A/N: Thank you for everyone who's reviewed. You give me the drive to keep writing. So keep reviewing! Thanks.
Spoilers: Mild spoilers for "Nightmares" and "Asylum"
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"Visions?" Shane asked as she pushed back a branch, trying to stay as close as possible to Sam in the barely lit forest, "You have visions?"
"Yeah, well it's kind of a new development for me." Sam tried to explain to her maintaining an awareness of his surrounds as he continued walking.
"So are these like Ms. Cleo visions or Johnny Smith from the Dead Zone type visions?" Shane asked the question with such sincerity that it almost caused Sam to laugh out loud.
"You and Dean," he grinned which earned him a dumb look from Shane, "Always relating things to T.V. and movies." He elaborated.
"I don't meet that many real life psychics so I'm really not sure who else to relate it too." Shane half joked but her response was barely heard by Sam whose thoughts had begun to wander.
Shane's reaction concerning his visions answered a few questions that he had been asking himself since he found out about the cause of Shane's mothers' death. He remembered the boy, Max, that he and Dean had met a few months ago. His mother had died the same way and like Sam, he had recently begun to develop some kind of strange ability. Now Sam had begun to wonder if a.) Shane too had an ability and was hiding it, b.) she had yet to develop an ability or c.) the fact that he and Max both had abilities was unrelated to the way their mothers had died.
Sam highly doubted the third option. In Sam's mind there was a slim possibility that the development of the abilities were unrelated to the demon and his mothers' death. After learning about Max's abilities the connections became too hard to deny and Sam had begun to blame himself for his mothers' death. He wondered if he should tell Shane that his visions were related to his mothers' death. Tell her it's possible that she may have an untapped ability and because of that ability a demon came into her house on the eve of her turning 6 month and had killed her mother. Should he be the one to tell her that it may be her fault that her mothers' dead? Sam could barely come to grips with the realization himself and having to bring that realization down on another person could break his and her heart. He wasn't sure if he was willing to do that.
"Sam?" Shane's voice cut through Sam's thoughts causing him to jump a little. He turned to face her and found that she was panting slightly, obviously out of breath given that Sam had sped up his pace and Shane's shorter legs were having a hard time keeping up. "You didn't answer my question." She breathed out.
"What question?"
Shane cocked her head to the side and sighed as if the question had been the most important question in the world and Sam was an idiot for forgetting it. "Ms. Cleo or Johnny Smith?"
Sam shook his head in disbelief. While he was still mildly amused by the question, he couldn't believe that Shane was harping on it at a time like this. Creeping through the woods in an effort to save his brother from an impending ritualistic death was not the time to be asking about television character comparisons.
"Ms. Cleo wasn't a psychic." He finally answered slowing his pace a little as he surveyed his surroundings. "She was a fake tarot card reader from Jersey. And I can't touch things and get visions like Johnny Smith." He turned his head and looked at Shane, "So, the answer is neither."
"Huh." Was the only response he got from her.
Sam carefully stepped over an upraised root and silently gestured to Shane to do the same. Shane, who was busy looking around, trying to visualize where the rock formation had been, didn't heed to Sam's warning. Her toe caught on the edge of the root and she stumbled forward, grabbing onto Sam's arm for support. Sam sighed heavily.
"What?" Shane mouthed, the annoyance evident in her expression.
Sam shook his head and took another step before a sound in the distance caught his attention. He put his arm out, halting Shane's movement. Shane looked at Sam in confusion for a second before the sound too caused her ears to perk up. Sam gestured for her to follow him as he slowly crept forward. The sound was growing louder and becoming more defined.
"You obviously don't know the Winchesters."
"Dean." Sam whispered, relieved at hearing his brothers voice. He glanced behind him and noticed that Shane was no longer there. He whipped his head to the side and saw her moving behind a large bush. "Shane!" he hissed after her. Shane popped her head out from behind the bush and gestured for him to follow her. Sam reluctantly did so, dropping to his knees once he was safely behind the bush and next to Shane. The gun that Shane had been cradling in the Impala was now back in her hands as she peeked through the bush, slowly pushing back some of the branches, allowing Sam to see into the clearing before them. There, sitting against a tree with his hands tied behind his back, was Dean. To Dean's right was a blonde female with a small wooden box at her feet. Sam's anger began to bubble inside of him. Shane's elbow tapping his side suddenly caught his attention. He turned and saw her anxious facing looking back at him.
"So," she asked, "What's the plan?"
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Dean's concentration was completely shattered as he watched the Asinaedo fingered the box, her smile doubling in size as she looked down at it as if in awe. She lifted it and carried it over towards Dean.
