Regent Inn Motel

    After about twenty minutes of arguing the Hunters had finally managed to get Becky to leave. Except it wasn't Sam's or Dean's threats that made her leave but Cassandra's. She had flashed her deep blue angel eyes at her and let out a low growl, relieved that it was enough to send the girl running. Sam had started laughing the moment she left but one glare from Cassandra told him that she wasn't in the mood.

    "I need a Coke. Or a shot of tequila. Or both," she had grumbled, leaving the motel room armed with her angel blade. She made her way to the vending machines and studied her options, frowning when she found that they were out of everything except Ginger Ale. "What kind of crappy motel is this?" She let out a defeated huff and crossed her arms over her chest, glancing around. Her gaze landed on a woman at the end of the hall watching her, Cassandra's eyebrows furrowing. The woman's gaze lingered and she started to approach Cassandra but stopped, looking around and nodding. Cassandra watched the small brunette leave, mindlessly walking into another motel room.

    Startled by the action, Cassandra quickly raced back up to their own room to see Bobby slapping Dean on the back as he pulled him into a hug. "Good to see you boys all in one piece," Bobby said. Cassandra quietly shut the door behind her, her eyes following Bobby's movements towards Sam, the older Hunter pulling the grinning Winchester into a hug.

"You weren't followed, were you?" Cassandra questioned, alerting the Hunters of her presence. Bobby spun around to see the Nephilim, shocking her by pulling her into a hug. She looked to Dean with wide eyes before awkwardly returning the gesture. She was the first to pull away.

"You mean by angels, demons, or Sam's new superfan?" Bobby replied. Sam laughed, shaking his head.

"You heard." Bobby nodded with a grin.

"I heard, Romeo. So...sword of Michael, huh?" Cassandra nodded her head to the side, as did Dean.

"You think we're talking about the actual sword from the actual archangel?" Dean asked. Cassandra sighed and eyed the book in Bobby's grasp before shifting her attention to the gun that still lay on the table. Cassandra cocked her head to the side and studied it.

"You better friggin' hope so." Bobby brought the book over to the table, Cassandra stepping out of the way so that he could open it. A painting took up one of the large pages. Michael was surrounded by other angels, a red sheet twisted around his body. Cassandra smirked at the painting and snickered. He looked like a woman. "That's Michael. Toughest son of a bitch they got." Bobby looked to Cassandra. "And your dad."

"Not my dad, my father. There's a difference," she corrected defensively, watching as Sam flipped to another painting. Dean rolled his eyes upon seeing a similar feminine face.

"You kidding me? Tough? That guy looks like Cate Blanchett," Dean said with a scoff. Bobby took at seat at the table, Sam next to him, and nodded his head to the side.

"Well, I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley, believe me." Cassandra nodded in agreement.

"Gave me the worst beatdown of my life and I was all pumped up on angel juice," she muttered. Dean looked at her and nodded his head to the side, opening his mouth to retort back. Cassandra shot him a glare that told him to shut up, knowing where he'd take this. Bobby snickered at the couple before looking back to the lore.

"He commands the heavenly host. During the last big dust-up upstairs, he's the one who booted Lucifer's ass to the basement. Did it with that sword." Bobby pointed to a silver sword in Michael's hand that pointed down towards Lucifer. Cassandra cocked her head to the side, studying it. It looked like just some other sword to her; nothing special. "So if we can find it..."

"We can kick the devil's ass all over again," Sam finished. Bobby nodded. "All right. So, where do we start?" Bobby glanced over to Cassandra who looked up upon hearing nothing. She raised an eyebrow and scoffed.

"What makes you think I'd know? I was too busy getting my ass kicked by that son of a bitch to even think about questioning him," she said. Bobby sighed and glanced up at Dean.

"Divvy up and start reading—try and make sense of Chuck's nonsense." Sam got up from his seat and started to head for a pile of old books on the floor that Bobby brought but stopped, staring down at them for a long moment without reaching for one.

