Stunned. Adam was stunned.

He was… honestly, he was completely baffled by the direction this had taken. He didn't know what to make of the fact that Bela was there, or the fact that Michael's brother, Raphael, was there. He'd met the archangel once that he remembered, the memory itself was so vague at the moment and Adam couldn't really focus on it. Neither him nor Michael seemed to be able to focus at the moment; they were both lost in their own states of shock, unable to reach each other even in their own heads. Adam couldn't stop glancing at Bela and Michael could hardly tear his eyes away from Raphael, but neither of them really struggled for control to focus on one or the other. They simply traded glances back and forth, stunned into silence, before Michael suddenly straightened them up and reeled them backwards a little, stepping back to the others. Adam stopped them when they reached Gabriel and Lucifer, looking back up at Bela again.

The other demon tilted her head slightly, simply staring at him until Michael turned their gaze back to Raphael; Adam struggled to focus on him for a moment, the shock finally wearing off. It shifted into surprise, and then confusion, and then uncertainty instead, on both ends. He stared back at the other archangel for a long moment before forcing himself to breathe again, rolling their shoulders back and ducking their head as he turned his attention back to Michael once more instead; focusing on him made Adam want to scream a lot less. I thought he was dead.

So did I, Michael breathed, eyes flicking back up to Raphael for a moment before he tore their gaze away again. He looked toward Lucifer and Gabriel instead, a welcome distraction, but the expressions of unease and shock on their own faces didn't quite divert their attention for long. But I… I don't get it, Father doesn't have control over the Empty. He shouldn't be able to…

His thoughts trailed, distracted once more, as he looked up at Raphael. Chuck seemed to be getting sick of the silent stares, amused as he'd been before, because he eventually shook his head and took a step forward, raising a hand and waving it in their direction. Michael flinched - and Adam snarled, a deep guttural sound that only briefly seemed to take Chuck by surprise. But his expression smoothed over quickly enough, glaring at the demon for a few moments before curling his lips upwards into a cold, cruel smile. "You two don't seem to be doing too well. Too bad, I don't really care." He paused, glancing over at Bela, and then Raphael, and smirked. "Surprised, are you? Pretty neat trick I pulled there, wasn't it? So what'll it be? Fight or flight?"

Michael's gaze found Raphael's once again; Adam could feel his heart hammering away, struggling through shock and an odd amount of dismay, disappointment. "Raphael…" He uttered the archangel's name again, then sucked in another breath and simply dropped his gaze again. Adam let it trail over to Bela instead, but he didn't say anything. There was nothing to say. The last he'd heard of the demon, she wasn't too pleased with finding out that Chuck was God. The fact that she was here now raised some warning bells - but at the same time, he felt oddly calm as he looked back at her, as she met his gaze, those flecks of greens and blues just sparkling with nothing but certainty. Adam didn't understand, but he didn't have the chance to question it. Lucifer and Gabriel were both quick to recover after Michael and Adam seemed to, for the most part, and the Devil braved a step forward after a moment with a scowl, eyes narrowed.

"This is it? This is your big trick?" He snapped at Chuck, who drew back slightly and narrowed his eyes in response. "That's actually kind of pathetic, you know. One archangel and a demon. Do you have the slightest clue what you're up against?" Lucifer cocked his head back toward the others, but Adam couldn't bring himself to look back to see their reactions just yet. His eyes were glued to the scene in front of him, but mostly to Bela, who he couldn't seem to look away from. Which seemed to be fine for Michael now, since he was trying to look at anything and everything except for Raphael at that point. "You really think this is enough to withstand us?"

"I think," Bela interrupted before Chuck had the chance to, and Adam watched the man physically pause with his mouth half-open, only to snap it shut and spare the demon a somewhat bewildered glance. She stepped forward, ever so careful, tentative, and Adam wasn't sure how to feel about the apprehension that stirred in his gut, and the anger that rivaled it in response when Lucifer hissed out a warning growl toward the other demon. "It's more than enough, because I've got something you all don't." Chuck turned his head completely then, more or less distracted by that, and even Raphael managed to look a little curious as he turned his head to peer around Chuck at the demon. Adam simply stared, and he continued to do so as Bela raised her hand and pinched something between her fingers, holding it up for them to see.

It took quite some time for Adam to really register what he was seeing, to understand what it was. Michael realized it first - yet they seemed to realize it at the same time, because it hit them both at once, causing them to jerk back sharply, eyes widening as they stared at the ring the other demon was holding. Bela just managed a slow, if not somewhat mischievous smile in their direction before she glued her eyes back to Lucifer, who didn't take long to realize what it was.

