"But that's just it, Sam. Your Mother and girlfriend died in the same tragic way…and it'll be so poetic when you meet the same horrific end."

Sam blinked. "W-what?" suddenly he felt his body begin sliding upwards toward the ceiling—

The demon smiled and turned to Dean, who was staring at his brother in terror. "Watch closely Dean—something tells me this moment will always be burned on your memory…"

"NO!" Dean shrieked, struggling fiercely, "SAM! NO!"

Sam's heart pounded loudly in his chest as he felt himself being dragged slowly up the wall and onto the ceiling like a rag doll. His eyes snapped to his brother's. "Dean?"

Dean continued struggling, helplessly trying to reach his brother. "It's okay, Sammy, it's okay—"

"He's going to be burned alive, I hardly think that's okay, Dean." The demon said, smiling.

Dean let out a yell of rage and glared at demon, his eyes burning with hatred, "YOU BASTARD! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

"Sam's too dangerous to be alive, Dean…surely you've realized that by now. But by all means, go ahead and try to save him." The demon said nonchalantly, flicking his hand at Dean. "You have thirty seconds."

The pressure holding Dean to the wall ceased, and he fell to the floor. He leapt up and ran over to where his brother was pinned on the ceiling.

"Dean—I can't move!" Sam said fearfully.

Dean hurriedly reached up and wrapped his hands around his brother's arm. He pulled as hard as he could, but Sam didn't even move an inch.

"Twenty seconds and counting…" the demon said tauntingly.

Dean's face contorted in the effort of freeing his brother. "Damn it, Sammy, I can't—I can't—"

Ruby watched them struggle from where she was still pinned. She felt useless. There was absolutely nothing that she could do to help Sam, but… "Sam, you can get out of this!" she yelled. "You just have to use your powers!"

"What?" Sam said, looking over at her, "I don't know how!"

"All the better reason to kill you now, Sammy boy." The demon said simply. "Twelve seconds."

Sam looked back at Dean. He could feel his brother's fingernails digging into his flesh as he tried to free him—but Sam knew that it was hopeless. "Dean—get out of here." He said emotionally, "I don't—I don't want you to see—"

"Sammy—" Dean choked, his voice cracked, "Not like this—you can't die like this—"

"Time's up." The demon said harshly.

A powerful force slammed Dean backwards onto the ground where he remained pressed into the carpet, unable to move—

Underneath his little brother.

"No!" he shouted, eyes wide with terror. He felt as though he couldn't breathe. This couldn't be happening, it was a nightmare—

"Well boys, this has been loads of fun," the demon said gleefully, "But now it's time for the big finale!"

Sam stared down at his brother, and their eyes met. Dean's eyes said it all—Sam knew that expression. It was the same expression that John had gotten when he had seen Mary burning above his crib, it was the same expression that he had gotten when he had seen Jessica trapped on the ceiling above his bed—

"No more." He whispered.

"It was nice knowing you, Sam." The demon said simply. "See you around."

Sam burst into flames.

"NO!" Dean screamed. "NOO! SAMMY!"

The demon laughed, watching as the flames completely consumed the young man in a whirling inferno of fire and smoke. "What's the matter, Dean?" he said mockingly, "Go ahead and save him, he's right above you."

Dean let out an ear-splitting shriek of anger and pain. He fought fiercely to break free, and his whole body contorted as his muscles strained harder than they had ever done before—but he still couldn't move, he couldn't save Sam. His streaming eyes squinted up through the dense smoke and scorching flames, trying to catch one last glimpse of his brother, but all he could see was fire.

The demon smiled from where he was standing. "As I expected…you failed, Dean."

Dean coughed harshly as the black smoke filled his lungs. He blinked his eyes hard, but they were so blurry that he couldn't even see. "No…" he muttered weakly. "Sam…" In the back of his mind he could hear the demons in the room laughing and jeering at him as the little girl screamed in horror.

After a few long minutes the demon reached out his hand and waved it in front of him. Instantly the flames vanished, leaving nothing but smoke and a gaping charred hole in the ceiling.

