Nothing More

by loungelizard85

While Kate meets Jacob Pond, and the two search for the Winchesters, Krissy Chambers and Jesse Turner begin a tumultous partnership. Four random characters in a world where nothing is coincidence. DISCLAIMER: Everything belongs to Eric Kripke and assorted holders of rghts to media used; I own nothing. Chapter 11 up now, Jesus of Surburbia, Part Tre.

11. Jesus of Surburbia (Part Tre)

"So, we're settling on 'angel', then?" Jesse's question went unanswered. Krissy stared out of the hotel window, uneasy. Jesse had explained that his feeling of being watched was merely a psychological phenomenon; and likely hers too. Krissy agreed but seemed distracted. "Kris-"

"Until we have something better, yes, although I doubt it. All the evidence we have suggests it." Jesse nodded, slightly perturbed at having a conversation with the back of her head,

"That's not much though, is it? A blackout that fits in with your hunch, and some suspicious locals, to boot. After all, a lot could cause blackouts." Krissy still didn't turn around.

"Such as?"

"An ultra-terrestrial could, for instance." Jesse hoped the unusual term would catch his chestnut haired companion off guard.

"An extra dimensional being or an entity from hyperspace?" Jesse mouth fell open, and Krissy had yet to move from her vantage point.

"Well either could be a possibility, I suppose. But extra dimensional being seems more likely, such as our demonic friend." A beat passed before a response: "Nice save there, Giles. Thought I had you for a second." Krissy smiled at the flurry of typing that echoed immediately after.

"Are you referring to me as your butler or the character portrayed by Anthony Head on Buffy, the Vampire Slayer?" Feeling her face break into a grin, she finally turned, making her face serious. "That's Jeeves, for your information." Jesse yawned, covering his face and then massaging his temples.

"My point still stands, we have little to go on. Krissy took her seat at the mock wooden table.

"Then we need in on the other side of that apartment building. Can you get us in?"

"Like I said, my powers work best in a limited area, when I can see what I am working with, especially with a straight forward presentation."

"Straight forward? How?"

"No mirrors or multiple facets of casting in order to make the illusion convincing." She raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"So, your reflection still looks like you?" Jesse nodded.

"Just like a monster's." A raised eyebrow and a twitch of a lip tell Krissy he doesn't take kindly to that comparison. You know what I mean; it's something to be considered. What's the deal with reflective glass?" her tone had dropped from exasperated to gregarious, as though she were doing standup. Jesse, placated, or at least not in the mood for a fight, shrugged.

"True self, revealing natures, all that jazz. Convenience, maybe?" Krissy frowned, this time without humor behind it.

"What's with you? I said I was sorry."

"Actually you didn't. But that's not what's wrong, at least not your intent." Light brown eyes stared with something akin to curiosity. "Before when you said, well, implied, really, that it was as though we had eyes on us, I didn't believe you."

"I know. It was ten minutes ago, Jesse." He ignored her.

"And yet…. your comment about mirrors suggests a grand scheme, doesn't it?"

"Because angels and demons don't." Jesse's eyes widened, and Krissy knew he was about to poke a hole in her logic, and be a prick about it. We have spent too much time together.

"No, because they're basically bureaucrats with bad attitudes. They serve their bosses, and I'm not sure that's a God and Lucifer." Leaning back in her chair, hands in back of her head, she smirked.

"Sounds like a bad sitcom."

"I assure you, there is nothing funny about this."

"I said bad sitcom, didn't I?"

"They're just agents following directives; the fact that it comes from a deity or fallen angel is just… happenstance."

"You lost me."

"There's no intrinsic element. No unifying theory. There is no difference between angels and demons and say, fanatical religious followers."

"Now who's being critical of religion?"

"One can be critical of a religious institution without throwing the proverbial baby with the bath water."

"Speaking of infanticide, what exactly is your belief system?" Krissy raised her eyebrows to show her interest was purely innocuous.

"Agnostic. I believe, but given current events, a specific religion or faith seems impractical." Krissy nodded.

"Okay, since we're chatting, question number two: The hell happened since we were "dating"?" Making air quotes, the girl stared earnestly, making no move to hide her curiosity this time.

"Pardon?" Krissy rolled her eyes.

"That. Talking like you're in a documentary on BBC." Jesse looked fairly impressed at the reference. Setting his papers down to give her his full attention, he grinned.

"When I was younger around the time I had my run in with the Winchesters and their…. Friend from upstairs, I had a problem controlling my powers, as opposed to being limited in them as I am now," he finished quickly, seeing Krissy open her mouth, likely to object to the contrast. "I believed everything people, namely my stepparents told me, and because of that people got hurt. And worse." Regarding him warily, although out of an attempt to not provoke him, and be sensitive,

For once, she thought, she asked very slowly, "How worse?" Her voice was hoarse with a sudden tension. Jesse stared back.

"You're a hunter. How much does belief come into your cases, that of innocents, I mean. That if some of the urban legends were true…"

"I'm a hunter. Most of them are true."

"Some of the… 'hidden moral' elements. To stop children from playing pranks or to get them to behave."

"Still mostly true, Jesse." It was the second time she had called him by his first name, as he seemed to respond positively to the first time. Jesse smirked.

"I mean things like the tooth fairy and…" Jesse's smile vanished. He averted his eyes. Krissy waited, assuming he would build back his confidence. After a few moments however, she took a chance and tapped the table in front of him. Jesse looked up, his eyes misted over; not tearing but damn well near.

"C'mon now," she plied, in a voice she gathered would be as close to a big sister as she could manage without actually being one. "It's not like you killed anyone." Jesse head dropped roughly.

"Oh, Jesus. What the hell happened?" her tone must have lost its gentleness, because his head shot up, eyes wet and angry.

"You've killed before too, I'm sure of it." His voice low and menacing, and the intent to be cruel pushed Krissy back, having to fight the urge to narrow her eyes and start a fight, where there didn't need to be one.

"Monsters, yes. In the heat of the moment. Once." That last bit was added with some softness, as though she were ashamed. "I'm guessing, yours was accidental. School friend, babysitter."

"I didn't know them." Krissy blinked at the word them, but the fact that he didn't know them relaxed, even against her better judgment. "What happened?" His voice broke the quiet so suddenly it almost hurt not to jump.

"My abilities occupy a radius. My beliefs directed their force. That force caused several electrocutions and a girl to scratch her scalp out because of joy buzzers and itching powder. The damn things don't even have a power source, t-they couldn't do anything, and I was s-so stupid to think that and believe what I did… I didn't even check it, Krissy. Why didn't I make sure?" Krissy froze, not sure if the question was rhetorical or not. Jesse's gaze indicated it was not.

"Because," she began, unsure, "you were a kid, right? Kids don't conduct investigations of what things are, they just accept them." Jesse tried to hide the action of wiping his eyes.

"I fail to see you that naïve, at any age." A smile told her it was a compliment, meant to preserve some of his dignity.

"Yeah well, maybe I was just a smartass. Is that why you've been so hesitant to accept this is a case? What, you were afraid of getting carried away… and what you think would become reality?" The possibility only occurred to her now, and seemed plausible. Scarily so.

"Welcome to my life." A dry chuckle was the last sound before an uncomfortable silence, and Krissy found great interest in the swirls of the faux wood finish of the table. Searching for something to say only adds to the desperation, and Krissy resigns herself to the quiet, better to sink rather than to struggle when drowning, and this silence feels just like that.

It's over when Jesse throws her a preserver, in the form of a joke.

"Made you talk to Jesus." Jesse said in a small voice, not looking up from papers he has no interest in. Krissy chuckles, Jesse looks up, and they began to work again.

"As powerful as you are, I think it's a stretch to say their responsible. I'm guessing your range doesn't include international coverage?"

"I'm a cambion, not a cell phone plane."

"But still…"

"It feels good to check, Krissy." She nods ands looks through a stack of weather reports. "But."

"Yeah?"

"But maybe, the time fore feeling good….is over?"

"Is that a question or a statement, Turner?"

"We're on last name basis now?"

"If you're going to be a half ass and it gets you to go in all the way, yeah, I guess we are."

"While I don't believe that emulating the relationship of drunken frat boys on a beer run is ideal, I suppose we should find our angel?"

"Strangest scavenger hunt I've ever seen, shortest too."

"Good to know you're on board, Krissy."

The second time Kate ran her fingers over her canines, sure that that she would feel two long fangs in their place, she heard the distinctive rumble of the Monte's engine, but only turning away from the windows she gazed at when Jacob opened the passenger door, hitting her in the leg.

"Staring is impolite, you know."

"I think we have company." Jacob frowned.

"Okay, Horatio. What does that mean?"

"A hunter, Jacob" He paused, and then shifted to gaze at the building.

"Where?"

"Inside." Jacob rolled his eyes.

"I'm gonna need a little bit more information, like a floor, or a name." Kate threw up her hands.

"How am I supposed to know?!"

"How do you know it's a hunter?"

"Cause he stared at me for a while." There was a beat of silence and Kate leaned into the car, expecting a response.

"Okay, maybe mommy didn't tell you, but guys sometimes look at pretty girls. Do you need me to explain that 'funny feeling in your tummy' too?" Kate sneered.

"Like he knew something was up, and he was pretending to be an agent." Jacob still wasn't convinced.

Most federal agents are suspicious. Especially when you're trying to pull a Chloe Sullivan."

"Who?" Kate asked, frustrated.

Reporter from Smallville, the whole prequel to Superman?" Kate blinked.

"I thought that was Lois Lane?"

"No, in the television series, she's her cousin, and- listen that's not the point! Just because some guy gives off the creeps, doesn't make him a hunter. All hunter's are creepy, but not all creeps are hunting, or something like that?"

"So how do you tell creepy from hunter?" Jacob stumbled for words.

"Well…. A gut instinct, I suppose."

