Three days had passed since everyone had arrived at the Roadhouse and there had been no updated from Crowley. Charlie had kept a constant track on demon omens with her laptop and the frequency of them popping up around the country was only getting higher. The training had continued each day, the more time they had to learn to understand each other the better. After the first initial large group training all others were held only between those in each group, since they wouldn't all be fighting side by side as a whole unless something went wrong. Second apocalypse kind of wrong. Dean had spent two days with the members of his group, bringing them up to speed on everything he knew about killing angels and demons with the help of the two angels in the group. Ana had seemed to know that it would be less than likely for him to trust a new angel so she had made sure that Cas and himself were working together, even if the second angel in the group was one that he'd never met before.
"Dean, the angels we've brought here are highly trusted. Gabriel and I wouldn't chance anything about this mission going wrong." Castiel had assured him, again, as they had begun their training that day.
Hours had passed since then and Dean, along with both angels, were pushing Krissy and William harder than they had in the days before. Both the young hunter and the large witch needed to be prepared for the force they were going to go up against. It had been a smart move on Ana's part to make sure there was at least one angel and one witch in each group along with making sure that certain groups had one person more than the rest. His daughter had planned well. Gabriel would stick with her, Hannah was with Connor, and Ariel was Dean's main angel contender so that Cas could move from group to group if it was needed. He and another, almost scary looking, female angel would be the ones to assist the others if it was needed. Gabriel would have been preferable in Dean's mind, but he also understood that the archangel did not want to leave Ana alone on the chance that she would come face to face with his brothers. Pushing all of that from his head he took in the two members of his group that were panting heavily at the last assault he and the angels had put on them. "Alright guys, let's take a break. No point in wearing you out completely."
Almost all of the tables in the barroom had been pushed back against the walls, some stacked on top of others while a few sat on their own for when it was time for everyone to eat. There was no way they would all fit at the bar comfortably. Out of the five groups three were training inside; Dean's, Sam's, and Charlie's. Ana and Connor had taken their groups outside to the large field behind the building so that the witches could use their powers without destroying anything inside. At first it had taken Ana a little adjusting to go back to using her powers, but thankfully it had only taken about a day before she had full control again because she had almost had Claire on the verge of running once or twice. It was no surprise to anyone who knew Claire that she was weary of the witches and angels in the room, she had little to no good experiences with any type of nonhuman being.
As he considered everything Dean moved over to the table he had set a bottle of water down on before they had gotten started. He almost choked on the liquid when Ana came running through the back door that they'd propped open. She was waving her now activated cell phone around as she ran into the center of the room with Claire, Logan, and Xavier on her heels. "Crowley called with news."
"Has there been movement toward the gates?" Castiel asked, meeting the small group with Dean following behind him. If their enemy was moving they would need to do the same.
Ana shook her head, what little bit of her bangs that were hanging in front of her face swayed back and forth. "No, but he thinks that they've finally collected all of the bodies they're going to be using. Which means that we may not have long before they make their move."
"Or they could continue to bide their time until we're so confused about why they haven and use that to their advantage." Claire offered in her normal snarky tone. She was ready to get in on a good fight, one where she could actually kill something, but she also didn't want to die.
Dean sighed after a thought ran through his head, one that had a few times before, but it wasn't something he would suggest lightly. "Ana." even her name sounded questionable as he spoke. Waiting until her attention was focused on him, he stealed himself before opening his mouth again. "I know you don't like to, but we could really use a vision right about now. Just a glimpse of when they're going to move could help keep us alive."
Cas frowned and turned slightly so that he could look at Dean, "You know that Ana forcing a vision has had some bad side effects." They had watched a few times as she had dealt with the aftershock on her powers and body after she'd forced a vision. There were a few times when she had just been physically ill for a few days after, but then there had been a time where she'd almost lost all strength in her power for a week. It had taken almost a month for her visions to come back after that.
"I've already talked it over with Connor." Ana told them, not waiting for her dad to answer the question that had been directed at him. "We think that we can do a spell that will help open me up to a vision rather than forcing it. If we do it all right it should help."
The angel turned back to look at the young witch that he had grown so fond of, "There are no after effects to this spell?" his eyes squinted at her slighting in a way that she referred to as the 'I know when you're lying so don't even try it' look. "We cannot risk you being weak or without your powers with Lucifer and Michael on the brink of rising."