"Kid? You all right?" Bobby questioned. Sam turned to face Bobby, shaking his head.

"No, actually," he admitted. Cassandra glanced up from the book that Dean had handed her, her blue eyes widening. "Bobby, this is all my fault. I'm sorry."

"Sam," Cassandra warned, tilting her head to the side as if telling him to shut up. Sam ignored her and only continued to talk.

"Lilith did not break the final seal. Lilith was the final seal," Sam continued.

"Sam, stop it," Dean snapped. Cassandra set down the book in her hands and started to head for Sam but Dean grabbed her arm, pulling her back. She gazed up at him in confusion but a slight shake of his head told her to stay. "Don't make it worse," he whispered.

"I killed her, and I set Lucifer free." Bobby's eyes grew wide and he got up from his seat, heading over to the younger Winchester.

"You what?"

"You guys warned me about Ruby, the demon blood, but I didn't listen. I brought this on." Dean didn't say anything and neither did Cassandra. They only glanced over at Bobby as he continued to walk towards Sam, stopping on the steps that separated the kitchen from the beds.

"You're damn right you didn't listen. You were reckless and selfish and arrogant." Sam glanced down guiltily before looking back up to meet Bobby's eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his breath shaking. Bobby raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, yeah? You're sorry you started Armageddon? This kind of thing don't get forgiven, boy. If, by some miracle, we pull this off...I want you to lose my number. You understand me?" Sam nodded and Dean never protested. To Cassandra, Sam looked like a kicked puppy that she desperately wanted to console. He hadn't known what he was getting into and if anyone understand mistakes then it was her. But Bobby didn't seem to feel the same way. Sam's eyes started to well with tears and the whites of his eyes tinted red as he struggled to keep the tears back, nodding. He licked his lips.

"There's an old church nearby." He never met Bobby's eyes. "Maybe I'll go read some of the lore books there," Sam said softly. Bobby nodded, his glare sharp and stubborn on the Hunter.

"Yeah. You do that." Cassandra watched as Sam left the motel and she started to struggle against Dean but he only tightened his grip on her. She looked up to him with pleading eyes but he shook his head. No one uttered a word.

~*~

    Bobby and Dean sat at the table reading through the lore and Cassandra kept her distance, her legs crossed as she rested on the bed, leaning forward to read the book. She had earbuds in her ears and desperately tried to block out Angel Radio and the silent tension that coated the motel room.

"I never would have guessed that your daddy was right," Bobby muttered, finally speaking up for the first time in hours. Cassandra let out a defeated huff. The music was just background noise to her. She could still hear the chatter of Angel Radio and the conversation between Bobby and Dean.

"About what?" Dean asked, his eyes still skimming over the words printed in the book in front of him. Cassandra fidgeted with the earbuds in her ears, turning the music up louder. Angel Radio only got louder as well.

"About your brother." Dean stopped and looked up, staring off at nothing for a moment before turning his head towards Bobby. "What John said—you save Sam or kill him. Maybe..." Bobby trailed off.

"Maybe what?" Dean pressed, silently hoping that Bobby wasn't about to say what he thought he was. Cassandra yanked the earbuds from her ears and tossed them to the edge of the bed, closing out of the music on the ipod that Dean had let her borrow. She had given up and just decided to listen in on the Bobby's and Dean's conversation.

"Maybe we shouldn't have tried so hard to save him," Bobby replied softly. Cassandra's head snapped towards them and Bobby glanced over at her, shrugging.

"Bobby."

"He ended the world, Dean. And you and I weren't strong enough to stop him proper. That's on us. I'm just saying, your dad was right," Bobby defended. Dean glanced down, the gears in his head seeming to be turning as he searched through his mind for something. Cassandra furrowed her eyebrows, exchanging confused expressions with Bobby.

