Outfits in the external link

THEN

From 4.18 "The Monster at the End of this Book", in the bookstore, read the cover of one. "'Supernatural' by Carver Edlund."

From 4.18 "The Monster at the End of this Book", in the motel room, Catty was laying on the bed, reading 'Dream a Little Dream of Me: Supernatural'. "Everything is in here, dudes. I mean, everything. From Ness' necklace, where it came from, what it means, what happened with Ness, Bobby and her mom, to Demon!Me."

From 4.18 "The Monster at the End of this Book", at TJz, Ness was wiping the bar, on the phone. "Man, I can't even imagine it. I mean, our lives in a book series?"

From 8.11 "LARP and the Real Girl", outside the police station, Dean, Ness, Sam, Catty and Sabrina sat at the table.

Video footage from the game played. "Moondoor."

A redheaded woman appeared, a man putting a crown on her head on her head.

Sam recognized her. "Wait, is that..."

Man: (on video) "The Queen of Moons."

The Queen was Charlie Bradbury.

From 8.11 "LARP and the Real Girl", in Moondoor, Charlie took off her helmet, shaking out her hair.

"I love you," the defeated sword fighter told her.

"I know," Charlie told him.

From 8.19 "Taxi Driver", on Fizzles' Folly, Sam, Dean, Catty, Sabrina, Ness and Kevin were standing together.

"What's the second Trial?" Ness asked.

From 8.19 "Taxi Driver", in Hell, in Bobby's Cell, Bobby embraced Ness. Ness smiled, returning the embrace.

Kevin: (voice over from 8.19 Taxi Driver) "An innocent soul has to be rescued from Hell..."

From 8.19 "Taxi Driver", in the woods, Sam held up his arm, the light now a blueish white that started to rise up into the sky.

Kevin: (voice over from 8.19 Taxi Driver) "And delivered unto Heaven."

Sam grabbed his right hand, falling to his knees in agony. His hand looked as if it was burning from the inside. He made a fist, making the burning light fade.

"Uncle Sam?" Sabrina asked.

"It's okay," Sam told them. "It's done."

From 8.07 "A Little Slice of Kevin", outside the warehouse / factory, Castiel and Catty stood next to the trunk of the Impala.

"Why won't you let anyone protect you?" Castiel asked.

"Because I'm used to protecting others," Catty answered. "I was used to thinking that I could always save myself and save everyone else. That's why I can't."

"Now it's time to let someone help you protect Sabrina and let someone help protect you," Castiel told her.

Catty didn't answer, looking down.

From 8.19 "Taxi Driver", in the street, Dean, Ness, Sam, Catty and Sabrina were standing together.

"I've been fine protecting Sow on my own for a long time now, and I don't need protection," Catty told them.

"Catty, we have had this talk before," Sam told her. "Stow the 'rescue myself' thing and let someone protect you for once."

Catty rolled her eyes, looking away.

From 8.19 "Taxi Driver", in Purgatory, Sam and Ness heard branches snapping, turning around. Nothing was there. There were voices whispering Ness' name indistinctly around Sam and Ness, no one visible. Ness and Sam turned around. Ness seemed to recognize the voices, deeply affected, turning around. A Vampire ran toward them, tackling Ness to the ground, trying to use his weapon to slash into Ness. Ness barely stopped the machete-like weapon from cutting into her. She looked at the Vampire in recognition. Sam stabbed the Vampire in the back with Catty's Knife from behind. Ness stood, twisting the weapon out of his grasp, beheading the Vampire, killing him, watching the body fall, breathing heavily. She sensed someone behind her, turning around, pushing the Vampire's weapon against Vampire 2's neck, pushing him against the tree behind him, pushing the blade through his neck, beheading him, taking it out, letting the body fall. She turned around, beheading Vampire 3, killing him, letting him fall, breathing heavily. She seemed too numb to feel.

Sam looked at Ness cautiously. "I take it you knew them."

Ness looked down. "Maybe a little bit."

From 8.17 "Goodbye, Stranger", in the Impala, Dean was driving. Sam was in the passenger seat. Ness, Sabrina and Catty were in the backseat.

Dean looked into the review mirror to look at Ness. "Like you said before, something like this takes time. Just don't try to make me believe you're okay when you're not, Ness."

Ness barely nodded.

From 8.19 "Taxi Driver", on Fizzles' Folly, Kevin grabbed his head. The windows shattered, covering everything with broken glass.

Crowley appeared, using his fingers to extinguish a candle. "Kevin Tran." Kevin turned to face Crowley. "Thought you could elude me forever?"

From 8.19 "Taxi Driver", on Fizzles' Folly, Sam, Dean, Catty, Ness and Sabrina walked in.

"Kevin?" Sabrina called.

Dean turned on the light. They looked around the empty room, devoid of everything, nothing on the walls or desk, the walls or counters, everything bare. The windows were intact, complete with Sigils, revealing that Kevin had been hallucinating.

Sam looked around. "He's gone."

"Little geek made a run for it," Catty told them.

Dean nodded. "Yeah. But where?"

They didn't have an answer.

NOW

§   

Flash Forward - Ness and Charlie's Dream

Night - 1950s Military Hospital - Office

(Song:) Night Hop - Benny Carter and His Orchestra

Ness was sleeping at the desk, wearing close to what she had worn in Purgatory, except completely clean. She woke, looking around in confusion. "What the hell?" She stood, looking over her outfit. "Oh, you got to be kidding me. What the hell is this?" She tried to turn off the record player, but the music kept going. There was a table blocking the door. Ness pushed it aside. She felt gun holsters on her thighs underneath the hem of her black shorts, taking out two guns. "Nice."

(Song Ends)

§   

Hallway

Ness walked into the hallway, starting to explore the rest of the hospital. The floor was littered with several dead, bloody bodies.

Ness found a newspaper on the floor, finding that it was dated July 12, 1951. "1951?"

There was the sound of growling monsters from behind her. Ness looked up, slightly tense, turning around. Shadows of the approaching, growling monsters crept over Ness' form. Ness raised the guns, ready to aim and fire.

§  Worlds Colliding (Supernatural) §

24 Hours Earlier

Lebanon, Kansas

Day One

Morning - The Bunker - Library

Ness walked into the library, placing a bag of groceries on a chair and a six pack of beer on the table. She pulled a small pack of miniature sodas out of the bag, putting them on the table next to the beer.

Dean grabbed a beer. "I swear, you're a little too good at the whole wife thing."

Ness smiled. "Oh, shut up."

Dean smirked. Ness smiled, kissing Dean for a moment, pulling away.

Dean slowly turned serious. "So, after the detour through Purgatory to Hell and back..." Ness turned away, starting to put the beer and the sodas into the fridge. "You okay?"

Ness had to think about it, turning to face Dean. "No. But weirdly enough, it has nothing to do with what happened to me."

Dean knew she meant Benny, looking down.

Sabrina and Catty walked in. "Hi."

Ness turned to see Sabrina and Catty, taking a beer and a soda out of the fridge, tossing the beer to Catty and the soda to Sabrina. Sabrina and Catty caught the soda and beer, opening them, taking a drink at the same time.

"Yeah, you can't tell you two are mother and daughter," Ness told them sarcastically.

Sabrina and Catty smiled. Sam walked in, looking sleepy.

"Y--" Dean started. "Man, I'm telling you, give me five minutes with some clippers, and..."

"Uh, what time did I lay down?" Sam asked.

"You took a siesta around noon, yesterday," Catty answered.

Ness grabbed another beer, tossing it toward Sam. Sam failed to react. The beer fell to the floor, shattering. Ness cringed slightly, closing her fist, which was still raised in the air.

"I'm sorry, I, uh..." Sam trailed off.

Ness pointed at Sam. "That's why we don't have nice things, Sam." Sam stumbled slightly. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm--I'm fine," Sam told them unconvincingly. "I just..." He leaned against the table, running a hand over his face. "Uh, you know what? I'm gonna get dressed. We should go find Kevin."

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, easy, easy, Sleeping Beauty," Catty told him.

"Look, man, I've hacked into every security camera around Garth's houseboat and Kevin's hometown where Linda lived," Ness told them.

