DISCLAIMER: I only own my character! Anything you might recognize is courtesy of the CW.

WARNING: Some of these episodes/chapters may contain graphic violence, cursing, mentions of suicide or assault and other triggering aspects. Proceed with caution please.

Episode Summary:

Ruby tells Sam, Dean and Angel that a powerful demon named Alastair is searching for a girl named Anna who can hear the angels' conversations. The four set out to find Anna but once they do, Alastair attacks them and Ruby escapes with the girl. Castiel and Uriel return and demand to be taken to Anna but not for the reason the Winchesters think.

Inside a patient's room in the Connor Beverly Behavioral Medicine Center…

A young redheaded woman was sitting in a hospital bed in a contemplative way. It was almost as if she was listening to some distant whispering.

"Anna?" The Psychologist sitting at the foot of the bed broke her concentration, "Do you know where you are? You're at the Connor Beverly Behavioral Medicine Center." Anna looked at her hospital's wristband, "Do you know why you're here?" She shrugged, "Do you remember what you did?" She nodded with a frown, "You were hysterical. It took four people to restrain you."

"I was trying to warn them."

"Warn who?"

"Everyone." At the Psychologists wide eyes Anna looked away, "Forget it. It was stupid."

"What were you trying to warn them about?"

"Look…" Anna's eyes met the older woman's once more, "I get it. You think I'm nuts. If I were you, I'd think I was nuts. But it's all true."

"It's okay. You can tell me. I'm here to listen."

"The end…" She inhaled sharply as tears came to her eyes, "Is coming. The apocalypse."

"The apocalypse. Like in the Bible?"

"Kind of. I mean, same bottom line. This demon, Lilith, is trying to break the 66 seals to free Lucifer from Hell. Lucifer… Will bring the apocalypse. So… Smoke 'em if you got 'em."

Abruptly Anna turned her head to listen to more distant whispering.

The psychologist frowned, "Anna?"

Anna deflated as she looked to the floor, "Sorry."

"What were you doing?"

"Nothing. Just listening."

"So, you were saying that there are, uh, 66 of these seals in the world?"

"No, no. There are about 600 possible seals. Lilith only has to break 66 of them, but no one knows which 66 she's gonna break."

"I see."

"That's why it's nearly impossible to stop her. And that's why the angels are losing. That's why we're all gonna die."

After the psychologist left, a hospital attendant entered Anna's room, "Time for your meds, Anna. Anna?" He frowned when she turned and looked horrified at the sight of him, "What's the matter, sweetie?"

"Your face- what happened to your face?"

"I know." He grinned as his eyes turned black with demon smoke, "I'm downright kissable." He held a finger up to his lips as he closed the door, "Shh, shh, shh."

Shaking in terror, Anna used her mind to push a chest of drawers against the attendant and knocked him unconscious.

Inside a dive bar…

At a pool table in the back, Sam drunkenly played pool with another man as Dean and Angel each watched from different areas of the bar. Dean was leaning on the table with his own beer while Angel was flirting, and pick-pocketing, another patron.

"Brian, come on, man, just one more. Just- just give me a chance to win it back."

Brian shrugged, "It's your cash."

"Excuse me." Dean sauntered up, glaring, "My brother's a little sauced to be making bets."

"Hey, he insisted."

"Yeah, but you've already taken, what, two bills off him? I'm just sayin'."

"Hey, shut up, Dean." Sam glared, his voice slurring, "I'm fine."

"No, you're not fine. You're drunk!"

Sam ignored him as he took a wad of cash out of his pocket, "Let's make it five hundred."

Dean scoffed incredulously, "Five hundred?"

Brian grinned, "Sure." Sam slammed the money down on the pool table as Brian readied the balls, "Five hundred. Your break."

While Brian looked away, Sam raised his eyebrows knowingly at Dean. For a second there was no trace of drunkenness. Dean smirked back, giving the signal that he thought this guy was going to make an easy mark. Sam turned to meet eyes with Angel as she carefully slipped her own mark's wallet into her pocket. She gave her brother a wink for a go ahead and Sam broke the triangle, sinking several balls instantly. Brian's brows furrowed in confusion as he watched. Dean studied his reaction in case he needed to step in. Looking past the guy's shoulder, Sam tensed when he saw Ruby sitting across the bar giving him an eye.

Sam put his cue down on the pool table before stomping towards Ruby, "Keep the money."

Dean gaped at Sam irately as his eyes flashed to the happy bar patron. Angel, noticing her brother abandoning an easy five bills, followed his gaze and tensed as well. She walked over to Dean and grabbed his chin roughly, pointing it to where Sam was going. More importantly, who he was charging over too. Dean followed her as she stormed over to Ruby with a hateful but ready glare.

She stopped next to Sam, dismissing his words, "You got a lot of nerve showing up anywhere near us, bottom bitch."

Ruby glared back but put her hands up, "I just have some info, and then I'm gone."

Sam studied her, "What is it?"

"I'm hearing a few whispers."

"Oh, great, demon whisperers." Dean sneered, "That's reliable."

Ruby turned her glare at him but continued, "Girl named Anna Milton escaped from a locked ward yesterday. The demons seem pretty keen on finding her. Apparently, some real heavy hitters turned out for the Easter-egg hunt."

"Why?" Sam asked, "Who is she?"

Ruby shrugged, "No idea."

"Oh no idea?" Angel scoffed, "Convenient."

"But I'm thinking that she's important, 'cause the order is to capture her alive. I just figured that whatever the deal is, you might want to find this girl before the demons do."

"Look…" Sam turned to Angel and Dean, "Maybe we should check it out."