Dean stared upward, his blurry vision allowing him to see that Sam was gone. The adrenaline that had pumped through his veins moments before instantly disappeared, leaving him feeling empty and alone. Rage flared up inside of him, greater than he had ever felt in his life, and he glared fiercely at the demon. "I'll kill you…" he said coldly, his voice shaking with emotion. "I'll kill all of you…"

The demon smiled. "What is with you and all the empty threats?" he questioned lightly. "You're a pathetic man who's pinned helplessly against the floor—I don't think you're going to be hurting anyone. What are you going to do, scream at me?" he pulled out a gun and aimed it right between Dean's eyes. "I, however, am not one to make empty threats—and I'm going to kill you."

He pulled the trigger. The bullet shot out of the barrel with a bang—

And stopped a foot away from Dean's head. It hovered in the air for a moment and then dropped harmlessly to the carpet. "What the hell?" the demon muttered. He turned toward Ruby, his eyes flashing angrily. "You."

Ruby raised her eyebrows. "Me?"

"You did that!" he said furiously. "You're still going against us, even with your leader dead!"

Ruby stared at him. "Wait, you think that I…" she laughed. "Seriously? If I could stop bullets, do you think I'd still be trapped against this damn wall?"

The demon slapped her as hard as he could across her face. "You disgust me." He spat. "You betray us—for what? You're on the losing side, Ruby—and you're going to pay dearly for it."

Ruby spat out a mouthful of blood into his face and laughed. "Cash or check?"

He raised his hand to strike her again, but the bedroom door suddenly creaked open behind them.

Dean's head snapped to the side and he stared. The door had only opened halfway, and nothing was there. He turned back to the demons and saw that they were all staring towards the door, their eyes all wide with confusion as they gazed at something he couldn't see. "Why are they here?" one of the demons muttered. "Lilith's dead."

Dean looked over at Ruby for some kind of explanation, but her gaze was focused on the door just like everyone else.

Suddenly the demon closest to the door was jerked roughly to the ground by an invisible force. He shrieked as layers of skin were effortlessly ripped from his torso in seconds, allowing blood to soak into the carpet beneath him. Dean could hear bone cracking, as though something was gnawing away at the victim—

Dean shuddered as he realized what was happening. "Hellhounds…"

The lead demon stepped forward, his piercing eyes focused fearlessly on the beasts as he ignored the sickening crunch of sharp teeth on human bone. "Stop." he said coldly. "Go back to Hell and stay there until you are needed." The hellhounds' red eyes all focused on him, and then they growled 

menacingly and inched forward, their muscles tightening as they prepared to attack. The demon's eyes narrowed in confusion. "I said stop!" he yelled.

"They're not under your control." A voice said darkly.

The demon spun around, but he wasn't fast enough and an intense force flung him against the wall next to Ruby. The impact threw him to the ground, and he shakily climbed to his feet and stared wildly around for his attacker. "No…" he breathed as his eyes locked on a figure in the center of the room. "It's impossible…"

Dean's mouth fell open in shock, and he stared wordlessly at the man standing next to him. Doubt and relief flooded through him all at once as he stared up into the familiar face. It couldn't be…

A strong hand grasped his arm and pulled him gently to his feet. "You okay, Dean?"

Dean nodded, not trusting himself to speak as he stared at his brother—his living, breathing brother. Sam looked as he always did—there wasn't a single burn on his body. His clothes weren't even singed.

Sam turned his attention back on the lead demon. "You've lost." He said simply, his black eyes locked on him.

The demon laughed bitterly and stood up straighter. "No, Sam—I haven't. I never lose." He flung his hands out, and instantly Sam was hit with the greatest wave of agony he had ever experienced. He fell to his knees as pain twisted and stabbed through his body, and his vision darkened and blurred as the world spun beneath him.

Dean saw his brother go down. "Sam!" he exclaimed and quickly bent down to help him.

"Oh no you don't!" the demon screamed, and without another word Dean was thrown across the room right into the midst of all the other demons. They descended upon him like vultures, intent on ripping him apart.

