The centre of the city was still busy and awake, despite the late hour. Sam peered out at the brightly lit streets and sighed in wonder. Aware of Sarah taking his hand, he turned and met her gentle smile. He relaxed back against the soft seat of Jay's Mercedes SUV and then leaned his head forward to look at his brother.

Dean was lost in thought, his head down and his fingers gently tracing the sculpted edges of the silver gun in his hands.

"Maybe you should put that away," Sam commented dryly, "You know. In case a cop glances in here."

Pulled from his thoughts, Dean smiled and tucked the gun inside his jacket.

"Everyone okay back there?" Jay asked quickly, glancing round at the three of them.

"Groovy." Dean affirmed and looked out at the quietening streets of the downtown area. "How much further?"

"Not far." Jay replied and turned his attention back to the road, slowing the van as the lights ahead of them changed. "You okay, Mina?"

Mina nodded slowly, aware of everyone watching her in concern. "Just eager to get this over with." She offered quietly.

"I hear you." Sarah agreed, squeezing Sam's fingers and shuddering slightly. She turned to face him and saw a renewed anxiety in his eyes. Recalling their heated debate as to whether she should even come along, she nodded in reassurance and took a deep breath, suddenly wondering if she was going to later regret insisting on joining them.

The floodlit museum stood at the edge of Battery Park, facing the southern end of the financial district, and Jay drove round to the rear of the large white building. Parking the SUV up in a small dark side street, he climbed from the van and headed round to the trunk.

Sarah and Sam reached inside the trunk to grab the bags of supplies and Dean lifted out the hold-all that hid the crossbow. He swung the ominously shaped bag over his shoulder and stepped back. Seeing Mina climb from the car, he headed towards her and paused as she approached him. "Hey …" He began, watching her look up at him and his heart slamming into his chest as what little light there was in the street seemed to glint off of her silvery eyes.

Mina frowned up at him and shook her head slightly. "What's wrong?"

Dean forced a smile to his mouth and reached out to place his hand on her arm. "Be careful in there, okay?"

"I will." Mina nodded, "You, too." She smiled briefly and edged past him, unaware of the sadness that filled his face.

"Right." Jay locked up the SUV and turned to the four of them. "We ready to do this?"

"As we'll ever be." Sam replied lightly and stepped away from the van to head along the street. Aware of Jay taking the lead, he glanced behind him and saw his usually dominant brother bringing up the rear of the group. Looking briefly at an equally quiet Mina, Sam hoped they both had their focus on what was ahead of them and then turned his attention back to following closely behind Jay.

Waiting at the small side entrance away from the road, Jay held his phone to his ear and waited for his call to be answered. "Tony, it's me." He then said quietly, "We're here."

It was a few minutes before they heard footsteps beyond the door and then the rattle of a key in the lock. The door opened and they stepped into the dimly lit fire exit corridor.

"Hi." The tall black security guard nodded a nervous greeting, waving his torch through the group. The beam landed on Jay and he smiled thinly.

"Everything set?" Jay urged.

"Yup," Tony nodded, "Cameras down in the East Wing and I guess I'll not call it in for an hour or so."

"Thanks." Jay sighed, stepping forward to shake his friend's hand.

"There's not much I can do about the alarms on some of the private exhibits." Tony added warily, "So watch what you touch, okay?"

"Absolutely."

"Come on, then." Tony turned and led them along the corridor. Signaling for them to keep close to the wall as they emerged into the large front lobby, Tony made his way up the wide staircase and glanced back to ensure they were following.

Jay smiled as they turned a corner and across the second floor lobby he could see the posters on the entrance to the Native American exhibit.

Tony held one of the glass doors open and watched in interest as the five of them slipped quickly inside. He stepped in after them and shone his torch on the bank of switches on the inside wall. Flicking two of them down, he turned and watched the selected lights flicker on.

"Wo …" Sam breathed in awe.

Jay nodded slowly, "There it is."

Dean frowned and moved forward. Weaving his way between the tall glass displays, he came to one at the end of the long room and stared in wonder at the large black arrow suspended within. "Dude …" Reflected in the glass, he could see his companions edging closer and saw an equal wonder on their faces.

"Safe and sound." Tony commented, watching Jay smiling gratefully at him. "Listen … I'd best get back to my desk."

"Of course." Jay agreed.

"Thanks, Tony." Sam offered quickly.

"Sure," The greying man laughed slightly, "Just don't break too much, okay?"

"We'll be careful." Jay agreed and watched Tony head from the hall.

