Chapter Twenty-One

Oh, man, this chapter took a long time to get to.

"Dean…"

Dean rolled his head from side to side as he hung in that strange limbo of semi-consciousness.

"Dean."

Dean startled awake on the cot. "Wha…" He looked over at the cot next to him. "What is it?"

Sam lay on the cot, eyes closed and jaw clenched as he breathed slowly.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked, sitting up and turning towards him.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Sam forced out, face flushed as he grimaced.

Dean made a grab for the trash can on the floor, holding it up next to the mattress and placing his hand on Sam's shoulder. With no time to undo the cuffs, he helped Sam roll onto his side, his left hand straining in the cuff. Sam immediately retched into the waste basket, wincing in discomfort. Dean rubbed his hand on Sam's shoulder as he waited out the waves of vomiting. During Sam's third round, Dean was shocked to see blood mixed in with the bile.

Oh, God… Dean thought. What is this doing to him?

It took another two bouts of sickness—the last of which was mostly blood—before Sam finally fell back onto the mattress.

"Oh, man…" Sam muttered, panting, pale and sweaty.

"You okay?" Dean asked with worry, putting the can back on the floor.

Sam nodded, keeping his eyes closed and starting to tremble slightly.

"Sammy, come on, talk to me, dude," Dean said urgently.

Sam opened his eyes and looked blearily up at him, frowning. "You don't sound good. What is it?"

Dean hesitated before giving a head gesture at the waste basket. "You were puking up blood."

Instead of the shocked look Dean was expecting, Sam just stared at him.

"That explains it, then," Sam mused.

"What?" asked Dean.

"I didn't really feel anything before, but now that it's gone, I feel…like a burden has been lifted," Sam told him.

Dean frowned in confusion before Sam's words clicked. He glanced down at the bucket full of dark blood. "Demon blood…"

Sam nodded. "It's not all of it, but…I'm back where I started before Ruby." He looked up at Dean with miserable eyes. "Please tell me it's over."

Dean ran a hand through Sam's hair, pushing his sweaty bangs off his forehead. "It's over, Sammy." He pulled the key out of his pocket and undoing the cuffs. "It's over."

Sam closed his eyes in relief, sighing. "Thanks."

"Hey, you're my brother," Dean told him. "It's our sibling duty to take care of each other when we're sick."

Sam huffed out a chuckle as he looked up at Dean. "This falls a little further than sick, Dean."

Dean shrugged. "Well, whatever."

"So, how's everything going?" asked Sam.

Dean stared down at the floor, hesitating as he looked at Sam. "Maybe you should wait until you feel better, you know?"

"Dean, I'm gonna go crazy if I'm stuck down here much longer," Sam told him. "I'm not asking to go out and hunt. I'm just asking for news."

Dean watched him for a moment, hesitating. Sam's imploring eyes stared into his, begging him to trust him.

Dean took a deep breath. "Cass has been keeping track of the seal countdown with his angel radio thing."

"Where we at?" Sam asked.

"Ten," Dean answered.

Sam's eyes widened. "When was this?"

"About three days ago. I sent him to find Ruby."

"Anything?"

Dean shook his head. "No."

Sam closed his eyes, sighing in frustration.

"Don't worry, we'll find her," Dean told him. "We got Heaven's most awesome angel on our side."

Sam chuckled as he closed his eyes once more to sleep the fatigue off.

****************************************SPN/BTVS** ************************************************** **************

"How's Sam doing?" asked Willow as she, Tara and Xander headed into the living room where Dawn and Buffy sat, talking.

"Oh, you know," Buffy told them. "Withdrawal can't be fun. But Dean says he's slowly getting better. He even managed to keep his lunch down today."

"Maybe I could help," said Willow. "I know this healing spell. I mean, it's doesn't regenerate cells and tissue; it more speeds the immune response to start—"

"No," said Tara forcefully.

Willow frowned over at her.

"Dean probably wants nothing supernatural to be around Sam until he's better," Tara suggested.

"O-okay," said Willow, still frowning at Tara.

"What about that Cass guy?" asked Xander. "Haven't seen him in a while."

"He's out searching for Ruby," said Buffy. "Before she, you know, unleashes hell on earth."

