On This Battlefield No One Wins

All Hell Breaks Loose

“Bring me some pie!” Dean yelled at his younger brother. He watched him walk into the lonely diner as Boston blared from the speakers of the Impala. Little did Dean know that those would be the last words he spoke to his brother in this life.

He glanced down, tapping the stereo controls in an attempt to make the station stop staticking and looked up, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. He felt something was wrong and glanced automatically at the diner to check on Sam.

No one was in sight, so he wrenched the Impala's door open, jogged over to the door, and pulled it open.

His eyes scanned the tiny diner. Sadly, he realized that the lone patron, the one whose derelict pick up sat outside, was dead. He felt a moment of pity and drew his weapon. “Sam!” He called, hoping his brother was just in the back fighting a small-time creature or something of the like.

He rounded the corner of the bar, catching the sight of the two cooks' bleeding bodies which made the gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach grow.

Dean quickly closed the distance between himself and the back door and pushed it open. His eyes scanned the woods quickly. “Sam!” He called again, panic setting in worse than before. He started pulling the door closed by the window frame, his fingers slipping on a powdery substance.

He brought his fingers close to his face and inhaled slightly. “Sulphur.” He ran back out to the front door and frantically shouted for his little brother.

Quickly he walked over to the passenger side of the Impala to continue his search and stopped, knowing the truth but refusing to believe it.

“SAM!”

“I'm telling you, Katt, the cards never lie.” Reilly stated, leaning against the kitchen table across from her cousin staring at the tarot cards as if they would change and tell her different than what they were.

Katt sighed and put her feet on the ground, reaching over to pick up the nearest card, but Reilly stopped her.

“If you touch the deck, they won't let me see anymore.” She told her.

“I know that, Rei. That's why I was doing it. There's only so much you can see about Sam's future before it starts getting stalkerish.” She said, dropping her hand regardless.

She glared and gathered the cards, putting them aside and pulling out a different deck. “The fates wouldn't lie and tell me that he's going to die if he isn't going to die.” She stated.

Katt took the deck and the tin that held the cards Reilly had put away. “It's Sam. He has Dean. Plus, he hasn't seen you in three years... Why are you still--”

“Mommy.” A little boy said, walking in and rubbing his eyes.

Reilly turned. “Yes, sweetheart?” She questioned soothingly.

The little boy padded over and looked up at the table. “I scared.”

She scooped him up and held him close, letting him rest his head on her shoulder. “We'll talk about this in a minute.” She mouthed, rubbing her son's back and walking from the kitchen in the back of the renovated church they lived in.

She walked into her bedroom and laid him down in the center of her bed. “It's okay, my love. Nothing can get you here. Aunt Katt and I are protecting you. And the gods.” She touched the bracelet on his wrist, a leather braid with blue and white beads adorning it. “Remember.”

He nodded. “Gee-yah and Our nose.” He said.

She smirked. “Gaia and Ouranos, yes. They protect you just like they protect daddy and mommy.” She kissed his forehead. “Sleep. Nothing can hurt you. I won't let it.”

He nodded again and snuggled down into the sheets. “Night, mommy.”

She stood and headed for the door. “Night, Sammy.”

“Ngh, what?” Katt asked, her eyes shielded from the morning sun by her sheets. She sandwiched her cell between the mattress and her ear so she didn't have to put forth the effort to hold it.

“Katherine Remington. It's been a while.” The country-sounding voice of Bobby Singer shouted into her ear.

Katt sat up quickly. “Bobby? What's wrong?” She asked, her mind automatically going on red alert.

He chuckled a little. “We have a bit of a favor to ask you.” His tone going serious.

“If it's to find that yellow-eyed demon again, forget it. I have the scars from last time.” She said, rubbing at the healed gash on her bicep.

“No, it's to... help an old friend. He lost somebody.”

“If he's an old friend of mine, he should be able to find his somebody on his own.” She muttered, standing and stretching.

“Katt... Please?” A deep, gravelly voice begged, replacing Bobby's voice.

“Dean?”

“Yeah... Sam's missing. We need your help.” Dean said, sounding tired.

She nodded a little, then shook her head. He couldn't see her. “Yeah. I'll talk to Reilly. Where d'ya wanna meet?” She asked, pulling her jewelry on from its place on the nightstand.

Bobby's voice returned to the receiver. “Ellen's.” He said vaguely.

