At a morgue, Ruby runs for her life, clutching the Book. Her demonic children--now fully grown--chase after he and she fights one of them off. It knocks the book out of her hands and another one grabs it and starts casting a spell while the other demon grabs Ruby and vomits black bile all over her. It burns but she shrugs it off, kicks the demon off, and grabs the Book. Ruby then uses the Book to cast a spell, blasting the second Demon. She works into a nearby morgue room and thumbs through the Book, finds the page showing Ash, and realizes that he’s the only hope. As the demons come in, Ruby starts chanting another spell.
At a bar in Jacksonville, Florida, Ash uses his chainsaw to cut open a kegger for the partygoers. Pablo and Kelly are tending bar, and Kelly reminds Pablo that now Ash is just water trash like everyone else in Jacksonville. Pablo insists that Ash did what he had to do, but Kelly doesn’t believe it.
A woman, Cindy, comes over with her daughter Hannah and reminds Ash that they slept together the night before. Hannah asks to touch the chainsaw. A wind starts blowing and a hole opens up in the sky above. It starts raining and everyone takes shelter. Lighting slams down and then the rain stops, and a Deadite-possessed Cindy and Hannah attack Ash. The Deadite in Cindy says that Ruby sent them, while the Hannah Deadite attacks Pablo.
The Cindy Deadite calls Ash “Ashy Slashy,” and he recognizes the nickname. She keeps taunting him with a childhood song and knocks the chainsaw off his stump. Meanwhile, the bartender opens fire on Hannah, and it kills him before he can shoot it. Kelly tries to grab the bartender but the Deadite tears him apart and rips off his arms.
Ash knocks Cindy off of him, and Pablo tosses him his chainsaw. However, Cindy grabs his leg and the chainsaw slams into Ash’s head. While Hannah attacks Pablo, Ash removes his belt and pulls his chainsaw to his stump. Kelly grabs a fire axe and chops Hannah’s head off, and keeps hacking even after it goes down. Meanwhile, Ash cuts off Cindy’s arms and then her head. It slips on the blood and finally goes down, but the head says that Ash will die like the others. He blasts the head apart with his shotgun.
Once everyone has recovered, Kelly says that she’s been waiting to kick Ruby’s ass. Pablo wonders where Ruby is, and Ash says that Ruby is in Elk Grove, Michigan: his hometown. He figures that they’ll take care of her and be back by Friday, and they head out.
The trio drives to elk Grove and Kelly notes that sinkholes are still appearing and murder rates are up. Pablo makes a sketch of Ruby, and Kelly asks Ash why he hasn’t been home in so long. Ash ignores the question and reaches for a beer, while Pablo finds himself sketching the face from the Book. He quickly grabs his hand and stops it as they arrive in Elk Grove.
Ash pulls into town as it starts raining, and two boys run across the street yelling that Ash will get the other. They park in front of an old house and Ash tells his friends that it was his house. He says that his parents died a long time ago and tells them to wait in the car while he goes inside. Meanwhile, Kelly sees one of the boys watching them. By the time she points him out to Pablo, he’s disappeared.
Inside the house, Ash looks around and hears a scream from further inside. He checks it out and finds a woman on the TV screaming. There are photos of a young Ash with his father on the mantle... and a shot rings out. A man steps out with a gun and figures that Ash is a robber. When he turns on the lights, he realizes that it’s his son. Ash greets his father Brock and claims that he just came to visit. Brock notices his metal hand and Ash says that it makes him stronger, but his father isn’t impressed.
Kelly and Pablo run in and Ash introduces them to his father. Brock starts hitting on Kelly, who isn’t impressed. Ash explains that he and his father are dead to each other, and has Pablo show Brock the picture of Ruby. Brock doesn’t recognize her and figures that Ash is still paying the victim. He knows what happened at the cabin, and blames Ash for running away rather than convincing the townspeople of what happened. Ash insists that he did what he had to, and Brock says that Ash should leave before he ruins the life he’s built for himself.
That night, Ash and the others drive up to the town bar. Ash says that they’ll split up and ask around. A man comes up and says that Ash ruined his life, but Ash doesn’t recognize him. Pablo sees the man’s sign briefly change into the cover of the Book, but then the vision fades. The man walks off and Ash goes into the bar. Everyone stares at him, but the waitress Linda Bates comes over and greets Ash. Sheriff Thomas Emery comes over and kisses Linda, and Ash realizes that they’re married. It’s clear that Thomas isn’t willing to let the past rest quietly.
