Fifth Capture of Castiel

"Brothers, sisters. I know I have no right, no standing to ask you anything, but these are desperate times so ask I must. I confess my transgressions and I will accept whatever punishment you dole out. Now I ask you to help me. Please, save me from doing worse."

- Castiel prays to the angels for help.

"I think that you told Efram and Jonah to bring me here and so you arranged to... to burst in and save me. You were hoping I'd be so grateful I would do anything you said, that I would tell you anything that you wanted to know. Why, Hannah? We were friends!"

- Castiel pieces together Hannah's deception and betrayal

The Fifth Capture of Castiel is the conflict surrounding the capture of the Seraphim Castiel by angels seeking to torture him for information on the Scribe of God Metatron and the Darkness.

Prelude
After Dean Winchester takes on the Mark of Cain and later slaughters a group of criminals under its control, the Winchesters and the Seraphim Castiel attempt to get a way to remove the Mark of Cain from the Scribe of God Metatron. After Dean falls under the Mark's influence again and almost tortures Metatron to death, he is returned to Heaven for his own safety. However, months later, with Dean getting worse, Sam and Castiel break Metatron out of Heaven with the help of Bobby Singer. Once in their custody, the two remove Metatron's grace, leaving him human. Though they learn that Metatron knows of no way to remove the Mark, he promises to lead Castiel to his stolen grace. Though Castiel is able to get his grace back, Metatron escapes with the Demon Tablet.

After getting the Book of the Damned, Sam forms a deal with the witch Rowena MacLeod to use it to remove the Mark of Cain from Dean, a deal which includes the death of Rowena's son Crowley, the King of Hell. Sam eventually brings Castiel in on the operation which ultimately leads to the removal of the Mark of Cain. However, Rowena is able to escape her bonds and places Castiel under the Attack Dog Spell in order to force him to kill Crowley. Crowley escapes assassination by fleeing his vessel, but Castiel is left under the influence of the spell. After attacking a family of farmers under the spell, a desperate Castiel prays to the other angels for help with his condition.

Battle
As Castiel evades local authorities searching the area for him, he calls Dean. Castiel tells Dean that he is fine and insists that he's okay even when Dean notices something is wrong. Castiel tells Dean that what he has, Dean can't help with and asks Dean to tell Sam that Rowena escaped with the Book of the Damned and Nadia's Codex.

Castiel insistently asks if the Mark of Cain is gone and Dean admits that it is and he's okay, but not great with Castiel admitting the same. Castiel finds it to be good news as Dean puts him on speakerphone and asks Castiel to tell them about the Darkness. Castiel is confused about why they would ask him about the Darkness until the Winchesters explain that the Darkness was set free when they removed the Mark of Cain. As the Winchesters try to get more information, Castiel hears a noise behind him and tells the Winchesters goodbye and that it might be sometime before they see him again. Turning around, Castiel finds the angels Efram and Jonah behind him armed with angel blades and Castiel greets them.

Handcuffing Castiel, the two angels lead him to a warehouse where Efram explains that after Metatron's escape, they moved the Heavenly Portal to prevent further incidents. Castiel tells Efram that before they go back, they need to find a witch or someone else who knows magic to remove the Attack Dog Spell from him. However, Efram instead attaches Castiel's handcuffs to a hanging chain. At first confused by their behavior, Castiel realizes that the two angels aren't taking him to Heaven which Jonah confirms as he places a hood over Castiel's head.

The next day, Efram and Jonah notice Dean calling Castiel and smash his phone before turning their attention to Castiel. Jonah removes the hood and wakes Castiel up with a slap to the face, explaining that they have questions for him. Castiel is confused by their rough actions since he asked for help, but the two angels brush him off. Falling under the effects of the spell again briefly, Castiel tells the two angels that he is cursed and that they should run.

Despite Castiel's warnings, Efram and Jonah begin torturing him with an angel blade, stabbing Castiel repeatedly and demanding the location of Metatron. Though Castiel truthfully tells them that he doesn't know and begs for mercy from his siblings, Efram refutes the notion that Castiel is his brother, pointing out that every time Castiel has to choose between the Winchesters and the angels, he always chooses the Winchesters. Opening a cut into Castiel's chest with his angel blade, Efram tells Castiel that if it was up to him, he'd kill Castiel and move on. Though Castiel challenges Efram to do it, Efram refuses and tells him that they are just getting started before Jonah resumes the torture.

Eventually, Castiel tells the two angels about how after breaking Metatron out of Heaven and stealing his grace, Metatron eventually escaped from him. However, the angels refuse to believe Castiel's story that about how Metatron tricked him and escaped and instead think that Castiel is lying. As Efram begins threatening to cut off Castiel's appendages to get him to talk, the door is suddenly blasted down by Hannah who enters and demands that Efram and Jonah desist. Though Efram insists that they are getting answers, Hannah warns them that torture isn't how they do things and orders Efram and Jonah out, an order they reluctantly comply with.

