I didn't stop to review this completed story along the way, but wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed it. Very well written; pulled me in right away and kept me on the edge of my seat. Great action and superb emotional trauma. Just loved the wonderful brotherly contact and bond you portrayed. Our boys just can't be apart - especially under those circumstances! The killer was a real whacko - you wrote him very well - made him as scary as anything supernatural.

I've just found this site, but will certainly be coming back for more amazing work like this. Thanks for sharing your talents with us.

After reading your fabulous "Bonding of Souls", I'm back to see what else you can do to our poor boys :) And you don't disappoint! My Lord, what they are going through - attacking and killing each other, watching each other tortured, killed, Dean almost drowning, Sam scared to death at losing Dean. Whew! Poor Sam, constantly repeating:"You were grey. You weren't breathing" to Dean. He has a point, the other tortures were only illusions, the near drowning was real.

And now Sam's having a vision - somehow I don't think this bodes well for our boys. Can't wait to see where you're going with this awesome fic. Love your writing style - the action, dialogue, emotions, fears - all so real. Looking forward to the update.

Interesting. Trying to figure out what Dean's doing, what he hopes to accomplish. Great action in this chapter. Glad Dean didn't have to shoot Sam :)  Loved that even when Sam was totally out of it, he still responded to Dean's command on instinct. Great job. Looking forward to the updates.

Author's Response:

Thanks for reading and for the reviews....I think all your questions should be answered by the end.

Laura

You sure like to play with Dean's head, girl. :) Really enjoyed Dean's emotional flip-flop in this chapter. He just didn't know what to believe. Why is it that I have this sick feeling that if this demon/spirit can manifest itself so "humanly" as Sam, it may also show up as Dean at Bobby's?  Can't wait for the update.

Author's Response:

There'll be a few challenges for all three of them coming up...thanks for reading and commenting.

Whoa! Was that a helluva chapter. My heart was in my throat while seeing the fire, Dean and Bobby trying to save Sam, the heroic rescue, the emotions of both brothers clinging to one another - whew! Our poor boys.

Then you throw them into a battle with the ghosts/demon in the house with flying debris. Can't get over all the fabulous action in this chapter. Great job.

Let's hope this ritual works and frees them from this horror. Looking forward to the update...

This is a great story - so completely original and different. Dean as a dragon and cougar and ??? Just loving it. Too bad they couldn't save the junkie - Dean did the best he could as "Puff". Love the interaction of the boys (?) or should I say Sam and whatever. Great "arrangement" that Sam made - no matter how difficult this is, it beats the alternative. Looking forward to the update on this one.

Author's Response: Thanks so much!

Great action on the road. Yeah, Sam needs to learn how to take advantage of the Impala's power. Don't like the situation they're in now - these guys just don't give up.

Great writing. Still loving the brothers' interaction even if it's animal to man. Only two more days of this nonsense, huh?

Wonderful story and a very nice finish. Loved that Dean was able to kill the trickster that hurt Sam using a "technicality". I enjoyed the admission from Sam that he had no idea what it was like to have no one love him, to be scared and feel alone.

Great interactions between the brother throughout the story. Thanks for sharing this with us.

Great start! Threw us right into the action feet first again :)  And some action it is - Dean is getting pounded to smitereens. Just LOVE Hurt!Dean and all his snarky comments that make things worse for him. I feel a bit sorry for Sam who blames himself for all the loose demons, thinking that if he had killed Jake sooner, none of this (or his brother's deal) would have happened. That's a lot of baggage. Poor Sam.

The hunt intrigues me. It's Monday and there is a killing and a message about pride. Methinks we're dealing with the seven deadly sins here, so all hell is gonna break loose, isn't it? :)  Culminating with Sunday perhaps...

The boys' banter is so much fun to read. Their conversations are so spot on. Just loving the story. It's going to be another helluva ride, I'm sure. Looking forward to where you ladies are taking it. Until next time...

Wow, what a fabulously long chapter - I almost went through a bottle of wine reading it ;) Oh, and chocolate! Well, I guess you know what sin I'm guilty of now. Speaking of sins, I read some of the reviews/replies and laughed out loud when you said that Dean could be guilty of just about all of them - so true, so true - except the next one. Dean never is still, much less lazy.

