Adam was still pulling at his tie uncomfortably, several hours later, stuck in the passenger seat of Bela's 1990 ZR1 Corvette while she blasted her music - something that, despite everything, the demon actually kind of approved of. Good wine, good music, good car. Why did she have to be such a bitch? Adam might actually like her otherwise. They were pretty alike.

"Shot through the heart, and you're to blame - darling, you give love a bad name…" Bela was singing along with a smile on her face, nodding her head along to the music as she took a turn - a sharp turn. Adam inhaled sharply, and, after a moment of thought, released his tie to turn and buckle his seatbelt instead. When he turned back, the crazy bitch was grinning, as if that had been what she wanted all along, to take Adam's attention off of the tie. He wouldn't have been surprised. She threw him a smug look, which he returned with nothing but a scowl and a roll of his eyes, turning to look out the window instead with a low, defeated sigh. So many things he wanted to say - but why bother?

"An angel's smile is what you sell… you promise me Heaven, then put me through Hell…"

Adam bit his tongue to keep back a sigh. Her voice grated at his nerves, and he couldn't really help it. Of course, she was actually a fantastic singer - but maybe that's what got at Adam, too. The fact that even her voice was perfect, it irked him. Of course- of course she wasn't exactly perfect, not at all, no, and Adam wasn't going to think of her as such. The demon closed his eyes for a moment, mentally kicking himself, and shook his head a little bit. They went on like that for a while, and he just listened as she sang, getting lost in the music, himself. He found himself bouncing his leg slightly along with the music, almost anxiously - but he wasn't anxious. Actually, that was weird - he was feeling a little nervous, but he couldn't place why.

The demon frowned a little, mouth twisting, as he stared out the window. Now that he was focusing on it, the anxiety was growing even stronger with each passing second - and damn, if it wasn't familiar. That was Michael, he knew it better than he knew his own emotions.

Of course, his 'connected souls' theory. It made sense, to be completely honest… after all, Adam had been twisted into a demon, with Michael's Grace wrapped around his soul the entire time. It wouldn't be much of a shock to find that, even being ripped apart, they may have taken one another with them, even just unconsciously. The idea of having even a small part of Michael there made Adam sink back into his seat, chest aching with longing, but also with relief. If they were connected, maybe there was a way Adam could find him like that.

They'd have to be fast, though. Adam didn't know how long it would take Michael to get into a vessel - the thought of him possessing anyone else made Adam feel sick - but he hoped that he could get to the archangel before he managed to find Chuck. Just because the bait wasn't there anymore didn't mean the trap couldn't still be set. Not if Michael thought Chuck still had him.

This time, it was Adam's own anxiety that rose up; The demon clenched his teeth and screwed his eyes shut as tight as he could, running his fingers through his hair.

Bela glanced over at him, the demon looking mildly curious. No concern, just curiosity, and a tiny bit of confusion. She turned her gaze to the road quick enough though, abruptly speeding up.; Adam couldn't help a nervous look forward, still not quite comfortable with the way she was driving right then. Honestly, even John wasn't so reckless, and those driving lessons… hadn't exactly been the best that Adam had ever been given. The demon grimaced and looked back out the window for a moment, dropping his hand from his hair and crossing his arms over his chest instead - then, unconsciously, he began thumbing at the tie again, debating taking it off.

"Seem a little antsy over there, lad," Bela finally piped up, and Adam turned his head slightly to look over at her again. The other demon just grinned, all teeth, continuing to gain speed. "Just an observation, s'all. So what's got your panties in a twist?" She asked innocently.

Adam had to close his eyes to keep from rolling them, rubbing his hand over his mouth and shaking his head slightly before just looking away again. Honestly, talking to her seemed just about impossible. Adam could go as far as to say she was worse than he was, but then, that'd be giving her credit for something, and the demon wasn't quite willing to do that either. "My problems, on a scale, I guess would be somewhere between 'none of your business' and 'go fuck yourself', so." He glanced over at her, watching as her eyebrows rose, half-impressed, half-pissed off. "I'll let you sort that one out for yourself."

"Wow, rude." Bela pouted slightly, and Adam actually did roll his eyes this time, back toward the window, before sparing a glance ahead with a frown. She was speeding up even further now, and nearing a crossroads - why didn't Adam like where this was going?."You talk to your mother with that mouth?"

Adam offered her an irritated look, but nothing more. Truthfully, his mother would roll over in her grave if she heard him talking to a girl like this, but… yeah, he couldn't really care. Still, thinking about his mom made him feel… weird, so he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and looked back out the window, shrugging a little. "I'll quit being a prick if you stop being a bitch."

