A/N: What kind of person would I be if I couldn't work REO Speedwagon in here eventually? Sorry it's taking me longer to get this stuff written, guys. I'm back in school (last semester of undergrad), but on the plus side, my thesis is almost done (all 90 freaking pages or whatever). Also, I've got kind of an idea of where I want to go from here, so things are looking pretty good, I think. Anyway, please, please review. You have no idea how much a review helps get me inspired to write more. And, if something doesn't work, please tell me so I can fix it. I'm not the best at writing action scenes, I much prefer writing dialogue, so feel free to tell me if it sucks. Alright. Here goes.

Chapter Nine: Kinder than the Lightning

Lady beside me
She's there to guide me
She says that alone we've finally found home
The wind outside is frightening
But it's kinder than the lightning life of the city
It's a hard life to live but it gives back what you give

And I'm not missing a thing
Watching the full moon crossing the range
Riding the storm out
Riding the storm out
Riding the storm out
Riding the storm out

Dean hadn't said anything since he'd shoved Ty in the car and careened out of the parking lot like a crazy person. However, if the increasingly agitated set of his jaw and the flashing fury in his eyes were any indication, the smirks she was sending him would soon push him off the deep end.

"You know, you don't know what it's like playing the bad guy." she commented, gazing at the passing scenery idly, "You take it for granted that it's because of us that you get to sweep in and play the hero."

"Stow it." Dean snapped.

"Has it ever occurred to you, Dean that you might not always be on the right side?" she wondered out loud.

"If I don't see that damn demon soon, I'm making a Devil's Trap out of skid marks and exorcising your ass." Dean threatened.

Ty laughed then leveled Dean with a black-eyed stare, a confident smirk still gracing her lips, "You hunters are so fond of your exorcisms. Tell me, Dean. What would you do if it didn't work?"

Dean's blood ran cold at the thought, but he tried not to let it show. He ripped his gaze away from the soulless stare of the demon when he realized that he was staring at her and glued his eyes back on the road. He tried to ask her a question, distract from the fact that he wasn't answering her, but found his throat inexplicably dry and had to clear it before any words would come out.

"I'm serious. Start giving directions. Where did it go?" Dean demanded, but his words lacked the force they'd had before she'd gotten him thinking about failed exorcisms.

"Turn left up here." Ty said, taking her eyes off Dean and leaning back into her seat

Dean did so, feeling somewhat relieved that they were focused on something besides the state of Ty's possession. Talking with the demon like this was disconcerting. His dad had always taught them that demons lie, so you had to ignore anything they said and deal with them as quickly as possible. Well, he was kind of up shit creak without a paddle on that one, so he was stuck listening to it. He'd tried to ignore it at first, but it was impossible. And why was it being so candid anyway? Did it really think that it could convince him to sympathize with it?

Ty sighed, drawing his attention back to her and out of his own thoughts. The look on her face was so Ty that Dean had to blink for a second. She looked so frustrated and yet weary at the same time, like she was tired of being frustrated. She felt him looking and turned her head to meet his gaze.

"Look, Dean, I know you don't trust me. We're from different sides of the tracks, so why would you? But I'm being as honest with you here as I can, which is actually kind of new for me. Anyway, the point is...I like you, Dean. I think we're a lot alike and that we could really get along great. And I know, I know 'I'm a demon.' Well, don't you ever get tired of being a hunter? 'Cause I'll tell you now, I'm freaking tired of being a demon." she said and her big, blue eyes looked sincere, "Turn right."

Dean mentally shook himself. Those weren't her blue eyes, they were Ty's. The demon was using them just like it was using the rest of her to play on his weaknesses. Dean had never been demonically possessed himself, but he couldn't imagine it was any kind of picnic to have a demon pulling the strings, keeping you prisoner in your own body.

Dean gripped the steering wheel, pulling the car around to the right down another street, "Yeah? And what does Ty think about all this?"

"Ty?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah, the girl you're possessing." Dean reminded her sharply, "I know she's still in there and, if I know her at all, she's probably been screaming at you night and day. What's she got to say?"

"She swears like a sailor." the demon grumbled and Dean almost laughed. That was definitely his Ty, alright.

"Can't imagine she's too happy about this arrangement." Dean continued, keeping his voice neutral, wondering if the demon would continue this "honest" game.

Dean watched out of the corner of his eye while the demon's eyes flicked back and forth nervously. Finally, she turned to face him more directly, pulling one leg up under her on the seat, "Okay, so at the moment, no, she's not exactly pleased. But see, I've been spending all my time working on you, so I really haven't had a chance to convince her. You might not know this, but this girl has got a lot of insecurities, especially when it comes to you. I'm sure that once I explain to her about how I can help with all that, she'll like the arrangement, too."