"Dad," Dean muttered. He jumped up and raced over to his duffel bag, tossing it on the bed and zipping it open. Dean rifled through his bag before reaching into the side, pulling out a ziplock bag full of cards. "It's got to be in here somewhere."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Bobby asked. Dean pulled out a white business card and read it over, holding it up.

"Here." Bobby stood up, meeting Dean halfway. Cassandra stayed where she was on the bed, watching with interest. She furrowed her eyebrows and sniffed the air, cringing. It smelled like..rotten eggs. Castiel had told her that her senses were heightened, but why was she smelling rotten eggs? "I don't believe it," Dean said with a chuckle.

"What the hell is it?"

"It's a card for my dad's lockup in upstate New York. Read it." Dean handed the card over to Bobby who took it, reading it out loud.

"'Castle Storage. Forty-two Rover Hill.'" Dean grinned.

"Castle on a hill of forty-two dogs," he replied, plucking the card back from Bobby's grasp. The older Hunter furrowed his eyebrows, looking over to Dean in confusion.

"So you think your dad had the Michael sword all this time?" Dean shrugged, stuffing the card in his pocket. Cassandra slowly worked her way off of the bed, her eyes trained on the front door. The stench grew stronger and her stomach churned when she recognized it. It was the same smell that lingered in her apartment after Castiel had killed the demon in Sandy. Sulphur.

"I don't know. I'm not sure what else Chuck could have meant," Dean told Bobby. Bobby nodded slowly.

"Yeah. Okay. It's good enough for me." Cassandra glanced over at Dean and Bobby, opening her mouth to speak when her eyes widened. She could feel her powers pumping through her veins which meant that she could see the true faces of demons.

"Dean, look out!" she yelled just as Bobby reached forward, landing an uppercut punch to his jaw that sent him crashing through the small wooden railing that separated the kitchenette from the main part of the room. Dean bounced off of the bed and onto the floor, groaning. Cassandra took a step back when the demon approached, reaching for the angel blade in her waistband only to find it missing. Bobby yanked a dazed Dean from the ground and pulled him up before kicking him back into the wall. He advanced towards the blond Hunter, his eyes flickering to coal black. Cassandra gasped and lunged for the demon blade on the nightstand when the demon grabbed onto her, throwing her into the table.

"Oh, I don't think so, Sweetheart. He's gonna want to see you," the demon said. Cassandra groaned from her spot in the pile of broken wood and she could feel a splinter stabbing her in the back. She was too sore to get up, instead dropping her head back down and closing her eyes. The demon turned and pulled Dean from the shattered wall, holding him up as the door burst open and three more demons entered.

"I always knew you were a big, dumb, slow, dim pain in the ass, Dean," the woman that Cassandra had seen earlier said. Her gaze drifted over to the demon blade that Cassandra had gone for and she picked it up, a grin on her face as she studied it. "But I never dreamt you were so V.I.P." She ran her vessel's finger across the blade, looking up to Dean. "I mean, you're gonna ice the devil?" She pointed the blade Dean's way. "You?" she asked with a laugh. "If I'd have known that, I'd have ripped your pretty, pretty face off ages ago." Dean hardened his glare, grabbing at Bobby's arm.

"Ruby," Dean growled.

"Try again. Go back further." Dean was silent for a moment, his mind going over each demon they had fought before it had hit him.

"Meg?"

"Hi," she greeted softly. Cassandra managed to push herself out of the rubble of the broken table, stumbling as she regained her composure. Her eyes caught the glint of the angel blade in Bobby's back pocket. The demon had snatched it when he was hugging her. "These are the days of miracle and wonder, Dean. Our father's among us. You know we're all dreaming again for the first time since we were human? It's heaven on earth. Or hell. We really owe your brother a fruit basket." Meg waved the knife around as she spoke, oblivious to the fact that Cassandra had disappeared from her spot where the table once was.

"My god, you like the sound of your own voice," Dean grunted. Meg ignored his comment, continuing on with her rambling.