"I could do a locator spell for him," said Willow.

Tara sighed and headed out of the room.

"Or not," said Willow, frowning again.

"Is she okay?" asked Dawn, worry on her face.

"I'm sure she's just tired," Willow replied.

"It's a good call on the locator spell," said Buffy. "Castiel can probably find her on his own."

"Okay," said Willow. "I'm gonna go search the web for anything weird to go after." She headed towards the foyer and up the stairs.

Buffy stood and went after Tara, finding her in the backyard, sitting on the garden bench. "Everything okay?"

Tara nodded, staring off into the distance.

"You sure?" asked Buffy, sitting next to her.

Tara didn't respond for a while, and Buffy let her take a moment.

"It's just…" began Tara, "Willow's using too much magic lately."

Buffy frowned. "She is?"

Tara nodded. "When you told us you were in Heaven…Willow wanted to do a memory spell. She didn't even wait till the next morning when you talked to us and told us you were okay with it. She just wanted to erase your memories of Heaven."

Buffy hesitated. "It's probably guilt. She didn't want me to live with this burden she had created."

"It's not just that," Tara told her. "I've noticed other things. She won't look at the options. Her first course of action is magic to fix everything." She took a deep breath. "And she did a spell on me…When I confronted her about this, she made me forget the fight. I just don't understand how she could do that after what Glory did to me."

Buffy wrapped her arm around Tara.

"We're kind of distant right now," said Tara. "Willow insists she's only helping, but she doesn't see how it's doing more harm than good."

"You guys'll work it out," Buffy assured her. "If it takes another supernatural detox, we'll get Willow through this."

"Buffy."

Buffy and Tara looked up to see Xander on the back patio.

"You might wanna hear this," Xander told her with a somber expression.

*********************************************SPN/B TVS*********************************************** ************

"Wait, just one seal?" asked Dean.

"Yes," said Castiel.

"You have any idea what the last one is?" asked Dean.

"Last one what?" asked Buffy as she walked into the kitchen from the backyard with Tara.

"Seal," said Dean. "Last man standing."

"Already?" asked Buffy.

"Well, it has been almost a year since this whole thing started," said Dean. "So, Cass, the last seal?"

"My brethren are not speaking of it," Castiel told him.

"But you did find Ruby," Dean stated.

"Yes," said Castiel. "St. Mary's Convent, Ilchester, Maryland."

"What's she doing in a convent?" asked Sam.

Dean turned to see him standing in the basement doorway, hanging onto the frame to brace himself.

"Hey," said Dean, stepping over and placing a hand on Sam's shoulder, lest he fall backwards down the stairs. After all, he still looked a little pale and shaky. "Look at you. You can walk."

Sam chuckled. "It's a miracle." He looked at Castiel. "You know why Ruby's at the convent?"

"No," Castiel told him.

"Well, you sure are Mr. Chatty tonight," Dean told Castiel.

"You think she's working on breaking the final seal?" asked Buffy.

"Probably," said Dean. "She'd want to get this done as fast as possible, knowing we'd be after her, which means we should get going as soon as we can here."

Sam looked down at the floor, knowing Dean and Buffy would now be gearing up to go after Ruby. He knew Dean would never consider putting his life in jeopardy while he was at half-strength right now.

"So, what do ya say?" said Dean. "Wanna come with?"

Sam glanced up to see Dean watching him expectantly. "What?"

"Ruby hunt," Dean reiterated. "You wanna go?"

Sam stared at Dean in disbelief. "You're actually asking me to tag along with you…on a hunt…when I'm still recovering from the detox?"

"What?" Dean shrugged. "The worst is behind you, and you can only get better by the second, right?"

Sam just stared at him in astonishment.

"But if you don't wanna go, I'm okay with—" began Dean.

"No, no, I-I wanna come," Sam interrupted him.

Dean smirked. "That's what I thought."

"We're coming with," Buffy spoke up, starting to head for the living room and her weapons.

"No," Dean told her.

Buffy spun back to face him. "What? Why?"

"If Ruby is somehow prepared for us and we don't make it out of there, we need someone who knows the real score to hold the line," Dean told her. "Think you can do that?"