Now Dean actually did laugh.

"You think you're actually going to be able to convince her to like having a demon possessing her?" he asked incredulously.

She shrugged, "Wouldn't be the first time."

Dean's laughter stopped abruptly. It hadn't really occurred to him that the bull she was spinning was even a possibility, but now that she mentioned it, he couldn't deny that there were some sick freaks out there who actually did invite demons in. He'd had a run-in with such a cult once before with his dad. But he'd never thought that it was anything like this. It couldn't be. Those were just sick wackos, nothing like Ty.

"Ty would never go for that." Dean denied out loud.

"You might be surprised." the demon replied. She glanced out the window, then raised her arm and pointed, "There's our guy."

Dean looked where she was pointing, then double-checked that he was looking at the right spot, "You've got to be kidding me."

Ty shook her head, "Nope. He's a cocky son of a bitch, that's for sure. Wonder if I know him."

Dean dismissed her curious musing and stared up ahead at the building in front of him as he slowly pulled into the parking lot.

"But a church?" he asked again, still not sure he had this right.

"Looks like." Ty nodded.

Dean put the Impala in park, "But what happened to all that holy ground, no demons here crap?"

Ty shrugged, "They don't build 'em like they used to? All I know is that this place is unguarded. I could feel it by now if it were. Which means that anyone inside..."

"...is in 'cry like Sammy when he watches Titanic' kind of trouble." Dean finished, quickly getting out of the car.

Ty followed suit on the other side, glancing at Dean over the top of the car, "He cries when he watches Titanic?"

"Like a baby." Dean nodded, transferring his gaze from the church to the car as he moved towards the trunk, "Every time."

"Huh." Ty said, coming to join him as he pulled up the false floor to reveal the arsenal underneath, "You know I always thought we could use that flick to torture people in hell."

"It'd work on me." Dean acknowledged, looking over his options in the way of weaponry.

He picked up a gun and tucked it into his jeans even though he knew it wouldn't do him much good against his current adversary. The flask of holy water, though, might be a bit more effective. Dean quickly twisted off the cap and sniffed the contents just to make sure it was the holy water flask and not the fun flask with his whiskey in it.

"Got your trusty exorcism?" Ty asked, leaning against the trunk.

Dean pulled the journal out of his pocket that he'd grabbed from Sam's room earlier and held it up.

"Good." Ty said, pushing off the trunk and heading towards the church, "Let's go."

Meanwhile, Sam and Alex sat in his truck down the street from the police station. Both were watching the activity around the building while mulling over their own thoughts.

"This sucks." Alex finally broke the silence, "We shouldn't be sitting here staring at a bunch of cops while Dean's out there with two demons."

"You don't have to tell me." Sam agreed.

"Then, what the hell are we doing here?" Alex demanded, "What good are these police reports? We've already found the guy."

Sam continued to look at the station in silence. After another moment of him looking out the window while Alex looked at him expectantly, he grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket and quickly began texting, "You're right, Alex."

Alex shifted in his seat expectantly, "So, where are they?"

"Hang on." Sam said, pressing buttons rapidly.

"What hang on? Just ask him where he is already!" Alex pressed.

"Wouldn't work." Sam replied after he'd hit send, "In case you haven't noticed, my brother's pretty damn stubborn."

"So what'd you say?" Alex asked.

"He threw his favorite gun in my bag on accident. I told him if he didn't tell me where they are, I'd give it to you." Sam replied with a grin that only got wider when his phone buzzed in his hand. He quickly opened the message, "He loves that gun. Let's go."

Alex wasted no time complying, his tires squealing as he hauled the truck around and sped off in the opposite direction.

Ty paused before the church doors, throwing an annoyed look over her shoulder at Dean when his cell phone beeped obnoxiously. Dean quickly fished the phone out of his pocket.

"Oh, god." Ty complained when she realized that he was actually stopping to read the message.

"You can call me Dean." he replied to her complaint, "It's Sam."

Ty sighed and turned to lean her back against the side of the church, crossing her arms and waiting for Dean to hurry up. She watched as Dean's eyes widened and his mouth turned down in a frown before he rapidly texted Sam back. He then gruffly shoved the phone back in his pocket and looked up at Ty. Rather than say anything, she just raised her eyebrows at him.

"Sam and Alex will be here soon." he reported.

"Tell me you don't want to sit around on our asses and wait for them." Ty pleaded.

"I don't. Come on." Dean replied, shoving the wooden double doors to the church and heading inside.

"Subtle." Ty commented before she quickly followed.

