Disclaimer: Still do not own them, what a shame.

Warning: Mild language

A/N: Sorry for the delay. On top of writers block kicking my ass once again, I moved back into college this week so it was kinda hectic but thanks for your patience. Hope you enjoy.

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Chapter Seven

Dean crept into the hall and was surprised to hear silence. Bernie had obviously managed to bring Maryann's little distraction to an end. Dean placed a hand protectively over the revolved hidden in his waistband and started to move down the hall carefully. Unknowingly Bernie had let Dean in on a few of his weaknesses while he had been attempting to intimidate him and Dean hoped he knew enough to execute this plan without actually hurting anyone or more importantly, himself.

Dean pulled the gun out of his waistband and pushed open the cylinder. There were two bullets in the chamber. He spun the cylinder and flicked it shut.

"Just like in the old west." Dean grinned but Sam was anything but amused. He still had no idea what Dean was planning and didn't like the casualness in Dean's voice.

Dean frowned at Sam's attitude before he shoved the revolver back into his waistband.

"No, need to look so happy," He muttered as he moved slowly down the hall and listened carefully. He didn't hear Bernie's voice and he wasn't sure whether that was good or bad but that didn't stop him from moving further down the hall and peeking into the ballroom. Tony was in the process of ushering Maryann off stage to the protests of the band, the club goers, and Maryann herself. Bernie stood by idly watching but Dean could tell from the look in Bernie's eyes that he had to hurry.

"Dean, what are you gonna do?" Sam asked as he crept up behind Dean and surveyed the ballroom.

"Something crazy." Dean muttered low enough so that he thought Sam couldn't hear but Sam did hear him and was not pleased with the answer.

"What are you gonna do? Just shoot him!" Sam hissed.

"That's not the plan." Dean replied without taking his eyes of the interaction between Bernie and Maryann.

"Then what's the gun for?" Sam whispered silently willing Dean to be open and honest for once in his life.

"Insurance." Dean answered vaguely. While Bernie had been busy talking to Dean in the office, Dean had been thinking. Contemplating ways to send his ass to hell for good and make sure that he stays there. He knew an exorcism wouldn't work because in this world, Bernie wasn't a ghost. His only weakness was his inability to overpower Dean and while Dean wasn't sure how he was able to fend off Bernie's power, he was thankful for it. All that being said, Dean had determined that destroying Bernie's power source would be the only way to overpower him. He thought he knew what that power source was but 'thought' was the key word. He only hoped he was right.

Dean continued to watch Bernie and tried to drown out the sound of Sam who was angrily demanding for Dean to tell him the plan. After a few more moments of watching Bernie who looked to be at his wits end with whatever Maryann was saying, Dean started out into the ballroom and gestured for Sam to follow.

Sam did so reluctantly, still unsure as to what Dean was planning. He quickened his pace as Dean began to charge towards Bernie.

"Sam!" Sam was momentarily distracted by the sound of his name. He glanced to his side and saw that Jo had caught hold of his arm and was looking up at him in confusion.

"What's going on? Why is Mr. Fontaine taking the singer away?"

Sam looked up and saw that Bernie had indeed stopped just talking to Maryann and was now leading her away and Dean was rapidly closing in on them.

"I-uh," Sam stuttered, "I gotta go. I'll explain later." He darted quickly away from Jo who stared at him questioningly.

"Fontaine!" Dean shouted loudly causing Bernie to stop dead. He still had his hand locked around Maryann's arm and angrily tightened his grip at the sound of Dean's voice. Sam looked helplessly at Maryann who was craning her neck to stare at him pleadingly. Sam felt an intense pang of guilt at the thought of involving her in this mess. But on the other hand, she already was involved. Sam's actions had just made it worse.

Bernie turned around slowly with a goofy smile. The smile was supposed to appear menacing but it reminded Dean more of a demented clown which pissed Dean off even more. He had never really been a big fan of clowns.

"Resourceful, aren't ya?" Bernie grinned.

"What can I say," Dean grinned back, "I don't like being tied down…especially by dudes."

Bernie released a humorless laugh as he continued to stare at Dean. A crowd of club goers had begun to congregate around the standoff between the two and Dean smiled inwardly. This had been his plan. Attempting to communicate with one spirit at a time hadn't gone as swimmingly as he had hoped and therefore he figured getting all their attention at the same time might work better. It'd be a severe challenge but Dean thrived off of challenges.

Bernie cast a nervous glance at the developing crowd before pulling Maryann in front of him like a human shield and glared at Dean harshly.

