Demonkind

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Supernatural and I'm not making any money from this fic

Summary: Four years after Dean's death, he's freed from hell, only to possess a human woman. The problem is that all of his humanity's been burned away...

Prompt chosen: 19 – cockiness, dark, temptation

Implement: Hand, belt

Story Type: Probable AU; mostly gen with some het

Warning(s): Probable Alternate Universe; spoilers for all episodes of all seasons – up until season 3, at least; original characters; torture; rape; swearing; spanking

It took him a few moments to realise that he was no longer in hell. The lack of burning pain was a major giveaway. He was staring at a ceiling, with no idea of how he had got into this room. Something tugged at the edge of his mind, but when he tried to look closer, the images slipped away.

"Mom?"

He took his eyes off the ceiling, and glanced towards the doorway, where a dark-haired girl of maybe ten or eleven was standing. She was rubbing sleepily at her eyes. "I had a dream that something happened to you."

Prophetic dreams... That felt like it should mean something. But trying to remember just made his head hurt. One thing was clear – unless his host had had some kind of sex change, he was possessing a woman. This was wrong on so many levels... But no one was supposed to know that anything had changed.

At least, that was what he'd learned.

"Nothing's happened; I'm fine. Did you want to get into the bed?"

The girl gave him a look as if she thought he was crazy. "No. I'm not five years old. If you're fine, I'm going back to bed. I have school tomorrow. Not sure what you're doing awake. Remember you have to drop me off, and you have work as well." Shaking her head, she opened the door and walked out of the room.

"Looks like it's the terrible teenage years already," he muttered.

Don't hurt my daughter!

He closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he was inside the host's mind. Well, actually, he appeared to be in a large cave with numerous passages – as opposed to a hallway with lots of doors, which he assumed would be inside most people's minds.

A slim, dark-haired woman was standing in front of him. He had no idea what he looked like here, but from the way she gasped and took a step back, he guessed that it wasn't pleasant. That was fine by him, though. There was a time when he might have wanted to appear attractive to the opposite sex, but no longer. Besides – although he was perfectly happy watching girl-on-girl action – for some reason, he didn't want to actually experience it. That would be too weird.

But this? This could work...

He took a step forward, tilting his head slightly as the woman stood her ground. "Am I possessing a witch?"

"I'm not a witch – but it's not like I'm going to just stand here and let you take over my body." The woman narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not going to let you hurt my daughter. If I have to, I'll fight you."

Her words amused him like very little else had. "You're going to fight me? Do you actually know what I am, sweetheart?" As he stepped closer to her, he continued, "I'm your worst nightmare. The monsters under your bed are real – I'm sure you lied to your daughter about them when she woke up screaming." He reached out and lightly brushed his fingertips over her cheek. "Bad girl."

The woman trembled, but didn't move backwards. She met his eyes steadily. "My name's Sydney. My daughter's is Phoenix."

He shook his head at her. "That only works in films. You're not going to make me see you as anything other than prey." He slipped a hand behind her back and pushed her forward, leaning in to whisper in her ear. "You're a prisoner in your own mind. I can do whatever I like to you."

"If you're possessing me, you can't do too much, right?" Sydney asked, sounding more hopeful than anything else.

"Don't believe everything you hear about." He moved his hand to her chin and tipped it up. "One of the things I'm going to miss is sleeping with women." He smirked. "But then again, you're here – and it's not like you can escape me."

Sydney backed away – or tried to. His hand came up and closed around her wrist, effectively trapping her. "This place is like a maze. If I hid, you wouldn't be able to find me – at least for a very long time. Besides, I'm sure you have plenty of other – and better – things to do with your time."

"I don't really want to do anything else right now." Still holding her wrist with one hand, he lightly scraped his fingers down her cheek. Then, he leaned in and kissed her hard. When she tried to pull back, he nipped at her lip and then slipped his hand up underneath her blouse.

"Get off!" Sydney pulled back, slapping his hand away.

He backhanded her across the face with enough force to rock her head back. "Wouldn't you prefer me to be with you rather than your daughter?" he asked with deceptive gentleness.

Sydney blinked a few times, obviously dazed by the blow. Her eyes filled with tears which didn't fall. "I guess so," she whispered. Though she flinched when he took her wrist again, she didn't pull away.

He kissed her again, cupping her chin lightly. As he did so, he could taste the tears that trickled out of her eyes. This time, when he slid his hand up under her blouse, she didn't pull away, even though she tensed up. He let go of her wrist and reached up to unclasp her bra. After dropping it to the ground, he all but tore her blouse off.

