Back at the motel room it's a little after 9 o'clock and Sam's just used his Phoenix powers to teleport Missouri from her house in Lawrence, Kansas to Seattle, Washington. Her face's a picture; both shocked and amazed at Sam's incredible feat. Finally she speaks after an eerie silence, "How long have you had this "entity" inside of you Sammy?"

Sam, who's now sitting next to Dean on the double bed, shrugs, "I don't know...a few days at the most?"

Missouri sits opposite them on the large, fluffy sofa, shaking her head, "I haven't even reached inside your head yet and I have a bad feeling about it. You say you have no recollection of what happened? Who's involved and why?"

Dean smirks, "That's why you're here Missouri, to hopefully gives us some needed light on the situation."

Missouri leans back on the soft sofa, hand over her mouth, as she takes a few moments to decide what needs to be done. The Winchesters look at one another, wondering amongst themselves if she'll help them out or not. Sitting back up Missouri has made her decision, "Alright boys...as you both already know, I use my psychic abilities to sense the presence of spirits but rarely do I ever use them to read minds. I'm sensing this "Phoenix" is a truly powerful being and having myself look inside its mind might cause it to lash out unpredictably but maybe I might be able to, at least, gather some information about why it's inhabiting your body, Sammy."

Dean, now concerned, speaks up, "Look Missouri, you don't have to do this if you don't want to. We don't want to risk it if it means taking your life."

Missouri smiles, comforting the Winchester boys, "You know Dean, I would gladly sacrifice my life in a heartbeat for you boys if it meant it did some good in your quest to rid this Earth of its evil."

"Thank you so much Missouri," Sam says comfortably, as she pats the space beside her on the fluffy sofa, "Alright, shall we get the show started or what?"

Smiling at her unbreakable optimism, Sam walks over to her and sits down. Looking at the boys back and forth she replies in her usual soft tone of voice, "Now for this to work properly, I need total silence from the both of you. No talking, no nothing."

Her focus then returns to Sam, "Now I need for you to clear your mind Sammy. Try to empty it so you're left with the emptiness. From there I shall enter your mind and see what I can pry out."

Dean can only watch as Missouri raises both her hands to the sides of Sam's head as she begins her mind-reading. Sam closes his eyes, trying to keep his mind clear of everything. She looks like someone out of a superhero comic doing it like that, Dean thinks as Missouri replies, "I heard that Dean. Please, you must remain quiet...that means your mind as well."

"Sorry, my bad."

Returning to her task she closes her eyes. A few moments later she opens them again but they're not hazel like they used to be. Instead they're pulsating white energy; this signifying that she's using her telepathy. Dean looks with astonishment; in his entire life he's never witnessed anything like this from Missouri. Sam's eyelids flicker as Missouri attempts to dig deeper into his mind...

Missouri's POV inside Sam's head: Images of Sam's past flash before her eyes as she continues to submerge; the time when Dean appears at his dormitory doorstep, back when he was attending Stanford, to tell him that their father's missing. The horrifying image of his boyfriend, Jessie, held up against the ceiling before bursting into flame. Their encounters with the Wendigo, the Hookman, Bloody Mary, the Shtriga, the demon-possessed Meg, their missing father, John and the Yellow-Eyed Demon. Next she's shown the crash in which it left Sam and their dad badly wounded and Dean in a coma. After that their next encounters with their father's sacrifice to save Dean, a Hindu demon named Rakshasa, the vampire hunter Gordon, a fellow psychic named Ava, a werewolf named Mason (Madison in the TV series) who Sam fell for and had to kill, Agent Henrickson, the Yellow-Eyed Demon's "special children" and Sam's own untimely death. After that she sees the demons resembling the "Seven Deadly Sins", the demon Ruby who fights for the good side and guides Sam, the thief Bela Talbot and their luck with a rabbit's foot, Sam ruthlessly killing the Crossroads Demon, Dean killing the vampire-turned Gordon, their fight against a couple who are really Pagan gods and their first real Christmas together since all this started, their encounter with a coven of witches, Sam reliving the same day over and over again leading him to continually deal with Dean's death, the Trickster and recently their time in Colorado in which Sam, Dean, Agent Henrickson and Ruby fight off a band of demons with a powerful new leader who wants Sam dead. Her searchings go blank and a few seconds later, she finds that she's reached what she's been searching for. Images of horrific-looking demons are surrounding a sleeping Sam as two of them incant a spell that causes him to be possessed by the Phoenix. Instead of continuing any further, Missouri attempts to further search into the mind of the lead demon, who she now knows as Dantalion. Entering his mind, she can see his every thoughts; his recent attempts of forcing Sam into using more of the Phoenix so he's easily manipulated and his plans to steal and use the Crystal Eye's powers...she's then stopped by a blinding flash which causes her to lose her telepathic link with Dantalion and forces her back into the real world.

