October, 6th 2013

I don't own any of the characters, CW and Eric Kripke do!

Beta for this Chapter: Ashqtara

A/N: Hey there my loyal readers :)

Dudun. Now this took way longer than I thought...I'm in America right now, for one semester, and it keeps me really busy (what's up with your colleges, you're all so damn stressed...). Plus, my hand is kinda forbidden from typing/drawing (which sucks) so yeah. This is an old chapter so I figured I'd just upload the ones I have, even though I haven't received a lot of feedback yet D:

Anyway! This chapter has a bit of repetition from the episode "Point of no return" but after this, the story goes its very own direction, yay. So just bear with it for now. :) Tried to make Adam's dialogue with Zachariah more entertaining. I did love Adam and I hated that they just used him like that and shoved him in a hole. So hoping he's coming back at some point...

Now please enjoy :3

Chapter 2

Sold my soul to heaven and to hell

Sick as my secrets, but never gonna tell

When Cas arrived with Adam, Sam didn't know how to react. Dean was still unconscious on one of the beds when the angel flew into the house and dropped the other Winchester on the bed next to Dean's. Adam didn't even look that bad. He was muddy and bruised but seemed fine otherwise. No torn out internal organs or missing legs or anything of that matter. Just like when Dean got outta hell, Sam thought bitterly. The hunter sighed and dropped the cloth he had used to clean Dean's wounds. They looked like nothing more than small cuts on his face now, slightly red but not bleeding any more. He stood, glancing over at the younger man, explaining that this was their brother Adam and as a reaction Cas seemed shocked but worried too. Another Winchester…that seemed to be an unexpected turn of events. And apparently a bad one for their side, too. The Angel's first action was to put a hand on Adam's chest and Sam knew what would follow. The sigils. Immediately, Adam was awoken by the pain. He looked around, confused. Then his gaze fell on Sam, the one standing beside his bed and having the tallest body was probably the first one you focused on.

"W-what? Where am I? And where the hell is Zachariah?" oh. That was bad. If Zachariah had his hands in this, they were surely dealing with some high class manipulation. What was Adam told? That he was the new Dean? New Party ride in town? That he could save the world by saying yes? Honestly, it wasn't that much of a surprise when that theory actually proved to be true. They tried to persuade Adam into believing them but in the end, Cas had to put him back to sleep. He had protested and insisted on his right to leave and of course they couldn't just let him. It was night by now and the angel volunteered to watch over the two sleeping idiots. Sam looked around the room, mainly at his two brothers though as he stood in the doorframe.

"And then there were two of them." He heard Bobby mumble beside him, slumped in his wheelchair and glaring at the two Winchesters in bed. Sam laughed slightly.

"Yeah, now the angels have two idiots wanting to run to them and scream for Michael to hop their asses. Sweet." His voice was dripping with sarcasm. Cas, slumbered in a chair, looked up. It was so unlike him to actually sit down but he seemed exhausted and it was worrying Sam to see him like this. He was falling and it wasn't good for him at all.

"They seem to be moving on from Dean. Thinking he was strong enough to withstand them. Now they take Adam as a second option, not perfect but good enough." There was bitterness in his voice that would have earned him a wince or a snarky commentary from Dean if the older Winchester was actually awake. Instead, Sam winced himself and sighed heavily. He frowned and looked over at his brother, lying there on the bed, his face strangely painful. Why was he looking so concerned? If he was honest, Sam hadn't seen him sleeping well since he came back from Hell. The older Winchester was plagued by nightmares of his days there, the 40 years of torture and of himself torturing other souls. Sam had worried about him every time he had heard him awake in screams and he had pretended to not notice the many times Dean just didn't sleep at all or went outside to sit in the Impala and listen to some quiet music to get his mind off his dreadful dreams. The last weeks, Sam wasn't better off though. Lucifer was appearing in his dreams more often, trying to persuade him and now Dean suddenly decides to give himself to Michael, after all of them fought so hard for their free will, to resist the two angels from getting into their bodies so they could fight out their differences? Dean's inner strength and conviction in him were pretty much the only things that kept him going these days. The only things that kept him chained to his humanity and sure of himself and the fact that he would stay strong enough through the whole Apocalypse. If Dean was giving in, then what?