"Asking the impossible now."

"I thought so."

Bela chuckled dryly, and Adam smirked a little despite himself, taking the win easily. He looked ahead again, eyebrows furrowing faintly - and then froze. There were cars on both sides of the crossroad, ready to go, and he watched with mounting horror as the light in front of them turned red - and Bela didn't stop for a second. Even as the cars began pulling out, she simply seemed to press harder on the gas, propelling them forward, and Adam was about to ask what the fuck she was doing and what kind of death wish she had - but he couldn't force his mouth to move.

Just when they reached the crossroad, just when Adam thought they were about to be hit from both sides, Bela took another sharp turn left, spun into another lane, and kept driving, falling into line behind a few other cars and relaxing in her seat with a giddy little laugh once they were back on the road. Adam stared ahead, wide-eyed, then looked over at the other demon. Bela was just grinning ear to ear, nothing like the sarcastic, guarded smiles she offered him, the cocky, arrogant smirks - a genuinely happy grin was etched across her face, and…

And Adam didn't really like the way his stomach twisted in response.

He looked away quick enough, before she could catch him staring, wide eyes focused on the window. Jeez, she had almost gotten them killed, and she was laughing about it, and… and it took Adam a good few seconds to remember that a car crash probably wouldn't be enough to take down a demon. It was so hard to forget that he wasn't human anymore sometimes. Even with how he felt, even though he knew he couldn't possibly be human, after all that he'd been through - it was just the most difficult thing to remember, and he didn't know why.

Adam sighed a little to himself and looked out the window again, mouth twisting slightly. Unconsciously, he brought his arms up, wrapping them around himself wordlessly. He wasn't quite sure why - something he'd picked up from Michael, he presumed. Thinking back to the archangel had his thoughts churning in the direction of their apparent connection; If he was right about it, and he could contact Michael, then he had to find a way to do so, and fast.

The demon shut his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to focus. He let his own emotions slip past, instead focusing on the anxiety that was steadily brewing up in his stomach. It was small, barely noticeable at first, but once he started paying attention again, it grew much stronger. Along with it was a deep sense of anger, a rage that Adam wasn't used to feeling from Michael - but it was his, and Adam knew this deep down in his bones. He knew what Michael felt like, and this was completely from the archangel. There was pain, and grief, and confusion, and fear, and it was heartbreaking; But at least he was alive, and Adam was alive, and he was coming.

He would get back to the archangel. He had to.

Adam exhaled, holding onto the emotions for a while. It felt like Michael, and it made him feel like maybe the archangel was still there. He tried to get past it, to reach more than emotions - he wanted to see what the archangel was thinking, he wanted to hear his voice again. But he couldn't seem to push the connection any further; He'd hit a wall, and this one didn't seem like it was going to crumble anytime soon. A rush of his own anxiety welled up at that. He pushed it down, continuing to hold onto Michael's emotions. As much as they hurt, they were his. More than anything, Adam just needed that right then. He needed the archangel.

Still, he didn't regret expelling him - he didn't think he ever would, truthfully enough. He had saved him, he was protecting him. Yet, a part of him was doubting that. They were stronger together, they always had been… so had he really made the right choice there?

Or was it just a moment of panic?

The demon blinked his eyes open and swallowed hard, looking down at his hands. Slowly, he brought them together, then began to pull them apart again. Every minute without the archangel was breaking him down, and he could feel that insanity rising up again. The restlessness, the anger - at himself, at Chuck… Adam took a deep breath and raised his hands, curling his fingers into the tie and finally yanking the damn thing from around his neck. Bela looked over at him when he did, but she didn't say a word, only huffed out a sigh through her nose and shook her head, looking away again. Adam didn't really care. He just needed it off.

"You know," Bela said suddenly, and the demon twitched a little, but didn't turn, doing his best to ignore whatever snarky comment was about to come out of her mouth. "I've been thinking-"

"Oh, no." Adam closed his eyes for a moment, rubbing them roughly with his thumbs and trying to fend off the headache brewing. Whether demons were supposed to get headaches or not, he literally had absolutely no idea, but this one was coming and it was the fault of the bitchy female demon that was sitting in the car beside him. "That's never a good sign…"

"Oh, haha," Bela huffed out a sarcastic sounding laugh, sparing him a half-hearted glare. Adam just gave her a sweet smile in response before letting it drop, shaking his head and turning away again, eyes closing once more, pressing his thumbs into the corners of his eye sockets. "Yes, you're just absolutely hilarious, aren't you?"

