for the rest of us death will be a relief

[praevaricatio]

Comments

[decoys]

[Wrist flicking? Jo blinks at her in confusion but "Colony" is a name she knows. Coven, wasn't it? That makes the request make a little more sense as she shakes her head.]

No, I'm a hunter.

[Or at least she was. Does muscle memory still work after you've been dead so long? Her whole body feels out of sorts. and eventually her eyes land on the very familiar shape of a very familiar Chevy Impala.

Then she registers that she heard the name Sam.

And the shock flickers briefly into anger because:]

Oh, I'm gonna kill him.

[That is probably not the thing to say, but Sam will be arriving on the next tag to smooth things over ... probably.]

[matriarchate]

( That has her lowering her crossbow. Hunter fits much more into her look, demeanor and general surprise at breathing. )

Were you being held captive inside?

( She sets the crossbow down on the ledge and makes her way down the steps to help if she's needed. She watches Jo clock the Impala, look past the both of them and then Allison looks behind her. )

Dean?

( If there's a brother in the Impala people usually want to kill, it's Dean. )

Sam, you should get out here! Do you know Sam and Dean? Do you need to me to get Dean or -

[decoys]

[Sam rounds the corner the second time Allison calls his name, and he stops dead in his tracks the minute he sees the other woman. His face drops into puppy eyes almost immediately, unsure how to process what he's seeing.

"Jo?"

Jo's eyes flare as she turns on him.]

What did you do?

["I didn't ... I mean, I don't know -"

Jo glaring daggers.]

You were just supposed to kill Osiris so I didn't have to kill Dean. You weren't supposed to bring me back from the dead.

[A pause as Sam is starting to do the math, finding the point in the timeline she's referring to, almost ten years ago now. Jo tries to read what's happening on his face.]

Or was it the other idiot? I swear to God, if Dean did something stupid -

["He didn't. Or, at least, I'm pretty sure he didn't." Sam glances back to the car and holds up a finger. "Hold on, let me get the whiskey."

Jo nods, some of the anger recessing.]

Yes. Good. Test me so I can go find Dean and figure out what he did.

[matriarchate]

( Allison lets her and Sam volley. Jo. There's another Jo. She suspects Sam did something - to Osiris? The Egyptian god? Kill Dean? Is Osiris involved in the Colony? )

What did I miss being outside?

( Does the Colony go straight to the top of the Egyptian pyramid? Literally? Or, inside, if it's literally - literally. )

Look, I don't think Dean did anything. I'm Allison - Dean's also inside, but - he wasn't here for you. Is Osiris at the head of the Colony?

( Osiris is not Mayflower! )

[decoys]

Jo Harvelle.

[Because she does feel bad for exploding all over this other hunter, but she can't help but feel tense as Sam rifles through the car. She doesn't want to be something and there's so many somethings she could be.]

No. Osiris is the Egyptian god of the dead. He's drawn to guilt and puts his victims on trial before using the ghosts of their guilt to do it. He was targeting Dean, I was one of his star witnesses.

[The sarcasm is clear as she waits for Sam to return. She doesn't know what's going on with the Colony. Maybe they can fill her in.

Sam will clear up this much though: "Yeah, and I did kill Osiris, but that was almost ten years ago." He tosses her the flask and she catches it, slowly processing that information. Ten years. Felt like yesterday but when you're a ghost you don't really have very many lucid moments.

Her fingers slip against the silver of the flask - no smoke. That's a small bit of relief. Then, she opens the top and takes a swig, swallowing down the holy water-verain-whiskey mixture that tastes awful. No smoke. Not a demon or a vampire.

Sam immediately crosses the small distance to her and pulls her into his arms and Jo lets herself sink into it for a moment. Sam is real and warm and she can touch him without falling through him and - ]

What the hell is going on, Sam?

["I don't know. But I can't say I'm sad to see you either."]

