- The death of a vet and mysterious burns marks on the walls draws the team's attention.
- After the details of a veteran's death don't add up, Carlos brings everyone in to investigate and he shares a detail about his past that makes John see him in a new light. Mary finds an unexpected ally who has been hot on the trail of this monster and Latika tries to help Mary heal and find closure with someone she lost. Meanwhile, John's habit of running headfirst into danger leaves Millie worried for her son.
- At Hannibal Park Hospital in St. Joseph, Missouri, a man staggers out of a hospital room screaming that they're a bunch of vultures. He hears a woman singing in French, and walks down the hallway and finds the remains of a French street. He runs into a room as explosions ring out behind him, and he finds a spear in his hand as a warrior with a horned helmet advances on him, with a golden sword. The warrior says that he's destiny.
In Lawrence, John and Mary are practicing in the backyard. Jack talks about how he went through basic, and thinks of his friend Murph. Mary snaps him out of it by telling him to continue sparring. Mary he takes off her hand pads and tells him that if he has something to get out of his system, John needs something that's going to punch back. He throws punches at Mary, who avoids them and shoves him away. He comes at her, and Mary takes him down and pins him.
Carlos comes out and asks if he's interrupting, and Mary says that they were just sparring. He tells them that Lata and he have some news, and they should come inside. John and Mary go in, and Carlos says that he talked to a friend, Patches Pasternak, who says that there was a strange death at the hospital. When Carlos tells them that Patches is a vet, John is surprised that Carlos hangs out with vets. Carlos says that he was in the Navy as a task force member, and he'd prefer not to talk about his time in the Navy. He tells them that the dead man was found in a locked room in the psych ward. Patches was there and said he looked into the room, and found singes on the wall and Carlos and Lata figure the flames were supernatural in origin. John figures they should go find out, but Mary tells them that they should start by checking out the dead man, Patches.
Once everyone splits up to get ready, Mary asks John if the case with the veterans hits a little close to home. John says that he's fine and starts to go into a room to use the shower to cleanup. Mary slams the door closed and directs him to another room. Lata hears them and comes over, and tells John that it's Maggie's old room. Mary is walking away and hears Lata, and no one has been in there since she was killed on a hunt.
John, Mary, and Lata go in posing as doctors, with Carlos in a body bag on the gurney. They go to the morgue and Carlos goes out the bag, and they pull Patches's corpse out of a drawer. They confirm he was killed by a burning blade, and John sees a cross on a necklace, like the one Murph had. Mary has Carlos get back in the bag, and Lata takes him out on the gurney. Patches's wife comes in and says that she's there to collect Patches's belongings, and she notices that John is still holding Patches's cross. He hand sit to her, thanks her for her husband's service, and walks out.
Stella Pasternak says that Patches came home from the war with anger issues, and he got into it with a doctor on the day he died. She says that Mary is the second person who asked her who the doctor was, and shows Mary the calling card of the other person, the man she went to the movie with, a reporter named Kyle. Mary recognizes his name.
Mary stand at the sink in a nearby bathroom, his hands shake, and he has flashbacks to 'Nam. He sees the horn helmeted warrior's reflection in a mirror, but when he turns the warrior is gone. John punches the towel dispenser in anger, and then goes out and meets with John. She says that she and Lata are going to track down the reporter, while John and Carlos join Patches's therapy group.
John goes back to the Winchester garage to put on his old uniform, and Millie asks about it. He says that he and Carlos are infiltrating a vet's group, and he admits that he isn't comfortable talking about his feelings. His mother tells him that it's actions that matter the most and talk is cheap. Carlos pulls up in his van, wearing his Navy uniform, and takes off his hat to reveal his cropped hair. John introduces Carlos to Millie, and as they go Millie jokingly tells John not to blame his father.
Carlos and John check into the hospital, and the receptionist says that Patches's therapist was Dr. Zimpano, but he's booked up. Carlos flirts with the receptionist, Robin, and convinces her to swap them with Zimpano's current patients.
As Mary and Late walk through the park, Lata suggest that Mary talk about Maggie. Lata says that Maggie always found a way to get past the darkness, and Lata never has. Mary asks for a dime when she sees the reporter, who is the man she met when she went to the movie and called to have him meet her there. She sits down with Kyle and pays him back for the ticket money he loaned her, then says that a friend of the family just passed away. Mary says that she wanted to make sure Kyle wasn't exploiting Patches, and Kyle says that he's been chasing the story and other vets have died in psych wards, the same as Patches.
Carlos and John go into the main room and spot Zimpano, and Carlos tells John to distract him while he goes to the doctor's office and searches it. John goes over to the doughnut table and the other vet there, Jimmy Nixon, introduces himself. John asks about Zimpano, and Jimmy says that he's no miracle worker.
The vets all gather around in a circle, and Carlos speaks up and talks about how he got arrested and the judge said either jail or service. Carlos chose service and was in the Mekong, and talks about how he spotted Viet Cong soldiers watching them. He still sees the dots of their lit cigarettes, and realized that their trauma is the same. Zimpano thanks Carlos for sharing, and Carlos says that he's going to freshen up and John would like to go next.
John says that wants to just listen, but Zimpano pushes him to talk about how his friend died stepping on a land mine.
John breaks into Zimpano's office and goes through his files, and finds the file on Patches. The file reports that he reported seeing a warrior.
