Just a warning for this chapter. There are some scenes that may be considered graphic due to torture. Thought I would send out a fair warning that anyone that is squeamish to such things as not to upset anyone! Other than that, thank you and enjoy!

Dean tried his damndest to tune out Alistair's mocking comments as he slipped on the leather gloves that Bobby gave to him.

"Ohhh, I see what you did there Dean. Pretty smart idea, even I have to admit." Alastair chuckled.

Dean dipped the demon-killing knife in holy water, socking the entire thing. "How about you shut your mouth before I make you."

"Why, that would be no fun, now would it?" Alastair smirked. "How about I tell your baby brother about all the shit you did down in Hell. All those poor little souls you…"

Dean lunged forward, stabbing Alastair in the forearm with the knife. "Now I'm gonna keep this up until you let us in on your plan that you and the other demons have been cooking up."

The demon let out a bellowing scream that quickly dissolved into dark laughter. "That knife can't kill me. It can't even permanently injure me." Alastair was staring at the scar on Dean's arm that was visible with the t-shirt Dean was wearing. "….unlike you, I can see. That arm giving you trouble Dean?"

"I told you to shut up."

"I bet it's stinging right now, can't lift it up all the way? You're weak Dean. Whatever it is that you're trying to do, you're going to fail…not only your mission, but that brother of yours too…"

Dean pulled the knife out, plunging it into Alastair's stolen heart this time. The demon let out an even louder scream of pain. Dean knew it wouldn't kill him, this knife didn't kill white-eyed demons, but still….it would hurt like hell.

He walked back over to the table after pulling out the knife and caught Sam walking up to him out of the corner of his eye.

"Dean, take it easy man…"

"He didn't take it very easy on the souls in Hell, now did you Dean?" Alastair coughed out a laugh. "He sliced and diced in ways you could never imagine, and he liked it too…"

Sam turned to face the demon. "I don't care what he did down there. Those were damned souls, people who were horrible enough to land themselves in Hell. He hasn't hurt anyone up here."

"Not yet. And not all those souls were rapists and murderers little Sammy, some were just like your dear old brother…."

Dean walked back over to Alastair, this time he jabbed a syringe right in the demon's eye and injected holy water slowly as the screams grew louder.

"No one gets to call him that but me, you asshole."

Alastair clenched his teeth through the pain. "Remember Heather, Dean? Dear little Heather who sold her soul for her child to live? Remember what she looked like when you were done with her?"

Dean injected more holy water. "I didn't even touch Heather. You so can take those lies and shove them up your ass."

"Really? Because she sure looked like she went through a paper shredder when your session was done."

Dean stared at Alastair directly in his other eye. "I walked away. I took one look at her and I saw myself, I saw Sammy. And I walked the hell away and some other demon took over."

Dean injected the last of the water and watched with joy at how Alastair struggled to breathe through the agony.

"So…so you're much weaker than I thought. What kind of demon are you Dean?"

"He's my brother," Sam said, walking much too close to Alastair for Dean's liking.

"Sam, don't."

"I'm not having you go through this alone Dean." Sam took a step closer.

Dean sighed and held out his hand, stopping Sam in his tracks. "I said, don't Sam. If you're not going to stay back then I'm going to have to make you."

"Oooh, what's this?" Alastair slurred. "Big brother is threatening his little Sammy. Looks like you're the danger to your brother. As long as he's with you, he's at risk…"

Dean grabbed an iron bar this time and swung it at Alastair's head. "I did NOT threaten him! I only would hold him back if he wouldn't stay back on his own!"

Sam saw exactly what was happening; Alastair was using his name to get Dean angry, to get Dean to lose control. "Dean…"

"Not now, Sam!"

"Anyway," Alastair spit out a wad of blood. "Sam's already a lost cause. Once you started having him drink that blood of yours….it contaminated him….he's damned…"

"He is not!" Dean swung the iron bar one more time.

"He is!" Alastair cracked his neck as if the blow had barely affected him. "He's gonna go to Hell now, no matter what you have him do, no matter how good you think he is…."

"Don't you talk about my brother!" Dean swung the bar harder this time, embedding the metal into the demon's skull and this time the demon yelled.

"Sam will not go to Hell," Castiel spoke up. Sam almost forgot the angel was in the room with them until he heard his voice. "Sam is doing the right thing, he and his brother have good intentions, and he is not damned."

"Maybe not!" Alastair yelled. "Maybe not yet, but he will be. He's traveling with this demon that's already damned and the longer he's exposed to Dean, the better the chance he has at becoming damned himself! Until his intentions are no longer good…"

Dean swung once, twice, three times, and Sam had to force himself not to look away at what his brother was doing. Dean's face was becoming darker with each word Alastair spoke, with each swing he took…

Sam pushed past Dean's powers with his own, and walked towards his brother.

"Dean, you have to stop it…"

Dean turned his head towards Sam, his gaze cold and nearly blank and then Sam felt himself being pushed backwards harshly. He toppled to the ground and landed flat on his butt.

Something flickered on Dean's face but Alastair drew him right back in.