“We'll see you there.” She told him, hanging up and grabbing some clothes to go take a shower.

She banged on Reilly's bedroom door with her fist. “Rei!”

Reilly walked out looking groggy. “Yeah?”

“Put on your big girl undies and wake up. We have a job.” She stated.

Reilly yawned and then glared. “I don't hunt anymore, Katt. You know this. Stop being dumb.”

Katt sighed. She didn't want to get her cousin involved by using underhanded tactics. Who was she kidding? Yes she did. “Sam's missing. Dean needs us to help find him.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You're lying.”

Katt shrugged. “Don't believe me. I don't care. But I'm going look for him.” She said, walking into her private bathroom.

Reilly disappeared from her doorway to get ready herself and to get her son ready to go stay with Katt's brother, Matt, for a few days while they went on their trip.

The two girls pulled up to the Roadhouse to find it smoldering from the fire that had leveled it.

“Fuck me.” Katt said, pushing the door of Reilly's inherited '65 Pontiac GTO.

Reilly followed her out of the car from the driver's side, walking over. “Why would anyone do this?” She asked.

Katt rolled her eyes. “I know you traded the hunter life for a cozy PI gig, but you can't be that stupid.” She told her.

Dean and Bobby pulled up not minutes later, barely getting the car in park before they were out.

Katt turned and caught the first hug from Bobby and they walked into the rubble.

“Do you see Ellen?” Dean asked.

Bobby stayed silent for a moment, looking through the charred remains of where the bar would've been. “No. No Ash either.”

Dean leaned down and touched something on a blackened arm. “Ah, Ash.. Dammit.”

Reilly looked at them. “So what's the game plan?”

Dean turned to look at her. “That's why we were here.” He snapped.

Her eyes narrowed but she ignored it, walking over to greet Bobby.

Katt went over and took the watch, the item Dean had been looking at, from the charred arm and went to the side of the building where Ash's office was, digging a hole in the earth and dropping it in.

“What're you doing?” Dean questioned, following behind her.

“There isn't a body to bury, or salt and burn... He needed some sort of putting to rest.” She said, covering the watch with dirt and standing.

“That was... n--”

She stopped him. “It was Ash... He's helped all of us from time to time.” She told him as closure, walking to where Bobby and Reilly were talking about what to do next.

Dean went to follow, stopping as a pain shot through his head.

“Dean?” Bobby called.

Katt and Reilly ran over, holding him up.

“I thought I saw somethin'.” He muttered, leaning against the girls for a moment.

“Like a vision?” He asked, following the girls as they lead him over to the Impala and sat him in the driver's seat.

“What? No. I'm not some psychic.” He said, grabbing his head in pain again.

“Dean!” Katt yelled, almost as if she were concerned.

He sat up, looking like his head was just split open and his brain replaced with lava. “I saw Sam.”

“What else did you see?” Bobby questioned.

“A bell.” He said tiredly.

“What kind of bell?”

“A big bell? With some kind of engraving.” He said, struggling to remember through the pain.

Bobby looked contemplative. “Was it a tree? Like an oak tree?”

Dean finally looked at him. “Yeah.”

He looked at all of them. “I know where Sam is.”

Reilly looked up at him from the ground, looking scared. “Bobby, he's not...”

Bobby nodded. “If he is where I think he is, Reilly.”

The two midnight black muscle cars pulled up alongside each other at the entrance to New Hope, Indiana which was blocked to motor traffic by fallen trees too big to move by hand.

The four hunters got out of their cars and looked around, hoping there was another way to go in besides the obvious.

“I guess the rest of the way is on foot.” Bobby stated.

Dean went around to the trunk of his car, opening it and the hidden arsenal underneath. He and Bobby grabbed some things while Reilly and Katt double checked the weapons they were carrying, both hidden and non-hidden ones. “Let's go.” He stated resolutely, leading the group forward.

As they neared the town, Dean started to yell for his younger brother.

As opposed to drawing attention to them as she was, Reilly couldn't help calling out for him as well.

They rounded the corner to see Sam holding his arm and limping. “Dean.” He said relieved.

“Sam! Look out!” Katt yelled, just as a black man in Army fatigues ran up behind him and stabbed Sam in the small of his back.

“No!” Dean screamed, taking off running.

Reilly, Bobby, and Katt took off after his attacker. Pausing at the tree line.

Katt looked at her cousin. “Go back, Rei... Me and Bobby have this.” She told her.

