Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

October 1st, 1989 forty-three women gave birth without being pregnant when they woke up that morning. Almost none of the babies survived, and the ones that did were bought by Reginald Hargreeves and went through years of torture by the man they thought to be their father.

After the disappearance of their brother Five, and the death of their other brother Ben, the large team of six soon became a team of four, and slowly, one by one, each of the children finally left.

This story is about one of those children and his adventure with two demon hunters.

-

October 1st, 1989 a six-year-old Sam Winchester sat in front of the cheap motel TV and watched the news. He didn’t care for the news all that much- actually, he hated it. But his dad and brother liked to watch it so he didn’t say anything.

"Deeeeeeeeeeean!" Sam called. "When is Daddy coming back? I’m hungry."

"You’re hungry?" Dean asked. "Sam, you ate breakfast two hours ago!"

"That was two hours ago!" Sam said. "And I only ate an egg. I don’t like eggs."

Dean looked at his brother. "Since when?"

"Since breakfast this morning." he replied. "Can I please eat something else? I know we have lucky charms left... can I have some of those? Please Dean?"

"No." Dean said. "We’ll eat at lunch."

Sam crossed his arms over his chest and pouted, trying to make Dean feel bad and give in. It hasn’t worked in awhile... maybe he was losing his baby face.

"Not gonna work Sammy."

Sam stood up and shouted "I hate you!" before flopping facedown onto the mattress.

Dean sighed, sitting beside him.

"How about I make us a sandwich?" Dean said. "Dad probably won’t be back for lunch anyway. And eating lunch an hour early isn’t too bad."

"Really?" Sam asked excitedly. "Can I have lucky charms?"

Dean smiled softly and went to prepare lunch for himself and his younger brother. In the background, on that cheap motel TV, a story about over thirty women around the world all giving birth without even being pregnant when the day first began.

Neither brother knew it then, but later on in the future, one of those children would become important to them.

Chapter Text

Klaus is seventeen years old when he finally has enough of his life and runs away.

It’d been a long time coming really.

Five left years ago and Klaus could tell the rest of his siblings were preparing to leave. He only stayed for Ben- his favorite brother, the one that’d promised they’d get out of there and get jobs and an apartment once they were old enough.

And then he died.

Committed suicide using Klaus’s drugs.

So the young medium had no reason to stay anymore. He shoved anything that may be worth something in one of Allison’s purses and left in the middle of the night, not even bothering to leave a note. Ben understood why his brother was leaving and that he was angry at him, but that didn’t stop him from saying anything.

"Think this through, Klaus." Ben said. "You don’t have any money, you have no place to stay, it’s not like you can crash with a friend because you don’t have any of those either. Where are you going to go?"

Klaus chose not to answer him. Instead, he walked straight into a familiar alley. Ben immediately recognized it from the alley he’d found Klaus OD’ing in all those months back.

"Klaus," Ben said, his tone warning. "Don’t you dare."

Klaus still ignored him.

Ben watched his brother sadly. "Don’t throw your life away. Please."

And then he disappeared.

-

Sam and Dean had never lived normal lives.

Their mother died when they were young and their dad kept moving them around so he could avenge her death. Then Sam went to college, fell in love with a girl and she died the same exact way his mother did, which got him back into hunting.

They’ve been on the road together for a little over two years now, and their lives have not gotten any less weird. If anything they’ve just gotten weirder. It’s okay though— they’ve gotten used to it. The weirdness.

Sam and Dean sat in Bobby’s house, doing research on a case they were investigating.

"I don’t know, Sam." Dean said. "Going all the way to New York? That’s a good way away from here, and it’d take a lot of gas money."

"Unless we flew." Sam suggested.

"Uh uh," Dean said, flat out. "No. I don’t do planes."

"Yeah, that’s right." Sam said. "You do demons, monsters, and ghosts, but planes, that’s where you draw the line."

Dean looked at his brother. "I really don’t want to fly, Sammy."

-

For the past three months Ben has been watching Klaus ruin his life.

He’d gotten back into drugs and hasn’t been even a little sober since he ran away from the academy. Clearly Ben did not like that, and he made sure Klaus knew. He’d tell him just about fifty times a day every day that he needed to stop using but his brother refused to listen, even when he was lying in a hospital bed after he’d OD’d on some drug.

(Klaus claimed it was accidental, Ben wanted to believe it was, but there was something telling him that wasn’t the case.)

Ben finally snapped and admitted to Klaus that he regretted what he’d done. Told him being dead wasn’t so great and it was actually a lot more stressful than living. Klaus hasn’t tried anything like that since, but he has yet to quit the drugs.

"Benny, guess what?" Klaus asked. "We have just enough money left to get waffles! We haven’t had good waffles in forever!"

"I don’t know Klaus." Ben said. "Why don’t we find a cheap motel to stay in tonight? You haven’t slept in... well, forever."

"I slept last night."

"For less than ten minutes." Ben sighed. "You can’t go on like this."

The medium smiled cheerily. "Sure I can!"

"Klaus, if you die from exhaustion, I will kill you." he warned. "And don’t think I’m kidding, ‘cause I’m not. I will let these monsters out and they’ll tear you to pieces."

"They love me." said the Séance. "They’d never do that."

"Yes they would. They haven’t killed in a very long time."

Klaus sighed. "Fine. But only for one night."

"You can only afford one night so fine." Ben said. He watched at Klaus took out the money and counted it. "Before you lie to me and say you don’t have enough money for even one night, I know you do."

"Go to hell."

"Really going to tell that to a dead guy?" he shook his head. "That’s low, man."

Klaus stuffed the money back in his pocket. "Next time we get money, we get waffles."

"I’d be fine with that."

-

After traveling on the road for a day, Sam could not wait to check in to the motel and sleep for as long as freaking possible. It wasn’t the nicest place but it had a bed so he wasn’t going to complain. Besides, he’d slept in a lot worse places.

"Hey, Sam?" Dean was spread out on the bed closest to the door. "Can you get some snacks? I’m starving."

"Yeah, sure." Sam said. "From where? I’d like to stay nearby."

"There’s a vending machine right next to our room." Dean replied. "If they have it can you get potato chips? Oh, and licorice. I love that stuff."

"That garbage?" the younger Winchester teased. "Sure."

"It isn’t garbage," Dean called as Sam walked out the door. "It’s heaven!"

Sam closed the door to their motel room and searched for the vending machine. By the time he got there, there was a kid in front of him taking his precious time getting his snacks. "I wanted waffles, not this garbage!" he complained, then sighed. "What? No. Shut up. I’m not getting you skittles."

Silence.

"You can’t even eat them so why would I buy them for you?" A beat. "Fine. I’ll pick out something we both like. M&Ms perhaps? Everyone likes M&Ms you can’t argue with me on that."

More silence.

"Since when do you not like M&Ms?"

Sam listened to the one sided argument for another six minutes before deciding that Dean needed to go on a diet. Thankfully he was sound asleep when Sam got back to the motel and the younger Winchester was able to lay down.

He couldn’t get himself to fall asleep however. That kid from the vending machine wouldn’t leave his mind. There was definitely something wrong with him, right? He was talking to himself like some kind of lunatic. Sam sighed and forced himself to sleep, hoping that kid wouldn’t be someone they’d end up having to kill or save.

-

M&Ms or skittles?

The toughest decision known to man.

M&Ms have chocolate, that colorful sugar shell, and they practically melt in your mouth. But skittles? Skittles are also great.

...At least, that’s what Ben says.

Personally? Klaus doesn’t really like skittles. He’s all for the bright, colorful colors they come in and he likes the way they smell- but not the way they taste. They’re too... fruity. Which is why Klaus would much rather just get M&Ms like he planned on. But Ben hasn’t tried eating since he’s died and Klaus is interested to see what’ll happen.

So they get skittles.

And as expected, Ben can not eat them, so Klaus is stuck with the worst candy on the planet. He stares at it as if it’’d spit in his eye and called him a loser. "Klaus, just eat the dang candy." Ben said. Klaus grabbed a handful and threw it at his brother. They pass right through. "Hey!"

"You made me get this garbage candy!"

"I did not!" Ben denied. "And if I did, I don’t deserve to have things thrown at me!"

"Yeah you do!" Klaus said, grabbing another handful and throwing it at his brother. "Thanks to you I don’t have any dinner for tonight!"

"For the last time!" Ben shouted. "Candy. Is. Not. Dinner!"

"I’d say otherwise!"

Ben sighed, looking at the skittles on the floor. "You just wasted the best candy in the world." he said numbly. "You’re a monster."

"Says the actual monster." Klaus said. "I’m not really hungry anyway. So, I’m going to sleep. Good night Benny. Don’t let the bedbugs bite."

"Wait." Ben’s eyes widened. "Can ghosts get bug bites?"

Chapter Text

Hunting always took them all around the country. Right now for instance, they‘re in a small town in New York. It’s cold and dreary, puddles on the road from the storm they’d drove into last night. Dean already didn’t like the place- it looks too suspicious for his taste and the people just seem rude. He didn’t trust leaving the impala in that cheap motel parking lot for too long.

Their first morning there they stop into a small diner. Dean asks for pie and coffee but apparently they don’t sell pie. He hates the place even more now. "What diner doesn’t sell pie?" he complained quietly to Sam after their waitress leaves. "A lazy one."

"It’s called Griddy’s Doughnuts, Dean." Sam replied. "Not Griddy’s Pies."

"Whatever."

Sam offered a smile and when the waitress returned with their food. Dean stared at the food in front of him as if it’d called him some terrible name. All he wanted was his pie.

"You are so dramatic, you know that?" Sam asked. "Doughnuts and pie aren’t all that different really."

"They’re completely different!" Dean argued. He muttered a few angry things under his breath as he picked up the donut and took a bite out of his doughnut. "Hurry up and eat. I want to get this case over with so we can finally leave this stupid place."

Sam rolled his eyes at his brothers childish behavior. Sometimes it felt as if he were the oldest and Dean was the youngest. For the rest of breakfast the two sit in silence and eats their sugary treats.

-

Although Klaus would never admit it, he‘s glad to have taken Ben’s advice and gotten a room to sleep in the night before. It’s been too long since he’s actually slept in a bed and the exhaustion was finally starting to get to him.

That morning Ben wakes Klaus up two hours before checkout. Klaus throws his pillow at the ghost but it goes right through him. "Let me sleep." he grumbled tiredly. The ghosts were starting to make themselves known so he would’ve probably woken up even if Ben hadn’t made him. "I’m exhausted."

"You slept eight hours, Klaus." Ben said. "Eight hours without any ghosts, any nightmares, anything. You can’t be that tired still."

Klaus sighed without arguing. He picked himself up off the bed and walked towards the bathroom with his headphones. "I’m taking a bath." he said. "Don’t bother me."

Ben rolled his eyes. What was up with Klaus and baths? It‘s almost like he’s addicted to them. "Don’t be too long in there," Ben called. "We have to checkout soon."

"Yeah yeah yeah,"

They barely make the checkout thanks to the medium and his very long baths. Klaus ignores the growing hunger he feels. Maybe he could find Diego and he’d give him some money so he could eat. "Benny, are you up for an adventure?" he asks his ghost.

"I don’t know." Ben said. "Does the adventure involve anything illegal?"

"Hm, maybe." Klaus said. Ben was about to argue but he cut him off. "No. At least I don’t think so. It shouldn’t! But what I’m trying to say, my little Benny-Boo, is how’d you feel about seeking our very emo brother out and asking him for some money? Pogo still gives him his allowance I think."

"I don’t know." Ben said. "Last time we saw him, he said he never wanted to see your face again unless you aren’t using . I don’t think asking him for money would be the best thing... especially since you’re still using."

"Oh come on," he said. "Diego didn’t mean that! He adores me!."

"Sure." Ben said, then sighed. "Okay. I’m all for asking Diego for money, but only if you promise me you won’t spend any of it on anything illegal, okay? Just food."

"Yeah, okay." Klaus said. "Just food and weed."

"And that falls under the illegal category."

Klaus pouted. "You’re no fun."

-

To make things quicker, Sam and Dean decide to separate.

And everyone’s seen at least one horror movie in their life, so you probably know that separating is never a good thing. Especially when one of you breaks into a possibly possessed old lady’s home to see if she’s a serial killer only to find that the old lady is actually just an old lady that happens to own a phone with 911 on speed dial.

Which is how Dean got here.

Sitting in a holding cell with some curly haired teenager as he waited for Sam to come and bail him out. Dean tries to ignore the way the kid keeps talking to himself, but it’s really creeping him out. "Quiet, Ben." he angrily hissed. "I’m going."

Dean eyed him warily.

"I heard you broke into Ms. Jenkins home."

"And I heard that’s none of your business, kid." Dean said. "Why don’t you get back to talking with your imaginary friend, okay?"

The kid rolled his eyes and muttered. "He isn’t my imaginary friend, you douche."

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing."

Dean looked at the kid. "It really sounded like you said something."

"Well I didn’t."

"Okay." Dean said. "But I’m not a douche."

"No, no." said the kid. "Of course not! You aren’t a douche just like I’m not a useless junkie."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Alright, kid." he said. "There’s no telling when my brother will get here and I’d rather not argue you with the whole time. So why don’t we put this argument aside and get to know each other."

"Oh, fine." said the kid. "I guess I should make some friends, since all the ones I have are apparently imaginary."

Dean is *this* close to throwing hands with a teenager. "So, what are you in here for?" Drugs I’m assuming goes unsaid. "You already know my reason."

