We're on the chapter 11 now and getting closer to the end. Boy, this is turning out into a weird ride. Enjoy!

Chapter 11

To say Dean Winchester was not pleased was a severe understatement. He had listened to Sam's account of his two deals with Piru and Lempo and had to keep himself from throttling his idiot brother.

"What was I supposed to do, Dean?" Sam defended himself. "Piru gave me an out – and he promised to let you live. As for Lempo – if I won, we could have both been out of there."

"And if you lost you would have been his bitch," Dean pointed out harshly. "Sam, you don't do stuff like that, man."

"Why not?" Sam challenged. "Afraid you won't have the market corner for self-sacrificing, stupid deals now?"

Dean had to look away at that. Sam went to stand in front of him, invading his personal space.

"You look me in the eye and tell me you wouldn't have done the same, if you were in my place."

Dean turned away. Sam nodded, satisfied.

"Thought so."

They were alone in the room, the others having done a strategic retreat, as if sensing this was only between the two of them – or not wanting to take part in any awkward scenes. It was an hour since Dean had brought Sam back and, so far, neither Piru nor Lempo had made any move to yank them back to Tuonela. That was what worried Dean – although not as much as the thought of Sam binding himself not to one but two Finnish demons.

"What I don't get is what happened to Mielikki," Sam said. "I mean, where did Piru stow her? True, he was saying he could keep her off his back, since he knew enough about her to have…you know, leverage."

He paused and cast an uneasy glance at the door, afraid they might be overheard by the wrong person.

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't waste my breath worrying about her," Dean said uncharitably. "She's the one who got us into this mess."

"Technically, we got ourselves into this mess by going after Piru in Gatlinburg. As for Mielikki, she was also the one most capable to get us out of it."

Dean shrugged.

"I wouldn't be so sure. If she was to do something about either Lempo and Piru – she would have done it already. No, this is something that we have to fix, Sam. For our sakes as much as for the rest."

Sam lowered his eyes. He went to sit heavily on the bed.

"You OK?" Dean asked frowning.

Sam jerked his head once, not looking at Dean.

"Hey, listen, Dean," he began hesitantly. "I'm sorry about the deals…It's just…I saw no way out. For either of us…"

Fourteen years ago, back when they had started riding together again, Dean would have been in Sam's face. Hell, even ten years ago he would have reacted badly. Now…well, there had been too much between them, and he simply did not have the energy to antagonize Sam anymore. Sam was an adult who made his own choices and had his own priorities – and Dean could not fault Sam for considering his older brother one of those priorities. Not anymore.

"You weren't given much choice," he conceded.

He noticed Sam tense then look up, curious and surprised. He chuckled, shaking his head.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm so pissed I could kick your ass all the way to the States and back. But not yet. First we've got to deal with this. And…there might be a way."

Sam had a hopeful look in his eyes.

"What way?"

"There's a way to kill Piru. He's our main priority, Sammy. He's the one who's got our souls."

xxxXXXXxxxx

Ketch and Helmi managed to track down Ole. Fortunately, he had not been lying when he said he was of Sami origin and that he sat on the city council. His name was actually on the Tampere City Council website. With a little sweet talking, Helmi managed to get his personal address when she called his secretary at worked.

"I told her he was my uncle and that I wanted to surprise him on his birthday," she informed Dean. "I gave her this sob story of how we had a falling out and haven't spoken in years and how I was hoping now he'd give me another chance."

"You're a natural at this," Dean said.

Helmi rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure you meant it as a compliment. So – we go to him, right?"

Dean shook his head.

"We don't. I mean, you don't. Sam and I will pay a visit to him this evening."

He noticed Helmi's irritation and added quickly.

"Look, I'm not shutting you out. I realized it was stupid not to tell you about Tuonela."

Helmi nodded.

"Yeah – you could have died in that house."

Dean patted her shoulder.

"True – and thanks for the help, really. So – how about we give you a job?"

Helmi's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"A job?"

