Chronicles of Absolution: Day of the Dead

Chapter 1

Sam was packing his clothes getting ready to head out. Angela was anxious to get out of town and he didn't blame her. He saw her charge in and felt her power with his when they took on Samhain and he saw the look Dean shot in their direction. He didn't blame her at all.

"Tomorrow," a familiar voice came through, making him jump. "November second. It's an anniversary for you right?"

Sam turned to see Uriel sitting on the couch behind him. He asked, "What are you doing here?"

Uriel studied Sam as he continued, "It's the day Azazel killed your mother and twenty-two years later, your girlfriend, too. It must've been difficult to bear yet you brazenly use the power he gave you. His profane blood pumping through your veins…"

"Excuse me?" Sam interrupted thinking that Uriel was way out of line.

"You were told not to use your abilities," Uriel replied.

"And I suppose that counts for Angie too right? What was I supposed to do? That demon would have killed me and my brother," Sam replied.

"Leave the Malachi out of this. You were TOLD not to," Uriel countered smoothly.

"If Samhain had gotten loose in this town…"

"You've been warned twice now."

Sam felt his throat convulse with anger. "You know. My brother was right about you. You are dicks."

Uriel made his move and ended up in front of Sam really close. It would have scared lesser men but Sam held his ground. "The only reason you're still alive, Sam Winchester, is because you've been useful. But the moment that ceases to be true, the second you become more trouble than you're worth – one word – one and I will turn you to dust," Uriel responded with the threat apparent in his voice and demeanor. He turned to put some distance between himself and Sam.

"And if you think about doing that, you'll find yourself in a world of pain."

Uriel turned around to find that the Malachi of Absolution was in the room standing next to Sam. The door was opened but it had been done so quietly… It actually impressed him. He walked up to where she was and said, "And you… You have your duty as the Malachi…"

"And you can spare me that Chuckles," Angela said giving a hard, firm look at Uriel. "I don't need you or your dick brothers telling me what my job is."

"Take caution in your tone Malachi. You may be the one who wields Absolution but that doesn't protect you from certain punishment," Uriel replied with a suggestive tone in his voice.

"And I would like to see that," Angela replied as she crossed her arms in defiance and sheer pissed offness. "I stopped believing the childish versions of angels long ago since you seem to get sheer pleasure out of wiping out a town completely because of one seal."

"And I would think carefully about your choices considering that," Uriel replied pointing at the bracelet on her right wrist. "The last time you were shall we say lucky?"

Sam said nothing as the standoff between Angela and Uriel was taking place. He had been surprised that she had managed to get in without a sound but was astute enough to conclude that she had used her abilities to get in. He thought it was foolish of her to talk to Uriel the way she was but he got the feeling that the angel's hands were tied and it looked like he was a bit afraid of her. That was a first since he was used to the demons being afraid.

Angela narrowed her eyes at Uriel. She knew the gauntlet was a gift and curse and she was stuck with it like she was with everything else that needed a hiding place or protection. She knew that business at the Academy had gone less than satisfactory according to her ridiculously high standards but at least the school was still functioning and most everyone was okay. She said, "And it is this thing that has the beasts under control."

"For how long? We both know your track record. Isn't November second significant to you as well?" Uriel mocked her and did it without remorse. He disliked her greatly but he couldn't touch her or he would face the consequences.

Angela felt her eyebrow twitch. Yes that date was significant on several levels. She was not going to get into that. "I am well aware of the events that occurred."

Uriel chuckled, "Always the polite one in holding your temper. Better than you were when you were younger."

"I didn't know any better then," Angela replied firmly. "Now I know what complete assholes you can be and I'm not afraid to say it like I will say this: you so much as threaten Sam or Dean and I will be over your ass and I will literally stick it to you." Her eyes flickered that amber glow to indicate she meant what she said.

"Take caution and put some respect into your tone…"

"I mean it," Angela interrupted. "You can make claims of smiting me but recall this, I was chosen and certain things happened for a reason the past year or so. Someone higher than your superior must think I'm supposed to be stuck here to deal with your annoying ass."

"That's right. You were chosen to wield Absolution. It can be taken from you."

"I doubt that. She chose me and bonded with me. And I will gank your ass if you dare to turn either of them into dust."

