Chapter 12: What a trip

The strip club was alive with music, flowing from every part of the small building. The strong smell of alcohol seemed to settle in the air like a permanent stain. Women of all shapes, sizes and colors trotted around on a stage settled in the middle of handfuls of people. They cheered for the dancing, eyes bright, hands holding dollars, one man in particular grinned at the women with such force it made them uncomfortable. His need to howl also caught the girls off guard, but a soul didn't stop him as he continued with his odd noises.

"He's giving you money," A security guard pointed out whenever the girls complained, they huffed but didn't attempt to fight him. Word go around quickly in the bright, flashing pink lights that traced over the stripper's soft skin. The man didn't let up, his balding head shone like a disco ball as he continued to pull money from his wallet. With every girl who walked away from him, he'd offer more and another stripper would come around.

It wasn't something that could be argued with, the boss simply shrugged at them as they complained. The girls felt a wave of betrayal as they were continued to be hounded on by the man.

His eyes wide as moons as he grinned up at the newest stripper,

"Everyone, get ready for the big show!" A voice boomed over the loudspeaker. The man practically drooled as he waited for the temptress to show her face.

Eyes like a cold fire, skin the color of a white rose she stood in the middle of the stage. Cherry red lipstick kissed her lips as she glowered down at the man, the crowd erupted in celebration at this new stripper! Yet something wasn't right, the girls looked at her in confusion. They'd never seen her before, her short, strawberry blonde hair shone under the pink lights of the club.

She stood still, a hand on her hip as he stared into the pigs eyes. The crowd seemed to pick up on the odd behavior, falling to a murmured silence the man glares at her.

"Dance!" He shouted over the beat of the music. As if on cue the speakers fell quiet, causing the crowd to speak faster among themselves.

Another girl pushed through the groups of people, her eyes bright with laughter as she strolled towards the tall woman. Holding a dollar out, waving it in the air

"Onoskelis, my love," she laughed, shoving the pig out of her way violently. Causing the man to squeal in surprise.

"Please accept this token of my love,"

The woman chuckled, leaning down and snatching the dirty dollar from her friends hand.

"Oh Obizuth, why don't we show these humans how to really party?" She held her hand out to the redhead who took it happily, being hoisted up onto the stage.

"Hey! Bitch! Dance, that's what I'm paying you for," the pig roared out, slapping his money on the stage. Both women turned to look at one another before Obizuth leaned down to him, placing a hand on his cheek.

The man looked shocked but it vanished as terror entered his ugly brown gaze. Long, sharp, knife-like fingers jetted out from Obizuth's fingers going in the man's cheek and out the other side as if his skin was made of paper. There was a stunned silence from the crowd only for them to scream as she retracted her fingers,

"I hate men," she growled as blood sprayed into the people surrounding him.

The humans panicked now, attempting to escape the two who stood watching as if they were simple ants.

"Ancitif, turn up the music," Obizuth yelled out, holding up a hand.

Music started up once again, the demon smiled down at them from the DJ booth. The man who was running it previously laid dead on the floor, eyes wide with terror. People screamed, making to the doors as their last hope of escape. Swinging them open they were only a few heart beats from freedom, but the darkness now filtered in. Like deep, dark ocean water it flooded the space seeping into the skin of the people unfortunate enough to be inside.

The strippers hid in the back, terrified

"Oh don't worry," Onoskelis said, turning towards the small room that held the strippers inside.

"I'll make you more powerful than you can ever imagine," she laughed, the darkness swam past her. Her brown gaze turned to red as she watched the strippers scramble for their lives.

"A pity," Obizuth said, leaning against the tall woman with a huff. "I liked those girls,"

"What'd we do with this guy?"

The woman turned to Ancitif who held the owner of the place up to them, his eyes wide with fear.

"Oh we have plans for him," Obizuth chuckled, Onoskelis nodded as she wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulder.

"He just loves to make women's working conditions toxic, maybe we should show him how it feels to work for an even more toxic environment,"

The woman laughed, the man wiggled helplessly in Ancitif's grip. Brown eyes wide as he looked between them, "please, don't do this!" He begged,

"Oh sweet heart," Onoskelis gasped, putting a hand over her heart in a mocking manner, "it's already done,"

The black sludge swirled and moved around Obizuth before thrusting itself onto the man. Latching on greedily, painfully, licking at his tanned skin.

"Don't worry, it'll hurt a lot," Obizuth shrugged.

The man's screams we're drowned out by the music that blasted over the loudspeakers, the bodies on the floor slowly started to rise; Eyes turning black as the night sky.

