Chronicles of Absolution: The Caged Dhampir Sings

Chapter 1

Now

The sun was beating down mercilessly but the challenge must be met. One hand reached up and grabbed the edge. The fingers curled over the edge and gripped tight. The muscles became taut as arms pulled up the weight. The other hand reached up for the next level and the pattern repeated itself. It was rhythmic like everything else in nature.

Angela grunted as she reached for the edge and hauled herself over. Standing up she could see a pretty nice landscape even with the junkyard cars lying all around. However, her eyes were on something else. Taking a breath she ran forward and leapt off, feeling the thrill of free fall from about fifteen feet or so; certainly a distance to break someone's back.

She trusted her senses and reached out to grab the pole in front of her. Her fingers curled tightly and she felt the muscles in her wrist contort through her gauntlets. She let the force of gravity carry her and she swung her body forward like a gymnast on the high bar. With momentum, she released her hold on the bar and back flipped as she dropped to the ground.

Sticking the landing, she took a breath before sprinting forward. She ran through the obstacles, pivoting on her feet to move through. Coming to an obstacle that was chest high, she increased her speed and put an extra spring into her muscles and flipped forward over the obstacle. She was able to keep her momentum and continue running forward. Pivoting her feet, she was able to run up the side of a tree and side flipped forward, completely avoiding the rigged flying blades that buried themselves in the wall.

The end of the road was smooth sailing as she ran to the finish line that had been marked to blend in. Angela slowed and stopped, taking in deep breaths as she turned to look back at the course she had just completed. She squinted and wiped the sweat from her forehead as she noted the spent blades and took deep breaths and that was when she noticed her hands. She looked at her palms and noted a couple of broken blisters and pole burns with a few abrasions. They looked like crap.

"Do you have a death wish?"

Angela turned to see Sam leaning against the wall of the shed that looked like a small house. She picked idly at her hands as she walked to where she put her water bottle and a towel. She wasn't going to try to deny it since he more likely saw the whole thing. She replied, "What do you think?"

She hadn't meant for it to sound snarky and hoped that Sam saw that. It was somewhat a relief that he didn't react in anger or anything like it. He replied, "I'm thinking that you've been pushing the limits with this thing you built. The blades certainly say much."

"It's a training course. It needs to be a challenge," Angela replied as she looked at her hands. The blisters and burns were starting to ache now. She was definitely going to be pushing tears when she applied the antiseptic. At least Sam was too far still to see them.

Sam pushed off from the wall where he had been watching Angela train by running through her newest acquisition: a training course. The fact that Bobby's whole junkyard was treated as an obstacle course was a minor point. This though was special and had been built in the area that was deemed hers and clearly was effective in keeping people away.

Sam though was concerned. Ever since the Rising of the Witnesses and learning that Angela actually knew about what pulled Dean out and not only that, she knew the guy personally, she had been avoiding them. She hadn't been avoiding them completely since she still shared meals and offered her opinion on things but she seemed withdrawn and quiet. Sam figured it was because of what Dean said the angel called her. Since then she had been absorbed in training and other things that didn't require talking.

It was fortunate that they were still staying with Bobby and she decided to go into the yard and do a workout. He followed her and watched as she ran, jumped, fell and avoided being sliced in half. It took a lot to not say anything each time she came close to being whatever danger she put herself in. He didn't doubt that she could do it but that didn't mean that he liked it.

Staring at her, he closed the distance between them and replied, "I can buy that but we do that stuff every day. Do you really have to create it?"

Angela hid her hands slightly now that Sam had come closer. She really didn't have to create it but it made her feel better. The fact that Castiel had to tell Dean about what she was had been depressing but not as depressing as the rising of the witnesses. It made into a reality the fact that the Apocalypse was really on the move and that she was going to be a part of it whether she liked it or not. The other thing was what she saw during the rising of the witnesses.

By sheer luck or the fact that it was a means of torture on the part of Lilith, or the fact that the spell she muttered sent the spirit away for good, it still produced a feeling of discontent and guilt. The spirit she saw was none other than the person that would have made Sam happy if she didn't agreed to that job that had her there when it happened. It surprised her that one came since she expected another.

Anyway it bothered her considering that it was the reminder it was that now she had a job to do in preventing Lilith from breaking the 66 seals required to release Lucifer. As Castiel pointed out, she was the one called Malachi and all that hoopla which no doubt Bobby would have read about. She looked at Sam and replied, "You've trained for the Tournament, Sam. I pitted you against what to expect."

"And I get that but it's hardly the same, Angie," Sam replied. It was then that he noticed how she was holding her hands. "What exactly is wrong? Is it about what Dean said?"