"That was quicker than I thought! You already hurt him; you're already out of control. How does it feel Dean, it feels good, doesn't it?"

Dean pressed the iron bar against Alastair's throat and the skin started to sizzle on the demon's neck. "I did not try and hurt him! I pushed him away, away from you! Now how about you tell me what your plan B is before I go any further on you."

"Oh Dean, you've barely scratched me! Nothing you do will get me to speak!"

Sam stood up, his heart racing as he could barely recognize his brother. This wasn't the Dean he had been traveling with, the Dean that could balance being a demon and his brother so well. This…this was the Dean he had seen back with the ghoul…this was Dean, the torturer; this was the Dean of Hell.

He had to stop him; he had to pull him back before he lost himself in rage. He needed to get to Dean before he went too far, before he couldn't pull back.

"Dean…please…" Sam stated but Dean didn't even turn his head this time. "I need you to listen to me. I need you to back down, please Dean…"

Sam felt himself being stopped once again by Dean's powers and he sighed. Was he going to have to fight against Dean's powers? Sam didn't want to take it that far, but he might just have to.

Dean had the demon killing knife once again and this time twisted it into Alastair's stomach. Oh, how he wished this was like Hell. Where he could tear and shred until there wasn't anything left….where the soul wouldn't regenerate until he wanted it to. If only he could do that to Alastair….but his body kept healing itself quickly…if only…

Dean felt something tugging at him, trying to pull him away. It was a force of some sort, but whatever it was; he ignored it and pushed his powers against the force.

"You know, Dean…even if that little brother of yours doesn't go to Hell….you're still ruining his life. You're holding him back, keeping him with a demon…what kind of life is that…"

Dean's vision turned red and blurry as he pulled the knife out of Alastair's stomach and then sent the blade through his skull. "I had no intention of staying with him!" Dean brought the blade down again. "The second we're done stopping the Apocalypse, I'm leaving him. If I don't die…which I probably will, I am going to leave so he can have a chance to actually live. I would never bring him down by having him stay with me!"

Dean hit Alastair again and he felt that source of power tug at him harder. Enough of that! Dean pushed his powers out with all the strength he had, fighting against whatever was trying to grab him. It was tough, but Dean could feel himself winning. With one final push, Dean released himself from the hold that the power had on him.

With that taken care of, Dean focused on Alastair again, he was so caught up in his rage that he didn't hear the thud that had resulted after he had used his powers. Dean couldn't even remember why he was doing this; all he knew was that Alastair had to pay. Not even for what he did to Dean in Hell, but for the things the demon was saying about Sam…

Sam. Wait…where was Sam? Suddenly, Dean realized that the power source…the one that was trying to pull him away…those had been familiar, those were Sam's powers…how could Dean not have realized?

And he used his own powers against Sam…oh god…

Alastair's mocking voice began to fade enough to where Dean could hear another voice. Someone was calling out to him.

"Dean…please man, please stop…I'm losing you Dean. Come back, I need you, please listen to me…"

Finally, with all the strength Dean felt that he had, he was able to pull away from Alastair's gaze as he turned around.

What he saw made him drop the iron bar he had been holding without a second thought.

Sam was crumpled on the ground, looking at Dean with pleading eyes, there were a few tears rolling down his cheeks…but that's not what had Dean in shock. It was the blood…the blood dripping from Sam's nose. The blood that would only come if Sam used his powers too much… if he pushed too hard.

Sam had pushed himself too hard because Dean had been fighting against his powers. Sam didn't give up because he was trying to get Dean to stop torturing. Sam was hurting because of Dean.

"Hey, Dean…" Sam was smiling now. How could he be smiling after what Dean did to him? "You with me now? Come on, step away from him…please Dean…"

"Sammy…"

Sam grinned at the mention of his nickname. "Yeah, it's me Dean. Let's get out of here, okay? Cas can kill him for us, he's not giving up any information."

Alastair was shouting now, but Dean could hardly hear him. "I hurt you Sammy…"

Sam looked confused and then touched the blood right below his nose. He stared at it. "What? No, I did this. I pushed too hard, I know I'm not supposed to, but I was trying to get to you…"

"You're hurt because of me…"

"Dean, that's ridiculous. I chose to use my powers on you, knowing fullwell that you would push them away. Now please, get away from him."

Dean finally stepped down and walked towards his brother, who let out a sigh of relief. When he reached Sam, he placed both hands on his brother's shoulders. Dean was expecting Sam to flinch after what just happened, but Sam did no such thing. In fact, Sam relaxed even more.

"Are you okay?" Dean asked; worry lacing each of his words.

"I'm fine Dean; it's just a nosebleed and a headache."

Great, a headache too? "This can't happen Sam, these are a lot more dangerous than they seem."

"And it won't happen again, I was worried about you Dean. I'd do anything to try and protect you, no matter how dangerous it is."

Dean lowered his head to stare at the floor and dropped his arms to his sides. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize Dean…"

"Yes I do. I'm sorry. You were right; I can't do this anymore…the torture. I don't want to get like that ever again. That's not who I want to be."

