!Alicia just stared at 'Jimmy' for several seconds, trying to process everything she had just been told. After a few moments, she shook her head. "You're crazy," she replied. "Look, thank you—whoever you are—for saving me, but just stay away from me." She started walking quickly away, but then a hand clamped around her arm. It was tight enough to stop her in her tracks but not enough to hurt her.
"I can't do that," Castiel said.
"Let go of me," !Alicia demanded, trying to break free, but his grip wasn't loosening.
"I'm not going to hurt you, Alicia," Castiel said, "but I can't let you wander around by yourself. Doesn't the fact that I'm able to grab you while you're in spirit form mean anything?"
"You mean, like those demons were gonna do?" !Alicia retorted. "You say you're an angel—which is insane—and you haven't given me any good reason to believe you."
Castiel let go of !Alicia and backed away. Light began emanating from him as his eyes started glowing hot blue, almost white. As the light intensified, !Alicia's eyes widened when she saw the shadows of a pair of large, feathery wings unfurling on the walls around and behind him. As the light disappeared and everything once again appeared normal, Castiel walked back over to the young woman, his expression hard and serious.
"Would you care to see me in my true form?" he asked, his voice serious. !Alicia opened her mouth, but Castiel continued. "I must warn you, however, I am the size of your Chrysler Building, and it is physically overwhelming to most humans." !Alicia raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "If you were in your physical form, your eyes would be burned from their sockets, and your ears would burst from my voice."
"Well, I'm not exactly in my physical form," !Alicia replied smugly as she folded her arms.
"No, which means your spirit would just burn to ash," Castiel retorted. He saw Alicia's expression falter at his remark. "Do you need more convincing?"
"No, I-I-I'm good," !Alicia replied lamely.
"Let's go," Castiel ordered. He led !Alicia through the corridor, his eyes darting around, looking for potential threats. In a short time the two reached the young woman's door, and Castiel abruptly opened it, walking in; !Alicia walked in behind. Dean, Sam, and Bobby looked over and immediately stood up, the brothers looking shocked and confused at the newcomer, and Bobby just appeared defensive.
"Jimmy?" Dean asked. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"My name's not Jimmy," Castiel replied. "I'm Castiel, and I'm an angel. I'm here because you're all in danger."
!Alicia saw Bobby sneak up behind Castiel with a long knife. "Look out!" she shouted. Without looking around, Castiel grabbed the weapon. It cut his hand, but the angel was unfazed as he used it to swing Bobby around. He stared at the hunter with a cold expression as he yanked the knife from Bobby's hand, who looked completely shocked.
"Please don't," Castiel said, tossing the knife on the nearby table. He placed his hand over his injury. When he pulled it away, the cut was completely gone. The sounds of clicks caused him to look to his side, and he saw both Dean and Sam holding their guns at him, their expressions deadly. Castiel simply sighed, almost annoyed. "Pointing guns at me again?"
"I think someone has some explaining to do," Dean said.
"There's no time," Castiel replied.
"Make time," Sam retorted. "Talk."
"They'll shoot you," !Alicia warned the angel.
"Their bullets won't harm me," Castiel replied, looking at !Alicia.
"No, but it'll bring security," !Alicia pointed out, "who will ask questions. Do you really wanna deal with that right now?"
"Who the hell are you talking to?" Dean demanded.
"Alicia," Castiel explained, indicating beside him. "She's right here."
"Look, you son of a bitch," Bobby said, frowning, "I don't know who you think you are, but you don't get to come waltzing in like you have the right to—"
Castiel reached out and touched !Alicia's forehead. The hunters only saw him touching thin air, but soon the air began to shimmer, then flicker. In a few seconds, !Alicia was visible for the first time to the three hunters. They stared at her in stunned silence as she just lamely stood there.
"Allie?" Dean asked, his face faltering slightly as he looked right at her.
"You can see me?" !Alicia asked. Dean's stunned expression affirmed her question. She looked at Sam and Bobby. "You can all see me?" They nodded.
