Legalities: Supernatural does not belong to me, although I wish it did. I am simply playing in Kripke's sandbox for a bit. All rights and ownership are the property of Kripke and the CW network. I am not making any money from this; it is for my own personal pleasure.

Idea: This little fiction has a story line, but it is unabashed hurt!Dean with extremely angsty!Sam and worried!John. This is purely a selfish little piece that I decided to share. I wanted to focus on Deans recovery and how one would come back from this type of situation. Especially when Dean would internalize everything...

Also, this is a very dark little piece of fiction, so please read all warnings at the start of the chapters and don't read it if you're not into that.

Synopsis: Third part in a trilogy, Dean has defeated the Pandora evil but he has lasting physical limitations as a result of the trials. Sam has graduated from high school and their father will be sending them on a hunt that will bring Dean full circle with where this trilogy started. Through this last hunt Dean will struggle to repair the damage to his body and Sam will struggle to save both of them from a creature that none of them saw coming.

Warnings: This story will contain everything from intense emotional situations, graphic depictions of present and past torture to intense angst. If you don't like this type of thing….don't read this story. I would suggest reading 'Gone Missing' and 'Missing the Hunt' first as they will set the scene for this story.

Please Review: Thanks to any guests and others that can't sign in...I really appreciate that you guys continue taking the time to let me know what you are thinking about the progression of the story.

WARNING...Mentions of violence and gore throughout, this might bother some people so consider yourself warned...there is quite a lot of ANGST in this story...as a matter of fact...I think all my chapters have a large helping of angst...and some hurt Sam and Dean...so be prepared...don't like...don't read.

Chapter 10

Sysiphos and the Cerberus

Sam's anxiety had gone through the roof when he saw Dean's wound. He was so tired of watching Dean suffer and there just didn't seem to be a damn thing that he could do to stop it. They'd suffered so much already, how were they supposed to deal with another set-back? He reached up and pinched at the bridge of his nose in frustration, he could feel a headache coming on. Sam's eyes flickered over to where Pastor Jim was kneeling quietly over his brother's prone form and dabbing carefully at the blackened edges of the puncture wound in Dean's thigh. His brother's body was shaking slightly as Sam leaned down to grab the coat and place it back over Dean's chest.

"Sammy?" Dean said quietly. His eyes rolled as he searched for his little brother, finally settling on the concerned face of his brother. "You okay?" It didn't matter what Dean's physical state was, his first priority would always be Sammy…it was damn near encoded into his DNA at this point.

Sam's eyes shifted and then he gulped back the anxious emotions flooding through him. He hated that he couldn't help Dean and it didn't seem to matter if he was there on the hunts or not. Dean still seemed to attract some of the most rotten bad guys that they had ever dealt with. Bobby stepped forward and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Sam, we need to get Dean out of here. He ain't looking too good and I'd like to get back to my books and find a cure." His voice was gruff but determined, with a hint of kindness layered in for good measure.

"You can't." A voice interrupted them. "Cure him…that it..."

Sam's eyes flashed up and his mouth dropped open in a silent 'o'. There standing not twenty feet from where they were sitting was a man. He was leaning against a gnarled cane with a deep yellow stone imbedded in the tip of the wood. Sam's eyes narrowed when he realized that the man wasn't leaning on the cane, he was simply holding it. He looked to be younger than their father, with jet black hair and armor that was blackened at the edges. But it was his eyes that really got Sam's attention. They were a disturbing shade of green. Not like Dean's, a mossy forest green. But a lighter almost pale green with a silver outer layer that made them stand out against his pale skin.

"Who are you?" Sam growled as he gripped the sword more tightly, ignoring the flare of pain in his arm. His gaze flickered over to where Dean's eyes had shifted, trying to see the man more clearly and his brother looked angry. Dean was already starting to try and struggle to his knees, Pastor Jim was holding him down.

The man smiled. "I am Thanatos…and the woman that you killed earlier? That was my youngest daughter." His smile died on his slightly parted lips and a sneer lifted the edges of his mouth, showing brilliant white teeth and an undercurrent of evil. "I'm afraid that neither of you can leave this field. Not until, either we are dead…or you are." He shifted and moved forward in a smooth gate that wasn't natural on the uneven terrain of the field. "Cerberus." He called into the air.

Sam's eyes swiveled and then widened in shock when he saw movement off near the edges of the forest. He squinted as he continued to look and then started to lean back when he saw the animal moving at a steady pace through the forest. It was jet black with muscles rippling along the four large legs. The heads…and holy crap there are three heads! Sam thought. Each of the massive heads was growling, the lips pulled back in a vicious looking snarl. Dean's eyes followed his brothers and he pushed at Jim's hands as he forced his body into a sitting position. There was no way in hell his little brother was facing some demon dog without his help.