Inside the church, they found that rather than walking into some kind of chaos with people screaming and hiding in the pews, they had simply disrupted a sermon. Dean and Ty both froze, faced with dozens of pairs of eyes glaring at them for entering so loudly. Dean offered them an apologetic smile and they all slowly turned back to face the preacher who resumed speaking on God's mysterious ways.

"That went well." Ty hissed.

"Shut up." Dean replied under his breath, leading the way away from the entrance and along the back wall to find a spot in one of the empty pews in the back, "How was I supposed to know he hasn't made his move yet?"

"I don't know. Maybe you could have looked first." Ty retorted.

"How about you quit giving me shit and ID our guy?" Dean growled.

An old woman a few rows ahead of them turned and shushed them angrily. Flustered, Dean grabbed one of the hymnals from the plastic holder nailed to the back of the pew before them and opened in front of his face.

"Great. Now thanks to you Jesus lady's going to be watching me like a hawk." Dean accused as quietly as he could.

"Relax." Ty whispered in reply, leaning over to hide behind the hymnal with him, "I'm sure she'll like you a lot more once you save her from a murdering demon. Speaking of which, looks like he's tired of the Jesus babble."

Ty nodded her head towards the other side of the church where a man had stood up and was moving out of his pew, making his way along the far side of the church towards the pulpit.

"Shit." Dean swore under his breath.

"I can hold him for you to work your Latin magic, but you might want to get these people out of the way." Ty suggested.

Dean jumped to his feet and the movement attracted the demon's attention, making him pause just a few feet from the front of the church where the confused preacher was still trying to continue with his message. They locked eyes for a moment, recognizing each other for what they were. Then, the demon sprinted and leaped at the preacher, knocking him from the pulpit.

"Everybody out of here!" Dean yelled.

Everyone in the church got to their feet, forcing Dean to climb onto the pew to see over them. Unfortunately, they were not listening to his command, but were milling about in confusion. It didn't seem to matter though because those that did move for the door found that it was sealed tight.

Cursing under his breath some more, Dean leaped down from the pew and shoved his way through the crowd towards the front of the church. Ty followed after him, letting him take the lead on this even though she knew that she could solve a lot of their problems rather quickly if she used some of her power. However, she figured that Dean probably wouldn't like it if she hurt the church-goers. But with any luck, maybe this other demon would do it for her.

When Dean and Ty finally reached the front of the church, the demon was holding a knife to the preacher's throat. A few people were closing in on him, trying to stop him, but when he looked up and his eyes shown pitch black at them, they all stumbled back. Dean pushed past them, facing the demon. Ty turned to face them.

"Get back. Move everyone back now!" she commanded.

"About time you hunters caught up to me." the demon growled at Dean. The demon's black eyes widened, however, when Ty turned around, "You're not a hunter."

"Sorry, no." Ty agreed with a grin, letting her eyes turn black as well for a moment.

The demon threw his arm out and everyone in the room found themselves flying backwards. Dean scrambled back to his feet quickly, surprised to find that Ty was still holding her ground. The demon's black eyes narrowed as he glared at her.

"I know you." he realized.

"Swell." Ty drawled.

The demon's face contorted with anger although his eyes of course showed nothing, "Insubordination wasn't enough? Now you're fighting with them against your own kind!"

"As much fun as I'm sure this conversation is going to be," Ty said, rolling her eyes, "Dean, how about we get this rolling?"

The demon tightened his hold on the preacher, his eyes locking on the journal Dean pulled out of his jacket as he came to stand next to Ty.

"I can slice his throat faster than you can exorcise me." the demon threatened.

"You think I care?" Ty replied, "Dean, start reading."

Dean shot her a sharp look, which Ty met with a level stare. She was well aware that Dean actually did care if the preacher wound up dead, but she was in charge at the moment so he'd just have to trust her on this. The whole situation was frankly rather satisfying for her. Not only had she taken the lead on this, forcing Dean to take orders from her on a hunt, but he was forced to trust her. She really couldn't have set this up better if she tried. She really owed this demon a thank you. Too bad she was about to help end him.

Dean reluctantly began reading the Latin ritual. The demon's eyes widened slightly in surprise and his hand tightened on the knife. Ty was vaguely aware of the commotion behind her from the other church-goers, but as long as they remained out of the way, they hardly mattered. Actually, Dean would probably be pleased if she kept down the collateral damage, no matter how boring that made this job. So, Ty focused on the "bad guy" in front of her. While Dean began chanting the exorcism, she began chanting as well. In the meantime, she reached out a hand and, with her power, took hold of the preacher. Yanking her arm to the side, she ripped the preacher out of the demon's grip and threw him aside. The demon's knife slid across his throat, splitting the skin, but she'd obviously caught him by surprise since it wasn't really deep enough to kill him. However, the force of the impact with the wall probably did knock the reverend unconscious. Ty mentally rolled her eyes, knowing she'd have to check on him later if she wanted to keep Dean happy. But not now.

