Adam slammed his hands against the barrier over and over again, ignoring the burning pain splitting through his palms. Every time he came into contact with it, he had to jerk away again, somehow unexpecting of how much it would hurt when he touched it. It was like it got worse every time he made contact - but it couldn't be, the pain only lasted for a good few seconds before it faded. And then he would try again, only to have to pull his hands back almost immediately. This was ridiculous! He'd drowned in his own blood, choking while teeth sank into his skin. He'd been set on fire several times during his torture in the Cage. But this, this is what held him back? This is what contained him? This stupid little trap?
The demon hissed under his breath, fixing his eyes on Chuck for a moment. He wasn't looking at him anymore, seeming bored with Adam now, and had shifted his focus to a laptop that was opened in front of him. His fingers lingered over the keyboard, but he never actually made contact. Every so often, he'd pick the bottle of whiskey up and down a few mouthfuls, seeming frustrated with something, and then returned his fingers to their position, over the keyboard.
He knew the look on Chuck's face, though. He knew that frustration; Writer's block.
Adam growled a little and turned away once again, once again trying to slam his hands through the barrier. He was trying to wear it down, but he didn't think he was getting anywhere; The moment he came into contact with it, at the edge of the circle, it started hurting again. He yanked his hands back, seething, and turned away. And then, he wasn't sure why, but he began pacing around in a circle, where the circle on the ceiling would allow him to, at least. There was something, a deep, stirring sense of anxiety churning in his stomach, but it didn't feel like his own. He knew what his own feelings felt like, and he knew what Michael's felt like - this felt like Michael's, but that wasn't possible, because Michael wasn't there. Unless…
Unless their souls were so connected that, even when split apart, they were the same?
Adam slowed for a moment, looking out the window. Every part of him was aching to leave, to get back to Michael. He hated being apart from him, but he hated the thought of Michael being in danger more than anything. The thought of the archangel rushing right into the trap that was being set for him - it scared the demon a lot more than he wanted to admit. But he would.
The demon shifted his weight to one side, mouth twisting, eyes narrowing as he flicked his gaze over the sky. One thing unnerved him - the streets were completely empty, the other houses on the block seemingly vacant, abandoned. The power in this house didn't even seem to be on. Adam frowned a little, turning his attention from his own predicament to the seemingly abandoned street. He'd never seen a place so empty. It was like the only people there were him and Chuck. Of course - there were cars parked in driveways and on the side of the street, but they were empty, as well, covered in different colored leaves, tires buried nearly halfway. Untouched, unused, unmoved. All but one.
Now, Adam didn't really know cars - but he knew Corvettes.
This one was beautiful. A glimmering, bright red; Adam guessed it had to be at least 1990, ZR1, he thought, glancing the car over. It glittered and shone, clearly having been washed recently, the tires looking brand new and the windshield sparkling. Only thing, he couldn't see through any of the windows, or the windshield. He couldn't even see if anybody was inside. The car was parked a few houses down on the other side of the street, just barely in Adam's few, and the demon furrowed his eyebrows and strained to get a closer look - but, he couldn't.
As if in response to his staring, the headlights flipped on, startling the demon - he jumped a little, jerking back and stumbling a few steps, and Chuck finally lifted his gaze.
"You know you can't get through that, right?" He grunted, shutting the laptop and rubbing his temples with a sigh. "Devil's Trap. Give it up already, would'ja?" Chuck stretched a little, and Adam let his gaze linger on the car until the headlights switched off again, slowly returning his gaze back to Chuck with a deep frown written across his face now, bewildered and unnerved. Chuck paused, staring at him, then smirked a little bit and stood up. "Here." He snapped his fingers - Adam's shoulders jerked instinctively - and a book shimmered to life in the man's hand. He tossed it over to Adam, somewhat carelessly; The demon caught it quickly, wide-eyed. Forget everything else the man's done - throwing a book? Evil. "Entertain yourself."
"Go fuck yourself," Adam muttered, turning the book over in his hands to read the cover. Chuck didn't respond, pulling a phone out of his pocket and dialing a number, and the demon hesitantly turned his attention back to the book. Supernatural, it read, by Carver Edlund. He hated to admit it, but he was actually kind of interested… no, no, he had to have a little strength, and that meant not giving in to what Chuck wanted. The demon pressed his lips together and put the book down at his feet, crossing his arms over his chest and looking back out the window.