"And?" Sabrina asked.

"Well, nothing so far," Ness answered.

"We have to find him," Sam told them.

"I know," Ness told him. "I know. But Garth is out looking for him. We got a hunter APB out on Kevin. We will do what we can from here while you get better."

"I'm fine, Ness," Sam told her. "I can still go out there. I can still hunt."

Dean looked at Sam skeptically. "Really?"

§   

Shooting Gallery

Ness, Sam, Dean, Sabrina and Catty were here. Catty loaded a gun.

"This is stupid," Sam told them.

Catty shot the gun twice, hitting one of the targets in the chest once, in the head the second time. "All right." She handed the gun to Sam. "You hit that target, we'll talk about getting you back out there."

"No problem," Sam told them.

Sabrina raised her eyebrows slightly. Sam aimed the gun at the target, wavering. He used the other hand to steady the gun, shooting twice, still missing the target entirely on both shots he fired. He put the gun on the divider between them and the target.

"Look, man, this second Trial hit you a lot harder than that first one," Dean told him. "I don't know, whether it was just more intense or what."

"Felt the same," Sam told them. "Till the next day."

"So, we're gonna sit tight," Dean told him. "Keep an eye out until you get better."

Sam relented, nodding. Sam, Dean, Ness and Catty turned to leave, noticing that Sabrina wasn't following, turning to see that she was looking at the gun curiously, exchanging a look, smirking knowingly.

"Sabrina?" Ness asked. Sabrina looked at them. "You wanna try it, don't you?"

Sabrina looked at Sam, Dean, Ness and Catty. "I never used a gun before. I never really needed one. But it looks fun."

"Well, I am definitely the worst mother for saying this, but go ahead and try it," Catty told her.

Sabrina smiled. "It doesn't make you a bad mom. It makes you an awesome, fun mommy. Told you, Uncle Dean." Dean smirked. Sabrina smiled, picking the gun up, using both hands to aim the gun at the target on the other side of the room, wavering only slightly. Catty helped her balance it slightly. "I got it."

Catty smiled, raising her hands in a harmless gesture. Sam, Ness and Dean smirked. Sabrina looked at the gun, letting it go, letting it levitate in the air, using magic to aim it at the target.

Sam grabbed the gun from the air. "Sabrina, no. Uh-uh. No. That's cheating."

Sam handed the gun to Sabrina.

Sabrina gave Sam a look. "Meathead."

Sam looked away. Dean, Ness and Catty smirked. Sabrina sighed, raising the gun, taking a moment to measure the target, shooting twice, hitting the stomach once, then the chest the second try. She smiled smugly, lowering the gun, placing it on the divider, turning to face Sam, Dean and Catty, still smiling. Sam and Dean were still looking at the target. Sam was surprised and slightly embarrassed that Sabrina had a better shot than he did at the moment.

Dean was impressed, smiling. "Awesome."

Sabrina smiled even more. Ness and Catty smiled proudly.

§   

Library

Ness was sitting at one of the tables, on her laptop, hacking into security camera footage. A "You Have Email" notification popped up on the screen. Sabrina and Catty were sitting at the other table. Sam and Dean walked in.

"It's from Charlie," Ness told them. "'In the neighborhood, found you guys a case'."

"Found us a case?" Sabrina repeated.

"In the neighborhood?" Dean asked. "How the hell does she know where we are?"

"Uh, well, she doesn't," Ness answered. "Not exactly, at least. It says she tracked our cells to a twenty mile radius, then the signal went out. Huh. This place must be in some kinda, like, Bermuda Triangle."

"What?" Catty asked. "Are you saying we can make and receive phone calls from here and nobody track us?" Ness nodded. Catty smiled. "Man, I love this place."

§   

Outside

Sam, Dean, Ness, Catty and Sabrina were waiting outside. Dean and Sam were leaning against the Impala. Catty, Ness and Sabrina were leaning against Ness' Car. A car pulled up. Charlie got out of the car, walking toward them, having a new haircut with bangs.

Sabrina smiled. "Your Highness!"

Charlie smiled, walking closer. "What's up, bitches?" Sabrina jumped into a hug from Charlie. Charlie smiled, placing her down. Catty smiled, embracing Charlie. Charlie smiled, returning the embrace, pulling away, looking at Ness. "Twinsie." Ness and Charlie smiled, embracing, pulling away. Charlie embraced Sam, pulling away. Dean embraced Charlie. Sam leaned heavily onto the Impala immediately after his hug, groaning in pain. "You okay, Sam?"

"Yeah, no, I'm--I'm good, yeah," Sam told them. "What are you doing in Kansas?"

Charlie hesitated. "Uh... a comic convention. In Topeka."

"In the middle of the week?" Sam asked.

"Girl's gotta get her collectibles," Charlie told them. "So, are you gonna invite me into your dungeon, or do I gotta answer your 'questions three' first?"

"Allow us..." Sam trailed off, clearing his throat. "Let us introduce you to the Men of Letters."

§   

Inside - Library

Sam, Dean and Catty were sitting at one table. Sabrina, Ness and Charlie were sitting at the other table.

"Holy awesome," Charlie told them. "Too bad they got wiped out, though that is what they get for the sexist name."

"That is what I said," Catty told her.

"Well, anyway, that's our skinny," Sam told her. "How about you?"

"Um, made a deal with the yesteryear weirdos," Charlie told them. "We're gonna team up to stomp the Shadow Orcs. You guys are still coming to the mid-year jubilee, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it," Dean told her.

"So what about this case you brought us?" Ness asked.

"When I was in Topeka, I saw this pop up over the wire," Charlie explained. "Tom Blake, a checkout clerk in Salina, who went missing on his way home from work. He was found dead yesterday, his insides liquefied. Locals have no idea what happened. They tried to bury the report so people wouldn't freak, but I flagged it. I have eliminated the following things that go bump in the night..."

"Wait a second," Catty told her. "When did you become such an expert?"

"Well, after you guys left, I dug into all things monsters," Charlie explained. "I'm a wee bit obsessive. If a 'wee bit' means completely. I also found this series of books, by a Carver Edlund." Sam, Dean, Catty and Ness exchanged an awkward, annoyed look. Sabrina looked at them in confusion. "Did those books really happen?" Sam, Dean and Catty looked away. Ness sighed, looking down at the table. "Wow. That is some meta madness." Charlie looked at Dean and Ness. "Thanks for saving the world and stuff. And it took you two long enough to admit you even had feelings for each other, let alone make it official." She looked at Ness. "And good job always saving these guys. You're like the Hermoine of this story, Ness." Dean and Ness exchanged a slightly annoyed look. Charlie looked at Sam. "Sorry you have zero luck with the ladies. Poor Ava." Sam looked away. Charlie looked at Catty. "Sorry that your luck with guys is about as bad as Sam's luck with girls. Sometimes a little worse if you include what happened to Brett and Cas, Hell..."

"Wha--" Catty started. She looked at Sam, Dean and Ness. "We need to find every single copy of those books and burn them."

"They're online now, so good luck with that," Charlie told them. "They go as far as to Crowley and Balthazar manipulating Cas to create Sabrina. It ends at Cas zapping Sabrina out of Catty and you guys thinking that he went bad, but the books made it clear it was all Crowley and Balthazar's fault. And reading what happened to Ava... I almost cried. I mean, condolences for Ava and Brett, you know, because I loved Sam and Ava, and I thought Brett and Catty were cute together, but Catty and Cas--"

"Okay, fan girl," Catty told her, standing. "On that note, I'm out of here. You crazy kids deal with that." She pointed at Charlie, backing away. "I will go see if there's anything to this, uh, case of yours."

"I'm coming with you," Sam told her, standing, staggering, nearly falling over.

Ness stood instantly, helping Sam stand. "Whoa."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Charlie asked.

Sam sighed. "Yes."

"No," Dean told him. "You're taking a knee as long as you're off your game."

Catty sighed. "Dean, Ness, you stay here with Sam. Who knows if anybody's gonna find him alone?"

Ness gave her a look for even suggesting to go alone. "Catty."

"Ness," Catty replied. "Just stay with Sam and Dean."