"You bitch." the demon growled as Ty's continued chanting immobilized him.

Ty would have responded with a scathing remark, but the demon was fighting her with all his strength and it took all her concentration to hold him.

'He's tricking you.'

If she hadn't been so preoccupied, she would have groaned. The last thing she needed right now was for the pesky hunter she was occupying to pipe up.

'He's trying to keep you distracted.' Ty insisted stubbornly.

"Shut up." she growled out loud, feeling her hold slipping from her lapse in focus.

'Hey, if you screw this up and get Dean killed...' the real Ty snapped in her head, 'Look, just pay attention. Can't you hear that?'

She knew she was risking the demon breaking free and losing this chance to exorcize him, but she took a moment to try and hear what Ty was talking about. At first all she heard was the noise of the panicked humans in the building with them. Then, she heard the angry rumble of thunder. The sneaky bastard was calling a storm down on their heads! Cursing to herself, she wondered if it was already too late to stop the impending bolt of lightning that would strike this place and set it on fire.

Ty screamed as she suddenly found herself being rapidly pushed backwards. Her feet dragged along the carpeting that ran down the center of the church and she cried out when she impacted with someone behind her who didn't get out of the way fast enough. A second later, her back impacted with the sealed church doors. She tried to fight back, shake off the force that was holding her, but she'd slipped up and the demon had broken free. He was thirty feet away at the front of the church, but his hand was closing around her throat, crushing her windpipe as he lifted her further off the ground.

Ty's eyes widened as she struggled. Sure, killing this body wouldn't kill her, but it was definitely not what she had planned nor was it much fun to experience. She locked eyes with Dean, who had stopped reading and was torn between running over to try to help her and staying put and finishing the job. Ty tried to communicate with her eyes that he needed to focus on the demon, not on her, since she couldn't hope to get the words out. Somehow Dean seemed to get it because he whirled back around to face the demon, his flask in his hand. The demon screamed when the holy water hit him, jumping back away from Dean. The distraction also caused him to lose his hold on Ty and she fell to the ground, coughing as she tried to refill her lungs with air. One stupid churchgoer approached, placing a hand on her back and moving to help her back to her feet. Ty looked up quickly with demonic eyes.

"Get away from me!" she growled, her voice a scratchy rumble because of the recent abuse it had taken.

Her would-be helper cried out and hurriedly backed away, pulling his hands back from Ty as if she'd burned him. Ty ignored his response and painfully climbed back to her feet. Dean was currently holding the other demon at bay by continuing to douse him with holy water, but he could only keep that up for so long. She needed to help him finish this now before this whole church became a scorch mark on the ground. Her body didn't much feel like it, but she forced it to run over to join Dean as if nothing had happened. Thankfully, her demonic powers would preserve this body from too much harm as long as she remained in it.

"Dean." she said as she came up behind him to warn him of her approach.

Dean glanced quickly back at her. He kept reading the exorcism, but she could see the question in his eyes.

"I'm alright." she assured him, "But you'd better talk faster if you want to get rid of this guy before things get a lot hotter."

Dean raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"The storm outside. It's him. And we've got probably thirty seconds before lightning strikes and this building goes up like a Christmas tree." Ty explained.

"Shit." Dean swore, before stepping up his recitation.

Ty began intoning Latin again herself, trying to reestablish her hold on the other demon. He just laughed and started speaking Latin himself. Ty scowled when she realized that he was overriding her spell, that he was more powerful than she was.

"Dean!" Ty exclaimed, dropping the Latin since it was hopeless, "I can't hold him!"

"Then get them out of here!" Dean snapped in between calling on the name of God and banishing this evil for the tenth time. The words were like nails on a chalkboard to her, but at least they weren't directed at her.

"Dean!" Ty protested.

"Do it!" Dean commanded, glaring at her.

"Fine." she sighed, before running back across the church towards the doors again. Grabbing hold of the handles, she pulled on them with all her might, yelling with the exertion. Her eyes changed again as she tapped into her demonic strength to rip the doors free from their supernatural binding. The heavy wooden doors flew back, slamming against the walls, and Ty released her hold, stumbling backward as the resistance disappeared.

"Get out!" she yelled at the cowering congregation.

