AN: Hey, I know that the past couple parts were confusing and weird. Hopefully either this post helps, or you can forgive me. Sorry if I've ruined it for you. It's my story. Let me put it this way, last story was mostly character building, this story is problem solving and some adventure.

The moment I opened my eyes, I knew I had to be dreaming. I knew that the Winchesters, Travis, and Nico were all camped out in the living room with me when I went to sleep.

I did not go to sleep in a circular room. And I certainly wouldn't have slept with the Matriarch in the same building, let alone three feet from me.

"Cassandra," She said in a calm voice, smiling gently. "You've grown so much since I last saw you. You look like your mother."

"Well," I started, but stopped when I already heard the snark in my voice.

She smiled a little more, her eyes sparkling. "I've come to teach you."

I hesitated. "Teach me what?"

"How to be a meddler, of course."

"I'm not sure I want that." I stepped back.

She either didn't hear me or she decided to ignore me. "This is your world-room. We'll start your training with a simple copy of the current world you live in." She waved her hand and a door appeared, same as those in the room we had last been together in. Dark wood, runes carved into the arching doorway, and a metal plate.

I frowned. "A copy?"

"For you to learn on. It's only real in our minds."

"Are you sure?"

"I am fairly certain, yes." She gestured to teh door. "Shall we?"

I gulped, then reached out and turned the door handle, then let it swing away from me. There was a strange light that emanated from it.

She took my hand. "It will become easier as you grow accustomed to it." She gently pulled me into the strange light and then we were in a park. Central park.

I looked around, then at my hands. "What is this?"

"Central Park. I thought it might be easier if we don't start with another-body experience. We could go to an earlier point in history, but I think for now it's best if we start here. You know how the people of Danu use compulsions to manipulate people?"

I nodded slowly.

She looked around, then nodded toward where a homeless person was asking for money. "Go tell someone to give him money."

I looked around, too curious not to try it. Finally, I spotted a man in a suit and went over. "Hey, you should give that homeless person some money."

The man walked right through me—trippy—but he did as I said, pulling a hundred dollar bill from his wallet and handing it to the homeless man before walking on as if nothing had happened.

"I don't understand, was that me, or did he do that of his own determination."

"That was you. Eventually you'll be able to do it with just a thought. Now, watch the homeless man." She turned me back toward the homeless man.

He was staring at the hundred dollars, but as I watched I could see how he would get up, I could see how he would take it back to where he usually stayed the night, I could see how in the morning he would go to a thrift store and buy the pieces of a suit, and a child's winter coat. I saw him give that coat to a homeless child, then go to a gym and sneak into the showers. When he came out, he was dressed in the suit. He went and applied to jobs all over the city, him getting a job…

I shook my head and looked away. "Nobody should have this kind of power."

"We only have this power because it isn't real." She flicked her fingers and everything went into rewind until the moment before I had compelled the man to give money. It played out differently this time, with the man in the suit passed by the homeless person, his phone ringing and distracting him from even noticing.

I stared a moment. "What good does this do me?"

"While you're young, it can help you make decisions. Or you can use it to build dream worlds."

"Dream worlds?"

"You're a writer, no?" She asked. "Think of this as making the world that you write come to life. These are all theoretical worlds. When you're older, when you come of age, then you'll start seeing the real world aspects of being a meddler."

"How do we leave?" I asked, then flinched because we were back in the circular room.

She shrugged. "You decide to leave. This is all in your head, remember. Think of it as a mind palace, just…bigger."

I nodded slowly. "Mind palace, got it. Does that mean I could access memories?"

"Your abilities give you more control over it, so yes."

"And the tattoo?"

She shrugged. "Identification, so that other meddlers can recognize you and you can recognize other meddlers. Most are symbols of power for you, or defining features. You're a saggitarious, and Ansuz is your ideal rune. Triple infinity is highly representative of who we are. I'll explain that another night. For now, imagine another door. Beyond that door, a different world. The world you want, or that you're curious about."

