Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. I didn't update because I was without internet for a while. This chapter and the next will be the last two. All good things must come to an end, sadly. But I'll keep writing other stories, don't worry. :)


Chapter Nineteen

Dark could have left, but he didn't. He had had plenty of opportunities. He still did. He could have left when they broke the devil's trap. He could have left during the drive out to the desert. (Sam and Dean figured it would be safest away from any heavily populated areas.) And now, standing in the desert using his powers to hide Mark, Dean, Sam and Castiel, he could still leave. But he didn't. And there could only be one explanation for that.

Despite everything he had tried to deny, he still cared about Amy.

But as soon as she was safe, he was gone. At least that was what he told himself. At the rate he was going, he would end up as a permanent fixture in Mark's life.

He couldn't let that happen.

All he had to do was get Eirene's attention and then he was done. It would all be up to Sam and Dean at that point and he didn't give a damn about how they planned on stopping her. All Dark had to do was distract her.

He had to pretend he was a Prince of Hell. And since he had been around one, Asmodeus, he could easily mimic the other's power. Hopefully it would only get Eirene's attention. The last thing he needed was more demons on his tail.

He had been told before that his powers were like a beacon for other demons. He hoped that didn't work against him this time. He couldn't feel anyone paying attention, but that didn't mean a thing. He hadn't known Asmodeus had been paying attention until the Prince of Hell had been right in front of him.

And it was happening again now. Before he knew it, Eirene was standing in front of him.

He didn't see Amy in those eyes that stared back at him. He couldn't even feel her in there, so how did they know she was even still alive? Because Eirene said so? They were going to learn the hard way to not trust a tainted goddess.

"Asmodeus," she said. Her tone told Dark that Asmodeus was the Prince of Hell she had been in love with. And the sudden shift in her eyes and manner said she saw right through his deception.

Before he could react, she reached out and grabbed him by the throat. He thought he could protect himself, but then she started sucking the power out of him. He choked against her grip, falling to his knees. Her grip never loosened and he could still feel her sucking everything out of him.

He was suddenly bombarded with emotions. Of the man he had once been. He was filled with guilt over everything he had done. He could feel tears forming, but he could do nothing to stop it.

Why weren't they stopping her?!

That was when he noticed her other hand stretched out toward the others. Not only was she draining him of his powers, she was also holding the others back. He couldn't see them because they were behind him and he was too concerned with what she was doing to him to worry about the others.

They had failed.

"Amy..." Dark managed to say. The darkness being stripped away was more crippling than the hand strangling him. He had relied on Dark for so long, it was like an addiction. "Amy!" It took all his strength to cry out, hoping he would get through to her.

"What did you think you could accomplish?" she said, her voice dark with anger. "By manipulating me?"

He was losing the fight. He could feel the darkness slipping away. There was light at the end of the tunnel. He could dimly see Celine's smiling face. His fight was over. Damien...

"Amy..." His fight wasn't over yet. He grabbed her arm, forcing her off of him, peeling her hand off his neck. She seemed surprised by his sudden strength. "Amy!"

"No!" she cried out and an unseen force blasted him away from her. He landed in the dirt, too weak to move. The strength was gone. There was nothing left but him. Just a man.


The blackness Dark was using to hide them also prevented them from seeing Dark, so Dean was still a bit suspicious of Dark's motives. If Dark was actually leaving instead of sticking around to help them...

The plan they had put together was simple. While Dark was distracting Eirene, Castiel would circle them, pouring a ring of holy oil. The only thing they knew of that could trap a being of Eirene's power. It wouldn't last forever, but they hoped it would be enough time for Mark to talk to her and clear everything up. Hopefully. There would still be no guarantees that she would just leave.

Then suddenly the darkness disappeared. Sam yelled Dean's name and pointed. Dean looked and saw Dark falling to his knees in front of Eirene, who had her hand around his neck.

"Cas!" Dean shouted, giving the angel the signal to start pouring. But when they started to move forward, they were stopped by an invisible force. Dean looked forward and saw Eirene's attention split between keeping them in place and strangling the life from Dark.

"So much for the surprise," Mark murmured. Dean didn't bother telling him they didn't need to hear that negativity.

"Do we have a Plan B?" Castiel asked.

"This was Plan B!" Dean said since Castiel's useless spell had been their first choice. "Sammy?"

"Something's happening," Sam said, still watching Dark and Eirene.