Reilly nodded and took off back to Dean and Sam.

She knelt beside them, in time to hear Dean chanting 'no'. “Dean...” She whispered.

He ignored her, hugging his brother to him and crying. “Sam!” He yelled, as though it would make his little brother wake up.

She reached out and touched Dean's shoulder, at a loss for words and eyes swimming with tears. She looked at the limp shell that was Sam and couldn't look away. “Sam.” She whispered, wiping the tears from her eyes.

At Bobby's place, the mood was solemn. Dean refused to bury Sam and Reilly wasn't opposed to keeping the younger Winchester's body around either, even though she refused to be near it.

Katt sat with Bobby while Dean watched over Sam's body and Reilly was everywhere else in the house. “I don't like this, Bobby. The two of them...” She took a swig from her beer bottle.

“Try telling them somethin'.” He suggested.

She managed a smirk. “Yeah, and have me make it worse by punching him for yelling at me? No thanks.”

Bobby managed a small smile, but it quickly faded. “I just don't know what else to do with 'em.”

“On the bright side.. your house is getting clean. You should've seen our place when Rei's cat, Tobias, died. You could eat off the floor it was so clean.” She told him.

Bobby stood. “I need to get outta here. Try to dig up something on what's going down. Try to find Ellen.”

She finished off her beer and stood as well. “I'll drive. I can't stand being around these two anymore.” She grabbed the keys Bobby tossed to her and walked out, catching a glimpse of Dean and Sam's corpse in passing.

Reilly walked into the living room, having nowhere else to clean. She looked around and didn't see anyone, not even Dean.

She took a deep breath and finally turned to the doorway, beyond which laid Sam. She slowly walk to it, pausing for a minute before she walked in completely and sat in the chair beside him. “Hey, Sam.” She said quietly, too upset to realize that she was talking to a dead man. “It's been a while, huh?” She scooted closer. “I... um...” She sniffled and wiped her eyes. “I wish I could've told you all this before, but... I didn't. I was a coward.” She put her face in her hands to gather herself. “I shouldn't have yelled at you in Austin like I did. When we got out of that shed we were trapped in. I.. I should've told you I've loved you since we were twelve. That if you asked, I would've followed you to California. Instead I told you that you were a disgrace to your family and that if you didn't want to try to find the demon that killed your mom... I'm sorry, Sam. I wanted to call you after that. To apologize” She wiped more tears from her eyes. and stood. “I wish you could've seen--”

Sam gasped and sat up, his eyes unfocused.

Reilly stood and ran out of the room, pulling her 9mm from the small of her back and waited for him to follow her. He didn't, and Reilly quietly snuck out of the door, sitting on the hood of her GTO and sobbing.

Dean pulled up in the Impala a couple minutes later. “Is he okay?” He asked, looking at Reilly, who was sitting where she'd ended up after Sam's awakening, on her sixth Marlboro of the hour.

She looked up at him. “Dean... He's... I don't think he's Sam..” She told him.

He ignored her and went in, stopping in the doorway. “Oh, Sammy. Thank God.” He said, hugging his brother too tightly.

“Ow.” He said, making Dean let him go.

Reilly walked in while they were eating, having finished off what was left of her pack. “Sam?” She asked, watching the younger Winchester chowing down on chicken and soda. “You are--” She caught the look from Dean. “Okay.”

Sam looked up in shock. “Reilly? Is that really you?” He stood, but looked pain.

“Sit down, you're going to hurt yourself.” She scolded, eyeing Dean and turning to clean up the room Sam had been in.

Katt and Bobby walked in a little later to find that even the lightbulbs that had burned out were replaced with shiny new ones and Reilly was at the top of the stairs. “Reilly, what the fuck'er you doing?” Katt asked.

She shook her head and pointed to the living room.

Bobby went in first, his jaw gaping open when he saw Sam.

“Hi, Bobby.” Sam said, smiling. “Katt.”

They both looked at each other then back at the dead man walking.

“I see you're up and around.” Bobby said after a moment.

“Yeah. Thanks for patching me up, you two.” He said, smiling at the two of them.

“Don't mention it.” Bobby told him.

Katt just nodded, her eyes trained on Dean with an angry glint in them.

Dean cut the awkward silence between them. “What did you find?”

Katt went over and laid out a map that had been refolded into it's original rectangular shape though it had been straightened beyond comprehension of the lines. “A few contacts told us about something weird happening in Wyoming. We cross-referenced it with meteorological signs of the area and it checks. We just don't know what the weird is implying.”