Giving him a small smile, Ana nodded, "I know, Cas. The spell isn't hard and since I'm not actually forcing anything there is pretty much zero chance that there will be side effects, but then again I am a Winchester and things do go wrong for us at the worst times. So," she shrugged, "we either take the chance and be prepared or don't and be hurrying to get to our posts before the enemy."
Turning once more to look at Dean, Cas only had to see the look in his eyes before he was turning back to Ana and nodding. "Be careful. Make sure you have taken every precaution you can and that Gabriel is there in case anything goes wrong."
Ana raised an eyebrow at him, "Yeah, okay, dad." she shook her head at him before turning around with her group to go back outside so that she could talk to Connor. They would need to make sure they had all of the supplies they would need and then once night set in they would do the spell.
"I do not understand." Castiel faced Dean with a confused expression, "I am not her father and she surely knows that you are. So why did she refer to me as such?"
Dean shook his head, "Sarcasm, Cas." he answered before turning back to the water bottle he had left on the table. "She called you that because you were acting like a parent."
"I was merely looking out for her well being. Ana is a part of this family, the one that you've pointed out I am a part of, which means that it is my duty to make sure that she is protected. Or at least taking the right precautions." The angel followed closely behind the hunter. He had been on earth for some time now, but there were still things he had not quite figured out about humans. Especially the younger ones.
"Exactly." Dean nodded, taking another drink of his water before seeing the still confused look on Cas' face. "You know, they say it takes a village to raise a child." he pointed out, knowing for a fact that the help that Sam, Cas, Gabe, and Charlie had all given in that department was part of what kept him attempting this fatherhood thing.
Castiel's frown only seemed to deepen, "But, Dean, we do not have a village."
"Are you sure you're okay to do this?" Logan asked Ana as he helped her move the trunk that had been sitting at the foot of her bed down the stairs from her apartment to the field behind the bar where she and Connor would be doing whatever crazy magic they had planned to.
With a roll of her eyes Ana huffed as they set the trunk down. "Yes, I'm sure. I have full control of my power and my dad's right. Knowing when they're going to make their move means we can be more prepared, which means that more of us will come back alive."
His face fell, "You don't expect us all to come back?" he questioned, eyes catching movement as Connor came out the back door of the Roadhouse with a bag full of stuff in his hand.
"I'm not dumb, Logan." She almost snapped, her hands moving to rest on her hips. "Do I want all of us to come back? Of course, but this isn't my first go with a war like this. I watched my dad and uncle lose so many people fighting to stop the apocalypse and I almost lost Connor once already fighting against these dick bags who think that they can do whatever the hell they want." She shook her head and pushed a hand through her hair, "I don't expect every single one of us to make it out of this alive, but I'm going to do everything I can to give us our best chance."
Logan watched as Connor paused when Ana mentioned him, but then he continued their direction. He wanted to say that the determination in her green eyes gave him hope, that the way the moon shone down on her from high in the sky made her seem invincible, but he refused to lie to himself. This was going to be the biggest fight he'd ever gone into and with Ana's words ringing in his head he knew that it'd just be better to prepare himself for the worst. With a solemn nod, he changed the subject as Connor joined them, "Anything else I can do to help out with this?"
Ana and Connor looked at each other, exchanging a silent conversation. "No." Connor answered, "We've got it from here, but if you want to go let Dean and Gabriel know we're going to start soon… they're both going to want to be out here for this." Leaving them to start their work, Logan walked passed the pair and headed back into the bar.
Waiting until Logan was almost inside Ana turned to face Connor, "Do you want to start on making the circle and I'll get everything else ready?" she questioned. It wasn't often that the spells and rituals they did frequently called for a protective circle to be cast around them, but when they were larger or involved things that were more spiritual and less physical it was always safer for both of them and the people around that they keep it in a safe space.
"Sounds like a plan." He agreed, opening the backpack he almost always had with him and pulling out the things he would need so he could leave the rest with her. The circle didn't need to be big, just large enough to hold both of them and the altar that Ana was setting up. It was always a little entertaining to him that most fiction based on witches had them creating circles with things like representation of the elements or physical objects when in reality it was just a simple spell. Sure adding an herb or two for certain rituals, like the hemlock he was using, could help the surrounding energy to obtain the desired goal, but for the most part it was just another spell. One that the witches of the Council were taught at a young age. Just as he was finishing up he caught movement coming from the Roadhouse. Only expecting to see Dean, Gabe, and maybe Sam and Cas come out he was more than a little surprised when almost everyone who had been inside came through the door and began walking toward them. He was about to warn them not to come to close to himself or Ana, but Sam stopped everyone at just about halfway between their circle and the building.
