Part 6: Of Their Nature

If it hadn't been for the lights that were thankfully working again on his, Sarah, and Jo's hardhats, Dean wouldn't have been able to see anything. It didn't matter anyway; he had no idea where he was going. The passageway he had chosen was wider than the initial one they had come through, curving and varied as it took them deeper into the mine. Dean might have even been leading them away from any chance of escape but there hadn't been time to think logically about possible routes; he had to get the girls and himself away from Sam and Sasha.

That very thought made Dean shiver. He didn't even know for certain what was happening. This damn cave, this evil hot spot that pulsed with power he, as a human, couldn't feel was stripping the two people that meant the most in the world to him of every part of them that wasn't demonic. It was just a theory, it might not be true, but Dean had come to the same realization and Sam had sounded so sure as he and Sasha howled and changed. The only option Dean had been left with was to run.

He had long since released Jo and Sarah's wrists, unable to hang onto them in the passageway as it began to narrow. Still, he was constantly looking back behind him to be sure the two women were there and that they had no pursuers.

For several minutes they could still hear the cries of Sam and Sasha—pitiable wails. Dean wanted to turn around so badly, to turn around and be there with his brother and friend regardless of what was happening to them, but his better judgment kept him moving forward. It was only that, his forward momentum that kept him from hating himself. Later he would have more time to dwell on how this had all been his fault. He'd even been given a warning but he hadn't been sharp enough to figure things out until it was too late.

They reached another small cavern that led off into different passageways. Dean knew they couldn't afford to slow down or stop but as recent events caught up with him he couldn't run anymore. He keened loudly like an animal for a moment and pounded a fist against the nearest stone wall. He hadn't realized until just now, when he was stopped, that his eyes were damp.

"That fucking bastard set me up!" Dean yelled, pounding the wall again, "He knew…he knew we'd come here. He knew they'd be drawn here and I couldn't fucking figure it out!" Again Dean pounded the stone, turning his knuckles raw and bloody from scraping the harsh surface.

"Dean!" Sarah called to him, grabbing his arm to stop yet another blow. He wouldn't look at her, he knew they couldn't risk stopping, they couldn't risk him taking the time to break down. He heard Sarah's voice patient and determined beside his ear. "It doesn't matter now. We're here, this is happening, and we have to deal with it. Now what were you talking about? What was it they were saying? This place lured demons not humans? And it…burns away humanity to make the demon part stronger?"

Hearing that said aloud again made Dean's stomach clench like he might throw up. "There's…lore about places like this, pre-devil's gates, where there isn't an opening to Hell but it's like…like the curtain between the two is thinner," Dean explained. He hadn't thought about that in years. His father's journal mentioned it but there hadn't been a documented case since the 12th century.

Taking deep breaths and feeling the sting in his hand now, Dean turned around to look at Sarah. Jo was standing just behind her, brow knit.

"If hunters find places like this they try and seal it up. It draws demons to it, makes them stronger. Even they might not realize what it is at first but eventually they'll find their way to the place that's calling them. It's possession overdrive. They become so infused with the power from Hell, power they usually can't tap into when they're earthbound, and…the Hellfire burns the soul away. That's what…that's what all the old accounts would say. Sammy…he must have realized it too. And Sasha…they could feel it. That's why they told us to run."

"But Sam and Sasha aren't humans possessed by demons," Jo countered, "Sasha's an incubus and Sam's…demon inflected. It's in their blood. It couldn't…it couldn't do the same thing to them…could it?" Her wide brown eyes were fierce to hide her panic.

Dean didn't know how to respond with anything but the truth. He was glad none of them could really look at each other directly as it shot the beam of light from their hardhats into each other's eyes. "I don't know. Maybe it can. Maybe it's different. But even if it doesn't…burn anything away…it's still gonna amp their demon side. I don't…I don't think they'll be able to control themselves."

"But we don't know that for sure," said Sarah, "We can't just leave them down here."

There was no part of Dean that wanted to do that but right now he didn't see many other options. "We have to keep moving. They wanted us to go. How do you think they'd feel if this was just temporary, and after they find their own way out and return to their senses, they realize they tore us apart and left us to rot. They're stronger than us. They can last longer down here."

"Sam may have had the bag with the food," Sarah jumped in, shifting the bag that was still over her own shoulder, " But I have the hooks and rope. And anything else we might need. That should help. I dropped my flashlight though. If the ones on our hats go out again did either of you manage to hang onto yours?"

After a moment of searching, Jo produced hers. Dean checked himself too but couldn't find the flashlight. What he did discover and had nearly forgotten about was the Colt. He had tucked it into his jacket after using it on the demon. He swallowed thickly as he held it in his hand and stared at it. He knew it was a good thing that the only weapon that would do them any good was in their possession and not Sam and Sasha's. But part of Dean wished he had left it in the cavern anyway.

He sniffled and wiped a hand over his eyes. No time for tears or regret. No time for anything. They had to keep moving.

"If we can find a way out then so can they," Dean said as blandly as he could manage even though it was so hard not to let his voice catch on the words, "We have to get outta here. We get out, we make it to Iain's place…and we fortify the house against…"

"Demons?" Jo prompted with a huff. It felt like such a betrayal to even think that way.

Dean gripped the handle of the Colt tight for a minute and then put it away inside his jacket again. "If we get out of here and it's temporary, we can wait 'em out. If it's not…" Dean couldn't say it. He shook his head, his teeth grinding together painfully to keep his mouth from trembling.

None of them mentioned the possibility of Sam and Sasha not being able to find a way out. It was too much a guarantee that if they could find a way then their demon companions could as well.

It almost soothed Dean to see how Jo's eyes were growing damp now too, he could tell without having to look at her directly. If Sarah was the same she hid it by turning quickly towards the three possible exits out of the cavern.

"Which one?" Sarah asked, shining her light down each of them though that didn't tell them anything since the passageways were all too long to see all that far, "These are definitely man made so we're still inside the mine not just in other parts of the cave system. There have to be, well, basically emergency exits that lead up to the surface since we're so far from the main entrance."

Suddenly, Dean remembered the guidebook Iain had given him before they left. He dug it out of his back jean pocket where the small book had fit perfectly. It was old and worn but might actually save their asses if it gave them any indication as to where they should head. "Better than nothing," Dean shrugged as Sarah and Jo noticed the guidebook and gathered closely around him. Their combined light lit up the pages.

Dean flipped through quickly at first, looking for the map Iain had said was inside. He found it near the middle, a fairly detailed depiction of the many passageways. The main exit was clearly marked and also several side entryways. "There," Sarah pointed at a larger spot on the map, "That's the cavern we found the demon in. The main passageway leads right there if you take that left in the fork like we did. But which one did we take from there?"

"Must be this one," Dean said, trying to remember where he had led them in relation to the direction they had originally come in, "Feels the right distance to this cavern," he said as he pointed to another slightly larger opening, "So then…if these are our options…" He could clearly see the three passageways before them displayed on the map. Following each possible route with his finger he tried to find the one that led to the quickest way out. "This one," he said finally, pointing to the one on the far right on the map and then pointing to the real thing in front of them. "Looks like a way out's still a bit far, but faster than using any of the other ones."

Sarah and Jo met his gaze when he looked at each of them, hesitation and regret on all of their faces. "We don't have a choice," Sarah tried to shrug, wearing an impressive mask much as her eyes did indeed look wet like his and Jo's.

"Okay," Dean said, because he didn't really know what else to say. He didn't want to think too hard about what they were leaving behind and about the consequences sure to come later. "Stay close to me."

Dean didn't want to say out loud that there had been passageways leading out of that first larger cavern that weren't displayed on the map. Maybe he should have. Maybe he should have also mentioned—even though the girls had probably already noticed themselves—that most of the passageways that were on the map eventually connected back together again. It meant they didn't only have to worry about what might be coming right behind them, but from all other directions too.

