Cass, are you there?
Sammy's hurt.
He's hurt pretty bad.
I know you think that I'm pissed at you.
Cass, can we talk? You can't stay.
I don't care that the angels fell.
So, whatever you did...
I didn't know he was gonna cast the angels out of Heaven.
Metatron. He's the scribe of God.
These were never trials.
This is a spell.
He took my Grace. It's why I'm human.
It doesn't matter, okay? We'll work it out.
It's a tablet. Now translate. It's what you do.
Kevin, you are a Prophet of the Lord.
Please, man, I need you here.
If angels come a-knockin', you just let 'em on in.
Beautiful, Buddy. Thank you, Bart.
It's Bartholomew.
Our fallen brothers and sisters
are finding vessels faster than we'd even hoped.
This one goes out to any angel with their ears on.
I need your help.
Start with a name. Ezekiel.
There is a chance I can fix your brother.
I heal Sam while healing myself.
A possession?
I'm a mess, Dean. You know it.
I can't let you put this on yourself.
I wouldn't do that, Dean.
You shouldn't be here.
We have just as much right to be here as you do, brother.
All right, girls, everybody.
== sync, corrected by elderman == @elder_man
So, he's better?
Yes.
Sam is much improved.
It shouldn't be much longer now.
Okay, you know you said the same thing to me last week, right?
As I told you when we met, this will take time.
Okay, well, go then.
Heal.
I'd like my brother back, please.
I must say, Dean,
I'm very uncomfortable with this whole trip.
Investigating crimes involving angels
or anything involving angels
puts me, and therefore, Sam, at risk.
Well, family business, Zeke. Okay?
If we ignore this,
Sam's gonna think that something fishy's going on.
Then I trust you will be discreet.
Wait, if you know where we're going,
that means you've been listening in.
Are you... are you hearing everything between me and Sam?
No.
Just a word here and there.
I have better things to do with my time than eavesdrop,
like heal your brother.
Okay, 'cause here's the thing...
You know, I was gonna say it seems
like it's getting really quiet out there, you know?
Not a peep from the angels,
even Buddy Boyle goes off the air
and stops recruiting for them.
Obviously a calm before the storm.
Yeah, maybe.
What?
That sign said "Fort Collins, 50 miles."
So?
So, last time I looked, like, 12 seconds ago,
uh, fort Collins was 100 miles.
Well, hey, man,
ever since that goddess got her hooks into you...
No, it's more than Vesta.
I mean, this kind of thing's been happening to me.
Like, like, there are chunks of time just missing.
Like, there are times when I'm... not here.
Well, like I've said...
Yes, the trials. I know. I heard you.
I heard you when you said it the last week
and the week before that and the week before that.
Yeah, because damn straight the trials.
They whacked you, man.
You're not up to warp speed yet, okay?
But you will be.
Would I lie?
Uh, one of your guys is here already.
Ah, my colleagues.
Agent.
Cass. What the hell are you doing?
Um, I still have that badge you gave me.
Yeah. Uh, what the hell are you doing?
The murders were all over the news.
Uh, I thought I might be of help.
Yeah, but Cass, you know this is an angel situation, right?
I mean, you left that night because angels were on your ass.
Yeah, and you were living the life, you know?
Early retirement, working your way up the Gas-n-Sip ladder.
Well, if angels are slaughtering one another,
I have to do what I can to help.
This is a risk we should be willing to take,
don't you think?
Hey.
Cass is back in town.
Seriously, did you... did he just say that?
These angels, uh, they were butchered.
Much more violence than was required.
Definitely took more than one or two killers
to pull this off.
Hit squad? Bartholomew's people?
Well, Bartholomew has a faction we know about,
but this could be somebody else entirely.
We don't know.
Well, whoever it is...
We'll find them.
That's great.
Good evening, Malachi.
Where is he?
Bartholomew is quite busy tonight.
With such a large following,
well, the responsibilities are enormous.
I called for a top-level summit.
I don't deal with hand maidens.
I'll convey your thoughts to Bartholomew.
He'll regret the disrespect.
You speak of disrespect, Malachi?
After the bloodbath two nights ago?
