The Impala fishtailed as it screeched around a corner. Dean gripped the steering wheel and didn't care much. He knew exactly what his beloved car was capable of. Jo, in the back, didn't seem to mind, either, giving some idea of what kind of driver Ellen was. Jimmy, riding shotgun, however, was a whole other story. He was about ready to hurl.
"How do you know where Mal is, again?" Dean demanded, gunning the Impala down a straightaway.
"I don't know, I just do," Jimmy said tightly, one hand gripping the handle in the door and the other pressed to the side of his head. "Take a right up here." Dean yanked the wheel around and Jimmy yelped, tightening his hold on the door.
"Well, are you picking up anything else?" Dean asked. "Like, is she in danger?"
"I. Don't. Know," Jimmy gritted again. He was bruised, battered, and in control of his body for the first time in at least two months and he was officially having a Bad Day. It didn't help that he was being compelled (quite strongly, too) to find a girl he had never met and Dean (who he didn't particularly like, despite him having saved Jimmy's life) was barking questions in his ear. So yes, Jimmy was a wee bit peeved. "Left. Left. LEFT!"
Dean hung a hard left, tires squealing, and Jimmy's arm shot out toward a narrow alley. "There!" The Impala's left rear tire bumped up on the curb as they shot through the alleyway and through to the other side. Jo swore as she bounced off the door and caught her shotgun before it slid off the seat.
Jimmy shoved hard at the angel inside his head. Come on, Castiel, wake up! As much as he liked actually being awake for a change, Jimmy was feeling a little out of his depth. "Here," he yelled suddenly, pointing to the parking lot of a baseball diamond. Dean blew past the sign reading "Comerica Park," snapping the chain across the entrance.
"Now where?" he asked.
"There!" Jimmy yelled again, pointing straight at the stadium. Dean grumbled under his breath but still tore across the parking lot, which was thankfully empty, it being two o'clock in the morning. He parked practically on the sidewalk in front of the main entrance. Jimmy was the first out of the car. He had to wait until Dean got them into the stadium, but then made a bee-line for the field itself. He paused as he stepped out onto the first tier of seats.
"Holy crap," Dean said behind him. Jimmy had to agree. The center of the field had been blasted into a crater at least ten feet deep and twice that across.
"This is where she landed," Jimmy said, casting around. The tugging feeling was less intense now. He knew he was close, but he couldn't pinpoint her location. He growled in frustration. Cas! Why are you never here when I need you?
Jo suddenly pointed. "Look!"
On the other side of the stadium, two tiny figures were running full-tilt down the tiers of seats. Jimmy squinted, trying to make them out. The moonlight reflected on bright, pale hair of the one in the lead. The other's hair was dark.
"Dammit," Dean suddenly burst out. "That's Mallory!" He took off towards the pair, Jo at his heels. Jimmy looked around again, swore under his breath, and took the short cut. He rolled into the landing as he dropped to the field, picked himself up, and sprinted across the outfield.
The logical part of his brain, the part that belonged to the radio spot salesman, was berating him, demanding to know what the hell he thought he was going to do. Mallory was clearly being pursued by some kind of enemy, either Marax or Belial, and Jimmy wasn't exactly the type cut out for combat. That was more Castiel's forte. Yet despite this, his legs were currently carrying him towards the girl as fast as they could.
Jimmy's lungs were burning by the time he reached the other side, but he didn't let himself stop. He bounded up the stairs to the seating area and angled his way towards the girl and her pursuer. "Mallory!" he yelled. "Mallory, over here!"
She immediately changed course, heading towards him. He could see her now, eyes wild and arms pumping. She crashed into him at full speed, and he only barely managed to keep them both upright. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and half-turned, putting himself squarely between her and...Oh, hell. It was Marax.
The demon's eyes were jet-black, her teeth bared in a snarl. Large areas of skin on her face, neck and arms had been scorched, leaving black and blistered patches of flesh. Jimmy cringed, his feet rooted to the spot. At his side, Mallory screamed.
Then Marax was upon them, reaching out with clawed fingers to rend Jimmy's flesh. Two sharp reports split the air, and Marax was blown sideways and down, the back of her shirt peppered with buckshot-sized holes.
Jimmy didn't wait for Marax to get up. He bolted in the opposite direction, pushing Mallory along in front of him. He heard another gunshot, and then Dean yelled something unintelligible. Jimmy, still dragging Mallory with him, darted towards one of the exit tunnels and emerged into the outer ring. He started off in the direction of the main entrance.
"Are you okay?" he demanded, looking down at the girl. There was dirt smudged on her face and clothes, but he didn't see any evidence of blood. "Are you injured?" he repeated when she didn't reply.
"No," she gulped, her breath coming in uneven pants. "I-I don't think so." She looked back over her shoulder. "What—what is—?"
"I think she's mad at you," Jimmy cut her off tersely, keeping an ear out for either the demon or his companions. When he heard nothing, he allowed them to slow to a jog. "Come on, the car's around this way." He cast another look over Mallory. He'd had a brief glimpse of Amitiel when she'd arrived to rescue them, and that was it.
She looked incredibly young and incredibly scared. Jimmy mentally cursed the angels for taking a vessel who was little more than a child. She didn't deserve to be involved in this. She had had no idea what she was getting into. Well, for that matter, neither had he. At least, as far as the first time. The second time he'd accepted Castiel, he knew exactly what he was in for, but he hadn't had a choice.
"What's going on?" Mallory stammered, again looking over her shoulder. "What happened?"
