[Nihilism]
ROCKY'S BAR
Music was playing. There was a large moose head on the wall and a man was passed out at the bar. Pamela Barnes came through the door with a bag in her hand.
"That weather." Pamela said. "Not even playing around. Everybody's shopping at the store like it's the End Days. The milk and bread aisles were a war zone. But I battled through it all for your stupid bag of limes." Pamela dropped the limes on the bar. Dean, who was behind the bar, picked them up.
"Hey, I'm not makin' the house special without the limes. What are we -- savages?" Dean replied.
Pamela laughed. "Well..."
Dean cut limes and handed a shot to Pamela. "Tequila shot and a beer. Best damn house special ever."
"No complaints here. Whoo! Mmm. Is there any word from Sam and Nate? How's Holly doing?"
"Still working that ghoul thing in Wichita with Cas. They should be back tonight. Holly's good, aside from the discomfort and wanting to hold the baby."
The door opened, and a woman walked in, holding a briefcase over her head to block the rain. Pamela turned from her spot at the bar and walked towards her. "Wet one out there, eh?"
"Yes. And you are...?" The woman asked.
"Pamela Barnes. Waitress, hostess, Ouija board enthusiast."
"We met the last time you stopped by -- "
"Oh! Mr. Winchester."
"And the time before that."
The woman opened her briefcase on the bar. "I brought the papers I mentioned. I know you said you weren't interested, but it's just a few signatures and you could --"
"Can I get you a drink?" Dean asked.
"I'm in a bit of a rush."
"Well, sorry you wasted your trip out here, but, um... Rocky's still isn't for sale."
The woman looked around the bar. "Rocky's looks pretty dead. It's a very generous offer."
"Well, all the same, this bar? I've never had anything this nice. So that sale that you want so bad, well, it's just not gonna happen."
The woman packed up her papers and briefcase and headed towards the door.
"Need to borrow an umbrella?" Pamela asked.
Dean was at a desk in the back of the bar doing paperwork. Pamela walked over with two shots and gave one to Dean.
"Mm-hmm." Pamela hummed.
"You just gonna leave the drunk guy out there with all the booze?" Dean asked.
"What, you mean that unconscious drunk guy? Yeah, I am. Do a shot with me. I'm heading out for a hot date."
"How come you always have a boyfriend?"
"How come you only want what you can't have?"
"Whoa."
"Besides, you don't want me. You just like to flirt. I'm a psychic, so I kinda know."
"All right."
"So, still not ready to sell the bar, huh? It's a lot of money."
"Sell? This bar? This is my dream."
Yeah."
Dean walked into a refrigerated room and grabbed a case of beer.
"Dean? You wanna come out here?" Pamela called.
Dean walked back out to the bar. "What's up?"
"Trouble."
"What kind of trouble?"
Pamela motioned towards the door. "That kind."
A man with a hooded rain coat came into the bar. "Dean Winchester?"
"Yeah?" Dean asked.
"I got a score to settle with you."
The man removed his hood and showed his fangs as he spoke. "You and your family killed my entire nest back in Sudler."
"Is that right?"
The 'unconscious' guy on the bar leapt up and attacked Dean. Dean threw him over the bar and stomped on him. He grabbed a sawed off shot gun from behind the bar and tossed it to Pamela and grabbed a machete for himself. The guy behind the bar got up and Pamela shot him while Dean decapitated the other vampire. Then, he turned and decapitated the one behind the bar.
"Nice." Pamela commented.
"Whoo." Dean was wiping down the bar and Pamela motioned for him to hand her the towel. "What you got?"
Pamela wiped Dean's face. "Worst part of working here is having to clean up the blood after some pissed-off monster busts in to kill you."
Dean smirked. "Well, what can I say? I'm famous."
Michael, Sam, Nate, Cas, and Jack were in the high rise apartment. Michael waved his hand and the other four fell to their knees in pain. "Now, this... just feels right. Hope is an amazing thing, isn't it You had no chance of winning this. None. But you had hope -- hope that I wouldn't see you coming, but I saw everything."
Sam, Cas, Nate, Holly, Jack, and Rowena were in the bunker.