"Sam. Come on, we should both get some rest, it's the middle of the night already." Bobby tore him out of his thoughts and waved for him to follow his wheelchair outside. He did, of course. Dean and Adam were asleep for now and the younger Winchester needed his mind off of things. Cas was sunk in the spare chair and looked really tired, which struck the younger Winchester as odd. He had never seen an angel tired before. This wasn't a good sign. But he tried to shrug it off and put himself to bed before he could fall over out of dizziness.

Morning came and the sunlight hit his face as if its light could raise his hopes and dreams from the ashes at Lucifer's feet. Sam had dreamed about him again, Lucifer. Actually it quite surprised him that he held out until morning and didn't awake screaming like most of the time. Maybe it was because Lucifer had actually tried the nice-guy this time. Not that it was any more appealing, it was so much creepier than anything else. He had told him that his brother knew what was coming, that Dean knew he would give in in Detroit. That Sam should just ask him about it. And a fat grin had sat on his face at that comment, as if he was a hundred percent sure about it. Sam had to force down a feeling of dread. What if he was right? Did Dean know something? Didn't he believe that he could do it anymore? That he could hold out against Satan? Had he given up hope not because of the state of the world but because of him? Even after that speech about how they kept each other human?

Sitting up, he pushed away that thought and sighed deeply. His hands rubbed his still tired eyes and he pressed his palms against his leg afterwards to help himself stand. Bare feet brushed the carpet as he made his way for the bathroom and splashed some water into his face. He was just beginning to wake up properly when suddenly something from the other room drew his attention.

"No! Damn it!" was that…Cas? He had never heard the angel yell nor curse like this the whole time he knew him. With dread building in his stomach, he quickly dried his face, immediately completely awake and ran down the corridor. Please let Dean still be there, please let Dean still be there, please let Dean…

But Dean was still there, sleeping as if nothing had ever disturbed him. On the other hand, Adam's bed was empty, the covers tossed aside without care and Cas was standing up before it, his hands in his hair and his expression almost panicked.

"What happened? Where is he? I thought you were watching them?" Sam asked and he heard Bobby wheel up his chair behind him. Obviously the older hunter had been awake for some time already but been over in the kitchen or living room, researching. Cas nodded, his face full of confusion.

"I-I was but…I don't know I guess I…fell asleep? How is that possible…" he honestly looked puzzled about it. Bobby rubbed his eyes. He didn't seem to have gotten enough sleep himself.

"Well that's only natural, what's so fishy about it? So the boy used the time you were knocked out to escape, we just have to find him again." He said and Sam had to smile at how simple that sounded. Despite that it wasn't. He frowned at the man who had been like a father to him for so long.

"Angels don't sleep, Bobby. Has somebody knocked you out or something? Adam himself maybe?" he asked and felt stupid shortly after. Cas looked at him as if he lost his mind.

"Knocked me out? Adam? No. I just fell asleep. Didn't see anybody. Now he's probably with Zachariah already." Sam nodded in agreement at that and Bobby too, he seemed to have realized the mistake in his thinking from earlier.

"So…we go looking for him or what?" Bobby asked with a raised eyebrow. Sam nodded.

"We probably should. I'll wake Dean-"

"No." Cas interrupted him. He had lifted a hand to keep Sam from getting any closer to his brother.

"Cas, we're up against more than just Zachariah, we need everybody we got. We can't just leave Dean here!" he said and tried not to mention that he didn't want to leave his brother alone at all after what he's seen of him in the last days. Hopeless, reckless, empty almost. He couldn't stand the thought of what he was about to do when they had found that box that was now still in the trunk of the impala. He hadn't opened the letter yet. Didn't want to, dreaded what might be written inside. But he didn't want to leave Dean, couldn't risk him to be alone again. Then Cas dropped an argument that made him hesitate.

"It's a trap, Sam. A trap to get Dean into the preparation room. Or as Dean called it, beautiful room."

"Beautiful room?" Bobby asked and Cas glanced over to him.

"It's a room in another dimension between Heaven and Earth. Once they have him there they can do to him whatever they want until they get him to say yes. They have full control over that room, more than on most things on earth and they won't let him go until they have what they want from him. Not that they need much convincing for that." There was bitterness in his voice and resentment in the gaze he now tossed the sleeping Dean who lay on the bed in an almost awkward position, just like they had dropped him yesterday night. Sam glared at Cas now. He balled his fists and ignored Cas' hand, dropping on the bed next to his brother.