"You broke into Ms. Jenkins." replied the kid. "I think that’s low, and that’s saying something ‘cause I once stole my sisters anxiety medication to get high off of. It didn’t really work... just made me feel numb and the ghosts went away. Oh, and by the way, that’s why I’m in here."

"Stealing your sisters medicine?"

"No." he shook his head. "That was awhile ago. No, drugs."

"Oh," Dean isn’t surprised. He puts his hand out for the kid to shake. "I’m Dean."

"Klaus." the kid, Klaus, replied. "Klaus Schmidt."

"German?"

"I suppose."

Before Dean had a chance to reply, a teenager walked in and Klaus stood up. "Diego, darling!" he exclaimed. "Took you long enough. I’ve gotten another year older sitting here waiting."

The teen, Diego, didn’t look too happy to see him. "Y-you promised you w-wouldn’t use t-this money f-for dr-drugs, Klaus." he said. "You p-promised."

"I know," Klaus said, his voice goes quiet. "But they won’t stop, Diego. I just... I need peace. They’re so loud."

"Stop." When Diego spoke, he didn’t stutter. "I don’t give a crap, okay? I do not care. You don’t get to mess everyone’s lives up with yours. Lose my number. I never want to see your face again."

Dean isn’t one for comfort, but he so badly wanted to hop out of this cell and hug the poor kid. As the two teenagers exit the building Sam enters. "Hey Dean," he said.

The oldest hunter stood. "Let’s get out of here."

-

Klaus didn’t mean to get arrested.

It just sorta... happened. He was with Andrew- his current boyfriend/dealer- a cop showed up and Andrew fled. Klaus was found with drugs and arrested. He wasn’t even that high at the time but no one wanted to hear it.

And of course, he has a douchebag for a cellmate.

Turns out the douchebag has a name, and his name is Dean. Heh. Dean the douchebag. Just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? Klaus thinks. Ben doesn’t but Ben is dead so his opinion doesn’t matter.

He’s in the jail cell for an eternity before Diego, his knight and shining armor, flies in to save him. But it’s not all rainbows and unicorns and unicorns dancing on rainbows, because Diego gives Klaus a lecture on drugs once again and tells him to lose his number. That’s somehow the most painful thing he’s ever been told.

Diego, Ben, Vanya, and Five were his friends. Then Five vanished. Ben died. And Vanya has hated Klaus ever since he’s left. Diego was honestly the only thing Klaus had left and now he wants nothing to do with him.

So what did Klaus have to live for?

Ben may still be with him but he’s not actually with him. Ben is dead, Klaus is alive... or at least, he thinks? Anyway- if Klaus died, maybe Ben would finally be able to pass on. There’s something keeping Ben’s ghost there on earth and while Klaus may not be the brightest person ever, he knows he’s the something.

Ben deserves to find the peace he’s always wanted.

With Klaus alive, that’ll never happen.

The young Medium is broken out of his thoughts by a loud and frightened scream. He and Ben share a quick, worried glance before jumping up to see what the hell is going on.

"Hello?" Klaus called out. Ben hisses at him to stay quiet and run. Klaus can’t fight someone off when he’s high off his bottom. "Anyone out there? Anyone need help?" But when does Klaus ever listen?

"Never." Ben said angrily. "You never listen."

"And for good reason!" replied Klaus. "I could save a life today. I’m a hero!"

"Klaus, you are going to get yourself killed-"

"Mm, probably not." Klaus said simply. "I’m not that lucky."

Ben huffs. "You are so-"

"Lovable? Sexy?" Klaus finished for him. "Mm, yeah, I know. I’m all those things."

"I was going to say annoying."

Another scream breaks through.

"Okay, Ben the stupid ghost, I have a life to save." Klaus said, quickly sprinting off.

He gets there just in time to witness a young lady get her heart literally ripped out of her chest by something that is most definitely not human. Klaus stares at the scene in front of him with wide eyes, wishing so bad he’d listened to his brother.

The monster notices him but the medium can’t move, can’t look away from the gruesome sight. It happens so fast. One second that- that thing is standing a few feet away and then it’s on top of him. He can feel it’s claws digging into his chest and his blood is so warm on his skin and he’s going to die he’s going to die he’sgoingtoDIE-

A bullet rings out.

His world goes dark.

Chapter Text

Sam is starting to understand why Dean hates this case so much.

Because the stupid state of New York is a garbage state with garbage people. That’s why. First he had to wait for this little punk and his imaginary friend to grab a snack at the vending machine, then when Sam and Dean went to a nearby diner he had to deal with Dean’s whining about them not having pie. To top the already awful day off Sam has to go bail his dumbass brother out of jail for breaking and entering into an elderly lady’s home.

This may be the second time this has been said in the story, but Sam could not wait to get back to that dumpy motel room and sleep.

Of course that never happens.

Because while they’re walking back to the impala, they hear a frightened scream and decide to follow it. Only to find that punk from last night having his heart almost torn out of his chest by a werewolf!

Really, they get there right on time. It’s *this* close to ripping that heart out and it would have had Dean not shot it in time. When the monster topples over onto the kid, both brothers rush forward to see if they finished the job and make sure the poor teenager is okay.

Spoiler alert: he’s not.

Sam checks for a pulse, making sure that werewolf hadn’t succeeded in killing him, and breathes a sigh of relief when he finds one. "He’s just knocked out," replied Sam. "But we should get him to a hospital, just to be safe."

And that’s exactly what they do.

They’re driving to the hospital when the kid shows signs of waking up. He stirs a little in his unconscious state, mumbling some things under his breath. Dean looks over at his brother. "Do you think he remembers what happened to him?" he asked.

"I hope not." Sam replied.

And they fall back into a peaceful, somewhat awkward, silence.

Then the kid wakes up.

-

Klaus wakes up and has no idea where the hell he even is.

Last thing he remembers is hearing someone scream. Maybe, he thinks, there were gunshots too. But it’s pretty much all a blur. He can’t remember anything after that. And the question plays in his head. Where is he?

Was he kidnapped?

He owes a lot of dealers money so maybe one of them sent people out for him and that’s why he’s in the back of some crappy car. That wouldn’t be the worst situation ever. He could get himself out of that probably. He knows how to shoot a gun, fight his way out of a tough situation, and hold a knife thanks to Diego. So it’s all fine.

But what if it isn’t a drug dealer?

What if it’s worse?

What if Ol’ Reginald Hargreeves sent some of his psycho friends after him? Did Reggie even have friends? Does he want the team back together? Newsflash oldie, that ain’t happening. Klaus would much rather die than ever join that dysfunctional family again.

Klaus realizes he’s screaming.

Crap.

How long has he been doing that?

It doesn’t matter.

Mr. Hargreeves will give him a lecture on that no matter what.

He tries to kick the window out but before he can, the car comes to a stop and a man opens his door. He manages to kick him in the ribs and hop out of the car, but before he can get too far, his vision blurs and he collapses onto his knees. "Dang it."

"Klaus." Ben said, appearing in front of him. Where was he ten seconds ago? "I was in the car with you, you absolute dumbass. You were just too busy screaming to notice."

"That makes sense," Klaus said.

Not even a minute later, a shadow looms over Klaus. He looks up and sees a man. A weak, nervous laugh, and then...

"Help!" Klaus screamed. "I need help! I’m being kidna-!"

A hand clasps over his mouth to stop him from screaming. The man looks him directly into the eyes. "Can I trust you not to scream anymore?" Klaus nods. "Really?" Another nod. "Alright."

The man removes his hand.

Klaus screams again.

And the hand is back on his mouth.

"Son of a-" the man grumbled. "Okay. Listen here kid, you need to be quiet. We’re just trying to help you, not hurt you. Just calm down."

Klaus just stares at him dead in the eyes before licking his hand.

"Dang it!"

"What’s wrong, Dean?" said another voice. "Is the kid giving you a hard time?"

"Punk just licked my hand." replied the man— Dean— with his southern accent. He’s definitely annoyed with Klaus’ childish behavior. "Get up. I’m not playing any games here, kid."

Klaus obeys, nervous from the man’s tone of voice. When Dean moves his hand away Klaus doesn’t scream. Doesn’t even think of it. "Who are you guys?" he asked.

"The guys who just saved your life." Dean said. "Come on, back in the car."

"Where are you going to take me?"

"The hospital." the other, taller man said. "You need to get your injures checked out."

"No." Klaus frantically shakes his head. "I’m fine."

Dean laughs. "And I’m the king of England."

"Why don’t you wanna go to the hospital?" asked the other man. "They’ll help you."

"I don’t need help." Klaus stated, before falling on his butt. "I did that on purpose."

"Sure." Dean said, reaching a hand out. "Come on."

"Can’t you just drop me off at my brother’s house?" asked Klaus. "He can patch me up. He gets stabbed, punched and shot at constantly. He’s pretty much a professional doctor at this point. Screw medical school."

"I’d say yes but I think you have a concussion." Sam said. "Your pupils are huge."

"That’s because I’m high." Klaus said. For the first time ever, that’s actually a lie. He hasn’t done a single drug since that morning and it’s pretty much out of his system by now. "Please take me to my brother. I don’t need the hospital."

"Why don’t you want to go to the hospital?" Sam asked, genuinely concerned and curious.

"Nothing." Klaus said. Because how do you explain that you don’t like the hospital because there’s too many ghosts? "It’s nothing. Uhm, my brother lives at that gym. The one next to Griddy’s, you know that one? Drop me off there."

"You should be seen by a professional-"

"And what do I say when they ask what attacked me?" Klaus asked. "A werewolf?"

"How do you know it’s werewolf?" Dean asked.

"That was a werewolf?!" exclaimed Klaus. "I was honestly just guessing."

"Oh my goodness." Dean said. "Just get in the dang car before I drag you."

"Okay." Klaus said, standing up. "I was going. No need to threaten anyone."

As Klaus is waking back to the car, he sees from the corner of his eye how Dean looks like he’s about to throw hands. He smiles to himself. Even when concussed, he still can make anyone annoyed.

Maybe that’s his true power.

To annoy anyone he comes into contact with.

-

Dean is 100% done.

D o n e

First the punk kicks Sam off his feet and onto the ground, then he licks Dean’s hand. Just licks it! And now they’re stuck driving him to some gym instead of the hospital because ‘he doesn’t like hospitals’.

No one likes hospitals!

He isn’t special.

Dean is so happy when they finally park outside of some dumpy gym. Finally, he can get rid of this punk. He’s going to drop him off with his brother and get the hell out of that garbage state and away from it’s people.

He’s just about to drive off when the kid runs back out of the building.

"Hey, kid." Dean said. "Are you okay?"

"Why are you still here?"

"We wanted to make sure you got in safely." replied Sam. "Why? What’s wrong?"

"It’s really none of your business." snapped Klaus.

"Is your brother not going to help you?" Dean asked. What kind of brother doesn’t help his other brother when he’s hurt? He sighs, climbing out of the car to chase after Klaus. "Kid. Wait up."

"Go to hell."

"I will, just not for another couple of months." said Dean. "Do you want us to take you to the hospital now? Maybe they can help you."

Klaus turns towards him sharply. "I’m not going to any hospital."

"Do you have any other family?" Sam asked.

Klaus let’s out a humorless laugh. "Ooh, yeah." Klaus said. "I have a lot of that, believe me. But I’d rather die then ever speak to any of them. So that’s not an option."

"Well, we aren’t leaving you alone." Dean said.

"Then I guess you’re never leaving."

Sam and Dean look at each other before the older Winchester makes a decision. "Alright." he said. "Get back in the car. You’re staying with us for a bit."

"That’s not really necessary." argued Klaus.

Despite not being necessary, Klaus ends up in the back of the impala once more.

"I don’t know you." Klaus said. "But I can already say that I hate you."

-

Ben has never been so exhausted in his life.

But his life is over.

And he’s a ghost.

Ghosts can’t sleep so they can’t be exhausted.

So why is Ben exhausted?

Because his brother is the most irritating person on the whole entire planet. That’s why. He gets himself hurt after deciding to play hero, refuses to go the the hospital, and now he’s refusing to take off his jacket.

"What if they steal it?" Klaus asked. "This is my fluffiest jacket."

"And your only jacket." Ben replied. "Which, by the way, you stole."

Klaus sticks his tongue out at the ghost.

"You’re a child." Ben stated. He sighs. "Klaus."

Klaus sighs and listens to his brother. He flinches when the alcohol touches his skin. Partly because it stings, mostly because it brings back memories of getting patched up after missions. It’s silent as Dean puts a bandage on his cuts— well, not completely silent. Motels have a lot of ghosts in them. This one especially. There’d been like fifteen murders in the place over the past eight years.

"Alright." said the man. "As good as new."

Klaus is happy when he gets to put his jacket back on.

"Thank you for playing doctor." Klaus said, standing up. "But I’ll be on my way."

"Really?" the giant named Sam asked. "’Cause it’s raining."

Klaus shrugs. "I’ve slept in snow before."

"Uh uh," Dean said. "You’re staying put. At least until tomorrow."

"Why?" Klaus whined.

"You almost had your heart ripped out, you are not going to sleep out in the rain!" Dean said. Why is he shouting? Why is he being like this? What even is this?! "Klaus. Listen, kid. We just don’t wanna hear about your death on the news."

"You should listen to them, Klaus." Ben said. "Stay here."

Klaus considers it for a second.

"Okay, fine." Klaus said, standing up from the chair. "But I get the couch."

-

A few things Sam has gathered about the new guest.

He’s the same height as Dean.

He’s homeless.

And he cries in his sleep.

