wrap him in newspaper
and carry him to the museum

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SAM WINCHESTER HADN'T REALIZED HE'D FALLEN ASLEEP UNTIL HE NOTICED HE WAS DREAMING. With the four of them– the four of them that are left, after Lily– gathered in one room, sealed with salt, in a ghost town. He still doesn't know why they've been collected, or if Dean is okay, or what's going to happen next. So, for right now, he's focusing on keeping everyone else calm, and staying alive.

He nearly jumps out of his skin when the demon appears. He shouts in alarm, for Jake to notice, but none of them seem to hear him. That's when it clicks: a dream.

"Hello, Sam," he says, a sharp grin on his face. He enters the room, and Sam shrinks against the windowsill as the demon gets closer.

"I'm dreaming."

The grin gets wider, impossibly sharper. "What do you say you and I take a little walk?"

The demon can't hurt him in a dream, right? Nonetheless he keeps a safe distance as they step outside.

"You're awfully quiet, Sam. Not mad at me, are you?"

"I'm gonna kill you. I swear, I'm going to kill you."

"I'll be looking forward to that. Really, I can't wait."

"Where's my brother?"

"Needn't worry about Dean. You should worry more for yourself." The demon finally stops, and turns to face Sam. He looks him up and down, tilting his head slightly. "I'm a bit surprised you haven't already asked about the other one."

Sam furrows his brows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The demon waves a dismissive hand. "We'll get to that later. Listen, I'm here to help you. You're the one I'm rooting for."

"Again, what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

The demon starts to walk again. He raises his arms wide, as if gesturing to the space around them. "Welcome to my show. Why do you think you're here, Samuel? This is a competition." He faces Sam again. "Only one of you crazy kids is gonna make it out of here alive."

Sam tries to swallow the rising nausea. "I thought we were supposed to be–"

"Soldiers in a coming war? That's true, you are, but here's the thing." He leans in close as he brushes past Sam. "I don't need soldiers." The demon circles him once. "I need a soldier. Just the one."

"Why?"

"Well, I can't tell you that, now can I? I had to let everyone think they had a fighting chance. What I really need...is a partner."

"You're insane if you think any of us would ever work with you."

The demon smiles, laughs a bit. "Oh, no, no, not for me, Sam. You think you've seen all of you. You think you've met all of them that are like you at one time or other, but you haven't. There's more. One in particular you don't know about. And she's..." Something in his horrific yellow eyes, something about what his face morphs into at the mention of whoever this other one is, makes Sam deeply uncomfortable. The nausea turns hollow in his gut. "She's glorious."

"So, what, then? What do you want from us?"

"I have my army. Or, I will soon, anyway. And I have my leader. My Bryce. She's...something of an experiment. What I'm looking for now is her match. Her equal, her pair. Someone to lead at her side. Why do you think so many of them flamed out already?"

Sam's not sure he understands. The demon keeps pacing, circling him as he rants. "Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't figured it all out already. You're smart, Sammy. But, of course, you're only smart with what you know, and you can't have known this. At just six months you didn't know anything."

"Know what?"

"Aside from my Bryce, you're my favorite, Sammy. I'm rooting for you. It'd be just so perfect, wouldn't it? But, of course, I had to bring a little variety, sweet Bryce has her preferences. Her match could've been anything. A lover, a friend. A brother." His smirk widens again at the last word.

Sam hasn't felt this unnerved in a long time. Just the way the demon speaks about whoever this girl is, as if he...owns her. It almost makes him want to vomit.

"That Lily, Bryce wanted her at first. Thought she was beautiful. But I could tell she wouldn't have had it. So, I sent Bryce after her in the woods. Made her little heart stop. Stringing her up was her Bryce's own idea. I didn't make her do that." The demon chuckles, as if fondly recalling the memory.

"So, what, this Bryce, whoever she is, you just send her around killing people? Like some kind of demonic hitman?"

The demon hums. "Remind me, Sam, when did your powers start to flare up? About a year ago, yes? That's when I started sending her out. And that first time, that spunky little blond thing, that one was fun to watch. Don't get me wrong, though, Bryce cried and cried after, especially watching your brother drag you out kicking and screaming."

His heart stutters. It becomes increasingly difficult to breathe. Something like pity runs him through for Bryce, whoever she might be.

"You were all set to marry that girl. Become a lawyer with two kids and a mansion in the suburbs. She just had to die, Sam. I needed you sharp, on the road, honing your skills. Your gifts."

"And what about my mom?"

"That was...bad luck."

"Bad luck?"

"She walked in on us. Wrong place, wrong time, I'm afraid. It wasn't about her."

"What does that mean?"

"It's always been about you. You, and her. That's why I'm rooting for you. It's so poetic, isn't it? The twins, side by side, leading hand in hand. Equals."

