JustAnna

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna and Dean

Dean cried quietly into Sam’s shoulder as everyone seemed to be preparing to get him cleaned up, around him. He barely even heard them as they spoke, through the roaring in his head as a lot of hard truths sunk in. Dean unwrapped his arms from Sam as he felt him begin to walk after a few moments, wrapping an arm around his shoulder as he tried to help his brother with his own weight. Dean was exhausted, and he was emotionally spent. He honestly felt like he was going to pass out from a mixture of lack of sleep, the fight, and finally getting his emotions out of his system. But he took each step slowly.

Anna stepped back into the bathroom, when she heard Nat and Sam bringing Dean up the stairs. She took an extra towel out of the small linen closet, and quickly wetted it under the bathroom faucet, before stepping back out into the room, just as they walked through the door. As she expected, the second that Sam lowered Dean onto the bed, Dean basically passed out, and Anna sighed sadly, dropping her shoulders.

“Poor guy.” She sighed, turning to look up at Sam as Nat picked up Dean’s hand and Sam asked if she wanted them to stay. Anna shrugged her shoulders, walking to the small dressing chair Bobby kept in the corner of the room, by the window. She picked it up, and turned it where Sam could straddle the back the way that he preferred. She sat it down on the floor and patted the seat, “Then why don’t we all stay for him. Until Duke comes home, I think we should focus on keeping Dean sane and resting…”

Anna didn’t like taking control of situations, especially after what had happened with Dean, but she couldn’t just let him bleed and suffer because she was angry with him. Whether he saw her as family or not, she was his family. Anna unfolded the towel in her hand and she stepped up to the bed, sitting on the edge near Dean’s head. She reached across and began cleaning the blood from his nose, forehead and cheeks. As she wiped the damp towel across his busted eyebrow, he opened his eyes and frowned, “Anna?”

“Shh. Be still. I’m gonna clean you up.” Anna stopped him, shaking her head. Dean scanned her face and his own melted into sadness all over again, but Anna shook her head once again. “Don’t even think about apologizing while you look like this. I want you in your right mind before you bother with groveling.”

Anna smirked softly, brushing the wet rag over the last of the blood near Dean’s ear. She gave his earlobe a slight tug, and shrugged her shoulders, watching as he seemed to almost smile before closing his eyes. Anna brushed the wet towel over his neck, cleaning up the drips of blood that had trickled down, and then reached across, handing the towel to Natalia.

“If you want to clean up his hands, I’m about to start working on his face. He doesn’t need stitches. A few butterflies and an ice pack and he should be alright. But he’s gonna sleep like a rock and be sore tomorrow. I would ask if we should undress him, but he looks like dead weight right now.” Anna explained. She reached her hands down and lifted Dean’s t-shirt up, brushing her fingers over his stomach gently, trying not to wake him as she checked for any sign of bruises or pain. Other than some bruising on his elbows, knuckles and probably his knees, he seemed pretty unharmed. “I think he’ll be alright until he can shower tomorrow.”

Anna opened the first aid kit, and she pulled a hand full of butterfly bandages and some ointment. She then started to work on Dean’s eyebrow, which seemed to be the worst wound.

Cason and Duke

Cason sighed and gritted his teeth so hard he thought they would shatter out of his mouth when Esme instantly uttered the words he was hoping she wouldn’t. Of course she wasn’t going to do anything he was asking of her. It was the way of practically every human he had come in contact with in this dysfunctional little self sacrificing mess of a family. He almost reached his hand up to choke her, but remembered that it wasn’t the way he handled his problems anymore. So, instead, he closed his eyes and let an angry sigh leave his nose as he contemplated his next words to convince her not to run the clock out on Duke, by arguing with Cason.

“Fine. Fine you can…” Cason paused, looking around as he tore his eyes away from Esme’s and attempted to find some way that she could go in with him safely. But the longer he scanned the building, he couldn’t find a single way to guarantee her safety. Her next words took him off guard, and he turned his eyes down to look at her once again, furrowing his brow at the mental image of Nat even getting herself into a situation like the one Duke was in. He didn’t even want to fathom the things he would do to get her out alive, and unfortunately, Esme had found his weak spot, “I would kill every single one of them in five seconds…and I would bring her home.”

He sighed, and glanced around the warehouse once again, pointing to the demons that hadn’t seen or heard them yet, perched around one of the entrances, “I’ll need you to fight your way in. I won’t be able to save you, if I’m trying to pull him out. So, don’t get overwhelmed or knocked down. Take out as many as you can, and meet me inside the door, quietly, in the dark, until I can take care of the rest. Mess this up and you die. I don’t know any other way to explain it to you…”

Without saying another word, Cason disappeared, and he reappeared in the warehouse, directly in front of the head demon. Cason stepped out of the shadows and Duke’s eyes instantly flashed with fear as he recognized him, and began to glance around for Esme. Cason snapped his fingers at Duke, causing his eyes to turn back to his, and Cason simply shook his head, telling Duke that he wasn’t stupid enough to have brought Esme with him…at least inside.

“Cason. I never thought I’d see you with my own two eyes again. Wow.” The demon in front of Duke called to Cason as he stepped into the light with a smirk.

“Yeah, yeah. Lilith wants my head on a pike. We can skip the chit chat. I’m here for the Cowboy.” Cason quipped across the room, his voice echoing off the walls, almost as clearly as the laugh that followed.

“See, he came for us. I figure he’s fair game. The Winchesters would understand…and wait a second.” The demon released Duke, stepping forward while pointing the long silver blade in his hand at Cason. Cason didn’t flinch or move, still smirking, “Why would the Winchesters send a demon to pick up their strays? Which one of the hot little pieces are you rolling with, hmm? The blonde one? No. The tall drink of water? See last I saw, she was…”

Duke growled, and the demon chuckled as Cason’s eyes darted to Duke’s teary eyes and Cason shook his head.

“The sister? Oh…oh this is good. This is real good. Two Winchesters bedding down with demons. Won’t Hell just be tickled…” 

“You know. You always did talk too much, Sal. So, why don’t we get this overwith. You and me. I win, Cowboy comes with me. You win? Well, the Winchesters have a couple more bodies to burn.” Cason offered, holding his hands out to his sides. The demon spun the blade around his hand, causing Cason to watch every move of the bright silver. “What do you say old buddy?”

“Deal.” Sal growled, and rushed forward, swinging and missing Cason’s face by centimeters. Without missing a beat, Cason caught his hand, turned the blade with a crack of Sal’s wrist and shoved it through his sternum with a bright light and a scream from Sal’s burning body. Cason’s eyes widened, and he stared at the blade for a few seconds. Another weapon that could kill demons?

Footsteps alerted him that demons were moving in. So, he dropped Sal’s body and turned, slicing two demons throats before they could fully approach him. From across the room, he could hear Duke fighting his own battles, demons being killed. So, he decided to turn and back his way toward Duke. The mission was to get Duke out of here, not to kill every demon in the building. As soon as he and Duke touched, their shoulders bumping together, the demons stopped coming, realizing that they had no weapons to use against Cason and Duke both…who had weapons that could fully kill demons.

“Don’t you smoke out now…C’mon!” Cason screamed at them, but the remaining six demons began tilting their heads back, smoking out of their bodies with a chorus of screams. With a growl, Cason stepped forward, chopping one of their heads off. And then it was quiet as the bodies dropped to the ground around Cason and Duke. 

Cason turned to Duke, expecting him to just come with him, “Let’s go.”

“No!” Duke screamed out of nowhere, turning his exhausted teary eyes up to Cason’s face as he pulled the knife out in front of his body, pointing at Cason’s chest.

“Duke…I promised them I would bring you home, and I will bring you home, one way or another. I don’t want to hurt you.” Cason explained slowly, and Duke simply chuckled. Cason held the blade out in front of himself, and dropped it to the sandy floor at his feet, holding his empty hands up. “I don’t…want to hurt you.”
“Well that’s the mistake right there, ain’t it. I’m DONE losing people. I’m DONE runnin’. And I’m real sick and tired of bein’ saved…” Duke choked out, his voice rising as he spoke and distraught tears falling down his cheeks, over his nose and off the tip of his chin. Cason nodded and kept his hand out toward Duke.

“I know. As a demon, you’re not gonna believe me, but I know. I know that right now, this feels hopeless. You just lost the one person who believed in you, no matter what. She was the one person who never pointed out your faults, she never picked you last, even when it came to Dean. I know…” Cason attempted to explain, stepping forward slowly. He placed that outstretched hand on Duke’s shoulder, and Duke reacted immediately, stabbing the knife into Cason’s stomach with a sob. Duke quickly removed the blade as Cason sparked a few times and stepped back with a gasp, holding the open and sparking wound.

