S9X11: First Born || WU

Jasper Springs, Mississippi - 1864

A Confederate soldier rides up to a cabin and warns his fellow soldiers inside that "he" is coming and the knight must be protected. As they ready their weapons, the wind picks up and the cabin shake. After a moment, a man strides in and kills one of the soldiers with a touch. The other two shoot at him but the bullets have no effect and he easily kills them.

Now

Dean is drinking in a bar when Crowley appears next to him and tells him that Gadreel has left the building. The demon suggests that that they move on to killing Abaddon, and explains that there is a weapon, the First Blade, that can kill the Knights of Hell. Crowley has been pursuing the blade for decades and one of his demons, Smitty, was killed by John before he could get the Blade. The demon wants to see John's notes and expects Dean to help. Dean starts going through John's journal and finally and finds a reference to Smitty and the number of one of John's storage lockers. Crowley is eager to investigate it and Dean reluctantly leaves with him... unaware that a demon has been watching them.

At the Men of Letters HQ, Castiel is eating a sandwich and explains to Sam that he doesn't taste the same as when he was human. He continues with his healing of Sam and hesitates, and Sam demands to know what is going on. Castiel finally admits that he sensed something angelic in Sam and suggests that they call Dean, but Sam refuses.

Dean and Crowley go to John's storage locker and Dean finds a reference to another hunter that John was working with. Her name is Tara and Dean doesn't know her. John and Tara exorcised a demon who mentioned the First Blade. The rest of the file is empty so they head out to find Tara.

Castiel checks the Letters library and finds a reference to some of an angel's grace remaining behind in the body they possess. It's fading each time Castiel heals Sam, but can be used to track Gadreel if it can be extracted using a special syringe. Castiel warns that the process is extremely painful and Sam agrees to act as the guinea pig.

The next day, Dean and Crowley find Tara running a pawnshop. Dean introduces himself and asks about the job she worked with John. Tara realizes that Crowley is a demon and draws a shotgun, and he realizes that he's caught in a devil's trap. She figures that Dean is possessed and tests him, and Dean explains that Crowley is helping him to find the First Blade to kill Abaddon. Tara explains that they killed Smitty and had a good weekend together, and then parted ways. However, Tara kept searching for the First Blade and found all of the components but one for a location spell. Crowley has the necessary component and offers to get it, and Tara reluctantly breaks the trap. Once Crowley teleports away, Dean insists that he'll do whatever it takes to stop Abaddon.

Crowley returns with the component and they cast the spell. The trail leads to Mississippi and Tara wishes Dean luck, saying that he'll need it. Dean and Crowley drive to Mississippi. As they pull up to the house and Crowley says that he feels something dark. A man in beekeeper gear walks up and Crowley says that they have to go. When Dean wonders who it is, Crowley explains that its Cain, the Father of Murder, and they need to get far away. Cain--the man from 1864--teleports behind them and says that they're not going anywhere.

Cain takes them into his house and steps into the kitchen. Crowley can't teleport away and tells Dean that Cain became the deadliest demon of all time after killing his brother Abel. Then one day Cain just disappeared and everyone thought he was dead. Cain comes back in and talks about his bees. He offers them tea and asks why Crowley and Dean are there together and how they found him. When Crowley starts to ramble, Cain silences him with a glance and Dean explains that they're looking for the First Blade so they can kill Abaddon, and the location spell they used was for the blade. When Cain asks if anyone else knows that they're there, Dean says no.

Tara is working in her pawnshop when the demon from the bar comes in. She realizes that he's a demon and opens fire with her shotgun.

Cain tells Dean and Crowley to leave, and says that he trained the Knights of Hell himself, including Abaddon. However, he says that no one except Abaddon knows is that he was the one who slaughtered the other Knights. He refuses to explain why and tells Dean in no uncertain terms never to return, and then goes into town. Dean and Crowley leave and Crowley wants to go, but Dean plans to break in and take the First Blade.

Once they find the syringe, Castiel asks Sam why he is upset with Dean when Sam chose to live after completing the trials. Sam says that Dean was the one who made the choice, not him, and insists on settling his debts.

Dean and Crowley break into Cain's home and look around. On the mantelpiece is a photo of a woman named Colette and she's wearing the ring that Cain now has.

The bleeding demon pulls up outside of Cain's house and makes a call, asking for as much backup as they have.

Castiel uses the syringe to extract the grace from Sam's body. He realizes that he has to push the needle in deeper into his neck to get enough for the spell and Sam tells him to do it. As Castiel goes ahead, Sam has flashbacks to everything that happened to him when he was possessed. Castiel pulls out the needle and explains that Sam's body is regressing to the state it was in when Gadreel possessed him. When Sam realizes that they don't have enough grace, he tells Castiel to continue.