Angela managed to grab the towel and hide her hands in it. "Well I haven't been completely honest about me have I?" She looked at Sam with a slightly pensive look.

Sam studied her. She was giving that look that he found disconcerting more than the look that was that raised brow calm. She didn't really lie about things about her. He and Dean had heard her being called Absolution. "I'll admit that you could have said something about the angel and the fact that you said that you knew several beings that could yank a body out of hell when in fact an angel is the only thing… but that's nothing to be bothered about."

"Well… seeing Victor again… that hurt because I remember what happened," Angela replied holding the towel. She didn't realize that one of the broken blisters had started to bleed a little. "I remember what Lilith did and I was only able to save one."

Sam noticed the blood on the towel. Something was wrong with her hands but he wasn't going to pry unless he had a chance to. He replied, "You did save Nancy and Henricksen didn't go after you." He shrugged his shoulders as if that were any consolation.

"Another serving of weird on my plate," Angela replied. She tried not to hiss when she accidentally touched the broken blister. She shook her head slightly, "I guess I feel depressed that the collar that I was fitted with is actually tugging on me to obey. A bad analogy but it feels like that. The thing is that I won't let bad things happen to innocents."

At that moment she dropped the towel when she touched another blister and it burned like touching a hotplate. She gave a slight hiss and looked at her hands. There was blood coming from a couple of broken ones and the abrasions and the air stung. She looked at them and muttered, "Balls."

Sam took the opportunity to take one of her hands and examine them. He made a slight face at the state of her hands. Some of the abrasions looked old and hadn't been given a chance to heal. "Those look painful."

Angela looked up to see the concerned look Sam was giving her. Stupidly she replied, "They usually are."

Sam gave a gentle chuckle but still examined them. "Maybe you should take care of them," he said while looking at her.

"A good idea," Angela replied. She gave a slight sigh and picked up the towel. "I'll just take a shower and handle it." She headed towards the shed and opened the door.

"Aren't you going into the house?"

"I have a shower in here," Angela replied as she tenderly held the door open. At Sam's look, she explained, "I made it a second house besides a 'laboratory'." She made the last word sound like something out of a Frankenstein movie.

Sam was surprised. He knew she did a lot of her mad scientist thing in there. She wasn't kidding though. He managed to get out, "Well go ahead and we'll take care of the hands when you're done. I'll just um… hmm wait out here."

Angela gave a full smile that pleased Sam greatly. She had been giving a lot of half smiles and twitches of her lips but nothing like he was seeing. Granted it was at his expense in terms of embarrassment, it was a good thing. She needed to have something that made her happy. He went to lean against a nondescript piece of junk to wait for her.

Like Dean, the term Malachi of Absolution meant nothing to him. He knew people called her Absolution and she tried correcting them. He was astute enough to see though that it was related to the whole angels and demons thing and watching her, it was like she received a death sentence. She hadn't really said what it meant to be called that but he did happen to stumble onto what Bobby had been looking up and some of it was surprising.

Of course Dean came in and then Bobby and that led to a discussion over that. She overheard them though and it had been an awkward moment. Sam figured that was another reason why she avoided them except when necessary. It was probably why she felt the need to work herself to death in training and was the reason for her hands looking like they did.

Angela was out within fifteen minutes and looking around for the first aid kit she kept. She found it with Sam who was sitting on the backseat of some car that had been converted into a couch in a fit of boredom on her end. He had it open along with a bottle of water and Setna was curled on the headrest and peering owlishly at her. She gave a slight smile as she approached and sat opposite Sam and teased, "I thought you said you would wait out here."

"I did. I just needed the first aid kit. How are your hands?" Sam looked at her trying to hide his embarrassment.

Angela looked down at them, her hair in a loose, wet braid dangling over her shoulder. They looked better but they were by no means perfect. If she put on antibiotics and kept them covered for the rest of the day, her own healing abilities would take over. "They've been better."

It was the opening that Sam needed to take one of her hands and the open jar of the cream antibiotics and dabbed a bit on his fingers and start to apply it. He noticed her lips twitch in pain and tried to be gentle. They really were nasty looking but not as bad before she cleaned them up. "We'll get them taken care of them then," he replied as he worked on the hand he had chosen.

Angela felt the initial sting but it faded as Sam continued to apply the antibiotic. It actually felt like a massage and she closed her eyes to bask in the feeling. She didn't open them until she felt the gauze being put on the open wounds. She said, "You can cover those with strapping."

"Trying to look tough?"

"Extra precaution," Angela replied with a slight shrug of her shoulders.