"I don't care what you think, he won't just say yes. They are using Adam as bait, more than anything that would rather convince him he shouldn't do it. Right? Right?!" he looked at Bobby and then at Cas, who were both looking at him with eyes he didn't want to see: Ones that didn't believe, ones that pitied him for his naiveté. But it wasn't naïve. He wanted to believe that Dean wouldn't do it, he really did. But deep inside, he knew that he was lying to himself. It wasn't quite clear to him when and why but Dean had given up on team free will some time ago. Just like he had tossed his necklace in that bin back at the motel. The thought of it still made Sam's heart ache. That had always been a symbol of their brotherly bond. What if that meant that Dean had given up on that too? He really couldn't stand that thought at all.

Cas had come forward and guided Sam away from the bed now, telling him to better go prepare while he chained Dean to the bed with two handcuffs at each hand (so he couldn't lockpick with the other hand. He was a genius at that after all).

Before they left, Sam had one last glance into the room. It was a miracle Dean was still asleep with all this commotion going on around him. Ever since hell Dean's sleep had gone from really deep to extremely light. Sometimes he woke up from a barking dog or a bump in the road when a few years ago you could have invaded the motel and he would have snored right through it. Right now he looked rather peaceful though and Sam had to force himself not to release him from the handcuffs that were tying both his arms to the bed on both his sides. Maybe it was better this way. Bobby had even suggested putting him into the panic room downstairs but Sam wouldn't have it. Cas had put up angel sigils around the house just in case, he said that it would ward the house against at least the lower angels working for Zachariah but not the Seraph himself or any Archangel. Dean was still hidden due to the sigils so unless he somehow walked out and talked to somebody to contact the angels, he would be trapped here. And Bobby was still with him, after all he and his wheelchair wouldn't go anywhere anytime soon.

Closing his eyes to shut out the picture of Dean sleeping like that, Sam finally turned and walked outside the house where Cas was waiting since he couldn't go into the building himself anymore, the sigils he put on it prevented him from doing so. Sam waved Bobby goodbye.

"Watch over Dean. We can't let him do what he currently wants. You can talk to him, maybe you can reach him…" there was still hope in his tone and Bobby just nodded, not taking it away when Cas finally gripped his shoulder and teleported both of them.

He felt his feet touch the ground and looked around. Apparently they had landed right next to a storage building that looked like nothing really special, a bit similar to the one they encountered Gabriel in a while back. For a moment Sam wondered what the Archangel was up to now but quickly dismissed the thought.

"Where are we, exactly?" he asked the angel beside him, who had stopped in front of the entrance and gotten out a cutter form his pockets, like the one they used for cutting carpets.

"Watertown, South Dacota.", he said plainly.

"Well that wasn't far. And the room is in there?" Sam asked.

"Yes." Was Cas' response while he slowly took his tie off for whatever reason. Sam lifted an eyebrow. It seemed rather unlikely that anything in there could be called beautiful at all.

"Can't you just…grab Adam and teleport out of there?" he asked further. Sometimes it was going on your nerves how you had to drag every piece of information out of the angel if you wanted to know something.

"No, there are at least five angels in there. They're faster than me." He explained and Sam nodded slowly.

"Alright…we have the blades you brought from the graveyard, I can try and help you take them on." The younger Winchester offered but knew that this plan wouldn't work. These were angels. He was nowhere close to their speed, not even to Cas'. The angel in the trenchcoat shook his head.

"I'm going to take them on alone." He clarified and now began opening his shirt. Sam's frown deepened, then he looked at the knife again.

"Cas…what the hell are you doing? Wait, isn't that suicide? Five angels?" he asked in a tone that suggested that Cas should seriously slow down with the pace. The angel stopped in his motions and looked him straight in the eye. The blue orbs shimmered desperately.

"Maybe it is. But then I don't have to see Dean fail. I don't want to watch him turn into something he isn't and then die from the consequences because he again wrongly assumes it's the right thing to do to sacrifice himself for somebody else's sake or whatever it is he's thinking." He explained in his deep trademark voice. Then he took the cutter in his hand with his chest bare and sighed. Sam wanted to protest, ask him what that was supposed to mean, what he was about to do but the knife already stuck and slid through his skin, leaving a trail of blood behind…

Adam sat down at the table and smiled at the collection of Hamburgers and beer. The angels sure knew how to please his stomach, huh? So he grabbed a wrapped burger and began to eat. After all, when Michael hopped his bones he probably wouldn't be able to eat any more. And who wanted to save the world on an empty stomach? When he was on the second burger, he heard the sound of rustling and a blink later, there was Zachariah leaning against the table, looking at him with a half-smile.