***

"Sit still," Chamuels voice was stern, but warm as Abel shuffled lightly on the couch beside him. Having his pants pulled down enough to show the muscle on his leg, Chamuel holding a needle only a few inches from the man's skin.

"Someday I'll get that damn patch," he growled, Chamuel's hand on the other's leg as he shoved the needle into his thigh.

"We do this every week, for someone who beats demons with a baseball bat you act like I'm trying to kill you every time," Chamuel chuckled, putting a bandaid on the spot.

"Why do you take a shot?" Donnie asked from where he sat on his large computer chair, it was late morning and the man had been up most of the night tinkering with a few videos he planned on posting to their Twitter.

"Testosterone," Abel grunted, "there aren't great ways to take the stuff but the shots the best for me,"

Donnie nodded, looking perplexed for a few heart beats before returning to his work. The music from his headphones started up once more,

"Well if you didn't move so much it might be easier," Chamuel said as he packed the supplies into a small box.

"When you get a PHD in shotology I'll sit still, how about that?"

"I already filled out the paperwork for that, just waiting for it to come in the mail," Chamuel replied in a sarcastic but playful manner.

"Hey guys!" Donnie called over, removing his headphones. Abel set the pill bottle he had been fiddling with down, making towards his friend with Chamuel on his heels.

"What is it?" Abel glanced at the man's screen, he had their Twitter pulled up to the private messages. A message from a new account with a generic username sat on the screen,

"My name's Mike, I own the strip club in my town," Donnie read, "something's happening and I think it has to do with the darkness. Please come and help me! Here's the address,"

The three exchanged a few looks,

"Well-- I mean, it's close," Abel pointed out, "what's the harm?"

"You really are new to this," Donnie replied bluntly, "it might be a trap,"

"That's true, Abe, we might just step right into it,"

"No way doesn't sound like something we'd do," Abel joked, "I guess you're right,"

They looked through the account but it didn't give them any additional information, Donnie searched the phone number but it came back as a payphone.

"Smells bad," Donnie concluded,

"Well we can always go to the town and see what's up," Abel pointed out, "not to the club but the town itself. Whole town can't jump us, right?"

"I guess not," Donnie leaned back in his chair, stroking an invisible beard.

"But what would we do there?" Chamuel asked,

"Just talk to people, if the darkness took over a strip club I think the town would know," Abel said, giving a shrug

"That's actually a good idea!" Donnie laughed

"What if it is a trap?" Chamuel asked, tilting his head towards the two.

Donnie just shrugged, spinning in his computer chair. "I mean, I'm smart but I can't see the future,"

"Can angels?" Abel asked,

Chamuel shook his head, "we have a lot of powers but not future looking. I can usually heal or even teleport but since getting wars grace I...haven't had the energy,"

Donnie clapped his hands together, "that settles it! Let's ride, boys!"

"Who died and made you leader?" Abel laughed, pulling his car keys out and dangling them. Donnie grabbed at the Impalas keys,

"The holder of the keys holds the leadership!" Abel teased, playfully pulling them away from the man.

Chamuel came from behind, snatching the keys from Abel who looked surprised, "my precious!" he croaked

"We're wasting daylight," Chamuel chuckles, handing them back to Abel, "but have it noted I can steal them whenever I want,"

The three quickly got changed, packing a few weapons and started towards the car. Abel had decided to put Arphaxat's gift in his jacket pocket just in case he needed it, though he wasn't sure what it was he knew the demon expected him to eat it eventually.

The Impala roared to life, it's body shone in the late morning sun. Abel yawned as he pulled onto the street,

"So what does everyone want?" Chamuel asked as he punched an order for coffee into the phone in his hands.

"Biggest coffee possible!" Donnie shouted.

Their drive wasn't long, in fact, the town was a lot closer than the three realized. Donnie bounced in his seat from the back,

"I've never been on a real mission before!"

"Really? Aren't all your brothers hunters?" Chamuel asked,

"Yeah, but they never brought me with," there was a hint of sadness in his voice but Chamuel decided not to push it. "Team Born again!" Cham said enthusiastically to the other, holding out a fist.

Donnie's eyes lit up as he knocked his fist to Chams, cheering. Abel laughed, cheering with his friend as they pulled into the small town. The town itself wasn't impressive, small, not many people. The welcome sign looked old, beaten down.

"Where are we gonna start?" Donnie asked, taking a few sips of the warm drink in his hands.