"Beautiful, isn't she?" the Asinaedo asked, her eyes never leaving the box. Dean knew her question not intended for him to respond but he scoffed anyway. His patience for this situation, this box, and most of all this demon chick was wearing thin.
"Whatever you say sweetheart." Dean said his voice consciously void of emotion.
The Asinaedo tucked the box carefully under her arm and sauntered over so that she was looming over Dean. Without warning Dean felt his head snap back as the Asinaedo's hand connected with his face.
Dean felt the anger well up inside of him. "I'm going to kick your ass!" he shouted as he tugged wildly at his binds.
"And I'm going to love hearing you scream." The Asinaedo whispered back.
Dean glared at her. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of hearing him scream no matter what she did. He licked his lip and tasted the blood beginning to spill from the cut the backhand had caused. He wasn't willing to allow her to spill any more of his blood but it seemed his time really was running out.
Damnit Sammy, where the hell are you?
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Sam almost jumped through the bush at the sight of his brother being viciously backhanded by the blonde woman. If it hadn't been for Shane's quick movement and firm hand pulling him back he would have blown their cover in a heartbeat. He bit his lip and managed to control his anger enough to strategize a plan.
"I distract the Asinaedo, you get Dean." Sam whispered as he reached for the gun clenched in Shane's hand. Shane moved the gun out of Sam's reach and shook her head.
"No, I'll distract the Asinaedo, you get Dean."
Sam ripped the gun out of Shane's hands. The gun brushed against the bush causing the leaves to ruffle slightly. Both Sam and Shane froze in their positions, Sam's hands planted firmly on the gun, Shane's hand in mid-air reaching towards the gun, both wide-eyed looking at each other. Shane slowly moved her hand towards the bush, moving a branch aside as she peeked out into the clearing. Neither Dean nor the Asinaedo made any indication that they had heard the disturbance. Sam turned to Shane, his face clearly indicating the anger that was being contained beneath the surface.
Shane looked at him apologetically before muttering, "You distract the Asinaedo, I get Dean." Sam nodded his appreciation and then swung his pack onto his back and moved away from the bush. Shane followed and the two circled the clearing so that they were still hidden from view but could make an easy and inconspicuous entrance when the time called for it. Both Sam and Shane crouched down, silently taking in the scene that was unfolding in the clearing.
Sam watched, his stomach churning as he saw the Asinaedo leaned in towards his brother. He lifted his hand so that Shane could see it clearly and slowly began to count down with his fingers.
5…4…3…2…1
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The Asinaedo had turned her back on Dean, her attention now completely absorbed by the box in her hands. She slowly placed the box on the ground next to the tree trunk, her eyes never straying from it.
"I never would've pinned you as one for idle threat."
Dean's voice suddenly broke through her concentration. The Asinaedo's gaze finally broke from the box and she looked down at Dean who was staring straight ahead, a small smirk playing on his lips.
"Idle threat?" She asked.
"You know," Dean said, slowly glancing up at the Asinaedo who had moved so that she was standing directly in front of him, "making me scream. Why don't you get to it then?"
Normally Dean would have maintained some form of banter between him and his captor as an attempt to stall for time but not this time. While the Asinaedo had been distracted having her love affair with the box Dean had seen something move in the woods. He had heard carefully placed footsteps and the small click of a safety being released on a gun and was now well aware of the fact that he was no longer alone with the demon bitch.
"I never would've pinned you for someone who was so eager to die." The Asinaedo replied, mimicking Dean's smirk.
Dean rolled his eyes, "Better men than you have tried, sweetheart."
The Asinaedo leaned in and Dean braced himself for another hit but she simply smiled at him. "I'm going to make you bleed." She said, matter-of-factly.
Dean stared up at her, a small smile twisted onto his lips, "You first, bitch."
A loud thud echoed off the trees and the Asinaedo was sent stumbling forward. She crashed into Dean's extended legs and fell hard to the ground. Dean smiled up as his brother who still had the shotgun he had used to stun the Asinaedo clutched into his hands. Before Sam had a chance to acknowledge his brother the Asinaedo was back on her feet. Sam advanced towards her as Shane quickly ran to Dean's side.
"What the hell took you so long?" Dean complained, "Had to get your nails done?"
"Hey, Dean?" Shane said yanking hard of the ropes around Dean's wrists causing him to grimace, "Never patronize your rescuer."
"Just hurry up." Dean demanded as he turned his attention towards Sam and the Asinaedo. "Sam, be careful!" Dean yelled towards his brother, "Remember that she's only leasing that body!"
