Angela and Hodgins were running from the building when the blast went off. It was bigger than it was meant to be, because even Hodgins couldn't be sure of all the factors when improvising an explosion using the gas outlets in a science lab. The rope they were using as a fuse burned more slowly than they'd thought it would, so more gas had leaked into the room when the flame hit, and instead of causing minor damage and a distraction the explosion destroyed most of the school building. It made the ground shake and threw them forward in a blast of heat so intense Angela was sure she could feel her skin blistering. She lay where she fell for a moment, dazed and deafened and bruised, before her wits came back to her and she dragged herself up to look for Hodgins.

Hodgins had been thrown into a rosebush that lined the path to the door of the school. Blood ran down his cheek where a thorn had torn his skin, and he was clutching his wrist, his face in a pained grimace, but he wasn't dead and a deep feeling of relief filled Angela as he rolled out of the bush.

"I guess this is the part of the movie where the battle montage starts," Hodgins said. It was a weak joke, but Angela appreciated the effort.

"All we need is the song," she said, and hugged him hard because there were certain times when hugging was allowed between exes.

They held hands and walked away from the building, not looking back. Angela was pretending it was a movie, and heroes in movies never look back at the explosions they cause.

Chaos was taking over around them as they made their way toward the controls of the sprinkler system for the school lawns. People were running and fighting and pushing their way through the crowds, yelling and crying and panicking, trying to leave the school grounds. Angela saw several normal looking people run into an invisible wall when they tried to step over the lines they had painted on the ground. A thrill of vindictive glee ran through her at the thought that she had helped stop them. It was quickly replaced by a shudder of abject terror as she realised not only was she shut in with a large number of demons, but they were also now very angry. She clasped Jack's hand tighter and practiced the breathing exercises she'd learnt at her meditation escape the month before. She was definitely going to need to go on another one when all this was over.

There was a second, larger explosion as the fire hit the gas pipes. They were further away now, but even so the heat scorched her skin. Hodgins was lit up in red and yellow. Angela really hoped there had been no-one near the building. They'd made sure it was clear before setting the blast, but what if someone had snuck back in? What if they'd killed someone? Surely that made them no better than those they were fighting.

The sprinkler system was run off an enormous tank of water buried beneath a small copse of trees so it couldn't be seen. The controls were in a small shed hidden by thick ornamental plants. A narrow gravel path led to it. Angela and Hodgins sidled down it as quietly and unobtrusively as possible. If someone saw them and attacked the whole plan was down the drain and it really would take an act of God to save them.

Angela's feet crunched on the stones. She wished she'd worn more practical shoes. Sneakers, maybe. Or work boots, like Dean's. Although, while the boots were seriously hot on Dean Winchester, she doubted they'd suit her as well. If she was going to die today, she might as well go out in a blaze of glory and awesome shoes.

"You OK?" whispered Hodgins.

"No," Angela whispered back.

"Me neither."

They reached the door of the tiny shed. It was locked with a solid metal padlock holding a bolt closed. Hodgins let go of her hand, glancing around for something heavy to break the lock with. He clutched his left wrist, which was swelling nastily and bent at a strange angle.

It was quieter and darker in the trees. They blocked out a lot of the noise, and all they could see of the fire was strange colours dancing in the sky overhead. Without the view of the rushing crowds, the whole thing seemed a long way away and somehow less believable.

Angela pulled a hairpin from her hair and silently thanked her high school boyfriend Kyle for being less than honest, as she used the skills he'd taught her for the first time in years. The lock snapped open in under a minute.

"Nice, Angie! Just full of hidden talents aren't you?" Hodgins' voice was warm and affectionate.

They bustled inside the dark shed. A spider web brushed across Angela's face as they walked through the door, and she fought the urge to shriek and dance around the room trying to get it off. Being afraid of spiders seemed a little silly now.

They found the cover of the tank when Hodgins kicked it and the metal clanged deeply.

"Ow!"

They knelt beside it and turned it and pulled at it until it came away with a suddenness that sent them sprawling backwards. Carefully, Angela felt her way back to the edge. There were no windows in the shed and the hole was large enough for a person to fall in. At last, her groping hand hit metal and then frigid air and she knew she had found it again.

"Have you got it?" She whispered to Hodgins. She wasn't sure why she was whispering – there was no-one else around – but it seemed right somehow.

"It's right here," Hodgins replied, his voice low and full of comfort and reassurance. He pulled a rosary from his jacket pocket and dropped it in the tank. It landed almost immediately with a faint plop. A drop of water landed on Angela's hand. The tank was nearly full.

"Well, they might be Satanists and demons, but at least they make sure they can water the fields," Hodgins commented. He was very close to Angela. She could feel the heat of his body, and it made her calm. Or as calm as possible, given the circumstances.

They whispered the prayer together, and then repeated it louder just in case.

Now all they had to do was find the switch.

Angela cursed the school for not putting lights in the sprinkler house. Everywhere else had the best of the best. It was like it had been done just to foil their plans.

And then it got worse.

The demon came on silent feet, and they never even knew it was there until it spoke.

"Holy water sprinklers... Very clever... what a pity you won't live to see them go off."

Angela froze where she was feeling her way around the wall to the control panel. The demon blocked the doorway, and she realised it hadn't been completely dark before. But now it was. She couldn't see the demon. Not its face or its height or its build. She couldn't even be sure it was a demon – she couldn't see its eyes. It spoke with a man's voice, smooth and silky, and it terrified her.

She edged sideways, and her shoes made an almost imperceptible noise against the stone floor.

That tiny sound was all it took. Suddenly, a large body, strong and muscular and still invisible in the darkness had her pinned against the wall, and strong, thick fingers were easing their way around her neck.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," The demon hissed, "I could break your neck with one twist."

The hand pressed down on her throat and she struggled for breath. Her heart beat hard and fast in her chest. "Christo," she rasped.

The demon flinched, and the grip on her neck eased for an instant. But then the fingers closed again, harder than ever.

"You'll regret that," it snarled.

And then there was a loud clang and a cracking noise, and the demon fell backwards, its hand falling away from Angela.

"Don't you ever touch her again!" Hodgins shouted, following it up with: "Christo Christo Christo CHRISTO CHRISTO!"

Angela could hear the demon writhing on the floor, then a thud as it swept Hodgins legs from under him and the smack of a punch landing and a hiss of pain from Hodgins, and she knew she had to do something. She swung her leg back and kicked as hard as she could.

There was another hiss of pain from Hodgins. "The other guy, Ange, the other guy."

She repositioned herself, waiting for Hodgins to scramble out of the way. "Christo," she said again, and kicked the shuddering body again and again.

There was a silence and then a loud splash and screams of pain and a hiss like flesh in acid.

The shrieks were loud and agonised and echoed in the tiny room. Angela felt a pang of conscience.

"He just tried to strangle you, Ange. It was self defence," Hodgins said, but it didn't make her feel much better about what she'd done or what was going to happen outside when they turned the sprinklers on.

They found the switch at last, and flicked it on, hearing the pump start up over the last pained gasps of the demon in the tank.

They were turning to leave when something like wind blasted through the trees around the shed, and the doorway lit up with lightning.

Castiel stood there, silver-white blade gleaming in each hand. Something dark that might have been blood dripped off them and stained his coat. His hair was ruffled and messy, and a strange light lit his face. Angela was almost sure she could see strange shadows extending from his shoulders. For the first time, he frightened her.

"I apologise for the delay," he rumbled, "I was otherwise occupied." He gently touched two fingers to her forehead, and when Angela opened her eyes, she and Hodgins were in a ring of demons with Sam and Dean Winchester and Sweets.

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