"You okay?" Dean asked as he stepped toward his wife, his eyes swimming with emotion. He reached up to touch her hand, but his hand simply passed through her. It felt like a blast of cold air hit him, and he hissed as he reflexively pulled his hand back, looking disappointed.
"As 'okay' as I can be, I guess," !Alicia replied, glancing at her body briefly. "Look, I know this is a lot to take in, and I didn't believe him myself, but trust me. He really is an angel." She saw them glance at Castiel with extreme suspicion.
"Why is he here?" Sam asked.
"Because Alicia's ring was removed," Castiel replied, "even though I specifically told you to keep them on so you'd stay hidden from the demons."
"Look, Clarence, it wasn't our fault," Dean said, bristling. "The doctors had to remove it to find out what was wrong with her." He paused, tilting his head. "And how the hell did you even know Allie's ring was off?" Castiel just fixed him a look. "Son of a bitch, you low-jacked 'em, didn't you?"
"Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Bobby asked.
"We'll talk later," !Alicia replied. "I'll explain everything."
"Oh, we're gonna be doing plenty of talking, young lady," Bobby said. "You can count on it." He was pleased to see her squirm uncomfortably.
"It was a good thing I did," Castiel continued, "because during that time without her ring on, Alicia's location was picked up by the very demons I've been trying to hide you from."
"What are you saying?" Sam asked, concerned.
"Ramiel knows she's here," Castiel replied. "He sent four demons as envoys to find her and bring her to him. If I hadn't come when I did, he would already have her."
"You fought off four demons?" Bobby asked.
"He killed four demons," !Alicia corrected. She saw the hunters' staring at her. "Look, if I didn't see it myself, I wouldn't have believed it."
"Okay," Dean said, staring at Castiel, still stunned, "you can kill demons…good to know."
"Speaking of which," !Alicia said to the angel, "why did you kill them?"
Castiel looked confused by her question. "They were going to harm you," he said. "I was protecting you."
"Yeah, and I appreciate that," !Alicia replied, "but you could have exorcized them."
"Seriously, Allie?" Dean asked, scoffing. "You got demons on your ass, and you're worried about them being killed?"
"No, I'm worried about the innocent people they were possessing being killed," !Alicia retorted. "Look, guys, I get it, we've all been doing this long enough to know there are some people that can't be saved, but Feathers over here didn't even try."
"I will not apologize for killing the enemy on the battlefield to protect you," Castiel replied. "If you have a problem with my methods, we can discuss it later. Right now, my first priority is to keep you safe from Ramiel and his brothers—and that means getting you away from here before he sends reinforcements. And make no mistake, he will send them, and I can guarantee you it will be a lot more than four."
"Alicia's in no condition to leave this room," Sam spoke up.
"She will be after I heal her," Castiel replied, "but her spirit needs to return to her body first, then I'll be able to teleport all of you out of here to somewhere safe, just as I did in Reno."
"That was you?" Dean asked. Castiel nodded, and Dean looked a little unsettled at the prospect of traveling like that again. "Look, if you're an angel, just gank 'em like you did the others." Castiel didn't answer as his face grew darker. "Whoa, are you saying an angel can't take out a bunch of freakin' demons?"
"Even angels can be overwhelmed if they're significantly outnumbered," Castiel replied curtly, his face growing dark for a moment before he cleared his throat. "Alicia, let's get you back in your body." He walked over to the young woman's body. "First, we need to remove these," he carefully broke the iron bracelets around Alicia's wrists, handing them to Sam.
"I do hope you're gonna fix those," !Alicia replied. Everyone gave her withering expressions as Sam pocketed the jewelry. "What?"
"Okay, time to go home," Dean said. He glanced over as !Alicia didn't move. "Allie, any time now."
"I can't," !Alicia replied.
"What do you mean 'can't'?" Bobby asked.