"It'll be the end of him."
"Ketch says he'll set up a meeting."
"Jack! - Jack!"
Michael continued. "And now I have my perfect vessel. I've just destroyed the one weapon that could really hurt me. Thanks for bringing that, by the way."
Cas got up and approached Michael. Michael grabbed him by the collar and said menacingly, "Don't interrupt me."
While he was distracted, Sam threw lighted holy oil on Michael. It only burned for a second. Cas placed angel cuffs on Michael's wrists in time.
"You think these can hold me?" Michael questioned.
"Yes, we do." Cas replied.
Michael's eyes glowed blue for a few seconds, but nothing happened.
"Dean. Come on, Dean. Are you in there?" Sam asked.
"Dean's not home right now. Please leave a message." Michael said as Multiple sirens were heard in the background. "Oh, right. That. Did you forget? My monsters are out there, building an army."
Jack picked up an angel blade and a machete off the floor as Sam's phone rang. "Maggie? Hey. What's happening out there?"
Maggie was driving. "I brought every hunter I could find, like you said, and we're trying to track down the monsters, but, uh, there's so many of them. We're getting reports of attacks all over the city. No kills, just bites or scratches. It's like they're trying to infect --
"Yeah, I know."
"Sam, where are you?"
"Top of Hitomi Plaza, 10th and Main. We've got Michael."
"Do you?" Michael questioned.
"Okay, we'll get there as soon as we can."
"No, no, no, just save as many people as you can. Don't worry about us. We'll figure it out." Sam said as Jack handed him the machete. "Thanks."
"Okay, what's the plan?" Jack wondered.
"With the angel cuffs on, Michael's under control." Nate explained.
"Keep telling yourself that." Michael said.
"Get him downstairs, dump him in the trunk of the Impala, and take him back to the bunker." Sam instructed.
"But Garth is in the trunk." Jack reminded him.
Sam shrugged. "It's a big trunk."
Michael shrugged and smirked. There was a commotion outside the apartment doors.
"Monsters!" Jack cried.
"More like the Calvary. I called them." Michael told them. "It's a party!"
Cas was using his powers to keep the monsters at bay. "Sam, Nate, I don't know how long I can hold them."
"Yeah, well, we have to get Dean out of here." Sam replied.
"Yeah, well, we can't go this way."
"It's not like any of us can fly." Jack added.
"Well, one of us can." Michael said.
"Shut up!" Sam and Nate cried.
"Sam, Nate, are we gonna die here?" Jack asked.
Sam and Nate were looking unsure of what to do as the monsters continue to bang on the other side of the door. Then, they looked around the room.
Sam yelled, "Jessica? You said you're always here, right?"
"Sam, what are you doing?" Cas wondered.
"Billie -- uh, uh, Death assigned a reaper to keep an eye on Dean, Holly, and me. Her name is Jessica, and she is always --"
A woman appeared in the room. "Hello."
Sam looked surprised. "Where's Jessica?"
"Well, my name's Violet. It's my shift. We have shifts now, because you mess up so, so many things."
There was more banging on the door.
"Sturdy door." Violet noted.
"Okay, all right. Well, Violet, we have to get out of here." Sam told her.
"And I want you to know that you have my full emotional support."
"W-We don't want your emotional support. We -- We want your actual, physical help."
"Sam, who are you talking to?" Jack asked.
"You can't see her?"
"I can. You know, in my world, we locked Death away and enslaved the reapers." Michael said.
"Lovely. Well, just look at you now." Violet commented.
"Okay, look, sorry, but we're stuck, okay? And Death owes us one after we fixed that whole Rowena thing." Sam reminded her. "You know about that, right?"
"Oh, yes, the Rowena thing you started."
"We're gonna die here. And my brother --"
"Reapers can't intervene -- and rules."
"Don't give me that whole clean hands --"
"Even if I did feel inclined, uh, we don't have access to that kind of --"
"Yeah, well, uh --"
Violet held a finger up. "Shh, shh."
"Sam, what is she saying?" Cas wondered.
"She's not saying anything." Sam replied.
"Okay." Violet said.
"What?"
