This chapter was a lot of fun for me to write! When you read it, remember that there are two Sams, the one from the past and the powerful one from the future. I've taken care to eliminate any confusion of who's speaking, but I just wanted to give you all a heads-up.

Enjoy.

Sam concentrated on breathing regularly as he took long strides toward the house. He was so ready to do this—ready for this nightmare to be over—for two basic reasons. First of all, he really, really wanted to save Dean from his ticket to Hell, and secondly…

If he didn't do it soon, he didn't know how much longer he could remain conscious.

He knew that he had lost a lot of blood—and was still losing it—fast, and his head felt like it was spinning in circles. Of course, that could also be the result of using his powers too much all at once. He had never willingly used his powers before, after all, and he had just defeated hundreds of demons and then successfully travelled backwards in time. It was like he had skipped the astronaut training program and went right into space.

Sam crept up and ducked behind a large bush outside of the house. Ruby and Bobby followed him, looking around cautiously for hidden danger.

"Why are we sneaking around, Sam?" Ruby asked quietly. "You're more powerful than any demon here."

Sam shrugged. "Oh…maybe because I don't want to fight the entire demon population again."

Ruby's eyes narrowed and she examined him closely. Sam gave her a small smile to try to reassure her, but he could tell that she wasn't fooled. She knew something was wrong.

"Where is everyone inside the house?" Bobby whispered, oblivious to this exchange. "How do we know when to go in?"

The high pitched scream of a little girl suddenly came from upstairs.

"Okay, that means we're up in the bedroom." Sam said quickly. "Dean just stopped me from stabbing the girl after Lilith left her."

"Yeah. So what now?" Bobby asked.

"Now we go in and wait." Sam said determinedly.

"How?" Ruby questioned. "Lilith is keeping all the doors shut, and she's probably watching them…Bobby already told us he couldn't get in."

Sam sighed. "I'll get us in, don't worry." He said, and then concentrated for a moment on the layout of the house. "Okay…the dining room is to our right…but we need to hide until they get there so that we're sure Lilith possesses Ruby."

"Are there any closets or something?" Bobby suggested.

"That's what I was thinking," Sam said softly, "Yeah, there are a few nearby…and there's one walk in closet right inside the room."

"Okay, let's do that." Ruby said quickly. "Sam…are you sure you can—"

"I'm fine, Ruby." He said firmly, and then closed his eyes. "No one move…"

Bobby nodded. Before he had time to blink they were all huddled in the darkness of the closet. "Well…that was fast."

Sam took a deep, shaky breath and concentrated on making the room stop spinning. "Y-yeah…" he whispered, holding his head in his hands.

"Sam?" Bobby said worriedly.

"I'm fine…" Sam whispered weakly.

"Like hell you are." Ruby hissed back. "You look like shit. I don't even know how you're still walking, let alone using your powers."

"We just have to concentrate on killing Lilith." Sam said. "Then all of this will be over."

"Yeah, cause that'll be a piece of cake…" Ruby said darkly.

Suddenly heavy footsteps thudded down the stairs as people rushed into the hallway. Loud and angry voices broke the silence—Sam and Dean arguing.

Bobby shook his head. "This is…weird."

"It's gonna get weirder, old man." Ruby promised.

Sam breathed in deeply. His head felt better, it wasn't pounding anymore and he no longer felt like he was on a ship sailing in a storm. "I'm okay now."

"Well, that's good…our plan kinda goes south if you pass out." Ruby said.

"Yeah…" Sam agreed. He pulled out the Colt and gave it to Bobby. "Here."

Bobby shook his head, forgetting that no one could see the gesture in the darkness of the closet. "Sam, you should be the one to shoot her…"

Sam shook his head. "I don't think Lilith's going to let me shoot her with the Colt…not this time. I'm weaker now and her powers are probably at an all time high because she's been resting here for awhile. I need you to keep that hidden for me until she gets cocky or lets her guard down…she doesn't know we have it, after all, and she'll never expect you to carry it. She'll be way more focused on me than you."

"Yeah." Bobby said softly.

Suddenly the voices stopped. The clock in the hall struck midnight and began chiming the hour, and each chord sounded like a nail being pounded into a coffin. Fear and panic welled up inside of Sam as he fought to remain calm.

Then he heard it—the bone chilling howls of the hellhounds. He breathed out, realizing that the last time he experienced this night he hadn't been able to see or hear the beasts…but now he could.

Angry growling followed the howl, and then frantic footsteps pounded on the wooden floor straight toward where they were hiding. The dining room doors were wrenched open and then slammed shut.

Inside the closet, Sam tried to breathe regularly. This was really happening—he had a second chance to save his brother, and this time…this time he wouldn't fail.

"Give me the knife, maybe I can fight it off." Ruby's voice shouted in the dining room.

"What?"

"Come on! That dust won't last forever!" she said frantically. There was a long pause—

"Wait." Dean said suddenly.

"Do you want to die?"

"Sam, that's not Ruby—it's not Ruby!"

Inside the closet, Ruby's hand tightened around Sam's arm, stopping him from bursting out of their hiding place in anger. "Wait…" she breathed. "Not yet…"

There was a loud thud as Sam was thrown across the room against the wall, and another as Dean was thrown backwards onto the table.

