"You sure about this, Lux?"

"Jo is in Duluth. And she's a hunter like the guy the demon killed," they replied in return, their eyes never moving off the road. "Really doesn't take that big of a leap to figure out that's what it wants, Dean. Special intuition or not. This particular asshole is playing out a vendetta, hunters being the specific target."

Dean rubbed at his jaw and exhaled sharply. "Alright," he nodded. "Here's the plan. You stay in the car, I go in and deal with Sam, save Jo."

"That's not a plan, Dean," Lux said in a flat tone. "That's stupidity."

"I'm not risking you," he said, the reply brusque. "This is a family problem."

"Yes, well, your little family problem is not staying within the family, is it?" Lux stated back in sharp voice.

"Listen, Sherlock. We do it my way or we go our separate ways right now," Dean threatened in a growl. What he didn't anticipate was Lux suddenly swerving onto the side of the road and parking, looking over at him expectantly. "What are you doing?"

The dark-haired person gave him an innocent look. "Going my separate way, since I'm not doing it your way," Lux said in a casual voice. They paused, looking around the empty, dark road. "Your way may be a little more… time-consuming, by the looks of it. But, I'm sure you'll figure something out, won't ya, big boy?" they said with a Cheshire-cat grin.

Dean looked out at the pitch black highway and back to Lux. "I didn't mean go our separate ways right now, right now," he stuttered out before his eye turned hard and his voice got low as Lux refused to even respond. "Get back on the road, Lux. We don't have time for this."

Lux turned off the car completely now, pocketing the keys, and shifted to face Dean fully. "You might be used to everyone caving under your scary Batman impersonation, but that doesn't work on me, sweet cheeks," Lux said with cold features and they stopped the grin that wanted to surface at his surprised expression. "Now listen. Your plan is shit. The demon is targeting all hunters. If we're lucky, it only kills us. If we're unlucky, the number of innocents it takes with it after killing us will be astronomical. Also, you must be aware Jo is the one in the tightest spot here, right? She's being used as bait to get to you in particular, Dean. There's an extraordinarily high risk of her throat being slit by that thing the moment you walk into that bar. So we need more than some reckless rushin' in plan."

"Look, if this demon is after me, then all I have to do is draw it away from Jo, right?" he said while pulling out a flask from his jacket. "Holy water. It'll hurt it long enough to force it to run. You wait by the door until I have it out of the way, then you go in and get Jo out of there, alright?"

"Or, I can go in first," Lux suggested instead. "It's going to expect you, after all. All of this is for you, Dean. So, if I show up, I'm sure it'll throw it off guard. It'll give me enough time to splash it with as much holy water as possible, force it to run, and then you can ambush it outside with a demon trap. No harm done to Sam and we get Jo out of this pickle alive." They paused after. "Hopefully. No one ever bats a hundred."

"If I say fine, can we get going again?" Dean muttered after a minute.

"Only if you mean it, babes," Lux said cheerfully and held out a hand towards him. "Deal?"

He rubbed at his eyes before sighing and shaking Lux's hand. "Deal. Now get us the hell out of here," he said. Lux straightened back up and turned the car on, driving back out onto the road. Dean noticed, though, the speed churning up as the highway slipped under them. "I don't usually say this, but thanks."

A raised eyebrow was the only change on Lux's face. "For what?"

With a grunt, Dean crossed his arms and avoided eye contact. "Just take the thanks, man," he grunted.

"And miss out on some sweet praise that has the bonus perk of making you uncomfortable?" Lux replied. "I think not. Come on, Winchester. Spill or I'll pull over again."

"For helping Sammy," he cleared up gruffly. "I mean, you barely even know him and you're risking your neck for him."

Lux spared a quick glance. "I'm just helping Sammy, huh?"

"Us. Thanks for helping us," he muttered under his breath.

His quick clarification was unexpected – Dean was a vault, from their experience so far – and it touched Lux. Not like they'd let Dean know that, though. "You risk your neck for strangers every day," they reminded Dean with an offhanded wave of their hand. "Have you been shown so little kindness that you never thought someone might return the favor to you and your brother?"