The car had inched forward slightly, headlights flickering once again. On, and then off.
"Becky! I'm glad you called me back, I- no, wait I know- I know- no, no, no, don't hang up, just hear me out, please…" Chuck's voice faded out slightly, and Adam turned, blinking, to see that the man was walking out the back door, closing it behind him with a sharp click. The demon squinted a little, frowning, before turning his attention back to the car out front. As if whoever was driving knew Chuck had left the house, the car continued to inch forward, slow and steady - Adam realized, startled, that the engine wasn't making a sound. The car was completely silent as it moved - impressive, but confusing as all hell.
Then the lights shut off, and the driver's side door opened. Adam leaned over a little, craning his neck to get a better view, as a woman got out. She looked kind of young - in her twenties, or so, Adam would say. Her hair was brown, curled, bouncing around her shoulders, her eyes a bright, sea-green color. They met his from where she stood beside the car, and she raised an eyebrow at him as she turned, completely, to face the house. Adam only blinked. Something was off.
The woman tilted her head, a sharp smile curling at her lips.
Adam furrowed his eyebrows in response, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched her. Then, suddenly, glancing from one side to the other, the woman began walking forward, slow and steady; The demon watched as she approached, curious and confused, until she stopped at the window - and then abruptly disappeared, right then and there, right where she stood. One second, she was there - the next, she was gone, and Adam was left reeling.
"The hell…?" Adam muttered, turning to look toward the back door. He could hear Chuck talking outside, voice raised, as if arguing with someone - "Becky", he recalled, the man had said, whoever the hell that was. So he hadn't done anything to the woman - she had just appeared, and then disappeared in the blink of an eye. Was she an angel…? Adam hadn't seen any wings, but that didn't mean anything. He didn't know what an angel's true face looked like - well, he did, but apparently it was different for different angels. Like Lucifer, and Gabriel, and Michael. And the same went for demons, but he knew something was definitely off about that woman. Either that, or Adam was officially losing his damn mind. Which was a good possibility.
He looked back out the window, but there was nothing now. The woman was gone - but even more unnerving, the car was gone, too. Disappeared, just as fast.
The demon tilted his head slightly, then just shook his head, took a deep breath, and turned away with a low, slightly shaky sigh. Yeah, he really missed Michael. At least he didn't feel like he was slowly losing his mind when the archangel was there - right then, and right there, Adam was sure his sanity was slipping away. He was definitely losing it, and it had to have been because Michael wasn't there. Which, of course, was Adam's own fault - but he had done what he had to do to keep Chuck occupied, and to protect his best friend. That's what mattered. Halo was safe, at least now, he was, and that's what mattered.
Adam groaned and rubbed a hand down his face, pinching the bridge of his nose. This was a great time to actually be losing his mind, definitely… honestly, how pathetic could he get? How pathetic was he, really without Michael? He really did need the archangel to function, didn't he?
Was he ever going to get that back?
He looked back out the window, but his attention was diverted right back to Chuck when, suddenly, the door flew open and the man burst in, seeming satisfied, a grin on his face. He went right over to the laptop, picking it up along with the bottle of whiskey, and Adam only watched. "Welp, I'm going to visit an old friend." Chuck turned back to face him. "Yours are taking their time, so, I figure, I've got at least a day or so anyway - don't go anywhere."
Adam bared his teeth in response, a snarl building his throat. "I'm going to rip your head off of your shoulders, you motherfucking jackass son of a bitch." He growled, low rumbling, and Chuck's smile turned a little colder, but equally amused all the same.
"That right there? That's why you're not coming with me," he told the demon matter-of-factly. "So just sit tight - or stand, whatever suits you. Oh, and read that book, too. It's pretty good." He flashed the demon a huge, toothy grin - and then, before Adam could even open his mouth to respond, he was gone. Disappeared, just like the woman had, taking the laptop and whiskey. The demon snapped his mouth shut slowly, teeth clenching together so hard they cracked.
