Katherine's soul has never felt so heavy. Her eyes are puffy and dry, her nose is stuffy. She's been curled up in the corner of the room she's locked in. The door unlocks and opens.

Yellow Eyes sighs. It appears to her in her own body, wearing the clothes Katherine put on when she went for that awful walk in the hotel.

"They stopped looking for you, you know," Yellow Eyes says to her. Katherine lifts her head from her arms.

Her face looks different, even to her. Thinner, more severe. Darker.

"So stop dragging your feet. I'm kind of not able to function with your little problems." Fingers wave in Katherine's direction. Something within her snaps.

"My little problems?" Katherine snarls, rising to her feet. "You killed my best friend!"

"Ah, ah, ah." Yellow Eyes shakes her head, holding a finger up. "Jake Talley killed your best friend."

"By the rules you implemented!"

"Believe me, sweetheart, I much preferred Sam to win." Yellow Eyes crosses her arms. "But crying about it is just slowing the both of us down. Nobody can hear you in here."

"Bring Sam back," Katherine whispers, striding towards the demon. "Bring Sam back and I'll do whatever you want. You said you wanted me to lead that army of yours. Bring Sam back and I'll do it!"

"While you drive a hard bargain, Miss Donovan, I'm afraid rules are rules, and I cannot."

Katherine gawks. "You brought Dean back! He told me his father traded his life for Dean's."

"Those were different circumstances."

"So change the damn rules!" Katherine cries, gripping the collar of Yellow Eyes' jacket between her fists. "I can be twice the leader that Sam Winchester can be. I'll sell my soul, I'll do whatever you want me to. Just bring Sam back."

Yellow Eyes shakes her head. "No can do, sweetheart."

"Then let me see him," Katherine whispers. "Let me see him!"

The Yellow-eyed demon is gone, and her fists clench thin air.

Jake Talley has made a nice little camp for himself. A tent from tree leaves, stones in a circle for a small fire pit. Yellow Eyes sits on a fallen log, props her wet boots close to the flame, and waits.

She smiles. "Aloha, Jake," she says. Jake snaps awake, scrambles to a standing position.

"I'm dreaming, aren't I?"

"Ugh," she mutters, the corner of her mouth turning down a bit. "I've got a genius on my hands." She sends a look upward in a comical attempt at a prayer. Prayer. Perhaps it would work, in this Divine meatsuit. "Congratulations, Jake," the demon drawls. "Last man standing, how's it feel? I do admit, you weren't the horse I was betting on, but I've gotta give it to you."

There isn't so much as a snarl in his cold voice. "Go to Hell."

Yellow Eyes winces. "Been there. Didn't agree with me."

"Everything you put me through, dragging me to that place, making me kill those people—"

Anger.

"All part of the game. Sit down, quit your cryin'. You sound like this one right here," she grumbles, rising to her feet. "I needed the strongest—that's you."

"Needed me for what?"

"Oh," the demon scoffs, then grins. "I have got a laundry list for you!"

"The only thing I am going to do is wake up, hunt you down, and kill you myself."

"Others have tried," Yellow Eyes hums, grinning. "It's not easy. Now why don't you be a good little soldier and sit on down, huh?"

"Or what?"

"If you're a bad little soldier," she continues, rounding the small fire. "That dear old momma of yours, that adorable little sister...I will personally ensure they live long enough to know the taste of their own intestines." Jake's jaw hardens. "No, Jake," she sighs. "I'm not bluffing."

The soldier hesitates for a moment, staring at the fire. "What do you want me to do?"

She smiles, reaching up to his cheek, and runs her thumb across the bone.

Being possessed isn't just physical. It's mental, too. You have no control over anything your body does whatsoever. And if something awful happens with the demon wearing your face, you can't just say "it wasn't me."

Maybe this is how frustrating it was for Clark Kent after coming into contact with the red kryptonite.

Katherine stares up at the ceiling with slitted eyes. This place is bad, in her own mind. She can't dream. She doesn't sleep. She's never felt so alone, isolated. Locked in a little cell...at least out there, in the real world, she has a bit of human interaction. Here, it's just nothing. It's not opting out of anything, it's being forced into solitary. She can't conjure up Dean or Sam to sit beside her and have aimless conversation. She can't dream about her mom, or wonder about her dad, think about her family. All she can do is twist that ring on her finger and plot.

How do you overpower a demon?

She's tried reciting an exorcism. It didn't work.

When she was six years old, she met her first demon. She was with her father and his buddies, sitting in the garage of some apartment in California. They were all drinking, having a laugh. Then Katherine said she smelled something funny. It wasn't 'Mom burned the turkey' funny, or even 'there are a bunch of burping drunk men' funny. It smelled like a sewer. And what with her being an inquisitive child, she leapt off of the sofa to go find whatever was so smelly.

