"Where are you you son of a bitch." The hunter uses his senses to find the bastard, he couldn't wait to finish the job so he could go home and watch the big game. Hearing something behind him, he aims his weapon and fires.
"Argh!" The leviathan screams.
SLICE!
"Hmph. For an ancient creature, you're not very bright." He takes his machete and puts it in his sheath. Just when he was about to take out his bag to take the head away to be destroyed, a noise caught his attention. "You have a friend? Fine. Make it a twofer." He takes out his super soaker filled with borax and pumps it. "Hope you don't mind getting soaked." He listens closely to any noises. Hearing something above him, he dives out of the way before the monster could jump him. He pumps the soaker and splashes the creature in front of him. "The hell?" When he saw who was in front of him he couldn't believe it. "What are you doing here?"
Those were the last words he ever spoke.
When he saw what was happening to him his eyes went huge. He barely had time to scream as he was ripped in half.
"Damn it's hot." Dean was wiping his brow.
"Sure is. But aren't you a firefighter? You would think you'll be used to this."
"A middle of a fire is nothing like this." Dean wanted nothing more than a cold beer.
"Our air conditioner back in the motel sounds pretty sweet at the moment." Sam was sweating bullets.
"Why did Bobby isn't we meet him in Death Valley of all places? Our motel room isn't bugged. I made sure to double-check everything." Dean was paranoid these days, especially with spy cams everywhere. "God, I doubt Hell isn't as hot." Dean was panting.
"No magical traps either." Sam always made sure to check for magical things as well. "You sure you don't mind working? You have bigger things to worry about." Jenna was back at home with both Laura and DJ.
"I had another nightmare. Yellow Eyes, he was back, and way stronger than any of us combined." Dean woke up sweating. "All of you were dying slowly and there was nothing I could do." The Ancient Athame, it killed his whole family.
"It's just a dream Dean." Sam had bad dreams himself but tried not to think about them.
"Is it? Then why is Jen having them? Laura, she peed the bed crying, screaming she was seeing monsters. She's just a kid." Dean was incredibly stressed out.
"It's okay Dean." Sam puts his hand on Dean's shoulder. Poor guy was trembling. "Nothing happened yet. We'll stop it."
Behind them, a shotgun was aiming at their backs.
Hearing a click, both brothers tense. Forgetting about their conversation, they exchange glances.
"I think I have a cooler in the back. You did remember to fill it right?" Dean gave Sam his signal, being careful not to turn around. He zipped down his sweatshirt that he was wearing to protect himself from sunburn.
"In Death Valley? I made sure to fill it with water." Sam got ready, getting ready to pull out his knife from his pant leg.
"Now Sam!" Dean ripped off his shirt and threw it on top of their stalker, while Sam maneuvered himself behind the person holding the gun.
"You'll be dead before you touch the trigger." Sam was holding his knife around the guy's throat.
"I can shoot faster than him slicing your neck. Put the gun down, slowly."
The guy surrenders, allowing Sam to take the gun away from him. When Dean ripped the jacket away from the guy's face, Dean continued to hold the gun.
"Hey Bobby." A few years ago Dean would have greeted him with a smile. But after what he saw in his dreams, he didn't trust anyone.
"Idgits." Normally Bobby would have lectured them, but he understood how paranoid they were. "Do your tests. What else am I supposed to do."
"Ah." Dean stood in front of the AC which was blowing with cold arctic air.
"Sorry about that." They were back in their motel, poor Bobby was bandaging his wounds from their 'tests.'
"It's alright Sam. Just keeping you on your toes." Bobby wouldn't dare try this on Sam's wife. "Dean, you don't need to be here, Sam and I can do this ourselves." DJ was only a few months old.
"Sis is with them, plus I think Jen is already sick of me." Dean spent every moment with his family ever since he got home from South America. "Besides the case will be solved faster with three people." He and Jenna were slowly rebuilding their relationship, but it wasn't easy. He knew nothing went on with Jenna and her former boss, but he still wanted to put a bullet in his head.
"The leviathans, are they making a base here?" Sam and Dean were keeping an eye on things, especially after what happened to Bobby and Rufus a while back ago.
"I'm not sure. Frank, he never said a word." Frank Devereaux was Bobby's reluctant 'partner', but only in name. He preferred to work long distance, simply giving Bobby files of anything unusual. "That's not why I asked for you to come here." Bobby sighed. "You ever heard of a hunter named William Henderson?"
"Nope." Dean opened his phone, smiling at his screensaver. Laura was smiling holding her newborn baby brother. It was the day after DJ was born.
"He's an old war buddy of your dad's. They fought together in Vietnam."
"Sorry. That name doesn't ring a bell." John never talked much about his past, although Sam knew he was haunted by his best friend's death while he was serving.
"His body was found a few days ago. Ripped straight in half." Bobby saw the body at the local morgue.
"Leviathan?" Dean was looking at Jenna's Blackberry, seeing if he could find a way to track down Murphy.
"No. They would have eaten the body. Handprints were found on his torso." Bobby wondered what would be strong enough to do this.
"Demon?"
"Witch? Sorry, Sam." Dean saw Sam giving him a dirty look.
"Maybe it was a fallen god or titan." Sam read the Book of Shadows from cover to cover.
"That's why I called you." There were other hunters Bobby would have called, but he needed the best.
"Plus me." Dean hated being left out. "Just let us put on our fed suits and check out the crime scene."
"Plus check out the body." If magic was involved, Sam was calling his wife.
In a church somewhere, a middle-aged woman was sitting in a pew praying.