Sam looked up at her. She was studying his handiwork with that inquisitive look she got whenever something related to healing or medicine was going on. He teased, "Planning on fighting any time soon?"

"Hope not," Angela replied. "I'm not in the mood to be reminded that I am Absolution… but I don't mind sticking it to Lilith and thwarting her attempt on a seal or two."

"How do you really feel about that," Sam replied as he finished one hand and took up the other one.

Angela sighed a little. She looked out in the direction of the training course. She then looked around the rest of the scrap yard and then at Setna who was basking on the seat back. She replied, "I want to do my job and basically save people and hunt things. The whole thing about the Malachi… it is nothing but heartache. I lost a friend because of it so I really am not happy about seeing the dicks with wings in my life again."

"So just do the job."

"If only it were that simple." Angela turned to look at Sam as he finished her other hand. "Sometimes I think I was being the stupid teenager when I agreed to work for them and go through that mess with Alighieri. The result: I am the Malachi of Absolution."

"It sounds like a title… like me being called the Champion," Sam replied as he finished tying off the last of the strapping. He started putting the stuff away.

Angela studied his work and gave a nod of approval. Her hands would be healed within a couple of days. In the meantime it looked like she was getting ready to go for a boxing match. "You earned it though Sam. Mine is the result of prophecy and they will dog me to be what they want. This is what happens because I don't take lip from a bloody angel."

"But you know what's going to happen right?"

"Meaning the countdown to the Apocalypse? Yes because I read the Bible," Angela chuckled as she replied. "I don't know all of the seals if that's what you're asking. If I did, I probably would have started stakeouts and eventually catch up with Lilith. To hell with destiny." She gave a determined look at nothing as she thought about it some more.

Sam listened as he heard her assertion and gave a slight nod. He could get that she didn't like the fact that she was chosen for something really big. He had the same feeling when he found out that he had demon blood in him. It was probably foolish to assume that she would know everything the angels did but it was nice to know that she could talk to them and not have her ears or eyes blown out because of it.

Looking at her, she seemed a little relaxed but still tense. She kept looking around with her eyes as if she expected something to ambush them even though Bobby's place was virtually protected. It wasn't the fact that she had been captured and held for two months. Sam was sure that she was on the lookout for an angel that would be looking for her. There was a lot more to being called the Malachi of Absolution. He wasn't going to badger her to death but if there was an opportunity, he would take it.

Thinking about his word choices, Sam asked, "Angie, about being called the Malachi… what does it mean?"

Angela considered the question. She figured that Sam wanted to know the implications behind being the chosen one to be the right hand man of either side but she wasn't sure if either he or Dean were ready to digest that fact. She decided on the literal meaning of the question, "It's an old Hebrew term. It means 'messenger.'"

"Messenger?" It wasn't what Sam wanted to know but he would work with it.

"Yes." Angela twisted her lips in a fit of humor. "It also means something else and it comes from the Bible."

"Seriously?"

"Yep." Angela adjusted her position to sit on the couch in a slouching position and stretched out her legs and crossed them at the ankles. Setna jumped into her lap and curled up. She had been ignoring him and Cerebus but neither seemed to hold it against her. Her fingers twiddled the cat's ears.

Sam closed up the first aid kit and put it on the ground and out of the way and adjusted his spot on the couch. He teased her, "You're not gonna make me look it up are you?"

Angela grinned as she twiddled the cat's ears with her fingers. She could hear it purring up a storm. She really missed the fur ball since she had to leave him with Bobby once the going got tough. She replied teasing, "Maybe. There's no reason to not keep that research brain of yours in shape. Maybe I should consider an obstacle course."

Sam grinned in return. He had missed her teasing. She deadpanned a lot of things and it did have a humorous ring to it but it wasn't the same. She did tease Dean and it made Sam feel a little jealous about it. It was like the time reversed things. They talked fairly easily and yet between him and her, it was a little stiff. It was like she wasn't sure of what to say even though things were good between them. This seemed like a sign. He replied, "I can look up anything you throw at me Angie." He looked over at her with a challenge in his eye.

Angela looked over at Sam and saw the challenge. It had been a while since they had a challenge of sorts. She raised a brow at him. "You really want to bet on that?"

"You suggested it."

Angela thought about it. It could be a good way to have Sam find out everything he wanted to know about the Malachi. If he had a question, she could answer it or point him in the right direction. It would be a good exercise in research which she knew he excelled at. Teasing she replied, "But who is the more foolish? The fool or the fool that follows him?"

Sam chuckled as he put on the wheedling puppy look. He replied, "My travels were long and the sufferings I endured intense."