"You wouldn't want to do anything stupid, now would you Mr. Winchester?" Bernie asked threateningly. And as the words left his mouth Dean heard the sound of a gasping cry from behind him. He spun around to see Tony wrapping his arm around Sam's neck and squeezing tightly. Even though Sam had about three inches on Tony, Tony was more endowed when it came to muscle mass and had obviously managed to creep up behind Sam while he was distracted and overpower him. Sam was clawing desperately at Tony's arm trying to loosen the grip.

"Sam!" Dean shouted as he took a step towards Sam but froze immediately. He spun back towards Bernie. He knew the attack on Sam was a diversionary tactic and he wasn't willing to let Bernie get away that easily. And if he was right about what Bernie's power source was then he knew that Sam was in no immediate danger. Bernie may have been crazy, but he wasn't a complete idiot.

Bernie nodded towards Tony who mildly released his grip on Sam. Dean watched as Tony pulled the revolver out of his waistband and shoved the nozzle into Sam's ribcage. Sam clenched his jaw tightly and glared at Bernie. Dean stood silently and looked from Tony and Sam to Maryann and Bernie. There were now two hostages and a sea of onlookers who were all utterly confused by what they were watching. Dean could only hope that this plan worked. Otherwise, he was fucked.

Bernie smiled again, "It's your play Dean, my boy. The girl, or your brother." Dean placed his hand overtop the gun that was hidden just beneath his t-shit.

"Neither." Dean answered as he pulled out the gun and pressed it to his own temple. He heard a few gasps from the onlookers but was more intrigued with the look on Bernie's face. Bernie had gone mildly pale and his eyes had doubled in size.

"Dean, what the hell are you doing!" Sam shouted in a mix of horror and confusion. Dean kept his back to Sam and pressed the gun further to his head.

"What do ya say Bern," Dean grinned, "Does your club need a new paint job?"

Bernie swallowed sharply and replied as calmly as he could manage, "Go ahead. It'll save me the trouble." Bernie watched in anticipation.

"Really?" Dean released the safety and clenched his jaw. This plan better work, Dean thought as he stared at Bernie. In response to this Bernie slowly released his grip on Maryann and pushed her to the side. Maryann stumbled slightly but regained her composure quickly and joined the rest of the group as they stared at the oddly dressed man with a gun pressed against his head.

"Lower the gun, Dean." Bernie ordered.

"What's going on?" Maryann demanded.

"Remember what we talked about." Sam said, earning him a tight squeeze to the neck.

"Shut up, Maryann!" Bernie ordered, "Dean, lower…the…gun."

Dean smirked out of spite as an attempt to hide the fear that was no doubt flickering in his eyes. He inhaled sharply and pulled the trigger.

Sam stopped breathing. His heart was beating faster than he thought was humanly possible. He waited for the inevitable but there was no gunshot. There was no blood and Dean was still standing in front of him, the gun pressed to his temple. Sam exhaled heavily. Bernie's eyes were wide and he took a step towards Dean but paused when Dean's finger tightened around the trigger again. Dean was playing Russian roulette and Sam still had no idea why Bernie was acting terrified.

"Scared Bernie?" Dean asked. Bernie stared at him cautiously.

Sam suddenly realized what Dean had realized back in that office. Bernie's source of power was his victims. That was why he brought all those people into his world. That's why he brought Dean and Sam to his world. Their life source renewed his power over this world. But obviously some sort of ritual had to be preformed prior to the victim being killed which would explain why Bernie was so scared at the thought of Dean killing himself.

Bernie offered no response to Dean's question and continued to stare silently at him. "What about you Maryann? You scared?" Dean asked.

Maryann became slightly alarmed at the sound of her name. "I, uh,-" Maryann looked around as she realized that everyone was now staring at her.

"I mean, I know you're confused," Dean continued. "You're all confused and who wouldn't be on a night like this. Besides this little confrontation, you guys must have noticed the other strange things going on?

"What are you talking about?" A male voice asked from the front of the crowd.

Sam took Dean's lead. They had to expose Bernie here and now while they had everyone's attention. "Tell me you didn't notice the number of people who've spontaneously shown up tonight." Sam said as Tony tried to silence him but he was unsuccessful. Sam nodded towards a group of Black men and woman in the middle of the crowd, remembering that in the 1940's racial segregation still ran rampant, even on the east coast. "And Since when do White and Black people dance the night away together?" He asked. Sam cringed as the crowd began to move away from the Black youths almost as if noticing for the first time that there was a color differential. Although Sam knew it was a low blow in regard to social consciousness it did spark some inquisitive looks and the crowd began to look around, carefully inspecting the club and the people around them.

