The Approaching Storm

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Eight: The Beginning of a War

It took about an hour for them to actually get out of the house and a half-hour of that was Kat and Dean arguing with each other on Kat actually coming, finally ending with Kat punching Dean straight in the jaw and Ellen telling him flat off that they were coming with them.

"She's as good as a hunter as her daddy was," she informed Dean, leaving no room for argument as Kat picked up a few weapons. "Kat's a good person to have watching your back."

Sam smiled as he took Kat's hand again, sending tinkles down her spine as they headed out to the Impala, with her climbing into the back and staring out the window as they raced against time, desperate to get to Wyoming before it was too late.

They arrived about two hours before sunset at the old cemetery and from the looks of things, Jake hadn't arrived yet, so they settled down, preparing themselves for battle.

Kat gripped her gun tightly as they waited endlessly for Jake to arrive to do whatever it was that the demon wanted him to do. She didn't usually hate people—demons notwithstanding—but Jake she really did hate. How he could turn against his own kind was beyond her.

But she was pretty sure that the demon had done some manipulating to turn him.

He was a regular Anakin Skywalker, she thought humourlessly as Sam sat down next to her, his hand brushing against her leg until he realised what he was doing and pulled his hand away. Kat smiled at him, leaning against the headstone.

"You know what I just realised?" she said softly, keeping her voice down. "Headstones are not the most comfortable pieces of furniture. If I ever do get a place of my own again, tombstones are not going to be in my accessorising."

Sam managed a soft laugh, shaking his head. "You are insane," he informed her.

"Well, you have to be a little bit insane to do this job," Kat pointed out.

"True," he agreed, looking at her with a small smile. Then he reached towards her, reaching for a piece of strand hair that had fallen out of her ponytail and brushed it away from her face. She shivered at his touch, but she loved the feeling.

"If we live through this," he said quietly, "remind me that I wanted to ask you something."

"Ask me what?" Kat asked, perplexed.

Sam smiled. "Well, you're just gonna have to make sure that you survive," he said, shrugging. "That way, you'll find out."

Kat made a face at him, but caught Bobby giving them warning looks and quieted down. "If we live through this," she whispered, "remind me to thank you."

"For what?"

"I'll let you know," she said with a wink. Sam grinned as night began to fall and they heard footsteps approaching the cemetery.

Lowering herself further behind the headstone that they were behind, Kat gripped the gun tightly, looking at Sam as Jake passed them, dressed in normal clothes instead of his Army uniform. He too had a gun in his hand, one that was a lot more fashioned than she had ever seen before.

He walked passed them, unaware that he was surrounded and outnumbered as they all got up, one-by-one, as he approached a crypt. Not until all of them had their guns on him and Sam greeted him.

"Howdy, Jake."

Spinning around, Jake stared at Sam as though he saw a ghost, his dark eyes wide with shock. "You . . ." he whispered, stunned. "You . . . you were dead. I killed you."

Well, Kat thought tiredly, he wasn't wrong. And even though she had pretty much promised Dean that she wouldn't say anything, she kind of hoped that Jake would get the message to Sam. She hated lying to him and keeping something secret from him was lying in her book.

Not even a second later, her hopes came true.

"I did!" Jake shouted. "I cut clean through your spinal cord, man." Sam gave a start at this, looking towards his brother with something of suspicion in his brown eyes. "You can't be alive. You can't be."

"You might want to take a few steps back there, Jake," Kat said warningly. "Now we can do this the easy way or . . ." She paused, considering. "Well, I guess it's just the hard way, isn't it?"

Jake's eyes narrowed at her as Bobby took a step towards the soldier. "Okay, just take it real easy there, son."

"And if I don't?" Jake sneered.

"Wait and see," Sam returned, his eyes returning to him. Kat glanced at him, her heart beating very fast in her chest and it had nothing to do with being around Sam. Okay, it might have something to do with that, but not all of it. No, she was more worried about him and what he was going to do.

Jake laughed darkly. "What? Are you a tough guy all of sudden? What are you going to do? Kill me?" he suggested.

"It's a thought," Sam said darkly.

"You had your chance, both of you did," Jake pointed out, glancing at Kat now. "Neither one of you could do the job."

"You were innocent then," Kat pointed out. "And you were on our side—or at least we hoped that you were. Things change," she said firmly. "So if it's a choice between killing you and the end of the world . . . well, you haven't given me any reason to want to pick you."

Releasing a small laugh, Jake began to smile, his eyes flashing towards Ellen, who held a gun on him.

"What are you smiling at, you—" Dean called him a word that, if things were completely different, Kat would've smacked him for.

"Hey, lady, do me a favour," Jake told Ellen. Kat felt power in his words as he spoke. "Point that gun to your head." Ellen didn't hesitate as she obeyed his command. "See, that Ava girl was right. Once you give into it, there's all sorts of new Jedi mind tricks you can learn."

