Here's the next chapter. I'd like to thank everyone that's read and reviewed so far, you all keep me motivated to update often! Enjoy.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!!" Sam shrieked, his face a twisted mask of anger and grief. He took a step forward to shove Ruby but before he could touch her a splitting pain erupted in his head and she went flying backwards into a tree.

Sam gasped, but before he could think about what had just happened the pain intensified, twisting and stabbing through his entire body like nothing he had ever experienced before. He cried out in agony and fell to his knees.

Ruby stood up from where she had been thrown and brushed off her hands and knees. "Ouch. That almost hurt."

Sam could hear her voice somewhere in the back of his mind, but the pain was so intense that he couldn't hear or see. He couldn't even scream.

Wincing in pain, Ruby walked over to where Sam was writhing in agony on the pavement. "Sam?" He didn't even acknowledge her presence. She knelt beside him, but didn't touch him. "Sam…I know you can hear me…I want you to listen to me, okay?" she paused for a moment and then continued, "I know it hurts—but just think of it as like having a vision…" she stopped, thinking, "No, it's probably worse than a vision, isn't it? This probably hurts like all your visions combined."

Sam let out a whimper.

Ruby sighed. "Well, I have some bad news and some good news. The good news is that your powers are now unlocked…they're triggered by your emotions, which is why I provoked you. I'm sorry, but it was the only way to do it, I had to tear down the walls you'd put up and show you exactly how serious Dean being in Hell really is to get you to react." She paused and looked away. "The bad news is that…well…now that your powers are unlocked, you can never go back to how you were before. But you can make the migraine go away, alright? Listen, the only reason you got headaches when you had your visions was because you fought not to have them, and that's the only reason your head is pounding and throbbing right now. Your body is fighting against your abilities, Sam, and what I need you to do is stop fighting it. Just give in to it, and let it take over."

Breathing hard, Sam managed to open his eyes and look at her.

"Don't look at me like that." Ruby said, "You wanted this…and I know you're scared, but suck it up. Dean needs you, and this is the only way that you can help him. So take a deep breath and accept your abilities. They've always been a part of you, Sam. Just let them come to the surface."

Sam nodded and shut his eyes, trying to breathe evenly. He was scared. He had always tried to be normal—well, as normal as possible, considering what his life was like. He was afraid of what he might become if he let his abilities surface, and he knew that if Dean was still alive he would have been screaming at him not to do this, that there had to be another way. But Dean was in Hell—and he had to get him out, no matter what the cost. There was no other way.

Keeping that thought locked in his mind, Sam took a deep breath and let go, giving in to the power that was flowing through his body.

Ruby studied Sam's contorted face, waiting for some indication that he had done as she asked. Suddenly, she heard the low rumble of a car approaching. "Damn it…" she whispered angrily.

Seconds later the Impala came to a screeching halt beside them and Bobby Singer jumped out, gun in hand. He saw Sam on the ground and instantly turned the gun on Ruby, "I knew you were up to no good! What did you do to Sam?!"

"Seriously?" Ruby demanded crossly, rolling her eyes, "Are you always this damn clueless? I have two things to say to you, old man. First of all, Sam's fine, and secondly, the only thing that gun can do to me is ruin my shirt. Do you know how many shirts I've had to throw out because of you worthless hunters?"

Bobby stepped forward menacingly, pushing her out of his way as he knelt next to Sam. He put a hand on his shoulder and gasped. "Oh my God…" he pulled his hand back, "He's burning up."

Ruby sighed loudly and placed her hands on her hips. "Yeah…whatever. He'll be fine in a minute, stop being a freakin' mother hen."

Bobby pulled out the knife and turned on her. "What did you do to him?"

Ruby shrugged. "Nothing. We had a friendly chat and he got all worked-up about Dean being in Hell. How is that my fault? If anything, you should take little Sammy to some anger therapy sessions or something—"

Bobby angrily grabbed a fistful of her shirt and threw her against the car as he placed the knife against her throat. "I'm only going to ask you one more time," he hissed, "What did you do to Sam?"

