Barely conscious, Sam managed to open his eyes and stared up into his brother's terrified face. "De…" he whispered weakly, and as his vision spotted and darkened he watched his brother's lips move silently in response, forming words of reassurance that he couldn't hear.

All of the sudden Sam froze, his eyes rolled back in his head, and with one last shudder his head fell backwards lifelessly.

"Sam!" Dean shouted, desperately shaking his brother's shoulders. "Oh God, Sam, don't do this to me…" he quickly grabbed his brother's wrist and checked for a pulse—nothing.

"No…" Dean whimpered, his mind racing to find something he could do—this couldn't be happening, it wasn't real—

Sam's eyes snapped open.

Dean blinked in surprise and then exhaled slowly, weak with relief. "Sammy? Oh thank God…"

Instead of responding, Sam's eyes shifted to lock on his, his face stoic and void of expression.

Dean's relief vanished, extinguished by an icy fear that shot straight through him, "…Sam?"

Sam didn't respond, and continued to stare straight ahead, his eyes vacant and cold.

Dean waved a hand in front of his brother's face, only to be rewarded with no response. "This can't be good…" Dean muttered worriedly.

"Oh no, is the infamous Dean Winchester confused? Tisk tisk…"

Dean stood up and spun around at the sound of her voice. She was standing behind him, arms crossed, leaning casually against the wall.

"Leandra." Dean said coldly.

"Good guess, little man…"

Dean glared at her. "What did you do to Sam?"

She grinned. "Why…I'm controlling him, silly. I would have thought that would be obvious to you…but then again you aren't exactly the smart one, are you?"

"Let him go."

Leandra laughed. "Okay, if you say so." She said mockingly, absentmindedly twisting a blonde strand of hair around her finger.

Dean glared at her.

She shrugged. "What? Did you honestly think it would be that easy?"

"Why are you doing this?" he demanded.

"Honestly Dean, it's pretty simple. I'll try to explain in words you can understand. I'm a demon. My boss tells me which hunters he wants dead, and I bring them to this lovely world and kill them, thus making Earth a friendlier place to live in."

Dean's eyes narrowed. "They want Sam dead?"

Leandra snorted. "Well…yeah, obviously. He was their golden boy for a while, but now that it's apparent he's gonna keep on fighting for the good—well—you get the idea. Truth is, Dean, Sam's not the favorite anymore. There are others like him—less powerful, perhaps, but others nonetheless, that are capable of controlling the demon army…and they're much more easily persuadable."

"I won't let you kill him." Dean growled.

Leandra laughed. "Dean, if I'd wanted to kill him, don't you think I would have done it already?"

Dean's brow furrowed in confusion. "What?"

She shook her head. "Wow, you really are clueless, aren't you…let me spell it out for you: I'm not going to kill Sam!" She said, exasperated. "I've changed my mind. He's…grown on me, I have to admit. He's sweet and pleasant to talk to, and it gets really, really lonely living in this world all by myself. The demons all want him out of the way…and if Sam's here with me, he's out of their way. It's a win-win situation for everyone."

"He'd never agree to stay here with you." Dean said.

Leandra nodded. "I know, but believe me, sweetie, I can change that. It'll be easy…I'll just wipe some things, namely you, from his memory. After all, you're the only stable presence in his life, right? Without you he's all alone…no one to talk to…"

"I won't let you."

"Well…you'll be dead, so you don't really get a say in the matter."

Dean pulled out his gun and pointed it at her. "You're not killing me."

She nodded. "I don't plan to—Sam is. Course, he won't remember doing it, if that's any consolation—"

Something slammed into the back of Dean's head, hard. He staggered forward, catching himself before he fell, and spun around quickly.

Sam stood poised behind him, a metal lamp grasped tightly in his right hand.

"Sam…don't do this." Dean said desperately, ready to dive out of the way. "You have to fight her!"

"A lamp?" Leandra said, laughing. "Aww Sammy, you're too cute. Put the stupid thing down and try using something a little more dangerous—like a knife, a gun…you know, big boy toys."

Sam instantly dropped the lamp and it hit the floor with a clatter. He turned, face expressionless, and picked up the gun that had materialized on the dresser beside him.

