(Scene Change back to Sam) Still in Maxus' mind purgatory, Sam is resting at the mouth of a cave, breathing heavily in discomfort. It is night. He hears a noise and sits up suddenly.

"Mallory?" He said tentatively. He pulled a knife out and pulled himself to his feet.

He walked out of the cave slowly, but sees nothing. He hears another noise, this one the sound of a branch snapping under the weight of something.

Sam whipped around to see Maxus at the mouth of the cave.

"How do you like your new home, Sam?" Maxus said energetically. "I made sure that everything was perfect for your arrival. All this is very personal for me. Each monster is a vermin that I've killed personally... The set up is just like purgatory. Pays a little homage to the good ol days."

"Who the Hell are you?" Sam demanded.

"Oh, right. You haven't met me yet. How rude. I'm Maxus. I'm sure you've heard of me."

"Yeah...." Sam said uneasily.

Maxus chuckled. " I don't know what Mallory's told you, but-"

"-From what she told me, you seem like a huge dick."

Maxus quickly covered up his irritation and continued. "Look, despite everything, I do care about Mallory. We've been through a lot together."

"You love her so much that you want to kill her?" Sam asked smugly.

"It's more complicated than that."

"I don't really see how it is, so enlighten me."

"Our entire lives have been about surviving. I don't want to just survive, Sam. I want to thrive- use my powers to their fullest extent."

"Why kill Mallory though?"

Maxus put his hands in his pockets and walked slowly towards Sam. "In order to do that, I need to be as powerful as I possibly can. I can't do that with her still here."

"By killing Mallory, you can take her powers... So your greed got in the way of your love of her," Sam frowned.

Maxus suddenly appeared in front of Sam, an evil glint in his eye, but his face remained calm.

"Things change. Opportunities arise. I'm just seizing what is rightfully mine."

Sam looked confused. "Hell?"

Maxus laughed. "And you're supposed to be the smart one!"

Sam frowned at him. Maxus continued. "Yes, Hell. Obviously. I've come to find that if you rule Hell correctly, you rule everything. Heaven's a mess right now- they're not doing crap, and earth is no better. At the end of the day, I had to take things into my own hands."

"And Crowley is just going to back down and let you take it?"

"Crowley is weak and losing followers."

"Why wait until now, though?"

"Like my sister, I've spent a lot of time on my own. I've preferred it that way for ages, plus there was something about the struggle of everyone else that I found fascinating- you and your brother included. It's was fun to be above all of that. It's not like I fit in anywhere- Heaven doesn't want a half breed, most of Hell didn't know I existed and even if they did, not everyone was sad to see Lucifer go. They wouldn't want his first born taking over things. No, I decided being patient was the best thing... Once Abbadon came into the picture and shook things up, I figured it was time to get the ball rolling after she died."

"Why didn't you just kill her and then take Hell from Crowley?"

Maxus scoffed. "Look Abbadon was a bitch, but she did get me out of Hell once upon a time. I owed her that much. Besides, I was fine with waiting... Mostly because I was curious to see how everything would work out with the Mark of Cain. Everything went great, apparently," he said with thick sarcasm.

"So why spare Abbadon, but not Mallory."

"Because Mallory owes me a lot more than I owe her.' He snapped. "Oh! Speaking of which," his demeanor suddenly changed. "I need you to give her a message for me."

"What?"

Maxus pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket and handed it to him. "Yes, unfortunately, I didn't come to chat with you... but since I'm here, you may want to keep moving. Things get a little crazy here at night."

Maxus shot him dazzling smile and disappeared. An exhausted Sam looked at the paper, folded it, and then stuck it in his coat pocket. He made his way away from the cave, feeling through the dark. A low growl stopped him in his tracks. Sam turned and saw nothing. The growling continued. Clenching the knife he prepared for an attack.

(Scene Change back to the bunker) Dean is walking down the hallway in the bunker, on his way to the infirmary. He is holding a plate of food.

"So I don't know if you even need to eat, but I got you somethi-" Dean walks into the infirmary to see Mallory back asleep on her bed. Dean set the plate down on a table and reached out to touch Mallory's arm, slightly hesitating. As soon as he came into contact, he slumped to the floor, unconscious.

(Scene Change) Dean wakes up at the trunk of a tree. It is still night. He quickly scrambles to his feet, confused. He pulls a knife out and makes his way forward.

"Dean!" Mallory yells behind him. She runs up to him, looking worried. "What are you doing here?!"

"I tried to wake you up. Why didn't this happen to Cas when he touched you?"

She scrunched her eyebrows. "Not sure. Might be a little different with angels."

"Where's Sam?"