But nobody in that room could have been more surprised than Chuck; it showed in the way his eyes widened, the way his gaze snapped toward the others, then Raphael, then back up to Bela before his gaze finally focused on the ring in her hand, wide-eyed. "Oh, so you found it."

"Took me a little while." Bela tossed the ring up and caught it just as easily, clenching her fist around it. Her gaze trailed up to Adam again then, and the demon was silent as his eyes locked with hers. He didn't know what to make of the smile she offered him, the surprising amount of warmth reflecting in her eyes. He didn't know what to make of the way she winked at him, something Chuck missed because he was too busy staring at her closed hand as if waiting for it to open again, as if he was waiting for her to turn and offer the ring to him. Adam found himself biting their tongue and holding his breath, silently praying that she wouldn't. "But yes, I did."

"Wonderful." Chuck held a hand out. "Give it to me."

A moment of silence passed; Adam could feel the tension of everyone in the room, as Dean stepped forward to stand beside him with Sam close behind, as Castiel shifted where he stood, as Lucifer tensed and leaned back, as Gabriel seemed to coil like a spring ready to launch. The only ones who didn't seem tense were Bela - and oddly enough, Raphael - as the demon looked down at her hand, still having yet to open it again, then exchanged a glance with the archangel.

Then she looked up at Chuck, a sweet smile crossing her face. But as she turned to face him, she held her arm out to her side, stretching her hand in Adam and Michael's direction instead. "No," she responded simply, and didn't wait for a response before turning her head and tossing the ring toward them. Chuck lunged forward, seemingly out of instinct than anything; Adam and Michael were quick to snatch the ring out of the air, flinching back slightly and preparing themselves to fight for all they were worth to keep it away from Chuck, but they didn't have to. He couldn't get to them - because Raphael had snagged the man by the back of his shirt and was holding him firmly in place while Chuck writhed, mixtures of shock and fury on his face.

Adam could feel Michael's relief rivaled only by his own, clutching the ring tightly and taking a few more steps back as they stared at Chuck. He finally managed to wrench himself away from Raphael, but instead of lunging again, he simply turned on the two who, just a moment before, he'd thought had been on his side; Adam could see the betrayal in his eyes, the hurt, and, honestly, at the moment he didn't think there had ever been a greater sight than that. The sight of a man realizing he had nothing left, truly, because he took what he had for granted, because he was nothing more than a manipulative bastard - because he didn't deserve anything, he didn't deserve loyalty, he didn't deserve love and devotion and appreciation, and he most certainly didn't deserve the two that had been standing at his side just a second ago.

"Are you kidding me?" Chuck snarled; Raphael looked down at him, raising an eyebrow slightly in response, and Bela crossed her arms. "Are you kidding me? You're going to defy me, betray me, for- for what? For them? For some abomination and that pitiful excuse for an archangel?"

Even Michael flinched when Raphael grabbed Chuck by the front of his shirt and yanked him upwards until the man was on his toes, the archangel's eyes blazing a bright, terrifying blue.

"I will destroy you."

Once again, silence passed.

Then Chuck jerked his head up, a bright glow enveloping the room; Adam wasn't sure what happened then, as it all seemed to happen so quickly. The light caught him off guard, but the sudden yelps and grunts around them snapped him back to his senses quickly enough; he blinked their eyes open again and whirled around, turning to see what the commotion was. The angels had unfrozen and were attacking again, this time seeming to pile themselves onto Sam, Dean and Castiel instead; Gabriel and Lucifer were doing their best to keep them away, and Jesse stepped in to help after a moment. Jack, however, was pushing himself through the crowd to approach the throne again, with Billie, wielding her scythe, not too far behind. Michael cast a quick, concerned look toward the others before Adam turned their head to look back at where Chuck had been, relieved to see he was still there and that Raphael and Bela were currently attempting to apprehend him again. Of course, he was struggling for all he was worth as they did, slamming Bela backwards into the throne and throwing Raphael over his shoulder.

Michael and Adam were both quick to react at this, whirling around to grab the man's arm before he could approach them again. Chuck twisted and turned, eyes widening slightly with alarm upon seeing them, but it wasn't long before they were pushed and shoved back again. Amara replaced them instead before they had a proper chance to get up on their feet, but an angel lunged at them from the side before they could step in to help or watch the scuffle. A brief struggle ensued as Michael wrestled the angel into a headlock and Adam curled their fingers around the collar of their shirt, engulfing them in flames without letting go until they were gone.