Angela gave a slight nod of approval. He quoted Mary Shelly from one of her favorites. "Honey but you met your match tonight. If you can give it, I can take it."

Sam had to really think about what to say in reply. Since Angela was older, she had access and probably heard a ton of speeches and read almost everything. When she started adding in parts of songs and that one time Casa Erotica, he was hard put to find something. "Half a league onward. Forward the Light Brigade," he replied indicating that he was up for her challenge.

Angela nodded as she understood what he said. That was the fun part of the game they played to annoy Dean. She read 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' and she had been inspired that poem. She had seen it time and again when people had gone against the greatest of odds and not a single man turned tail and ran. It was inspirational. She replied, "Dare you trust the music of the night?"

Sam nodded and repeated, "Forward the Light Brigade."

Angela knew that Sam was serious in his request. She gently pulled on Setna's ears and nodded. She would give it to him and could only hope that his and Dean's questions are answered. She didn't doubt that Bobby would find things too but he had volumes that only went so far. This would be a task that would go back further. "Life is queer with its twists and turns."

"I am not afraid," Sam replied. He wasn't afraid of failing. He was stubborn… like her.

"Success is failure turned inside out. The silver tint of the clouds of doubt," Angela replied using the attitude poem she found a couple of years ago. She looked over at Sam and said, "I do have a challenge for you. Would you question the rules?"

"You set them all the time."

"And I remember the first time you broke my sparing rules when I first started training you." Angela gave a knowing smile. She remembered because that was the first time she had one of Christian's trainees spar with him to give him an idea of what he would be going up against.

Sam remembered that too. She scolded him afterwards but it wasn't a grudge like thing. She moved on and he never made that mistake again. "I remember. Come on Angie. Hit me."

"Alright," Angela replied as she adjusted her position. "Basic rules are: 1) I will give you one thing to start from; 2) You are free to use any resources necessary. For every piece that you uncover I will provide another clue; 3) You can ask any question related to your current search. Anything regarding a translation or something like that is open; 4) Collaboration is allowed but only with your brother…"

Sam made a slight face. He knew that if he was allowed a collaboration that usually meant that he was doing the heavy lifting and Dean would be messing around. "Seriously?"

Angela held up her hand, "I'm not finished. And last but not least 5) No time limit." She lowered her hand. "Those are the rules. Do we have an accord?"

Sam pondered it for a moment. They weren't that much unlike the rules she established before when she teased him about researching smudging as a joke. He didn't realize it and went in and ended up getting laughed at for his pains. He ended up laughing with her about that and realized that he liked the way she set up challenges. It was something that one of his professors at Stanford used to do. Looking at her though, he saw that she was being serious with her rules. He asked, "What's the topic?"

"Uh-uh. Agree to the rules and I'll give you the first clue," Angela replied. She was aware that she was really putting what she had learned from Crowley to good use. She had her reasons though. She wanted to make sure that they had a single track on this one. The reason for thinking 'they' was because she knew that Sam would look to Dean for help on this one. She made sure that she made collaboration a rule.

Sam sighed as he thought about it some more. The topic could be anything and he seriously doubted that Dean would be up to doing research on something like her herbs and various uses. That he pulled out of his ass and seriously hoped that it wouldn't be the topic. He was stuck though since she was not going to budge. He agreed, "Alright." Gently he took her hand and shook it to seal the deal.

"We have an accord then," Angela replied.

"So now are you going to tell me what the first clue is?"

Angela made a show of thinking about it. Sam knew like she did that she already had something in mind. She just liked making her boys sweat a little to see what they would do about it. She wasn't that mean though and replied, "The topic is malachi."

"Malachi?"

"Yep and your starting line is etymology. I told you it was Hebraic for 'messenger.' Start from there." Angela folded her hands in her lap. "Unless you want out."

Sam wasn't one to back out though. He hadn't expected her to go into subject of her moodiness but he figured that there was a purpose to it. "No. I'm game. Do I need to present my findings?"

"Like I said, only if you get stuck."

Sam nodded in agreement. She was giving leeway in this. He could work with that. "Alright."

"There you two are."

Angela and Sam turned to see Dean coming around the corner. Angela said, "Where else would we be Dean?"

"Very funny," Dean replied. He noticed the bandaged hands but didn't say anything about it. Instead he said, "While you two were enjoying the sun, Bobby and me found us a case. Come on."

A/N: 3.02 kicks off with intense training and a talk between Sam and Angie about what happened while Dean was in hell. Does this bode well? Find out next time on The Caged Dhampir Sings...