At a house in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Naoki Himura is working on the house and talking to her wife over the phone. Naoki complains that the house needs more work than they thought and goes back to work. As Naoki pries off some wallpaper in the sitting room, the woman hears her daughter Kat scream upstairs. She runs up and Kat says that something bad is in the house and she heard footsteps. The girl complains that it's cold and Naoki says that they'll have the furnace on the next morning. She goes to get her daughter a glass of water, and the lights in the bedroom go out. The door slams shut and Kat hides under the bed. Footsteps approach the door and it opens, but there's no one there. A hand grabs Kat from behind and drags her away.
Sam and Dean stop at a diner and Dean is unable to find anything on Amara or Castiel. He assures Dean that they're going to win, but Dean points out that they haven't found anything in two weeks. Sam figures that in the meantime, they hunt. He shows Dean a story about Naoki saying Kat was attacked by an entity. The girl is in a coma from the shock, and the only sign of trauma is a handprint on the Kat's ankle. Dean doesn't think that it's a good time, but Sam figures that it would be good to get a win and the case seems easy.
At the hospital, Naoki tells the brothers that her wife is flying back in from London and her flight has been delayed. They ask about the night of the attack, and Naoki confirms that it was cold and the lights flickered. She agrees to let them check out the house and tells them where the hide-a-key is, and then goes back to her comatose daughter
Sam and Dean arrive at the house and a neighbor notices them. She wonders why the FBI keeps coming there, and explains that two agents came there a few years ago. Sam figures that it was Bobby and Rufus.
A Few Years Ago
Bobby is dozing in the car outside of the house when Rufus comes up and reminds him that they've got a case and he needs Bobby's help. His friend says that the Apocalypse is coming and they're wasting time to a ghost, but Rufus figures that there's nothing they can do. He says that it's Shabbat and he can't do anything on the holy day, and refuses to discuss it further. The neighbor spots them and Bobby claims that they're FBI agents, and Rufus snaps at her when she keeps asking questions.
Now
Sam and Dean enter the house and scan for EMF. They get hits everywhere and Dean goes to check Bobby's journals in the trunk.
The Past
The owner, Mary Henderson, tells Bobby and Rufus that her son Will heard footsteps and called for help. when Mary and her husband got there, Will was in a coma. She remembers cold spots and flickering lights, and there's a handprint on Will's ankle.
Now
Sam and Dean get the same room that Bobby and Rufus had years ago.
The Past
Rufus wonders why Bobby was sleeping earlier, and Bobby refuses to answer. He has the realtor's report on the house.
Now
Sam gets the realtor report and discovers that there were two deaths at the house. The first was accidental and the other was a murder when a man shot his wife. Bobby's journal has an entry on the ghost hunt, but only the first few lines are there because Bobby never finished it. Dean figures that they will have to dig up both graves, but Sam thinks that there's more going on. Despite that, Dean figures that they're due for an easy case but his brother isn't convinced.
The Past
Rufus figures that the creature is a Baku, and Bobby disagrees. They drive to the cemetery to dig up the graces and burn the bones.
Now
That night, Sam and Dean open up the first grave and find ashes.
The Past
Bobby steals a backhoe and dig up the grave. He finally has enough and tells Rufus to dig since it's after sundown. Rufus reluctantly agrees and as he works, he asks Bobby why he was sleeping earlier. Bobby reluctantly explains that he's been going without sleeping trying to find a way to stop the Apocalypse. Rufus warns him that even if they save the world, not everyone will live. He reminds Bobby that the oldest rule of hunting is that they can't save everyone.
Now
Dean and Sam open up the second coffin and discover that the corpse has also been burned. Sam wonders what they're hunting.
At the house, Naoki is packing when she hears footsteps and the lights go off. Something grabs her by the ankle and drags her away.
The next day, the brothers hear that Naoki is in the hospital and go to check her out. She's also in a coma, and Sam speaks with Dr. Richards. Richards is retired but has friends on staff, and heard about the two coma patients. She was there when it happened before, and remembers speaking to two FBI agents at the time.
The Past
Mary goes home to get her son's toy and ends up in the same coma. Bobby and Rufus talk to Richards, and she tells them about the strange mark on Mary's ankle. She warns that they might lose both patients.
Now
Richards says that the next day, Mary and Will both woke up. Naoki and Kat are fading the same way. Once they're alone, Dean tells Sam that he talked to the cops that found Mary. The Hendersons are still living in Grand Rapids, and the brothers go to talk to Mary. She immediately figures that something is happening to Will. Inside, Mary tells them that when she woke up in the hospital, one of the FBI agents told her to never touch the wallpaper in the sitting room. She describes a nightmare that she had in the coma, and she was in a darker version of the house. Mary saw her dead husband in the nightmare, and spirits. Once she woke up, they couldn’t shake the bad feeling about the house and had to walk on the mortgage when they couldn't sell it. Mary insists that destroying their credit was worth it to get away from the house.
Back at the house, Sam and Dean check the sitting room. Sam finds the torn wallpaper and peels it away to reveal a seal that was broken when Naoki peeled the wallpaper away. back at the motel, the brothers go through the lore.