"But you, on the other hand, you're the only bump in the road. So every demon—every single one—is just dying for a piece of you," Meg said as she slowly inched her way closer to Dean. Dean smirked and chuckled, shaking his head.

"Get in line."

"Oh, I'm in the front of the line, baby. Let's ride," she whispered, grabbing Dean's chin and kissing him. Dean clenched his eyes shut and grunted in disgust. Cassandra, who had suddenly appeared directly behind Dean, cringed. She used Dean's build to block herself from Meg's line of sight.

Dean smacked his lips together, furrowing his eyebrows. "What is that, peanut butter?" The blonde behind him rolled her eyes.

"You know, your surrogate daddy's still awake—screaming in there," Meg said, looking at Bobby's body as she spoke. "And I want him to know how it feels slicing the life out of you." She handed the demon blade over to him. Dean's eyes widened as Bobby backed him up until they crashed into the table behind him. Cassandra grumbled a string of curse words when she had just missed the angel blade in his pocket.

"Bobby!" Dean yelled. The demon glanced over his shoulder at Meg as if asking permission. She seemed to be his superior.

"Now!" Meg shouted. The demon returned his attention to Dean, his black eyes staring down at him as he pulled his arm back, ready to plunge the blade through the Hunter's chest. Cassandra lunged for him but was knocked back by a force that she could only assume came from Meg. "Oh, don't hurt yourself, Sweetie. We need you nice and strong when we get you to our father." Cassandra pushed herself up from the ground, scowling.

"Never," she growled.

"Bobby! No!" Dean yelled. Suddenly the black faded from Bobby's eyes and Cassandra watched in shock as he directed the knife into his own stomach. His body flickered a bright gold before fading out and he collapsed to the ground. Dean took that as his chance and lunged for Meg, landing a punch to her jaw before being shoved back into the wall, the second demon landing a knee to his gut. Cassandra left Meg, rushing to the demon that threw the blond on the ground.

Sam burst through the door at that moment, his gaze falling on Bobby's unconscious body on the floor, knife wedged in his stomach. "No!" he yelled out. A moving figure caught his attention and he turned to see Meg advancing towards him with a grin.

"Heya, Sammy. You miss me? 'Cause I sure missed you." Sam cocked his head to the side, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Meg."

"How many demons do you know?" Cassandra yelled out before  she was flung back into the wall by the demon she was currently wrestling with. It would have been a lot easier if she had access to one of the two blades.

Sam swung for Meg but missed, instead earning a kick to the crotch before getting thrown to the ground while the other demon continued to beat down on Dean. Cassandra got up and yelled out, tackling the demon to the ground. Her eyes glowed a deep blue as she straddled him slamming his head into the ground multiple times.

Meg grabbed onto Sam's hair and yanked his head up, aiming her fist into his face and repeating the action multiple times before pulling him back up, blood dribbling out the corner of his mouth. "It's not so easy without those super-special demon powers, huh, Sammy?" Meg taunted.

The demon that Cassandra was currently pinning down managed to turn them over, Cassandra now trapped under him. She glanced to her left and her gaze landed on the blade lodged into Bobby's stomach. She reached out and grabbed it, plunging it into the demon's chest. He flickered before she yanked the blade out of his vessel, the demon collapsing on top of her. Dean snatched the knife from her grasp and advanced towards Meg who backed away into the kitchenette, fear coursing through her veins. Cassandra shoved the body off of her and jumped up, watching as a black smoke poured from Meg's mouth, her screams filling the room before collapsing to the ground.

Dean lowered the knife and glanced over at Cassandra. Her hair was wild and knotted, matted with unknown blood in some places. Dean breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that she was okay, his gaze shifting over to Bobby's unconscious body on the floor.

Cassandra followed the Winchesters as they acted as crutches for Bobby, struggling to rush him down the stairs and to the Impala as he dozed in and out of consciousness. Once they managed to load him into the back seat, Cassandra slid in next to him and slammed the door shut, Bobby's head resting in her lap. She stared down at him and kept pressure on the stab wound with her hand, constantly assuring him that it'd be okay.