Mina leaned her forehead against the glass case and sighed loudly. "I can't believe it's really here …" She whispered and frowned as she stared at the arrow. "Strange that that's all it is though." Smiling, she looked up at the others. "I mean … it's just an arrow."

"What did you expect?" Jay asked with a shrug.

"I don't know." Mina replied, looking back into the case. "Maybe some fancy decorations or some mystical glow or something."

Sam laughed gently, "I know what you mean." He agreed, turning to her, "At least the sacred knife you had was kinda pretty."

"Well," Dean put down his heavy bag and examined the case in interest, "Let's hope this thing makes up for it's appearance with some serious demon-killing-power." He moved round to the side and leaned down to examine the alarm system. "If we can even get at it."

"Oh, yeah." Jay chuckled suddenly and took a small key out of his pocket. He held it up and gave a small shrug. "That would be a good start, I guess." Smiling, he hurried round to unlock the case and signaled for Sam and Dean to lift the heavy glass panels away from the exhibits.

The arrow was displayed along with bone-handled knives, flint arrowheads and other archaeological finds. Jay was careful not to disturb the arrangement as he reached inside and he held his breath as he took hold of the arrow.

"Man …" Dean stepped closer to Jay and stared down in wonder at the jet-black wood.

Jay took a deep breath and looked round at the group's worried faces. "This is it, then."

"I guess so." Sam nodded and stepped away. He wandered into a wide space amid the exhibits and knelt down, slipping his bag from his shoulder. It took a few minutes for him to create the pattern on the varnished wood floor and Sam worked silently, following the instructions Bobby had given him.

Sarah edged closer to Dean and hardly dared breathe as she watched Sam placing amid the design the candles and talismans they had created. She glanced up at Dean's face and saw the concern in his eyes. Finding little comfort, she clenched her fists and took a deep breath.

"Okay," Sam sat back on his heels and placed the bowl of herbs into the centre of the diagram. "Are we ready?"

"Hell, no!" Jay laughed nervously.

Dean smiled and held out his hand. Taking the arrow from Jay, he loaded it into the crossbow and flicked off the safety. "Go for it, Sammy." He husked.

Sam nodded and glanced round at them all. He took a deep breath and then read out the Latin incantation Bobby had dictated to him over the phone. Grabbing the small anti-possession pouch that hung about his neck, he lit a match and dropped it into the bowl. Stepping back quickly, he watched the contents of the bowl burst into bright white flames and sparks flew out across the floor.

And they waited.

Dean leaned against the wall and held the crossbow ready. Keeping one eye on his companions and another on the door, he could hear his pounding heart in his ears and gripped the weapon tightly. "Sam?"

"I don't know." Sam shrugged, "I've done it just as Bobby described."

"Maybe we missed something." Sarah offered nervously.

"I don't think so." Jay countered, stepping closer to Sam and peering down at the drawing and the notes Sam held.

"How long does it normally take?" Mina asked.

Sam shrugged and scratched his forehead in thought. "Who knows …?"

"Wait." Sarah gasped, "You mean this is the first time you've - "

"What?" Dean turned to her, "Intentionally called a seriously evil mother-fucker to come and have a pop at us? Well, hell yes!"

Sarah stared at him in horror and then turned to Sam. "Great."

"Wo," Mina defended quickly, "Now, just wait a second. We're all in this, okay? It's not their fault." She glanced at Dean and then looked back at Mina. "I mean, who knows if this demon is powerful enough to resist the summoning."

"Oh, that's reassuring." Jay snorted. He was then aware of movement in the corridor beyond the entrance and stepped towards the doors. "Tony's coming back." Jay frowned.

They watched as the security guard stepped inside and gave a small smile of greeting.

"Shit!" Mina hissed suddenly, edging closer to Dean. "That's not Tony!"

"What?" Jay gasped and stared at his friend in confusion. "Tony?"

"Not technically, no." Tony replied evenly, looking round at the group in interest and his smile growing. "Greetings." He offered warmly, his eyes glowing a bright yellow-orange. "It's nice to see you all again." His eyes then rested on Sarah and his smile grew. "But I don't believe I've had the pleasure - "

"No!" Sam hurried in front of Sarah and guarded her protectively, glaring a warning at the demon.

"Oh, hush." The demon laughed softly and then threw up his arms slightly. "Well? You called?"

"Yeah." Dean grated, "We wanted to tell you something."

"Oh?"

"Jay!" Dean prompted.