Which... kind of breaks Sam’s heart and makes him want to protect the kid even though he just met him? Great. He’s turning into Dean. Parenting kids a few years younger than himself because why the hell not?

Sam throws off the covers decides to check up on him.

The kid is in a fetal position, looking a lot smaller asleep than he is awake.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Sam wonders who he is talking to. Who could cause him so much anxiety that he has nightmares about them? Klaus has tears rolling down the side of his pale face and he lets out a strangled cry, startling the tall man.

He decides to wake him up.

Klaus shoots into a sitting position, covering his ears and squeezing his eyes shut. He’s so close to hyperventilating that Sam worries he’ll pass out. "Hey, kid." he said. "Calm down. It’s okay."

Klaus opens his eyes but instead of looking as Sam, he looks at the empty air next to him. "They’re so loud, Ben." he said. "They’re always so loud."

Who the hell is Ben?

"What’s wrong?" Dean asked, tired from just waking up.

"Nightmares, I think." Sam said, then turns his attention back to the teenager having a freakin’ anxiety attack on the couch. "Are you okay?"

Klaus blinks up at him. "Sam?"

"Yeah."

"What time is it?"

"5am."

"Really?" Klaus said. "I had a brother named Five."

"That’s... cool?" Dean said.

Klaus makes a face. "Not really."

-

This kid is weird.

Really, really weird.

He talks to himself, doesn’t seem too bothered that monsters exist, cries in his sleep, and apparently, he has a brother named Five. Which is... what the hell were his parents on when they named the poor kid?

It doesn’t matter. None of this does. Because after breakfast they’ll drop the kid off somewhere and get back to their case. They’ll never have to think about the kid again.

That’s what they think.

At the diner— Griddy’s, again— Sam does some research. They came to New York for two reasons, one of them being the werewolf the other being a murderous ghost. Yeah. Crazy. The ghost is killing people by slitting their throats and carving a message into their backs.

Disturbing, right?

Everyone seems to think so. The cops have no leads and neither does Sam and Dean. Maybe it’s just a regular murderer. Maybe it isn’t one of their jobs. Maybe they can drop the kid off somewhere and leave this stupid state.

"What are you looking at?" Klaus looks over at the laptop screen to see what Sam is looking at only for Sam to move it away from him. "Fine. Don’t tell me."

Dean rolls his eyes. "Find anything, Sammy?"

"I think so." Sam said. "A man Jim Wheeler was killed in a car accident. Guess who hit him?"

"Aidan and Missy." Dean said. "The ghosts victims."

"Yep."

"Nope."

Sam and Dean both turn to the teenager reading the menu. All this time they thought he was reading his book but nope- he was listening. "What?" Dean asked, annoyed.

"Jim was killed in that car accident." Klaus said. "He didn’t kill anyone."

"How do you know?" Sam asked.

"Look up the name Audrey René." Klaus said. And Sam does exactly that.

A few minutes later, he looks up at Klaus with amazement. "It’s right." he said. "Audrey René. Kidnapped, found ten days later with her throat slit. They were never able to find her killer though."

"Until now." Klaus said. "Audrey and Aidan, brother and sister. Missy though, she didn’t like her sister-in-law all that much. So she got rid of her. Eventually, Aidan found out, even helped her hide the body."

"Now she wants revenge." Dean said.

"Klaus, how did you know all that?" Sam asked.

Klaus looks to his left. "Because," he said. "Audrey just told me everything."

Chapter Text

"Audrey just told me everything."

A sentence Dean never expected to hear. Audrey is dead- hell, the kid said it himself she was murdered- yet she “told” him that she murdered that not-so-innocent couple. How is that possible? How does a dead person talk to a living person? This is some kinda Sixth Sense crap going on right here.

"You see dead people?"

Klaus smirks a little. "Yep." he said. "I sure do. And man, are they annoying."

"Sorry about that." Sam asked.

"Why apologize?" Klaus asked. "You aren’t a ghost."

A beat of silence.

"Wait. Are you?!"

"No." Dean quickly assured. "We’re both living, breathing humans."

Klaus breaths a sigh of relief. "Thank God."

"Did Audrey tell you where she was buried?" Sam asked. Klaus gives him a look of confusion. Which is fair. That is an odd question to ask. And so Sam, quietly, explains to him that they have to find the bones and burn them so Audrey can rest.

"That’s how you kill ghosts?" Klaus said. "Wow. Can I ask you for a favor?"

"Alright, shoot." Dean said.

"Can you travel all over the world and burn every grave in existence?" Klaus asked. "Then there wouldn’t be so much, y’know, ghosts following me around." A beat. "Silence Benjamin."

"I wish we could but." Sam said. "That’s kinda impossible, Klaus."

"Oh." Klaus said, looking disappointed. "Alright."

Dean wishes he could help him.

-

The past couple days have been eventful.

Klaus gets arrested, Diego cuts him out of his life, he almost gets killed by a werewolf, two strangers save his life, and now the three of them are out burning the bones of a ghost that has been haunting Klaus.

Scratch that. There’d have to be a whole different word made up to describe this past weekend. Eventful doesn’t cover half of it.

"Is this where she’s buried?" Dean asked, unbuckling his seatbelt.

The medium turns to Audrey and she nods. "Yes." Klaus said. "It is. And her name is Audrey Anne René. Just look for that name so you don’t accidentally dig up the wrong body."

"Alright."

Klaus watches as both Sam and Dean climb out of the car. Noticing how Klaus isn’t quick to move, Sam decides to ask him about it. "Are you coming?" he asked.

He looks at the graveyard for a long minute.

Sam notices and seems to understand. "How about you stay back?" he suggested and Klaus wants to kiss him for it. "Dean and I will be quick. Just stay here and when we get back tell us if you still see Audrey."

Klaus nods and Sam follows after Dean.

"I imagine graveyards are probably hard for you, huh?" Audrey said.

Klaus has little to no interest in girls but he can tell Audrey is definitely pretty. With her brown eyes that look gold in the sunlight and curly hair that resembles Allison’s so much, it’d be a lie to say otherwise. Klaus has, in a way, befriended the ghost. And he’s so glad she’ll get to find peace soon but he’ll definitely miss her.

"There’s just so much ghosts." Klaus answered her question honestly.

"I can see that." she replied, looking out the window. "Some of them look so peaceful."

Klaus watches a ghost couple dance as if it were their wedding day. They look so young and happy. Normally with these ghosts, they have a child alive and want to see it grow up even if they can’t be there physically. Klaus always feels bad for those ones.

"Yeah." Klaus agreed. "They do."

Audrey is silent for a second. "You’re apart of that Umbrella Academy thing, aren’t you?" she asked. Klaus was not expecting for that to come up but it makes sense. How many people in the world talk to dead people? Probably not a lot. "The Séance, right?"

"Yep." Klaus said. "That’s me. Or well, was."

"You guys don’t play superhero anymore, do you?"

Klaus nods. "After Ben— The Horror— died, we just kind of fell apart." he said. "We were never a family but with Ben’s death it just made it more noticeable for all of us."

"I guess you could say I was the glue holding the dysfunctional family together." Ben said, deciding to appear next to Audrey, startling her. "Hi, I’m Ben. Or Six. Or The Horror. Whichever you prefer."

"Hi Ben." Audrey said with a smile. She blushes and so does Ben. Klaus thinks for a second how amazing of a couple they’d be. After all, they have a lot in common- being dead seventeen year olds. "It’s nice to meet you guys. But I get the feeling they may have found my grave."

Audrey smiles a little sadly.

"Good luck." Klaus said. "Hope you go to heaven!"

"Me too."

Just then, fire spreads over Audrey’s body and she disappears. Klaus will have to say, he’s going to miss the ghost. She was nice. "So that’s how you kill a ghost." he said suddenly. "Don’t make me angry or that’ll happen to you, Ben."

"You’d never." Ben said.

"I wouldn’t, you’re right." Klaus agreed. The two brothers laugh just as Sam and Dean, the other two brothers, open the doors and climb back into the car.

"Do you still see her?" Dean asked.

"Nope." Klaus answered honestly. "She just caught fire and vanished."

"Okay, so that means the case is over." Sam said, looking directly at Dean. "Now we can get back to our main mission and try to stop you from going to hell.

"Sam, I told you-"

"Wait a second." Klaus said. "Hell? As in, Hell?"

Dean looks annoyed. "We can talk about this some other time, Sam."

"Keeping me in the dark?" Klaus said and raises his eyebrows. "Really?"

"It’s adult stuff." Dean explained.

"Lucky for you I’ll be an adult in just a few short months." Klaus said. "Come on, I helped you solve a murder. Tell me about Hell!"

Dean sighs. "I’m going to Hell, okay?" he said. "Made a deal with some demon to get Sam back and now I have to pay. It’s not that interesting."

"It’s very interesting." Klaus said. "Sounds like the plot to a TV series that’d be called something like... Unnatural."

"Alright." Dean said, changing the subject. "I’m glad this case is over but it’s not time to focus on that. There’s been vampire sightings in Forks, Washington. That’s what we should focus on right now."

"Fine." Sam said. "That‘ll be our next stop. But we are getting you out of this whole Hell situation eventually."

Klaus wonders if they realize he’s still in the car.

"Okay, kid." Dean said. "Anywhere you can stay?"

He falls silent for a second. "Well, I have an idea."

A beat of silence.

"Maybe I could stay with you guys?"

-

"Maybe I can stay with you guys?"

A sentence Sam was never expecting to hear from the kid.

Why would a kid want to be a hunter? Sam always hated that life growing up. So why would this teenager sitting in the backseat of Dean’s car, choose to become a hunter? Sure the kid doesn’t understand the job completely- for all Sam knows, he may think it’s just throwing salt at graves and lighting them on fire.

But it’s so much more than that.

It’s a death sentence. It prevents you from ever having a life. If this kid signs up for the job, he’s signing over his whole entire life. He’s putting himself in danger and possibly his very own family. Sam wants to tell him straight out no but he knows Dean will he angry if he does.

"No." Dean takes him by surprise. "No. Klaus, this is a dangerous job. You’d have to have something seriously wrong with you to ever want to be a hunter."

"There’s already something seriously wrong with me." Klaus said. "I’m a depressed, gay, no-good, ex-superhero junkie whose best friend is his dead brother. There’s a lot wrong with me. Hunting would probably be the most normal thing in my life."

Sam and Dean fall silent, trying to make a decision. The kids powers would be helpful with fighting ghosts, but Klaus is a kid with his whole life ahead of him. He’d be risking everything if they let him just help every now and then.

"I don’t have any purpose in this world." Klaus said. "For once I want to stop being completely useless, I want to be able to save people from the very things that have been terrorizing me my whole entire life. All I’m asking is for you to give me a chance."

"Won’t your family miss your though?" Dean asked.

"I don’t have family." Klaus said. "I don’t think I ever did."

Sam and Dean share a look. "Fine." Sam replied.

Klaus looks so hopeful. "Really?"

"Yeah." Dean agreed. "Welcome to the team, kid."

"Thank you!" Klaus said. "I already know basic combat skills so you don’t have to teach me anything. Also I can sorta, kinda hold a gun but I’ve never used one before. And my brother taught me how to throw knives. It’s fair to say I didn’t do a good job because I cut the side of his head and now he has a huge scar there. But I’ll still be a great addition to the team! Thank you so much!"

"But you only help with ghost cases." Dean said. "Okay? That’s it."

"Okay. That’s perfectly fine." Klaus said. "As long as I get to help."

"You have to stay clean though." Dean stated. "No drugs, no alcohol. Got it?"

Klaus seems to hesitate before agreeing. "Okay." he said. "Look Ben, you’re finally getting your wish. For me to be sober. Bet you’re happy, huh?"

Silence.

"Aw, you’re so sweet."

Sam sighs.

This is gonna take some getting used to.

Chapter Text

A week passes since Klaus joined Sam and Dean in hunting the supernatural, and he’s meeting one of their friends. His name is Bobby Singer, he basically raised Sam and Dean, and he’s been a hunter for a very, very long time.

Klaus hopes he can teach him some stuff.

"I’m so glad you’re finally trying to get sober, but." Ben said. "Do you think it’s a good idea for me, a ghost, to go around a bunch of people who literally kill ghosts? What if they find out about me and try to burn my bones?"

"Dad cremated you." Klaus said. "Your bones are already dust."

Ben sighs. "I’m just afraid." he admitted. "I’m like 89% of your impulse control. I don’t wanna know what you’d do without me around. Probably something dumb."

"Definitely something dumb." Klaus agreed. "I’d probably get a perm and rob a bank."

"You already have curly hair why would you need a perm?" asked Ben. Klaus shrugs. "I just hope they don’t get rid of me. I’m not ready to leave this world yet, Klaus. I want to keep an eye on you and everyone else. Make sure you guys don’t get yourselves killed before you’re at least fifty."

"Hey, Ben." Klaus said. "I’m not letting them touch you."

"Promise?"

"Yeah." Klaus said. "Now, stop being a drama queen. That’s my thing and you know it."

Ben laughs. "Okay."

Dean hops back in the car after getting gas.

"Is Sam still getting snacks?" Klaus asked.

"Snacks are very important, you don’t rush those." Dean stated, like it is a very important thing. "But I can see him walking out, so he’s probably done. Gosh I hope he got me my pie. I need pie. I deserve it."

"He likes pie almost as much as you like waffles." Ben stated and Klaus laughs.

"I guess he does."

Sam opens his door and hops in, handing Dean a bag of what appears to be junk food. "Did they have it?" asked the eldest hunter, Sam rolls his eyes in return.