"That's it…" Leandra purred.

Dean looked at his brother, fear racing through him. "Sam…don't…"

Sam turned back toward Dean, void of all emotion, and raised the gun, aiming for his brother's heart.

Dean's eyes widened. "Whoa, Sam stop! It's me—it's Dean—your brother. Come on, Sammy, you have to remember me! Don't do this—put the gun down—"

"Shoot. Him." Leandra commanded coldly.

Sam nodded, his eyes fixed on Dean's. His finger tightened on the trigger—

"No!" Dean shouted. "Sammy—"

"Shut up, Dean!" Leandra yelled angrily. "What are you waiting for, Sam?! Shoot him!"

Sam stood there, looking from Leandra to Dean as though unsure of what to do, his gun still pointed at his brother.

"Do it!" Leandra screamed.

"Sammy…" Dean said softly.

Sam's eyes snapped to Dean's.

"Sam, Leandra's controlling you, you have to fight her—"

"He's lying!" Leandra countered, stepping forward. "Don't listen to him."

"Sam, it's me. It's Dean, okay? You don't want to shoot me. Put the gun down." Dean said softly, his heart racing.

Sam stood there, the gun shaking in his grip as he tried desperately to come to a decision.

"This is ridiculous…" Leandra muttered, disgusted. "Kill him, Sam!"

"NO!" Sam finally screamed, his voice contorted in pain. He dropped the gun and fell to his knees, his head spinning from his inner battle to regain control.

Dean's eyes widened, and he stepped forward toward his brother. "Sam—"

"Dean, no!" Sam choked out, forcing his eyes open, "Stay—stay back—" he hurriedly picked the gun back up and slid it away across the ground to his brother's feet. "K-keep that…away from me…"

Dean took no notice of the gun at his feet and instead kept his eyes locked on his brother. "Sam, you have to fight her—"

"Get out of here…" Sam pleaded, staring up at him. "Dean—y-you have to leave—she's so strong—I d-don't know how long I can maintain control—"

"Damn it, Sam, I'm not just gonna leave you—"

Sam cried out again, clutching his head in his hands.

Dean angrily turned toward Leandra. "Let him go!" he spat, pointing his gun at her.

She glared back at him, unafraid. "No! No, I'm not going to just let him go!" she said dangerously. "He's mine now, understand, Dean? You had your chance—over and over again! I don't understand it, I really don't—why the hell does Sam put up with you?"

Dean blinked. "What the hell are you talking about?!"

"I don't know if you've noticed, Dean, but you're the reason that your brother's life is a shitload of pain! You and your father tore him apart with your little hunting obsession—"

"That's not true!"

"Yes it is!" she said with a bitter laugh, "Sam wasn't cut out for that life and you knew it! But you just couldn't let him be happy, could you? Oh no, you had to drag him back from the life of normalcy he had escaped to college to find. You had to rip him away from his girlfriend, from the normal life he could have had—"

"Shut-up!" Dean yelled.

"Why don't you shut-up, Dean? Haven't you caused him enough pain?" Leandra hissed, stepping toward him, "What can you possibly give him? An old, beat up car? Some Metallica tapes? What? Tell me, I'd love to know!"

Dean's breath hitched in his throat and he stood there silently, unable to think of anything to say.

"Nevermind." Leandra said with a smirk. "I don't really care what you have to say, and it looks like Sam's ready to have another try at killing you. Try not to mess it up this time."

Dean breathed in sharply and turned around. Sam was standing behind him, blankly staring at nothing. "Sammy…"

"Ready to try again, sweetheart?" Leandra cooed. "I see you've managed to lose your gun—don't worry, that's not a problem." As she spoke another gun appeared next to him on the dresser, and Sam picked it up.

"Don't worry, Dean." Leandra said, "Your pathetic life will be all over soon…"

Sam raised the gun and aimed.

"Sorry Sam." Dean whispered, averting his eyes.

Sam fired.

Oh no! Another Cliffie! I couldn't resist, sorry—but if you all REVIEW I would definitely be motivated to update soon… :)