( FLAMES )

BUILDING
[ ☼ ]

      Castiel is still in the ring of fire and Lucifer is still watching him. Meg enters. "I got the Winchesters pinned down. For now, at least. What should I do with them?" Meg asks.

      "Leave them alone." Lucifer says.

      "I-I'm sorry, but are you sure? Shouldn't we-"

      "Trust me, child. Everything happens for a reason." Lucifer strokes Meg's face. Castiel looks around and sees a pipe bolted to the wall. "Well, Castiel, you have some time. Time to change your mind?"

HARDWARE STORE
[ ☼ ]

       "That's my girl, you're okay, honey-" Ellen starts. Jo looks no better. Ellen is next to her. Dean, Elena and Sam are several feet away.

      "Now we know where the devil's gonna be, we know when, and we have the Colt." Dean says.

      "Yeah. We just have to get past eight or so hellhounds and get to the farm by midnight." Sam says.

      "Yeah, and that's after we get Jo and Ellen the hell out of town." Dean says.

      "Won't be easy."

      "Stretcher?" Asks Dean.

       "I'll see what we got." Sam turns to go looking.

       "Stop. Guys, stop." Jo says. Ellen looks between the boys and Jo. "Can we, uh, be realistic about this, please?" Dean and Sam walk over to Jo. "Uh! I can't move my legs. I can't be moved. My guts are being held in by an ace bandage. We gotta-we gotta get our priorities straight here." Dean, Elena and Sam look at each other and at Jo. "Number one, I'm not going anywhere."

      "Joanna Beth, you stop talking like that." Ellen says.

       "Mom. I can't fight. I can't walk. But I can do something. We got propane, wiring, rock salt, iron nails, everything we need." Jo says.

      "Everything we need?" Elena asks.

       "To build a bomb, Elena." Jo says.

       "No. Jo, no." Dean says.

       "You got another plan? You got any other plan? Those are hellhounds out there, Dean. They've got all of our scents. Those bitches will never stop coming after you." Jo says. "We let the dogs in, you guys hit the roof, make a break for the building next over. I can wait here with my finger on the button, rip those mutts a new one. Or at least get you a few minutes' head start, anyway."

      "No, I-I won't let you." Ellen says.

       "This is why we're here, right?" Jo asks and Ellen shakes her head, crying. "If I can get us a shot on the devil-Dean, we have to take it."

       "No!" Ellen looks up at Dean. "That's not-"

       "Mom. This might literally be your last chance to treat me like an adult. Might wanna take it?" Jo is smiling

      Ellen starts sobbing. "You heard her. Get to work." She says.

      Sam and Dean grab their materials and assemble the bombs, filling them with nails and rock salt for shrapnel. Night has fallen. Sam takes Jo's hand for a minute while Dean strings the wire to the button Jo will hold.

      "Okay, this is it. I'll see you on the other side. Probably sooner than later." Dean says.

      "Make it later." Jo says. Dean puts the button in Jo's hand and holds on. Jo is crying. Dean kisses her once on the forehead, once on the lips, and leans their heads together for a moment before getting up. Ellen comes back to sit by Jo. They watch each other for a moment and Ellen smiles. "Mom, no."

      "Somebody's gotta let them in. Like you said, you're not moving. You got me, Jo. And you're right, this is important." Ellen says and Jo nods. "But I will not leave you here alone."

      "Dean-" Sam starts.
  
      "Get going now, guys." Ellen says.

      "Ellen-" Dean starts.

      "I said go." Ellen says. Sam looks at Dean. They both start to walk away. "And Dean?" Dean looks back. "Kick it in the ass. Don't miss." Dean nods. He, Elena and Sam head for their exit. Ellen unchains the doors, sweeps away the salt line, opens the propane tanks, and sits back down with Jo, hugging her. "I will always love you, baby." The hellhounds are audible again. Ellen looks back at Jo, who's stopped moving. "Honey?" No reaction. "Jo-" Ellen sobs. "It's okay, it's okay." Ellen kisses Jo on the head. "That's my good girl." The doors burst open. Ellen looks. Two hellhounds slam into the open doors.

       Sam runs across the fire escape, Dean and Elena right behind, then Sam goes down the ladder and they follow. They hurry down the alley. A hellhound blows Ellen's hair. She holds Jo's finger against the button and forces a grin. "You can go straight back to hell, you ugly bitch!" Ellen yells. The hardware store explodes. Dean, Elena and Sam stop to watch it blow, then run.

FIELD
[ ☾]

      Sam, Elena and Dean sneak through bushes. Dozens of men stand in the field, attention on something out of sight. "Guess we know what happened to some of the townspeople." Dean says.

       "Okay." Sam says.

      "Okay." Dean says.

      "Last words?" Elena asks. Dean looks at them for a moment.

      "I think I'm good." Dean says.

      "Yeah. Me too." Sam says.

      "Here goes nothing." Dean says. Lucifer is filling a hole.

      "Hey!" Sam approaches Lucifer, readying a shotgun. Lucifer turns, dropping the shovel. "You wanted to see me?"