When Dean didn't respond, Lux gave a quick glance over to him. They didn't mean to hit a nerve, but they had. "It's just been him and me, the majority of our lives," he said with a shrug after a slight pause.

They hummed and waited to see if he would continue. When it was clear he wasn't going to elaborate any more, Lux flipped on the stereo and David Bowie's "Rebel Rebel" blasted from the speakers. They grinned when they noticed Dean jump in the passenger's seat. "What?" they asked after lowering the volume a bit. "If you tell me you're not a fan of Bowie, I'm never letting you borrow my car again."

He let out a chuckle at this. "This one's alright," he admitted, his head bobbing along to the tune. Lux grinned and raised the volume again before speeding up even more.

When the bar came into view, Lux lowered the music and parked about half a mile away. Dean handed them his flask and instead of taking the item, they grabbed his wrist and then thought better and let it go, motioning to his torso. "Lift up your shirt."

The older Winchester looked taken aback before a sly grin came to his lips. "Look, sugar, I would say yes any other time, but I think we've got more important fish to fry, don't you think?" Dean said and Lux had to roll their eyes. "Though maybe we can start with dinner first or maybe a movie. You know, so I don't feel too objectified afterwards."

"Your mind's a gutter, Dean Winchester," Lux replied and lifted a marker into view. "You need a sigil. I don't know if it'll be as strong as a charm or a tattoo, but it'll be something," they said.

"What do you mean a sigil?" he asked with a frown and Lux sighed before leaning over and yanking up his shirt themselves. "Whoa there, handsy," he half-screamed but even with his exclamation he kept still as Lux drew on his chest. "What's that even for, anyway?"

"Protection," Lux explained as they focused on drawing the sigil. "To prevent you from being possessed. We don't know if it's just the one demon or if it called over buddies. So, better safe than sorry."

"And you?" Dean asked.

Lux didn't reply until they were done. They leaned back to study their artwork and gave a satisfied nod. "I'm covered," they assured him. When Dean motioned for them to explain, they sighed and pulled down on the neck of their shirt enough to show the line of tattoos under their clothes. "Literally."

"Who taught you that?" he asked, his eyes glued to Lux's chest.

"Eyes up here, big boy," Lux replied coolly and Dean's gaze snapped back up to Lux's brown eyes, a flush crawling up his neck. "After I met your father and got the truth about – well, everything – I delved into any and every piece of literature that talked about the supernatural. I found these in my studies, tested them, and found they worked."

"Nerd," Dean said under his breath. A punch found his arm though and he flinched. "Jesus, you're stronger than you look."

This made Lux grin. "Keep that in mind next time you're tempted to eyeball me, you hear?" they said and Dean rolled his eyes. Lux took the flask from him now and breathed in slowly, their features melting into something somber the more they stared at the bar in the distance. "Alright, you got my back, right?" they asked, glancing over at Dean again.

Dean was serious as well. "I've got your back," he assured with a nod. "Just get me a couple of minutes, yeah? To get the traps done."

"Consider it done," Lux said and then flashed a smile before getting out of the car and heading to the bar entrance. They paused, slipping the flask into their back pocket and untwisting the cap enough for it to hang by the last thread or two before moving their gun into their jacket. Allowing themselves one more breath, they pushed the door open and their features reflected a sense of relief. They were glad to see Jo alive, beaten up but alive, and they were glad that Sam had a look of shock on his features. "Sam, you're alright," they exhaled harshly.

In a flash, the knife was up at Jo's throat. "I told Dean to stop me. You heard me telling him this would happen," the demon inside of Sam spoke up in a choked voice. "You'll end up here, too. It's just a matter of time."

"Yes, well, if that happens, I hope you'll do the same thing I'm doing now, Sammy, and try and help me," Lux said, hands raised as they took slow steps towards the younger Winchester. "Dean and I have been looking for you, you know?"

"Stop," Sam warned and the knife pressed into Jo's neck.

"Okay, okay," Lux said, stopping in their tracks but not stepping back. "Alright. Look, how about I call Dean," they said and reached to their back pocket, one hand still held up.

Sam pressed the knife harder into Jo's skin until a tiny bubble of blood appeared on her skin. "I know where you keep your gun, Lux," he said, his voice rising in pitch. "Don't try it."