"My daughter. Why Lord. Is this a test? Is this a punishment for me turning my back on the Faith?" Maria was praying hard. "If it is, punish me for being so wicked." She put her entire life on hold for her career. And for what? "My sweet innocent daughter. Don't take her away. She's all I have." Maria prayed harder. "Tell me. Give me a sign." She closed her eyes for a miracle. She jumped feeling a hand on her shoulder. "Father Rowe! You scared me."
The priest smiled kindly at the woman.
"It's getting late. Your daughter, she needs you." Normally he'd leave the doors open, but he knew Megan needed her mom.
"I know." She crossed her chest in a holy gesture. "Amen. The Lord, He tests us every day."
"He does." He helps her up. "You don't need to be here. He can hear you from anywhere." Maria was here daily praying hard for her daughter.
"He does. But here, it brings me peace." She grew up Catholic but left the church after her husband divorced her for another woman, leaving her and her young child alone. "My daughter. She's getting sicker." Leukemia, poor Megan was fighting hard.
"We'll be praying for her this Sunday like we always do."
"God bless you." She bows her head. "My daughter."
"We already have our camera set up for Sunday's service." For those who couldn't make it, he and his congregation had WiFi for anyone to attend virtually.
"We'll be watching. Goodnight Father." He was Megan's age, he was the youngest priest in the church.
"Goodnight Maria." He led her down the steps. "Give Megan my best." He waited till she got inside her cab before he went back inside.
He was about to put out the candles when the flames blew out on their own. Sensing evil, he calmly puts down his snuffer and bows his head in prayer.
"Your evil presence isn't welcome in the House of God." He didn't turn around.
"He hasn't been Home for eons. As for a church, I doubt He ever stepped foot in one." Azazel says as he walks in.
"I'm no longer a warlock. My evil blood was extinguished the moment I said my vows." He gave his thanks to the Lord in a silent prayer.
"Which is a shame. Your triangle, you and your brothers would've been the most powerful warlocks in the world." Azazel wasn't responsible for the Rowe Bloodline, although he admired their work.
"Which would have toppled you. Your Special Children, my brothers would have destroyed them all." The Rowe Family hated competition. "Amen." He crosses his chest.
"True." Even Sam Winchester, Lucifer's True Vessel wouldn't stand a chance.
"What do you want?" Brendan wasn't afraid of the demon, he couldn't care less who Azazel was.
"I want to make you an offer."
"I don't deal I with Hell. Leave this place." Brendan refused to hunt, although he knew some priests did, he preferred to give spiritual support.
"Fine. But the nightmares. You see them more intensely than the average person."
Brendan closed his eyes. Even as a former warlock, he knew they weren't just dreams.
"Just leave."
Once he knew the demon was gone, Brendan looked up.
"Give me strength Father. Amen." After he cleaned and tidied everything up, he walked to his room.
"You're up late." Zachary wasn't a full priest yet, he was still studying his vows.
"I was shooing away a demon." He and the other priests knew Zachary was a hunter, none of them judged him for it.
"Damn! I mean. Salt." He saw Brendan smirking at him. "I'll place salt underneath the church's steps." The church needed much-needed renovations anyway.
"You do that. Goodnight."
"Night." Once Brendan got into bed, he gave a silent prayer for forgiveness. "Lord forgive me for my sins. Amen." Before he closed his eyes, he whispered a name. "Prue." He prayed hard for her soul. "Don't give in to evil." In his nightmare, Prue was leading an evil army, with him as her right-hand man.
"So what did you find out?" Dean declined to come with Bobby and Sam to the police station to interview the police, instead stayed in William's room to check out for any clues.
"Body was ripped in half just as Bobby said." Sam couldn't believe it. "Whoever did this had small hands." The handprints were on both sides of the torso. All three had already seen the crime scene, it was a very brutal kill. Blood was everywhere.
"Guy was what, seven feet?" Dean was looking at an old picture of John Winchester's Platoon. "There's Dad, Hank, and I assume William." Dean never heard of William but heard countless stories about Hank.
"Hank Murphy." Bobby stared grimly at the picture. "Your father blamed himself every day for his death." William told Bobby how John regretted what happened back in Vietnam.
"Hn." Dean knew how he died, John told both Mary and Dean he wished he didn't insist he and Hank take that shortcut. "You know who did this?" He put down the picture.
"No, but we'll figure this out." Sam looked around the room. "I'll look for hex bags." Dark witches can summon great strength to destroy their enemies.
"And I'll check out William's journal. Maybe he had enemies who needed to shut him up." Bobby saw a rough-looking book on the bed.
"You do that." Dean saw William's notes. "Looks like he was working on a case." Just as Dean was reading a newspaper clipping about an unusual murder, an old article caught his eye. "Sam! Check this out!" He couldn't believe it.
"What is it?" Sam rushes over. "He was working on Mom's case." On the window, there were articles about Mary Winchester's death.
"Fire Takes Away Local Woman's Life." Sam heard Dean's snort.
"Yellow Eye Bastard." All of Dean's nightmares were nothing compared to that night.
"We'll get him." Sam and Piper were currently working on a spell to kill all of the upper-level demons.
"He was writing about the Colt." Bobby was looking at William's notes. "Your father and him, it was William that taught John everything he knows."
"Huh?" Dean looked up. "I was just a kid, but if there was a giant, I would've remembered him." William was built like a pro wrestler. "We lived with a different hunter the first few months." Dean was only in kindergarten but babysat Baby Sam whenever no one was around. "Why now? If William was Dad's mentor, what killed him?"
"Or why." Sam was looking at a drawing of Mary on the ceiling when something caught his eye. "I gotta call my wife." Piper would kill him if he kept this from her. He takes out his cell to make a call.