Everyone was to the bunker map room. Holly jumped up, seeing them appear. In the apartment, the monsters broke through the door and looked around, confused.
"How did you do that?" Sam asked.
"I, uh, didn't. Have fun." Violet disappeared.
"Now what?" Jack inquired.
Michael was chained to a column in the map room.
"Shouldn't we put him in the dungeon or something?"
"Jack's right -- we don't know how long those cuffs are gonna hold. I mean, Bobby improved them, but -- If those cuffs won't hold him, neither will the dungeon." Sam said.
"I can hear you." Michael told them.
They all walked away to the other side of the room.
"Really?" Michael asked.
"Okay, so, what?" Jack questioned.
"Okay, listen. Back when Gadreel possessed me, he -- he created, uh, I don't know, like a -- like a fake world inside my head. But Crowley was able to force his way in, he showed me how to take control, and I drove the angel out. The problem is..." Sam was interrupted.
"Crowley's dead." Cas noted.
"Yeah."
"Okay, so..." Sam's phone rang.
"Sorry. It's Maggie."
"Hey."
"Sam, we're almost at Hitomi Plaza."
"A-All right, uh, yeah, we're, uh -- we're actually back at the bunker."
"What?!"
"Yeah, long story. I'll explain later. Uh, Maggie, we, uh -- we left Garth in the trunk of the Impala back at Hitomi Plaza. Can you make sure he's okay?"
"Okay, but, Sam, the monsters -- they've stopped attacking people."
"What?"
"Looks like they're leaving the city. They're heading west."
"Remind me, Castiel -- we're west of Kansas City now?" Michael asked.
"You're bringing them here?" Cas questioned.
"You think?"
"Jack, let's lock it down."
Cas and Jack left the room.
"Yes, uh, put a chair against the door. That'll help." Michael looked at Sam, Nate, and Holly. "Nothing's changed. Either my monsters get here, or I break these chains. But tonight... everybody dies. And, Sam, Holly, Nate? The last thing you'll see is this pretty smile... as I rip you apart."
Cas, Nate, Holly, and Sam were in the library in the bunker. Sam was pushing a cart with some sort of machine on it.
"What is that?" Cas asked.
"It's the, uh, messed up British Men of Letters thing they used to get inside people's heads. I figure if I can get in, maybe I can wake Dean up, get him to fight, you know, to force Michael out."
"If he can."
"Yeah. Cas, this is all we got." Nate said.
ROCKY'S BAR
Dean and Pamela were behind the bar.
"Any word from Sam, Nate, or Holly?" Pamela asked.
"Still working that ghoul thing in Wichita with Cas. They should be back tonight. Holly's at the bunker; she's good."
Dean and Pamela were at the desk in the back of the bar. They toasted and drank a shot.
"Ohh!" Pamela exclaimed.
"Ha!" Dean yelled.
They said together, "Whoo! Whoo! Ha! Oh!" Dean picked up the phone. "More shots!"
The door opens, and a woman walked in, holding a briefcase over her head to block the rain. She walked over to the bar. "Oh! Mr. Winchester. I brought those papers I mentioned. I know you said you weren't interested, but it's just a few signatures and you could --"
"Can I get you a drink?" Dean asked.
"I'm in a bit of a rush, so if you could...?"
The woman was gone.
"Any word from Sam, Nate, and Holly?"
"Still working that ghoul thing in Wichita with Cas. They should be back tonight. Holly's back at the bunker; she's good."
Dean walked into the refrigerated room.He decapitated the vampires in the front of the bar.
"Nice." Pamela commented.
Dean and Pamela were behind the bar.
"Any word from Sam?" Pamela asked.
"Still working that ghoul thing in Wichita with Cas. They should be back tonight. Holly's back at the bunker; she's good." Dean hesitated. "Huh."
"What's up?"
"Just had some serious déjà vu."
Michael and Jack were in the map room.
"So, they left you to keep an eye on me?" Michael asked. "Gotta say, little insulting. I mean, what are you? You're nothing."
"That's not what you said before." Jack said.
"Ah. Yes. A moment of familial weakness. It won't happen again."