Dean's gaze constantly shifted between the road and Cassandra, his foot pressing harder on the gas every few minutes as he willed the hospital to just appear out of nowhere.

"How's he doing back there, Cassy?" Dean questioned. Cassandra looked up with worried eyes.

"Just keep driving!" Her voice wavered and she returned her attention to the Hunter in her lap.

~*~

"Need some help here!" Cassandra yelled out frantically as she rushed into the emergency room alongside Dean and Sam who practically dragged Bobby in with them. A dark-skinned nurse looked up, her eyes widening.

"What happened?" she questioned.

"He was stabbed," Sam said.

"Can we get a gurney?" the nurse shouted. Two other nurses, clad in blue scrubs, rolled a gurney over and pulled Bobby on top of it before rushing him off down the corridor.

"Hang on, Bobby. Hang in there. You're gonna be okay," Dean assured him. He and Sam tried to follow but the nurse stepped in front of them, stopping them. She held her hand out and briefly glanced over at the blonde behind them as the men stared desperately at Bobby's retreating figure.

"Just wait here," she ordered.

"We can't just leave him," Sam protested, struggling to get past her. Dean grabbed his jacket, stopping him.

"Just don't move. I've got questions." The nurse left, leaving the trio alone. Dean tugged Sam towards the doors, nodding his head in that direction.

"Sammy, we got to go."

"No. No way, Dean."

"The demons heard where the sword is," Cassandra said. "We got to get to it before they do, if we're not too late already. Come on!" She and Dean left and Sam reluctantly followed after glancing back towards the direction they rolled Bobby off to, all three of them piling in the Impala.

The Impala rushed down the road, probably going faster than it had when speeding Bobby to the hospital. Cassandra grabbed the angel blade from the floor of the backseat where it had fallen from Bobby's pocket and slipped it into the pocket of her new black leather jacket. Dean glanced at her in the rearview mirror and she nodded once, letting him focus on the road. The whole ride was silent, the tension too thick for even music to break it. Cassandra only stared at the blood on the backseat.

~*~

Dean didn't look at Cassandra as he spoke, too busy focusing on loading the shotgun in his grasp. "Teleport in there and scope the place out. If you see anyone in there do not hesitate to stab them. Hesitation gets you killed or kidnapped," Dean ordered. She nodded. "It's storage locker eighty-three. Be careful." Cassandra disappeared into thin air, Dean glancing at the empty space worriedly before cocking the shotgun back.

Cassandra landed in a demon's trap and eyed the two dead bodies, blood pooling around them. She furrowed her eyebrows but stopped when she felt a familiar energy radiating throughout the locker.

"Cassandra, you've learned the basics, I see." She slowly turned to see Zachariah standing against the caged part of John's storage lockup, two angels on either side of him. He smirked at her. "Welcome to the party. I presume you brought the Hardy Boys?"

"It seems you've cleaned up this mess." She eyed the blood on the floor and nodded her head to the side. "Somewhat. The Michael Sword, is it here?"

"And why would we tell you?" Zachariah retorted. Cassandra laughed and glanced away, licking her lips as she returned her attention to the angel she so desperately wanted to stab.

"Because Michael made it clear that I might have to take his place should he fail, which means I need information. The sword. Is it here?" Cassandra growled. Zachariah eyed the door behind her and they could hear the click of the lock as Dean twisted the key.

"Now it is." Cassandra eyed him in confusion, spinning around to see Dean and Sam enter with their shotguns ready. Dean glanced around, his eyes skimming over Cassandra, and lowered his gun when he found that she was the only living creature there besides he and Sam. "I see you told the demons where the sword is," Zachariah said, proving Dean's thoughts wrong. Sam and Dean spun around to see Zachariah and his angels, Cassandra standing in front of them.

"Oh, thank god. The angels are here," Dean announced sarcastically. A smile tugged at the corners of Cassandra's lips.