"We know how to take out Piru," Dean went on. "Hell, if our plan goes right, we'll probably be able to get rid of Piru permanently this very night – and free our souls. But Piru's not the only problem."

"Lempo," Helmi guessed.

Dean nodded. He grimaced as he felt another jolt of pain through him. Over the past few hours they had become more and more and more frequent. Piru probably trying to punish him for escaping. Or Lempo making good on his promise to Sam to start causing Dean pain if Sam backed out from his challenge. Or both. He swayed.

"Dean?" Helmi asked grabbing his arm to keep him steady. "Are you alright? Should I get Heidi?"

Dean shook his head to dispel the dizziness.

"Nah," he said trying to pretend he was better than he felt. "Nah, it's all good. I'm probably stiff from lying in bed too long. Not a word of this to Sam, got it?"

Helmi frowned. She had not let go of Dean yet.

"If it's nothing, why do you want me to hide it from your brother?"

"Cause he's worse of a mother hen than you are," Dean quipped. "And I need him focused."

Helmi let him go, raising her arms in surrender.

"Fine," she sighed. "What do you want us to do?"

"Find a way to get rid of Lempo. Ketch will stay here to help you with research. We're taking Cas with us, though."

Helmi looked worried.

"So you're leaving me alone with Elias and Ketch? As what – a mediator? I'm to make sure they don't start a cat fight in here?"

Dean laughed at that.

"Oh, you can handle them. Besides, I think Elias is mature enough to not start cat fights."

Helmi scoffed.

"That's because you didn't record two albums with him."

xxxXXXxxx

Ole finally gave up trying to concentrate on work and left, pleading illness. He attracted quite a lot of worried looks. He had a reputation for never taking a day off. In fact, he had not taken time off even when his daughter and later his granddaughter was born. He was sure some of his younger colleagues would start a poll that claimed he was at death's door. Ole sighed. Maybe he was and, with what he had just done – or allowed Piru to do – death would probably not be pretty for him.

He unlocked his front door, slightly confused. He was sure he had locked it twice, as he usually did. He was just about to shrug it off to his distracted state when he suddenly felt something suspiciously like a gun at his back.

"Move into the living room."

The voice was steely and cold and incredibly dangerous. Ole knew it. He had heard it before.

"Dean…" he began, but stopped short when the gun was pressed harder against his back.

"Walk," Dean repeated.

Ole knew better than to continue protesting. He stepped into the living room with Dean behind him. Sam was there, leaning against the wall. Next to him was a man in a brown trench coat Ole had never seen before.

"Surprised to see us?" Sam said.

"I…" Ole began glancing at the three in turn, as if wondering which of them would pounce on him first.

"That's Castiel," Dean said, pointing to the man in the trench coat. "He's a friend. He's here to make sure you don't double cross us. Again."

Ole shook his head, drawing a step back. He did not try to run, though.

"Talk," Dean went on. "That little stint with Piru….was that planned? Is that why you were near the forest when we met?"

Ole found himself wringing his hands.

"You don't understand," he pleaded. "I had no choice…"

Dean rolled his eyes.

"They all say that. What did Piru promise you? Eternal youth? You becoming mayor? You're getting all the chicks?"

Ole actually felt furious that these three actually thought he would sell people out like this in the name of profit or personal gain. He could not blame them, though.

"Please, let me explain. It's my granddaughter. She…she found this spell books and summoned a demon – for a laugh, you see. She never believed in such things. But it worked and apparently she made a deal with the damn thing – for this girl she used to like. A silly thing – we all do them when we're young, don't we? So, now she's broken up with that girl and she's realized she sold her soul for a teenage crush. She came to me."

"And you made a deal with Piru," Sam completed.

"I summoned Piru. At first, I thought I could challenge him to a game of riddles and outsmart him. That is what we did with Piru. But he was the one who suggested the deal. I was to look you up and spy on you. Well, and the first thing you said when you met me was that you wanted to get into Tuonela. Piru saw this as a golden opportunity."