"Like mine." It wasn't a question. Jacob hung his head in defeat.

"Yes."

"So maybe he has some info on your guys?"

"They're not my- well, actually…that's a good point." He brightened considerably, grinning.

"So lets find him, then." Enthusiastically, Jacob bounded out of the car, passing her, only stopping when he noticed Kate wasn't following him.

"Come on; this was your idea." He waved her over. Kate stayed where she was. "What?"

Raising an eyebrow, she asked: "You think I'm pretty?" Jacob rolled his eyes and continued to the side entrance, and darted inside, a grinning Kate following soon after.

"I take it back."

"Take what back?"

"This is the worst part of hunting, not leg work."

"I believe this is especial to our case, no.

"Still, I hate it the most. I'm not actually pregnant. Can't we go up the damn stairs faster?
Lily and Thomas Penderghast, of whose last name Krissy and Jesse argued for forty-five minutes the exact spelling, were currently making their way to view their first house as a married couple, ready to put a deposit down if the apartment 'clicked' for them, ready to put down a sizable deposit, should that happen.

Jesse had said all of that over the phone, explaining to the real estate agent that they were currently occupying a hotel, as they were from out of town, using that exact phrasing, prompting Krissy to remark in a hushed shout, "She gets it already; we're hipsters! Enough of the shtick, already!"

Culminating in the first time that Jesse used his abilities on someone else, at least on purpose, Jesse was apprehensive.

"Ready?" Jesse stared, as Krissy had outstretched her arms, tilted her head back and shut her eyes.

"It's not like a spray tan, you know. It's not going to burn if you get it in your eyes, or actually get in your eyes."

"Look this is your deal and I'm just along for the ride."

"About that….would it not be possible for me to go alone, and merely pose as an interest for the apartment? This seems unnecessarily risky."

"You have no experience in determining the best vantage point, or how to react in a crisis. I do. But I need you to get in the front door, as much as it pains me to admit. So come on now; do-do that voodoo you do so well." Although her eyes were closed, she grinned widely, imagining Jesse's scowl.

"Very well. But would you kindly….open your eyes!" This last bit was yelled directly into her ear, which was followed by laughter as she flinched away.

"React in a crisis, huh?"

Jesse had managed to perfect the illusion, to which, from her point of view, fit in somewhat like a picture becoming clearer on a website, the fuzzy images settling. Thing was, though, there was no template; the images had no origin, and the materialization shifted not from distortion, but grayscale, amorphous lines becoming something else. Keeping at about Krissy's height, Jesse altered her hair color to a deeper chestnut, almost burgundy in color, and shifted her eyes to a duller brown, and she thought maybe, for a second, that Jesse was shifting the vibrancy of her eyes into her hair, and had a small panic attack. Managing to swallow it, she squeezed her eyes shut; both of them deciding it was best after Krissy had caught his eye and nearly lost his concentration.

"Eyes shut from now on?" Jesse nodded.

"Agreed."

Finally, he added one more attribute, of which Krissy was livid and frustrated the most by. Apparently Lilly and Thomas were starting a family, and had a good start, with 'Lily' about six months along, and Thomas needing to help her along stairs and such.

"No, we can not go up the stairs faster. You're pregnant, remember? Pregnant women do not rush up stairs. They are assisted by gentlemen, slowly." Krissy, or rather, Lily, shook her head

"Seventeen and pregnant. How lovely."

"Perhaps you could get a show, then. Besides, you're twenty nine and pregnant, and I am your thirty two year old husband. You work as a graphic design editor at a small indie magazine and I work as an architect for a small firm. Back story is important, Ms. Penderghast."

"Then you should have made it less craptacular, Mr. Penderghast." Krissy blinked. "FMI,-"

"FMI?"

"For my information. Hell, even I'm not up on computers and I know some short hand. Anyway, what's my maiden name?"

"Come again?"

"Maiden name. In case they ask, because if I don't know, it won't matter how good your handiwork is."

"I'm sure they won't ask."

"It could come up in conversation."

"Doubtful. We're a couple. Who asks that to a married couple?"

"Someone who's sure acquiring the name Penderghast is but one down side of marrying you."

"Oh, I don't know…..Elison? Is that up to your standards?"

"Rather WASP-y, isn't it?" Jesse gave her a once over.

"Well, you are rather white. It's not as though it wouldn't fit."

"I'll have you know I'm one-eight Cherokee." Jesse stopped.

"You're pulling my leg, aren't you?"

"Yes and your complete lack of a sense of humor makes you the perfect target."

Finally reaching the top of the staircase, the two headed to the end of the hallway to a small display, replete with transparent balloons, a guest sign in sheet and a few other couples touring the premises already.

"I guess your little 'I'm a rich hipster with a baby on the way' speal didn't work, huh?" Jesse merely grinned as the agent, dressed in a pantsuit, strolled over as fast as possible, without breaking the relaxed gate, smiling very largely.

"Never say never, my stumpy friend." Krissy glared and opened her mouth to retort.

"Oh fu-" She sublimated her glare into a smile just as the Realty agent neared. A few hand shakes and even bigger smiles later, the two were showed around the rather large apartment, almost identical to the one she had seen when pretending to be a social worker.

On the way to a kitchen with actual granite countertops, which were very important for some reason, Krissy managed a look out the window, and Lily froze.

"Um, Thomas? You have just got to come see this view." Trotting over, Thomas, scruffy beard and flannel shirt adorned, and stared out a panel window.

"It's…very nice, Lily." He gave her a look.

"The ivy, it's so picturesque, don't you think, so interesting that it stops growing right on that floor." Lily, now agitated, pointed to where the plant along the brick wall stopped, the rest of it beginning again on the floor above it.

"Oh! Yes very interesting."

"Are you an amateur horticulturist?" Lily/Krissy swiftly spun around, slightly startled by the agent's inquiry.

"Uh, no, actually. Just curious about that plant. It's an odd shape to grow in, isn't it?" Glancing out the window, the agent took in the sight.

"A storm, I suppose. Really, it could be anything." Seeming eager to change the subject, the agent's smile turned to a frown as a young man strolled up next to them.

"I heard, just a rumor now, some freaky things been going on over there." Jesse/Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"How so?"

"Freaky stuff," the man repeated, before he elaborated. "Large groups praying in the middle of the night and something about a kid, I'm not sure what, but it's weird. I mean, nothing strange over here, but still." Jesse turned in the direction of the man to see a woman roughly the same age carefully taking stock of the situation, without looking directly at them.

"Hmmm. How odd." Lily observed the agent appear even more crestfallen, to the amusement of Krissy. Turning to the woman, Jesse made Thomas's face split into a wide grin.

"Sound's homey. We'll take it."

"Use my nose?" Kate was incredulous. Jacob was exasperated.

"Yes. You're a werewolf." Looking around secretively, he continued. "You have an acute sense of smell. Like a bloodhound."

"And what the hell do you have, exactly? You're a fox, or something like it. So shouldn't you have the same abilities?"

"No it's a bit different, Kitsune are spirits in folklore because of our ties to the animal; a werewolf is just a manifest of a more primal human condition, smell being one of the most visceral connections. Point is: you can track, I can't, and we don't have all day, so, after you." He points down the hallway. Kate allowed her sense of smell to overtake her, and realized that the world is a horrible place.

Really, she did feel differently towards even what was familiar, but hadn't had a chance to adjust; after all, her diet had been animal hearts, and it didn't occur to her that the awful, but sating taste was due to her new abilities rather than her old sensibilities. Several scents overwhelmed her at once: lingering detergent and bleach, unidentifiable food stuffs, aftershave, and the warm humid scent of bodies, including her own.

That last one, before the bodies… Kate shuddered and closed her eyes. She could remember aftershave, rather a lot of it on the agent, and if she remembered carefully, while he wasn't covered in facial hair, he had a five o'clock shadow that was coming along nicely. Why would he have aftershave on if he didn't shave?

Because he hasn't showered. Kate wrinkled her nose in disgust, her greater understanding of what she was encountering impacting her. Jacob had told her that the hunters, as a group, were generally nomadic, and moved a lot, which would support this behavior. Unkempt, but good at hiding it. The aftershave was strong enough, that given the copious amounts used, it was distinguishable from the other faint perfumes and aerosols. Kate lumbered down the hall, keeping her back almost parallel to the floor, intent on keeping the scent.

"I don't think he slid across the floor. You can stand up." Kate grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry. Newbie at this, remember?" Jacob nodded, patience etched across his face.

"You also don't have to sniff like that. It's sort of an automatic thing. Not a big thing, but I don't want him knowing we're here before we want him to, okay?" Kate shook her yes, and went back to breathing normally, only slightly apprehensive now, of being aware of regarding the world in this way.

Following the scent down the corridor, they edged along the stone, keeping their backs pressed against the wall. Jacob thought it best not to inform Kate of the possibility of something coming through the wall. A growl bubbled from the blond and Jacob froze. They were at a crossroads of sorts; two hallways bisecting each other, and apparently their quarry was waiting for them around the bend.

In order to get her attention Jacob laid a hand, reluctantly, on the nineteen year- old's mid section, blushing a bit, but remembering that it was better than getting ripped in half, should he surprise her. Seeing the hand Kate met his gaze and allowed herself to be pushed behind him, slowly, and a little bit miffed that the boy thought her to be dangerous, mixed with a bit of smugness at being considered competent enough to be dangerous. Claws drawn, and eyes a faint yellow gold, nearly green in the darkness, Jacob stalked towards the bend, Kate pressed behind him, which was only slightly distracting.

Focus, horndog, Jacob chastised himself. The turn was just a line now, a y-axis and Jacob was hesitant to cross it, literally caught between a rock and a hard place, with Kate edging him closer, unaware of the Kitsune's reluctance, and his want not to kill the (possible) hunter that lay in wait, and fearful he might lose control, and dishonor his mother's wishes. Deciding that waiting was leaving them exposed, Jacob whipped around the corner and hit low, hoping to avoid a drawn knife or gun.