"Are you kidding me?" Sam asked. "Catty, how many creatures do you think are after you and Sabrina?"

"I'll go with her," Sabrina told them.

"Ah, yes, to double the risk?" Dean asked sarcastically. "No, Sabrina."

"Dean... Sow and I have taken care of ourselves for an entire year without you," Catty told him. "We'll be fine."

Ness gave her a look. "Sam, Dean, don't worry. I'll go with Catty and Sabrina."

Dean hesitated, nodding.

Catty was slightly annoyed. "I don't need anyone coming with, Ness. I don't need protection."

"No, you think you don't need protection," Ness told her. "Naomi nearly getting Cas to kill you proves that you do."

"Whoa," Charlie told them. "What?" Catty sighed, looking away. "What am I, chopped liver?"

"No disrespect, okay?" Dean asked. "But there's a big difference between reading about hunting and actually hunting."

Charlie ignored him, looking at Catty, Sabrina and Ness. "I'm coming."

§   

Shooting Gallery

Sabrina, Ness, Charlie and Catty stood together. Ness loaded the gun.

Charlie looked at them in exasperation. "For serious?"

"Okay, now, if you can hit that target, then we can talk about you actually--" Catty started.

Charlie took the gun from Ness, shooting two perfect head shots. Sabrina, Ness and Catty looked at Charlie in surprise.

"What?" Charlie asked. "Like it's the first gun I've fired?"

Sabrina looked away.

Ness looked at Charlie. "All right, if you're gonna do a ride-along, then, uh, you gotta lose the novelty T-shirts."

Charlie sighed. "Son of a pantsuit." She looked at Sabrina, Ness and Catty, smiling. "No biggie. It's girls' night."

§   

Shopping Mall - Clothing Store

(Song:) Walking on Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves

The song was playing on Charlie's phone on the table. Catty was taking pictures of Charlie. Ness sat on one of the couches, posing as FBI, cutting out the least silly picture to make the fake ID. Sabrina was dancing around to the song. Catty was sitting in a chair nearby Ness. Charlie stepped out of the dressing room, wearing a white and black leather dress. Catty smirked, shaking her head. Charlie stepped out of the dressing room, wearing a white blouse, dark blue jeans, and a bright yellow blazer, making gun signals with her hands. Ness smiled. Charlie put her hand on her hip. Ness shook her head. Sabrina was still dancing, messing around with a mannequin, grabbing its arm, making it wave at Catty. Catty looked away from the doll-like mannequin, slightly uncomfortable. Sabrina gave Catty a look, letting the arm fall, walking closer to Catty, taking her hands, pulling her up, making her dance with her. Catty hesitated, giving in, smiling, spinning Sabrina around. Sabrina laughed, still dancing. Ness watched, smiling. Charlie stepped out of the dressing room with a black and white polka-dotted long-sleeved shirt, and a black and white zebra-printed short skirt, spinning around to show it off. Ness shook her head. Charlie showed off a leopard-printed long-sleeve dress, taking off sunglasses. Ness shook her head. Charlie showed off a pink jumpsuit with no sleeves, making a weird pose. Ness shook her head. Sabrina smiled, having Catty's hands in her own, pulling her arms back and forth, twisting her hips back and forth. She still held one of Catty's hands, skipping toward Ness, taking one of her hands, pulling Ness up from the couch, spinning underneath both of their arms. Ness and Catty exchanged a look, smiling. Charlie stepped out of the dressing room in a suit like Ness, which was not boring or box-like. Ness and Catty nodded in approval. Sabrina turned to face Charlie, smiling, nodding. They all smiled. Sabrina fell back into a comfy mushroom chair just as the song came to an end.

(Song Ends)

§   

Shopping Mall

(Song:) Nocturne in E Flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2 - Frederic Chopin 

Sabrina, Catty, Ness and Charlie were walking along.

"Trials?" Charlie asked. "That's never good."

"Yeah," Catty agreed. "And our Prophet's in the wind."

Sabrina stood nearby the fountain, admiring it.

"What about, uh, Castiel?" Charlie asked. "He seems helpful and dreamy." She looked at Catty with a teasing look. "Don't you think, Catty?"

"Shut up, Charlie," Catty told her. Ness smiled, looking at Charlie. Charlie smiled. "Cas is MIA with a tablet of his own, trying to keep it away from the Angels and trying to keep the Angels away from us."

Ness nodded in agreement. "Especially that Naomi bitch. But Naomi came and went. I think she's going with the 'if you can't kill them, join them' thing. I mean, to be honest, this whole thing is... I mean, Sam's a tough son of a bitch, but... Cas is saying that these Trials are messing with him in ways that even he and Sabrina can't heal." She sighed. "Poor Sammy. You know, this would be a good time to have Ava around. I guess Ava being gone is just another reason to hate Crowley. I mean, Crowley got Balthazar to kill Ava."

Catty and Charlie nodded.

Charlie looked between them. "If it's any consolation, having read most of your history, there is pretty much nothing the Winchesters can't do if they work together."

Catty smiled a small smile. "Thanks."

Charlie looked at Catty. "Must be nice, having brothers, someone to watch your back."

Catty nodded. "Yeah."

Sabrina walked closer, looking at Charlie. "You? No brothers or sisters?"

"Actually, I have two," Charlie told her. "Their names are XBOX and PS3." Sabrina looked at her in confusion. Charlie looked at Catty and Ness. "Sabrina has Castiel's no-reference-understanding, doesn't she?"

"Except when it comes to cartoons," Ness answered. "Sabrina absolutely loves cartoons. But Sow's only two, technically."

Charlie nodded. "Yeah. True."

Sabrina raised her hand. "Hello. Standing right here. Super-hearing, too."

Ness smiled. "Sorry, Sow." She looked at her phone. "Not getting any reception." She looked at Charlie. "Can I use your phone?"

"Um, sure," Charlie answered, handing the phone to Ness.

Ness took the phone, going through it, making a call, stepping away to talk alone.

Dean's voice was on the other line. "Yeah?"

"Dean," Ness told him. "It's me. What about you guys?"

Dean was driving the Impala. Sam was in the passenger seat.

"Yes, Ness, we are on our way," Dean told her. He looked at Sam. "But you're not hunting. Only reason we're going is to stage intervention: protection for Catty and Sabrina."

"I know that, Dean," Sam told him, slightly annoyed. "We are going to do this, but that doesn't mean you get to babysit me in the meantime."

"I'm not babysitting you," Dean told him.

"Then what would you call it?" Sam asked.

Ness heard the exchange, chuckling. "All right. I'll see you two soon."

Ness hung up, looking toward Sabrina and Catty.

(Song Ends)

§   

Salina, Kansas

Hospital - Outside

Ness' Car was parked outside. Sabrina and Catty were sitting in the backseat.

§   

Inside - Coroner's Office

Ness knocked on the door to Dr. Jennifer O'Brien's Office.

A redheaded woman at the desk looked up. "Come on."

Ness and Charlie walked in. Ness took out her badge. Charlie fumbled with hers, ending up holding it out upside down. Ness glanced at Charlie. Charlie noticed her mistake, quickly putting the badge away.

Ness showed Jennifer her fake badge. "Hi, uh, Special Agent Thompson. This is my partner, Special Agent Ripley. We're here about the body with the creamy filling."

"Ah, right," Jennifer told them. "I didn't think you guys would have any interest in that."

"FBI, ma'am," Ness told her. "We never leave a stone unturned. Mind if we take a peek?"

"Of course not," Jennifer answered. "I just need your signed chain of custody request and it's all yours."

"Sorry," Ness told her. "The what?"

"Chain of custody request," Jennifer told them. "From your supervisor to mine."

"Right," Ness told her. "Uh, you know what?" She held her business card toward Jennifer. "You wanna call our supervisor? I'm sure she can give you the override or whatever."

"Yeah, I'm sorry," Jennifer told them. "Unless she can give me the form, I can't give you access to the body."

"But..." Charlie trailed off. "FBI."

"I understand, dear," Jennifer told her. "But... Paperwork is paperwork."

"Of course," Ness told her. "Jennifer. Uh, it is Jennifer?"

