- Dean refuses Sam's efforts to help him battle the Devil, and then wakes up to find himself five years in the future, in a wasteland where Lucifer has begun his endgame by unleashing a virus that transforms humans into zombies.
- Dean awakens five years in the future in an abandoned city and is attacked by humans infected with a demonic virus that makes them mindless, flesh-eating zombies. Zachariah soon appears and explains to Dean that the world he sees is the result of his refusal to help the angels fight Lucifer.—Anonymous
- Dean moves to Kansas City and receives a phone call from Sam, who tells him about his meeting with Lucifer and asks Dean to hunt together with him; however, Dean refuses the request. Soon Zachariah brings Dean to 01 August 2014, i.e., five years in the future, to show him the effect of his refusal to permit Michael to occupy his vessel and Dean realizes that the world has been practically destroyed. Dean (2009) meets with Dean (2014) and he learns that he has lost his humanity and the world is crowded with people infected by the demonic deadly virus Croatoan. Furthermore, he sees that Lucifer is occupying Sam's vessel. Back to 2009, Dean changes his attitude, but not the way Zachariah is expecting.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- THEN!
Sam and Dean recall a case in which they discovered a virus, called Croatoan, which made people behave like monsters. We're also reminded of The Colt, Samuel Colt's gun that can kill anything, and that Dean is the Michael Sword, while Sam is Satan's intended vessel. Sam is off on his own.
NOW!
Dean pulls to the curb in front of a motel, where a street evangelist asks him if he's taken time out to think about God's plan for him.
"Too friggin' much, pal," Dean answers, and heads inside, leaving the guy with an odd expression on his face. Inside, Dean gets on the phone with Castiel about the Colt. Dean thinks it's been melted down by now, but Cas, standing roadside at an unknown location, has heard differently. Cas also is having problems hearing him over the cell phone. "It's kind of funny," Dean says, "talking to a messenger of God on a cell phone. It's kind of like watching a Hell's Angel ride a moped."
Cas informs him that it's no joke, and if Dean's still set on the "insane task" of killing the Devil, finding the Colt is the way to do it. He offers to teleport directly to Dean's Kansas City location to get going on the mission, but Dean begs him off, saying he needs to sleep, like all humans do.
So Cas remains where he is, standing on the side of the highway.
Meanwhile, Dean's sleep is interrupted by a call from Sam, who spills the beans about being Lucifer's intended vessel. Sam wants back in, saying he's tired of being a puppet in this whole end-of-the-world situation. Dean doesn't think going on a vengeance tear is a great idea, considering how that ended up last time. But Sam explains that he doesn't want revenge -- he wants redemption.
"I can do this. I can. I want to prove it to you," Sam says.
But Dean tells him it doesn't matter. Whatever they do, Dean says, it turns out they're the fire and the oil of Armageddon. Picking a hemisphere and staying away from each other for good will be their best bet.
"We're not stronger when we're together, Sam. I think we're weaker. Because whatever we have between us -- love, family, whatever it is -- they are always going to use it against us. And you know that. No, we're better off apart..." Dean starts falling asleep as he's talking, finishing with, "if we just go our own ways."
Dean hangs up on Sam, and closes his eyes.
He wakes to a dirty motel room that looks like a bomb went off in it -- years ago. The clock radio is smashed. The window is shattered. Confused, he gets up and looks outside to see a world sunk into utter desolation. The street outside is full of dead cars, trash, and smashed...well, everything. Looks like he slept through the big finish.
Roll the bloody credits!
Dean wanders outside to explore post-apocalyptic Kansas City. He hears glass break in a alleyway, and goes to investigate. There's a little girl crying and leaning over a broken mirror. He calls to her, but she doesn't answer. He leans over and says, "You know that not talking thing is kind of creepy, right?" That when he notices the blood dripping out of her mouth. The girl suddenly grabs a mirror shard and slashes at Dean, cutting him. He jumps back, but then cold-cocks her and knocks her out.
That's when he looks up and notices a familiar word in graffiti on the wall: CROATOAN.
"Oh, no."
Oh, yes. Around the corner comes a mob of people who look violently insane and, perhaps, a bit peckish for living human flesh. Dean turns to run and they chase after him for several blocks...until he reaches a dead end blocked a chain link fence. Dean's looking at being lunch...except, suddenly, a group of soldiers opens fire on the crowd, gunning down the zombies with automatic weapons as they blast The Contours' classic hit "Do You Love Me." It's a twisted moment, even for Dean, who manages to crawl through a hole in the chain link before the soldiers can cut him down.
