The shadows of our past existence

Welcome to my new venture in this wacky crossover of mine. I've said from the start I had a sequel to Towards a New Age in mind. The problem was – as I was working on it, I didn't think it would really go too well. I abandoned it for a while, then came back to it. It's actually different from my original idea, but I think it will work this time. This takes place about a few weeks after the epilogue in Towards a New Age. It's going to focus more on the Supernatural world, although it will still happen in the Babylon 5 universe. There will be a lot of characters mentioned from Between the darkness and the light and Towards a New Age. There will also be characters and instances from the latest seasons of Supernatural, but the main plot will follow my own ideas.

Read. Enjoy. Feel free to drop a line or two

I own neither of the shows. Just a handful of characters and a wacky imagination.

Chapter 1 The Beginning

Tuzannor

Sam was sitting in the park next to the Rangers Headquarters, looking out at the mountains outside the city. It felt good to be back on solid ground, even better now that they had a stable base, a place they could at times dare to call home. As much as home could exist for them. There was always a voice in Sam's head warning him this was all too good to be true. Dean had no idea about it. Sam did not want to worry him with baseless fears, not now when things were starting to look good for them.

The sound of footsteps had Sam raising his eyebrows. He did not turn around, though. He knew those footsteps. He would recognize them anywhere. He smiled slightly, feeling himself relaxing on an instinct he would never be able to truly override.

"Hey, Dean," he greeted brightly.

Dean snorted. He was not really surprised Sam had known he was there. He was trying to be stealthy, but it never worked with Sam. And it was not because of anything Dean did wrong. He knew Sam had an ingrained sense of his presence. If Dean was close, Sam knew, even without Dean saying anything. Anyone else would have found this disturbing and slightly creepy. Dean did not. He could not. He felt the same way when it came to Sam, after all.

"I was wondering where you ran off to," he said, sitting on the bench beside Sam.

The younger man studied his brother. His arm was no longer in a sling. His run in with an asteroid a few weeks back had not left any lasting effects. Dean looked as good as ever – a bit restless, maybe, with that eager look in his eyes that showed how ready he was for action. Dean could never stay idle for too long.

"When are we shipping out, then?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged.

"Probably tomorrow. There's some noise close to Brakir. Bit of a weapons trading – probably with the Centauri. I was thinking we go check it out. See what we can pick up. Delenn hasn't sent anyone yet, so we'd better tell her we'd like to volunteer, what do you say?"

Sam nodded thoughtfully.

"Sounds good. It would keep you on solid ground for a bit and away from dodgy asteroids."

Dean rolled his eyes. He should have known crushing his flyer into an asteroid was not something Sam would ever allow him to live down.

"Dude, it was that one time. It's not like I make a habit of crashing into things."

Sam looked pointedly at him.

"What about that time we were leaving Proxima?"

Dean shook his head.

"Hey, we had a shipful of demons chasing us, then. And I did not crash, then. I just…had a rough landing."

"On top of a destroyer."

Dean chuckled. He was sure if Sheridan knew in detail the more colorful aspects of their lives before joining the Rangers, he would have thought twice before allowing them to wander all over the alliance. No amount of skill at their jobs would be enough to erase the fact that plenty of times their methods were desperate and unorthodox. If he was honest, Dean would not have it any other way. In his mind, it was part of the fun. He did not know if Sam felt the same, though. Sam usually preferred to function within the rules – if he could.

Sam straightened up. His eyes were fixed on an approaching figure that came from the direction of the White Star landing site.

"Isn't that Ralph?"

Dean cocked his head to one side.

"Yeah, it actually is," he said, waving to the young man.

Ralph Wilson was an old acquaintance of the Winchesters. They had known him when he was a young boy, miserably trailing after his Hunter father, but always eager to be around the two brothers for whom he had secretly harbored quite a lot of hero-worship. They had lost touch for a while and met again right after Dean got out of Purgatory. The two still found it hard to believe, sometimes, that the rather quiet and subdued boy had turned into such a fine Ranger, using the skills his father had tried to develop for hunting in such a unique manner. Sam and Dean were fond of Ralph, seeing him as a link with their old life. They certainly did not have to watch what they said when there was only him around. He understood their kind of weird.

As he got closer, Sam and Dean noticed there was a hint of worry on Ralph's face. His eyes were slightly wider than usual. He smiled, relieved when he saw the Winchesters.

"Sam. Dean." he greeted. "I'm glad to catch you here."

He sat down on the far end of the bench, biting his lips.

"It's good to see you, too," Sam said, after exchanging a concerned glance with Dean. "How've you been, Ralph?"

Ralph drew a shaky breath.

"I…well, I only just got back. And I got wind of something. I'm not sure how to tell Enthil'za – or if I should tell her at all."

Sam and Dean looked at each other, their eyebrows raised. Ralph took the Ranger code very seriously. He followed Delenn and Sheridan's instructions without question or hesitation. If there was something he was hesitant to report, he probably had a good reason.

"Hold on a second," Dean said, "What exactly did you see that you don't want those high up to know?"

Ralph grimaced.

"I didn't actually see anything for myself. It was all…second-hand rumors. But…you see, two of my informers - one on Mars and the other on Orion 7 – they're both dead. And the way they died…" He straightened up and looked from Sam to Dean, his eyes narrowing. "They had no external marks on them, but all their internal organs were shriveled. And…there were traces of sulfur around the bodies – in both cases."

Sam and Dean tensed.

"Demons," Sam whispered.

Ralph nodded, looking away.

"I did a little digging, then. Turns out three other Rangers had their informers killed in mysterious circumstances in the last four months– all were based on different planets, and they were of different races. And that's only what I've managed to get – there could be more, for all I know."

Sam and Dean did not say anything right away. They were no longer looking at each other, afraid to see their thoughts and fears reflected in the other's eyes.

"So," Ralph went on, "What am I supposed to do with this?"

Dean fixed sharp eyes on him. His face was tight, his expression turning dangerous.

"Nothing," he said firmly. "Don't do anything. Tell Delenn Sam and I are on it."

Sam's eyes widened.

"What, just like that?" he asked, hesitantly. "Without checking with Enthil'za first? We can't pull that stuff anymore, Dean."

Dean closed his eyes to hide his impatience. When he opened them again, he turned to Sam.

"Look, Sammy, Delenn knows a thing or two about what we used to do. So, even if we did waste time and explained all this – it will still be us going to check this out. You and I are the only ones qualified to deal with this mess. We're just showing a little initiative. Delenn and Sheridan are big on that."

Sam nodded reluctantly. He would have liked things to be different. He would have liked to have been others in the Rangers who could deal with the problem. He did not want Dean and him dragged back in the life they had thought successfully left behind. More than everything, he did not understand what was happening. What was their new life being targeted in such a manner? A thought was beginning to form in his mind, and he was hoping with all that he had it wasn't true. After Ralph left, he found the courage to voice it.

"Do you think this is about us?"

Dean did not answer. There was a tightness in his face Sam had not seen in a while – not since they had joined the Rangers and left their supposed destiny behind.

"Go back," was all Dean said, his tone clearly inviting no further discussion. "I'll get the Impala ready."

Out in the world, things were moving. Dark things. Terrible things. They were stirring and waking up from long years of sleep, perking up at the sign of danger. At the sign of something about to happen. There were rumors everywhere one went. If one knew how to listen, one heard a lot. The supernatural world was shaking with anticipation and fear. Hunters were on the alert as their prey got bolder. Something was on the move. Something was about to tilt the world upside down again.