[matriarchate]

( Things shake out pretty clearly from there, considering she knows the Harvelle's story. Now that she's been reminded, Jo looks just like her picture, and she's been dead, like Sam said, for nearly ten years, if not more.

She makes the connection to what was happening ten years ago with Osiris and tables the fact that her boyfriend killed Osiris.

She stiffens as Jo takes all the signs and passes with flying colors. She's human again. And alive. )

Well, we could go in to see Dean, but something tells me he doesn't have any more of a clue than we do. It's nice to meet you, Jo. Sorry for holding you at crossbow point. We were in the middle of something. We kind of still are?

( Is everything clear now, her eyes ask Sam. She doesn't want to give too much information or freak Jo out. Any more... than she already might be. )

[decoys]

[And there's the frustration-anger-mix as she remembers that she still has another Winchester to interrogate.

She loves these boys. Loves them like brothers, even if at times things had been more complicated. But she is not about to let them purloin what little is left of their souls on her account, especially so far down the line.]

Yes. Let's go find Dean and make sure he also hasn't done anything stupid lately.

[Sam sighs, exasperated, but nods. "Yeah, it's done. Might be a bit messy though."

Jo shakes her head.]

I can handle a little mess.

[And with that she turns and stalks off towards the mansion, taking in the blood splattered across the marble floor and the unfamiliar faces, scanning through until they land on one she knows all too well.]

Dean, what the hell did you do?

[You missed her, didn't you? You know you missed her.]

[matriarchate]

He --

( Allison decides, well, Jo decides for all of them, that it's in everyone's best interests to find Dean.

Dean, on the phone -

"If her name shortens to Fred, have her call Cordy, pretty sure she's on team --" Jody can hear that through the phone, as can everyone else on the first floor, practically, maybe even Elena down the hall. "Jody, Cordelia's going to want to speak to her," he says, unhelpfully, because, well, he has to hang up now.

"Jo?" he asks, because, what else can he ask. "What's going on here?"

Matt, because, we are back to Matt, this eventually will be the Matt and Jo show, is seated on one of the steps, letting all everyone get through what they have to. Elena's getting stitches, they're going to call Ty together, Jeremy's joined him, making some small talk - but that small talk quiets. Jo's loud. )

[decoys]

You tell me.

[She stares Dean down, and yes she is loud. Ellen Harvelle didn't raise a girl who knew how to be quiet to benefit other people. Also she's been a ghost for so long it's nice to say something and actually be heard.]

All I know is that I woke up in that field with a heart beat and the need to breathe and no one seems to know why.

[Sam comes up behind her, giving his brother an exasperated look over her head, but will also take the flask and pass it to Matt.

"Take a sip. Just to cover our bases." Because that is originally went out to the car for, and to check in with Allison. Jo catches that, before glancing to Matt, studying him curiously.]

I'm not the only one?

[woodenbullets]

( Matt pulls himself up, accepting the - rank whiskey - making a face and answering her a bit faintly. He wipes the back of his mouth. )

If you mean you're not the only one back from the dead today, no, you're not. But, I was kind of a spirit guide beforehand, so I thought that was it. Maybe it's not?

( He obviously doesn't know.

Dean, still incredulous, phone still in his hand sees, "It's Cas," he says, suddenly very skeptical of all of this. He answers, like he knows what's going to be said. Upsetting the natural balance, or something. "Yeah?" No time for pleasantries. )

[decoys]

Wasn't my deal.

[At least not last what she remembers. Dean seems busy on the phone so Jo lets him go, making her way over to where Sam and Matt are standing. Her eyes go back over the bloodstains again, and she raises an eyebrow.]

When you said it was messy, you weren't kidding.

[Sam makes a face. "Witches."

Jo nods.]

Hopefully that's all their insides and none of yours.

[It seems safer to talk shop rather than delve into her feelings. She then glances over to the other guy Sam tested and raises an eyebrow.]

Jo. You?