The first roar was already too close, animalistic and feral as it ricocheted after them through the passageways, bouncing easily over the stone walls and making it difficult to tell where it had come from. All of them flinched; Dean felt Jo's hand grip suddenly at the back of his jacket. It was easy to grip since it wasn't his leather.

The second roar seemed to come from a completely different direction, but it sounded clearly different than anything mindless. It was taunting, as if there was laughter hiding at its edges.

"Go," Dean said in a harsh whisper, pushing Sarah and Jo ahead of him towards their chosen passageway as he turned to look fearfully behind them, "Now."

He wasn't about to play martyr though; he was hot on their heels. The last thing he wanted was to face this alone. It made him feel like such a coward, that maybe he had been leaning so much on the presence of Sam and Sasha in the past few months he had grown weak. But it wasn't that he was weak, it's just that it was them.

God, it was them.

Panic caught in Dean's throat but he swallowed it down, racing after the girls down the passageway who thankfully weren't looking back. Dean noticed as they went along that places in the walls were crumbled away, opening up new passageways that also weren't on the map. Every one of them made him flinch as they ran past, waiting to be ambushed. If they continued straight through they should be able to reach a way out. They still had a chance. He tried to tell himself that he wasn't running for his life from his brother and his lover. That might not be who they were anymore.

Tears stung at Dean's eyes again. He had recognized the roar as Sasha's, reminding him more of when he had first heard it facing the Seven Deadly Sins. He tried to channel all his raging emotions into adrenaline, but there was only so much he could take. His heart was pounding painfully in his chest.

"Light!" Jo called after several minutes, first in line as they ran.

Dean couldn't see around the girls to be sure if that was true but he trusted Jo wasn't imagining things. Besides, it was possible. They should be coming up on the way out.

"No!" Dean heard soon after though, feeling an immediate burn in his chest.

He nearly ran into Sarah's back then because both girls had stopped. Dean soon saw why. They had found the opening but it was that too small hole to freedom that they had been able to see on the outside of the hill as well. If this exit had been bigger once, the various cave-ins had long since sealed it off over the years. Jo was clutching at the stone, trying to see if she could move any of it, but it wasn't loose debris. They couldn't get out this way.

Another roar that sounded cruelly touched by laughter sought after them, as close as before. Dean recognized now why that sound chilled him more than anything ever had—it wasn't only Sasha's voice. It was Sam's too. God damn it. They only had one direction they could go.

Seeing no other option, Dean pulled the Colt from his jacket. He held out his left arm as he began to move back the way they had come, keeping the girls guarded behind him whether they felt patronized by the machismo act or not. It wasn't that he didn't think they could defend themselves, it was that none of them could, and Dean couldn't help wanting to protect what remained of his family even if he doubted he could fire.

Another roar sounded as they moved slowly down the passageway. Dean clung to a small stray moment of hope, realizing that the growly echoes of laughter sounded further away this time. It was too risky to go all the way to the smaller cavern and take a different path. Dean moved instead for one of the newly formed openings. They had to lead somewhere, maybe they even connected back to one of the main passageways. It was their best chance right now.

The worst was in knowing that their hardhat lights gave them away, but without them they wouldn't be able to see where they were going. Feeling along the wall but keeping his eyes forward, Dean finally felt the rock give away on his left into one of the crumbled openings. He looked back at the girls and gestured his head at it, wanting to remain quiet. Looking tense and edgy, both of them nodded.

It was a difficult squeeze into the opening but the passage itself wasn't as narrow as Dean had feared. It seemed darker though and Dean felt the slow decline that told him they were heading deeper into the earth. Just as he was starting to think this hadn't been the best idea the passage opened up into the largest cavern they had yet come to. It was half a basketball court, maybe larger, and there was only one continuing passageway out of it. Dean took the chance to look at the map again since they hadn't heard another roar in several minutes.

"Shit," he cursed quietly, keeping his voice a whisper. He looked up at Jo and Sarah who were close beside him and shook his head. "Not on the map. We'll just have to hope we're heading a way that leads us out somewhere." That wasn't the most comforting thought, he knew, but both girls looked to him again with complete trust, allowing him to lead.

Dean knew from Jo it was genuine—she simply trusted that Dean was more experienced—but with Sarah he got the feeling that part of her compliance was more to appease him than anything, because she understood that taking control was one of the ways Dean stayed in control. He was thankful for that, something Sam always understood too.

Dean's throat clenched.

Sammy…

"Come on," Dean said, shoving the map back in his pocket. He had put the Colt inside his jacket again while he looked at the map, but he was ready at a moment's notice to reach for it again as he moved for the passageway across the cavern. It was another wider corridor that seemed to curve off almost immediately; Dean couldn't really see inside even after his light was shining right on it.

Suddenly, there was a faint sound like crumbling rock somewhere behind them. Dean whipped around, seeing that Jo and Sarah were also looking back the way they had come. They stood frozen, listening, not daring to breathe. When no more sound came, Dean took a deep breath.

"Keep moving," he whispered. He turned back around but he hadn't taken more than a step before a low growl began to build from within the passageway before them.

With a great crunch a clawed hand smashed suddenly into the cave wall, the only thing visible coming around the curve that Dean knew had been there. Horrifying slow, the rest of the figure appeared as if it was climbing out of the rock itself, out of the very fissures of the earth like a hellbeast.

Dean trembled so hard his teeth chattered. It was Sasha. And God, he was magnificently terrible.

The incubus could barely fit his way out of the passageway into the cavern he was so large. He didn't look the way he should, not the way Dean knew. His coloring was the same, his hair longer and wild as always, but his red eyes glowed with a dreadful light. His horns were larger, sharper, Dean could tell. His fangs were not merely on his eyeteeth but the ones next to them seemed slightly pointed too, and the same pattern repeated on his lower teeth. Though more subtle than the length of his original fangs, these new additions made him that much more fearsome for his potential bite. His claws were larger and sharper too. He was taller, by another inch or two maybe, because of his now frighteningly monstrous raptor feet.

But most impressive were his wings. They were massive. At first pinched by the tight space, when Sasha stepped out into the cavern his wings shot out from his back with such force that Dean felt literally pushed.

Then Sasha's tongue was darting out over his lips and he grinned wide to show off his fierce new fangs. His gaze held an awful intensity that Dean could barely stomach to look at. "Dean…" Sasha said like a low rumble, saturating his words with a devious hunger, "Poor Dean. Should have run faster."

Shit.

Dean had both Sarah and Jo still guarded behind him. He didn't even take the time to blink as he turned and pushed them towards the way they had come from. "Go!" he screamed, but even as they broke into a fresh run their way out proved to be just as blocked.

That sound before of tumbling rocks hadn't been nothing. Sam stepped out of the other passageway with leisure steps. There were no other ways out of the cavern now; they were trapped.

Neither Sam nor Sasha was wearing their hardhat—not that Sasha would have been able to fit it over his large horns—but it didn't seem that either of them needed the extra light. Sam's eyes shone with power just like Sasha's, mottled yellow and menacing. Something else about him was different though, just not as visible as Sasha's more impressive appearance. The power emanating from Sam made him appear somehow larger, god-like and glowing.

"You even had a map," Sam scoffed, leaning frustratingly casual against the rock wall just inside the cavern, "And this is the best you could do?" He was grinning, dimples galore, like he did only when he was completely content. "Though I suppose we did have a bit of an advantage," he said, breaking into an easy laugh.