Bartholomew's naked grab for power
was nothing but disrespect!
He and I ultimately want the same thing.
The only way we can take Heaven back from Metatron is to unite.
And if Bartholomew wants to avoid all-out warfare on Earth,
he'll meet personally with me to negotiate terms.
I'm sorry.
I should've mentioned earlier, Bartholomew said to tell you
he doesn't negotiate with street thugs.
Are we done here?
Yes, we are.
And so it begins.
It is so good being together again.
You know, this is my fist beer as a human.
I hope it's okay, me joining you.
Why wouldn't it be okay?
You know, Cass, are you sure you're ready
to jump back into all this?
I mean, it seemed to me like you'd actually found some peace.
Hey, you once told me that you don't choose what you do.
It chooses you.
Huh? I'm a part of this.
Like it or not.
All right, well, then, in that case,
we have to figure out, uh, who are we up against,
what do they want, and how do we stop them.
Well, Bartholomew wants to reverse Metatron's spell.
Presumably to... to retake Heaven
once his following is large enough.
That's according to April.
The reaper you banged.
Yeah, and you stabbed.
Yeah.
She was hot.
So hot.
And very nice.
Mm.
Up to the point she started torturing me.
Yeah.
Well, not every hookup's perfect.
All right. I'm gonna get us another round.
Nah. I'll get it.
Mm.
You know, I've never done this before.
One beer, he's hammered.
Oh, boy.
Well, what are you going to do about this?
About Cass?
He is a beacon, Dean,
pulling every angel for miles down on our heads.
All right, you know what, Zeke? Level with me.
What is it that you're so afraid of?
I told you.
When I chose to answer your prayers and heal Sam,
I chose sides.
That means I'm not in good standing with certain angels.
Okay, well, you know what?
Cass isn't in good standing with any angel, all right?
But here he is, ass on the line, fighting the fight.
So tell me, what makes you so special?
Here we go.
Three brewskies.
I'm going to get something out of the car.
Well, I'm really looking forward to this.
Excuse me?
Oh, please.
I know who you really are.
And it isn't Ezekiel.
I, um, noticed you look... kind of uncomfortable
whenever Sam mentions my leaving.
Doesn't he know that you told me to leave?
Here's the deal.
When Sam was doing the trials to seal up Hell,
it messed him up.
Okay?
The third one nearly killed him.
If I'd let him finish, it would have.
He's still messed up bad.
You said the angel Ezekiel helped heal him.
Look, I got to do anything I can to get him back.
Now, if that means that we keep our distance from you
for a little while, then...
Then I don't have a choice.
I don't feel good about it, but I don't have a choice.
It's great to have your help, Cass.
Okay, but we just can't work together.
Relax. I'm not here to out you.
But I am curious, why Ezekiel?
They say he is a good and honorable angel.
Ahh.
Everything they say you are not.
I see your point...
Gadreel.
The stories about me, they are not true.
And yet you spent countless thousands of years
locked in heaven's darkest dungeon,
and now you're hiding in this human posing as Ezekiel.
Tragic.
It broke his heart to lock you away, you know?
You were God's most trusted.
That's why he chose you to protect the garden.
Your one task was to keep evil from entering...
from befouling his cherished creation, mankind,
and you failed him.
Not my doing.
Well, for whatever reason, the serpent entered.
The Earth is cursed with evil.
Someone had to be blamed.
What is it you want of me, Metatron?
Just to be your friend.
You and I go back a long way.
I was actually the one who freed you.
You?
I was the one who caused all the angels to fall.
Including the imprisoned ones.
You're welcome.
No angels are in heaven.
None at all.
No, and you know, at first, I thought I would love it.
But it's a big place.
My solitude is getting tedious.
And so?
And so...
Plan "B."
Rebuild heaven as the place God envisioned it,
only with a handpicked few.
No more anemic functionaries like Bartholomew.
And no more stupid angels.
Maybe some funny ones.
You were his most trusted, Gadreel.
You want to take back your reputation,
you want to reclaim the heaven that was?
We could do this together.
Any word from Cass?
Nothing yet.
And we're not worried about him,
that he just took off like that again?
I mean, it's not like he does this kind of stuff alone.