A demon was standing in the back bedroom of the three-bedroom spread. It had eyes as black as night, shining like obsidian, and a smile so wide it was wicked. She screamed for her father, and she was thrown across the room like a rag doll. She had a dislocated shoulder and a gash six inches across her back from where she scraped against a dresser. It's scarred now, a white line on her tanned skin on the back of her right hip. A reminder that demons don't care about age or innocence. They're simply awful. She was in the hospital for a week, in a coma from the head trauma. Nobody expected her to make it, what with her cracked skull and bleeding brain. They said it was a miracle.

Her mother always said angels were watching over her. There was a strange tone of her voice, though, and her smile was warm. Like she knew something. Katherine never figured it out. Maybe it's just something mothers knew how to do. Soothe.

Dean sits in the room of one of the cabins Katherine marked on a map. Sam is on the mattress, skin turning gray and cold.

He's dead.

"You know," Dean murmurs, throat tight, fingers trembling. "When we were little, you just started asking questions. You couldn't have been more than five. How come we didn't have a mom? Why do we always have to move around? Where'd Dad go when he was gone days at a time? I remember I begged you "Quit asking questions, Sammy. You don't wanna know." I just...wanted you do be a kid," Dean says, glancing down to his fingernails. "Just for a little while longer. I always tried to protect you. Keep you safe. Dad didn't even have to tell me. It was just always my responsibility, y'know? It was like it was my one job. And then when Katherine came along with her stupid braids and chewing gum, it was like she was one of us. And I had to protect her, too. Because I promised her I would. I guess I looked at you two the same. You were my responsibility." Dean looses a heavy breath, but it does nothing for the weight on his shoulders. The weight on his soul.

"I screwed it up," he whispers. "You have to know how sorry I am for it. But I guess that's what I do. Let down the people I love. First it was Dad...then Katherine...and now you. Maybe if I'd gone with her that night, and you'd still gone missing...maybe she would have been able to find you faster than I did. Maybe you wouldn't be here now. How am I supposed to live with myself, Sammy? I don't have any of you. What am I supposed to do?"

It hit him like a train. For the first time in days, he left that cabin and drove until he found a crossroads.

He had everything he needed to summon a crossroads demon. It was almost too easy, and he wondered why he hadn't thought of it before. He could get them both back this way. Ask the demon to bring Sam back, lead them to Katherine—alive—in exchange for his soul. It was more than a fair deal. It was stupid. One life and a location for a human soul, no matter how messed up.

"Show your face, you bitch!"

"Easy, sugar," an unfamiliar voice drawls. "You'll wake the neighbors." Dean turns, glowering at the red-eyed demon. "Dean," she hums. "It's so, so good to see you. I mean it! Look at you. Gone and got your family killed, all alone in the world...it's too sweet." She stretches onto her toes with a smile. "Excuse me, you're gonna have to give me a minute. Sometimes, you've gotta stop and smell the roses."

"I should send you straight back to Hell," Dean snarls, scowling down his nose at her.

"Oh, you should," the demon agrees. "But you won't." She starts to circle him. "And I know why."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. Following in Daddy's footsteps, you wanna make a deal. Little Sammy back from the dead, and—just a stab in the dark—you want your girlfriend-who-isn't-your-girlfriend. All for your soul."

"There are a hundred other demons at least who'd love to get their hands on it," Dean hums. She scoffs. "It's all yours. All you've got to do is bring them back. Sam and Katherine. Alive, safe. Give me ten years. Ten years, then you come for me."

Ten years was enough time. He could convince Katherine to leave Charlie. They'd settle down, he could give her a life she'd be happy with. A home. A kid or two. He'd have them for at least eight years. Dean could keep an eye on Sam for ten more years. Maybe she'd even go back to Charlie...even if the guy hated Dean for the rest of his life.

Charlie.

He's still got no idea.

"You must be joking," the crossroads demon scoffs.

Dean shrugs. "That's the same deal you give everyone else."

"You're not everybody else. Why would I want to give you anything? Keep your gutter soul," she snarls. "It's too tarnished, anyway."

"Nine years."

"No."

"Eight."

"Keep going," she chuckles. "I'll keep saying 'no.'"

"Okay," Dean whispers, feeling his resolve crumble. Panic is setting in. "Five years and my bill comes due. Five years or no deal."

The demon smiles, taking a few steps towards Dean. "No deal," she says.

"Fine."

"Fine," she whispers, stepping away from him. "Make sure you bury Sam before he starts stinking up the joint." Dean stalks away. Panic, panic, panic, white-hot like a brand, rises through his throat, and—

"Wait!" Dean calls, turning on the balls of his shoes. His heart pounds fast in his chest, fear gripping his throat like a vice. This could be his only chance. Katherine and Sam for me. They deserve it, they deserve more. "What do I have to do?"

"First of all, quit groveling. Needy guys are such a turnoff." She sighs, shifting her weight. "I shouldn't be doing this. I could get into a lot of trouble. But what can I say? I've got a blind spot for ya, Dean. You're like a puppy. Just too fun to play with." She sighs again, giving him a thorough once-over. "I'll do it."

"You'll bring them back?"

She winces. "I'll bring Sam back. And I'll tell you where Katherine's meatsuit is."