Dean holes up in an abandoned building's entryway and waits until dark, when he pulls himself back through the fence and sees a sign: "No Entry By Order of Acting Regional Command. August 1st, 2014. Kansas City."
Yep, 2014. He's jumped five years into the future. Thank goodness cars can still be hotwired. He finds a ride that, amazingly, still has gas in the tank, and heads down the road. As he's checking for cell coverage (there is none) and info on the radio (no signal there...never a good sign) Zachariah pops into the passenger's seat. He reads from the paper: Croatoan pandemic reaches Australia. President Palin (it really is the end times) defends bombing of Houston.
"I thought I smelled your stink on this 'Back to the Future' crap," Dean tells him. He asks Zachariah how he found him, and the upper management angel explains that they've had to tap into the more "fringe" elements among the devoted to act as informants. In other words, the street preacher outside of Dean's motel back in 2009 was an informant.
Dean congratulates him for the great joke and tells him to send him back, but Zachariah doesn't want to be so hasty. "We want you to marinate a bit," he tells Dean. They're giving him three days in the future, saying his choices have consequences. "This is what happens to the world if you continue to say no to Michael," Zachariah says. "Have a little look see." Then, he's gone.
First stop: Bobby's place. It's even more of wreck than usual, and Dean finds nothing but Bobby's upended chair with a bullet hole in it. He searches the house to find Bobby's journal and, upon discovering it, comes across a photo of a group of men with guns, including Castiel. They're standing by a sign that says Camp Chitaqua.
That's where Dean goes, sneaking up by the camp's sign to find another fenced in compound, this time guarded by what looks like militia carrying guns. Dean peeks through the wire fence to see...the Impala, or the rusted shell of it. Dean nearly passes out at seeing his baby in such a terrible state.
He sneaks through the fence to get a closer look at the ruins of the once magnificent Metallicar, but is knocked out from behind by...himself?
Ah, here's where recapping this episode gets fun. Present Dean wakes up with one hand cuffed to a ladder and staring down the barrel of Future Dean's gun. Future Dean tells Present Dean to give him one good reason not to gank him, especially since none of the regular methods -- salt, silver, holy water, etc. -- seem to work on him. Future Dean is even more curious as to why his doppelganger is carrying all the B&E implements he's fond of using.
Present Dean explains that he's him from 2009, and that Zachariah threw him into the future to get a peek at what's what. Future Dean asks to talk to Zachariah, but Present Dean says he doesn't know where he is. So Future Dean asks Present Dean to tell him one detail about himself that only he would know. He dredges up a story about Rhonda Hurley, a past conquest who made him try on her panties. They were pink and silky, Present Dean recalls, and they kind of liked it.
Now Future Dean is fully convinced.
Future Dean fills his past self in on what happened: The Croatoan virus is the demon's endgame. It hit the major cities in 2012, and spread quickly after that.
And Sam? Present Dean asks. Future Dean looks grim for a moment, then simply says that he heard there was a major showdown in Detroit, and Sam didn't make it. They weren't together and they hadn't spoke for...gee, five years. Present Dean suddenly realizes the ramification of their split. Future Dean then goes off to run an errand and, in spite of Present Dean's protests, leaves his other self cuffed to the ladder. He explains that the two of them roaming around together would only freak out the survivors. "Oh, c'mon. You don't trust yourself?" asks Present Dean.
Future Dean: "No. Absolutely not." He exits the cabin.
"Dick!" Present Dean snarks, then pulls a nail out of the floorboards with his free hand and picks the cuffs.
Present Dean heads out, and the first person he runs into is Chuck, asking him for orders on what to do about the dwindling perishables and hygiene products. Dean says he doesn't know. Then a woman named Risa runs up and pushes Dean, accusing him on sleeping in another woman's cabin. Dean's amazed he's being busted for things he hasn't even done yet. When she storms off, Dean asks if Cas is still around and Chuck grins. Cas isn't going anywhere, Chuck tells him.
Chuck directs Dean to a cabin, where sitar music is playing and Cas is delivering a Timothy Leary style lecture about shared perception to a circle of very attentive and attractive women. "Now, the key to this total shared perception is, um, is surprisingly physical," Cas tells them. Cas sees Dean and smiles widely at him. "Excuse me, ladies, I think I need to confer with our fearless leader for a minute. Why not go get washed up for the orgy?" They smile at him and take their leave. Dean looks shocked.
