Hey all......and good morning! Well at least to those in my part of the world where it is morning. I'm doing a morning post because I seriously don't know when I'll have another chance today. The bowling continues then the long bus ride home. Both of my boys did extremely well yesterday. My oldest, who hurt his knee but is fine now, is sitting in first place in singles, doubles and all events with just the team event to go. This is the state tournament so that is quite an accomplishment. My youngest is doing very well also, but they didn't have the results posted for they little kids yet. Anyway, on with the story. WARNING: This chapter contains disturbing scenes of torture. Nothing overly graphic, but thought you'd need the warning none the less. You'll be seeing a few of these warnings for awhile.

Cindy.

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"Uhnnnnn…G-God…" Sam's pain filled, breathless voice whispered, his eyes scrunched up against the agony he was currently in.

"There's no God here for you boy. Boy king…what a joke…" a menacing voice hissed near Sam's left ear, a cruel chuckle following the hiss.

Sam's eyes remained tightly closed as he breathed through the pain, trying as hard as he could to keep the picture of Dean's face in his mind. He drew strength from the memory of his brother and as long as he could still see him, he would be able to hold on. Sam panted as he tried to push the pain from his mind just like his father and brother had taught him to do so long ago.

'Imagine the pain as a small ball…now, wrap your mind around it and push it away. That's it Sammy…' John's gruff voice filtered through Sam's memories.

But, his family had never prepared him for this kind of pain. They never knew he'd have his flesh and muscles flayed from his bones one moment then boiled away the next. They never could have imagined his limbs being slowly, methodically sawed off of him. And now this new torture, who would have ever thought he'd have to endure something so horrific. Blinding, mind numbing pain tore through Sam's abdomen and he screamed out, his voice all but gone from hour upon hour of screaming. His eyes flew open wide and he swallowed against the sickness threatening to escape his churning stomach.

"That's it Sammy boy…keep those eyes open. I'll bet you've never seen your insides before, have you?" Alastair growled as he leaned in over Sam, the silently screaming man's intestines held up in the demon's blood covered hands for Sam to see.

Alastair pulled and more of the gruesome coils made their way out of the large incision in Sam's abdomen. Sam's body bucked up off he table as far as the restraints allowed, his mouth wide open, but silent. He crashed back to the unforgiving surface of the table just as Alastair dropped his burden to the ground with a sickening, wet splat. Sam's tortured eyes found his tormentors sneering face again and he could do nothing but groan when the demon pushed his hand into Sam's body, rooting up through his chest cavity until his fingers found the young man's frantically beating heart.

Alastair closed his hand around Sam's heart and squeezed mercilessly, laughing out loud as the man gasped, spasms wracking his body. The demon jerked his hand down, ripping the heart away and pulling it into the open air. This time Sam found his voice and his screams filled his ears, never relenting until his eyes finally began to close as he sank into the dark void, the final beat of his heart, held loosely in the demon's hand, the last thing he saw before the darkness claimed him.

Sam's eyes shot open as he awoke with a gasp. His gaze trailed down his nude, restrained and unmarred body. A low chuckle brought his attention up and to his left and soon he was staring into the soulless eyes of his tormentor. Alastair held a large, long bladed knife in his hand. He reached out with his other hand and ran his fingers down the left side of Sam's sweat soaked body, starting at his cheek then moving over his chest and stomach before pausing just below his hipbone. The demon lifted his fingers to his lips and crudely sucked them into his mouth. He closed his eyes for a moment, a sickening smile curling his lips.

"Mmmmm…you taste so good, boy king," Alastair hummed as he moved the knife toward Sam's chest. "Shall we start again?" he queried, slicing through the sensitive flesh over the struggling man's collarbone.

Sam hissed and closed his eyes, willing Dean's face to once more provide him the strength he needed. As the pain intensified he began to chant the same words over and over until the pain receded to the back of his muddled mind.

"For Dean…"

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Dean frantically awoke, a scream tearing out between his chapped lips. He tried to catch his breath as he clutched at his chest. The door bursting open made him jump and he looked up to see Bobby standing in the doorway of the bedroom he occupied, machete in his shaking hand.

"Dean! Wh-what happened? Are you okay?" the breathless man cried as he lowered his weapon and moved closer to Dean's bed.

"Y-yeah. Nightmare…I think…I don't know…" Dean stammered as he tried to get his breathing under control.

"What do you mean? Was it a nightmare or not?" Bobby asked with confusion.

Dean shook his head as he raised a shaky hand to his face. "I…I think they're making me see what…what they're doing to Sammy," he whispered, the vision of Sam's beating heart held in the demon's hand still fresh in his memory.

"What?" Bobby questioned in a shocked voice.

"I saw Sammy…strapped to a wooden table, just like I was. He was naked and…oh God Bobby…" Dean cried brokenly.

"Dean…son, it's okay…just tell me what you saw," Bobby coaxed as his hand gently squeezed Dean's shoulder.

"He…he was screaming…he was in so much pain. The demon…it…it disemboweled him…"

"Oh my God…Dean…I'm so sorry," Bobby whispered.

"It reached into his body and…and it…it ripped out his heart. The bastard ripped out Sammy's heart, Bobby." Dean was sobbing by this time and Bobby was at a loss as to what to say or do.

"Are you sure it's not just a nightmare Dean? Couldn't it just be your fear of what may be happening?" the older man questioned softly.

Dean shook his head and glanced up with bloodshot eyes. "N-no…it was too vivid Bobby. Not like a dream…more like I was there as a witness," he said shakily.

"Why then? Why send you those images?"

"Because they can't touch me. They can't physically hurt me…so…"

"So what better way to torture you than to let you see what they're doing to Sam…" Bobby finished for the distraught young hunter.