"And you went along with it," Dean accused.

Ole ran a weary hand over his face.

"What was I supposed to do? He saved my granddaughter. I know what I did to you was wrong but…as I said, gentlemen, I was given no choice."

"You are not given one now, either," Castiel said.

Ole watched him nervously as he took a step forward. He set down a sword on the table – one of the ones from the history museum and Ole wondered how they had managed to steal it without anyone catching them. Its blade was red with blood. Ole shuddered and looked away.

"What the hell is this?"

"A chance for you to make it up to us," Dean said. "You're gonna summon Piru here – and trap him somehow."

"Trap him?" Ole repeated. "Until when?"

"Until we kill him," Sam answered.

Dean smirked at Ole's look of horror.

"What else do you think the sword is for?"

xxxXXXxxx

Dean leaned against the couch, watching as Sam and Cas were drawing a complex symbol in the middle of Ole's living room, while Ole supervised the proceedings. Dean technically was supervising Ole, although actually the reason he was not helping Sam and Cas with the symbol was because he felt too dizzy to stand. Sam knew – he must have known, since he had been casting Dean uneasy glances ever since they had got to Ole's place. He had not said anything, though, simply suggesting that Dean should maybe keep an eye on Ole and make sure he was not making any untoward moves. That actually seemed the last thing on Ole's mind – he sounded genuinely sorry for tricking Sam and Dean and, in a way, Dean kind of understood where he had come from. It was about family. You did desperate things for family.

"Dean?"

Dean looked up to see Cas leaning over him. He shook his head. He had not realized he had closed his eyes.

"Something I can do for you, Cas?" he quipped.

"It looked like you fell asleep," Castiel said, eyeing him closely.

Dean snorted.

"No chance of that."

He pointed to where Sam was talking to Ole, who was showing him something in an old leather-bound book the kind Bobby used to have. Funny, Dean thought. He had never before wondered who those books had belonged to before they got to Bobby.

"Shouldn't you be over there making the cage for Piru?"

Castiel's frown deepened.

"We have already done that. You were…distracted."

Dean shrugged, managing to hide the pained expression on his face. Not that he could fool an angel, but Cas was usually good at following his lead – unlike Sam. If he wanted to keep pretending he was fine, Cas would allow him – for a while, at least.

"Sam is worried about what Lempo and Piru might be doing to you," Castiel stated bluntly. "Frankly, I'm worried too."

Dean scowled. Maybe he wouldn't be allowed to pretend this time. He got up swaying slightly, waving away Castiel's attempts at helping him.

"Look, let's just get this over with, right? After Piru's toast, we'll worry about me."

Dean made his way to Sam and Ole, pleased to see he was now steady enough. Sam looked him up and down, eyes slightly narrowed, but said nothing. Dean was more grateful than he could ever tell. He promised to himself that, when all this was over, he would take Sam to every single museum in Tampere and allow him to geek out to his heart's content. He was not even going to tease him – for about a week.

"Let's get this show on the road," he said.

The two stood away from the sigil. Ole was standing a little further apart, holding the book. Castiel moved to stand behind the brothers.

As Ole began to read, the room grew darker, even though the sun had not set yet. The curtains moved in an unseen wind. The floor shook beneath their feet. Smoke seemed to rise from the ground.

"Guess Piru knows how to make an entrance," Sam muttered.

Piru appeared inside the sigil. He scowled when he noticed he was trapped and could not move. His scowled deepened when he spotted Ole.

"Now what do you want? If it's that wretched granddaughter of yours, let her be the one to suffer the consequences of her mistakes for once."

Ole swallowed harshly, but held his ground.

"I did something wrong. And I need to fix it."

Piru rolled his eyes.

"I see. This is an attack of conscience, then. You called me, Ole, remember that. I just took advantage of someone willing to bargain. As for Sam and Dean…"

He paused and noticed the brothers and Castiel standing further back. He snorted.