Save for an overcoat, in a pile, the bypass was empty. Kate's head snapped towards a custodial closet, the creak of it's hinges alerting her before they did Jacob. A hollow echo vibrated around them as Kate charged the metal door, slamming it hard as the false agent attempted to slip past. The door swung shut, but instead of a hard, metal on concrete plaster connection the momentum ended flatly, save for a distinct crunch that caused her stomach to lurch. All her limbs however were fine, and Jesse had stopped short, attempting to pull her back. Looking at the door jamb, Kate backed up upon seeing the man crumble to the floor, using the hand that wasn't broken at the wrist to stop from hitting the floor, face contorted in pain.

"Fuck… I'm getting too old for this…." The words drifted off into a loud hiss as the man's wrist twitched, attempts to keep it still impeded by the massive amount of pain he was in, so much so that throwing up seemed to feel better than sex at the moment.

Lee figured that his rotator cuff was shattered, and the nerve likely pinched. If this set the wrong way, he'd be fucked.

And the… girl… may be two or three years older than his own, was… laughing. It took all of three seconds, like an eternity to Lee, to figure out the laugh was not malicious. Rather, it was light and cheery, almost too much so.

It took Kate all of four seconds, although it seemed instant to realize she was having a nervous break down, or some mild stress induced hysteria, and found the Murdock line hilarious, although she had never seen the movie.

It took Jacob no time at all to realize how surreal this all was. He had avoided killing a hunter who-judging from the knife in his good hand, silver, was more than prepared to spare them no such mercy, and the one who broke his wrist into a useless swell of flesh and bone was laughing at…. Something about a movie. The same individual who self ascribed to newbie.

Kate stopped laughing as Lee made a move for his knife. Only slightly awkwardly, and still a little giggly, she managed to kick the blade away, although Jacob doubted it was much of a threat. Not sure what to do now and acutely aware that Kate seemed frozen yet again, Jacob decided to break the silence.

"Who are you?" Simple enough question. Granted, a pointless one; Kate kicked the knife, and he knows we've been tracking him through smell-he turned toward the coat that was designed to lure them away from his hiding spot-he knows what we are. Jacob wasn't getting a response, in any case. This guy's a professional. He decided on a different route.

"How did you know about us?" This got a response out of the man.

"Please. You have it written all over you. Big sis here teaching a young pup like you how to feed?" Jacob blinked. Slightly deflated, he thought, Then again, maybe I giving him too much credit…

But this was good. They could play upon his ignorance and get some information, work him over-

"We're hunters, like you." Kate stated.

Well, forget that then. Jacob rolled his eyes in exasperation at Kate's bluntness. Then he paused.

Never had he considered himself a hunter. In fact, the reason tracking and dispatching that ghost had been so easy, was because of his firm roots in the community of creatures- this hunter after all, a prime example of what assumptions and theory and deductions got one, and how it was inferior to his own experiences.

"Actually, considering present circumstances we're better." Kate scowled at him.

"Jacob!"

"Well, it's the truth."

"Not helping."

"He wants to kill us. I'm sure I didn't hurt the situation, either." A heavy sigh caused the both of them to turn to the hurt hunter.

"Forget what I said; you two fight like an old married couple. Rather young for you, don't you think?" Lee jerked his head in the direction of Jacob, and Kate blushed.

"He's not my-" Jacob growled.

"He's just screwing with you." Taking a long stride towards the man, who braced himself, searching for an opening to defend himself. Jacob, his plan's to use surprise as leverage differed, not defeated, held his hand in front of him, although at a safe distance- no reason to be foolish-and let his claws slide out. As a juvenile, they were smaller than they ought to be, but still just as large as his mother's- kitsune, like most non-siring creatures, exhibited sexual dimorphism; although rather minor, maybe an in inch or two difference in length, slightly stronger than the female sex in certain areas- who rarely displayed her fox traits. Jacob had in fact only seen them once- when she was stressed, trying to open some small package or another-and for the rest of the day looked guilty about it for the rest of the day, whether for losing control or doing so because she was seen by her son.

In the dim light of the waning sunlight, the claws seemed to glow fuchsia.

"Do I look like a 'pup' to you?" Lee returned Jacob's glare and Kate's apprehensive gaze with a weary stare.

I should have stayed home….

"Okay, so what inhibits plant growth?" Jesse frowned.

"Well, nothing I heard of that comes from angels. However…." Krissy returned the frown.

"However, what?" She could almost feel him beginning to unravel her theory, with the clue she had noticed.

"Tesla lights." Krissy's face skewed into a confused scowl.

The climbing ivy had been facing an opposite wall, and only from a adjacent window, could they see how the ivy stopped in one place, but with the rest of the plant clearly having crossed that space, but a portion having died. For some reason that sent chills down Krissy's spine, despite all the things she had seen; apparently this was creepy not horrific. The latter she was inoculated against, the former set her off, reminiscent of how unlike vampires and other monsters, there were still unexplained things in the world of hunting.

"I know that nothing will grow where black magic has been performed, or a curse has been set, but that's usually for graves, and deals with resurrection. I haven't seen this personally, but I've heard stories, and in my… our line of work, that's as good as it gets."

"I believe you're on the right track. Take a look at this." Jesse and Krissy, as their bohemian turned suburban couple in the city personae, Lily and Thomas, had brought their reading material, Jesse assuring her that the oddities in the literature would nor raise any eyebrows, as many in the city had interest in or practiced even, the occult or had odd ideas about the supernatural, ideologically treating them as the source of evil or scholastic interest. Krissy took the book- a dog eared anthology of literature, opened to-

"Frankenstein?" Jesse cocked his head.

"I prefer The Modern Prometheus, if you please. It's more apt." Krissy nodded absently, turning to look at the book more closely, seeing Jesse's reference illustrated in the page before the start of the novel's section. The ribbed bulbs, lightening crackling between them at various intervals.

"I get the connection to resurrection from F- Prometheus, but what's so special about the lights?" Jesse smiled and took the thick tome back across the table, rescued from a trash bin, as Jesse advised that much could be found on the streets if one were willing to look. Krissy had made a crack about him being experienced at dumpster diving, which had come out unexpectedly soft, almost sympathetic, to which Jesse grinned and related some experience of finding a treasure trove of books that were frayed and being sold at pennies on the dollar, back in Australia. This had led to a brief conversation that was almost akin to shooting the breeze, if Krissy was inclined to admit. Which she wasn't. Not yet, anyway.

"These lights are special effects, in the original book, such things were absent; they're movie magic, you see. What Victor Frankenstein was after in Mary Shelley's novel, which came to her in a dream, by the way, " Jesse added that, it seemed for effect, "was the ability to transcend death." Krissy thought that if a peal of thunder cracked behind her, she would have jumped six feet. The hint of creepiness had grown stronger, into unease. She wasn't afraid, she was worried.

She'd be stupid not to.

"Alchemy." She whispered it, because if Jesse was right, things were going to get out of hand.

"A girl after my own heart. Maybe we should date, then." Jesse's grin beamed, the first time she had ever seen him smile that wide, like a kid.

And, this time she couldn't respond. She tried anyway. "I bet you say that to all the girls you fake impregnate." Her smirk didn't reach her eyes. Jesse stared. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Why?" Krissy shrugged, ass if she didn't know what he meant.

"You look….. Frightened." He settled on the word, almost wincing.

"I am not afraid!" Her voice seemed to echo in the mostly empty apartment, making her feel more self conscious.

"Of course not. You don't have to be afraid to be frightened. It's a natural response to the unnatural."

"I am not 'frightened' either, Jesse. I just…"

"Bad experience?" Krissy scoffed.

"No experience, actually. That's the problem. Anything could happen."

"Well, you realized what we're dealing with, same as I did. You must have some understanding."

"All I know are stories. That goes for vamps and werewolves and others but, it's pretty much obvious when you're dealing with one or the other and what to do. But this is a grab bag of weird. The closest I've heard is some hunters who disappeared fifteen years back and were rumored to be hunting a homunculus, although it could have been a golem, or something called an ushbati…" Jesse nodded.

"Ushabti. That's a small totem placed in Egyptian tombs to serve the pharaoh, or upper-class Ancient Egyptians in the afterlife as tireless workers."

"Okay, the more you know, but the point is we don't know what we're dealing with." Jesse made a face.

"Don't be so sure. We've pretty much narrowed it down to alchemy and chaos magick- creation and animation spells and creatures. If we know that, than we can figure out a variety of solutions to adapt to a limited set of possibilities."

"I don't think it that's simple. Alchemy means organization. An organization means more than one, and a lot smarter than a pack of Werewolves or a nest of vamps- likely people with a goal in mind. I mean, are we even sure our friendly neighborhood prayer vigil aren't in on it?" Jesse pursed his lips. "I'd just like to be in control of the situation, as much as possible. I get in our line of work that's not possible, but at least we should check out all our players." Jesse checked his watch.

"Looks like we'll be seeing them shortly."

"Okay, Kitsune. That makes a difference, how?" Jacob took his hand out of Lee's face.

"It shows you're not as smart as you think you are. So, now that we've established that, let's talk. You have a name?" A pause.

"Lee." It couldn't hurt, if they had his first name. Besides, they could finish him off if they felt like it, and they hadn't yet, so maybe they wouldn't.

"No last name?"

"It's like Cher's. Jacob stared.

"Really? You are young.

"Why are you here?

"See, if you're hunters, you're here for the same reason I am. Seems pointless to answer that question, doesn't it?"

"We are hunters." Kate interjected. "We're here for the 'magic' marble, same as you."

"What good is that to a werewolf and a kitsune?"

"So that is what you're here for."

"Doesn't seem like anything malevolent. That is until you two show up." Lee tried to stand up, but a fresh wave of pain through his arm sat him back down. Jacob was tired of this.