Bobby took a step back when he heard the deep resonating sound echo through the field. "What the hell…?" He said as he glanced over where the boys were each watching the dog in rapt interest.

"Oh, and this is Cerberus…he really dislikes humans." The God straightened up and then spoke in a language neither brother understood. The black mass of hound began making its way across the long field. "I doubt you'll make it past him…but if you do, I'll be waiting." He turned and then looked back as an after-thought. "And you might want to hurry…because your brother doesn't have much time before the poison from the Minotaur's manages to kills him…and then….his soul is mine for the reaping." Sam blinked and the man was gone, he turned and stared at his brother. He felt the panic built at the thought of anything laying claim to his brother's soul. Let alone some creature bent on torture and destruction.

Dean was struggling against the pain in his body as he forced his broken form to rise from the ground. He was hunching over, with his arm wrapped protectively around his ribs. He was also careful to keep the majority of his weight off the injured leg, but he was holding a wicked looking ax; the end driven into the soil as a cane of sorts. And the determination that was reflecting out of his green gaze was something that Sam had begun to wonder if he would ever see again. But there in the wound expression on Dean's face was a remnant of the snarky man he'd been before the kidnapping three years ago.

"Dean?" He asked. Sam's eyes were taking turns watching his brother and keeping an eye on the black dog as it slowly approached them. The damn thing didn't seem to be in any sort of hurry and it was watching the small group with an intelligence that shouldn't have been evident in a dog. And it was fucking huge! The thing stood nearly as tall as Sam when it raised its heads and sniffed the air.

"I'm okay, Sammy." Dean stammered. He shifted his weight and ground his teeth together, but managed to step closer to Sam. "Let's just kill this bitch." His voice was steadier than Sam had heard it since the incident in the mountains.

Bobby stepped forward, grabbing a shotgun in one hand and a long bowie knife in the other. "It's gotta go through more than just you boys." The gruff old hunter was determined and set his feet apart in a fighting stance.

"We're not leaving this place. And we're not leaving you boys alone…no matter what your daddy did." Pastor Jim stated evenly, the last part almost said as an after-thought.

Dean's eyes flashed over to meet the religious mans in a silent rebuke. He hated it when anyone said anything negative about their father…even their closest friends. Sam simply rolled his eyes and shifted his attention back to the slowly approaching animal. The beast had fallen into total silence and stealthily approached as he simply breathed into the chilly air. The mist of water vapor from its breaths hanging momentarily before disappearing as its enormous head passed through the cloud, breaking it apart.

"DEAN! SAM!" A voice Dean would have known anywhere rang through the field. His head snapped in the direction of the rugged call and his eyes widened when he recognized his father's lumbering gate. John was coming in from the opposite direction of the hound and he was trudging angrily through the muddy soil. There was just enough light for Dean to make out the complex emotions running across his father's face.

"Dad?!" Sam called. He shifted his eyes momentarily to Dean's and sighed when he saw the blank expression back in place on his brother's face. They both knew the arrival of their father was a good thing, because they were definitely in over their heads here. But it also meant a lecture at some point about the fact that he'd had to end his own hunt early and come to help them. He swallowed and glanced back at the hound. It had stopped and was watching the small band of men with rising interest.

John closed the distance, his eyes never leaving the animal that was threatening his boys. "Sam, what the hell happened?" His blue eyes flickered over to where Dean was obviously injured and struggling to remain upright. "Dean? You okay?"

Dean didn't answer, he simply nodded and continued to keep his expression neutral and his teeth clenched together. He had no intention of letting either his brother or his father see the pain that he struggling to control. A white hot agony was spreading outward from his thigh and it was making his other muscles bunch together. He watched as his father tilted his head to the side and shot him a disapproving look. Dean knew that his father disliked it when he didn't answer straight, but frankly, at the moment he just wasn't in a state of mind to care all that much.

Sam watched the interaction with an appraising eye. He knew that his brother wasn't doing all that well, as far as the injuries went. But beyond that…Dean was actually better than he had been in a long time. He swiveled his gaze back to the where the hound had again started toward them.

"Dad, we're not sure what we're dealing with here." Sam said.

"It's a pissed off version of a hell hound, Sam. We know what it is…oh and it has three heads." Dean answered as he limped over to where Sam was standing.

"Really, Dean." Sam said in a tight voice.

