No Rest for the Wicked

Dean jolted up in bed, breathing heavily, seemingly from a terrible nightmare. He blinked a few times, looking down at the book he'd fallen asleep to, a page open to hellhounds.

"You ok?" Michelle asked, sitting at a table with a book and her journal open, sipping some tea.

"Uh…yeah," he nodded, pushing himself to sit up.

Michelle didn't look like she believed him, but before she could say anything Sam walked in, "Dig up anything good?"

Dean closed the book and shook his head, not able to look his brother in the eye, "No," he cleared his throat, "Nothing good."

"Well, Bobby has."

"Finally!" Michelle smiled.

"Yeah?" Dean asked, not as enthusiastically as they would have expected, he still seemed a bit out of sorts.

"Yeah," Sam nodded, "A way to find Lilith."

"Oh. With just uh…" Dean looked at his watch, "Thirty hours to go," he smiled a bit, "Hey, why don't we just make a TJ-run, yeah? You know…some senoritas, cervezas uh, we could...what's Spanish for 'donkey show?'"

"Concurso trabajo," Michelle replied, but then frowned, "I think…Spanish was never my forte."

Sam sniggered, "So if we do save you...let's never do that."

"Agreed," Michelle nodded.

"Yeah..." Dean trailed, looking down at the book as Sam sat next to him.

Seeing the state Dean was in, Michelle got up and moved to sit across from him as well.

"Hey, Dean," Sam sighed, "Look, we're cutting it close, I know. But we're gonna get this done. I don't care what it takes Dean. You're not gonna go to Hell. I'm not gonna let you."

"We're not going to let you," Michelle corrected, reaching out to place a hand on Dean's arm, "I swear. Everything's gonna be ok."

Dean looked at the two of them, taking everything they were saying in. He glanced at Sam, his expression looking a bit scared for a moment before shaking himself out of it.

Michelle frowned, realizing the hallucinations were setting in.

"Yeah, ok," Dean nodded.

~8~

Bobby placed an old tracking device over a map of the states. It was an odd looking device, standing on three wooden legs with a crystal ball placed on top of it. The ball had a flat metal piece going around it with symbols on it. Hanging from the ball was a pendulum device with a sharp edge to it to pinpoint a specific place.

"So you need a name, that's the whole kit and caboodle," Bobby explained, glancing up at the boys, "With the right name, right ritual, ain't nothing you can't suss out."

"Like the town Lilith's in?" Sam ventured.

"Kid, when I get done, we'll know the street," Bobby smirked. He looked over at Michelle for a moment, sending her the smallest nod which she returned, before starting the ritual. He started to swing the pendulum and chant in Latin while the trio watched.

The pendulum continued to swing until it suddenly stopped.

"New Harmony, Indiana," Michelle called out, leaning over the map, having been ready at Bobby's nod to get the place name.

"And we have a winner," Bobby smiled.

"Alright," Sam pushed the pendulum away and looked at Bobby, "Let's go."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on," Dean cut in, "Let's all shut up there, Tex."

"What's the problem?" Sam turned to look at his brother. Michelle twisted a bit to look as well. Ever since they'd left the motel to visit Bobby, Sam hadn't let go of her hand. It seemed like, with all that was dropping down around them, he sought her comfort more than ever.

"What's the problem?" Dean stared at him, "Come on, where do I begin? I mean, first of all, we don't even know if Lilith holds my deal. We're going off of Bela's intel? Now when that bitch breathes, the air comes out crooked. Ok. Second, even if we could get to Lilith, we have no way to gank her. And third, isn't this the same Lilith that wants your giant head on a pike? Should I continue?"

"Ain't you just bringing down the room," Bobby rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well, it's a gift."

"I'm sorry, so then what are we supposed to do Dean?" Sam asked.

"Just 'cause I gotta die doesn't mean you have to, ok? Either we go in smart or we don't go in at all."

"Ok fine," Sam let go of Michelle's hand and turned to walk off, "If that's the case, I have the answer."

"You do?" Dean eyed him.

"Yeah. A surefire way to confirm it's Lilith and a way to get us a bona fide demon-killing ginsu."

"Sam, no," Michelle called after him.

"We're so passed arguing," Sam stopped and turned to face them, "Dean, I am summoning Ruby."

"The hell you are!" Dean challenged, "We have enough problems as it is."

"Exactly," Sam walked up to him, "And we've got no time and no choice either."

"Come on man, she is the Miss Universe of lying skanks, ok," Dean argued, "She told you that she could save me, huh…lie. She seems to know everything about Lilith but forgot to mention, oh right…Lilith owns my soul!"

"Ok, fine," Sam admitted, "She's a liar. She's still got that knife."

"Dean…" Michelle began, trying to diffuse the situation.

"For all we know, she works for Lilith," Dean cut in.

Michelle fell silent for a moment, lost in thought while the argument continued.

