A/N Thanks for the reviews people and all the alerts and favs! They make my day. Now where were we?

Major whump in this one!

He tried to crawl across the floor, his hands useless and broken, his elbows his only leverage to pull himself to the relative safety of the corner. Alastair was tailing him, drawing circles with his bare foot in the snail trail of blood that Dean left in his wake.

"You can't hide in here Dean, you should know better." The demon knelt down and started to crawl after his prey, tugging at Dean's foot, knocking him off balance and sending a stabbing pain through him with each pull. Finally Dean reached his goal, pulling his legs up as far as he could manage, curling as small as he dared into the corner. There was the sound of laughter and then his leg was caught and he screamed as he was dragged back out by the devil himself.

"Please stop. Please stop." Dean sobbed into the floor as he was pulled across it, his own blood smoothing the passage.

Lucifer knelt down to him, pulling the hunter's arm out and turning it until the bone cracked in Dean's shoulder. "No stopping this time Dean. No offers. No reprieves. No rest from the wicked. You may have won this time Dean but I am going to spend all eternity making you question the worth of your victory, making you pay for my defeat at your hands."

Alastair walked round Lucifer with the knife held loosely in his own hand. "Do you remember what this is called?"

Dean felt his fear rack up a notch. "It's a Liston knife."

"And what is it for Dean?" Alastair brought the edge of the blade along Dean's wrist, slicing into it with ease.

"Amp……..ah……amputations."

"Very good, well remembered; and they say you're the dumb one." Alastair turned to the other two demons that were free in the room. "Hold him still." Waiting until his prey was pinned he positioned the knife and smiled. "This might take a time, not quite as sharp as it should be. Can't get the staff."

Dean wondered briefly how he could have forgotten how bad it had really been but as the edge of the knife was brought down hard on the hell formed flesh and bone of his arm he found all he could remember was how to scream; Alastair relishing every one as he set about his task.

----

They were standing at the Devil's Gate in Wyoming. Cas was standing to the fore, Colt in one hand, sword in the other, determination gleaming in his eyes. Looking every inch one of God's Warriors. Except maybe for the trench coat.

He turned to Sam, the serene look on his face at odds with the rest of his demeanour. "I have an idea where they will be keeping him. It's where I found him the last time."

"D'you know how long it'll take to get to him?" Sam pushed his hair back nervously from his face.

"If I'm not back within the hour then you will know that I have failed and you must leave." He raised the gun level with the lock and looked over at Bobby. "Shut and lock the doors behind me, I should not need to come out this way but I can open them from inside if need be."

Bobby nodded. "One hour. Got it. Sam you ready?"

"Yeah." They moved into position behind the doors as Cas pushed the barrel home in the lock and the doors started to open.

"Good luck," Bobby screamed over the noise that was starting to build.

Cas turned. "God is with me. Close your eyes."

Checking that they had complied Cas pulled the Colt free and vanished inside in a blinding ball of light. The hunters struggled to get the doors closed again and breathed a sigh of relief as they locked even without the Colt's presence in the lock itself.

"Do you really think that he can do this? Find Dean? Save him again?" Sam slumped down the door as he spoke.

"I believe that he's the only real shot that we've got. That good enough for ya?" Bobby mirrored his actions.

"It'll have to be. For now at least." Sam looked across the graveyard. "Aren't there churches at the points of the devil's trap?"

Bobby nodded. "Sam Colt's ones? Yeah, five of 'em? Why?"

Sam stood. "Think we should go give Cas support the only way we can at the moment. I'm going to go pray for him to save my brother's soul. You coming?"

"Sure can't hurt." Bobby reached out his hand. "Help me up."

TBC