His laughter seemed so offhandedly cruel for how carefree it was. It was even worse when Sasha joined him, who in his even more monstrous form sounded halfway to a growl. The combination was exactly what they had been hearing in those warning roars. It brought Dean back so quickly to his old dreams that he felt rooted to the spot. All he could do was reach out for the girls and pull them in close against him, forming a tight huddle. Sasha and Sam were on either side of them, only yards away. Dean could feel the weight of the Colt in his jacket but he couldn't reach for it.

The wide smile on his brother's face was Sam at his most pleased, like he had been the other night, juiced on demonic energy and finally allowing himself to live. But with his eyes yellow like that and the way something curled at his lips, Sam just looked vicious. He threw his gaze past Dean and the others to Sasha on the other side, "Looking good, Sash," he called, appraising the incubus' new form as if he hadn't really been able to appreciate it yet, "How do you feel?"

The incubus' smile was so similar, just as menacing with fangs as Sam was without them. "How do I feel?" he repeated, flexing claws that for the first time in so long made Dean feel afraid, "Like nothing can touch me. Like I want to stretch my wings…and really let loose. Ya know?" He laughed again.

This time Sam echoed him and it made Dean shiver, having to grip the girls' arms that much tighter to keep from shaking visibly. He felt Jo clutch his wrist as he slowly tried to back them up towards one of the other walls so they could keep Sasha and Sam in their sights at the same time. It didn't help Dean's nerves though to see the two of them parallel.

Sasha cocked his head at Dean. "What's wrong?" he said in that new more resonating growl of a voice, "Don't you want to fly with me anymore, Dean?" It was such an obvious taunt with that same cruel laugh to follow it. Again Sam echoed him.

Then they were both moving to close in, taking the cue from Dean having backed himself and the girls up as far as they could against the cavern wall. Their combined hardhat lights lit up most of the cavern, spotlighting the glorious gargoyle that was Sasha and Sam, the yellow-eyed demi-god. Sasha had more than enough room for his wingspan. In fact the cavern was high enough that if the incubus wanted he could probably take to flight, though he wouldn't have many places to go.

It was then that Dean noticed Sasha was still wearing what remained of his jeans. He had been a little distracted before by the other details but now Dean noticed them. There was no T-shirt or jacket though, no destroyed shoes, meaning Sasha must have torn the offending items away. It also meant that Sasha wasn't holding any glamours and not just because he didn't want to but because he couldn't. Somewhere in the caves was yet another ruined leather jacket.

Even though Sam and Sasha were moving, leaving behind their guarding of the passages out, there was no way Dean and the girls could get past them. The two demonized versions of their friends came together, bookending the group from just a few feet away. Then they stopped. Sasha stretched back and extended his wings to their full breadth with a fresh roar at the ceiling while Sam lifted his head and closed his eyes, arms outstretched, as if they were both drinking in the new sensations running through their bodies and whatever it was that had become of them.

"It's…intoxicating," Sam said, his smile twitching with a sick kind of pleasure. His eyes opened again, shimmering. He looked to each of them, focusing finally on Dean as he laughed again like someone had told the most marvelous joke. "I don't think you've been this afraid in your entire life, Dean. You're practically…shaking." Sam said that as if he knew, and he probably did, that Dean had been thinking that very thing, trying so hard to get a hold of himself and think. "You're even more afraid right now than the girls. Pathetic," Sam laughed again.

Without having to say a word to each other, Sam and Sasha's eyes focused on the three huddled hunters and they began to move further forward.

Dean tugged the girls closer to him, feeling rock at his back as he pressed himself away from Sam and Sasha's advance. He had the girls around the waist now, an instinctual act whether they needed to be protected or not—the comfort was his as well. He could feel both their heartbeats vibrating against his own ribs, though Sarah's was admittedly steadier.

It was as if right when Dean thought that Sam took that much more notice of Sarah. He was closest to her while Sasha was closest to Jo. Sasha slammed his claws into the wall by Jo's head and loomed over them, making Jo tense and choke on a scream though her face showed only hatred and the resolve not to let any of this get to her.

Sam stepped up close as well, eyes on Sarah as he said, "Actually…you don't seem all that afraid. Jo, of course, it's understandable," he added with a crooked smile and tilt of his head to the blonde, "I did torture you once." Again came that awful laughter.

Sasha just smiled with his fangs, hovering over Jo and Dean as he blocked that side and Sam blocked the other.

"You know," Sam went on, returning his attention to Sarah, who as much as Dean was clinging to her, she wasn't really clinging back, "It's ironic. This is exactly the reason I didn't want to come see you. I didn't want you to see me like this. I didn't want you to think I was…a monster." His grin twitched as he said that.

All Dean could think about was keeping his breathing steady, his pulse stable, and his nerves sharp. There had to be some way around this that didn't involve going for the Colt. "Sammy…" he said, more like a breath than he intended, which may have been why Sarah didn't hear him.

"I don't think you're a monster, Sam," she said, her dark eyes unwavering as they returned Sam's piercing yellow stare.

"Hn," Sam regarded her closely, towering as Sasha was and leaning in so that his breath moved the strands of her hair that had fallen from being tied back. As he looked at her for one moment his smile faltered and his brow furrowed with confusion. "You're not even lying…"

A growl was building in Sasha again. Dean didn't know who he should be worried about more, but his eye was drawn to Sasha then and the incubus looked to him with rapt attention. Sasha's tongue darted out at his lips. "Sam…" the incubus said like a request even though he was looking at Dean.

"Not now," Dean heard Sam say.

The incubus growled impatiently, almost like a feral whine. "But you promised I could—" Sasha cut off with such a cowed expression that Dean had to turn back to Sam to see why.

Sam was looking at Sasha so fiercely that for a moment Dean would swear he saw sparks of electricity in his brother's eyes. "Later," Sam said warningly, a clear order. Then he smiled again, wide and ominous. He turned back to look Sarah up and down a moment, looked over at Jo with a tilt of his head, and then chuckled lightly as his eyes fell on Dean. "Well what is everyone waiting for? We really should be finding our way out of here."

Then Sasha was moving, his wings tucking in around him so he could lean back against the wall next to Jo, grinning sideways down the line of hunters. He and Sam both laughed, probably, Dean imagined, because all of them were gaping. Dean felt so stupid and useless for not saying anything but in the grand scheme of worst nightmares coming true this pretty much took the cake. Sam talking like they were all part of the same team still was not usually part of the script, however.

"What?" Sam said, a little mockingly. He was more in front of Dean than bookending the other side of Sarah anymore and he kept his gaze mostly focused on Dean as well. "Did you think I was going to sick him on you like a dog…to tear you to shreds? I'm sure he could." There was a sharp growl from Sasha as if to confirm that and then the incubus chuckled. "But really," Sam said, pulling back and regarding them all once again, "It's in all of our best interest to find a way out of here, isn't it?"

Part of Dean thought this must just be part of whatever plan Sam and Sasha had come up with and that whether or not they found a way out of these caves it wouldn't guarantee that Dean and the girls wouldn't be harmed. Dean's instincts told him not to trust Sam like this and Sasha was having way too much fun being imposing. If this wasn't temporary than Dean might have to find some way—God, he could barely stand to entertain such a thought without feeling his insides ache— to make sure that Sam and Sasha never got out of the mine.

Sam's hand slammed into the wall just above Dean's head as hard as Sasha's had struck the wall by Jo, forgetting the girls and looming over Dean only. "That wasn't a very nice thought you just had," Sam said darkly, a hot whisper against Dean's face.

There was no doubt Sam was right; Dean had never felt fear like this. He wasn't sure if it was just because this was Sam and Sasha he was dealing with or because Sam was planting fear inside his head—full and paralyzing.

"He was thinking," Sam went on, clearly to Sasha though his eyes remained on Dean, "That if we find a way out of here he may have to think of something to make sure the two of us don't get out with the rest of them." Sam's smile twitched, taunting and false as it stretched wider. With his hand propped over Dean's head, Sam leaned in even closer, his face brushing past Dean's so he could whisper, "Now, Dean…why would you want to do that?"