[woodenbullets]

Matt. Been gone over a decade, at least. But, I can't say for sure, been back an hour. Already been in my first post-death life or death situation.

( He's still running on the adrenaline, but look at the blood. He survived. )

[decoys]

[Jo smirks, amused.]

Lucky you.

[Sam gives her shoulder a squeeze as Dean summons him out of the mansion. Jo watches him go before turning back to Matt.]

It's been about that for me too.

[A little longer, probably. Time is a weird thing and she doesn't want to linger on that too long.]

[woodenbullets]

Do you remember anything?

( If she was at Peace? The longer he's here, the more he doesn't remember people or specifics. But, feelings. Bright contentment. )

[decoys]

I remember the last time I saw them.

[Them being the Winchesters.]

But for the rest of it time got a bit -

[She cuts off when Castiel lands in the middle of the mansion, now that the angel wards are down, and when Jo sees who's with him, there's a whole other wave of emotions that rolls through her, sorry Matt, she'll be back.]

Mom.

[demonhuntersquarterly]

Joanna.

( "Who's the blonde piece," goes unsaid before she and her daughter reunite. She wraps her arms around her like she'll never let her go again, even if she's a grown woman. And last she knew, she was doing her own jobs.

Dean hangs up, exchanges a look with Sam, and then comes back inside to witness the mother and child reunion.

"What the hell's going on," he says to his brother. )

[imnot_likeyou]

[Mom, she literally just met him. Relax.]

I have no idea.

[All of this feels insane, and Sam isn't really sure what to make of it. But he can't say he's upset to see the Harvelles. Nor can he say that things aren't going to get more complicated.]

You said Jody had one too?

[cholesterol]

Yeah, one of Cordy's old friends. Remember, she tried to get the gang back together, but they just brought back Billy Idol and Barry Manilow. Well, Fred woke up in some laundromat. It has to be related.

( That's three. )

You know what that means.

[imnot_likeyou]

["Let's not forget the werewolf that showed up with Ellen." Cas makes his way over to join them, getting out of the way of the Harvelle reunion.

That makes four.]

Here, New Orleans, Sioux Falls - there's probably more.

[Sam rubs his eyes.]

We should probably figure out where we're going to pretend to sleep while we figure all this out.

[It's almost morning but they could probably all at least use a few hours.]

[cholesterol]

Already on it.

( He holds up his phone, shaking it. He's sent up a bat signal. He assumes they'll have some responses in a few hours. Their network's pretty far-reaching now. )

You mean, you don't vote we sleep in the old witch murder house?

[imnot_likeyou]

Absolutely not.

[The bodies aren't even burned yet, and he wouldn't put it past anything in that house to be vengeful. He glances over their people and starts to do the math. Him and Allison, Jeremy and Matt, Jo and Ellen, Elena and Dean, Buffy and Stefan - ]

Five rooms, give or take?

[cholesterol]

Six to be safe?

( Something tells him this isn't over. )

Cas mentioned the young werewolf but nothing else. Safe to say they don't have anything to do with us?

[imnot_likeyou]

If they were in New Orleans, he probably left them with Hayley.

[Which is probably for the best, there are a lot more werewolf-related contacts there.]

Maybe Ellen knows? I'm going to go find Allison and see if we can get the rooms going. I'll send you at text once we find a place.

[Because who knows who's going to have six rooms open at this time of night.]

[cholesterol]

( He nods, approaching the mother-daughter reunion, but keeping his distance.

Ellen finally separates.

"We've really stepped in it, haven't we." )

[decoys]

Seems like it. I certainly didn't have this on my schedule.

[She also sees Dean, hovering, but before he intrudes again, she wants to make the introductions she narratively promised.]

Matt, this is my mom, Ellen. Mom, this is Matt, another member of the Recently Resurrected club.

[Because she doesn't realize this is another version of her mom. She assumes this is the mom who stayed with her in Carthage, who finished the job when she couldn't. But she's about to find out how wrong she is.]