A/N: This is going to be a short story (3 or 4 chapters) of a different version of what could of happened in my Winchester universe. After seeing it again I wanted to be creative and write a new ending for the last episode of season 4, Lucifer Rising. What if he didn't rise? The more I wrote, the more the story grew, so I decided to break it up so I could post sooner and see what you guys think. I hope you enjoy the read and will leave me a review with your thoughts. Enjoy. NC

Chapter 1

She was ten years old when she was lost to the humans. Her life had been filled with nothing but pain and sorrow and disappointment. No one was going to miss her or even think to report her missing. How she ended up in the woods and so far away from civilization, she no longer remembers. The name she was called for ten years was no longer in her memories since it meant nothing to her anymore. What she was called now could not be pronounced with the human tongue. She no longer considered herself a part of humanity since they never did anything to help her during those first ten years of her life.

Alone, lost, and on the verge of dying, the child was found by a very powerful female Shaman who took pity on her and took her in. She nursed the child back to health and began to train her in the rituals of her people. The Shaman was very old, but the powers of her ancestors kept her strong and alive. Their teachings could only be passed to another female worthy of the honor. Even though the young girl was not of her blood or race, the Shaman deemed her pure and strong enough to pass on her teachings, so their traditions would not be lost. The girl eagerly accepted the Shaman's training since this was the first time in her life that she felt loved by anyone. She worked hard and caught on quickly to the Shaman's ways, completely giving herself over to the life. She grew strong and the ancestors accepted her life and rewarded her with their powers.

The girl had been with the Shaman for forty years when the Shaman's time finally came for her to join her ancestors. The new Shaman performed the necessary rituals allowing her to pass from this life to the next and allowed her to pass her knowledge and powers to the girl who was now a woman and the Shaman for the tribe. There were not many who still practiced the old ways, but a few still sought out her wisdom from time to time. She didn't mind the solitude and her way of life and continued with her teachings. She wondered from time to time if she was going to be the last of the Shaman or if another lost child who needed saving would cross her path and she could began the process of passing on the knowledge and power she possessed. She did not see the one who would cross her path in the near future.

spn

The fight between the brothers was bloody and neither would accept defeat until the older brother lay panting for air as his younger brother stood over him, glaring down at him as he drew in long, hard breaths. He knew he had won this battle against his older brother even if he wouldn't accept the fact that this was on him. He had to be the one to do this, he had to kill Lilith. Sam gave his brother, Dean, one final look before heading for the door.

"If you walk out that door...Don't you ever come back!" Dean spat at him in a hoarse, hurting voice.

Sam faltered in his steps as the words struck him like a strong punch to the gut. Those words brought back the memories of another time when their father said the same thing when Sam announced he was going to college. The arguing had almost come to blows before he had gotten his things and left. His father's same words bounced around in his head, Sam squared his shoulders and sucked in a quick breath but never looked back, never saw the look of defeat and regret on his brother's face as tears streamed down Dean's cheeks at the loss of his brother and the regret of what he had just said to Sam. He didn't know why he did it, it wasn't what he meant to say but now it was too late. Sam was gone from him and he didn't know if he could ever get him back or if Sam would even want to come back. He didn't think they could ever have the relationship they once had, he had chosen to go with a demon instead of his own brother. Dean knew that bitch, Ruby, had brainwashed him somehow, probably with the need for the damn blood. He knew Sam was addicted to it in a bad way and Dean didn't know if he could come back from that.

spn

Bobby looked up from his work as a battered Dean let himself into the house. He looked behind him but didn't see the Winchester he hoped to see. His spirit sagged with helplessness knowing there wasn't anything he could do to change whatever had happened between the two brothers. He knew Dean had a temper like his Dad and Sam had a stubborn streak a mile long just like his Dad. No matter how much Sam denied it, he was so much like his Dad in so many ways. He stood and headed to the kitchen to pour them both coffees and added a little whiskey to each cup and was going to try to get Dean to tell him what happened.

"Sit down, drink. You look like you could use it." Bobby told him pushing the cup of coffee toward him.

Dean flopped down in the chair and groaned in pain from the movement. He picked up the coffee and sipped it letting the whiskey hopefully start numbing his hurting body. He didn't speak to Bobby for several minutes as he continued to drink his spiked coffee.

Bobby knew better than to press Dean and let the boy take his time in talking. Nothing shut Dean down faster than trying to push him into doing something he wasn't ready for. You had to have patience with him, not pressure him into doing what you wanted.

"We fought and he left; he made his choice." Dean said just loud enough for Bobby to hear.

"I'm sorry son, but he's still your brother. You know he's blinded right now, he thinks what he's doing is right."