"Yes, Dean." he said. "They had your precious pie."

"Yes!" Dean cheered. "I’m going to eat this the second we get to Bobby’s."

"No offense." Ben said. "But how is he in such good shape when he eats constantly?"

Klaus studies Dean. "That’s a good question."

"What’s a good question?" Dean asked.

"Nothing." Klaus quickly replied, then shares a smirk with Ben.

It feels like an eternity later before they drive up to what appears to be a scrapyard and Dean parks the car next to a house. Both hunters and the hunter in training waste no time getting out of the impala.

A ghost with a bullet wound in his head and another one with a bunch of stab wounds appears next to Klaus, sending shivers down his spine. "So Bobby has had a lot of kills, hasn’t he?" asked the medium.

Dean snorts. "Well, that’s what you get being a hunter." he explained. "If you don’t want to kill we can drop you off at a train station. I think there’s one nearby."

"No it’s fine." Klaus said, completely unbothered. "I’ve killed four people in my lifetime."

"You’re only seventeen." Dean said, concerned. "What were you doing killing?"

"I’m an ex-superhero, Dean."

Before Dean can reply, an older man wearing a cap answers the door.

"Took ya long enough, ya idjits."

Ben turns to Klaus and smiles. "I like him."

-

Bobby has always watched out for his boys.

So he knows them. He knows of all their stupid ideas, how they’re always so quick to sacrifice themselves even if it isn’t necessary, and how they will literally sell their souls just so the other one can live another day. He knows them. He expects for them to do stupid things.

But he never expected to hear that they were taking care of some teenager with a drug addiction who can speak to ghosts. Somehow that took him by surprise. And barely anything surprises him at this point. So why is he surprised?

Because his kids adopted a kid.

"My name is Klaus." he introduced. "Very nice to meet you."

"Sam and Dean here tell me you talk to ghosts." Bobby said. "Is that true?"

"As a matter of fact it is." Klaus said. "And you have quite a few following you around."

Bobby knows that’s probably true. After all, his first kill was when he was a young boy and that was just the beginning of it. But he hopes the kid doesn’t feel the need to name off each ghost. The corpses in his backyard are buried for a reason.

"Sam and Dean do, too." continued Klaus. "But that’s the hunter life I guess."

Silence.

"Um, a woman named Karen says hi."

Bobby freezes. Karen... she was cremated. Her, along with most of her possessions. There’s no way Klaus is seeing her. Before he can ask, Dean walks in, seemingly having finished his pie. "Getting to know each other?" suggested the hunter. "I hope Bobby hasn’t called you any names... like for instance, idjit."

"I have six siblings." Klaus said. "I’ve been called plenty of things."

"So what brings you here?" Bobby asked. "Not that I don’t want you around, I’m just a little confused because you said you had a case."

"We do." replied Sam. "We might have a lead on the demon holding Dean’s deal. Which is extremely dangerous, so we wanted to know if you could watch Klaus."

"Seventeen, I don’t need a babysitter." Klaus said.

"You also tried to sneak out last night to buy drugs." Dean said. "You aren’t allowed to be left alone, Klaus. We talked about that."

Klaus rolls his eyes.

"Don’t roll your eyes at me!" Dean snapped.

"What are you going to do?" Klaus said. "Lock me in my room? I don’t have a room! I’m basically homeless."

"You aren’t homeless." Dean said. "You live with us."

"And where do you live?"

"In the Impala, different hotels." Dean said. "Sometimes we stay with Bobby- hey, I see what you’re doing and that’s not the point. The point is we made a deal, you tag along on our little adventures just as long as you stay clean. So stay clean."

"Easier said than done." Klaus said. "Okay, Dean. Don’t get your panties in a twist. Go kill that demon. I’ll hang out with Bobby until the two of you get back."

"If we get back."

Klaus glowers at him. "If you start haunting me I’m going to salt your ass."

"I second that."

-

So the whole lead thing is a big fat lie.

To say Sam is disappointed would be an understatement.

He’s disappointed and his arm is broken because some demons decided to play a game of toss the giant. But the arm thing he doesn’t care about. What he cares about is his stupid brother going to go to Hell just because Sam got himself killed.

Dumbass should’ve let him stay dead. Instead, he decides to play big brother and sell his dang soul. Now Dean is going to die in a few short months and there’s not one thing Sam can do to stop it.

He hates feeling helpless.

After a quick trip to the emergency room to reset his arm, Sam and Dean return to Bobby’s to pick up Klaus. The second they walk through the doors, the kid walks up to them and hesitatingly pats each brother on the arm. Both stare at him. "What was that?"

"Just making sure you aren’t a ghost." Klaus said. "You aren’t."

"You could’ve just asked if I seen them too." Bobby stated. "That would’ve been let weird."

"Yeah, but weird is what I aspire to be." Klaus explained. "So, you didn’t get out of your deal I’m assuming. You know, since you guys look like you got ran over by a truck and shoved off a cliff then set on fire."

"That one sentence somehow explains my whole entire life." Dean said, looking exhausted. "But there wasn’t any lead, just a bunch of demons playing a prank on us. Sam broke his arm and I think I have a concussion."

"Which I told you to get checked out when we were at the hospital." Sam said.

"I don’t need a doctor." Dean said. "Just get me a beer and let me sleep on it."

Sam shakes his head and pinches the bridge of nose, looking so close to jumping out a window. "That has to be your dumbest idea yet, Dean."

"No, I think selling your soul takes that trophy."

Klaus points to Bobby. "Agreed."

"We tried everything, Sam." Dean said with a sigh. "I’m going to Hell."

"We actually haven’t tried everything." Sam said. "We haven’t killed Lilith."

"Again with Lilith?" Dean said. "Sam, it’s like you’re obsessed!"

"Yeah, I’m obsessed." Sam said. "I’m obsessed with saving you, Dean! Can’t you see I’m just trying to save you? You’re my brother! You’re the only family I’ve ever had."

Dean sighs. "I’m going for a drive."

"Fine." Sam said. "But the day I ever stop trying to help you will be the day I die."

Dean takes on final look at Sam before walking out the door.

"That was rough." Klaus said. "Are you okay, Sam?"

Sam doesn’t speak, instead walks off into another room, leaving Klaus and Bobby alone once more.

-

Dean honestly doesn’t want to die.

Actually, he’s terrified to. But the demon told him very clearly, if he tries to get out of it, Sam will drop dead- and Dean can’t have that happening. He’s his little brother. Dad always told him to watch out for Sammy and if Dean has to die in order to do so, then so be it.

Bring on Hell.

He’d go there any day if it meant keeping his brother safe.

The hunter stops at a bar. He needs a drink, to clear his head and feel numb. He sold his soul so Sammy could live another day and now he hates him. There’s just no winning in this life. No matter how hard you try to win, you’ll always lose in the end.

He sighs, taking a long swig out of his beer.

"Long day?" says a familiar voice. Dean groans.

"Are you kidding me?"

"What?" asked the Trickster. "You don’t own this bar, Dean."

Dean rubs a hand down his face. "Why are you here?"

"I need to talk to you." Trickster said. "About your brother."

"Sam?"

"How many brothers do you have?" Trickster asked. "I thought you just had the one."

"I do." Dean said. "What about him?"

"He blames himself for you going to Hell." Trickster said. "You sold your soul so he could live, which is perfectly fine, right? Wrong. Sam doesn’t know how to live without his big brother. He doesn’t want to. Which is why he will do everything in his power to save you from having to go to Hell."

Dean slams money down on the counter as he stands. "I don’t need your therapy."

"Why not?" Trickster said. "It’s free."

"I’m supposed to kill things like you." Dean snapped. "Not have a heart-to-heart with them."

"Have you ever really killed one of me?" Trickster said. "Yeah, sure, you definitely tried, but it just never worked out, now did it?"

"Won’t stop me from trying again."

"Wow in a full bar?" Trickster said. Dean looks around, scanning the room.

"It’s empty."

Trickster snaps and the very empty bar becomes very crowded. "Is it?"

Dean closes his eyes and squeezes his fists. He will not stab this man, he will not stab this man. "Alright." he said. "You win. I’m leaving."

"I never wanted you to leave, Dean."

"Yeah?" Dean said. "Well, it’s either I leave or I kill you. Which one would you prefer?"

"Fine, fine." Trickster said. "Go. You need a nap anyway, Mr. Grumpy."

Dean flips off the Trickster as he walks out of the bar.

Chapter Text

The more time that passes, Dean starts to think that maybe Klaus isn’t all that weird after all. Obviously he’s proven wrong each time that thought enters his head. Right now the kid is sitting in the middle of a dark room, lit candles surrounding him and his eyes closed shut as he clutches a domino mask in his hand.

"Is this a séance?"

Klaus doesn’t even look at him. "Yeah."

"Okay." Dean said. "Mind telling me why?"

Klaus huffs, staring the hunter right in the eyes. "I’m looking for my brother."

"Your brother?" asked Dean. "Isn’t he haunting you?"

"Not that brother." Klaus replied. "My other brother, Five. It’s the anniversary of when he disappeared. I... I want to see if he’s gone... if he’s dead."

"Then I’ll leave you to it."

"Don’t." Klaus said. "I’ve been looking for the past hour. It’s either he’s ignoring me or he’s actually alive. The first is definitely a Five thing to do... but I’m hoping it’s not the case. I just need for him to be alive."

"Well, he probably is."

"How can you be so sure?" asked the medium.

"Your a good kid." Dean said. "And everything you’ve told me about Five, it sounds like you two were close. Why would he choose to stay away from his favorite brother?"

"Ben was his favorite brother." Klaus corrected. "I was his second favorite."

Dean nods. "Okay." he said. "Either way, if he were dead, I know he’d go to you."

"Thank you." Klaus said with the softest of smiles.

Klaus may be weird, but Dean has never met such a caring kid.

-

Five years ago, Five disappeared.

Klaus knows this is a hard day for each of his siblings and so he can’t help but feel guilty for not being there. So he comes up with an idea. He’ll call them. Well, if their numbers haven’t changed, that is.

Luther doesn’t answer. So Klaus calls Diego.

"What do you want?" Diego’s familiar voice fills his ears.

Nice to know nothing has changed. "Hey, Dee."

For a second, it’s silent.

"Klaus?"

Klaus smiles a little. "That’s me."

"No one has heard from you in over two months." Diego said. "Vanya and I... we were so worried. We thought something had happened. Are you okay?"

"I’ve actually never been better."

"What do you mean?" Diego asked. "Where have you been?"

Klaus pauses. How does he explain to his brother that he now hunts monsters with two men, one who has demon blood inside him and the other one who is legally dead? "I’ve taken up traveling." he said. "It’s my new, much healthier addiction."

"Wait." Diego said. "Are you sober?"

"Yeah." Klaus said. "I haven’t touched a single drug in over six months."

Diego gives a happy laugh. "That’s great, Klaus!"

"Thank you." Klaus said with a smile. No one has ever been proud of him before. "And it really is. I’ve even been able to help ghosts find their peace."

"Have you seen Ben yet?" Diego asked.

"Well, he’s been haunting me even before I did go sober." Klaus said. "But yeah, I see him." Ben smiles and waves. "He says hi."

Klaus can hear the smile in Diego’s voice. "Hi Ben."

"I’m almost out of minutes." Klaus said. "But before I go, how has life been for you? Good, I assume, since you aren’t stuttering anymore."

"It’s actually been really great." Diego said. "I just got accepted into the police academy last week, and I started going out with this girl."

"What’s her name?"

"Eudora." Diego replied. "She’s so strong and very pretty. I honestly could see myself marrying her."

Klaus smiles. "If you do, don’t forget to invite me to the wedding."

"Are you kidding?" asked Diego. "You’ll be the best man."

"I really gotta get going, Dee." Klaus said. "But it was great talking to you."

"Alright." Diego sounds a little disappointed. "Well, call again soon, okay bro?"

"Got it." Klaus said. "Goodbye."

"Bye."

Klaus smiles as he dials another number. "Hey, Ally!"

-

Dean already told Sam earlier that today is a hard day for the young medium and that he wants to do something to distract him. And Sam agreed it was a good idea and asked what his brother meant.

Which brings us here, inside the Impala with Klaus in the drivers seat and Dean in the passengers seat. "I’ve never driven before."

"Dean, he’s never driven before!" Sam repeated. "You have two months left of your life left do you wanna really die today?"

"We aren’t gonna die, Sammy." Dean said.

"Ben said not to be too sure about that." Klaus stated.

"Not helping, Klaus."

Klaus smiles. "When do I ever?"

Sam speaks up. "I just have a really bad feeling about this."

"We’ll be okay." Dean assured him. "Ready, Klaus?"

"You bet your ass I am!" Klaus said and hit the gas. Sam holds onto anything he can get his hands on and Dean sits, eyes wide and terrified. It’d be an understatement to say he regretted his decision to allow an easily distracted eighteen year old to drive.

When the car comes to a stop unexpectedly, Dean thinks he’ll be thrown from the car. "What the hell, kid!"

"I almost ran over that lady!"

Sam gives an exasperated sigh as he rubs at his forehead. "There’s no one there, Klaus."

"Oh." Klaus said. "Alright"

For the next couple of minutes, the young medium actually does a decent job driving. And then it all goes to shit again. Of course. "Klaus! Hit the breaks!" Sam cried out. "You’re gonna hit that man!"

Klaus swerves and drives the car straight into a ditch.

"Damnit!" Dean said. "Is everyone okay?"