"Like the multiverse in DC comics?"

"Very similar, yes."

I nodded, then closed my eyes and tried to think of something.

"Good," She praised.

I opened my eyes. This door was different. It was still rounded on top, and there were still runes around it, but the door itself was made of birds-eye-maple, highly polished. The plate on it was blank.

She gestured toward it. "Shall we see what you came up with?"

I nodded, opening the door and stepping in, hoping it was the world I thought it was.

It definitely was.

She looked around. "Let me guess, a change in the turnout of the Revolutionary war?"

"Well, I've always been curious about what would happen," I answered. "But no, I did what would happen if the King had died before the war was through."

She arched an eyebrow. "Where are we?"

I shrugged. "Michigan."

"Strange," She murmured. "Alright, show me how it's different?"

It was weird, moving here. It was like flying, but not, and soon we were in New York, Manhattan.

"Whoa," I looked around.

"How early on did he die?"

I shrugged. "I just said before the war was through, I didn't think of a specific time."

We both flinched back as a full-on brawl began in the streets.

"What time are we?"

"Nineties?" I guessed, then glanced at the skyline. No Chrysler building, no Empire State Building, no Twin Towers?

"Well, I think you have an interesting world here. Want to try changing something here? Or scrap it?"

I frowned, watching the fighting. Then I looked around. "Women never got the vote, slavery never ended, it's completely different. I would have thought that a quicker end to the war would lead to a stronger nation, a more prosperous one."

"Maybe you're right, but that's not how it played out here. You could go back and see what happened, maybe change it. In this world you have complete control."

I sighed. "How do I just sleep?"

"You go back to your mind palace and climb into bed."

"Does it make a difference if I do this or just sleep?"

"No, though sometimes your dreams as a halfblood may be the first thing to come up. I don't know what will happen if that does. I don't personally have experience with it."

"But don't our minds need time to rest?"

"Yes, physically. And our minds are resting physically, in our bodies. Think of this not only as a dream, but a sort of out-of-body experience. You could even wish me away once you're trained well enough. Or invite others in."

I looked at the sky again. "Could I use it to help people?"

"Of course, our whole existance was to help people. To provide balance for those on the other side of the scales." She gently touched my shoulder. "Most people won't remember being in one of these worlds when they wake up. It will just be a good dream."

I nodded slowly. "What about coma patients?"

She pursed her lips, tilting her head slightly as she thought about it. "I guess it's time someone actually thought of that and tried it out."

I smiled. "Seriously? No one's ever thought of it before?"

"Sometimes things get overlooked. Sometimes there's a reason for someone being in a coma. Sometimes we won't like it."

I felt my smile fade. "Like they're supposed to actually be dead?"

She waited a moment, looking pensive, then gave a small nod. "We live in a state of flux, choices and the consequences of them, and things that we cannot choose and must live with. Meddlers have so much compassion, don't let the weariness of sorrow, pain, or anger destroy it. We care too much, but we also learn to let go. Because we can see if something was absolutely necessary."

"Like?"

She gave me a skeptical look. "Like seeing if things would really change so drastically if a mother had lived."

I blinked at her. "I could do that?"

She nodded. "Lord knows I did. I don't recommend it. Usually, out there, things happen the way they must."

"With or without us?"

She smiled. "I'm a firm believer that there isn't just chaos out there."

I nodded. "I've always felt like that."

"It's unusual. Hold on tightly to that belief."

I realized we were back in my circular room.

She took a deep breath, then smiled at me. "I'll come to teach you more tomorrow night."

"Wait, I don't understand though. Why now? Why do this now? On top of everything?"

Her face held no amusement. "Because you need to be able to stand a fighting chance against the Tuatha, and against the gods. You're mixed blood, and that's dangerous, because it rubs the curtain between worlds. And it hasn't just been you. It's been your friends as well. Mixing with the Norse, the Egyptians, Romans, and now the Celts? There are only temporary solutions to holding the curtains in place. Once they are gone, there will need to be people who help make sure as little fighting as humanly possible occurs. You'll remember that when it's most important."