When he pushed her to the ground, it wasn't gentle – but he ignored her gasp of pain as she hit the rocky surface.

Afterwards, he lay there with his arm over her body, listening to the quiet sobs. He knew that he should feel satisfied – but a small part of him regretted it. It was probably an after-effect of his humanity.

He didn't feel nearly as good as he should have.

"Stop crying," he said. "It's not like you've never done it before." He stood up and started pulling his clothes on, wanting to slap some sense into Sydney – but deciding not to. It wasn't worth the energy. "You have a kid – you must have done it before. Unless you adopted her, of course."

Sydney rolled over onto her stomach and buried her face in her arms. She was still naked, and didn't seem to be inclined to get dressed any time soon. He leaned over, and swatted her lightly. "You're going to be distracting while you're just lying there without any clothes on." He picked up her blouse, bra, and skirt, and dropped them onto her. "Get dressed. I have things to do."

"You said that you missed sleeping with women," Sydney mumbled without looking up. "Have you possessed men before?"

He glanced at her, about to tell her it was none of her business. But her question triggered something. He knew that he'd been human once, but that was as far as it went. Every time he tried to remember, it hurt. Now, though, he could dredge up a name. "Bobby Singer." He put a hand to his forehead as more pain shot through it. Not only that, but there was the nagging feeling of guilt...

"Get some clothes on – and keep out of my sight."

Sam heard his phone ring and immediately answered it, as he kept one hand on the steering wheel and his eyes on the road. "Bobby, that had better be you."

"Yeah, it's me," the other hunter replied.

"Tell me you've got something." Sam's fingers clenched on the steering wheel. Even though he'd been told that he may as well give up, he wasn't going to. It had been four years... He needed to get his brother back somehow – or at least see him again. His dad might have walked out of hell free, but Dean probably wouldn't be that lucky.

"Well, as you know, I contacted some people. They've been keeping both eyes and ears open, and it seems that they've discovered some nasty vendetta against a woman. Obviously, someone really hates her, since they summoned a demon from hell to possess her. It might not be Dean, but it's the best lead we have."

Sam's hand tightened on the steering wheel as he remembered his brother's pale, cold body. Who knew how much Dean had changed after four years in hell? How long would it take for his humanity to be completely burned away? Would there be anything of his older brother left?

Of course, that was all assuming it really was Dean...

"Where is he?" Sam asked.

"In Dana, Iowa. I'll meet you there. Don't do anything dangerous," Bobby cautioned. "You won't be able to help your brother if you wind up dead."

"Yeah, whatever." Sam disconnected the call without bothering to say goodbye.

For long moments after the demon had left, Sydney couldn't do anything other than lie there, bruised and aching. The tears slipped out of her eyes and left tracks on her cheeks. Why were so many bad things happening to her right now? All she wanted to do was lie curled up on the hard ground and cry herself to sleep – but she didn't dare be there when he came back.

Slowly, as rational thought began to trickle back, Sydney remembered the name. Bobby Singer? Why had he said the name? What was the point in it?

It didn't matter, anyway. She didn't know how long it would be before he'd get back, so it would be a good idea for her to get dressed and disappear. Wincing, she slowly got to her feet and started pulling her clothes on. Her movements were slow and painful, but she managed to get dressed and then slipped down one of the passageways.

It didn't look like it was very long, but as Sydney walked down the passage, she appeared to no longer be inside a cave. It changed so that she was in a bar. There were a lot of people around, but her attention was drawn to a man who was buying drinks for two or three women. There was something familiar about him. He made her think of the demon which had just...

She couldn't even think the word.

Sydney had no idea what was real and what wasn't, but what she wanted right now was to have a cold drink. She walked up to the bartender, who nodded to her. "What'll it be?"

"Blue WKD," Sydney answered. She combed her fingers through her hair while she waited. Since she was still a prisoner in her own mind, it made sense that she was experiencing a memory – but it certainly wasn't hers. But a bar wasn't something she'd expect a demon to have a memory of – not without a lot of violence and chaos, at least.

When the drink was put in front of her, Sydney opened it and drank it down very quickly. She needed to forget...

"Well, you look like you need cheering up."

Sydney glanced up and saw that the man had come over to her. She looked away again, not up to talking to anyone – let alone someone who reminded her of that demon. "Go away," she said.

