I have three chapters besides this one ready for posting in their un-beta'd form.

Choice a) I can upload them altogether over the course of this week and the next.

Choice b) I spread them out throughout my semester; ie a chapter a month.

To Recap: Alyssa took the dive in place of Sam, free-falling into Hell with Kat's help at immobilizing Lucifer. He wasn't so kind or forgiving about Alyssa's sacrifice and the two of them were locked in a hundred year long torture session where Lucifer came out uninjured and Alyssa was left to curl up next to Adam and recover. While Adam's mind deteriorated, Alyssa was pulled into psychological games as Lucifer continued to torture her. Crowley dropped by, yanking her out of Hell in exchange for a promise.

Meanwhile Kat and Dean tried to find a way to continue their lives and give Sam the space he needed. They found a little town and settled into something of a regular normal life, interspersed with hunting expeditions now and then when bosses were too demanding and customers were general assholes.

Crowley has just brought Alyssa to the Winchesters' new home, dropping her off there to stare in surprise at her old friends before leaving to have them sort out their issues. Castiel remained present long enough to verify that she was entirely human before he departed too.

Kat still hasn't shared the truth about the spell she used, the one that she doesn't know what harm or backlash might come her way. Alyssa doesn't want anyone knowing that she made a deal to collect souls for Crowley in order to get free of Lucifer's insanity and the brutality that is Hell.

Now, don't go forgetting our little deal, Crowley's voice echoed in her mind. Wouldn't want to have to put you back down there; I happen to know a real nice gent lookin' for a friend, like you.

Alyssa glanced around, slipping out of her room. She had been back for a week. One terrifying, awful week. She didn't know what to expect anymore and that was terrifying. In Hell at least she knew that no matter the time, there was going to be pain. She didn't have to wonder when or why. She didn't even need to worry about how because it was an irrelevant question. The fact that it was going to happen was the only thing she knew.

It was a lifetime ago since she didn't know what was going to happen. There was no agenda. There wasn't a taunting handsome face, fearsome and beautiful in its glory, prodding and poking at her to watch her break apart. Instead there were these strangers around her, the ghosts of people she knew. People she thought she knew. Lucifer liked playing mind games too. Playing twisted or altered memories through her mind of Sam and Dean and Kat.

These were the people she had fallen a little bit in love with. These were her friends. But she had more memories of their fear and anguish than their quiet relief. Sam gave her all the space she needed and Kat was a bit distant, like she was trying to support Sam's decision at the same time she was fielding Dean. Dean was nothing but suspicious. His protective streak was showing and Alyssa wasn't sure who he was trying to protect, himself and his family or himself, his family and Alyssa herself.

Even if he knew, there was nothing he could do for her now. Crowley needed an extra hand after Cas had hauled his helper out. A helper that turned out to be a little less than optimal for their purposes, but the two of them were making due with what they had and now it was time for Alyssa to pay back her dues. There was no option of not paying them back either because Alyssa would have done anything they asked. This was a small thing she could do for them. A very minute thing and she was happy to do it.

Even though her life had now been reduced to nothing but unexpectedness and she didn't know what to do, this was something she wouldn't fall through on. So she snuck out. It wasn't difficult. Not that anything had seemed to be particularly challenging lately. But that was a hard scale to beat. Hell was the hardest thing she'd been through. Nothing else would ever compare.

Alyssa knew better than to go out hunting alone. But it wasn't as though she was going to tell Sam or Kat what was going on. Dean was already too suspicious. She needed someone else that she could go hunting with. She needed a way to gather souls and quickly. She bit her lip as the floorboard under her foot gave a low creak.

Chapter Twenty-Five, Radioactive

Kat woke up with a start and found herself somewhere she hadn't expected to be. At all. She reached for the weapon she always carried on her, but it wasn't there. She glanced around the cozy office suspiciously, eyeing the artistic scenery with suspicion as she nearly tripped over the computer chair. She yelped –if she had had her weapon on her, the bastard would have been dead –when she saw the man sitting behind his computer.

His hair was a mess and he was wearing a bathrobe over his white muscle shirt. He blinked at her, almost sheepishly and then smiled, lowering his glasses so he could peer at her. He fidgeted, his own chair squeaking as he did so.

"Who – who are you?"

"Chuck Shurley," he replied easily, grinning up at Kat.

"Wh-where am I? And how did I get here?"

"You know how angels can be, right?" He sighed, stretching out. "They took me last year."

"D-do –are you saying I can't get back?!"

"At least not right now," he offered.

Kat kicked the computer chair nearest her, muttering under her breath. This was so not the time to be angel-napped. Dean was going to assume it was Alyssa, and Sam would try to defend Alyssa and sooner rather than later the brothers were going to be at each other's throats. Sam wouldn't be able to defend Alyssa, but he would try and Dean would wear him down until he accepted the fact of what was going on.

"Who are you that the angels would nab you?" Kat asked, turning to look at the nerdy man.

Chuck laughed nervously. "Prophet of the Lord?"

Kat blinked. "What?"

"I-I, I'm a Prophet of the Lord? Dean didn't mention me, huh?"

"You – you know Dean?"

"I know Sam too."

"How?" Kat demanded, flabbergasted.

Chuck explained it all. How the Winchesters had met him and the reason why they wouldn't have mentioned him since they last saw him. Kat could understand why Sam and Dean kind of hated Chuck. He made his living off of their pain. No matter what it came down to, Chuck had made a living off of writing about Sam and Dean's pain.

Locked up in the small, cramped office with Chuck, Kat opted to spend her time chatting with him instead of sulking in silence. Sometime around when Chuck was beginning to doze off, everything kind of changed. The room expanded, gradually at first, stretching out slowly that it took her a minute before she realized that the zero space had suddenly become infinite. The light that had been natural, like a sun suddenly sharpened and intensified a thousand times until it was as white and pure as freshly fallen snow.