After what they had already seen, the people hardly needed Ty's soulless eyes to get them running for safety. Soon the church was empty except for Ty, Dean, the demon and the unconscious preacher. Ty swore when she remembered that fourth presence. She glanced at the black clouds amassing outside before turning back towards Dean. Her hair was already frizzing from the gathering electricity. There was really no more time for this.

Ty ran back to the front of the church and grabbed hold of Dean's arm, dragging him back towards the exit as he continued to yell Latin at the demon. The storm outside was getting so loud that despite his yelling, Dean's voice was almost lost as soon as the words left his mouth. The church doors slammed repeatedly as the wind caught them.

Dean shouted the final word of the exorcism at the top of his lungs. The demon at the front of the church fell to his knees as his mouth flew open and black smoke billowed out. At that same instant, lightning struck the church, shaking the building as the bolt of electricity ripped through the roof and straight into the floor. Dean and Ty were both knocked to the ground by the force of the energy coursing through the building. The light bulbs all exploded and the room plunged into darkness save for the flames that were already spreading from the strike area.

"Ty!" Dean yelled.

"Here!" Ty yelled back, "I'm okay!"

The wind was becoming so strong that the flames were leaping across the room, spreading with an unnatural speed. It didn't matter that the demon had been exorcised. It was already too late to stop this. The light of the fire illuminated Dean as he climbed back to his feet. He held out his hand and Ty grabbed it, letting him pull her up beside him.

"We have to get out of here!" Ty insisted.

"Go!" Dean nodded, shoving her towards the door, "I'll be right behind you!"

Ty wasn't fooled for a second. She knew Dean had every intention of fighting his way through the fire and debris to get the preacher and the formerly possessed man. She also knew that there was no way he could get both of them out of the building before the wind and the fire caused it to collapse.

"Damn it, Dean!" she snapped.

She used her powers again, snagging Dean with them and propelling him out the open doors, ignoring his yells of protest. She then latched onto the two unconscious bodies at the other end of the church and yanked them through the fires and out the doors. She figured that any burns they might sustain were a small price to pay for their lives. They were lucky she even bothered considering that the flames were closing in on her now and she could hear the telltale creaking of the support beams. Ty turned and ran for the door, knowing she was already pressing her luck. Chunks of the ceiling were already falling and one narrowly missed Ty as she sprinted out of the church.

Dean caught her as she ran outside. She looked up and their gazes locked for a second. She almost smiled because the look he was giving her was the sort of look she was sure was meant for the real Ty. Not wanting to ruin it, she turned around to look back at the church. As they watched, half of the roof caved in and the fire leaped up to capture it. Thunder rumbled angrily again and the clouds suddenly burst, dropping rain on them. Ty looked up into the falling water, letting it splash across her face. Only demon storms started with wind, lightning, and thunder and then rained once the damage was done, washing away the evidence, making it seem like a normal freak accident.

"Dean!"

Dean and Ty both turned to see Sam and Alex running over to join them.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked when he'd joined them, his wide eyes taking in the ruins of the church and the two unmoving forms lying prone on the ground nearby.

Dean nodded, "Yeah. We're alright. Check them."

Sam nodded, but his eyes swept over them both critically before he turned and went to check the preacher and the other man.

Alex stared at the church, which was now giving off thick black smoke as the rain fought the fire for dominance. Even though the sky was still overwhelmed with dark clouds, the burning church was sure to attract attention.

"We need to get the hell out of here." Alex said, "Now."

Dean ignored him and turned towards Sam where he was kneeling next to the reverend, "Sam?"

"He needs a doctor, Dean!" Sam called back.

Dean swore and pulled out his cell phone, dialing 911, "Lightning struck the church on 5th and Turner. We need a fire truck and an ambulance. There's some people hurt."

The operator started speaking again, but Dean hung up.

"Let's move them out of the rain, then get out of here." he instructed.

He almost didn't need to say anything; Sam was already moving the preacher, picking him up in a fireman's carry and taking him across the parking lot to the overhang of the nearest building. Alex followed suit, picking up the other guy and following Sam.

Ty caught the distant wail of sirens, "Time to go."

Behind them, the walls of the church finally gave out and the resulting crash made them all jump. Taking that as impetus to get moving, Dean and Ty both ran for the Impala.

"Sam!" Dean yelled over the car when he reached the driver's door.

"I'll ride with Alex! Go! We'll meet you at the hotel!" Sam called back, waving his arms at Dean to encourage him to get going.

Dean nodded and ducked into the car, shutting the door quickly to keep the rain out. Ty was already waiting inside and they wasted no more time getting out of there, trusting that Sam and Alex would be following shortly. Ty beamed at Dean as he sped back towards the hotel.

"See? Wasn't that fun?"