“NO! You don’t get to talk about her!” Duke screamed, rushing Cason. He tackled Cason to the ground and pointed the knife down at Cason’s face, trying to force the tip into his eye socket. Cason grabbed both his hands, resisting as they both growled loudly, Duke’s growls a sob of mixed emotions. Cason almost managed to flip Duke, but in the process, Duke buried the knife deep into Cason’s shoulder, causing Cason to scream, echoing through the warehouse as he sparked, his skeleton showing behind the brilliant gold. Duke removed the blade and held it in his hand, so tight that his knuckles were white.
Duke leaned back, beating at his forehead a couple of times as he growled out a regretful sob and Cason took the opportunity, throwing a heavy punch that landed against Duke’s temple, knocking him almost completely out. Duke slumped over onto the dusty floor, the knife still clutched in his fist as Cason gasped for air, growling between ragged breaths. This felt nice and familiar…

Duke groaned, rolling onto his back as Cason rolled over onto his stomach, standing from the ground as quickly as he could. Now on his feet, Cason stepped away from Duke, trying to put some distance between himself and Ruby’s knife while his wounds began to slowly heal.

“I’m…I’m taking…” He inhaled a breath, barely able to fully breathe in, and then spit some blood onto the floor. “I’m t-taking you home.”

“No…” Duke groaned, slowly rising to his knees and then his feet. He stumbled, but stood on confident feet as he squared up. “Kill me. Let’s go.”

“I’m not going to kill you and I don’t want to hurt you, kid. There’s a girl who is likely about to walk through that door and she would…well…she wouldn’t survive that. I’m done losing people too....”

Duke punched Cason across the face, breaking his nose instantly, which Cason reacted to by punching Duke in the stomach, doubling him up before connecting an uppercut to his chin, knocking him completely back like a tree falling in the forest. But as soon as Duke hit the ground, he rolled onto his stomach, coughed, and began to rise again, causing Cason to sigh and roll his eyes.

“Stay down. I’m not going to kill you, idiot.” Cason groaned, standing over Duke. Duke swiped the knife from the ground as he stood to his shaky legs and turned to swipe it at Cason’s throat. Cason tilted his head back and the blade barely missed but somehow ended up lodged in his thigh, straight to the bone. With a growl, Cason started to reach for the blade, trying to take control, but Duke grabbed it first, twisting and pulling it from Cason’s thigh. Cason reached out, catching Duke’s wrist and snapping it with one flick of his own. Duke cried out, the knife slipping from his hand. Cason caught the knife, and quickly pulled Duke to his chest, jamming the tip of Ruby’s knife into Duke’s chin, small drops of blood pouring down the sides.

“The next round? I’ll break both your legs. You’re human. That arm’s gonna take long enough.” Cason growled in Duke’s ear, his eyes black and his head holding Duke’s still on the tip of the blade. Duke whimpered, trying to pull away, but Cason’s other hand reached around, caging Duke to his body, while putting pressure on his broken wrist. “Stop it!”

“Just k-kill me!” Duke cried out, nudging his own chin against the tip of the blade, but Cason turned the blade, pressing the sharp edge against his throat instead. Cason nudged himself a little closer to Duke’s ear, and softened his voice.

“I’m not going to do that. You have people who love you…still. There are people at that house who are depending on me to bring you home. I know this hurts. I know that everything in your body is screaming at you to run away, to do something stupid. But would your sister want you to tear yourself apart and get yourself killed because she died? We…will kill Lilith.” Cason almost cooed in Duke’s ear, feeling the poor guy nearly melting in his arms from grief. As he felt him relax, he kept the knife in place, but loosened his grip on Duke’s broken arm, “I will stand there with you…side by side if that’s what you want. I will hold her, while you drive this blade through her heart. But I will NOT let you die…here. I will not kill you and I will not let you continue down this path, because they need you. Esme…needs you. As much as you’re angry with your brother, he just lost the love of his life.”

“They don’t need me. They got each other.” Duke whimpered, now nearly limp against Cason’s chest. 

“And they don’t need another loss. None of them. Dean barely made it out of that room by the skin of his teeth. Your sister…she died. Sam fried half his brain killing Alastair and may be hanging on by a thread. Anna is trying to take care of everyone and hold them together. You’re the only one…the ONLY one that managed to come out of this situation fully…human and whole with someone on your side. I’m bringing you back as close to that as I can. I have to, man.” Cason whispered to Duke, and for the first time, Cason heard an emotion come out of Duke that wasn’t just rage screams and growls. He whimpered, and then a sob broke from his chest, deflating him as Cason loosened the hold on his neck. Cason shifted his arm, wrapping his arm around Duke’s neck to hug him to his body, “There you go. Esme?! A little help?!”

“I don’t know what to do…” Duke sobbed, and Cason nodded against the side of his head.

“I know. And that’s where the others come in. Let them…let them help you. Come back with me, and let them help. I got you…” Cason cooed to him, and even though Duke wasn’t entirely sure why, he tilted his head back on Cason’s shoulder and just cried, no more fighting. Cason sighed with relief, and just let him for a few moments before shifting his body to drape one of Duke’s arms over his shoulder, wrapping an arm around his waist. The poor guy was almost limp with exhaustion and grief. But at least he was going home, and Esme wouldn’t have to burn his body along side of Mika’s…

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Anya

Anya blinked at the sky as she lay there, trying to recenter herself through the pain in her arm and the shock to her system of actually fighting and killing something. She had killed something! She had won a fight that honestly, should have killed her. She knew she owed a lot of it to the whistle just happening to be enchanted. But she also had held on long enough to use the stupid thing. Dean would have so much fun with the fact that their idea had worked after all, with a little extra oomph.

As Sam showed up, his face appearing in front of hers, curtained by his hair, Anya smiled softly, releasing the whistle as he pulled it from her mouth. She held her broken arm close to her chest as he scooped her up, and she leaned her head against his chest with a sigh and a rumbling growl from her chest. Part of her was so relieved that it was all over. The other part of her was so disappointed that she couldn’t have her voice back. She couldn’t talk to Sam. She would always have to rely on her hands to communicate with him, complicating a lot of things, even if he didn’t seem bothered.

She brought her good hand up, trying to decide on the best way to sign to him one handed. She chose to just sign letters out slowly with the one hand, “I am good. But ow…”

Anya chuckled and placed that hand on Sam’s jaw, before the buzzing in her head grew a bit louder and she fainted with a soft sigh, falling limp in his arms.

“She’ll be alright.” Anna sighed, stepping up beside them as Anya fell limp. Anna crossed her arms, angel blade draped over her elbow as she listened closely for Anya’s breathing, confirming in her mind that she was okay. She was just in a bit of shock. “Hospital or home job?”

Cason

Cason removed his hands from his ears and he gasped for air for a few moments, letting his vision return to normal as he looked around him, and finally his eyes settled on Anya, lying in a heap on the ground. Sam skidded to her side, and scooped her up, causing Cason’s head to burn with worry, as Nat reached him. He shook his arms and his legs, standing from his knees to crack his neck. He pulled his hand up and wiped a stream of blood from his nose, before nodding at Natalia.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m good.” He muttered, wrapping his arm around Nat’s waist after a moment. As she called out for Dean and Lexi, Cason checked her over, seeing nothing wrong with her other than a bit of dirt on her clothes from hiding. His shoulders relaxed, and he turned his eyes back to Anya, hearing Anna confirm that Anya was at least going to live, but he had misjudged the whole situation horribly, “I had no idea he had like…trickster levels of bullshit in his tank. Most of these guys are just Vegas magicians with a bit of hell power behind them. He controlled the whole area. And now Anya’s hurt. I couldn’t have seen that coming. I should have…but…”

Cason sighed, as the acid burn of human guilt washed over his brain, “I don’t know how I’m gonna explain that to her.”

Dean

Dean could barely concentrate as the moon turned the woods into a night club, but in slow motion. Anya’s voice screaming for help caused his heart to clench as he reached out for Lexi in the dark, half tempted to break his own rules and pull her to him, just to keep them both safe. He was also tempted to run after Anya, to find the source of her voice and save her. But then the light just came back on, accompanied by quiet, and the whistle blowing loudly through the echoing woods. Cason and the demon screamed with the whistle, and Dean knew right then that it was all an illusion. The light, the voices, everything.

Before he could really compute what was happening, his head turned toward Sam running after Anya, disregarding Dean’s instructions to ignore everything they saw or heard. He didn’t know if Sam had heard Anya screaming, or something else, but either way, his brother was running into danger, surely getting himself killed in the process, “Sam! Wait!”

Dean caught Lexi’s own concern for Sam and he nodded, running over to her. He grabbed her hand, shifting his blade into his opposite hand as he dragged her with him through the woods, trying to follow Sam’s footsteps. He stayed back, giving Sam a chance to defend himself from afar. But then Sam skidded to a stop next to Anya, and Dean’s eyes widened. He froze for a moment, only brought out of his worry by Nat’s voice calling for him and Lexi, “We’re over here. We’re all here.”