"Alright, listen up guys!" Sam called, whistling to get their attention. "For most of you this is going to be your first time seeing something like this. Do not get too close, you could hurt yourself or Ana or Connor. If something goes wrong, do not move until myself, Dean, Gabe, or Cas do first. Do not distract them, do not try to interfere, and do not break their circle. You could literally die."
Ana had finished putting the altar together halfway through Sam's rant and she moved to stand next to Connor. "Since when is he so familiar with all of this? Sure, he's seen us do magic, but we've never given him a lecture like that."
"He's been talking a lot with Val lately." Connor answered, eyes focused on the group as they continued toward them now that Sam was done speaking. "Sometimes it's about magic and stuff." he added, finally looking down at her.
"And the other times?" She turned her head so she was looking at him as well. The moonlight always caught his ice blue eyes in the most beautiful way and it was really hard for her to not reach up to kiss him.
"They flirt." He shrugged, turning his attention to Dean and Gabriel who had stopped a few feet in front of them. "We're ready to start this. Just so you both know, this may not be an instantaneous thing, it could take a while before she gets a vision if she even does at all."
Dean nodded, "We'll wait until you two call it. Just be careful, alright?" he gave them both a stern look until they answered with nods. "Good." As long as they both weren't hurt in anyway doing this he didn't care if they didn't get results, at least they had tried and weren't having Ana actual force a vision.
"You're working with some pretty powerful ingredients." Gabriel piped in, he had been studying the altar and he could smell the hemlock in the air. "You've been out of the game for a while, Princess, you need to be very careful with this stuff."
Ana scoffed, "Yes, I know!" She almost yelled, causing all of the small chatter that had been going on with everyone else stop. "You all keep acting like this is my first day. I've been doing this for long enough to know exactly what we're doing. Just because I didn't do anything big in the past three months doesn't mean I wasn't keeping up with my studies." Turning away from the edge of the circle, she headed toward the altar. "Let's get started Connor."
The three men shared a look before Connor turned and met Ana at the altar where she was sitting with her legs tucked underneath her. Taking his place across from her he waited until their eyes met before speaking, "If this is going to work you need to let go of that frustration. Whatever you're carrying around inside of you is going to block whatever we try, no matter how strong the magic."
Taking in a long, deep breath she let it out as she closed her eyes. There were too many emotions running wild through her and she needed to calm them down before they started the ritual. If her mind was clouded with everything else this would never work. She let herself focus on relaxing for a few moments before she opened her eyes and looked at him, there was one thing running through her head that she just couldn't get rid of. "I love you so much." her words were barely above a whisper, "And I am so sorry that I left when you needed me."
He set his hands on top of the trunk, his palms up toward the sky, "I know you are." he told her, giving her a weak smile when she placed her hands on top of him. "That doesn't mean we're okay, but I'm not going anywhere. We're going to deal with all of this and then we'll work on us."
She gave him a small nod, knowing that it was better than nothing and it helped calm her some. "Alright, I'm ready." she told him. There was a small brass bowl sitting between their clasped hands that a mixture of herbs was slowly burning in. She had set up five candle, each at a point matching the star on the cloth that sat on top of her trunk. They each took in a deep breath before Ana started up the chant, a surge of power coursing through her when Connor began to chant with her. It had been too long since they had done something like this. Something about them being soulmates made their powers flow amazingly well together, each building off the other until it seemed like nothing could stop them.
After they had been chanting for a while both witches opened their eyes, looking at each other they became more forceful with their chant. The sharp ancient words rolling off of their tongues with more purpose. The group that stood around the circle watching started to become fidgety, those who didn't know how magic worked waiting for something to happen. "Is it supposed to take this long?" Jody whispered to Diane who stood just to the side of her. Ten minutes must have passed since the two had started chanting.
"Magic like this takes time." The older woman responded, wondering if she, William, and Gregory should add their own strength to the spell. Diane could feel the energy in the night flowing toward the two powerful witches in the circle, but if Ana wasn't meant to have a vision about their upcoming battle it wouldn't happen. No matter how much they called on their power to help it. She was about to suggest that they stop and start over with the aide of herself and the other two witches there, but stopped when a different feeling came over the area around them.