Lux stopped moving then motioned to Sam. "My gun is right here though," they said and slowly opened their jacket to show the weapon. "I have no intention of shooting you, Sam. Dean would have my head. You know that," they said. "Look, I'm going to pull it out and set it down, okay? Then we'll call Dean," they said as they pulled out the weapon with two fingers and set it on the ground. Sam's pressure on the knife relaxed just enough to no longer draw blood. "Dean shouldn't be far, alright?" They stood back up and motioned towards their back pocket. "We're going to get through this, all of us. Together, right?" they said as they went for the flask again.

"You still don't see it, do you?" Sam said with a tired laugh. "You and me, we only have one assured ending, and it won't be of heroes. We're monsters, after all, and monsters always die."

"Put the knife down, Sam," Lux said softly and grasped the flask.

"We shouldn't be alive," he said and the grip on his knife tightened once more. "We should be put down. Dean needs to put us down. Don't you –" A splash of holy water filled his open mouth and the sounds of pain echoed in the bar. When Sam looked back up, his eyes were pitch-black as the water hissed and steamed off its skin. "Oh, you bitch!"

Lux dashed closer and splashed at the demon again. "Love you too, Sammy," they said and made to corral him towards the front door. "This'll be over before you know it." Something must've tipped the demon off because despite being in pain, it stopped and growled at Lux before turning and crashing through a window. "Fuck. Dean!" Lux hollered as they jumped towards Jo.

"He was possessed?!" Jo screamed after Lux removed the gag.

"You think our Sam would actually do this?" they asked Jo with a raised brow, pulling a knife and working on the ropes. "Pleasure to meet you, by the way. I'm Lux. Anyway, don't worry about Sam. Dean's got him. Or, well, I hope Dean's got him. For now, we're holding down the fort. Got anything to cover that window?"

Jo stared at Lux before giving a nod and motioning Lux to follow them. "So," she started and all the tail of a very uncomfortable conversation seemed ready to follow as they gathered wood and paint on Lux's request. "You and Dean?"

"And Sam," Lux said as they worked on boarding up the broken window. The relief over Jo's face was a neon sign of her true feelings. "Just a trio of pals riding around the countryside killing monsters and demons, you know?"

"How did you hook up with them?" she asked.

Lux wasn't sure how much Jo knew about the whole feeding babies demon blood part, so they figured it would be better to play it safe in case the brothers were trying to keep that on the low. "It was John, actually. He helped me with a family problem, gave me my first peek behind the curtain," they said while hammering. "You grew up in the life?"

"Not exactly," Jo said with a grim smile. "My dad was in it. My mom quit when she had me, and she didn't want me living the hunter life, so," she shrugged after. "I wanted to, though. So I chose to do it anyways. It's why I'm here, really. Had to get away, have the freedom to follow my own path."

The dark-haired figure hummed. "It only sounds to me like she wanted to keep you safe, your mom," Lux said as they set the last of the wood planks across the window. "Which, from what I hear, is usually what parents do."

Jo glanced over at Lux. "You don't have any?" she asked. There was no need to clarify.

"My mom died when I was a baby, my dad when I was nine," Lux told her as they finished. Before more talk could continue, there was the sound of gunshots and Lux grabbed Jo's arm as she made to run out the door. "No."

She tried to rip her arm from Lux's grasp. To her surprise, Lux didn't budge and their fingers only dug deeper into her arm as they held her in place. "Dean's out there, fighting a black-eyed asshole on his own! He needs our help!" Jo screamed at them. "Hell, he could be hurt for all we know!"

"Yes, he could be, but we can't be stupid about it," Lux replied in a calm voice and guided Jo towards the bar to sit her down. "If he's hurt, then a demon might be out there still, jonesing to kill us, too. It could be trying to use Dean as a honey pot. If Sam's the one hurt, then we might have a shot. So what we're going to do is, you're going to stay put, and I'm going to go canvas a bit. We clear?"

"Jesus Christ, I'm not a child!" Jo said in response.

