Ellen stared at Jo, the reality of the situation finally landing.
"So let me get this straight," she said, barely above a whisper. "There are no demons in this town. All the people we've been fighting — the people we've killed — they were just humans. Innocent people. And we're all under some mass hallucination."
She looked back at Jo, who'd finally paused her string of creative profanities, panting against the ropes with a furious glare.
"No wonder she's cursing exactly like she usually does," Ellen muttered.
Henry leaned against the wall, expression unreadable. "Yes. That's the sad truth."
Dean dragged a hand down his face, sighing. "Son of a bitch. A literal Horseman of the Apocalypse. Sam, how do we kill a primal force of nature? Because I'm guessing rock salt and a demon knife aren't gonna cut it."
Sam closed the Bible with a thud, looking defeated. "I don't know, Dean."
"What do you mean, you don't know?"
"I mean I don't know! The lore on the Horsemen is practically non-existent. Revelation talks about the omens, but it doesn't come with a how-to manual for killing them. As far as I can tell, they're immortal. I have no idea how to stop him."
Dean threw his hands up. "Awesome. So we're just stuck in the Thunderdome until we all kill each other."
"You can't kill him," Henry said calmly from the back of the room. "But you can disarm him."
Dean and Sam both turned to look at him.
"What are you talking about?" Sam asked.
"They channel their abilities through their rings," Henry explained, tapping his own finger. "It's the physical source of their power on Earth. You cut off War's ring, you cut off his power. The illusions stop."
Dean narrowed his eyes. "Okay. And how do we find one guy in a whole town of crazy people?"
"Did you forget about me, Dean?" Henry raised an eyebrow.
Dean paused, looked at him, then grinned, reaching out to rub Henry's sleeve like a brass lamp. "Oh, I forgot we had you with us! Genie Henry with his magic rub. My wish is to get me the Horseman of War."
Henry stared at him, deadpan, and slapped his hands away.
Tied to the chair, Jo watched the exchange. The hallucinated overlay of black eyes and demonic smoke was starting to crack in her mind. Demons didn't bicker like this. Demons definitely didn't make genie jokes.
She stopped struggling, blinking hard as her vision finally cleared. "So... you guys aren't really demons?"
Dean turned back to her, dropping the joke, flashing his usual warm smile. "Yeah, Jo. Can't you tell it's me, Dean?"
She stared at him, deadpan. "No. You became more of an ass than the last time I saw you."
Dean chuckled. "Ouch."
Ellen let out a breath, stepped forward, pulled her hunting knife, and sliced through the ropes binding Jo to the chair. Jo stood on shaky legs, rubbing her raw wrists.
"Alright, family reunion's over," Henry cut in, stepping away from the wall. "We have a Horseman to catch."
The church shook. Dust and cracked plaster rained from the ceiling as a deep tremor rattled the stained glass windows.
"Hmmm." Henry turned his head, looking straight through the plaster walls. His expression shifted into something strange.
"From that look, I'm guessing that's bad news," Dean said, bracing against the wooden desk.
"Yeah, seems there's a new group headed this way." His tone was far too casual for the situation. "And they're heavily armed. They've even got a rocket launcher."
Instead of worry, a grin spread across Dean's face. He dropped to his knees, dug through the duffel bag, and stood up hefting a military-grade grenade launcher onto his shoulder.
"Finally," Dean beamed, patting the barrel. "I've been wanting to use this baby all year."
Henry stared at him, deadpan. "Did you forget everything I said? They're normal people, Dean. Are you going to kill them?"
"Yeah, Dean, put it away," Sam scolded, swatting his arm. "They're hallucinating civilians. We use non-lethal force."
Dean's smile vanished. He looked at the weapon, then at Sam and Henry, like a kid told to put a puppy back in the box. "So... no to the grenade launcher?"
"No," Henry and Sam said in unison.
Dean sighed and shoved it back into the bag.
***
Outside the church, tires screeched as five battered jeeps slammed to a halt on the cracked asphalt. A mercenary-style squad piled out, armed with assault rifles, tactical vests, and the promised rocket launcher.
"Uh, sir... are we really going to kill civilians?" one of the younger men asked, hands shaking as he looked at the church doors.
The leader racked the bolt of his rifle, bloodshot eyes twitching with paranoid intensity.
"They are not civilians. They're monsters in human form. Kill them all. Don't leave anyone alive, not even the kids. You'll know what they are when you see them."
The church doors creaked open. Henry strolled out onto the steps, hands tucked casually into his jacket pockets, looking down at the small army of hallucinating men.
"Umm... is anyone up for negotiation?"
The only reply was thirty assault rifles opening fire on him at once.
*****
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