“Sam, what’s our move, here? Is this all over?”

Cason nodded, and held a hand out to Dean, “Yeah. Yeah, it’s all over. Demon’s dead. His contract that wasn’t valid in the first place is dead with him.”

“Good. So, we’re all in one piece? I mean, other than…” Dean stopped himself, dropping his hand at his side as guilt washed over his own face, matching Cason’s. “Demon’s dead. She’s good. The demon’s dead…”

All Roads Lead To You

Duke

Duke frowned playfully as Esme explained that of all people she had managed to get wrapped up in, the man was the owner of the place. He simply settled, noticing how relaxed Esme seemed to feel in his arms, safe and sound, like nothing in the world could harm her as long as he was around. If that’s what she was feeling, she was absolutely right. Unfortunately, or fortunately, he would kill every man in the room if she asked him to…without thinking.

As she thanked him for the offer, Duke shrugged, but he raised his eyebrows behind his mask as Esme kissed his cheek. He was about to quip about ‘impulses and protectiveness’. But his words were a bit lost in the haze of affection that she seemed to be showing, all the tension between them erased, finally. Duke watched her smirk carefully, as he could almost taste the mischief behind it, just as he tightened his grip around her waist, pulling her tight against his chest.

It was then that he confirmed what he thought he had felt earlier in the night. Either she was wearing some very intense shape wear, or Esme…had sticky fingers, like him. Maybe they were more alike than Duke had given her credit. He came out of his thoughts when Esme offered him the opportunity to beat up a couple of random guys that had obviously played the same game as the owner.

“Now see…this is why Dean sendin’ me out to dance with you is dangerous. I would love…nothing more…than to break all of their hands into tiny little pieces. But unfortunately, I’m supposed to be a good boy until Dean is finished upstairs. He said to give him thirty minutes, and then I can show my ass.” Duke chuckled, leaning in close to Esme’s face boldly. He brushed her nose with his, drawing even more glances from the rich folks around them, “And judgin’ by the metal that I can tell is just diggin’ into that pretty little chest of yours, I know why my sticky fingers didn’t bother you a bit. You’re a bandit…like me.”

Duke smiled brightly, tilting Esme back as he took a step forward and dipped her dramatically in the center of the dance floor. He whipped her up just as dramatically, pulling her back to his chest tightly as he turned them both in a circle and a few women began to hover. Duke politely pulled his hand away from Esme’s back, holding it up to turn the women down before they ever asked, “And something about you goin’ around with a bunch of rich folks, stealin’ their goods, drinkin’ up all their liquor? Well, it hits different when we’re both dressed like this.”

Duke chuckled, surprised at his own confidence, without any alcohol. Maybe it was the fact that he could get the entire party in their feelings with the smell of old money oozing off him, and Esme’s mingling. He could almost feel the jealous tension, as the men and women partnered up, the men trying to show him up, and the women glaring at Esme, like she was personally offending them by existing. Honestly, Duke didn’t care about any of them. He had about fifteen minutes to show Esme a good time, before Dean inevitably came back, whisked her away for the night, and Duke became third wheel again.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean and Anya

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.”

Cason and Anya

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.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Duke

Duke walked quickly to his truck. As he patted his jeans pocket, he realized that his keys weren’t in his pocket and thinking about it, he wasn’t honestly sure where they were. He didn’t have time to go searching Esme’s things trying to find them. He had to go. He had to go right then or he risked hurting even more people in the house. He wasn’t safe to be around. The only thing he could think about was revenge…and hate…and pain.

To his relief, when he reached the truck, the door was unlocked. He pulled the door open, and quickly reached below the steering wheel, pulling the panel open. He reached into his pocket, pulling his pocket knife, and stripped the wires to the starter, touching them together. They sparked, and Duke reached in with his hand, pressing down on the gas pedal to bring the truck to life. He carefully let off the gas, and he used the knife to press the metal of the wires against the steering column, crimping them together so the truck would stay running. After that, he tossed Ruby’s knife across the seat and climbed into the truck, putting it in gear as quick as he could, before peeling out of the parking spot.

Unfortunately, he heard Esme screaming at him, as he drove off, but he didn’t slow down. Even if she wanted him around, out of habit, she would never forgive him for hitting her, for hurting Dean or for showing that level of rage. It wasn’t him, and he knew it, but there was no way he could explain that to Esme…not now. He passed through the ‘Singer Salvage’ sign and out onto the road, not entirely sure where he was planning to go.

Duke reached across as he drove, and he pulled one of his cellphones from the glove box, flipping it open and speed dialing a number. The person on the other line picked up relatively quick, as Duke glanced up at himself in the rearview mirror and sniffled, “Hey Raina. That thing you said Chase couldn’t handle a few days ago with the demons…”

The person on the other line spoke for a second and Duke nodded his head at no one, tightening his grip on the steering wheel as he tightened his jaw.

“Yeah. I know I said I had bigger issues. But some time just opened up and I need that address for tonight. Call it a sudden urge to work.” Duke explained and the woman continued asking him questions, which was making his blood boil the more he had to explain himself. “No. No the Winchesters won’t be with me. I got this though. Text me the address.”

Duke hung up the phone, not willing to answer anymore questions. After a few moments, his phone chimed, and he read the message, knowing the exact location. He wasn’t sure he was in the shape to fight anyone, with his injuries and how tired he was, but he was sure going to try. Blaze of glory or not, he had to kill something…

————

A bit later in a warehouse just south of Sioux Falls

Duke slit the throat of a female demon, dropping her to the ground with disregard before turning in a squat toward a male that was patiently circling him, stalling for backup. Duke knew what they were doing. He had already killed five of them. There was no telling how many were coming from there. His eyes were dilated, his face a constant bloody snarl and his hand held Ruby’s knife as if it was his life blood as he stared down the demon.

“I’m finishin’ this…right here. I want Lilith.” Duke growled and the demon laughed, his head fully thrown back in a cackle, before turning to a giggling pout.

“You’re so adorable. What you want is Alastair. I can smell it. But unfortunately for you, the blood junkie with the mutton chops finished him off before you could get to him. Shame about your sister, really…she was…special.” The demon sneered at Duke, as Duke gripped the knife tighter, his blood boiling at the fact that a demon would even dare to bring Mika up, after what they did to her. 

“Shut your mouth and tell me how to get to Lilith.”

“One hot piece of ass dies, and suddenly, the Winchesters send their little…blonde…ticking time bomb to kill Lilith? And while he’s half broken. Wow. Escalation. What good is it going to do your sweet little soul to kill her? She’s not…”

“She’ll do!” Duke screamed suddenly, holding the knife out in front of him as the demon took a step forward. 

“And you’ll feel nothing. Just like right now. You have gallons…GALLONS of demon blood all over your hands, washed in it like holy water, and you feel…nothing. But you’re about to feel a lot…of pain.” 

As the demon finished his words, the panels that covered the roof of the warehouse began to flutter in the wind, the lights flickering and buzzing above their heads. Then, the doors on all sides burst open, and demons poured in. There were close to a dozen of them, if Duke was counting right. He was screwed…

“Alright. Well come on! I know which direction I’m goin’…so I’m gonna send as many of you black eyed sons of bitches to Hell as I can on my way upstairs.” Duke called out to them. They didn’t move, just standing there, which caused Duke to tilt his head to the side, confused. 

“Who are you to the Winchesters?” A male demon asked, stepping forward through a small crowd of demons, his head tilted as he pointed a knife Duke had never seen before at him. It was long and silver, almost like a bright little sword. “Oh, you’re wondering about this? Angel squabble. They’re being picked off…apparently by their own. And when they drop? So do these little guys. Can kill almost anything. I’ll ask again, who are you to the Winchesters?”

“Dead weight. A liability. Thorn in the side. I ain’t nothin’ to them they can’t lose.” Duke shrugged, his voice hoarse and tired as he stared the demon down casually. 

“You came here…hurt. Your face is busted, your hands are bruised and if I can hear that right, you have a cracked rib. This is a suicide mission for you.”

“There are worse ways to go out, I guess. At least I know where I’m goin’…Already been there. Already done that. Look, if you think takin’ me or killin’ me is gonna drive you right into the arms of the Winchesters, I got bad news for you. If you haven’t noticed…they ain’t here. They didn’t come after me.” Duke slurred, his eyes fixed on the silver blade that was twirling around in the man’s hand.

“It almost grosses me out to have to kill you.” The demon spoke up, his nose snarled at Duke’s lack of care for his own wellbeing. “Wait a second…I recognize that accent. You’re…Dean Winchester’s little blonde friend. What’s the name again? Hatfield.”