Cas stands up and stretches, and when he faces Dean, he realizes he's not the 2014 model. Dean fills Cas in on the what and who of the situation, and Cas only replies, "Interesting." Dean tells him to strap on his angel wings and zap him back to 2009, and Cas laughs at him, saying he wishes he could.
"Are you stoned?" Dean asks.
"Generally, yeah," Cas says, his gaze looking a bit unfocused.
"What happened to you?" asks Dean, and Cas replies, "Life."
Future Dean returns in a jeep, and Dean watches as he and his men jump out and unload supplies. One of the men stops to sip a beer when Future Dean suddenly steps up behind him and shoots him down in cold blood. Present Dean cries out, and the other two men suddenly notice that there are two Deans. Future Dean tells them that it's a screwed up situation, and as soon as they need to know something about it, he'll tell them. Then he pushes Present Dean back into his cabin.
Future Dean explains to Present Dean that during a supply run they had run into some "Croats" and the guy he killed had been infected by the virus. He knew because he had started exhibiting signs on the way back, and thought it was kinder to just do the deed rather than give a good man bad news.
Present Dean questioned the wisdom of blowing the guy away in front of his own people, and Future Dean told him that in 2014, plugging the infected is commonplace. Whereas his men seeing a clone of himself, that might be a little freaky. Future Dean reminds his past self that it's "my time, not yours." He pours Present Dean a drink, and Present Dean asks what the mission was.
Future Dean takes a slug of his whiskey, and pulls a gun out of his bag -- it's The Colt! Present Dean asks his future self where it was, and Future replies, "Everywhere." Apparently they've been moving it around. But now he has it, after five years of looking. Which means...it's time to kill the Devil.
Future Dean gathers Cas and Risa, who is still sore at him for messing with another woman, in his cabin to display The Colt and formulate a game plan. The scorned Risa asks Dean how he plans to find Lucifer, and Dean explains that he got a demon to give away his location...apparently using certain methods.
Present Dean is alarmed that Future Dean has returned to torturing. Cas just grins. "I like past you!" he tells Future Dean.
Lucifer is holed up in the middle of a hot zone crawling with "Croats" and demons, and Cas, in his stoned way, points out that going in head on is suicide. Future Dean seems all too ready to do it, and insists on bringing his 2009 self along for the kamikaze mission. He tells Cas to make sure the grunts are loaded up by midnight.
Present Dean asks why Future Dean is taking him, and Future Dean tells him he'll be fine since Zachariah is looking after him. But Present Dean pushes him...why does he have to come? Future Dean finally gives in and says, "You're coming because I want you to see something. I want you to see our brother."
Present Dean is confused. He thought Sam died in Detroit. No, Future Dean says, Dean said the Big Yes. Lucifer is wearing him to the prom, and now Future Dean has to kill him. He wants his past self to see the whole thing so he can do things differently, so the world doesn't have to come to this.
"When you get back home, you say yes," Future Dean says. "You say yes to Michael."
Present Dean can't believe what his Future self is saying, reminding him that if he says yes then angels are going to torch half the planet. Future Dean counters that half a planet is better than no planet at all, which is what they've got now. Future Dean says if he could have said yes, he would, and in fact, he has tried many times since. But apparently the angels are no longer listening...they've given up on Earth and bailed.
Present Dean insists there had to be another way, but Future Dean assures him he thought the same thing. "I was cocky. I never thought I'd lose. But I was wrong," he says. "Dean, I was wrong. I'm begging you...say yes." Then Future Dean looks crushed. "But you won't. Because I didn't. Because that's just not us, is it?"
The grunts are packing up and Chuck advises Present Dean to hoard toilet paper when he gets back. "Hoard it like it's made of gold. Because it is."
And with that, the militia's off. On the way, Cas pops some amphetamines. It's the perfect antidote to the absinthe, he explains. Dean asks again what the heck is up with him, and Cas explains that he's mortal now, that when the other angels left, his mojo left with them.
"Welcome to the club," 2009 Dean says.
"Thanks," Cas says. "Except, I used to belong a much better club." Cas can't stand being powerless, so why the heck shouldn't he bury himself in women and decadence. "Why not bang a few gongs before the lights go out? That's just how I roll."