"Well, I was thinking downtown if they got it," Abel replied, fiddling with his phone app in an attempt to bring up any sort of downtown area on the navigation. Chamuel took the phone from the popsocket holder that had been shoved into the vent,

"A downtown?" He whispered, typing into the phone for Abel who didn't protest.

"Yeah, like, a shopping center or whatever,"

After a few short seconds the angel propped the phone back up, following the map toward their newest destination. As the day went on the group chatted with everyone they could, from stores to restaurants they wrote down whatever they needed information wise.

The sun casting down its warmth as the afternoon came and went, causing Donnie to yawn, "This is a lot more boring than I expected," he mused as the three sat in a small cafe. Having decided to get sandwiches for a late lunch, attempting to understand exactly what was happening in the town.

"Does this town feel...odd, to anyone?" Chamuel asked,

"You know what is odd!" Donnie piped up, "I haven't heard a single thing about...well anything since the darkness showed up,"

"What'cha mean?" Abel asked, tilting his head at the other, having stopped fiddling with the wrist band around Chamuel's wrist. He wore it specifically for Abel to play around with it when the man was anxious, of course, he'd never tell the hunter that.

"Well," Taking a few bites of his food, talking with his mouth semi full "Before the darkness a few months ago there was a lot of activity within the hunter community. I mean, it's all old school, off the internet stuff, but there were a lot of monsters, creatures, weird deaths, the works! But suddenly it's like the darkness came and everything just stopped. I haven't heard a single werewolf sighting in weeks, my brothers either,"

Chamuel and Abel shared a look, "Wait, so...you haven't heard anything?" Chamuel asked, feeling a strong sense of dread creep down his spine and roll against his veins. It wasn't something he had become accustomed to, causing him to shiver lightly as if cold.

"Yeah, nothing! Nada! Zip!" Donnie leaned back in his chair,

"Was it a lot?" Abel asked now, having finished his food, the man's attention fully on his friend as he spoke.

"Yeah, like, a lot! Vampires, werewolves, big foot even...it's just really strange,"

"Maybe the darkness...ate them? I mean, we see what they do to humans," Chamuel pointed out.

"Maybe, but, I also don't hear a lot about the darkness either. Something just doesn't feel right," Donnie's brows creased, a silence fell over the group.

"The strip club seems like your best option," Arphaxat whispered, "If it's a trap I'll help you get out,"

"I say we investigate the strip club," Abel said to the others, feeling Arphaxat's breath against his collar.

"I mean, it could be a trap, but what if it holds a lot more answers?"

"I don't know, Abel...this place seems...weird?" Chamuel offered, "Like, everyone's so...quiet,"

"Do you have any other leads?" Abel asked,

"It's not really a lead, for all we know it won't even help us," Chamuel offered,

"Well I say we go," Abel replied

Donnie shuffled in his seat, looking between the two for a few heart beats, "I mean, if it is a trap Cham you can probably take out anything in your path," Donnie pointed out. Chamuel shivered at the others' words, his mind flashed to the smashed head of Vess. It was no harder than crushing paper in his hands; that terrified him.

"I...I mean," Chamuel started, looking from Abel to Donnie. "I guess...if someone really does need help," He whispered, he felt a swell of panic flowing through his veins, until he felt Abel's hand on his arm again. Once more fiddling with the wristband as the conversation turned to a more normal one, at least, as normal as it could be. Something felt off about Abel, the angel couldn't put his finger on it but the man's energy seemed to dwindle as if it were being sucked out of him by an unseen force.

Maybe he's just tired, Chamuel mused, his phone vibrated a few times. Reaching into his pocket at the sudden surge of notifications on his twitter,

"Hey guys we have--" His voice trailed off, the comments coming in held words that Chamuel didn't want to utter. All seemed to be directed at Abel, scrolling through the sudden surge of negative comments using the term 'she' as they did so. An anger flashed over the angel now,

"Donnie," The anger in Chams voice made both men freeze, "You took the description off our twitter right? That Abel's trans?"

"Yeah, I don't know why that was up there to begin with,"

Chamuel shook his head, clicking on a comment to find the reason for the sudden messages. His heart sank, a large comment thread came up from an account that seemed to have been made recently yet it held thousands of followers. It tagged their twitter, instagram and facebook pages.

"Look at that tranny! Calls herself a hunter!"

The tweet read, as well as a few pictures of Abel before and after transition. Chamuel bit his lip, rage burned deep in his system.

"Cham…? You're bleeding," Abel's voice was small,

The angel looked down at him, he had pulled out his phone to see what the other was so angry about.

