Michael stands, trapped and vulnerable, in the circle of holy fire. Adam should be long gone by now. He'd stayed behind to stop the demons, while the hunter had gone on. He knows Adam expects him to come back. But the demons have caught him, and now they dance triumphantly around the circle of fire, crowing in delight. An archangel is something they'd never expected, especially Michael, the general of the heavenly host; and the fact that Michael had just handed himself over, and shown weakness in his feelings towards Adam Milligan, makes them all the more excited. "He's never coming back. You're ours, all ours," one of them hisses at him and he shook his head. "He left you," pipes up a voice from the other side of the circle and Michael shudders, forcing himself to stand straight and proud. He will not show weakness. He has been trained better than that. Adam isn't coming back, he knows that.
The blonde boy stops at the doors of the warehouse, staring back in. There is an odd flickering light inside, he can see that, and his mind can't connect the dots. His brothers had been with him at some point, but he has no idea where they are any more. Or Michael. "Shit!" he snarls under his breath, standing indecisively in the parking lot. Michael, he has to go back. The light, the flickering light, the crows of triumph inside the warehouse; it all makes sense now. "Michael, you idiot," he growls, turning and running back inside. The whoops get louder as he moves and he slows down when the light intensifies.
Rounding the corner, Adam sees the whole scene. There is a circle of flames tall enough that he can barely see Michael's face. The circle isn't wide; barely as wide as the archangel's armspan and, every time Michael moves, Adam can see the small twitches in his face that betray his shock at how close the flames are. The demons have taken the bodies of children, their faces twisted grotesquely, and Adam shudders at what he knows he has to do. He knows the children are still inside their bodies, and to kill them will take a lot more strength than killing adults. But to save Michael, he'll do it. The demons dance around the circle, hissing things at Michael that Adam can't hear, and occasionally one will spring forwards and lash at him with a knife, which forces the archangel to step away, too near to the fire for comfort. Adam sucks a sharp breath in when one of the knives finds purchase against Michael's chest, flinching at the sound the archangel makes. Michael stays standing though, his chin tilted up defiantly, though blood is already soaking through his shirt. Adam needs to get him out of the fire.
The blonde dislodges a stone as he moves into the shadows further into the room, and the demons all stare in his direction. Michael stiffens, his grace sensing Adam in the room, and his eyes narrow. Adam isn't supposed to be there, he should be gone, safe with Sam, Dean and Michael's brother. Not risking his life in a room full of demons. He tries to think of something to distract the demons from Adam, and spits a curse at them. It works. They all whip around to stare at him, their eyes narrowing, and Adam is suddenly terrified for Michael; with good reason. The demons all pounce at once, throwing whatever they can at Michael. Not one of them have a knife powerful enough to kill the archangel, but the knives they do have are enough to rip through flesh and cause pain, and that's what they do. Michael tries to stay standing through the attack, but there is only so much abuse his vessel can take before his legs fold underneath him. He falls with a cry that paralyses Adam, and tears prick at the corner of his eyes.
The minute the archangel is on the floor, the demons spring away and go back to circling him and spitting insults, taunts. If Michael could just get out of the circle, his grace could heal him, but he can't. He lies in a crumpled heap, a pool of blood forming under him. His head barely lifts when he hears Adam's voice, defeated and convinced it's an illusion.
Adam bites the inside of his cheek as he steps out of the shadows, shouting swear words at the demons, braced with a knife in one hand and salt in the other. They all turn on him in one movement and he gulps. "Fuck." Michael doesn't move and for a moment Adam is terrified, before he reminds himself that if they had killed the archangel, he would definitely know. He wants nothing more than to just put the fire out and cradle Michael until he's healed but he can't. He has a job to do. "Come and get me, then!" he yells at them, ready for a fight. And a second later, that's exactly what the demons do. With shrieks of joy they fly at him and he dodges about six different blades. If he can get to the holy fire... Adam throws salt at the nearest demon and it vanishes with a howl. "Okay. Uh. Good." He lunges with the knife, swinging it and managing to kill two demons. Two down, eight to go. Michael by this time is on his feet again, still bleeding, his eyes fixed on Adam. The fight is moving closer, Adam pushing the demons back all the time, and the archangel yells in frustration, pacing the short distance he can inside the circle. All wants to do is kill every single one of the demons before they can hurt Adam, and he can't.
Adam forces two more demons into the flames and they shriek as they burn. The other demons back off for a moment, regroup, and he takes the opportunity to start kicking dirt over the circle, putting the flames out as quickly as he can before-. A demon leaps on him, its teeth inches from his throat and he yelps in shock as its knife buries itself in his shoulder. He throws salt blindly over his shoulder and feels the weight on his back vanish. Grimacing, he pulls the knife out of his shoulder and spins around, throwing his own knife into another demon's chest. It staggers, falling against one more and they both stumble into the flames. Adam pushes dirt into the fire again, stamping it down and almost sobbing with frustration. The gap is so nearly wide enough for Michael. "Come on, come on," he yells, before he is dragged away from the circle. One demon is on his back, another circling him as he struggles. The other leaps forwards suddenly, slashing its knife across Adam's stomach, and Michael mirrors the boy's shriek. The blonde pulls another blade out of his belt, stabbing behind him until he hears a howl and one demon dies. He squares up to the other one, panting, his shirt already saturated with blood. "Let's dance," he hisses, and the demon grins cruelly.
The other two of them back away to watch the fight, and Adam readjusts his grip on the knife. Michael can do nothing but watch from the circle of fire, cursing in every language under the sun. Adam flashes him a quick grin and Michael shakes his head. "Don't you dare die," he mouths and Adam leaps forwards, plunging the knife deep into the demon's chest and twisting it. The last two howl and run away, and Adam collapses to the ground. He reaches out, throwing more earth on the fire feebly, and the last thing he sees is Michael stepping out of the ring and kneeling next to him with a gentle smile. Then the archangel touches two fingers to his forehead and everything goes black.