The fear wasn't from Sam, it just was Sam. Dean couldn't allow himself to be bested by it. He turned his head to Sam's ear that was so close to him and whispered back, "Because, Sam…if I don't stop you…it might be us that never gets out of here." The tears that had been stinging at Dean's eyes dried up as he said that and he felt some part of him go numb.

Sam turned into Dean, pulling back only enough so that they were sharing breath and all Dean could see was mottled yellow glowing. Then Sam was chuckling low and steady, a sound that rose and grew, becoming full-out laughter as Sam pulled fully back. It was infectious the way one's laughter always led to another's; Sasha joined in, stepping away as Sam had and releasing his wings once again. Sam backed up and stood centered before them while Sasha moved to stand just aside of him and slightly behind. A large black claw rose up and curled talons over Sam's right shoulder. Wings shot out behind Sasha and for a moment it looked as if the great mass of black skin belonged to both of them.

Words came like a gentle whisper into Dean's mind. Don't be afraid. Trust me. Listen to me. But it wasn't a full order like Dean knew Sam could give him. It was pressured suggestion that made him waver, made him wonder, and he knew that was dangerous enough.

A renewed smile stretched onto Sam's face, his dimples prominent and sweet like Dean had known their entire lives. "Don't you know, Dean, where the line is drawn between a man and a demon?" Sam said, "It's really just a matter of perspective. We're not…possessed. We're just us. I still want the same things. And you should know what the most important thing to me is right now."

Dean wasn't sure how to respond to that.

When no reply came, Sam's smile faltered again like he was disappointed. "I would never let Malak take you, Dean. How could you think I would hurt you? I want you here. We want you here with us. Why would that change? I'd never hurt you, Dean…without a reason," his smile twitched, "You're my brother."

Dean was not oblivious to the important things Sam had mentioned and left out while saying all that. "And what about them?" he questioned, his grip on the girls firm and his gaze as steady on Sam as he could manage.

"Again. Why would I hurt them?" Sam shrugged, "How would hurting my…friends benefit me? Of course I can't say the same for him," Sam smirked, looking up over his shoulder at Sasha whose tongue ran eagerly over his top fangs, "Sasha's nature is a little more…instinctual than mine. Be a good boy, will you, and behave yourself," he said like speaking to a naughty child.

In place of the usual growl Sasha made a sound more like his pleasured purrs. He looked at Sam with the same hungry stare he had given Dean. "Is that an order?" the incubus grinned.

Sam's smile went crooked as he chuckled in reply. "You know I could just force you to do what I want. This is simply…more entertaining."

Another purr and Sasha snapped at Sam, close at his neck, though clearly meaning no actual harm. It was disturbingly intimate. "Mmm…get me to call you 'Master', Sammy, and we'll be into a whole new kind of kink," his voice rumbled and he joined Sam in a dark laugh.

"Don't flatter yourself so much," Sam said, pushing on Sasha's chest to knock the incubus slightly back and remove that large claw from his shoulder. It was the first act that actually seemed reminiscent of how they really were with each other.

It kind of broke Dean's heart.

"But we really should go," Sam continued, turning back to Dean and the others, "Sasha can guard from behind and I'll lead. You never know what else might be lurking down here," he said a little smugly, "I don't know if any of the old openings other than the main one will still be clear, but if we can't find one we'll have to return to that first cavern. Having Sasha punch our way out would only risk another cave-in. If nothing else then the loose debris will be a better option." He sounded entirely succinct and well, nerdy—like Sam always did.

It broke Dean's heart a little more because this wasn't Sam, not really, and yet it also was. Dean feared this situation more because Sam and Sasha were still themselves at the core, not possessed by autonomous demons. Dean couldn't imagine anything worse than this being who they were now.

"Oh, I don't know. I think you've imagined worse things, Dean." Sam moved so swift then that Dean gave an audible gasp at his brother suddenly being closer, pressed in tight against him like the girls weren't even there. Dean felt a hand snake into his jacket and his stomach flipped.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Dean stammered, hating that his own hands were locked around Sarah and Jo so he couldn't push Sam away.

But despite the horror and nausea that filled Dean's gut, Sam simply pulled back, drawing the Colt out of Dean's jacket at the same time. He smirked and flicked his eyes over Dean as if he knew the one secret Dean never wanted revealed—and damn everything because Dean was pretty certain now that Sam did. "I better hang onto this," Sam said, "Wouldn't want anyone getting hurt." He promptly tucked the Colt into his own jacket and turned his gaze to Sarah. "I understand you all want to keep a close eye on us. Really, I do, I understand. Why don't you stay up by me, Sarah? I'm sure you can handle the responsibility," he said, holding out a hand to her in offering.

Part of Dean wanted to hang onto Sarah tighter and keep her from accepting that hand but their options were limited. She didn't hesitate either or show any sign of fear as she pulled immediately away from Dean and gripped Sam's hand with hers. "Of course," she said. It almost seemed hypnotic and yet Dean knew Sarah was under her own will. Sam could force them all to do anything he wanted but he seemed to prefer getting them to agree willingly, with Sasha too.

And now Sam had the Colt. Dean hadn't been able to lift a damn finger. He had barely moved since first backing the girls away from Sam and Sasha and now they were letting Sam lead them?

Sam pulled Sarah towards the passageway that lead back to the ones on the map. He glanced back at Dean and Jo, smiling as if his eyes weren't yellow and he wasn't so ridiculously dangerous.

"Hurry up," Sam called, "We don't know how long it's going to take us to check all of the old exits. Don't worry so much, Dean. Sasha will…protect you." His lips curled slightly as he said that and then he was leading Sarah by the hand again.

Dean hated having so few choices. Right now he only had one—to go along with it.

He looked to Sasha and saw that the incubus was pulling in close again. Sarah was gone but Jo was still at Dean's side, still clutching his wrist around her waist. Dean steeled himself as best he could.

"Always did look impressive, baby," Dean said, forcing his voice not to shake as he looked at Sasha, monstrous in a way Dean knew the incubus would hate if he was in his right mind, "You'd be something else flying like that. We better get a move on and get you outside. Some of these passageways can't be too easy for you to fit into."

The smile on Sasha's face brightened to hear Dean speak so normally to him, or at least Dean liked to think that was the reason. "Thanks for the concern," Sasha said, "But don't worry. I've squeezed into tighter places before. You know that." Sasha's claws flexed as he looked at Dean like they wanted to reach out and grab him.

Dean swallowed. "Sam told you to behave," Dean said lamely, "Better listen to him. He's a little out of sorts right now so…I don't know if he can be entirely trusted. Might turn on you." Dean didn't try to hide how he really meant for Sasha to take that. He pulled Jo along with him and moved to hurry after Sam and Sarah, not wanting them to get too far ahead. He felt something in the stone beneath their feet tremble as Sasha stomped after them.

"I wouldn't hurt you, Dean. Not you," Sasha said from behind them, "Well. Not just for the sake of hurting you. Of course…things happen sometimes. I think we both know how much you like it…rough on occasion. Still have bruises from the other night, don't you?"

The side of Dean's jacket was getting crumpled mercilessly in Jo's hands as she clutched at it. Dean couldn't look at her while Sasha said those things. He was never embarrassed or ashamed of what he and Sasha were and what they did, but something about the way Sasha was saying it made Dean feel sick. "Shut up," Dean ground out beneath his breath.

Sasha was too supped up not to have near perfect hearing. "There's never a time I don't want you, Dean. And following Sam…I get everything I want," the incubus said as they approached the tunnel.