“Let me guess…just spitballin’. You a McCoy? Is that what the beef is here? It’s been like 200 years. Get over it already.” Duke smirked and the demon chuckled lightly, taking a step forward. Duke took one step back, stepping into the chest of a much larger demon, who wrapped his arms around Duke’s body, stomping his foot against the back of Duke’s left knee and dropping him hard onto his knees on the floor.

Cason

Cason felt Sam at his side as Sam began to pull Dean away from Duke, before Duke ever left. Cason took a step back, holding a hand out to try and stop Esme from running after Duke. There was no way she could stop him if she tried, and even if Cason could pop into the truck and do his best to stop him from running off, Duke was upset and he had a knife that could kill Cason with one good swing. After a few moments, Cason did turn around to look at Nat, his head tilting with sympathy at how terrified she seemed.

He didn’t have much of a chance to run over to her, or to check on her, when Esme came back. His head snapped to her as she called his name, scanning her face and his own face flooding with sympathy as she explained that though they didn’t have the most sound history, she was asking him for a favor. He had already decided to go after Duke before Esme ever asked him. He nodded his head and held up a hand, telling her to stop with her offers, as she said she owed him.

As Nat agreed with Esme from behind him, Cason took a deep breath, “I’ll bring him back, and then we’ll decide who owes who, alright? What I need from you, is permission to bring him back by any means necessary. He doesn’t like me. I can’t guarantee he’s going to come willingly.”

He turned, as he waited for the go ahead from Esme, walking over to Nat with a sad look on his face, “And I’ll be back. Alright? I’m gonna come back for Esme. She can come to back me up with him. I’ll be back.”

Cason leaned in and kissed Nat deeply, wiping her tears with his thumbs, before pulling back and pressing his forehead to hers, scanning her eyes with a look that he knew she would read as ‘I’ll take care of you’. Then he stepped back and he disappeared, reappearing outside of a train yard at first. He listened, his head buzzing with sounds from his contacts as he placed the order out for them to ask around, or drop into a few places. Within seconds, several of them said the same place, described Duke and used the name ‘Hatfield’.

“There you are…” Cason smiled, before disappearing and reappearing just outside the warehouse where Duke was losing his hand, and it felt as if he was going to lose it rapidly, and bloody…and willingly. Cason sighed, before disappearing once again and reappearing in Bobby’s living room, wrapping his arm around Esme without a word. They both landed in the parking lot of the warehouse, and Cason quickly pulled Esme into a shadow, pressing her back against the side of the building.

“No matter what you hear…not matter what you’re feeling, you stay here. I will call your name when it’s safe. But right now? I have to go and kill my way in. I’m gonna have to try and convince him to come with me. I might need help with that. But there are a dozen demons around him, right now. You can’t go with me.” Cason explained calmly, but his eyes were serious and worried. “He found himself a nest and he’s going to lose unless I go get him.”

Dean

Dean groaned as Sam’s arms wrapped around his body, realizing that it was over, but also, Sam was there. He had issues besting Sam on his best day, but in the shape he was in, he had to just submit to being pulled across the floor by his baby brother. Being pulled to his feet made his entire body feel like lead, as he stumbled against Sam and took a deep breath, rocking on his feet. He grabbed Sam’s shirt tightly in his fist, using his brother’s larger frame to hold him up.

But Sam just echoed Duke’s words. Sam was right, and in some small part of Dean’s brain, he wanted to argue with him, and tell him not to talk about Mika as if she had a choice. But that would likely start another fight that he couldn’t win. He turned his eyes up to look at Sam’s, seeing how large and teary they were. His own swollen eyes softened, and the tears bubbled up, as he couldn’t really say anything.

Unfortunately, Sam and Duke were right…

Dean leaned in, exhausted and emotionally devastated and he nodded, before leaning his face on Sam’s shoulder, all of the emotion from the past few days crashing down around him in what felt like his first tears since Mika died. She was gone. There was nothing he could do to bring her back. He was holding onto her too tight, and it wasn’t right. This whole thing wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair, but he was being selfish. Dean broke, his quiet sobs shaking his shoulders as he wrapped an arm around Sam and he clutched the back of his shirt for dear life, finally allowing himself to mourn.

“Should I um…should I get a bed ready for him?” Anna asked, her own voice quivering with sadness as she watched Dean just release all of his emotions on Sam, now that they were touching. Anna whisked a tear away from her cheek, and she didn’t wait for Sam to answer her, simply turning to walk up the stairs, “When he calms down, bring him up. I’ll patch him up. Bring an ice pack.”

Once in Mika’s room, Anna looked around, trying to avoid reminders of Mika. She removed a few of Mika’s things from view, placing them in the closet so that Dean wouldn’t have to simply stare at them. She then walked to the bathroom, and rummaged around until she found a large first aid kit. She grabbed it, and a couple of towels, tossing them on the bed.

All Roads Lead To You

Dean and Duke

Dean gave another apologetic look to Esme as she turned her eyes back to him. He didn’t want to even bother with the job at this point, and with her in that dress, but he didn’t have a choice. They couldn’t come out of the party empty handed, or Bobby would kill them for damaging his reputation. Dean nodded, “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

He then turned and jogged up the stairs, trying to catch up with Duke. Duke met him at the top, scanning the hallway for the door the ex-wife had instructed him to find. His eyes fell on the double doors at the end of the hallway and he smiled brightly, turning to Dean.

“It’s that one.” He beamed, pointing to it.

“And how do you know that they’ll just…let us in?” Dean asked, genuinely curious. Duke looked around them in the hallway, and he shrugged his shoulders. Other than a few people mingling around them, most of the rooms seemed pretty unguarded. It was as if the owners didn’t figure anyone would be stupid enough to mess with anything inside, alarmed and ready to scream to the masses.

“I don’t see nobody tryin’ to stop us, do you? Look like you own the place. We don’t have faces.” Duke tapped his finger on Dean’s mask, before stepping away from him. He dug in his pocket and pulled his lock picking kit, quickly assembling his pick as he approached the door. It didn’t take long for him to figure out what needed to be done, and with a small press and a click, Duke was in. Dean scanned the hallway, blocking anyone’s view from Duke breaking in, and as Duke pushed the door open a bit, Dean slipped in and Duke followed quickly behind him. Duke closed the door quietly behind them, and he turned, smiling brightly with his tongue between his teeth at the sight of the giant leather couch in the center of the room, “She wasn’t lyin’ about the couch!”

Dean rolled his eyes, as he scanned the room for the necklace case, “Can you focus for ten seconds. Ten seconds is all I need your brain for.”

“Hey! Don’t you go innocent on me just because you have a girlfriend. Back in the day, you would have been just as excited about that couch, and a hot billionaire ready to use and abuse you on it!” Duke defended himself, stepping away from the door. He walked straight to the shelf that held what looked like the most expensive artifacts in the room. Just as he suspected, there was a pedestal to its right, and inside the glass case on top? The necklace.

Dean tilted his head with his lips pressed together at Duke’s teasing. Duke wasn’t…completely wrong. The thought of being settled down honestly felt weird to Dean but he had to shake himself from any dirty thoughts and they had work to do. Duke was already working, scanning up the sides of the pedestal as Dean walked over to him.

“So, do we have what we need to break it open?” Dean asked, as Duke carefully pulled one of his other tools from the inner pocket of his jacket. Duke didn’t say anything at first, as he found the edge of the alarm system door. He popped it open with his multitool, and studied the wires inside for a moment. He glanced up at the glass and then back at the wires, following them with his eyes like he was studying an invisible manual. Then he looked up at Dean and nodded.

“You remember how to track wires?” Duke asked, and Dean rolled his eyes with a huff, “I’m just makin’ sure before I hand you tools. I don’t need this thing screamin’ out like a fire alarm. I’ll do it myself, if you can’t.”

Dean mocked Duke comically as he reached down and snatched the tool from his hand and waved him off, “I can cut the right wire. What you need to do is to get downstairs and make sure that Esme’s not been whisked away by some billionaire playboy.”

“Is someone worried?” Duke teased him, although Duke could feel the unease rumbling up in his own stomach at the idea of some billionaire ‘untouchable’ type groping and dragging Esme around the room. Dean growled and rolled his eyes again, causing Duke to raise his hands, cutting him off before he could rant. “Fine. I’ll go down there. I’ll get her a drink and I’ll mingle. But don’t take all night, alright? Make it less than twenty.”

“Thirty.” Dean grumbled as he he lifted one of the wires to get started.

“Fine, thirty.” Duke conceded, before turning and walking to the door. He turned the handle, turning the lock on his way out, and then closed the door behind him as he casually walked down the hall and back down the stairs. He straightened his mask beneath his hat and began weaving himself through the crowd, looking for Esme’s unique dress color amongst all the black and maroon dresses.