"Listen. We're letting you live as a courtesy." Granted, it was a courtesy for his mother and Kate's sensitivity, but he didn't need to know that. "All we want is information. Do you know Sam and Dean Winchester?" Looking the teenager in the eye, Lee responded: "Who?"

Jacob sighed. It was ridiculous to assume that hunters all knew each other. For all he had heard, hunters generally kept to themselves at best, and were openly hostile to others at worst.

"He's lying." Kate was staring intently at the injured man. Jacob turned to her, and then back to Lee.

"How do you know?"

"His…scent…I don't know….changed, like he was sweating more." Jacob frowned deeply. For some reason, as expected as it was that he would be lied to, the combined impact of being disappointed, having to have Kate reveal this rather than realize on his own and the irritation of being judged for what he might do, and really wanting to do it. Jacob no longer trusted himself, frustrating him further.

He stepped away. "He needs a hospital. Let's call one and leave." Kate paused.

"Don't you want to….?"

"I can't. I'll just do something I'll regret."

Outside, while Kate called for an ambulance, Jacob stared at his reflection in one of the windows of the Monte. Seeing two golden eyes glare back at him, he shoved his still extended claws into the glass, relishing the screech of glass on keratin, pulling out and leaving five holes arranged in the shape of a spiral.

"I've got something. I think." Krissy squinted at the screen.

The two had been screening church websites to find a link to what Krissy had called 'their own personal Jesus'. Jesse failed to get the joke, and she prohibited him from checking, as time was short until the vigil would return, at sundown every night whenever that was; apparently the group had been showing up before the days had grown longer.

Krissy had found everything from research type centers that looked like churches and vice versa, to meaga-churches and houses of worship that advertised 'funky fresh' ways of interpreting scripture. She wasn't especially religious, but she was sure that was blasphemy. It wasn't until Jesse suggested they look up local churches that something of value came up.

"How'd you know?"

"These people do not seem concerned with the political effects of their actions. It is unlikely that an influential church would allow them to continue their actions."

"Well, it seems that the Church of God's Love has a message board, and in that message board, people have been making comments about the Christ child, and the possibility of the Second Coming."

"Does it list a leader?" Krissy stifled a yawn and scanned the page.

"Renaldo Francis, he's been the reverend for some three years now, according to the description. Why?" I do not want more legwork. She kept her voice neutral; while she didn't want to go and talk to the head of religious fanatics she neither wanted to be a burden, or let Jesse know she cared that she would be one.

"I want to go and talk to him to see if we can glean anything from him, maybe see if this is a new phenomenon or something he tried to stop.

"I'll come with then."

"No. Stay here get some rest and keep watch. I know it seems like the angels won't show, but they have a habit of surprising you when you would least expect it. The door is covered, as are the walls. And please, don't be a hero if something does go down. I may actually need your help, and if you go and die on me, well that would inhibit that wouldn't it?" Krissy remained silent and Jesse took this as acceptance. He began to leave.

"Hey." He stopped. Krissy hated to have to say it, and wouldn't if Jesse had been more convincing that his going alone was not just for her sake. But she was grateful, and she was honest. "Thanks." Jesse nodded, and closed the door behind him.

The church was more of a nondescript building, with a large possibly bronze alloy made sign that held the title, and proclaimed its goals: faith, healing, and serenity. Inside, crushed velvet and armchairs, slightly musty, gave the place an odd feel, so like a church, but without meaning to be so in that way of incense and fabrics and crystal that spoke to the majestic and the past, rather than God and the future. A man stepped out, deep tan, suit that was almost a tuxedo, called to the front by a ringing of bells above the door jamb.

"Can I help you, my son?" He smiled, but looked warily at Jesse, as himself; he didn't think a disguise would be necessary.

"Yes, please. I'm looking for information on Mitch Dunham. I've heard people here might know of him." The man paled.

"Well, you might be mistaken, our congregation does not deal with such preposterous things as 'magic children'." The man of the cloth waved his hand dismissively. Jesse raised his eyebrows.

"So you have heard of him, then?" The Reverend sighed.

"Yes, and I wish I never had." Jesse frowned with curiosity, attempting to get the whole story.

"How do you mean?"

"My son, this is a place of God. I believe in miracles as much as the next person, perhaps even more so. But that belief is based on faith, not on proof. There is a profound difference."

"I take it that not everyone in your flock agrees." Reverend Francis nodded, than raised an eyebrow.

"Why so curious, my boy?"

"Because, it seems….wrong. Especially with a little child." Jesse believed the morality of the situation would speak the most to the Reverend. The man nodded. Jesse had been proven right.

"Some of my followers think that to deny a miracle, is to deny God."

"Is it?"

"No."

"Why?" The man looked down.

"The hardest thing, to believe in God? That not everything is of His will."

Lee waited patiently as the doctor listed all the potential side effects of the pain medication he was on, and now had a prescription for, under the name Kent Clarkson. Lee had a thing for superheroes. His hand had been set and was in a metal and fiber cast, to keep his fingers from moving. As it turned out he only had a severe fracture and if it was kept still, would heal with minimal difficulty, still the doctor remarked that it was odd that he hadn't blacked out from the pain.

"I had some help." Being interrogated by a werewolf and a Kitsune has some benefits, he supposed. Mildly buzzed, he decided to call a cab, and then call it a day, head back to his safe house. In the parking lot, swaying slightly, with a knowing smile, despite the fact that he knew really nothing, swept his eyes across the parking lot, and then paused.

Amid the newer models, a dingy, banged up Chevy Monte Carlo sat some distance away. It wasn't a car you would see here. A hunter's car, he thought, amused. Strolling over, casually, or as he was partially aware, drunkenly, until he was right by the car, seemingly empty. Lee knocked on the roof.

"Hey, Turner. Hooch. I know you're in there, I just….Want to talk, okay?" A moment of silence passed, and Lee frowned. It dawned on him that he could be mistaken, but that thought was slow and really, even if he was stoned, he could still follow his instincts.

Jacob and Kate stared from across the parking lot.

"How did he know that was our car?" Kate seemed incredulous, despite Jacob being the one feeling his frustration bubble over into rage. The hunter found their car, and to add insult to injury did so while hopped on pain killers.

"He says he wants to talk, and he, um, looks a little doped up."

"I heard, and I'm aware."

"Do you think we should-"

"No."

"You wanted to follow him, and now that he's come forward, you lose interest?"

"I wanted to see if he would lead us to the Winchesters, and he didn't. So now I'm done with him."

"You're so dismissive. That's you're problem. If he wants to talk, maybe we can get our…" Jacob turned to face her.

"What?" Kate seemed uneasy. For the little she knew about the world of the supernatural, she figured that this was not a good sign.

"Wings."

"Birds?" He asked quizzically. Kate shook her head.

"Bigger. Much bigger."

"So it looks like we're dealing with a splinter cell here." Krissy turned from the table to stare out the window as the sun began to set.

"Yeah well, you better get her quickly…." She felt a shifting of the air behind her. Not turning around, she sighed into the cellular. "You're behind me, aren't you?" Walking in front of her he grinned. Still on the phone, he spoke,

"You did say quickly, didn't you?" Krissy opened her mouth to respond to the wise crack, realized she was still on the phone, and put it down in a huff. Jesse shut his own and turned to stare out the window.

"Almost sundown."

"Yeah." Krissy let go of a breath that seemed to be sitting on her chest.

"Why are we nervous, again?" Jesse smiled a small smile.

"We may get our answer, and encounter the angels as well. You ready?"

"I suppose so."

"You suppose?"

"It's best not to make promises and assurances in this line of work, don't you think?" Krissy was silent for a moment, but then shook her head.

"This is the best time to make promises and assurances."

"And why is that?"

"Because, you can look like an honest person if you follow through and if you don't… you'll likely be dead."

"Rather dark, but I see your point."

"So?" Jesse sighed.

"Fine. I'm ready, or at least as much as I'll ever be."

"I'll take it." Krissy looked down into the street. Outside of the apartment building across the street, a crowd had gathered, and as she had been told by Mitch's mother, were constructing a large shrine like structure, nearest she could tell. "Jesse?"

"Yes?"

"It's time." He nodded, and stuck out his hand.

"Well then. If our not so friendly celestials show up, whatever happens, this is it. It was an honor to serve with you." Jesse was trying to make a joke, but his hand shook, betraying him. Krissy took it and gave it three solid pumps. The two stood there for a moment before heading to the door.

It concerned Kate that instead of pain, she was reeling with the humiliation of being tossed into a car windshield like a piece of garbage. Then again she was beginning to get used to being able to hold her own in a fight. The ghouls she had ripped into for ripping through people's graves when she first left with Jacob, and even with that angry spirit, who didn't even have a physical form to fight against. Sure she had nearly died, and technically it had been their charge that had defeated the spirit, but still, they had been a major help.