"What is it Sammy?" Dean goes to what Sam looking at. "Prue."
Prue was older, and wearing a disguise, but they immediately recognized the eldest Halliwell.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The machines were working hard to keep the patient on the bed alive. On the young woman's bedside, Maria was praying hard for her comatose daughter.
"Dear Lord. Please save my daughter. I'll accept my punishment and burn in Hell, but only if you spare her. Please Father." She crosses her chest. She didn't look up at the nurse checking her vitals.
"I'll only be a minute. I have to draw some blood."
Maria prayed hard, losing herself in old memories.
"Mom, you promised." Megan was holding onto an old take-out menu.
"I know, but we need the money." Maria was wearing her business suit. "Maybe next time."
Just as Megan was about to protest, she saw her mom's guilty face.
"Have a good day at work." It was Saturday, they were supposed to go out for Megan's birthday.
"I'll make it up to you I swear." Ever since her husband left, she was left alone to pay all the bills, her cowardly ex even went out of his way to avoid paying child support. "Once I get this promotion, I'll have all the time for you." She didn't hire a sitter, Megan was old enough to take care of herself. "I left you some money to order a pizza. Bye!" She had to get to work ASAP.
Maria waited till the nurse left before talking to her daughter.
"I should have stayed home. You got sick a few months later and never been able to celebrate your birthday since. Megan, will you ever forgive me?" She started sobbing. She couldn't care less about anything else, just her daughter. "Please, Lord. Take me, but spare her. I'll do anything you ask." She kisses her hand. "I'm going to pray. I'll be right back." There was a small chapel downstairs.
Maria knelt down in the small pew and started praying.
"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned." She holds her rosary. "Father. As a member of your flock, why have you forsaken me? I did what you asked and got rid of my most earthy possessions, plus never missed a day of church since." She didn't have much of a choice, she needed to pay for Megan's care. "Is it because of what happened all those years ago?" She bowed her head. "Megan, she said his name." Her late father, Maria never told her about him. "I'm sorry about committing adultery, my husband, he always called Megan his little miracle." She closed her eyes in guilt. The day before, Megan told Maria she saw her late father.
"Mom?" Megan was getting weaker everyday.
"I'm right here baby." She brushed her daughter's hair away from her face.
"I had a strange dream. I saw a man. He was gesturing for me to come Home."
"A man? What did he look like?" Maria tried not to cry, Megan was having a hard time talking these days.
"He had dark hair like mine, said he was my real dad. He said he was watching me ever since I was born." Megan smiled. "Isn't that a strange dream?"
Maria froze. Her biological father died before Megan was born.
"Yes, that is strange." She squeezed her daughter's hand. "Your dream. What else did that man say?"
Megan looked into her mom's eyes.
"That he wished he spent the rest of his life with you instead of Dad." She started coughing. "But he said he was ready to make up for everything once I was ready to go."
Maria sobbed in her pew.
"I know it was wrong. But Megan was conceived out of love." She and her former husband were going through a rough patch, so she spent time with her coworker. "It wasn't like it was planned, it just happened." It was only one night, but she got pregnant by him. "I loved him. I know it was a sin, but Lord, he..." Maria shook her head. "Is that why you took him away, to make me go back to my marriage?" Her affair partner was killed in a car crash a short time later. "My husband and I worked things out. When Megan was born, he was so happy." They were told it was impossible to conceive. "He must've known, but he didn't care. He loved Megan. So I thought." He left a few years later. "Your tests. I'm still paying the price." She wasn't employed anymore, not since the recession when she got laid off. "I lost a lot. But I don't care. But please. Don't take my sweet daughter away. Please Lord." She prayed.
"Excuse me, may I join you?" A man's voice asked.
Maria didn't look up, instead she kept praying.
"Forgive me Father. For I have sinned." The man crossed his chest. "Your daughter. She is truly beautiful." He was the hospital's janitor, he came into Megan's room to clean up the vomit she made when she puked on the floor earlier.
Maria didn't answer.
"I heard your prayers."
Maria continued ignoring him.
The man took out a wilted white rose from his breast pocket.
"I hope you don't mind me taking this out of your room. It's a shame that beautiful things wilt and die." He changed their garbage before he left. "Your daughter. I can grant your wish." The wilted rose bloomed and blossomed in front of his eyes. "Here. Give this to your daughter." He smiled when Maria looked over. "It's truly a miracle, isn't it? Bringing something back from the brink of death." When his eyes glowed yellow, Maria fell back.
"Demon." She scrambled away. "Stay away from me." She held up her rosary.
"If that was made out of iron, it would have repelled me. Even Palo Santo wood would've worked as well." He stood up holding the white rose. "Your daughter. I can heal her."
"So what did Sis say?" Dean was wearing a towel, he just finished taking his shower.
"She and her sisters are looking into it. But, she isn't sure that was Prue." Sam must've looked at the picture several times. "It wouldn't be the first time a shapeshifter tried to fool us." The picture wasn't the best quality, Prue's face was a bit blurred.
"Don't blame her. Remember that spell Prue cast a few years ago?"
"The one with the triplets?" Sam, Dean and Piper weren't there but heard stories of how Prue cast a spell to bring her twins to their world to defeat their enemies. "They already looked into it. She swears that isn't another Prue." Piper was understandably pissed, she and her sisters had a huge fight about it. Sam was looking in his laptop. "Here's the security footage." Bobby wasn't with them, he said he had an appointment in town.
It showed the outside of a building. In it, people were going in and out.
"What are we looking at?" Dean was still in his towel.