They didn't get a chance. The hellhounds all leapt forward with a howl, their red eyes flashing dangerously as they formed a protective circle around Dean. They snarled at the demons, daring them to come closer.

The lead demon scowled as he watched his followers hesitate. "You fools!" he shrieked. "They're just dogs! What the hell are you waiting for?!" He shook his head in disgust and then strode towards Sam, intent on finishing him.

Ruby finally managed to pull free from the demon's hold and ran forward, sensing what he intended to do. She picked her ax up off the floor and without any hesitation she drove it as hard as she could into the back of the demon's head.

He stopped. "Ruby…" he said amusedly, "I forgot about you." Without even turning around he reached up, gripped the wooden handle, and pulled the ax blade out of his head with a sickening sucking noise. He tilted his head to the side until his neck cracked. "Ah…that's better." He said, and then viciously swung the blade around.

Ruby leapt backwards, and the blade missed her by inches.

He snarled. "You little whore!" he hissed angrily, swinging the blade again, "For your betrayal I'm going to send you straight to the deepest, most agonizing corner of Hell—where you'll sob and beg for my forgiveness for all eternity!"

Ruby threw herself on the ground and rolled to avoid another attack. As she got up her eyes hastily scanned the bedroom, searching for the one thing that could help her—the knife.

"Looking for this?" he said cruelly, pulling out her knife. He sneered and stepped closer to her, the handle clutched tightly in his hand. "You want it back? Fine. I'll give it you."

He lunged at Ruby with the knife. She jumped to the side and looked around for something—anything—to get her out of this—and came up with nothing. "Dean!" she shouted, ducking as the demon swung the knife at her head, "As much as I hate to say this—" she jumped backwards and picked up her ax again, "—stop standing around like a dumb-ass and give me a little help here!"

Dean glanced around at all the demons standing around him. Their black eyes glared at him cruelly, and he knew that if it wasn't for the hellhounds—that he couldn't even see or hear—he would be dead. There was no way that he could save Ruby—not without the knife. There was the Colt of course, but the family had snuck out the door at some point with it—not that he blamed them for wanting to survive. Sam was still kneeling on the floor with his eyes squeezed shut from some kind of demonic attack, so he was out of the equation for the moment. That left him with absolutely no recourses…unless…

He looked at the empty spaces where the hellhounds had to be and cleared his throat. "Hellhounds—uh—I know you're there—and I know you listen to Sam, but he's in trouble at the moment…" he trailed off, unsure of what he was even trying to say. He looked up and saw that all of the demons were smiling at him, almost laughing, and rage exploded inside of him. "Damn it! I'm Sam's brother, okay? I know he's the one with all the power, but if you hellhounds listen to him you damn well better listen to me! I command all of you to go help Ruby. Now!"

The lead demon heard his outburst and hesitated. He glanced over at the hellhounds, fear momentarily visible in his eyes, but nothing happened. The beasts remained stoic and motionless, their eyes blankly staring up at Dean as though he hadn't even spoken. He laughed. "Nice try, boy—futile effort, but nice try! Don't worry, once I'm done with your lady friend I'll deal with you."

"I'm not his lady friend!" Ruby spat. "We're barely even on speaking terms!" She ducked under the blade as he swung it again, and as she straightened up she glanced back over at Dean—

The hellhounds had all turned, and their gleaming red eyes were all focused on the lead demon.

The demon glanced over and saw them staring back. As he watched they all left their circle around Dean and crept toward him, growling deep in their throats. His eyes narrowed in confusion. "That's impossible." He breathed. "You can't control them…you're just a human."

Intent on protecting their leader from harm, all of the demons attacked the hellhounds before they had a chance to reach him, and Dean found himself trapped in the middle of an intense battle between the demons and the hellhounds. Swearing under his breath, he crouched down on the floor, trying to make himself as small and unnoticeable as possible as sweaty, blood covered bodies pressed up around him on all sides.

