A/N: And here we pick up where "Flashpoint" left off. Also, yet another amazing piece of cover art done by 29Pieces. Thank you for that and for beta reading!

Disclaimer: The boys aren't mine.

Chapter 1

Ryn hit pause on the laptop's video player for the umpteenth time, freezing the frame on a face she'd been staring at for hours. The quality wasn't great, but it was definitely male, with a sharp jawline and head of mussed, dark hair. The exact color was indistinguishable in the shadows. But his eyes glowed with white static, a telltale sign on an electromagnetic feed that he wasn't human in nature.

She dragged the counter back a few seconds and then hit play again. A blackened husk stumbled out a back door, the orange glow of flames illuminating the alley. No one should have survived burns like that, let alone been able to walk. Yet as milliseconds ticked away, glowing cinders crawled up his arms and across his neck to around his face. Muscle and sinew melded back together before blending into unblemished skin. The figure looked up, and Ryn paused the video again.

It was unmistakeable. Walking out of a blaze like that and regenerating. But Ryn was still struggling to wrap her head around it. For half an age, she'd thought she was the only one of her kind left. Her son Edan had died centuries ago, and the only other phoenix in known existence had perished in 1861. Killed by the Winchesters, ironically.

To discover yet another one out there in the world…

She backed up the video and watched it again.

"Ryn," Sam's voice intruded, and she startled as she looked up to find him standing across the study table from her. "How many times are you gonna watch that?"

She shook off her stupor. "I don't know. Until I find something that will tell me who this is or where he went?"

Sam gave her a sympathetic grimace. "Pretty sure that's asking a lot for a crappy security feed that lasts less than a minute."

Ryn sighed and finally pushed away from the laptop. "I know. I just…I can hardly believe it. There's a phoenix out there, and I never knew. I'm the Alpha. Aren't I supposed to know these things?"

But she hadn't known about Elias Finch, either, and it rankled. Were there other phoenixes out there? All the lore and accounts from hunters and Men of Letters said they were rare, but maybe they were just good at hiding.

Sam took a seat and leaned his arms across the table. "I don't know. The Alpha vampire is able to sense his 'children.' But there's a direct blood connection there, no matter how far removed."

"There's a blood connection with all my descendants."

"Yeah, I know. I guess I just meant…Eve was able to sense all monsters, too, communicate with them telepathically. But she cut you out of that." He shrugged. "So maybe that kind of psychic connection isn't part of you like it is for others…of her lineage."

Ryn pursed her mouth. That wasn't entirely accurate—she'd had enough 'psychic connection' with Edan to have felt it when he died. That sense hadn't extended to Elias Finch, though. Either it didn't exist past the second generation…or it had somehow broken the moment Edan died. Ryn's throat tightened at the memory of the anguish she'd felt then.

She folded her hands in her lap. "Yeah, maybe."

The bunker door grated open, drawing their gazes to the war room. They both got up wordlessly and made their way over just as Dean, Castiel, and Amy were descending the stairs. Ryn gave them all a quick once-over; though they'd finished the ghost case with the enenra, it had apparently been a close call.

Ryn met Castiel at the bottom of the steps and searched his eyes for the status of his grace. She was relieved to see that it was intact and that his wings had been healed.

"Are you okay?" she asked anyway.

"Fine," he assured her.

Ryn turned to Amala, who was looking thoroughly chastised over the events of the hunt. "And you?"

Amy nodded. "I'm fine," she said quietly.

Ryn gazed at her in sympathy. Amy had just learned the hard way that going off on one's own was never a good idea, no matter how noble her intentions. Ryn was just thankful it was a lesson they'd all get to live with.

"Better than fine," Dean spoke up. "She roasted that ghost like it was a Fourth of July parade."

Castiel furrowed his brow. "I'm not sure that analogy works, Dean. But, yes, Amala proved herself quite capable when dealing with the vengeful spirit."

Ryn nodded. She knew Castiel had already spoken with their daughter about her misguided decision recently, so there was no reason to rehash it.