William and Gregory had been keeping toward the side of the group, a bit behind everyone else. Magic like this was normal to them and they didn't necessarily need to see it happen, they were mostly there in the case they were needed. The moment the energy in the night changed William moved quickly toward the edge of the circle, Gregory and Diane close behind him. "Something is coming." he spoke. Though he was a student and not a natural witch, he prided himself on the fact that he was greatly intune with the energy around him and something was headed toward them.
"Demons?" Dean questioned, instantly on edge and preparing for an attack. If demons or angels were coming Gabriel and Castiel should have been able to sense it before the witches had, he knew that, but he wouldn't take any chances.
"No." Diane spoke, turning to look behind them. Something was heading their way at a speed that shouldn't have been possible and whatever it was could not be classified as living. Just as it dawned on her what was happening the presence shot past the group and into the circle that Connor created. Swiftly turning around, she watched as it looked like something had knocked into Ana and she was forced backward by the force.
"Ana!" Six voices rang into the night as Connor moved to her side within the circle and Dean, Sam, Cas, Gabe, and Charlie all moved as close to them as they could get without running into the barrier that Connor had put up. "Ana, can you hear me?" Connor placed a hand to her cheek, wondering what had gone wrong with their spell. It was one of the least complex spells he'd ever done and for it to go wrong was completely unexpected.
"What's wrong with her?" Dean asked. He had been prepared for a vision, one where her focus was completely pulled away from the outside world and the only thing she was seeing or hearing was what was going on behind her closed eyes, but this was nothing like that.
They all watched as the young woman laying on the ground didn't move, it didn't even seem like her chest was rising or falling with her breathing. "Drop your barrier so I can heal her!" Gabriel demanded, she was obviously hurt.
Connor shook his head, "We don't know what happened, it's better I leave it up until we figured out what happened." He pointed out, if he dropped the barrier and whatever had hit Ana decided to leave the others could get seriously hurt.
Gabriel was about to force himself into the circle until Ana sat straight up. He was relieved that she was responsive, but when she opened her eyes that relief instantly disappeared. Her eyes were pure white.
"Ask and I shall answer." The voice that came out of Ana was her own, but there was a layer of something else hidden within it. Another female voice that had a lower pitch than her own.
Slowly moving back, Connor stood up and prepared to protect himself if need be. This was nothing he had ever encountered before. "Ana?" he questioned, knowing that his soulmate was not in control of what was going on.
"Ask and I shall answer." She repeated, her cold, white eyes moving to focus up at him.
"What are you?" Connor asked, he needed to know what he was dealing with before he decided what to do next. If he needed to get rid of whatever was inside of Ana then he would need the help of the other witches there.
The thing in Ana's body slowly turned its focus away from Connor and toward the people on the outside of the circle, causing a few to gasp when they got their first look at her eyes. "I am one who died long ago."
"You're a spirit?" Sam spoke up, part of him itching to exorcise whatever was inside of his niece, but if it wasn't a demon the exorcisms he knew would be no help.
She stood up and moved toward the edge of the circle, standing just in front of Sam. "Wise deduction Samuel. I am a spirit." turning to look back at Connor, she didn't move from the spot she stood. "Ask and I shall answer."
"Who are you?" Connor asked, there was nothing in the spell that should have gotten so confused as to summon a spirit into Ana's body. This wasn't what the ritual was meant for at all.
"I was born under the surname Macdermott, but I am who Ana is. A descendant of the Caomhánach bloodline, just as you are a descendant of the Mac an tSagairt bloodline. Though it seems since the pact that your Mohr ancestor and Ana's Good ancestor made that your lines go by those names. I lived long before Sarah did." The spirit explained, beginning to walk the edge of the circle that Connor still had in place.
He paused, brow furrowed, "Macdermott? Ora Macdermott?" If the spirit inside of Ana was who he thought it was then maybe the spell had worked, even if it had been in an extremely backwards way.
The sly smile that creeped onto Ana's face was unsettling, it was a smile that she would never use herself. "The one and only. Now, Mr. Mohr, ask and I shall answer." she repeated her first words again, stopping before she turned to face Connor.
"We are about to go into battle with a group of angels and demons who wish to release Lucifer and Michael from their cage. When will our enemy make their move at the Devil's Gates?" He asked, knowing that he had to be specific if he was going to get the answer he seeked. Ora was the only other witch in their line other than Ana to keep the gift of visions after they received control of their full powers. The woman had spent years training the power to do as she pleased and was well known for being able to look into the future for the information she seeked.