And now this setback? It was demoralizing, to say the least. Hearing the sudden commotion around her, and realizing that Jacob was likely in a panic, as were anyone watching her get thrown like a rag doll after jumping off a car roof onto the closest of the suited men who had surrounded the hunter they knew as Lee, and whom the one closest to him referred to as 'Mr. Chambers'. Lee Chambers is a very atmospheric name, she thought, like a book character. Managing to pull herself off the hood of the car, falling to the floor, a dull ache echoing in its impact. From her upside down point of view, she could see one of the men coming towards her. Panic building in chest, she felt herself change, growling, not at the man but at herself. She remembered what one of the hunters, than supposed Federal agents had said: from pure blood…. Are less feral and can transform before during and after the lunar cycle… She was special. Perversely so, but still. It was the one thing that made her more than a victim, so stereotypically….Hi, I'm Kate, and well, this is really hard, but in college, I was violated by a friend of my boyfriend. No, I didn't catch anything…. He just turned me into a FREAKING WEREWOLF…. Her revere was broken by the sight of Jacob attempting to engage the slow walking man, who merely stopped, took in the sight of the clawed and scowling boy, and raised his palm. A bright, unforgiving light began to emanate from somewhere between his palm and head, swallowing his pupils. Its sheer intensity motivated Kate out of her stupor, but also seemed to oppress her, until a yellow, red tinged light burst forward. The white hot light dissipated, and the man looked surprised, at least before he shook and shimmied, as though he were an image on a television screen, another pulse blinding her. When she regained her sight, he and the three that had been with him were gone. Fighting the urge to collapse against the truck behind her, she stood to see Jacob scanning the parking lot stopping quickly. Following his gaze, to Lee, Lee Chambers standing against the Monte, one window smashed, the window that Jacob had shoved his claws through earlier, now embedded in the man's arm, although he didn't seem to mind, due to the pain killers, Kate guessed. On the side of the rear door, some symbol was painted- in Lee's blood, it looked like, and smoking a little? Lee grinned

"Sorry about your car."

Attempting to weave their way through the crowd that formed a ring around the nucleus of hymnal singing churchgoers, Jesse kept his guard up, Krissy stopped; the song was familiar to her.

Ava Maria. "Jesse! Over here." The boy made his way over to her and urged him to be quiet. The two listened to the disturbing, even in the open, crowded night air, melody, too heavy and solemn to even be able to be called that.

"That's not a tribute to a Christ Child it's…."

"A tribute to the mother," Jesse finished. "What are you thinking?"

"All this time, we've been focusing on Mitch, assuming that his mom was nervous because the father was… different." Jesse slapped a palm to his forehead. "Occam's Razar, of course!" Krissy stared, bemused.

"A logical constant that the simplest explanation is usually the best; we made the situation more complicated than it was." Swallowing the panicky feeling that they had screwed up, a quick glance around assuring her that no angel was bearing down on them, only the wind, Krissy set to work. Raising her voice above the din of the wind rushing through the trees now, she said, "So what could we be dealing with if it's the mom?"

"It does not limit our possibilities in the slightest, I'm afraid," he said, almost shouting to be heard. Krissy's frustration peaked.

"What is with the damn wind all of a sudden?"

"A storm, it looks like."

"A what?"

"A storm!" A peal of bright lightning flashed and a thunder boomed mercilessly, causing both of them to flinch, and Krissy to notice that the vigil were still singing, as though they could even be heard in the roar of wind and thunder. Like they were in a trance. Krissy stared, relenting in intensity only as another thunder clap caused her legs to shake, it was just so loud. Steadying herself, she pulled Jesse close and spoke in his ear, "We need to get inside," pointing to the Dunham residence. The place having been cleared due to the raging storm, and the choir unaware of anything going on about them, no one saw the two begin to climb the fire escape.

Meanwhile, Kate was attempting to pick glass out of Lee's arm, as Jacob took down the symbol on the side of their car, before wiping down the coagulated blood with a damp towel, feeling oddly like a true car owner at this moment, considering he was cleaning body fluids off a smashed car that was stolen from being hot wired when he shoved five claws into the dashboard. Pocketing the scrap of paper, he returned to the car in time to hear Kate ask, "So, is blood for dramatic effect, or just don't like sharpies?"

"Blood's required for the banishing sigil."

"Uh-huh. And you banished what, again?"

"Angels. Celestials. God squad."

"Angels look like accountants now? I like Neil Gaiman as much as the next girl, but it seems a bit easy."

"Easy." The word was said with a tone of evaluation.

"Like a comic book, Constantine, you know; very first year college interpretation of the bible." Jacob snorted. Both turned to look at him.

"You're reviewing the legitimacy of Angels?"

"No, just their fashion sense." A moment paused and all three laughed, which felt good, until Jacob remembered they were in mixed company. Deciding against more pointless smart remarks and bad one liners, the Kitsune asked, to no one in particular, but with only one person logically in mind, "Do we need to leave? Banished isn't dead."

"No. Banished means a few days of dealing with the repulsion, I think. And they won't be back anyway, knowing we can banish them."

"Speaking of death, is there a way to kill them?" Both Jacob from his perch leaning on the door of the Monte, and Lee in the back seat looked at her with surprise. "What, these things almost killed us. It's not like we're attacking unprovoked." She scratched her arm awkwardly, looking down. Lee broke the silence.

"Well, yeah, but unfortunately, they're the only ones who have it: Angel blades."

"Which would be a blade an angel carries, right?" Lee nodded at the blonde.

"Sorry, it's just that it seems things get needlessly complicated."

"How do we get one?"

"Now, if I knew that, I wouldn't be on the run from them, now would I?" Jacob raised his eyebrows, and glanced at Kate, who stared looked back at Lee warily.

"What did you do that angels are after you?" Lee sighed.

"Look you just saw- they're not the good guys, okay? I was…. Just trying to keep someone safe wwho had gotten into trouble, the angels wanted to deal with that and hey, I was just as shocked as you about Angels even existing, never mind wanting to hunt my ass down."

"So angels what? Protect, preserve…"

"They're dicks, is what they are and bringing wrath is what they do. God's hit men, basically. Very judgmental, very trigger happy."

"How'd you avoid them up till now?"

"They are ways, just like banishing to get rid of angels, keep 'em out. Signs that keep them from entering. That sort of thing." Lee examined his hand, dressing the wounds, making sure they were glass free, only slightly awkwardly to the lack of dexterity in the other.

"So now we need an angel blade." Lee smirked.

"We don't need anything. This is my problem. I'll get the blade and deal with them."

"Because you did such a great job back there right?" Jacob slid into the drivers seat, starting the car. Lee balked at a boy so young driving, but remembered he himself learned to do most things for himself at a young age, and driving would have been one of them if he had needed to. Wasn't rough, or anything, just less rules and less fears.

"Tell you what. Surely you trust us and Kate trusts you. That should be good enough to make a deal. We help you with the angels you tell us what you know about Dean and Sam Winchester."

"Why so curious?"

"For the same reason you're being vague about who got in trouble with servants of Heaven. It's personal."

"I don't know much, but I'll tell, you, if you keep your end of the deal first."

"Now, Lee, you wouldn't be pulling a fast one on us, would you?" Jacob was feeling boisterous, and it showed. Kate shot him a look. He shrugged in response.

"I'm the one making a deal with a werewolf and a Kitsune. I think then, you can take me at my word." Jacob glared in the rearview mirror, but stayed silent, taking Lee's forced cooperation, and the promise of information, as a win.

The apartment building blocked off most of the raging storm and it's deafening roar; Krissy sighed in relief. They had broken a hall window, the storm obscuring their efforts, until they had walked down the hall.

"Those people singing, they looked like they were hypnotized, or was it just me?"

"Anyone who could keep singing in that hell must be under the influence of something."

"Now the million dollar question is what?" Jesse nodded. Stopping in front of the Orson's door, he pointed.

"Perhaps we'll find our answers in here." Jesse paused and knocked on the door. "Hello Ms. Dunham? We're checking of everything is all right. We're you're new neighbors from across the way. There's a nasty storm brewing, and we wondered if you were alright?" There was no answer.

"I doubt she's still in there," Krissy said after a moment.

"How do you know?"

"Jesse, their could be multiple creatures that fit this profile correct?"

"Yes.

"Then we should look for a creature that fits multiple profiles, right? Ham's Shaver and such and such."

"You're mispronouncing it on purpose, but your use is correct. What creature changes to fit its circumstances."

"Shapeshifter?"

"No one's died. Yet."

"Demigod?"

"Too generic."

"Tulpa?" Jesse paused. Then his eyes grew wide. Krissy glared. "What? Damn it, what is it?"

"Tulpa's are thought-forms yes?"

"Sure."

"Thought forms gain strength from the belief of others correct?"

"Yes. Point please?"

"Until a certain point, in which those who fed it become the servants and are fed to it." Now Krissy's eyes widened.

"How's that?"

"Tulpas grow in power and escape their original parameters, they begin to dictate design rather than follow it. It-it becomes the system."

"Yeah, I didn't see the Matrix so you're gonna have to better, Jesse!"

"I can't. But I can show you." With that he raced up the flight of stairs, Krissy in tow.

"How are we supposed to get the angels to return after we banished them?"

"Prayer?" answered Lee sarcastically. Jacob blinked.

"It could work."

"It was a joke."

"Aware. But if the Angels can track you as easily as they did when you're not hidden, then maybe they can hear prayers too." Lee wasn't convinced.

"How?"

"Unicorn horns to relay them. I don't know. It's worth a shot." Lee couldn't argue.

"So, what we get on our knees?" That was Kate

"I really don't think it matters."
The three of them had been sitting in the parking lot, musing over how to finally finish off the angels.

"So, you were in a nice safe place? How?"

"Sigils. Enochian, some angel language, keeps them out, like I said." Jacob thought.

"Okay, what about keeping them in?" Lee stared at him.

"In what?"

"In your as-." Jacob took a breath. "Anywhere. Here, for instance. Place the Ecohian or whatever on each side, North, West, East and South. Angel can't leave, because it can't enter, right?"

"Seems like that would make sense, but I'm new to this."

"Angels won't stop will they?"

"Probably not.

"So this is as close as you're gonna get, right?"

"Correct." Jacob shrugged.

"What have you got to lose?"

"My daughter." Kate frowned.

"They're after your kid?" Lee nodded.

"She a hunter too?"

"Yes. A bit better than me at it too, not afraid to go after the big fish."

"Like Angels." Another nod. Kate stared across at Jacob and Lee, wondering what a sight they made- a middle aged man, a young boy and a nineteen year old sitting in a parking lot, in a car missing windows. The lot had been mostly empty, and Kate's wounds had healed. Jacob had, however moved them closer to the exit, to avoid explaining the cracked windshield and dented hood of the truck. Suddenly a concern became apparent to her.