Sam awakens from Missouri's mind-reading but she, on the other head, cries out and jerks her head back vehemently. Dean runs to her side while Sam tries to calm her by shouting her name and holding her by the arms. Then, as though switched off like a light, she stops and falls back onto the arm of the sofa, unconscious.

"Missouri? Missouri! God, I knew this was a bad idea!" Dean cries, looking frantically at her seemingly lifeless body. Motioning him away from her side, Sam attempts to revive her from unconsciousness with the help of the Phoenix.

"Stand back Dean. I'm going to try and revive her. I sense she hasn't got a lot of time."

Stepping back Dean can only watch as Sam places his hands on her arms and starts to radiate fire. It surrounds him as he proceeds on reviving Missouri, his eyes glowing, the Phoenix symbol illuminating over his left eye. Energy's flowing from him into Missouri until she's radiating herself. A few seconds later her eyes shoot open and she breathes in heavily, coughing at the same time. Sam reverts to normal as Dean kneels to her side again.

"Missouri? Jesus H Christ, are you okay? You really scared the crap outta me!"

Missouri places her soft hand on his shoulder and smiles, "Don't worry about me sweetie. You may not believe it but I've been through worse."

Sitting up she turns her attention to Sam, who's gasping for breath himself, "It's not me you should be worried about. Are you okay sugah?" Her question obviously pointed at him who smiles unsteadily, "I'm fine. Just getting use to the effects afterwards. I'll be fine."

"So, what did you find Missouri? Anything that can help us? Anything at all?" Dean asks, concerned for the both of them as he looks back and forth.

Missouri takes in a deep breath before answering Dean, "From what I gathered from his unconsciousness, you're dealing with a group of demons who call themselves "The Hellfire Club". I couldn't quite catch their names but the one that stood out the most calls himself Dantalion."

Sam, a hand massaging the side of his head, interrupts her, "Dantalion? He's one of the Great Dukes of Hell, master of vast telepathic abilities but from what I've read, sorcery's not his forte, which was what they obviously used to plant the Phoenix in me."

"I can answer that for you Sammy," Missouri continues, "While I was in his mind I sensed that one of his followers' a powerful sorcerer and used his magicks along with Dantalion's telepathy to hold the Phoenix within you."

Dean stands up, walking back to the bed before turning back and placing his hands on his hips, "Well that explains who's doing this to you, a band of evil-ass demons who I'm gonna love killing once I get my hands on them!" He punches his clenched fist into his open palm, gesturing a "Let's kicks some ass", "But what do they want with Sammy?"

Missouri's face frowns as she begins to explain that part, "That's what worries me Dean. When I entered his mind, the little time I had left before he blacked me out was enough to understand what all this is leading to..." She pauses, looking back at Sam who's staring back at her as though he knows exactly what she's about to say, "The reason why they implanted the Phoenix into Sam was because he has the matchless ability to bond with it. I don't know why but they somehow share a link with each other. However, once Sam has embraced enough of the Phoenix, Dantalion plans to coerce him into using its powers to unlock the secrets of a mystical jewel called the Crystal Eye."

"The Crystal Eye? What's that when she's at home?" Dean asks, his face showing that he's never heard of such a thing.

"It supposedly holds tremendous power that, when harnessed, will allow its wielder to see into other dimensions and even open them but I thought that was only a myth." Sam explains as he ambles his way to the window, leaning against it with his arm.

"So why does he need you Sammy? If he's so high and mighty, why can't he harness it?" Dean inquires as Sam answers him, his head still staring out the window, "Because only a god can unlock its power."

Dean then figures it out for himself, "And that's why they...god-damn it!"

There's a eerie, long silence as the trio reside amongst themselves as they try to take it all in. After a while Sam's the one to break the silence, turning away from the window to face them, "So what's our plan of action Dean? What are we supposed to do?"

Dean, elbows on his knees and his fists over his mouth, looks up to him, "I don't know Sammy. I'm really stumped this time..."

Someone knocks the motel door twice before letting themselves in. Looking to see who it is, Sam and Dean's faces light up with surprise when they realise who it is. Standing there (wearing a black flower t-shirt underneath a denim jacket, a blue mid-wash denim mini-skirt and tanned leather, knee-high, high-heel boots) with her arms crossed is Ruby, the demon who helps them out from time to time.