"Yeah," Jennifer answered.

"Uh, we have been on the road all day, and this is strictly routine, dot the I, cross the T kind of thing," Ness told her. "If you could do us a solid?"

"Come back with the signed form, I'd be happy to do you a solid," Jennifer told them. "Until then..."

§   

Outside - Ness' Car

Ness got into the driver's seat. Charlie got into the driver's seat. Sabrina and Catty were still in the backseat.

"That never happened in the books," Charlie told them.

Ness looked at Charlie. "Wanna tell me what happened back there, Boo Radley?"

"I'm sorry," Charlie told her. "I froze. I couldn't Ctrl-Alt-Delete my way out. Real life role-playing is hard."

"It's okay," Sabrina told them. "We'll come back later when Doris Do-Right isn't here anymore."

"Oh, perfect," Charlie told them sarcastically. "Breaking and entering."

"No different than hacking," Catty told her.

"Beg to differ," Charlie told them. "One I've been doing since I was a teenager, the other I've done once, with you four idiots walking me through it, and I had my arm broken in the process."

"What did you hack when you were a teen?" Sabrina asked.

Charlie hesitated. "Uh, NORAD."

"Yeah, whatever you say, WarGames," Catty told her. 

"Why don't we go grab some food while we wait?" Sabrina asked.

"You're always hungry, aren't you, Sabrina?" Charlie asked.

Sabrina smiled, starting to sing 'Nom Nom Nom' by Parry Gripp.  "Nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom."

§   

Night - Railroad Tracks

Two teenagers were playing video games, walking along the tracks.

"Awesome," Boy 1 told him. "I got three stars."

"So?" Boy 2 asked. "I'm three levels ahead of you, man."

Boy 1 noticed something on the ground. "Dude, stop."

"I can't," Boy 2 told him. "I'm just too good."

"Dude!" Boy 1 told him, pointing at the ground.

There was a dead man on the ground. His stomach was distended. Boy 1 picked up a fallen branch, trying to poke at the dead body.

"Whoa, no, dude," Boy 2 told him. "That's a bad idea."

"Your face is a bad idea," Boy 1 told him, poking the dead man's stomach with the branch. "See? Nothing to worry about."

Boy 1 poked some more. The dead man's stomach ruptured, splattering the teenage boys in blood. Boy 1 and Boy 2 screamed.

§   

Police had arrived at the scene. Ness' Car pulled up.

§   

Ness' Car

Ness was in the driver's seat. Charlie was in the passenger seat. Sabrina and Catty were in the backseat.

Charlie looked at Ness. "Maybe you should go first this time."

"Uh-uh," Ness told her. "Back on the horse, kiddo. Come on."

§   

Outside

Charlie and Ness got out of the car, walking toward a police officer.

"Hey, there," Charlie told him, holding out her badge upright this time. "I am Special Agent Ripley. This is my partner, Special Agent Thompson. What's going on here?"

The police officer pointed in the direction that the body had been found, but it was gone now. "Jake Hill, librarian. Went missing yesterday. No relation to the other vic. Coroner already swooped in and scooped up what was left of him."

"Yeah, we met her," Ness told him. "Bit of a stickler. Well, we were hoping to talk to the witnesses."

"Your world, ladies," the police officer told them.

Charlie and Ness started to walk away toward Boy 1 and Boy 2.

Charlie looked at Ness. "You know, I noticed something. Sam, Dean and Catty's aliases are always rock shout outs. But you? You choose the last name of characters from horror movies that have some sort of resemblance to the case. Brilliant, Ness."

"Thank you," Ness told her. "Someone outside of the house finally made the connection."

Charlie and Ness smiled, walking toward the teenage boys.

§ 

Ness' Car  

Sabrina and Catty watched the crime from the backseat. Sam got into the passenger seat. Dean got into the driver's seat. Sabrina didn't look surprised, having sensed them coming.

Catty was surprised. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"We thought we would be safer in numbers," Dean told her.

"Or did you not remember that this could easily be a monster that could come after you and Sabrina?" Sam asked.

"Oh, how could I forget with you reminding me every five minutes?" Catty asked with honest sarcasm. "Look, Sam, I know you're frustrated, but you're also sick. Dean, I know that you're worried about us, but we are fine, okay? We have been living fine without you guys all that time when we were alone."

"Oh, yeah," Sam told her sarcastically. "You and Sabrina always running, never finding a place to stay at for too long because you and Sow would be found, drowning in paranoia and fear, barely able to keep going without dying or losing Sabrina again. You and Sow are not living, Catty. You're surviving. And you and Sabrina were barely getting by on your own." Catty looked away. "Look, I know that you think that you have to protect Sow and everyone else, and that you don't like having to be protected, thinking it's only Sow that needs to be protected even though you do too, but we are not leaving, Catty."

"Ness is here," Catty told them. Sam and Dean gave Catty a look. Catty sighed. "Ness is the one that called for this crap intervention, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Dean answered.

"I know you all wanna help," Catty told them. "I do. But--"

"Catty, you cannot take care of all of us," Sam told her. "You're so worried about protecting Sow, and keeping me, Dean and Ness out of this so we don't get hurt. You're so worried about everyone but yourself. It's gonna get you killed. You almost did how many times? Why don't you just let someone help you? Protect you?"

"Okay, I am not quoting myself again," Catty told them.

"Listen, Cat," Dean told her. "You are our little sister. And, you, Sow, are our niece."

Sam sighed. "Cat, I know I wasn't there for you and Sow before, but I'm not making that mistake again. There is nothing we wouldn't do for you, no matter how bad it is."

"Yeah, well, the bad here is pretty freaking bad," Sabrina told them. "It's not just the Demons and the monsters anymore. It never has been. Angels have always been involved, behind our backs. It's us against the world."

"And who says that you two have to face the world alone?" Dean asked.

Sabrina and Catty didn't answer, looking at each other.

§   

Outside

Charlie and Ness walked toward the teenage boys that had found the body.

"Hey, boys," Ness told them. "I'm Special Agent Thompson. This is my partner, Special Agent Ripley. FBI. What game you guys playing?"

"Supereater," Boy 2 answered.

"Underworld Adventures or Dimension Travellers?" Charlie asked.

"Underworld Adventures," Boy 1 answered.

Ness looked at Charlie.

Charlie shrugged, looking at the boys. "Nice. So, about that childhood trauma you experienced earlier..."

Ness walked away.

§   

Elsewhere

Outside of the crime scene tape, Sam, Dean, Catty and Sabrina were standing together, pretending to be onlookers with the rest of the crowd.

Ness walked toward them. "Wow. Intervention: protection go over okay?"

Catty looked at Ness sarcastically. "If you think that we're the only ones that need help--"

"Oh, I know that I need help," Ness told them. "I'm not saying that I don't." She looked at Catty and Sabrina. "But you two need help more help than I do." She looked from Catty and Sabrina to Sam and Dean. "Hell, we all need help, whether we wanna admit it or not." She shrugged slightly. "We all need each other. But that's okay." She looked at Catty and Sabrina. "You two might think that you're in this fight alone, but you're not. We're right there with you. All the way. All of us against the world."

Catty seemed content, nodding. Sabrina smiled a small smile. Sam and Dean nodded in approval. Ness smiled a small smile.

Charlie walked closer. "So, the boys said they noticed something on the body's arm before it covered them in years of future therapy. Said it looked like a blue hand print."

Sabrina, Sam, Dean and Ness looked at Catty.

Catty hesitated, nodding. "Fine. Okay. If we're gonna do this, let's go."

Sam and Dean looked at Catty for a moment, nodding. They looked at Ness. Ness raised her eyebrows slightly as if to say, I told you so. Sabrina smiled.

§   

Hospital - Outside

Ness' Car and the Impala were parked outside.

§   

Inside - Hallway

Sam, Dean, Ness, Sabrina, Catty and Charlie walked along.

Ness led the way toward the morgue. "Body's in here."

The headlights of a car pulled up outside shone in through the window.

"What the hell?" Dean asked.

Charlie jogged down the hallway.

"Charlie," Sabrina told her. "Charlie!"