"Well, that explains why I'm here. It doesn't explain how you two got here. But you must have realized there's no escaping from me. I own your souls, boys."

"For now," Sam said.

Piru shook his head.

"Sammy, still as naïve as ever. I own your souls for as long as I live. No returns. No refunds. No take backs. And, by the way, Sam, speaking of take backs. Lempo's pissed and he thinks I had something to do with you vanishing on him so unexpectedly. He's sure now I was trying to double cross him."

"But you were," Sam pointed out.

"He didn't need to know that," Piru argued. "Besides, you escaping back to the land of the living was not my idea."

Sam shrugged.

"Wasn't mine, either."

"Well, Lempo won't see it that way," Piru warned. "He's furious and when he's furious, he wants revenge. And he'll hit you where it hurts the most, Sam," he added with a significant look towards Dean. "You know what I'm talking about. You both do. You don't look so good, do you know that, Dean? Are you by any chance…shall we say…indisposed?"

Dean straightened up scowling. Castiel took a step forward then.

"This could all be fixed if you give Sam and Dean back ownership of their souls."

Piru rolled his eyes.

"Hello there. Cas, wasn't it? I remember the last time you tried to get me to work with you."

"Actually, that was Crowley," Castiel felt the need to point out. "And Rowena. I always had a problem with working with you – I was sure it will lead to something like this. Now, about Sam and Dean's souls…"

Piru smirked. He raised his hand and suddenly Castiel found himself unable to move. Ole was just as still, staring at Piru in confused horror.

"What the hell?" Dean asked. "I thought this was supposed to hold you."

"Hold me, yes," Piru acknowledged. "I can't escape this prison. I can still throw darts at you through the bars. Now that your two allies are out of commission – temporarily, don't worry – how about you come here and face me. After all, this is between the three of us."

"Oh, we'll face you alright," Dean said, his hands on the sword.

He and Sam could still move and he did not find the knowledge too reassuring. Surely Piru had a reason for allowing them mobility, and it could not be good for them.

Piru was eying the sword, skeptically.

"You know, no one's ever proven that you can kill me like this. I mean, I was once warned that I'll find myself beheaded by a sword dipped in the blood of a Finnish forest reindeer – but prophecies are often nothing more than hallucinations caused by lack of food and sleep and an inflated self-importance. No one's ever tried it. So, how do you know it will work?"

"How about we give it a try?" Dean asked.

"Unless you want to be reasonable," Sam added. "Give us back control of our souls, free Mielikki and give up whatever it is you're planning. Then we'll work together to put Lempo away for good and…"

"And what, Sam?" Piru interrupted. "You'll fly off to the States and let me be? Promise never to try and hunt me again, no matter what I do? Promise to keep other Hunters off my back? You're Winchesters. Never trust a Winchester is now a part of us supernatural being's collective subconscious. It's instinctive. No one double crosses like you do."

"Technically, you double crossed us first," Dean pointed out. "You said you'd work with us to get rid of Lempo."

"But that's exactly what I'm doing. Except I'm not collaborating with you, I'm using you. I own your souls, boys, I don't know how many times I have to tell you this. Maybe a demonstration is in order."

Dean frowned. He had hoped Piru would not be able to make use of the souls while he was in the trap – but, then again, he had thought he wouldn't be able to use his powers at all, and yet he had trapped Castiel and Ole quite effortlessly.

"Dean…"

Dean turned swiftly around at the sound of Sam's panicked, breathless voice, and froze at the sight. Sam had his gun out and was pointing it at Dean. He was holding himself stiffly, his face a mask of pain, clearly trying to keep himself from doing what Piru was obviously urging him to do.

"Sammy, what…?" Dean began, unnerved by the sight. "Hey, just put the gun down."

Sam looked for a moment as if he was trying to do exactly that. The hand holding the gun did not lower, though.

"Dean," Sam gasped through clenched teeth. "Dean, I can't…"

Dean took another step towards Sam, his hands up to show that he was not a threat.