"Then give me another option, Dean," Sam begged, "I mean, tell me what else."

"Sam's right," Bobby interrupted.

"NO! DAMN IT!" Dean shouted, shaking Michelle out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Bobby and Sam looking surprised at Dean's outburst. Dean took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down, "Just no. We are not gonna make the same mistakes all over again," Sam looked a bit shocked, "You guys wanna save me, find something else."

Sam and Bobby watched him as he walked back to the table he'd been sitting at before, sitting down with a contemplative look on his face.

Michelle sighed, "I'll go talk to him."

Sam nodded gratefully at her while Bobby grabbed his jacket.

"Where are you going Bobby?" Sam asked.

"I guess to..." he threw his arms out, "Find something else."

Sam looked out into space, thinking to himself.

~8~

Michelle walked out of the basement, a bag of weapons in her hand. She smiled encouragingly at Sam as she passed him going into the basement, before setting the weapons down near Dean.

"You do know we'll stop this, right?" she asked after a moment.

"Right," he replied sarcastically.

"Dean, I promised you I'd save you, remember?" she reached out and placed her hand over his furiously cleaning a gun, "I promised I wouldn't let you become that demon, didn't I?" he hesitated a moment before nodding, "Have I ever broken a promise I made to you or Sam yet? And I'm not just talking about remembering to get you pie."

He shook his head, "But how are you gonna swing this one?"

"I'll think of something," he gave her a look, "I will."

It was silent for a few more minutes before Dean placed the gun down and sighed, standing up, "How much you wanna bet Sam's got Ruby down in the basement right now?"

Michelle shook her head, standing up as well, "That boy never listens does he?"

Dean smirked at her and moved towards the basement, "Better go save his ass from doing something stupid."

Michelle laughed and followed him down where they could indeed hear Ruby talking to Sam.

"…hate the way Dean looks at you sometimes, like you're some kind of sideshow freak. But suck it up because we've got a lot of ground to cover, and we've gotta do it fast. But we can do it. Look. Call me a bitch, hate me all you want, but I have never lied to you Sam. Not ever. And I'm telling you. You...can save your brother, and I can show you how."

"So that's you, huh?" Dean asked, walking down the stairs, not looking very happy, neither did Michelle, "Our slutty little Yoda."

"Dean," Ruby turned around and glared at him, "Charming as ever."

He walked over towards Sam, Michelle staying by the bottom of the stairs, her eye on the blonde demon, "Aw, I knew you'd show up," Dean remarked, "Because I knew Sam wouldn't listen," Sam looked at Dean for a moment but looked away quickly, almost ashamed, "But you're not gonna teach him anything, you understand me? Over my dead body."

"Oh, well, you're right about that," Ruby smirked.

"What you are gonna do is give me that knife. And then you can just go crawl back into whatever slop you came from and never bother me or my brother again. Are we clear?"

"Your brother is carrying a bomb inside of him and we'd be stupid not to use it."

"Dean, look, just hold on for one…" Sam tried, but Dean just turned on him.

"Sam!" he shouted at his brother, "Don't. Come on man, what, are you blind? Can't you see that this is a trick?"

"That's not true," Ruby defended.

"She wants you to give in to this whole demonic psychic whatever, ok. I mean hell, she probably wants you to become her little anti-Christ Super Star."

"I want Lilith dead," Ruby argued, "That's all."

"Why?" Michelle called, eyeing the demon warily.

"I've told him why!" Ruby shouted, glaring at Dean.

"Oh, right, yeah," he said mockingly, "Because you were human once and you liked kittens and long walks on the beach."

"You know, I am so sick of proving myself to you. You wanna save yourself, this is how you dumb, spineless dick."

Dean just looked at her and turned, as though to leave, but suddenly swung back and punched her in the face, looking beyond pissed. Sam jumped back, surprised by his brother's actions. Ruby took a few steps back from the force of it. She looked up at him, wiping some blood from her lip before hitting him twice in retaliation.

"Ruby, hey!" Sam shouted.

Ruby stepped around Dean and hit him in the back, causing him to double over. She kneed him in the face, sending him flying into a beam and sliding to the floor. She turned around, only to be hit in the face by Michelle. She swung at Ruby once more but the woman ducked and went to knee Michelle in the stomach, but she blocked by pushing Ruby's leg out of the way.

Sam could only watch in horror, and slight interest, as the two women continued to fight, one trying to basically kill his brother and the other defending him.

Ruby threw a few more punches but was only able to land one across Michelle's jaw. The woman let out no sign that the punch had hurt as she simply kicked Ruby in the face, sending the woman to the floor. She tried to get up but Michelle kicked her in the stomach forcing her to roll away. Ruby rolled onto her feet and ran at Michelle who, in a move similar to taking out the crocotta, let out a forceful kick at the demon's chest, sending her sprawling back into the corner of the basement.