"I see you and your brother share the same refined palate.", he noted. Was that sarcasm? Adam couldn't quite put his finger on it. He put down the burger and burped, trying to keep it as quiet as possible. The angel still had this smile on his face as he tilted his head. Adam noticed the awkward silence and coughed.

"So, uh…" he paused and looked around as if looking for somebody or something that indicated they would start soon. "…we ready?" Zachariah seemed surprised, his smile slipped a little.

"For what?"

"What do you mean, 'For what?'" his smile was unsure, not certain why the angel played dumb. Could angels do that? "For Michael." He clarified, his expression saying that it was obvious what he meant. After all that was what he was told to do, what his destiny was supposed to be, right? So what was Zachariah just sitting there? No other angels, no pompous archangel or holy glow or whatever you would suspect to see in this kind of situation. Zachariah frowned now.

"Ohh, right. About that." He spread his hands and frowned. "This is never easy…but I'm afraid we've had to terminate…your position at this time." Adam's face fell immediately.

"Excuse me?" what if Sam had been right? What if the angels were liars and this wasn't what they said it was? His green eyes narrowed and his lips pressed together for a moment.

"Don't get me wrong. You've been a hell of a sport, really. Good stuff." He made an 'o' with his fingers and winked at him in a cheesy way. Adam's eyes narrowed further and he breathed in deeply, not sure if he wanted to scream or grunt in frustration.

"But the thing is you're not so much the 'chosen one' as you are a clammy scrap of bait." Zachariah finished. Adam's fists balled. Oh, so that was it. They wanted Dean after all. And now he was supposed to lure him here? Well, that won't work, Adam thought with satisfaction in his mind. After all he had made it quite clear that he wanted nothing to do with the Winchesters, they would never actually come for him after what he said back there….right? But he didn't want to give up yet, so he ignored the insult and asked on.

"What about the stuff that you said? I'm supposed to fight the devil." He insisted.

"Mh. Not so much." Zachariah countered, looking at him with something that was almost pity, or annoyance, Adam couldn't quite tell. "Hey, if it's any consolation, you happen to be the illegitimate half-brother of the guy we do care about. That's not bad, is it?" Adam stared at him, his gaze cold now. Damn it, he should have listened to Sam. His thought wandered to Dean, knocked out on the bed beside his own. He wondered what the big deal about him was, he appeared like any other human, why did the angels want him so bad? What made him special? But he didn't ask that out loud.

"So you lied. About everything." He concluded, bitterness dripping from his voice now. After all, Sam was his half-brother. He should have known. After the monsters and now the angels, he should have guessed that he could trust this half-family of leftover Winchesters, even if there wasn't much left of it. There had been the guy in the wheelchair named Bobby and that other guy in a trench coat who seemed to know an awful lot about angels himself. Maybe he even was one, who knew. But all of that didn't matter right now. His lips were pressed together tightly and he looked anywhere but at Zachariah, couldn't believe he had actually fallen for this.

"We didn't lie. We just avoided certain truths to manipulate you." Oh, nice. Because that's so much better.

"Oh, you son of a bitch." He whispered under his breath. It was his favorite insult and this time it really fit. He started to hate this guy with every word that came out of his fat mouth.

"Hey, how do you think I feel?" I hope not good- "I'm the one that's gotta put up with that dumb, slack-jawed look on your face." Adam's stare into nothing turned to the angel and was as cold as he could manage.

"Kid, we didn't have a choice. The Winchesters got one blind spot. And it's family." He paused and raised his hands again while Adam looked away as if that would prevent the situation from being as shitty as it was. "See, Sam and Dean, they're gonna put aside their differences and they're gonna come get you. And that's gonna put Dean right here. Right where I need him." He tapped the table with his chubby hands and for a moment Adam wished he had a knife so he could just cut them off. Or really anything else to hurt the guy who lied to him and deceived him and now wanted to use him as bait for his half-brothers, who actually were nice guys despite what he had thought. Damn it all…Zachariah didn't seem to notice his fury and stood up, whirling around as if this was actually good news. Arrogant bastard.