"Can I buy you a drink?" He seemed to be taking it as a challenge more than anything else. "My name's Dean, by the way." He nodded to the bartender. "I'll have a whiskey – you just get my friend here another of the same. I'm a movie producer," he added to Sydney. "Looking into the local talent with my brother – the giant over there." He pointed to another man sitting at a table with some newspapers in front of him and basically looking like he'd rather be anywhere else but there.

"Like I've never heard that before," Sydney muttered. She looked at him. "I'm not interested, so just go away and leave me alone."

"What did I do to you?"

Sydney shook her head. "This is a memory. I'm trapped inside my own mind, with a demon possessing my body who just fucking mind-raped me!"

"Sh!" Dean glanced around, putting a finger to her lips. "You shouldn't say that here." He relaxed, as no one was looking in their direction. "You got a problem with a demon? My brother and I can help." He kept his voice barely above a whisper. "We're hunters."

Sydney just shook her head. "I really don't need this right now." She grabbed the drink, and walked back the way she'd come. As she did so, the bar faded back into the cave.

Maybe she could go find a happier memory and stay there for a while.

Sydney headed out of the passageway, half-expecting the demon to be there waiting for her. She was relieved when she found that it wasn't, and then quickly walked down one of the other passageways. She could do this until she found a good memory that she could stick with.

If only there was a way she could be sure her daughter was safe...

"So, I'm going round Macy's tonight," Phoenix said when he dropped her off at the school. "Her dad will bring me back after school tomorrow. I'm not quite sure what time – but you have her house number anyway. You can call if anything comes up, 'kay?" She opened the door and got out.

He nodded. "See you later." He didn't really know what else to say. It wasn't like he'd ever done this before. Playing happy families wasn't something he'd had experience in before. "Take care of yourself. Don't do anything stupid. You got all your homework?"

Phoenix rolled her eyes. "Yes, I've got all my homework. Bye, Mom. See you tomorrow."

He waited until she'd gone into the school, and then pulled out of the parking space. He didn't really like the car. He'd prefer it if he had a Chevy Impala. Something else that was left over from memories of living as a mortal? He wanted to cause some kind of chaos, but another – smaller – part of him preferred to go back to the house and get some coffee and see if there was any junk food around.

Causing chaos could wait.

As he glanced out of the window, he thought he saw a human's visage twist to reveal a nightmarish face underneath. The thought that that was probably what he really looked like now didn't bother him anymore. He was free of hell now, and hoped to stay that way. Of course, he wasn't sure just how he'd escaped from hell. The gates had been opened once, but he didn't remember what had brought him out.

Maybe it simply didn't matter...

Sydney sat at a table in the coffee shop, a Coke in front of her. She was just playing with the straw, and making no attempt to talk to any of the other people – especially the two brothers, who seemed to be talking about a case. She leaned forward and took a sip, but was simply going through the motions. At least she seemed to be more or less safe here. She just didn't want any of them to talk to her.

"Hey, I've seen you somewhere before."

Sydney glanced up and frowned as she saw the same person from before – Dean, wasn't it? "I already told you that I don't want to talk," she muttered. "So why don't you just leave me alone?"

"You're not with anyone?" Dean sat down on the chair opposite her. "The demon still there? My brother and I can take care of it – and we don't even charge." He leaned forward slightly. "This isn't a come-on – well, not much of one, anyway. I've been doing this since I was four years old, near enough."

Sydney just shook her head. "You can't help me. You're not real. You don't exist." She shoved the glass across the table. "I must be losing my mind."

"You know, I'm not good at this stuff. I should get my brother over to talk to you." Dean started to stand up.

"What's the point? I doubt an exorcism will work inside my mind." Sydney stood up, backing away from the table. "Besides... you're the demon who's inside me!" The resemblance between them both was obvious, even though the demon had a distorted appearance.

"What?" Immediately, Dean was on his feet. He started to reach out to her, but then hesitated, glancing briefly at his brother. "Look... an exorcism will get rid of any demon. My brother – Sam – will be looking, and he'll know. Just make sure he doesn't tattoo any marks on you so that it binds him into your body."

Sydney backed away from him. "Why should I listen to anything you say?"

"Don't listen to me – don't believe me. But you'll be safe, I promise." Dean looked at her. "You just need to be able to hold on a little while longer. Sam doesn't give up. I won't say we're the best, but we're definitely close." He smiled, and there was no humour in it. "You don't have to do anything."

"I have a daughter."

"Shit." Dean glanced away a moment, thinking. "If you can, get control long enough to get your daughter out of the way."