When Linda walks off, Ash watches her go until Emery interrupts him. Ash says that he’s looking for a woman and Emery speaks up, telling everyone that Ashy Slashy is back. Ash insists that he didn’t chop up his friends, and asks if they should help him or kick him out of town. The customers all start yelling at Ash, who starts to go. However, he refuses to run and turns back, smashing a glass. He tells the customers that he’s there to save the town whether they like it or not, and takes out Ruby’s picture. Emery tells Ash that it’s time to leave, and Ash says that after he saves them they won’t see him for another 30 years.
Pablo walks down the street and hears something in an alleyway. A shadowy figure appears briefly and then drops back into the darkness, and Pablo goes to investigate. He goes around the corner and finds himself facing a spectral Lucy holding the Book, standing in front of a building with two smokestacks. The cover flies off and sticks to Pablo’s face, and he pulls it off... along with his own face. Kelly finds him and Pablo realizes that he hallucinated the whole thing. Ash arrives and Pablo says that he just saw Ruby. Ash recognizes the building as the town crematorium.
The trio drives to the crematorium and Pablo confirms that it’s the building from his vision. Pablo admits that he’s been having nightmares ever since Ruby put the Book on his face, and he was afraid to tell the others. They go inside and Ash tells his friends to use their weapons to knock down Ruby long enough so that he can cut her apart with the Dagger. The trio splits up and Ash goes off on his own. The crematorium furnaces turn on and flames burst out, and Ash hears something behind him. He turns but there’s nothing except his shadow. When he turns, the shadow hits him in the head and Ash figures that Ruby is responsible. A demon emerges from the shadow and throws Ash across the room. Ash shoots at it and it dodges.
Kelly and Pablo hear the shot, and a shadow demon grabs Ashley and drags her through a grate into the waters below. Another demon advances on Pablo.
Ash starts up his chainsaw and tries to fight the demon, but it turns into a shadow and runs off.
The demon advances on Pablo, who grabs the brujah’s amulet around his neck. Surprised, the creature is unable to see him. It hears a scream and runs off, and Pablo realizes that his uncle’s necklace was responsible.
Kelly searches the waters for her gun, but a demon wearing her body grabs her. It says that she’s stronger than Ash and should follow rather than lead, and they both punch each other. The demon tells Kelly to joint hem and chokes her, and Kelly snaps out of the vision and realizes that she’s choking herself. When the demons taunt her, Kelly grabs her gun and opens fire. The walls start bleeding and blood sprays out.
Ash looks for his friends and hears voices in the shadows. He goes over to investigate... and Ruby pops out. He asks why she broke their truce, and Ruby says that she had no choice. She has lost control of her children and they want the Book. Ash isn’t impressed, but Ruby says that she needs his help. She offers him whatever he wants once he helps her. A demon suddenly grabs her and drags her off into the shadows, and Ash goes after them.
The mixed water and blood rises, and Kelly screams for help. A skeleton grabs Kelly and drags her under... but Pablo grabs her and pulls her up. Relieved, she hugs her.
The demon smashes Ruby to the floor and it and two demons move in on her. Ash arrives and ducks back, figuring that Ruby can handle herself. Meanwhile, one of the demons grabs the book Ruby is holding, but realizes that she switched books. It demands to know where the Book is, and it stabs her in the leg. Ruby sees Ash in the shadows and silently pleads with him to help her. After a moment, Ash steps out and they start to charge. Ash shoots two of them, and then disembowels the third one with his chainsaw. It merely smiles and throws Ash back, knocking the shotgun and the Dagger away. The other two get up, their wounds healing, and say that Ash’s story is ending. However, Ruby grabs the Dagger and kills the lead demon. The other two run off, and Ruby tells the first one that she’s sorry. Ash grabs his shotgun and blows its head off, and Ruby hands Ash the Dagger.
Pablo and Kelly arrive, ready to shoot Ruby. Ash says that he’s got it and Ruby admits that she’s made a huge mess. She says that she hid the Book and her children are too powerful to fight on her own. Ruby needs their help to get the Book and send the demons back to Hell, and Ash agrees. He tells his friends that it’s time to go save the world.
Written by Gadfly on Oct 1, 2016