Ruby gasped for breath from the force of the kick to see Michelle smiling as she helped Dean to his feet, "The hell are you grinning at?"

"Missing something?" she asked, holding Ruby's knife in front of her for the demon to see.

"Awesome," Dean remarked, nodding in approval.

"I'll kill you, you bitch," Ruby shouted, more pissed that the other woman had managed, not only to hold her ground against her, but also lift the knife off her. She rushed forward, about to attack, but only made it a foot before she ran into an invisible wall. She tried to push past it, but nothing happened. She looked around at the floor and the ceiling trying to see if there was a Devil's Trap but couldn't find one.

Michelle spit out a wad of blood from her mouth and walked over to Bobby's work bench, picking up a black light. She walked over to the corner, smirking at Ruby, before turning on the light to reveal a Devil's Trap painted on the floor in 'invisible' paint.

Sam pulled his hand away from his mouth, standing up, complete surprised by that.

Ruby looked back up at Michelle, pissed, but Michelle smiled and looked back at her, "You didn't think Dean was the only one who thought you'd come did you?" she put the knife away and started to walk back towards the stairs, the boys following, stunned, behind her.

"Much better than my idea," Dean remarked, pointing to a spot on the ceiling where he'd painted a Devil's Trap of his own.

"Wait!" Ruby called, "You're just gonna leave me here?"

Dean hesitated, looking at Sam who had stopped, "Let's go Sam."

Sam walked over to his brother and girlfriend and took a deep breath before walking up the stairs.

"Oh, oh you…so you're just too stupid to live, is that it?" Ruby shouted after Dean, "Then fine! You deserve Hell! I wish I could be there, Dean. I wish I could smell the flesh sizzle off your bones! I WISH I COULD BE THERE TO HEAR YOU SCREAM!"

"And I wish you'd shut your pie-hole, but we don't always get what we want!" Dean remarked as they walked up the stairs and shut the door behind them.

~8~

Michelle had gone out to tell Bobby that Ruby was trapped in his basement and how it had all played out, with the successful acquisition of the knife, and was returning to the house to check on the boys. She passed by the living room where Sam and Dean were working on the weapons and could hear them having, what sounded like, a meaningful conversation. Not wanting to interrupt, she quietly stood outside the door and listened in.

"…a surefire way then maybe we should just talk about it," she heard Sam speak.

"Sam," Dean interrupted, "We are not gonna make the same mistake all over again."

"You said that but what does it even mean?"

"Don't you see a pattern here? Dad's deal, my deal, now this? I mean every time one of us is…is…is up the creek, the other is begging to sell their soul. That's all this is, man. Ruby's just jerking your chain down the road. You know what it's paved with and you know where it's going," she could hear Dean sit down and pick up a weapon.

"Dean," Sam began, sitting down, "What do you think is gonna happen? This is me, I can handle it," Dean stopped fiddling with the gun, "And if it'll save you..."

"Why even risk it?" Dean cut in.

"Because you're my brother," Sam said brokenly, "Because you did the same thing for me."

Dean scoffed, "I know...and look how that turned out. All I'm saying…" she frowned as she heard Dean get a bit choked up, "Sammy, all I'm saying is that you're my weak spot. You are. And I'm yours and…"

"You don't mean that, we're…we're family," Sam replied, getting choked up as well.

"It's not just that. I know I'm not your only weak spot."

"What do you mean?"

Dean sighed, "What would you do for Michelle?"

"Anything," Sam answered without hesitation.

"Me too," Dean agreed, "I'd sell my soul all over again for you, probably Michelle too. And those evil sons of bitches know it. I mean, what we'll do for each other, you know, how far we'll go? They're using it against us."

"So what?" she could practically hear Sam shake his head, "We just stop looking out for each other? We stop…we stop loving each other?"

"No, we stop being martyrs, man. We…we…we stop spreading it for these demons. We take this knife and we go after Lilith our way. The way dad taught us to. And if we go down, then uh...then we go down swinging. What do you think?"

There was silence for a moment, "They're using our weaknesses against us," Sam said slowly.

"Yeah…" Dean replied, knowing his brother was going somewhere with this.

"What wouldn't we do for Michelle or…or Bobby?"

"Nothing."

"When we go after Lilith…she'll use them against us, won't she?"

"Probably," Dean admitted.

"Maybe…maybe we shouldn't take them with us," Sam finished.

Michelle's eyes widened at that bit of information. She understood where Sam was coming from, but there was no way in Heaven or Hell she or Bobby would stand for that.

"Yeah," Dean agreed, "If she gets me, that's bad enough, if she got Michelle, I can't even imagine what you'd do. Yeah, they stay here."

"Oh hell no," Michelle whispered to herself before storming, quietly, out of the house and back to Bobby.

