Dirt stung Ashlinn's eyes as the smell of sulfur attacked her sense of smell. One more pull. She just needed to go a little further. The feeling of grass in her hand spurred her forward. Finally, she had crawled out of Hell. After catching her breath, she grasped onto Belphegor's flailing hand and pulled him up behind her. The Fossegrim had managed to reach out to Belphegor and had provided a "back door". Unfortunately, Hell was much more work to crawl out from than Heaven. Belphegor collapsed onto the ground beside her and let out a laugh of triumph, but Ashlinn couldn't feel the joy of victory, only rage.

"Are you sure you're okay? You drained that demon damn near dry… I thought only 'Special Children' could do that."

"Would you have preferred that we be caught?" Ashlinn snapped back as she wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

"No… Just impressed. Welp… I'll see you around. If you're successful, that is," Belphegor said and held out his hand. "I'd say it was nice working with you, but it was a real shitshow."

Ashlinn laughed at that and shook his hand. "Best of luck to you. Don't cause any trouble."

"Or you'll drain me to death."

"Don't be a jackass… I'll stab you with an angel blade."

Belphegor laughed before realizing that she wasn't joking. "Well, good luck to you too. I'll try to be on the straight and narrow. As much as a demon can anyway."

Belphegor disappeared, leaving Ashlinn completely alone. Ashlinn closed her eyes and prayed. A familiar swish of wings made her open her eyes to see Castiel. There was a moment of hesitation between them. As though Castiel didn't quite know what to say.

"Take me to Sam and Dean. I know what today is, Castiel. There's something that they need to know."

Castiel clutched her shoulder, and suddenly, they were in the back of the Impala. Dean immediately hit the brakes and put the car in park. He turned around with Sam as Bobby held Ashlinn clutched in a hug. They had their guard down. Ashlinn opened her hands, and three blue butterflies flew out and disappeared as they touched each of the guys' heads. Dean, Sam, and Bobby fought the urge to sleep but ultimately lost.

"What was that?" Castiel asked.

"A precaution," Ashlinn replied evenly. "I need to face Lucifer alone. That's why I smell of demon blood. I know that you know."

Castiel looked at the boys before he answered, "I'll come with you."

"No. Someone needs to protect them. I can't let them get hurt," Ashlinn pleaded, putting on a show despite the deadness she felt inside. "Ash… Anna…"

Castiel flinched at the name and asked, "What will you do?"

"I have a plan. I just need the rings, Cas. Please."

Castiel hesitated for a moment before reaching into Sam's front pocket and pulling out the rings. They were interlocked and ready to go. Ashlinn kissed Castiel on the forehead and thanked him before climbing out of the car. As the car door closed behind her, she gathered her courage to go face what was likely certain death.

As she jogged up the road, she could see two silhouettes in a field in the distance. Slowing her pace, she started muttering the spell while gathering her power. As she got close enough to see them, the words died in her throat. Standing in the field were Lily and Adam.

"No," Ashlinn whispered and clasped the rings firmly.

"Why are you out of YOUR ROOM?" Lucifer asked before using his power to hold her in place. "You and I are going to talk about this , take her back."

Ashlinn watched as two demons strode toward her. She fought against Lucifer's hold, but he was too strong.

"NO!" a kid's voice screamed out, and Ashlinn turned to see Jesse. "LEAVE!"

The demons were ripped from their hosts, and Lucifer and Michael turned their full attention on Jesse. Muttering the spell as quickly as she could, Ashlinn drew up all the power she had and flung the spell at Michael and Lucifer. The two archangels stumbled, and Ashlinn was now free to move as Lily fought Lucifer for control. Ashlinn ran to Adam and grabbed his hands in hers.

"Please, Adam! Take back control. Speak with me, Adam!" Ashlinn begged, and when he lifted his head, Ashlinn could see the relief in his eyes.

"Ashlinn, you're safe," Adam said with a smile, gripping her hands as though to test if she was real.

