[Family Matters]
INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT
Sam grunted and groaned.
"You're right. He looks terrible," Castiel said.
Sam groaned again.
Azrael frowned. "You did this?"
"Cas? Rae? What's-" Sam grunted. "Let me go."
"Has he been feverish?" Castiel questioned.
"Have you?" Dean and Natalia pressed.
"No," Sam replied. "Why?"
"Is he speaking in tongues?" Castiel asked. "Are you speaking in tongues?"
"No. What are you two... Are you two diagnosing me?"
Natalia pursed her lips. "You better hope they can."
"You two really think that this is-"
Dean cut him off. "What, you think that there's a clinic out there for people who just pop out of Hell wrong? They ask, you answer! Then you shut your hole. You got it?"
"How much do you sleep?" Azrael inquired.
"I don't," Sam answered.
Dylan frowned. "At all?"
"Not since I got back."
Dean narrowed his eyes. "And it never occurred to you that there might be something off about that?!"
"Of course it did, Dean. I-I just never told you guys."
"What?" Dean and Natalia asked.
Azrael looked at the younger brother. "Sam... What are you feeling now?"
Sam scoffed. "I feel like my nose is broken."
"No. That would be a physical sensation. How do you feel?"
"Well, I think-"
"Feel."
"I... don't know." He looked at the angels. "What? Uh..."
"This will be unpleasant," Castiel warned.
"What-"
"Bite down on this. If there's someplace that you find soothing, you should go there. In your mind."
Castiel injected his hand into Sam's chest and Sam screamed, groaned and breathed heavily.
Dylan gripped Natalia's hand tightly, seeing her panic and worry.
When Castiel removed his hand, Dean asked, "Did you find anything?"
"No," Castiel replied.
"So that's good news?" Natalia questioned hopefully.
"I'm afraid not. Physically, he's perfectly healthy."
"Then what?"
"It's his soul. It's gone."
Dean scoffed. "Um... I'm s -- I'm sorry. One more time, like I'm five. What do you mean, he's got no-"
Azrael interrupted him. "Somehow, when Sam was resurrected, it was without his soul."
"So, where is it?" Dylan wondered.
"Our best guess... Still in the cage with Michael and Lucifer."
Natalia frowned. "So, is he even still Sam?"
"Well, you pose an interesting philosophical question," Castiel replied.
"Well, then, just get it back," Dean reasoned.
"Dean."
"Well, you pulled me out and Natalia from Heaven."
"Natalia wasn't guarded at all. It took several angels to rescue you, and you weren't nearly as well guarded. Sam's soul is in Lucifer's cage. There's a difference, a big difference. It's not possible."
"Okay, well, there's got to be a way."
"So, are you gonna untie me?" Sam asked.
"No," Dean and Natalia replied.
"Listen, I'm not gonna-"
Dean cut him off. "Sam, how the hell are we supposed to let you out of this room?"
"Dean, Nat, I'm not some psycho. I didn't want you two to get hurt. I was just trying to stop the vamps." He sighed. "I'm sorry. It won't ever happen again. Please let me go."
Natalia crossed her arms. "You're kidding, right? Need I remind you, you held Dylan hostage so he couldn't help me or Dean."
"Well, what are you all gonna do, just keep me locked up in here?"
"You say it like it's a bad thing."
"Okay, fine, look, I get it, Dean, Natalia. I was wrong. But I'm telling you I-I'm trying to get it right. It's still me."
"Is it?" Dean questioned.
"Yes. So just let me go."
"No way in hell."
Sam sighed. "I don't want it to come to this. You're not gonna hold me, Dean, neither are you Dylan, Natalia -- Not here, not in a panic room, not anywhere. You three are stuck with the soulless guy, so you might as well work with me." He looked to the angels. "Let's fix this."
"We're gonna be watching every move you make."
"Fine. Sounds about right to me."
"Cas, Rae, clean him up."
Sam groaned and breathed heavily.
