"Seize the girl, Bálor!" The Queen shrieked as she watched the five of them enter the chamber.

Bálor emerged and went over to where Erin stood and took her firmly in his hold. She struggled to free herself, but he knew that it was futile. He held much more strength than she had.

The Queen looked at the hounds and glared, "You should have stayed gone, fucking worthless mutts. I told you not to make a fool of me."

She gestured to the Beast and said, "Take care of them. I deserve a good show after all the shit they put me through."

The hounds bristled and readied to fight the Beast. He lumbered toward them and dove at Roman, wrapping his arms around him tight. Roman wriggled in his hold, snapping his jaws in an attempt to get free. Seth ran toward the Beast and sank his teeth into his calf, ripping as he pulled his head back. The Beast roared and threw Roman back over his head into the wall. Dean snarled and attempted to climb onto the Beast's back to bite down on his neck, but the Beast turned and grabbed him around the middle as well. He threw Dean backwards into the wall next to Roman. Seth, jaw bloodied from where he had made contact, was the next to be lifted into the air over the head of the Beast. He threw him down on the ground with a thud. Seth did not move for a moment, dazed from the impact. The Beast bent down to pick up Seth and thrown him down again. Dean heard Seth's head crack on the hard floor and hoped that he would survive the beating.

Dean righted himself and ran back at the Beast. He had to get at his neck so that he could rip out his throat and take him down. He looked over to where Erin was struggling in the arms of Bálor, but he could do nothing about that right then. He needed to help his brothers. Roman had returned from the wall and was attempting to run full speed into the chest of the Beast with a spearing motion.

The Beast reeled back, and Dean took advantage. He launched into the air and went for the Beast's throat. Clamping his jaws tight he tugged hard.

From behind him, he heard the Queen scream for the other demons in the room to enter the fray. He continued his attempts at killing the Beast, ignoring her for his current mission. This bastard wasn't going to kill them. He wasn't going to hurt his brothers.

Low level demons came at them from all sides, grabbing them. One pulled Dean back off the Beast. He was pulled away from his brothers and away from his kill. The demons bit at the hounds and gnashed their teeth. Dean continued to fight them all. He kept his vision on the Beast while taking out the throat of a fiend. The fucking Beast had Roman in his grasp again. Roman was flung backwards into the wall one more time. This time, however, he did not move as quickly to return to the fight. The Beast's throw had injured him, that much was evident.

With a low growl, Dean turned to the Beast and charged. He bounded toward him and pounced on his chest, bowling him backwards onto the ground. Opening his jaws wide, he bit as hard as he could on the throat of the Beast. Behind him, the Queen screamed for someone to die. He didn't pay attention. He had to kill the Beast. He had to save his brothers.

XXXXXXXXXX

Erin cried out a pained wail as she watched the demon Bálor shoot fire from his eye toward Dean. She screamed as the fiery ray hit him in the side. She felt the anguish rise up in her as she watched the lifeless body of Dean drop to the ground. She pulled against the hold of the demon Bálor. She fought him with all her strength, attempting to wrench free from his grasp, but he kept her in his firm grip, not allowing her to run to his aid. She watched in horror as the Beast continued his assault on Seth and Roman. They were trying to bite, trying to lunge, trying everything in their power to overcome his attacks. Fury and agony grew in her breast at the loss of yet another one of her loved ones.

No! Dean wasn't supposed to die. He was supposed to live! To be a man again! To walk the earth, maybe with her, maybe not, but he was supposed to be free! He deserved to be free. After all he had done, all he had sacrificed, he was supposed to be the one to live, damnit! She would have changed places with him right then if she could. She would have sacrificed her last breath so that he could get back up and take another one.

She gritted her teeth and turned to face the evil Queen of hell with a glare. This was not how it would happen today! She came here to kill the Queen for her hounds, and that is what she was going to do. She would do it for Baron, for Becky, for Paige… but mostly for the departed life of her wonderful Dean. The bitch deserved it. She had taken everything that Erin held dear in the world. She had taken it all. She had taken her oldest, dearest friend. She had taken her newest, sweetest companion.

The Queen stood there, watching in glee as the Beast continued to destroy the remaining hounds. Maiming Erin's friends. Erin felt the change on her skin as her anger increased, she felt the dark marks moving in a flurry. She knew that her eyes had transformed and were bleeding black. She felt the crackling of the dark power through her body down to her fingertips. This fucking ended now!

"You have stolen from me for the last time, you bitch!" She yelled out in rage.