"I know Dean!" Sam barked back as the Asinaedo landed a kick to his knee causing him to drop to the ground. As Dean continued to watch the fight he suddenly realized that the Asinaedos' means of attack had changed drastically since she had obtained a body. Instead of using her power to freeze she was using hand to hand combat.
"Shane." Dean twisted his head to look at his cousin.
"I'm working on it!" she said angrily as she gave up on trying to untie the ropes and resorted to rooting through her bag for a knife.
"No, listen. She's not using her Jedi mind trick, make-you-freeze-in-your-tracks thingy."
"And?" Shane asked, her focus still on the bag and finding the knife.
"And maybe her powers are weakened when she's possessing someone. Maybe we can use that to our advantage. Perform the exorcism when she's in human form and that way she can't attack us like she did before. Do you have an exorcism ritual in your book?"
Shane hesitated, "No, not real-"
"You don't have one exorcism ritual in that whole book?" Dean asked in disbelief.
"It's a beginners guide to witchcraft and it only has spells dealing with demonic possession on objects."
Dean shook his head. "Knowing what you could be dealing with why the hell would you get that book?"
"It was the only one the library had." Shane shrugged.
"Great," Dean muttered, "Do you have my Dad's journal?"
"It's in the car," Shane remembered as she finally pulled the knife from the bag.
Meanwhile Sam had the Asinaedo at gunpoint. He knew the rock salt wouldn't have the same effect on her since she was in a human body but if the incident back at Roosevelt Asylum were any indication of rock salts effect on humans he figured that it'd be good enough to distract her for the time being. But, before he had a chance to pull the trigger the Asinaedo kicked out and knocked the gun from his hand and then with almost inhuman speed she barreled towards him and slammed her fist into his nose causing him to stumble backwards and fall right on top of Shane.
"Damnit Sam." Shane said as Sam rolled off of her.
"Sorry." Sam muttered as he wiped the blood from his nose.
All three Winchesters were now laying at the Asinaedo feet, mildly stunned by the Three Stooges routine that had just taken place. The Asinaedo weighed her options. Her victim was still tied to the tree, the taller one was now disarmed and attempting to regain his footing while rubbing his sore ribs and nose, and then she looked down and saw the female holding a knife. The decision was made for her. She quickly descended on Shane knocking the knife out of her hands and sending it flying across the clearing.
"Shane!" Sam yelled.
"I got it Sam." Shane called back as she landed a rolling kick to the Asinaedo's midsection leaving her stunned her a second, "Get Dean."
"Sammy," Dean said before Sam had a chance to begin working on the ropes, "Get Dad's journal, now! We need to use that exorcism spell."
"I'm not leaving you." Sam said, his voice filled with concern and fear at the idea of leaving his older brother vulnerable.
"Just go. I'll be fine." Dean ordered.
"Shane?" Sam said to Dean, grasping at straws trying to activate Dean's need to protect people who he saw as innocent and in need of protection. No matter how much of a hunter Shane claimed or even proved to be, Dean still saw her as one of those people. Unfortunately Sam's attempt to sway his brother's order for him to leave failed when Shane overhear and interjected.
Even though the Asinaedo had her hand firmly planted around Shane throat she managed to rasp out, "Go!"
Sam glanced once more at his brother before complying and racing out into the woods and towards the car, silently praying that he'd be able to find his way back to his brother and cousin before it was too late.
Dean watched his brother go then directed his attention back to the Asinaedo who had Shane pinned to the ground, her hands around Shane's throat. Shane had managed to land a few good blows to the Asinaedo head but her knowledge that the girl she was hitting was actually an innocent bystander had weakened her hits and the Asinaedo had managed to overpower her. Shane was kicking her legs wildly and clawing at the Asinaedo hands trying desperately to get air into her lungs.
"Hey!" Dean yelled trying to get the Asinaedo attention but her attention didn't waver from the activity at hand. "Angela!" Dean yelled feeling liked he was running out of options. "Asinaedo bitch!" The Asinaedo finally responded glancing over at Dean and releasing some of her hold on Shane. Shane sucked in air and slumped back against the ground, too winded to even try to get the Asinaedo off of her.
"Let her go." Dean said, "You got me. You wanna make me bleed right?" Dean raised an eyebrow, "I'm right here!" The Asinaedo smiled at him and rose to her feet. She reached down and picked up the rope that had spilled out of Shane's bag during the struggle. She pulled Shane up to a seated position and leaned her against a tree directly in front of Dean, tying her hands in a similar fashion. Dean waited until he saw that Shane's breathing had returned to normal before he smiled at her.
"That was a great rescue plan." Dean quipped.
Shane rolled her eyes, "Shut up."