"This is the night, kid. Our night. Michael's seen it." Yeah well I don't care about that bastard either-"The tumblers finally clicking into place and it's all because of you." Oh great. Now it was his fault. Why couldn't he just stay in heaven? It had been nice there! "And me. But who's keeping score?" could you just shut up you crazy bastard? I'm trying to figure a way out of this…not that there could possibly be one…I'm probably royally screwed, am I?

"Yeah, I'm not gonna let you do this." He finally decided, standing up. Maybe he could just walk out of this. There was a door over there after all. They couldn't keep him by force, could they? They were angels and even if they were dicks, they wouldn't harm him…right? But Zachariah stood in his way now, trying to calm him.

"Cool your jets, Corky. Sit down, we're doing it together." Yeah, right… but he didn't have much of a choice, did he? So he slowly sat down again, glaring at the angel some more. "Plus, you still get your severance. You still get to see your mom, okay?" oh, that was nice of him. His inner voice was dripping with bitter sarcasm by now. He gave an ironic laugh in his mind, his pissed face looking back at the angel.

"Why should I believe you?" he asked, narrowed eyes and clenched fists. Zachariah stared some more, Adam wasn't sure if he was searching for answers or doing something entirely different.

"You know what? I keep hearing this…" he opened his hand and closed it again like they did in kindergarten when indicated that one spoke. "But what I wanna be hearing is this:" he pointed his closed hand at Adam and suddenly, a burning pain rose from his stomach, worse than he had ever felt before and it came up his throat until he noticed that there was red liquid dripping onto the table, blood. His own blood. What did this bastard do, how could he do that? Was that even possible? He didn't see Zachariah smile but he heard it in his voice when he spoke again.

"Yeah. That's better." He said and Adam had to keep himself awake so he wouldn't pass out. God damn it…it hurt…

Slowly, Dean groaned and opened his eyes. The position he was lying in was rather uncomfortable and he tried to shift to the side or onto his stomach, like he preferred to sleep sometimes. To his dismay, he couldn't turn, the clattering of metal and a sting on his wrist told him about the presence of handcuffs. The hunter moved both his hands, both times he heard the metal rustling and he sighed deeply. Goddamn, they had seriously cuffed him to a bed. His green eyes darted around and found that he was in Bobby's house, one of the bedrooms down the hall. Again, he tried to shake his hands free but failed. A sound of frustration escaped his lips and he tried to at least sit up. No success again.

"Damn it. Sammy, come on! It's not like I'm going to call the angels here! Get me out of these!" He yelled, hoping that his brother could hear him.

"Sam and Cas went after Adam. I guess they figured I wouldn't be enough to stop you from leaving." Bobby's voice sounded from the entrance and Dean turned his head. He sat in his wheelchair and stared over at him. The older Winchester frowned at the man who had been like a father to him for quite some time now.

"What? Adam? Adam Milligan? But he's dead. What…what the hell is going on? What do you mean went after him, where is he?" he asked and lifted his head so he could see Bobby. It was an awkward position and not very comfortable to maintain if he was honest. Bobby shrugged.

"Cas said the angels revived him and that he had the same bloodline as you do so he can also host Michael. Adam fled tonight when Cas dozed off and now Sam and Cas want to get him back from something they called a Greenroom?" Bobby explained. With every word, Dean's green eyes widened more. He struggled with the handcuffs.

"Bobby, you have to get me out of here! Those two are walking right into a trap! God damn it, these things are pissing me off." He pulled again and looked over to Bobby, who just shook his head.

"You think they don't know that? That's exactly why they left you here." He said but it only made Dean more furious.

"What?! Are you kidding me?! The angels will expect me to be there and if I'm not coming, Zachariah will be seriously pissed off! Hell, he'll probably kill them! Cas rebelled, he's nothing to them now and Sam is Lucifer's vessel, if he's out of the way things would be much more easier for them! I have to be there, Bobby. If I'm there they're going to let them live to convince me to go to their side." He argued, again pulling on his chains. Man, they had to take the good handcuffs, didn't they? Bobby's gaze was sad now and he again shook his head. Then he turned his wheelchair around.

"Sam and Cas can handle themselves. They will bring Adam back and then we'll work on a plan that isn't a sure ride to death for one of us. And more than half of earth's population." And he wheeled away, leaving Dean right where he was and far more frustrated. For a short moment there was silence, then Dean kicked out, again trying to pull free.