"How long you been in her?" Dean asked, breathing hard.

"Not long…" Lilith said childishly, "But I like it. It's all grown up and pretty…"

Inside the closet Sam glared at the door and bit his tongue as hard as he could to keep himself from saying something, and the taste coppery blood filled his mouth. The pointless small talk continued for a few moments as the brothers tried to stall her for as long as possible, both praying for a miracle to happen. Last time, there hadn't been a miracle. Dean had died and gone to Hell…but this time would be different.

"Hello, Sam…" Lilith continued, "I've wanted to meet you for a very long time…"

Inside the closet, Sam gritted his teeth in fury.

Ruby released his arm. "Now."

Sam reached for the doorknob, but he was so angry that the door slammed open before he could even touch it. He stepped out into the room, his black eyes glinting murderously. Three people turned to look at him in shock, but he only had eyes for one—Lilith.

"Surprise." He said darkly, and before she had a chance to move he waved his arm and she went flying away from Sam and into a different wall.

Bobby and Ruby stepped out of the closet behind him. Ruby grinned slightly. "Well…there's no way we can beat that entrance…"

"Just do something useful." Sam snapped, walking toward Lilith.

Lilith climbed quickly to her feet and stared at him as though she didn't know what to think. Her eyes shifted to the Sam she still held against the wall and then back to the black eyed Sam that had thrown her across the room. "What exactly is going on?" she demanded.

Sam stopped when he was a foot away from her and smiled. "Didn't anyone tell you? It's time for your going away party."

She scowled angrily and waved her arm sharply. A bloody gash appeared across Sam's chest, but instead of flinching he grabbed her arm and threw her as hard as he could behind him. She crashed into a chair and then landed in a heap under the windows. Without wasting a moment she leapt to her feet, her eyes flashing angrily.

Before he could react Sam was thrown backwards against a wall—right next to the other Sam, who looked as though he was still in shock from seeing a demonic eyed version of himself come bursting out of a closet.

Sam struggled to escape from her hold and glanced over at himself. "Oh—don't look at me like that—uh…you like that—damn this is confusing—" he muttered.

Lilith smiled and stood back up, smiling. "Looks like I win." She said smugly.

Sam's eyebrows shot up and he laughed. "Uh…no." He closed his eyes tightly and concentrated.

Lilith's smile widened. "Well, this was fun, but I still—"

The windows behind her all exploded inward with impressive force and hundreds of little glass shards embedded themselves in her ivory skin. She let out a cry of surprise and moved her hands up to cover her face. While she was distracted Sam freed himself from her hold and then grabbed a hold of the other Sam's shoulder. One sharp tug freed him from the wall and he fell onto the floor. "Get up!" Sam yelled at him quickly, and pushed him over towards the others.

He reached down and wrapped his fingers around the knife that was lying on the floor. "Ruby, catch!" he yelled, and threw her the knife.

She caught it easily. "Got it."

Lilith opened her eyes again, enraged. The pounding on the door had increased, and by the sound of it the hellhounds had almost got in. "You can't keep them out forever…" she spat.

Sam glared at her. "Let Dean go, Lilith…" he said dangerously, "And maybe I won't kill you in the most horrible way I can imagine."

Lilith's mouth dropped open in amusement and she laughed. "Are you going to kill me, Sam? How frightening—but I'm afraid I have to decline your request."

The hellhounds pounding on the door increased.

Sam smiled softly. "Good…cause at this point I really, really want to kill you."

"Sam!" Ruby shouted urgently. "The door, watch the damn door!"

Sam turned his attention back to the door just as it flew open. He leapt into the middle of the room and stood in front of his friends, ready. Eight hellhounds bolted into the room and then stopped and snarled at him, their white teeth dripping with hot saliva.

Lilith frowned angrily. "Don't stop!" she shrieked. "Attack him! Kill them all, damn it!"

The dogs' growling deepened, but they still didn't move.

"I think your pets are a little scared, Lilith…" Bobby said darkly. "If I were you, I would be too."

Lilith's fists clenched in fury. "Fine then," she hissed, "I'll do it myself—"

Sam looked back just in time to see Lilith leap across the room and descend towards Dean—Ruby jumped in front of her with the knife held high, but one flick of Lilith's wrist sent her sailing across the room along with everyone else, leaving Dean pinned helplessly against the table.

Sam snapped. White hot rage erupted deep in his soul and in less than a second he crossed the room and threw himself between his brother and Lilith. "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM!" he shrieked, his voice distorted so much in fury that it didn't even sound like him anymore. He grabbed her around her neck and threw her across the room so fast that she was only a blur as she slammed into the china closet with a deafening crack.

"SAM! LOOK OUT!" Bobby shouted.

Sam spun around just as the hellhounds all attacked him in one giant mass and knocked him to the ground—all intent on ripping every vital organ from his body.

"NO!" Someone shouted—Dean?