"That's okay," Sam told him. "You were able to pull yourself away from it…"

"No," Dean corrected his brother. "You were able to."

"But my powers didn't work."

"I'm not talking about your powers Sam," Dean admitted and then walked over to the table. Sam started to protest, thinking Dean was going to grab a torture instrument.

But Dean only grabbed a clean rag. He walked over to Sam and wiped the blood away from under his nose.

"Thanks," Sam said before his face fell into a frown. "What were you saying back there? You don't seriously want to leave me after this is all over, do you Dean?"

Crap, Dean had said that out loud? He hadn't even realized…but now that Sam had heard, he might as well get the truth out in the open.

"You don't need a demon following you around after this is over. You're going to have that normal life you've always wanted."

Sam's face was actually red, something Dean hadn't expected. "You can't actually be serious? You're just going to ditch me, what in the middle of the night? Do you have any damned clue how much I need you, you asshole?"

"Not now Sam…" Dean turned to were Alastair was still screaming profanities at the brothers from his confinement.

Sam's face was set in determination. "Fine. But once we leave here, we're talking about this. About this stupid mind-set you have and I won't shut up until you believe me."

Good luck with that. "Where's the angel?" Dean changed the subject.

"There were noises coming from outside. Other demons, probably trying to rescue Alastair. Cas went to take care of them."

"Well then, I guess we should take care of Alastair then, just end him now."

"I'll do it," Sam's tone suggested no room for argument and Dean wasn't going to fight him.

But when the brothers turned towards the trap, Alastair was gone.

"What the Hell…" Dean started only for Sam to pounce on him and send them both to the floor. When Dean looked up, Alastair was standing there with Ruby's knife in his hand, grinning with bloody teeth.

Alastair twisted his hand and Dean's bad arm shot up upwards, leaving the older brother writhing on the ground in pain. He turned towards Sam only to stare at him in shock.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Sam had his hand extended, he was stopping Alastair in place but he couldn't hold on for too long. Alastair was powerful. If Sam so much as attempted pulling his soul out, he knew from his brother's warnings that it would be pushing himself too far and he'd suffer a stroke or could even die from exertion.

"Sammy…don't…he's too strong," Dean groaned from the floor.

"It's okay Dean, I'm just holding him here, nothing else." Sam reached into his waistband to pull out the Colt. Unfortunately, Alastair saw what he was doing. The demon became frantic and Sam couldn't do a thing as Alastair pushed out his powers and sent Sam to the floor along with his brother. The demon's smoke cloud began bellowing out of the host's mouth. Sam pulled out the Colt again, but this time he was much too late, Alastair had already gone…leaving only a dead body in his wake.

Dean was huffing on the floor, holding his arm to his chest once more.

"You okay?" Sam asked.

"I'll be fine," Dean said through gritted teeth. "But the bastard got away, Crowley's gonna be pissed!"

"The important thing is that you're safe. He nearly killed you there with the knife Dean, and that stuff that he was saying to you…I thought I would lose you."

"Well you didn't…not yet…but Crowley's gonna kill me!"

Castiel came in then, his hair a mess and blood on his trench coat.

"What the hell happened to you?" Sam asked as Dean managed to get himself in a sitting position.

"There was a hoard of demons trying to free Alastair. I believe a few got past me and that is how he became free of his confinements."

"Just great," Dean mumbled. "Now he's still out there and we haven't figured out what his damn plan is!"

"There was nothing we could do," Castiel stated simply. "Alastair was not going to talk and there were too many demons for me to take on."

"Try telling that to Crowley!"

"Okay, I will tell him," Castiel said, not realizing Dean's sarcasm in the slightest. "I will get him to understand that we were ambushed. Do you have a phone number where I can contact him? I'm afraid his mansion is still angel-proofed."

Dean looked surprised. "Huh, well alright then. Save us a lot of trouble, thanks man."

"Yeah, thanks Cas," Sam told the angel. It was better for Castiel to tell Crowley because the demon was afraid of angels and would listen to what Castiel had to say easier.

"You are welcome. I will call him and arrange a location to meet and talk. I will also teleport your car to you."Dean gave Castiel Crowley's phone number but then seemed to remember something.

"Wait a minute! Why did you insist on driving it if you could teleport my baby the whole time?" Dean shouted.

Castiel seemed to fidget. "Teleporting such a large vehicle can prove difficult and cost a lot of power. I also was very intrigued by your obsession with the vehicle and wanted to try and understand why it seemed to be so phenomenal to you. I have to say I was left disappointed."

"What the hell did you just say?" Dean growled but Castiel was once again smart enough to vanish.

"Damnit," Dean muttered. "I didn't even get to yell at him for scratching the Impala. Remind me to do that next time, will ya Sammy?

Sam gave his brother a blank look. "Don't even think of trying to joke your way out of this. As soon as we get back to the motel, we are sitting down and talk. I don't care what it takes; you're going to listen to every word I say until I get you to believe me. Understand?

Dean sighed; this should be a real fun night.