"Belial tried to kill Castiel, but Amitiel somehow stopped him, but it blew the four of us to all four corners of the city," Jimmy replied. "I'm assuming you can't reach Amitiel?" She gave him a thoroughly frightened look, which he took as an affirmative. He caught sight of the main gate and picked up his pace again, relief flooding into his chest in a warm flood.
Which abruptly turned to ice water when Marax appeared between them and the entrance in a horrible case of deja vu.
Jimmy skidded to a halt and Mallory gasped beside him, latching onto his coat with both fists. "Oh, God," she whimpered, eyes fixed on Marax's face. The demon hissed at them and stepped forward.
"I'm going to rip out your throats," she spat. "I'm going to tear open your chests and feast on your hearts. I'll drink your blood out of your skulls."
That's when Jimmy snapped.
He was tired of being dragged around the planet. He was tired of getting stabbed and tortured and exploded and healed. He was tired of being unconscious most of the time and frightened out of his mind when he was awake. He was tired of being thrown headfirst into the middle of the Apocalypse without so much as an apology.
And now he was mad.
He didn't know how to fight a demon. He was pretty sure he wasn't strong enough to fight a demon. But he didn't really care. He planted his feet, squared his shoulders, and narrowed his eyes. "Bring it, bitch," he growled.
Marax pulled up short, eying Jimmy with sudden caution. He glared back at her, jaw set. Then she pounced, arm lashing out with lightning speed. Jimmy shifted his upper body aside, his hands coming up as he deflected her away from his chest and beyond him. Marax stumbled past Jimmy a few steps and he spun around, shoving Mallory out of the way as he faced the she-demon again.
Marax screeched in anger and lunged again. Jimmy met her forearm with his own, swept it out of the way, and slammed his other fist into her stomach. Before she could recover, he grabbed double fistfuls of her hair and shirt and swung her around head-first into the nearby cement wall. She fell to the ground and rolled away from him, pushing herself up. She tossed her hair out of her face and glared up at him, blood trickling down her forehead. She narrowed her eyes and it felt like something punched Jimmy in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards.
The demon was on her feet in a second and Jimmy could see her coming, but he was still off-balance. He twisted desperately, hoping to again deflect her past him, but she was too fast. Before he could blink, he was on his knees, Marax behind him with her hands gripping his head, tensing to snap his neck.
A solid, warm weight suddenly appeared in Jimmy's hand, and he struck backwards, feeling resistance. Marax screamed and released him, and Jimmy yanked the object free, scrambling to his feet. He looked down. It was a sword, about as long as his forearm and currently dripping blood. Marax clutched at a red stain on her thigh, snarling in pain and anger.
Jimmy blinked at the sword for another precious moment, trying to figure out where the hell it had come from, and almost didn't see Marax's attack. His right arm came up almost of it's own volition, the blade piercing straight through Marax's hand. He slammed his left fist into her face, snapping her head back. Yanking the sword free, he slashed it across her chest, scoring a shallow cut through her flesh.
Marax screamed again and threw out her uninjured hand. Jimmy was once more slammed backwards, cracking his head against the wall hard enough to see stars. Marax bounded forward, pressing one forearm across his throat and sizing his right wrist with her other hand. She dug her thumb into his tendons, trying to force his grip open. Jimmy's hand started to go numb, but he didn't drop the sword. His fingers were frozen over the hilt.
Jimmy scrabbled at Marax with his left hand, trying to push her away, but she didn't budge. His lungs started screaming for air and black spots began dancing over his vision. He gave a strangled gasp, trying to breath as Marax sneered into his face, leaning harder against his throat.
The sound of a shotgun had never been so beautiful. Marax jerked and pushed away from Jimmy, spinning to face her new attacker. Jo stood about five paces away, Mallory behind her. She calmly lowered her shotgun, cracked it open, and reached in her pocket for new rounds. Marax snarled at the young hunter and took a step towards her, dragging her injured leg. Jo didn't look at the demon as she placed a shell in the first barrel. Marax limped closer, reaching out towards Jo. Jo loaded the second barrel and snapped the shotgun back together. Marax was now close enough to touch Jo, hand clawing. Jo swung the shotgun up, tightened her finger on the trigger, and...
Marax stiffened with a scream, her back arching. Jimmy twisted the blade buried between her shoulder blades and shoved it in a little deeper. Marax's bones cast shadows against her skin as she lit up red-purple from within, her body tensing slightly before dropping to her knees, sliding off Jimmy's sword as she did. She lit up one more time, her muscles tightening convulsively, and then she crumpled to the ground.
Jo looked from Marax's corpse up to Jimmy. Despite her calm expression, her chest heaved with exertion and fear. "Nice timing," she said with a tight smile.
"Thanks," Jimmy replied a little breathlessly. "Where's Dean?"
"Right here," Dean said testily as he appeared from around the corner. He was holding his hand to the side of his head, blood smeared on his fingers. His shotgun dangled from his other hand. "Damn, Jimmy. Where'd you learn to fight like that? And where the hell did Cas' sword come from?"
Jimmy looked down at the bloody sword, turning it this way and that as he studied it. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. "I have no idea," he replied honestly. He frowned. He really didn't know what to do with the sword now, but, acting on some instinct he didn't know he had, he slipped it up his sleeve and felt it vanish completely. "I think Cas might have something to do with it," he said, his eyebrows raised.
Jo turned to look at Mallory, still standing behind her. "You all right, Mal?" she asked kindly. Mallory looked around at them with wide eyes.
"Thanks for saving my life," she said in a quavery voice. "And no offense or anything, but who the hell are you people?"