Jay stared at the man that had been his friend for more than twenty years and could not quite fathom that it was not Tony standing before him.

"Uncle!"

Startled from his thoughts, Jay shook his head and tore his eyes from Tony. He looked down at the paper he held in his trembling hands and took a deep breath. "Nin hokeh bikheh anaihla, taaltsogo naheseelkai, nihbikahgi do tah kahgi - "

"Wait." The demon held up his hand and chuckled softly, "What on earth are you muttering on about, Jay?"

Jay looked up and paused as he saw his friend regarding him in amusement.

"You mean you still know how to say that stuff? After all this time?" The demon laughed, "Damn, dog, I thought you gave all that shit up!"

"Keep going!" Sam shouted quickly, "Don't let him trick you, Jay. Remember, it's not Tony."

Jay nodded and looked back down at the incantation. "Taaltsogo endadepah tsididaanne netayyah, ay - "

"Ow!" The security guard yelled in sudden pain and stumbled backwards, clutching at his abdomen. "No! Jay?" He winced and shook his head urgently, "Please! Don't!"

"Ignore him." Dean grated, walking slowly towards the demon and keeping his aim squarely on him. "Read it, Jay!"

"No!" Catching his breath, the guard stood up straight and held up his hands. "Look. You don't know what you're doing."

"Oh no?" Mina hurried forward, gasping as Sam caught her arm and held her back. "We're ending you, you bastard!"

Frowning in confusion, the demon glanced up at the ceiling and, seeing nothing drawn above his head, looked back at the people standing before him. "Oh really?" He turned to Dean and his eyes flashed brightly.

"God - !" Keeping the crossbow raised but his knees buckling beneath him, Dean grimaced and gave a slight sob as pain filled his chest.

Mina turned and watched him take a step back unsteadily, his eyes closing for a moment. She hurried to his side and put her arms around his waist, holding him upright.

"Jay!" Sam ordered sternly, moving towards Dean and reaching out to take the crossbow from him

"Hozogo nayyeltay to anaoh bikeh de - "

"Stop!" The demon yelled, doubling over in agony and clutching at his head.

Dean sighed in relief suddenly and swallowed back the bile in his throat. Glancing at Sam, he held the crossbow firmly and gave a small nod of assurance.

"Don't do this!" The demon slowly stood upright, blood trickling from the eyes and nose of the security guard he possessed. "Please! I beg you! Don't!"

Sam stepped towards the demon and glared angrily. "Give us one good reason why not, you murdering bastard."

"Murder?" The demon frowned suddenly and shook his head. "I've not - " He gasped and a smile suddenly pulled at his lips. "Oh, I see …" Glancing at Dean, he nodded slowly and gave a small laugh. "Big brother never told you …?"

"Shut the fuck up!" Dean warned in fury, his finger beginning to squeeze on the trigger. "Sammy! Don't listen!"

Sam glanced at his brother and then turned back to the demon, smiling suddenly. "There's nothing you can say. We are going to destroy you."

"You do and you'll never get your dad back."

"What?" Sam gasped.

"Sammy!" Dean husked, his throat tightening, "Don't listen!"

"I'm the only link you have, Sammy." The demon continued, "Kill me and you have nothing. But …" He stepped forward and gave a small shrug, "If you want to see him again …?" His smile grew, "Tell Tonto here to stop with the chanting and give me the arrow … and I'll get your dad back."

Dean felt the world spinning under his feet and lowered the crossbow slightly. Looking at his brother, he could see the hesitation and uncertainty that filled Sam's face and it mirrored his own confusion.

Mina watched the two brothers in dismay and could fully understand the pain that filled their eyes. She then looked back at the demon and saw the small smile that pulled at his mouth just a second before he suddenly leapt.

Moving faster than any of them had time to fathom, the demon grabbed Jay and gripped his head in a tight arm lock. With a satisfied groan, he twisted Jay's head sharply and snapped his neck.

"No!" Mina screamed in horror and watched her uncle slump lifelessly to the floor. She hurried across to him and checked his body urgently, shaking his limp shoulders.

"Oh god - " Sarah covered her mouth with her hand and edged back, leaning against one of the display cabinets and watching Mina in sorrow.

"Now …" The demon stepped past the body and smiled at the two brothers. "The arrow please."

"Anaoh bikeh dedlihn, nihikeh dedlini taetin …"

"No!" Spinning round, the demon saw Mina reading from the paper and swiped the air with his hand. He watched her glare defiantly up at him and growled in disbelief as he saw she was unharmed.