"Just wait." Sam clicked another button. In it, a worker was working alone when he turned his head. When he saw a stray cat walking in, his head transformed into a hideous creature.
"Leviathan." They never encountered one, but heard the description from Bobby. They watch as the creature tries to capture the cat, but before it could, it screamed when a stream of chemicals hits its face. "I assume that is William." William was spraying the creature with his super soaker.
They watch as William tries to find the Leviathan who ran off. Once its head was sliced off a few minutes later, they watched the footage of William putting his machete away. What happened next, neither could believe it.
"How can someone so small rip William in half?" Dean thought he was numb to violence, but even he looked away at the scene in front of him. Thankfully there was no sound. "Any idea who she is?" The woman looked calm after throwing down William's top torso.
"No idea. Bobby's looking into it." Sam paused the video to look into her face. "If she's possessed, the demon must've been under orders." Sam played the video again for any clues. "I'm going back to check out William's room. Maybe there's something we missed." He closes the laptop.
"Not alone you're not. DJ, he'll want to see his uncle soon." Dean was determined to have his family together.
"Get away from me." She ran in front of the church's altar. "Be gone evil servant of Satan." She grabs the cross in front of her.
"Satan?" Azazel laughs. "My father, he's dead. He died by Michael's hands." He chuckled at her stunned expression. "Lucifer, he never liked any of us. He always hated demonkind. Especially once Man blamed him for creating them." He walked closer to Maria.
"What do you want with me?" She read the bible cover to cover, and although she never questioned her faith, she wondered occasionally if any of it was true. "I won't sell my soul."
"Your soul? What use do I have of it? Our Academy, we are selective on our students." He walked closer to her. "Your daughter. I can heal her."
Maria shook her head.
"I won't be a servant of the devil. Leave me."
"As you wish." Azazel bowed to her. "Megan. She doesn't have much time left."
Once he was gone, Maria collapsed in sobs.
"Lord. Please give me strength."
Sam and Dean were interviewing the security guard who found the dead bodies.
"When you found the bodies, you didn't see who did it?" Sam was writing down notes. Dean was watching the police taking pictures of the aftermath from the security footage.
The security guard shook his head.
"I was on patrol. This place, it's nothing special, we just repair things. We only have cameras to keep an eye on thieves and squatters." He shuddered at the memories of watching the footage. "I just left after checking out the floor, no one was there except Harry. He was there working an extra shift." If he stayed to talk, he would have been killed as well.
"Harry, did he have any enemies?" Dean was looking at the leviathan staring hungrily at its fellow workers.
"He just started a few weeks ago. We barely knew each other, he only worked shift work." The guard looked at the tape playing. "The big guy, he was asking us about him." He wrapped his arms around himself. "He wanted to eat me didn't he?" He remembered how Harry kept talking to him, asking him about going to dinner. "I thought he was trying to make friends, we went out for beers once. Thank god the big guy was around, he never left the bar the entire time we were there."
"The woman. You know who she is?" They knew the guard watched the tape, he looked sick watching it. Dean paused the tape to study her face. Did she have black eyes? Dean wasn't sure.
"Never saw her before in my life."
"Thanks for your time." Once they left, they wondered where else to go.
"We already talked to the cops, the security guard, walked through William's apartment, this mystery woman, you know where to find her?" Dean needed to solve this case before she kills again.
"Social media is a good place to start."
"Gotta love technology." They go inside the Impala and drive away.
"You know he's lying."
"That rose bloomed in front of my eyes! He may be a demon, but my daughter. I'll accept any punishment for her." Maria was confiding to Father Rowe about what happened this morning.
"A demon may grant you your wish. However, there's always a loophole. Don't sully your soul for selfishness." He knew too well, that his tainted blood tempted him to give in to his evil desires.
"Selfishness! Selfishness!" Maria stood up and screamed. "HOW DARE YOU!"
Father Rowe stood up to placate the other members of the church who were looking up in curiosity. Especially his fellow priests who ran in.
"Please return to your prayers. Amen." He nodded to the priests, especially Zachary who looked worried. "Please, Maria. Sit down. We'll pray together."
"Go to Hell." She stormed out.
Brendan sighed. He didn't move when Zachary sat down beside him.
"She is tempted. But I don't blame her one bit." Brendan knew all too well how powerful a parent's love was.
"Her daughter will pay the price eventually." Demonic Deals always had a hidden clause. Zachary knew all too well about Hell and Its Deals.
"I know. But I don't know how to convince her." He sighed. He prayed for an answer.
"Her vitals are dropping. Nurse! Get the crash cart ready!"
"Yes Doctor."
"Ma'am. I'm sorry, but you have to leave the room." The sympathetic nurse gently pushes her out.
"My baby. Please save my baby." Maria prayed hard. "Anyone. ANYONE out there. I offer you everything I have. My body, my soul. Just save my child." When she heard Megan's doctor saying her vitals were starting to stabilize, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Lord." She waited till the nurses walked out with the doctor. "My baby. Can I see her?"
"Go right ahead. But let her rest." Dr George tells her in a gentle tone.
Just as Maria walked into the room, she overheard Dr George saying something about a miracle.
"The leukemia was in its final stages. The girl was on the brink. A miracle that's what this is."
"Thank you Lord." Maria crossed her chest. "Megan. I'm not leaving you. I'm staying right by your side."
"I don't know Sammy. It seems insensitive. Interrogating a dying girl's mom on a hospital bedside." Dean felt dirty.
"What I'm more curious about is why the police ain't here. She's active on social media, every day she asks for a miracle." Her face and fingerprints were found on the crime scene and William's body. "Something seems off." Sam already called his wife, Piper said Paige was looking in the police database for any reports. "Did you call Bobby?"