"Wait. Assuming something goes wrong, what happens if we need to banish them again?" Good question, Jacob thought.

"What happens when an immovable object meets an irresistible force?" Lee smiled. His right wrist was broken, his left arm covered in guaze, and he was buddy- buddy with two monsters. But, soon, Krissy would be safe, and she could come home, even if only for a little while.

"My guess? It's going to hurt them a lot more than it'll hurt us."

"Damn you, where are we going?" Krissy was as athletic as most people, maybe a little more so, being a hunter required it. But this is ridiculous.

"To the roof."

"Why?!"

"You see….every culture uses….high ground as their point….to depict….ascension…between….the Reverend and the singers….they've forced a tulpa to become…."

Jesse reached the door to the roof and pulled it open, motioning for Krissy to stay back. The girl rolled her eyes, keeping back, but to the side.

The wind was calm here, and Krissy figured that this was something akin to the eye of the storm, as Ms Orson stood ahead of them clutching a quietly sobbing Mitch Dunham.

"They won't stop," the woman said, her normal speaking voice just barely reaching there ears.

"Egregore. Jesse finished profoundly.

"Stronger than a tulpa?" Jesse nodded. Great…

"Who won't stop?" The woman turned then, and Krissy really wished she hadn't asked.

Milky, pupil lacking eyes seemed to stare, even if they couldn't, a slight crackling noise made the teenage hunter notice, a shifting beneath strained and pulsing skin.

"Everyone…. Talking, thinking, being… they won't leave us ALONE!" The egregore roared at the night sky, matching if not exceeding the wind's own pulsing cyclone. "I need…to make them…quiet."

"Okay, she's in place." Jesse and Lee prayed, as Kate ducked down the edge of the lot, ready to fill in the last of the angels wards that they had painted (using Lee's fake credit card to buy the paint) leaving but one sigil undone, so that the angels would not be unable to enter their trap, or become wise to their ruse.

Jacob had taken the opportunity to pray for his mom, he might as well, as after every precaution she had taken, she had still died. Lee prayed for Krissy, and his late wife, both sincere, yet only because they knew that any angel that would eavesdrop would meet its end. Two sets of eyes snapped open at the sound of wings beating.

From afar, Kate saw the quartet of angels arrive, and went to work, completing the hexagons that would seal the celestials in the parking lot. Two triangles, on either side of the line, one line covered by the touching triangles, the other free, enclosed the polygon, in a circle, which was inside of a larger hexagon. One on each side of the parking lot, accompanied by something that looked like a pentagon, and one that was a Coptic cross in a square, which Kate knew about from a ninth grade report on Russia.

"Ephraim, one is missing," Said the angel to the far right, and Lee smirked. For an angel, this one sounded like a child.

The one called 'Ephraim' glared. "There is nothing funny here, mud- monkey.

"I don't think he likes you."

"Silence, abomination."

"Nor you.

"The feeling's mutual."

"Surrender the cambion, immediately. I will not ask again."

"I'm going to say no, bub. But I appreciate the courtesy." Another angel stepped forward, and Ephraim took his place behind him.

"You do not know what you do- the cambion is innately evil. Protecting such darkness makes you complicit, as well as for all the damage it will cause." Jacob raised an eyebrow. Turning to Lee,

"See now, you left that part out." Lee swallowed nervously.

"Silen-" The angel who last spoke to them held up a hand, and the rude one, Ephraim became silent himself, although seemed to seethe.

"Yes. The cambion is dangerous. Even you must understand the threat posed to your kind, should the son of a demon rise. They will show you no mercy for your… impurities." The way he said it, thought Jacob, the angel must have thought impurities was a nicety. It's better than mud monkey, though. "My name is Wyatt. I am an angel of the Lord. I seek only to remove a universal threat, unlike the hunter you've shown short sidedness in aligning with."

"Is that so?" Jacob looked at Lee, who glared back.

"It is so." Jacob looked thoughtful.

"The thing is, I'm not big on the universality of this threat. Personally, if everyone died, human, kitsune, etcetera, it would be doing me a big favor, and then really, what I wanted most, here, anyway, I would, have. And I could die happy."

From afar, Kate began to grow nervous. Why wasn't anything happening? Should she interfere? Would that make things worse? Straining her hearing, past the other conversations, the shouts, whispers nearby, and white noise, Kate caught the tail end of Jacob's speech, mouth agape. I'm traveling with a teenage nihilist. "Granted, that's the default setting, but still…" Kate mused to herself. She made a mental note to bring it up, maybe point out there were better things awaiting him, them, and Kate really needed him to believe that, forcing down the pangs of guilt that came with realizing, better things meant better than Michael, and she doubted that such things, or people, existed.

"And, we all have our time to go. Maybe humanity's is now. For surely, yours is." Jacob's hand hovered over the banishing sigil, and Lee relaxed placing his own hand over it as well.

The one called Ephraim smirked. "Banish us again; it will make no difference. We will find you, and we will annihilate you, for the host of Heaven demands it. Then we will find the greater abomination, and we will destroy it and all its protectors, be assured."

"Let's test your theory, shall we?" Lee and Jacob slammed their hands unto the sigil, on the hood of the Monte where they sat. A distant sound of thunder rattled the asphalt below them, the Angels frowning. Ephraim cried out,

"What is thi-" The sigil shuddered, a wave of energy burst forth, engulfing the four, sending them away. Jacob, Lee and Kate only saw this, as the angels stopped after reaching the boundary of the lot, which shook, a deafening boom. Screams echoed, and people scattered, although aside from some crumbling asphalt that had frayed and torn apart, there was no smoke, the light from the sigil and a faint glow from the angel wards grew brighter, and once more a force erupted, shattering every window in the lot, and setting off every car alarm within and as they would later learn, in a mile wide radius.

"Why now?" Krissy steeled her gaze as the egregore turned fully towards them. She felt her face falter as a large grin spread across the thought form's face.

"Everyday, my world changed. So it was for my son. For twenty years, I have bent to your perception, such a hell you can't imagine." Jesse frowned at her rhyme, realization spreading across his face.

"You were born from someone's thoughts, twenty years ago?"

"Someone who liked rhymes?" Krissy added rather flatly.

"From a story, I sprang forth, now I have a life of sorts." Setting Mitch on the ground, who crawled to a corner, the egregore tilted her head up to the sky. Sighing contently, she stretched, a dull glow emanated from somewhere behind her eyes.

"Now is a perfect time; now I'm free to be me." She laughed. "And free from those awful rhymes. Really, how shitty a writer do you have to be, to come up with 'Sandra, a character who can only speak in rhyme because of a tragic event' it's such a gimmick, don't you think?" Jesse and Krissy remained silent. "Then of course, I found that your creator was no different. So I decided to try my hand at it. They seem to like my style." She gestured below them.

"You're just feeding off of them." Jesse knew it was apparent, but it felt important to say. The egregore rolled her eyes, and Krissy found herself less shell shocked by the minute. When will monsters learn the more they speak the less menacing they sound? Hopefully never.

"At least I interact with mine. Besides, I didn't ask for this; you think this the first time I've been offered godhood? Ever since the millennium, it's been harder and harder to say no. So I won't anymore."

"They don't all believe in you; Reverend Francis-"

"Who do you think started this round of ascension? It's perfect. I actually have detractors. People, who don't like me, think about me, they argue over me. It's flattering."

"So those power outages…."

"Were me trying to escape, and being only so lucky. But now…. You actually can support something like this on a local scale. Good for you guys." She grinned. Krissy looked at Jesse and realized that the egregore didn't know about him, how he wasn't one of the guys; that is of the human race.

"You still need a physical base to draw your power from." The thought form grinned wider.

"But not for long." Krissy slid towards the roof door.

"What about him?" Krissy nodded towards the boy curled into a ball in the corner.

"He's the reason I'm not running….

Sometime in 2005,

Sandra, now known as Patricia, sat in Central Park, thumbing through a worn copy of Jurassic Park. She heard there were multiple issues with the science behind it, and hoped to make herself feel better. Sure, dinosaurs being born from frog genes was stretching the factual aspect of the discipline, but her issue was with the ultimate goal- Jurassic Park had one, she didn't.

A shadow crossed her path, and startled, she looked up. A man, wavy brown hair, kind eyes, and a small smile looked back. An overcoat suggested some professional status, accountant, lawyer maybe.

"Do you mind if I sit here and eat my lunch; it's breezy here, and I enjoy the breeze."

"The seat isn't mine, it should be fine." He gave her a slight look, and sat down anyway; she returned to her book, embarrassed when she heard a small chuckle on his part.

After a moment of silence, he tapped her novel. She met his gaze. "Jurassic Park, huh? Kind of an odd choice, don't you think?" Patricia stared at the book, than back at him.

"No." After a beat, "how so?" It made her carry on the conversation. He didn't look strangely at her this time.

"It's kind of old. Plus it's ridiculous, the dinosaurs are a total macgruffin, just to move the plot along, and I don't think there is much of one, really." She grinned.

"I guess. It's just something I picked…up." She didn't have to rhyme anymore, why? Deciding not to care, she threw caution to the wind.

"I'm Patricia by the way." She stuck out her hand. He grinned sheepishly.

"Crap, where are my manners?" He took her hand. "Riley."

"Well, Riley, it isn't very breezy here, is it?" Riley grinned slyly

"Well, I still like it."

Sometime in 2006

Rubbing a barely noticeable swell in her belly, Patricia ran a brush through her long, silky hair. Riley said she had become more beautiful everyday, certainly a bit of romantics from her now husband. But she had noticed; her body became full, and curvy, her hair long, her eyes bright and sharp, but not unkind. Love certainly agreed with her, or given her condition, Riley did.

She stopped suddenly, hearing a loud thump from two rooms over. Padding over, trying not to make a sound, she resisted the urge to call out; not knowing what was going on, it could be fatal.