"Yeah, you're a regular Anakin Skywalker," Kat said flatly, repeating her earlier thought. "And we all know how that turned out."

"Let her go," Sam warned, his face impassive as he glared at the soldier.

"Shoot him," Ellen said, her voice shaking.

"You'll be mopping up skull before you get a shot off," Jake informed them. Kat swallowed, her bravo faltering now that her surrogate mother was in danger. "Everybody, put your guns down. Except for you, sweetheart," he added to Ellen. Kat sighed, but set her gun to the ground, followed by the three men. "Okay, thank you."

Kat didn't waste any time. She swung her hand, using her telekinesis to throw the gun away from Ellen, a shot going off the second that it was away from the woman's skull.

Using the commotion, Jake pushed the gun that he had into the crypt and turned it as Sam shot him in the back.

Kat grabbed Ellen, looking in horror as she stared at the Sam in horror, watching him shoot Jake time after time until he was lying dead on the ground. She looked at Dean, who looked just as shocked as she felt, as he walked over to his brother.

Walking over to the crypt, Kat stared at the series of locks on the mechanism as she finally remembered what she had read in her dad's journal about this part of Wyoming.

"Oh, no," she moaned. "A Devil's Gate."

"What?" Ellen asked in alarm.

"It's hell," Bobby whispered as Dean ripped the gun away from the crypt. "Take cover, now!" Kat didn't waste any time. She raced behind the tombstone, landing gracefully on the other side and took cover, covering her head with her hands as black smoke exploded from the doors as they split open.

Demons were escaping from hell by the dozen. A hundred, maybe two hundred all split across the sky, breaking the iron lines that were blocking their escape.

"What just happened?" Dean yelled.

"It's a Devil's Gate!" Kat shouted to him. "It's a stupid door that leads directly to hell."

"Come on! We've got to shut that gate!" Ellen shouted. She, Kat, Sam, and Bobby raced for the door, attempting to push it shut.

Pushing with all her strength, Kat saw a man in the cemetery, holding the Colt, and had Dean on the ground, his forehead bleeding. Sam released his hold on the door, racing to help his brother.

Kat groaned as she pushed with all of her strength, but she suck in her breath as she saw Sam flung against a tree. She looked towards Sam and Dean, then at Bobby and Ellen.

"We've got this!" Bobby yelled at her. "Go!"

She obeyed, letting go of the door and racing for the brothers and the demon, her hand moving as he sensed her coming, about to fling her aside, but Kat pushed against the pressure, fighting against his telekinesis, matching it with her own.

She was pretty sure that she caught him by surprise, because his yellow eyes flickered dangerously. "You're becoming more trouble than you're worth," he said flatly. Kat took a defensive stance as they circled one another. "You don't know the truth, do you? About what really happened to your daddy all those years ago?"

Kat felt her blood turn cold and she raised her head towards him. "So you were the one who killed him. Why am I not surprised? You killed the rest of my family."

"Well, you're smarter than I gave you credit for. Tell me, do you want to hear how you couldn't protect them? Do you want to know about how your mommy screamed even while she was seeing her insides spill out onto the floor? Or how your little sister stayed alive long enough to feel every single flame that ravaged her body? Or how about Zach?"

"Stop," Kat said, her resolve weakening.

"What do you think he would think of you now?" the demon wanted to know. "You promised to marry him, that means loving one man for the rest of your life, isn't it?"

"I said stop," Kat said, her voice rising.

"How would he feel, do you think, if he knew you were falling for another man?" he taunted her. "What would he think, if he knew that you were in love with Sammy?"

Kat couldn't help; taunting about Zach was one thing, but revealing her feelings about Sam was another thing entirely. She lost control and when she lost control, her telekinesis wasn't as useful. It broke easily and he was able to fling her across the tree, right onto Sam, whose brown eyes were focused onto her blue ones.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Don't," Kat whispered, seeing the demon talking to Dean now, but they were too far away to hear their words. "Sam, I . . ."

"I know," he whispered. "Me, too."

Her heart lifted with hope and joy and a small smile spread across her face as she turned her head and it slipped away as she saw the demon getting to his feet.

"Anyway, thanks a bunch," he said, rubbing his hands together. "I knew I kept you alive for some reasons. Until now, anyway," he added, cocking the Colt and pointing it to the oldest Winchester. "I couldn't have done it without your pathetic, self-loathing, self-destructive desire to sacrifice yourself for your family."

"Dean!" Sam whispered as Kat saw a figure appear from behind the demon and she gasped as he grabbed him.

"Oh, my god," she said as the two fought one another, the man yanking the demon out of the host until he threw the man off of him and returned to the body he was possessing.

But by that time, Dean had scrambled free and Kat and Sam were running to help them, but Dean had the gun in his hands and pointed it towards the possessed man, the yellow eyes flashing with fear, before pulling the trigger.