It's the way he wanted it. Honestly.
Look, man, he's been all over the map
since he got his wings clipped.
What do you got?
Obituaries. That one of the bikers?
Yeah. His name was Red Dawg.
Of course it was.
It's not what you think. He's a family guy.
Big in the PTA, he played Santa at Christmas parties.
So, what? Just one day, he up and joined a biker gang?
No, he did that years ago.
Get this. This is weird.
Look. These are all the victims, right?
They were all baptized together.
Baptized? Yeah.
They were a born-again biker gang.
Well, that is not something you hear every day.
No, it's not.
Wait, make that bigger.
Boyle's boys?
Boyle, as in reverend Buddy Boyle?
Listen to this.
Red Dawg's widow said he was always religious,
but a week before he died,
he came home from a prayer meeting
and was a changed man filled with divine glory.
So, Boyle's at it again.
Selling folks on being meat suits for angels.
Just what... talking to smaller groups now?
I don't know.
Maybe softening up thousands at a time,
he wasn't able to control what angels got let in.
This way, Bartholomew's followers can jump in
just as soon as Boyle does his thing.
So, Red Dawg and his guys were Bartholomew people?
Yeah, and they got slaughtered,
which means that this new group is even worse.
Haven't I always said that angels are dicks?
And I so appreciate the opportunity
to address your Bible-study group.
I admire your passion, your energy, your devotion.
You are exactly what God and his angels have in mind
for the crusade.
Now rise.
Join hands, all of you.
Feel the heavenly host reach out to embrace you.
Embrace them back.
The angels want nothing more than to feel your love.
Welcome them into your hearts.
Let them in!
In the name of Malachi, let them in!
No!
Frankly, I never got use to them.
I lived among them for centuries.
I had to isolate myself to keep sane.
Humans do seem chaotic, Metatron.
Which makes them fascinating, but...
All that emotion.
Geez.
And the wasted energy.
It's just... exhausting.
I know.
Sam Winchester...
It is a mess in here.
And the brother, I do not know where to start.
I can free you from them.
From all of them.
You intend to be the ruler of this new heaven, am I correct?
Uh...
It is a burden I feel I must accept.
Then Metatron, does that not make you God?
Oh.
Semantics.
I don't know that I'd take on that name... necessarily.
No.
When the time comes, we'll call me...
"X."
"X"?
You and I...
We could have paradise again, Gadreel.
Okay.
I'm... unfamiliar with this end of the process.
'Course, no one may be listening,
um, but I-I do need assistance.
I have questions, and there seem to be no answers.
I... I wouldn't presume to ask for help
if I weren't desperate, but I need help.
I'm lost.
I need your guidance.
Please hear my prayer.
I don't know how humans do it.
Try plugging it in.
Surely that wasn't the answer you were seeking.
You're an angel.
Muriel.
I didn't pick the outfit.
Castiel?
No, wait. Please, just hear me out.
It can't be known that I even spoke to you.
I just need a moment. No.
Please.
I just need information.
Dean, there may be nothing in here.
Crowley said the spell that cast down the angels
was irreversible.
Yeah, well, screw Crowley.
Why would you think that anything he says is true?
This part is nearly indecipherable.
Almost like when Metatron wrote it down,
he wanted to keep the words hidden,
even from Prophets.
Hey.
Check this out.
Another angel attack.
What? Where?
Utah.
A, uh, college Bible-study group
and their, uh, guest speaker... some top-shelf church lady.
Insides scorched out, kids' eyes were missing,
but not the church lady's.
So, she was an angel, too?
Sounds like.
Uh, and she sang soprano
for the, uh, Melody Ministry glee club.
Okay.
The club goes to its gigs on a bus,
so when I checked with the Wyoming cops,
they said that a witness saw the same bus leaving the biker bar
not long before the bodies were found.
So, church-lady angel was at both killings?
I'm guessing that she and whoever she's running with
killed Bartholomew's bikers at the bar
and then Bart's boys hit her back.
When she was recruiting those students to be vessels
Wow. A bunch of kids.
Kevin.
Clock's ticking.
Let's say you're telling the truth and Metatron tricked you.
