Disclaimer: I used to own supernatural, the boys, the Impala and everything else on the show. But then, the men in white gave me my meds and I had to take them.

Summary: Today was when it was all going to end. Today, his revenge would be complete.

A/N: The reason I brought John Winchester back was because I always thought that Dean was never able to get proper closure with his father. There were just too many issues left unresolved from the secrets to lies to the second family.

Chapter 5. I

"You have a rotten soul." The demon snarled at Dean.

"Takes one to know one." Dean replied.

The demon struggled against his bonds, trying hopelessly to get free. Others of his group lay dead around the pentagram, one at each corner.

"Crowley will find out about this." The demon growled. "He will flay you alive for this."

"Don't worry." Dean said. "It will be too late for your boss by then."

Sparks flickered in the demons mouth and eyes as Dean finished him off with the scythe. That ought to do it, Dean thought, taking out a parchment with an ancient spell written on it. A spell to summon any demon in existence, requiring the sacrifice of five humans. Well, demons were near enough. As twisted and mutated as they were, they still came from humans. Reading the incantation, Dean dropped a lit match on the pile of sulpher and herbs.

"Haven't lost your touch, I see." Meg said for behind him. "You always were too much for a normal demon to handle."

"Meg." Dean said, casually turning around. He didn't have to worry about her, she couldn't touch him with him inside the devil's trap. "You came?"

"You left me no choice." Meg replied. "So, what now? You try to off me. Haven't we played this game before?"

"Relax. I didn't call you here to kill you. I want to make a deal."

"Old habits die hard, huh?" Meg said. "And what makes you think I want to make any deal with you?"

"Because you will like what I have to offer." Dean replied, throwing another ancient parchment at her. Meg caught it mid-air and looked through it.

"What is it?"

"A spell." Dean explained. "To release souls from hell. Only a demon can use this. You need to go back to hell and release the souls there."

"That's a lot you are asking from me." Meg said. "And what do I get in return?"

"That is what I'm offering you, you stupid bitch." Dean said. "How do you think Crowley got to be the king of hell. Or Lillith for that matter. They were both crossroad demons. They dealt in human souls. That's where their power came from. The more souls they have in their bags, the stronger they are. I want you to go to hell and empty Crowley's bag."

"That is still a big risk you are asking me to take." Meg said. "If your boss finds out about this, he'll have both of our heads."

"I'll handle Crowley." Dean replied. "He's gonna be too busy upstairs to know what's going on downstairs. Besides, this is an opportunity for you. Soon, Crowley will be dead and the position of Queen bitch would be open."

"And you are giving me this out of the goodness of your heart?"

"The way I see it, I can't lose here." Dean replied. "Either you bring Crowley down or he slaughters you. Both are a win in my book."

"You seem to be sure that I won't betray you." Meg said.

"You won't." Dean replied. "As long as Crowley is in power, you have no chance of freeing Lucifer. Your best bet is to take him down and continue with your daddy's plans."

Dean received no reply and a moment later he was staring into empty air. The final piece was in place now. Hopefully, Meg and Crowley would end up destroying each-other. He now had everything he needed to bring them all down. But, he couldn't move yet, not just yet. He had to wait for the best time.

"Good. All of you are here." Crowley said to the assembled Winchester and Campbell clans in the room.

"Dean isn't." John replied. "He's on a hunt."

"He doesn't need to be here." Crowley said. "The way I understand it, he is no longer a part of this little inner circle. Don't blame you guys though. He is incompetent and untrustworthy. Two of the things I hate most in my employees."

Uncomfortable shuffling ran through the room. No one liked to hear the brutal truth pointed out.

"And this is about Dean in a way." Crowley continued. "I have found a way to get to the Purgatory and I need something that Dean has."

"That's crazy." Samuel said. "If Dean had something that could give you Purgatory, he'd be the first to hand it over, crowning over the rest of us."

"I doubt even Dean knows what he has." Crowley replied. "It's a ring he has recently acquired. That ring can help me find purgatory. I want you guys to get it for me."

"A ring?" Christian asked. "What kind of ring? What does it do?"

"That ring is classified under the things that are above your pay grade." Crowley replied. "All you need to know is that Dean has it and I want it."

"So why don't you get it yourself?" Sam asked.

"Well, that's the interesting thing about it." Crowley explained. "The ring cannot be taken, it can only be given. If the owner is parted from it against his will, it will lose its power. So, you need to get Dean to give up the ring, of his own free will and hand it over to me."