"Don't be so sure of it," Uriel replied. He knew that he was overstepping boundaries here. Plus he knew what she was capable of since he had seen it. "As for Dean, tell him maybe he should climb off that high horse of his. Ask him what he remembers from Hell. Ask her what she knows of Hell."

Uriel was gone before anyone could reply. Angela stood there looking at the place he had occupied while waiting for her temper to die down. She had been close to just delivering a punch for the sheer hell of it. It wouldn't have done that much damage but it would have felt good. She muttered in Enochian the best curse she could come up with for Uriel.

Sam looked at her and watched her shoulders heave. She had been pissed. He didn't know what to say but managed to ask, "Angie?"

Angela heard Sam's voice and closed her eyes. Cosmic battles she would rather not have them involved but considering… it is what it is. She turned and said, "Sorry about that Sam. I lost my temper."

"I wouldn't call it that," Sam replied with a slight frown.

Angela raised her brow in return, "Hmm, anyway, I apologize. I shouldn't have interfered."

Sam continued to frown at her. "Uh I would think that Uriel telling me to stop would include you too." It was old news but now it was brought back to the forefront.

"Not really. Double standards crap," Angela replied muttering. She took a breath to calm herself down before working herself up into another bout of anger. "They know I will jump in between to prevent anything from happening to you or Dean. I just drew my battle line in the sand. They know I will play nice but that will stop the moment I think otherwise." She paused and sighed, "I shouldn't have come in when I did. It will be used as a means of mocking and assuming that you can't fight your own battles. I lost my temper and was foolish about it."

It was starting to make some sense to Sam. He had no doubts that she was good at the creeping through the shadows thing and he replied, "You were listening weren't you?"

"I was coming to see if you were ready when I heard… Uriel." She gritted her teeth as she said the name. "I didn't care what he said about me if anything and I knew you would hold your temper."

"The threat set you off."

"And it didn't help that I was already pissed at having to see him again." Angela ran a hand through her locks as she placed her other hand on her hip. "I am sorry about interfering but I am not sorry about meaning what I said. I am tired of everything good coming my way being taken because of some douchebag's idea of what things should be." She looked at Sam and said, "I lost you both once and though I got you back, I don't intend to let that happen again."

Sam remembered when she cried and for some reason, that stuck with him more than the stupid stuff she did like stunning him and not telling him what she planned to do. Aside from the fact that Lilith killed his brother, he wanted revenge because of that; Lilith made her cry. It sounded a little childish but Sam didn't like to see her sad and he couldn't explain why except that it was something Dean would have done for him when they were little.

Studying her intense expression, he knew that she was going to do her best to the point of death to make sure it didn't happen. Granted he didn't like that extreme, he knew she would do it and she would stick to her promise of being more careful. He replied, "You know we would do the same for you."

"I know but… this is…" Angela wasn't sure how to explain it. True it was out of love for both boys that she would do it but it felt like she owed it to Mary and John.

Sam had a vague idea of what was going on in her thoughts. "You don't owe anybody anything you know."

"Don't I? I did fuck up royally in the beginning."

"And you learned from it and you still let us make our own choices."

Angela made a slight smile. Sam had a way of remembering everything she said. She nodded, "I know. I guess it was from the years of practice with my strays." She felt her lips twitch in the smile that she wore. "Let them jump off a cliff and it is only then that they'll know that they can fly."

Sam said nothing in response to that. He knew that her biggest thing was learning how to deal with failure. It may sound weird since she was sure to have had disappointment quite a few times for as long as she had lived but it was like a devastating blow every time except for little things. She was trying since she seemed glad that the kids at the Academy were safe. That was all that mattered at that time. The fact that this seal was the second one they failed to prevent from happening was a blow but it was not crushing.

"So in akin to what I originally came here for, are you ready?"

Sam looked at Angela and thought she had a slight blush on her face and thought that to be strange. He ignored it for the moment and replied, "Yeah."

Angela walked over to where the waiting duffles were and picked them up. She left what Sam had been working on alone and hefted what she had on her shoulder. She wrinkled her nose slightly and said, "A trip to the Laundromat is in order… especially with Dean's socks. He's lucky I let him get away with it."

Sam couldn't help but chuckle. It was an ongoing thing between her and Dean over cleanliness. Dean made the mistake of calling her a germophob and she called him a slob and that escalated into an exchange of insults that didn't mean anything while she hand washed in front of them all of Dean's socks and made him strip the ones he had been wearing. The look on Dean's face was priceless when she did that. It was a nice break from the serious stuff that was going on but Sam couldn't forget what Uriel brought up.