Natalia looked at Sam. "All right, if we're gonna figure out what happened to your soul, then we got to find who yanked you out." Sam shrugged. "You say you don't know?"
"No idea," Sam said.
"Then we start a list," Dylan suggested. "If it's so hard to spring someone from the box, then who's got the required muscle?"
"I don't know," Castiel replied. "You have no memory of your resurrection?"
"I woke up in a field," Sam told them. "That's all I got."
"No clues?" Dean asked. "None?"
"I've got one."
INT. IMPALA
A horn honked.
INT. CAMPBELL COMPOUND
"Gramps throw a barbecue, leave us off the e-vite list?" Dean asked.
"Sam!" Christian exclaimed with a laugh. "Ahh. Dean. Natalia. Dylan."
"Hello, Newman. Where's the man?"
Samuel cleared his throat. "Come right on in."
Natalia got straight to business. "Need to ask you a few questions."
"What's wrong?"
"The day you got back. What happened?"
"We've been over this."
"Well, recap it for our wingman and wingwoman," Dean told him.
Castiel and Azrael appeared.
Samuel looked at the angels. "This Castiel and Azrael? You're scrawnier than I pictured. She's shorter than I pictured."
"These are vessels," Castiel said. "Our true forms are approximately the size of your Chrysler building."
"All right, all right, quit bragging," Dean told him. "So, you were dead, and..."
"And, pow, I was on Elton Ridge," Samuel replied. "Don't know how. Don't know why. I got nothing to hide, guys."
"Well, you mind if Cas here double-checks?" Natalia asked.
Castiel did so and Samuel screamed.
The Campbells came running up and Sam said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay."
"What the hell?" Christian questioned.
"Angel cavity search," Dean explained.
"I'm fine, Christian," Samuel reassured. "Just give us a minute."
"But-" Christian began.
"Just give us a minute."
The door closed and Samuel breathed heavily before asking, "What the hell was that about?"
"His soul is intact," Castiel informed.
"What? Of course I have a -- What's going on, Sam?"
"Whatever dragged me out... left a piece behind," Sam replied as Samuel groaned. "Did you know?"
"No, but I... I knew it was something. I... You're a hell of a hunter, Sam, but... the truth is, sometimes you scare me. So, what's the deal here? How do we fix this? How do we get his soul back?"
"We don't know yet, but we have to," Dylan said.
"Well, I'm here to help, of course. What leads you working?"
"A bunch of dead ends and you," Sam said.
"Well, then, we'll just have to dig."
Castiel and Azrael turned to the four younger hunters as the former said, "Sam, Dean, Natalia, Dylan... we have to get back."
"You're both leaving?" Dean and Natalia asked.
"We're in the middle of a civil war."
"You two better tear the attic up, find something to help Sam," Dean told them.
"Of course. Your problems always come first. We'll be in touch."
The air whooshed.
"Would've asked them to stick around for a beer," Samuel commented.
"So, what's with the book club outside?" Dean asked.
"Putting together a hunt."
"That's a lot of guys for one hunt."
"You found him, didn't you?" Sam realized.
"Who?" Dean, Natalia and Dylan questioned.
"He's got a lead on the alpha vamp."
"Do you?"
"Maybe. Yeah." Samuel chuckled.
"How'd you track him down?" Dean wondered.
"We're good."
Natalia frowned. "That's all we get? "We're good"?"
"When's the run?" Sam asked.
"Dawn," Samuel replied.
"You didn't call me? Why?"
"'Cause of me, Nat and Dylan," Dean said. "You don't trust us very much, do you? Especially when it comes to big game like this."
"That's not true," Samuel replied.
"Okay, well, then, we're in," Natalia told him.
"No offense, but-"
"Oh. So you don't trust us."
"No, I just don't know you three. Not like I know Sam."
"All right. You call the plays. 100%. We're here to listen."
Samuel chuckled. "Since when?"
"Big daddy bloodsucker?" Dean stated. "We ain't gonna miss that. But this is your deal. Okay? We get it. We'll follow your lead. We trust you."
Dylan nodded. "As do I."