"And to think...they could have grabbed it any time they wanted." Zachariah stepped over one of the bodies on the floor and waved his hand to close the door to the lockup. Cassandra eyed him warily as it slid shut, wondering just where this was going. "It was right in front of them." Sam furrowed his eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

"We may have planted that particular piece of prophecy inside Chuck's skull, but it happened to be true. We did lose the Michael sword. We truly couldn't find it. Until now. You've just hand-delivered it to us," Zachariah explained. Dean shook his head, lost. Cassandra's stomach churned as she followed the angel's gaze to Dean and her breath hitched in her throat.

"We don't have anything," Dean replied.

"It's you," Cassandra choked out in realization. Dean cocked his head to the side slightly. "You're the Michael sword. It's why he didn't want me near you." Dean stared blankly at her, unsure of how to process her words. Cassandra turned to face Zachariah. "I'm right, aren't I?" He nodded in confirmation.

"What, you thought you could actually kill Lucifer? You simpering wad of insecurity and self-loathing? No. You're just a human, Dean. And not much of one," Zachariah said. Cassandra's hands curled into fists at her side and she went to reach into her jacket to grab her angel blade when Dean shook his head ever-so-slightly as a warning not to. She complied.

"What do you mean, I'm the sword?"

"You're Michael's weapon. Or, rather, his...receptacle." Dean seemed to process his words for a moment before his green eyes widened slightly.

"I'm a vessel?" he questioned.

"You're the vessel. Michael's vessel," Zachariah informed him. Cassandra cleared her throat, glancing away.

"Well, this is awkward," she muttered. Dean gave her a flat look and Zachariah chuckled, shaking his head. He turned to face Cassandra.

"Honey, 'awkward' doesn't even begin to describe it. You should've just listened to your father in the beginning and gone with him instead of slutting around with the Winchester," the angel told her with a scoff. Cassandra scowled at him and reached out, slapping him across the face. Dean's eyebrows rose but Zachariah didn't show any type of reaction. "Restrain her. She'll be coming back with us anyways," he said simply. The two angels advanced, each grabbing one arm. She struggled against their grasps but they were too strong.

"How? Why—why me?" Dean asked calmly, too shocked and confused to show any real type of reaction.

"Because you're chosen! It's a great honor, Dean." Dean scoffed, shaking his head.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, life as an angel condom. That's real fun. I think I'll pass, thanks," he spat. Zachariah sighed, shaking his head.

"Joking. Always joking. Well...no more jokes," he muttered. He raised his hand and pointed it to Dean as if it were a gun then shifted it towards Sam. "Bang." A loud crack echoed throughout the storage lockup and Sam crumbled to the floor, clutching his leg.

"God!" Sam screamed out. Cassandra struggled against the angels even harder, desperately trying to run over to Sam's side.

"You son of a bitch!" she roared.

"Keep mouthing off, both of you, I'll break more than his legs. I am completely and utterly through screwing around. The war has begun. We don't have our general. That's bad. Now, Michael is going to take his vessel and lead the final charge against the adversary. You understand me?" Zachariah spat, directing his words to both Dean and Cassandra. Dean licked his lips, glancing over at the Nephilim before looking back at the angel.

"How many humans die in the crossfire, huh? A million? Five, ten?" he demanded.

"Probably more. If Lucifer goes unchecked, you know how many die? All of them. He'll roast the planet alive."

"There's a reason you're telling me this instead of just nabbing me. You need my consent. Michael needs my say-so to ride around in my skin," Dean snapped back in realization. Sam watched the two as he clutched his broken leg, his breaths quick and heavy. Cassandra constantly glanced between he and Dean, debating on who to grab first if she escaped the angels' grasp.

"Unfortunately, yes," Zachariah replied calmly.

"Well, there's got to be another way," Cassandra chimed in.