"Don't listen to them, twitters full of idiots," Arphaxat whispered to the hunter, Abel's mouth dry as he looked over the personal information that someone had leaked to their online followers. People he'd never heard of were messaging them now, causing Abel to pocket his phone.

"Abel," Chamuel whispered, brushing the blood from his lip.

"It's fine!" Abel said suddenly, though Chamuel could see the pain in the hunters gaze, "Just idiots on twitter, I've dealt with worse," He insisted, shaking his head and racing his fingers through his hair.

"Hey, they're just pissed they don't look as good as you!" Donnie offered,

"Right?" Abel laughed, "It's tough being hot all the time,"

Donnie held out an invisible microphone to his friend, "Tell me Mr. Winchester, is it tough being the hottest guy in the universe?" making his voice sound like that of a sports announcer.

"I'll tell ya' Don, it's tough but I think I make it look good," Abel laughed,

Chamuel felt the rage cool lightly, who found that stuff about Abel? The only time Angel has seen any of his before transition photos was the man's personal social media. It was all locked down as well, preventing people who weren't friends with him from seeing. Was someone on their personal social media leaking these things?

***

Abel looked around the clearing, this time he woke up in the spot the white hare always seemed to take him. The hole he usually fell down was above him, he could see it in the sickly black sky above him. The forest in here was beautiful today, with birds singing, the undergrowth rustled with life.

"Hey Abel,"

He turned to the familiar voice, Arphaxat smiled at him. His blonde locks seemed to bounce more than normal today as he walked up to the other.

"Hey Arph," Abel said with a small smile.

"You're here early!" He laughed, putting a hand on Abel's shoulder, "I usually see you at night"

"Yeah I uh, was feeling a little tired," He whispered, feeling his face burn with embarrassment, Arphaxat frowned.

"Is this about the twitter accounts going after you?"

"I just...don't understand how they found out," He murmured, "I mean, I know for awhile I had it up on the page but no one really seemed to notice it."

Arphaxat wrapped an arm around his friends shoulder, pulling him into a side hug, "Hey, don't worry about them, I know you're a man!" His smile wide, "You're a damn good looking one too,"

Abel felt his face turn red once again, shaking his head, "I just--"

"Do you still have my gift?"

Abel blinked at the other, he hadn't expected the question. Sitting down on the floor with a sigh, something about the forest was comforting to him. It felt oddly warmer than usually, more full of life. Arphaxat sat beside him, smiling at Abel, "I don't mean to pester you, Abe!" He chuckled,

"Yeah I got it, I...haven't used it yet,"

"Well, you're going into the strip club soon aren't you?"

Abel pressed his lips together, silently wondering if Arphaxat knew more than he let on, "Yeah, why?"

"Well, if it is a trap that'll help,"

"What is it?"

Arphaxat shook his head, scooting closer to Abel, pulling him into a warm hug that Abel wasn't expecting. Blinking in surprise at the affection the other was showing, he leaned into the man's touch. Letting his head rest on his shoulder, feeling an odd warmth flash over his system.

"Just trust me, it'll help. I can't give out much information, eyes are everywhere,"

His last words caused a shiver to roll down Abels spin, closing his eyes as the demon held him against his chest. Racing his fingers through Abel's hair, silently the two sat. The soft songs on birds above brought comfort to the hunter.

"I'll help you out if you get in a jam, alright?" Arphaxat whispered into Abel's ear, the man nodded.

"Abel, wake up," Arphaxat murmured,

"No, not yet," He replied, clinging to the man's warmth for a few more heart beats as reality started to pull him into the waking world.

"Abel!"

Abel's eyes slowly opened, it was dark now. He was laying in the back of the Impala, feeling exhaustion pulling at his eyes as he glanced up at Chamuel who grinned down at him. His head was on Chamuel's lap as he slept,

"Wake up, we're going to go to that strip club,"

"At night?" Abel murmured, he had laid down in the back of the Impala a few hours earlier to chat with Arphaxat but now he wanted to return to the forest. It was warm, almost loving.

"Strip clubs aren't opened in the day time," Donnie called from the front seat, smiling at the other.

After the comments on twitter Abel had insisted on a nap, Chamuel didn't want to argue. He noticed how tired the man had seemed recently, even more so than normal. The second Abel laid down he was out, leaving Chamuel and Donnie to do some research on the strip club, the owner and town.

"We found out the owner, Mike, is a complete sleaze bag," Donnie chirped,

"Apparently he was accused of sexual assault a few times,"

"We're still going to go and look around, but we're going to try and avoid him." Chamuel added.