Ruby stared at him for a moment and then gave a little grin, "I hope you didn't just dent the Impala…cause if Dean ever gets out of Hell he's gonna be pissed—"

Bobby angrily threw her against the ground. "Wrong answer." He growled.

Ruby gritted her teeth and leapt to her feet, ready to fight—

"Would you two just give it a rest, already?" Sam groaned, slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position.

Bobby froze. "Sam?"

Sam winced, running a hand over his face, "Yeah, Bobby."

"Oh thank God." Bobby said, relieved. He took one last look at Ruby and then quickly darted to Sam's side. "What happened? Are you alright?"

Sam took in a deep breath, feeling the oxygen flow through his lungs. "I—yeah." He muttered.

Bobby's eyes narrowed in concern. "Yeah? Yeah what?"

Sam blinked his eyes hard like he was trying to clear his head. "I'm fine." He said simply, and stood up.

Bobby blinked, and then looked hard at his face. "Sam? What's wrong?"

Sam shook his head, looking around dazedly. "Nothing's wrong. I—I'm fine."

Ruby crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Sam critically. "Is the pain gone?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah."

"Did you do what I told you?"

"Yeah."

"Good." Ruby said simply. "Now see if you can sense where Lilith is."

"Whoa, wait just a second now!" Bobby interrupted. "Sam—what is she talking about? What did she tell you to do?"

Sam looked at Bobby. His head felt like it was spinning uncontrollably and he was having a hard time focusing. "I—I stopped fighting against my powers."

Bobby groaned. "Sam…" he reached out and put both hands on Sam's shoulders, forcing the boy to look at him. He studied his eyes. They were the same dark brown puppy-dog eyes that he'd always known…but they looked unfocused. Disconnected. "How do you feel?" he asked simply.

Sam shrugged. "I feel…different."

"Different?" Bobby repeated. "What do you mean?"

Sam paused, thinking. "I don't know, really. Just…different somehow."

"That's nice, Sam." Ruby broke in. "Now if you two are done with your sharing session, we really need to get moving. Dean is in hell, and time is of the essence."

"Yeah." Sam said. "Let's do this."

Bobby opened his mouth to say something but Ruby cut him off, "Where's Lilith, Sam?"

"She's in an abandoned building in Perryopolis, Pennsylvania." Sam said. His eyes widened and he looked over at Ruby, "How did I know—"

"Huh. Imagine that, a small town that no one's ever heard of. Yeah, Sam, I'd say you scared her pretty good back in the house, cause I'd bet anything that she's hiding from you until she can gather more followers." Ruby said.

"She's hiding from Sam?" Bobby said skeptically, "Why would she do that?"

"Because she knows." Ruby said, a smile on her lips.

"Knows what?"

"Knows that her powers don't stand a chance against his."

Bobby glared at her, "So what? Sam doesn't have any idea about how to begin using his powers and Lilith's been using hers for years, so he's at a definite disadvantage if they fight. Plus she's got a group of demons following her around!"

"That's just a minor setback—"

"We're in trouble…" Sam muttered.

Bobby looked over at him. Sam was standing there with his eyes shut tight and a blank look on his face. "Sam?"

"What is it?" Ruby asked. "What do you see?"

"She's taken over the whole town…" Sam said softly. "There are demons everywhere…"

"Damn it…" Ruby muttered. "We need to work fast."

"What?" Bobby demanded. "Did you hear what he said? She took over the town! We can't just rush over without a plan—"

"I can see her…" Sam murmured, his eyes shut tight, "I see Lilith. She's planning something with some of the other demons…"

Bobby looked concernedly over at him. "Sam?" he said gently.

"Half of the town is in flames…" Sam muttered blankly. "All the people are either dead or possessed…"

"Sam, snap out of it." Bobby said louder.

"She's building up an army. An army of demons…"

"Damn it, Sam, look at me!" Bobby yelled. He reached out and grabbed onto Sam's arm.

Sam's eyes shot open—they were black.