"No, I’m not okay, Dean." Sam said. "We almost died!"

Klaus sighs. "I’m sorry."

"It’s fine." Sam said. "Just no more driving lessons, okay?"

"Fine by me." Klaus said. "And Ben told me to tell you, he told you so."

"Thanks, Ben." Dean said, sounding unbelievably annoyed.

They may have almost died, but it sure did take everyone’s minds off everything, so Sam can’t find it in himself to be angry.

Chapter Text

This is not how Sam wished to spend his Friday night.

But when do wishes ever come true?

For Sam, never.

What should have been an easy case turns into much more when the hunters and medium bump into "The HellHounds", who are now apparently calling themselves the "Ghostfacers". Their team has gotten much larger since the last time they almost got Sam and Dean killed.

"Where’s your partner?" Dean demanded, holding Ed by the shirt collar.

"U-upstairs."

Both brothers look at Klaus. "I’m on it."

"Who’s that?"

"No, no, no." Dean said. "I’m asking the questions here."

Ed gulps nervously.

"What are you doing in the Morton House, Ed - on leap year -- what are you thinking?"

"We’re here to spend the night, okay?" Ed said. "It’s for our TV show."

Is this kid serious?

"What?" Sam said as he tries to process the stupidity. "Great. Perfect."

"Yeah, nobody’s ever spent the night."

Dean looks to the new kid. "What’s your name?"

"Corbett, Sir."

"Okay, Corbett?" Dean said. "You guys need to go."

"No-"

"And by the way, people have actually spent the night here." Dean stated. "You won’t be the first and I’m hoping you’ll be the last."

"Uh, we’ve never heard of them before." Ed argued.

Dean gives a humorless laugh. "Yeah, you know why?" Corbett shakes his head. "’Cause the one that have haven’t lived to talk about it!"

"Oh, come on." Ed said. "I don’t believe you."

Sam is *this* close to throwing hands with teenagers. "Look -- missing-persons reports going back almost half a century. John Graham stayed on a dare -- gone. Julie Wilkerson -- gone. There are tons more. All of them came to just stay the night through, always on a leap year. The only body they ever found was the last owner, Freeman Daggett."

Ed reads them over. "These look legit."

"They are legit." Sam said. "Look, Ed, we ain’t got much time here, buddy. Starting at midnight, your friends are going to die."

Before anyone has a chance to reply, Klaus along with what Sam can only assume is the rest of the Ghostfacers, come rushing downstairs. "We got one!" Harry exclaimed. "Corbett! Corbett, we saw one! We saw one!"

"Get outta here!" Ed exclaimed in disbelief.

"It was a full apparition!" Harry said. "It was like a class four. It was a spectral illumination! It..."

A young Asian women cuts in. "It was amazing!"

Harry excitedly looks at each of his friends before noticing Sam and Dean. "Hey, aren’t you from Texas?"

"Yes." Ed answered, not amused.

Dean claps his hands once. "Alright, let’s have this reunion across the street, guys."

"Crap." Harry said. "What are they doing here?"

"Trying to save your asses." Klaus cut in. "If you want to live another day, I recommend you get the hell out of this house. Got it?"

"What’s your problem?"

"You have a lot of questions, Harriet."

"It’s just Harry."

There’s a lot of talking back and fourth and Sam finds himself tuning most of it out. Every now and then he’ll remind them that the clock is clicking, but other than that he’s mostly silent and his attention is elsewhere.

That is, until Ed speaks up. "Wait! Wait! Where’s Corbett?"

Everyone looks around and realization hits Sam. "And where’s Klaus?"

-

"I wish to communicate with the restless spirts here."

Klaus knows it was probably (definitely) a bad idea to leave his team and follow after Corbett, but he didn’t feel right letting the young man to wander around the Morton House all by himself. "No, you do not." argued the medium. "That is a very bad idea."

"Klaus, go find Sam and Dean." Ben said. "I have a really terrible feeling."

"So do I, Benjamin, so do I."

"Who’s Benjamin?" Corbett asked. Before Klaus has a chance to reply, he speaks up again. "Uh, lights out. Oh, I think I have night vision here."

"Screw his night vision." Ben said. "It won’t save you or him from getting killed by a vengeful spirit, Klaus. Grab him and go find Sam and Dean."

"That’s better!"

Klaus looks back at Corbett but can’t even get a word in before he sees a tall figure standing behind him. "Corbett-!"

Everything goes dark.

-

Where there’s Ghostfacers, trouble isn’t too far behind.

Sam, Dean, and Klaus all went on this case believing it’d be easy. They were so wrong.

"I swear if Klaus is dead, I’m going to kill each one of you." Dean warned. "Slowly, and very painfully. You hear me?"

Before anyone has a chance to reply, a shout from upstairs is heard, with two anguished screams following closely behind. "Klaus." Dean muttered and fought back the urge to rush up the stairs.

"That was Corbett." Ed said.

"That was Corbett!" repeated Harry. "Corbett!"

"Corbett!" Maggie exclaimed. "It’s okay!"

Ed, Harry, and Maggie rush up the stairs. "We’ll get him!" Dean shouted after them. "Go back!"

"Guys!" Sam yelled.

"No! Where are you, dude?"

"Tell us where you are!"

"Corbett!"

"Let me go!" Corbett cried. "Guys!"

"Corbett, you need to come back." Ed demanded. "Corbett."

Corbett screams. "No!"

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Dean said. "Come on!"

Corbett’s screams continue, slowly fading away into nothing.

-

"We can’t just leave Corbett." said Ed. "He’s apart of the Ghostfacers."

"Screw the Ghostfacers!" Dean shouted. "Our friend is probably dead because you all thought this was a game."

"Dean, he’s not dead." Sam said. "At least you don’t know that."

"Which is why I said “probably”, Sam."

Sam checks the time. "Great, Dean." he said. "It’s 12:04. Are you good? Are you happy?"

"Yeah, I am happy."

"”Let’s go hunt the Morton House,” you said, “It’s our Grand Canyon”." Sam mimicked.

Dean sighs. "Sam, I don’t want to hear this."

"Two months." Sam said. "You have two months left. But instead we’re gonna die tonight and we probably got a kid killed." He grabs a chair and throws it at the door, startling the Ghostfacers.

"Woah!" Spruce exclaimed. "What the hell is going on?"

"I’ll tell you what’s going on." Sam said. "Every door, every window, I’m guessing every exit out of this house -- they’re all sealed."

"But w-why are they sealed?" Maggie asked.

Dean sighs. "It’s a supernatural lockdown, okay? Whatever took Klaus and Corbett doesn’t want us to leave, and it’s no death echo. This is a bad mother, and it wants us all scared."

Maggie gulps nervously. "Or it just wants us."

-

Klaus is never one to turn down a party.

But when the party is with a serial killer ghost and a bunch of corpses... well, he’ll pass, thank you very much.

Sitting across from him is a very terrified Corbett, close to passing out from hyperventilating. Klaus has always been great at the whole comforting thing, but it’s a little hard to do when you’re strapped down in a chair with a party hat on your head.

Stupid ghost and his stupid party.

"Hey." Klaus whispered. "Corbett."

The young man looks up at him.

"It’s okay." Klaus assured. "Sam and Dean are coming, okay? And they’ll save us. They always do."

Corbett nods. "O-okay."

A few minutes later one of the hunters come, but not in the way Klaus hoped. "You let that psycho catch you!" the medium whisper-yelled. "You are 6’4, Sam, 6 freaking 4. Why are you always having your ass handed to you by Casper the friendly ghost?"

"I don’t know, Klaus." Ben said. "But I don’t think this is Casper we’re dealing with."

"Of course it’s not!" Klaus snapped. "I was just trying to make a point!"

"What were you thinking running away from the group?" Sam asked.

"H-he was trying to protect me." Corbett said. "It’s my fault, not his."

"It doesn’t matter whose fault it is." Klaus said. "We’ll all be fine."

"Don’t listen to him."

Klaus freezes just hearing that voice. It‘s so evil... so terrifying.

"It’s Daggett." Ben said. "And he has a knife."

"It stops hurting." Daggett said, pacing around the table their sitting at. "So don’t worry."

Sam is trying his best to stay calm. "Klaus, Corbett, stay with me." he said. "Stay with me, you got it? I’m right here. Stay with me. It’ll be okay-"

Klaus watches in horror as Daggett stabs Corbett straight through the throat.

"No." said Sam. "Corbett! No! Corbett!"

Daggett walks towards the young medium, wiping the blood off of his knife. "You’re popular in the ghost world." he said. "Some want to meet you so you can solve their murders or talk to their families, some want to rip your throat out."

"Believe me, I know." Klaus said. "I’ve met plenty of them."

"Get away from him." Sam warned.

Klaus can’t see that ghost since he’s standing behind him, but he just imagines him smiling right about now. "This won’t hurt." he said. "It always stops hurting. Don’t worry."

Ben is on the verge of tears. "Klaus-"

"It’s fine, Ben." Klaus said, voice shaky. "It’s fine."

-

Nothing is fine.

Sam vanished, Harry and Maggie keep trying to make out, and now the damn door is shut and won’t open so he’s stuck alone with Spruce, who by the way, won’t get the damn camera out of his face!

"Um, who closed the door?" Spruce asked.

"It did." Dean said. "It wants to separate us."

No one responds so Dean continues to talk. "Ed! Listen to me!"

"What?"

"There’s some salt in my duffel bag." Dean explained. "Make a circle and get inside."

"Inside?" Ed asked, voice quiet as if he’s trying to whisper.

"That’s stupid." Harry replied.

"Inside your duffel bag?"

Dean rubs at his forehead. How can someone possibly be this stupid? "In the salt, you idiots!"

"Oh, okay."

Dean and Spruce hurry down the basement stairs.

"Hey." Spruce said. "Can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Earlier, you and Sam." Spruce explained. "He said you had two months left?"

"Yeah, it’s complicated." Dean said. "A while ago, Sam... No, no, no. I’m not gonna whine about my freaking problems to some freaking reality show. I’m gonna do my freaking job."

Spruce can’t take the hint. "Is it cancer?"

Dean hears something. "Shut up." he said. "You hear that?"

"Is that music?"

"Yeah." Dean said. "It’s coming from behind this wall."

Dean pushes a cabinet away from the wall. "Wow, you’re strong." Spruce stated. Dean flips him and the camera off in return.

The hunter breaks open the door to the bomb shelter just as Daggett is about to kill Klaus. "Sammy! Klaus!" he shouted, shooting the psycho ghost. Daggett disappears but Dean knows he’ll only reappear a second later. He unties his brother and the kid, checking on both of them. "You two look like crap."

"Are you kidding?" Klaus said, words slurred. "I’ve never looked better!"

"Seriously." Dean said. "You okay?"

"Pretty sure he broke my nose." Sam replied.

Klaus groans, leaning against the wall for support. "Is the world spinning?"

"And he definitely has a concussion."

"Oh, no." All attention goes the other young man in the room, who stares at his friend with mournful eyes. "Corbett."

-

While Dean tries (and fails) to break down the door separating them from the others, Spruce still records, much to Sam’s annoyance. "Seriously?" asked the hunter. "You’re still shooting?"

"It makes him feel better." Dean said. "Don’t ask."

Klaus shivers. Sam looks at him, concerned. "Are you alright?"

"Not really." Klaus said with a weak smile. "There’s a lot more than just death echoes here. They keep yelling at me to help them. Some are even trying to touch me."

"Sheesh, kid." Dean said. "I’m sorry."

"Ah, hell, guys." Spruce said. "Get in your ghost-role thing. Something’s coming."

Daggett appears behind Spruce, knocking him and the camera to the floor.

"Oh, my." he panicked. "OH!"

Daggett approaches Spruce, ready to kill. Sam shoots him and the ghost once again disappears. The hunter helps the young man stand up. "Take it easy, you alright?"

Spruce notices the ghost behind Dean. "Uh, guys..."

Daggett throws Sam, Dean, and Klaus against the walls, each one of them landing with painful thuds. He appears next to Spruce and no one can do anything to stop him from killing the poor kid. "This is bad." he panicked. "Very bad."

The psycho is *this* close to following through with his plan before the ghost of Corbett appears behind him.

"Corbett?"

The ghost fights the other ghost and both disappear in a flash of blinding light. Everyone gives themselves a minute to process everything, because... a lot just happened.

Spruce, the man who never stops talking, is of course the first one to speak up. "You alright, dude?.

Sam and Dean pick themselves up off the floor, while Klaus just leans against the wall, not trusting himself to stand up. "Gosh." Sam said. Not much but it somehow explains their whole day. Whole entire life. Whole entire existence. Gosh.

Dean stares directly into Spruce’s camera before covering the lens over with his hand.

-

To sum up Klaus’s day in one word. Eventful. That’s exactly what it was. But that was yesterday, and like that saying goes, today’s a new day. A hopefully less eventful one at that.

The Ghostfacers show them the episode and all the kid can think, yeah this show is pretty good. If he didn’t see and fight ghosts 24/7, he’d probably be a big fan of it and never miss an episode. But he does so that’s never gonna happen. "So, guys." Ed said. "What do you think? Are you alright?"

"I really like that theme song." Klaus said.

Ben glowers at him. "You’re going to get that stuck in my head, aren’t you?"

"Oh, most definitely."

"You know, I kind of think it was half-awesome." Dean answered. Sam and Klaus all nod in agreement. That pretty much explains how Klaus feels about it.

"Half-awesome?" Maggie said. "That’s- that’s full-on good, right?"

