A/N:

**Please see Chapter 1 for all warnings!** Don't like it? Don't read it!

Thank you Christine, goldacharmed and Kajensen07 for the great reviews!

Even as Jacob thrashed, held four inches off the ground, Sam grabbed a pebble that was lying next to his foot. Jacob's tiny boot caught the rat in the nose and startled it just as the pebble hurtled towards them, smashing right into its forehead.

Jacob dropped like a stone as the rat reeled in surprise, blinking angrily at its surroundings while it tried to figure out where the attack came from. By then, Sam was already on the move. "Stay with Bowman!" he commanded the mouse that had found their friend. The troubled squeak hardly registered to him. Sam had only one goal.

Before the rat could recover, Sam slammed right down between it and Jacob, planting his feet decisively. There was a brief second where they took in each other's appearance, sizing up their opponent. The matted fur on the rat's back slowly raised in aggression.

Then Sam tossed himself forward, lashing out with his knife.

Jacob winced, amazed that he hadn't broken his ankles from the fall. But I wouldn't at this size, he reminded himself. He was too light to do more than jar his ankles and his knees when the rat dropped him.

And then a huge boot bigger than his head slammed down in front of him. Jacob stared in awe, his eyes trailing upwards.

Sam.

Sam stood over him defensively, a knife in his hand over half Jacob's length. As Sam lunged forward at the huge rat, Jacob realized from the glint off the blade that he could see.

He scrambled backwards in surprise, blinking in the newfound light as he finally got an actual look at the thing that almost ate him. He was grateful to have his sight back, but all the same he almost wished he didn't.

The hulking thing had shaggy brown fur like he'd guessed, but it was far more matted and grubby than even his imagination had dreamt up. The huge tail thumped the ground and the vicious yellow teeth were showing in a threatening hiss as the fight began. Claws were held at the ready, and Jacob knew from four narrow scratches along his back and side that they were more than sharp enough to cut flesh to ribbons.

He didn't get to see much of the fight. Jacob looked down in a momentary panic when something grabbed him under the arms and dragged him backwards and off the ground. He kicked and squirmed until he was held to a torso by green-sleeved arms ... Bowman!

Jacob looked up in surprise, but Bowman wasn't looking at him. The sprite's eyes were wide and staring at the rat. His wings, which looked odd with the light illuminating them from behind, were half-unfurled. Bowman was ready to either bolt into the air or flare them wide in his fallback threat display. He was terrified.

When Bowman came alongside a keychain flashlight bigger than Jacob, he came to a stop. He still held onto Jacob protectively and sank to the ground. His wings shifted so they formed almost a full circle around both of them, Bowman shielding Jacob with his precious wings and refusing to let go of him.

With his breath still running fast, Jacob looked back to the fight now several inches away.

The first thing Sam did was go for the eyes.

This was far from the first rat he'd fought in his life, but it was the first rat he'd fought on his own. Growing up with Walt and Mallory, there had been more than one occasion he'd accompanied Walt to take care of rats that foolishly chose to nest nearby.

Killing the rats was self-defense on several levels. Not only were the animals aggressive attackers, striking out against both Sam's people and the mice that called the motel their home, they were also a major red flag that would call down pest control on the same vulnerable mice and people.

Pest control was far more of a threat than a single rat could ever hope to be. In the course of a peaceful afternoon, everyone that lived there in peace would either be dead, dying, or forced to flee their homes forever. There was no coming back once that tipping point was reached. Poison would linger in the deep nooks, coating their small homes and making a place of safety into one to be avoided at all costs.

Because of that, he and his adopted father would hunt down any rats that were on the prowl.

They took full advantage of any rat that they felled. Walt would skin the corpse before rigor mortis set in, taking its hide to be tanned into the same sturdy leather that made up Sam's satchel and the boots he wore every day. In fact, Sam had been the one that had landed the killing blow against the rat that had become his boots. They also took the meat, so long as the rat wasn't diseased or infected. It would be taken down to the steaming hot water heater and jerkied with salt from a recent kitchen raid. One rat would build up an emergency supply of food that filled their small pantry.

Sam was no stranger to the bloody fight he'd begun.

His first lunge came up short. The rat recoiled from the unexpected attack, eyes glinting at the much larger man that had materialized out of thin air to deprive it of an easy meal. Wasting no time, Sam used the momentum from his slash and spun in a circle, smashing a kick directly into the rat's snout.