"I don't know. He's not where I left him and I can't track him as well as I could in the physical world. Everything's screwy here because it's a reality completely build by Maxus. His world, his rules."

"Okay, so we're stuck in the twilight zone and Sam is wondering around wounded. Great."

Mallory took off at a run. "We're not gonna find him standing around!" Dean groaned and ran after her.

(Scene Change) Dean and Mallory are yelling Sam's name. Dean has a thin layer of sweat lining his forehead, but Mallory is perfectly fine.

"Sam!" Dean yelled. "Sa-"

"Shh!" Mallory commanded. "Do you hear that? Never mind, you're a human. This way."

Now stalking amongst the trees, the two make their way to the source of the noise.

(Scene Change) Sam is standing in a grove. At his feet lies two dead vampires. He looks extremely pale and is holding his wound. Out of the trees emerges a pack of vampires. Sam takes a few steps back, realizing that he may be outnumbered.

(Quick flash) Mallory is now running again, Dean following her.

"It's vampires. They've surrounded him and he's outnumbered." She yelled.

"I don't see anything!"

"Trust me! We're close!"

(Scene Change) Sam is now running awkwardly, holding his side and trying to further his distance from the vampires but they seem to be gaining on him. Off to his left, Mallory and Dean burst through the trees in front of him. Dean rushes over to Sam, stabilizing him. The three make their way through the forest quickly, but are abruptly stopped when they reach a cliff's edge.

Dean is holding Sam up. They look over the edge and see a rushing river underneath them. To their right is a large waterfall. Mallory stands behind them, the vampires are now closing in.

"Hope you can swim!" She said and pushed Sam and Dean over the edge, sending them straight into the water.

(Scene Change) Swimming up to the surface Sam looks up to the top of the cliff and sees a bright flashing light where Mallory was standing.

"Mallory?!" Sam yelled. Behind him, Dean swims over and grabs his shoulders. He pulls Sam over to the edge of the river and helps him out of the water.

"You good?" Dean asked him.

"Yeah," Sam replied, breathing heavily. "We can't stay here."

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"We don't have much of a choice! you look like you're gonna pass out. Where's Mallory?"

"I don't know...." Sam closed his eyes.

"Hey hey hey!" Dean said, slapping his cheeks. "You gotta stay awake."

Mallory appeared in front of them. Her face was covered in blood and she was still holding her bloody knife. She rushed over and knelt at Sam's side.

"Dramatic, much?" Dean asked her.

"Look, I can zap you anywhere, but Sam is tied to the knife, I have little control over him. I think it worked out pretty well." She said smugly.

"Yeah, until another group of freaks tracks us down. Mal, we have to get him out of here."

"I know."

Sam shifted and pulled the piece of paper from his jacket pocket. "Maxus gave this to me," he said, handing it to her. "He wanted me to give it to you."

"He was here?!" She opened the paper. "It's too wet. Did you read it earlier?"

"It said, 'Liam's Corner'."

Mallory's face quickly changed to anger.

"What does that mean?" Dean asked.

"Dean will you stay here with Sam?" Mallory asked, ignoring Dean's question.

"Of course, but where are you-?" He turned but Mallory was already gone.

(Scene Change) Screen shows text, 'Quincy Massachusetts'. Camera shows a pub on the corner of a busy street, named 'Liam's Corner'. It is a busy night and there are a lot of people around. Mallory walks into the pub and sits down at the bar. A man regards her and walks over.

"What can I get ya?" He asks.

"I'm here to see Maxus." She said in a no nonsense tone. The man suddenly looks nervous and he nods.

(Scene Change) The two are standing at the top of a stair case. "At the end of the hall." The man says and he quickly walked away. Mallory makes her way down the steps.

(Scene Change) She is walking down the long hallway. At the end of the hallway are double doors and two large men standing guard. They smile when they see Mallory approach and their eyes flicker black. The one on the left smirks and says. "You sure got here quick. Maxus was right to assume that you would be easy."

Mallory gave them a smug look and flicked her wrist. The two demons fell to the floor, writhing in pain. Black plumes of smoke emerged from their mouths. Mallory held out her hand and the black smoke curled around her fingers. She clenched her fist and the smoke evaporated. The two bodies lay limp. She stepped forward and pushed open the doors.

Now inside the same swanky bar from earlier, all the demons have stopped their festivities and regard Mallory uneasily. Atticus stepped forward, but Mallory waved him away and he fell back into a table. She bent down and placed a hand on the cold floor. The demons looked at her in fear but were unable to move, their feet stuck to the marble flooring. Mallory's eyes turned their unsettling mix of black and white. Dozens of columns of black smoke started to rise out of the panicking crowd.