"Damn it, Bobby! This is the freaking Apocalypse, we will all die! If I don't say yes, Sam sooner or later has to and if that happens, we're all done for, you hear me?! All of us! Lucifer rides Sam to the prom, Cas becomes human, I'm pretty sure you die, Chuck doesn't have any toilet paper and I get bitter and resentful thank you very much." He yelled but he was pretty sure Bobby couldn't hear him and if he could, he didn't turn around to talk to him or listen to a word he said. Sighing, he threw himself back into the pillow and stared at the ceiling.

Fucking great. Now what? Was he supposed to wait here until somebody told him the angels wasted his two brothers and the only friendly angel he knew? Well, Happy Birthday Mr. Winchester, that really didn't work out the way you wanted, huh?

Suddenly, the silence was disturbed by a clicking sound that entered both his ears at the same time. A quiet click that he knew anywhere. It was the opening sound of handcuffs. Completely bewildered, he lifted his hands and sure enough, the things slipped off. Now very wary he rubbed his wrists and glance around.

"Hello? Who's there? Show yourself!" he demanded. But nobody showed, it was just him and the dark bedroom with the light floating in through the closed curtains. For a few seconds his schooled eyes darted around and tried to find the source of the mojo that had just loosened his chains. Nobody was here. Still very suspicious, Dean got up and left the room soundlessly, never turning his back to the opposite wall, in case somebody seriously sneaked out and tackled him. Again, nothing. He went down the hall, made sure Bobby was in the living room and then stalked out the back door.

Dean didn't see the person stepping out of the shadows and he also didn't hear the knowing chuckle that went over that person's lips. Had the hunter heard that, he would have had his weapon out in less than a heartbeat. Still smiling, the unknown person fingered something in their hands that gave away a weak crackle before shaking their head and disappearing from sight completely.

His baby stood far away from the house by the garage and he was happy about that. Not that Bobby could run after him. He could have slapped himself for that thought but he thought that maybe he could arrange something with Michael about that. The angel should be able to heal it, wasn't he like the strongest celestial being or something? He was glad that Sam had brought the car here after he had left it by that motel, he wondered if Sam had read the letter he had left. But no, he couldn't have. Then he wouldn't be out there without him right now and leave him to rot on that bed. But it didn't matter, since however he did it, he was out now and he would make sure everything went just as he planned…

So with a mischievous smile on his face he started the motor which roared just like he remembered and raced off the junkyard. He heard yelling behind him but ignored Bobby's screams. He had to get to Sam and Cas before it was too late…

Cas had told him to wait for him outside. Seriously, what was the angel thinking? He had carved that sigil into himself and didn't even know what that entailed. He could die in there goddamn it. Sam had tried to talk him out if it but of course he wouldn't listen. Sometimes Sam thought that Cas was more human than he wanted to admit. And more like Dean than he probably wanted to as well. The thought of his brother made Sam sigh a little. He really hoped Dean would stay where he was supposed to just this once. Of course, he was chained to the bed and Bobby was there but you never knew, his big brother was an expert in getting out of situations just as much as getting into them.

A bright flash of light interrupted his thoughts. It streamed through the gaps at the side of the door and in the metal of the building and Sam had to avert his eyes. After it dimmed down he dared to open the door and peer inside. There was nobody there. He gripped the angelsword in his hand a little tighter and walked inside. No Cas. He was probably beamed away from the sigil as well. But where? Back to Heaven? That couldn't be good. Was he dead? The younger Winchester tried to repress the thought. He walked through the building, carefully glancing around for more angels. It was completely empty despite a small structure that looked like maybe someday there had been an employer or janitor in it. He rounded it and spotted a door. Carefully and with a deep breath, he threw it open.

The inside looked completely different. Somehow Victorian with white walls and paintings and beautiful furniture. What had Cas said? Dean had called it the 'beautiful room'. Yeah, figured, it really was rather pretty. With the sword still in hand, he entered and immediately spotted Adam.

"Adam!" he breathed and hurried over to him, dropping the sword to his side to help him up.

"You really came." Adam exclaimed, obviously astonished. There was blood on this lips and down his cheek, as if he was too weak to whip it away. Sam's eyes flew around, not spotting anybody. He turned, Adam's arm over his shoulders when suddenly, something slammed him into the wall. He stayed there, unable to move. On top of that his cellphone was ringing now, an annoying noise. Picking up was not an option though since he was still pinned to the wall with arms and legs and everything, staring down and seeing Zachariah standing before him, his face obviously displeased.