"Oh yeah," Adam muttered under his breath. "Regular fuckin' comedian…"

"Anyway, as I was trying to say," Bela continued, ignoring him now, and Adam rolled his eyes to the side and heaved out a sigh, nodding to himself. "Despite your predicament… you know, getting away from that hunter that had you back there, you don't really seem like you're running from something." She leaned forward a little, trying to look him in the eyes, but the demon just scowled and looked down at his hands, refusing to look at her. "Running to something, perhaps. Someone?" Adam didn't react, so she continued, "how close are you to the Winchesters?"

"Like I said, it's complicated," Adam responded simply, sparing a glance upwards. He glanced over at her, letting his gaze flick across her face, before he looked away again. "I told you, I kinda helped them stop the end of the world. That's it."

"You also told me you went with them after you finished saving our precious planet," Bela pointed out, and Adam paused, looking over at her. "Now, I'm sorry, but clearly there's a little something more going on than just partnership. Otherwise you wouldn't be tagging along with them, now would you?" She gave the demon a pointed look, and Adam just twisted his mouth a little bit, remaining unresponsive. "So, care to tell me the truth now?"

It was like she knew that would trigger him; The demon's eyes flickered back to Bela at once, hardening slightly with indignation and disbelief, and in response, the woman only grinned back at him with mild amusement written across her face, though for the most part, she looked serious. Adam narrowed his eyes slightly, looking away again, teeth clenching. "I'm gonna try to tell you kindly, yet again, to mind your own fucking business."

"Fine," Bela responded smoothly, looking ahead again through narrowed eyes. "For what it's worth, though, working with the Winchesters? Never good, in my experience," she muttered, and Adam raised an eyebrow, flicking his gaze over to her. "They're not exactly team players, lad. They'd rather save each other than anyone else, regardless of what they tell you about 'saving the world' and all of that - quite frankly - bullcrap. So if you're thinking you're going to get something out of working with them - don't, because they'll turn on you the minute they decide you're not useful anymore. Leave you to die, to be dragged off to Hell."

Adam paused at that, his gaze lingering on her for a long time before he looked away again, slightly confused now. "Dragged off to Hell, huh?" Boy, if that wasn't familiar…

"Oh, yes," Bela chuckled, but the sound was mirthless, dry. "See, once upon a time, I made a deal with a demon, sold my soul, blah, blah, blah - and I was trying to get out of the deal, see, but those stupid Winchesters came along, wrecked it all, so that Dean could save himself from the save problem." Adam blinked, staring at her. "And I got mauled by Hellhounds, dragged down to Hell, and got a pair of these pretty black peepers myself - and they didn't care at all. Last thing a Winchester said to me - Dean Winchester, actually - 'see you in Hell'." Her tone seemed to harden, just a little bit, and Adam stilled for a second. "Nice, right? Especially for two men who claim that they're only out to 'help' people." She snorted, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure."

Adam shifted a little in his seat, slightly uneasy now. Truthfully, the fact that he genuinely believed her story, didn't settle well with him either. It did sound like something Sam and Dean would do, much as he hated to admit it. But even then, was that really their fault? Or was Bela just another character that didn't 'fit into the story'? Sam and Dean couldn't control what happened if Chuck wanted them to forget him - so why would it be any different, if he had been controlling her fate the entire time, too? Controlling Sam, controlling Dean? Were his brothers really to blame here - on either end? The demon looked away again, mouth twisting slightly.

"Now, I'm a bitch, but I'm not stupid," Bela commented, looking over at him now. "Or blind. So is it just me, or was that a hint of recognition on your face, darling?"

Adam heaved out an irritated sigh and stared out the window, watching the buildings and trees pass by. It was a while before he spoke again, his voice quieter than before. "Just a similar fate," he replied slowly, carefully. "Though I was dragged down to Hell in a different way." He shifted again, abruptly wrapping his arms around himself.

"Oh, I'm not surprised," Bela huffed out a laugh. "They left you to die then, too, hm?" She flicked her gaze over to him, and Adam offered a one-shouldered shrug. "But, then, if that's the case - why help them?" She quirked an eyebrow as Adam hesitated, looking back at the road for a second. "What is it they say? 'Fool me once, shame on you - fool me twice, shame on me'...?" Her lips twitched, looking back over at him. "Let me guess, Sam hit you with the puppy dog eyes and you fell right into their arms…"

Adam ran his tongue over his lips, looking away again. "Well, it's…" He trailed off and heaved out a sigh, shaking his head a little. Complicated, complicated, complicated. It certainly was complicated, but he was getting damn sick of that word. "Look, Sam and Dean are-"

"Ridiculously codependent on each other," Bela cut in, amused.