"Yeah, um." Sam said. "I mean it’s bizarre how you all are able to honor Corbett’s memory while grossly exploiting the manner of his death. Well done."

In the corner of his eye, he sees Dean slip something into a backpack. "Yeah, it’s a real tightrope you guys are walking there." the hunter said.

"Yeah, alright guys."

"Nah, that’s the reality, man." Ed said. "Yeah, Corbett gave his life searching for the truth, and it’s our job over here to share it with the world."

"Right. Well." Sam said. "Um, our experience, you know what you get when you show the world the truth?"

"A straitjacket." Dean said. "Or a punch in the face. Sometimes both."

"Right." Sam agreed.

"Mm-hm." Klaus said. "And trust me, straitjackets? They aren’t fun. Believe me."

"Oh come on, guys." Harry said. "Don’t be ‘facer haters just because we happen to have the footage of the century."

"Oh yeah." Ed replied.

"You got us there." Dean stated.

"Really did." Klaus agreed.

"Yeah." Sam said.

"Yeah." Dean said. "Well we’ll see you guys around."

"Peace out." Spruce said.

As they’re walking out, Sam turns to Dean. "We clean?"

In the distance they hear the Ghostfacers screaming about their show. Huh. Seem more upset about that than they did Corbett’s death. Strange.

"Electromagnet wiped out every tape and hard drive they have." Dean replied.

Klaus nods. "So yeah, we clean."

"The world just isn’t ready for the Ghostfacers." Sam said.

"It’s too bad." Dean said. "I kinda liked the show."

"It had its moments."

"Oh yeah."

The three hunters drive off. Klaus looks out the window and just thinks. He could’ve lost Sam or Dean today and he didn’t. Thank God, right? Only he can’t find it in himself to do just that. Because in two months, Dean, his fifth brother, is going to Hell.

And there’s no way of stopping it.

-

Bonus!

The song “It’s My Party” starts over again and Klaus groans. "If you must kill us, would you mind playing a song we all like?" he said. "I recommend ”I Think We’re Alone Now” by Tiffany."

"Really?" Sam said. "I always wanted to die listening to My Heart Will Go On."

"I was thinking “Dead!” by MCR." Ben said. "Because that’s what you guys will be in a second."

"H-how about Queen?" Corbett said. "Everyone likes Queen."

"Yeah, I’d be fine dying to that."

"Same."

"I’m already dead but hell yeah, play it."

"No." said Daggett. "I don’t like Queen."

Silence.

"Wow." Sam said. "He is a psycho."

Chapter Text

Dean runs through the woods, the branches on the trees scratching up his face and nearly poking out his eyes. But he doesn’t care. The hellhounds bark and growl from behind, and he knows it’s his time; he’s going to Hell. It doesn’t stop him from trying to flee. He’s not gonna die, he’s not gonna die, hesnotgonnadihesnotgonnadiehesnotgonnadie-

He trips.

The hellhound is on top of him.

He’s dead.

He wakes up.

The book laying on the table shows a picture of hellhounds and Dean almost begins hyperventilating again. What he sees isn’t pretty. It’s face made of human bodies. For a long minute he stares, he can hear his heartbeat getting faster and faster and faster and-

"Dig up anything good?"

The hunter breaths a sigh of relief. He’s alive. He isn’t dead. Not yet, at least. Without giving it a single glance, Dean closes the book and shakes his head, not looking Sam in the eye. "No." He clears his throat. "Nothing good."

"Well," Sam said. "Bobby has. Finally."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Sam agreed, a small, very hopeful smile on his face. "A way to find Lilith."

Dean nods. Is he still on that? Who says Lilith is even the one holding his deal? "Where’s Klaus?"

Sam falls silent.

"Sammy..." Dean said, tone warning. "Where did the kid go?"

-

Klaus has snuck out of the house many times before. Normally to buy drugs, but every now and then he’d run out and grab doughnuts for him and his siblings. However, he’s clean, has been for the past nine months and his siblings are elsewhere, plus he has no idea where a doughnut shop even is. So why did he sneak out this time?

"Here to make a deal, I assume?"

The crossroads demon stands just a few feet away from him. It’s eyes go from baby blue to crimson red, as if he’s trying to scare the teenager away. It doesn’t work. Klaus has seen much worse in his life. "You assumed right."

"Alright." Sighed the demon. "What do you want?"

"I want to take his place." Klaus stated. "In thirty hours, instead of taking Dean, take me instead. I know the consequences. I know I’ll go to Hell. And I’m perfectly fine with that. There’s nothing here for me if Sam and Dean aren’t around."

"Aww, how cute." The demon said. "And I’d accept..."

"Really?!"

"You didn’t let me finish." Once again, the demon sighs. "I’d accept, only I don’t like you very much. No one down there does. You are... what’s the word? Oh yeah. Strange. And not in a good way. A very bad way."

"What?" Klaus said. "You don’t like me?"

"Well, it’s nothing to take to heart." The demon said. "Demon opinions don’t matter, now do they, kiddo?"

"They do if it means your friend has to die."

"Look kiddy, I’m sorry." Replied the demon. "But look on the bright side, you’ll never go to Hell! That’s a good thing, aye?"

Klaus just looks at him.

"Oooh, tough crowd."

"At least tell me this." Klaus said. "Is Reginald Hargreeves the devil?"

"Mm, no."

"A demon?"

"Honestly, he’s just a terrible person. That’s it."

Klaus nods. At least he wasn’t raised by the devil. He considers killing the demon but then remembers- he doesn’t have a single weapon with him. The medium sighs. "Well, I got to get going." He said. "You were no help. And next time I see you? I am killing you. You bastard."

"Not if I kill you first!" The demon shouted after him.

"Believe me, Sam will kill both of us before he lets that happen." Klaus stated, then flips him off as he walks away. Ben glowers daggers at him. "What’s your problem?"

"You tried to sell your soul."

"But I didn’t!" Klaus said. "I’ll probably live for a long, long, long time. Unlike Dean..." Klaus sighs, eyes watering over with tears. "Why can’t I ever save anyone? I couldn’t save you, I can’t save Dean. I was never a hero. Dad’s right, I’m just a useless junkie. A huge disappointment."

"Klaus." Ben said. "That isn’t true, and you know that."

Klaus gives a humorless laugh. "Do I?"

"You do!" Ben tried to assure. "You couldn’t save me because I didn’t want to be saved. If I did, I’d still be standing beside you, very much alive. And Dean isn’t dead. Not yet at least. You could still save him. But selling your soul? That isn’t the way of doing it."

"Whatever." Klaus said, though it’d be a lie to say he doesn’t feel a bit better. Damn you Ben. Always making everything better. "We need to get back to Bobby’s before anyone realizes I’m gone."

"Definitely." Ben said. "You’ll be grounded for life."

Klaus laughs again. Only this time, it’s real. "Race you there?"

"Of course!"

Klaus runs as fast he can back to Bobby’s. Ben, that bitch, uses his ghostness to his advantage and just teleports there, putting the medium right in last place. "I hate you."

"You love me."

Instead of replying, Klaus opens the door and walks inside...

Only to find all three hunters very much awake and sitting in the entrance.

"Kid," Dean said. "I think you got some explaining to do."

Shit.

-

"I think you got some explaining to do."

Twenty-nine hours and nineteen minutes till Dean’s deal is up, and Klaus decides it’ll be a great idea to sneak out. Where? Does Sam look like he knows everything? No. He has zero idea where Klaus ran out to at 1am at night.

Klaus gulps nervous. "Are you talking to me?"

"You’re the only kid here." Dean replied. "So what do you think?"

"I-I think Ben is here, too." Klaus said. "And we’re the same age so he counts as a kid-"

"Klaus," Sam said. "just tell us, where did you go? Did you go out and get drugs?"

Klaus gives a very nervous smile. "Wait, that’s what you are worried about?" He laughs. "No! Of course not! I just went out and tried to sell my soul. No big deal."

"What?!" The three hunters all said at once.

"Huh." Klaus said. "So it is a big deal? Honestly didn’t think anyone would care."

"Please don’t tell me you did it, kid." Dean said. "Please."

Klaus is quiet. "You did it, didn’t you?" Bobby asked. "Idjits. I’m surrounded by them."

"I didn’t."

"You didn’t?" Dean asked, sounding relieved. "Thank God."

"The demon didn’t want my soul." Klaus explained. "I begged him to take it but he wouldn’t. Apparently Hell doesn’t like me too much. Actually, it hates me. So... guess that’s good news. Don’t have to worry ‘bout going to Hell. Or dying, that is."

"You just can’t go to Hell." Sam said. "No one said anything about Heaven."

"Pfft, what God is gonna let me into Heaven?" Klaus asked, laughing.

"Are you sure you aren’t high?" Bobby asked.

"On depression, yes."

Sam shakes his head and sighs. "Just... go lay down, okay?"

Klaus finger-guns as he speaks. "Good idea, Sammy."

As Klaus disappears down the hallway, Sam turns to the two other hunters in the room. "I do not understand that kid." Dean admitted. "And I don’t think I ever will."

Everyone nods in agreement before discussing their plans.

Less than thirty hours, Dean Winchester, Sam’s big brother who basically raised him, is going to die. He’d rather die a million times over before ever letting that happen.

-

Bobby never imagined he’d out live his kids. He just didn’t want to. He still doesn’t. But a year ago, Sammy went and got himself stabbed and Dean sold his soul so his little brother could live another day. Now Dean is dying. In just a few hours.

Better believe he’s gonna try and save him.

"So we need a name, that’s the whole kit and caboodle." Bobby said, looking over a map. "With the right name, right ritual, ain’t nothing you can’t suss out."

"Like the town Lilith’s in?" Sam asked.

Bobby gives a small grin. "Kid, when I get done, we’ll know the street."

He starts the ritual. Chanting in Latin, his kids watching. The pendulum begins moving and ah ha! Finally have a location

"New Harmony, Indiana."

Klaus furrows his eyebrows, looking greatly confused. "Is there an Old Harmony, Indiana?"

"Are you drunk?" Sam asked.

"On anxiety, definitely."

Sam doesn’t ask anymore questions and stands up. "Well, better get going."

"Whoa, whoa." Dean said. "Let’s all shut up there, Tex."

Now Sam is confused. "What’s the problem?"

"What's the problem?" Dean asked. "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. Okay. 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?"

"No, Dean." Klaus said. "We hear you loud and clear."

"Ain’t you bringing the room down?" Bobby asked the other hunter.

"Yeah, well, it’s a gift."

"I’m sorry, then what are we supposed to do, Dean?"

"Just ‘cause I gotta die doesn’t mean you have to, okay." Dean said. "Either way we go in smart or we don’t go in at all."

"Okay, fine." Sam said. "If that’s the case I have the answer."

"You do?" Dean asked. Sam nods. "Alright. What is it?"

"A sure-fire way to confirm it’s Lilith," Sam explained. "and a way to get us a bona fide demon-killing ginsu."

"Damnit, Sam, no."

"We're so past arguing." Sam said, looking extremely annoyed. "Dean, I am summoning Ruby."

Dean turns to his brother. "The hell you are! We have enough problems as it is."

"Exactly!" Sam said. "And we’ve got no time and no choice either."

"Come on man, she is the Miss Universe of lying skanks, okay." Dean stated. "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!"

"Okay, fine." Sam stares. "She's a liar. She's still got that knife."

"Dean."

"For all we know, she works for Lilith."

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

"Sam’s right." Bobby stated.

"NO!" Dean shouted. "DAMNIT!"

Everyone looks at each other, clearly surprised.

Dean tries to collect himself before turning to Klaus. "What do you think, huh? You’ve told me you don’t like her before."

"That’s just ‘cause the ghosts." Klaus said. "But I’ll look past it if we can save you."

"Thank you, Klaus." Sam said with a small smile.

"You’re welcome, Sam." Klaus said. "I don’t trust her, though, so after this maybe you should cut ties. Just to be safe."

Dean sighs. "You guys wanna save me? Find something else."

Bobby watches Dean sit back at the table. The elder hunter sighs, grabbing his jacket and opening the front door. "Where are you going, Bobby?" Sam asked.

"I guess to..." Bobby throws out his arms. "find something else?"

-

So, Sam has summoned her.

Again.

And not by phone like she’d prefer, but by a long chant and a bunch of fire.

"You know, phone works too."

Sam turns around and looks at her.

She smiles. "Hey Sam. How’s tricks?"

Sam doesn’t return the smile, he instead glares at her.

"How do you get around so fast?" Asked Sam.

"I got the Super Bowl jetpack." Ruby said, walking towards the giant. "So. You called?"

"Did you know?"

Know what? Ruby is confused. "Um -- gonna need a tiny bit more."

"About Dean’s deal." Sam said. "That Lilith holds the contract."

"Yes." Ruby admitted. "I did."

"And... what?" Sam asked. "You didn’t think that was important?"

"You weren’t ready."

"For what?"

"If I told you," Ruby said. "you two yahoos would have just charged after her half-cocked and Lilith would have peeled the meat from your pretty, pretty faces."

"Well, we’re ready now." Sam said. "I want your knife."

Ruby smiles, slowly walking around him. "You’re right about one thing." She said. "You are ready. And now’s the time, too. Lilith’s guards down."

"Is that so?"

"She’s on shore-leave." Ruby explained. "A little R&R."

Again, Sam looks confused. Humans. Always so confused. Why? "The hell’s that mean?"

"Trust me, you don’t wanna know." Ruby said. "You didn’t lose those hex bags I gave you?"

"Good." Ruby replied. "Then she won’t sense that you’re coming."