"It doesn't matter. Sam, Holly, Nate, and Dean -- they're gonna beat you."
"Oh, please. Sam's in so far over his head, he's drowning. Nate's too worried about everything. Holly's not much help at this point. And Dean? Well, I've got Dean under control."
"No. Dean -- he's strong."
"He's a gnat. I'm a god. Who would you bet on?"
"You don't know anything about Dean."
"I'm in his head... literally. I know everything. Like, I know how sad he was when you died... on the outside. On the inside, well, it's not that he was happy -- he just didn't care. 'Cause you're not Sam. You're not Cas. You're not Holly. You're not Nate. You're a new burden that he was handed. You're a weak, helpless thing. You think that they care about you, love you? You're a job, a job none of them wanted. And you --"
Cas entered the room. "Jack? Go help Sam, Nate, and Holly. Wait. Don't believe anything he says. He's lying."
"And I can still hear you."
Maggie and the group of hunters were standing outside their cars at night in Lebanon, Kansas.
"Maggie? Maggie? You there?" A voice on the phone asked.
"Yeah?"
"A group of them got out in front of us, headed your way in a black van."
"Right. We'll be ready."
"Okay. We've, uh, got some heavy hitters coming through soon."
"And... And Sam, Holly, and Nate need our help. You all know what the Winchesters have done for us. They gave us all a second chance."
The hunter looked behind the group. "Maggie?"
The hunters turned toward the road and aimed their guns at car coming towards them.
"Whatever happens, we can't let the monsters get back to the bunker." Maggie said.
Cas and Dean were in the map room.
"Look at you. Playing nursemaid to a nephilim and a pregnant hunter. Nothing like the Castiel I knew. He would've never been so... anemic."
"You're confusing loyalty and compassion with weakness." Cas said.
"Tell me. Why do you love this world enough to risk your own life?"
"Tell me. Why do you hate this world enough to burn it to the ground?"
"Because I can. Because... Me, my sister and my brother -- my Lucifer and my Aurora-- when we fought in my world, when she tried to bring us peace, we thought that God would come back, give us answers -- why He'd gone, what we'd done -- but, instead, do you know what happened? Nothing. No God. Nothing. And now... now that I'm in here -- now I know why. God -- Chuck -- is a writer, and like all writers, He churns out draft after draft. My world? This world? Nothing but failed drafts. And when He realizes that they're flawed, He moves on and tries again."
"No, that's not how... Why would He do that?"
Michael yelled, "Because He doesn't care! About you, me -- anything. Now, at first, I thought I'd do it better. Show Him. Be more God than God. But now... I just want to burn every one of His little worlds until I catch up to the old man."
"And then what?"
"Even God can die."
The hunters were approaching the car, guns drawn.
"Hey, you in there?!" Hunter one cried. "We've got you surrounded!"
""We have you surrounded"?" Hunter two repeated.
"Shut up!"
"Smithy, what do you see?" Maggie asked.
"No movement." Smithy replied.
"Tiger, how about you?"
Tiger opened the rear van door. "They're gone." Tiger looked down at the ground outside the van. "There's some tracks here." Tiger went into the woods.
"Don't go in there alone!" Maggie yelled.
Tiger came back out. "They're on foot. They went around us."
"They're probably heading for the bunker."
Sam, Nate, Holly, and Jack were in the map room. Sam and Holly were working with the Men of Letters machine while Michael was still cuffed and chained.
"This... is it going to work?" Jack questioned.
"I don't know." Sam admitted.
"Well, if it doesn't, maybe there's something I can do. The magic that's keeping me alive, what if I can do more?"
"And burn off your soul?" Nate said.
"Not all of it."
"Jack. Dean wouldn't want to be saved, not that way." Holly told him.
"You guys don't know what you're walking into."
"Last time Dean was possessed, he said it felt like he was drowning. This time..." Sam trailed.
"What?"
"It'll probably be worse."
Cas was attaching electrodes from the machine to Michael's head. Sam was sitting across from him with similar electrodes attached.
"Cool science project. I give it a solid B minus." Michael said.
"Okay, in theory, I should be connected to Dean's mind. Cas, you should be able to hitch a ride with me."