"She's already staying at a friend's house." Sydney shuddered at the thought of having to make a bargain with the demon. If she had to in order to save her daughter, she would. "Why are you trying to help me? You and the demon are the same person."

"Let's just say that I know what I'm going to become," Dean answered grimly. "Being in hell burns all your humanity away and turns you into a demon. There was one exception – maybe. It looks like I'm all that's left of what used to be Dean Winchester." He shook his head slightly. "I'm starting to remember what happened. Next time he comes here, you call for me. I'll protect you. Understand?"

Sydney wrapped her arms around herself and stared at him. "I don't know if I can trust you."

Dean didn't look surprised. "Yeah, I can imagine that trust would be the last thing on your mind right now."

Sydney glanced at the door of the cafe and then back at him. At least he wasn't trying to get closer to her. She still didn't understand anything of what was going on – but if he was telling the truth, then rescue wasn't that far away.

"Are you going to finish that Coke? You probably need the caffeine – even if it is only in your mind."

Sam opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling, blinking a few times. It had been years since he'd had one of those dreams. He wasn't sure if it had been real or not, but... It had seemed like someone was calling for help.

And if it was true, then he knew who Dean was inside...

As Sam started to pull his shoes on, he heard a knock on the door. He glanced up, and then walked over to open the door. Bobby was standing outside. "Come in," Sam said dully, stepping back slightly.

"How are you holding up?" Bobby asked.

"I want to find Dean," Sam replied. Of course, he knew that it probably wouldn't be the same Dean he knew. Even if all his humanity hadn't been burned away, who knew how much he'd changed? "I think I know who Dean's possessing. I just had one of those dreams. They've not been wrong before." Sam didn't know what had made the dreams come back, but he was relieved about it. No matter what they signified about him, at least they meant that he would be able to see his brother again.

Even though Dean would have changed.

"How much can you trust those dreams?" Bobby studied Sam's face. "Didn't Ruby say that your powers were lying dormant? What brought them back?"

Sam shook his head. "I don't care. At least it makes things easier for us."

"That's what worries me."

Sam walked over to the bed and picked up his things. "I'm pretty sure I know where he'll be heading towards. If we hurry, we'll be able to get there before he does. I have a plan which I think will work."

He unlocked the front door and sighed lightly as he walked inside, brushing one hand over the blood-soaked blouse his host was wearing. The screams of the woman he'd killed echoed through his mind, better than anything he'd ever enjoyed as a human. Briefly, he wondered if Sydney had been watching. It would have been torture for her to see someone being killed and not be able to do anything about it.

He was just getting a beer out of the fridge when he sensed something. Turning, he smiled slightly as he saw who it was standing in the doorway. "Hello, Sammy. I knew it wouldn't be long before you tracked me down here."

"Dean." Sam shook his head. "No. You're not my brother."

"How can you say that, Sam? You know me. I've been to hell and back – but it's not like I possessed this woman by choice. Someone forced me into her. If I could go back, I would. But it's terrible there, Sam. Just like they said it was."

Sam hesitated, wavering a little.

He pressed his advantage. "It'll be just like old times – except for the fact that I'm a chick; which really is weird. But the host – Sydney – is perfectly safe. You can even talk to her, if you want. She understands the situation."

"There's blood on your blouse," Sam said, his eyes widening as he took it in. "You're not Dean," he insisted.

"Humans are weak, Sam." He took a step closer to his brother. "The power of life and death over them is such a rush. You should try it, Sammy. Humans are weak. They're not like me – they're not even like you. It's not too late to seize your destiny. Together, we can raise an army of demons, enough to bring Lilith and her servants down." He took another step closer, and then felt himself grabbed from behind. He threw off his assailant, but when he tried to move, found that he couldn't.

"It's like a Devil's Trap in a necklace," Bobby said, coming to stand by Sam and rubbing his side. "Do it."

Sam started to read from the book.

Dean jerked, and Sydney recoiled from the sudden movement, ready to try and run. But he didn't come after her, and instead said, "I told you my brother would be here. I want you to stay here. The demon will try and lodge in your soul. I'll stop it."

"But won't that mean you'll go back to hell as well?"

"Better than staying here and hurting people." Dean nodded to her. "You'll get your body back." Without giving her a chance to reply, he quickly ran towards the door of the cafe and simply disappeared.

Sydney set the coke on the table, and shuddered a little. She should feel relieved, but she wasn't sure what she felt. Once Dean and the demon were gone, her life would be a lot easier. Everything could go back to normal; if she even knew what that was anymore. She didn't need to do anything else.

