A/N: i'm so happy to finally be putting this chapter up. It's my favorite by far, just because of all the different emotions the characters go through and the end of the Rapture gives for so much in the next chapter. I have yet to finish writing the next chapter, but Hellatus right now is killer so I plan on working on it during my rewatch.

Please please please drop a review! Enjoy!

Chapter 9: Next Step

His plan was simple enough, or so Ashley thought. It seemed fool proof. Sam and Tori to go one way, while she and Dean went the other. They both just needed to get closer enough to lend a hand to the family. And it was a pretty sure there would be a demon or two inside waiting for them. Never did they expect four.

Dean and Ashley were making their way along the far right corner, only hearing faint mumbles of words. Out of nowhere, two bulky demons stepped in front of them. One made a grab for Ashley and Dean swung a fist to hit them. The first one stumbled back but the other already had a punch ready. Dean got hit in the face hard and Ashley gave said demon a shove.

When she shoved, the demon immediately grabbed her arm and yanked her around. She winced as her arm was pinned behind her back, and went to elbow the man in the stomach when he stopped her. Ashley looked to Dean and saw the other demon beating on Dean. She shook, trying to get free from the grip; but it didn't work.

She was forced to walk down a hallway and around a corner. Behind her, she could hear Dean's ragged breath as he was assumedly forced to follow. They turned the corner and Ashley saw both Sam and Tori being pushed along, too. A woman had a hold of Tori's long hair and Sam's arms were being held in a similar fashion to her own.

"Nice plan Dean," Sam said through a shaky breath.

"Yeah well…nobody bats a thousand." Ashley glanced over at Dean, struggling a bit with the man holding her arms behind her back before her eyes shot to Jimmy.

He looked okay. Nervous and shaken up, but otherwise calm. Almost a few feet away she saw his daughter tied up in an old wooden chair. Frowning at the sight, she struggled more. Brining kids into it just seemed wrong to her, even for demons. But then again, they were demons.

"Got the knife?" Jimmy's wife asked, looking at the woman who had Tori by the hair.

Ashley looked over at Tori, who just seemed like she was in pain; as said possessed woman held up the demon killing knife proudly.

Jimmy's wife, who Ashley finally realized was possessed, said, "And you know what's funny?"

"You wearing a soccer mom?" Dean chirped from his spot.

"I was actually bummed to get this detail, picking up an empty vessel. Sorta like a milk run," she said through a sigh and a small raise of her eyebrows. "Now look who landed in my lap." She looked at Ashley for a moment, and there was a twinkle of knowing in her eyes.

Sam took in another breath and said, "Well you got us. Okay. So let these people go."

"Aw Sam, it's easy to act chivalrous when your Wonder Girl powers aren't working, huh?" Jimmy's wife smirked at the younger Winchester, raising an eyebrow. Her amused expression faltered for a moment as she said, "And now for the punch line: everybody dies." She pulled a gun from her coat pocket and cocked it as it was pointed at Sam.

Ashley winced inwardly, not wanting anyone to get shot. She watched as the gun stayed pointed at Sam for a moment before the woman turned and fired at Jimmy. He let out a shout and dropped to his knees, holding his hands around the bullet wound in his stomach.

Immediately, Ashley shrieked. Both worried and angry over the action. She glared at his wife before her eyes went back to being focused on Jimmy. The blood was pouring from her wound. His wife said something else before pocketing the gun again, something she didn't hear because she was hyper focused on the gushing wound.

She noticed the woman who was restraining Tori had let go and walked over to the daughter. Ashley's eyes flickered to Tori and noticed both she and Sam were being held by the same possessed man now.

By the time she looked at Jimmy's daughter again, she heard the cry of pain. Ashley noticed the others were taking the chance to break free and fight back. For a moment her eyes went back to Jimmy, filled with worry. But she realized if he was to be helped, she had to get free.

Sending a kick back at the man, he loosened his grip and she spun around to knock her elbow up and into his chin. He stumbled and she threw another punch at him before he made a grab for her neck with his large hands. Ashley didn't move in time and felt his grip tighten around her neck, beginning to cut off her air supply quickly.

It only took a moment for her to let out a strangled gasp for breath and stars to start forming in front of her eyes. Something made the man drop her and Ashley looked to see Tori had sprung at him from behind, angrily throwing a punch or two at him. She took the chance while Tori was distracting him and swung her leg for a sweep kick.

The man fell and Jimmy's daughter approached them, touching a hand to the man's forehead as he laid on the ground. Someone pulled Ashley to her feet as she watched a bright light fill his eyes and mouth. She watched Tori scramble back a few feet and looked to Dean, who had helped her up. Her lower lip quivered and she remembered Jimmy.

Ashley looked over at Jimmy and saw he was in worse pain. Dean let go of her arm and she saw Jimmy's wife on her knees, coughing over a black spot on the ground. He helped her up, glaring at Sam the entire time. When she looked to Sam, his mouth was covered in…blood? Her jaw dropped. Thoughts ran through her head about why and how, but they got pushed aside when she heard a voice talking.