"Oh, Cas... I believe in you."
"What should I do? And Nate and Holly?" Jack wondered.
"Pray." Cas replied.
"And make sure no one kills us. And keep Holly safe." Nate added.
Michael said to Sam, "Well, I like this plan. See, out here, I'm all chained up. But in there... you're all mine. So... what are we waiting for?"
Cas held onto Sam's arm and turned on the machine.
Sam and Cas were walking in a black, empty space.
"Cas... where are we?" Sam asked.
"In Dean's mind." Cas replied.
"Then where's he?"
"Excellent question." Cas raised his hand and a light emanated from his palm. There was indistinct shouting. As Cas looked around, Dean's voice was mixed with others.
"We had a deal!
Wait. Hold on, okay?
We're coming.
You can't escape me, Dean. You're gonna die.
And this -- this is what you're gonna become!
Somebody help me!
No!"
"There's so much." Cas said.
"Your own father didn't care whether you lived or died.
It's about who's the bigger badass."
"So much trauma in Dean's mind. So many scars."
"Well, yeah. Dean's been through a lot, but he's strong." Sam replied.
"Sam... you've all been through a lot, and Dean is more than strong. What I meant was, if I knew... if I knew what I was looking for, I could just -- I could simply go to it. But because Michael has Dean trapped away, drowning, I have to wade through all of Dean's most terrible memories."
"Cas, wait a second. Would Michael bury Dean in trauma?"
Cas dropped his hand and turned towards Sam. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, Michael said it himself. The reason he left Dean in the first place was because Dean was fighting back so hard."
"So, if Michael wanted to keep Dean placated..."
"Dean thrives on trauma. I mean, he's had to his whole life, right? It keeps him alert, keeps him ready, but if I wanted to distract Dean, I-I... I'd give him something he's never had before."
"Contentment."
"Exactly. So maybe, instead of looking through his bad memories, maybe let's, uh... maybe let's look through his good memories."
Cas raised his hand again, light glowed from his palm and Dean's voice was around them.
"I think I'm adorable.
You seem pretty cheery.
Strippers, Sammy, Holly, strippers. We're on an actual case involving strippers.
Finally. I'll stay here, hook up with the posse. 'Cause you know me -- I'm a posse magnet.
Hey, see if they got any pie.
This bar -- This bar -- This bar -- I've never had anything this nice.
Rocky's still isn't for sale.
Rocky's still isn't for sale."
Sam frowned. "Wait a second."
"Still working that ghoul thing in Wichita with Cas. They should be back tonight. Holly's back at the bunker; she's good. So that sale that you want so bad, well, it's just not gonna happen."
"Yes. Definitely..."
"You just gonna leave the drunk guy out there with all the booze?"
"Cas... This has never happened. There. Let's go there."
Cas' eyes glowed blue and he and Sam appeared in Rocky's Bar. Dean turned from behind the bar and faced them.
Dean laughed. "Hey! There they are. Kill a ghoul, get a beer."
"Dean?" Sam asked.
"Got this great IPA from Austin -- Cosmic Cowboy. You're gonna love it."
"Hey, Dean, what's going on here?"
"What are you talking about?"
Pamela walked out from a room in the back of the bar. "Cas? Sam? I'm glad you're back safe. I was starting to worry. Don't tell Dean. He'll use it against me."
"Uh, Pamela Barnes was blinded when she saw my true form." Cas said.
"Yeah. She was also killed by a demon, so..." Sam added, trailing off.
Dean placed drinks on the bar. "Hey, what are you guys waiting for? Drink up."
"None of -- None of this is real, okay? T-This -- This bar, uh, uh, Pamela..."
"Excuse me? You've never met anyone more real than me, Sam Winchester." Pamela said.
"You're just a complex manifestation of Dean's memories designed to distract him." Cas explained.
"You really know how to talk to a lady, don't ya?"
"Okay, listen to me. You have to remember what's going on out – out in the real world." Sam said.
"I know it's raining. What else do I need to know?" Dean wondered.
"No, I'm not talking about the rain -- I'm talking about Michael!"
Dean and Pamela disappeared.