EXT. CAMPBELL COMPOUND
"We don't trust him," Dean said. "Dude's hiding something."
"What?" Sam questioned.
"We can feel it," Natalia explained. "And if you weren't Rabo-Sam, you'd feel it as well."
"Huh."
"What?" Dean and Natalia asked.
"Just... You two. Saying you two don't trust family. I understand Dylan's suspicion; he doesn't know them at all."
"Look, we hang close, we blend in, we see what we can pick up," Dean suggested.
"You three think Samuel's connected to this whole soul thing?"
"We still think he's the only lead we got," Dylan answered.
There was a click.
INT. CAMPBELL COMPOUND
"You two lost, Dean, Natalia?" Christian asked.
"Had to make a phone call," Dean lied. "Just needed some privacy."
"Oh. Samuel's locked office is pretty private."
"Wasn't locked," Natalia replied.
"Who you two calling?"
"Your wife," Dean answered. "Let her know I'm not gonna make it over tonight."
"You know, I've tried playing nice, Dean, Natalia, but I think I'm done."
Natalia tilted her head slightly. "Wait, are you trying to tell us that you're a bigger knob than you've been letting on?"
"I'm the guy who's been doing my job. Who are you two? You think we need you two around here?" He focused on Dean. "You walk around like you're playing pro tennis. Only action you seen lately is between your slut girlfriend's legs." He grunted. "You two sure you want to come with us tomorrow? Accidents happen."
"Hmm," Dean hummed. "Don't worry, man. We got your back."
He scoffed.
EXT. CAMPBELL COMPOUND
The engine turned over.
EXT. WILDERNESS - DAY
The house is just over the hill," Samuel informed. "About a dozen vamps and the alpha. We got one shot at this son of a bitch." He looked between the group. "Christian, take flank. The rest of you are with me and Sam. Dylan, you're with us as well. Dean, Natalia, Gwen... hang back sweep any stragglers we flush out. Problem, Dean, Natalia?"
"No, sir," Dean and Natalia replied.
Gwen frowned. "I'm in the rear with the rejects?"
"All right, let's go," Samuel said.
"Don't worry. It's fine," Sam reassured.
Dean shot him a look. "No, nothing's fine. You're not fine. Go. Go."
"Sorry about the "reject" thing," Gwen apologized.
"Ah, we've been called worse," Natalia replied.
"Just, uh, get sick of getting left behind. Think it's probably 'cause I remind him of his daughter or something."
"Well, you just speak your mind," Dean told her.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"You should."
Branches snapped, a machete sliced, and there was a thud.
"You're both welcome," Gwen said.
Grunts and gunshots sounded.
Dean and Natalia ran off.
"We're supposed to wait here!" Gwen yelled.
More gunshots sounded. A woman screamed, a man screamed, and there was a pounding on the window.
"Dean! Natalia!" A girl called.
A scream sounded.
"Sam! Dylan!" Samuel yelled.
A vampire snarled and metal jingled.
"Careful, now!" Samuel warned.
"Yeah," Sam said. "Got him."
There was more snarling and grunting.
"Get in," Samuel instructed.
The door closed.
"Where were you?" Gwen asked.
"Everything all right here?" Samuel questioned.
"Just, uh, chopped up a runner. No big deal. How'd it go?"
"Rough, but one alpha down."
"Where is it?" Dean wondered. "She and I want to pay our last respects."
"Well, bring marshmallows. Already on the pyre."
INT. IMPALA - NIGHT
"Things go okay back there?" Dean asked.
"Fine," Sam replied, ignoring the look Dylan was giving him.
"Nothing weird?" Natalia inquired.
The engine revved and tires screeched before the engine shut off.
"Nat and I saw you walk that alpha out the door, Sam," Dean told him. "Now, call us crazy... But that seems weird."
Sam sighed. "Oh."
""Oh,"" Dean and Natalia repeated.
"You two weren't supposed to know about that. Dylan wasn't supposed to see."
"Know what?"