His eyes landed on her after a moment, and he searched for her eyes, cringing a bit at the way the man’s hands were traveling over her body. When he finally found her eyes, he locked his gaze onto her and did his best to project something along the lines of ‘hold on, I’m coming’ back at her desperate gaze. He quickly shoved and pushed his way through the crowded room, keeping his eyes on Esme the entire time. The man seemed to be dragging her all over the place, and after a moment, her back was to Duke, which only caused him to speed up his walk. As he reached them, he leaned in close, and wrapped his arm around Esme’s waist, placing his hand on her stomach with a soft smile, “There you are…C’mon. I don’t think this guy would mind if I cut in. I’ve been watchin’ you all night.”

He tugged and pulled her against his chest, stepping back from the man with a tip of his hat. The man seemed to want to protest, but Duke simply turned Esme, wrapping his other arm around her to pull her chest to chest. He shaded her face with his hat and walked her toward the center of the room, as far away from the jackass that was groping her as he possibly could.

“You alright?” He asked sweetly, glancing up at the guy with a look that said that he was having a hard time not defending Esme with more than just a rescue mission. “You need me to break him? Like…one or more bones? I’d be happy to.”

As he asked the question, he pushed her out, stretching his arm all the way, before spinning her back into his chest, her back pressed against him for a moment as he leaned his head down and whispered in her ear, “I can make it real discreet. Real quiet. Everyone will think he just had too much to drink.”

He could tell that eyes were on them from the moment he pulled her to his chest. A few of the women were whispering to one another, and even though he didn’t let his eyes wander, much, he did catch a glimpse of the woman he was supposed to be taking home. She glared and huffed with a whine, slapping her bodyguard on the chest as she told him she wanted to leave. Duke didn’t honestly care, because for the first time, he had Esme in his arms. They were in a place where he could show her the attraction he felt, openly, and it could be disguised behind ‘just dancing’.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean

Dean didn’t even hear Duke’s footsteps as Duke stepped into the basement and just stood at the door of the panic room. Dean just sat there in his chair, seemingly a permanent fixture spot for him over these three days. He tapped his foot nervously as the options rose up in his head, over and over, like a movie. He had memorized them by heart.

After a few moments, he reached a hand out and he brushed his fingers along Mika’s cold hand and he gave a sad smile, “I’m going to fix this. I’ll fix this. Don’t you worry. I’m gonna leave for a little bit. When you wake up…don’t be scared. Don’t be scared, alright? Duke will take care of you. Sam…Sam will be here. And I love you. No matter what you’re feeling when you wake up, just know that I love you…more than anything.”

After a few moments of just staring at Mika’s closed eyes, Dean nodded and he stood from his chair. He turned to the open door, and no one was waiting there, anymore. He could walk up stairs, avoid everyone, and he could get this done. He could offer himself up, and he would never have to see the fallout. Mika would be okay, and that was enough.

Anna

Anna continued rubbing at Sam’s ear gently as he finally blinked and answered her question. It was definitely a start. He was able to speak. Anna listened intently, nodding at his assessment of his own emotions before nodding a bit deeper at the thought of giving Mika a funeral. They had to convince Dean, one way or another. There wasn’t anything left to do, but to burn Mika’s body. Part of Anna thought that they may have to go behind Dean’s back to do so, in order for Mika to not just rot in the basement, while Dean held onto some false hope he could bring her back…or worse, he actually found a way to bring her back.

As Sam agreed to try and eat, his eyes finally come to meet hers, she softly smiled up at him, a rare smile…only for him. The hug that came soon after was welcomed, and Anna didn’t bother with words. She just pressed her head against his chest, letting him take whatever comfort he needed from her, until they both turned to watch Duke as he left the RV and headed for the basement door.

“We should definitely keep tabs.” Anna agreed with Sam. She moved her legs out of Sam’s way, so he could untangle himself and climb off the hood. She then kept still as Sam pulled her from the hood and onto her feet, obviously refusing to be separated from her for more than a split moment. She wrapped her fingers around his and followed him as he walked over to Esme. Anna stepped a bit closer to the basement door, peering through the window as Duke stood outside the door, but when Duke stepped away and began to walk upstairs, Anna frowned.

“Hey, I’m going to um…I’m going to go grab some food and drinks for us, alright? We can have a picnic on the hood later.” Anna said awkwardly. She had a feeling there would be no picnic. She had a feeling things were about to boil over. She brought Sam’s hand up to her lips and she pressed a kiss to his knuckles, “I’ll be right back, okay?”

Cason

Cason had spent the three days attempting to take care of Nat. He had worked hard to keep her eating and drinking. He had convinced her to take a bath. He knew that the question of demonic deals was starting to rumble around the entire house. The couple of times that he had walked past Bobby’s desk, while Bobby was half a bottle deep in scotch, he read the Latin texts in the books Bobby was jotting down notes for. A lot of them had to do with demon deals, avoiding the actual payout by trapping and killing demons, something that Cason didn’t have the heart to explain the ramifications of. But if he had to, he would absolutely step in and be the bad guy in Bobby’s story…to protect him.

On the third day, he sat with Natalia on the couch, wrapping his arms around her tightly, to give her some hope of safety, while he could. When Nat spoke up, Cason was half worried she was having another wave of anguish, and he tightened his arms around her a bit, pressing his lips to the top of her head, but she was speaking with reason.

“I agree.” He replied simply, frowning at the thought of burning Mika’s body. But the alternative was somehow worse. She could be trapped somewhere as a spirit. Her body could be used at pretty much any time for demonic reasons, with or without warding. Luckily, she was in the panic room. So, they couldn’t get in. As Nat stood from the couch, Cason followed her gaze, his brain burning for a moment over whether to stop Duke from approaching Dean, but no…this bandaid needed to be ripped off and if anyone could convince Dean, it was someone that he valued, like Duke or Sam. Sam didn’t seem up for it. Duke would do.

When Nat came back to him, Cason wrapped his arms back around her, but he was preparing himself for Duke to explode. When Duke’s footsteps echoed in the hallway to the basement, Cason frowned, realizing that Duke actually didn’t mention anything to Dean and was likely coming in for some food or some drinks. He stayed still, just watching him, until Dean walked up not too far behind him. Cason tensed, and he held onto Nat a bit tighter, things were about to bubble to a head and he couldn’t let her get between them.

Duke

Duke stood by the door of the panic room as Dean spent his time with Mika’s body. The longer he stood there and listened to Dean make all kinds of promises, and professing his love to her, Duke grew angrier and angrier. A new wave of emotion overcame him, and he tilted his head back, whimpering as the feeling of her limp body in his arms washed over his brain. He pushed away from the wall, and drug his feet as he walked up the stairs, into the living room. They needed to burn her body. They needed to burn her body and get her put to rest, otherwise, Dean would do some stupid crap to bring her back. Or a demon would use her. Something…something bad was going to happen, if they didn’t burn her body. But judging by Dean’s tears, and the fact that Dean fully planned to lock her in that panic room…for God knows how long, the chances of her burning were basically nil. No one was going to buck up against Dean, at this moment.

Shortly after he stepped into the living room, he heard the door of the panic room close, and Dean’s footsteps followed, slowly walking up the stairs into the living room. Dean instantly wrapped his arms around Duke’s back, sniffling into the back of Duke’s head, before pressing a kiss to his hair. Duke’s fists clenched and he pushed down his emotions, “We-we need to burn her, Dean.”

“No.” Dean said simply, letting Duke go and pushing past him, to walk to the kitchen. Duke instantly followed after him, his anger boiling little by little the longer he watched Dean pretend that Mika wasn’t dead for good. No one could even mourn her, because of Dean’s inability to let her go. Duke stepped in front of Dean and Dean glared at him through teary eyes, “Let it go.”

“I’m not gonna let it go! We need to burn her body. We need to let her go! The only reason she’s layin’ down in that basement is because you can’t decide what stupid ass idea you’re gonna use to bring her back. She wouldn’t want that from you.” Duke tried to reason, but Dean growled and tried to take a step forward. Duke held strong, placing a hand on Dean’s chest. “You always gotta have it your way, don’t you? Don’t you?! You make decisions for other people and you use them up and throw them away as soon as they’re no good for you anymore. How many years did…”

“Watch it. Think of your next words very carefully, Jason…” Dean warned Duke, a lot of old feelings bubbling up to the surface, as they glared at each other. 

“How many years did that girl mourn you like the dead, while you were bedding down…playin’ house with Esme? You control everyone but yourself. You controlled me! You tried to turn Esme against me! And it worked! It worked, Dean! When you split, I got left out to dry, like always. I got left alone! I was the one who suffered! And now, once again…Mika is the one who suffers. All…for you!” Duke suddenly raised his voice and Dean nearly flinched at the anger he saw on Duke’s face. He never knew that Duke was so angry about how their little trio had separated, but thinking back on it, and Duke’s obvious feelings for Esme, he was right.