"Where'd they go?" Sam asked.
Pamela and Dean were back at the desk, toasting and drinking a shot and laughing.
"Is that...? I think I can hear them."
Dean walked into the refrigerated room in the back of the bar. He and Pamela were behind the bar. Cas and Dean were facing them.
"So, you guys gonna tell us about the hunt or what?" Dean asked. "I take it Nate went back to Holly?"
"Okay. W-What? You were just... What the hell is going on here?" Sam questioned.
"Okay. All right. Now you're starting to worry me. What is going on?"
Cas and Sam watched as the scene replayEd of Pamela and Dean shooting and decapitating the vampires.
Sam got splattered with vampire blood. "Ohhh."
Pamela and Dean were back behind the bar.
"You guys got real messy on that ghoul hunt, huh?" Pamela asked.
"No, we didn't get messy on a hunt." Cas replied. "We got messy just now, in this bar, in a vampire fight."
Pamela looked at Dean skeptically. "Maybe we should rethink the beers."
"Yeah." Dean agreed.
"Okay, Dean, listen to me. I think you're -- you're stuck in a loop in -- in your mind. Michael is possessing you. You -- You have to remember that." Sam explained.
"Michael?"
"Yes."
"Michael's in the Cage. Come on, guys. What is this -- some kind of a joke?"
"No, Dean, it's not a joke." Cas said.
"Okay. Okay. If we're all in Dean's head, then he should be able to control things, like a lucid dream?" Pamela questioned.
"Yeah. I-I don't know. Maybe. I..." Sam trailed.
"Get me a shot. With your brain."
Pamela and Dean laughed.
"Okay. Dean, listen to me. This bar is not real. Pamela isn't real. Man, we were there together when she was blinded."
Pamela's eyes were burned out.
Dean looked at Pamela, whose eyes were pure white. "You're blind?"
"Yeah, I've been blind for a while. Thank Feathers here for that one."
"That was -- Dean, that was an accident." Cas told him.
"Dean, she's not just blind. She's dead. Pamela died helping us." Sam informed.
Pamela died after being stabbed.
"What happened? Pamela?" Dean asked.
Back in the bar, Dean looked around and Pamela was gone. "No. No, no, no, no. Guys, this is -- this is my life. This -- This is the dream."
"No, no, it's not. It's just a dream, Dean. That's all it is." Cas said. "Please, you have to -- you have to try to remember, because the people in your life -- in your real life, out there -- we need you to come back."
Sam whispered, "Poughkeepsie."
Dean hesitated and looked at Sam. "What'd you say?"
"Poughkeepsie."
Dean flashed back to the various people that Michael killed. "I remember. I remember everything."
Michael appeared in the bar, clapping his hands. "Hey, fellas. Well, this is fun."
"Get out of my head." Dean ordered.
"You don't mean that, Dean, not really. You may lie to them, but, deep down, I know you. I am you. You only tolerate the angel because you think you owe him, because he "gripped you tight and raised you from Perdition." Or whatever. But since then, what has he done? Only made mistakes, one after the other. And, Sam -- oh, Sam... You know, Dean was his happiest when you quit hunting, leaving him and Holly with your dad, just the three of them. See, deep down, he knows that you will always abandon him, again and again."
"Shut up!"
"You don't need them. You don't even like them. They're not your family -- they're your responsibilities. They're a weight around your neck. And deep down, you wanted -- you were desperate to get away from them. And that is why you said yes."
"I said shut your damn mouth!"
"Wait. Something's wrong. You're stalling." Cas realized.
"Am I?"
Back in the bunker, Jack, Holly, and Nate were watching over Sam, Michael and Cas. A door creaked open. Maggie and the hunters came down the stairs.
"Monsters! We're barely ahead of them." Maggie informed. "Where's Sam? We need --"
"Never heard about them." A woman said.
"What's going on?"
"They're trying to help Dean." Jack informed.
"Tiger lock down the front door. The rest of you guys get ready if they make it through." Maggie turned to Jack and Nate. "You two ready?"
Jack nodded yes.
"Okay."
Nate glanced at Holly. "Watch them. We won't let anything happen to you or the baby."