"Sam, you seen any such ring with Dean?" John asked his son.

"Yeah, I guess." Sam replied. "He has a new ring, but when I asked him about it, he said it was a protection charm."

"Like I said, untrustworthy." Crowley commented. "Well, then, you have your orders."

The room sat in contemplative silence following Crowley's departure for a few minutes.

"Well, I think you should be the one to ask him, John." Samuel said, breaking the silence. "We all know how Dean would never say no to you for anything."

"I don't think it's a good idea." John answered. "If I get the ring, I'll have to hand it over to Crowley. That ring maybe the only thing that we can possibly hold over Crowley. That holds true for all of us here."

"Isn't that the very idea?"

"Look, we all want Mary back. That's our goal here." John explained. "But we have to make sure he keeps up his end of the bargain. Right now, Crowley holds all the cards. There is no telling what he'll do once he gets what he wants. Dean might have stumbled onto something here. We need to figure what it is before we hand it over to Crowley and right now it's safest with Dean."

"Well, I guess that means out with the ancient books." Samuel said.

"Yeah." John agreed. "And guys, keep this whole thing a secret from Dean. If he finds out what he has, he might do something stupid."

"It doesn't make sense, though." Sam said. "If Dean has this thing that actually might hold the key to finding the purgatory, why hasn't he told us about it?"

"C'mon, Sam, you know your brother." Christian replied. "He's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. He probably thinks that it is just a protection charm."

"Christian's right." John agreed. "And it's in everyone's best interest that he continues believing that."

"Jesus." Dean shouted as he entered the bedroom. "What the hell?"

"Hey Dean." Sam relied, smiling unabashedly.

"Jesus, don't you knock." Gwen said, pushing Sam away and hastily pulling the covers around her.

"Well, excuse me for coming into my own room without knocking." Dean said. "What the hell is going on here?"

"What does it look like?" Sam asked, causally putting on his clothes.

"I don't even want to know." Dean replied. "Sam, Dad wants you. He and Samuel and Christian have something to discuss with you."

"What is it?"

"Don't know, don't care." Dean replied.

He gave Sam a wide berth to get out of the room before turning back to Gwen, who was now halfway through putting on her clothes.

"Sam? Really?" He asked disbelievingly. "You guys wanna go to hell so bad, there are easier ways."

"For God's sake Dean, we're third cousins." Gwen replied. "This relationship is perfectly acceptable in almost all cultures."

"Relationship?" Dean asked. "You think that's what this is? In case you didn't notice, Sam has no soul. I doubt that he's gonna feel that way about you once he gets his soul back."

"If he gets his soul back." Gwen corrected. "In case you didn't notice, you are pretty much the only one around here who wants to get Sam's soul."

"That's crazy."

"Wake up Dean." Gwen said. "Sam's soul is probably so broken by now, it will leave him a blubbering mess if it gets back in his body. And no one wants that for him, except, apparently you."

"That's not true."

"Yes it is. And if you weren't so pathetic, you'd see it too." Gwen said. "This, now, it is the only chance Sam has at finding happiness and you are too selfish to let him have it."

"What?"

"Without his soul, Sam doesn't need you anymore. The only reason he puts up with you, is because you are related. And that can't last forever."

"You are wrong." Dean replied. "Sam wants me here."

"Really? Is that why he didn't tell you he was alive for one whole year?"

"He wanted to protect me." Dean countered. "He wanted me to be happy."

"You don't believe that, do you?" Gwen replied. "You know that Sam doesn't care about you or your happiness. And the fact is, even soulless, he cares about us. That's why he hunted with us, instead of you. You think if you walked out right now Sam would come with you? You think if you asked him to chose between you and me, he'd choose you?"

"Maybe not this Sam." Dean said. "But my Sam would."

"No, not really." Gwen replied. "When has Sam ever picked you over someone else? He left you for college. For Jess. Hell, he even picked a demon over you. That's how little you mean to him. You think that if Ruby had actually been on level, he'd have ever come back to you?"

"You have no right to talk about him like that." Dena snarled.

"You don't see it, do you? Sam is a part of our family Dean. As is John. But you are not." Gwen said. "You just share the last name and that's the only reason we all tolerate you. But even you have to see it coming. Soon enough, John is going to ask you to leave and Sam isn't gonna do jack to keep you around."

"You keep telling yourself that, honey."

