A/N: It's ALIVE! Bet you all thought I was dead. Unfortunately, I was kept away by the stomach flu, severe writer's block, and that shocking season finale. (Anyone else needing October a little sooner?) Anywho, welcome to Thynker, AHChidemebabe, whack sparrow, littlenightbirdy, Amber611, and snowy scarf. Also thanks to my other constant reviewers such as Dean's Worshipper, jo-zabby, Eddieizzie, Jenn, and as always DMRA. Now! On with the show!

Cas had gone through a six pack by himself while Sam just stared at the angel, waiting for the rage to come. He had told Cas everything. Abbadon, Cain, the First Blade, the Mark…everything. When the angel finished his sixth beer, he sighed.

"Has Dean been acting strange?" Cas demanded, contemplating going for a seventh beer. Sam thought over the last few weeks. The inexplicable anger, the bloodlust, the drinking. Sam nodded.

"Dammit, Sam! Why didn't you tell me?" Sam was surprised to find he didn't have a good answer. "Has Dean given any clue to where he could be? He shouldn't be without supervision."

Sam shook his head. "He said he was on a hunt. But he did ask me…Cas, can demons take people out of Heaven?"

The angel's frown deepened. "No demon would ever be allowed to trouble a resting soul in Heaven, especially since the angels have been cast out."

Sam frowned. "Dean sounded worried…almost like it was someone he feared…I haven't heard him like that since…" Realization smacked the younger Winchester in the face. "I know who it is."

XXXX

Her legs pounded against the pavement. The snarls of the hellhounds were amplified in her ears. She was just behind her mom with Dean behind her. She heard him grunt and turned to see him hit the ground.

"Dean!" she yelled, aiming her gun in the general direction of the hellhound.

"No, stay back," he begged, but she didn't listen. Instead she charged forward, firing. She was so focused on Dean she didn't see the hellhound until it had taken her down. Her mother was yelling, Dean was yelling, she was screaming. Dean ran and scooped her up, holding her close to him. Her fingers curled into his shirt as her eyelids flickered.

"Dean," she whimpered, her head suddenly seeming too heavy for her neck. All the noise around the couple gave way to silence as the sky turned black.

He shook his head. "It's gonna be okay," he told her. "You're gonna be okay." He held her in his arms while she held in her guts. It was a situation she had relived nearly two hundred times. She knew exactly what happened next.

"Dean," she huffed, feeling the blood leaking into her lungs, "you have to get out of here."

He shook his head again. "No. I'm not leaving you." From somewhere in the distance came a long sad howl.

"Please," she breathed. The snarls of the hellhounds came closer. "Please, Dean just go." Tears ran down her face. She didn't care if she died. She had done it many times before, sometimes at his own hands.

Suddenly it was there, making her blood run cold. Turning her head, she saw the large black dog with her blood on its claws.

"Go," she whispered, her eyes locking on the hellhound. He followed her gaze, pulling the demon knife out of his waist band. Without warning, the hound charged, jumping over her and taking down Dean. She tried to scream but all that came out were pathetic gurgles. Her breathing increased but none of the air made it to her lungs.

Even as her eyes were closing, she couldn't take them off Dean as he was ripped apart.

XXXX

Dean stood in the middle of the arena, the Mark of Cain lightly burning his skin so that it felt as though he had been stung by a wasp. Not being able to resist the urge, Dean began to lightly scratch at the Mark.

"Don't scratch that!" Crowley barked. Dean rolled his eyes, ignoring the demon and continuing to scratch. Crowley sighed and joined Dean in the boxing ring that stood in the middle of the arena. Dean was surprised that Crowley was not wearing his usual suit but instead an expensive track suit. In his right hand was the First Blade, and as he got closer to Dean the brighter the Mark glowed. As the Mark grew brighter so did the burn it emitted and Dean's eyes widened when he saw his veins beginning to turn black.

His green eyes flickered from the Mark to the Blade. The burn traveled up his arm into Dean's chest until it felt like a hand was squeezing his heart and lungs.

Go on, a small voice urged him, take it. The pain will go away if you take it.

But Dean knew that was a lie. Once he held the Blade the pain would go away, but the voice would get stronger. The voice would encourage him to do things…like kill Magnus. He told himself that he was protecting Sammy, but the voice wouldn't let him drop the Blade. Deep down Dean feared the voice, knew it would turn him into a monster.

Crowley saw Dean's intense gaze on the Blade and smiled.

"It's like a drug, isn't it?" Crowley twisted the Blade in his hands. "You have to work for your fix." With a snap of his fingers the Blade moved from Crowley's hand to a pedestal at the other end of the room. Without a true thought, Dean stepped forward and saw the shadows of the room move. Cautiously, Dean's eyes watched a figure shift in the shadows. It was smaller than himself, and the swaying at the knees told him it was wearing a dress.

Not taking his eyes off the figure, Dean took another step forward and the figure mirrored his movement. Turning, Dean stared at Crowley, trying to figure out his game. The demon smiled and nodded, encouraging Dean.

Dean continued, jumping out of the boxing ring but he found his progress stopped by the figure from the shadows.

"Dean," a young woman smiled. Her blonde waves tumbled down her shoulders, framing her bright green eyes. She wore a simple white nightgown that ended just past her knees. She was barefoot so that Dean saw the dark nail polish on her toes. She stepped up to Dean, smiling.

Dean felt his jaw drop.

"Mom?"

A/N: So it is now the dreaded final time so the next chapter should be up in the next week or two. Sorry for the long delay with this chapter. Also a head's up, I recently received John Winchester's Journal by Alex Irvine, who I believe does the series justice in his two books. I will be using excerpts from that book later on in the story. Just a head's up. I will remind you when I publish those chapters. Until next time, Jo.