ROCKY'S BAR
"He's buying time so his monsters can get to us and rescue him." Sam said.
"You think I need them to save me? Please." Michael replied.
"Fine. You're so tough, why don't you snap your fingers and nuke us all?" Dean suggested.
"Is that what you want?"
"Yeah, I do."
"He can't." Cas said. "Because, in here, we're all just mental projections, so in here, we're all the same."
"So, in here, you're all talk." Sam noted.
"You think I need my powers? I destroy worlds, and I'd crush you with my bare hands."
"Prove it." Dean challenged.
Dean, Sam, and Cas all went after Michael. He beat them easily. In the bunker, there was pounding on the door.
"Is that...?" Jack began.
"It's them." Maggie said.
"Okay, they can't. They won't be able to get through the door."
"They won't have to."
"Tiger?"
Tiger's eyes glowed blue. "Tiger shouldn't have gone in the woods alone."
Maggie pulled a gun on Tiger. He knocked it away and threw her to the ground.
"You should've locked the door." Tiger told her.
The monsters entered the bunker and came after the hunters. They fought, the monsters over powering the hunters. Jack stood by, watching the hunters go down.
"No!" Jack cried, thrusting his hand out in front of him. His eyes glowed as he vaporized the monsters.
ROCKY'S BAR
Michael, Dean, Sam, and Castiel were still fighting.
"You fellas didn't think this out, did you? Even if you could force me out, what do you think I'd leave behind, hm?" Michael said. "You'd be nothing but blood and bone."
"Then we don't kick him out. We keep him in." Dean grabbed Michael and he and Sam tossed Michael into the refrigerated room.
Michael screamed and banged on the door. "Aah!"
"It'll hold. My mind, my rules. I got him. I'm the Cage."
Sam, Nate, Holly, and Maggie were in the map room in the bunker.
"We'll get the rest of this cleaned up." Maggie told him.
"Yeah. What about the rest of Michael's monsters?" Sam asked.
"We're getting in reports. After you guys woke up, they all just went their separate ways. I guess Michael can't control them now."
"Huh. Maggie... Thank you. For everything."
"It wasn't me. Jack, he... I didn't know he could still do that angel stuff."
"Yeah. Yeah. Nate, Holly, and I didn't, either."
Cas and Jack were sitting at a table in the kitchen.
"That magic burns off your soul." Cas said.
"It was an accident." Jack replied.
Cas told him sternly, "Yeah, but you can't afford that kind of accident. You need your soul to stay alive, to --"
"They would've killed you."
"I know. Look, I'm not mad at you. I... I've just seen firsthand what the absence of a soul does. And it's not just about you staying alive, Jack. It's about you staying you. You understand?"
"It won't happen again."
"Okay."
Dean was standing in front of a mirror. Michael was screaming and banging on the door. "It's just you. It's just... you."
"Let me out! Come on!" Michael yelled.
"It's all you."
Michael continued to 'tantrum' in the refrigerated room, banging beer kegs against the door; it was thundering outside.
"Dean." Billie greeted. "So... not all good news. I did say I'd see you again soon."
"You could've knocked."
"Figured all that banging on the door in your head was enough."
"Michael's all locked up."
"Seems that way."
"Sam said that one of your reapers really came through with the assist. I'm thinking that was probably you."
"Don't tell anyone."
"You broke the rules."
"I took a calculated risk. I warned you about the dangers of jumping from world to world. But you ignored me, didn't you?"
"Rescuing Mom and Jack, helping out those other folks -- I'd say it was worth it."
"And just look at you now. Do you remember visiting my reading room? The shelves and shelves of notebooks describing the ways you and your sister might die?"
"Yeah. Upbeat classics."
"Well, it's the funniest thing, but they've all been rewritten. They all end the same way now -- with the archangel Michael escaping your mind and using you as his vessel to burn down this world."
"All of them?"
"All of them. Except one." Billie handed Dean a book. He opened it and looked at her, stunned.
"What am I supposed to do with this?"
"That's up to you."
Dean looked at the book again and when he looked up, Billie was gone. He looked back at the book and then looked around, a mixture of fear and confusion on his face.