Commence mission: The group cowboys up and pretty much waltzes through the Hot Zone, then gets ready to assault a building. Dean assures his people the enemy will never see them coming. But Present Dean can tell he's lying. He pulls his future self aside and asks what he's not telling the group. Finally Future Dean explains the real plan: Since the place isn't crawling with undead and demons, he can only assume they've cleared a path for them, and it's a trap. So he'll use his people to create a diversion with a frontal assault while the two Deans sneak in through the back.
Present Dean is appalled that his future self would send his friends, including Cas, to certain death. Future Dean retorts that he knows that his past self would feel that way, but that's why they're standing in this version of 2014...because Dean would never sacrifice his friends. Present Dean tells his future self he'll never let his Future Self do something so awful, so Future Dean knocks him out.
When our Dean comes to, he hears a firefight in progress. He's too late.
He runs in through the back and sees Sam, dressed head to toe in a white suit, standing in a cemetery ringed with immaculate rose bushes, with his foot on Future Dean's neck. The Colt is just out of Future Dean's reach. Sam cracks Future Dean's neck, killing him, and turns to see his brother from 2009.
"Oh," he says, with the smooth demeanor of a man expecting company for tea. "Hello, Dean."
Lightning fills the sky. "Aren't you a surprise!" Satan Sam says, then teleports behind him. "You've come a long way to see this, haven't you?"
Our devastated Dean tells Satan Sam to just kill him already, but Sam, glancing at Future Dean's body, observes that would be a little redundant. The devil apologizes and tries to commiserate with Dean, saying he knows that it must be painful to see him in Sam's body.
Dean asks Lucifer why he wants to destroy the planet, but Lucifer correct him -- he loves Earth in all its variety and beauty. Then Lucifer asks Dean if he's ever heard the story of his fall from grace. He explains that he was cast out of Heaven because he loved God too much, more than anything.
"Then God created..." Lucifer clenched his teeth, then continued," you. The little hairless apes." He went on to explain that God asked the angels to love humanity more than him, and Lucifer said he couldn't, that humans were flawed and murderous. And for that God had Michael cast Lucifer into Hell.
"Now tell me," Lucifer concludes, "does the punishment fit the crime? Especially when I was right? Look what six billion of you have done to this thing, and how many of you blame me for it."
Dean, with tears in his eyes, says that he appreciates the story, but he refuses to buy Lucifer's "Sympathy for the Devil" line of bull. To Dean, he is just the same as all the demons he's been hunting all his life. The only difference between them and Satan, Dean says, is the size of his ego.
Satan pauses, and smiles. "I like you, Dean. I get what the other angels see in you." Then he bids Dean goodbye and assures him they'll meet again.
Dean tells Satan that he'd better kill him now, or else he'll find a way to kill Satan and he won't stop.
"No, you won't," Satan calmly replies. "I know you won't say yes to Michael, either. And I know you won't kill Sam. Whatever you do, you will always end up here. Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter, we will always end up...here. I win."
Dean says he's wrong. Satan ends the conversation with, "See you in five years, Dean." Then he vanishes. Dean turns around to find Zachariah, who touches his forehead and sends him back to his motel room in 2009.
"Well, if it isn't the Ghost of Christmas Screw You."
Zachariah reminds him of what he's seen, and begs Dean to say yes to Michael. Dean isn't sure if this is one of Zachariah's tricks, but Zachariah assures him that the time for tricks is over, that he needs to say yes and save billions.
Dean considers it for a moment before replying, "Neh."
"'Neh'?" Zachariah repeats, astonished that, in his words, Dean has learned nothing.
"Oh, I've learned a lesson alright. Just not the one you wanted to teach," Dean said. Zachariah assures him he'll teach him again, since he has Dean by the short hairs now...but he says it to an empty room.
Cas zapped Dean to where he is, on the side of the road. "We had an appointment," Cas says.
Dean happily grabs Cas's shoulder and says, "Don't ever change." Then he calls Sam.
Sam and Dean meet up by a bridge and Sam hands Dean Ruby's knife, saying that if he wants back in, he'll need it.
Dean observes that they may be each other's Achilles heel, but in a way, that's why they need to stay together, because they'll keep each other human. Sam assures Dean he won't let him down, and Dean says he knows.
"So what do we do now?" Sam asks.
"We make our own future," Dean says, "because we have no other choice."
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