Dean felt something hot and sticky brush up against his hand, and he jumped. A second later he felt hot breath on his hand and sharp teeth gently grabbed a hold of the sleeve of his jacket and pulled. Before he realized what was happening Dean was dragged roughly between the fighting bodies and out into the open part of the room. He took in a deep breath as he felt the hellhound release its hold on his jacket. "Uh…thanks?" He said hesitantly, unable to see it.

He glanced up and saw Ruby standing firmly in between Sam and the demon, her hand wrapped around the demon's wrist in order to either take the knife from him or stop him from using it. Throwing caution and planning to the wind, Dean leapt to his feet and ran over.

The demon saw Dean charge out of the corner of his eye. He kicked Ruby hard and then before she had time to react he turned and slashed at Dean with the blade. Dean avoided it easily and then slammed into the demon, knocking him to the floor. "Ruby—you have to undo whatever mind trick he did to Sam!" he shouted to her.

Ruby threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "What do I look like, a freakin' wizard?" she shot back, "I can't just snap my fingers and make Sam okay, Dean. It's not that simple!"

The demon threw Dean off of him and slammed him face first into a wall. He moved to kill him but a hellhound knocked him back to the ground, stopping him from getting to Dean.

Dean climbed painfully to his feet. "Well, make it that simple!" he shouted back at Ruby. "You're always saying you have the best ideas, now's your chance to prove it!"

"It's always up to me, isn't it?" Ruby spat, "Fine! You want me to do something?" she crawled over to Sam, instantly noticing how pale he was. His eyes were shut tightly and his face was set in an expression of unbearable agony.

She hesitated for a moment and then slapped him in the face to get his attention. "Listen up, Sam!" she shouted in his ear, above the yells of the demons and howls of the hellhounds. "I know you're suffering and in extreme anguish, but we need you damn it, so just suck it up!" she stared at Sam for some sign and saw his eyelids twitch slightly.

"Hurry up, Ruby!" Dean shouted impatiently, attacking the demon with an ordinary kitchen knife as a hellhound ripped at its flesh.

Ruby ignored him and kept her attention focused on Sam. "We can't defeat all of these demons without you, so if you don't wake up we're going to die—painfully—and I know you might not care too much if I get ripped to shreds and sent to hell because of you, but Dean's going to die too and for some reason you seem to care about him—apparently he has adoring qualities that I just can't see."

Sam's eyelids flickered more rapidly, but he didn't make a sound or open his eyes.

Ruby stared at him, hard. She ignored the loud sounds of the battle going on around them and kept her gaze focused on Sam. He wasn't going to just wake up—she knew that, even if Dean didn't. The demon had lodged himself deep inside of his mind, and he had no intention of letting him go.

"Damn it…" She sighed, knowing what she had to do. Ruby reached up and wrapped both her hands firmly around Sam's head and then shut her eyes. She concentrated, digging deep into Sam's mind, through his memories, hopes, and fears, until—

A wave of pain slammed into her like a thousand daggers, twisting and digging deep into her flesh. She flinched but didn't let go of Sam. Instead, she gritted her teeth and pulled, drawing the pain back into herself, away from Sam.

Sam felt the pain begin to recede. His mind snapped into a blurry focus and he hurriedly tried to figure out what was going on. He remembered helping Dean up—and then the demon had done something—

His eyes snapped open, realization flooding through him as he saw Ruby kneeling in front of him with a look of agonizing pain on her face. "No…" he muttered, trying to force her hands away from his face. "Don't."

"Shut-up." Ruby growled. "Let me…finish…"

The pain continued fading, more rapidly now, and Sam tried to pull himself out of her grip. She held on tightly, digging her fingernails into the sides of his face to prevent him from shaking her lose.

"Ruby—"

Ruby let go with a shudder and squeezed her eyes shut. "It's done." She ground out, her teeth clamped together tightly. "Now go…show them…who's boss."

"But you—"

"Now!" she hissed, pushing him roughly away from her.

Sam nodded. He stood up, feeling power flowing freely inside of him. It wasn't a feeling he was used to, and he wished he had more time to learn how to control it—but it was now or never. He turned to face the demons one final time.

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