"What?" I asked, wondering what that meant. I knew she had answered me, but I couldn't remember what she had said. What had she said?

"I should leave you to explore. Your watch will show the time in the real world. Avoid yourself until I have trained you."

I nodded, mostly just feeling confused.

She disappeared.

I looked at the door that I had made, and wondered if I could change what was behind it. It was like a video game. It was like that anime show Nico and I had binge-watched, Sword Art Online. I could create a world, and play it like a video game, but at the same time I could see what would happen.

That felt like a dangerous game.

But I was also drawn to it.

The plaque on the door had changed to say "Blank World".

I blinked at the plaque, then went back in. It was just pure nature. No people, if there were animals, I didn't see any, and it was quiet. So quiet.

I wandered through the meadow, only the wind making noise as it rushed through the grasses and trees. Flowers were in bloom. It was spring.

"Bees would love this place," I murmured, smelling a flower.

Almost instantly I knew that there were now honey-bees and bumble bees.

"Blank, huh?" It made sense now. It was something I had complete control over. I mean, if I decided that on this place animals could have animal babies with any other animal, it would happen. I could have a cog. A dat?

One appeared.

I stared for a moment, then shook my head. "No. Nevermind. You're weird-looking."

It disappeared.

She really had meant it when she said I could create worlds for my stories.

And I could write stories about these worlds.

I shook my head and left it. Even if she said it didn't affect my head, I didn't want to chance it.

There was a door that had been behind me in the circular room. It led to the rest of the building, the rest of my mind palace. Pictures on the wall, videos on the TV. It was a bedroom, like I always pretended to have as a kid. One that was in a castle.

"Huh." I went to the bed. It was like a cloud. "Sucks that I know I'll wake up on the floor."

But I got in it and lay down.

I don't know if I dreamed after that, but I woke up on the floor.

"Oh man, that's just rude." I pushed myself up.

"Good timing," Dean said.

I looked around. The ghosts were back.

"Can you wake up Sam and the others."

"Yes, yes I can." I scrambled to my feet and gave Sam a firm shaking, then flicked Travis on the forehead and pulled Nico onto his feet.

"Noooo," Nico protested.

"Ghosts, Nico. Ghosts."

"What does my dad want now?"

"The other kind, Nico."

Sam was on his feet already.

Travis was slower, but he was definitely more aware than Nico was.

"There are only three kinds…" Nico started, yawning.

"These are the kind that want to kill you," Travis snapped.

Nico blinked a little and looked around. "Mother—"

I elbowed him. "Language. You can see them now?"

He nodded emphatically. "They're weird, but yeah, I can see them."

I nodded. "Dean, what do we do?"

Sam and Dean exchanged looks that seemed to say they had no clue.

"Tell me you know what to do. Please."

Batman barked at the ghosts, but he was backing into the circle.

"These ghosts already took you two, we didn't think they'd be back. We were just being cautious." Sam finally spoke up.

Dean shot one that got too close to our circle.

We all cringed at the eir-piercing scream.

Travis stepped closer to me and Nico. "Are we going to have to do that with all of them?"

"God, I hope not," Dean said, looking like he regretted doing it in the first place.

I closed my eyes, trying to figure it out. Salt and Iron. Sage calmed them. Restless dead. Nico couldn't see them. Worked for the shapeshifters to get us to the meddlers but weren't interested in Nico, or either of the Winchesters before…so were they now?

I looked around at the ghosts. Yes, they were all approaching the circle and facing our circle. But were they looking at us, or…

My gaze drifted over the objects in the circle. The couch, the chair, the coffee table, with a couple magazines on it, a side table with a lamp and a picture of me and mom on it, and a seashell.

