. It's coming for all of us."
+++
"Still can't believe Len turned himself in." Dean says.
"I mean, it kinda makes sense. You know, people having different reactions to losing their souls. I did. Everyone's got their own history, right?" Sam says.
"Len loses his heart. Sydney loses her head. What are we looking for the cowardly lion next?" Dean asks.
"Or something." Nathan mumbles.
"You know, I get, like, this pit in my stomach when I think of her. The Darkness. Like we only know the tip of what she is. What she does to people. You know Len was freaked out by her, but Sydney. Sydney couldn't get enough. The bliss she was talking about, you know? What was it like for you? Did you feel like that with Amara?"
"No. No, I mean it was quiet. Until, uh, she started hatching killers and rallying monsters to raise armies." Dean says.
"So that's how we have to find her. Follow the bodies."
"You got a better idea? We could follow the crazy you've been seeing. Look, at the rate Amara's growing, sucking souls and getting stronger, she may not be that hard to find."
+++
They've been in Fall Rivers for about a week and trying to find Amara.
Sam is currently at the table and on his laptop.
"Hey." Sam greets as Dean walks in.
"Hey." Dean nods.
"Where'd you ditch the body?" Sam asks.
"School playground." Dean answers.
"Come on."
"Hospital parking lot." Dean takes his jacket off. "What do you got?"
"Well, uh, good news. I was able to hack his phone. Got the coordinates of his call history." Sam walks over to the research wall with Dean. "I guess Crowley must've had him tailing Amara or something cause he was at all three spots. He was at the Lizzie Borden house where Len got his soul taken. He was at the bar where Sydney got her soul taken, and he was here where Goldie said Amara approached her."
"So, somewhere in there." Dean motions to the map.
"Yeah, maybe. But what I don't get is, why would Crowley have Amara on earth in the first place?" Sam asks. "Wouldn't it be smarter to-- to keep her in Hell?"
"Yeah, but then he'd have to spend more time there and he hates that place." Dean says.
"Oh, right. I keep forgetting about you and Crowley's summer of love." Sam says.
"I'm not seeing much inside this radius that he'd like better. I mean, you got farms, you got swamps." Dean says.
"Yeah."
"The P.O.I., what's that?"
"Uh... point of interest."
"No, I know what it-- what is it?"
"Oh. Let's find out." Sam goes back to his laptop. "The Needham Asylum. Decommissioned in '63. Sound like Crowley's kind of place to you?"
+++
"Look, guys, I'm as glad as anyone that Stella got her groove back, okay? But you let Metatron go?" Dean asks Cas, the four in the war room.
"Dean, how many times are you gonna repeat that question?" Cas asks in annoyance.
"I'm gonna say it again. You let Metatron go?!" Dean repeats.
"He's not going anywhere. If he makes a move, if he draws the slightest attention, the full force of angelkind will snuff him out. Look, you-- neither of you saw him. He is a human and a pitiable one at that. He's not a threat to us. I-I mean, I put him in traction."
"Guys, bigger fish to fry here. Amara is in the wind." Sam says.
"Yeah, God's fucking sister." Dean says.
"You said you were close. Dean, how'd she get away?" Cas asks.
"I'm sorry, what part of "God's fucking sister" did you not understand?" Dean asks. "She overpowered me -- end of story." The others look at him warily. "What's our plan here? You said you got everything you could out of Metatron, right? So, where on earth are we gonna find an answer on how to stop her?"
"I don't suppose God's decided to share any wisdom on the matter." Dean says.
"I'll look into the lore." Sam goes to the library.
+++
Nathan had shared his soulless theory with all of the others. He had waited since he didn't want Ophelia to run off, hoping there'd be a lesser chance if they were at the bunker. The group decided to make a plan on how to confront the girl.
Cas follows Dean to said girl's room, Dean slamming the door open.
"What the hell?" Ophelia frowns.
Dean easily grabs her arms, holding them behind her back.
"Hey!" She tries to fight against him, but he just tightens his grip.
"Bite down on this." Cas shoves a belt into her mouth. Ophelia tries to protest, it coming out muffled.
Cas looks at Dean who nods. Cas sticks his arm into Ophelia's chest, the girl letting out muffled screams of agony. She writhes around in pain, still being held by Dean.
Cas soon rips his arm out and Ophelia pants, her body trying to recover from the immense pain and shock. She spits the belt out of her mouth, making it easier to breathe.
Ophelia groans as her legs give out from underneath her, Dean just letting her fall to the floor, her arms sliding out of his grasp.
"So?" Dean asks.
Before Cas can answer, a stampede of footsteps are heard, the other teenagers and adults running in.
"What the fuck did you do?!" Jacob yells.
Nathan beelines to Ophelia, kneeling next to her.
"Lia?" He gently calls, brushing some of her hair back. "Lia? Hey." He lightly shakes her and she groans, still trying to recover a bit. Nathan sighs in relief at her being alive.
"We weren't certain if she was soulless or not." Cas says. "Now we are."
"There wasn't any easier way to do that?" Sam scoffs.
"Cas did what he had to." Dean says. "She's soulless, so... next move."
"I don't even wanna know what you're considering to be a next move." Larissa says.
"Look, whatever your idea is, we're not killing her." Jacob says.
"Yeah. We didn't kill Sam or Len. She gets to live, too." Larissa says.
"What if she's a total psycho?" Dean questions.
"You're a total psycho. We haven't killed you yet." Libby glares at him.
"You think this was Amara too?" Sam asks.
"I don't-- I don't know." Jacob shrugs. "Wait, she-- she came back before you guys unleashed Amara. She was on a hunt with you. Did... did she seem different?" He asks Dean.
"How the fuck would I know?" Dean questions.
Jacob rolls his eyes, his hands curling into fists, the man able to feel his nails dig into his palms. He lets out a quiet laugh as he rubs his forehead.
Evie steps away from her uncle, his demeanor actually freaking her out a bit.
"You were with her." Jacob says, his jaw clenching. "You're telling me you didn't notice some difference in personality?"
"Would y'all shut the fuck up?" Ophelia groans, swatting Nathan's hand away. The boy frowns at the reaction, but reminds himself it's not really her.
"Oph--" Jacob starts.
"Relax. Amara didn't do this." She says, getting up. "I don't know what did, but I woke up and I just... felt nothing."
"You-- you felt nothing? You feel everything." Jacob says.
"Not anymore." Ophelia says. "I can't feel anything you guys are... finally. Guess that power only works when you have your soul."
"So-- so you just came back soulless?" Larissa asks.
"Yep. Kinda like dear, old Uncle Sammy." Ophelia smirks.
Sam tenses up for a moment, clearing his throat, not letting his niece get to him.
"I'm really surprised it took you guys this fucking long. I mean, it's not like I was really hiding it." She laughs. "God, I hated all of those damn hugs. I mean, how was the sad, abused puppy dog the only one to figure it out?" She asks, motioning to Nathan.
Nathan visibly shrinks back a little, looking down at the words. Billy and Daphne both notice his reaction, their hearts aching for the boy. Even if they all know it's not the Ophelia they know and love, it still manages to hurt the same.
Daphne reaches out and grabs Nathan's hand, holding them behind her back. She gently squeezes his hand, attempting to provide some sort of comfort.
"Okay, we'll figure this out." Sam says. "We-- we can figure it all out. Get her soul back somehow."
"That's unlikely." Cas says.
"Shut up, Cas." Everybody but Dean orders.
"We'll figure it out." Sam promises.