Quickly, Dean ducked inside of it, pushing Jo in front of him since it was too small for them to continue side by side. Dean got an idea. Sasha wouldn't be very mobile in the passageway. He waited until the incubus had folded his wings down and was climbing in after them. "Now you need Sam's permission to get me?" Dean asked, keeping his voice hushed and praying that Sam was too focused on Sarah to mentally overhear, "I thought we usually left him out of the equation." Dean knew his voice was a weak interpretation of his usual bravado and sarcasm but he hoped it was enough.

"Sam would never keep me away from you," Sasha said shortly.

"But you let him order you around," Dean pressed on, "If he wanted to, just like he said, he could make you do what he wanted. He's just patronizing you letting you think you're in control. But why listen to him at all?" Dean stopped, saw Jo look curiously back at him and simply urged her onward with his eyes. He looked back at Sasha then, who filled the entire opening of the passageway with his larger form. "I've never seen you look so powerful," Dean said, knowing Sasha wouldn't be able to sense anything but sincerity in those words, "Half of me's pretty freaked, I'll admit. Those claws are mighty dangerous looking. New fangs too. But the other half of me, well, baby, you know me. I'm just a glutton for punishment sometimes," Dean grinned. He was playing with fire, a mistake he tried not to make when Sasha was sane, but he had to try something.

Unfortunately, today it wasn't worth the risk because suddenly Sasha was upon him, looming, grabbing for him and moving much faster than Dean had anticipated for inside the corridor.

A too strong taloned hand grabbed Dean by the forearm. He almost dropped right to his knees the grip was so tight.

"You think I don't know what you're doing?" Sasha growled at him, red eyes close now and vibrant, "Get the best of us by setting us against each other, making me think I have to choose you over Sam? Come on, Dean, is that really the best you can do? How do you think you'd get out of here then? You need us. Besides, you just don't get it yet. But you will. Sam'll show you."

Dean gasped when Sasha finally released his arm; it would be purple and blue tomorrow if he was lucky enough to see the new day dawn. Then he was flinching away because Sasha was reaching for him again and Dean knew he wasn't fast enough to avoid those talons. He tried to back up and nearly fell over, but Sasha caught him, a large claw beneath his back. The other claw rose up to Dean's face as if to caress him. Dean trembled. Even gentle those sharper claws would still break skin.

The surprise came when Sasha didn't actually touch him but merely ghosted over his cheek. "It's like an addiction…like you…the way Sam can make me feel. I'd follow him anywhere. I'd do anything he asked of me without it being an order. It's worth it for the prize, you see. He favors me because we're friends. He loves you most though, you know that. We just want to share the world with you, Dean. Sam can give it to us."

"Stop. Don't say that," Dean snapped, struggling to get away from Sasha and finding it surprisingly easy because the incubus didn't try to stop him. "Don't say that," he said again, stumbling backwards further up the passageway. Jo had come back for him, he knew it only because he felt her hand grip his arm right where Sasha had bruised him. He didn't flinch or push her away though, he held onto that pain, focused on it. "Come on," Dean said to her, turning around and pushing Jo on ahead again. He had to be angry, not afraid; he couldn't afford to be afraid anymore.

Sasha growled behind them but Dean didn't look back. Sasha could bruise him all he wanted. Hell, he could do worse. Dean believed it now that Sam and Sasha had no intentions of hurting any of them in any real way but it didn't make him feel better. He would not listen to Sasha talk about the very things he had feared at the beginning of all this. That Sasha would fall so willingly under Sam's sway without any powers involved, it was bewildering, but then again maybe it wasn't. The False Prophet was charismatic and made beautiful promises. Sam might even be able to keep his and that only made things worse.

They finally made it back into the passageway on the map, the one that led to that too small whole that would be too risky for Sasha to pound open larger. They were all squished but Dean could see everyone.

"We should split up," Sam suggested, looking them all over, "There's three other possible ways out of here. The…presence of this place makes it so I can navigate a little better, but I can't tell if the ways are open. We should check them first. We can meet back at the main cavern if we don't find anything."

"But…" Jo started in a kind of choke since she hadn't said anything in some time, "What if…we do find something? How do we contact each other?"

That joined growl-tinged laughter sounded from Sam and Sasha yet again. "I'll know," Sam promised, "I'll have Sasha bring you if Sarah and I find something first."

"You can just…do that?" Jo said a little disbelievingly. She had her arms crossed over her chest protectively though she tried to make her stance seem more defensive than fearful.

Sam grinned out of the side of his mouth, walked past Sarah closer to Jo, and said, "Yeah. I can just…do that. Among other things. Don't you remember? I told you all about it. Unless you want more of a…" Sam lifted a hand, looked at it a moment, and then shot it palm out towards Jo, "A demonstration?"

"Hey!" Dean moved in quickly, though nothing had actually happened to Jo, just a flinch and frightened look. Dean grabbed her shoulders and glared with his newfound strength in anger and indignancy at Sam. "You'll know or you'll send for us. Got ya. Let's get back to the next cavern so we can take the other passageways. We all…want to get out of here."

With a solid gaze, Sam nodded, lowered his arm and laughed a little at Jo's fearful expression. Then he turned and was moving to lead them again. Sarah cast a steady, sure look at Jo and Dean to tell them she was doing fine before she followed.

Dean pushed Jo ahead of him again as he did the same. "There's no point arguing," he said quiet but harsh at Jo's back as they made their way through, "We probably couldn't get out of here without their help anyway. So deal with it." It didn't matter if they spoke freely or kept certain things to themselves; Sam would figure out any plan before they could ever carry it out.

"Then just what the hell are we supposed to do?" Jo whispered just as harshly back, not turning around but pausing in her steps to be sure Dean heard her.

"We'll deal with it when we're out of here," Dean replied. So far it was the best he could come up with—to wait things out.

Sam took Sarah with him down one of the passageways and instructed Dean and the others to go down another one. There would still be one left after that besides the one that led back to the main cavern. Dean would have worried that Sam was keeping Sarah with him but he held onto one small, hopeful feeling that it was because he wanted to keep her safe and close, knowing that he didn't have to worry about Dean or Sasha, and that they could watch out for Jo. Maybe that was too human a thought process for this version of Sam but Dean held onto that thought anyway.

Jo would probably hate to hear him think like that, that she needed to be protected, but it wasn't anything against her capabilities. It was just a guy thing. An older brother thing.

A Dean thing.

Thankfully, their passageway wasn't quite as long as Dean had first feared—the mine hadn't been active for very long before it was blown up. There was rubble at their feet a lot of the way but the path seemed clear until they reached a sudden end. No more exit that way either.

Turing around to head back Dean saw Sasha's eyes give a sudden flash as he looked at them and said, "Sam and Sarah found the same thing and our headed back to the cavern. We'll have to go down the last one and check there," sounding almost as if Sam was controlling his speech for a moment instead of just, well, Dean could only assume they were somehow communicating mentally. It was a little unnerving.

Dean expected Sasha to lead the way back but instead the incubus waited for them to move past him. Dean tried to keep Jo in front of him but as they moved quickly through the sometimes narrow and sometimes wider tunnel Jo eventually fell a step behind. When Dean glanced back he saw Sasha come up right behind her, looking the kind of hungry he only did when he was frenzied.

Instinct. Right. Even if Sasha didn't need sex right now the incubus was still thinking about it. That made him more dangerous than Sam.

A visible shiver ran through Jo's body as she sensed Sasha behind her. Her steps faltered and she nearly stumbled. Like Sasha had caught Dean before, the incubus reached out and stopped Jo from falling. It was obvious he was trying to keep his claws from hurting her and was mostly successful since he hadn't grabbed any bare skin, so at least that was something. But he kept his claws clutching her arms, leaned forward and breathed in along her neckline.

"I can still remember how you taste…" the incubus whispered.