"We don't have a lot of time. Cast Michael out, Adam. Force him out and we'll run. They can't fight if they don't have a vessel."

Adam looked into her eyes before pulling her into a hug.

"I just wanted to tell you… I love you. I always have. Since the day we met… Thank you for everything," Adam whispered in her ear. Before Ashlinn could react, Adam took the rings out of her hands and pushed her to the ground.

"ADAM!" Ashlinn screamed as Adam grabbed onto Lily and threw the rings onto the ground. Before Lucifer or Michael could recover, Adam gripped onto Lily and fell backward into the chasm. Ashlinn crawled toward the hole as it quickly closed, leaving the rings behind. As Ashlinn picked up the rings, she felt a small hand on her shoulder. Jesse looked at her with sadness, and Ashlinn pulled him into a hug.

"How did you find me?"

"I don't know," Jesse admitted. "I just knew, and I knew you needed help."

"Thank you," Ashlinn whispered as the boy gripped onto her.

"NO!"

Ashlinn gripped onto Jesse tightly while pulling herself off of the ground. She steered him behind her as Raphael strode toward them menacingly.

"You need to leave!" Jesse yelled, but Raphael stared at him with disgust.

"Lucifer is gone, Antichrist. Your power is now no greater than an above average witch. And now… you will die."

Ashlinn quickly grabbed Jesse's hand and ran. Lightning struck where they had been standing. She knew that it was pointless to try to outrun an archangel, but her choices were minimal. Lightning struck a tree in front of them, and Ashlinn pulled Jesse out of the way. The tree missed him by inches.

"Come back, you abominations!" Raphael called out. "Make this easy on yourselves!"

Lightning and wind pulled down more trees in front of them pinning them in. Ashlinn stood in front of Jesse as Raphael slowly approached. As Raphael raised his arm, a sword burst through his chest. A stranger ran from behind Raphael, holding the bloody sword.

"Come on! We need to leave now. That won't kill him," the woman said, and Ashlinn pulled Jesse along as they ran from Raphael.

A burst of lightning set the forest in front of them on fire. Ashlinn looked back to see Raphael standing with a bloody stain on his shirt. The archangel raced toward them when a second sword pierced his shoulder from behind. Ashlinn recognized this angel as Gadreel. He ran toward them and picked up Jesse, so Ashlinn could run faster. Seven men holding angel blades waited for them up ahead.

The look on the woman's face told Ashlinn that they weren't friendly. A fight broke out. The woman threw her sword into the closest angel before grabbing his sword out of his hand. Ashlinn felt her nose bleed as she tried to put up a ward to protect her angels. As Raphael's angels got the upper hand, the enemy angel closest to Ashlinn was stabbed from behind.

Balthazar gave her a wink as he said, "Lovely day for a brawl to the death, eh?"

Balthazar threw her a sword, and Ashlinn caught it. The fight turned as Jesse began using his magic to trip the attacking angels.

"ENOUGH!" Raphael said as lightning crashed around them. "So each of you has chosen death. Very well."

Raphael's shirt had several more holes than when Ashlinn had last seen him. She hoped that the other angels had made it away. As Raphael advanced, she started to worry more about herself and Jesse. Suddenly, a wall of light was in between them and the angry archangel.

"I don't think so," Gabriel said as he strutted onto the field. "I put this little party together just for you, brother. Do you not like it?"

"YOU," Raphael spat out. "You barely have the right to call yourself an archangel. How dare you go against our Father's will! You would try to kill your family to save that abomination?!"

"Easy now. That abomination is my family," Gabriel snarked with a wink to Ashlinn. "More so than you are."

"Then you will die with her," Raphael said as he swung out at Gabriel.

Gabriel dodged the attack, but Raphael snuck in a second attack. As Gabriel was pierced, he looked at his brother with betrayal.

"Raphael, I… always wanted to tell you… you're a boring ass."