"Meatsuit?" Dean questions. Then he goes cold. "Is she—"

"Oh, she's not dead," the demon hums. "Not entirely, anyway. And because I'm such a saint, I'll give you one year, and one year only. But here's the catch—you try and weasel yourself out of this, the deal is off. Sam drops dead and he's back to rotting in no time. And your precious kitten...well, I'll think of somethin'. It isn't gonna be pretty, I can tell you that. Nail her up to a cross, maybe." She grins. "Make her carry it through Haley, letting her family watch."

"Her family is dead," Dean whispers.

The demon chuckles. "There are others," she hums. "I'm surprised a demon can tango in her body. Thought she was supposed to be untouchable. I guess not." The demon shrugs. "Anyway, this is a better deal than your dad ever got. So, what do you say?"

"Oh, stop sulking." Katherine looks up at Yellow Eyes with crossed arms. "Your brother was never so ungrateful."

She clenches her teeth. "You know nothing about my brothers."

"Oh—those brothers. Yes, the...younger brother, Mitch. You don't talk about him much, do you? And the Winchesters don't remember him. How could they?" The demon chuckles. "He ran away."

"Shut up."

"And little Dylan. You haven't seen him since he was what, ye big?" The demon measures her hand up against her knee. "How old was he when the fire happened? Two? And teensy Olivia couldn't have been older than four, right?" Katherine's jaw tightens. "What if I told you I knew where they were? Right now." Yellow Eyes smiles. "Liv and Dylan are safe. Right now, they're at a movie."

Katherine's body freezes. Panic clangs through her body, and every hair stands on end. "You'd better not lay a hand on them or I swear to God—!"

Yellow Eyes laughs. "God's got nothing to do with this, sweetheart. I do suspect he'd be awfully mad if anything happened to you, though. Don't worry. They're safe. And when we're done here, I'll tell you where they are and you can have your family reunion. Just don't bring 'em around Dean. He might get jealous." Yellow Eyes sits in the chair with a sigh. "But I need your cooperation. You can't keep kicking me out, you'll kill us both."

"As long as you're dead, I don't care."

"And leave eleven year old Olivia to take care of your little brother?" Yellow Eyes cocks her head. "What kind of monster are you?" Yellow Eyes grins. "Besides, sweetheart, you can't kill me."

"I can die trying." Yellow Eyes tilts her head in acknowledgement.

Dean stares at his younger brother. He's alive. Sam's alive. He's coherent, breathing—

"Katherine..."

Sam nods. "Yeah."

"That son of a bitch possessed her?"

"He's still in her, Dean."

"Oh, God, don't say that."

Sam sighs, shaking his head. "What I don't get is if Yellow Eyes only wanted one of us to live, then how did Jake and I both get away?"

"Well, I mean, they left you for dead." Dean shrugs. "I'm sure they thought it was all over. But now that Yellow Eyes has Jake, what's he gonna do with him? What's he gonna do with Katherine?"

"I think I might've given him an idea," Sam slowly admits. Dean's brow quirks. "When I saw Katherine, I didn't think she was possessed. I thought she was there like the rest of us. Because she's a psychic and she didn't know it—'cause of her telepathy thing, that voice in her head."

"That's been happening since she was younger, though, right?"

Sam nods. "Right."

"So what happened?"

"In that dream, with the demon, I...asked if she was like me. Or anyone else. She said it was a good idea, but he hadn't visited Katherine when she was a baby. Then she said—kind of—that...maybe he'd let Katherine lead the army with whoever came out on top. Whatever the real plan is, we need to stop it."

"We have time," Dean says, though everything in his body is screaming otherwise. "You need to get your strength back."

Sam gets to his feet. "We don't have time! That thing has Katherine—!"

"Sam," Dean bellows. "Oceans aren't boiling, frogs aren't raining from the sky! If she's made it this long, the demon isn't gonna kill her off yet."

Sam grits his teeth. "Well have you called the Roadhouse?" He demands. "Seen if they heard anything?" Dean slowly sinks down into one of the chairs and puts his head in his hands. "Dean, what is it?"

"The Roadhouse burned to the ground," Dean says. "Ash is dead...probably Ellen...other hunters, too."

Sam stares down at the table with a tight throat and blurry vision. There isn't a word for what he's feeling. "Demons?" He asks.

He's just tired.

"We think so," Dean murmurs. "We think it's because Ash found somethin'."

"What did he find?"

Dean shrugs. "Bobby's working on that now."

Sam sniffs, staring down at his pizza. "Katherine's gonna be devastated when she finds out." Dean nods in agreement. "Bobby's only a few hours away," he says, slowly rising to his feet again.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Sam, stop it! Stop!" Sam stares at his brother, brow furrowed. "You almost died in there, all right? I mean, what would I've..." Dean shakes his head and turns away from Sam. "Just take care of yourself for a little bit, huh?"

"Dean, Katherine's out there," Sam murmurs. "I thought Katherine was always a priority."

"She is, dammit. She is." Dean rubs his forehead as he begins to pace.

"Then let's go." Sam grabs the pizza box and heads for the door.