Jo's eyes shot open, not embarrassed just afraid—terror-stricken. She looked out pleadingly at Dean for help, unable to move.

"Hey," Dean immediately called, moving back towards them, "Leave her alone."

The figure of Sasha was all-consuming, his wings trying to find space, his head often ducked down, his white and black body filling up every inch behind Jo as he pulled her against him. "Oh, how you do like being the white knight. Don't spoil my fun now, Dean. I don't mean any harm. And you don't have to be jealous either. I was thinking we could…share her. Yes," he almost hissed, chuckling a little, "I think she'd like that." His breath and fangs skimmed along her ear and his tongue darted out to lap lightly at her neck, making Jo quiver and stare at Dean in increased panic.

"I don't share," Dean said firmly, eyes unwavering as they looked into Sasha's. This couldn't be a matter of strength. Only wills. "I'm not sharing you with anyone," Dean said to Sasha, not trying to move any closer just standing his ground where he was, "Don't think power means you can do who and what you want and still keep me. I don't work that way. I'll have Sam turn you into a god damn puppet and you'll never touch me again," he swore, "Now let her go." There was no hesitation in the threat, no gap of feeling, Dean couldn't risk it.

Sasha's eyes shimmered, his lips and fangs hovering over Jo's skin. There was the most awful pause and terrible silence. Then suddenly Sasha was shoving Jo into Dean's arms and standing up straight again.

"Good," Dean said after he had caught and steadied Jo, remaining resolute. He held her for a moment, looked her in the eyes to make sure she was okay, and although she was trembling she nodded to say she was. If he could take more time he would have but there wasn't time to spare. He gently guided Jo in front of him so they could continue on.

In a flash Dean was eating stone.

Pain blossomed in Dean's jaw that had smacked into the rock and sudden helplessness filled his limbs. He could feel Sasha's hot breath on the back of his neck, the claws pinning his wrists, the large well-muscled body that held him in place with barely any effort at all. Jo screamed Dean's name and it echoed down the corridor.

"You don't get to deny me," Sasha growled darkly, "You're mine. I can have you whenever I want. Jo…anyone else…would just be a bonus. I want you, and you belong to me," he snapped at Dean's neck and Dean flinched closer to the rock.

Dean's breaths came harshly; he could feel himself on the verge of hyperventilating. This position, the way Sasha was pressing into him, the knowledge that he couldn't get away by his own power, it all brought him instantly back to Indiana. But Dean couldn't think like that. He couldn't let what had happened that night ever become associated with Sasha.

"If you only want me…" Sasha said, "Then you can have. Only. Me."

Like a sudden wave, terror became awash in a strange haze, a powerful sensation that made Dean's skin tingle and his awareness go numb. Pheromones. Dean tried to fight them, tried to keep his head clear, but Sasha was saturating him with them. By the time Sasha turned him around and pressed insistently forward, Dean was entirely compliant.

Distantly, Dean thought he heard Jo screaming for him. But why would Jo be here? Dean was with Sasha.

He looked up and found that glorious red that always made him tremble with pleasure, the starkness of Sasha as an incubus that was just so beautiful. Sasha's face seemed completely lit up as his lips and fangs demanded, "Say you love me, Dean."

"I love you," Dean said without thought, wanting Sasha to stop talking, to just lean down already and kiss him. Dean pressed his hands to Sasha's marble chest—truly like marble with the perfect cracks of the scar—and tried to lean up on his tiptoes to move things along. Sasha seemed so much taller for some reason.

"Do you want me, Dean?" Sasha pressed on, his powerful claws holding Dean in place by the shoulders so Dean could only reach up in vain, unable to really move.

It was so frustrating. "I always want you," Dean insisted. Why was Sasha holding him back?

Then without warning Sasha was no longer holding Dean but pushing him, throwing him aside towards the sound of Jo's screams. Dean struck the rocky floor and his mind cleared enough to remember where he was and what was happening. He groaned into the jagged rock beneath him.

"Good," Sasha growled mockingly from above him, "Then feel how I feel for awhile."

Dean coughed for a few moments, his body feeling too hot, his head hazy and throbbing. But worse was the ache inside of him that begged to be filled. The ache, the need for Sasha stung him, amplified so much more than how he craved the incubus normally. Normally Dean could at least think about other things, forget Sasha for a few moments, and content himself with knowing that he would be with Sasha again soon. Now the feeling was inconsolable, like some dark version of the pheromones that didn't make him lustful for Sasha but merely hollow without him.

Jo was by Dean's side, trying to help him up, to make sure he was alright. He had to reassure her. The fear had to be stronger for her than for any of them as the odd one out. It didn't mean she wasn't cared for, it didn't even mean she wasn't safe, but he knew that was how she felt.

"I'm fine," Dean lied, pushing himself up from the ground and allowing Jo some small accomplishment in helping him up. For a moment he feared he would puke all over her—the passageway was spinning. He could already feel the hangover he would have from this tomorrow. Then he was steady, at least steady enough, and he pushed Jo ahead of him again down the corridor. "It's okay. Let's get back."

Fearful brown eyes looked at him, reading him and knowing he wasn't being wholly truthful, but Jo allowed Dean his secrecy in this and simply went on ahead. Dean glanced back only for a moment to find Sasha standing tall and smug behind him. He wasn't beautiful. Not like that.

How much Dean wanted him made him sick.

They arrived back at the cavern to find Sam and Sarah waiting for them. Dean was relieved to see Sarah was fine and he could easily read the same relief on her face as well. Sam gave Dean a swift, calculating once over. Dean wasn't exactly sure what that look was supposed to mean.

"Take the girls into the main cavern," Sam said to Sasha, "Dean and I can check the last passageway."

"What?" Dean said before he realized he was offering dissent. He didn't want Sasha where he couldn't keep an eye on him. He also recognized that part of him didn't want to lose sight of Sasha for fear of that ache growing worse.

Sam walked to Dean and grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the last passageway without ceremony. "It's not that far," Sam said, not really responding, "We won't be long." Then Sam was dragging Dean along with him and there was no time for arguing.

Eventually, Dean had a hold of himself enough to think to wrench his arm out of Sam's grip. "Ya mind?" he shot at his brother. The truth was that Sasha had cut up Dean's wrists when he held him against the wall.

There was a mild huff from Sam but otherwise the taller—hunter? Demon? Dean didn't know what to call him now—continued down the passage in search of their last possible opening. It unnerved Dean that Sam walked on ahead of him into the dark, not having nor needing any light to see by. Of course the light from Dean's hat shown lightly upon Sam and filtered a little in front of him.

"How exactly do you plan to dig us out the way we came if we don't find a path out this way?" Dean asked after a moment, hating silence on principle but especially with a yellow-eyed Sam.

"I have an idea," Sam said simply.

"An idea? And were you planning on sharing this idea with the rest of the—" Dean flinched as Sam came to an abrupt stop and whipped around.

"You know you're pretty ungrateful," Sam snapped, "I could have let Sasha go further in that other passageway. I didn't. Keep in mind, my abilities are what's going to save your life, Dean, and yet you keep turning up your nose at them. Why? Because they make me this?"

Dean's eyes widened to learn that Sam had been aware of Sasha's stunt, but then really he should have known that of course Sam was aware of everything.

Reacting like this though, indignant and frustrated, was very human. Dean didn't know if that made him feel better or worse. He studied his brother, looking at the way Sam seemed to glow. Sure, there were the yellow eyes, but unlike Sasha, Sam was otherwise just Sam in appearance. It was what remained beneath the surface that scared Dean.

"Because I don't believe I can trust you," Dean admitted, "Can you really blame me for that? You and Sasha being all buddy-buddy in all your demonic glory. Yeah, that's comforting, so sorry I missed that. Come on, Sammy. This is the part you didn't want either, remember? You say you want the same things as you always have. Right. But do you really?"