"I told him to choose, that if he walked out that door, not to come back. He knew what he was doing." Dean sneered angrily slamming his cup down on the table and getting up to stand by the sink.

Bobby pursed his lips and stared hard at Dean's back.

"You know you sound just like yer Dad, he was an idjit too and a coward." Bobby told him boldly.

Dean turned slowly around to stare hard at Bobby before answering.

"My Dad may of been a lot of things, but he was no coward."

"Yer Daddy was too afraid to admit he was wrong about Sam and never reached out to him. He should never have thrown him away like that. Just like you should never of said it either. No matter what, Sam's still yer brother and he needs your support and help. You should call him; make things right between the two of you. Dean, you don't know what's going to happen, do you want to carry that burden with you the rest of your life if something happens to him? Don't be like yer Dad, you're better than him Dean." Bobby said quietly trying to reason with him.

Before Dean could answer him, Castiel appeared beside him and spoke three words.

"It's time Dean." he said laying a hand on his shoulder and disappearing with him.

"Damn angels!" Bobby growled slamming his cup down on the table.

spn

Dean stumbled slightly when they suddenly appeared in a fancy decked out room, god knows where. His eyes swept the room taking in the plate of bacon, double cheeseburgers and tub of beer, the kind he liked. There were statues, portraits, velvet covered chairs, all fitting for a king. Dean stepped away from the angel and started to prowl the room trying to figure out where he was. He looked back and saw Castiel had disappeared, leaving him alone in the room. He thought about what Bobby had said and couldn't in good conscious let what happen between them stand. Dean pulled his cell out and was surprised he had a dial tone and quickly punched in his brother's cell number. He listened to it ring and hear Sam's voice.

"This is Sam, leave me a message." his voicemail said before a beep sounded.

"Hey, it's me...Look, I'll just get right to it, I'm still pissed and I owe you a serious beat down...I shouldn't of said what I did. I'm not Dad. We're brothers; family...No matter how bad it gets that doesn't change. Sammy, I'm, sorry..." he ended as a beep cut him off. He just hoped Sam would listen to it and maybe, just maybe call him back. It felt like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders now that he took a step toward making amends with his brother. He just hoped he hadn't waited too long to do that.

spn

He muttered under his breath about dick angels before stiffening and backing up when the other dick angel, Zachariah, popped up in front of him.

"So Dean, you about ready to play your part?" he asked clapping his hands together. "Why don't you have a burger or a beer? We got your favorite brand."

"I'm ready, so where's the bitch at?" Dean asked psyching himself for the task he needed to do.

"Well Dean, that's not actually your part to play, it's your brother who'll be doing that." he told him.

"What do you mean? You told me I was the only one who could take her out." Dean asked as his voice got louder.

"Dean, Dean you have a much more important role to play here. You see Lilith's death is the final seal, Lucifer will rise and the Apocalypse will begin. We will need to strike fast. He will be at his weakest and can be taken down. Michael will slay him, Lucifer and his demons will be destroyed. Then there will be Heaven on Earth for us all."

"Hold on...You mean you want me to say yes to Michael so they can destroy half the planet in some damn childish fight?"

"You are his vessel, his true one. Michael will face Lucifer and there will be a battle. It is inevitable."

Dean looked to the pictures on the wall and saw the archangel Michael in most of them and he was standing over the body of his brother, Lucifer. One had him driving his sword into Lucifer's body. He frowned when it dawned on him what was happening here.

"My brother is Lucifer's vessel and you expect us to fight, don't you? What about all the innocent people that could die in the fall out?"

"Angel on angel, there's bound to be causalities, it's unavoidable. Now your brother has to do his part and you yours."

"I wanna talk to my brother."

"No can do, its too dangerous for you out there, gotta keep you safe now don't we?" Zachariah asked him before vanishing.

Dean's anger was about to explode from his body as he headed for the door to the room only to find it was gone. He looked around the room to find there were not doors, windows, nothing that would let him out of the room. He jerked his cell out and tried to dial his brother, but couldn't get a dial tone. He figured the angels were blocking his call and stuffed it back in his pocket. Dean picked up a statue and used it like a hammer to pound on the wall only to watch the hole disappear. He threw it to the floor in disgust and stomped around looking for any way out.

spn

Sam looked down at the frightened woman he had trapped on the table as the demon let her come forward trying to play on his compassion so he wouldn't kill her.

"Please you have to let me go! I have a husband, a job, please don't hurt me!" she begged, screaming and crying.

"I don't know about this Ruby, maybe I should exorcise the demon from her." Sam said in an unsure voice. He was beginning to have second thoughts about their plan and that was not good for the demon's plan.