"What - ?" Sam gasped and suddenly smiled. He turned to Dean and nodded in excitement. "It's working!"

"Good." Dean husked, again taking aim.

Mina smiled up at the demon and then turned back to the words. "Yehwolve hihe adin - "

"Stop!" The demon kicked out at Mina, his foot slamming into her cheek and sending her sprawling onto her side.

Dean gasped in horror and glared at the demon, clenching his jaw and squeezing the trigger.

Sam watched with baited breath as the arrow flew and sank into the centre of the security guard's back. He watched the man cry out in pain and arch his back, trying to grab at the shaft. He smiled at his brother and watched Dean regarding the demon in concern.

"You fool!" The demon turned slowly to face Dean, the guard's face calm and even slightly amused. "If you had only waited for a moment longer …" Looking down at the arrow head that poked through the front of the guard's uniform, he laughed gently. "That actually might have worked."

Sarah hurried over to Sam and grabbed his arm, tears falling down her pale face. She glanced at Dean and then noticed Mina slowly rolling onto her back. Seeing Mina clutch at her cut face, Sarah then looked at the guard and her heart sank.

"Still …" The demon took hold of the arrow head and snarled in pain. Groaning softly, he slowly pulled the arrow through the body of the guard and gave a final tug to slide the black feathers out. Blood poured from the hole that remained and he staggered forward a few steps. He then lifted his head and grinned in pleasure. "At least, I know have this."

Dean stared in disbelief and glanced at his brother, seeing the disappointment and fear in Sam's pale face.

"Solagotsoi do chahlakai." Mina said quietly and shook her head in sorrow as she looked across at Dean.

"What?" The demon span back at her and growled angrily. "You have no idea what you have just done!" He grated, clutching at his chest and grimacing in pain. He then stood upright and looked back to the brothers, laughing softly between the shudders that violently jerked his body. "Say farewell to your world." He husked, clutching at his head and screaming in agony.

Dean watched Mina scrambling away from the guard and decided she might have the right idea. He edged backwards and quietly urged his brother to do the same.

Sam reversed through the glass exhibit cases and watched in concern as blood began to spill from every opening on the man's head. Grimacing in revulsion, he then saw the skin of the guards face expanding like a balloon, stretching out to its limit and then tearing down his head in wide gashes.

"Fuck - " Dean gasped in disgust and watched in horror as the screaming man's head suddenly split in two, blood spraying the glass cases beside him.

"What the - ?" Sam could feel Sarah trembling against him and stood in front of her protectively, watching the gruesome transformation in disbelief.

Between the bleeding halves of the man's head, a snout appeared and then the mouth and eyes of a snarling wolf-like head.

"Oh holy crap!" Dean edged behind a display case, looking through the glass in fear as the creature emerged.

With an ear-splitting shriek like nothing they had ever heard, the creature looked round at them all and it's eyes glowed a bright yellow. Two clawed hands then grasped the ragged edges of the guard's open neck and suddenly tore the body apart.

The stunned on-lookers ducked instinctively and blood and internal organs splashed over the display cases.

"Gross!" Dean husked in complaint and covered his mouth as his stomach heaved. He glanced at Sam and saw the sheer dread that filled his brother's face. Turning back, Dean found his glass case was covered in red remains and he peered around the side. "Oh fuck …"

The thing was enormous. Hunching it's shoulders against the ceiling, the creature opened it's immense leathery wings and gave them a brief shake, flicking more blood across the room. Much like a giant bat, the spindled arms formed the top edge of the wings and clawed fingers and sharp boney spines decorated each joint.

Dean turned back to his brother and watched Sam sink down behind the cabinet, clutching his head in his hands. Suddenly understanding that this was the creature Sam had seen in his premonition, Dean groaned and hung his head in dismay.

Another mind-numbingly high-pitched shriek filled the room and the group covered their ears. The black creature then turned on it's long, cloven-hoofed legs and a long barbed tailed swiped the air, smashing through the display cabinets. Shards of glass rained down noisily and crunched beneath the creatures feet as it lowered its head among the debris.

"No!" Dean gasped and saw Mina hunched up against one of the intact exhibits. She stared up at the creature in open-mouthed fear and closed her eyes as it moved towards her.

This time when the creature cried, there was almost a human-like voice amid the noise and Dean frowned in confusion. He then watched in dismay as Mina nodded and moved forward to search among what remained of the security guard and pulled free the large black arrow.

"No …" Sam breathed, looking on in disbelief.