Sam turns around to face her. "So you’ll give us the knife?"

"No."

"But you just said-"

"You wanna charge in with one little pigsticker?" Ruby asked. "It's a waste of a true-blue window. Like getting Hitler with that exploding briefcase. Forget it."

Sam is angry now. "Okay, then how?"

"I know how to save your brother, Sam."

"No, you don’t!" Sam accused. "You told Dean you couldn’t! You’ve been lying to me all along, so just give me your damn knife!"

Ruby smirks. "You’re not the one I’ve been lying to."

"Oh, so you can save him?"

"No." Ruby answered. "But you can."

"What?"

"Sam, you've got some God-given talent." Ruby stated. "Well, not "God"-given but you get the gist."

"All that psychic crap?" Sam asked. "That's gone ever since Yellow-Eyes died."

"Not gone, dormant." Ruby said, shaking her head. "Not just visions either. Why do you think Lilith is so scared of you?"

"Right..." Sam said, unbelieving. "she's scared of me."

"If you wanted," Ruby began. "you could wipe her off the map without moving a muscle."

"I don't believe you."

"It's the truth."

"And you decided to tell me this just now?"

"Um... demon." Ruby said. "Manipulative's kinda in the job description. Fact is, is that you would have never considered it. Not until you were –"

"Desperate enough?"

The two look at each other. Ruby shrugs. "You don't like being different. You hate the way Dean looks at you sometimes." She stated. "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."

Sam clenches his jaw and looks down. Then, he looks up at her.

"Look." Ruby sighed. "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."

Sam opens his mouth to speak-

"So that's you, huh? Our slutty little Yoda."

Dean cuts him off, standing behind the demon, looking very unhappy.

"Dean." Ruby said, not amused. She turns around to look at him. "Charming as ever."

"Damnit, Klaus." Sam said. "I told you to watch him."

"I did!" Klaus said. "But he asked me to grab him a beer and I did and when I came back he was gone." The medium holds up a beer. "I have proof."

Dean walks towards his brother and his brothers demon. "Aw, I knew you'd show up." Cooed the demon. "Because I knew Sammy here wouldn't listen. But you're not gonna teach him anything, you understand me? Over my dead body."

"Oh." Ruby said. "Well, you're right about that."

"What you are gonna do is give me that knife." Dean demanded. "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?"

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

"Did I miss something?" Klaus asked. "What bomb?"

"Dean, look, just hold on for one –"

Dean is just pissed now. "Sam! Don't." He said. "Come on man, what, are you blind? Can't you see that this is a trick?"

"That's not true." The demon denied.

"She wants you to give into this whole demonic psychic whatever, okay." Dean said. "I mean hell, she probably wants you to become her little anti-christ Super Star.

Now it’s Ruby’s turn to be pissed. "I want Lilith dead." She stated. "That's all."

"Why?"

"I've told you why!"

"Oh, right, yeah." Dean mocked. "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." Ruby said. "You wanna save yourself, this is how. You dumb, spineless dick."

"Let’s go, Dean." Klaus said, sighing. "Sam won’t listen."

Dean acts as if he’ll listen, but turns around and punches Ruby. Sam backs up, caught off guard. Ruby takes a few steps back and wipes the blood off her lips. And then she punches Dean back.

Sam was not expecting that. "Ruby, hey!"

"Ooh, things just got serious." Klaus said, eyes huge.

The fight is long and it ends with Dean on the floor, beaten up but smiling.

"The hell are you grinning at?"

"Missing something?" Said the hunter, showing her the knife. Her own knife.

She looks ready to commit murder. "I'll kill you, you son of a bitch."

She rushes towards Dean, but is shoved back by an invisible wall. On the ceiling, she sees a devils trap and swears under her breath. Meanwhile, Dean manages to get back onto his feet. "Like I said..." he puts the knife down. "I knew you'd come."

He walks towards the staircase and she looks at him the whole time. "Wait!" Ruby yelled. "You're just gonna leave me here?"

Dean stops, looking at Sam and Klaus, completely ignoring Ruby. "Come on, Sam, Klaus."

The three walk up the stairs as Ruby continues shouting. "Oh, oh you – so you're just too stupid to live, is that it?" She screamed. "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!!!"

Dean sighs. "And I wish you'd shut your pie hole," he called over his shoulder. "but we don't always get what we want."

-

Sam and Dean sit in silence as they load their weapons. Bobby is looking through books and files, calling anyone he can get ahold of, and Klaus is off doing whatever Klaus does (not drugs, he’s almost a year clean from those). Sam sighs, something seemingly on his mind. "We're just gonna let Ruby rot down there?"

"That's the idea."

"Dean, what if, uh... What if Ruby's right?" Sam asked. "What if I can take out Lilith?"

Dean looks at his little brother with an angry expression painted across his face.

"Quit looking at me like that."

"What," Dean said. "are you gonna give her the Carrie-stare and Lilith goes "poof"?"

"I don't know what Ruby meant." Sam admitted. "You know, maybe we should just go ask her."

"Sam, you wanted the knife – I got you the knife."

Dean walks over to the other table in the room.

"Dean, just listen to me for a second." Sam said. "Last time Lilith snapped her fingers and put thirty demons on our ass, and all we got's one little knife? I mean, like you said, we go in smart or we don't go in at all."

"Well, this ain't smart."

"We got one shot at this, Dean." Sam pleaded. "Just one. So if there's a sure-fire way then maybe we should just talk about it."

Dean walks back towards his brother. "Sam." He said. "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?" Dean asked. "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."

He turns around, sits down against a table and picks up the weapons again. Sam shakes his head a bit and walks around to the other side of the table. "Dean."

He sits beside his brother, looking at him as he continues to assemble the weapon.

"What do you think is gonna happen?" Sam asked. "This is me, I can handle it."

Dean messing with the weapons, looking at the floor and shakes his head.

"And if it'll save you..."

"Why even risk it?" Dean asked, flat out.

He looks up at him. Sam looks away. "Because you're my brother." He answered. "Because you did the same thing for me."

Dean scoffs. "I know." He said. "And look how that turned out."

The Winchester’s look at each before Sam quickly looks away.

"All I’m say..." Dean said, getting choked up. "Sammy, all I’m saying is that you’re my weak spot." Sam looks back at his older brother, who smiles. "You are. And I’m yours."

Sam looks on the verge of tears. "You don’t mean that." He argued. "We’re... we’re family."

"I know." Dean said. "And those evil sons of bitches know it too. I mean, what we'll do for each other, you know, how far we'll go? They're using it against us."

"So what?" Sam asked, a little upset. "We just stop looking out for each other?"

"No, we stop being martyrs, man." Dean replied. "We – we – we stop spreading it for these demons." He picks up the knife. "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." All Sam can do is look at him. "What do you think?"

Sam sighs slightly, staring down at the floor as he thinks. Hesitantly he looks back at Dean. "I think you totally should have been jamming "Eye of the Tiger" right there." He joked, a small smiling on his face.

Dean stands from his chair. "Oh, bite me." He said. "I totally rehearsed that speech, too."

Sam smiles. "So, Indiana, huh?"

"Yeah," Dean nods "where Lilith's on shore-leave."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Tell me something." Dean said, Sam looks up at him. "The hell's a demon do for fun?"

"I don’t know." Both brothers turn around, seeing Klaus in the doorway. "My Dad sure did take joy in locking children up. He may not be a demon but he’s definitely pretty close to one."

"How long have you been standing there for?" Dean asked.

"The whole time." Klaus answered honestly. "I came in to tell you something, then you started having a heart-to-heart and I didn’t want to interrupt. I heard everything, even got a little teary eyed really. But Ben is full on sobbing though."

Sam and Dean pretend to be annoyed, but have the smallest of smiles on their faces. "What do you need to tell us?" Sam asked.

"Oh, um." Klaus said. "Bobby called a family meeting, told me to tell you two to come, so... I guess... come."

Dean glances over at Sam who does the same before they follow after the medium. They sit down and notice how Klaus stands, looking ready to leave. "What’s up, kid?" Dean asked.

"It’s a family meeting." Klaus said, a little confused. "I’m not your guys’s family. Hell, I wasn’t even included in my family’s family meetings. So, why’d I stay? Why would you want me to?"

"Are you joking?" Sam asked. "Klaus, you are our family."

The medium is a little taken aback. "I am?"

"Yeah, course." Bobby said. "Why else do you think we keep you around?"

"Because I see ghosts."

"Well, yeah." Dean said. "But also because... well, we care about you."

Klaus looks down for a second before meeting the hunters eyes. "You do?" He asked. Dean nods. "I thought I just annoyed you the same way I annoyed my family." Silence. "Shut it, Ben. I know you get annoyed with me. Don’t act like a perfect angel."

"Well, obviously you annoy us." Bobby said. "’Cause that’s what family does. Annoy each other. But doesn’t mean we don’t care for you, yah idjit."

Klaus smiles. "I care for you guys, too." He admitted. "You’re like my brothers and Dad, only not total dicks. I actually enjoy being around you." A beat. "Ben, I like being around you too. Don’t be a drama llama."

Dean suddenly finds his eyes wet. Of course, he tries to hide it. "Uh, mushy stuff over, alright? Sammy, let’s go." The two walk out the door, Klaus and Bobby look at each other before rushing after.

"Where do you think you’re going?"

Dean looks at his father-figure and the distributor cap in his hands. After about a minute, he and Sam climb out of the impala and over to the elder hunter and young medium. No one looks happy. Not even Dean. "We got the knife."

"And you intend to use it without me." Bobby stated just as Sam comes to stand in between him and Dean. "Do I look like a ditchable prom-date to you?"

"No, Bobby." Sam quickly assured. "Of course not."

"This is about me... and Sam." Dean said. "Okay? This isn’t your fight."

"The hell it isn’t?!" Bobby exclaimed, surprising the other three hunters there. "Family don’t end with blood, boy. Besides, you need me."

"Bobby." Dean said, tone warning.

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

Sam and Dean both look at Dean, confused and concerned. "How’d you know?" Dean asked.

"Because that’s what happens when you have hellhounds on your butt." Bobby explained. "And because I’m smart." Dean looks at the ground under his feet and Sam watches him. Bobby hands the distributor cap to the hunter. "Klaus and I will follow."

Bobby and Klaus walk towards Bobby’s car and Sam and Dean walk towards theirs.

From behind him, Dean hears Bobby call. "Don’t be stopping to pee every ten minutes either."

Dean and Sam stop in their tracks. They look at each other, confused and a bit surprised. Sam sighs and they hop into the impala.

All Dean can do is hope no one dies because of him.

-

Riding in the car with Bobby is what Klaus will call interesting.

Because that’s exactly what it is.

Joni Mitchell plays on the radio and every now and then Klaus can hear Bobby humming along to a song. Klaus sits silently in the passengers seat, reading a book about Indiana that Ben recommenced. "Did you know in the years 1983 through 1987, a town in Indiana named Hawkins was infested with a bunch of monsters from another dimension?" Klaus asked. "I didn’t. That’s pretty strange."

Bobby isn’t amused. "I’ve heard stranger things."

Klaus doesn’t respond to his lack of amusement, and goes back to his book. "That is freaky." Ben said. "Do you think my monsters come from the same dimension?"

"That’d be cool."

"It’d also mean my monsters killed a bunch of people." Ben said, a little sad.

"Uh, yours have." Klaus said. "Must I remind you of the bank?"

"Oh yeah." Ben replied. "It took a week to wash all the blood out of my hair."

Just as the two are talking, the car abruptly comes to a stop. Klaus watches as Sam and Dean are pulled over and suddenly Dean is attacking a police officer. "Think he finally lost it?" He asked Bobby, who is already out of the car and talking to Dean.

"Definitely." Ben said.

Klaus hops out of the car and towards the hunters. "Did you kill a cop?"

"No." Dean said. "I killed a demon."

"Oh." Klaus said. "That’s a relief, not gonna lie."

"How did you know, Dean?" Sam asked. "How’d you know it was a demon?"

"I saw it’s face." Dean said, a little shaken. "I mean, I’ve been seeing stuff all day... just nothing like this."

"Actually it’s not all that crazy." Bobby stated.

Dean is confused. "How’s it not that crazy?"

"Well, you’ve got... just over five hours to go?" Bobby guessed. "You’re piercing the veil, Dean. You’re glimpsing the B-side."

"A little less new age-y, please."

"You're almost hell's bitch." Bobby told him, flat out. "So, you can see hell's other bitches."

Dean is surprised at first, but recovers quickly and goes back to his usual sarcasm. "Thank you."

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

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

"Damn right it is." Bobby agreed. "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."

"Well, this is a terrific plan." Dean said. "I’m excited to be a part of it. Can we go, please?" He walks back to the impala and Klaus follows Bobby to his car. It’ll take awhile and it definitely won’t be easy, but they’re going to save Dean.

Even if it means some people have to get hurt.

-

Sam looks through the binoculars to see what looks like it could be a perfectly normal family. Only there’s a dead guy laying face down on his dinner plate, the parents are looking terrified and the daughter is smiling despite the circumstances. "It’s the little girl." Dean informed. "Her face is terrible."

"What?" Klaus asked. "She’s adorable!"

"Maybe, but Dean is seeing its real face." Sam said. "Let’s go. We’re wasting time."

He gets up from where he sits behind the bush and walks past everyone else. Dean grabs ahold of him. "Wait!"

"For what?" Sam asked. "For it to kill the rest of them?"