"I don't have to." Gwen replied. "You notice how, even right now, they are discussing important hunts without you? Even they don't think you are good enough to be included."

"I notice that you are not there either." Dean said.

"It doesn't matter." Gwen answered. "They keep me in loop. Sam tells me everything. All his secrets. All your secrets. He told me all about your time in hell. How you broke the first seal. How you failed to kill that Shtriga. Everything. That is what family is Dean. We share things with each-other. When was the last time Sam or your Dad shared anything with you?"

Dean stood seething without answering the question.

"You are not a part of this family, Dean. You should just do us all a favor and get the hell out of dodge." Gwen finished. "Now, if we are done here, I'd like to go and see what the guys are talking about."

"Wait." Dean said, as Gwen started to move past him. "I have something to give you."

Dean moved past Gwen to his duffel and opened it, taking out a folder.

"I was going to look into this myself." Dean sighed. "But I guess you are the best person to do this."

"What is it?" Gwen asked, taking the folder, and flipping through the newspaper clippings and articles inside.

"You remember the demon you screwed?" Dean asked.

"You mean the one who raped me and made me have his baby?" Gwen answered. "How could I forget?"

"Well, some of the witches who summoned him are still out there." Dean explained. "I've been tracking them for some time now. I guess you'd like to catch up to them and get some payback."

"You still haven't caught up to them?" Gwen asked. "Why are you giving this to me?"

"You said I wasn't a part of this family." Dean replied. "Maybe I want to be."

Gwen nodded and left the room with the folder and Dean smiled with grim satisfaction at her retreating back. He wasn't a part of this family and he had no intention of being one. But he had every intention of destroying this family. Each and every one of them. Just killing them wouldn't be enough. He had to put them through hell. Gwen would undoubtedly catch up to the witches soon enough, since Dean had given her all the necessary clues. Then she would undoubtedly find out his role in her tragedy. From the summoning of the demon to the death of her child. It would destroy her, he knew that. It would destroy Gwen to find out that she had been so manipulated by a guy she despised and thought of as worthless and a fool. And then she'd try to kill him, but she won't be able to. Because then, he'd make Sam kill her. Not because of love, though. Dean no longer harbored any illusions about his brother or father. But he had something on Sam, his soul, and Sam would kill her for his own safety. Dean chuckled quietly. It was ironic how truly she believed in Sam and his supposed love for his family. That belief would be her downfall.

"It's a dead lead." Dean argued.

"It's a solid lead." Samuel returned. "It's the best one we've had in months. We can get the Alpha Djinn with this."

"I'm sorry Dean." John interrupted. "But your grandfather's right."

"What, you following his orders now?" Dean replied. "C'mon Dad, we both know that the Alpha Djinn is too strong to be caught like this. We go after him now and we are just gonna end up dead. Now my lead on the Alpha werewolf, that's a sure thing."

It wasn't and Dean knew it. His lead was sketchy at best. But he couldn't let the others go after the Djinn. Not since he had let it escape just a few months before. If Samuel and the others caught up to him, as they undoubtedly will, then his treachery would come to light and it would force his hand. And Dean hated having his hand forced.

"Don't worry Dean, we won't be sloppy like you." Samuel said, snidely. "We won't let him slip right through our fingers."

"Alright, you know what, I'm done with this." Crowley said loudly. He had made one of his rare appearances at their strategy meetings. "Your little pissing match has gone too far. At first, I thought that a little competition is good for business, but this isn't productive. So, tell you what, both of you follow your leads and whoever bags me an Alpha first, wins."

"Wins?" Dean asked. "What, this is some sort of game to you?"

"Exactly. It's a competition now." Crowley replied. "Both of you will try and get me an Alpha. The one who gets back first, well, he gets whatever he wants."

"What the hell does that mean?" Samuel asked.

"It means, deal of the century. Submit your tenders now." Crowley said. "If Grandpa here gets back first, I bring Mary back from dead. If Dean wins, I get Sammy's soul back. But there is a down side too. If you fail, your services will be terminated. You will leave, never to darken this doorstep again. Fair enough?"

Dean's heart sank. This wasn't going the way he had hoped.

"Sounds good to me." Samuel agreed. "So who comes with whom?"

"The other members of the team are not a part of it." Crowley said. "They can help or hinder whomever they want. They won't be punished either way. So, tick-tock, boys. Clock's a-running."

Samuel and Christian were out of the room the moment Crowley disappeared, leaving only the Winchesters.