~8~

Sam and Dean were in the Impala, about to leave, when Dean tried to start her up. Unfortunately it didn't work. They both looked at each other worriedly, when suddenly Bobby appeared outside of Dean's window while Michelle appeared in Sam's, startling the hell out of the brothers.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Michelle glared at them.

Dean looked at her, seeing her holding his distributor cap before getting out of the car with Sam and walking up to Bobby and Michelle, neither of which looked very happy.

"We got the knife," Dean muttered angrily at them.

"And you intend to use it without me," Bobby finished.

"Us," Michelle corrected.

"Us," Bobby nodded, agreeing. "Do I look like a ditch-able prom-date to you?"

"No Bobby," Sam replied, stepping over to them, "Of course not."

"Do I?" Michelle raised an eyebrow at him, just daring him to say the wrong thing.

"This is about me and Sam," Dean cut in, "Ok? This isn't your fight."

Bobby walked up to Dean, furious at his words, "The hell it isn't!" Dean looked surprised by that, "Family don't end with blood, boy. Besides, you need me," he glanced at Michelle, "And you sure as hell are gonna need her."

"Bobby…" Dean tried to argue.

"You're playing wounded. Tell me, how many hallucinations have you had so far?"

Sam looked at Dean, confused by this, while Michelle watched him expectantly. Dean glanced over at his brother and Michelle before looking back at Bobby, "How'd you know?"

"How do you think I know?" he retorted, nodding towards Michelle, "Do you know how much research that girl's been doing since she started travelling with you?"

"What?" Sam looked over at her.

"You didn't really think I was just reading random books while your brother's soul was on the line did you?" she retorted.

Suddenly it made sense to the brothers, all the old looking books she'd buried her nose in over the months, all the notes she made in her own journal which it never occurred to them to read. She'd probably done twice, three times, as much research as they had about the deal and what would happen.

"The hallucinations are what happens when you've got hellhounds after you," she continued, seeing them realizing her work. She then frowned at Dean, "And you're really bad at hiding things."

Dean looked mildly impressed and probably would have looked more so if he wasn't hours away from death. He looked at Sam before looking down at the ground.

Michelle nodded and went to put the distributor cap back in the car.

"I'll follow," Bobby said with finality. He walked away from the boys to his own car, calling back over to them when Dean moved, "Don't be stopping to pee every ten minutes either."

Dean stopped in his tracks and just shook his head at the man, turning back to the now-working Impala to see Michelle already in the backseat.

~8~

"Hey Dean?" Sam said as they drove towards Indiana.

"Yeah?" Dean glanced over at him.

"You know if this doesn't uh...this doesn't go the way we want, I want you to know…" Sam began only to be cut off by his brother.

"No. No, no, no, no."

"No what?" Sam looked confused.

Dean looked over at him, "No, you're not gonna bust out the misty goodbye speech, ok? And if this is my last day on Earth, I do not want it to be socially awkward," he turned back to the road, smirking, "You know what I do want?" he reached over and turned the radio on, Bon Jovi's 'Wanted Dead or Alive' blasting out of the speakers.

"Bon Jovi?" Michelle nearly laughed at this, it was so unlike Dean.

"Bon Jovi rocks," Dean said, before pausing, "On occasion."

He looked at Michelle over his shoulder to underline the statement, she just shook her head at him. He laughed and turned back to the road, beginning to sing along, "'And I walk these streets, A loaded six-string on my back, I play for keeps,'" he nudged Sam, talking to him, "Come on!" before singing again, "''Cause I might not make it back. Been everywhere...'"

"'Oh yeah,'" Sam began singing, earning a smile from Dean.

"'I'm standing tall,'" Michelle joined in.

Sam laughed and the three continued to sing, "'I've seen a million faces, and I rock the boat, 'cause I'm a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride. I'm wanted.'"

Dean looked over at Sam, who was really getting into it, "'WANTED!'" Sam shouted.

Dean looked back at the road while Sam smiled and sang, "'Dead or alive!'"

"'Dead or ALIVE,'" Sam repeated.

Michelle frowned as Dean slowly began to lose the will to sing, his smile fading. Sam continued to sing, laugh, and smile, not noticing Dean was not. Michelle leaned forward, resting a hand on his shoulder. He glanced at her over his shoulder again and saw her give him a small smile. He couldn't help but smile back as Sam continued to sing by himself, "'Dead or alive, dead or alive, dead or alive!'"

Just as the song finished, a siren was heard behind them. The boys tensed as Dean looked into his rearview mirror. The flashing lights of a police car started to reflect inside the car.

"We getting pulled over?" Sam asked, unsure of whether his brother was going to pull over or race the cop.

Dean looked in his side-view mirror, "I've got a busted taillight."

"Yes, because it's not like we're in a hurry or anything," Michelle muttered.