Charlie disappeared around the corner for a moment, reappearing, looking at the others. "It's the coroner. I got this."

Charlie walked into Jennifer's Office.

Ness looked at Sam, Dean, Sabrina and Catty. "I'll help her. You get a look at the bodies."

They nodded. Ness walked toward Jennifer's Office. Sam, Dean, Sabrina and Catty walked into the morgue.

§   

Jennifer's Office

Charlie walked closer to Jennifer. "Hello." Ness walked in from behind Charlie. "Hey, there. Front door was open."

"Oh," Jennifer told them. "Wha--what are you doing here?"

"We, uh... came back, to get a blank copy of that form you asked for," Ness told her.

"The FBI doesn't have chain of custody forms?" Jennifer asked skeptically.

"The field office had a power outage," Ness told her. "After catching fire. Figured I could just borrow a copy or two."

"Of course," Jennifer told them. "Just give me a sec."

§   

Morgue

Dean opened the chamber only to find there was no body in there. "What the hell? It's empty."

Sam flipped through the paperwork. "Uh... they burned the bodies."

"Already?" Sabrina asked.

"Yeah," Sam answered. "They think it's some kinda, like, uh, outbreak scenario. Even got the CDC to sign off on it."

Catty raised her eyebrows. "These folks run a tight ship."

§   

Jennifer's Office

Jennifer handed the forms to Ness and Charlie. "Here you go."

"Great," Ness told her. "Perfect. Thank you."

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do in the morgue," Jennifer told them, walking toward the door.

Charlie and Ness exchanged a look. Ness shook her head.

Charlie turned to face Jennifer. "Uh, can I ask you a personal question?" Jennifer turned to face them. "I am new to the whole power suit thing, and yours is killer. Where do you get them?"

Ness closed her eyes as if to say, We're so dead.

§   

Morgue

Catty looked at Dean, Sabrina and Sam. "So, does this mean we need to take Silkwood showers now, or is this still a case?"

"Yeah, Ness said something about that mark the kid saw rung one of her bells," Dean told them. "But with as many bells that Ness has in her head, it's a wonder how she can sort through all of them." Sam took pictures of the documents. "Probably have to check the lore."

Sabrina stood lookout at the door. "Hurry up."

§   

Jennifer's Office

Jennifer looked at Charlie and Ness. "All you need are three jackets, three pairs of pants, and you're all set."

"So simple, so smart," Charlie told her. "You should have a blog."

Jennifer chuckled lightly in confusion. "Okay, I'll get right on that."

Jennifer walked out, leaving. Charlie and Ness exchanged a look.

"Clothes?" Ness asked skeptically. "Really?"

"What?" Charlie asked innocently. "Some of us are normal girls with normal needs and curiosities. Clothes are included in that."

Ness rolled her eyes, following Jennifer. Charlie followed them.

§   

Hallway 

Jennifer, Ness and Charlie walked down the hallway.

Charlie looked at Jennifer. "Um, so what about shoes? I can never find the right kind to go with--"

"Okay, I'm sorry, but I'm not a stylist," Jennifer told them.

Ness looked into the morgue to see that no one was inside. She had a mental sigh of relief, turning to face Jennifer. "Uh, well, thanks for the forms, and the fashion advice. You're the best. Don't go changing." She looked at Charlie. "Okay, come on."

Charlie and Ness walked away quickly.

§   

Lebanon, Kansas

The Bunker - Library

Sam, Dean and Ness were sitting at one table. Catty, Sabrina and Charlie were sitting at the other table. Ness was going through Bobby's Journal. Sam was going through John's Journal. Charlie was using her iPad to cross of monsters off a list.

Sabrina looked at Ness. "Levis."

"No," Ness answered. "They consume their prey."

Charlie crossed off Leviathan.

"Well, maybe the vics were Levis," Sabrina told them.

"No black goo on either scene in the coroner reports," Ness told them.

"Dragons," Sam told her. "They, uh--"

"No signs of burns on the vics," Ness told them. Charlie crossed off Dragons. "Wait a second. Djinn."

"Djinn vics don't get liquefied," Dean told her.

"No, no, no, not regular Djinn," Ness told them. "According to this, there's a bastard offshoot. Uh, their eyes light up blue, they pass as Humans, all the regular jazz. Except these leave their victims with jelly-like insides. And supposedly, when they poison their victims, they leave behind a blue hand print. They feed off of fear, and when they put you to sleep, they send you to your worst nightmare instead of your happy place."

Catty gazed off. "Like the Djinn that came after us. The ones that killed Brett. Nearly killed Brett's family."

Charlie, Sam and Dean looked at Catty, expressionless with sympathy. Ness closed Bobby's Journal, looking at Catty sympathetically. Sabrina looked at Catty sadly.

Dean looked at Ness. "So, these things die like regular Djinn?"

"Silver blade dipped in lamb's blood, yeah," Ness answered.

"Why waste the effort?" Sabrina asked, waving her fingers, letting light crackled from them, energy flowing through her hand.

Charlie smiled. "That is so cool."

"Wait till you see what else I can do," Sabrina told her.

Sam smirked, shaking his head. "All right, Sow, quit bragging, show off." Sabrina smiled. Sam closed his book, leaning back in his chair. "So, now we just gotta find the asshat, and then Sabrina can go all Dazzler."

Sabrina tilted herself back and forth slightly, smiling.

"All right, well, breakthrough means snack time to me," Charlie told them, packing up her iPad, standing. "And I want to just stretch my legs. I will pick us up some grub, and unlike you, Sam, I will not forget the pie."

Charlie walked out, leaving.

Catty looked at Sam, Dean, Ness and Sabrina. "She seem a little off to you?"

"Since the second she got here," Ness answered.

Sabrina looked after Charlie in confusion.

Dean looked at Sabrina. "Hey, Saturn Girl."

Sabrina looked at Dean in confusion. "Me?"

"No, not you Sabrina, the other Sabrina," Dean told her sarcastically.

"You said Saturn Girl, Uncle Dean, not Sabrina," Sabrina pointed out.

Dean sighed. "Did you catch anything off of Charlie's wavelength?"

"No," Sabrina answered.

"You don't just hear everything all the time?" Sam asked.

Sabrina shook her head. "No. I only hear what I want to hear when I want to hear it, Uncle Sammy."

"Well, that's any kid, Sow," Sam told her. Sabrina gave him a sarcastic look. "But you mean to tell me that you weren't paying attention to the frequency when it might actually come in handy?"

Sabrina looked at them in slight exasperation, trying to be serious. "You guys keep telling me not to, Uncle Sam. How am I supposed to know when the rule changed if you don't want me to get into your heads?"

Sam tilted his head in acknowledgement, looking away. Ness chuckled. Catty smirked slightly, shaking her head. Dean sighed.

§

Topeka, Kansas

Charlie's Apartment

Charlie rummaged through a box of fake passports and other IDs, cards, etc. She opened her laptop, typing in a code. She heard a sound, pausing, then continued to type. Funds were being transferred from multiple accounts (in the names of Christine E. Le Guin, Annie Tolkien, and Susan Asimov) to a Gertrude Middleton. There was another sound. Charlie stood to investigate. She opened the front door only to find no one was there. She turned around. Jennifer was standing in front of Charlie, her eyes glowing blue.

§   

Lebanon, Kansas

Day Two

Morning - The Bunker - Library 

Ness was on the phone, leaving a message. "Charlie, it's Ness. Um, again. Call us. Okay?" Sabrina and Catty were sitting at one of the tables. Sam and Dean walked in. Ness hung up. "Hey."

"Any word from Charlie?" Catty asked.

"Uh, no," Ness answered. "And there was no comic convention in Topeka."

"I don't know why..." Sam trailed off. "I mean, why would she lie to us?"

"One way to find out," Ness told them, pulling out her phone.

"What are you doing?" Sabrina asked.

"When I called Dean from her phone, I turned on her GPS," Ness told them.

Sabrina nodded in confusion.

§   

Topeka, Kansas

Charlie's Apartment

The room was a mess, furniture flipped over.

Sabrina's voice came from behind the door. "Charlie! Hey, Charlie, you in there?" She walked in. Catty, Dean, Sam and Ness followed. "Guys."