"So, I guess it's three of us once again, huh?" Dean said, looking at his father and brother.

"No, Dean. You are alone on this." John replied. "If Samuel wins, Mary comes back and I want that more than anything else. So does your brother."

"Dad, what the hell is wrong with you?" Dean asked. "It's your son's soul we are talking about."

"What the hell is wrong with you Dean?" Sam interrupted. "You know what will happen to me if that thing gets put back into me. None of us want that except you."

"It's not right, Sam."

"No, but it's better that the alternative." John replied.

"Dad, you know that Crowley is not just gonna let me walk away." Dean argued. "If I lose, he'll kill me."

"We won't let that happen." John said. "I won't let that happen. But if you lose, you walk away from this mess, you hear me son? You build a life for yourself and you leave hunting behind. You understand?"

"Yes, Dad, I get it." Dean replied. "You are saying that if I lose, I'll lose you, Sam and most likely Mom as well."

He'd lost. Goddammit, he'd lost, Dean thought furiously as the impala raced back towards the compound. To be fair, he hadn't actually wanted to win. Samuel had had a solid lead and the support of the whole family behind him. He had been alone and as expected, his lead had turned out to be nothing. Even so, Dean knew that he could have won easily. All he had to do was to take some of the Alpha blood from his collection and to his little spell. He hadn't done it because each drop of that blood was precious. He didn't know how much Kali would need for her spell, but he wasn't about to waste any. Besides, win or lose, Crowley would end up with an Alpha and Dean hadn't wanted that. He had honestly thought that he would come up with some other way in between, but now it was all over.

Dean had received a call from his father telling him of the recent capture of the Alpha Djinn and asking him to come back to the compound as soon as possible. His brief talk with his father had also told him that Gwen had returned from her hunt and was greatly upset about something. And his father's tone had told him that they knew that he had let the Alpha escape and were awaiting an explanation. Dammit all, now his hand would be forced. He could run away, Dean mused. He could just disappear and no one would ever find him. But no, it just wasn't him. Besides, he'd never give them the satisfaction of thinking that they had beaten him. Dammit, he'd wanted some more time to do more research. To find out if there was any other monster he'd missed which had an Alpha running around. But it was over now. It was now or never. Briefly, Dean closed his eyes and prayed.

"Is it time then?" Kali said, appearing in the passenger seat of the Impala. "It better be."

"Yeah, it's time for our deal." Dean replied. "The blood is under the seat."

The box containing the vials appeared in Kali's hands, as she opened it and examined the contents.

"Thirty-four samples." She said. "Impressive. You will be a legend after this. Thirty four species wiped off the face of the earth in a moment. Though, I must remind you, not all of them are evil."

"I don't care." Dean replied. "You want the ring, you will keep your end. Finish them all."

"So, when do I get the ring?" Kali asked.

"Soon. I just have few last things to do." Dean said. "Look, the ring is promised to you. Even if I'm dead, you can take it from my fingers and it'll be yours. Just give me some time to finish my business."

Kali assented and then disappeared from his car. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to use the ring. Who was he kidding? He definitely would have to use it. Everything else he'd planned was bound to fail. The others weren't stupid. They had known that he was up to something and they would have taken steps to foil him. But all those other things had been red-herrings. The ring was his final option and he was pretty sure no one knew about it. Well, it was now or never.

The Impala came to a stop inside the compound and Dean squared his shoulders and marched inside.

"Dean. Welcome back." Crowley said as Dean entered the room. "We were just talking about you."

Dean didn't doubt it. Looking around the room he saw suspicion and hostility in all the eyes present. Gwen was looking positively homicidal.

"Something good I hope." Dean snarked.

"Not really. We were just discussing your recent exploits." Crowley replied. "Gwen here seems to be under the impression that you were the one who orchestrated the release of a demon called Lust. There any truth to that?"

"If by truth you mean that I gave the witches the summoning spell for Lust, then yeah." Dean shrugged. "I needed that one topside for a bit."

"You son of a bitch." Gwen snarled. She started to move towards him and was physically restrained by Sam and Christian. "You were the one behind that. You got me raped."

"Hey, I warned you not to go after that thing." Dean replied. "Not my fault you wouldn't listen."

"And then you got her baby killed." Crowley continued. "Kind of a wasted effort, don't you think?"

"That kid had served its purpose." Dean replied.