With an angry hiss, it retreated even further back. Dexterous paws came up to check the damage. Refusing to give it time to regroup, Sam lashed out once more, this time sinking his blade into a paw.

First blood was drawn.

The rat drew its paw back with a strangled hiss, dragging the smaller Sam through the dust with it. It had been out searching for an easy meal, never expecting to find its territory infringed upon by an interloper with a long fang that bit so deep.

Sam was outsized and outweighed. The rat was an easy ten inches long in the body alone, the scaley tail stretching at least another nine or ten inches.

To Sam, it was bigger than a grizzly or a polar bear. To Jacob, it would outsize an elephant. To both, its grimy claws posed a deadly threat.

There was one advantage that Sam had in the fight that Jacob and Dean had never even suspected. Not while he was small enough to completely restrain with only a single hand if they wanted to.

If Sam was to stand on the same scale as Dean, he would be well over three times as strong, if not stronger. The younger brother would not only be able to easily restrain the older brother, he could dangle Dean by the collar of his jacket, one-handed. His older brother would be nothing more than a kitten kicking at the air.

Sam wasn't as outmatched as he looked at first glimpse.

It was a side-effect of his curse. It had downsized him to a fraction of his height, but it also had increased his strength. It helped him to adapt to the others his size. There was a reason they were all such nimble climbers, able to scale surfaces that would make most humans blanch. Not just one or two of them, like humans, either - they could all climb like that.

Combine his increased strength with the skills Dean had drilled into his head with his knife over the last year, and the fight with the surprised and angry rat was an even match.

Sam tried to dig his heels into the wood grain below, but was almost yanked off his feet as the rat dragged him along with its startled flinch, he was so light. If it pulled him off balance, his strength wouldn't matter. He changed tactics. The moment the rat chose to lunge for his throat, Sam dove at the ground.

His blade was yanked forcibly from the paw, drawing another high pitched yelp from the rat. Sam hit the ground in a roll, coming nimbly to his feet at the end.

Back on all fours with a limp, the rat twisted around, bringing its fangs back in reach. The long, scaly tail swept the ground of sawdust as it whipped away, raising a small cloud around the scuffle. Sam moved with it, keeping himself warily out of range of the snarling teeth. A crazed glare bore into him.

With a feral grin, Sam's next attack was a reckless lunge at the side of the rat. His blade found its mark where the muscle of the leg met up with the rest of the rat's body. He sliced through sinew and tendons both as he drew the blade across its flank in an uneven line.

He sprang back as the rat finished its turn, out of range before it could snatch at him again. The leg he'd injured now dangled limp at its side and the rat emitted a low moan more chilling than some of the spirits Sam had dealt with since returning to Dean. He'd hurt it bad.

This time when he slashed at the beady, malicious eyes, the rat couldn't move fast enough out of the way. It yowled in pain, the sound echoing up the walls around them. Sam distantly noted that they'd need to leave, fast, before any nearby humans discovered the source of the noise.

The vicious, desperate sounds of pain continued on as Sam shoved his knife further into the socket. The chilling scrape of metal on bone came, making the rat shudder as Sam gained the upper hand. Blood and gore covered both arms as he gritted his teeth and twisted. The left paw of the rat tried to bat him away, but was too weak to do more than scratch at his arm, one claw snagging a sleeve.

The eye was cut out completely as Sam snapped his knife away. Nerve tendrils hung down, dripping a disgusting red ooze as the animal tried to backpedal away from its attacker. The eye slipped from his blade and dropped to the ground with a sickening splat.

Kicking off the ground, Sam landed on its back. With one swift motion, his blade hacked its way past grimy fur and into the base of the skull. He severed the spine. It was like cutting the strings of a marionette.

The rat gave one last twitch as he removed his knife, wiping the remaining entrails into the corpse. Stepping down, Sam's chest moved in heavy breaths, his pulse pounding in his ears after the deadly fight had finished.

Bowman and Jacob watched the fight with equal awe on their faces. Jacob could hear Bowman's quick breathing, since he was in his lap the way the sprite huddled next to the support beam. Those huge wings wrapped protectively around them. Bowman was not a fighter; Jacob knew that his instincts had to be telling him to flee with every beat of his frantic heart.

But, like Jacob, Bowman couldn't take his eyes off of the fight. They wouldn't leave Sam alone with the monstrous rat.