"Left him a message. Whatever he's doing, must've been important." Dean winked at a cute nurse walking by.
"Really Dean?" Sam saw that nurse blushing.
"I'm window shopping." Dean wasn't a cheater. "There!" They were in the cancer ward of the hospital. "How are we going to do this?" They had no idea if this Maria woman was dangerous. "I promised Jen I'll be back tomorrow." Poor Jenna was getting overwhelmed with two kids. Dean was starting to regret firing Nina.
"Here." Sam hands him a mojo bag. "It's powerful enough to repel demons, plus provide protection."
"Tell Sis thanks." Dean was glad to have a powerful witch in the family. "Here we go." Dean had his weapons, just in case.
Knock Knock
"Come in." Maria was praying with her rosary. When she looked up and saw two men holding up Federal IDs, she tensed.
"Ma'am. We need to ask you some questions." Dean had his holy water ready, just in case.
"Not here. My daughter needs her rest."
In the hallway outside of Megan's room, she sighed.
"My daughter. Please understand. She's all I have." Maria was determined to be here just in case. "I just need to make sure she pulls through."
"We'll be quick." Sam takes out a picture from his pocket. "William Henderson. Does he look familiar?" As expected, Maria shakes her head.
"I don't know who that is." She needed to be with Megan.
"He was found murdered." When Dean showed her pictures of William's dead body, she teared up.
"How awful." She prayed for his soul. She picked up her rosary and started rubbing it.
"You were seen in the building before he was killed." Dean and Sam watched her face closely, and sure enough, she gripped her rosary harder.
"I admit I was there. I, I wanted to pick up Megan's father's watch. She always loved that watch."
"On a Sunday?" Sam saw her tense.
"My ex-husband. He used to work there, I had a key to get in any time I needed to. You can ask the owners, he left me his share of the partnership." Part of their divorce agreement was to make sure Megan was taken care of. "I need to get back. My daughter, she needs me."
"I understand." Dean was a father himself. "We'll be in touch."
A few minutes later Maria watches from Megan's window as they drive away.
"Mom?"
"I'm calling Father Rowe. Let's pray together."
"I find it hard to believe someone that small could be strong enough to kill a man." Even with video evidence, Dean still couldn't believe it.
"Desperation. She'll do anything to save her daughter, even murder." Sam shakes his head.
"She didn't do this alone. Sam, we have to contact everyone she knows."
"We'll start looking at her social media accounts. Plus her church. Someone out there must know something." Sam went to call his wife, asking her if Paige found out anything.
"Okay. I'm going to see Bobby. We'll need to pick his brains." Dean needed to call his wife to make sure she and the kids were okay.
Maria was reading her bible when she got a text.
'Maria. I'm outside the door.'
Maria quietly gets up from her chair to let in Father Rowe.
"Brendan. Forgive me." She threw herself in his arms sobbing quietly.
"Not here." Seeing an empty room, he gently leads her inside. "Maria. What is it?"
Maria was sobbing hard.
"I sold myself to the devil."
Maria was breathing hard, her daughter. She was getting sicker and sicker.
"Megan. Forgive me." She sobbed in her daughter's baby blanket. "I'm sorry for neglecting you all those years ago."
Poor Megan was complaining about feeling sick.
"Mom, I feel sick."
"Now? I'm about to leave for work." She checked her watch.
"Mom?" Megan called in a weak voice.
"Fine." She puts down her purse. "Hmm. Your head feels hot. Probably the flu."
"Can you stay home with me today?" Megan didn't feel so good.
"Oh honey. I want to, believe me. But bills are overdue. Your school trip, I have to save up for it." Maria puts on her purse. "Besides, you had the flu before." Megan was a teenager now. "I'll make arrangements for someone to check up on you in a few hours. Go to bed."
"Okay Mom." Megan weakly walked back to her room to lie down.
"Crap. I gotta hurry." Traffic would be a bitch to drive. "There's chicken soup in the cupboard, plus some juice! I'll see you in a few hours! Love you!"
"I regret that day every day. Because of my selfishness, Megan is sick." She starts crying again.
"You couldn't have known, Megan, the sickness was already inside of her. A few hours wouldn't make a difference." Brendan tells her with sympathy. But what she said earlier, he had to know. "You said you talked to the devil. Explain."
"It was a few weeks ago. I was praying in the church when he came. The Man with the Yellow Eyes." Hearing Brendan choke, she looked over. "I know. Sounds crazy. But I was desperate! If you were in my shoes, you'd do the same thing."
"Go on." Brendan, he had to tell his fellow parishioners.
"Megan wasn't feeling any better. Doctors were telling me to start making funeral arrangements. What he offered me, I didn't have much of a choice.
"I won't give up my daughter. Me, I'll gladly give you my body, mind and soul." Megan only had a few hours left, Maria knew it.
The Devil smiled.
"As much as I appreciate that, that isn't enough. Your daughter on the other hand. She is strong. Exactly who I need for my army."
"NO! Anything than her. I won't damn her to Hell for your selfish gain! I have money. Stocks, take it all."
"That's what I like about humans. They bargain for anything. Very well. I can heal her, but only temporarily. I just need you to do one thing."
"My selfish actions killed a man. His blood will forever taint my hands." She didn't know where she got the strength, but when she placed her hands on his body, she didn't flinch as she ripped him in two. "The police will be here soon, but until I know Megan is going to be okay, I asked him to keep them away."
"Lord have mercy." Brendan sighed. "You know there's no coming back from this." Murder, selfishness, greed.