"Yeah. Oh God Bobby…they never did that to me. It was always the same every day. They're pulling out all the stops with Sammy…"

"They need to break him. They're scared to death of what will happen if they don't."

"But, why? I mean…they're so afraid of Sam's powers. If he walks away…cleansed of the demon blood and powers…doesn't that help them? He can't be they're leader anymore so he won't be stepping on anyone's toes. He can't kill them anymore with his mind."

"Unless…" Bobby started thoughtfully.

"Unless what?" Dean queried.

"Unless he doesn't lose the powers with the demon blood."

"What? But…"

"Dean…what if he already had the abilities? What if the demon blood just brought them out? If that were the case, conceivably, he could still use the powers against them without the threat of going darkside," Bobby speculated.

"Shit! That would make sense. I've always wondered why if they didn't want a human leading them, or they were just plain afraid of Sam…why didn't they just remove the demon blood? I mean…I thought it could be possible for them to do that and obviously I was right. It makes sense that the powers didn't come from the demon. Lilith tried to kill him after the hounds came for me and she couldn't…"

"So, if Sam makes it…he may still be able to use his abilities. He'll be a major weapon against the demons."

Dean's eyes widened at the implications. "Oh shit Bobby…" he said weakly.

"What? Dean…what's wrong?" the older man questioned.

"If this is the case…what I saw will only be the tip of the iceberg. They're gonna break Sammy any way they can," Dean whispered, his face paling alarmingly.

"Dean…boy, snap out of it! You're scaring me here," Bobby cried at Dean's horrified stare.

"Bobby, I remember…I remember everything that happened to me. Oh God…Sam will too. He'll remember and he's getting it so much worse than I got. If he comes back…if he makes it…how will it leave him? I may lose him anyway Bobby. I may lose him anyway…"

Bobby dropped next to Dean and took the younger man's face in his hands. Dean slowly met his gaze and gulped convulsively. Bobby moved his hands to Dean's shoulders and squeezed.

"Whatever happens Dean, we'll deal with it. I'm not even gonna try and sugarcoat it kid. If he makes it through this, he's gonna be messed up, big time. But, we'll be there to hold him up. You won't let him fall Dean. You'll never let him fall."

Dean's eyes filled as he nodded hesitantly, his eyes lowering to his lap.

"Yeah…we'll make sure he's okay. I'll be there for him. He'll be okay right? Maybe not at first, but he will be…eventually…right?"

"He will be Dean. I'm sure of it."

"I don't want to see it anymore Bobby. I can't bare to see him in pain like that…"

"I know kid…but, you need to talk to me about it. You can't keep what you see and hear bottled up. Put some of that burden on me Dean. I mean it."

"Thanks Bobby…you too though."

"What? What do you mean?"

"They can't touch you either Bobby. They know how much Sammy means to you. They may send you visions too."

"Awww shit… I never thought of that. Well, we'll help each other then."

"Maybe Castiel can work some angelic mojo to keep the visions away…"

"Maybe."

"I don't know though. Maybe I need to see. As long as they're sending me and possibly you the visions, that means they haven't broken him yet. Maybe it's better if we see," Dean theorized, shuddering at having to witness more of what he'd already seen.

"Maybe…but they could always mess with us too. They could stop sending the visions just to make us think they broke him. They aren't very reliable about being truthful," Bobby replied a he stood from the bed.

"Yeah…you got that right. Shit Bobby…we're so screwed until the four months are up," Dean said softly.

"Yep…totally screwed. Now…come on, you need food in ya and so do I," Bobby said as he pulled Dean up from the bed.

"I don't think I can eat Bobby," Dean replied, his stomach roiling at the thought of food.

"Tough. Sam needs us to keep it together. He needs us to stay healthy for when he returns Dean. Your job for now is to hold on and stay safe and healthy. For Sam."

Dean gazed and nodded at his friend. "For Sam," he whispered as he followed Bobby out of the room.

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Uriel sat next to Castiel, his dark eyes gazing out over the park where children played and parents carefully watched over them. He sat hunched over, his elbows resting on his knees, his hand clasped loosely together.

"So…what do you think? Can the kid do it?" the angel's deep timbre asked of the silent angel beside him.

Castiel leaned back against the benchrest and sighed. "He's holding his own…for now. They're going to hit him with everything they have and soon we won't be able to tune into him anymore. He's on his own I'm afraid."

"Kid's strong. Stronger than I thought," Uriel muttered.

"I'm worried about Dean. I'm worried that he can't hold it together. His brother is everything to him," Castiel said softly, his light eyes staring out over the park.

"He's with the old man. Bobby will keep an eye on him, as will we," Uriel replied, his gaze moving to the other angel.

"I'm talking about if Sam fails. Dean will fall apart if we have to kill Sam. Dean is needed…so is Sam. If Sam fails, all may be lost."

Uriel nodded as his gaze returned to the laughing children in the park. The fate of the world rested on one young man's shoulders. If he failed, all of these children would soon be gone and the world would fall into darkness and despair. Evil would roam free to maim and murder at will, unchallenged. Sam Winchester had to be victorious. To fail would mean the end for every human on earth.

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So, are you all still with me? Hope so. Now, I've put the whole idea of Sam's powers being his own in this story because I've always wondered about it. If you remember back in season one the episode Salvation I believe when they were trying to save the family that they believed YED was coming for next, Sam met the mother and baby Rosie. One thing the mother said has stayed with me all this time. She something to the effects of: "It's funny, but when she looks at you, it's like she can read your mind." Now, that sounds to me like Rosie had her powers before YED came along to feed her his blood. So, don't know what the writers are thinking, or maybe they forgot they put that line in, but it is something to think about. I hope you enjoyed that chapter and I will try to post another later tonight when I finally get home. If not, I'll certainly post another tomorrow.

Cindy.