"And what purpose was that?" John asked, ignoring Gwen's renewed efforts to get at Dean.

"C'mon Dad, you can't really expect me to spill all my secrets?" Dean said. "You taught me how to keep them after all."

"And then there is the little matter of letting all those Alphas escape." Crowley said. "I thought that you were just incompetent. But you were just trying to screw me over. Ineffectively, I might add."

"What can I say?" Dean replied. "I told you before I don't work for demons."

"Shut up Dean, just shut up. You are just digging yourself deeper." John interrupted. "Crowley, he can't do any to you. He lost the contest. Just let him go."

"Let me go?" Dean laughed. "Dad, you possibly can't be that stupid. He was never gonna let me go. His goons are probably waiting outside to nab me as soon as I step out of here."

"Dean, I'm hurt." Crowly said. "You think I wouldn't keep my promises? All I want from you is the promise that you won't mess up the hunt anymore with your stupid gimmicks."

"Hunt? What hunt?"

"My hunt for the Alphas, ofcourse." Crowley replied. "Your little antics have been annoying and serve no real obstacle. And I doubt that you can do much without your family backing you up. But still, it would be preferable if you didn't be so damn irritating anymore."

"Oh, that hunt." Dean said, feigning understanding. "Sorry, Crowley, but that hunt is over. You already lost."

"What's that supposed to mean?" John asked.

"You remember the destroyer those things were talking about?" Dean explained. "Never thought it would be me, did you Dad? You never even considered the possibility that your weak, stupid, pathetic son was the one who'd rid this world of those monsters. You thought of everyone from Sam to Christian, but didn't see what was right in front of you."

"You?" Samuel sneered. "Don't kid yourself kid. In case you didn't remember, you weren't even able to catch an alpha before me."

As if on cue a demon, one of Crowley's, Dean recognized appeared in their midst, looking pale and shaken up.

"Sir." He said, addressing Crowley, breathing hard. "They are all dead. I don't know how it happened, but everything we had captured just dropped dead."

"You did this?" Crowley asked Dean, disbelievingly.

"Did I?" Dean turned towards the demon.

"I don't know sir." The demon replied, looking uncertainly between Crowley and Dean. "A few minutes ago, they all just dropped dead."

"It's true." Arlene said coming into the room. Dean hadn't noticed her leave. Samuel must have given her the silent instruction to go and check on the safety of the Djinn Alpha when the conversation on the hunt started. She must have ran all the way there and back to have made it back so quickly. "The Djinn is dead. I don't know how, there isn't a mark on his body, but he's bleeding from inside out."

Dean started laughing. Even to his own ears that laugh sounded maniacal. It had worked.

"She did it." Dean said, trying to control his laughter. "She friggin' did it."

"Who?" Sam asked, confused. "Who did what?"

"Who else? Kali, you moron." Dean laughed. "The great Goddess. The destroyer of evil. I gave her the blood of all the Alphas and she killed them and their children and their childrens' children. A fitting tribute to the blood-thirsty Goddess, don't you think?"

"You two-faced son-of-a-bitch." Crowley growled.

"Your quality of insults is slipping, Fergus." Dean mocked. "Guess you don't take defeat well."

"You? Beat me? Don't make me laugh." Crowley said. "You should never have come back here, boy. You should have run away as far as possible."

"Oh, but I didn't come unprepared." Dean replied. "Or are you forgetting about your missing bones? "

Crowley stood silent for a moment while Dean took out his cell-phone and dialed a number.

"I set it up with a circuit, a phone and a can of gasoline some ways from here." Dean said, holding up the phone. "I hit dial here and your bones go up in flames there."

"You wouldn't do it." Crowley sneered. "I'm the only one who can get your brother's soul back."

"You think I still care about that?"

"Dean - ." John said warningly.

"Oh, and there is your dear old father, ofcourse." Crowley continued, ignoring John. "You think I didn't know the moment my bones were stolen? I knew one of you had something to do with that. So I brought back dear old daddy and bound his soul to mine. If I die, he dies."

"You are bluffing." Dean said.

"No, he's not." John replied. "Son, why do you think I was willing to work for a demon? He literally owns me."

Dean nodded slowly.

"Dad, you remember telling me hunting was all about the hard choices?"

"No - ." John shouted, but it was already too late. Dean pressed the dial button, shocking everyone in room.

The room filled with silence, everyone looking at each-other for the next development. A few moments later, music rang out from Crowley's pocket.