"In know. I'll accept my punishment." Eternal Hellfire, she knew she'd never see her daughter again.
"I can make arrangements for someone to watch over Megan."
"Thank you, Brendan. I gotta get back." She pats his hand.
"Give her my best." Once she left, Brendon made a call. "Zachary, call our contacts. Let them know what's going on. Azazel, he will be going after Megan next."
Bobby was looking over William's notes, he found a diary in his car.
'Mary made a deal with the devil. Her parents were both murdered by the Yellow Eye Demon. John died as well, but Mary made a deal for John's life. Her future children, I swore to John to protect Sam and Dean from fellow hunters.'
'Jason. What a mess of a man. Never liked the guy, especially in Vietnam. What he did to those innocent men and women, it was like a sport to him. He laughed when those soldiers begged for their lives. They weren't even monsters! God, if only I put a bullet into him. He told us, that a dead prisoner was better than an escaped convict. John, he shook his hand. Jason told us it was the prisoners that got Hank killed, but I know that isn't true. Just wish I could prove to everyone what kind of person Jason is. '
'Sam, he's growing up so fast. He never met me, but John sent me pictures. Soon he'll be as tall as Daniel. Dean takes after Mary, he shoots as well as her when she was his age. Hunters.'
'I've been looking for that magic gun, but those witches in San Francisco. Their grandma could easily wipe out any demons. Azazel, he wouldn't stand a chance. No wonder he stays out of California. HA!'
'I've been taking care of my neighbour, he needs to be in a home, but stubborn bastard insists he could take care of himself. Don't blame him, for a 94 year old, he is as spry as he did when we met all those years ago. I do change his diapers, and clean his room from time to time. I don't mind, I never had children, so this is my way of paying the universe back.'
'I've been attending church recently, those nightmares, alcohol isn't cutting it. It was Zach who suggested I attend, as my mentee, I owe him. Father Rowe, what a compassionate man.'
'There's a woman that comes by to pray for her sick daughter. Cancer, ugliest word in existence. Father Rowe, I'm glad to see him comforting her, he doesn't talk very much.'
'Remember Father Rowe? I found out something about him. He's half-warlock! But that's not the only thing. His bloodline is part of a long line of dark magic. He became a priest to suppress it. I try not to judge, he won't be the first one to turn his back on evil. I'll make sure he stays safe from the extremists, especially Jason and that Gordon Walker fella.'
'Maria. I don't know. Something about her frightens me. I have to keep an eye on her, just in case.'
'The leviathans. I already told my fellow hunters about them. Luckily they aren't very bright. Their ego blinds them to their vulnerabilities. Some borax, a sharp blade, very easy to decommission. Once I'm done with them here, I can keep an eye on the witch.'
'I suspect my time will be up. I already bathed myself in borax. The black goo bastards will have nasty indigestion. So I sent everything to my trusted source. If I don't make it back, I guess this would be my last entry.'
'Forget the leviathans. I'm sure those Winchesters and their wives can easily take care of them. Prue Halliwell. If someone is reading this, don't underestimate her. Enemy or Friend, I'm afraid I've never been able to figure it out. Goodbye.'
Bobby closed the book.
"Damn." He needed to give Sam this book. William had more books, but Bobby didn't have any interest in reading them. He looked through his papers, setting those aside for Sam and Dean to read. When he saw one picture, he couldn't believe his eyes. "So that's where you were the whole time."
Unknown to Bobby, a figure watches him from outside his room.
Hearing a noise, Bobby grabs his gun.
"Sam, Dean?" Holding the gun to his chest, he listens hard. Feeling wind on his back, he starts shooting behind him.
Dean pulls up outside of William's building. Seeing a television light flashing, Dean figured that Bobby was taking advantage of William's hospitality.
"You've always been a little tightfisted Bobby." As far as he knew, Bobby was shacking it up in that barn they met earlier before William's untimely demise. "What are you watching, porn?" Dean hoped not. Bobby had weird tastes. "I'll knock first." Just when he was about to send a message to Sam, he heard gunshots. "Bobby!" He jumps out of the Impala.
"I thought you weren't going to turn your back on your morals." Zachary was watching Brendan loading up a shotgun.
"Sitting around and watching innocents die is a sin in itself." He and his fellow priests were loading up weapons. "You! Don't forget the cleaner."
"Yes sir." The boy was young but came here from time to time to assist the church. When a nun walked in, Brendan nodded at her.
"Did you send my message?" She was a formidable fighter, nuns rarely fought as hunters, but they knew End Times were on their way.
"Sent it straight to the Pope. Plus to every religious leader I can find." The so-called Devil's Church, they were very eager to help.
"Good. Don't go looking for trouble. Unlike hunters, we only defend, not throw the first stone." The church preached love and forgiveness. "The devil, he'll be here soon with his assistant."
"Do we fight?" A priest asked. The older priests and nuns were too old and fragile to fight, so instead were going to send prayers plus chant a song of protection to prevent evil from walking through their doors.
"No. The hunters will be here soon. They'll take care of everything." Brendan hoped Prue stayed safe.
Maria walked up to the church. She knew she wouldn't be allowed inside, Father Rowe aka, Brendan simply told her as much as he values her friendship, she crossed the line by selling out her child.
"I will grant you your wish. Megan will be cured of her illness, however, she will belong to me."
"No. That wasn't our deal." Maria did what her master asked, she killed an innocent man, sold her ex-husband's stock to Sucrocorp, and sent coordinates to the hunters' hideout.
"Read the fine print. Humans, you're so impatient."
Maria closed her eyes remembering Azazel's words.