      "Oh, Sam, you don't need that gun here. You know I'd never hurt you. Not really." Lucifer says.

      "Yeah? Well, I'd hurt you." Dean points the gun at Lucifer, point-blank to the forehead. "So suck it." Dean fires and Elena hides in the bushes. Lucifer collapses. None of the men do anything.

      Dean and Sam watch the corpse for a minute. Lucifer inhales and shifts position. "Owww..." Lucifer stands up. Sam is horrified. "Where did you get that?" Lucifer punches Dean, who flies into a tree. Elena rushes to him. Sam watches Dean land and turns back to Lucifer. "Now, where were we?"

       "Don't feel too bad, Sam. There's only five things in all of creation that that gun can't kill, and I just happen to be one of them. But if you give me a minute, I'm almost done." Lucifer picks up the shovel and moves two scoops of dirt. Sam hurries over to Dean, checking his pulse. Lucifer leans on the shovel. "You know, I don't suppose you'd just say yes here and now?" Sam stands up. "End this whole tiresome discussion? That's crazy, right?"

      "It's never gonna happen!" Sam yells.

      Lucifer goes back to filling his hole. "Oh, I don't know, Sam. I think it will. I think it'll happen soon. Within six months. And I think it'll happen in Detroit." He says.

      "You listen to me, you son of a bitch. I'm gonna kill you myself, you understand me? I'm going to rip your heart out!" Sam yells.

      "That's good, Sam. You keep fanning that fire in your belly. All that pent-up rage. I'm gonna need it." Lucifer says as Sam visibly calms. He looks around at the men, who are still doing nothing.

      "What did you do? What did you do to this town?" Sam asks.

      "Oh, I was very generous with this town. One demon for every able-bodied man."

      "And the rest of them?" Sam asks.

      Lucifer pauses. "In there. I know, it's awful, but these horsemen are so demanding. So it was women and children first. I know what you must think of me, Sam. But I have to do this. I have to. You of all people should understand." He says.

      "What's that supposed to mean?" Sam asks.

      Lucifer drops the shovel. "I was a son. A brother, like you, a younger brother, and I had an older brother who I loved. Idolized, in fact. And one day I went to him and I begged him to stand with me, and Michael-Michael turned on me. Called me a freak. A monster. And then he beat me down. All because I was different. Because I had a mind of my own. Tell me something, Sam. Any of this sound familiar? Anyway. You'll have to excuse me. Midnight is calling and I have a ritual to finish. Don't go anywhere. Not that you could if you would." He says. Sam goes back to Dean. Lucifer turns to his hole and chants, then turns to his demons. "Now repeat after me. We offer up our lives, blood, souls-" Dean stirs. He's alive.

      "We offer up our lives, blood, souls-" the Demons say.

      "To complete this tribute." Says Lucifer.

      "To complete this tribute." One by one the Demons flash gold and fall over, dead. Sam and Dean stare.

      Lucifer looks at them. "What? They're just demons." He says.

BUILDING
[ ☾]

      A bolt on the pipe in the wall is spinning. Castiel is still in the fire ring, Meg watching. "You seem pleased." Cas says.

      "We're gonna win. Can you feel it? You cloud-hopping pansies lost the whole damn universe. Lucifer's gonna take over heaven. We're going to heaven, Clarence." Meg says.

      "Strange, because I heard a different theory from a demon named Crowley." Says Cas.

      "You don't know Crowley." Meg says.

      "He believes Lucifer is just using demons to achieve an end, and that, once he does, he'll destroy you all."

      "You're wrong. Lucifer is the father of our race. Our creator. Your god may be a deadbeat. Mine-mine walks the earth." Meg says. Castiel gets the bolt loose and pulls the pipe free of the wall. It slams Meg through the fire into Castiel's arms. Castiel presses his palm to Meg's forehead. Nothing happens. Meg laughs. "You can't gank demons, can you? You're cut off from the home office and you ain't got the juice. So what can you do, you impotent sap?"

     "I can do this." Castiel leans closer as if to kiss Meg, then throws her down across the fire. She screams. He walks out across her back.

FIELD
[ ☾]

      Lucifer stares at the mass grave. Sam stares at Lucifer. Dean glances between them. The ground rumbles. Castiel appears next to Sam, Elena and Dean and holds a finger to his lips. Lucifer turns and all four are gone. He walks forward. "Oh, hello, Death." Lucifer says.

BOBBY'S HOUSE
[ ☾]

      The glasses from Ellen and Castiel's drinking competition are still on the table. The TV is on, showing a tornado; the captions read "STATE OF EMERGENCY, Paulding County" and "KOUA 16".

       "Just received an update that the governor has declared a state of emergency for Paulding County, including the towns of Marion, Fetterville, and Carthage. The storm system has reportedly touched off a number of tornadoes in the area."

      Sam, Dean, Elena and Bobby are gathered around the fireplace. Bobby holds a copy of the photograph taken earlier in the episode.

      "Death tolls have yet to be estimated, but state officials expect the loss of life and property to be staggering."

     Bobby leans forward and drops the picture into the flames. He, Dean, and Sam watch it burn.