How it began: Dean's p.o.v

After a while, the pain becomes dull - still painful, but more of a constant thrumming rather than unexpected stabs of equal delight and maliciousness. Dean manages to drown it out - his main thought of when he was sixteen. He had met a friend called Jacob who had showed him how to relax, how to really relax - with a bottle of Jack, a puff of weed and a good hard fuck. When Alistair messes with his head by inducing hallucinations of Jacob, it doesn't bother him. It's much better than seeing Bobby or John - or god forbid, Sammy. Despite all the teasing Alistair taunts Dean with, he's never once impersonated Sam. Perhaps because, deep down, he knows the large, metallic, spiky stakes imbedded deep in Deans hands and ankles won't truly stop him. Nothing would top him breaking free of his restraints and ripping Alistair apart. He can handle John and Bobby, but not Sam - not his Sammy.

Dean snaps out of his reverie, his consciousness becoming aware of his surroundings again. The once distant memory of pain becoming much louder, as the heat ups to an extreme level.

"Please no! No! Please!" Dean turns his head - or what's left of it, seeing as his whole face has been skinned - to look at the main writhing in agony. 'He's new' Dean thinks thoughtfully. It's evident from the way he winces at every slice of the knife, and looks pleadingly to the junior demon - Rafe? He's eager to please himself to Alistair, ensuring his hands are steady and every cut it strategically placed on the veins and most sensitive places. Dean turns his head to the other side, a woman this time. She looks young, around 20ish. She obviously made a demon deal and either died young, or sold her soul real easy. She holds her own on the rack though, Dean has to admit. The whole six hours of the new day, she hasn't moaned once - but now she's being tag teamed, causing the hidden moans and screams to flood out. Whilst one demon, Cole, works on her thigh, pulling out her veins like string, another demon - Khan- peels the skin of her throat away very carefully. She throws her head back in pain "aaargh of fu-" her screams cut off with a soaking wet, gurgle as Khan rips out her vocal cords. Unable to scream, she mouths soundlessly. Dean finds it amusing that every word she attempts to say I "dick" "fuck" "itch" or some other variation of it. Dean smiles and catches her eyes. The anger in her bright blue eyes dims and

Is replaced with what seems to be similar amusement. Dean's eyes turn back to Alistair, who has returned with a vat full of acid. Alistair smirk viciously, he takes out a syringe in one hand and a large knife in another - first he puts the acid and a large syringe...

"So Dean" his voice drawls, causing shivers to be invoked all over Dean's body. "How we doing today? Any thoughts on joining me Deano?" the nickname John used for him causes Dean to feel sick, but he's heard every day for near enough 30 years so he can handle it.

"Does it look like I have?" he deadpans, causing Alistair to laugh. "No dean, I thought not"

Using the razor knife, Alistair carefully slices open dean's insides and grabs hold. Taking the needle, he injects it into the intestines and dean moans in agony. Alistair simply laughs, but the looks in his eyes says the da is far from over, after all, dean has 18 hours left.

By the end of the unexplainable torture, dean's entire lower half is devoid of any flesh and his upper half is left in shreds. As Alistair and the following demons all go to receive Lilith's word - what fucking stupid idea is that? Demons have assemblies? - Every human on the rack releases a sigh of relief. "Hey" a female voice catches dean's attention, he turns to look at the female he noticed before.

"Hey" he murmurs, raising an eyebrow.

"How you doing?" she asks him.

"Well" he drawls, "I was tortured for 24 hours" he leads on, allowing her to laugh at her mistake.

"Emma darling" she offers to him. He smiles in response and offers "dean Winchester" her eyes widen at his name. "Wow, the demons do not like you"

"I know, that's the understatement of the year" he replies sarcastically.

"So I heard Alistair" she begins hesitantly. "He offers you the chance to get off the rack too?"

"Too?" dean asks

"Alistair see's promise in me" she says rudely, obviously angry at Alistair.

The next day begins again. After 24 hours of constant torture, once dean's throat is hoarse and he replies negatively to Alistair's question, Alistair walks to Emma. "Darling" he leers, "do you want to get off the rack?" he rasps. She weakly shakes her head. "Are you sure?" he asks, his voice suddenly nice. "But what about sweet little Amy? Your little sister?" Emma's eyes widen, just as deans does. "Look at it this way" he starts, gaining her attention "if you keep saying no, she'll eventually get old and die. And you won't see her again."

"BUT, but" he emphasises, "if you become a demon, then you can one day go up and see her. Would you like that?" Emma nods silently. Alistair smiles. "Would you like to get off the rack?"

"Yes" she says, her voice suddenly strong. As her narked body suddenly rematerializes, she takes Alistair's hand and is pulled up. As she's led away, she looks pityingly and hopefully at dean who minutely nods at her.

Another few years pass by, and dean is able to withstand the torture silently now. But it's not just Alistair who tortures him anymore, its Emma too. He's taken a unique liking to Emma, whom he takes every opportunity to coach in the art of torture. As Emma becomes intimately familiar with deans body - and not in the way he'd like - they begin to form a bond. As the years pass, both Emma and dean confess to one another. Although they are not friends by any standards, they are confidants. That's why, one day, Emma looks at him with undisguised fear in her eyes and he is understandably shocked as Emma plunges her knife into his stomach, he checks to see they're not being watched, and leans in discreetly.

"I heard" she begins low, "something about your brother and Lilith." her eyes meet deans shocked ones. "Lilith wants to release Lucifer from hell. And she wants to do it using your brother." dean mouths wordlessly "she's apparently got a demon whose been infiltrating your brothers little group. Ruby?" she asks hesitantly. Dean in instantly furious. Anger builds in his chest.

"Listen" Emma snap quietly. "She's got your brother drinking demon blood. He's addicted AND John and Bobby trust her"

Dean sighs in sadness. What's he going to do? How can he save Sam? He voiced his thoughts aloud and Emma bites her lip in response. "I have a suggestion, but you might not like it. What would you do for Sam?"

"Anything" dean replies hoarsely.

"Well then, here's what you need to do. When Alistair offers to come off the rack. Say yes! Ask him to teach you. Then convince him to help you overthrow Lilith and become king. Then its smooth sailing from there on out.

Dean looked wordlessly at her. Her suggestion as nuts. Crazy! But it could work. "Okay" he relented. "Torture me as much as you like today, because tomorrow you won't get another chance." Emma smiles viciously and gets to work, laughing with every slice.

"Hey dean, thought anymore?" comes Alistair's familiar question.

"Yes. I have, I want to get off the rack" dean looks on in glee at the astonished look on Alistair's face. But the shock was soon replaced with glee. Glee because dean was the first seal. Oh yeah, he knew about that too.

And so, with Emma and Alistair standing behind him, he plunged his knife into the fragile soul of the man on the rack. With every drop of his blood, each one of them had a look on their face. Alistair looked proud. Emma looked uncertain. Dean looked determined.