Sam fought with a ferocity that Jacob had never realized he could be capable of. When he had first found Sam, he had come off as soft spoken and gentle, an understanding soul that complimented his older brother's much harsher outward demeanor. Even the cut Jacob had taken from that small knife was simple self defense, a move of desperation he couldn't ever hold a grudge over. At first, Jacob had barely believed they were brothers, seeing the dissonance between them like the change from night to day, even without the obvious difference in size.

Now he didn't have a problem believing that Sam and Dean were related.

Seen like this, dimly lit from one side with a cheap flashlight, the fight took on an even greater intensity. Sam's shadow danced over the rat, while beyond both of them the light dwindled to nothing. Their silhouettes were visible in the dust they kicked up, the rat's thrashing movements at odds with the artistry in Sam's shadow.

By the time Sam struck his fierce killing blow with a feral snarl on his face, Jacob's eyes were wide. Bowman's wings were quivering with adrenaline, and his arms remained coiled around Jacob protectively. Even with the rat lying dead, it took a few seconds for the victory to really sink in.

Sam's arms and front were covered with gore. Jacob felt queasy just seeing his friend like that. "S-Sam," he called, not even trying to escape the shocked sprite's grip around him. Bowman, being a pacifist by nature, would need time to recover from what he'd witnessed. The sheer difference between Sam and the sprite was outlined in the blood that coated the hunter's front. Bowman might be just as stubborn as Sam or Dean, but he didn't have it in him to fight so violently. "Sam, are you hurt?!"

Even the mouse huddled near Jacob and Bowman squeaked at the sight of the hunter as he kicked against the rat's corpse, nudging it to make sure it was dead. There was no movement past the sickly twitching of its paws as death settled over it.

Straightening, Sam tried to wipe his arms off only to realize that both arms were covered in a solid sheen of blood up to his elbows and gore spattered the front of his jacket. He could feel some drops of blood drying on his neck and face, too.

So much for this jacket, Sam thought dispassionately, momentarily unable to focus past what was right in front of him. Dean's gonna flip when he sees this. He couldn't even recall if he'd ever even told Dean about fighting rats like this in the past, so the entire situation might come as a shock.

He brushed off what he could from his front, flicking off droplets of blood onto the corpse. Once he'd done what he could, he stalked over to the others, falling into his past instincts from years of living in motels and doing his best to keep his steps silent. His knife remained at the ready, held now in a defensive grip Dean had taught him. Sam's hazel eyes were bright and alert.

"I'm fine," he informed them both. "All it managed to do was rip my jacket." A hand rubbed against the tear, fingering it absently on the moist sleeve. Considering the amount of blood and gore covering him, the tear would be the least of his problems.

He was honestly far more worried about Jacob, considering what had been happening when they'd found him. The rat had been seconds from a killing blow. Sam sank to his knees when he was only a few inches away, giving the others space considering his current state. The mouse squeaked again, a quiet noise of concern. "How about you?" he asked gently. "Did that rat... did it manage to hurt you?"

Jacob glanced around for the source of the squeaking noise, thinking another rat might be nearby. Thanks to the way Bowman's wings were arranged around him, the extra tiny human could only see Sam. His face remained a mask of shock as he stared at the man kneeling in front of him. Jacob gave the arms around him a nudge, and Bowman finally moved his wings out of the way and relented his grip on Jacob.

Sam is such a badass, Jacob couldn't help but think. After his vicious duel with the rat he casually flicked blood away, walked over, and shifted right back into his gentle, concerned self that Jacob was accustomed to. If it weren't for the blood all over him, they wouldn't know anything had happened.

Jacob glanced down at himself when Sam's question finally registered a few seconds later. In the light, he could see his absolute covering of dust. It had probably bought him precious seconds escaping the rat's notice. If it had found him sooner, Sam and Bowman would have rounded the corner to a very well-fed rat and no Jacob. Unless the rat was a messy eater. That's a fucked up thought.

Jacob looked himself over for injuries beyond the stinging ones he could feel on his back. When the rat had snatched him up in its paws, claws with fine points had made four even lines of stinging but not debilitating pain along his back. Other than the light scratch on his jaw, Jacob counted himself lucky that he didn't find any more injuries.