"It's just something Samuel's been doing. Catching things, taking them somewhere, grilling them for info."
"Grill," Dean repeated. "Torture, right? And not telling me -- that was his idea?"
"No, it was mine."
"Why?"
"Honestly? 'Cause you'd both mess it up. You two shoot first, ask questions later, and we needed to ask questions."
"You know, I-I don't care if you've got your soullessness or the freakin' mumps, man -- You know better than this! Do you even want your soul back?"
"How does that have anything to do-"
Natalia cut him off. "Have you been to the place where Samuel takes them? I mean, have you been on these interrogations?"
"No, but I hear-"
"And why?" Dean asked. "And did it ever occur to you that this is really shady?"
"He's our grandfather."
"Yeah. Yeah, a guy who talks a great game. But you can't assume that family means the same thing to him as it does to us. He's not Dad. Wow. You don't see it, do you?"
"What?"
"You got no instinct." Natalia scoffed. "You're seriously messed up."
"Thanks."
"I'm not kidding, dude. Nobody's forcing you to work with us, okay? But if we do this... Dean and I drive the bus, we call the shots, and you tell us everything, whether you think it's important or not, because -- trust me -- you can't tell the difference. Or, you know, go -- go with Gramps. See how that goes. It's entirely up to you."
INT. CAMPBELL COMPOUND
"Samuel?" Sam called.
"Damn, kid," Samuel said. "Learn how to knock. Where's your brother, sister and her boyfriend?"
"Gone."
"What do you mean, "gone"?"
"I mean they left about an hour ago. Them and I just weren't seeing eye-to-eye anymore, I guess."
"That's too bad."
"I want in."
"In?"
"On the interrogations, on everything. I can help. This family -- this is for me now. Whatever you need, I'll do."
"Yeah, I know you will."
"Great."
"But until we can figure out this soul business of yours, I need you to keep doing what you're doing."
"But I can-"
"No you can't." He sighed. "I'm sorry."
"Right."
Metal clanged and a door closed.
EXT. CAMPBELL COMPOUND
Objects rattled and there was a beeping.
INT. IMPALA
"Hey," Dean and Natalia greeted.
"You two didn't think I'd come back," Sam commented.
"We figured 60/40," Dylan replied.
"So, Samuel didn't take the bait. So I went with a plan "b.""
"We had a plan "b"?" Natalia asked.
"Fired up the GPS on one of his cell phones. We should be able to track him right to the alpha."
"The old man won't notice?" Dean questioned.
"Trust me. He thinks Velcro is big news." A beeping sounded. "There. Got him."
EXT. WAREHOUSE
"Dead man's blood?" Sam inquired.
"Smart," Dean said. Lock the place down with vamp repellent. Dyl, you go with him."
"Dean, I don't need a babysitter."
"Ah, ah. Nat and I call the shots. Remember?"
He sighed. "Fine."
INT. WAREHOUSE
Electricity crackled.
"Where is it?" Samuel demanded. "Answer the question. Where is it? How do we find it?"
Electricity hummed and crackled.
"Ouch," the alpha vampire stated sarcastically. "Stop. That hurts."
"This -- This is a club med compared to what we have planned for you. I got -- I got all the time in the world."
"Well, that makes two of us."
The machete clattered and the alpha vampire laughed. "Are you four going to hide all night? Come on out, boys, girl" They did so. "How can I help you?"
"We got some questions for you, skippy, since you're going nowhere fast," Dean told him.
The alpha vampire chuckled. "Don't be so sure."
"Yeah? Locked down pretty tight. And with all that dead blood rushing through your veins, not sure you got enough juice to fire up that psychic bat-signal of yours, do you?"
"True. Not near enough juice for that... Dean, Natalia."
Natalia narrowed her eyes. "He and I didn't realize we were on a first-name basis."
"Of course we are. After all, you and your brother were my child... for a time. Dean, Natalia, tell me... did you two enjoy it?"
"We're asking the questions here, Fright Night."
Electricity crackled.