I should still turn you in.
But you won't.
Don't be so sure.
I... I think you instinctively trust me.
We're similar.
We both want no part of the fanatics.
And when you prayed,
how did you know you wouldn't get one of them?
I'm warded and my Grace is gone and I was hoping
that I would seem like just another desperate human
that the... the militants couldn't care less about.
And you think I care?
You're here.
You may know the situation.
Bartholomew, he's in a blood feud with another faction.
It's madness.
Who leads the opposition?
Malachi.
Malachi? The anarchist.
He's become equals with Bartholomew.
In some ways, worse.
But there's still those like you who want to stay out of it.
Fewer and fewer.
Each side is rounding up those who try and stay neutral.
Angels are being tortured and killed
if they don't pledge loyalty.
It's worse than I thought.
Each side wants to crush the other,
overthrow Metatron, and rule Heaven,
and... Heaven under either of them would be...
Hell.
This is a bonus, Castiel.
We were tracking Muriel, cowardly holdout that she is,
and wonder of wonders, she led us to you.
Not knowingly.
I stand corrected.
Not knowingly.
Stupidly.
I've explained in detail.
I don't know how Metatron's spell worked.
Therefore, I can't assist in reversing it.
I was an unwitting accomplice.
Oh.
A dupe.
The great Castiel.
Valued and trusted Castiel.
Top-of-the-Christmas-tree Castiel, no more than a dupe.
Dupe or mastermind, you were inside the circle.
You know where Metatron's weakness lies.
No.
I don't.
Theo.
No.
You'd suffer, even die for your beliefs.
I get it.
But is Metatron, whose poll numbers have totally tanked...
worth your life?
More importantly, is Metatron worth her life?
No.
No, she's innocent.
You leave her alone.
I have no intentions on touching her.
Virtue is its own punishment.
Please, no!
No!
Angels butchering angels.
Is this what we've become?
Just following your example, Castiel.
How many did you kill in Heaven?
How many in the Fall?
Oh, you didn't know?
A host of angels died en they fell...
Azrael, Sophia, Ezekiel.
"Died" doesn't even describe it.
Devastation.
Wings shredded, unspeakable agony at your hands.
So, I think
you would want to provide any information you have,
considering...
All right.
I leave you in the hands of an artist.
I don't care what's left.
Don't ask for mercy.
There is none.
I'll give you one last chance for this to end.
Give me a quick death.
I need you to speak to Metatron.
Everyone knows you have influence.
He'll listen to you.
Ask him to raise me to Heaven.
You can do this, Castiel.
I'll be a soldier for Metatron, do anything he wants.
You... you serve Malachi.
I thought he was the answer, but he's crazy.
You're... noticing this now?
You were more than willing to do his dirty work.
I did what I had to.
When you were sure he would defeat Bartholomew.
But no one will survive this war.
So, you prefer to sit it out in Heaven.
I can talk to him about restoring your grace.
Well, it's, um, it's true.
Metatron and I do have a working relationship.
I knew it.
You're clever, Theo.
You're allies.
And he could use a skilled soldier like yourself.
Oh, but I don't know.
I-I'm a team player, Castiel.
All right. Well?
I'll... I'll need a moment to make contact.
And you have something that I'll need.
Anything.
Mm.
No.
Oh, no.
Hey. You seen Sam?
He went out.
Where?
I don't know.
You notice he's doing that a lot?
Yeah.
Dean, I don't have a lot of time, so listen.
The leader of the opposition is an angel named Malachi.
How do you know that?
He had me.
I, uh, I was tortured.
But I got away. How?
I... I did what I had to.
I became what they've become.
A barbarian.
What are you... Cass, where are you?
It's better I stay away.
They're gonna want me even more now.
But I'm gonna be all right.
I... I got my Grace back.
Well, not mine per se, but it'll do.
Wait, you're... you're back? You got your mojo?
I'm not sure.
But I am an angel.
And you're okay with that?
If we're going to war, I need to be ready.
Cass.
Dean.
There's more.
What?
Didn't you say Sam was healed by an angel named Ezekiel?
Uh... Yeah, why?
Ezekiel is dead.
What?
He died when the angels fell.