"You let him go," he hissed at Piru.

"Sure," Piru said calmly. "As soon as you let me go."

Dean hesitated. His attention turned to Sam.

"Sammy, you don't want to do this," he began, trying to make his tone as convincing as possible. "This is me, Sam. You don't want to shoot me."

Sam shook his head as if to free himself from a spell. The gun stayed where it was, though.

"Of course he doesn't want to do this, Dean," Piru agreed. "But this isn't about what he wants. It's about what I want. That's what owning a soul is all about. I can do anything to you – and I can make you do anything I want. I could even make you try to shoot him as well, Dean. Wouldn't it be interesting? You'll fight me, of course, you both will, but at one point one of you won't be able to fight any longer and you'll pull the trigger. Wouldn't you want to know which of you will give in first? I know I'm curious and you know how I feel about puzzles, Dean. Can't help myself."

Sam suddenly swung the gun towards himself. Dean's eyes widened in horror.

"What the hell are you doing?" he shouted at Piru.

"That's not me Dean," Piru answered rather surprised. "That's all Sammy. Well, at least you're resourceful."

"Let him go," Dean said, his heart beating wildly in his chest.

One wrong move and Sam would pull the trigger. He had to get Piru to free him.

"Let me go first," Piru said. "And I'll consider it."

But Sam did not have time for Piru to consider anything – and there was no guarantee Piru would consider something that would make Sam stop pointing the gun at himself. Dean lowered his sword, pretending to be about to scratch a mark into the sigil that would free Piru. When he was close enough, he swung his sword abruptly at Piru's head.

Several things happened afterwards. Piru's body collapsed. Castiel and Ole found they could move once more, and Sam wrenched the gun away from his head just as he pulled the trigger.

The gunshot echoed in the small room and Sam fell to his knees. Castiel and Dean rushed to him while Ole was staring in horror at the scene in front of him.

"Sam," Dean said, shaking his brother's shoulders slightly. "Sammy…"

Sam's eyes were squeezed tight in obvious discomfort. He did not seem to have heard Dean.

"That blast must have rung your bell but good," Dean said sympathetically, rubbing Sam's shoulders.

He looked up and met Castiel's steady gaze.

"He alright, Cas?"

Castiel nodded.

"He is alive. And his soul is his own once more. As is yours."

Dean nodded distractedly. He did not feel any different, but, then again, he was too worried about Sam to focus much on himself.

"Sammy?" he asked again, ducking his head to see Sam's face better. "Are you gonna look at me now? We're getting kinda worried here brother."

Sam raised his head slowly. His gaze was a little unfocused, but his eyes were clear.

"Sorry, Dean," he rasped. "He was trying to get me to kill you. I couldn't stop myself. It was the only thing I could think of."

Dean's hands tightened on Sam's shoulders. He dragged Sam forward until their foreheads were nearly touching.

"Don't you ever make that kind of a choice again," he hissed. "I mean it, Sammy. I thought we've been over this."

Cas and Dean helped Sam up and led him to the couch. He sat down heavily, Dean still hovering over him. He had no plans of letting Sam out of his sight until he was at east sixty.

"One down, one to go," Dean said. "It's Lempo's turn."

"Oh no," Ole said from where he was still standing staring at Piru's beheaded body. "Oh no, you're on your own with that one. No one in their right mind would summon Lempo."

"We should get going," Sam said. "Head back to Helmi's. See what she and Elias have come up with."

"If Elias and Ketch haven't murdered each other by now," Dean commented.

He got up, but sat down abruptly, a searing pain taking hold of him. He might have cried out, he did not remember. It felt like he was being torn in a million pieces. If this was Lempo retaliating, he was definitely pissed.

"Dean? Dean, what's wrong? Wake up…"

Sam's panicked voice calling his name was the last thing he heard for a very long time.

Thanks for reading. Don't hate me for the cliffhanger, I'm sure you're used to them from me by now ;)