John starts shaking, and Zimpano asks him more questions. Jimmy tells him to lay off, and says that Zimpano doesn't listen to any of them, including Patches. He storms off and John goes after him, but Jimmy rounds a corner and disappears. John looks for Jimmy and hears him up ahead in a room, asking someone who he is. When John gets to the room, blood splatters the window and when John runs in, he finds Jimmy dead on the floor, his body hacked open.
When Carlos catches up to John, they call Mary and Lata, and tell them what happened. When Carlo describes the figure that Patches said he saw, Lata says that the description doesn't narrow the possibilities down. Orderlies take Jimmy's body away, and John sees Zimpano look at it as they take it away. John figures that since Zimpano was with the group when Jimmy was killed, he isn't responsible but he's connected with it.
Once Mary hangs up, she looks around the clubhouse for lore. Lata tells her that Men weren't big on pre-Christian lore and myths, but she knows where she can find the creature.
John storms into Zimpano's office, grabs him, and demands to know who the warrior is that he and Patches saw. Zimpano tries to calm him down, and Carlos pulls John away. The doctor insists that there are no monsters in the hospital, and John tells him that he has no idea and storms out. Carlos thanks Zimpano for running the session then goes after John, and asks him if he saw the warrior. John says that he did after picking up Patches's necklace, and it took back memory-wise to his time in 'Nam. Carlos tells him that talking about his time in 'Nam helped, and then says that they should split up, look for more burn marks, and try to find where the solider is.
Lata and Mary go to Maggie's room, and Lata opens the door and they go inside. Mary smiles and talks about her sister, and looks through her books. She finds a box beneath the bed with a letter in Maggie's handwriting about how she saw past the darkness by having a normal life after each hunt. Lata finds a book with a picture of Mars Nato, a Celiberian deity based on the Roman God, Mars. He has a horned helmet and a fiery spear, and the women figure John and Carlos have no idea they're up against a god.
Carlos walks down an empty hallway and then leans against a wall. He hears voices yelling, helicopter blades whirring, lights shining, and police tape falls off the door to the room where Jimmy and Patches were killed. The door opens and Carlos Is pulled in by an invisible force.
John comes along a few minutes later, calling for Carlos. He finds the door to the psych ward room and goes inside, and finds himself in a jungle.
Lata and Mary drive Millie to the hospital, and Lata explains that the hospital will only allow family members to visit. The girl says that according to the lore, Nato has an amphora that contains his essence, and if they can destroy the amphora then John and Carlos can kill Nato. Millie points out that John will always run to an enemy rather than hold back.
John continues through the jungle calling for Carlos, and Carlos staggers out. They hug and Carlos says that he can't find a way out. He figures that they have to face whose in there if they want to get out. John figures if Nato wants a fight then he'll get one. As he walks out, Carlos steps on a land mine and freezes. Nato steps out and says that corporal willing to fight are hard to come by. He takes off his helmet, revealing that he's Jimmy. Nato says that gods can't die but they can bleed, and he did it to get John to embrace his anger and be ready to face the Akrida. The god says that the hunters are too weak to face the Akrida, but John can be sharpened into a powerful weapon.
John asks Nato if he agrees to help him, he'll let Carlos go. Nato says that if John draws first blood, he'll let them both go. A spear appears in John's hands, and he says that he'll do it and charges at Nato.
The women arrive at the hospital and Zimpano talks to them. Millie says that she's John's father and she wants to take him out. When Zimpano says that the ward is in lockdown, Millie threatens to call the press. Robin comes over and tells Zimpano that Jimmy's body has disappeared from the morgue. Zimpano tells the women that he has to deal with and goes.
John and Nato fight.
The women figure that Zimpano's office is their best lead.
Nato knocks John down. He tells John to set the anger in him free and stabs at him, and John rolls away from the stabs. The god kicks John away then pins him to ground, and tells him that his past is holding him back. Nato burns John's arm with his glowing spear blade.
The women find the amphora hidden above the acoustic tiles, and Mary climbs up and gets it, then hands it to Lata.
Nato removes his helmet, tosses it on the ground, and tells John to claim it.
Millie smashes the amphora out of Millie's hand as she admires it.
Nato's spear stops glowing, and John grabs it, snaps the shaft in half, and runs Nato through with it. He then picks up Nato's helmet and hits him with it. As Nato lies dying, he says that he's right and John is just like him. John says that he isn't and beats Nato. Nato says that John is ready for the war against the Akrida and dies. Carlos comes up and says that the mine disappeared. He looks at the blood-covered John, who looks back at him. The jungle disappears.
That night, the group leaves the hospital and meets outside. John wonders why Millie is there, and she says that she's saving him. Carlos tells Lata and Mary that John won. Zimpano comes over and tells Carlos that he's personally committed to making sure the hospital is dedicated to helping the veterans. Mary tells him to talk to Kyle, and Zimpano tells Carlos that he sees a lot of potential for healing and growth.
Once Zimpano leaves, Carlos says that he might not be able to sleep in the van. Mary says that Carlos can stay in Maggie's room, and she thinks she'll have to face what happened and she thinks she knows how to cope. Carlos thanks John for what he did for him, and if John ever wants to talk, he should let Carlos know. John says that he will and leaves
The next day, Mary moves Maggie's things.
Carlos talks to the vet group.
Lata meets with Mary as she sits on the porch, and they write letters about what happened, like Maggie did.
At the garage, Millie finds John sitting in the bathtub, letting the shower rinse him as he kneels. She gets in and hugs him.
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