"She'll go on, go to college, get married, have kids. Get an established career. However, when she gets the call, she'll have no choice but to obey. Don't you worry. I had thousands of students, most having ordinary lives without knowing anything about me. This is a 'just in case' scenario. Think about the alternative. She would have been dead by morning. The reapers. I can only keep them away for so long."
"Forgive me Lord. I was so weak. I'll accept my punishment, burning in Hell." Maria weeped. "My Megan. Keep her safe." Just as she was about to open the doors to the church, she fell backwards from a forcefield.
"Clever." Maria's eyes go black. "Rowe! It's not too late! The Triangle! You can still take over! Your brothers, you don't need them! Ah!" She felt a salt bullet hitting her side. "Hunters." She turned her head to see Sam Winchester.
"Give it up! You're surrounded!" Sam, Dean, and Bobby weren't the only ones aiming their weapons at Maria. When 'Maria' looked around, she saw many weapons from various buildings and the street.
"Azazel! Where's your master!" Dean clocked his gun. "Don't bother smoking out, there's a Devil Trap underneath your feet."
Rowe stepped out of the church.
"You still have time, your soul can be cleansed. You, your daughter. You'll be together in Heaven."
The demon gave a wide-open grin.
"Do I look like I care about the bitch? Or this meatsuit? Azazel and I, stopped caring about Hell a long time ago! Sam, your sister-in-law. She's all that we want." The demon screamed when an altar boy sprayed her down with holy water from his water gun.
"Gotcha!" He was dying to be a hunter, he knew what the church did in secret. He held up the gun, wanting to prove he was old enough for training.
"That's enough Jake. Go back inside." Rowe scolded.
"But..."
"I won't ask again." Rowe says in a stern tone.
"Okay." Jake reluctantly goes back inside the church.
The demon grinned harder, not caring it was surrounded by hunters.
"How sweet! A grand greeting, for me? I'm flattered." The demon laughs.
Sam clocked his gun.
"One wrong move and this will kill you." Sam was holding the Colt.
Rowe nodded to Zachary, who signalled to his army to watch for Azazel.
"You said Prue. Talk." Dean was holding onto his gun. It wasn't powerful enough to kill a demon, but had miniature Devil's Traps in its bullets.
"We want her home. That's it. Kill me if you want, there will be countless others that are under the same orders." The demon smiles seeing Bobby who's holding Maria's rosary. "You know you just killed this woman. Once I'm gone, she has a first-class ticket downstairs."
Bobby stares coldly at the demon.
"Almost wish I killed you instead." He starts chanting an exorcism.
"Ah. Ah. Ah." The demon shakes its head. "If I get exorcised, or killed, your sister-in-law's location comes with me."
Sam, Dean, and Bobby reluctantly lower their weapons, except Rowe who was glaring at the demon.
"She's an innocent woman, what do you want with her?" He and Prue only met a few times but cared deeply about her.
"Like I said, we just want her home."
"The hell are you talking about?" Sam clocked his gun.
"Jessica. Remember her? Your mom? Mmm. The smell of burning flesh always cheers me up." It laughs seeing Sam's expression change from annoyance to anger.
"Arghhh!" Sam drops the Colt and jumps on top of the demon.
"Sam!"
Sam was on top of the demon, grabbing onto Maria's collar.
"Sam!" Dean was trying to pull Sam off the demon. "Stop!"
"Father, what do you know about this demon?" The hunters surrounding the church earlier were gone.
"Not much I'm afraid. I'm just a priest." Brendan clasped his hands in prayer.
"But you talked to the woman. What do you mean her soul can be saved? Did she confess?" Bobby didn't attend church but went a few times to confess his sins to the priests whenever he was feeling down.
Brendan didn't answer.
"Tch." Bobby shook his head in annoyance.
"Talk!" He knew this demon wasn't the one that killed his former girlfriend or his mom, but he was seeing red. "Your boss! Where is he?" Azazel, Sam wanted him dead.
The demon looked up at Sam.
"You. Your family. Did Dean ever tell you what John whispered in his ear? About you? Azazel had nothing to do with it." Before Sam could ponder its words, the demon smoked out of Maria's body.
"Move out of the way!" Rowe pushed Bobby aside. Maria, the bullets Bobby put into her earlier were killing her.
Sam didn't protest as Dean lifted him off Maria. He didn't know what to think.
Maria groaned as the demon smoked out. Seeing Rowe, she weakly smiled.
"Father Rowe." A kind face, she wanted to see one friend before she went to Hell.
"Don't try to talk." Seeing Zachary he yells at him to call for an ambulance. "Get help!"
"Yea." He saw the bishop walking out of the church.
"That's okay. I already accepted my punishment." She looked deeply in his eyes, his soul was good and pure, unlike hers. "Megan. How is she?"
"She'll be okay." He looked at the bishop who was praying over her soul. "I swear."
Father Rowe was praying in the hospital church when Azazel appeared in front of him.
"She has nothing to do with you." He was praying hard for Maria. Asking the higher-ups to give her a second chance. "Megan, she's an innocent girl."
"It's not her that we want. It's the witch." Azazel didn't come here for Maria's prayers, he came here for Prue. "You talked to her recently."
"Holy Father, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us, and the rest of the world." He whispered. "Amen."
"You know that He isn't listening. He isn't even here."
Brendan continued to ignore the demon.
"Megan. I'll give her the gift of life, as well as her freedom. Just tell me what I need to know."
"I don't negotiate with demons."
"Selfishness. Your ego and pride will kill not only Megan but also damn her mother in eternal hellfire. Will your vows allow that?" Azazel smirked seeing his hands squeezing together in anger.