He really wanted to rip something apart, but the nearest thing was a book, and he wasn't about to do that. He couldn't touch anything else in the house, because of this stupid fucking trap. Slamming his hands against the barrier, he let loose a low snarl and turned away once again, his pacing slowly starting right back up. Years of watching Michael do it had rubbed off on him. That jackass - keeping him captive and then just leaving him. Of course, Adam could live without seeing his stupid face, but the fact that Chuck felt comfortable with leaving him on his own, the fact that he felt confident in the fact that Adam couldn't escape, that's what irked him.
He'd never felt so helpless. He'd never felt so weak.
Weak, weak, weak.
Finally, losing his patience, the demon spun around and kicked the book as hard as he possibly could. It went up in flames the second that he made contact with it, flying through the air, slamming back into the wall - and then, with a thud, it fell, the flames continuing to flicker for just a few more seconds - before they abruptly stopped, as if the book had never been on fire in the first place. But it had been, the demon could see the corners singed, the spine burnt, the paper turned black. No, the book had been on fire. And Adam had done that. But he hadn't put it out.
"Someone's got anger issues," a voice commented idly from behind him, making Adam go still at once. A British accent, strong and distinct. It was a woman's voice. And one that, admittedly enough, had caused his heart to skip a beat, just for a second, out of fear. Well - more or less, he'd been startled. He wasn't going to admit fear when it came to a girl. The demon turned slowly, a growl already rising in his throat, lips pulling back over his teeth. "You demons…"
It was the woman from earlier, the one who'd been standing outside the window, the one that had disappeared. Adam's growl grew a little bit louder - and, in response, the woman let out a low, distorted-sounding snarl. It was quiet, but strong - but that's not what made Adam step back. No, what made Adam step back was that the second she made the sound, her eyes turned black. Both of them, entirely black, glittering dangerously, cold and merciless and wrong.
And it took his breath away.
The corner of the woman's mouth twitched, pulling up slightly into a low, sarcastic smile. And then her eyes were green again, glittering with amusement, rather than malice. She stepped forward, and looked up, carefully minding the Devil's Trap above their heads.
"Who the hell are you?" Adam hissed, once he had gotten over the initial shock. He stared at her, wary and distrustful, but the woman only snorted and veered around him, expertly avoiding the Devil's Trap and instead heading over to the desk. Adam turned to watch her, eyes darkening further as she moved. "Seriously, who the hell-"
"Don't repeat yourself, I heard you the first time," the woman told him sharply, lifting her gaze to him, and Adam went still almost at once. There was just something about her, some sense of authority he couldn't quite place. Adam had never been one to obey authority figures of any kind, admittedly enough, but this woman… something about her frightened him. Not bone-deep, cold, shivering terror. But an angry kind of fear, a wariness, really - like every instinct, every part of him was screaming at him to be careful here, to watch what he did, what he said. Chicks were crazy, and Adam knew this - but monster chicks had to be worse.
"You're not the demon I've been looking for…" The woman muttered, sifting through one of the drawers with a frustrated expression on her face now. Adam blinked, snapping back to his senses enough to watch her as she turned, wandering over to a bookshelf. "It's a shame, actually. You're kind of cute." She glanced at him, amused, and the demon raised an eyebrow in response, eyes narrowing faintly. "You don't have the ring, do you?"
"What ring?" Adam snapped, and the woman huffed out a sigh, her question answered, and shut the drawers with a scowl. She then turned, heading toward the door - and Adam stiffened.
He didn't know who this crazy bitch was, but she was there, and she was on the other side of the Devil's Trap, and Chuck was gone and maybe, maybe there was a chance she could get him out of there. And while he hated the idea of asking for help, even then, he just wanted to get the fuck out of here and get back to Michael. It was a split second, spur-of-the-moment decision, and he hated himself the entire time - but it had to be done, weak or not.
"Wait- wait," the demon said quickly, and the woman paused, looking back at him, and raised an eyebrow slightly, a mixture of irritation and curiosity flickering through her eyes. Adam paused, studying her for a moment, then took a deep breath and stepped forward, careful to mind the edges of the Devil's Trap. "Uh, what- what demon are you looking for?"