Jim and Bobby moved to surround Dean as John joined the small group. They had each made the move slowly, so as to avoid startling the hound. It snarled and pawed at the ground, the long nails pulling deep swaths in the dirt. "You girls done yapping? Can we kill this thing now?" The older hunters voice cut through the stagnant air and pulled everyone's attention back to the problem that had just squatted down and growled again. The large luminous eyes of the three heads were radiating a reddish color and there were long silvery strings of saliva slipping down the things razor sharp teeth.

Sam stared at the hound. He'd just barely finished fighting freaky ass bulls and spoiled pissed off Gods...what the hell is wrong with this picture? Every time we kill one thing…something that is even worse just pops up and wants to kill us. The thoughts were shooting through his mind faster than he could even separate them. The dog sank back onto its haunches, the muscles rippling as it set up its body to attack. Sam shifted his weapon and spun to make sure that Dean was protected before scrambling rapidly as the enormous body slammed into their small group…spreading them like billiard balls.

Sam slammed into the ground, his hip connecting with the hard soil. His elbow hitting right on the nerve and causing his fingers to go numb as the sword pitched forward and landed in the dirt. "Son of a bitch!" He cried.

"Sammy!" Dean yelled as he rolled painfully to his side. He was unable to stop the cry of pain that pushed its way past his defenses when his leg spasmed. He'd managed to hold onto his ax and had pulled his body into a small ball as something swiped at his lower back.

"NO! Dean!" He heard his father call as the claws from the beast skimmed over his skin, splitting it open in a shallow gash. Dean grunted and waved at his father, letting him know that he was sorta okay. John shifted his track and sliced with the bowie knife as Bobby and Jim surrounded the animal, trying to get its attention off of the middle Winchester.

"Sam! I need you to get to your brother, now!" John yelled as the hound snapped at him with one head and watched Dean far too closely, for John's comfort, with another.

"I'm trying to, dad." Sam yelled over the din. The noises that were coming from the animal were drowning out their voices. Jim was trying to follow Sam, but was caught unexpectedly by the long sweeping tail as the dog swung the thick black thing in his direction. The older man tripped and went down onto his knees, the shotgun sliding forward and out his hands and landing several feet away.

"shit." John swore.

The heads were watching each of the men in a shifting fashion that had Dean trying desperately to get back to his feet. He pushed down his pain as one of the heads made a lunge at his little brother. Dean ignored the dizziness and the nausea that attacked him as he started to rise. The image of Sam and the head that was preparing to go after him, had forced Dean to his feet a moment later. He staggered forward and then bit his lip as he swung the ax at the foreleg of the beast. It connected, causing the hound to howl in pain.

Sam screamed in warning as the head turned and bit out at Dean's arms. The giant maw had closed around both arms simultaneously and sliced deeply into the muscle and sinew causing Dean to cry out in anguish. His brother's hands instantly released the weapon as he was shaken by the head. The other two heads remaining trained on John, Bobby and Jim. Sam was the only one not currently being watched by the Cerberus dog. The thing shook its head several times and Sam couldn't help the rising panic as Dean's body was shaken like a rag doll and then dropped unceremoniously onto the dirt, like a discarded toy. The blood flowing freely from the puncture wounds, now staining the ground beneath Dean as Sam sank to his knees next to his brother.

He was surprised to see that Dean was still conscious and trying to reach for something beneath himself. Sam shifted slightly and found that his brother was handing him a long sleek knife. His questioning blue-green eyes connected with the steady gaze of his big brother. "Sammy…take it." His voice was quiet but steady as he watched Sam with a supportive expression. "I can't kill it, Sam…but you can." Sam's eyes widened. He knew what it would have cost his brother to say that…and the fact that he was admitting that he couldn't do something, wasn't something he was used to. Sam licked his lips, his gaze flickering back up to the where the hound was still focused on their father and the other two hunters. Bobby was slamming the butt end of his rifle into the things shoulder as it tried to catch him between its teeth.

Sam's fingers closed around the handle of the blade and he looked at Dean.

"Beneath its third head…there's a vulnerable spot, just above the front of its shoulder." Dean's voice was raspy.

Sam's body shifted and he and moved away from Dean toward the hound.

TBC…

Author's Note: The Winchesters are getting closer to learning exactly what they are up against. The beast Cerberus is a well-known Greek guardian that worked for Thanatos. Who is thought to be the father of the Keres sisters. Thank you to everyone that reviewed and read the last chapter. I hope that you enjoy this chapter as well. Also, thank you to anyone that I couldn't PM…Tricia and Tillypuitan.

Please Review: The story is coming to a head and I would like to know what you think.