Sabrina, Catty, Dean, Sam and Ness looked around the room.

Catty saw the box of fake passports and other IDs, cards, etc. "What the hell?"

"What is this place?" Sabrina asked.

"Whatever it is, it belongs to Charlie," Catty told them, looking through the fake IDS. "Or some variation of her."

"Who the hell is she, Jason Bourne?" Dean asked. "Okay, so we got no forced entry, so either it was somebody that she knew, or..."

"Djinn," Sam finished.

Ness sat at Charlie's laptop, typing.

Catty picked up Charlie's phone. "Here's all our missed calls." She looked at Ness. "You got anything on her laptop?"

"Yeah," Ness answered. "Um, she's been making donations through her aliases to Shawnee County General here in Topeka."

"What, a charity?" Sam asked.

"A patient," Dean answered. "Gertrude Middleton."

"We need answers," Ness told them. "Dean and I'll take Gertrude." Dean nodded. "Catty, Sabrina, Sam, you three keep Djinn-digging."

§   

Shawnee County Hospital - Gertrude's Room

A woman was lying in a hospital bed, comatose and on life support.

A nurse was tending to the woman. "Gertrude's been in a persistent vegetative state for 16 years. About a year ago, her condition got worse." Dean and Ness were standing nearby. "The ventilator is the only thing keeping her alive."

"How did this happen?" Dean asked.

"She and her husband were hit by a drunk driver," the nurse answered. "He didn't make it. They were on their way to pick up their daughter from a sleepover."

"A daughter?" Dean asked.

"She was 12," the nurse told them. "She got into trouble after her parents' accident. Nobody's heard from her since. Folks have been donating to cover Gertrude's care over the years. It's a sweet gesture, but the truth is... she's gone."

Dean and Ness looked at each other knowingly.

Dean looked at the nurse. "She ever get any visitors?"

"A couple nurses said they thought they saw someone in here, reading to her, but nobody's ever officially signed in to visit her," the nurse told them. "She's all alone. If you'll excuse me, I have to make my rounds."

"Thank you," Ness told her. The nurse walked out, leaving. Ness walked toward Gertrude's comatose body. "You've got one hell of a daughter, Mrs. Middleton. I promise you we will find her."

Ness hesitantly looked toward Dean. Dean looked somber.

§   

Abandoned Shipping Warehouse

Charlie was tied to a chair, struggling, trying to get free.

Jennifer was standing nearby. "You're not going anywhere."

Charlie was panicking. "Wilhelm Scream."

"You know what I smell on you?" Jennifer asked.

"Deodorant?" Charlie asked. "A little pee, maybe?"

"Fear," Jennifer answered. "You and your friends, you're not FBI. You're hunters."

"No, I'm--I'm more of a hunter-in-training," Charlie told her. "Totally not worth killing."

"Oh, but you are worth killing, sweetheart," Jennifer told her. "Yeah. You see, my kind, we prefer a more bitter taste to blood than the run of the mill Djinn. We prefer the taste of fear. And when I caught a whiff of you at that morgue? Ooh, such delicious fear inside of you. I followed your scent. I knew you'd make a meal fit for two."

"For two?" Charlie repeated. Jennifer grabbed Charlie's arm. "No!"

Blue tattoos glowed, trailing down Jennifer's arm. Her eyes glowed blue. Charlie gasped in pain.

§   

The Bunker - Library

Sam, Dean, Ness, Sabrina and Catty walked in.

"So no chance of recovery, huh?" Sabrina asked.

"No," Ness answered. "No, Gertrude seemed like a cool mom, too. Kind, strong, taken from her family way too young." She turned to face them. "I'm sure that all of us can relate to that." Sam, Dean and Catty nodded to themselves, thinking of Mary and Karen. Ness looked at Catty. "And something that might happen to you if you keep up what you're doing."

"I get it," Catty told them. "I don't like it, but I get it. And fine."

"Did you find anything?" Ness asked.

"I think so," Sam answered. "A John Doe from nine years ago. The original coroner wanted the body sent to the CDC, but the coroner's new assistant 'accidentally' ordered the body to be burned."

"New assistant?" Dean repeated.

"Jennifer O'Brien," Sam told them.

Catty nodded to herself. "Coroner's a hell of a cover for hiding kills."

§   

Abandoned Shipping Warehouse 

Jennifer let go of Charlie's arm, leaving behind a blue hand print.

"My friends are gonna come get you, you creepy power-suit lady," Charlie told her.

"Oh, I'm counting on it," Jennifer told her. "I know who they are, and why power Sabrina Winchester holds. Why do you think I took you? You're not just a meal, sweetheart. You're bait."

Jennifer grabbed Charlie's arm. Charlie screamed. After a moment, she fell unconscious.

§   

The Bunker - Library

Ness sat the table, on her laptop. "Now get this. CDC never heard from Jennifer this time, either. She faked the reports, burned the bodies to cover her tracks."

"So, why does she get sloppy again, after nine years, start leaving the bodies where they can be found?" Sam asked.

"Well, let's go ask her," Ness told them. "According to this, she owns two pieces of property in town. One two-bedroom house about ten minutes from here, and an abandoned shipping warehouse."

Sabrina nodded. "'Course she does."

Sam sighed. "And she has Charlie, so Sabrina, let's get zapping."

Sabrina nodded.

§   

Abandoned Shipping Warehouse 

Sam, Dean, Catty and Ness looked around to see that they were already in the abandoned shipping warehouse. Sabrina started to walk along. Jennifer was nowhere to be seen.

Ness walked further on, finding Charlie. "Charlie. Charlie! Hey!" She shook her, trying to wake her. "Hey. Charlie."

§   

Elsewhere

Sam, Dean, Catty and Sabrina explored the rest of the warehouse. Jennifer crept up behind Sam. Sam turned to face Jennifer, trying to punch her. Jennifer ducked, punching Sam in the face, making him turn away, pushing him into a chain link fence, rolling up her sleeve, stalking closer to Sam, blue tattoos glowing on her arms, her eyes glowing blue. Sabrina appeared behind Jennifer, kicking her in the knees, making her kneel to the floor, placing her hand on the back of her head, smiting her, killing her with a flash of bright white light, letting the body fall. Dean and Catty walked closer.

Catty looked at Sam. "You okay?"

Sam nodded unconvincingly.

§   

Elsewhere

Ness was still trying to shake Charlie awake. Sam, Dean, Catty and Sabrina walked closer. Sabrina put her hand to Charlie's head. Nothing happened.

Sabrina took her hand away in confusion. "I--I can't heal her."

Dean looked at Sam, Catty and Ness. "Djinn poison?"

"We don't have the antidote," Sam told them.

"Charlie?" Catty asked, putting a hand to her forehead. "She's burning up. We're not letting her turn to jello."

"Okay, okay, uh..." Ness trailed off. "Okay, Djinn poison puts your brain in something like a feedback loop while your blood boils. Um, if Sabrina can't heal her to break the loop, then maybe we can find a way to break it from the inside. I mean, if Djinn take you to your happy place, or to your worst nightmare, your happy place and your worst nightmares are like dreams."

Sam, Dean, Catty and Ness finished together. "African Dream Root."

Sabrina looked between them. "What's that?"

"It's a root that can allow someone to get into another's dream," Ness answered. "Now, we might not have the time to put together the Djinn antidote, but we do have enough to grab the root."

"Where?" Sabrina asked.

"Garth's boat," Ness answered. "Just get me there real quick, Sabrina. I'll find it, and you bring me right back."

Sabrina nodded, grabbing Ness' hand, making them disappear.

Catty nodded. "Right."

Sam, Dean and Catty looked at Charlie worriedly. Sabrina and Ness appeared behind them.

"Whoa, Sow," Ness told her. "Give a little warning next time. I'm getting dizzy." Ness had a jar of African Dream Root, unscrewing the lid, tipping in a vial of ginger. Dean grabbed a chair from nearby, setting it down next to Charlie. Sam pulled out one of Charlie's hairs, adding it to the jar. "All right, let's do this." Ness drank the contents of the jar, groaning in disgust, trying to keep it down. She sat down in the chair next to Charlie. "Okay. All right. I'm gonna need to go to sleep fast." She looked at Sabrina. "So, She-Hulk, I'm gonna need you to punch me." Sabrina raised her eyebrows. "Look, Sow, I know you don't want to, okay?"