There was the possibility that Dean did remember hell but he wasn't going to push yet. There was also the implication that Angela knew something about it or he could have mistaken her for Haley. He said nothing though and helped load up the Impala.

The Impala purred down the highway heading towards the next job wherever it took them. At the current moment the sleek black car was heading south to the sound of soft rock. To Dean it was much more tolerable to the potential of listening to Bach or whatever classic piano was. It enabled him to see that it was a reflection of the current mood of the driver.

Angela had driven the Impala to the park to pick him up. While he was there, he had a nice talk with Castiel about his choice to save the town from Samhain. It was there that he learned about the angel's relationship to his girl.

Castiel had told him that he wasn't a hammer and that he had doubts. It was a surprise to Dean when the stoic angel revealed that he had them for some time; ever since he had been assigned as the guardian of the Malachi. He said that he had orders to watch over her and help her if she called for it. When she did, the angel had been exposed to her way of doing things and she had begun teaching him a few things.

Dean thought that she hadn't gotten very far since Castiel still had a stick up his ass on things. However the more he thought about it, especially when she told the angel that if the others took it into their own hands to stop Sam from using his abilities she would have something to say, he could see her influence. It was subtle but Dean could see that Angela and Castiel were close and he suspected that he had helped her with her stab wound at the Academy which accounted for the faster than normal recovery rate.

The conversation also went into the use of Sam's abilities and Dean asked the angel why they didn't rally the troops against her. The only answer that Castiel could give at the time was that she had been born with her abilities. Dean suspected that there was more to it and it had to do with what she could do. He would have quizzed Angela when she pulled up but he decided against it when he saw the look on her face. He couldn't blame her really since he had been looking at her with the same expression he had with Sam. It made him feel like an ass but he wasn't sure what to think about it even though he had given a response previously in private.

The truth was he felt like they were all stuck in the middle on this. He and Sam were more active in terms of their opinions on the subject and Angela… It was like she was taking an apathetic stance on everything. She even admitted that she didn't have a problem with it and was well aware of certain fine lines but she wasn't going to tell them what to do. She didn't tell Sam to stop but she had mentioned something about handling with care and Sam seemed to understand that.

"You need a pit stop?"

Dean realized that she had been asking him a question and he had missed it. Sitting up in the back seat he replied, "I'm good."

"Dean."

"Seriously," Dean replied. "Just thinking."

"Shall I alert the media?"

Dean looked to see Angela giving a slight smile in the rearview mirror. Sam was giving a quiet chuckle as he was looking through his email. He replied, "Yeah laugh it up Angie. I know I'm not as smart as you."

"You're just as smart as the next guy. You just have a different way of using it," Angela replied in a low and gentle tone. "Like making butt calls to my cell."

Sam burst into a snicker that sounded like a chortle. Dean scowled at that, "I do not."

"Don't play that card Dean. You know I'm already going to win," Angela countered. "I do have to admit that the reason I know you are intelligent is because you have the benefit of having a smart ass."

Sam was laughing by now and Dean was spluttering. Angela was chuckling in her throat. Dean said, "You saying…"

"That you have a smart ass," Angela finished. "Believe me it's a lot better than certain dicks with wings." She became a little quiet as she kept her eyes on the road. She made a slight correction to avoid some debris.

Sam grew a bit quiet at that. It was a telltale sign to Dean and he bit on the line, "Cas pay you a visit too?"

"No. Cas may have a stick up his ass but he's not a dick," Angela replied. After a pause she added, "It was Uriel and it was one of those hold your breath moments."

"Not really considering that you were the one that…" Sam looked at Angela. He received a slight nod to acknowledge that he was right to some degree.

Dean suspected that a lot was going on or had happened. He figured it was Uriel that paid a visit and it was probably to Sam and she just happened to be there and didn't like what was said. He remembered when Castiel first introduced Uriel to them. Angela looked like she was expecting a bomb to go off or something when she first saw him even though her reaction was subdued. She made up for it when she called the angel by name and proceeded to be insulting.

"I take it that you had a few choice words huh Angie," Dean clarified.

