Chronicles of Absolution: All Hell Breaks Loose... and Then Some

Chapter 1

The Road So Far…

… Suddenly she was hit from behind. She fell forward and she lost her grip on her blade. She watched as it slid away through the puddles of water. The creatures couldn't touch it so that wasn't a worry. Suddenly she felt what seemed to be a pipe come down on her back. She grunted in pain as it hit hard. She had little recovery time for the others grabbed for her. They held her up and the creature she had stalked came up to her. With a single finger, the creature ran it down the side of her neck…

… "Wait a minute. So you were dream walking?"

"Yeah… I think. At least that was what she said."…

… Sam took the phone and flipped it open as he teased, "Nothing like that. I'd much rather not be on the receiving end of your sword." He gave a slight smile. He entered in a set of numbers. When he was finished, he handed the phone back still open. "This is my number. Um if you need help on a job. Give me a call."…

… Dean glanced at his brother and then asked, "Youwanttocomewithus?"

"What?"

"You want to come with us?" Dean repeated, enunciating his words. "It'd be nice to have back up once in a while and I don't know about you but you seem to be a good luck charm so far. This is twice that I've gotten free pie. Well maybe you can help us with the yellow eyed demon and maybe you can drive since Samantha and I are on pain pills."

Angela glanced at Sam and saw a guilty look. She got the idea that he used that to get Dean on board with her being around. His own reasons, well he could explain when he was ready. She replied, "I've never been called a good luck charm with regards to pie but alright."…

… You do have the choice to tell them but be aware that such revelations always have consequences that are not always foreseen…

… Christian sighed. There was no going back now. He said, "A demon is starting trouble in Wyoming." He saw the expectant look on Angela's face. He knew she wasn't going to like it. He added, "It is Lenya…"

… You're in over your head. Here there are memories that'll haunt you…

… Yellow Eyes smiled and said, "You can't save them all no matter what you try…

… Lenya then got hostile and her voice took a deep overtone, "You aren't in a position to make threats bitch. You can try and protect them but in the end, Sam Winchester will be ours." She was then gone leaving Angela on the empty street…

Now

Drip… drip… drip…

The sounds of water falling made a pleasant rhythm. It was like those CDs that had that inspiration music on them with water dripping in the background to give a sense of tranquility. Accompanying it were the smells of wet earth and water; the remnants of a spring rain. It was a nice break after busting out of Folsom Prison and that thing with the djinn. In between were a couple of easy jobs like salt and burns and relaxing at Bobby's for a few days. It was good to be able to sleep in late…

It was pleasant but good things had to come to an end. Angela slowly opened her eyes to see nothing but open sky. She frowned as she blinked to get a better grasp of where she was at. It was strange and peaceful and yet it didn't seem right. She sat up slowly to find that she was on the ground in the middle of nowhere. Frowning she looked around to try and find a landmark or something that would tell her where she was.

The smells of spring rain were still in her nose and she could smell the fresh earth as she dusted herself off and stood up. It was a good thing she was wearing jeans a t-shirt and a flannel one underneath her dark brown jacket. She could feel a slight chill in the air but it was an unnatural one and her response was to rub her upper arms with her hands as she looked around. She was hit with the realization that she was alone and she felt a little bit afraid but was more concerned that the boys were going to wonder where she was.

Angela fished into her pocket for her cell phone. She found it amongst a few small odds and ends in her jacket pocket and smiled a bit ruefully. She did tell Sam once that she used anything in her pockets if she could when in a jam. Looking around she kept an eye out for anything as she pulled it up and looked at it. The 'no signal' display had her frustrated as she shoved it back into her pocket.

Where oh where do I head to next? And how the hell did I get here?

Angela looked around the clearing that she ended up in. The only thing running through her mind was the fear that Sam and Dean thought that she ran out on them again. She had barely gotten back on the bus and they managed to make it through a few cases together with some needing a little more creativity like the Folsom job.

The guard at the prison was a friend of John's and with Dean's sense of loyalty to family and friends, they agreed to the job. Well Sam had some objection to it since it meant going to prison and there was the problem of her getting involved since men and women didn't mix in a prison. It was Dean's idea that she be hired on as a nurse. What Angela found strange was Sam objecting to even that.