Sabrina punched Ness in the face hard enough to make her fall unconscious.

Sam raised his eyebrows. "Damn, Sow."

§   

Ness and Charlie's Dream

Night - 1950's Military Hospital - Office

Ness was sleeping at the desk, wearing close to what she had worn in Purgatory, except completely clean. She had her brunette hair in a braid behind her head. She woke. She stood next to the door, feeling gun holsters on her thighs underneath the hem of her black shorts, taking out two guns. "Nice."

§   

Hallway

Ness walked into the hallway. The floor was littered with several dead, bloody bodies.

Ness found a newspaper on the floor, finding that it was dated July 12, 1951. "1951?"

There was the sound of growling monsters from behind her. Ness looked up, slightly tense, turning around. Shadows of the approaching, growling monsters crept over Ness' form. Ness raised the guns, ready to aim and fire. The two growling monsters stepped closer, Vampire fangs descending. Ness shot them both, keeping them back but not killing them. Her guns clicked when there was no more ammo left.

The elevator behind Ness opened.

Charlie stepped outside, in an outfit that was a mash-up of the video game character Lara Croft and Angelina Jolie's character in 'Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow'. She had an eye patch, carrying an automatic gun, shooting the Vampires that kept coming. She turned to face Ness. "Come with me if you wanna live." Ness raised her eyebrows slightly. "I've always wanted to say that. What're you doing in my dream?"

"You were attacked by a Djinn," Ness told her. "The coroner, Jennifer, remember?" Charlie started to remember. "Now, Jennifer's kind feeds off of fear, and they usually send you to your worst nightmare."

 Charlie nodded. "This is a recurring nightmare of mine."

"What is this?" Ness asked.

"It's a video game," Charlie answered.

"Wait a second," Ness told her. "You're telling me that this whole thing is a video game?"

"It was called 'The Red Scare'," Charlie told her. "A first person shooter against super-soldier Vampires. I copied it off a game company's server before it was finished, reprogrammed it to reflect my flamingly liberal politics and then released it. For free. Then they tracked me down and had me arrested. I was 12."

Ness nodded. "And you've been on the run ever since."

§   

Reality

Night - Abandoned Shipping Warehouse

Sam coughed twice into his hand, checking for blood. Dean and Catty looked at Charlie and Ness unconscious in their chairs, waiting. There was a clinking sound in the distance. Sabrina looked toward the sound of the noise.

§   

Ness and Charlie's Dream

Night - 1950's Military Hospital - Hallway 

Ness and Charlie walked down the hallway.

"So how do we get out of here?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know," Ness told her. "Sabrina tried to heal you. It didn't take. And Sabrina killed the Djinn."

"Both of them?" Charlie asked.

Ness looked at Charlie in confusion.

§

Reality

Night - Abandoned Shipping Warehouse

Sabrina was investigating the noise.

One of the teenage boys that had witnessed the dead body stepped out from behind a corner, glaring at Sabrina. "You killed my mom."

Sabrina raised her eyebrows. The boy stepped toward Sabrina, his eyes glowing blue.

§   

Ness and Charlie's Dream

Night - 1950's Military Hospital - Hallway

Ness and Charlie were walking down the hallway. Charlie handed Ness another automatic gun like she had.

Ness pulled the strap over her head, letting the gun rest over her shoulders, in front of her. "Why did you have to choose Vampires, by the way?"

"I don't know," Charlie told her. "I just... It was one of the ones that I knew about but didn't think existed, so I just went with it."

Ness nodded. "Right. Okay."

"Why?" Charlie asked.

Ness didn't answer. "We gotta get out of here. Tell me about his game. Maybe if we can win, we--"

Ten more Vampire soldiers approached. Ness and Charlie shot all of the Vampires, killing them, watching the bodies fall.

Charlie looked at Ness. "Look, I don't know how long I've been out, but I've been through this level a thousand times already."

"What?" Ness asked.

"Every time I beat the level and save the patients, I get reset back to the beginning," Charlie told her. "Only there's less weapons and the Vampires are faster." Two more Vampires walked closer. Ness and Charlie shot them, killing them. "It's an infinite loop. Like, Pac-Man without Level 256."

"Level what?" Ness asked.

"Nothing," Charlie told her.

"Wait," Ness told her. "What patients?"

§   

Patients' Room

Charlie and Ness locked themselves inside, creating a barricade in front of the double doors.

Ness slid back the curtain around one of the beds to reveal Gertrude. "Charlie? I know who this is."

Charlie walked closer. "What are you talking about?"

"When you went missing, we found your little crash pad," Ness told her. "We saw the payments that you make for her. So Dean and I went and visited your mom, looking for you."

Charlie hesitated sadly. "She's why I'm in Kansas. I sneak into the hospital whenever I can, and I just... I read to her. She used to read me to sleep at night when I was a kid. Sh--she'd read me 'The Hobbit'." She pushed tears back. "She's the reason I love the stuff I love."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Ness told her.

"She's not gone," Charlie told her, closing the curtains, pacing away.

The Vampires started breaking down the doors to the patients' room, making them jump. They were whispering Ness' name indistinctly, the voices sounding exactly like the Vampire voices from Purgatory in 8.19 Taxi Driver. Ness closed her eyes, trying not to become affected.

§

Flashback

Purgatory - Vampires' Nest 

There were flashes of Vampires feeding from Ness, having her nearly dead, and several Vampires having Ness pinned against a tree, rock or ground, looking at her intently, feeding from her neck, some looking as if they weren't biting her, but kissing her roughly, pushing back her hair, pulling at her black tank top and shorts, becoming more and more rough. One grabbed her by the back of her head, moving forcefully, pushing back the leg of her black shorts. Ness was too weak, too close to death to stop them.

Vampires: (voice over) (Ness' name over and over indistinctly)

§

Now

Ness and Charlie's Dream

Night - 1950's Military Hospital - Patients' Room 

Charlie looked at Ness, seeming to be hearing and seeing what she was hearing and seeing. "Is this my nightmare or yours?"

Ness shook her head, not knowing the answer herself.

§

Reality

Night - Abandoned Shipping Warehouse 

Sabrina held her hand up, letting light crackle from her fingers. The boy Djinn didn't seem bothered.

"So, it wasn't your mom who messed up," Sabrina told him. "It was you."

"Shut up," the Djinn told her, trying to punch Sabrina. Sabrina caught his arm, punching the Djinn in the face with the other arm, making him fall to the floor. The Djinn looked up at Sabrina. "I just came of age. I had to feed. I screwed up. What do you think will happen to you when you get older? You think it'll get easier to control, the hunger? No. It'll only get worse." Sabrina lowered her gaze, affected by his words. The Djinn stood. "Mom knew how to cover her tracks. She always told me not to play with my food."

The Djinn ran toward Sabrina, yelling in rage. Sabrina pushed him back. The Djinn tried to kick her.

Sabrina pivoted back onto one foot to make him miss, catching the Djinn's ankle mid-air, pushing up so hard it made him flip through the air backwards before falling to the floor onto his stomach. She knelt next to him, putting a hand onto his head, speaking into his ear. "Yeah, well, you should have listened to your mom."

Sabrina smote the Djinn, killing him with a flash of bright white light.

Sam, Dean and Catty looked from each other to Sabrina. "Sow..."

Sabrina stood, turning toward them, walking between them, toward Charlie and Ness behind them without a look, still thinking about what the Djinn had told her.

Catty looked down guiltily, not knowing how to help her, walking closer. "Hey."

Sabrina looked at Catty sadly. Catty pulled Sabrina into her arms, holding her reassuringly, comfortingly. Sabrina returned the embrace, more scared about herself than she let on.

§

Ness and Charlie's Dream

Night - 1950's Military Hospital - Patients' Room

The Vampires were still trying to break in through the barricaded double doors.

Charlie turned to face the doors. "This is it. The boss battle. Come on. We gotta save the patients."