“You’re right. You’re right about us…me and you. But you’re wrong about Mika. Mika made her own choices! Mika was the one who stayed away from ME! She was the one who chose to leave, not me! Esme was the one who chose to leave! Not me! I don’t force anyone to do anything…it’s their choice.” Dean yelled back at Duke and Duke suddenly burst into tears, shaking his head with a frustrated growl.

“You didn’t give Sam a choice! You didn’t give me a choice! And now, you’re not going to give Mika a choice because you’re so damn scared to be alone, you would rather take away all their choices…so they don’t leave you. Because everyone…leaves you, Dean. You’re poison! You’re…” Duke screamed, but as he spoke, Dean suddenly tackled him, shoulder to sternum, landing on Duke on the living room floor. Dean straddled Duke, and squeezed his thighs, holding him in place. But as Dean raised his fist to punch Duke in the face, he stopped himself. “Do it! You’ve wanted to for a long time…since that day sittin’ right in there at that kitchen table. You’ve wanted this fight. So do it!”

“No.” Dean growled, sneering as he loosened his thighs and stood up from Duke. Duke instantly swept Dean’s legs from under him, and rolled to stand to his feet. 

“Get up! Get up right now!” Duke screamed, waving his hands. Anna stepped into the living room, from the kitchen, coming to ask Cason if he wanted her to make some food for Natalia. She knew Bobby had gone out to grab a few things…namely more alcohol for everyone, but as far as she knew, Nat hadn’t eaten much, like Sam. She skidded to a halt in the doorway, and Duke glanced up at her briefly, only for Dean to land a hard punch against Duke’s jaw.

“Sam?! Sam!” Anna screamed, running out the back door again, to fetch Sam and try to break up this fight. The way they were looking at each other, she was pretty sure a lot of tension was coming to a head, and they were going to kill each other.

Duke stumbled, but turned and punched Dean hard across the nose, grabbing his collar. He pulled Dean closer and hit him again, Dean’s knees buckling with the second punch, Duke being the only thing holding him up for a brief moment. Duke released Dean as soon as he knew he had his feet under him.

“You’re the worst thing that ever happened to Mika. I should have talked her out of taking your stupid ass back. She don’t deserve to get wrapped up in your…self servin’ mess.” Duke gasped, and Dean growled, tears and blood mixing on his face as he ran at Duke again, pinning him to the wall with his shoulder. The slam knocked the wind out of Duke and he began to cough, crying out as Dean rammed his shoulder into his sore stomach all over again, slamming his back against the edge of the stair railing. 

Dean pulled back, and threw a punch straight against Duke’s cheek, knocking him out for a second, as Duke slumped to the floor and fell onto his side, blood pooling under his mouth as he gasped for breath. 

“Of all people…to lecture me on being poison. You’re poison. You ruin every life you touch. You break people! You run away when things aren’t comfortable! You BROKE HER HEART ALL THOSE YEARS AGO! You broke my heart!” Dean screamed at Duke’s lifeless looking body, his screams coming out as sobs as the tears flooded his cheeks, dropping in small puddles on his shirt. “I LOVED YOU! I love you, man. But Mika…she’s everything. And you want to tell me to just…let her go? Stay down…”

Duke came around, coughing and spitting a small puddle of blood on the floor beneath him as he rocked up onto his hands and knees. He was dazed, but determined to get onto his feet. He began to stand, falling to his knees once. Before Duke could stand fully, Dean placed a foot on his back, and forced him back to the ground.

“STOP! Stay down! Just…just stay down.” Dean begged him. Turning to try and put some distance between them. He didn’t want to fight Duke, and it was obvious the fight was over. Duke was barely stirring.

As Dean shook his head, trying to take the ringing out of his ears, Duke suddenly wrapped his arms around his throat, and Duke swept his legs, using his body weight to drop Dean onto his face on the floor. They both lay there for a moment, groaning and exhausted. Dean rolled onto his back, taking some heaving breaths, as Duke crawled over to him, straddled his hips and pulled him up by his collar.
“You don’t love anyone…” Duke sobbed, drops of blood splattering against his hand from his face as he held Dean’s face close to his own and sneered at him. He suddenly head butted Dean, causing Dean to cry out, and his head to go limp as Duke pulled him back, almost nose to nose. “You never loved me. You never loved Mika. You’ve never loved anyone but yourself.”

“Duke…” Dean groaned as Duke sobbed, leaning his forehead against Dean’s to catch his breath. “You…You know that’s not true.”

“That’s your problem. You don’t believe you’re ever wrong when you hurt the people you came to love…” Duke sneered, and Dean reached both his hands up, silently begging Duke to stop. But Duke pushed Dean back a bit and landed a solid blow to his jaw, letting Dean’s head drop against the floor. 

Cason couldn’t stay where he was sitting anymore. He pushed Nat forward and he stood from the couch, walking over to the two, after simply letting them get the fight out of their systems. As it stood, now, Duke had a massive upper hand, and if Cason didn’t step in, Duke was going to make a mistake he would regret for the rest of his life.

“That’s enough. C’mon. That’s enough.” Cason called to him, reaching out to grab his arm as Duke fully planned to punch Dean again. Duke wrenched his arm away from Cason and he shoved him away, pointing a finger at him.

“I will kill you. Don’t touch me.”

“Okay. Alright buddy.” Cason held his hands up and then placed them on his hips, trying to decide how exactly to break up the fight. He really needed Sam. He needed someone large enough to wrangle Dean while Cason managed to pull Duke away. “I’m not gonna touch you, but is this really what you want? You’re gonna kill him. Esme’s gonna walk in on all of this.”

Before Cason could even finish his sentence, Dean punched Duke weakly, not giving in, as Cason tried his hardest to talk them down. Duke growled at the punch and shoved the back of Dean’s head against the floor, stunning him long enough for Duke to continue trying to catch his breath.

“He’s not ruinin’ lives anymore. If that means we call his buddy angel to come fix him up after I’m done with him, so be it.”

“And when the girls get in? What are you gonna do? What are they gonna think?” Cason asked him, as Dean began to struggle again, waking up from the hit to the head. Duke tightened his grip on Dean’s jacket and Cason reached a hand out, ready to stop him, hoping that someone…anyone would walk in and stop this, before he had to break one of their limbs.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Anya

Anya smiled back at Sam, happy to see him still smiling and still present with her, even though she could tell that there was a lot of very stressful tension in his shoulders. Some, she figured, would come out in the wash, after the hunt, and it was something she was preparing herself for. When he apologized for keeping her waiting, she shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, but she was more than excited that he agreed to go out with her and just…exist. No expectation, no tension, no looming death. Just them. She leaned up on her toes to close the gap as she saw him coming to peck her lips, kissing him back with a smile.

Then she nodded her head and pocketed her phone, offering her hand to Sam, before walking off to the kitchen.

At the location

Cason and Anna

“Anna, you gonna be good?” Cason asked as soon as his little group stepped out of Nat’s car. He was so used to the car by now that he rarely complained anymore. Not to mention, it would do no good, as Nat hated when he popped in and out with her. Something about stomach issues…

Anna rolled her eyes at Cason acting like her father, not even knowing that Nat had told him to stop, already. He didn’t seem to be hovering over her, but he was still, in his own way, hovering. She crossed her arms after grabbing her backpack and tilted to one leg, “I’m fine. You brought me here because I’m quiet, and fast, right? So, where do you want me?”

“I’ve already scouted out this place, and around that big tree down the trail, there’s a smaller trail to the right. I need you to go somewhere down there. When I summon this guy, we need all corners covered. And the place we need to be able to catch him…is down there.”

“That’s all you needed to say, Dad.” Anna grumbled, and she pulled her backpack onto her back, taking off in a quick and annoyed walk down the trail, to find her place, still able to see the others. Cason turned around to Nat and he shrugged his shoulders.

“I didn’t think I came across as a dad. Someone’s testy, today.” He sighed, before walking around to the trunk to wait for Nat to open it, so he could start the summoning spell. “You’re still wearing your ring, right? I don’t want you to leave my sight without it…”

Anya and Dean

Dean stepped out of the Impala, walking around to stand by the passenger door as the others began to unfold from the car and join him. He reached into his pocket, and pulled the whistle he had found in the armory. He wasn’t exactly sure why it was etched with sigils, but he could only assume it was some sort of weird weapon the men of letters had created for demons. In his eyes, no matter what it did, it would protect Anya out here. She would be pretty much alone. That much, he hated.

Anya walked over to him, splitting from Sam for a moment to ask Dean where he wanted her to go. He smiled as she approached him, being sweet as he could to her while she was probably terrified. Anya, however, was buzzing with excited nervousness as she approached him and quickly pressed play on a message she had already typed out.

“So, if I’m going to be on my own, is there anyone who’s going to watch me? Where do I go?”