"Don't listen to them!' Bernie shouted. "They're both crazy!"

"And Maryann," Dean interjected, completely ignoring Bernie's ranting, "How long have you been waiting for James?"

"James?" Maryann asked as her hands flew up to the locket around her neck. She slowly slid it through her fingers and glanced down at it longingly. "James." She whispered softly. She looked back at Dean, "How do you know about James?"

"I met him." Dean stated as he looked back at Bernie, "59 years from now."

It was at that point that Bernie lunged forward and knocked Dean backwards. The gun crashed to the floor as Bernie slammed Dean against the front of the stage. Tony took a step back in order to help his boss and accidently loosened his grip on his hostage. Sam felt Tony move and took the opportunity to elbow him hard in the stomach. Tony stumbled backwards slightly and attempted to raise the gun in Sam's direction but Sam was too fast and knocked the gun out of his hand. And thus the fight was on.

Dean too was locked in battle, attempting to subdue Bernie who was putting up a better fight than Dean had expected. The crowd watched in astonishment as a ripple of whisper began to pass from person to person.

"Did he say 59 years from now?"

"What's going on?"

"Who are they?"

"How long have we been hear?"

"How come I can't remember yesterday?"

Dean thought he had the upper hand but just as he was about to indulge in a figurative victory lap he felt his head snap backwards and he was sent collapsing to the floor. With Dean incapasiated at the moment Bernie lunged towards the gun and before Dean had a chance to get back to his feet Bernie was standing over him with the gun pointed at his head. As Bernie looked down at Dean his mind suddenly flashed to images of him in Dean's position and Lucky Montgomery in Bernie's current position. He heard the gunshot sound in his head and gasped. He inhaled deeply and pushed the memories aside.

Dean knew Bernie wouldn't kill him but that didn't stop him from remaining on his knees. He raised his arms slightly and glared right back at Bernie.

Bernie gripped the gun tightly unsure of where to go from here. He took a step towards Dean but stopped when Tony's voice interrupted the stand off.

"Boss!" Tony shouted. Dean turned his head and saw that Tony had stopped fighting Sam and was staring down at his hands with confusion in his eyes. He turned his hands over and over again and Dean could see that they were blistered and bleeding. Tony looked up at Bernie helplessly. "What's happening?"

Bernie didn't answer. He turned his attention to the crowd who were all staring at various parts of their bodies. They too were finding that their skin had begun to blister and their clothes were beginning to look soiled and charred.

Sam backed away from Tony and addressed the crowd, "There was a fire. The club was destroyed, all of you-" Sam couldn't bare to tell them that they were dead so he stopped there and allowed them to fill in the blanks.

Slowly the memories began to drift back to them and the people who had been dancing the night away were now staring at each other as their flesh began to melt away and their bodies slowly started to become transparent.

"Sam." Jo whispered as she held her sisters hand tightly. Her sister had her other hand clamped around her fiancés arm and all three looked completely terrified.

Sam looked at them sadly, "I'm sorry," was all he could manage to say.

As he scanned the crowd he saw the same looks on all of their faces. Even the newer ones, the ones who hadn't been killed by the fire, were remembering their lives and their deaths and looked scared out of their minds. And then Sam locked eyes with Maryann who was still sliding her locket between her fingers. She was smiling at him. "We're free." She mouthed and Sam nodded at her. There was nothing else to be said.

"Keep dancing!" Bernie ordered as he looked at he crowd. He sensed that he had lost all control but was still trying to regain it. "Don't listen to what they're saying!"

"It's too late, Bernie." Dean said firmly, pulling Bernie's attention back to him, "You don't own them anymore." Bernie tensed up and Dean could see the fear and anger raging in his eyes.

"You destroyed me!" Bernie shouted as a small bullet hole began to develop in the center of his forehead. The blood dripped freely down his face but Bernie ignored it. His attention was too focused on Dean and his desire to kill him. "I'm going to destroy you!" Bernie shouted. He pulled the trigger but his finger slipped through it and the gun crashed to the ground. Bernie stared dumbfounded at his hand. It had begun to decorporealize and he could now see through it to the ground where the gun was laying.

Dean smiled up at him, "See ya in hell." He said mockingly and as he said it a loud bang sounded and the room began to swell with heat. Bernie backed up in fear and the crowd looked around in confusion but before anyone could figure out was going on the ballroom exploded in a blaze of fire.

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TBC…

Dum Dum Dum…