Adam opened his mouth to respond, but he couldn't get the words out now. 'They'd rather save each other than anyone else' and 'ridiculously codependent on each other'... why was that familiar? The demon furrowed his eyebrows slightly, looking down for a second.

"So you know you can't trust them, right? You know Sam and Dean Winchester are psychotically, irrationally, erratically codependent on each other, right? Trust me, kid, when the heat gets hot, they're not gonna give a flying crap about you. Hell, they'd rather save each other's sweet bacon than save the planet…"

Zachariah.

Adam's lips curled back slightly, digging his fingers into his shirt. Bela was silent now, just focused on driving, and the demon spared a hesitant glance upwards. Truthfully enough, he didn't know what to think. There was this chick, after all, this crazy bitch who was suddenly spouting the same amount of shit that Zachariah had been pressing on him all those years ago, trying to turn him against Sam and Dean.

The demon sighed and pressed his eyes shut for a moment, not knowing what to say. He wasn't the naive little human he had been before, but at the same time, believing Zachariah - going along with everything… that was what had led him to where he was now. And despite everything that had happened - Adam couldn't really say he hated his life. He was happy, to an extent, at least when he was whole. With Michael - like he should be. Yes, he was still pissed off at a few choice people - Chuck, hell, even Zachariah - but even then? He couldn't really say he'd gotten such a bad life, in the end. With that said, this life…

Well, Adam was sitting beside a hot as hell demon chick in a car on his way to reunite with an archangel - who, by the way, was practically his other half - and his two brothers that kill things that are already dead for a living. Oh, and apparently the hot demon chick held a grudge.

He rubbed his arm almost unconsciously, flicking his gaze back over to Bela. He didn't know how to explain everything to her - to make her understand. But beyond that, he didn't know why he wanted to. This girl - he was leading her to his brothers. And, sure, they hunted things probably worse than demons - they'd killed the damn Devil, but… but they didn't know this was coming. They didn't know she was coming. And, sure, she said she wanted this ring, but for all Adam knew, she could very well be lying. And if she was… and Adam led her to Sam and Dean - well, the demon remembered that kind of rage, the betrayal…

And Bela didn't have an archangel to hold her back.

For some reason, the thought of her getting to them - hurting them - he didn't… like that. He didn't like that at all. Of course he understood the need for revenge, the desperation, aching to hurt the people that had wronged you - but it wasn't Sam and Dean's fault, not really, was it? Could they be held responsible, when in the end, it was Chuck pulling the strings?

It wasn't their fault; That seemed to click. Chuck had admitted it, himself. And if it was true in Adam's case, then maybe Bela's situation wasn't so different, either. Adam grimaced a little, closing his eyes again and turning his head slightly to the side. He didn't even know where he was taking her, but he knew he couldn't just lead her right to Sam and Dean now. Maybe she didn't have the same destructive fury Adam was used to feeling, but then again, she seemed like a pretty good actress to him. But should he take that chance? Could he take that chance?

He wanted to get back to Michael, more than he had ever wanted anything in his life. Even his desperation to get his mother back wasn't this strong. But he knew what Michael would say if he were there, too - he'd be all soft and compassionate, but he'd speak his mind, his opinions - and Adam knew the archangel better than he knew himself sometimes. He knew Michael wouldn't want him to lead her back to his brothers if there was a chance she would hurt them. Or worse.

And Michael… Michael was the good one. The moral one. Sometimes, Adam found himself wishing he could be as good as the archangel, as kind and caring and thoughtful, but it was just never in his nature, never part of his drive. This time, though, something had shifted…

He knew what he had to do, but it wouldn't be easy. Not after what he'd promised. Sometimes, though… sometimes you had to break a promise, and this was just one Adam couldn't keep. Not with this revelation looming over his head, threatening to pull him straight under. Beyond what Michael would want, and beyond what his brothers would think, the demon knew that if he let this chick get to them, and something went south, it would weigh down on him forever. Maybe if he could figure out her true intentions…

Adam blinked his eyes open, looking back out the window.

"So what were you saying?" Bela questioned after a few moments of silence, looking over at him. "Sam and Dean are…?" Adam paused, mouth twisting, pressing his lips together in a firm line and letting his gaze flick down to his hands. There were moments of truth. Moments to lie. And, unfortunately, it looked like he might have to become what he despised; A liar.

The demon screwed his eyes shut for a moment, and inhaled. Then, blinking them open, he looked out the window again, glanced ahead, and steeled himself.

"Nevermind," he muttered, looking back out the window. "I just remembered, though, I was wrong about something."

"And what might that be?" Bela questioned, eyebrows raising as she looked over at him.

"The Winchesters, they aren't in Kansas anymore."