Dean slowly pulled the Impala off to the side of the road, the police car coming up behind them. Dean rolled down the window as Sam got out the license and registration. Michelle looked out the back window as the policeman approached, tensing when she saw a demon walking closer.

"Problem officer?" Dean had asked the man before she could warn them.

She watched the policeman closely as he flashed his flashlight at them, "License and registration, please," Dean handed out the needed papers while the officer took them and looked through them, "Do you realize you have a taillight out, Mr. Hagard?"

Dean looked up and Michelle watched closely as his face fell and hardened, his muscles tensing as though he knew it was a demon as well. The officer tilted his head and turned the light at him, "Yes…yes sir," Dean replied, "Uh…you know I've been meaning to…take care of that…" he turned to face the road once more, glancing back at the officer, "As a matter of fact..."

Before anyone could react, Dean slammed his door open so fast it hit the officer in the stomach, knocking him over. Dean was out of the car and on the officer in no time.

"Dean!" Sam shouted, getting out of the car while Michelle got out on Dean's side. She ran around the car, grabbing Sam to stop him while Dean punched the officer three times in the face and stabbed him with Ruby's knife.

"He's a demon!" Michelle shouted at Sam, trying to stop him from struggling out of her hold.

He stopped immediately, watching as the officer's eyes began to flash black, a sure sign of a demon. Dean pulled the knife out and let the officer fall down dead. He stood over him, leaning on the Impala, breathing heavily from the fight. Sam slowly pulled away from Michelle and moved next to his brother as Bobby pulled up and joined them.

"What the hell happened?" Bobby demanded, looking at the dead body.

"Dean just killed a demon," Sam replied, looking at his brother, "How'd you know?"

"I just knew," Dean answered, looking from the demon to Sam, worried, "I could see its face. Its real face under that one," he let out a breath and turned to Michelle, "How do you do it?"

She smiled and shrugged, "Years and years of practice," she glanced down at the demon, nudging it with her foot, "And believe me, some demons are actually uglier than this one."

"Great," Dean grumbled before sighing, "Come on, better get this covered up."

They all moved, getting the car stationed over by the trees and placing branches over it to hide it from plain sight.

"So what, now you're seeing demons?" Sam asked after a few minutes.

"I've seen all kinds of things lately but...nothing like this," Dean admitted.

"Actually it's not all that crazy," Michelle commented solemnly.

"How's it not that crazy?" Dean stared at her.

"You're piercing the veil, Dean. You're glimpsing the other side."

"A little less new age-y please," he rolled his eyes.

"You're almost Hell's bitch," Bobby clarified, "So, you can see Hell's other bitches."

"Thank you," Dean half-glared.

"Well, actually it could come in pretty handy," Sam commented.

"You'll probably be able to see the hellhounds now," Michelle added, not making him feel better in the least, "It'll give you a chance to avoid them."

"Oh, well, I'm glad my doomed soul is good for something," Dean remarked.

"Damn right it is," Bobby nodded, "Lilith's probably got demons stashed all over town. We can't let them sound the alarm. She knows we're here, we're dead before we're started. And if we have to split up, two people who can see demons is a hell of a lot better than one."

"Well, this is a terrific plan," Dean ground out, "I'm excited to be a part of it. Can we go, please?" he began to walk away and back towards the Impala, leaving the police car as well hidden as they could get it.

~8~

Across the street from the house Lilith was residing in was an abandoned house up for sale, the perfect stakeout place for the small group of Hunters.

"It's the little girl," Dean stated, "Her face is awful."

"At least you can take comfort in knowing it doesn't get uglier than that," Michelle commented as she and Dean stood near the window with Bobby and Sam, looking through binoculars at the small family Lilith was holding hostage.

"Alright then, let's go," Sam lowered his binoculars, "We're wasting time."

He walked past Bobby and Dean, towards the door when Michelle grabbed him and stopped him, "Wait!" she called to him.

"For what?" he turned to face her, "For it to kill the rest of them?"

"Yeah, and us too if we're not careful," Dean agreed with Michelle, nodding Sam over towards the window, "Look. See the real go-getter mailman on the clock at 9pm?" Sam held up the binoculars again and looked at the mailman, "And Mr. Rogers over there…"

"Demons?" Bobby asked as they spotted an old man sitting in a chair outside his home, smoking a pipe and reading a book.

"Yeah," Michelle nodded.

"Ok, fine," Sam thought quickly, "We…we…we…we…we ninja pass those guys, sneak in."

"Then what?" Dean gave him a look, "Give a 'Columbian necktie' to a ten year old girl, come on!"

"Look, Dean, I know it's awful…" Sam began.

"You think?" he asked sarcastically.

"This isn't just about saving you, Dean. This is about saving everybody."

"She's gotta be stopped son," Bobby said grimly.

Dean looked contemplative for a moment, before turning to look out the window, "Oh, damn it."

"If you guys are interested?" Michelle called out, looking down from the window at the streets, "I might have a plan."