Dean shows Crowley the photo and figures that Cain got married. They hear the door open and try to leave, only to discover that the door is locked. Cain appears and demands his photo back. Before he can do anything, the demons arrive outside and their leader calls, saying that he pulled Tara's skin off to get the information he needed. He tells Cain that they have no grudge with him, and Dean prepares to make a fight of it. Cain tells him that he'll be fighting on his own and insists that he's retired. He plans to disappear once the fight is over and invites Dean to have a final meal with him if he survives.

Castiel hesitates, wondering why Sam is seeking death, and Sam tells him to continue. The angel insists that all life is valuable, even a Winchester's, and Sam says that his life is no more important than anyone else's... including Kevin's. After a moment, Castiel continues the extraction.

Dean barricades the kitchen door and sends Crowley to barricade the front. Once he's alone with Cain, Dean asks if he's going to do nothing. Cain, unimpressed, decides to test Dean and lets three of the demons in. Dean goes for his knife and fights them, killing the leader first. The other two demons try to pin him to the table, but Dean takes one down and disarms the other. He kills that one and faces off against the third one.

In the front room, Cain lets another demon in and Crowley kills it after a brief struggle.

As Cain gets himself a beer, Dean finishes off the third demon. He then turns to Cain, who admits that he feels connected to Dean because they're kindred spirits. Cain asks why he saved his brother, and Dean says that you never give up on family. The demon points out that Sam isn't there, but Dean refuses to play along and demands the Blade. Cain tells him that he no longer has the First Blade.

Castiel finally stops extracting Gadreeel's grace and then heals Sam. When Sam asks what is going on, he says that they'll have to try the spell with what they have. Sam is furious but Castiel tells his friend that nothing is worth losing him. He explains that he can relate to Sam since being human, and now he knows what the guilt of screwing up feels like. Castiel tells Sam that he's sorry and that he once believed that the ends justified the means, but now he knows better and figures that maybe he--and the Winchesters--can change.

When Crowley learns that the First Blade is gone, he demands to know how the spell led them there. Cain says that he's the source of the Blade's power and reveals the Mark of Cain on his arm. The Blade, made from the jawbone of an ox and the weapon Cain used to kill his brother, is powerless without the Mark. Cain explains that he killed Abel because Abel was talking to Lucifer. Lucifer was going to make Abel his pet so Cain offered Lucifer his soul in Hell in return for Abel's soul in Heaven. To seal the deal, Cain had to kill his brother himself. He became the first Knight and Lucifer had him make more, spreading darkness and chaos across the earth. Cain met Colette and she loved him unconditionally even knowing everything he did. She asked him to stop and the Knights took retribution on her, so Cain used the First Blade to kill them all... all but one.

In 1864, Cain goes to Colette only to realize that Abaddon has possessed her. She asks Cain to come back to her, but Cain insists that he's done. Abaddon breaks Colette's neck, saying that if Cain won't take Abaddon then he won't have Colette. She leaves his body just as Cain kills Colette's body with the First Blade. As Colette dies in his arms, she begs Cain not to seek revenge.

Dean offers his condolences but says that he has to stop Abaddon and asks for the blade. When Cain tries to walk away, Dean grabs him and draws the blade on him. Cain pulls it into his chest and says that Dean might not give up on anything, but he does. More demons pull up outside and Crowley says that he'll stay as long as he can.

Cain teleports nearby to Colette's grave and says that he can't see himself as she did. However, he knows who and what he is, and asks her to look away from him. Cain kneels and kisses the grave.

As the demons pound on the door, Dean realizes that Cain has return. Cain says that he can transfer the Mark to someone who is worthy--a killer. However, he warns that it comes with a great cost. Dean isn't interested and bares his arm, and Cain grabs his arm and gives him the Mark. Cain explains that he threw the Blade to the bottom of the deepest ocean, and tells him to find it. However, he insists that Dean promise that when he has the blade, he will kill him for what he is going to do.

The demons break in and Cain teleports Dean and Crowley outside. They look back and see the house glow from within as they realize that the demons are trapped inside with Cain... and the demons start screaming in agony.

Sam and Castiel prepare the tracking spell and pour Gadreel's grace in. Nothing happens and Castiel admits that there wasn't enough grace. He apologizes and says that they'll have to find another way, and Sam admits that his friend as right about everything. He gives Castiel a hug and tells him to hug him back. Once he does, Castiel vows to find Metatron and fix everything. He asks Sam to help, but Sam says that they've got it.

Later, Dean pulls over and Crowley tells him Cain was right and he's worthy. He promises to search the ocean for the Blade and give it to its new owner. As Crowley walks away, Dean says that he knows Crowley knew everything and played Dean into taking the Mark. Crowley admits that he lured the demons there and sacrificed Tara. Dean punches him and promises that after he kills Abaddon, Crowley is next. Crowley warns that they'll need all the help they can get, and a disgusted Dean tells him to get the Blade.

And loved the episode.