She turned to see Jimmy against a pillar, talking with his daughter. He groaned and grimaced, causing Ashley to frown. She took in a breath, keeping herself together. It wasn't like she'd never seen someone hurt, but she was always there to help when someone was. Part of her was beating herself up in her mind. She could be helping…

A bright light came from where the two were and Jimmy seemed to get better. His daughter fell to her knees, breathing heavily and he stood up, a blank look on his face as he approached. His wife looked at him once before hurrying over to help her daughter. Ashley looked at Tori, who was beside her, with bewilderment. Was Cas back? Tori shrugged, obviously not entirely understanding either.

Looking at Jimmy again and wondering if it was Cas, the expression on his face gave her the answer she was looking for. Jimmy showed emotion, and this man… Even though they had the same face, he wasn't. Castiel was back. The faintest of smiles snuck its way across her face as he watched the wife and daughter hug by the pillar.

"Cas, what were you gonna tell me?" Dean asked as Castiel began to walk away from the group.

He turned and looked at Dean, the somber look hardening. "I learned my lesson while I was away, Dean." Castiel paused for a moment. "I serve Heaven, I don't serve man. And I certainly don't serve you." He stood there for a moment longer, staring at Dean almost angrily.

The words were harsh. Ashley saw Dean looked almost shocked by them. She herself didn't understand, but they struck her. What could've happened in Heaven that made him say that? Her lips curved into a frown as they watched Castiel leave them.

Tori offered to take Jimmy's family back to their place once they all got outside into the cool air. Ashley was quiet and didn't protest to her asking and Dean walked away to make a phone call. Sam stood nearby against the back of the Impala, wiping the blood from his mouth. Tori knew why he did it, but she just didn't get why he couldn't kill the demons without it. She chose not to think about it as she opened the door to the back seat of her car, which was thankfully, parked around the corner from the Impala.

The Novaks got into the backseat and she shut the door, turning around to see Ashley was already in the passenger seat of the car quietly. She was concerned about her friend, but let her be. When something was wrong with Ashley, she would talk about it when she was ready.

Instead, she made her way over to Sam. He glanced at her and she could tell he was worried. "You okay?"

He nodded. "For now. I've got a feeling I won't be shortly."

"How come? Because of the…blood?" She whispered the last word because she didn't want to press the subject, but she knew how it felt after having it. It was like a downhill run, in her opinion.

Sam shrugged, worry becoming clearer than before. "Dean still didn't know. He'll probably fly off the handle."

With a light sigh, Tori put a hand on Sam's arm and said, "I'm sorry. Maybe it's best if you, I don't know, stop with the blood then?"

"I can't," he said immediately. "I need it so I can keep pulling demons from people like I did tonight. Otherwise, we kill the host bodies and the body count doesn't need to get any higher."

She nodded, thinking he was either very stubborn or just so set in his ways he couldn't change. Tori gave him a sympathetic look before remembering that the Novaks and Ashley were already in the car and waiting. "We're gonna get going. The family's shaken up and I think they just wanna get home." Sam gave a silent nod and she told him, "Think about what I said. Call if you need to talk or something."

"Thanks," he said as she turned and walked back to the car. As soon as she opened the door and got in, she knew the hour drive would seem longer than ever.

She didn't realize that the car started and left the warehouse, nor did she notice that they stopped and dropped off Jimmy's wife and daughter at their home. Ashley only noticed her surroundings when she heard a faint ringing. She blinked a few times before realizing it was her and pulling out her cell phone.

"Hello?" For a second, she didn't even recognize her own voice. It was quiet and cracked instead of loud and strong.

"I've got something for you two. Ain't got any other nearby hunters that can take care of it."

"Bobby?" She was partly still out of it, so the voice on the other end of the phone sounded somewhat alien at first.

"Who else?" he snapped.

She went silent for a moment, furrowing her brow. "Sorry. We've just had a lot going on."

"So I've heard."

"Why don't you ship the case to Dean and Sam? …Not that we won't take it or anything, I mean."

There was a huff from Bobby's end and he said, "They're…on their way here. We've got a little problem to deal with." He cleared his throat. "It's a half an hour away from my place. You got a pen and paper?"

"Not right now… Text me the address. We can make it in a couple hours if I drive."

"Alright. You two jus' be careful. There's a storm coming."

Without another word, she snapped her phone shut and Tori got back in the driver's seat. She looked at her curiously and said, "Hey…"

"Head back towards Bobby's. We've got a case." Her phone went off again and she opened it, seeing the address of their next destination and some information. "Everything's already done research-wise. Just a salt and burn."

Tori nodded and started the car. "I'll just drive a little faster than usual," she said with a subtle smirk.

They got to the cemetery a few hours later, pulling up as a light fog was starting to form. Tori hated driving through fog, or just speeding in general. And she sped most of the way there because Ashley insisted. She got out of the car and circled around the back. Ashley was already back there and Tori used the key to open the trunk and lifted the false bottom to their small weapon bed.

Ashley pulled out a canister of salt and the flask of holy water, glancing at Tori with a raised eyebrow. Tori saw the look and said, "What?"