"Excuse me, I have a call to attend." Crowley said, taking out the phone and answering it. "Hello? That's weird. There seems to be no-one on the other side. And my caller-id says it's from Dean Winchester."

Dean scowled angrily and threw away his phone.

"Did you really think I wouldn't find my bones?" Crowley smirked.

"We had a deal." John said to Crowley. "I handed over the bones to you in exchange for Dean's safety."

"You sold me out?" Dean asked his father angrily.

"Don't blame him Dean. He was just doing what was best for the family." Crowley replied. "And John, you really care about what happens to Dean after he just tried to kill you?"

John looked undecided for a moment and then turned away.

"Besides, I'm not going to hurt a hair on that boy's head." Crowley said. "But I can't speak for them."

The question of them was answered as low growls filled the air. Hellhounds. A lot of them as well, by the sound of it. How long had they been there? Dean backed away towards the wall slowly.

Was this it? Dean thought, turning the ring on his finger. But he was interrupted by a new arrival in their midst.

"Not so fast Crowley." Balthazar said, appearing in the room in a rush of wings. "Have you forgotten our little bargain?"

"The deal's off." Crowley replied. "Dumbo here killed all the Alphas."

"And the rest of them, yeah I heard." Balthazar added. "Been hearing the news all over the world. People dropping dead of the streets and dissolving in a puddle of goo. Animal dying and turning into humans. Quite an achievement. But your goal aren't those things, it's purgatory itself. I can help you get there."

"A demon and an angel, working together." Dean smirked. "I've heard that joke before. It wasn't funny then either."

"Well, I guess we can let you live after all." Crowley said. "Dean, hand over the ring to the nice angel and I'll let you go."

"Forget it." Dean replied. "This thing is gonna help me destroy you."

"How?" Crowley sneered. "You gonna set your little angel on me. In case you didn't notice, I have one on my side too. And he has got bigger weapons than yours."

"Castiel can't come to his aid." Balthazar said. "Didn't you hear? Heaven has been sealed. No angel can step outside and come to earth for thousands of years now. Not even with the ring."

"So what use is it to you the?" Dean asked.

"You took it from me Dean, under false pretenses." Balthazar replied. "You cheated on our deal. I just want back what's mine to begin with."

"Like you are cheating Crowley now?" Dean said. "Crowley, didn't he tell you what I gave him in exchange for the ring? I told him where purgatory was."

"What?"

"That's right. The big prize you were working on." Dean continued. "I've known about it for months now. The little blood tracking spell he is gonna give you for the ring, he got that idea for me. I used it to find the purgatory. And I sold it to Death first. I guess the Horseman really cleaned house in there if Balty here wasn't even able to get off with one soul."

"He's lying." Balthazar said. "He's just trying to save his skin."

"I don't bloody care either way." Crowley shouted. "If the ring is useless now, I guess it doesn't matter whether he gives it to you or we pry it off his dead fingers."

"I guess that's true." Balthazar said, after considering it for a moment.

"Good then." Crowley flung out his arm, psychically throwing Dean against the wall and pinning him there. The growls of the hounds got closer to him until Dean could smell there rancid breaths.

"Dad." Dean shouted desperately. "Don't let him do this."

His father didn't say anything but the message couldn't have been clearer. You didn't care about my life, so I won't care about yours.

"Sam, please." Dean pleaded to his brother. He wasn't down to his last option, not yet.

"Sorry, Dean." Sam replied. "You brought this upon yourself."

Guess he was down to the last option then, Dean thought, frantically turning the ring on his finger.

"You are forgetting, Dean." Crowley, smirked. "No angel is coming to help you. Besides, I've got a big one right here."

"Yeah?" Dean smirked. "Mine's bigger."

Dean ignored the hell-hounds descending on him, tearing into his flesh. He ignored their claws and jaws digging into him. Dean just closed his eyes, concentrated his entire being on the ring and prayed – Descend, Raphael.

All of a sudden the hellhounds backed off in fear, whimpering, as the ground began to shake. The room started getting brighter and brighter with holy light until it hurt to keep one's eyes open. A sound that started off low, became a high-pitched siren, shattering the windows and making everyone cover their ears, harkening the arrival of an arch-angel.