Finally reaching the den, where Riley was working, she took a breath and looked inside. She wished she hadn't.

Riley lay, or rather was strewn, his body at odd angles on the floor. Above him, a disheveled man, clutching a razor blade, looking wildly. At her.

He stepped forward. She shrunk back, and he began to talk, in a language she couldn't understand, although she soon recognized it as Spanish.

Backed up against the wall, through her panic, she heard one word she understood: "Santa Maria". Like a vision, she began to comprehend the meaning of the words, but not the words themselves: protect…the holy mother… violate….destroy the sinner and unworthy…serve the mother of Christ… He thought she was the Virgin Mary, could have seen her anywhere, perhaps, she figured, as she had grown lovelier, thought her to be a vision herself. He reached out to touch her, and on instinct slapped his hand away, to which he fell to the floor, repeating the same word over and over.

"perdonar…perdonar…perdonar"

And then he slit his own throat.

"Forgive…forgive me. There's nothing I can for him. Maybe he'll join me…one day. But I need to leave." Krissy was back against the door now and the egregore smiled sadly. "That door locks from the inside, you can't go back; neither can I." Pulling on the door it refused to budge and Krissy cursed under her breath. Jesse grabbed her wrist from behind her back. "Get ready…." Confused for a moment, she understood when she heard a small metallic sound: the lock turning in its place. "Almost…" Jesse took a deep breath. "NOW!" Krissy pulled open the door anmd jumped as fast as she could down the first flight of stairs, slipping and falling to her knees on the landing. From her view she could see the Egregore rush Jesse, who shut the door before the thought form could reach it. Hoping Jesse would be okay, she ran down the flight of stairs. She stopped suddenly realizing she would need something to burn the physical base with, assuming she still had time to do so. Swallowing thickly, she knocked on a door, at random. To the man who answered, she said, "Hi. The wind blew the pilot light on my stove out, could I borrow something to relight it with?"

And the panic ignited within her.

Jesse smiled as the Egregore focused its non stare directly on him, growling, "What are you?"

"I'm like you; where I go, there is danger, and people I love get hurt. I'm assuming that's what happened to Mr. Dunham, why you don't use his name, but gave it to your son? Trying to keep him alive because you feel you killed him?"

"Then you might be better off following my lead. Leaving people behind sometimes is necessary. Sometimes it can be good."

"Seems like a cop out to me. We're all a little dangerous, even the humans." She took another swing at him, slamming into the door leaving a sizable dent when he teleported away. "Amazing. Your structure is reinforced by the psychic energies you absorb, and so is able to inflict damage far greater than you normally would. Fascinating." Instead of answering she simply charged, Jesse teleported, and wondered how long he could keep this up.

Jacob surveyed the damage around him. Lee groggily stood to his feet.

"We should have lured the angels away….people are hurt."

"Not as much as you would have been had they gotten their hands on you. Our deal still stands." Lee shook his head then regretted it, as a bolt of pain shot through his head. "I wasn't…."

"Wait. Where's Kate?" Lee managed a glance around. There were cracks in the asphalt and car alarms still rang, but ere beginning to be turned off. He heard someone shout about an earthquake, and was thankful for the possible cover story. The girl however, couldn't be seen. At least by him. Yellow, fox like eyes saw a crumpled form near where Kate had set their trap.

"Kate!" Jumping over the Monte, which like Jacob and Lee had been spared any disturbance because it was at the epicenter of the sigil, and neither were angels. Kate hadn't.

"Jacob, wait!" But the boy didn't listen. Not being able to run after him, the tremors had tossed him some, but the blood loss and pain medication effects were keeping him dull, in addition to the pain the was slowly searing in his arm- the pain was resurfacing. Making his way to the spot where the angels stood, he saw wing prints etched into the ground, three sets. Lee frowned. Angels leave prints? This would be harder to explain away….why only three? There were four-

Lee didn't have the time to finish his statement as he was thrown into a car.

"You know…not what you do….you….mud monkey!" Wyatt, or what was left of him-his, or rather, his host as Jesse had informed him, eyes were gone, leaving only crusted holes where they should be.

"Not so amicable anymore, huh?" Wyatt let out a strangled yell of fury and pulled a blade out of the sleeve of his ruined suit. It was smaller than Lee expected; he was used to the imagery of a broad sword held in the Archangel Michael's hand. This was more like a short sword or dagger. Swinging while Lee pulled himself out of the way, grazing his leg, causing him to let out a cry of pain.

"Kate. Kay-te. WAKE UP KATE, DAMN IT!" Jacob shook the unconscious blond, who stirred only after he screamed in her ear, coughing a bit, a small bit of blood dribbling from her mouth.

"What happened to the angels?" She slurred, but was comprehensible.

"They're dead. Gone. Are you okay?" Kate sat up. Wincing, she nodded.

"Yeah. I think I fell, when the tremors started? Jacob, really I'm fine, you don't need to look like that."

"Like what?"

"Like your dog just died." Kate grinned at the joke between them, and Jacob gave a watery smile. The peace was broken when they heard Lee shout in pain.

"I thought you said the angels were dead."

"They were, or gone…" Kate jumped up- Jacob was still getting used to such an execrated healing factor, at least one that didn't belong to someone that was trying to kill him.

Kate made the distance in almost no time. Seeing the weakened angel, she tried another takedown, slamming the celestial to the ground, the blade in his hand skittering across the lot. Trying to restrain the entity proved to be too much, and Kate was smacked away.

"I will….. end you" the angel said menacingly trying to stand. Lee slid over.

"No, you won't." With that he slammed the angel's blade into its chest, straight where it heart would be, where it's host's was.

"No…." The angel's protest dissolved and a bright light came forward, out of the eye socket and mouth. Lee shut his eyes on reflex, until the red behind his eyelids faded. The body lay prone, wing print set out on the ground, still, and quiet. The adrenaline fueling him ran out than and Lee laid his head down, while Kate and Jacob rushed over.

Krissy burst out of the vestibule. In one hand were some matches; in the other a lighter. Still singing, still Ave Maria sounded around the storm, the sky nearly too bright to look at, that twilight color that happened during a summer storm. Attempting to light the matches proved futile, they quickly blew out. Throwing the sticks to the ground she tried the lighter, needing to get a flame, desperately wanting something to work, for once. It took a few tries, but she managed to get it lit and shielded the flame. Looking around for a connection, all she saw was the singing tributes and the damn altar they had constructed, the flames of the candle swaying, mocking her inability to maintain her own.

Krissy forced herself to calm down. The physical base served as a transit between the belief and the tulpa, or egregore in this case. She really hoped that the singers were not the base drawing others in to focus on their antics. As unsympathetic as she was there was no way she could burn people alive, or even hurt them, lest they attacked her, and they seemed content to sing and dance. Around the altar. Krssy flashed back to what the Egregore, or rather Patricia, at the time had said; about how they kept rebuilding the shrine, despite her protests. Before she gave up… Krissy headed over to the shrine cupping the fire carefully. Almost there, she felt a tight grip about her arm.

One of the singers had her, as a few had stopped and stared, although there eyes were unfocused, unseeing. They began pulling her away, though she struggled, managing to kick a candle into the shrine, starting a small fire. Those who had her let her go, surprised, though still entranced.

Above, the egregore paused, wincing as a scar appeared on her left arm, the same side as the shrine.

Krissy ran towards the shrine, blocking the wind from the tiny flame as she set the shrine alight, creating small fire islands that began to merge carried by the wind that had once tried to snuff them out.

Above, the egregore shrieked as it went up in flames. She burned, although it was as though the flame were a cage, rather then heat slicing through. Jesse decided to try one last time to reason with her.

"The power is being destroyed let it go and you'll live!" From the fire the egregore glanced at her son, who had only stopped crying because of shock, stared back and Jesse.

"Nothing…I….can …do….forgive me…." Jesse, realizing this was the end no child should see for their parent, teleported behind her, scoped up the child and back again to the door, throwing one last look toward the egregore, the fire growing more intense. Jesse slammed the door, hearing the air suck into the engulfing flames on the other side, and then the sound of rain beating onto the roof and streets below.

"Okay it's time to go. People, cops, are starting to show, and I don't want to have to explain this."

"What about him?"

"He still owes us info. He'll come with us. Help me load him into the back seat." Kate complied doing the larger share of the lifting. In the skies above them the skies opened up and rain pelted the ground below, Kate and Jacob quickly absconding into the car. Granted the window was smashed so it didn't do much, but a plastic bag over it remedied the situation for now.

With Kate driving to avoid suspicion, they made as though they were clearing the way for the police, pulling away into low traffic areas, back to the highway when they got the window fixed. They were on the road for fifteen minutes when Lee spoke up.

"I think I'm in trouble." Jacob stared out the partially covered window disinterestedly.

"What, did you leave some credit cards or a fake ID back at the lot? I'm sure that won't be a problem, they're all fake, and we used them to get paint anyway."

"No, I mean I'm bleeding pretty bad over here." Kate turned, and let out a shriek, Jacob turning to see a small puddle of blood next to the hunter.

"Jesus!" Kate pulled over, and jumped out, with Jacob following. "We've got to get him to a hospital, Jacob." The boy Kitsune stared at the blood.

"There's no time."

"Are you serious! Look I get you don't like hunters, but he's different, and…and even he weren't we wouldn't leave him to die. You wouldn't."

"You don't know what I would do actually, but in this instance, you're right, I wouldn't. But, Kate. There's no time, I think he's severed an artery and he's fading fast. Usually people are more animated when they're gushing blood."

"So, that's it?!"

"Of course not. We're going to finish his business as a courtesy. It's what I would do for another Kitsune…or for you," he added quietly. Kate looked at the ground. Jacob climbed into the back seat, trying to avoid the blood, but failed, it turned out Lee was sitting on quite a bit more of it. Gently patting the man's face to wake him, he spoke into his ear, "hey listen, this looks pretty bad….who do you want us to call, in case of anything?" Lee swallowed and struggled to open his eyes.

