~XXXI~ – The Bad Plan Gets Slightly Better

"I'm telling you, I don't know anything!" the demon yells at me.

Thanks to my time with the Winchesters, I was able to draw a Devil's Trap, which is holding the demon I have right now. I have him tied down, and he's covered in blood and cuts. Yes, cuts, not guts, I didn't misspeak.

"You don't have one single thought in that demonic brain of yours?" I circle the demon, angel blade threatening him. "Not one? How do you even breathe, or move, if such a thing is true?"

"Bite me, bitch."

"Sorry, I don't eat." I make a quick strike across the demon's left shoulder. "If you didn't kill her, then who did?"

"Look, demons kill angels. Angels kill demons. The only one who can tell you is the murdered angel herself—but wait, the dead can't talk. Well, not the celestial dead at least."

I strike the demon against the side of the head with my fist. "Give me a name."

"I can't give you what I don't know!"

I exhale through my nose. He must be telling the truth, damn it all. I roll my tongue in my teeth before stabbing the demon through the neck with the blade. His head falls forward, body still shorting out from the blade. I rub my face.

I don't want to say that Dean Winchester was right when he said my plan isn't solid...well, not to his face. He seems like the kind that would rub it in if he ever heard me utter the words.

This demon marks five since my hunt for Alona's killer has begun. The days are all blended together, so I can't tell how long it's been since I've been away from Sam and Dean. All I know is that I haven't rested, and that I'm no closer to finding the being responsible than I was when I first got the thought inside of my head.

Frustrated, I leave the corpse in the chair and step outside into the night. So far, the prayers from Sam have been none. So far, he's keeping true to his word. Though, I do miss him. But he wasn't close to Alona. He has no reason to be in this. This is my mission alone. His mission is bigger, that's his priority. Right now, this is mine.

My skin prickles as I feel the dark presence close by. I adjust the grip on my blade, and suddenly I'm surrounded by demons. I stab the first one in the gut, and as he shorts out, I'm tackled by the others. I feel the blade be ripped from my hands, and as I struggle, I'm put onto my knees, arms held by a demon each.

A female demon stands before me, picking up the blade in the dirt, brushing every speck off. She's humming something to herself, and any minimal struggle that I try doesn't end in my favor. If I can just smite them...but I can't do it if they're holding me.

"What have we here?" she purrs, blonde curls bouncing. "A rogue angel? Shouldn't you be with your flock?"

What flock? I can't tell who to trust. "Shouldn't you be rotting with Lucifer in a hole in the ground somewhere?"

"We've noticed you're chopping demons down like trees, kiddo." She pricks her finger at the end of the blade. "Makes us wonder why. Doesn't seem like it's for sport, killing for fun is our gig." The blade is pointing at me as she walks closer.

"My friend was murdered."

"Angels have friends? I didn't think you guys had emotions."

I struggle against the captors. "Was it you?"

"Pft, please, I don't have the balls to take on one of you guys by myself."

"Your words, not mine." I sniff. "You admit without cronies you're a pathetic excuse of a demonic creature."

"Well, this demonic creature is about ready to send your ass somewhere I know you don't want to go to."

"And where's that?"

Her eyes glint, and they flash black. "Purgatory."

I shudder. I know what Purgatory is. I've never been, and I don't want to be there. Creatures who hold grudges against angels live in that place. Ancient, extremely dangerous creatures lurk in there, locked away by God himself.

Actually, it's why Purgatory was created: to keep an old species of monsters out of the human world.

"Oh, guess I figured out what an angel fears most. It's not death, it's Purgatory." The demon smirks.

Suddenly, the demon screams, and a blade protrudes through her chest. As she falls to her knees, Ruby holds a defensive position, weapon in hand. I'm in awe and spurred to take action. I spring up, elbowing one demon in the face while grabbing the other by the arm. I kick him, sending him away as Ruby charges the rest.

I quickly reclaim my blade before I aid Ruby. Together, it's a flurry of attacks. I finish off the last of my opponents and watch as Ruby battles her last. I watch the two circle, and she goes in for the kill. When she slays the last demon, with a red blade, she looks over at me, smiling broadly.

"Heya, V."

"Ruby? What are you—?" Before I finish my question, she's already closed the gap and pulls my face down to kiss me full on the mouth.

"I missed you too." She snorts. "'Bout time I repaid the debt," she pants.

"What are you doing here?"

"Saving your feathery ass before it gets deep fried." She exhales deeply. "Guess I picked a hell of a time to do so."

"I thought you said you weren't helping?"

"I wasn't going to. But then I couldn't resist kicking ass alongside you." She shrugs. "Just when you think you've seen it all, and I come breaking down the damn wall."

"What do you mean?"

"You know as well as I do that our kinds want to kill each other. But now look at the two of us, fighting on the same side, and doing a hell of a lot more." Ruby winks. "If finding your friend's killer means that much to you, you're gonna need me to save you."

"I don't need saving from anything."

"What just happened would say otherwise." She stuffs her hands into her pockets of her jacket.

"Sam and Dean need you against Lilith."

"Tough shit for them, cause I'm putting myself with you."

"I really don't need you to."

"I know you don't, but do you really think that's gonna stop me?" She smirks.

"How long have you been tailing me?"

"The second you left Sam. Okay, I lied, I've been following the corpse crumbs you've been leaving behind."

I lick my lips. "So you know I have no strong leads."

"You don't. We'll get them, V. No matter if we got to beat the snot out of demons or angels. Question is," she looks at me critically, "are you prepared to do that?"

"Some of my kind have already pledged themselves to Lucifer. As far as I'm concerned, we aren't kin. We're enemies."

"Good, maybe it'll make it less painful for you when you end up killing one of them."

The thought disturbs me. If they try and kill me, it's every angel for themselves. I'm not dying, not when we're at a critical turning point in the world's history, even if the humans don't realize it.

If someone had told me that I'd be involved with a demon, I would have told them they were insane. But now, it's all too real. And, disturbingly, I'm comfortable with this. I don't know why I am. I shouldn't be. I definitely shouldn't be. But I am.

"So, what kind of bad plan did you follow?" Ruby asks me.

"...I didn't have much of one. I hunted demons and tried to make them talk."

"Random, and horrible. You'll never get anywhere fast like that. I've got ears in Hell, I can pick up on any angel-killing demons roaming around. You let me do the digging, you just try and keep us alive."

I snort. "I thought you said I wasn't capable?"

Ruby rolls her eyes. "I said that you weren't capable of saving yourself, not that you aren't of saving the both of us. We'll get this thing moving, but I'm gonna need to fuel up first. Zap us to a good diner with the best damn fries in the state, V."

Now it's my turn to give an eye roll. "I told you before, I'm not your chauffeur."

"No, but you're a good pal...and a good lover." She winks. "Come on, I'd give you the best damn food if you asked it of me. The least you can do is zap me there, I'm putting my neck on the line for your possible suicide mission."

"It won't be suicidal if you're with me."

"Flattery. I didn't think you knew what that was."

"Do you want food or not?"

"Hells yeah I want food."

"I'm not a map, I can't guess which place has the best."

"I won't take points away from you if you land us in a shitty place." She extends a hand out for me. "This whole teleportation thing requires touching, right? Unless you'd rather my hand touch something else." A wink.

I try not to let my inner fluster show on my face, or in my body language. "Let's go."

**Did someone call for a Veruby team up?**