::Hello, all! This is an epic, isn't it? We've still got a few chapters to go and I hope you're enjoying it so far. I am fair-warning you all here; there is a trigger warning in this chapter related to sexual assault. Please be cautious!

Thank you so much for all of your reads and comments. Please leave a review! I'd love to hear what you think so far. Thank you for sticking with me...we're coming up on the end of Apocalypse. Let me know what you think!

love and internetty hugs,

the girl with the dinosaur tattoo::

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Chapter 39

Liberty

I watched as my aunt was passed around the room, hugs being exchanged with tears of joy falling from many-a-hunter's cheek. The Warriors were first in line, waiting with open arms for their leader as she greeted each one, high-fiving Ryan and Angelique, hugging Donna and Santiago, then turning to Jody. Daddy waited patiently, having a quiet moment with his sister-in-law and then hugged her fiercely.

Finally, Auntie Serra turned to us kids and opened her arms. "Get in here," Serra giggled. We all launched at her, leaving room for Levi and Charlotte to hit her first. "Oh, shit," she muttered, almost falling backwards. "Don't hurt me. I just got back."

This went on for about twenty minutes; exchanging stories, comparing notes, and commenting how she looked exactly the same as she did when she disappeared. There was new darkness to Auntie Serra, one that I had never seen before, but it was hidden in the flecks of dimmed gold in her eyes and the hunched curve to her shoulders. She carried the weight of something I couldn't identify. No sooner had I finished my thoughts when Mom's blue eyes flicked to mine.

That's not a story you ask about, Mom whispered in my mind.

Unmoving and seemingly unperturbed, I answered, Does it have anything to do with the torture from Lucifer?

Licking her lips and forcing eye contact with me, Mom replied, Torture is something that is done to a body. The damage that you feel in Serra is now a part of her mind. It changed her in a catastrophic way.

Why? What caused it?

Mom's eyes flicked back to my aunt. Serra endured something no person should have to. She'll carry that with her for the rest of her days.

Watching Mom carefully, I narrowed my eyes. But you healed every other aspect of her injuries. Why not this?

This isn't something you heal from, especially when it's your husband's body that does the damage, even if it's not actually him.

I could feel the realization of Mom's reference hit me like a ton of bricks and my mouth dropped open. He raped her, I couldn't stop the thought as it rattled through my mind.

Mom said nothing, but her eyes were sad as they found mine again in the crowd.

From behind me, Sawyer reached for my hand and squeezed it into his own. The room was buzzing with everyone's excitement and I could feel the press of my siblings' thoughts, all seemingly excited about what was coming. The only one I couldn't pick out was Everett, so I turned in the crowd of family and looked for him. He was off, by himself, looking moody as usual with his arms crossed over his chest and suddenly I was struck with how much he looked like Daddy, complete with his genetic Mark of Cain, glowing bright red and scarred into his flesh. Before I had a chance to think about what he was looking at, he turned to Mom and took a sudden, deep breath.

"So are you using us as guinea pigs again, or what?"

Mom turned slowly, taking her time to reply. She was calm, but she was also used to Everett being on the edge and knew how to handle his outbursts. In unison, Warriors and Jody stepped backwards away from us and allowed her to take charge. My brother hadn't had a major blow out in what seemed like years, but it was definitely something that all of us were accustomed to. I could feel it on the air now; Everett was moments from breaking.

"You know the plan," Mom replied coolly. "We have to get Lucifer here if we want to fight him the right way. Using your Gates to attract him, along with Dad taking Michael is a plan we know will work."

Everett uncrossed his arms and stepped towards our mother. "Is it?" he asked, his voice deeper than I had ever heard him. Dad was approaching from behind Mom, cautious and watching all of us at once. "To me, it just seems like another grasp, another leap of faith."

"Leave me out of this," Faith whispered from her position behind me.

Licking her lips, Auntie stepped towards us too, and I could feel the thrum of Everett's defenses as they shot up around him. "Ev," Auntie Serra whispered. "Your sister is right there. Use her to help you calm down."

I could feel my breathing come in shallow, panicked breaths, waiting for the inevitable. Dad and Auntie had their hands up, still moving towards Everett. "You know we have to do this," Daddy murmured carefully. "We have to use your Gates to get Lucifer here. We can end this today, Ev."

Sawyer was confused, and I knew that I should have done more to fill him in beforehand, but he turned towards me and I almost reached up to his mouth to cover it with my hand, but it was already too late. Mom was already watching him with a strange look on her face; almost knowing.

"What's the big deal?" Sawyer asked, bending towards me. "It's not like you guys can't handle him."

Everett turned suddenly, wheeling on Sawyer, "What, because you've fucked my sister, you've got this whole family figured out, right?"

"Whoa!" I shouted, dropping Sawyer's hand and holding both of mine up in front of me, palms out towards my brother. "Where the fuck do you get off? Calm yourself down!"

My baby brother shot me a dangerous look and instantly, I knew that I had reacted too violently for him. The ground beneath us began to shake and I locked my jaw, getting ready for what was about to happen.

"Everett," Faith moved towards him slowly with her hands out in front of her, mirroring me. He backed away from her at the same pace as she approached with his jaw slack, looking for a fight. "What are you doing?" Faith asked quietly. "You knew this was coming. You know this is what we were built for. We can finally beat him."

I turned to stare at our mother, who, surprisingly was doing very little to help the situation. She hadn't moved from her spot and she hadn't made the effort to approach him, even now as the Earth shook beneath our feet. Serra glanced at Mom as well, her eyebrows furrowed as our world fell apart.

"It's too much pressure," Everett growled. "It always has been. This isn't what we chose, and we shouldn't have to be the ones to go up against him." His dark blue eyes were glassy as he looked up to Mom, "I don't want to die."

"We're the Winchesters," Glory answered, finally stepping towards her twin. "This is what we do. We are not going to die. We're together on this and together, we can beat him."

"Is that really what we should be doing?" Everett answered, his fingertips aglow with a strange orange light. "Maybe letting it happen is something we should consider."

"Take it back," Glory whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "You take it back right now."

Gritting his teeth, Everett looked at each of us in turn. His nostrils flared as he seemed to weigh his options, and finally, he stared at Mom, almost pleading with her. I was quick enough to see Mom swallow hard and give the slightest nod.

There was a deafening explosion and the warehouse—our home, began to collapse around us. The Warriors and varying members of my family scattered, moving out of the way as beams and light fixtures came crashing down. I pushed Sawyer out of the way as the heavy circulation fan from the rafters exploded next to us as it hit our propane tank and Glory and I moved as one, creating a bubble of protection around the humans as the mushroom cloud of flame and smoke engulfed the whole warehouse.

When the smoke cleared and things calmed, the dust settled, and I spun in a complete circle, searching for Everett. I could feel the panic rising in my chest, seeing the Warriors on the ground, helping each other back to their feet. Dad was holding Mom in a tight embrace and Aunt Serra rubbed her face with both of her hands. Faith, Glory, and I stared at each other; our brother was gone.