"Maybe I can help you out your little predicament." She says cheekily with a smile. Dean's not pleased as he stands up to face her more abruptly, "Oh hell no! The last time you wanted to help you wanted to cut out a virgin girl's heart!"

Ruby takes no shit and angrily responds, "Yeah and because you didn't take that offer, look what happened! All those people we saved were obliterated by Lilith!"

Dean moves as though ready to punch her lights out for being right but he forces himself not to and sits down on the edge of the bed, his face in his hands. Sam trying to lighten the mood eyeing Ruby's clothes, "So, what's that all about?"
"Oh these...well I thought a little change won't hurt and seeing as this body's got nice legs, I thought I might show them off."

Dean coughs which Sam interprets means to stop with the pleasantries and ask what she wants, "(coughs) So Ruby, how are you going to help us out?"

Placing her hands on hips, Ruby smiles at Sam, "When I heard that you were endowed with the Phoenix, I wasn't surprised. With all that psychic potential inside you, it was only a matter of time until someone wanted to use it against you."

Sitting on the dresser next to the bed Ruby continues, "You all already know that Dantalion plans to use Sam into unlocking the Crystal but what you don't know, and this is going the bad part for all us goody-two-shoes, is that he also plans to open a gateway to Hell and unleash his legions of Demons into the world, causing world obliteration."

Dean looks at her reassuringly, "And how do you know about his evil master plan?"

Ruby, obviously knowing where he's getting at, replies with a grin, "You have your resources and I have mine."

Dean shakes his head, "No way. How do we know if this bit-, Ruby, is telling the truth Sammy?"

"She is Dean. I can see it in her mind. I hate to admit it but even though she's a demon, she lies with the side of good." Missouri replies from out of nowhere, the two boys looking at her.

"Listen to the woman Dean. She knows what she's talking about."

Looking at Missouri and Sam, Ruby speaks out to them, "Can I have a moment with Dean? I need to speak to him alone before we go any further."

Missouri speaks out, "I need to get home anyway. I have dinner in the oven and if I leave it too long, I know it's going to get burned."

"Well, see you Missouri. Thank you so much. You know I much we appreciate your help." Dean replies softly as they hug each other farewell.

"Oh Dean, stop it. You're gonna make me blush." She smiles as she lets go of him.

Sam looks to Dean before teleporting her back home in a flash. Once they disappear, Ruby reverts her attention back to Dean who seems to be ready to fight. She smirks, knowing that this is the only way to get through to him, "Trust me Dean, you don't want to pick a fight with me."

He charges at her swinging with a left straight for her face. Ruby leans back successfully dodging it before grabbing his wrist and twisting it with a crack. Dean winces and fills the force of her foot as she axe-kicks him in the face, sending him backwards onto the floor. Before he can get up Ruby sits on him and pins his arms to the floor, all the while resisting his attempts at getting her off him.

"Listen to me Dean because I'm only going to say this once. Dantalion will use Sam to unlock the Crystal, it's inevitable. You can't stop it, no-one can!"

Suddenly Dean manages to kick her in the back of the head, sending her rolling forwards while he clambers to his feet, "Well I can sure as Hell try! I'm not going to let my baby brother be used as a puppet in bringing on the end of the world!"

Lunging at each other again they both embark in hitting each other with lefts and rights, knees and kicks until Ruby gains the upper hand and flips him over her shoulder and grabs him by the throat, intending to make him listen, "Then help me you stubborn ass! If we can use Sam to get to the Crystal before they do, I can use what knowledge of magic's needed to send it far from anyone's reach!"

Dean starts to cough, gesturing with his hands to ease up on his throat. Ruby complies, backing off as Dean caress his neck before standing up again. Their faces are bruised and their lips are bleeding as Dean comes to his senses, "Alright...alright but no cutting out hearts or whatever you witches do to get the job done, ya hear?"

"It won't come to that. I can at least promise you that but if we're going to do this, we're going to need more of us to survive. Any ideas?"

Dean looks to his cell and picks it up, "I'll phone Bobby. Tell him what's going on and to gather as many hunters he can find. I'm guessing you already know where to find the Crystal?"

Ruby smirks at Dean, "Of course. It seems we've finally come to a decision we both agree on. Didn't think I see that coming!"

Just then Sam returns from the journey and looks at the two. He notices their bruised faces and bloody lips and asks, "Is everything okay? It looks to me like you did more than just talk."

Dean looks up at him and gives him his smile, "Well we needed to work out some stuff and in doing so work out a plan as well."

Sam turns to Ruby who nods to say that he's right, "Come on Sam, let's go for a walk. I'll explain it all to you...Dean needs a little time to recuperate anyway..."