Sam's eyes were so unreadable without a normal, human iris, so Dean focused on the way Sam's lips weren't at all smiling and his eyebrows were tightly knit. "Maybe I want this," Sam said, "Maybe a part of me has always wanted this, I was just too afraid to admit it to you. Is that what you're really afraid of, Dean? Do you think Sasha's going to kill them," he gestured back the way they had come, "Do you think I'm going to kill you?"

"No…" Dean said softly, realizing that truth at the same time he was saying it, "I know you won't. He won't. But the other things I can imagine that you might do to become this, to keep this," he said with a grimace at the figure before him, "That's worse."

Instead of scowling or yelling or acting out as Sasha had, Sam surprised Dean again by rediscovering that wicked wide smile. His eyes sparkled, his brow smooth. "I'll show you, Dean. I'll show you," was all he said before he turned and began moving up the corridor again.

A torrent of emotions rumbled through Dean on their way to yet another closed exit and back again. It seemed that being away from Sasha actually lessened the effect the pheromones had on him, so at least that part was the same as normal. The thought of what Sam meant though, of what Sam could possibly show Dean that would change his mind, made him feel much more hollow and helpless.

The girls were fine, sitting together in the main cavern as far from the body of Iain's mother as they could, going through the two duffle bags—they had the one Sam had left behind as well now. The remnants of Sasha's shirt, shoes, and leather jacket also became visible. If they got out of here and things didn't completely go to Hell, Dean would take Sasha shopping for a new one, no matter how sappy or girly that was.

"So, Mr. Demon Lord," Dean said mockingly to Sam. As time moved on he felt more and more like himself, futile as everything seemed right now. "This idea you have for getting us out of here? Please tell me it doesn't just involve you and Sasha using your super-strength to dig us out with your hands."

Sasha chuckled, his eyes piercing as they looked at Dean.

Sam chuckled too. He shrugged, moving to the closed-off exit that led to the main entrance. The only difference here compared to the other blocked passageways was that the debris was still loose.

"Just the two of us, even with our strength, would take too long," Sam answered, just as Dean had been thinking, "But…that doesn't mean it's not doable with a little extra help."

"No offense, Sam," Sarah said, walking over to him, "But I don't think the other three of us will be of much help to you."

That dimpled grin stretched wider as Sam tilted his head at Sarah. "Have a little more faith in me than that," he said, "I wasn't talking about extra help from in here."

Sam moved directly up to the gathering of crumbled rock. Sasha moved to stand beside him, watching curiously. Dean stepped closer too, in the middle of the room between Jo and Sarah with a clear view of Sam.

As Sam began to lift his hands palms outstretched facing the way out, Dean feared for a moment that his brother meant to use TK. That would be just as risky as punching their way out with how likely this place was to give way to another cave-in. But nothing visible began to move in front of Sam even after he had closed his eyes.

Dean strained to listen for something, tried to feel out with whatever sense of otherworldly things he might have. Of course Dean didn't have any otherworldly senses, he just had really good regular ones and instincts. To him it just looked like Sam was standing there meditating.

After what felt like several minutes, Sasha suddenly roared and stepped back like he was afraid or at least cautious of something on the other side of the rocks. Sarah immediately stepped back as well. Jo moved up next to Dean so that soon the three of them were in a single tight line. Sasha stayed close to Sam but behind him now, growling increasingly louder as time ticked on.

Another handful of minutes passed and finally Dean's normal senses started to pick up on something. It was sound, definitely sound, but also a certain kind of reverberation. He feared another cave-in for a moment—maybe Sam had been using his TK after all just from the outside in—but the sounds, they weren't merely moving rock.

Sasha wasn't the only growling creature Dean could hear. It was low at first but it grew, joined by howls and grunts and shrieks like a god damn wraith. It was a wraith, maybe more than one, a sound Dean had heard on several old hunts, but it was so many other things too. There were growls that were just like Sasha's and others that were more feral, some less, some that sounded like animals and others that were definitely more human. The sounds grew until it felt like they were all around them. Even though Dean knew it could only be coming from the other side of the rock wall, the cacophony of demonic noises seemed to reach out to them from the very rock itself.

Dean saw both girls flinch when the first of the rocks they could see started to move, falling away from the other side. The noise was almost deafening now. Sasha was hunkered low behind Sam, fangs bared and eyes flashing, claws out to attack and wings spread like he was ready at a single order from Sam to launch himself at whatever was coming to get them.

Dear god, Dean realized with a sick twist in his stomach. Sam had summoned a horde of demonic creatures to dig them out. How could he control so many…?

Sasha roared again as more rocks fell and suddenly there was not light but an emanating kind of darkness, an opening to what lay beyond. Dean saw eyes first, glowing various colors from the other side. It was such an insane mass that he couldn't make out any substantial figures. This time it wasn't him pulling in the girls but them grabbing for him—Sarah for his hand and Jo at his elbow.

When the last of the rubble blocking their escape was tossed away, the creatures that had been their salvation remaining just out of sight within the darkness beyond, Sam lowered his hands. The sounds of growls and howls and whispered words Dean couldn't make out dulled to a soft din as if they were all waiting for something. Orders, probably. Sasha was still on guard but Sam glanced over his shoulder, wholly confident.

He said, "Guard from the back" to the incubus and then stepped forward into the passageway.

It was implied that Dean and the others were to follow. Sasha turned back to the three hunters, waiting for them to move past him. It was only because Dean couldn't stand the thought of Sam being out amongst those things alone, even if he was in control of them, that Dean found the strength to start walking. Sarah and Jo each grabbed a duffle and stayed close to Dean as they went. Dean thought of Iain's mother's body being left behind. He couldn't do anything about it now, but later, if there was even the slightest chance, he would come back for it.

It was both a saving grace and a cause of more anxiety that the creatures backed away in Sam's wake so that even as the group moved into the corridor that had been reopened for them Dean could not identify anything but continuing noises. The loudest were the ones from Sasha just behind them, like he couldn't help growling in what seemed a territorial warning.

Dean noticed when they passed by the first fork they had come to when they entered; the way back out of the mine seemed to take so much longer than the way in. It had been hours since they first left Iain's house. It was after six o'clock, Dean noticed, checking his watch for the first time. So he wasn't surprised that when they exited the mouth of the cave finally they entered darkness just as thick and unrelenting as what they had come from. There were no visible stars though, just eyes and solid, visible figures that filled Dean with horrific awe.

There were hundreds, thousands of beings waiting for them outside the mine. Dean had expected there would be many but not like this. Even if he didn't know for certain that it was past dusk, the throng of varied bodies and figures would have been enough to block out the sun.

Sarah and Jo were gripping him so hard now that it hurt. Whatever calm Sarah had been able to find in the presence of yellow-eyed Sam and monstrous Sasha, she fell prey to her fear now in the face of so many unknown things. Half of the creatures Dean couldn't even name.

He saw a few gargoyle-looking shadows and prayed that none of them were any of the sex vampires they knew. He saw black dogs and wraiths just like he had suspected. He could probably see at least one of every demonic thing they had ever faced down. That meant that most of what he saw appeared human. Luminous blue eyes off to the right had to be werewolves. There were some that looked so normally human that they couldn't be anything but shapeshifters.

And then there were the ordinary demons. There were so many of them. Most were in people, making their eyes that awful full-on black, but some were just hovering smoke without a host. Dean felt sick with fear. Literally sick. He wondered if it was the combined presence of so many evil things that made him want to throw up or just that it was his brother—his brother—who had called all of these things to them.

