[h3] Dean and Anya [/h3]

Dean chuckled at Lexi’s response, but as he glanced over at Nat, he winced a bit, his smile still ghosted across his lips. If there was ever a time that he hoped Cason wouldn’t have to bare the brunt of a weapon, having Nat there as a favor was definitely that time. Dean turned his eyes to Sam and Anya, sighing as he watched his brother try to calm any of Anya’s nerves.

Anya melted into Sam as soon as he wrapped his arms around her, and she pressed her head tightly against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. She nodded slowly as Sam explained that they would keep her safe, one way or another. She had to believe him. It was the only thing she could hold onto, when she didn’t even fully know what they were up against. 

As he pulled back, Anya nodded, and she signed a simple, “Okay.”, before walking over to Cason with him. Dean pulled Lexi with him, and he patted Sam on the back as they separated, carrying out a plan that Dean could only hope went off as simply as Cason seemed to think it would. He stepped off into the opposite direction in the woods, from Anna, giving plenty of distance for none of them to be seen during the exchange, and hopefully killing of this rogue demon.

“So, remember the plan. No matter what we hear or see. No matter what he makes us see, we don’t go after her until Cason himself calls an all clear, or comes for us.” Dean explained as they walked, “He said this demon is good at mimicking whatever it has to. We won’t be able to trust each other. So, don’t leave my sight.”

[h3] Cason and Anya[/h3]

Cason nodded as Natalia asked him if he was okay. Other than the bleeding and ringing in his ears, the whistle was more like a taser, temporary, painful, and stunning. Cason pulled an angel blade for himself, and then situated all of the other supplies he needed for the summoning under his own arm. At Nat’s comment about the worry for Anya, Cason shrugged his shoulders, “He’s sweet on her. I remember a time where he didn’t let Anna out of his sight, even knowing she was just as powerful as he was. It’s not that surprising that a simple human would make him anxious. It’s not like she has much other than willpower and the ability to run…to protect herself.”

As he looked around the woods, he noticed that it was a perfect place to plan a circle. Which meant that there was an obvious place to put Natalia, “You’re one of the ones we need the closest, the sharpest. So, I need to you to walk directly that way…count thirty or so steps, and then find a place to hide. Make sure you can hear me, but you can’t see me. It’s the same plan I gave the others. Anya will stay with me. I’ll summon the demon. I’ll offer her up on a cute little platter, and then…she takes him out with Ruby’s knife.”

He turned to Anya and Sam, making eye contact with Anya, “You have the knife?”

Anya pulled the knife from the back of her pants, wiggling it in the moonlight, the light glimmering off of it bringing back a few memories for Cason as he nodded in understanding. He turned his eyes up to Sam, and then nodded in the direction not far from where he told Nat to go. Then, he turned himself back to Nat, “We’ll be fine. Go.”

Anya stepped up close to Cason, reluctantly releasing Sam’s hand, her fingers slipping from his as if she was terrified to let him go. She then followed Cason as he stepped into a clearing and began laying out supplies. He opened a few of the vials that he had brought with him, dropping the contents into the large bowl he was holding. He sat the bowl on the ground, reaching over to pull his angel blade closer and then held his hand out to Anya.

“What?” She signed, and Cason held his hand out with a little more authority. 

“Knife.” He ordered. Anya handed the knife over, but instead of simply taking it, Cason grabbed her wrist, taking the knife from her hand, and then forced her fingers open, slicing open her palm. She hissed in pain, her eyes widening as he held her bleeding hand over the bowl and then released her after he had enough blood. “Sorry. I forgot to mention that. Here…”

Cason pulled a bandana from his pocket, and handed it to Anya, along with the knife. He reached into his jacket pocket, pulling a book of matches, igniting one, and then dropped it into the bowl. The bowl flamed up, causing Anya to flinch, but then Cason pushed her away from him, signaling for her to stand up. She stood, holding the knife out in front of her as she turned in a circle, but everything went quiet.

After a few moments, the moonlight went away. The woods were plunged into darkness, and Cason reached out in the darkness, reaching for Anya. 

“Anya? Anya, I know you can’t call out to me but follow my voice.”

“Oh, sweet baby boy. I’ve removed the little diva from the equation, because…I want to talk to you.” A voice called out in the darkness. Suddenly, the moonlight returned, but only in one place, above Cason and the demon that he had been expecting.

“And what would you want with me?” Cason asked, reaching to the ground to grab the angel blade. As he glanced down, the blade was nowhere to be found, and Anya…was nowhere to be found.

“You’re meddling in the affairs of other demons, and you’re back with the Winchesters. I just find it…curious. I can’t exactly just let go of the fact that you’re this close to the King.”

“What are you talking about? I haven’t seen Crowley in years.” Cason muttered, narrowing his eyes. The demon laughed, tilting his head back as he did so. 

“Dean Winchester is on speed dial with the King of Hell and we’re all supposed to just believe that his pet demon isn’t in the same…pocket?” 

“So, what? You’re going to parlor trick me to death? Snuffing the moon. Concealing the girl. What’s next hm? Unicorns? Rainbows? See…I know the parlor tricks. Even if I had a lead on Crowley, don’t you think I would have brought him with me? Creating fake deals with humans? That’s bad business…” Cason pouted, tilting his head to the side as he disappeared, causing the demon’s eyes to widen and the moonlight to return as he looked for him. Anya reappeared as well, and the demon simply picked her up by her throat, carrying her off into the woods. Cason appeared beside him, angel blade in hand, and swiped.

But the demon quickly tossed Anya, returning the moonlight so that Cason could see her flying through the air, before the moonlight disappeared again, and Cason only caught a glimpse of her scared face as she reached for him, begging for him to help her.

“No!”

In the woods around them, a voice began to echo, almost disembodied, and quiet. It was Anya’s voice, touching each individual person. To Dean, and Lexi, the voice was screaming from no particular direction. The loud scream of their names, and “HELP ME!” Called out in the darkness, causing Dean to flinch and turn, searching with his eyes narrowed, as if he could see through the piercing black.

To Sam, the voice simply called his name a few times, before whispering “We did it. My voice! It’s back. Come this way, Sam. I love you. Isn’t it perfect? We can move on now!”

And not far from Cason, as he trampled through the woods in the dark, trying to find Anya, Anya crawled, backing herself up with some effort and a broken arm to a tree. The demon stepped up in front of her, illuminating himself with a sickening grin as her own voice echoed through the woods, “Isn’t your voice beautiful? I was going to give it to you, you know. But then…you brought them. You brought the Winchesters.”

Anya reached behind her as he spoke, and she wrapped her fingers around the knife she had dropped. As soon as she picked up the knife, she held it still, just glaring at the demon as she cried, the pain in her arm intense. She groaned as she pulled her other arm up, before the demon could get any closer to her, and pulled the whistle to her lips, blowing it with every bit of force in her lungs.

She heard Cason cry out in the darkness, fully planning to apologize later, but as the demon in front of her bent double and covered his ears, Anya kept blowing the whistle, groaning as she rolled forward onto her knees, stabbing Ruby’s knife directly between the demon’s ribs. He sparked, his eyes wide and his ears bleeding, before he fell to the ground Dead and the moonlight illuminated the woods, almost brighter than before.

Anya collapsed, whistle still in her mouth as she nearly passed out, holding her broken arm to her chest.