Bobby plucked a black Sharpie from the container that held them in color-coordinated sections and circled an area in the southwest part of the state. “And then.. there's nothin' here. Not a peep.” He looked at Dean, then at Sam. “My eyes are swimmin' though. I can't make heads or tails of all this... Sam, could you look at it for me? Maybe a fresh pair of eyes can catch somethin'. Dean.. you can help me lug some books inside from the car.”

Sam nodded and moved closer to the map as Dean and Bobby went outside and Katt followed after them moments later.

Reilly walked in, chewing on her nails. “Demonic omens in Wyoming?” She asked.

He turned. “Yeah. You wanna... come help me see if there's a pattern?”

She walked over silently and stared down at the map.

Sam's gaze was more on Reilly than the map for a little while. Finally, when she didn't look up, he went back to looking down.

“How's your brother going to feel when he knows you're going to Hell? How did you feel?” Bobby asked.

“Please don't tell 'em. Take a shot at me if you want, but don't tell him.” Dean pleaded.

Katt walked up from behind the cover of an old car. “You made a deal, Dean? You fucking... Why would you do that?” She yelled, hauling off and punching him square in the jaw, knocking him off balance.

“Katt, it.. It was for Sam.” He said, letting her hit him again.

“Yeah? Well so is this.” She told him, sending a really good punch to his sternum to knock the wind out of him. “You stupid ass. We're supposed to be friends! And you didn't even... You didn't even talk to us.. To try and find a way to bring him back.”

He looked upset with her. “This wasn't about you, Katt. My life doesn't revolve around you.”

She glared and brought her fist back to punch him again when they heard a rustling, the sound of a gate being pushed open and they all froze.

They hid behind a rusted out car in time for a shadow to appear across from them. Bobby and Dean jumped out and grabbed the intruder. “Ellen?”

Katt stepped out. “Ellen.” She said, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Come on, let's get you inside.” Bobby chimed in, walking them quickly back into the house.

Sam and Reilly looked at the door in unison, moving out of the way when she was plopped down in a chair, the eldest hunter sitting across from her.

He looked at Reilly. “A shot glass and the Jack, please?”

She nodded and went into the kitchen to retrieve the items while he pulled a flask from his pocket. She came back and set them in front of him.

He poured the glass half full of water and slid it across from her.

“Is this really necessary?” She questioned.

“It's just a belt of holy water. Shouldn't hurt.”

She downed the water and looked at him. “Whiskey now if you don't mind.”

“Ellen, you mentioned a safe.” Bobby prompted.

“Yeah, the hidden safe we keep in the basement.” She explained for him.

“Did the demons get what was in it?”

“No.” She reached into her jacket and pulled out a map, setting it down I front of him.

The group crowded around it, looking at the five spaced-out Xs drawn on it's surface.

“Wyoming?” Dean asked. “What does that mean?”

“Well I'm sure that if she KNEW she would've told us.” Katt stated.

“Katt, retract the claws.” Reilly told her, standing on the other side of Bobby, as far away from Sam she could be.

“She's right. We need to figure it out.” Bobby said, giving Katt a pointed look.

She sighed. “I'll make some calls.” She grumbled, walking outside.

“I'll start checking online.” Sam chimed in.

“Reilly, could you...”

“Yeah, Bobby... Of course. I'll check with the fates, see what they know.” She glanced at Sam, then down. “Or if they'll even help.” She went into the kitchen to start.

Dean grabbed a large tome from behind him. “Let's get crackin'.”

“I don't believe it.” Bobby said, walking into the dining room with a book.

Reilly and Katt strolled in from the kitchen, Reilly leaning against her cousin, looking pale.

“Rei...”

She shook her head at Sam, her eyes trained on Bobby. “You found something?”

“Lot more than that. Each of these Xs,” He pointed to each one on the map. “Is an abandoned frontier church. All mid nineteenth century. And all built by Samuel Colt.”

“Demon killing gun-making Samuel Colt?” Dean asked for clarification.

Bobby nodded. “There's more. The churches are connected by private railroad lines... Laid out like this.” He picked up another Sharpie and drew a star that connected each church to the other.”

“That's a Devil's trap.” Katt spoke up in astonishment, sitting Reilly down in a chair next to Sam and leaning toward the map.

“A hundred square mile devil's trap.” Sam added.