The alpha vampire continued. "When your kind first huddled around the fire, I was the thing in the dark! Now you think you can hurt me? I have all night, boys, girl. Anyway, I'm happy to tell you whatever you want to know."
"Why?" Sam and Dylan asked.
"Why? Because soon, I'll be ankle-deep in your blood, sucking the marrow from your bones."
"So you're really it," Sam said. "The first of your species."
"The very first."
"But if you're the first... who made you?"
"We all have our mothers. Even me."
"What does that mean?" Dean demanded as the alpha vampire chuckled. "And what's with the big surge of vamps lately? I mean, it's like-"
"Like we're going to war."
"Why?" Sam questioned. "What's going on? Why did Samuel bring you here?"
The alpha vampire sniffed. "You smell cold. You have no soul. What an oddity. Do you feel how empty you are? What is it like to have no soul? Answer my question."
"You first. You're the one in the cage."
"The thing about souls -- If you've got one, of course -- is they're predictable. You die, you go up or down. Where do my kind go?"
"All right, enough with the sermon, freak," Dean said.
"I'm trying to answer the question. Now, when we "freaks" die... where do we go? Not Heaven, not Hell. So?"
"Legoland?" Dean and Natalia asked sarcastically.
The alpha vampire sighed. "Little rusty on our Dante, boys, girl?"
"Purgatory?" Sam and Dylan realized.
"Purgatory?" Dean repeated. "Purgatory's real."
Natalia looked up at him and frowned. "Clearly."
"Oh, stupid cattle." The alpha vampire chuckled. "Of course! And it is filled with the soul of every hungry thing like me that ever walked this earth. Now, where is it? That is the mystery. And that is what your kindhearted granddaddy is trying to beat out of me."
"Samuel brought you here... to find out where Purgatory is?" Sam asked.
"I keep telling him -- how would I know such a thing? But he refuses to untie me."
"You know exactly where it is," Dylan retorted. "Why does Samuel care about any of this?"
"He doesn't care. He does as he is told."
"Well, if the old man's Kermit... whose hand's up his ass?" Dean wondered.
A gun cocked and Samuel greeted, "Evening, guys, lady."
"Wow, you know, Nat and I have seen some stupid in our time, but you take the crown. Putting Jaws in a fishbowl? How do you think that's gonna end? I don't know what kind of game you're running-"
"What, you think I'm doing this for kicks?"
"Nat and I think you've got the rest of these feels convinced that you're John Wayne. So whatever you're doing, whatever you're hiding... it's gonna put you and everyone around you in the ground."
Another gun cocked.
"Hi," Gwen said.
"Gwen." He sighed. "I thought we had something special."
"Are you scared of me?" The alpha vampire questioned. "I would be." He chuckled. "Go ahead." He escaped the cage.
Electricity crackled and a man screamed.
"Grab your stuff," Samuel instructed.
Natalia sighed. "How long till the alpha's 100%?"
"Hour. Maybe less." He looked between the four younger hunters. "We need to get him dosed up and back in the cage."
"No," Dean and Natalia replied.
"What do you two mean, "no"?"
"We mean, we don't know what your big plan was, but playing catch is not on the table," Dean told him.
"Dean, Nat-"
"It's Natalia to you," she corrected. "We take the thing's head off, or it kills us all! You know that."
"Okay. We split up," Dean said. "Clear every room. You get a shot, you take it. It's not gonna kill him, but dude will move a lot slower without any kneecaps. And if we make it through this, you, me, Nat and Sam are having one hell of a family meeting."
"You think he ran out?" Christian asked.
"No!" Samuel cried.
Bones cracked and the alpha vampire snarled before saying, "The boy with no soul. I've got big plans for you. It's amazing how that pesky, little soul gets in the way. But not for you. You will be the perfect... animal."
Christian gasped.
"Christian?" Sam called.
A slow clapping filled the room before Crowley said, "Well, that was dramatic?"
"Crowley?" Sam and Dylan questioned.
"Hello, boys, girl. What an unexpected treat."