"Sammy…" Dean called quietly. They were out of the mine now but Sam was continuing ahead, walking through the tunnel of demons that opened passage for him as he went. "Okay, Sammy," Dean tried a little stronger, moving quickly to catch up to Sam while still allowing the girls to cling to him, "We're out. Good job. Now why don't you send these things back to where they came from?"

Sam walked on a few steps more before turning around. Confident as Sam was Dean could see the toll of fatigue in his brother's face, in the yellow eyes that weren't quite as vibrant. "You want me to send them away?" Sam scoffed and even his voice sounded weak, "Why? They're all here, Dean, all the demons we have to find to save you. Can't you see them? Can't you feel them?"

Dean could feel them all right; he struggled to hold down his lunch as the sounds of the collective demonic force around them began to grow louder again.

It was an ominous blanket covering them made up of glowing eyes and deep shadows in the dark. Dean couldn't even see the trees.

"Sam, it doesn't matter. You can't maintain this. It's already making you weaker. You gotta get rid of 'em. If you lose control we'll never be able to fight 'em all off."

"Lose control?" Sam said angrily, haughtily, spreading his arms wide to encompass his demon army, "I have control. And I can do more than just send the demons from the devil's gate to Hell, Dean. I can kill them. I can kill them all for you. Don't you want me to save you?" It was almost a plea but Sam didn't wait for Dean to respond. He raised his hands further into the air, outstretched at the gathered mass.

The yellow eyes had always been localized to the iris, unlike the normal demons and their total black. As Sam began to use his powers more, however, that changed. The mottled yellow expanded, claiming even the whites.

Howls from the human-possessing demons began almost immediately, making it clear where all of them were even far among the ranks. Soon they were screaming, inhuman screeches keening out of their mortal bodies. It was horrible; they had to cover their ears to stand it.

Dean tried to look around, to pay attention to what was happening even amidst that terrible noise. It seemed easier for Sam to dispatch the demons without a host because he clearly saw several clouds of smoke suddenly fitter away into nothing. But those in bodies were more difficult, they fought harder. It was taking so much effort from Sam that the other creatures began to blink awareness.

All of a sudden, Sasha's wings swooped in around them, pulling Dean and the girls back against him like a bird gathering its children. The incubus was trying to protect them. He was growling possessively again, warning against the other beings that might attack. Dean couldn't stand it though; he couldn't see past the thick black of Sasha's wings. He couldn't see Sam.

Since he was free of the girls' hold on him after they had all covered their ears, and trusting that they were safest in Sasha's wings anyway, Dean pushed his way out, moving fast to be sure Sasha didn't try and pull him back.

"Dean!"

"What are you doing!"

But Dean didn't hear them. He had to get to Sam.

His brother was just a few yards in front of him, no longer standing. Sam had fallen to his knees, his arms still outstretched, as the demons he was destroying howled on and some of the other creatures began to close in. It was far more than Sam could handle. Dean could see the glint of blood seeping from Sam's ears, his nose, God, even his eyes.

"Sam, stop!" Dean called over the roar of the demons, dropping in front of his brother and grabbing Sam by the front of his jacket, "You're killing yourself! Even if you manage to kill most of the demons, the rest of these thing'll tear us apart! You have to send them away."

"But I…" Sam choked on his words, his arms faltered now too, his eyes fully yellow but so dim, "I can…save you, Dean. That's all that…matters. Like this…I can…I can save you."

Another part of Dean's heart broke and he didn't even have time to notice.

He could see the Colt inside Sam's jacket. He felt the werewolf about to rush them more than he saw it, unable to know for sure what it was until after he had grabbed the Colt, turned to fire, and struck the beast in the chest. It spasmed and crumbled to the ground. Dean knew it wouldn't be the last creature to try something.

"Sammy, listen to me," Dean said more firmly, grabbing with his free hand for Sam's shirt and tugging tight, "You can save me. And you're going to save me. I don't care if it's with that clever mind or all these damn powers, if you're yellow eyes or the furthest thing from it. But if you don't stop we're all gonna die. I see what you wanted to show me now," he said, feeling so closed in, hearing cries from the girls, knowing their time was too short, "I know how powerful you are, how powerful you can become. But you can be better than this. You don't need to lose any part of…my little brother Sammy…to be the hero. No one's ever saved me like you do. Please, Sammy, send them away."

Maybe it was proximity, because Dean was so close and the cave so far—they were out of the cave, further from the influence that had made Sasha and Sam act this way to begin with. Maybe it was just because Sam was listening to him for a change even if he was all the demonic parts of Sam and none of the humanity. Whatever it was it didn't matter. All that mattered was that Sam smiled, so thankful, so genuine, lowered his arms and said, "Okay, Dean."

There was an eruption of air and a great chaotic chorus of wings and movement. Some of the creatures seemed to take off on foot or to the air while others merely vanished, all relinquished back to wherever they had come from. Sam had managed to kill several demons in actuality, a few leaving behind bodies that no longer moved. When it was all over there was nothing but the sky above, the trees, and the still sound of silence that had blanketed this part of the woods before.

Dean looked back to make sure Sasha hadn't been banished with the rest, but the incubus was still there, his wings held out like closed doors to keep Sarah and Jo safe. As Dean watched, Sasha saw that the threat was gone now and swooped his wings back. Dean nodded to Sarah and Jo before turning to his brother.

Sam was slumped forward, still on his knees and leaning against Dean's body. His arms hung limp beside him as he gasped for air.

"Sammy?" Dean called gently, "You okay?"

Coughing a little into the crook of Dean's arm, Sam started shivering. He lifted his head as if it weighed a ton, his eyes heavy, the blood drying. He opened his mouth but only a choked sound came out before he cringed and pitched to the side. Dean was gathering Sam into his arms, holding him, before he realized his brothers eyes had flashed back to hazel.

"Sasha!" Sarah's voice called, making Dean's head snap behind him again. The incubus had crumbled much like Sam, his monstrous features rapidly fading away to leave a shaking young man in nothing but a pair of torn jeans.

Sam gave a sharp gasp and when Dean looked down his brother was clutching at his arms and looking up at him with the most pleading, horror-filled eyes. "Dean…?"

There was a pained moan from Sasha that sounded just as pleading. The two groups weren't all that far apart but Dean wished they were closer so he could reach out and touch Sasha like he was touching Sam. The girls were with him though, crouched on either side, holding his chest and head up. Dean shifted so that he could see everyone, wanting to be able to check Sam and Sasha over and be sure both of them were okay.

All he could think was thank god it was temporary.

Once they had more of their bearings, Sam and Sasha turned to each other. They shared a haunted look and Sam said, "That felt…"

"Amazing…" Sasha finished. He looked disgusted with that admittance and Sam's mirrored expression agreed. They both shuddered, still shivering as their bodies returned to equilibrium.

Just when relief had finally started to fill Dean's chest a foreign thought clanged inside his mind and he was overcome with dread.

'Things are not always what they seem to be, Dean,' said Malak's female voice. The male version finished it, 'And sometimes…they are what you see exactly.'

tbc...

A/N: Grr. I have been just waiting to get to this part and...I don't know. Was it okay? Maybe I set myself up with too high of expectations. There was so much I wanted to do. They didn't let me do all of it either.

Rest assured those dark pheromones as I'll call them are still with Dean and will take a toll, he was just a bit distracted towards the end to notice them as much. Iain will be addressed, his mother's body, and...any other seemingly loose ends? Oh, Malak. Well, that's not loose, per se. He/She will explain and then add more to confuse Dean further. Malak always has angles but that doesn't mean he planned this specifically.

Anyway, I really need the comments on this one because it had been a long time coming and I'm just not sure. Also, I'm gunning for 800 reviews. You'll get to request if it's you! Okay, gotta post. Love you all!

Oh, and I got chills when Sam's eyes flashed yellow at the end of last week's eppy. Who called it, huh? ;-)

Crim