"Well, just-" he was cut off when he glanced to the side and met eyes with a grey mouse and stiffened. A squeak that somehow managed to sound concerned resonated out of the animal's throat. The mouse was bigger than Jacob, with stormy grey fur, a swishing pink tail, and round ears perked forward curiously. The many whiskers on its nose quivered as it sniffed the air and Jacob could see it was breathing fast, agitated just as much by the fight as everyone else. Jacob relaxed when no one else seemed bothered by it being there, even Bowman, who leaned his head back against the support beam with a thunk.

Jacob blinked at the rodent before hesitantly taking his gaze off it to look up at Sam. "I got a couple scratches when that thing grabbed me," he explained.

Sam frowned in concern at that. "Once we get cleaned up, we'll have to sterilize that wound," he said, thinking of the alcohol pads that Dean had in his first aid kit, carefully squirreled away in the massive duffel. "We can't risk infection. You're too small for antibiotics."

The mouse nosed its way towards Sam, hesitantly sniffing in his direction. He held out a hand, stretching his fingers open. The blood was already drying and sticky, but otherwise not a concern. "Not mine, see?" He was careful to keep the bloody limb out of the mouse's reach, not wanting to get their new ally gory. That mouse had saved Jacob's life.

Sam nodded at the mouse for Jacob's benefit. The smaller human was watching the rodent warily, reminding Sam that Jacob and Dean had differing opinions of small animals like that. "We wouldn't have made it in time without him. He found me and tried to tell me something. Almost tugged me off my feet to reach you in time. We weren't even close to you before that, at least a few motel rooms down the corridor." Sam gave a fleeting grin as the mouse nuzzled Jacob, light, twitchy whiskers against his cheek. "I think you've earned a new friend."

Jacob leaned away from the ticklish contact in surprise, though he couldn't stop the smile that crept onto his face in spite of everything. He realized, as the mouse seemed to check him over, that it must have seen him huddled in the corner after all. Unlike the rat, the mouse hadn't seen a meal. It saw a creature even smaller than itself that clearly needed help. So it went and found some not a moment too soon.

Fascination started to replace his wariness of the rodent now that he knew it was friendly. Jacob held up his hands, so small next to the storm grey creature. It sniffed at them, whiskers twitching and tickling at his wrists. Then it pushed its curious nose forward, snuffling at Jacob's hoodie. It nuzzled at his side and he sucked in a surprised breath, flinching when his aching ribs complained.

The mouse squeaked and backed off, then hesitantly moved forward again. There was a quieter squeak accompanying the barest brush at the same spot, this time without enough pressure to pain Jacob's tender skin. He hesitantly lifted a hand and brushed it back along the mouse's head. The fur was dirty from the dust that had shaken down on it, but very soft. Bright, intelligent eyes blinked up at him from the mouse's lowered position.

"Guess I owe you big time," Jacob muttered, a grin on his face. Who would have thought he'd ever say that to a mouse? Yet here he was, a mouse nudging lightly at his cheek with its whiskers brushing his ear.

Seeing his small friend okay and at relative ease helped Bowman break out of his daze. He'd never seen anything quite so violent in his life, except perhaps the wolf bite that Dean had gotten in Wellwood. That grisly wound had nearly poisoned Dean right out of his mind. Even then, Bowman hadn't actually seen most of Dean's fight with the wolves. He was too preoccupied being stuck in the jaws of one.

There wasn't much of a view from the mouth of a wolf.

"Well, it looks like he wants to make sure you get back alright," Bowman noted, brushing his own hand over the mouse's soft ears. He shifted then, smirking at the fact that Jacob was too distracted by scratching under the mouse's chin to notice the sprite standing.

Until he picked him up, anyway.

The mouse and Jacob both gave surprised squeaks as Jacob's feet left the floor. Jacob kicked his legs in surprise. "Bowman, what the hell?" he complained, but that only served to widen Bowman's smile. He settled Jacob back down, mounted securely on the mouse's back. The small human immediately leaned forward in surprise, securing his arms around the mouse's neck.

"He can get you back to our room," Bowman explained as he stooped to heft up the light stick. He kept the beam from pointing in anyone's eyes, but he wouldn't be able to carry it and Jacob very easily. Sam, covered in rat blood, was out too. He needed to be wary of any other attackers, anyway. Jacob and Bowman weren't exactly up to facing a rat like that.

"Jesus Christ, Bowman," Jacob muttered, rolling his eyes. His face heated up at how easily the sprite had placed him on the mouse, but he quickly had to pay attention as the rodent turned around curiously, trying to catch sight of the smaller creature on its back. Its tail thumped on the ground. Jacob could actually feel the naturally-speedy heartbeat of the mouse through the soft fur. It was definitely one of the most interesting things he'd ever done.