"I won't sacrifice her." As painful as it was to let Megan and her mom die, he had to do it for the Greater Good. "Besides, she already left." Brendan and Prue didn't talk face to face but communicated secretly through their contacts.
"Then I'll offer this. Work with me, and I'll release Megan. Maria, it's too late for her, but her child, she could go on living a normal, healthy life. What do you say?"
Brendan swallowed. As much as he didn't trust Azazel, he didn't want to send Megan to Hell.
"How do you know you won't betray me? You'll kill her anyways." Hell always had loopholes.
"You don't. Go see Megan for yourself. Maria, she'll be on her knees crying in gratitude."
"Megan. The doctors called it a miracle."
Brendan couldn't believe what he saw when he walked inside that room. Megan was sitting up watching television.
"My Lord." Brendan crossed his chest. Megan seeing Father Rowe walk in gave him a huge grin.
"Father Rowe!" She looks behind him. "Where's Mom?" Her mom and Father Rowe were good friends.
"Your mom?" Oh no. "She isn't with you?" He already knew. Maria, she'll do anything for her daughter.
Megan shook her head.
"Last time I saw her, she told me that she will always love me. Then she left." Megan barely remembered what she said, she was slipping in and out of unconsciousness. "Father Rowe?" His expression was full of sadness.
"How are you feeling Megan?" Her once pale expression was full of colour, the cancer, Brendan knew it was gone.
"Amazing!" She ripped off her wig. "Soon I'll be going back to school!" She spent most of her teenage years in the hospital. "I need to make up for my credits, but once I graduate, I'm off to college!" Megan couldn't wait.
"That's great." He crossed his chest. "Your mom. I'll let her know you're okay."
"Thank you Lord." She knew she only had seconds left. "For giving me...the...most...perfect...daugh...her." She smiled peacefully knowing Megan was alive.
Father Rowe bowed his head in sorrow when Maria took her last breath.
"Amen." The bishop says, finishing his prayer. "Brendan, there's nothing more we could have done."
"I know." He crossed her arms across her chest and closed her eyes.
"Here." Bobby places Maria's rosary in her hands. "Sam, Dean, we have to go." Even with the church's members as their witnesses, it would be hard to explain Maria's bullet wounds.
"Father!" A nun dressed in street clothes runs up. "The demon, he's gone." The church was well-trained, but Azazel was more slippery than they anticipated.
Hearing an ambulance coming, Brendan looks at the hunters.
"Go. We'll tell everyone she was caught in a drive-by." Lying was a sin, but technically it wouldn't be, since Bobby was shooting at a demon and not Maria.
"We better move it. Sam, Dean." The bishop was gesturing for them to sneak inside to head out the alley exit. "Your families, they are expecting you." Bobby didn't want to piss off Piper by having Sam and Dean arrested.
Once they left, Rowe and the Bishop ordered everyone to go inside.
"Just because the demon is gone, doesn't mean he won't send his followers to cause trouble. Stay vigilant."
"Yes Father." Once everyone was inside the church, Father Rowe waved down the ambulance that pulled up.
"So what are you two going to do now?" Bobby wasn't sure what to do next. Unlike Sam and Dean, he had nowhere to go.
"We can give you a room. DJ, he'll love to meet his Grandpa." DJ and Bobby never met.
"Mel, she needs some guidance. Something Dad never did." Piper knew how important Bobby was to them.
"I don't want to impose." Bobby stayed in various places, his home, he knew he could never go back.
"It's no issue." Dean remembered staying at Bobby's several times growing up, and whenever he and Sam needed a place to crash. "Jen, I don't want her to be alone if we're called for a job." Dean hated leaving her and the kids alone.
"Especially if Piper and her sisters are needed."
"Just for a little while. You boys know I like my space." Bobby couldn't wait to see the little ones.
"Let's get out of here." Death Valley was unusually warm for the season. Dean was dying for some cool air.
"Boys."
"What is it Bobby?" Sam couldn't wait for the car AC.
"Nothing." That picture Bobby saw in William's belongings, he had to see if it was real, hopefully, Devereaux didn't charge him too much to verify it.
Once they were on the highway, Sam asked about Maria's demon.
"That demon, what did he mean by Dad whispering in your ear?" Sam was confused.
"It's a demon, Sam." Even with the air conditioning on full blast, he was sweating bullets.
"It was working with Azazel. Dean, Dad's dead. You don't need to protect him anymore."
Dean, he didn't know what to say. He still remembered John's words before he died.
"He said he's proud of you." Dean lied. What John whispered, Dean didn't know if he could fulfill it.
"Huh. That doesn't sound like Dad at all. He was always disappointed in me." Sam had a small smile upon hearing those words. "Dean, let's take the girls out for a drive, Dad's favourite restaurant should still be standing. He liked blueberry pancakes right?"
No way was Dean ever telling Sam the truth.
"Yep. Grandma Winchester, she took you there before when you were a baby." Shame Millie passed away shortly after. Dean drove down the highway, them exchanging stories about John. "Sam remember when..."
Up on a cliff, a man wearing a clerical shirt with a priest's collar was standing next to Azazel.
"You read the contract. Megan is free and clear."
"And she always will." Brendan made arrangements for her to get watched over. "Besides I work for the Greater Good, not you." Brendan hated working with Hell, but he had no choice. "Maria, is she..." He knew, but he hoped she was forgiven.
"Humans make their own choices. But maybe she gave herself a second chance." Heaven and Hell had no pull who went to Heaven or Hell, although reincarnation was always an option. "Prue. Bring her to me."
"As you wish." Brendan's voice growled, his handsome face changing into a hideous warlock.