"Nothing," she shrugged pulling out the shovel from the far back of the trunk. "You were just really quiet the whole way and now you're all raring to go. It's weird."

"Weird nothing. We have a ghost to fry. Keep your head in the game, Tor." Ashley gave a slight glare before taking her two containers and starting towards the headstones.

Tori grabbed a flashlight before shutting the trunk and following after her at a jog. She was walking fast too, which usually set off the alarm that she was annoyed. "Seriously?" she said. "You wanna talk about anything?"

Stopping and turning on her heel with her hair flipping wildly behind her, Ashley said, "I don't want to talk. Stop asking. All I wanna do right now is char some bones and then find a place to sleep."

She sighed. This is why I never ask… Tori rubbed her face with the back of her hand and proceeded to follow Ashley. She shined the flashlight on some of the headstones, looking for the one Bobby mentioned in the text. "What was the name again?"

"Uh, shit…" Ashley stopped and hung her head. "I deleted the message, but I'm pretty sure it was Robert Rickson." She shrugged. "Or something like that. Just look for Robert Erickson."

An eyeroll was the only response Tori gave. Ashley did that a lot, even though she was raised a hunter. She always blamed it on bad memory, but tonight she didn't say anything about it. This caused Tori's suspicion to heighten even more. She shined the light on a few more headstones before she finally found one with the name Robert Rickson. Instead of calling for Ashley, who was numerous steps ahead, she cleared her throat rather nosily.

Ashley stopped and looked over her shoulder. "You got it?"

"Robert Rickson. He was only dead for a few years. Bobby mention what happened?"

As she made her way over to the grave, Ashley said, "Murdered. His ex-wife killed him, pulled his heart out, and stomped on it." Shock overcame Tori as she shot a sideways glance. "And no, I'm not kidding. At all." Ashley cleared her throat and went on to say, "So, the wife was found dead in jail, same way and then he went on to kill her new husband. Bobby wanted us to kill first and ask questions later."

She held out her hand for the shovel and Tori handed it over. "Just the wife and husband?"

"Oh, their dog, too." Ashley jabbed the shovel down into the ground to start the digging process.

Tori shook her head, holding the flashlight at arm's length. "I can honestly say, that's gotta be the weirdest thing I've ever heard yet."

Picking up a shovelful of the earth, Ashley smirked. "No. There's weirder. You're just a rookie."

"I'm not having the rookie fight with you again," Tori grumbled as she sat down on the grass.

It took almost an hour of shoveling and listening to Ashley gripe, but the grave was dug out. Tori took a few turns to do it, but Ashley liked doing the shoveling part and the light of the match. That only left Tori to play flashlight holder and douser.

Ashley was neck deep into the open grave and she jabbed the shovel down into something solid. "Hey, we got ourselves a coffin!" she said happily.

Tori rolled her eyes and steadied the flashlight. "Okay then ms sociopath, open it and let's get this done."

She used the shovel to stab the coffin a few times before a hole busted in it. Ashley wedged the shovel in and popped it open, standing in it for a moment before climbing out of the grave. "Douse away," she said taking a breath and leaning on Rickson's headstone.

Standing up from her crouch, Tori put the flashlight down and moved over to where she sat the holy water and salt down earlier. She grabbed them and quickly dumped most of the containers over the skeleton. Already, she could hear her friend fiddling with a lighter.

"My turn?" Ashley questioned with a certain giddiness to her tone. Tori rolled her eyes and gave a nod. "Yay." She flicked the lighter a few times until it lit. "Rest easy now, Robert."

The bones should've gone up in flames, but they didn't. The lighter never even dropped into the grave. Tori looked over at Ashley curiously and saw she was frozen to the spot. Her mouth was moving, but there were no words coming out. Behind her, Tori could see a man with his arm extended and disappearing into her back. Her jaw dropped and she went to yell, but instead, she threw some of the salt towards the man. He disappeared before the salt could touch him and Ashley fell to her knees with a choked sound.

Tori moved to her side and took the lighter, flicking it easily and dropping it into the grave. The bones went up and Ashley continued to make the sound. It was as if she couldn't breathe. "Ash? Ashley, c'mon. Stop playing around," she said in a worried tone. "It's not funny…" Her voice faltered and she could feel tears brimming in her eyes as she took hold of her, leaning her back onto her lap.

There was an intake of breath and Ashley winced fiercely. She squeezed her eyes shut and grabbed onto Tori's jacket sleeve. When she opened her eyes again, Tori could see something was fading. "Maybe…"

"Maybe what?" Tori said through a sob she was doing her best to hold back. It wasn't working though and it escaped her.

"Visit Cas," Ashley said quickly. It sounded as if someone was taking away her air when she spoke. "I'll visit Cas. Tell him that I…" She let out two quick breaths before going still.

Not believing what just happened, Tori shook her lightly. "Ash?"

Ashley didn't respond.

Her sobs came out and she broke down in a fit of tears, crying over Ashley's body. She sniffed, still crying as she looked at the very low flame that was still burning. Tori looked at her lifeless body in her arms for a moment and tried thinking as she continued to weep. No. There's just no way. She's not dead. She's not dead…