Dean dropped his gear bag on the map table. "Well, I need a nap and some food. Not necessarily in that order."

"How about food first?" Ryn suggested. "Sam and I actually have something to share with you all, something we found while looking into the restaurant fire. Grab something and meet us in the library."

Dean flicked a questioning look between them. "Alright."

He headed off to the kitchen while Castiel and Amy followed Ryn and Sam into the library.

"What'd you find?" Amy asked.

"We'll wait for Dean," Ryn replied, pacing around the table instead of taking a seat like the others. She was feeling antsy, eager to act on this startling information she'd been presented with, but unsure where to even start.

Castiel canted a perplexed and slightly concerned look at her, but didn't prod and instead waited for Dean to join them, which he did five minutes later with a sandwich plate.

"Alright, what's with the family meeting?" Dean asked as he slid into a chair and lifted the sandwich to his mouth.

Ryn took a deep breath. "There's another phoenix out there."

Dean paused before he could even take a bite. "Come again?"

Castiel leaned forward. "You said this had to do with the restaurant fire."

Ryn nodded carefully and looked to Sam.

"I found a security camera feed across the street from the back alley," he picked up. "I don't think the cops ever thought to look for it after they wrote off the fire as suicide bomber." Sam grabbed the laptop with the file and turned the screen around so they could all watch. Ryn didn't need to come around; she had the entire thing memorized by now.

Amy's eyes widened. "Did he just…?"

"Rise from the ashes?" Sam finished. "Looks that way. Which is why we think he's a phoenix. I mean, there are a handful of really powerful witches who might be able to do that, but the eyes kind of rule that out."

Dean slumped back in his chair, sandwich forgotten. "Alright, so we have another hunt."

"This isn't a hunt," Ryn interjected.

He quirked a confused look at her. "Then what is it?"

"I want to find him."

Dean frowned. "And then what?"

Ryn stared at him in disbelief. "Well, he is a long lost descendant of mine. I thought I'd reach out."

He held up a hand. "I get that. But he vaporized seven people."

"We don't know what happened that night at the restaurant," she argued. "His presence there could have been unrelated."

Sam threw her a startled glance, which she ignored. Yes, she was the one who initially suspected that the restaurant fire had a supernatural origin, and a phoenix's energy would burn hot enough to have caused the damage they saw in the crime scene photos. But that didn't automatically condemn this phoenix; it only confirmed there was at least one supernatural player that night. They needed to discover the whole story before passing judgement.

Sam cleared his throat. "Look, either way, the first thing we have to do is figure out how to find this guy. Because we don't really have anything to go on."

"I'll go back to the area," Ryn said. "Maybe I'll find a trace or something. And I'll take that picture to show around."

"Long shot much?" Dean muttered.

"I can't just let this go," she rejoined. "So unless you have a better idea…"

He sighed and raised his palms in capitulation.

Castiel stood up. "I'll go with you."

Ryn released some of her tension, and gave him a small nod.

"Want me to come?" Amy spoke up.

Ryn smiled softly. "No, that's okay. We're just gonna look around. Besides, you just finished a hunt."

She looked disappointed, but didn't argue.

The printer in the back made a grinding noise, and Sam went over to grab the outgoing sheet off the tray. He came back and handed it to Ryn—a print of the screenshot blown up to focus on the face. It had pixelated some, but was still somewhat recognizable.

"Good luck," he said sympathetically.

Ryn nodded, and tucked the photo inside the inner fold of her jacket. Then she took Castiel's hand as he spread his wings for flight.

Castiel landed outside the Japanese restaurant that had been the phoenix's last known location. The trail was obviously cold by now, but it was the best place to at least start.

Ryn's gaze roved over the charred skeletal remains of the building, then to the alley off to the side. Wordlessly, she walked toward one of the remaining walls and reached out to touch the scorched flame marks seared into the bricks.

Castiel remained silent as a myriad of emotions chased each other across her face. The only reason she and Sam had started investigating the cause of the fire was because they'd suspected it to be supernatural in origin, and despite Ryn's earlier protest that they couldn't say for sure the phoenix had caused it…Castiel knew better. And so did she.