I need a spell, ASAP.
Everyone always needs a spell, and it's always ASAP.
All right, listen to me.
An angel can't be expelled by another human.
Only by the host, right?
Well, what if there was a way to power down the angel
so that it wasn't in charge for a few seconds?
What?
For instance, if... if hypothetically,
I wanted to speak with the vessel
but not have the squatter listen in.
Why?
Kevin, we've got tons of possessed humans out there.
You with me?
And when the angels kill each other off,
the humans are taking it in the teeth,
so what if I wanted to clue the human in
so that he or she could spit the angel out?
That would be a good thing, right?
Uh... Yeah.
Okay. So, hit the tablet. Let's go.
Now?
Yesterday, Cinderella.
I've been thinking this over, Metatron.
I will join you as second in command.
Bravo, Gadreel.
This move will erase the mark
that has hounded you through the centuries.
Heaven will be restored,
as will your reputation as one of its greatest heroes.
I thank you for this opportunity.
There is just one more thing.
Yes.
I need to be sure of your fidelity.
You have it.
No, I mean really sure.
We have enemies who pose an imminent threat to our effort.
They must be neutralized.
Slain?
In a word.
That...
That is not who I am.
Yeah.
Here's the first name on your to-do list.
Decide.
All right, so this masterpiece we just painted,
it's gonna work, right?
The Sigils are supposed to briefly hobble
the possessing angel.
If the info's correct.
Wait, what?
I only had time to get a little from the tablet.
The rest came from an old Men of Letters book.
As soon as your blood touches the ignition Sigil,
the spell kicks in.
Dean, what's going on?
I told you.
You told me theoretically.
Dean, we just painted Sigils in the storeroom.
What the hell?
You're gonna have to trust me.
Okay, trust that I told you everything that I can for now.
Can you do that?
I always trust you.
And I always end up screwed.
Oh, come on. Always?
Not always.
Hey, where you been?
Hey. Beer run.
Long beer run.
Can we talk?
Yeah. Uh... Sure.
This sounds serious.
What's going on?
What are you doing?
I got to tell you some stuff fast.
It's gonna piss you off.
Okay.
Those trials really messed you up.
Yes, I know that.
No, you don't.
I mean messed you up like almost dead.
No more birthdays, dust to dust.
Well, that messed me up, so I made a move,
okay, a tough move about you without talking it over
because you were in a coma.
Wait, what? When?
You were in the hospital, okay,
and they said you were gonna die.
Dean. What did you do?
I let an angel in.
In what?
In you.
He said he could heal you and he is.
He's still in me?
Wait. That's impossible, Dean.
That couldn't happen. I never invited him in.
I tricked you into saying yes. It seemed like the only way.
So... Again.
You thought I couldn't handle something, so you took over.
No, I did what I had to do!
You would've never agreed to it, and you would've died.
Well, maybe I would've liked the choice, at least.
We can do this later.
You can... you can kick my ass all you want.
Right now, we got bigger problems.
Bigger?
The angel lied to me. Okay?
He... he's not who he said he was.
He said his name was Ezekiel.
Cool guy, according to Cass, but it's not Ezekiel.
Who is he? I don't know.
Apparently, Ezekiel is dead.
Whoever this guy is can end you in a heartbeat if he wants to,
so you have got to dump him.
Are you hearing what I'm saying?
I think you're well enough now, but you got to expel him.
Sam.
Sa...
hey.
Hey, Sam.
Hey, do you notice anything
a little bit off about Dean lately?
Between you and me, I'm a little bit worried about him.
Don't worry about Dean.
Dean will be fine.
No!
No! No! No! Kevin?
Sam?
There is no more Sam.
But I played him convincingly, I thought.
How did you...
I heard you talk with Kevin Tran tonight.
Told me theoretically.
Dean, we just painted Sigils in the storeroom.
What the hell?
You're gonna have to trust me, okay,
and trust that I told you everything I can for now.
Can you do that?
Alter a Sigil...
even the slightest...
Alter the spell.
Sorry about Kevin, but ultimately...
it's for the best.
I did what I had to.
Kevin?
== sync, corrected by elderman == @elder_man