"There is no other way. There must be a battle. Michael must defeat the serpent. It is written," Zachariah sneered. Cassandra struggled against the angels before finally kicking her leg back, landing a blow to the left one's lower stomach. He stumbled back into the fence and she twirled around, socking the right one in the face and sending him flying back with the other. She quickly rushed over to Sam's side, examining his leg.

"Yeah, maybe. But, on the other hand... Eat me. The answer's no," Dean hissed. Zachariah nodded and Cassandra glanced up at him.

"Okay. How about this? Your friend Bobby—we know he's gravely injured. Say yes, and we'll heal him. Say no, he'll never walk again." Sam looked up to Dean, eyes wide. Cassandra could tell that Dean was thinking it over, always trying to put others before himself. She closed her eyes with guilty relief when she heard his reply.

"No."

"Then how about we heal you from...stage-four stomach cancer?" Dean eyed him in confusion before doubling over, coughing. He fell to his knees and continued to cough, blood spitting into his palm. He looked up to Zachariah, struggling to speak.

"No".

"Then let's get really creative. Uh, let's see how...Sam does without his lungs." Dean turned to look at Sam who suddenly started to gasp for breath, clawing at his neck as he desperately fought for air. "Or I can just torture your precious girlfriend until she breaks and says yes. A battle between you two, isn't that just lovely?"

"Wha—" Zachariah reached forward and latched onto Cassandra's arm, pulling her up from Sam's side. He grabbed a random knife from the wall and plunged it into Cassandra's stomach, the Nephilim screaming out in pain. Dean yelled out and Zachariah twisted the blade, earning another blood-curdling scream from the blonde. The lights flickered but never shattered. Dean watched in horror as he pulled the blade back out and stabbed it into her side, another scream escaping her lips before turning into a light whimper. Zachariah looked down to Cassandra before glancing over at Dean.

"Are we having fun yet? You're going to say yes, Dean." Zachariah looked at the blonde who was hunched over, gripping his arm and clawing at his suit. "Cassandra?"

"No," she growled, blood trickling out of the corner of her mouth.

"Just kill us," Dean gasped out, Sam continuing to struggle for oxygen behind him.

"Kill you? Oh, no. I'm just getting started." A bright light flashed behind Zachariah and he turned, one of the angels yelling out as a silver blade drove through his neck. The angel in a trench coat behind him ripped it out, letting the body collapse before turning to the third who tried to run. Castiel flung him back against the cage before grabbing onto him and slamming against the pole, driving the bloody blade through his back. A bright light engulfed the room as the life drained from the angel and his vessel. He dropped to the ground.

Zachariah stared at Castiel in shock. "How are you..."

"Alive?" Cas finished, his voice gruff and deep as always, except this time it was full of hatred and determination. "That's a good question. How did these two end up on that airplane? Another good question. 'Cause the angels didn't do it. I think we both know the answer, don't we?" Zachariah shook his head, his grip loosening on Cassandra. She lost her balance and fell to the floor, yanking the blade from her side and throwing it across the storage lockup. It clattered to the floor and she leaned back, turning her head to look at Dean as she panted.

"No. That's not possible," Zachariah whispered.

"It scares you. Well, it should. Now, put these three back together and go. I won't ask twice." Zachariah vanished, leaving Cas, Dean, Sam, and Cassandra. Sam sat up, now able to breathe, and Dean stopped coughing up blood. Cassandra continued to lay on the ground, blood still seeping from her wounds.

"Cassy?" Dean yelled out, crawling over to her. She clenched her eyes shut and gritted her teeth, running her hand over her stomach. She yelled out as a bright light glowed throughout her torso, dying out only seconds later. She sucked in a deep breath and stared up at the ceiling, holding a thumbs up gesture in the air before letting it fall limply to the floor. Dean breathed a sigh of relief. She groaned and rolled onto her side, pushing herself off of the ground shakily.

"You three need to be more careful," Castiel said as they walked towards him. Dean nodded, still not over the fact that Cas was standing right in front of them, well and alive.