The Queen moved her gaze back to where Erin was being held and tossed her head back with an evil cackle. "You do not have it in you, child. I fucking rule the darkness. I am the true ruler down here. You and your three mutts will bow to me… well, one of them can be excused for obvious reasons," she mocked, looking over at Dean's dead form. "You will stay there and watch what a true leader does. You will witness just how the darkness punishes those who revolt against true power." She sent another evil smirk Erin's way and sneered, "Then I will deal with you."

"You don't know with whom you are dealing with, you fucking cunt… I'm the heir… the true heir to the darkness. This…" She gestured around her with her hand, "is all mine to fucking rule. You just made a huge mistake. You just killed the last which I held most dear. I have nothing left to lose. You won't survive this!" Erin screamed at the Queen.

Concentrating on the darkness within her, on the power she knew that she held, on the rage and the fury from all the past, Erin conjured the dark magic. She brought forth wave after wave of black fog that pulsed around her. Bálor's grip slackened as he felt the absolute intensity rolling off of her. She took advantage and pushed out of his hold, bringing her arms up in front of her and pointing at the Queen. She willed the darkness to move through her marks, to travel through her body. "Vocationem tenebras ore exíbit gládius acútus… verus mortis obedit." Pulsing tendrils of black magic flew out of her fingers and wrapped around the neck of the Queen. They lifted her into the air and began to squeeze while Erin mumbled for them to take her life.

The Queen fought the hold, calling her own dark powers. She formed a ball of dark fire into her hand and threw it over to where Erin stood, hitting its mark. Erin fell back in pain. A stinging ache blossomed up her side and distracted her from continuing the hold over the Queen. She attempted to right herself and resume the fight. In the back of her mind she could still hear Roman and Seth snarling, growling and biting at the Beast. She had to finish this. She had to kill for them. For all of them.

XXXXXXXXXX

Bayley decided now was the time to take advantage of the confusion in the throne room. She had seen the human girl push back the demon Bálor with her power. She knew that no one would notice her now if she ran up to where Bálor was standing, watching the fight. She knew that this was the moment, her best chance. She scurried over to where the Prince stood and pressed the box into his hand.

His dark face and red eyes regarded her for a quick moment, then his huge gaping mouth formed an evil toothy smile. He nodded once and opened the box to reveal his heart. Unhinging his jaw, he swallowed it down whole and blinked as it settled once again inside his breast. Dark red glowing light pulsated around his demon form and a lecherous smile formed on his lips. His forked tongue poked out to lick them and he turned away from Bayley to face the Queen once again.

XXXXXXXXXX

He was whole! He was back in control! That fucking bitch of a mother could no longer make him do her bidding. He watched as the Marked One attempted to gain the upper hand again. She called the darkness, he could see that it went willingly. He knew she spoke the truth when she said that she was the true heir. Bálor watched in awe as the power grew in the air. He knew he had a choice to make, but it had been made so very long ago.

"Bálor!" His mother screeched out, throwing another cursed orb in the direction of the heir. "Kill the Marked One! She has stolen the power! She has ruined the darkness with her foul magic!"

Bálor observed his mother with disdain and bowed his head. His mouth formed a perfectly evil smirk and he opened his eye, preparing for the kill. The Queen's face calmed as she saw the change in his demeanor. She knew that she had won. She knew that the little child would soon be out of her hair, soon be a mere memory of the darkness. She crossed her hands over her chest and waited for the demon to kill.

A pulse of red fire shot from Bálor's eye and hit its mark.

XXXXXXXXXX

The whole room stopped in their tracks as the Queen crumpled to the ground, a hole gaping in her heart where the demon Prince had hit her. Her body twitched in death and then stilled. Her face stuck forever in a mask of horror and shock at her son's actions. Black blood poured out of the wound and pooled beneath her lifeless body.

Erin gasped out in surprise and whirled to see the demon Prince, no longer in the form of Bálor. He almost looked kind, she supposed, without all the whole evil Prince of Darkness thing he had going on. He nodded to her and bowed.

"Y're the true heir to the throne of darkness, Marked One. I can feel it. The underbelly knows it. We will serve you now, my new Queen," his silky voice murmured as he genuflected to her. She watched as the darkness swirled in the room, moving from the body of the Queen and floating over to where she stood. It caressed her skin and moaned in happiness.

Erin's jaw dropped open. What?

Around the room the fighting had stopped. She looked at the other demons, including the Beast, and all were bowing in reverence to her power. None moved. None spoke.

A cough sounded, and she spun to see two men standing beside the Beast. One was tall and very tanned. His dark hair fell in curls and soft gray eyes held her gaze. She could see dark markings down one of his huge arms.

The one next to him was shorter and thinner, yet still looked as though he had been in many battles. His hair was two-toned, one side light and one side dark. He looked at her with bewilderment creasing his brow. His brown eyes sad at the turn of events.