Sam let out a shriek of anguish and fought to throw them off. His vision dimmed slightly—or maybe that was just blood dripping down into his eyes—

Ruby saw Sam go down under the snapping teeth and slashing claws of the hellhounds and felt her blood run cold. "Bobby watch Lilith!" she shouted frantically, and then rushed toward the pile determinedly. She swung the knife and slit clean through the neck of the first hellhound she could reach, and without wasting a moment she swung again—

Too slow—she could never kill them all before they killed Sam. "Sam, damn it, I can't do this by myself!" she screamed.

Bobby's heart was pounding so hard that he thought it might leap out of his chest. He knew he could use the Colt to try to kill some of the hellhounds, but there were only a few bullets left and they needed a sure way to kill Lilith. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lilith slowly climbing to her feet. "Oh no you don't!" he growled, quickly pulling out the Colt. He aimed for the center of her forehead, but before he could fire she glanced up and saw him. Her eyes glinted furiously and she flung him headfirst across the room. He slammed into the corner with a thud and slumped to the ground, unconscious. The Colt landed next to him, unnoticed.

Well, almost unnoticed. Sam saw it from where he stood pressed up against the wall, and his eyes widened as he realized what it was. He saw Lilith walk toward Dean and hurriedly moved so that he was directly in her path. Lilith grabbed onto his jacket. "Get out of my way, Sammy boy…" she hissed, and threw him as hard as she could. He hit the wall and fell to the ground next to Bobby, motionless.

Meanwhile, Ruby slashed through the heart of another hellhound with a splatter of crimson blood. She turned to kill the next one—

"Watch out!" Dean yelled.

Before she could even look up one of the hellhounds slammed into her and knocked her to the ground—the knife tumbled out of her hand and slid across the wooden floor out of her reach.

Sam saw her go down from where he was pinned under the mass of sweaty, blood covered bodies—his vision was swimming in and out of focus, and he could feel his own sticky blood pouring down his skin and pooling underneath him, but he couldn't give up now. Not before Dean was completely safe—

An anguished cry escaped from his lips and he pushed with everything he had left—his whole body tightened in anguish and protest as more power was expelled from him with a jolt. All of the hellhounds were thrown off of him in an instant and then hung in the air, terrifying statues frozen in time.

Ruby's eyes widened as she realized what Sam had just done. He didn't have the strength to be pulling those kinds of stunts—she painfully pushed herself into a sitting position and looked back at him in horror—Sam looked like he was barely alive, barely hanging on by a thread.

Behind her, Lilith stooped down and picked up the knife with a horrible grin on her face.

Sam's world darkened and then swam back into blurry focus as he pushed himself up slowly with one aching hand—he couldn't move his other arm at all. Where was Lilith? He couldn't—couldn't see—

"Sammy get up!" Dean shouted frantically, struggling to break free from the hold Lilith still had on him. "Get up!" Sam's head snapped up at the sound of Dean's voice, and for a moment their eyes met. Dean sucked in a breath at what he saw—Sam's eyes were different and the same all at once—his little brother was staring up at him through demonic eyes—

"How the hell are you still alive?" Lilith growled from where she stood a couple feet away. Ruby sprung to her feet to attack her but Lilith sent her flying into the windows with a sweep of her arm.

Sam winced and grabbed onto the edge of the table behind him with his good hand to slowly and painfully pull himself to his feet. When he was standing he held his head high and smiled faintly at Lilith. "Just to spite you, honestly." he said. He looked over at his brother. "Dean…it's so good to see you…"

Dean let out his breath shakily. "Oh God, Sammy…"

Sam gave him a small smile and rested his hand firmly on his brother's arm. He turned back to Lilith. "This ends now."

"Yes…it does." Lilith said, stepping closer toward him, the knife clutched in her grip.

"Don't!" Dean pleaded helplessly. "Lilith, don't! It's me you want!"

Sam tightened his grip on his brother's arm. "It's going to be okay, Dean."

Lilith's smile widened. "No, Sammy, it's not. I'm going to kill you."

Sam met her gaze unflinchingly. "My name's Sam."

Lilith shrugged. "Whatever." She moved her arm back and then swung the knife towards him with all her strength—

A gunshot echoed loudly in the room.

Lilith paused, confused, and looked up. The other Sam was kneeling on the ground next to Bobby, the Colt held firmly in his hand.

She smirked at him. "You missed."

"No," he said simply, slowly lowering the gun to his side. "I didn't."

Lilith's smile faded, and she looked down—there was a small hole in her shirt right over her heart. As she stared it flickered with white light, and she felt her body shutting down. "No!" she hissed, and angrily swung the knife toward Sam for the second time.

He was ready, and with one swift motion he grabbed it from her and plunged it into her chest.

Lilith cried out in pain and surprise and glanced up at him, her eyes wide with disbelief. "N-no…" she gasped, struggling to breathe.

"No one messes with my family." Sam said coldly, his eyes locked on hers. He twisted the knife once and then yanked it out.

Lilith stared at him blankly, confusion still evident in her gaze as her breath hitched and blood filled her lungs. Her eyes flashed with white light one final time and then her knees buckled and she collapsed in a heap on the wooden floor.

Her terrified eyes remained open, gazing at nothing.

Lilith was dead.

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