Livvie's hand was out, a smug smile on her face as she made eye contact with Dean. She knew she had won.
Dean and Sam both winced, both knowing that the shot had been fired too late. She had seen it. It was over.
The only person who wasn't acting accordingly was Castiel. His eyes were wide in surprise and recognition, and he leaned forward, desperately trying to catch a better glimpse at the weapon, at what it was about to do.
Livvie struck her arm out to the left, using her grace to shove aside the golden arrow heading straight for her, unobstructing the path to her chest.
And it remained so. Despite her sweep, the arrow stayed true, refusing to be pushed aside or swept away or be impeded in any way by angelic grace. And in less than a second, the distance was crossed, and the arrow plunged straight into her chest.
Sam fell off the wall, and Cas's mouth dropped open. He lifted his hand to meet it, surprised at the soreness there, whilst Sam picked himself up from the floor. Dean went to the glass door and smashed a hole in it, opening it from the outside, unable to wait for them to let him in.
They all looked at Olivia, who had dropped to her knees, holding the arrow at her chest.
"Enochian?" She choked.
"Where did you get that?" Castiel asked in awe as Dean rushed over, throwing his jacket onto the flames long enough for them to be dampened so that Cas could cross over.
"Dad's storage unit." Sam told him.
"We didn't know about it, but it had Enochian on it; we figured it would work." Dean explained, handing it to Cas.
"It is one of heaven's weapons," Cas told them as he turned it over in his hands. "Forged during Lucifer's rebellion, impervious to angelic powers." He looked up to Dean, amazement in his eyes. "This is Michael's bow, only he or his vessel can wield it."
"Well," Dean said, unsure of what to say. "Glad to see that meatsuit business is finally coming in handy."
"Will it kill her?" Sam asked, eyeing up the girl on the floor with slight worry. They stopped her, as they always intended to do, but now that she was bleeding out on the floor, much of his earlier anger had abated. She shuffled back across the floor, her back to the wall, still clutching the arrow, panting heavily.
"Slow poison." Cas said. "Dehibilitating and power-stripping."
"Works for me." Dean said gruffly, turning his attention back to Cas. He swallowed, trying to face the angel. "Cas, did she-" He shook his head. "Did she hurt you?"
"No, I am unharmed." Cas replied.
"Well," Dean nodded, and clapped a hand to Cas's shoulder, the most intimacy he could muster. "I'm glad you're okay."
Cas's eyes softened at the gesture, unused to Dean's kindness after days of hostility. He wasn't sure if it would last, he didn't know how frantically Dean had been trying to rescue him, but right now, he felt like his friend was back.
Sam smiled, happy to see his brother happy, happy to have saved Cas. It was over.
Except,
Sam saw, from the corner of his eye, Olivia move. He looked round, seeing her hand grasped tight around the angel blade, lifting it up.
"I said," She hissed through gritted teeth, staring at Cas. "You won't ruin this for me."
She threw the blade.
Livvie had good aim, even with an arrow through her chest. It swam through the air, spinning as it went, sailing straight towards Cas, too fast to stop, too fast.
But it didn't strike home. It didn't reach Cas.
Dean pushed him out of the way, launching himself in its path.
It sunk into his chest to the hilt, and his knees gave way beneath him.
A big thank you to Cyberbutterfly who helped me out with the backstory for the crossbow.
And thanks for all the reviews! I really love getting them. A huge ego boost to moi.