They were men! They were no longer hounds. They were whole again… her eyes moved quickly to where Dean had fallen. Maybe the change had brought him back! Maybe he was whole and living again!

He had changed as well, but to her dismay he remained lifeless. She moved over to where he lay and reached out to touch him. He was not as she had imagined. His short auburn hair fell in his face in messy curls. He had the body of a true warrior. She could see scars where his skin was exposed. She knew that they came from his many battles, from his torture as a child. His lay there, still in her arms, eyes closed in death.

Grief filling her heart, she lay her head on his chest, willing him to breathe. What was the point of ruling the darkest powers of hell if you could not bring back that which you held so dear?

"I'm so sorry, Erin. We tried," Seth's voice sounded into the room. It was the first time she had heard it out loud and she was shocked at the noise. Tears filled her eyes as she looked over to them.

Roman walked to her side and put his hand on her shoulder. "We tried so hard, healer. He just always had that side to him. Always had to come and save the day, to look out for the lives of his brothers. He died saving us, Erin. He was a warrior, through and through. He would not want you to mourn him."

"Crazy fucker always did want to die in battle," Seth chuckled sadly.

"I couldn't save him, Seth. I couldn't get to him to heal him. It's too late now," she cried, tears falling onto Dean's still face. She bent to kiss his cheek. To thank him. To tell him, wherever he was, that she was grateful for the little time that she was able to spend with him.

With a shuddering breath she stood and faced the demon Prince. The servant girl held his hand in a death grip as she watched the whole scene. Erin sighed and walked over to where they stood.

"I want nothing to do with this place. I have lost so much just having this power. I do not want to be the Queen of hell. You can have it… you can have it all," she said in resignation.

The darkness around her keened at the thought of losing its new master. She felt the surge of power through her body but ignored it.

The Prince gazed somberly at her for a moment then gave a small nod. "I'll take th' mantle of power from you, if that's what you so desire, my Queen. The darkness deserves a master who wants to rule, one who will be a true leader." He extended his arm and dipped his head, "I bow to your power, and I accept your gift."

Erin felt the dark marks on her body moving. She felt the magic that she had become so accustomed to as of late filtering out of her body. It rolled out of her in waves and moved over to where the Prince stood. He reached out and it settled into his hand. He gave her a slight smile and allowed it to enter into his body.

Dropping to the ground in exhaustion, Erin began to cry in earnest. She felt strong arms wrap around her and she looked down to see a beautifully marked up arm. She knew Roman had her. She knew it was over. They were safe. The three of them. It was supposed to be four, but there was nothing to be done about that.

The door to the throne room opened with a jerk and Kevin waltzed in to survey the damage. "Odd One, it seems you are still living. Huh, I guess I would have lost that bet." He looked from her to Seth and Roman and his eyes finally settled on the body of Dean over in the corner. Looking back at Erin he gave an almost convincing sympathetic look, "I'm sorry you lost a friend."

She turned her watery gaze on him and nodded in appreciation. "Thank you again, Kevin. We couldn't have done this without you." She watched as a blush tinged his cheeks. Turning to Roman and Seth she said, "I'm ready to go home now. We need to bring Dean's body. To give him a warrior's burial. He deserves that much."

Her head was swimming. This had been so much to deal with. A horrific bloody battle. So much loss. her heart couldn't handle it anymore. Her vision faded, and she fell back into Roman's arms, defeated… drained… shattered from it all…

X

"My child, I have not much time. Kevin called to me. I saw your fight. I saw what you did for the good of the world. I saw your sacrifice. You have brought back stability in the darkness and the light. They are grateful for your gift. I am proud of you. You are a true great one," the voice filtered through her mind.

"Who are you?" She asked in wonder.

"You are my daughter, you are part of me. I wanted to be there. I wanted to help, but I could not. I cannot. I only have this small moment. You have the light in you still, my little girl. You still have part of me… the greatest part," it said.

"I do not want the light, I did not want the dark. I want my life back. I want my friends back. I want…" she cried out.

"I know what you want, dear one," the voice whispered.

"Help me. You caused all of this… help me!" She keened in agony.

"They have allowed me to grant you one wish, one. One that you might save. You can have whatever your heart truly desires… however, you will be left with nothing. No more light, no more dark. You will be merely a mortal living on the earth. If you so choose, you can. You must make the choice. You have done a great service to the light and it recognizes that, however it will not allow you to continue as before," the voice soothed her troubled mind.

She bowed her head and cried tears for all that was lost in her world. All the pain of the past days. What did she want most? What did her heart truly desire?

XXXXXXXXXX

*A/N*

More of that amazing Google Translate (Latin):

Darkness heed my call - vocationem tenebras ore exíbit gládius acútus

Obey the true master of hell - verus mortis obedit