Kat watched with a mixture of anger, fury, and satisfaction as he jolted, his yellow eyes flickering to blue and back again before he finally fell to the ground, returning to the man's normal blue as the gate was finally closed behind them.

Sam moved away from Kat and over to Dean and the man who had fought the demon—who she now realised had to be their father John—as Kat felt a presence behind her and an unearthly glow appeared, revealing another man behind her.

He was tall and blond with a plaid, flannel shirt and the leather jacket Kat had taken from the fire and was now wearing herself, his hair falling into his face and right into his vivid blue eyes.

Kat's eyes.

Kat's father.

"Dad," she whispered, not sure if she was really seeing him as he took a step towards her, a smile spreading across his face, which apart from being more masculine, was the image of hers. Kat felt tears spark in her eyes as she took a step towards her father.

"Kitty-Kat," he said gently, using his own nickname for her, which Stephanie had taken over after he had died. "My little girl . . . oh, you're so beautiful, sweetheart."

"Daddy," she whispered, her eyes filled with tears as she moved closer to her. "Can I hug you? I mean . . ."

He laughed as he opened his arms to her and Kat moved easily into her father's arms, gripping his jacket tightly and inhaling the familiar scent of leather and cologne.

"It's okay, Kat," he whispered into her ear. "It's all right."

"I've missed you," she whispered. He nodded gently, moving her hair away from her face. "There's so much that I want to say, so many things that I want to ask—"

"And I wish I could answer them," her father said regretfully. "But I don't have the time. I only have a few minutes, enough to make sure that you're okay and to take John to the other side."

Kat swallowed, nodding in understanding. "I love you, Daddy," she whispered hoarsely.

"I love you, too, sweetheart," he whispered, hugging her one last time before he released her and they walked over to the Winchesters. "John."

The patriarch of the Winchester clan looked up away from his sons and over to where Jack Lawrence was standing with his daughter, his jaw opening in surprise as he stared at his old friend. "Jack," he said, his voice gruff and rough. "How are you . . .?"

"It's time, old friend," Jack answered gently, holding out his hand for John to take. "Mary's waiting for you."

John took one last look at his boys before he took Jack's hand and there was a flash of white and then both of them were gone, vanished from sight. Kat stared at the sight where they had been before looking at Sam and Dean, who looked just as stunned.

For a long time, they just stared at each other and then Dean walked over to the demon, who lay dead on the ground. "Well," he said finally, "check that off of the to-do list."

"You did it," Sam said proudly.

"I didn't do it alone," Dean admitted, looking to Kat. "Was that . . .?"

"My dad," Kat answered. "That was my dad."

Sam nodded slowly before looking at the crypt. "Do you think . . . do you really think he climbed out of hell?"

"A door was open," Dean pointed out. "If anybody's stubborn enough to do it, it would be him."

"Where do you think he is?"

"With your mom," Kat answered, wrapping an arm around his. "And my parents and my sister . . . wherever they are." Sam smiled as he leaned his head against hers.

"I kind of can't believe it, Dean," Sam admitted, running his hand through his hair. "I mean, our whole lives . . . everything . . . has been prepping for this and now . . ." He gave a small laugh. "I kind of don't know what to say."

"I do," Dean answered as he stooped to the body that had contained the demon. "That was for our parents."

"All of ours," Kat said coldly.

Dean smiled at the two of them, but Kat noticed the sadness behind it as he walked towards his car and Sam looked down at her apologetically. "Go," she told him, knowing the brothers had to talk.

Sam smiled and bent down, kissing her. Kat was startled by the movement, but felt the kiss deepen as she returned it, her arms moving around his neck as she kissed him tenderly.

"Want to go see a movie sometime?" he asked her with a smile.

Kat laughed. "Sure. Go talk to your brother," she ordered. Sam smiled and obeyed as he walked after Dean while Kat hung back with Ellen and Bobby for awhile until they headed towards the brothers.

When they approached, Kat saw the difference in Sam immediately. By the look on his face, Kat knew that Sam knew about Dean's deal.

"Well, Yellow-Eyes might be dead," Ellen told them, "but a lot more got through that gate."

"How many do you think?" Dean asked.

"An entire army," Kat said without any hesitation.

"Maybe more," Sam added with conviction.

"Hope that you three are ready," Bobby said. "'Cause the war has just begun."

"Well, then," Dean said as he tossed the Colt into the trunk, looking at Kat. "Get into car, Princess. Come on, Sammy. We've got work to do."

AN: Hey, I stumbled upon this chapter when I was going through my flash drive and realized that I hadn't posted this one yet, so I thought I should maybe update and finish the story. Sorry, guys, I forgot about it, honestly. But I hope that you enjoy and thanks for all of the reviews that you've given me.

Lady of the Mists