“You are going to stay right by where the summoning takes place. All eyes will be on you, to some degree and Cason will be able to pop in and pop out at will. So, if all goes right, you won’t even have to fight.” Dean explained to her. “But you will be alone for a few minutes. If we can see you, the demon can see us. Sam’s not going to like it, but we don’t have much of a choice.”

Dean then unfolded the string of the bright silver whistle and he held it up in front of Anya, like some sort of diamond necklace he was presenting her as a gift. Anya’s eyes widened, and she looked up at Dean as if questioning the fact that he had actually tracked down a whistle for her. Dean nodded and he smirked, dropping it into the hand that Anya reached out.

“This way, if you get cornered, taken, or even if you just fall down a hill, we can find you. Keep it on your neck. Keep it in easy reach. We will find you, alright?” Dean asked of her, and Anya nodded. She put the whistle between her lips and gave it a quick blow, only to make Cason scream, echoing through the woods.

“What the hell was that?!” Cason called out, holding his ears. When he pulled his hand back from one of his ears, there was a small drip of blood on his palm, and Dean, who had glanced back to look at Cason huffed a ‘hmph!’.

“Well. Looks like it’s more than a whistle!” Dean beamed, and Cason groaned and shook his head. Of course it was a weapon against demons…and of course he would have to endure it. Dean turned his eyes back down to Anya’s and he placed a hand on her shoulder, making sure she was looking at his face. “Use it…”

Anya smiled brightly, dropping the whistle against her chest and then turned to Sam, running up and wrapping her arms around his waist. Cason was holding a bowl in his hand and a bag of supplies in the other as he waited for Anya to join him for the summoning, but Anya needed a couple of moments to just breathe Sam in. So, she pressed her cheek against his chest and held on tight, getting those last few moments with him before they were forced to part, with no guarantee of a positive outcome.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Duke

Duke didn’t move or say anything on the drive home. He simply leaned his head against the window of the truck and watched the trees go by. Luckily, his mind didn’t wander much. For the most part, it was blank, like a fuzzy static screen on a tv. As they pulled into the familiar lot, Duke glanced up at the old ‘Singer Salvage’ sign swinging above the entrance. He sighed, knowing that they were coming home without Mika. Bobby was going to be devastated. Most of all, Duke wasn’t entirely sure he could stay in the house. He wasn’t sure he wanted to. Having Mika back, where he could pick her brain and lean on her whenever he wanted to was like a dream and now? She was just gone. No phone to call. No hearing her tired voice on the other side when she needed him for support.

As the truck came to a stop, Duke didn’t move at first, but then he realized that Dean would be coming through with Mika’s body. Duke wasn’t even sure he could look at her, in that moment. He wasn’t sure he could look at anyone. He just wanted to be alone. He wanted to stew, and cry. He wanted to beat himself up on his own terms.

He reached for the door handle, forcing his heavy legs to swing over the side of the truck as he opened the door. He dropped heavily onto the gravel, and closed the door, just standing there for a moment. He zoned out and stared at the rocks below his feet and then turned back to the window of the truck, patting on it to tell Esme he was going ahead. With his head hung low, Duke staggered over to the RV and he opened the door, slowly walking up the steps and closing the door behind him.

Day 1

Duke didn’t leave the RV. He simply sat at his table, rolling over his options to bring Mika back in his mind. He wondered a few times if they should go ahead and burn her body, give some closure to the family and let her rest. But those thoughts were fleeting, as he continued his search for options.

Day 2

Duke exhausted every option he could think of. Aside from possibly contacting a crossroads demon, there was nothing to do. He drank half a bottle of whiskey, actually spoke to Esme a few times coherently, and stared out the window a lot, watching the sun rise and set across the lot.

Day 3

It was day 3 that Duke began to lose his ability to not confront Dean. Dean was keeping Mika’s body, because Dean believed he could bring her back. Dean was the one that was working behind everyones back. The thought caused Duke’s stomach to cramp painfully, that Dean would throw himself back into Hell in order to bring Mika back. As bad as Duke wanted to see her again, touch her again, and have her back home, that was the last thing that Mika would want.

“I have to talk to Dean…” Duke spoke suddenly after a long while of silence with Esme, as he lay in his bed. He was staring at the ceiling, as he tried to decide how to confront Dean in a way that wouldn’t end in a horrible outcome. But his emotions bubbled back up again. He didn’t want to fight Dean. He didn’t want to rip any hope away from Dean. But no one else was going to. “We-we can’t just leave her down there in the basement. We need to burn her body. We…we don’t know where she is, or what she’s going through. We have to.”

Duke swung his legs over the side of the bed and he grabbed a flannel from the back of the bench at the kitchen table, sliding it over his arms before starting on the buttons. It was the most active he had been in days, and honestly, his muscles were screaming about it, as were his joints. The numbness was gone and he could no longer lay still, or sit still.

“I don’t know if you wanna come with…but I gotta talk to him.” He said quickly, finishing the buttons on his flannel. He then climbed partially back onto the bed, pressing a kiss to Esme’s lips quickly, before stepping off the bed and into his boots, “I’ll be back, okay?”

Dean

Dean spoke to Mika in whispers the entire drive back to Bobby’s. He told her how much he loved her. He asked her to fight back to him. He promised her that she would have a body to come back to. He just repeated those things over and over again. As they pulled into the lot, Dean didn’t move, simply burying his face in Mika’s hair as Anna pulled the Impala to a stop and turned the engine off.

“Dean, do you need help getting inside?” Anna asked, looking over the seat at him. She did her best to avoid looking down at Mika in the process and Dean nodded his head.

“Can you get the door to the basement for me?”

“The basement?” Anna asked, confused as to why Dean would want her to let him into the basement. Sure, there was an outside door, but there was nothing in the basement he would want access to, with Mika’s body other than…the panic room.

“Yeah. Just help me with the door?” Dean croaked out, and even though every bone in Anna’s body wanted her to protest the idea of just…storing Mika’s body, she slowly nodded her head and opened her door. Dean opened his door and he kicked it open, scooting to the edge of the seat as he awkwardly scooped up Mika’s body, and scooted out of the car with her, standing to his feet with a groan. Anna quickly jogged over to the outdoor basement door, wanting to get back to Sam as quick as she could, since like Esme, she was the most lucid one of her little family dynamic. She was happy to find that the door was unlocked and she pulled it open, stepping in and walking over to the panic room door. She cranked the dial and opened the door for him, knowing that he was headed there before he ever asked. After he walked inside, Anna just left the door open, not staying behind to watch him. She ran back out the basement door, closing it behind her, and then over to the car to be as close to Sam when the dam finally broke as she possibly could.

Day 1

Dean didn’t move from the panic room. He sat by Mika’s body, talking to her, promising her everything short of the moon as he believed that at any moment, she would wake up and be just fine. He was in absolute denial.

Day 2

Dean came out of the panic room only to use the restroom and to grab the occasional beer. The rest of the time, he stared at Mika’s face until his eyes burned and his body ached. Any time…at any time she would wake up. Day 2 was also the day when Dean began to contemplate a deal. He wasn’t sure about the deal, but it was beginning to cross his mind, the longer she was dead.

Day 3

The idea of a deal crossed Deans mind more consistently. He already knew what he would say to the demon, and what he was willing to offer. Immediate payment, and Mika gets away…completely unharmed. He sat there with her, explaining his plans, while he discussed with the side of her face every reason he was making the decision. He wanted her to move on and he wanted her to live as simply as she could, away from hunting, away from the curses.

But Day 3 was also the day that Duke would break…

Anna

Anna was stuck to Sam’s hip for all three days. Late in the evening on the third day, she sat with him on the hood of the Impala, their legs tangled and her body impossibly close to his, as if one of them was going to disappear any second. She didn’t know if it was Sam or herself that was so attached, that was clinging to the other. All she knew was that she was fine with it. As long as he was close, they were both safe. They were safer together. She looked up at him, as he wasn’t looking at her, and brushed her fingertips across his hair, and over his ear with a soft sigh.

“How are you feeling today? Think you can eat?” She asked him sweetly, slipping her other hand into one of his, squeezing his fingers gently.

She frowned as Duke’s RV door opened and she heard his boots on the gravel, something she didn’t think she would hear for a while as he had been pretty much locked in the RV with or without Esme for days. Where was he headed?

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Duke

Duke barely even registered that Esme had dropped to her knees in front of him, as his ears roared with numb sadness. He didn’t fight her as she lowered his hands from in front of his face, and spoke to him. He didn’t want to be told that any of this would be okay, or that he was going to survive this, or anything. He didn’t want the outcome to be anything other than Mika coming back…

But as Esme’s hands came to his face, he tilted his head back just a bit and reluctantly looked into her eyes, his own simply pools of vacancy and tears as the shivers started in his body from the shock. As Esme tilted his head back toward her and she brought her forehead to his, Duke sighed as more tears erupted and spilled over his cheeks. He finally closed his eyes, just letting himself cry for a moment at her words. It was his fault. He would tell Mika to her face, if he could. If he had acted, grabbed that knife and cut that son of a bitch’s throat, she would still be alive, but he froze. He was too late.