~8~

The plan was simple enough, lure the mailman away from the truck, finish him off, then sneak up behind 'Mr. Rogers' and knock him off before heading towards Lilith. And just in case they sounded the alarm, Bobby was working on turning the whole town's water supply into holy water and setting the sprinklers off. All they had to do was get to the front porch before the water went on.

Dean decided to be the one to lure the demon mailman, making sure he got spotted walking around, before running behind the abandoned house where Sam was waiting with Ruby's knife. When the demon impaled himself on the knife, Sam struggled a bit so Michelle placed her hand over the demon's mouth so his death wouldn't alert the whole town. Sam pulled the knife out, killing the demon before letting him drop to the ground.

They then made their way over to 'Mr. Rogers'' house, Michelle motioning for the boys to stay in the backyard while she snuck into the house with Ruby's knife, something about how they couldn't tiptoe to save their lives. She had gone in through the back of the house and made quick work of the demon. She dragged it into the house, making sure there was no blood outside, before joining the boys. She had just handed Sam the knife back when Dean took off.

Sam and Michelle only stood there a moment before taking off after him.

They saw Ruby suddenly appear in front of Dean and shove him into a fence he'd run up to, "I'd like my knife back, please. Or your neck snaps like a chicken bone."

Sam's eyes darkened at the threat to his brother and he stepped up behind Ruby, holding the knife to her throat, "He doesn't have it. Take it easy."

Ruby slowly backed away from Dean, releasing him from the fence. Sam slowly backed away as well and stood next to his brother and Michelle.

"How the hell did you get out?" Michelle glared at her.

Ruby just smirked, "What you don't know about me could fill a book."

Dean suddenly grimaced, stepping back, his eyes wider, "Whoa."

"What?" Ruby turned to him.

Dean just tried to look away, not wanting to look directly at her. He glanced at her and then to Michelle, who was watching the woman intently, "Nothing. I just…I couldn't see you before, but you're one ugly broad," he swallowed hard and turned to Michelle, "How do you stand it?"

Michelle just shook her head, now was not the time to talk about how desensitized she was to seeing demons.

"Sam, give me the knife before you hurt yourself," Ruby ignored Dean's comment and turned to Sam.

"You'll get it when this is over," Sam replied.

"It's already over. I gave you a way to save Dean, you shot me down. Now it's too late. He's dead. And I'm not gonna let you die too."

"Try and stop us, and I'll kill you," Michelle stepped up in front of the boys, "Bitch."

"Hit me with your best shot," Ruby smirked.

Dean glanced back at the direction he'd run from, at the hellhounds he could see approaching, to a new, more threatening sight, and turned back to them, "Guys, guys! Hey. Have your little catfight later."

They followed his gaze to see two people, a father and son, standing outside on their porch, looking at the group. They looked around to see more people stepping out onto their porches and opening windows to look at them.

"Oh shit," Michelle said under her breath as she glanced at Dean to see that he too could see their black eyes.

"So much for the element of surprise," Dean shook his head.

"Go!" Sam shouted, "Run!"

They opened the fence and ran straight towards Lilith's house as the neighbors ran from theirs in chase. Sam reached the house first, starting to pick the lock while Ruby and Dean came up behind him. Michelle pulled out a shotgun and stopped in between the porch and the sidewalk, aiming at the oncoming army.

"What the hell is taking Bobby?" Dean fidgeted, watching as Michelle stood as the last line of defense between the demons and them, "Michelle!"

"Don't worry about me," she glanced back at them before turning to the demons, her eyes narrowing as they slowed to a stop before the lawn, "Just get the door open!"

"I'm trying!" Sam shouted back, having issues with the lock.

The demons hesitated, stopping just before the lawn, their eyes on Michelle before one shot out and ran towards her. But just as the possessed woman reached the lawn the sprinklers turned on and the demon began to flail, screaming as the water burned her. Another demon tried to get by but got caught in the water as well.

Dean smirked, watching this happen, as scores of demons were held at bay by a little water.

"Got it!" Sam shouted, getting the door open.

Ruby walked in, Sam holding the door open.

"Mickey!" Dean called, "Let's go!"

Michelle glanced behind her at the door then back at the demons, before turning and running into the house behind Dean, Sam shutting the door behind them.

Sam turned around to see a very decomposed body lying on the floor. He could see Ruby, Michelle, and Dean looking at it.

Dean's face grew more serious, "You think Lilith knows we're here?"

"Probably," Ruby answered.

They looked at each other before moving out cautiously, looking into the rooms, trying to find Lilith. Sam entered the rooms first, holding Ruby's knife before him, followed by Ruby, then Dean, and Michelle behind them.

Michelle whipped around when she heard a creaking to see a man running towards her. She quickly grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back, and held her hand over his mouth as the group turned around at the scuffle.