"I already tried," !Alicia answered, "before Dean put my jewelry back on earlier. I can't get in."
"Why not?" Sam asked.
"I know," Castiel replied as he reached into his coat and pulled out his angel blade. "Help me turn her over.
"What are you gonna do?" Dean asked.
"I need to cut her tattoo off," Castiel replied.
"Whoa, whoa, pump the brakes," Dean said as he quickly stood protectively between the angel and his wife's bed, facing Castiel, "what do you mean cut it off? That's the only thing keeping her from being possessed."
"It's also preventing her from getting back into her body," Castiel replied.
"How?" Dean asked. "That's an anti-possession tattoo."
"Yes," Castiel continued. "It prevents possession by any type of spirit, not just demons. As long as Alicia has this embedded in her skin, her spirit won't be able to get back in her body."
"How do we know this isn't some trick?" Sam asked.
"Because I gave it to her originally," Castiel answered. "I know how it works." The hunters glanced at him briefly. There were so many questions to ask, but they knew it wasn't the right time. "Look, this is the last thing I want, but it's the only way to get Alicia' spirit back in, and I'll heal it when we're safely away."
"Can't you just remove it the way you added it the first time?" Bobby asked.
"If it was the original tattoo," Castiel replied, "but it's now made with holy ink. I can't physically touch it. Now," he gripped his blade, "turn her over." The hunters glanced at each other, but Dean shrugged with that 'just go with it' expression. They carefully moved to the young woman's bedside and gently turned her on her side, careful not to disturb the tubes and wires connecting to the machines.
Dean lifted her shirt, exposing the tattoo on her lower back. He glanced at Castiel as the angel moved close, putting the tip of his blade against her skin. He looked at !Alicia, who looked a bit queasy, and he couldn't blame her. "Maybe you should look away."
"Look, you guys take care of this," !Alicia replied as she backed up, "and I'll go take care of that other spirit." Everyone looked over at her.
"What spirit?" Bobby asked.
"Allie, no," Dean said, knowing what she was referring to.
"What spirit?" Bobby repeated more persistently.
"You saw it?" Sam asked.
!Alicia nodded. "And it wasn't a demon, but it was nasty—and it was able to attack me physically."
"Allie, we're dropping it, okay?" Dean replied. "The chaplain's taking care of it."
"Yeah," Sam agreed. "It's not killing or hurting anyone—and we need to get you out before Ramiel shows up."
!Alicia shook her head. "I'm not going back into my body," she said stubbornly. "Not until this other spirit's dealt with."
"Allie, stop being so damn stubborn," Dean said, frustrated. "Now, when Castiel cuts your tattoo off, get back in your freakin' body. As your husband, I'm ordering you."
Alicia raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?" she asked as she folded her arms. "And who's gonna make me if I don't?" Sam, Bobby, and Castiel all stared at her, determined. !Alicia scoffed, unfazed. "Look, I don't care if you're older than me," she looked at Bobby, "taller than me," she turned to Sam, "having sex with me," she fixed Dean with a look of irritation, "or even killing demons for me," she glared at Castiel, "I'm not getting back into my body until this spirit is taken care of. If you wanna help me, fine. If not, cut the testosterone-laden intimidation tactics and stay out of my way." She left the group, marching over to the front door, easily walking through it.
"I don't have testosterone," Castiel said bluntly.
Dean grumbled and grabbed the blade from Castiel's hand, heading for the door. "I'll keep an eye on her," he said. "Sam, you're with me." Sam joined his brother as Dean opened the door.
"I should be the one going after her," Castiel replied, looking annoyed.
"You stay here with Bobby," Dean ordered the angel. "Don't let anyone in here—and if someone does manage to get in, kill 'em." He walked out of the room with Sam behind, who closed the door. Bobby gently put Alicia's body back into position on the bed before taking the chair. He kept a close watch over his niece, glancing over at the angel who stayed near the window to keep his own vigil.
(End of Chapter 8)