"He goes by the name Malfayan, I believe," the woman replied smoothly, looking intrigued now, as she turned to face the demon. "He's got some things that don't belong to him, things I'm supposed to return." An odd look flitted across her face, but it was gone before Adam could identify it, sharp, sarcastic and easy as ever. "Why do you ask?"
"I…" Adam paused, shifting slightly, and looked up at the Devil's Trap. Fuck, he really did hate this. Every second I stall is another second Chuck could walk right through that door, he warned himself, forcing himself to swallow his pride as he turned back to the woman. "I know a demon- named Crowley," he told her carefully, and the woman's eyebrows shot up.
"Crowley? As in, King of Hell Crowley?"
"Yeah- sure, whatever," Adam dismissed, sparing another look upwards, toward the Devil's Trap. "He might know this… Malfoyan or whatever." The demon paused, looking over at the woman, who tilted her head, looking extremely intrigued now. "If you get me outta here, I'll help you find him," he offered, and the woman finally paused, eyes drifting upwards once again, a knowing smile curling up at the corners of her lips as her expression settled into understanding. Adam only clenched his teeth, taking a deep breath. "I know the Winchesters, too."
"... The Winchesters?" Now, that caught the woman's attention. Her green eyes shifted back to his face, searching his eyes carefully, and Adam held her gaze, eyebrows furrowing slightly, briefly admiring the colors that flickered to life among the green. Flecks of blue and grey, soft and sparkling. Interesting. "Personally?" She questioned, folding her arms across her chest.
It took Adam a moment to respond, shifting his focus back to the conversation. "Oh, yeah," he responded immediately, mouth twisting. "Very personally."
"Mm." The woman stared at him for a moment, before a slow smile appeared on her face once again, her interest fading back into that masked sense of sarcasm, the guarded humor. "And how do I know you're not lying to me?" She purred, but she was approaching him now, still minding the Devil's Trap as she circled around and paused beside him. The demon turned his head to watch her, frowning. "How do I know it's not a trick?"
Adam held her gaze as he responded, repeating something Lucifer had once said to him. Something that he meant, whole-heartedly - even though, recently, it had been slightly tainted with. "I don't lie." At this, the woman's head tilted, a look of silent intrigue flickering through her eyes once again, but this time it seemed more directed at Adam than anything. The way she was staring at him, like he was some kind of puzzle she was trying to figure out…
It made him feel small. But at the same time, it made him feel bigger.
"Sure you do," the woman finally spoke, amusement flickering through her eyes now. "You're a demon. We lie. It's in our nature. But…" Her eyes darted toward the ceiling, the greens and blues and greys seeming to sparkle just a little brighter. Adam stared at her, eyes narrowing. "I can see that you're highly motivated, clearly enough… So I suppose giving you the benefit of the doubt isn't too far beyond my moral abilities, despite them being nonexistent."
Despite himself, Adam couldn't keep back a snort, a tiny bit of amusement replacing the caution he held for the woman. She was funny, that was for sure - the things she said, the way she acted, she reminded Adam of himself, in a way. "So, you'll let me out, then?"
"Sure," the woman mused. "Sounds like a fair enough deal to me."
"Great." Adam paused and looked up again, then lowered his gaze back to the woman, who was now pulling her hair back, tucking it behind her ears. The demon paused for a moment, watching the curls bounce with the movement, before clearing his throat and bringing his gaze back to the woman's. Finally, the other demon moved forward, easing herself around the Devil's Trap to stand a little closer to him, before promptly reaching through and grabbing him by the arm. Adam grimaced a little at that, opening his mouth to ask how, exactly, this was supposed to help - and then, just as suddenly, the woman yanked him forward, and he went stumbling straight through the barrier. A rush of that deep, burning pain split through his entire body, bringing a hiss from his lips as he yanked his arm away from the woman.
"The hell is wrong with you?" He snarled, looking back at the Devil's Trap - his eyes widened slightly, realizing that he had been pulled right out from under it - but the pain continued to linger, even then. Adam scowled, looking down and rubbing his arm with another hiss. "Jeez…"
"Oh, grow a pair." The woman rolled her eyes. Adam gave her a disbelieving look, about ready to ask if she'd actually ever been stuck in one of those things, herself, but she was already turning away, heading for the door. "Well, let's get a move on. I did my part, now it's your turn." She glanced back at him, opening the door with nothing more than a flick of her wrist. She offered him a dry little smile, eyes glittering. "Or, do you need medical assistance first?"
