Men Of Letter Bunker – Map Room

Dean, Sam, Cas, Jack and Mary are all sitting around the map table. The table top is covered in the remains of dinner – beer bottles, plates and pizza boxes. Dean reaches into one of the pizza boxes and gets a slice. Cas and Jack look on in disbelief. Dean takes a bite, "Dean you can't possibly eat another. That's your seventh piece" Cas tells him, bemused.

"No, it's not" Dean answers with his mouth full.

"Castiel's right. I counted" Jack backs her up.

"Okay, first, don't be narc. And secondly, seven pieces is perfectly normal"

Mary is watching Dean with a warm smile on her face, obviously amused by her son.

"Uh, it's really not" Sam answers amused but a bit judgy.

"It's not even a whole pie" Dean comments.

"Was he always like this?" Jack asks Mary.

Mary giggles, gets up and begins to clear the table, "Even as a baby. John and me, we used to call him our little piglet" She leans over and rubs his shoulder affectionately. Castiel smiles at Dean amused by the nickname.

Dean with his mouth full, drops the remainder of the slice, "All right, I'm done"

Mary leans over his other shoulder to take his plate, "With love"

"Mm"

Sam hands Mary his plate, "Thanks mom. You know what, let me help you" Sam stands and collects some pizza boxes then follows Mary into the hallway. At the table, Dean motions to Cas to slide one of the remaining pizza boxes down to him. Cas does and Dean gives her a kiss before he begins to dig out another piece. 

Sam and Mary walk down the steps into the hallway. "Hey, mom, um, how you holding up? You haven't really said much since you got back, you know – how you're doing. How it was over there and..."

Mary cuts him off, "It was hard. But somehow, I always knew that you...you and Dean would come and save us. And you did"

"Mom?"

"Yes, Sam? Sam?" her voice has become robotic.

"Mom?" Sam asks puzzled.

"Sam? Sam? Sam?" a beeping of an alarm begins to accompany each word.

Sam suddenly gasps and jolts awake, it was all a dream. The beeping noise is his alarm. He reaches over and turns off the alarm. Rubbing his hands down his face, he folds back the covers to sit up on the side of the bed. He drags his hands down his face again and blinks, trying to wake up.

**********

Men Of Letters Bunker – Library

Rowena is standing at a table. She organizes the ingredients for the spell to open the rift. Sam and Dean are packing their gear. Rowena pulls out the fruit, "Fruit from the tree of life" she then pulls out the bottle of blood, "Blood of a most holy man"

Dean are at the end of the table as he checks and locks the barrel of a shotgun. "Dean" Sam calls to get his brother's attention.

Dean looks up. Sam walks over and tosses Dean a package of glow sticks. Dean tucks them into his backpack. Rowena reaches up to pull some of Dean's hair out, "And ah..."

"Ow"

She puts it into the bowl, "Something from the other side"

Cas enters the room, "Hey. How's Gabriel?" Sam asks her.

"He said he needed a minute alone. He wanted to extract his grace by himself" She uses air quotes, "In private" Sam looks up with a slightly disturbed expression. "So I left him alone in Dean's room"

Dean looks up alarmed, "You what? No" Sam smirks a little at Dean's reaction. Cas tilts her head, looking puzzled.

"I hate to interrupt, but I can't be the only one to noticed the rather glaring hole in this plan" While Rowena speaks Sam packs some glow sticks into his backpack and Dean checks his hand gun before putting into his pack, "We open up the rift, it gives us a day to find and save your mom and the boy. And it's a very big world over there, and you're not even sure where they are, so..."

"She's right. The clock may run out on us" Castiel agrees.

"Yeah. It might" Sam releases the slide on his gun and tucks it into the back of his waistband.

"Yeah, well we don't have any better ideas" Dean says.

"Mm, that's inspirational"

Gabriel walks into the room, "Here it is! The final ingredient – a fresh serving of archangel grace" he puts the vial on the table with a flourish. There is only a very small amount of grace in the vial. Rowena picks it up and both Dean and Sam squint to see the small amount.

Rowena has a sour look on her face, "This is what you call a serving?"

"That is the jet fuel of divine emissions" Dean makes an ugh face at the word emissions, "It'll be more than enough to get the job done" Gabriel assures them.

Rowena and Castiel exchange skeptical glances.

**********

Cas twirls her angel blade. Rowena pours the blood of a most holy man into the bowl. Gabriel runs his fingers down his angel blade, as if testing the sharpness. Rowena crushes the blood-covered fruit with the pestle. Dean tightens the straps on his backpack, face grimly focused. Rowena pours in the tiny amount of grace from the vial. Sam straightens his jacket, also serious and focused. The contents of the bowl begin to glow.

Rowena starts to cast the spell, "Koth Munto Nuntox" she directs the spell with her hands and a glowing rift forms in the air at the end of the table. The rifts gently waver in the air as they stare at it.

"Okay, everyone ready?" Castiel asks them.

"Yeah, all right" Sam nods.