But he also understood how important this was to Ryn. He remembered her profound loneliness when they'd first met in Egypt ages ago, a creature cast out by any who knew of her nature, forced to hide among humans in order to have any semblance of companionship. To find out she wasn't actually the last of her kind had to be a lot to process. She probably felt some responsibility for this phoenix, too. How lonely must his own existence be? But did isolation breed resentment as it had done with others, like Edan and Elias Finch? As Castiel gazed at the wreckage, part of him feared what they would find—and how they might be forced to handle it.

Ryn stepped away from the ruins and turned back to him. "I suppose we should try nearby bars," she said, pulling out the photo.

Castiel nodded. It seemed as good a place as any.

There was a bar two blocks away from the restaurant, so they went there first. At this time of day, it wasn't open yet, but the employees were getting ready for the late afternoon crowd. They showed the picture to the bartender and bouncer, but neither recognized him.

They then made stops at the surrounding storefronts, but every person they talked to quickly shook their heads in the negative with one glance at the picture. Castiel could tell Ryn was getting discouraged. This wasn't the best approach to begin with, but he had wanted to be supportive.

After coming out of the last shop within a three-block radius of the Japanese restaurant, Ryn shook her head and stuffed the picture back in her pocket. "This was a fool's errand."

Castiel shifted his weight. "We can keep going, though. We have time." They could knock on every single door in this town if she wanted to.

Ryn gave him a dry look, then sighed. "Do you think I should let this go?"

"I know it's important to you," he replied. "Family is family."

She was quiet for a moment. "And if it turns out he killed those people in that restaurant?"

"We don't know what happened," he said, repeating her words from earlier. "I think the least we can do is find out the truth. And then…go from there."

Ryn grimaced. "Right." She hung her head. "Either way, I guess, he's my responsibility."

"Ours," Castiel corrected. They were partners in life, and everything that came with it.

The corner of her mouth tugged upward slightly. "Okay, then, what's our next move?"

Castiel's phone started ringing.

"Hold that thought," he said as he reached into his pocket to pull it out. "Hello, Sam."

"Hey, find anything?" Sam asked, though it sounded as though it was out of politeness rather than expecting an affirmative answer.

"Not yet," Castiel said.

"Okay, well, there was a major fire a few counties over. Might not be connected…but the report said the blaze was pretty intense."

Castiel's mouth turned down. That did sound pretty thin. But then again, so was their current method. "Alright, send me the location."

Sam relayed it, and then there was a muffled voice in the background. "Uh, Dean says…he and I will meet you there." He hung up.

Castiel held back a sigh. He knew Dean meant well. But sometimes the older Winchester could be…abrasive in his caring.

He looked at Ryn, who had a pinch between her brows.

"Another fire," she repeated. "But nothing to indicate it's anything?"

Castiel canted his head in a shrug. "No. But we can check it out. And if it is nothing, we can come back here and pick up where we left off."

Ryn's shoulders sagged, and he knew she realized the near-futility of both approaches. "Yeah, okay."

Castiel took her hand and flew to the secondary location. He had to veer away to a side alley when he realized first and second responders were still on scene. The structure was completely demolished—windows shattered and framed in charcoal streaks of flame, the roof imploded inwards, and debris cast out into the street several yards away from the building, as though a bomb had gone off. Smoke still rose in lazy tendrils from various orifices, and in the back firefighters worked to douse the last of the flames.

Castiel glanced at Ryn, whose mouth had pressed into a bloodless line as she gazed at the destruction. He frowned, and placed a hand on her arm. "Ryn?"

"I hear the echoes," she whispered. "It's like screaming."

Castiel whipped his gaze back to the building, focusing his senses. He didn't hear what Ryn did—adding credence to the belief that the phoenix was behind this event. Also, while the energy signatures had significantly died down over the past few hours since the fire had started, he detected a subtle note of something other.

His heart sank. They'd found a lead, but it couldn't have been a worse one.