Dean watched the exchange and gasped in shock as Mina handed the creature the arrow.

With another loud cry, the immense bat-wolf-thing leapt up and smashed it's head through the ceiling. Pieces of wood and cement crumbled from the broken ceiling and hung from the edges of the hole that the creature then scrambled through. There then came another loud crash and the creature was gone.

Slowly getting to his feet, Dean surveyed what was left of the blood soaked exhibition and shook his head slowly. "Shit …" He then looked over to Mina and anger surged through him. "What the hell did you just do?"

Mina sighed and clambered to her feet. "Saved our lives." She replied evenly. "It was either get the arrow for him or have each of us ripped apart as he tried to find it."

Dean considered this for a moment and then gave a small nod. "I guess …" Hearing glass crunching underfoot, he turned and saw Sam heading towards them, a stunned and quietly sobbing Sarah in tow.

"Did you know that was going to happen?" Sam demanded angrily, glaring at Mina.

"No!" Mina defended with equal venom. "Hell, no!" She dragged her hands through her hair and closed her eyes. "But … it makes sense …"

"It does?" Dean frowned.

Mina gave a small shrug, "The incantation literally says 'reveal as man the spirit within'."

"Oh, yeah. I can see it all now." Dean scoffed.

Mina sighed and closed her eyes. "No … it forces the demon to take corporeal form."

"Crap …" Sam groaned and hung his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Of course …" He sighed and looked across at his brother. "We thought it was to make the demon vulnerable by making it 'as man' …"

"And that was what seemed to be happening." Mina nodded. "But it was actually making the true form of the demon become a real creature."

"Oh," Dean groaned and gave a small shrug, "Would have been handy to know that beforehand."

"Yeah." Sam agreed quietly, shooting Mina a small smile. "It got lost in the translation, I guess."

"Well …" Dean stepped carefully under the hole on the ceiling and saw the large gap in the roof of the museum. Looking up at the stars that could be seen in the sky above them, he frowned in thought. "What do we do now? I mean, people might notice a massive great bat flying through New York."

"Unless he just flies off somewhere." Sam shrugged.

"Um … no, I think he'll be back ..." Mina offered quietly. She watched the brothers turn to her in interest and she suddenly smiled. "And he'll be pretty pissed."

"Hey?" Dean urged.

Mina laughed softly and hurried over to the gruesome pieces of what used to be Tony. "What?" She pulled the arrow free from the guards still tightly gripping fingers and held it up proudly. "You think I gave that son-of-a-bitch the real one?"

"Yay!" Sam exclaimed in delight.

"Dude!" Dean laughed, "I could hug you! In fact - " He stepped across the debris and threw his arms around her. "That's my tough-as-shit girl!"

Mina laughed and hugged him back.

Sam smiled happily and then turned to check on the trembling remains of his terrified girlfriend. "Hey …" He lifted her chin and wiped her tears away with the cuff of his sleeve. "It's okay, babe."

Sarah managed a small smile and nodded in agreement. "You know …" She cleared her throat and shook her head, "Next time I think I'll listen to you."

Sam laughed and wrapped his arms around her, holding her against him tightly. "Yeah … I need you waiting safely at home." He offered gently, "Beers chilling in the fridge, food in the stove and your hands ready to massage my weary body."

"Dream on," Sarah murmured into his chest and heard his laugh rumble through him.

"Right, then." Dean exclaimed suddenly, "Let's find the crossbow and plan a suitable trap for that fugly bastard."

Sam nodded and stepped back from Sarah to help his brother search through the debris. Sarah watched them for a moment and then noticed Mina clearing glass and ceiling rubble from a body in the centre of the room. She swallowed back further tears and wandered over to help her.

Mina gently wiped the dust from her uncle's lifeless face and leaned down to place a kiss on his forehead.

"I'm so sorry." Sarah offered quietly, kneeling down beside her.

Mina nodded and wiped away tears. "We should get him out of here." She said quietly, "Or there'll be questions as to why he was here. And I don't want that to be how he is remembered."

Sarah nodded slowly.

Mina then looked up as Sam called out that he had found the crossbow. She stood slowly and walked towards them, about to ask if they would help her carry Jay's body when she then heard a noise above them.

"What?" Dean called over to her, "Is it back already?"

"I'm not sure …" Mina replied quietly, frowning as she heard the sound again the sound of something moving in the floor above them. She then gasped as she saw the crack shoot across the plaster and shouted a panicked warning as the ceiling collapsed.