Abel shook his head, sitting up and attempting to will away the sleep that threatened to bring him back down. He could almost feel Arphaxat's arms around him, the man's voice lingered in his head.

"Well, let's go then," Abel murmured, pushing a hand into his jacket pocket. He could still feel the gift, it's tag crumbled against his fingers. Chamuel blinked at Abel, something was different about him but the angel couldn't place his finger on it. Something deep in his forest green gaze, something hidden.

"I'm down! Think they have any male strippers?" Donnie laughed, not noticing the anxiety in Cham's features.

"No, I made sure to call ahead and told them to hide any and all hot men," Abel joked, crawling his way into the driver's seat beside Donnie.

"Trust me, eat your gift, don't drive after." Arphaxat's voice whispered into his ear, Abel hesitated before turning to Chamuel in the back.

"Hey I'm going to hit the restroom," Abel said, nodding to the gas station the trio had been parked at for the past few hours.

"Can you drive? I'm not feelin' great,"

Chamuel blinked in surprise at the others' words, something was wrong. The angel felt it deep in his core as he scanned the man's face for any clue as to what was going but came up short. Abel was amazing at hiding whatever was eating at him, his smile lit up his face no matter how much pain he was going through.

"Yeah, are you okay?" Chamuel asked, getting out of the car. Abel followed, ducking away from Chamuels hand as he went to touch his shoulder. Causing the angel to look even more surprised, Abel wasn't one to pull away from a touch. He didn't have many personal space boundaries and seemed to enjoy being as close as possible to whoever was near him he considered a friend.

"Yeah, Cham," He replied smoothly, "Just really tired, little out of it, nap didn't help much," without waiting for a response he turned and made for the restroom. He knew if Chamuel had touched him he'd feel the swirling panic that was starting in his legs and moving up his body. He wasn't sure where the panic came from, but his mind continued to pressure him into eating whatever it was Arphaxat had handed over to him.

Abel walked through the empty parking lot, it was an odd town, he didn't see a soul out and about despite it still being decently early in the night. Narrowing eyes against the glow of the fake lights that lit the empty lot, kicking a few rocks as he made for the outside restrooms that stood beside a small convenient store. The door clicked open and Abel moved inside, the light flickered on to show a single toilet covered in graffiti, an old mirror with a few bullet holes and a sink that looked as if it hadn't been cleaned in years.

Abel pulled the fabric from his pocket, unwrapping it to find a single, small piece of what looked like thin gum. A bright pink with two red horns on the front. They were incredibly small but he could make them out as devil horns. An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach, flipping the small square piece in his hand a few times.

"It'll help, just think of it as a mood booster," Arphaxat whispered, Abel glanced up at the mirror. He could see Arphaxat standing behind him, yet when he turned around the man wasn't there.

"I'm here," Arphaxat whispered,

"What is it?" Abel asked again,

"It's such a small dose, it'll help, all hunters use it. I was able to get my hands on it!" the excitement in the demon's voice sounded genuine.

"All hunters?" Abel asked, he'd never heard Sam talk about anything like it.

"Especially your dad, Dean,"

Abel felt his heart stop, mention of his father always made him hesitate. He didn't know the man yet he longed to be like him. Wanting to make a man who was long dead proud of him was an odd feeling, the blonde placed a hand on Abel's shoulder.

"I'm right here for you, I'll help you," He murmured, "No strings attached! I just want to help you like I tried to help Dean,"

Abel took in a breath, this was true. The demon had been giving him tips, tricks and offering help. But should he blindly trust him? He didn't know him after all and he was a demon.

"Maybe you shouldn't take it if you're not going to trust me," Arphaxat said with a sad sigh, looking down to the floor. "And I'm trusting you so much, I really feel like you're judging me so harshly on where I came from." Looking at Abel with big eyes, "Just like those transphobic people do to you,"

Abel swallowed hard, guilt flashed over him as he popped the unknown drug into his mouth. It dissolved upon impact, the taste wasn't bad but it caused him to wince. For a heartbeat he swore, he heard a gruff, voice shout 'no!' but it was so quick he played it off as his imagination.

"Give it twenty minutes, you'll feel like you're on cloud nine,"

***

The Impala pulled into the packed strip club, Chamuel looked at the lights that flashed on the front. Something felt off all around, the club seemed packed yet he didn't see anyone outside smoking, talking, drinking, nothing. He also couldn't seem to remember the last time any type of club was so quiet, the sound of music could be heard as he stepped out of the car yet it didn't feel right. This entire thing sent a wave of dread over his body but before he could say anything Abel had leapt from the backseat, his energy was high to the point he wasn't able to stand still.