"The hell we should. We're hunters. We don't take orders from demons." Angel continued to glare at Ruby before shrugging, "Besides… we're working a case."

Ruby scowled, "What case?"

"Uh, we've got leads." Dena joined in with a nod, "Big leads."

Ruby rolled her eyes, "Sounds dangerous."

"Yeah, well, it sure ain't goose-chasing after some chick who, for all we know, doesn't even exist, just because you say she's important."

"I'm just delivering the news. You can do whatever you want with it. Far as I'm concerned, I told you, I'm done."

"Wait, wait, wait." Sam stopped her as she got up to leave, "This hospital Anna escaped from- it got a name?"

Later on, in the Impala…

Dean drove silently, Angel in the back, as Sam spoke on the phone.

"Can I get a copy of the missing persons report? Great. Okay. Thanks." He hung up, "Well, Anna Milton's definitely real."

"Don't mean the case is real." Dean's face hardened, "And this hospital's a three-day drive."

"We've driven further for less, Dean." Dean shook his head making Sam tense up, "You got something to say, say it."

"How about I say it?" Angel angrily leaned forward, "I go to hell for a few months, you go MIA on Dean and Bobby and now, all of a sudden, you're treating some demon like she's a part of the family. You're taking orders from the bitch even. Oh, but not just any demon though. Freakin Ruby."

Sam stared forward defiantly. His face was filled with disappointment as she read him the riot act. He was used to Dean yelling at him, used to fighting with him, but not so much Angel. The two of them were usually good at communicating but lately things have been extremely rocky.

"I told you guys, she helped me go after Lilith."

Well, thanks for the thumbnail, real vivid." Dean scoffed, "You want to fill in a little detail?"

"Details would help us decipher if you've gone insane, Sam. Stop being so cryptic."

"Sure, Angel, let's trade stories." He turned around angrily, "You first. How was Hell? Don't spare the details."

"Yeah." She huffed back in her seat, "Not happening."

"Didn't think so."

Six months earlier…

At a crossroads in the middle of the night, a drunk Sam grunted as he buried a box in an attempt to summon a crossroads demon.

"Come on!" Sam swung around and angrily threw his now empty whiskey bottle, "Where the hell are you?!"

"I was wondering whether to come or not." A man in a suit stood several feet away from Sam in the distance with his hands in his pocket, "I mean, you shot one of my co-workers." He smirked as Sam stumbled over to him, "Don't take this the wrong way, Sam, but you don't look so hot, buddy. I guess burying your sister didn't agree with you."

He stopped in front of a wood table, "Well?"

"Well, let's see that special little knife of yours first."

Sam immediately took out the knife, "No devil's traps, either." He slammed the knife down on the table, "I'm not here to play games."

"Let me guess." The crossroads walked over to lean on the table, "You want to make a deal. And 'round and 'round the Winchesters go. I'm sorry, Sam. That's not gonna happen."

"I don't want ten years. I don't want one year. I don't want candy!" Sam stabbed the knife into the demon's hand making him yell out in pain, "I want to trade places with Angel."

"No."

"Just take me! It's a fair trade!"

"No!"

"Why not?! Lilith wants me dead. Just let Angel go, and she can have me."

"Don't you understand, Sam? It's not about your soul. Angel's in Hell, right where we want her. We've got everything exactly the way we want it. You want to kill me?" He leaned closer to him as a smile spread over his face, "Go ahead. I've made peace with my lord."

Back to the present, inside the Connor Beverly Behavioral Medicine Center…

"Of course." The Psych turned to the three suited up Hunters, "I want to help however I can."

"Now…" Sam cocked his head, "The orderly has no recollection of Anna's escape?"

"Apparently, she knocked him unconscious. The blow caused some amnesia. He doesn't even remember coming into her room."

Dean looked unconvinced, "That's a hell of a right hook to knock out a guy that's got 80 pounds on her."

"We think she may have planned this, waited behind the door."

"Right." Angel motioned, "Uh, you mentioned Anna's illness was recent?"

"Two months ago she was a happy, well-adjusted, journalism major with lots of friends. Bright future."

"So, what happened? She had a mental breakdown and flipped out?"

"Well, that's the tragedy of schizophrenia. Within weeks, Anna was overtaken by delusions."

"What kind of delusions?"

She handed a sketchbook over to Angel, "She thought demons were everywhere." The blonde cocked an eyebrow at the drawings as the three of them flipped through the book, "It's not uncommon for our patients to believe that monsters are real."

"Well, thats…" Dean laughed tightly, "That's just batty."

Sam took the book as they came across a page with the text 'Raising of the Witnesses'. On the next page 'Samhain the next seal is broken'.

Angel pointed, "That's Revelations."

The psych looked at her, "Since when does the Book of Revelations have jack-o'-lanterns?"

"It's a, uh…" Dean smirked, "A little-known translation."

"Well, Anna's father was a church deacon. When she became ill, her paranoia took on religious overtones. She was convinced the devil was about to rise up and end the world. I hope you find her. It's dangerous for her to be out there alone right now."

Outside the Milton home…

Dean knocked on the front door for a third time but no one answered, "Maybe they're not home."

Sam motioned, "Both cars in the driveway."

Angel tried the door and frowned when she found it unlocked. As she led she led them into the house she sent the two of them a grim look.

"That's never a good sign."

Dean called out first as they all brought out their weapons, "Mr. And Mrs. Milton?"

"We're from the sheriff's department."

"We just wanted to ask you a couple of questions."

Walking a little bit deeper into the house, they came across two dead bodies lying on the floor. Both of their throats were cut open.