His heart stutters again. Maybe it stops. He forces out, "What?"

"Oh." The demon frowns, feigned pity wrinkling his features. "Daddy didn't tell you? The real reason for the lifelong manhunt of yours truly? Not just revenge, but the search for the prodigal daughter."

It can't be true. His father wouldn't have kept something like this from him. Not this big. "I don't understand."

"It's really quite simple, but you've caught me in a charitable mood. I'll show you."

The demon snaps his fingers, and suddenly Sam's in a bedroom. A nursery, by the looks of it.

"Look familiar?" The demon utters at his side. "It should."

His nursery. From his childhood home. Or, more like Dean's childhood home, less his own. His nursery, his crib.

There's another crib across the room. It's empty. He looks closer, and notices not just him, but another baby in the crib with him. Similar looking, but smaller. And a dark figure standing over the crib. He lunges for the figure, but the demon at his side stops him.

"Relax. This is just a hi-def instant replay."

Sam yanks his arm from the grip, taking a side-step away. A woman walks into the room, stopping just inside the threshold. He recognizes her instantly, with the messy blonde curls and the nightgown. His mother. He calls for her, but she doesn't hear.

"Did I or did I not just say she can't hear you?"

His mother turns and walks out, assuming the figure was her husband and not the dark entity it really was. Sam watches as the Other demon lifts a dark sleeve and slices a wrist open with a nail.

"What are you doing to me– us?" Sam demands.

"Better than mother's milk," The demon whispers. The blood from the cut drips into the crib, through the mouth of first the smaller baby, then the other. Him. Then more for the smaller baby. Disgust churns his stomach.

"Does this mean I have– demon blood in me?" Something inside of him clicks, like the answer to something he's wondered about his entire life.

Unclean.

Missing piece.

The demon only laughs. The Other demon reaches down into the crib and lifts the smaller baby into his arms, cradling her in what might've been a fatherly embrace.

Then his mother comes barreling back into the room. The Other demon turns.

"It's you," His mother breathes.

"She knew you?"

"Do you want to see her, Sam?"

"What?" He can't pull his eyes away from his mother as she flies into the wall.

"Your sister."

Sister. The word strikes a chord deep inside him.

"I don't think you want to see the rest of this, anyway," The demon says as his mother begins to move up the wall, still struggling to get free. The demon snaps his fingers and suddenly they're in a different room.

Wherever it is, it doesn't look much different from the rotting buildings of Cold Oak, where he's stuck. The room is mostly bare, except for a figure lying in a corner, facing the wall. Asleep. He can hardly make her out in the darkness of the room.

Then she shifts, turning to her other side. Barely illuminated from the moonlight shining through the halfway boarded-up window, he sees her face. He's definitely never seen her before, but something...there's something familiar about her. Something that tells him this demon isn't lying to him.

"Isn't she something?" The demon moves towards her, sinking to a crouch. He brushes a hand along her face, moving her hair back. She stirs, her eyes fluttering open. Her eyes land on the demon's face, but they...don't. Almost like she's seeing through him. She sits up, shifting in her spot to lean against the wall. She hugs her knees and sighs deeply. He feels like he recognizes the sound.

"So, what, then?" Sam questions. "She's hiding in there somewhere with us? Waiting for you to give the order to kill again?"

"Oh, no." The demon stands, using his arms to gesture around them. "This isn't Cold Oak. This is Home."

Sam turns his head to scan the room. There's nothing to indicate the room is lived in, let alone in any sort of livable condition. "You're kidding, right?" Despite the fact that he doesn't know a single thing about his girl, except for the fact that she was kidnapped and has been living with a demon her whole life, and that she's killed innocent people, he wants to get her out.

Something about the vacant stare on her face, the empty look in her eyes. In the same unmoving spot in the corner. He knows it then. None of this is her choice. "So, you kidnap helpless children from their cribs, and don't even have the decency to give them a bed. I thought you were classier than that."

The demon smirks evilly, though his eyes stay dark. "Don't get greedy, now, Samuel. If she wants a bed, she'll go back into the basement. She's content even when the moon doesn't sing."

His mouth goes dry. He's not even sure what he already made of this situation, but it's...so much worse than he could've imagined. That's when he decides.

He's going to live. He's going to get out.

And he's taking her with him, even if she kills him for trying.

"You're a monster," he says.

The demon shrugs. "Old news. Playtime's over." He snaps his fingers.

And Sam jolts awake.

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author's note !!

im literally so insanely excited for this story u guys have no idea im already having so much fun writing it (i say fun as if it isnt already angsty as fuck) LOL

anyways u all know the drill, like and comment if ur enjoying <3 i luv luv comments especially for this story i need to know what everyone thinks about this concept cause personally im obsessed with it

thanks for reading!! 

kisses 

-skye