"Gabriel" disappeared in a cloud of smoke as the real Gabriel stabbed Raphael from behind. Raphael's eyes glowed blue as his wings stretched out behind him. Finally, Raphael fell to the ground as Gabriel cradled his dead brother.

The sky slowly brightened. The enemy angels dropped their swords as they looked at Gabriel's dead vessel. Ashlinn slowly walked toward Gabriel and knelt beside him.

"He would have killed me," Gabriel said in a hushed voice. "That's why–"

Ashlinn embraced him. She heard Raphael's body fall to the ground as Gabriel returned her hug. Tears streamed down her face as she felt her own shoulder getting wet. As Gabriel let go of her, he placed a hand on her arm. Ashlinn felt pain for a second before her head suddenly felt much clearer. The demon blood had been washed from her system.

"Thank you, Gabriel. For everything. You really are family to me. You know that, right?"

"I better be after all this," Gabriel joked back and helped Ashlinn to stand. "I'm going to need some alone time after this."

"Me too," Ashlinn said as she looked toward the field where Adam had disappeared. "But… you know where to find me."

Gabriel gave her shoulder one last gentle squeeze and disappeared as a raging Dean ran up the field toward her.

"Oh shit. And he just left me to die," Ashlinn muttered to herself. "Hey, Dean, I can explain–"

Dean nearly tackled her to the ground. Ashlinn returned the hug as he held onto her like she would fade away the moment he let go, and for the first time in years, Ashlinn felt completely safe. There were many hugs in the world, but few had the comfort of a Dean Winchester hug. He held her tight as she gripped onto him like he was her salvation.

"Adam's gone, Dean," she said, no longer having the energy to even cry. "He took Lucifer and Michael down with him… and Lily. They're gone. Lily and Adam are gone."

Dean rested his chin on her head as she buried her face in his shirt. Soon Bobby and Sam caught up to them and shared in their moment of sorrow. They invited the angels back to the house to regroup. On the ride home, Bobby kept his arm around Ashlinn's shoulder as she leaned on him. Jesse leaned on her, and Ashlinn fell asleep to the comforting sound of his breathing.

Upon arriving at the property, Bobby gently woke them up. Getting out of the car, Ashlinn looked up to see Winona sprinting to them at full speed. The guilt ate at Ashlinn as she lowered her head in shame. She tried to apologize to Winona, but Winona would hear none of it. Soon Ashlinn was led inside Ash and Winona's house while the boys met up with the angels in the other house. As Ashlinn was given tea, she heard the front door open to see Andy's relieved face. Ashlinn set down the tea before Andy collapsed onto her in a hug.

"Lily and Adam are gone," Ashlinn said, hating the hollowness in her words. "And I'm so sorry about Ash."

The moment she said his name the floodgates opened, and Andy and Winona held her tight.

"He knew the risks," Winona said firmly. "We were both there that night. We knew what would happen if we were caught… Ash and Lily were the furthest from the door. They sacrificed themselves, so that we could run. What Lucifer did is not your fault. You were hurt too… The most important thing is that we're home and safe. Lucifer is trapped. The world is no longer ending. We lost people… But we still have each other."

Ashlinn nodded, but she still felt responsible for Ash's death.

Andy seemed to notice this and asked, "When was Ash supposed to die?"

"What?"

"On the show. When would he have died?"

"When the Roadhouse burned down…"

"And I'm guessing that I wouldn't have lasted much longer… Ash got four extra years due to your meddling. He met his 'Two-Point-O', his best buddy, and the love of his life. None of which would have happened without you. And most importantly, Ash wouldn't have wanted you to feel this way. He would have told you that he's a big boy and he knew the risks. He wouldn't want you to waste your life thinking that you took his. Especially when you didn't… We're always here for you, just like you were for us. We're still a family. Broken but still good."

Ashlinn slowly nodded, and Andy seemed to be satisfied for the moment. Andy and Winona went into the kitchen to make her something to eat. As she listened to their voices from the kitchen, Ashlinn sipped on the tea, finally feeling the warmth seep back into her bones.