He'd screwed up, Sam thought trying to get to his feet and stop the ringing in his head. He'd backed the wrong party. He should have remembered that Dean always came out at the top in the end. Sam looked around accessing the damage. Howls of pain came from invisible entities, as the hell-hounds were set on fire. Randomly, a few of them exploded, staining the floor with their black blood. Christian and Arlene were lying motionless on the floor. Both of them had been stupid enough not to have closed their eyes and now their sockets were empty. Whether they were still alive, Sam couldn't tell. Dean had flung Crowley, John, Samuel and Gwen to the wall, all of them pinned there with his power.

"This isn't possible." Balthazar said, backing up.

"Deal with you in a bit." Dean said and flung out his hand. Flames arose in a ring around the angel, imprisoning him. "Don't go anywhere."

"This isn't possible." Balthazar repeated. "None but the archangels can create holy fire out of nothing."

"You screwed up when you gave me the ring." Dean replied. "When you try to summon a dead angel with it, his scattered grace comes and attaches to the nearest vessel. You should've remembered that, you told me after all."

"That's preposterous." Balthazar said. "No human should be able to contain an archangel's grace."

"Vessel of Michael, remember?" Dean replied and turn towards Sam. "Sammy, you are up. Good. Here." Dean telekinetically threw a knife at his feet. "I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself. Kill Gwen."

"What?"

"Dean. No."

Samuel and John shouted in unison. They struggles against the invisible force bonding them, but it was of no use.

"I killed her kid, Sam." Dean explained. "As long as she lives, she's a threat. You wanna get out of this alive, you'll kill her for me."

Sam picked up the knife and tuned out Samuel and Johns' protests. It was an easy choice.

"Sam, no. Please." Gwen begged. "I love you."

"I know Gwen." Sam replied, sadly. "I love me too."

The knife sunk deep in her gut and Sam turned his attention back to Dean, who, currently was attending to Crowley. The demon was laid out on the table, his face completely smashed in. Dean's hand was currently deep inside his chest, clutching at something that sent sparks throughout the demon's body.

"Dean, if you kill him - ." John started to say.

"Just practicing what you preached, Dad." Dean replied. "None of you were strong enough to follow the three things needed to be a hunter. I am."

Dean tightened his grip inside Crowley, killing the demon. Immediately, John started coughing up blood and Dean let him fall bonelessly to the floor. Him and Samuel, Sam realized. Dean walked up to Samuel, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. Samuel looked up to Dean from his kneeling position.

"It's okay." Dean said, in a soothing voice. "Crowley had to be killed. You get it, right?"

"Yeah." Samuel answered, more scared than anything else. "You are an archangel now? Can you bring back Mary?"

"Yes, I can." Dean replied.

Samuel's face broke into a smile in relief.

"But I won't." Dean added.

"No - ." Sam shouted out in warning, but it was too late. Samuel began to glow from inside as flames erupted from his eyes and mouth. Moments later, Samuel's charred body fell to floor.

Sam was too busy taking in the massacre to notice anything else. Dead. They were all dead. All those he thought of as his family were massacred within five minutes. But he was alive. A shout from Balthazar broke him out of his reverie. In desperation, Balthazar took his angelic blade and rushed at Dean. Dean grabbed his arm and twisted it backwards at an unnatural angle. The next thing Sam saw was Balthazar's own arm stabbing himself in the back. A bright flash of light later and it was all over as the angel's lifeless body fell to the floor.

Apparently, not everything was over, Sam thought as he found himself sail through the air and slam against a wall.

"Dean." Sam said, feeling horrified and betrayed. "You promised you'd let me live."

"Oh, I'm not gonna kill you Sam." Dean said, clutching his amulet. "I'm gonna do something much worse."

Dean's hand came away holding a small glowing object. A human soul, Sam recognized. His soul?

"What are you doing?"

"I promised you, didn't I?" Dean replied."I'll get your soul back. Here it is, with everything that Lucifer and Michael put it through."

"Dean, don't do this to me." Sam begged.

"Sorry Sam." Dean replied. "You brought this upon yourself."

Sam screamed as Dean stepped up to him and inserted the glowing object into his chest. It was a pain beyond anything he could remember. Fierce flames seemed to grow and spread all inside his body. He didn't know when, but he had fallen to the floor, curled up in pain. Last thing he saw before losing consciousness was Dean disappearing in a rustle of wings.

He should be dead, Dean thought. His work was done and he had used up his last card. There was no more reason for him to go on living. No, wait, there was. There was one more thing he could do.

Summoning the angel's grace into himself gave him a lot more than just power. Knowledge of ancient spells, memories all flew threw his mind. There was another thing he could accomplish before his time ran out.