"Don't kid me…I'm done….fucking angel. I need you to call….my daughter, tell her it…..safe, and I need you to fix it so I can't come back."

"What's he mean, can't come back?" Jacob sighed.

"Salt and burn, Kate. So he won't come back as a spirit." Kate shook a little, and Jacob saw a droplet of water hit the dirt. Sometimes he hated his strong vision. Lee's hoarse voice distracted him from his sadness, for a moment. Reaching into his coat, he handed Jacob a book, worn and frayed; a journal. The hunter said,

"Here's info….you can find Winchesters….but try to forgive or forget….why you're angry. There are better things to do with your time." Jacob glared at the dying man.

"How would you know?"

"Lost my wife to one of yous….lost my life to the hunt….lost my daughter, too. I kept my deal…but don't say I didn't warn you….." Lee shut his eyes, and became still. Were it not for the blood, it would almost be peaceful, Jacob thought.

Krissy and Jesse spent the next two days setting their stories straight. The church attendees who had gotten pulled into the Egregore's influence were told that they were victims of a gas leak that caused them to hallucinate, but maybe they should stop the practice of building shrines everywhere, and stick to prayer instead.

They spread the rumor that the boy had merely cut himself, due to anemia, needed treatment but wanted to play, and so collapsed. That was the easy part. The hard part was what to tell Mitch. Coming down the stairs, just after his mom had been incinerated. Jesse placed the boy down, and tried to put his best stern face on. The boy stared back with tear streaked cheeks.

"Listen. I know what you've seen here is very scary and you don't understand it."

"My mommy left." Jesse swallowed a lump in his throat.

"Then again may be you do. The thing is, you can't tell anyone. You have to try and understand that maybe her leaving was a good thing, because otherwise, you gonna be really sad. Just say you woke up and she was gone. Because, it will be a lot easier. The boy nodded, and Jesse doubted that he would follow through, but convinced himself that no one would believe the boy anyway, despite feeling guilty for this thought. He set the boy in his room and called child services to report an unattended minor. He didn't see the boy stare at a spot in his room, or see the air in the spot shimmer. He found Krissy behind the door afterwards.

"You don't actually believe that stuff, do you?"

"It'll help." Krissy said nothing else afterward.

Jesse managed to find the book that Sandy/Patricia/egregore had come from, a quick search of the author revealed that he had some experience with the occult, and likely summoned then abandoned his character. Upon arriving to tell his friend what he found, he found her staring at her phone.

"Is something wrong?"

"You said he'd be safe."

"Who?" She pressed a button on her phone, and a young women's voice filled the mostly empty room.

"Um, my name is Kate…and I don't know how to tell you this… but your father has…passed. We handled his effects according to his wishes, and he said to tell you it's safe…the angels are gone. Again I'm sorry for you're loss."

"Who is she?"

"Never mind. You said he'd be safe. You lied." Really, he should have seen it coming when she walked over to him, but maybe he felt like he deserved it. The punch hurt, but the awkward silence as she held a knife on him while inching her way to the door hurt more, as he told her she could leave if she wanted. She was out the door and Jesse dared not followed her, even though he could have, unnoticed.

"I sent the message."

"Now we ditch the phone."

Jacob and Kate had dug a pit, and set the funeral pyre as best as Jacob could imagine it, which was essentially a pile of sticks with Lee's body wrapped in a sheet, set on fire with a lighter from a convenience store. It seemed appropriate for a man with such few pretensions, as Kate pointed out, and Jacob would have to admit he was less ideological than some of the stories of hunters he had heard while in the den.

It occurred to him, then, that he had been rather sheltered, and Jacob felt guilty, and wondered if his distaste for hunters in general was a responsibility or made him a pretender, trying to exact some selfish closure from something that was essentially his fault.

"Do we have to toss the phone?" Startled out of his thoughts, Jacob was a bit irritated.

"Of course. We don't want this hunter daughter of his tracking us down, now do we?" Illuminated by the fire of the funeral pyre, Kate seemed almost satirical

"Hunter daughter? You make it sound like some sort of clan.

"Kate we just cremated someone. It is 'some sort of clan'."

"You're putting them all into some sort of box, they're not all the same. You said yourself; they're all nomads. Separate."

"The hunter just wanted us to call."

"Lee just wanted us to call. That doesn't mean we can't do more."

"There are angels in the world. We helped to kill angels. There is nothing more we could do, okay? We're not going half way or anything. We're in full time. Just because we don't go and find his kid doesn't make us apathetic. It makes us smart. We don't know what she'd do or who she's with."

"We don't know much of anything, it seems." Jacob shrugged. Glancing at the device once more, she dropped it out the window into the dirt.

"Thank you." Jacob shifted in his seat, and winced when a dull ache ran across abdomen. Kate noticed.

"Uncomfortable?" Another shrug.

"It's not too bad. Just going to be hell to sleep tonight."

"Lay you head on my shoulder." Jacob arched an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Oh, come on. My shoulder was fine a few days ago."

"As I recall, you screamed at me for drooling on that shoulder."

"Only 'cause you wouldn't wake up." Jacob's face darkened.

"If I'd slept through, we wouldn't be here, would we?" Hurt crept across her face.

"You're blaming my lead for all of this?" Kate pointed out the window at their makeshift crematorium.

"No. I'm blaming me. I got you into this. You've gotten what you wanted. There's no reason to put yourself through losing more….whatever bond you developed with him."

"Friendship?"

"Fine. Friendship. You'll only lose more, if you even make more."

"We didn't lose Detective Clarkson. Lee got the safety he wanted for his daughter. I get it. We lose some, but we win, too."

"It will bottom out, eventually."

"Quit the dick act, Jacob. I'm sticking with you and that's that. Now you can either put your head on my shoulder and we can both get some rest or play your little stoic act and be sore all night. Your choice."

Jacob situated himself against his companion, resting his head against the upper part of her arm. For a few moments neither spoke. It was Kate who broke the silence.

"So, what's next, then?" Already groggy, and half asleep, Jacob answered without thinking much about it.

"Suppose our next case….

Ishpeming, Michigan

Abby Simmons paused outside a nondescript apartment door, like the fifty or so in the building, in mid-knock. She supposed the congruency of the doors would be some sort of metaphor. If this was a movie, it would be an intermediate level allegorical scene, gushed over by pseudo intellectuals, and panned by movie literati. Thing was, did it mean this was the right decision?

Carrying on an online relationship seemed like harmless fun, but Abby would feel like a coward, after starting to fall for this person to not see if it was all some big joke. Of course, she hadn't been stupid about it. Not wanting to be persuaded from seeking her 'special friend' as her cousin Samantha would phrase it, she left a typed letter (so her handwriting would not be illegible, nor could it get smudged easily; it took her an hour to decide against lamination) explaining where she was, what she was doing and who she would be with (hopefully), and had a keychain sized canister of pepper spray in her pocket. Should a lecher open the door and try to grab her, she would spray the SOB with the entirety and run like hell, if she could.

"There's no going back now, is there?" Abby knocked thrice, shifting and adjusting her glasses, switching from hand to hand the flowers she had brought to assuage the sweatiness of her palms. She heard a shuffling inside, and tensed, sensing someone nearing the door, gripping both the flowers and the canister until her fingers hurt.

The door swung open, and a flustered young woman answered, raven black hair and cerulean blue eyes, that could be gray in the right light. Abby froze.

"H-hey." Genius, Abby, you could be Cyrano.

"Abby. Hi. I…" The girl attempted to fix herself, prompting Abby to say something.

"You look great, Grace. Um, these are for you." Abby handed her the flowers. Grace smiled widely and sniffed them.

"They're beautiful, Abigail." The girl in question took a sharp breath, attempting to ignore, for now, the heat pooling in her lower belly. "Come inside, won't you?" Abby nodded eagerly, frowning at herself when Grace turned away for being so enthusiastic. Play it cool.

The apartment was rather empty, but a few furnishes made it homey to Abby, who swallowed panic that she was being a u-haul lesbian.

"So…you decided to stop by on an impulse, or is this a more auspicious occasion?"

"Well, I guess the first, sorry." Grace returned from placing the flowers in water, and fetched two wine glasses from a shelf.

"Nonsense, we'll just make it special. And everything is better with liquor. Stay put, and let me grab a bottle, will you?"

"Sure."

Taking in her surroundings, Abby allowed herself to wander, noting that the apartment was roomier than she would imagine the assistant to the production assistant of a small indie label could afford, but balanced this with the fact that the apartment was practically bare, so most of her money went to paying rent, Abby rationalized.

"How about some music?" Grace called from another room.

"Sounds good." She mentally berated herself for not having better responses for her dream girl. A melody flirted about the room; Abby recognized it as the opening from Wax Fang's Majestic.

Grace certainly is, she thought, and grinned at her own corniness.

A sight for sore eyes for the blind would be awful majestic

Abby felt something crunch under her foot. Startled, she looked down to find gravel? No, cat litter. Grace didn't mention having a cat.

The most beautiful thing that they ever had seen.

A small pile of the scented granules were outside what appeared to be a bathroom, Abby decided to risk a look inside. Her breath caught in her throat.

It would cause such surprise, it would make all of their minds electric.

Even with the litter, the stench of the corpse rotting in the tub could not be contained any more than the boundary of the bathroom.

"I really wish you hadn't seen that." Abby whirled to find Grace there, looking….worried. Abby tried to pull her pepper spray canister out, but froze, again, this time for all the wrong reasons, as Grace stepped forward. "I'm so sorry Abigail

How could anyone tell them that some things are not what they seem?

A/N: This was long. Me tired. Next chapter called "Where no one knows you're a dog." A Kate/Jacob chap. Till then~ LoungeLizard.