"Death?" You echoed, your stomach churning at the news. While you had been travelling and hunting with the Winchesters, you hadn't had the chance to meet Death like they had. Truthfully, you were kind of glad you hadn't met him, but now, here you were, standing face to face with someone older than God himself. He was tall, and thin, almost unhealthily so, his face gaunt. He was dressed in black, with a fancy cane in one hand. He watched you and Sam with somewhat of an interested stare, his gaze lingering on you just a little too long for your liking.

"Well, hello Sam." He said, his voice surprisingly smooth and calm. You hadn't been sure what Death's voice would sound like, but this was not it. "And Y/N." He said, addressing you. You took a step closer to Sam, uncomfortable with the way Death seemed to be sizing you up.

"I'm glad you came." Dean's voice rang out, taking your attention off of Death and back onto him. He had moved forward a step, his hands at his side. "We need to talk."

Sam glanced between him and Death, a look of desperation and confusion etched onto his face. "Dean, whatever this is, you don't have to do it. You don't have to go with him." Dean stood there calmly, staring at his brother. If it wasn't for the slight twitch in his jaw, you would have thought this wasn't effecting him at all.

"Dean, you don't have to die. There is another way." You told him, ignoring Sam's orders and stepping around him until you were a step ahead of him. You felt his hand reach out to grasp you, but you shrugged it off. You needed Dean to see you, to see that you hadn't given up on him.

"Funny you say that Y/N. But actually I expected those words from Sam. Hell, I didn't even expect to see you here." He told you, giving you one glance before turning back towards Sam. "Truth is, after I left, I thought the only way out was my death." He said.

By this time Sam had come to stand next to you, partly to protect you, but also so he was fully in Dean's view. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well Death and I have been having a talk. And it's not my death that will fix everything." Dean said, his gaze unwavering as he stared at his brother. You could only watch the exchange between them, frightened to know where this was heading.

"Then what are we even doing here?" Sam asked, throwing his arms out, showcasing the joint. 

Dean licked his lips. "It's not my Death that we are here for. It's yours." He answered simply, and at that moment you felt your knees buckle a little bit, shocked beyond belief. Sam could only stare at his brother in shock, his chest heaving.

"Can we just sit down and talk about this?" You asked, stepping in between the brothers. Your heart was pounding, and your palms were sweating, but you knew you had to be the voice of reason. 

"They need to hear it, to understand it." Death said, walking behind Dean to go sit down on the edge of the stage.

Nobody made a move to sit down, but Dean did follow Death's orders. "The Mark is a key that will release the darkness. If I remove the Mark, darkness will rain down over the Earth, and I can't have that. But Death says there is a place, a void, he can send me. I will live there, for eternity, never able to hurt anyone ever again." He explained.

"What? Death's going to send you into space? And you're just going to let him?" Sam argued, taking a step closer.

"What does this all have to do with Sam's death? Why would he need to die if Dean's going to be sent to this void?" You asked, your mind still whirling at the news.

"Because Sam is like a bull dog, and he won't rest until he sets his brother free. He won't rest until his brother's free of the Mark.  And that simply cannot happen" Death answered, walking slowly through the room before ending inches away from Sam's face.

Sam gently pushed you away from him, his eyes never leaving Death's. Making sure you were far away from Death, Sam walked around him, coming to stand in front of Dean once again. "So, you just traded my life? Is that it?" He asked.

You tensed as you felt a presence on your right. Without moving you rolled your eyes to the right, stiffening when you saw Death standing just inches away from you. "I'm willing to live with this, on my arm, for all eternity. Just so I know that it, and I will never hurt another living soul. Isn't it worth a little sacrificing to know we are saving lives?"

"This isn't you." Sam pleaded, and you wanted to go to them, to help Dean understand that this was crazy, but Death had some sort of hold on you, and you couldn't move. 

"Dean, this is crazy!" You yelled across the room. "It doesn't make any sense!"

Dean barely glanced at you, his gaze completely on his brother, his mouth puckered with frustration. "No, it makes perfect sense. If the two of you would stop thinking about yourselves for one damn minute!" He yelled, and inwardly you recoiled at the anger in his voice.

"It's for the greater good." Death voiced from beside you. "Once you consider that, it makes all the sense in the world." 

"Dean, please no." You begged, fighting against the invisible force holding you tight in your spot. Sam glanced quickly behind him, at where you stood beside Death. His eyes were full of heart break, and pain, and you knew yours must echo the same exact emotions.

"Do you remember back at that church? You were ready to die for the greater good then." Dean said, pacing around his brother, coming close to you, and you wanted to reach out, to stop him from emotionally tearing his brother apart. You loved him, but it hurt to see him hurting his brother like this. 

"But you pulled me back." Sam argued, as you struggled against your hold. 

"And I was wrong." He said simply, and you gasped, earning a glance from Dean.

"Dean!" You yelled. "Stop it! This isn't really you!" 

"You knew this world would be better off without us in it. You, me, hell even Y/N. We try to do good, the family business. Evil tracks us, it follows us and burns everything in it's wake. It's time we stopped fooling around and put a name to it." Dean said.

"Evil? We are far from evil." Sam argued. "That Mark on your arm is evil, but not you. Not me, and certainly not Y/N."

Dean glanced your way then, his eyes squinting as if he was taking you in for the first time. "Y/N is just as jaded as the rest of us. Hell, maybe even more. The things she's seen, the things she's done. She's just as bad."

You tried to stay stoic during his little speech, but you felt your resolve slipping at the last words  he spoke. His gaze was direct on you, his words full of venom, and you knew he wanted you to hurt. "Dean, enough. Leave Y/N out of this. Hell, let her go. She doesn't need to be a part of this." Sam argued.

It was then you felt the hold on you tighten, and you gasped out in pain. Sam turned his gaze to you, as you stood there shaking from the pain coursing through you. "I've changed my mind Dean." He started, and both brothers stared your way, Dean in mild curiosity, Sam in horror. "I've decided that Y/N can't live either. She's just as bull headed as Sam, and she loves you too much, too deeply. I'm afraid she won't give up either. They both have to die."