"C'mon Sam, we've come this far, we can't stop now. Don't you want your revenge on Lilith?" Ruby asked him, trying to convince him they needed to do this. "We don't have much time Sam. It's gotta be done if you wanna stand a chance against her."

Sam turned away in frustration wishing he could talk to Dean right now.

"You with me Sam?" she asked laying a hand on his arm.

"Alright, let's go." he said pulling the woman from the table and following Ruby out to her car dragging the woman with him. She screamed and fought trying to get away but Sam held tightly to her. He shoved her into the open trunk and slammed the lid down. He went around to the passenger side and got in waiting for Ruby to head out. He glanced at his cell again and saw the voicemail from Dean still waiting for him to listen to it. He ran a finger over the listen button wanting to know what he said, but afraid to listen for fear of what he might have said.

"You might as well listen to it." Ruby told him.

Sam didn't answer her, only shoved the phone back into his pocket and stared out the window at the scenery flying by. They drove in silence that was interrupted by the woman screaming and pounding in the trunk. With each scream and pound Sam cringed and swallowed hard as each wail sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

"I wish she would shut up!" he growled through gritted teeth.

"I can arrange that." Ruby shrugged. "We'll have to stop soon anyway."

Sam didn't say anything as he pinched his lips tightly into a thin line knowing what she meant. Could he do this, sacrifice this woman so he would be strong enough to kill Lilith. Did that make him a monster? Maybe Dean was right, there would be no turning back for him once this was over. He was lost in thought and didn't realize how far they had traveled or that Ruby had stopped the car.

"Sam are we doing this?" she asked pulling him from his thoughts.

"Just give me a moment." he said getting out and walking a short distance away from the car.

"Sam, we don't have much time." she insisted.

"I just need a damn minute!" he yelled at her. He turned away and pulled his cell back out to look at the message. With a trembling finger, he pressed listen and put the phone to his ear.

"One message, press 2 to listen...Listen to me you blood sucking freak...Dad always said I'd either have to save you or kill you. Well I'm giving you fair warning, I'm done trying to save you. You're a monster Sam, a vampire. You're not you anymore and there's no going back..." Dean's voice said from his phone.

Sam's face paled as he listened to the harsh words his brother said in the message. Dean was right, once he did this there would be no coming back for him. He would be dead to his brother or worse Dean would hunt him and kill him. He would accept his fate, but he had to do this first, Lilith had to die.

"Do it." he said not seeing the smug look on Ruby's face. He didn't know she had changed the message that Dean had left to be sure Sam would follow through with the plan.

spn

"Castiel, Cas, get your scrawny ass in here now!" Dean demanded looking around.

"What Dean?"

"Tell me you didn't know about this plan." Dean questioned him.

Castiel had the decency to look away, not able to look him in the eye. He was never good at lying and his facial expression said all Dean needed to know.

"You sonovabitch..." Dean growled at him. "I need to see Sam."

"I can't Dean..."

"So what? I'm a prisoner here? What happened to you Cas? I thought we were friends, that we were family." Dean pressed him. "Why would you do this?"

Castiel couldn't answer him; only bow his head in regret for his role in the angel's plans. Dean was right; the Winchesters were more like family to him than his own angel brothers and sisters. He was experiencing emotions and feeling that he didn't know how to deal with. Castiel left again and Dean threw up his hands in frustration knowing he needed to get out of here to stop his brother from killing Lilith. Sam had no idea he was being used by both sides to set Lucifer free. He paced the room twice, looking for any means of escape. He was turning to make another round when suddenly Castiel was there with his hand clamped tightly over his mouth. He put a finger to his lips in a do not speak action and Dean nodded ok so he would remove the tight grip on his face.

Dean watched closely as Castiel took his sword and sliced his hand so he could use his blood to draw an Enochian symbol on the wall.

"Castiel, what are you doing?" Zachariah demanded as he looked at the two. "You can't..." he started but was blasted away as Castiel pressed his hand to the symbol and mumbled in Enochian.

"We must go, Sam must be stopped." Castiel told him gripping his shirt and taking them away from the green room.

"Where are we?" Dean asked as he looked around spotting a sign that read St Mary's Convent, Ilchester, Maryland.

"Lilith is in there. I can feel her." Cas said looking toward the building. "I have to stop Sam, wait here for me." he said pushing the demon knife into his hands before disappearing.