Buffy thought for a moment before nodding. "That's actually a good idea. You guys go kill the wicked witch, and we'll be gunning up for the army of flying monkeys."

Dean chuckled. "Sounds good." He slapped his hand on Sam's shoulder. "Come on, Sammy. We've got work to do."

********************************************SPN/BT VS************************************************ ********

Willow left her bedroom to head down the stairs and see what everyone else was up to. Sam and Dean had left with Castiel two hours ago, and now, they were all waiting for any word on what would happen. The house was full of nervous energy as everyone waited for victory or Hell on Earth.

Willow reached the foyer and rounded the corner to find Buffy, Tara, Xander, Giles and Bobby all sitting at the dining room table, all staring at her.

"What's going on, guys?" Willow asked slowly.

"We need to talk, Will," Xander told her, gesturing to the empty chair at the end of the table.

Willow frowned, but took a seat, waiting for them to start.

Buffy looked her in the eye. "I talked to Tara."

Willow frowned further.

"She told me about how you've been using too much magic," Buffy went on.

Willow's frown shifted into a look of realization while keeping some confusion in it. Her gaze shifted to Tara. "But I'm helping people."

"There's a difference between helping people and taking the easy way out," Tara told her gently.

They're pulling an intervention on me? Willow thought.

"Willow, there's nothing wrong with magic when things are so far beyond any normal means of help," Giles told her. "But when you use magic to do things you could just as easily do yourself, that's taking it too far."

"How?" asked Willow. "How is that taking it too far?"

"Because you aren't controlling the magicks anymore," Bobby told her. "They're controlling you."

Willow shook her head. "That doesn't make any sense. It's not like I'm possessed or something. I'm the one using the magic. And I'm using it to make things better. Doing things the hard way causes hurt, or pain, even."

"That's life, Willow," Tara told her. "The struggles are the whole point. That's how you learn and grow as a person."

"Learn?" said Willow. "Learn what? That life sucks? That's not how you learn. That's how you get hurt." She stood from the table and hurried back up the stairs.

"Willow," Tara called, standing. "Willow!"

Giles gently grabbed her arm as she headed for the stairs. "Let her dwell on it."

Tara sighed as she stared into the foyer where Willow had disappeared. "I hope Dean and Sam are having better luck than we are."

***********************************************SPN /BTVS********************************************* **

Dean gazed around the corner in the hallway of the convent, peering down the adjacent hallway to a chapel at the end of it. Ruby was kneeling in front of an altar, presumably performing some kind of spell.

Dean eased back around the corner, where Sam and Castiel stood a little ways away, and spoke in a whisper. "We all good on the plan?"

Sam and Castiel nodded as Dean handed Ruby's knife to Sam.

"Alright, we go on my signal, then," said Dean.

Castiel nodded and disappeared as Sam stepped over right next to Dean.

"Sam," said Dean, grabbing hold of the hand holding the knife.

Sam looked at him.

"Don't miss," Dean told him.

Sam nodded and braced himself against the wall.

Dean took a breath and stepped around the corner into the hallway. "Hey, bitch!"

Ruby slowly stood and turned towards him.

"Remember me?" smirked Dean.

Ruby slowly smiled at him. "Well, bring it on, short-bus."

Dean charged down the hallway, bursting through the open doors and into the chapel. He swung a right fist straight at Ruby's face, which she ducked. While his arm was still extended, he brought his elbow back into the side of Ruby's head. He brought his right leg up as he leaned back to give himself enough room to kick her in the gut. She fell back a little, waving her arm and sending Dean falling back onto the floor. As Ruby charged towards him with a yell, Dean curled his lower body in towards his head and kicked his legs up and out, sending him into the air as he landed back on his feet and surged out of the way of Ruby's charge.

Oh, that was sweet! Dean thought, wondering when he had learned that kick thing to get off the floor.

Dean faced Ruby as she caught him in the stomach with her knee. Dean head-butted her, and she stumbled backwards towards the doorway, her back facing the hallway.

Perfect, Dean thought. Any minute now, Sam.

Dean kept aiming kicks and punches at Ruby, keeping her facing him and the altar instead of the hallway. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sam holding the knife at the ready behind the chapel doorframe. Dean punched Ruby with all his might, sending her spinning away from him. Before she could see Sam, Dean wrapped his arms around her, pinning hers to her sides.