"Sam. So nice to see you." The sarcasm dripped from his voice. "Now where the hell is your big brother? Don't tell me you didn't bring him to the party!" he said, an obvious warning in his voice that Sam shouldn't even dare to do that. But the younger Winchester just smiled and closed his eyes as Zachariah was pressing on his ribcage quite hardly with his angelic powers. He opened them again and managed to get enough air to answer.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you then. He's far, far away, chained to a bed and I'm pretty sure he won't be going anywhere in due time. Sorry. No Dean Winchester for your boss." He said and tried to keep the teasing out of his voice but the satisfaction was just too good. Zachariah had counted on Dean being here, Cas had been right. It was a trap to get him to say yes. Not that they would have much of a struggle anyway, Sam thought bitterly. Zachariah's face twisted in fury now. His hand flew up and Sam felt the blood rise from his stomach, felt the pain and groaned, tried to keep from screaming.

"You insolent brat. What do you think is your part in this? You really think you can stop me? You think I can't just keep you both? That it would be that easy to just walk out of here with Castiel sending away my guards. It's not that easy, dumbass. I'll just keep you both. Make you suffer some more and keep you just before death. Or kill you and get you back again and again. At one point, Dean will come to get his little Sammy. He always does, right? So I'll just wait here. Maybe give him a call and tell him what the situation is. I bet that would help." And his hand twisted some more and this time the scream escaped. Adam's too. Both of them sank to the floor now, blood on their lips and agony in their faces. None of them heard the door and the angel was too occupied to make up new pain levels. They were all startled by the voice coming from the door.

"Well…I would stop that. At least if I'm informed correctly and these things do kill you." Sam opened his eyes, recognizing the voice immediately. No….he can't be here. How the hell did he get here? An angel-blade was pointed at Zachariah's back, obviously the one Cas had previously given to Sam and he had dropped it to the floor when being thrown back by Zachariah. Slowly but surely, a smile spread across the angel's face and finally, he let Sam go. The younger Winchester fell to the floor and coughed up some more blood before gazing up to his brother.

"Dean…don't." he said. Or at least tried to. He saw Dean, his face grim with anger and how he glanced over at Sam with worry in his eyes. Nothing was different about that. He wasn't throwing himself at the angel or anything, he didn't seem different. Sam thought that was what made it even more difficult to take in.

"That was actually faster than I thought. Didn't Sam just say you were chained to a bed?" Zachariah asked with a smirk, not bothering about the angel sword on his back at all, just standing there, turning his head a little so he could see Dean properly.

"I was. Got out. Now I'm here, it's none of your business." He said pointedly and pressed the blade a little farther. Now the angel began to get a little tense.

"Careful with that, tiger." He said and suddenly vanished, reappearing behind Dean and knocking the blade from his hand. Sam yelled his brother's name but before any of them could react, Dean was against a wall himself, shoved against it with Zachariah's arm, hard. So hard that Sam could see the cracks appearing behind him and heard how all the air left Dean's lungs.

"Dean Winchester. Finally, right where I need you. So, what do I do next, I don't suppose you want to give in now, without the whole torture thing?" he asked in a nonchalant tone, as if he didn't even consider another possibility. Dean, pressed against the angel's arm, grinned as much as he could.

"Actually, that's exactly what I came here for." He said with a certain tone of victory in his voice. If not for anything else, Sam had to smile for the expression that appeared on Zachariah's face now: Utter disbelieve.

"Come again?" he asked, completely bewildered. He loosened the grip on Dean a little, which allowed him to speak better.

"I actually came here to say yes. Been meaning to for two days now. You bastards are never around when I need you to be. Got held back." He said with another grin, shoving Zachariah away from him now, who didn't even resist. He just stared at Dean, blinking – which was rather surprising in itself seeing as angels never seemed to blink at all.

"But first. Before you call Michael down or anything, I need to talk to Sam. Five minutes." He said but Zachariah didn't seem to listen.

"That's what you called for yesterday. In that church…" he whispered. Dean just nodded as a response but otherwise didn't mind him. He walked over to Sam and offered him a hand.

He didn't take it. Didn't want to. Sam just turned away and stared at the wall. That seemed to stop Dean in his thinking and acting and he stared at his little brother.