"Let's do this" Dean says as they go to step through the rift when it begins fritzing. Slowly the rift goes flaccid, the top drooping over before it crackles and snaps out of existence. The two angels and the Winchesters watch, puzzled. "Okay"

"Well, that was...fast" Castiel trails off.

"Very, very fast" Sam agrees.

"One could even say premature" Rowena says with a sour look at Gabriel.

Gabriel looks flustered, "Um...I thought it would be enough"

"All right, great. What do we do now?" Sam asks.

"Hell if I know" Dean shrugs.

"You do know. We all do" Castiel says. Rowena shoots a frightened glance at Sam, "We need archangel grace. Gabriel's obviously running a little low, and we don't know how long it'll take him to recover. So that leaves exactly one source on earth" Castiel points out.

A look of horror begins to creep over Sam's face as Castiel speaks, "No"

"I don't like it either, but there is no other way" Castiel tells him. Rowena bites her lip and hangs her head. Sam seems shaken, "We need Lucifer"

**********

Kitchen

Dean is leaning up against the counter, Castiel is leaning against the table and Sam is sitting by the doorway. "Obviously, I want to get mom and Jack back. It's all I want. It's all I can think about. But we've been down this road before. Teaming up with Lucifer—"

Dean cuts him off, "We're not teaming up with him"

"We just need his grace" Castiel tells him.

"Oh, just" Sam says sarcastically.

"We've trapped his ass before" Dean shrugs like it's not a big deal.

"Yes, and every time, it ends up the same way, with the devil being on the loose again" Sam speaks passionately and angry.

Castiel turns to face Sam, "Look, Sam, I was used by Lucifer, too. It was the worst possible violation. So I – I'm not taking your reluctance lightly, but he is already out there, and we've been ignoring it and avoiding dealing with him because we're afraid" Sam looks up at Cas, then looks down again. He still looks angry, but also seems frightened and ashamed. "We let Lucifer out of the cage, and he has never stopped being our responsibility"

Sam raises his eyebrows and shakes his head minutely, unconvinced but reluctantly listening.

"So?" Dean asks.

Sam is sitting with his fist against his mouth. He has obviously been thinking. He shakes his head and leans his cheek on his fist, looking dejected, "No, you're right. You're right. I don't like it, but it's our only choice. Another fun, great fun" He says sarcastically, but he seems anxious.

"Well, hey, bright side is, even if we do pull it off, we still only get 24 hours in the apocalypse world. And Rowena's right. We'll be lucky to even hear a word of mom and Jack, much less save them, so..." Dean clicks his tongue with a sarcastic two thumps up gesture.

Sam smiles briefly then his brow furrows as he has an idea, "Wait a second"

"What?" Castiel asks him curious.

**********

Library

Dean, Sam and Castiel walk through the map room into the library. They look around, but don't see Gabriel or Rowena. "Guys?" Dean calls out.

"Whoo, oh, ah" Rowena stumbles out from behind a bookshelf. She only has one shoe on, her hair is disheveled and her clothes are askew. Gabriel pops his head above the same shelf, his hair is messy and he is only in his shirt and jeans. He moves to lean on the pillar, a book in his hand is covering his groin.

Dean, Sam and Cas look confused. "Uh...we were just..." Rowena tries to look for an excuse.

"Reading. Books. Here in the, uh, library" Dean has a "you've got to be kidding me" look on his face, while Sam's jaw has dropped in shock. "Which is the room we're in right now" Gabriel trails off.

Rowena changes the subject, "Did you boys arrive at a..." she shifts her weight uncomfortably, "Decision"

Cas is staring at her feet resignedly. Dean and Sam are still stunned. Dean tosses a thumb over his shoulder at his brother, "Sam has a plan"

**********

Rowena is mashing some Fruit of Life in a bowl with a pestle. Lucifer wakes up on his knees. His hands are still tied with the magical cords. Rowena is standing right behind Lucifer at one of the library tables. Dean is sitting on the table top with his back to her and Cas is standing next to him. Rowena notices Lucifer, "He's awake"

Dean looks up. Lucifer raises his head. Sam is leaning against a pillar in front of him, "Oh, hey, Sam"

Sam has his arms crossed in front of him with an angry expression on his face. Gabriel is standing by the pillar that Sam is leaning on. Lucifer looks around toward the table, "Oh, look at this. All the people I love to torture in the same room"

Rowena cautiously walks closer carrying the bowl, "What's the occasion, guys?" Rowena puts the bowl down on the floor in front of where Lucifer is kneeling, "Ah. Okay, I think I see what's going on. You're planning a trip to save mother Mary, and you need my grace. Is that about it?"

Castiel walks over and grabs Lucifer's hair, pulling his head back, "Good guess" She brings up her angel blade and makes a small incision in Lucifer's throat. His archangel grace flows out of his throat into the bowl with the spell ingredients. Once Cas releases his head, the wound closes a bit and the grace only drips out in small spurts. Lucifer looks up at Rowena, Dean and Gabriel who were watching.