"Yeah, I'm starting to get that. Your frat brothers are bigger dicks than I thought."

"I don't mean the angels. Lucifer is circling his vessel. And once he takes it, those hex bags won't be enough to protect you." Castiel placed one hand on Dean's chest and the other on Sam's, both men gasping in pain. Cas turned and did the same to Cassandra before she could object and she winced, clenching her teeth before he pulled away.

"What the hell was that?" Dean demanded.

"An Enochian sigil. It'll hide you from every angel in creation, including Lucifer," Castiel explained. "It's what I had done to Cassandra before she removed it so I could find her."

"What, did you just brand us with it?" Dean asked.

"No. I carved it into your ribs," Castiel replied as if it were nothing. Sam and Dean cocked their heads to the side, studying him in what seemed to be shock and disbelief. Dean clutched his chest, the pain still lingering. Suddenly he understood why Cassandra had screamed out when Castiel warded her. She didn't have as high of a pain tolerance and it hurt worse than anything they could ever imagine.

There was a pause before Sam spoke up.

"Hey, Cas, were you really dead?" he asked.

"Yes." Dean and Sam exchanged glances.

"Then how are you back?" the former inquired. Castiel only stared at them before vanishing in thin air, leaving nothing but the flutter of his wings. Cassandra grunted, clutching her chest and stumbling slightly. Dean raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh my god, I'm gonna kill him." She looked up to Dean. "Please tell me you have whiskey in the car."

~*~

Cassandra lingered outside of the Impala as she waited for the Winchester brothers, Sam claiming that they had to clean up the bodies of the vessels before they could leave. She let out a sigh and glanced around, her hands stuffed in the pockets of her leather jacket.

"Cassandra." She gasped and jumped, looking up to see Castiel standing in front of her. She arched an eyebrow at him, crossing her arms over his chest. "I need to speak to you and I didn't want to say it in front of Sam and Dean." She nodded.

"Okay," Cassandra replied warily. Cas gazed behind him before glancing down at the ground, refusing to meet her eyes.

"I need you to come with me." Her eyes widened. "We cannot continue your training if you're with Sam and Dean and I can't keep following you guys around. It will only be a couple of weeks. Two at the most if we work constantly."

"Castiel, I—"

"I know you like being around Dean," he interrupted, "but you have to learn how to use your powers. You stand no chance against Michael or Lucifer at the place you're in now. I don't want to take you away from them but it's the only way." Cassandra looked away, pursing her lips in thought. Cas was right. She wasn't sure when they'd get time to train and she needed all the training she could get. There was still so much she didn't know about the supernatural world and angels. She let out a defeated sigh and nodded.

"Alright fine. But two weeks at the most. I am part human and you can't work my ass off," she replied, jabbing her index finger in his chest. Cas nodded.

"I'll break the news to them at the hospital." Cas pulled a slip of paper from his trench coat and ran his thumb over it before handing it to Cassandra. She took it, eyeing him warily, and unfolded it. "Meet me at this address. Get settled in and wait for me. You're going to be there for a long time." Cassandra furrowed her eyebrows, squinting her eyes to study it further in the dim lighting.

"What is this, a house address?" She looked up only to find that Castiel had disappeared She rolled her blue eyes and sighed, opening the trunk and pulling out her backpack. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and frowned down at the arsenal before glancing behind her. She pulled a piece of paper from her backpack along with a pen and scribbled down a note, leaving it on top of the faux bottom.

Went with Castiel to train. He'll explain everything.

—Cassandra

Cassandra slammed the trunk shut and stared down at the address before closing her eyes and concentrating. A moment later she disappeared into thin air.

Cassandra's gone with just a note and Castiel's the one who has to break the news to the boys. Bobby's hospitalized and Cassandra has seemed to care for Bobby even though she hasn't known him that long. What do you think will happen now? What does Castiel truly want with Cassandra? Does he care for her or does he just want to use her as a weapon?