"Mallory, please." Said a calm voice. Mallory snapped out of her transfixed state and released the smoke back into the meat suits. Maxus had appeared behind the bar. He snapped his finger and all the demons simultaneously disappeared. The two were alone in the room. Mallory stood up and walked over to the bar.

"There's no need to get the demons involved in our little squabble."

"Interesting that you care more about demons more than Lucifer ever did. He'd be disappointed in you."

"Our father took them for granted. They have a lot to offer, especially if they know their leader actually cares for them."

"They're vile."

"Say what you will, but I've really enjoyed having them around. It's nice to have friends, ya know?"

Mallory scoffed. "They're not your friends. They're directionless saps that would follow anyone if they put on a good show!"

Maxus continued to smile. "See it's thinking like that that would make you a poor ruler of Hell."

Mallory grew more angry. "I don't want to be the ruler of anything, I want to heal Sam and I want you to leave me the hell alone!"

Maxus was pouring whiskey into a glass. "Drink?"

Mallory clenched her fists. "I don't drink."

"Yeah... when the alcohol has no affect on you, it's hard to get past the taste. Still, I think it makes me look cool."

"What do you want with me?" She asked abruptly. Maxus looked at her for a moment before setting the glass down.

"I have a proposition. You know what my goal is; Azarias told you that much. I know that you would never join me in ruling Hell, and quite frankly, I don't think I'd want you anyway. You've gotten very rude over the last couple centuries."

"Get to the point."

"See what I mean? Whatever... I'm offering you a choice. Let me take your powers and you can live out the rest of your days as a human-"

"Or you'll kill me and take my powers."

"... Yes." Maxus face grew a bit softer. "I don't want to kill you, Mallory."

"You just don't want me to stand in your way."

"I suppose you could see it that way."

"Because that's the only way to see it!"

"Life hasn't been kind to us. This is about being back on top, the way our father always intended it to be."

"Quit acting like Lucifer gave a rat's ass about us! It's always been him saving his own skin and if you believe that he really cared about us, then you're just as clueless as all the demons that killed themselves just for his affection."

Maxus didn't respond but finished his glass of whiskey. He sighed and set the glass down again.

"I gave you your options. I'll give you time to decide, but don't get too comfy."

"You're not taking them."

"Once upon a time, you would have been all too willing to become human."

"... not anymore." She said fiercely.

"I can see that." He chuckled. "Well I guess before you leave, you should take care of Sam. That's why you're really here."

"That seems too simple."

"The knife was just an attention getter. To let you know what the risks are in this. It's a shame that Sam was caught up in it."

He disappeared and reappeared beside her on the other side of the bar. Azarias and Atticus now stood there, Azarias holding the blade. He held it out to Mallory. She hesitated, looking at it.

"You do now how to save him, don't you?" Maxus asked.

Mallory didn't answer.

Maxus laughed heartily. "Wait, so you don't actually know? Then you couldn't even destroy the damn thing if it came down to it. What a gamble! You really do care about these Winchesters, don't you?!"

"Just tell me how to save him." She said quietly. Maxus stepped towards her and looking at Atticus, he whispered in her ear, "You have to kill the one who cursed the blade."

Mallory looked at the knife then to Atticus who appeared terrified, but stood his ground.

(Scene Change to Sam and Dean) Dean is supporting Sam and they are walking through the night, bloody and battered. The early morning sun is starting to rise through the trees.

(Scene Change) Azarias placed the knife in Mallory's hand. She gingerly held it.

"Isn't it powerful?" Maxus whispered behind her.

Mallory wrapped her fingers around it, breathing slightly heavier. She closed her eyes.

"Let's see..." Maxus continued. "If you don't do this, what? Sam dies in a week? Maybe two?"

Mallory tightened her grip around the blade and swiftly brought the blade across Atticus' neck. The demon crumpled to the floor.

(Scene Change) Sam falls to the ground, screaming in pain.

"What's wrong?!" Dean asked.

Sam clenched his side. His wound flashed white and once the light had disappeared, the wound still remained.

"Sammy?"

"Gah!" Sam bent over in pain. "I think someone used the knife!"

(Scene Change back to Mallory and co.) She is holding the now bloody knife in confusion.

Maxus smirked. Again he snapped his fingers and Azarias disappeared along with Atticus' body. He cocked his head.

"I said you needed to kill the person who stabbed Sam, didn't I?" He paused. "Oh, I didn't! Yeah... Azarias is the one you're wanting."

Mallory threw the blade to the ground and stared down at it in disbelief.

"It's intoxicating; the pull of the knife. Especially once you've killed someone with it. I hope it doesn't cause you too many problems," he said darkly. "But perhaps it will make your decision easier."

He disappeared, leaving Mallory alone with the cursed knife and a pool of blood.