I grabbed the seashell, watching the ghosts, and moved it to the coffee table.

No reaction.

I had a sinking feeling.

"Cass, what are you doing?" Nico hissed.

I grabbed the photo, taking it out of the frame. I watched the ghosts as I put the frame on the coffee table.

Holy Hermes, I hated being right.

I clenched a fist and walked to the edge of the circle, and held up the photo.

The gazes of all of the ghosts were fixed on it.

Dean gently took it from me, glancing at it. "You have a copy of this one?"

I nodded.

Sam pulled me away from the edge of the circle.

Dean set it outside of the circle.

The nearest ghost snatched it up and then screamed, that awful scream

They all disappeared.

Dean turned and looked at me. "We'll find out why they wanted the picture. A big group of ghosts are kind of hard to hide. If they strike again, we'll find them."

I nodded a bit.

Sam was still holding onto me, but he slowly released me once he could see I was standing on my own. "Will you guys be okay on your own?"

"Grandpa should be back eventually. We've got the salt and iron ideas down," I told him.

Travis nodded. "I'll try an Iris message."

"A what?" Dean asked.

I tossed the prism to Travis, who cause it easily and set it up so that the flashlight was creating a big rainbow.

He pulled out a drachma. "Oh goddess, accept my offering." He tossed the coin into the rainbow.

I sighed in relief as it disappeared.

"Gareth Stoll, United States?" Travis sounded like he was guessing the location.

It shimmered then showed a shed.

"Grandpa?" Travis said, looking around.

He popped into view. "Oh, hello. Yes, I am…um…I believe I'm in Washington…so, I'm trying to get back, however I had a slight problem with a…whatever this is. I'll have to meet you all back in Michigan. How's the ghost issue?"

"Seems to be cleared for now," Travis answered.

"Sam and I are going to keep looking into it." Dean was looking at the iris message like he wasn't sure what to think of it.

"Right, like I said before, I owe you boys a few. How'd you get Travis back?"

"They didn't grandpa, we were released. The family thing." Travis's anger was barely concealed, and I could tell he was fighting back a glare.

Grandpa frowned. "What?"

"We'll explain when we see you, travel safely." I jumped in before Travis could snap a reply.

He nodded slowly. "You as well."

I swiped through it. "It's not his fault."

Travis nodded sharply. "I know."

"That was convincing. Try again."

"I know it's not his fault. He doesn't even know mom's alive. I'm not mad at him. I'm mad at her."

I met his gaze. "Let it go. We have no room for resentment. Family is everything, remember? She's alive. We don't know what's keeping her away, or what's kept her away. But she's back. You heard that thing, she was hiding from them. If she wants to come back in the right way, she has to be found by military. So you have to wait for that call."

Travis nodded.

Nico cleared his throat. "Your serious voice is kind of scary."

"Good." I folded my arms and smirked at him. "Somebody has to scare you."

Dean looked somewhat amused, fixing his gaze on me. "You sure you'll be okay?"

I thought about it, and nodded slowly. "Yeah, relatively. I'll survive. Hopefully live too. Get stronger so that when the next trial comes I have a little more strength to stand. What about you guys?"

"We'll manage."

"If you're ever in the Tri-State area of Michigan, look me up. I'll cook you guys dinner. Take whatever you want from the fridge too, we have to pack most of it up anyway."

"You sure?"

"My resources aren't exactly lacking, and I have this weird thing about helping others, it's like a drug."

"She's addicted." Nico nudged me.

I put an arm around his shoulders. "Me and my brothers will be fine."

"But if you want to help us scare her boyfriend—"

"You like Malcolm!" I cut Travis off.

He just gave me a grin, a little of his old self showing.

"Doesn't mean we don't want to put the fear of Hades in him," Nico muttered.

I released him and shoved him onto the couch. "You're both ridiculous."

Sam smiled. "I think you'll be fine."

I hugged him real quick, then Dean. "Better believe it."