Chamuel watched his slightly jerky movements for a few heart beats as Donnie stepped from the car. He nudged Chamuel lightly as he walked past,

"Are we just gonna stare at it?" Donnie asked with a laugh.

The group made for the front, having to show ID to an angry looking bouncer. They were prepared to explain the baseball bat and whatever weapons Donnie had stashed in his bag but the bouncer simply smiled at them turning Chamuel's blood to ice.

They stepped into the bright, flashing lights, women with hardly anything covering their bodies stood on the stage before them. They trotted to and fro, moving between men who sat blankly at tables. The music played above, the strippers danced on poles, their bodies moved in a rhythmic fashion yet not a word was uttered by anyone. The discomfort of the silence caused the three to stop and look around with a confused gaze, Abel glanced up at Chamuel with a puzzled expression. His pupils were large, taking over most of the green in his gaze which sent another flood of dread to roll into his veins.

"Abel" He started only for a booming voice to yell over the loudspeakers around them,

"Welcome Winchester and friends,"

Chamuel's light flashed over his hands without a second thought as adrenaline coursed through his veins. Every person in the room stood up, their eyes black as they looked at the group. Abel held his baseball bat firm in his hands, the colors of the night club seemed distorted to his eyes, his heart beating rapidly against his rib cage as energy coursed through his body. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so invincible as he glared at the people surrounding them. The strippers stopped dancing, the world seemed to come to a stand still.

Obizuth stepped from behind a curtain that covered the backstage, holding a microphone in her sharp fingers.

"Who are you?" Abel barked out, his voice sounded weird to his ears but he couldn't place why.

"Who am I?" She chuckled, dropping the microphone so it let out a long, angry whine. "My name is Obizuth, and you're Abel...right?" Her eyes flickered between them. Abel looked around, waiting for the people to rush them but it didn't happen. Everything seemed to be moving at a fast pace yet it was also so slow, the hunter almost couldn't focus on what was happening.

"Or...should I say...Alice Winchester?"

Abel's head snapped towards the demon, a cold fire broke through his veins at the words, "Shut up, that's not who I am," He yowled,

"Oh, sweet girl, you can't take medicine and expect to be a completely different person,"

"Abel--" Chamuel started, wanting to warn him that the demon could be attempting to get under his skin but it was far too late. Chamuel watched in horror as Abel took off towards the woman, his baseball bat poised and ready. She laughed, leaping off the stage to greet him, her fire like red hair flowing behind her. Her fingers turned to knives as she and Abel collided,

Chamuel didn't have time to worry about that as he and Donnie were suddenly overrun with demonic people. The black in their eyes burning through the veins on their foreheads as they attempted to attack the two, Donnie didn't hesitate. Pulling a large wrench from behind his back he used it to shove the people back, they roared angrily at Donnie. Chamuel's eyes turned white as he started to attempt to rip the darkness out of their host bodies but found it nearly impossible.

"Cham we're gonna have to do some damage," Donnie said quickly,

Chamuel felt the war inside him waging, he didn't argue. Instead of attempting to save the people around him he screamed out, his light exploded from the ends of his hands blowing the bodies back away from them. Donnie shrieked in pain and surprise as he was also thrown back, knocking his head awkwardly against a table and falling with a groan.

Chamuel looked shocked at the burst of power that hurt his friend but he didn't have time to think about it as the black sludge fell from their hosts. Leaping at Chamuel now causing the Angel to blast a few away from him.

Abel hissed in agony as her claws ripped into his shoulder but that didn't stop him. The pain was dulled, it didn't even occur to him to stop and check it as he continued swinging. She used her sharp, pitch black fingers to whack the bat away with easy, laughing as she did so,

"I'm not surprised you can't fight, you're nothing like your dad little girl," She hissed, Abel screamed in anger at her, words didn't even seem to want to come from his throat as he continued to beat at her. Hearing his old name caused his blood to boil,

"Now be a good girl and give mommy the necklace," Obizuth shrieked, lashing out at him again. He leapt back, sucking in air as he stared daggers at her.

"Are you high?" She asked, laughing, Abel didn't answer as he took towards her once again. She went to block him once more only to be blown back, Abel felt warmth flood over him. Looking down at the light that surrounded him, he glanced back to see Chamuel was holding him in the air transferring some of the grace from inside him to Abel. He swore he was having a heart attack now as he smiled at the woman, the green of his eyes glowing bright against the pink lights of the club.