"Yeah, and us too if we’re not careful." Dean replied. "Look. See the real go-getter mailman at 9pm?" Sam looks over at the mailman sorting mail out of his car. "And Mr. Rogers over there." Dean points.

"Demons?" Bobby asked.

"Yes."

"Ok, fine." Sam said. "We – we – we – we, we ninja pass those guys, sneak in."

"Then what?" Dean asked. "Give a "Colombian necktie" to a ten year old girl, come on!"

"Wait." Klaus said. "We have to kill her? The little girl?"

"Look, guys, I know it's awful."

"You think?"

"Yeah!" Klaus said. "Look, I want to save Dean to, but she’s just a child! Can’t we kill the demon but spare her? She’s so little. She has a future."

"Klaus, I get you’re an empath but in order to save everyone we have to kill her." Sam said.

"She's gotta be stopped, son."

"The demon is a monster, yes, but it’s vessel is completely innocent." Klaus said. "You guys have no idea how terrible kid ghosts are. They’re the worst. And it’s not because they’re scary, or they’re loud, but because they are so terrified. They don’t understand death yet and they don’t understand why everyone is ignoring them. I don’t want that sweet little girl to be the next ghost following me around. Please, find another way."

Sam looks at him. "You want to save Dean, right?"

"Of course."

"Then this is the only way." Sam stated. "That little girl has to die."

As Sam is ready to run off, Klaus stops him. "Before you go and get yourselves killed." He said. "I need to tell you both something."

"What is it?" Dean asked.

"Can it wait?" Sam asked. "We need to get this done before it’s too late-"

"Just listen." Klaus said. "Since we first met, I started seeing a bunch of ghosts following you around. Most of them are the souls that once belonged to the demon’s vessels, but there was one that was different." He pauses. "I think she really cared about you two when she was alive. And she still does, even though she’s gone."

Sam and Dean look at each other, both hopeful. "Who is it?" Sam asked.

"She says her name is Mary." Klaus said. "Mary Winchester."

Chapter Text

Going from living in a huge mansion with six siblings, amazing Mom, Chimpanzee Uncle and abusive Dad who made him superhero against his will to living in a small apartment he shares with your girlfriend was hard to adjust to. But once he did, he didn’t want anything to change. For once in his life, he is actually happy.

And then his brother calls with what sounds like something someone would say when they are laying on their deathbed and everything is thrown all out of whack. "Klaus," Diego said, tone both warning and concerned. "tell me what’s wrong."

"Nothing’s wrong!" Klaus exclaimed. "I mean, I’m definitely not chasing after a demon who wants to send my friend to Hell. And I definitely won’t probably die tonight. I’m fine. Everything’s fine. We’re all good."

"Are you high?"

"No." Klaus said. "I’ve never been more sober. It’s actually scaring me. I’m terrified."

Diego sighs. "Klaus, where are you?" He asked. "I’m coming to get you."

"New Harmony, Indiana." Klaus said. "But you can’t come get me. I need to do this. I need to save my friend... even if it kills me. So please, stay where you are. I don’t want you anywhere near this."

"Klaus-"

"I gotta go, Dee." Klaus said. "I still have to call Allison and Vanya."

"Klaus-"

"Also, I couldn’t get ahold of Luther, so, if you see him, tell him he’s a douche bag and always has been and that I will haunt the crap out of him." Klaus said. "And not in a good way."

"Klaus-"

"I really gotta go." Klaus cut him off. "I love you, Dee. You were always a great brother."

The line goes dead. Eudora, who is now awake, places her hand on his shoulder. "Is everything okay, Diego?" She asked.

"I don’t know." Diego answered honestly. "I don’t think so."

-

Dean knew, that if he survived this whole ordeal, he would have to face Ruby again, probably. But he was expecting for that to happen so soon. Hell, he hasn’t even survived the ordeal yet! Currently, she has him pinned against a fence and she’s threatening to kill him.

Luckily that doesn’t happen. Sam swoops in with the knife and holds it up to her throat. "He doesn’t have it." He said. "Take it easy."

She releases Dean from the fence and backs away from him. Doesn’t stop him from being angry. "How the hell did you get out?" He asked.

She smirks. "What you don’t know about me could fill a book."

And that’s when he sees it. Her face... it’s hideous. "Whoa."

"What?"

Dean quickly looks away. "Nothing." He said. "I just - I couldn’t see your face before, but you’re one ugly bitch."

Ruby, seemingly unbothered, turns to the other Winchester. "Sam, give me the knife before you hurt yourself."

"You’ll get this when this is over." Sam replied.

"It’s already over." Ruby stated. "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 me, and I’ll kill you." Sam warned. "Bitch."

"Hit me with your best shot, baby."

Dean isn’t listening to their argument. Instead, he’s staring in the opposite direction. Standing on a porch is a father and son, both having the same hideous face as Ruby. Shit. "Guys, guys! Hey, have your little catfight later." He said. Sam must see their black eyes because he mutters a swear word under his breath. "So much for the element of surprise."

"Go. Go. Go!" Sam said as the three of them rush towards Lilith’s house. "Run. Run!"

Once they get to the door, Sam immediately starts picking the lock. A bunch of people— demons— rush towards them and Dean grows impatient. "What the hell is taking Bobby and Klaus?"

"I’m trying!" Sam said, trying to open the lock but failing miserably.

The demons reach the lawn just as the sprinkles turn on. Each one of them fall to the grass, flailing, screaming, in pain. Dean smiles. "Good job, Bobby."

-

They eventually get inside, careful not to trip over the body, and Dean closes the door. "You think Lilith knows we’re here?" He asked.

"Probably." Ruby said.

They look around before walking into the living room. Sam in the front with the knife, Ruby in the middle, and Dean in the back. A few minutes later, the little girl’s Dad walks out and Dean is quick to cover his mouth. He puts a finger over his own mouth, telling the man to be quiet. "We’re here to help, okay?" He assured the man. "I’m gonna move my hand, and we’re gonna talk nice and quiet, okay?"

The man frantically nods his head yes and Dean moves his hand. "Sir, where is your daughter?" Sam asked.

"It’s not... it’s not her anymore."

"Where is she?" Sam repeated.

"Upstairs." The man said. "In her bedroom."

"Okay, okay, okay." Dean whispered. "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."

Sam watches his brother punch the man unconscious and then carefully pick him up. He looks at Sam and Ruby and begins walking off, probably to the basement to salt the floor. The demon and Sam go in the other direction, walking up the stairs. They look at each other before Ruby opens the door to a room and walks in. Sam does the same.

He finds Lilith and little girls Mom asleep on the bed. When the woman notices Sam, she begins breathing heavily, terrified. Lilith, however, is perfectly content, her face nuzzled in the mother’s shoulder. If Sam didn’t hate the little bitch so much he’d say it’s cute. "Do it!" The woman said, very quietly.

Sam raises the knife but freezes. Damnit. Klaus and Dean are right. This is a child. She can’t help a freaking monster is possessing her. She’s completely innocent. She has a whole entire life ahead of her. Can Sam really take that all away?

The Mom looks at Sam, eyes teary. "Do it."

Sam looks back at the child. He can’t hurt her. She’s can’t be any older than eleven! She’s not even a teenager yet. She hasn’t went to prom yet, hasn’t had her first kiss, she’s probably still losing her baby teeth! She’s a baby. Can Sam really kill a baby?

"Do it!"

Lilith moves a little, starting to wake up.

"Do it!" The woman pleaded. "Do it!"

Lilith wakes up, rises from her bed, her eyes barely even open.

"Hurry!"

Lilith notices Sam and screams. It’s bloodcurdling. It’s terrible. Sam lunges, knife in hand, ready to kill the innocent girl Lilith is possessing. He almost does. But Dean stops him. "It’s not her!" He said, looking at the girl as she breathes heavily, hugging her Mom and trying to hide from the world. "It’s not in the girl anymore."

"Mommy!" She cried out.

Her Mom hugs her daughter tightly, protecting her from anything or anyone who tries to harm her in anyway. "Mommy’s here. Mommy’s here. It’s okay."

As Sam, Dean, Ruby, the little girl, and the little girl’s Mom walk down to the basement, the child’s screams replay in the back of the young hunters mind, and he doesn’t think they ever will.

-

Each minute that passes, Dean’s death comes closer.

Really. Lilith doesn’t want to kill the hunter. Well... actually, she does, but she doesn’t want to deal with the consequences it will definitely bring. Sam is going to kill her. He wants her dead. She wants him dead, too, but Sam is... he’s powerful, okay? He could kill her just by thinking of it. And even to a demon that knowledge is terrifying.

So, yeah, she’s kind of been dreading this day since Dean first made the deal.

Lilith prefers little girl’s over women or men. They’re cute. They’d be the very last person anyone would consider to be a murderer. But Sammy almost kills her meat suit so she’s forced to go and find a new one.

And she does.

A pretty, pretty blonde one that goes by the name Ruby.

She seems to do a great job at acting as her, too. Because Sam and Dean don’t even question it. Sam begs her to save Dean, she denies, he gets angry, she still denies. And then the two asshats get into a huge argument about letting Dean go to Hell.

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

There’s growling.

The hellhounds have arrived.

-

Klaus has been given strict orders to stay away from the fight.

But when the clock strikes twelve, he says screw those orders and rushes to Lilith’s house. He finds them inside the office, Dean still very much alive but laying on a table, unable to move, Sam is pinned against a wall, and Ruby is just standing in the middle of the room.

Klaus sees the knife on the floor and considers grabbing it. Would Lilith notice if he did? Would she kill him? It wouldn’t matter. As long as Dean is okay. "Klaus, Bobby is going to be so pissed when he sees you ran off." Ben said. "You were his responsibility."

He doesn’t reply to his brother, but instead goes in for the knife while the adults talk. "How long have you been inside her?" Dean asked. And oh shit. Lilith’s possessing Ruby, isn’t she?

"Not long." Lilith answered. "But I like it. It’s all grown up and pretty."

Klaus feels good that he hasn’t been noticed yet, and reaches for the weapon with plans of using it. Sam notices him and Klaus smiles. He can’t see what happens all that well but he sure can hear it. "And where’s Ruby?" Sam asked, thankfully not blowing Klaus’s cover.

"She was a very bad girl, so I sent her far, far away." Lilith responded.

"You know, I should’ve seen it before... but you all look alike to me." Dean said.

There’s silence for awhile and Klaus finally gets ahold of the knife, still somehow going unnoticed. "Hello, Sam." Lilith said. "I’ve wanted to meet you for a very long time." A beat of silence. "Your lips are very soft."

Ew. Did she kiss him? Gross.

"Right, so you have me." Sam said. "Let my brother go."

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

"So, is this your big plan, huh?" Sam asked. "Drag me to hell. Kill Sam. And then what? Become queen bitch?"

"I don't have to answer to puppy chow."

Klaus sneaks up behind her, knife in hand and ready to kill. He almost does but demons aren’t stupid. Lilith notices and turns around to face him. "Hey, Lilith, girl." Klaus said. "Nice to see you aren’t possessing babies anymore."

"So you’re the little medium they adopted."

"That’s me." Klaus said with a nervous grin. "I’m not a master manipulator like my sis, but... mind letting my friends go? They probably won’t kill you. And you’ll never see us ever again."

She just looks at him. "So cute."

"Thank you-"

"But no."

Klaus sighs. "Okay. Final offer." He said. "Kill me. I know I can’t go to Hell, but if I don’t go there or to Heaven then I’ll be a ghost, right? I’ll spend eternity on earth, surrounded by every single spirit of every single person who lived. In a way it’s better then taking Dean. Because this involves even more torture... so yay?"

"You know, I think I might just." Lilith said and Klaus smiles. "But I’m still taking Dean."

"Wait-" Klaus said, fear taking over his face just before he’s met with a bright light.

-

Dean never wished but always knew his last few minutes would be spent in pain.

He thought, maybe he’d get his heart eaten out by a werewolf. Or he’d have his blood sucked by a vampire. Maybe, just maybe, he’d die from a very long and terrible illness. But this? He never knew this kind of pain existed until Sam first died. He never thought he’d have to experience it again either.

As Klaus lay on the floor with a broken neck, Dean can’t seem to find it in himself that he’s about to die. Sam is staring at their brother, then back at Dean, a mournful and terrified look on his face and all the eldest Winchester wants to do is hug the poor kid.

And then Lilith says those three words Dean knows Sam has been dreading to hear.

"Sic ‘em, boys."

-

Helpless.

The worst feeling Sam has ever felt. Helpless.

He watched helplessly as that bitch broke his little brothers neck. And now he’s watching helplessly as hellhounds rip his hero to shreds. He screams. He pleads. He does anything for them to stop but they don’t.

Dean screams and screams and screams and suddenly he’s not screaming anymore. "NO!" Sam cried out.

Lilith smiles at him and all he wants to do is rip her head off. "Yes."

Sam walks towards her.

"Back."

He doesn’t go back. He continues walking. He’s angry. She killed his brothers you bet your ass he’s killing her too. She deserves it. She’s a monster. Monsters don’t deserve to breathe.

"I said, back."

"I don’t think so."

He motions to stab her but suddenly Lilith isn’t possessing the body anymore. It collapses next to Dean and Klaus’s, all three of them dead. He picks his older brother up and holds him, tears falling onto the dead hunters face.

"No..." He cried. "no... Dean."

-

Klaus wakes up to a blinding white light and a familiar little girl standing above him.

"Klaus." She greeted him. "Somehow I knew I’d be seeing you again soon."

He can’t place where he knows her from. But the second he does, he can’t believe it. "God?"

"We need to talk."