The white eyes slowly closed and an expression of focus came over Ana's face, "The gates into Hell will be opened the night when there is no moon in the sky. Your battle will be long and taxing, but the outcome is… undecided." Her eyes opened again and she took her time looking over every face in the group. "You will suffer loss, but there is a sacrifice that must be made if you are to achieve your desired outcome."
Connor looked up toward the sky, the moon was waning that night, just a small sliver left to see. The night she spoke of was only two days away. "Who's sacrifice will it be?" He asked, turning his attention back to the spirit in Ana's body.
Again the creepy smile took over Ana's face, "It will be known only when it is time." After those words were spoken Ana's chest raised, her body arching as the spirit left her body. The moment it was gone she fell to the ground.
Running to her side he kneeled down next to her and placed her head on his knees. Looking up toward the sky, he felt more than watched as the spirit of Ora sailed through the air and back to wherever she came from. Once he was certain she was gone, he dropped the barrier so that the rest of the family could come check on Ana. The pair were instantly surrounded immediately by Dean, Sam, Charlie, Cas, and Gabe then everyone else formed a loose circle around them.
"What the hell was that?" Dean snapped, dropping on his knees next to Connor and looking down at Ana. "I thought that whole thing was supposed to give Ana a vision, not get her possessed by the ghost of one of her freaking ancestors!"
"I don't know." Connor asked shaking his head, "That shouldn't have been able to happen. There was nothing in the spell that would have given way to the summoning of a spirit." his eyes were focused on Ana's face, waiting for her to open her eyes. He could hear the other's talking around her, trying to figure out how this could have happened, but he was more focused on Ana. It seemed like he had been waiting for long minutes when he caught the first sight of a twitch on her brow. "Ana?" His question was answered with a soft groan and her face scrunching up.
Dean had quickly pulled his attention away from the conversation when his daughter began to stir, reaching for her hand he gave it a gentle squeeze. "Come on, baby girl, wake up." He had seen her passed out like this one too many times for his comfort and he was sure that if it didn't stop happening sometime soon that he was going to lose it.
Groaning again Ana slowly blinked her eyes open and focusing up at Connor, "How did that even happen?" she whinned, placing a hand to her head and the lingering pain that was left there. "She shouldn't have been able to get through the barrier you put up."
"I honestly have no idea." Connor answered, feeling extremely useless without an answer or explanation of what had just happened. "I think at this point we should just be thankful that we got the answer we were looking for and that she's gone."
Dean frowned at Connor, wondering why he wasn't worried about the fact that something that shouldn't have happened had happened. "How are you feeling?" Dean asked, guessing that having a spirit shove it's way into your body was probably not the easiest thing to deal with in the world.
Taking a moment to assess if there was any real damage to her body before answering, she slowly turned her head to get a better look at her dad. "I feel like I got ran over by a double decker bus, but other than that I'm good. Turns out when you get body jacked by a spirit it hurts like a bitch." Reaching her hands out toward Charlie and Sam were where standing by her legs, she opened and closed her hands quickly in a sigh for help up. They each took a hand and slowly pulled until she was sitting up. Connor and Dean were both right next to her in case she fell back again. "Guys, I'm good." she assured them, slowly moving until she was up on her feet. "We don't have time to waste. Two more days to gather the last of our weapons, get in a few more training sessions, and get to each Gate before Gadreel's minions can."
"Yeah and we'll get right on that after we've all had some sleep." Dean said as he stood up, already giving Ana a look that told her not to argue with him. "We can't afford to go into this one exhausted. So let's all call it a night and we can revisit all of this in the morning."
A silent agreement seemed to spread around the group as they all began to move back toward the Roadhouse. Ana and Connor stayed behind to pick up the supplies that they had on top of the trunk and then just had Gabriel snap his fingers to move it back inside where it belonged. It had been a long night and though Ana was glad that they got the information they wanted, she wasn't prepared to see the future in the way that she had. Ora had been able to call up the vision without trouble and Ana had been able to see it as well. These gates to Hell would be open in two days, but the only thing that really had caught her focus was the dead bodies that littered the ground when they had lost. If they lost no one would make it out alive.
A/N: Ba ba BAAAA! Cliffhanger. Sorry guys, but I need to build up some suspense. On a completely separate note, hello recent follows and favorites! Welcome to my madness and to those of you who have stuck around, I applaud and thank you. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Big things are coming. Will Lucifer and Michael make it out of the cage and out of Hell? What will happen if they do? Does this small army even have a chance at stopping it? All answers will be coming very soon.
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)