"Sammy? Are you al-"

"Don't you dare. Don't you dare ask me that, Dean." He said between his teeth, blood still on his lips, not bothering to whip it away. "You're about to give up everything we worked for, throwing yourself in to become an angel condom? Really? Roasting half the planet is what we do now? The new game plan? Fantastic, just…brilliant." He glittered his teeth but the hand Dean had still held out just balled to a fist. He expected quiet withdrawal when really, Dean began to shout.

"By god, Sam! Would you just stop the whining bitch attitude? I'm doing this for you!" he demanded and immediately, Sam's eyes widened and he looked up to his brother, staring. What did he just say?

"What?!" he demanded, disbelieve and almost disgust on his face. "Like I would want that! In a million years I would never want you to do this!" he yelled himself now. He saw Adam getting up on shaky legs, supported by a chair and sinking down in it, staring at the opposite wall. Sam was getting up himself, leaning against the wall and Dean hadn't moved one inch.

"No. That's not it. Don't you see what's going on? We're freaking losing this. There is just no way that we're going to kill Lucifer. The colt doesn't work and we had to sacrifice two good friends to find that out. How many more, Sam? How many? And why? Just because I'm too stubborn? Sam, Lucifer is visiting you in your dreams. Isn't he? You're not telling me and that's fine. But it's driving you crazy. You're rarely sleeping, eating less, moody all the time. One day something's going to happen. To me or to you or to Bobby or I don't freaking know. But if you give in, game over. Believe me, I don't want to even think about it but it's one of the possibilities. And I don't want to see you like that, not again." He said, looking at his brother with so much sorrow in his eyes that Sam couldn't even respond. And Dean wasn't finished yet.

"If Michael gets me, he's going to win this thing without Croatoan roasting the planet and without all of them dying. Without giving Lucifer a chance to get to you at all. There are going to be some deaths but they're not all going to hell. They're coming into their own little paradise. And I'm gonna make a list. Zachariah, you got that. Those are conditions. I'm making a list of people that must remain unharmed if Michael wants to jump my bones. Got that?" he had turned to the angel, who had nodded, a smile on his face.

"Sure fine, make a list. No problem." He said, gesturing to him in a 'go on' motion. Dean nodded. Sam, Bobby, Cas, Lisa, Ben, Missouri, Adam too now …., he thought and Zachariah's smile grew wider. The angel turned around and began chanting. Soon, a rumble filled the room. Sam couldn't believe this was happening. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Dean no. Don't. You have given up on me, fine. You don't believe I can do it? Then how do you think I will if an archangel hops you? You're going to die from this, Dean. You're not doing this for me, it's more like you're doing it for yourself. So you don't have to watch it. Please, don't. I'm begging you here." He said, stepping forward. He gripped his brother's arm and stared, just stared in his eyes and tried to pour everything out in that gaze, everything he wanted his brother to know, to see. Dean's gaze seemed to soften, slowly but surely and it became wondrous, then suddenly smug. Did he just wink at him? Dean turned around now, half grinning even while the room had begun to rumble while Zachariah was chanting.

"Zod I rei do no ko abeira ma gei na sod hei sa dei"

"Zachariah? There's one more thing." Dean interrupted, leaning down for something on the ground. And Sam could see exactly what it was while Zachariah didn't pay much attention.

"What? He's coming now." the angel said, a broad grin still on his face. Nothing could possibly waver his victory now. He had finally gotten Dean Winchester to say yes.

"Before Michael gets one piece of this sweet ass, he has to turn you into a piece of charcoal." He said, walking up straight to the grinning angel. His grin fell right off his ugly face, became mocking as if he couldn't believe he was serious.

"What? You can't be serious. You really believe Michael's gonna fall for that?"

"Oh I'm dead serious. 'Cause who's more important to him now? Me or you?" the smug smile on his face grew wider than before, challenging even. Zachariah was furious and it looked like any moment, he could lash out and stab Dean directly in the face…

~.~.~

Sold my soul to heaven and to hell

Sick as my secrets, but never gonna tell,

I'm to blame, burden of my dreams,

A curse of faith and a blessing I believe,

I believe, I believe,

oh I believe,

I believe

~ Search and Destroy, 30 Seconds to Mars

Sooooo? What did you think? xP Please tell me, I'm dying from no-review disease here ;_;