Dean walked forward toward the man, his finger on his lips in a shushing manner, "We're here to help," Dean whispered to the man, "Ok?"

"I'm gonna move my hand," Michelle continued, "And when I do, we're going to be quiet, ok?" the man nodded and Michelle slowly removed her hand, allowing the man to step away from her.

"Sir, where is your daughter?" Sam asked.

"It's not...it's not her anymore," the man nearly cried.

"Where is she?" Michelle repeated.

"Upstairs. In her bedroom."

Dean nodded, "Ok, ok, ok. Listen to me. I want you to go downstairs to the basement. Put a line of salt at the door behind you. Do you understand me?"

"Not without my wife."

"Yes, without your wife."

"No!" the man almost shouted.

Just before he could alert Lilith to their presence, Dean punched him, hard, knocking him out. He picked up the man and slung him over his shoulder. He gave the others a look and walked off towards the basement.

"Come on," Michelle said, "We need to find Lilith."

Sam nodded and he, Ruby, and Michelle walked up the stairs, backs against the walls, trying to be as stealthy as possible. Sam nodded at Michelle, who nodded in return and walked off to look into one room, while he checked another. Ruby walked to a third and opened it slowly. She stepped back, getting Sam's attention before stepping away, not wanting to risk exposing herself to Lilith. Sam motioned over at Michelle, who followed him toward Lilith's room, watching as he slipped in, before making her way quietly over to the door.

She peeked in to see Sam walking slowly up to a bed surrounded in thin drapes. Just as she was about to enter the room, Ruby grabbed her arm, trying to keep her back. She looked back at the demon, glaring at her before yanking her arm away and turning back to the room.

"Do it!" the woman lying on the bed next to Lilith, possessing a little blonde girl, was whispering to Sam, sounding more than scared.

Michelle frowned as she squinted, trying to see more clearly through the curtains surrounding the canopied bed. She stepped into the room more just as Sam raised the knife.

"Do it!" the woman whispered again.

Michelle managed to get behind Sam, leaning over to see around him at Lilith, who was starting to wake. Her eyes widened in shock as she quickly strode over to him.

"Do it!" the mother hissed, "Do it!"

She reached out and quickly grabbed Sam's hand before he could strike, "It's not her!" she shouted to Sam, pulling him away from the bed.

The mother quickly scooped the girl in her arms, realizing it was her daughter again.

"It's not in the girl anymore?" Dean asked, entering the room.

"Mommy!" the girl sobbed, scared.

"Mommy's here," the woman rocked her back and forth as the boys helped her up and quickly left the room, "Mommy's here. It's ok."

They headed down the stairs, the woman and Dean first, "Alright, no matter what you hear," Dean instructed her, leading her to the basement, "You, your husband, and your daughter stay in the basement."

"Everything'll be fine," Michelle told the woman, placing a hand on her shoulder as she turned to see Sam and Ruby walk off into the living room. She nodded at Dean to follow and he turned to go.

"But what about…" the woman began.

"I'm sorry ma'am, we don't have time to explain," Michelle interrupted, looking at her watch and then in the direction Dean had gone, "Please, just do as we asked."

The woman nodded and carried her daughter down to the basement where her husband was waiting.

Michelle turned to walk towards the living room, just as the clock struck midnight. Her eyes widened in fear as she bolted into the room, slamming the doors shut behind her to see Dean trying to give Sam a little smile and stay calm, but it wasn't working.

"I'm sorry, Dean," Ruby said, "I wouldn't wish this upon my worst enemy."

There was a howl of hellhounds as she and Dean turned to look in that direction.

"Hellhound," Dean commented grimly.

"Where?" Sam looked around.

"There," Dean pointed before running out of the room, followed by the others, the hellhound quick behind them. They ran into another room and slammed the doors closed, locking them.

Dean took out a bag and began making dust lines along the door with the powder in the bag, Michelle holding the door shut with Sam while Ruby stood behind them. The pounding suddenly stopped and they stood back, Dean rushing for the windows to pour the dust as well.

"Give me the knife, maybe I can fight it off," Ruby said suddenly.

Michelle looked over at Ruby, her eyes now wider than they had ever been at seeing that the demon now possessing Ruby wasn't Ruby anymore, but Lilith.

"What?" Sam asked, confused.

"Come on!" she insisted, "That dust won't last forever."

"No!" Michelle shouted as Sam reached for the knife, "It's not her!"

Dean turned around at her shout to see that it was, indeed, the ugliest demon of them all, "Don't!"

"You wanna die?" Ruby glared at the boys.

"Sam, that's not Ruby. It's not Ruby!"

"It's Lilith," Michelle confirmed.

Ruby/Lilith suddenly flung out her arm and sent Michelle and Sam into the wall, pinning them there, Sam dropping the knife from the slam. She flung out her other arm to pin Dean onto a table. Dean grunted and tried to hold up his head so he could see Lilith.