The Past
Bobby and Rufus go through the lore. They finally find a reference to a Soul Eater. They exist between worlds, move into a house, and makes a Nest there.
Now
Sam confirms that the Soul Eater's Nest looks like the house it has moved in to. Dean figures that Mary was in the Nest, and the lore says that the Soul Eaters can pull their victim's souls into the Nest. The Nest messes with their victim's heads, putting their souls in distress.
The Past
The victim's physical bodies wither and die in the real world, and the Soul Eater moves on to the next house. It takes its victims souls with them. Bobby remembers facing one of the creatures before.
Now
Dean finds an entry in Bobby's journal about a case he handled down in Tennessee.
The Past
Bobby admits that he when he steps into the house, he could feel the badness. The hunter that called him, Harvey, was in a coma. The Soul Eater approached Bobby, but he had a Celtic sigil for emergencies. It was all Bobby had, and when he used it, the house went back to normal. However, Harvey never did wake up. Rufus reminds Bobby of the oldest rule,
Now
The brothers figure that Bobby and Rufus put up the seal, and the Soul Eater was trapped until Naoki broke the seal. Sam figures that there's more to it, because somehow Mary and Will got their souls back. He checks the Men of Letters lore and finds a way to kill the Soul eaters. It requires a more complicated sigil drawn in blood, and a second sigil has to be drawn inside of the Nest. The brothers play rock-scissors-Paper for it and Dean loses.
The Winchesters go back to the house and agree on where to draw the sigil in the two worlds.
The Past
Rufus draws the sigil and Bobby stands guard. They hear footsteps and Bobby goes to investigate.
Now
Dean hears the footsteps and checks the house. He tells the Soul Eater to come get him.
The Past
Bobby tells the Soul Eater to stay away from him and keeps searching. The Soul Eater drags him away.
Now
The Soul Eater drags Dean away. When he wakes up, he realizes that he's in the Nest. Sam is on the floor dead, and after a minute the vision disappears.
The Past
Bobby wakes up and realizes that he's in the Nest. Sam and Dean are on the floor dead, and after a moment the vision disappears. Will approaches Bobby and wonders if he's real, and Bobby introduces himself. He promises to take care of Will, and Will says that there are sad people behind Bobby. Bobby doesn't see them, but he says that Rufus will help them get out.
Rufus finds Bobby's comatose body. Realizing that he can't save his friend, Rufus goes back to the seal and continues drawing.
Now
Sam drags Dean's body back to the seal and continues drawing. In the Nest, Dean draws the other Sigil. Kat appears and asks Dean what he's doing. He explains that he's there to get her out, and can't see all of the sad people that she does. Kat says that he'll see them soon.
The Past
Bobby and Will look for Mary, and will sees her in the next room. the spirits appear and surround Bobby, and the Soul Eater touches his chest.
Rufus turns and sees a possessed Bobby approaching him. The Soul Eater warns that if Rufus shoots him then he'll kill Bobby. Rufus explains that he's armed with rock salt and Bobby can handle it, The Soul Eater invites him to enter the Nest, and Rufus refuses.
Now
Dean continues working on the seal, and Kat says that she doesn't like it in the Nest. The girl says that there are more of the spirits there, and the Soul Eater touches dean's chest.
In the real world, the Soul Eater possesses Dean's body and punches Sam. It insists that it can keep Sam safe from the Darkness, and Sam tells Dean to fight it.
The Past
The possessed Bobby attacks Rufus.
Now
The possessed Dean grabs a knife and advances on Sam.
The Past
Rufus knocks Bobby's body down and goes back to finish the seal.
Now
The Soul Eater says that Dean wants to go to the Darkness, but it can keep both brothers safe forever.
The Past
Rufus finishes the seal and Bobby wakes up as the house shakes.
Now
Sam manages to disarm Dean and then smashes him with a chair. He then finishes drawing the seal just in time. The Soul Eater is destroyed. Dean wakes up in the Nest and watches as the spirits disappear. Finally only Kat and Naoki are left. Dean sees Bobby for a moment and then they both disappear.
The Past
Rufus finds Bobby as he wakes up.
Now
Sam finds Dean as he wakes up and holds his brother.
The Past
The next day, Bobby covers the seal over with wallpaper. Rufus calls from the hospital to tell Bobby that Mary and Will have recovered. He figures that the seal pushed their souls out. Bobby isn't convinced, but Rufus tells him to take the win. Rufus realizes that Bobby saw something in the Nest, and Bobby admits that he saw Sam and Dean dead. He doesn't know what he saw of Dean later, and Rufus tells him to forget the oldest rule before hanging up. Rufus looks at the Hendersons and smiles.
Now
Sam calls Naoki at the hospital and tells her that the house should be safe now. She says that they're selling and thanks Sam for everything.
The Past
Bobby leaves the house, gets in his car, and starts to make his journal entry. However, Dean calls and asks Bobby to check out a lead in Maine. Grumbling, Bobby drives off.
Now
The Winchesters go out to the Impala and Sam wonders if Dean saw the real Bobby. Dean figures that he was just seeing things, but suggests that if the Nest exists outside of space and time, then theoretically he and Bobby could have been there at the same time. They head to Tennessee to finish the seal drawing at the other house.
Written by Gadfly on Mar 24, 2016