Adam narrowed his eyes at that, irritation rising almost immediately. For a moment, he considered just leaving her ass there - but, he had made a promise, sort of, and even if she was an annoying little prick, he had to honor that. It would bug him if he didn't. The demon heaved out a sigh and glanced back, looking around. Okay, so he could just take her to Sam and Dean, they'd contact Crowley, and hopefully Michael was smart enough to go get his brothers to help. So if he could get back to the archangel and fulfill his end of the bargain…
Adam took a deep breath, steadying himself, and looked back at the other demon. She just stared back at him, eyebrows raised expectantly - but whether she expected him to turn around and walk the other way, or whether she was expecting him to follow, he couldn't tell. Either way, somewhat reluctantly, he offered the woman a nod and followed after her with a sigh. "No. Obviously not," he grumbled, easing past her to get outside - only for her to grab his arm and pull him right back inside, sending a mockingly disapproving look his way.
"Ladies first, lad. Didn't your mother ever teach you proper etiquette?" The woman scoffed and turned away from him, and the demon just stared at her in a mixture of disbelief and fury as she strutted out the door, brushing herself off. "Hurry up, or I might just leave you here for whoever had you strung up in there," she called over her shoulder.
"Oh, don't tease," Adam muttered icily, not certain - though honestly not caring either way - that she could hear him. He huffed out a sigh, closed his eyes, and mumbled a quiet "son of a bitch" under his breath before he finally brought up the nerve to walk after her, grumbling.
"So, then," the woman started casually, stopping beside the red car. It was still there, on the street, as if it had never even moved in the first place - Adam frowned a little at that, staring at it warily as he moved around to the passenger side. "The man that did have you strung up in there - what's his deal, hm? A hunter you've pissed off? And why leave you alone?" She rolled her eyes a little, opening her door. "Not a very smart man, is he?"
Adam stared at her for a moment, debating on telling her that that man was actually God, himself - but, then, what would be the point in that, anyway? Not like that particular information even mattered to her, most likely, and to be completely honest, he would rather keep things on a need-to-know basis only when it came to her, because he didn't trust her any further than he could throw her - and he wasn't going to attempt to do either. "No, he's not," the demon finally grunted, looking down and pulling his own door open to get in. "How'd you even get here?"
"Well, we demons have this fancy little thing called teleporting," the woman responded with a mocking gasp, and Adam spared her a glare as he got in and shut the door behind him a little harder than necessary. Chuckling, the woman got in and shut her own door, turning the car on. "I was following a power source, actually. Thought it might be the ring, but I suppose it was just you." She paused, glancing over at him. "What kind of demon are you, anyway?"
"Why does everybody ask me that?" Adam shook his head a little, glancing out the window with a frown. "I don't even know."
"You don't know what- wow." The woman snorted a little, and turned her attention back to the road as she started driving. Adam couldn't help but spare a glance back at Chuck's house, jaw setting slightly, half-expecting the man to come back and catch them at any second. In fact, he didn't really relax until they had completely put the street in the rear-view mirror, until they were finally on a highway, surrounded by other cars and people. Then, he relaxed. He never thought he'd be so happy to see so many humans, but it was relieving as all hell after that.
The demon sighed and let his head fall back against the back of the seat, turning to look out the window again. A moment of silence passed before he spoke again, quiet, needing to break the silence, if only slightly. "I need a shower."
"You said it, not me. I wasn't going to say anything…" The woman trailed off as Adam turned to look at her again, eyes narrowing, and she only offered him a sweet, innocent little smile in response before she turned her gaze back to the road. "Well, I'm sorry, but you smell. Nothing against you, I suppose being held captive isn't exactly good for your hygiene."
"No, not particularly," Adam responded, taking on a mocking British accent in the process, letting his glare linger on her for a moment before turning away again with a sigh. "So are you always this bitchy to everyone, or do I just have that effect on you?"