“That's brilliant.” Dean said.

“Sorry you didn't think of it, Sherlock?” Katt asked.

Dean opened his mouth to respond, but Reilly cut him off.

“Iron lines.. The demons can't cross them.” She told them.

“And it still works?” Dean asked, back in serious mode.

“Definitely. Those demonic omens that Bobby and Katt found.. It's the demons circling it, trying to get in.” Sam told him.

“What's inside?” Ellen asked.

“That's what I've been trying to find out. The only thing there is an old cowboy cemetary. Here.” he pointed to the center of the map.

“What was Colt trying to protect in a cemetary?”

“Maybe he wasn't trying to protect something. What if he was keeping it in.” Dean offered.

“That's a great notion, thanks Dean.” Reilly told him, laying her head on the table.

“Howdy, Jake.” Sam said, walking out from behind one of the tombstones in the graveyard.

Jake turned and saw all of the hunters surrounding him, their weapons at the ready.

“You... You were dead. I killed you.” Jake said, looking at Sam with a scared expression.

“Yeah, well next time, finish the job.”

“I did! I cut clean through your spinal cord man.”

Reilly took another step forward, her gun pointed straight at Jake's temple.

“Just take it easy there son.” Bobby spoke up.

“And if I don't?” Jake asked.

“Wait and see.” Sam growled.

“Oh, so you're a tough guy now? What're you gonna do? Kill me?”

“It's a thought.”

“You had your chance, Sam. You couldn't.”

“I won't make that mistake twice.”

Jake started laughing at him.

“What're you smilin' at you little bitch?” Dean asked him.

Jake turned his gaze to Reilly. “Hey babe... Do me a favor and point that gun at your head.”

She struggled against his influence, but the gun still became aimed at her head, her finger on the trigger.

“Let her go, Jake.” Sam said, his finger tighter on the trigger.

“Why don't you and your friends put your guns down?” He suggested. “Unless you wanna see what's on the inside of your girlfriend's head.”

“Sam... Kill him.” Reilly stated.

“Now, now, sweetheart.. Don't get all worked up.” Jake told her.

She glared at him.

Bobby put his gun down first, albeit reluctantly. Ellen's gun followed. Then Dean's, Katt's, and finally Sam's.

Jake nodded and turned, shoving the barrel of the Colt into a hole in the door of the mauseleum he was standing in and turned it.

Dean and Katt ran over and pulled the gun from Reilly's head and they all retrieved their own weapons.

Sam got to his first, firing round after round into Jake's back. One shot hitting his lung, four went into his heart and opposite lung and he fell.

Reilly looked at Sam as he walked over and aimed the gun at Jake again.

“Please... don't..” Jake begged, gasping for air.

“Sam.” She cried, but it was too late.

He finished the clip off in Jake's face, lowering the weapon only when the final shot had been fired.

The group walked over to the mausoleum, each looking at Sam worriedly.

Reilly glanced at him, then at the spinning metal.

“Oh no.” Bobby stated when the spinning stopped.

“What is it?” Katt asked.

“It's Hell.” He spoke up.

Dean reached forward and took the Colt.

“Take cover! Now!” Bobby screamed, grabbing Ellen and running.

Everyone else took off as well, Reilly and Katt hiding behind a statue while Sam and Dean hid behind the tombstones of Saul Davis and Richard Reeves.

“What the hell just happened?” Dean asked.

“It's a Devil's Gate. It's a damn door to Hell.” Ellen yelled at him.

“Come on! We have to shut it!” Katt added, running forward with Reilly close on her tail.

Bobby, Reilly, Katt, and Ellen managed to shut the gate, unaware of what had happened behind them.

They turned, seeing someone that looked an awful lot like John standing from the grass.

Reilly and Katt rushed over, stopping a little ways away.

John walked over to Dean, putting his hand on his shoulder and smiling proudly at him, then Sam who just nodded.

“John.” Reilly whispered, tears sliding down her cheeks.

He looked at her, “Take care of Sammy.”

She nodded and looked down.

His eyes rested on Katt for a moment, who also couldn't hold in her tears, even though she hated crying in front of people.

He looked at Dean one last time and backed away. He flickered and faded into smoke.

“Come on, Rei... We should get outta here.” Katt told her, slipping away into the shadows.

Reilly stared at the spot where John faded then walked away silently, passing the car keys to her cousin as she went. “Let's go get my son..”