"Now, Sam!" Dean yelled.

Ruby tensed in Dean's arms as she spotted Sam, and she threw her head back, pouring out of the host in her black smoke cloud. The next second, Castiel was there, his hand on the demon smoke. He shoved it back down into her mouth as Sam rushed towards her, raising the knife.

"No!" Ruby yelled into Castiel's hand.

Sam plunged the knife into Ruby's chest. Ruby jolted in Dean's hold as she lit up around the knife. She convulsed several times before collapsing in Dean's arms, and he dropped her to the floor. Castiel stepped back towards the entryway as Dean and Sam stared down at Ruby's dead body.

"Well, that's it," said Dean. "She's dead…"

"Now, why would you think that, boys?"

Dean and Sam spun around to see Lillith, in her blonde, adult host, standing in front of the doorway. She pressed a bloody hand to one of the open doors, where a symbol was painted in blood. A bright flash of light filled the room, and when it was gone, so was Castiel.

"Cass!" Dean yelled.

"That is just a meat-suit, after all," said Lillith with a wicked smirk.

Dean frowned, too stunned to move. There was something different about Lillith. The way she was acting…

"Although, I sure am gonna miss that one," Lillith said, smiling fondly down at Ruby's dead host. "She was fun."

Dean's eyes widened as he caught onto the whole thing. Lillith's attitude, the things she was saying, the way she was acting; this wasn't Lillith…It was Ruby.

Ruby smiled up at Sam. "Hiya, Sam."

Dean's gaze flew over to Sam, who shared his wide-eyed look, and they both looked down at Ruby's host body. Blood was trickling out of her mouth in a gush, slithering along the floor as it started to form into a circle.

Oh, my God… Dean realized. That wasn't Ruby…We killed Lillith…

Sam looked back at Ruby with slack jaw and terrified eyes. "You…You…"

"Yep," smiled Ruby. "We tricked you." Laughter burst out of her, her face full of glee.

Dean glared at her, hating her now more than ever.

Ruby's laughter trailed off. "Oh, come on. You had to know I was gonna be one step behind you. Of course you would come chasing right after me." She shook her head at them. "You Winchesters and your revenge. You're so predictable. All it took was a little skin swapping, a couple acting tips, and we had you. And now he's free at last." Her smile grew as her face lit up. "He's free at last!"

"Oh, you bitch," Dean growled at her.

"Well, it's not like you gave us much choice," said Ruby. "You had my knife and the Colt was in the wind, thanks to you two chuckleheads. And you wanna know the best part? It was all my idea…again." She seemed to swell with pride as her gaze locked on Sam. "Only this time, your annoying brother Dean wasn't there to screw it all up. In fact, he even helped. Come on, Sam, even you have to admit, I'm…I'm awesome!"

Dean bolted while her attention was on Sam, pulling the knife from Lillith's body and turning to charge towards Ruby.

"Don't even think about it, Dean," Ruby warned him. "I'd kill you and Sam before you even flinched."

Dean stared her down until he felt that familiar sixth sense that told him Castiel was on his way. Dean smirked at Ruby and raised the knife, feeling Sam charge as he did also. Ruby raised her hand, but froze in shock as some great force bound her powers. Sam grabbed hold of Ruby's arms as Dean shoved the knife into her gut. Ruby gasped as light glowed in her chest and face. Dean pulled the knife out as Sam threw her to the floor.

Dean looked over at Castiel, who stood at the doorway, lowering his hand. Dean looked back at Sam, who grimaced in anguish.

"I'm sorry," Sam told him.

Dean shook his head. "Not your fault, Sammy."

The room shook as light burst through it. Dean and Sam looked over at the middle of the room, where the circle of Lillith's blood had connected in the middle, light flooding out of it was the portal grew.

Dean grabbed at Sam's arm as he stared at the growing light circle. "Sammy, let's go."

"Dean," said Sam urgently, grabbing at Dean's arm also.

Dean looked at Sam, who was staring in fear at the cage door as it opened.

"He's coming…" Sam gasped.

Oh, yeah. I went there.