Once again Dean found himself at the centre of the old cowboys cemetery which was the location for a devil's gate. There wasn't much time left, Dean thought. Searching the angel's memories for the archaic blood ritual, Dean drew the necessary symbol on the door of the crypt and chanted the spell silently. This, Dean thought, would be his final act as a hunter.

"Your arrogance never fails to astound me." A voice said from behind him. "You dare to bind me?"

"Death." Dean smiled, turning around. "Nice of you to come. I guess Lucifer must have gone over the details, so I don't have to explain the rules to you. Basically, I'm an archangel who has bound you and now you have to do as I say. So here's my order. Go clean up hell."

"The appropriate response for such insolence would be for me to kill you right now." Death said. "Is there any reason I shouldn't?"

"Yeah." Dean replied. "The same reason you didn't kill Lucifer. You see, I have all the memories of Raphael. I can remember now that the last time you were sealed, it was because of killing the arch-angel Azrael. That one, created to replace Lucifer, was trying to take your position and you killed him for that and paid the price. I guess even you have to suffer the consequences of your actions. So, I guess you have two choices, now. You can kill me now and get sealed for God knows how long or you can follow my order and destroy every soul in hell. Something you planned on doing anyways."

"It seems your tiny consciousness can't comprehend how difficult a task that is going to be." Death replied. "Hell isn't like purgatory, it has a will of its own. Hell will fight me tooth and nails to keep the souls it has got. It will take me centuries to clean it up."

"Well, then, you better get started."

"You little - ."

"Hey. I'm giving orders here." Dean shouted. "You keep calling me arrogant, but you can't seem to admit that a human has got the better of you. Well, I don't care if your ego is bruised. You can kill me right now, but as I'm sure you know, I'm dead in a few minutes anyway. This ring cannot contain the arch-angel's power. Soon enough, it will burn me from inside out. Your only choice here is to either go to hell or go to jail."

Throwing Dean a last vicious look, Death made his way towards the crypt.

"Remember." Dean said. "Death shouldn't cheat either."

"I don't cheat, Dean." Death said, turning around. "I have no need to."

As soon as he was alone, Dean slumped against the nearest headstone, his legs finally giving out. He could feel his control over the grace fading. The heat in his body was rising.

"I guess it's time to keep your end of the bargain." Kali said, once again appearing before him.

"You are taking a big risk coming here." Dean laughed in reply. "You know it's quite possible for me to end you right now."

"Maybe, maybe not. Neither of us intends to find out." Kali said. "You won't try to kill me Dean. Because right now, I'm the only one in the world who understands your motivations."

"And you think that reason is good enough for me?"

"There is also your dying wish." Kali added. "I'm the only one who can grant it."

Dean sighed. The Goddess had him there. He still needed her to grant him his final salvation. Suppressing the grace once more, Dean looked up at the Kali.

"So will you do it?" He asked.

"Do what?"

"I don't have time for games, okay?" Dean said. "Will you give me oblivion?"

"Perhaps." Kali replied. "If you tell me why you seek it."

"Why? That's what you want to know." Dean laughed. "Remember I told you that I've been studying up on you. There was this warrior in one of the old stories, this guy called Karna. He had a really miserable life. So miserable in fact that when he was dying he asked to be laid to rest in barren ground. Just so his miserable life wouldn't pass on to anything else. Well, I don't want to continue my miserable existence either. There is nothing there for me in heaven, hell, purgatory or earth. I just don't want to exist anymore. Can you do atleast that much for me?"

Kali considered his answer for a moment and then held out her hand.

"Give me the ring Dean." She said.

"As soon as I take this off, I'll burn to death." Dean said. "You should stay back a little."

"It won't hurt me." Kali replied.

"You haven't given me an answer yet." Dean stated.

"Because I haven't made a decision yet." Kali replied. "What I do with your soul after your death should not be your concern, since you have already given up on it. Just trust me, you will not regret letting me make this decision."

Dean held Kali's gaze for a moment and then nodded in assent. Taking the ring off his finger, he placed it on Kali's outstretched palm. As soon as it left his hand, unbearable heat arose within him and Dean screamed harder than he had ever before.

Alright, this chapter is done as well. This is mostly how I wanted things to end in this story, but some plotlines had to be abandoned. The next chapter would be last and then I can finally start working on the new idea that's been bugging me. As usual, tell me what you thought of this.