As a weak Castiel thanks Hannah, Hannah tells him not to thank her yet as something horrible has happened. Though Hannah frees him from the chain keeping him standing in one place, Castiel rejects removing the handcuffs, knowing that it is safer for him to have them on while he is under the spell. Helped into a chair by Hannah, Castiel tells her that he doesn't know where Metatron is which she accepts as true. At Castiel's request, Hannah attempts to heal him, but the spell proves to be too powerful and Hannah can't remove it or heal Castiel's injuries from the torture.

Castiel explains to Hannah about how he is trying to fight the spell's effects, but it keeps cutting deeper and deeper into him and he can't fight it off. Hannah asks if the spell has anything to do with the disturbance in Superior, Nebraska, explaining to Castiel that the disturbance set off alarms in Heaven that haven't ever gone off before. Castiel tells Hannah that the alarms are for the Darkness and though Hannah dismisses the Darkness as a story, Castiel states that the Darkness is real and after being locked away since the dawn of Creation, it is now free, terrifying Hannah with the implications.

Hannah demands to know where the Darkness is and when Castiel admits he doesn't know, demands to know if the Winchesters would. As Hannah gets more aggressive, stating that if Castiel is telling the truth it is the end of everything, Castiel begins to grow suspicious of her. Hannah continues to demand to know where Sam and Dean are and for Castiel to think harder when he insists that he doesn't know. Castiel realizes the strangeness of Hannah knowing where he was and asks how Hannah found him in the first place. Though Hannah insists that she saved him, Castiel pieces together the fact that Hannah set the whole thing up so that she could swoop in and rescue him in hopes that he would be so grateful that he would willingly tell her anything that she wants to know. Hannah's reaction to Castiel's words show Castiel that he is right, devastating Castiel as they were friends.

Hannah finally admits to her role in the events, telling Castiel that they were friends before he freed Metatron. Now, the other angels hate Castiel because of what he has done. Before Hannah can answer whether or not she hates him as well, they are interrupted by Efram and Jonah who were watching the meeting the entire time. Efram explains that the angels took a vote and Hannah is doing the job they voted on. When Castiel refuses to give up the Winchesters, Efram and Jonah tell him that they are going to hack his brain to get the information that they want.

Jonah begins forcefully inserting pins into Castiel's head in order to hack Castiel's brain, having seen Naomi perform the process once. Uncomfortable with Castiel's situation, Hannah orders Jonah to stop, but Efram just orders him to leave if she can't bear to watch. Impatient, Efram tries to take over, only to be grabbed by Hannah and ordered to stop again. Enraged by Hannah's actions, Efram knocks the other angel to the ground and begins beating her, threatening to kill Hannah if she gets in his way or touches him again.

As Efram is distracted attacking Hannah, Castiel falls under the influence of the spell again and begins pushing the pins out of his head with telekinesis, something that is quickly noticed by a worried Jonah who attempts to warn the distracted Efram to no avail. Breaking his chair arms, Castiel shoves Efram across the room into a set of shelves and turns on Jonah who attempts to stab him. Castiel grabs Jonah's arm and drives Jonah's angel blade into his abdomen, killing Jonah. As the horrified Hannah calls out to Castiel, she is stabbed through the back of the head and out the mouth by Efram, killing Hannah. Grief-stricken at his friend's death, Castiel attacks Efram, strangling Efram up against a pillar with his handcuffs and using Hannah's dead vessel to keep Efram pinned. Efram breaks free by hitting Castiel in his wounded side and engages in hand-to-hand combat with him. Castiel manages to disarm Efram and stab him with Jonah's angel blade, killing Efram and leaving Castiel horrified by the carnage surrounding him.

Aftermath
After returning to the Men of Letters bunker, the Winchesters find the weakened and injured Castiel waiting for them, seeking help. With Castiel's condition from the Attack Dog Spell worsening, the Winchesters eventually manage to capture Rowena and force her to reverse the spell.

The death of Hannah leaves Heaven in bad shape. Soon after her death, an angel tells a demon he shares a drink with in a bar that Heaven has taken a turn for the worse ever since Hannah died with the leadership taking their time to come up with a plan to fight the Darkness.

Trivia

 * This conflict takes place at the same time as the Rabid Infection of Superior, Nebraska.
 * Despite Efram telling Castiel that they have moved the Heavenly Portal, in subsequent episodes it is shown to still be in the same place.
 * This conflict is the only time that Castiel kills anything in Season 11 aside from a dog he killed under the Attack Dog Spell's influence in Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire. He ends up spending the second half of the season possessed by Lucifer and does not kill again as himself until Season 12 after Lucifer is exorcised by the Darkness.