"Bring Christian back now," Samuel demanded.
"I'm sorry?"
"My nephew! The one you just crammed a demon into!"
"Oh. No. I had him possessed ages ago. Samuel, really. I keep an eye on my investments."
Dean frowned. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. You two know each other?"
"Not in the Biblical sense. More of a business relationship, I'd say."
"You're Crowley's bitch," Sam said.
"It's not what you think," Samuel told them.
"It's precisely what you think," Crowley corrected. "That alpha he's caught me is getting him a gold star."
Natalia eyed the demon suspiciously. "Since when do you give a crap about vampires?"
"Since, uh... What's today -- Friday? Since, let's see -- mind your business."
"You may as well share with the class, Crowley. We know you're looking for Purgatory," Sam informed.
"So you heard about that?"
Dylan crossed his arms. "Yeah. You wanna tell us why?"
"Isn't it obvious? Location, location, location. I'm a developer. Purgatory is vast, underutilized, and Hell-adjacent, and I want it."
"What for?" Dean and Natalia questioned.
"Best shut your gabs. Employees don't question management."
Natalia scoffed. "Uh, sorry, your highness, but we ain't your employees."
"Of course you are! Have been for some time now, thanks to Gramps. I don't keep Captain Chromedome around for his wit, do I? Samuel knows things. More than any of you, actually. Though, Puppy knows a little more. Walking encyclopedia of the creepy and the crawly. And I knew... You three are so hung up on family-loyalty nonsense, he said jump, you'd get froggy. And lover boy would follow his precious girlfriend around."
"Yeah, well, the game's over," Dean said.
"Yeah, well, afraid not, not if you want to see Sam's soul ever again."
"You're bluffing," Sam stated.
"Tell them, Samuel."
Samuel glanced a them. "He pulled us both back, me and Sam."
"What? You knew?" Sam asked.
"No, Cas and Rae say it takes big-time mojo to pull something like that off, and you're nothing but a punk-ass crossroads demon," Dean told him.
"Was a punk-ass crossroads demon. Now? King of Hell. Believe me, I've got the mojo. I snap my fingers, Sam gets his soul back. Or you two can be... You two, and I shove Sam right back in the hole and maybe Dylan as well. Can't imagine what it's like in there... and I can imagine so many things. So, we clear? Me, Charlie... you, angels. Job's simple enough -- bring me creatures. Aim high on the food chain, please. Everybody wins. It's been a pleasure. See you soon."
Gwen frowned. "You're letting a demon call the shots?"
"Nothing's changed," Samuel replied. "We hunt. Period. Don't worry about him. I'll take care of it. You trust me or not? Get in the van, Gwen."
"Working with demons, huh?" Sam asked as metal clanged. "You're not who I thought you were."
"You don't know anything about me, son."
"So, what's so important that you're the king of Hell's cabana boy, huh?" Dean wondered. "What'd he offer you? Girls? Money? Hair?"
"I got my reasons. You two gonna make a move, go ahead."
"Or what?" Dean and Natalia argued.
"Or nothing. I'm not gonna do anything to you, Dean, Natalia. You boys and girl... you're my family. So the way I see it, you got two choices -- Put a bullet in your grandfather or step aside."
A gun cocked and Sam said, "He sold us out."
"We know," Dean replied. "Let it go."
"Why?"
"Get out of here."
"So, what now?"
"We can't work for Crowley," Natalia told her brothers, mostly Sam.
"Are you sure about that?"
"I don't think you get it. Demons bone you every single time."
"Oh, no, I get it. I do, believe me." He paused a moment. "Just running the math -- Do we really have another choice?"
"We could stab him in his throat," Dean suggested.
"And get my soul back how? I'm just saying, seems like we got to play ball, at least for the moment."
"I have done some stupid things in my time, but punching a demon's clock?"
"Look, just till we find another way."
"And then?" Dean, Dylan and Natalia pressed.
"And then we track Crowley down and give that son of a bitch what's coming to him. You with me, Dean, Nat, Dylan?"