As that occurred to her, though, the cafe changed. She was standing at a crossroads, and Dean was there – but he didn't seem to see her. As she watched, a woman appeared in front of him. It took her a few moments to realise that Dean was bargaining with her – for his brother's life. His brother was the reason for him going to hell.

And now, his brother was going to have to send him back.

As the scene played out, Sydney made a decision. After she'd finished watching the memory, the crossroads disappeared – and she was standing in the passageway. Without giving herself a chance to change her mind, she started to run back. As she did so, she heard someone chanting in a language that sounded vaguely like Latin. It got louder as she moved, until it was almost deafening as she found herself in the main part of the cave, where Dean was struggling with the demon.

As the chanting rose to a crescendo, Sydney lunged. The demon and Dean started to disappear, but she wrapped her arms around Dean, trying to hold him even as his form grew vague and indistinct.

"Don't." Dean struggled to get free of her. "You'll bring the demon back as well."

"You're not the demon," Sydney whispered fiercely. "You're not the demon." And she finally let herself look directly at him – at the hazel eyes which were exactly like her daughter's – before everything started to shake and tremble.

"Dean? Dean!"

Dean's eyes slowly opened. "Sydney?" he whispered, before gasping at the pain from his wounds. Sam was staring down at him, confusion mixed with relief; and it took Dean a few moments to realise that they were back in the possessed village. He briefly wondered if he was dreaming – but decided that the pain was too real for that to be a possibility.

"We need to get you to a hospital." Sam's eyes flickered briefly towards Ruby. "The demons?"

"They're gone; but they will be back." The blonde demon was on her feet now, directing a hostile glance at Dean. "I suppose you want me to give you a hand moving him." She moved to Sam's side and helped him lift up the limp form of his brother. "You know she'll be back. You haven't won anything."

"Right now, I'm more concerned with getting Dean medical help."

Dean closed his eyes again, Sam's words chasing him back into unconsciousness.

"Hey, Dean? What's wrong?" Sam asked his brother, who was staring out of the window. Dean was being really quiet; had been ever since he'd got out of the hospital, with only a few scars to show just how near to death he'd come. He didn't even want to go out drinking – and for Dean, that was serious.

"I screwed up, Sam."

Sam blinked. "How did you screw up? You're alive now – and that whole thing with Sydney must have been some kind of dream or hallucination."

"She was real – but that's not the point." Dean turned to face his brother. "What I did to her? I possessed her; raped her. I violated her. Even if she doesn't remember... and she still tried to save me when you were performing an exorcism." He slammed his fist into the wall. "I feel guilty as hell. I don't know how I came back – but I do know one thing. I sure as hell don't deserve it."

"Dean..." Sam's voice trailed off; he had no idea what to say. It sounded like his brother needed to feel like he'd paid for what had happened, but Sam didn't know how to do that. Well, unless he...

Dean stared at him. "You know what, Sam? I need to find Sydney. But before that, I need to pay for what I did. And I'm sure you know what I mean."

Swallowing, Sam nodded slightly. Really, he shouldn't be surprised. Even when they were kids, Dean had taken more guilt on himself than he needed. When that happened, he'd played up until their dad had had no choice but to spank him. At least he'd learned to ask... But Sam didn't want to hurt his brother. The only thing that decided him was the fact that Dean needed this. "Take off your trousers and underwear, then, and come over here."

Dean obeyed without a word. As he walked over, Sam took off his belt and laid it on the bed beside him. Without being told, Dean leaned across his brother's lap.

Sam was half-tempted to deliver merely a token spanking. However, he knew that wouldn't help Dean. There was no point in scolding, so Sam simply started spanking both hard and fast. Dean lay still without trying to block the scalding smacks, only his shuddering and jerking even showing that he was feeling it.

Ignoring the sting in his palm, Sam continued, watching Dean's bottom blush pink and then darken in colour. After several long minutes, he heard Dean's breath hitch in quiet sobs. There was a sinking feeling in Sam's stomach as he reached over to pick up the belt, doubled it over, and brought it down hard across his brother's bottom.

Dean jerked slightly, but didn't try to get up. After ten blows with the belt, he just put his head down and let the tears fall. Sam dropped the belt, and helped his brother up. "It's all right. It's all right." He hugged Dean tightly, relieved when his brother didn't resist the embrace and simply let Sam hold him.

"She's a real person, Sam... And someone's out to get her," Dean whispered finally.

Sam nodded, choosing not to argue with him. "We'll find her," he promised.

The End