"The ring," Michael breathed suddenly, and Adam snapped their gaze down to their hands at once, then turned their head to look around the room again. It took a moment to find the ring, only spotting it from the way it glowed in response to another attack from Chuck, as he seemed to blast a beam of light straight at Amara head on - and neither of them had a chance to react, too close to avoid getting hit by the blast themselves. Michael attempted to shield them as best as he could with his wings as they slammed back into the wall, and Adam had to bite his tongue to keep himself from yelling out from the pain, the light searing his skin. It burned worse than holy water did, worse than salt. It burned enough to leave him breathless, to make him crumble to his knees as soon as the pressure let up enough for him to fall away from the wall again.

They stayed still for a moment, listening to the collective groans and grunts from whoever else was unlucky enough to get hit by the blast. Adam wanted to look, because he could have sworn he could hear his brothers right then, he could hear both of them gasping for air and grunting as they tried to struggle to their feet. But he couldn't force his gaze up in time, couldn't move his head. It was Michael, ultimately, who had to move them, and Adam bit their tongue again as he did, because the simple motion hurt enough to make him want to yell out, and scream, and roar.

But the pain faded as they took in the damage around them with wide eyes.

Sam and Dean were on the ground; Dean was bleeding, but Adam couldn't tell from where just yet, or what the wound was from. He was struggling to make his way to his feet, glancing around the room frantically to make sure everyone else was okay. Sam was slower to sit up, holding his head as he did so; he'd dropped his angel blade, but Dean still had his own clasped firmly in one hand. Crowley and Rowena were struggling to their feet, seeming relatively unharmed but a little dazed from some sort of impact. Gabriel and Lucifer didn't seem to be hurt, but Gabriel looked worried as he rushed over to help Rowena up to her feet. Lucifer simply knelt down, low to the ground and reaching for something, but Adam didn't watch long enough to see what it was. Jack seemed okay, just dazed for the most part, pressed against the wall. Jesse was heaving himself up with a disgruntled look on his face. Castiel was checking on Jack, sparing glances between him and the Winchesters as he helped the Nephilim up. Raphael was just getting to his feet, looking more pissed than anything, Bela was already up, Billie was retrieving her scythe…

Amara…

Michael pushed them up a little more, eyes widening slightly. Amara was slumped back against the wall, hunched over in pain with her eyes screwed shut tight. She was shaking, gripping her stomach tightly; Chuck stood, unharmed and unfazed, only a few feet away, hand still raised.

"You idiots!" The man yelled, but neither Michael nor Adam flinched. Nobody flinched. They just stared; Michael's eyes were glued to Amara, and Adam could feel nothing but pure, absolute fury pulsing from the archangel. Fury for his father, a fierce sense of protection for everyone in the room, everyone Chuck had harmed in one way or another. And it was just pulsing brighter and brighter as the seconds ticked on, as Chuck continued to speak, "you really thought you could beat me?! Come on, guys, it's me!" He whirled around, turning his back on his injured sister to glare at the others instead. Adam glanced up at him, then looked back down at Amara. She had lifted her head a little, peering up at Chuck through her eyelashes, but didn't speak.

"You…" Dean's growl trailed off, sucking in a gasp through his teeth and throwing his head back against the wall. He shifted to grip his side, where Adam figured the wound was. He wanted to get closer, he wanted to get closer to all of them, but he couldn't force himself to move. His own anger was rapidly elevating, the kind of blind rage he hadn't felt - hadn't allowed himself to feel - in a long time now. But he felt it now, as strong and exhilarating as ever, and he was more than willing to let himself give into it for the first time in a long time. The feeling only grew when Chuck raised his hand toward Dean, when the hunter let out another strangled gasp and threw his head back against the wall again, writhing slightly where he sat and trying to push himself up. Adam saw Sam reach for him, but he was too far away to offer any kind of comfort, assistance. The demon whirled their head around again, glaring up at Chuck with a snarl.

"Stop it, you dick!"

"I've had enough!" Chuck interrupted, turning a harsh glare in the demon's direction. Adam met it boldly without hesitation. Lucifer finally pushed himself to stand; Adam watched him approach out of the corner of his eye, but he was quickly waved down by Billie, who shot him a warning look before turning her attention back to Chuck again, and Lucifer stopped, albeit reluctantly.

"No. We've had enough, Chuck. Enough of you and your games." Billie took a step forward, and Adam finally managed to push them up a little. Michael's gaze darted back toward Amara; her position hadn't changed, but Raphael had managed to make his way over to her along with Gabriel now, and they were both crouched beside her with their hands hovering over their aunt, doing their best to heal her. Billie continued forward, seemingly attempting to keep Chuck distracted, but the man continued to retreat at her advances. "You've gone too far."