Dean looked forward. Nothing was clear, but something seemed to be agitating Eirene. Then the next moment Dark was thrown back. Eirene dropped to her knees with a loud cry. And the force that was holding them still was gone.

"Amy!" Mark exclaimed as he ran over to her. Dean tried to grab him and stop him, but was too late. Mark knelt down beside her.

Castiel hurried forward, pouring the holy oil in a circle around Mark and Eirene. Dean pulled out his lighter, readying himself. As soon as Castiel was done, Dean shouted for Mark to move.

Mark didn't move at first. Dean was able to see her mouth 'go!' then Mark was jumping back. Dean fired up the lighter and dropped it once Mark was clear. The oil lit up immediately, creating a fire right around her.

She was trapped.

"Dean." Dean looked over his shoulder and saw Sam kneeling beside Dark.

Dean looked at Mark and Castiel. "Keep an eye on her," he said then turned and walked over to Sam, but stopped when Mark touched his arm.

"She was Amy again," Mark said. "At least for a little while." Dean nodded. He had figured as much when she had told Mark to go.

"Guess you're not the only one talented enough to fight against a possession for a bit," Dean said. It had been done before, so it wasn't uncommon, but against a powerful entity, it took a lot of willpower. Mark had been able to fight Dark long enough to trap him and now Amy had done the same with Eirene. No matter how he looked at it, he had to admit that Mark and Amy were special.

Dean walked over to Sam, who had helped Dark into a sitting position. "What happened?" Dean asked. "How'd she get the drop on you so fast?"

"Dean." Sam started.

"I pretended to be Asmodeus," Dark said. "I guessed that pissed her off." Dark's eyes were red, which meant that he had cried at some point. Something Dean found odd.

"Dean," Sam stood, pulling Dean to the side. He lowered his voice. "Does he seem different to you?"

Dean shrugged. "He seems...drained," he said. "No telling what Eirene did to him."

"But he knows what happened," Sam said. "He told me. She sucked Dark out of him. I couldn't be sure at first, but..." He glanced over at Dark and then shrugged.

Dean looked at Dark then back at Sam. "You mean...?"

Sam nodded. "We can always check to make sure, but...that's Damien."

"Just like that?" Dean asked. He looked back at Dark. He did seem a bit more...human. But he still wouldn't trust it. Dark was good at pretending. "We'll check on that later."

"And if I'm right?"

Dean knew what he was asking the most. They had discussed it before. They had hoped to get Dark to open a rift to the apocalypse world so they could save their mom and Jack(Lucifer's son). But if Dark was no longer Dark, then the powers were gone too.

Dean said nothing. He walked back over to Mark and Castiel.


As soon as Dean had gone over to talk to Sam, Mark stepped toward the ring of fire where Eirene was sitting, just watching them. She didn't seem angry anymore. Just patient. Like she had resigned herself to the fact that she had been caught. Maybe she already knew her Prince of Hell was dead.

"You want to bargain for her life," Eirene said. "Do you really think you have anything to offer me?"

"Not here to bargain," Mark said. "You're right, we have nothing to offer. All we can really do is ask you to leave." He didn't mention that she had been polite with everything so far. Except for the fact that she had almost killed Dark.

"What reason do I have to leave?"

"You know the answer to that."

"He lied to me," she said. About Dark pretending to be a Prince of Hell. "I can't forgive that."

"You punished him enough," Dean said, stepping up beside Mark. "Some might say you helped him, but he's probably not too happy about the loss." Mark looked at him confused, but Dean just muttered "later."

"He'll no longer be a problem," Eirene agreed then stood up. "I have no quarrel with any of you. I'll take my leave and return Amy."

Dean looked at Mark. "Think we can trust her?"

Mark looked at Eirene. He didn't know what it was, but something told him that it would be okay. "Where are you gonna go?" he asked her.

"There are many worlds," she said. "Perhaps I'll find my purpose in one."

"Let her go," Mark told Dean.

Dean gave a nod then stepped forward, kicking some dirt onto the fire, breaking the ring. Part of Mark expected her to retaliate and kill them all, but instead a dark mist flew out of her mouth, lifting into the sky and vanishing into a flash of light.

Mark hurried over to Amy, who was close to collapsing. He put his arms around her, holding her steady. After a moment her eyes grew clear and as soon as she saw him, she flung her arms around him.

She was home.