"Got this great IPA from Austin- Cosmic Cowboy," Dean continued. "You're gonna love it."

"Hey, Dean, what's going on here?" I asked.

"What are you talking about?"

Just then, Pamela Barnes came walking out of the back room, smiling as she walked over to Cass and I.

"Cass? Ellie? I'm glad you're back safe. I was starting to worry," she lowered her voice. "Don't tell Dean. He'll use it against me."

"Uh, Pamela Barnes was blinded when she saw my true form," Cass told me quietly as she headed behind the bar with Dean.

"Yeah," I nodded. "She was also killed by a demon, so..."

"Hey, what are you guys waiting for?" Dean asked. "Drink up. Hey, where's Sam?"

"He couldn't come with us," Cass stated.

"None of- none of this is real, okay?" I addressed Dean desperately. "T-this- This bar, uh, Pamela..."

"Excuse me?" Pamela glared over at me. "You've never met anyone more real than me, Eleanor Winchester."

"You're just a complex manifestation of Dean's memories designed to distract him," Cass explained.

"You really know how to talk to a lady, don't ya?" Pamela raised an eyebrow at him.

"Okay, listen to me," I stared into Dean's eyes. "You have to remember what's going on out- out there in the real world."

"I know it's raining," Dean said, glancing at the window of the bar. "What else do I need to know?"

"No, I'm not talking about the rain- I'm talking about Michael!"

Both Dean and Pamela suddenly disappeared.

"Where'd they go?" I looked around.

The sound of Dean and Pamela laughing and toasting as they drank shots carried out from an office.

"Is that...? I think I hear them," I muttered.

Suddenly, Dean and Pamela were back behind the bar, facing me and Cass.

"So, you guys gonna tell us about the hunt or what?" Dean asked.

"Okay. W-what? You were just... What the hell is going on here?" I stammered.

"Okay. All right. Now you're starting to worry me. What is going on?"

The scene replayed in front of us again, this time Cass and I watching as Pamela and Dean shot and decapitated a pair of vampires.

"Ugh!" I cried as I was spattered in blood.

A little got on Castiel's collar, but I got the brunt of it. Dean and Pamela were back behind the bar again.

"You guys got real messy on that ghoul hunt, huh?" Pamela grinned.

"No, we didn't get messy on a hunt," Cass said. "We got messy just now, in this bar, in the vampire fight."

"Maybe we should rethink the beers," Pamela muttered to Dean, who nodded in agreement.

"Yeah."

"Okay, Dean, listen to me," I tried again. "I think you're- you're stuck in some kind of loop in- in your mind. Michael is possessing you. You have to remember that."

"Michael?" Dean repeated.

"Yes."

"Michael's in the Cage. Come on, guys, what is this? Some kind of joke?"

"No, Dean, it's not a joke," Castiel told him.

"Okay, okay," Pamela smirked. "If we're all in Dean's head, then he should be able to control things, like a lucid dream?"

"Yeah. I-I don't know. Maybe. I..." I stammered.

"Get me a shot," Pamela demanded from Dean. "With your brain."

The pair laughed and I groaned.

"Okay, Dean, listen to me. This bar is not real. Pamela isn't real. I mean, we were together when she was blinded."

"You're blind?" Dean asked, looking over at Pamela who suddenly had milky white eyes.

"Yeah, I've been blind for a while. Thank Feathers here for that one."

"That was- Dean, that was an accident," Cass defended himself.

"Dean, she's not just blind," I continued. "She's dead. Pamela died helping us."

"What happened?" Dean asked. "Pamela?"

He looked over again, but Pamela had vanished.

"No. No, no, no, no," Dean protested. "Guys, this is- this is my life. This- this is the dream."

"No, no, it's not," Cass shook his head. "It's just a dream, Dean. That's all it is. Please, you have to- you have to try and remember, because the people in your life- in your real life, out there- we need you to come back."

Getting an idea, I tried one last thing.

"Poughkeepsie," I whispered.

Dean hesitated, looking over at me.

"What'd you say?"

"Poughkeepsie," I repeated more confidently.

Dean's eyes widened and he looked from me over to Cass and back.

"I remember," he said. "I remember everything."

A clapping sound filled the silence that followed Dean's statement and we all turned to see Michael, still with Dean's face, smirking at us.

"Hey, fellas. Well, this is fun."

"Get out of my head," Dean hissed, not sounding very confident.

"You don't mean that, Dean, not really. You may lie to them, but, deep down, I know you. I am you. You only tolerate the angel because he 'gripped you tight and raised you from perdition.' Or whatever. But since then, what has he done? Only made mistakes, one after the other. And Eleanor- Oh, Eleanor... You know, Dean was happiest when they stopped coming around that stupid shop, when he didn't have to keep seeing you."

"Shut up!" Dean growled a little more confidently.

"You don't need them," Michael addressed him. "You don't even like them. They're not your family, they're your responsibilities. They're a weight around your neck. And deep down, you wanted- you were desperate to get away from them. And that is why you said yes."

"I said shut your damn mouth!"

"Wait," Cass spoke, studying Michael, "something's wrong. You're stalling."

"Am I?" Michael asked.

"He's buying time so his monsters can get to us and rescue him," I added, realizing what Cass was thinking.

"You think I need them to save me? Please," the archangel scoffed.

"Fine," Dean said. "You're so tough, why don't you snap your fingers and nuke us all?"

"Is that what you want?" Michael asked.

"Yeah, I do," Dean said as a shiver went down my spine.

"He can't," Cass explained, "because, in here, we're all just mental projections, so in here, we're all the same."

"So, in here, you're all talk," I added.

"You think I need my powers? I destroy worlds, and I'd crush you with my bare hands."

"Prove it," Dean growled.

He, Cass and I all went after Michael, the fight escalating quickly.

"You fellas didn't think this out, did you? Even if you could force me out, what do you think I'd leave behind, hm? You'd be nothing but blood and bone."

"Then we don't kick him out. We keep him in."

Dean grabbed Michael and he and Cass tossed the archangel into the refrigerator room. I tossed Dean a screwdriver that he used to lock the door shut as Michael screamed.

"It'll hold," he said. "My mind, my rules. I got him. I'm the Cage."