"How long you been in her?" Dean asked.

Lilith's expression became very childlike, "Not long," she shrugged.

"Ever since the hellhounds stopped," Michelle answered. Lilith was beyond powerful, she didn't doubt the demon would be able to sneak into a host without the typical swarm of black demon smoke if she wanted.

Lilith looked towards her, shocked that she knew, turning her eyes white, "Very clever."

"And where's Ruby?" Sam demanded.

Lilith smiled as her eyes turned back to normal, "She was a very bad girl, so I sent her far, far away," she tilted her head, crunching her neck as she turned to stare at Dean.

"You know, I should have seen it before...but you all look alike to me," Dean remarked.

A moment later she snapped her head at Sam, ignoring Dean, and walking slowly towards him, "Hello Sam. I've wanted to meet you for a very long time," she grabbed a hold of his chin and forced him to face her before she gave him a kiss, his lips actually sizzling as she did so.

Michelle began struggling more, trying to move any part of her body, but was unable to do so.

"Your lips are soft," Lilith commented as Sam jerked his head to the side, away from her.

"Right, so you have me," he glared at her, "Let my brother go."

"Silly goose," Lilith shook her head, "You wanna bargain, you have to have something that I want. You don't."

"Oh don't we?" Michelle asked, drawing her attention.

The woman turned to give her the onceover, "No, you don't."

Michelle was about to open her mouth to speak once again when Dean called over, "So, is this your big plan, huh? Drag me to Hell. Kill Sam. Kill Michelle. And then what? Become queen bitch?"

"I don't have to answer to puppy chow," Lilith remarked, twisting her head to look at Dean, groaning in pain on the table, trying to hold himself up against her restraint. She turned away from Sam to walk towards the door, her eyes still on Dean. She smiled sadistically as she reached for the door handle, "Sick 'em boys."

"No!" Michelle shouted as Lilith opened the door, blowing the dust away and allowing the hellhounds in.

They ran to Dean and pounced on him, grabbing him by the legs and pulling him off the table while he screamed. They started to rip him apart as Sam and Michelle could only watch, helpless, scared, and panicked.

"Stop!" Sam begged.

Lilith just looked at Sam and Michelle and then down to Dean, struggling on the floor, his legs already slashed and claw marks appearing on his chest.

"Stop it!" Sam shouted.

Lilith just watched, her smile widening as the hounds slashed Dean's back and shoulder.

"No!" he yelled, the two watching in horror as Dean was flipped over and slashed over his chest, blood gushing out.

"No!" Michelle repeated, "Stop it!"

"STOP IT!" Sam screamed, watching as Dean fought with his last breath until the blood poured out of him, the man's screaming stopping.

"No!" they shouted, seeing this.

"Yes," Lilith smiled at them. She held out her hand and a light erupted from it, building up as Sam turned and closed his eyes. Michelle glared right at the woman, watching as her light retracted, her eyes slowly returning from white to normal, she looked confused and a bit shocked at what was happening to her.

Lilith looked down to see that Sam and Michelle had slid to the floor. Sam was huddled in a corner next to a cabinet, holding his hands in front of him, Michelle kneeling at his side, hugging him, shielding him a bit from her, still glaring.

Sam opened his eyes as he felt Michelle moving to grab his hands and lift him off the floor. He looked over at Lilith, who was looking at them, afraid. She held out her hand again, "Back!" she called, jerking her hand towards them, but nothing happened. Michelle squeezed Sam's hand, as he took a breath and began walking towards the demon.

"I said, back!" she repeated, trying to use her powers once again.

Sam just glared at her, kneeling down to pick up Ruby's knife. Lilith was looking terrified now, but the duo looked determined and hateful.

"I don't think so," Sam ground out, pulling back his hand and moving to stab her, when she suddenly threw herself out of Ruby's body. The black smoke rose as she screamed and flew out of the ventilation on the ceiling.

Ruby's body collapsed, but Sam and Michelle couldn't care less as they spotted Dean's body, lying motionless, his eyes opened.

He was dead.

Sam looked down, breathing heavily, one step away from hyperventilating. Michelle reached over, circling him in her arms, resting her head on his shoulder for a moment before he walked away, towards Dean. Michelle watched, heartbroken, as Sam fell to the floor, picking up Dean in his arms, tears pouring down his face.

"No..." he shook his head in disbelief, rocking his brother back and forth, "No…Dean…"

Michelle knelt next to him, as she did before, hugging him to her as he cradled his brother's body, unable to do anything but cry and hold him in her arms.

"Dean…" Sam whimpered.

His brother was gone.

To be continued...in...Purgatory!

A/N: NOOO! DEAN! WHY?!

Poor Dean, poor Sam. What will happen now? Check back soon, my next story in this triology, Purgatory, will be up tomorrow, but it'll really get started on Saturday.