The music continued to explode over the loudspeaker as Abel leapt at her, she screamed in surprise as the bat came down hard sending her flying backwards and knocking against the stage. A large bruise formed where his bat met her skin, she grinned at him. Spitting blood to the floor, it turned black as it settled on the wood.

"That's right Alice, get your boyfriend to save you,"

Abel scoffed, exploding towards her now with his vision doubled. His feet not touching the ground as he swung towards her, she jumped from his path and leapt onto the stage. Eyes narrowed, Abel took off after her, grabbing the pole to swing away from her knife like fingers, turning back around to land a blow on her back with his boots. She growled in pain, kicking the pole so hard it broke under his hands.

Chamuel attempted to keep his focus on Abel as the man used part of his grace, but it was becoming harder as more and more sludge came from the depths of the bar. They were shaped like hands, clawing at his legs. He blasted them as they came but could feel himself getting angry, the more Obizuth misgendered his friend, the more sludge that came from the helpless people of the club, it was causing his control to be lost. Holding one hand out to keep Abel afloat, using the other to continue working his way through the nonstop darkness.

"You getting a little overwhelmed, handsome?"

Chamuel turned towards the voice, a woman with short strawberry blonde hair grinned at him, "Who are you?" Chamuel asked, his voice sounded echoed as he rapidly lost control over war.

"Don't worry about that, am I not in a good enough body to distract you?" She asked, tilting her head, "How's this?" Her body morphed before his eyes. He looked shocked as she turned into an almost identical twin to Abel, "Oh Chamuel!" She laughed, "Your perfect partner looks strangely like a certain hunter I know,"

This succeeded in distracting Chamuel who lost his grip on Abel, Abel gasped in surprise as he fell from where he had been floating only a heartbeat earlier. Falling towards the ground he felt her hand on his chest, grabbing the Chamuel between her fingers and ripping it off before shoving him downward with a hand. Pain exploded through the man's body as his back hit the floor, The horror the flooded over Abel's features caused her to smile,

"We got it," She holared to her friend,

The demon returned to her original form causing Chamuel's anger to spill over. He screamed in anger as he swung his head around towards Obizuth who's face went from triumph to shock.

"Fuck you, bitch," He spat, the cursing caused Abel to look up at him in terror,

Chamuel's arms glowed with power as he slammed his hands down onto the ground. The earth under his fingers exploded upwards towards her. She gasped in shock as she was hit with concrete, sending her flying backwards into the wall. The wall crumbled around her, falling apart slightly as she hit the floor. The Chamulet bounced from her hands, hitting the floor with a soft noise.

Chamuel turned his attention to Onoskelis, "You wouldn't hurt all these people around me, angel of the Lord," She scoffed, Chamuel continued to stare at her for a few heart beats before holding his hand out. Shock flashed over her face as light exploded from his fingertips like a beam, she screamed in pure agony as the light washed over her body and anyone else in the way.

The light vanished only a few heart beats later, bones scattered to the ground where she had stood only seconds ago. The people who had been in the way of the beam had also been turned to pure, flesh-less bone.

"Holy shit," Donnie whispered from where he sat on the floor.

Abel scrambled from his spot on the ground, he snagged the necklace from the floor as Obizuth watched in horror at the pile of bones that was once her friend. She had never seen such power, such ruthless, untapped energy.

"Cham!" Abel shouted at him as he held up another hand towards Obizuth,

"Cham stop," He said, grabbing the man's arm. He knew if Chamuel let off another blast more innocent people were going to die, Chamuel glared down at the man who held onto his arm only for his gaze to soften as he looked at the fear on Abel's face.

"Chamuel, stop, please," He whispered, "You're going to hurt more people,"

A rush of realization fell over the angel, looking back to Obizuth who had vanished with the additional distraction. He now noticed the people that laid in heaps on the floor, the sludge had left their hosts to attack the group but now they were gone. Everything was gone. The light in the angels eyes flashed away, blue gaze returning as he looked around at what had happened. A large, concrete structure now sat in the middle of the club having torn open the floor, it looked like a structure of a wave in the heart of the small club, people laid all around it, dead. He looked to where he shot a beam of energy, the floor had a large, burnt, dent with bones piled all around it. One man had been cut in half by the light, his upper half bone while his lower laid bleeding onto the floor.

The angel backed away in horror, feeling exhaustion fall over him in waves. He felt himself fall back but Abel was there, he caught him,

"Donnie," Abel shouted, feeling the drugs still distorting his voice,

"I'm alive," Donnie yelled back, scrambling out of the spot he had taken refuge in. Staring at Chamuel with a horrified look in his eyes, the angel could feel the darkness of sleep falling over him as Abel helped carry him out. He leaned against the man, feeling his warmth brought a comfort to the angel as they made their way out of the strip club.