Before he could speak Bobby felt a strong force slam him backwards onto the ground. He yelled out in surprise, but as the force was gone as quickly as it had come.

"Oh God…" Sam gasped, breathing heavily, "Oh my God, Bobby, I'm so sorry!"

Bobby opened his eyes and winced. He looked up at Sam, who was standing over him with a terrified look on his face. His eyes were back to normal.

"I—I didn't mean to—" Sam continued, his voice panicked, "I don't know what happened! I—I didn't—"

Bobby swallowed hard. He was scared—for a moment, Sam hadn't been Sam. Not his Sam, anyway, his Sam wouldn't hurt a fly, and he certainly wouldn't hurt anyone he cared about. As he stared at Sam's horrified face Bobby knew that he had two choices: he could take Dean's route and pretend that nothing was wrong, or he could discuss what had happened and only make Sam more upset in the process. 'Maybe Dean did know what he was doing after all…' he thought dryly, and looked back at Sam, "It's okay, Sam." he said reassuringly. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and reached out a hand to Sam. "I'm fine, it was just an accident. Help me up."

Sam stared at Bobby's outstretched hand took a step back, "No, I don't—I don't want to hurt you."

Bobby sighed. "Would you just help me up, boy? We don't have all day."

Sam paused for a moment and then hesitantly stepped forward and helped Bobby to his feet.

"We need to get going." Ruby said briskly, ignoring what had just happened. "The sooner we get to Lilith's hideout the better chance we'll have of defeating her." She walked over to the Impala and got into the back, slamming the door shut behind her.

Bobby sighed, studying Sam. The kid looked scared to death. "Sam…it's going to be okay."

"Is it?" Sam questioned, looking up at him. "I'm losing myself Bobby…"

"No you're not—"

"Yes, I am, I can feel it…" he said sadly, "And I can't stop it, I can't fight against it, because I need my powers to get Dean back."

Bobby ran a hand over his face in frustration. "Damn it, Sam…this whole thing is spinning out of control."

Sam winced and then looked up at Bobby, tears welling up in his eyes. "I know…Dean used to say that too."

Bobby looked away, realizing that he had just made things worse.

Sam sighed. "I wish Dean was here…" he whispered. "I—I'm so scared, Bobby…of what's happening to me…I just wish that Dean was here to crack off some idiotic joke and pretend everything's okay."

"Me too, Sam…" Bobby agreed sadly, "Me too…"

Ruby groaned and opened the car door, "Would you two just give it a rest, already? Seriously, it's like a freakin' soap opera. You know what? I actually wish Dean was here, too—that way he could make you two idiots act more like men than hormonal teenage girls! I mean honestly—"

Sam and Bobby rolled their eyes and started walking towards the Impala. "Shut-up, Ruby!" they chorused.

"Just get in the damn car." Ruby snapped, slamming the door again.

Sam opened the door and slid into the driver's seat. He paused. It felt—wrong. Dean was supposed to be driving, Dean always drove. He stared down at wheel, thoughts of all the times he and Dean had ridden in this car together. So many memories…

"It's called a steering wheel," Ruby interrupted loudly, "You steer with it. But first you have to turn the key in the ignition—now Sam, I know driving is difficult, but can we try to get moving sometime this year? Please?"

Sam turned his head slightly to glare at Ruby, and she flashed him a fake smile. He looked over at Bobby, who nodded reassuringly. Sam reached out his hand and turned the key in the ignition, and the car roared to life. He went to move it out of park but stopped and reached down for something between the seats instead.

Ruby groaned loudly, "Now what?"

Sam ignored her and continued searching until his hand closed around one of the small plastic tapes. He pulled it out, looked at the label, and grinned.

Seconds later, they were flying down the road with Metallica blaring out of the speakers.

Ruby scowled. "What the hell is this crap?" she shouted over the noise.

Sam just grinned, "Quality music, Ruby…you should really learn to appreciate the classics." He pressed his foot down on the gas pedal and the Impala accelerated down the dark road towards Lilith.

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