"Yeah, like that's gonna happen." Dean said looking back at the convent.

spn

Castiel waited on the side of the road and saw the headlights coming his way. He waited until it was closer and blew out the tires causing the vehicle to crash nearby. He walked toward the smoking wreck and watched the female demon crawl from the wreckage, bloody and broken. She tried run but Castiel appeared before her and placed a hand on her head using his grace to destroy her. Blue white light poured from Ruby's eyes, mouth and ears completely vaporizing her demon soul. He let the lifeless body fall to the ground and went back to the car looking for Sam. He looked inside but didn't see him anywhere. He didn't have time to find him now, he needed to get back to the convent and deal with Lilith. She couldn't be killed and let Lucifer free in this world and he had to get to her before anyone else did.

spn

Shadows danced down the hallway from the torches on the wall as Dean quietly made his way down the hall. He had already disposed of two demons that were in his way as he made his way toward the main room of the convent. He knew he couldn't kill her and let Lucifer free, but he could keep her busy maybe until Cas returned. He could see the bright light coming from down the hall and made his way slowly toward it, the demon knife clutched tightly in his hand. He moved closer trying to see inside when he heard a female voice call to him.

"Well you're not the one I was expecting." Lilith said stepping to where she could see Dean just outside the door. "Your brother was supposed to be the one coming here."

"Well, you little plan just backfired, he ain't comin'." Dean said stepping into the room. "I know what you're trying to do and it's not gonna happen bitch."

"Oh come now Dean, you don't think you can stop me do you?" she laughed at him before sending him sliding across the floor and into the wall hard, knocking the breath from him. He struggled trying to free himself as Lilith walked toward him, her white eyes gleaming with malice and evil. She did not see the angel appear behind her as she raised her hand to kill Dean. "When I kill you it will make Sam want to kill me all the more and then my father will be free to claim his vessel."

Before she could strike, Castiel pressed a hand over her mouth and trapped the demon in the body. He spoke the incantation quickly binding the demon soul to the body and putting her in a deep sleep. Dean fell from the wall gasping for air as he looked up at the angel. Castiel took his sword and carved a sigil into her arm that would keep angels and demons from finding her.

"I must take her away where she can not be found by either side who want her dead. I will return for you." he told Dean picking up the limp body.

"Wait Cas, where's Sam?" he gasped hoarsely.

"The car wrecked about a mile down the road. I killed the demon Ruby, but Sam ran. I do not know where he went." he replied.

"Wrecked? Is Sam ok?" he cried out.

"I'm sorry Dean, I don't know. I must go before anyone tries to stop me." he said before disappearing with Lilith's body.

Dean picked up the demon knife and ran out of the room toward the front doors. He had to get to his brother and see if he was ok. All he could see was Sam lying on the side of the road unconscious and bleeding. Dean ran down the road at a fast pace seeing headlights up ahead of him. He stopped at the car and caught his breath seeing the body of Ruby lying off to the side dead. He grabbed her feet and drug her into the brush to conceal her body, throwing leaves and branches over it. He didn't want to explain the condition of the body if a cop happened to come alone. He made his way around the car to the passenger side and saw the door standing open but Sam wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Sam!" Dean yelled looking around the wooded area for his brother. He spotted Sam's duffle in the backseat and jerked it out looking for a flashlight. He found one and armed himself with Sam's extra gun before dropping it back into the car. Dean pulled his cell out and dialed Sam's number waiting for it to ring hoping it might lead him to Sam. He listened to it begin to ring and heard an echo at the edge of the woods. He walked toward the sound and began to look around with the flashlight as he dialed the number again. The cell began to ring off to the right of him and dug around in the leaves and twigs to find Sam's cell. He picked it up and stuck it in his pocket while scanning the area with the light. He saw something dark on some of the leaves nearby and walked closer to check it out and realized it was blood.

spn

The loud explosion of the tires startled Sam and he wasn't prepared for the car spinning and rolling as time seemed slow and he was thrown around in the car until it came to a crushing halt. Dazed and not sure what happened, he got the door opened as he saw Castiel walking toward the car. The only thing he could think to do was run and get away from him. He didn't know how Castiel felt about what he was trying to do and wasn't going to hang around to find out. Sam stumbled for the woods and disappeared into the trees, glancing back and seeing Castiel kill Ruby. Darkness engulfed him almost immediately making it harder for him to see. He wiped his face and felt the wetness of blood running down the side of his face. He clutched his right side wondering if he broke a rib or worse. All Sam knew was he had to get away; he couldn't let Cas find him. He still carried the hex bag in his jacket pocket that Ruby had made him to mask his location from angels and demons. He just hoped it still worked. Branches and shrubs tore at his clothes and slowed him down as he plowed forward in an adrenaline rush. Roots caught at his feet causing him to stumble and fall numerous times aggravating his injuries and bringing tears to his eyes from the pain. Not able to go any further and feeling the world spin around him, Sam's legs gave out and he fell down a small hill into a dry creek bed, landing unconscious at the bottom.