Wonderful chapter! I loved the tone, the feel of this one. The opening that dealt with the loss that both boys are feeling; the devastating nightmares that they both are having because of Sam's death and the deal Dean made. What horrible fears lie beneath their facades - Sam's fear for Dean's life and that he came back "wrong"; Dean's fear of burning in hell and how he's failed everyone he loves and how disappointed they are in him. Loved this line: "Dean's eyes were shadowed, secret, normal" Oh, our poor, poor Dean.

I really enjoyed the hunt in this chapter as well - the boys separately putting clues together to figure out the next victim and what to look for next. What a horrific scene in that greenhouse - unfortunately, felt as if I were there. The humor to break the angst: "Been There, Drunk That"; "Freak-Takes one to know one"; "You couldn't take the heat, kid". Just loved it.

So on to sloth, if the boys are right. Problem is that they're getting there with too little, too late. Loved the last lines in the chapter - Dean is taking this personally. Speaking of personally, whatever it is that you've done differently in this chapter, has made it my favorite so far. Three down, four to go. Just lovin' it. Until next time... 

God, this was The.Best.Chapter. The beginning just tore me in two - Dean's nightmares/memories of everything he's been through - his dad's death,  the secret, Sammy's death, his deal, his fear - it's a miracle he's survived at all. I felt physically exhausted and emotionally drained just reliving it all. And poor Sam, ensconced in guilt and worry over Dean, over this hunt, trying to set aside his own fears to help Dean. Oh, boys. You have simply broken my heart here.

The scenes at the Inferno were fantastic. Sam is reluctant to relax, even for a moment, and Dean is taking it all in with his usual Winchester style. But that description of Dean on the dance floor? All I have to say is if people are being punished by flames for lust, I better run for the hills! Whew! Hothothot! (pun intended) God, what are you trying to do to us? It's been nearly three months since we've seen any new scenes of Dean ;)

After I managed to cool down from the dance floor scene, you throw me into that horrific inferno in the abandoned apartment! God, this man/demon/winged whatever is truly sick. Sam's inner turmoil regarding the rapist, the girl's rescue, Dean nearly falling through the floor - literally looking down at the hellfire that awaits him, the harrowing escape from the collasping fire escape - WOW. That was some of the best, riveting action I've read. The fear for the boys' safety was palpable. Kudos to both of you for this amazing chapter. It was one helluva Friday night for our boys. If we thought they were wrecked before, I can't imagine how they're going to come back from this.

So, no new clues until next time. Sure am curious about what Dean saw - honestly have no idea about that. BTW, cool shout out to Top Gun with a slight twist to that great line from Meg Ryan. Eat your heart out, Maverick, Dean Winchester is the MAN. ;)

Can't wait until the next chapter and Saturday's sin. Hey, at least they saved one girl. Just loving this story with all its action, emotion, and complexities. You ladies rock. Until next time...

Wow, just wow. To quote Demon!John in “Devil’s Trap”, now this was worth waiting for – what a spectacular final battle. Loved the serene quiet in the opening scene, Dean watching his brother in his fretful sleep, afraid to look away for fear of losing him. Counting things, keeping track - a reflection of Dean counting down his own time, perhaps? Silent memories of his father niggling at the back of his mind.  And then we see Sam’s silent struggle, wrestling with his lost faith – in himself, in God, trying to steel himself for battle against this fallen angel, against losing his brother to damnation. Those quiet scenes are truly the calm before the storm. Brilliant.

I thought that the way Sam solved the riddle was very clever – cemeteries are where people go to forgive. That is Sam’s reality; Dean’s is that he needs to stay away from the reality that death is final, that he will no longer be able to be with his loved one. And, oh, how it tugged at my heart when Dean admits to Sam that he needed him and Sam tells him that he’s always needed him. “Dean stared at him for a moment, letting those words spill over him and fill him. He’d needed to hear that. Probably more than Sam would ever understand” Oh Dean.

The final battle in the mausoleum was absolutely breath-stealing, just phenomenal. Literally good versus evil, love versus hate, faith versus doubt, rage versus control. Such powerful emotions so perfectly played out in a battle of wills with Dean’s life as the “prize”.  Man, you put Dean through the wringer and then wrung him out some more! Thank God Dean was able to get through to Sam before he became the victim of “Wrath” - “Sam, I need you to believe” and “Sam, you’re my faith”. My heart broke for Sam when he held his dying brother in his arms after defeating the fallen angel: “I prayed every day, and I’m still going to lose you”