"No, you're not. But you are beat up and you're bleeding," Lux said, trying to keep their cool. "And I will spend too much of my time covering your ass rather than looking out for danger. So, work with me, yeah?" They paused and tilted their head. "You got holy water, right?" Jo gave them a hard glare and Lux raised a hand. "Alright, alright. Jeez. Maybe I should send you instead," they joked and gave Jo a wink. The expression changed from vexation to surprise with a hint of a blush on their cheeks. "If either of the boys come back, give me a holler."

Lux didn't wait for a response and headed to the door, snatching up their main gun on the way out and tucking in against the small of their back. When they were outside, they reached for the Colt snubbie on their ankle. "Sorry, Dean," they muttered as they walked around the bar and towards the warehouses and the docks. "Better a holy oil bullet in the leg than a dead me."

The whole area was quiet, though, and that worried Lux more than the sounds of a fight. If Dean was the top dog, he would've gone back to the bar. If Sam was the winner of this outcome… wouldn't he have gone back to the bar as well? Unless….

Digging into their jacket, Lux pulled out their phone and dialed Dean's number. "Come on, come on," they muttered as they circled around again, hanging up and dialing again anytime they got Dean's voicemail. A sudden faint noise came from their left and they ran towards a slanted boardwalk. The ringtone cut off just as Lux's eyes landed on a soaking wet and seemingly unconscious Dean. They immediately tucked the snubbie away and approached the fallen form. "Alright, big boy," they said as they turned Dean over, earning a grunt as an answer. "I got you. Up we go."

Dean managed to get up on his knees, but when Lux grabbed his left arm he let out a painful hiss. "You're gonna rip my arm out, sugar," he breathed out shakily and Lux went around him to take his right arm instead. "Where's Sammy?" Dean managed, the question followed by harsh coughing.

"Gone, but I have an idea as to where," Lux replied. "You're hurt, though, so let's fix that first before we go after Sam," they added. Dean's weight was on them as the pair stumbled back into the bar.

"Holy shit. Is he okay?" Jo asked, jumping from the bar.

"Bullet in the arm," Lux said to her as the two got Dean to a seat. "You can take care of that, right? I need to check something."

The older Winchester immediately made to stand again. "You're not going out there alone," he said and Lux pushed him back down, putting pressure on the hurt arm which made him comply immediately.

"Relax. I'm just bringing the car 'round," Lux assured. "Besides, I walked the whole grounds looking for your ass. It's all clear," they added as they headed to the door. Before he could argue further, Jo was beside him with the essentials and began treating him.

Despite their words to Dean, Lux's gun was out from the small of their back and in their hand as they walked towards the car. When they saw their baby, whole and without damage, they let out a sigh of relief. Lux had been sure the demon would try to make their travelling harder, but the car being intact only surfaced the idea that it wanted Dean to follow, probably to see the damage it left behind.

Back at the bar Jo was digging into Dean's arm as he groaned and let out sounds of protests. She managed to get the bullet out though and then began to bandage him up. "Okay, I'm done," she said. "Let's go."

Lux was in time to see Dean stand up and fix his jacket. "You're not coming," he said and caught sight of Lux at the door, who only raised a brow.

"The hell I'm not," Jo shot back. "I'm part of this now."

His eyes went back to Jo, hard and unwavering. "I can't say it more plain than this," he started. "You try to follow us and I'll tie you right back to that post and leave you here."

"Why does she get to go, then?" Jo motioned at the figure still by the door. "You pick a stranger over me?"

"Cause he's got no other ride but me, sweets," Lux said with a giant grin. "Also, not a she, but I'll let it slide. Too long to explain, anyway."

Dean rolled his eyes at Lux before returning his attention to Jo. "You saw I kept Lux out of it, too. This is my fight. I'm not getting either of your blood on my hands. That's just how it's gonna be." The two glared at each other before Jo looked down. Satisfied, Dean turned away.

"Wait," Jo called out and Dean's features set into something grim before he turned back to her. "Take these. They'll help with the pain," she said and tossed him a pill bottle. He caught them easily and put them in his jacket.

"Thanks. I'll call you later, okay?" Dean replied and this time headed to the door without a second thought.

Something in Jo's eyes caught Lux for a pause. She knows he's not calling, they thought and felt a smidge of pity for the girl. "Here's to crossing paths again," Lux said instead, a small smile directed at Jo before following Dean out the door.