Angela cursed a bit in Enochian since she had found an insult that she felt suited Uriel before replying, "The benefit of knowing multiple languages. You can always find a few choice words for anything." She paused a bit and then added, "I know Uriel well and I know who he answers to. I am treading a fine line as far as he's concerned but… to hell with it. Asshole screwed with me once and I'm not going to let it happen again. Cas knows that."

Dean didn't say anything about that since he figured Uriel did something stupid like threaten Sam in front of her. That would be guaranteed to put her in a foul mood for a while. "So Cas is on your side?"

"Cas knows I mean what I say. I did actually kick Uriel's ass once a long time ago."

"You?"

"Hard to believe I know but at the time I was just pissed." Angela looked through the windshield at the highway as they headed south. She could make a pit stop in Lawrence to see Mary but she knew how Dean would feel about that. She knew what it took for him to suck it up and go back to the old house and she suspected that Sam's persistence from his vision and the fact that the family there needed help propelled him to move through it. She wouldn't put him through that.

It had hit a nerve with what Uriel said about tomorrow. Yes it was an anniversary and it was pretty much the reason that she had never celebrated her birthday since then. It had been a kick and stab in the guts twenty two years later. It didn't help that she went through her bouts of she supposed was depression around this time of year because every year was a reminder that she was as Sam called himself, a whole new level of freak.

The freak part she got over since she changed her mindset that it was somewhat a blessing (tongue in cheek) that she was alive still even though she did accidentally kill herself and had been near death numerous times within the past year. The other two were things that she wasn't willing to work past.

"Hey. I knew you were strong but man," Dean made a slight toss of his head. "Though I might say that you have a pair."

Angela made a face with her lips trying to decide on whether or not to laugh at Dean's comment. She didn't have to since at that moment the radio station that was cued in decided to play a song that Angela hadn't heard in a long time. Well she had heard it before but every time she did, she burst in tears or walked out of the room. She really couldn't do that since she was driving so she did what she could do and turned it up.

If Sam or Dean thought it odd that she would turn the volume up, they didn't say a word. That was her doing since she was the eclectic and she was a devout follower of the house rules regarding the car. They had sat through Mozart, pop boy bands, country, rock and emo music so when she turned up the volume on this particular song, they didn't complain much though Dean did make a slight hum before settling in the back seat to enjoy the rest of the trip sleeping.

Angela was thrust back to 1973 to a day when she was made privy to some happy news. It was the day that Mary revealed how she really felt about John Winchester. Technically she should have been gone already since she had long since finished the job she had done at Mary's school where they first met. Yet she stayed and rented a room where Mary liked to hang out at.

Angela was the hunter even though Mary had been brought up in the life. It was how she met Samuel Campbell and every time she went over for dinner was nerve wracking since the old man decided to quiz her about everything and would make snide remarks about her. Mary was different. She wanted out and Angela said that she should do what her heart said. Of course that didn't go over too well with Campbell.

The day that Mary said that she was in love, Angela was happy for her friend. Even more so was when Mary said that she was sure that John was going to propose. It made her happy but it also made her realize a few things. It was a sign that it was time to move on from Lawrence and get back on the road. She didn't want to be a buzz kill but Mary knew her pretty well.

That day they were sitting in the diner. Mary was sitting across from her and she asked her if she was leaving. It had been blunt in its delivery but Angela wouldn't accept anything less from her.

The music that had been playing was the new stuff but then it played 'I've Got You Babe' and Angela listened to it for a moment. She then looked at Mary who looked ready to cry. That was then that she made the decision that went against everything in terms of her hunting and living off the grid. She looked at Mary and said that she would never leave her completely. She could remember the exact words she had said.

I'll never leave you Mary. You know the life and you know what I am. I have to move on.

Angie, don't go. You could be happy. I want you to be a part of my life.

You know I can't but I promise you this. I will always watch over you. I won't let what you are trying to escape from find you. That I promise. I've got you.

I've got you too.

Angela thought about it as she continued to drive. Silently she cursed Uriel for bringing it up because now it would be on her mind for the rest of the day. She knew what day it was tomorrow. She had it all planned out as part of her plan for working past it. Respect for the dead seems overrated… at least with a dick like Uriel around.

A/N: Welcome folks to 3.05 Day of the Dead and we kick things off when Uriel threatens Sam about using his powers. Not a good start but we'll see where it goes. Keep watching for more Day of the Dead...