"Okay, you could've done this back at the bar. Could've drained me, killed me. What's this really about? Humiliation? Revenge?" Lucifer asks Gabriel.

"Nah, those are just bonuses. See, we got a lot of work to do back in apocalypse world, but not a whole lot of time to do it. So I realized something. I realized we could use you" Sam tells him before he nods at Rowena who crouches down next to Lucifer. She gathers power into her fists and then casts her arms forward to open the rift.

"Koth Munto Nuntox" the rift opens.

As he talks, he puts on his backpack, "Use you not to just crack the door open, but to keep it open. So we're gonna drain you. We're gonna keep on draining you"

"Like a stuck pig" Dean says as he swings his bag onto his shoulder.

"Grace on tap. Sorry, bro" Gabriel says, not sorry at all.

"And then, when we get back, then we'll kill you" Sam says.

"Cool" Lucifer comments, looking submissive.

"You gonna be okay back here?" Sam asks Rowena, concerned.

"Aye. Someone needs to keep an eye on the devil. Go. Save your mum"

"You ready?" Gabriel asks Sam.

Dean watches intently, letting his brother call the shots. Sam turns towards the rift and seems to gather his determination. "Ready" Sam walks through the rift, followed by Cas, Gabriel and then Dean who gives Lucifer an evil look as he passed him. Rowena looks down at Lucifer with an expression of contempt.

**********

Apocalypse World – Forest

The rift appears in a forest at the top of a small hill. Sam, Cas and Gabriel tumble out of the rift and roll down the hill. Dean comes through the rift, but skids down the hill gracefully. Sam stands up. They both look askance at Gabriel and Cas who are on the ground. Gabriel scrambles to his feet, "Yeah. Well, that was...fun. I could've used a heads up about this landing site"

Dean helps Cas up, snapping into business mode, "Yeah. Thought we'd get spit out in the same spot, but this isn't it. All right, well Charlie – the other Charlie – said that Mary and Jack have an outpost in Dayton"

"Okay. Let's get our bearings and head that way. Cas, where are we?" Sam asks her.

She closes her eyes and concentrating, "Uh, Kentucky. Northeast Kentucky. Or what used to be Kentucky"

Dean looks at the sky then points, "Which means that's north. Okay, so Dayton's that way. Roughly. Two days by foot but...that way"

"All right" the group begins to move towards where Dean pointed.

**********

It's raining. Gabriel is walking with his angel blade out and ready. Cas begins to walk beside him. They talk as they walk, "Have you, uh, have you thought about what's next, after we get back to earth?" Cas asks him.

"Uh, yeah, not so much, seeing as we still gotta find Jack and Mary. Ah, not to mention survive Michael and his super angel army"

"Right" Cas nods.

"Although, I did tick off some, uh, bucket list items recently. Got some revenge. Had sex with a 300-year-old redhead. But what's next for me? I don't really know" Gabriel tells her.

"This world is, um, is obviously glutted with angels, but back home in our world you know it's – it's just Naomi and a handful of others. They're trying to keep the lights on, but Heaven's dying, Gabriel"

Gabriel seems shocked by this news, "You serious?"

"Very"

"And you think I could fix it? Yeesh. I skipped out on heaven, Castiel. They wouldn't want me back. As far as they're concerned, I'm a screw-up. Hell, as far as I'm concerned, I'm a screw-up" Gabriel tells her.

"Well, heaven's been run into the ground by upstanding angels. Perhaps a screw-up is just the change we need" Castiel shrugs.

Gabriel appears thoughtful as he considers what Cas has said. Sam and Dean walking about 20 feet behind the two angels. "You seem different since we got here" Dean tells Sam as they walk.

"Really?"

"Yeah, like you're lighter, happier, more energetic"

Sam acknowledges Dean's comment, "I don't know. Maybe it's just, you know, mom and Jack and...You know, I mean, we've been working at it so hard for this for so long, and now we're finally here. We're close. Can't you feel it?" Sam laughs a bit, definitely happier than he has been.

Dean looks at him, seemingly pleased to see Sam smile. Suddenly a woman's scream echoes through the forest. Sam and Dean stop to listen and then run towards the noise. They pass Gabriel and Castiel.

"Not our world. Not our problem. Right?" Gabriel warns them as they pass. Dean shoots a snarky glance at Gabriel.

**********

A bearded man struggles to fight off a humanoid monster that is trying to bite him. He yells at the young woman with him, "Maggie, run!"

With a scream, Maggie jumps on the back of the monster and pulls him off the man who falls to the ground. The monster flips Maggie off his back and to the ground. The monster screams at her, baring its many teeth.

Dean points a shotgun at the monster, but then Sam comes and beheads it with a machete. The monster drops to the ground as its head falls off. Dean extends a hand to Maggie to help her up off the ground, "What the hell was that thing?"

"What do you mean? A vampire" Maggie tells Dean.

"It's not like any vamp we've ever seen" Sam tells her. The vampire looks more like a traditional movie vampire, bald, mouth full of protruding teeth,