"I didn't do anything," Chuck growled, teeth clenched.

Billie narrowed her eyes. "You truly believe you're innocent?"

"It doesn't matter!" Chuck snapped, and Adam fought back another rush of that blinding fury before simply letting it engulf him completely. He'd never wanted to attack someone, to hurt someone as badly as he wanted to in that moment. Michael made no effort to reel him in, to calm him down, but Adam could feel his Grace buzzing around his soul comfortingly anyway. Comfortingly, but not comforting in an attempt to pacify him - comforting and supportive.

He was just as angry - as well he should be.

"It matters." Billie hefted her scythe, preparing to bring the blunt end down against the floor. Chuck caught it before it could make contact, and Michael couldn't keep himself from gasping in time as he wrenched the scythe away from her and threw her back against the wall, pinning her there with one hand raised and the other clasped around the weapon in such a tight grip Adam honestly thought he might snap it in half. They both understood; that was what the signal was supposed to be, the signal for the Empty to come and swallow Chuck up so they could end this. But now Chuck had one of their last cards; they had to get that scythe away from him, or figure out another way to contact the Empty, and make sure Chuck didn't get away at the same time. Michael was contemplating leaving himself to bring the message, and Adam was already preparing himself for it, but everyone froze and lifted their heads when Sam called out to Chuck.

"Hey, asshat!" Sam spat, clasping his hand around the handle of the angel blade he'd dropped. Adam turned slightly, and Michael's chest flared with nothing but concern and confusion - because an angel blade obviously wasn't going to do anything against Chuck - but Dean seemed to realize something else, only a little too late. The hunter shifted to try to push himself up again, but the wound in his side seemed to resist, preventing him from getting close enough.

"Sammy, wait-!"

"Eat this," Sam hissed, and plunged the blade into his own left shoulder.

Adam sucked in a gasp before he could stop himself, watching his older brother double over in pain with the angel blade still digging into his shoulder, his fingers still curled around it tightly. Dean yelled out a few expletives followed by a pained grunt as he tried to push himself closer to his brother. And Michael finally flinched again, this time out of surprise more than anything, when Chuck let out a scream and doubled over at the same time as Sam did, the scythe and Billie slipping from his grasp at once as the man crumpled to his knees. Michael and Adam were torn, trading glances back and forth between Sam and Chuck, watching the former twist the blade even further into his shoulder despite Dean's protests, and listening to Chuck howl in pain in response as he gripped his own left shoulder and threw his head back, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. For a moment, they were just frozen. Neither of them knew what to do.

Billie was quick to push herself up, striding forward to grab her scythe. Raphael moved then, just as quickly; Michael and Adam watched as he tore himself away from Amara and rushed over to Sam instead, reaching him just before Sam could and crouching down to pull the blade out of his shoulder - which caused another howl of pain from Chuck. He ignored the hunter's protests, shoving his hands out of the way, and Michael finally managed to take a step closer to them; Adam, on the other hand, was still frozen in shock, not really knowing how to react.

Raphael's hands hovered over the wound, and began glowing. It started as a faint, gentle yellow kind of glow - then it shifted, yellow morphing into blue, and then a deep shade of purple.

By the time he pulled his hands back, Adam had recovered enough to walk forward. Chuck had stopped screaming, but he was still doubled over, holding his shoulder; he wasn't Adam's concern at the moment, nor did he seem to be Michael's. No, their only concern was Sam at the moment, as Raphael's hands finally stopped glowing and he lifted them from hunter's shoulder.

Michael went still in shock, and Adam froze.

Raphael had healed the stab wound - and the bullet wound along with it.

"You…" Chuck's voice shook, still strained with pain, but an echo of laughter entered his tone as he spoke. Michael curled their fingers into fists after a moment, but didn't turn. "You idiots."

"Shit…" Sam gasped, leaning his head back. Raphael said nothing, simply turned to Dean instead to start healing the oldest Winchester. Adam lowered their chin slightly, finally daring to turn around, but Michael stopped them before they could face Chuck completely - but only so that the archangel could raise a hand, which glowed slightly at first, a dim light sparkling from his fingers, before it brightened to engulf his entire hand all at once. The sword appeared in a flash just like that; Adam felt their fingers curl around the handle, and understood at once; and it didn't take him long to retreat after that, deciding to let Michael take the wheel on this one now.