The woman actually laughed a little at that, a mixture of impressed and equally irritated as she replied. "My so-called bitchiness tends to only extend to those I hold a severe amount of disdain for. And you've made the top of that list after only fifteen minutes of interaction, so I say, well played, darling. My turn to ask, now." She spared him a glance out of the corner of her eye. "Are you always this defensive with everyone, or do I just have that effect on you?"
Adam ran his tongue over his lips and bit down on his tongue, fighting back the laughter threatening to bubble in his chest. He had to admit, and he hated to admit, the lady certainly was something. She seemed to know exactly what buttons to press with him, and she was somehow, simultaneously, witty, charismatic, and completely, utterly insufferable all at once. The demon puffed his cheeks out, eventually giving up on thinking up a comeback to that, and turned his gaze back to the woman, who looked a mixture of amused and satisfied, as if she already knew she had won. Adam couldn't help but roll his eyes. "I didn't catch your name."
"That's because I didn't throw it, lad," the woman chuckled, looking over at him. Adam just blinked back at her, not really sure how to respond to that. How to react to the fact that a stranger could render him this speechless, someone he didn't even know. It appeared that the demon Adam Milligan had finally met his match, and he had absolutely no idea how to feel. "We haven't quite reached a first-name basis yet. I think I'll just call you… Insufferable Fool for now? How does that sound?" She gave him a little smile, sweet on the surface, devilish underneath.
Well, she had his respect, for sure. Even if he despised her. "Sure. If I can call you Crazy Bitch," he responded smoothly, and she huffed out another one of those soft, amused laughs that also doubled as 'I can and will slit your throat with my fingernails while you sleep' level insanity.
"I prefer Queen Bitch, actually."
"Of course, Your Majesty," Adam replied sarcastically, looking back out the window. He fell silent for a while after that, and the amusement faded, the irritation fizzled out. For a moment there, he had gotten distracted. For a moment, he had stopped thinking about Michael. And now he felt guilty - guiltier than he had expected. Of course, he still wanted to get back to the archangel. More than anything, he wanted - no, he needed to get back to Michael, he needed to be whole again. Even with the little distraction, that part of him was missing, and that wasn't going to change. No matter how many bitchy demons crossed paths with him, and how irritatingly amusing those bitchy demons were. Still, that brief moment of distraction - that brief moment of enjoyment, during his time separated from the archangel - he hated it far more than he could ever begin to describe, and he felt worse than he could ever have imagined.
"You're not pouting because of the shower, are you?" The woman's voice startled him for a second - the demon jumped, a low growl beginning to rumble in his throat, but the other demon hardly seemed fazed. She offered nothing more than a roll of her eyes as she went on. "I'm taking us back to my place, so don't start… crying or anything. You can shower there." She paused, glancing him up and down, before adding, "we'll have to get you some new clothes…"
"'We'?" Adam questioned idly, but his confusion fell upon deaf ears, as the woman was no longer paying attention to him. She reached over him, instead, and he leaned back as far as he could to avoid any kind of physical contact, as she opened the glove box and pulled out a small tin box, which she pried open one-handed and pulled out a wad of cash, held together by a clip shaped like a trident. He actually admired that for a good few seconds, before she shoved the tin back into the glove box, shoved the glove box shut, and promptly pocketed the money - all the while just barely avoiding crashing off the side of the road.
"Goodness, I've only had you for barely half an hour and you're already costing me," the woman complained, and Adam stared at her in disbelief as she settled back down again, taking one hand off the steering wheel and draping it out of her window, over the side of the car. Adam raised an eyebrow, about ready to comment on how unsafe that was - and then realized at the last minute that human safety didn't really apply to either of them anyway. "Oh, well… you clearly need help with your current taste in fashion, anyway, so I'll consider this my job."
Adam stared at her, blinking, then looked away and shook his head a little. "Unbelievable…"
"Yes, I know. You tried, though, that's what matters."
Burying his face into his hands, the demon simply screwed his eyes shut, sighed, reconsidered every single one of his life choices, and questioned how the hell he had ended up here. At this rate, he'd probably end up offing himself before he got the chance to see Michael again.