It was a brilliant shade of white, demanding, oppressive and all around unbearable. Kat dropped to her knees, covering her eyes with her hands desperately trying to block out the light.

"It was not angels that brought you here, Katherine Jean Calloway."

Kat whimpered.

"It was not Chuck Shurley and his words that summoned you here." All at once the voice was intimidating and kind, echoing around the limitless space familiarly. It wasn't exactly unfamiliar, but it wasn't so familiar that she could place it either.

"There is a war brewing and you asked for my help not one year ago. I expect you will fulfill your end of the bargain. Yes?"

"O-of course." Kat had to force the words out, but she didn't dare relax from her cowering position. There was time for pomp and bravado but something about this whole thing told her that now was certainly not the time for it.

"Good. For starters, you need to kill Alyssa Jones."

What? Kat jerked up, looking at the figure cloaked in blinding white without meaning to. She screeched in pain, putting her hands over her eyes as though that would rid the sear of light from her eyeballs.

"I know, she's your friend. You regret this course of action."

"I'm not killing my best friend!"

"Then she will kill Dean. They will tear each other apart, and the harder they try, the more the universe shall give in. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"No!" Kat cried out, unsure of whether it was a protest or a plea. It left her voice hoarse with the effort though.

"Alyssa spent one hundred years being methodically broken apart, piece by piece. She is remarkably well-put together, wouldn't you say so?" The voice paused. "If Lucifer didn't put her back together, much as Michael left Adam broken and empty, then who did?"

Who was it that pulled Alyssa out of Hell? Crowley.

And who was the one that had no problem leaving Sam and Dean to hang? Crowley.

"How do you know what her goals are? You don't. You do not know this Alyssa Jones. Alyssa Jones is dead and gone. The new person in her shoes? That's who you're killing. A soulless, mindless minion of Crowley that he can do with as he pleases."

Oh god, Aly… Kat bit her lip. It could be true.

"Why should I believe you?" she demanded, keeping her face hidden from whoever was in front of her, keeping herself safe. Her eyes were still burning and she could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Why shouldn't you?" He asked, his voice ice hard and cold. "You asked for my help to stop my brother. I gave you power enough. Now it is time for you to pay me back. I didn't ask you questions when you invoked my power."

So, this was it. This was the price she had to pay for stopping Lucifer. Killing her best friend. At least Dean was safe. And Sam. But this would tear them apart if she didn't do everything just right…

"What if I don't?" Kat asked desperately. "What if I won't do it, or if I can't do it?"

"Then I'll make you watch as I torture Sam, and I'll keep Dean bound and shackled, nice and helpless as I do it. And I'll make sure they know who to say thanks to. And when I finish with Sam, when he's strung up and bleeding dry, I'll let Dean kill him. The finale, though, that'll be the best part. I'll put a knife in your hand, and watch as you kill Dean-o. It'll be a real blast."

"Okay," Kat whispered. "Okay, I-I'll do it."

"I thought you might. Now, I would get a hurry on, if I were you."

If Kat heaved a sob, there was no one around to hear. Or see. Not even the speaker.

Kat jerked awake, flinging the blankets off of her as she sucked in a breath of air. Beside her, Dean rolled out of bed, knife in hand as he surveyed the room warily.

"Kat?" he asked, his voice roughened with sleep. "You okay?"

"Just… bad dream," she replied tightly.

"Kitty?" he asked again, placing the knife back under his pillow as he turned towards her.

Kat forced a smile, not faking the exhaustion that was laced on her features. "I'm fine. Really."

Dean yawned. "Okay…"

Kat glanced at the clock and sighed. There wasn't enough time to back to sleep, to try and pretend that it was just a nightmare or something else entirely. Because she had no idea what to make of it. Kat covered a yawn, rubbing at her damp eyes. She could hear Dean getting dressed. When she opened her eyes next, there was a brilliant afterimage painted across her eyes –it was the shape of an angel, wings curled close to his chest, tousled hair falling around his impish face. Kat jumped, blinking, ignoring the way her eyelashes felt glued together as she forced the image away. Opening her eyes she caught sight of –

There was a red smear across the back of her hand, from the base of her thumb almost to her pinky finger.

Kat leapt out of bed, clambering over the clutter in her way to get to the bathroom. She grabbed a cloth and rubbed at her eyes, washing the blood away from her eyes. Shaking, she breathed out uncertainly as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Normal, perfectly normal. No blood, not a single trace of it to be found.

"I would get a hurry on, if I were you," his voice came again, a harsh, cruel cackle lingering in his wake.

A lone blood red tear rolled down her cheek. Numbly, Kat wiped at it, staring at herself in the mirror.

What the hell have I done? She wondered. What did I get myself into?

I am so so sorry for the lack of updates. I got writer's block over the summer and a bunch of things happened in the summer too and then third year university hit and I am just really sorry about the lack of updates.

To make it up to you guys, I wrote you a bonus chapter. I've spent the last month and a half or close to waiting for my beta to finish editing them but she's insanely busy. My original plan was to post the bonus chapter at the same time I pose this one. The problem with that, however, is that it means you guys would be a month off from my semester.

I'll end in April and then I should be able to pick right up again with writing more come summer provided there's no more incidents of writer's block.

I've spent the Christmas holiday writing and now have three extra chapters written. One of them is the bonus one.

So hence the question I asked up above:

Choice a) I can upload them altogether over the course of this week and the next.

Choice b) I spread them out throughout my semester; ie a chapter a month.

Please pm me or review or whatever with what you want to see happen. Also if you want to keep updated with how the writing goes, you can follow me on twitter or tumblr if you care to.