As Esme’s lips pressed to his, Duke sniffled and he kissed her back, although he instantly felt guilty for that too. He didn’t deserve her grace or her love, in that moment. He deserved this pain. He deserved to suffer. But he opened his eyes and scanned over her face, his own tired and sad, like he was far away.

Duke hadn’t even thought about walking out of that room, until Esme mentioned it. It was like the floor was going to swallow him whole, and he would just be there forever. But at her words, he barely had the energy to nod his head, confirming that he was willing to leave with her. He didn’t move as she reached for his keys, but as she slipped his arm over her shoulder, he willed his legs underneath him and did his best to help her with his weight, standing with her. As Duke’s boots shuffled on the floor, he turned his eyes to his stomach and groaned as he and Esme walked out the door of the store room. He was covered in blood, so deeply that it was gluing his shirt to his stomach. It was Mika’s blood. The more that his body shifted, the more he was aware that it was drying, and she was actually…gone.

The stairs were the hardest, as he willed his heavy legs to guide him, and not to crush Esme under his weight, or cause her to fall down the stairs, hurting them both. He was thankful once that cold air hit them outside the door. He took a deep inhale, and to his dismay, his mind cleared a bit, crashing all the reality around him. He sobbed quietly, blocking out the sound of the truck door opening from his mind. But then Esme was guiding him to his truck seat and he climbed in, heavily falling onto the leather seat as the numbness began to bleed its way into his limbs again, and he leaned against the seat.

Once again, Duke almost lost that numbness as Esme’s hand came to rest on his thigh and she asked him not to bottle his emotions. If he didn’t bottle them up, in that moment, he would run off. He knew that much about himself. He would die if those emotions were let go. But he met her eyes, staring down at her over his nose as his face fell blank once again, and a tear fell down his cheek. He nodded, “I um…Okay. I love you. I do…”

And for what felt like the first time, he snarled his nose and then closed his eyes tightly, sobbing as he leaned forward, just needing to fall apart with Esme. He reached his own numb hands out and slid them through the hair on the sides of her head, touching his forehead to hers as he cried.

Anna and Dean

Anna kept her arms tightly around Sam’s waist as he apologized for whatever he thought he had done wrong, but as he saw Mika, Anna caught the name that he barely managed to get out of his mouth, and she furrowed her brow. Looking up at his face, she followed his eyes, turning her own eyes down to the floor with a gasp of shock, her eyes flooding with tears as they widened. Anna tightened her grip on Sam’s waist, feeling his hands shake against her, and she cried against his back, turning her eyes from Mika’s body. She couldn’t look at her, not like this. Mika was one of the people who took up for Anna the most, saw her as human, even if she took Dean’s side on a lot of issues. She had been kind and understanding. She had rooted for Anna and Sam.

She was good, and even in Anna’s anger, she couldn’t stand the thought of Dean losing Mika. The thought made her stomach feel sick, and she closed her eyes even tighter. She almost winced as Sam tightened his grip on her arms, his entire body rigid but still, as if he was having trouble processing what he was even seeing. She could feel the numbness in him as his heart rate evened out. As Dean stepped back into the room, Anna focused her attention on him, just watching him as he coldly took Mika from Duke, leaving the poor guy sitting there in a pool of blood…alone. As Dean walked toward the door, she could hear Sam’s voice rumbling in his back, even and measured. He was completely numb.

Anna didn’t even try to say anything to him, just unwrapping herself from his waist and taking his hand. She could feel his hand quivering against hers and she tightened her grip, which was answered by his fingers tightening around her hand. It almost hurt, but she would let him cling to her for dear life if that’s what he needed. He needed her…

As Sam pulled his phone and called Bobby, Anna’s stomach clenched painfully, and she whimpered quietly, knowing that there was no way that Bobby would take that phone call well. Mika was all Bobby had, as far as blood went. That much, Anna knew. She was his world, and now she was gone. Anna was honestly scared for him. She was scared he would fall apart, and fall into habits that could hurt him. Another person that would need to be cared for, during this. Sam releasing her hand brought her out of her thoughts and she frowned, but took the keys from him, staring up at his face. He was asking her to handle Dean. Despite the bad blood between her and Dean, Sam was silently asking her to push it aside, and help him. With a soft nod, Anna didn’t think twice. She walked over to the back seat, as Dean stood there, staring blankly across the dark lot, just holding Mika’s body against his chest as if she would disappear if he let her go.

“Let’s get her in the car.” Anna whispered, as she unlocked the back door and gestured for Dean to lay Mika down. “Dean, c’mon…”

Dean snapped out of his staring, just glancing down at Anna’s face with a blank stare and a solid jaw that she feared might break his teeth. She softened her eyes, and reached a hand out, brushing the backs of her fingers against his cheek.

“Let’s get her in the car so we can get her home.” Anna cooed to him, pushing the door behind him open a bit wider with her foot. She reached up and pushed his head down a bit, which to her relief, he allowed, ducking with Mika still in his arms. He carefully sat down in the seat, and moved her, with a bit of help from Anna to where Mika’s head was laying on his lap. “There. Let’s go home, Deano. Alright? I need to close the door. Move your leg.”

As Anna instructed him, Dean moved his leg into the car and he brushed his fingers through Mika’s hair, leaning his head against the leather seat with a sigh. She barely caught sight of his face breaking into a sob as she closed the door and stepped away, giving him space. She didn’t go back to Sam, simply walking around to the drivers side. She unlocked the door and then sat down behind the wheel, deciding that she would be the one to drive them back to the house.

Bobby and Cason

“We can’t think about that…” Cason said softly, as Nat voiced her worries out loud. He could understand that she was feeling a bit worried, just like hew as about the whole situation. There wasn’t really a good outcome to this situation. No matter which way the wind blew, someone was going to come out hurt. Cason felt a bit of a knot in his own stomach, and he was tempted to pop back in, and check on Mika for some reason. He couldn’t quite place that knot, but he wondered if it was a sign of something. Maybe it was just Natalia’s anxiety rubbing off on him. But that thought came crashing down, as Bobby answered the phone.

Cason reluctantly turned and stood from the couch, walking over to Bobby’s desk. He placed both his hands on the desk and watched Bobby as he spoke to Sam. What Cason had thought was just an update, or a call for help, quickly sank in as a call to let them know that things had gone horribly wrong. Someone hadn’t made it out alive.

As Bobby took in Sam’s shaky but emotionless voice, his eyes widened and he couldn’t speak. He had to have heard him wrong, and as Cason scanned Bobby’s face, it dawned on Cason that one of the girls was dead.

“Bobby?” Cason called out to him, as Bobby didn’t speak. He just stared off into space wide eyed, and slowly placed the phone back onto the receiver, his eyes pooling with tears as he froze. Cason leaned a little closer to Bobby’s face and he patted the old man’s cheek gently, “Bobby! Who was that? What’s the update?”

“S-Sam.” Bobby stuttered out, his eyes finally falling on Cason’s face, as Cason raised his eyebrows and he held his hands out to tell Bobby to explain. Bobby shook his head, and he tried his hardest to keep his emotions in check, Dean would need the support. Hell, all the kids would need his support. He shook his head slowly, “Mika’s…Mika didn’t um…”

“Oh no.” Cason sighed, realizing that after he had left Mika in the warehouse, she had died. He left her and she had died. He couldn’t even imagine what blame was being placed on the other side of that aisle, but Cason definitely felt guilty. He shook his head, as a bit of his human emotion became jumbled with the dark smoke that flooded his brain, flooding his eyes with black, “I was just with her! I was just with her. How did this happen?”

“I don’t…I don’t know. I don’t know but I need a minute. I need a minute to um…they’ll be bringing her back. Oh god Duke…” Bobby sobbed suddenly, gripping the edge of his desk as the full weight of what was happening hit him all of the sudden. Cason winced and he tapped his foot on the floor for a moment, before placing a hand gently on Bobby’s shoulder.

“Go. Get yourself together so we can…so we can help them with this. Let me see what I can do, alright? Go.” Cason ordered Bobby, as Bobby gathered himself enough to stand. Bobby snatched a bottle of scotch from the corner of the desk and he quickly ran toward the kitchen, slamming the kitchen door open as he stomped into the garage. Cason turned and quickly walked over to Natalia, wrapping both his arms around her to hopefully catch those overwhelming emotions he knew would wash over her like a wave. Mika was dead…

Mika…the other leader of the group, the mother, the voice of reason, the moderator and the closest thing to a parent that Nat had likely ever had. She was dead. Cason held her tightly, reaching a hand up to pull her head down to his shoulder, giving her all the space to cry and let her emotions out on him as he glared into the distance, tumbling options for helping over in his brain.