Donnie followed after, racing his fingers through his tight curls as he attempted to put together what had just happened. He knew in all his years working with hunters he had never seen something like this. As the group made it to the car Abel helped Chamuel into the passenger seat, quickly jumping into the driver seat.

His vision was blurred, vibrant, he was seeing spots now that changed color with every breath he took. What was happening? The Impala roared to life as he pulled into the empty street, it didn't take long for Donnie to realize that Abel wasn't fit to drive.

"Pull over," He said quickly, shoving at Abel from the back.

Abel didn't argue, he pulled over, stumbled from the car and felt his lunch fall from his throat. Staring at the sickness for a few heart beats, holding his stomach as he felt more come up. Tears raced down his cheeks at the burning in his throat,

"Abel!" Donnie's hand was on his back, Abel groaned inwardly, shaking now.

"Just stress, man," He lied

"Yeah, sure, let's say that for now," Donnie helped Abel to his feet. Getting the sick man into the back of the car, Abel groaned as he stared at the ceiling of the Impala, eyes tracing the devils trap that had, at one point, been carved into the metal. Darkness swarmed his vision.

"Come to me," Arphaxat whispered into Abel's ear, the man couldn't fight it as he felt himself slid and fall into the dark hole of the forest once again.

***

Donnie drove down the highway, Chamuel was passed out beside him. Completely asleep now, the hunter knew the angel would be out for a while if he let him sleep. Glancing at Abel in the back who was also passed out, shaking his head. Something had happened, something he missed, but he couldn't focus on that.

He hesitated, not wanting to take the two back to his place in case the demons had any type of tracker on them. Deciding against stopping at home he drove them out of the town, going the opposite way. He knew he had to drop them off somewhere and uber back home, he had to do some research.

He nudged Chamuel a bit who groaned, "Hm?" He murmured,

"Wake up, I need to drop you at a motel,"

"Wh...why?" Chamuel whispered, blinking away the sleep that settled over him.

"Abel's sick and I don't want demons to find my place,"

"What? Is Abel okay?" Chamuel seemed to perk up when Donnie mentioned Abel, Donnie frowned at him, it wasn't often the hunter was serious but right now the panic that roared in his ear was too loud.

"He's sick, I think...he might be high on something,"

"He used weed?" Chamuel offered, rubbing his eyes as he attempted to stay away. "But you're right, earlier his pupils were...huge,"

Donnie bit his lip, "Try and figure out what's going on with that I guess…" He murmured, unsure. Chamuel made him a bit uncomfortable now but he didn't want to admit that to the other.

***

Obizuth sucked in air, sitting on the bed to her small motel room with wide eyes.

"He just vaporized her!" She practically shouted at Ancitif,

"Are you sure you're not being dramatic?" He looked at her with wide, frearful eyes.

"Yep! He just put up his hand and blasted her to bones, nothing left," She raced her fingers through her red hair, she had greatly underestimated the archangel of war. She'd never seen such power, not even from the great Michael.

"So you didn't get the necklace?" Ancitif asked,

"Well I was a little busy trying not to be turned to bones," She snapped at him, shoving him away from her causing the man to nearly fall back.

"Can't believe this," she growled, "but!" Her frown turned to a smile, "Your plan is working Arphaxat,"

The blonde stepped out of the shadows with a grin on his lips, "I saw!" He chuckled,

"Seeing you get your ass handed to you was also very entertaining,"

"Oh Shut up, you didn't tell me he'd have lazer beams,"

"In my defense," He shrugged at her, a large smile on his face, "I didn't know he could do that. Or transfer his grace to someone else? That was crazy,"

"What was with that?" Obizuth asked, tugging at her shoes and kicking them to the floor,

"Not sure, I'll look into it." The blonde said, tapping his chin as he pondered over what had happened.

"Well, calling him the wrong name and pronouns seems to be working at least," She scoffed,

"Trust me, we'll have his soul in no time,"

"I thought we were getting the Chamulet?" Ancitif asked,

"Oh for fuck sake, Keep up Ancitif," She growled at him, "We need the necklace and his soul."

Arphaxat nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "Without a soul the Chamulet's powers won't work for him, and since he's the chosen King the Chamulet's powers will transfer to the next king."

"Who's that?" Ancitif whispered, adjusting the hat that sat on his head. Attempting to hide the fear he felt from the two high level demons.

"His names Cain," Arphaxat said with a dark grin.