He reached up and ruffled the fur between the mouse's ears. That seemed to placate the worried creature. It squeaked at him before pausing to lick its paws and run them over its face, ridding itself of dust. Jacob was careful not to yank any fur out as he gripped it, sitting up cautiously on the mouse's back. He could feel every shifting muscle beneath him, lean sinews designed to get the mouse through tight spaces and quickly.

Sam pushed himself back to his feet with more effort than he'd expected. The adrenaline was beginning to wear off after the ferocious fight, leaving his limbs weaker than normal. He considered the long, thin corridor they'd walked down. "That's not a bad plan," he admitted. "We passed more than a few rooms on our way here. It's too far for you to walk."

He tried to clean his silver knife more, but the blood was already drying on it. He'd have to wait until they returned to the room to take care of it, along with the rest of the mess covering him up in spatters. He could just imagine how Dean would react when they came through that opening in the wallpaper again.

All that was important was that Jacob was safe.

Once he was certain they had everything ready and Jacob was settled on top of the mouse, he lead the way through the walls, his knife held at the ready. If another rat came, Sam would be prepared.

Bowman, in order to make sure Jacob and his new friend the mouse didn't get lost, stood waiting with the flashlight in his arms. He kept the beam angled somewhat downwards in case Sam looked back. It took a few seconds, but Jacob eventually managed to get the mouse to stop trying to stand up on its rear legs to sniff the air and just follow after Sam.

Bowman had to admit, it was amusing to see his friend scramble to wrap his arms around the furry neck before he slid right off the thing's back. Before Sam could get far, the mouse gave a squeak and scurried after him with Jacob in tow. Bowman brought up the rear. His wings were constantly twitching, almost like he could feel the looming darkness behind him as they made their way back to the room where Dean waited.

Riding a mouse bareback, Jacob was discovering, was a bit of a task when the rodent was in motion. Just standing around didn't give him an indication of how slick the soft fur could be. Luckily the mouse was patient with him when he showed signs of slipping sideways, turning its head to watch and make sure he wouldn't fall into the dust.

The mouse got distracted at times. Jacob found himself giving its ears a scratch whenever it stopped to sniff around in the dust, making sure it kept following Sam. The last thing he needed was to get lost in the walls a second time. The first time hadn't worked out very well for him, though he was in constant awe that he was alivebecause of the silly mouse that carried him now.

When they finally rounded the last corner, Jacob perked up at the sight of the light leaking into the walls from the room. Sam led the very odd group right up to it, his knife held at the ready the entire time. He wasn't going to let his guard down until they were all out of there. Sharp hazel eyes scanned their surroundings every step of the way, watching out for dangers Jacob was afraid to imagine but Sam had grown up with.

Since there was no need for the flashlight anymore, that was the first thing pushed back out of the wall. Bowman thought it'd be a good announcement for Dean that they'd returned. Then, he pushed the ruined wallpaper out of the way and looked at Jacob. "You head back first," he suggested.

Jacob nodded. His legs were jelly, but once he was in the safety of the room he figured he'd be able to just flop over for a few seconds before thinking about getting his stinging scratches taken care of. As he leaned forward on the mouse, clutching its fur for stability so he could swing a leg over the side, it darted forward. Jacob was surprised as it sniffed around the opening. He would have assumed that it would want to scurry away as soon as possible, with Dean waiting in the room.

Instead, his bold mouse decided to get him all the way home. Before Jacob could coax it back away from the opening, he had to hang on tight as it scampered over the edge (which would have been too high for Jacob to climb on his own anyway) and into the bright room beyond.

Jacob couldn't even see right away if the others followed. He just knew that his mouse was breathing faster from its risky move exposing itself in a human's room. It was smart enough to know that it usually wasn't welcome here. Jacob had to shield his eyes after so long in the total darkness. He heard the others come through the opening in the wall, but he couldn't see much of anything yet.

A/N:

In case anyone needs a reminder that Sam is, despite his adorable size and fluffy hair, Dean's younger brother and just as much a Winchester, here ya go.

This was a fun experiment in action writing for me.

Don't forget to feed the authors! Leave a comment to let us know what you think.

Next: February 7th, 2018 at 9pm.

Leave us a review to let us know what you think! This lil experiment is a test of our abilities when completely unleashed!