"Wait, wait, wait," Ness told her. "You said that we're stuck in a loop, right? But out there in the real world, you're dying. And I might be, too. We gotta find a way to break this loop."

"Okay," Charlie told her. "How?"

"I think the only way to stop this is to... not play," Ness answered.

"What?" Charlie asked. "No, no. We gotta save them. Nut up, Ness." A Vampire punched through the door. Ness shot the Vampire, killing him. "See? You can't stop, either. You can't stop fighting."

"Listen to me," Ness told her. "This poison, it's designed to put your mind into an endless cycle, while your insides turn to mush, okay? And its fuel is fear. Now call me crazy, but I think the only way to break the cycle is to let go of the fear and stop playing the game."

"You don't know that," Charlie told her, shooting another Vampire, killing him.

"I know that your fear is creating all of this," Ness told her. "You're not afraid of those super-soldier Vamps out there. You're not afraid of this game, and you're not afraid of what it did to you." Charlie had tears in her eyes, reloading. "Hey. Look at me." Charlie looked at Ness. Ness looked at Gertrude. "You're afraid of losing her." Charlie looked at Gertrude. "Charlie, she's already gone."

"No," Charlie told her. "No, you don't understand. You don't understand. I was at a sleepover, and I got scared. So..." She started to cry. "I called my parents to come and get me. They should never have been driving that night."

"It wasn't your fault," Ness told her.

"I just wanna tell her that I'm sorry and that I love her," Charlie told her. "And just to have her hear it again. I just need her to hear that one more time. But she can't. She can't."

"I know," Ness told her. "Believe me, I know. But you gotta let it go. Gave over, Charlie."

Ness looked toward the Vampires near the doors again, looking as if it took everything to put the gun down and stop fighting. Charlie took aim at the Vampires, hesitating, letting the gun fall. The Vampires disappeared. Ness walked toward the doors, opening what was left of them, revealing the hallway was empty. She looked too numb to feel, looking a little relieved.

Charlie walked toward Gertrude's bed, sliding open the curtain, revealing it was empty. "Mom?"

§

Reality

Night - Abandoned Shipping Warehouse 

Ness started to wake.

Dean was in front of her. "Ness? Ness. Hey. Nessie? Come here." He noticed how affected Ness was, pulling her closer. "You okay? What happened?" He helped Ness stand, embracing her. "What happened?"

Ness breathed deeply in relief, returning the embrace gratefully. "I'm okay." She looked at Charlie's unconscious body. "Charlie?" Charlie woke, looking at Ness, gasping tearfully. "I'm sorry. I had to."

Charlie started to cry. Ness embraced Charlie, tears in her own eyes, closing them in guilt.

§

Day Three

Morning - The Bunker - Outside

Sam, Dean, Sabrina, Catty, Charlie and Ness walked out of the Bunker. Catty handed Charlie her bag.

"So..." Charlie trailed off. "Thanks for saving our bacon."

"Anytime, your Highness," Sabrina told her.

Charlie looked at Sam. "You know you're gonna be okay, right? Those books portray you as like, one tough customer. If anyone can get through the Trials, Sam, it's you."

"Thanks," Sam told her. "You know, you really should come back and dig through our archives. You are definitely a Woman of Letters, just like Catty and Ness. Sabrina? Sow's a Girl of Letters."

Charlie smirked, looking at Sabrina, Catty and Ness. "I like the sound of that."

Dean nodded to Ness. "That's what she said."

Ness smiled a small smile. Sam embraced Charlie, pulling away, walking inside. Sabrina embraced Charlie, pulling away, walking toward the Bunker.

"Hey, Sabrina," Charlie told her. Sabrina turned to face Charlie. "No matter what that guy said, it's only gonna be true it you let it. Okay? You can be stronger than whatever is left to come. From what I've seen you are strong enough."

Sabrina smiled. "Thanks, my Queen."

Sabrina walked inside.

Dean embraced Charlie. "Be safe out there, Charlie."

Charlie pulled away. "You, too." Dean walked inside. Charlie looked at Catty and Ness. "And you two."

Catty sighed, looking away. "Oh, boy."

"First off, you are one badass chick, but you have got to learn when to ask for help and let people protect you, Catty," Charlie told her. Catty scoffed softly, looking at Charlie, smirking. "And you better fight for the ones you love." Charlie looked from Catty to Ness. "And you two better keep the Castalina and Dess ships awake and alive."

"Fangirling, gun, head," Catty told her.

"Oh, let it go," Charlie told her, smiling, embracing Catty.

Catty smiled, pulling away. "Bye, Charlie."

"Bye," Charlie told her.

Catty looked from Charlie to Ness, walking inside.

"Well, thanks for stopping by, Charlie," Ness told her. "Always wanted to get Tron'ed. What's next for you?"

"Gonna go by the hospital," Charlie told her. "Gotta let go, right?" Ness nodded barely. "What about you? You're gonna let it go?"

Ness smiled a small smile. "I have to."

"That's my girl," Charlie told her. "I love you."

"I know," Ness told her.

Ness and Charlie embraced, pulling away. Charlie waved bye, walking toward her car, getting inside. She drove away, leaving. Ness watched her go.

§

Inside - Library

Sabrina, Sam, Dean and Catty were in the library. Ness walked in, stopping in the doorway.

Catty sighed. "Okay, look. You're right. You're all right. You guys, Charlie, Cas. I have to stop thinking that I can save everybody. I've got to just... accept help. Even if it means protection. Lesson learned."

Ness walked closer, looking at Catty. "Good."

Dean sighed. "So, what's up with you, Ness? What happened in Charlie's dream that's got you--"

Ness silenced Dean with a kiss, surprising him, pulling away, smiling. She pulled Catty into an embrace, surprising her. Catty returned the embrace.  Ness pulled away, embracing Sam, surprising him. Sam returned the embrace. Ness pulled away, turning to Sabrina. Sabrina knew what was to come, jumping in for a hug.

Ness smiled, embracing Sabrina, spinning her around, making her laugh, putting her back on the floor next to Catty. She sighed, looking content, looking over the four of them. "What do you say we find our Prophet?"

Ness didn't wait for an answer, smiling, turning around, walking out, leaving. Dean, Catty, Sabrina and Sam watched her go, slightly bewildered.

§

Dean and Ness' Room

Ness was putting together a bag.

Dean walked in. "What got into you?"

Ness sighed, turning to face Dean. "I wasn't trying to convince you that I was okay because I wanted to lie to you, Dean. I thought that if you thought I was okay, then I could believe that I was okay. I just wanted to believe that I was fine."

Dean was confused and surprised, taken aback. "Okay. Wow. Can you tell me what happened?"

"It doesn't matter what happened," Ness told him. "Because we're here. We're alive. And we won. I got my revenge. It's over." She stepped closer to Dean. "I'm not going to tell you that I'm cured or that this isn't going to leave scars or marks and that it won't keep me up in the night sometimes, because that would be a lie, and I don't want to lie to you, Dean. But for the first time in a long time, I feel good. And I want to do what we've been saying that we're gonna do. Let's finish this."

Dean took this in, nodding slowly, slightly confused but very compliant. "Yeah. Of course."

Ness smiled a small smile, embracing Dean. Dean returned the embrace. They pulled away, looking at each other for a moment, kissing. It started slow and sweet, becoming passionate. They pulled away, staying closer, smiling small smiles.

§

Heaven - Naomi's Office

Naomi was sitting at her desk. "I know you have unfinished business here. With him. Which is why I'm asking... well, taking... you assistance in helping us find Castiel." She stood, walking around the desk toward the other side of her desk, leaning against it. Octavia was the one sitting in the chair in front of Naomi. "You're the only one who can find him, Octavia. You know him better than all of us. And  I thought I had had him under control. I was wrong. But I know I'm not wrong this time. And I like the symmetry of your two situations, Octavia. He was under a Demon and an Angel's control when he saw you killed. And you are now under control to help me find him. This is why we brought you back, at the cost of many Angels' lives. You're ready for this, Octavia. I figured that you would want to handle this... personally, willingly or unwillingly. What do you say?"

Octavia sat back in her chair, smirking.