It was a perfect cover since she was knowledgeable in medicine and she had a talent with healing. In fact ever since she came back onto the bus Dean practically started worshiping her talent in that area. In fact he tentatively asked her to teach him a bit about her stuff. The way he asked was along the lines of Sam using the puppy dog eyes to get what he wanted and she had tried hard not to laugh. She realized that Dean was trying to make up to her for his behavior and agreed to be his teacher in that regard. She made it be known that she forgave him and even let it be known that it was her fault too.

Well the Folsom job had its hitches. Even though she was a nurse, she wasn't oblivious. She found out that the FBI was coming and she became worried. One of the reasons she was so good at what she did was that she knew how to stay out of the limelight of the cops. She had no idea what to do to help the boys with this. Dean was wanted for murder and the bank job and it wasn't clear on that with regards to Sam and it was probably likely on the credit card scams. She had considered appealing to a few friends she knew in law enforcement.

It was a moot point since the plan went off in terms of an escape and she managed to make it possible that she was a temporary. It was true since the regular nurse was actually a friend of a friend. That was how she explained it to the boys. Then after that were a couple of salt and burns and some R&R at Bobby's and on the road. Then the job with the djinn. Dean got the short end of the stick and she could tell that he had been affected by that. She knew that he wondered about the what ifs like what if his mother hadn't died in the fire and at the hands of Yellow Eyes.

The djinn job had her pissed since in effect the thing hurt Dean and she didn't like it at all. It made her want to rip the thing's head off. The fact that she had gotten so angry like Dean would if Sam were injured by someone bothered her slightly. It seemed that mindset about people harming her own was still ingrained in her mind. It was a strange concept to her and she wasn't sure if it was appropriate or not. It was against Cal but now she wasn't sure and it was a thing to think about later. At the moment though she was concerned with finding out where the hell she was.

Angela walked around the clearing and reached out with her senses. She had to find which way was north and that could give her a sense of where to go. She rubbed her arms again wandering around. She then heard a noise in the forest. She started and dropped into a defensive posture as she heard the rustle again and turned in the direction that it came in.

Out of the forest came a young man. She judged him to be in his early twenties and he looked scared. Well he was when he came out and said, "Please don't' hurt me. I'm lost… I don't know where I am."

Angela relaxed a bit but even she wasn't stupid to be totally relaxed. Still she could make herself pleasant and put the poor kid at ease. She replied, "You're not the only one kid." She continued to look around trying to see where the kid came around. "Where did you come from?"

The kid stuttered slightly before replying, "In the woods about a couple of miles back. The last place I remember being at was in my room studying for a final and then I woke up here. The name's Gheri. Al Gheri."

"Interesting name kid," Angela replied finding a nice hunk of wood that could be shaped into a staff. "You can call me Angela."

"Do you know what is happening?"

"No."

Suddenly there was a tinkling of laughter that was very familiar. Angela brought up the hunk of wood ready to use it. It was slightly off balance but she could compensate as necessary. She heard the laughter again but it was a different timbre. She followed it looking around until her eyes lighted on the one she had been searching for. He smiled at her and said, "Well I see you found a friend. This should make the game much more interesting."

Angela narrowed her eyes and replied, "I have no wish to play your game… Azazel."

24 Hours Earlier

"Pretty good hustle kid," Angela replied as she signed to the kid that was holding a camera and a Polaroid. She grinned at the kid and signed, "Four dollars."

"Yes," the kid signed.

Angela smiled as she fished out her wallet and took out four singles and handed them to the kid. She took the Polaroid in return and picked up the newspaper that she had bought from the stand that the kid was working. She then took out a five and handed it to the kid and signed, "This is for your college fund. Okay?"

The kid smiled and signed back that he understood. His mom who was running the stand waited until he went to put the money away to say, "That was very generous of you and nice of you to put up with my son's schemes."

Angela smiled at the woman and replied, "He was telling me about the deaf school that he wanted to go to. I heard of it. It's a very good school and they do scholarships."

"It was very nice of you to help him out," the kid's mother replied. "Thank you for your kindness. You have a good heart."

If only you knew about my 'good heart.' Angela smiled and replied, "For me it is only money but worth it for a good cause. I believe all kids should have a chance at a good education no matter what their background."

"Jonah will remember this. He told me you were a kind lady and that was before you came to my stand. I must ask, are you a teacher? You sign so well."

Angela gave a slight smile. She tucked her paper under her arm and replied, "I had a friend in college who was deaf and she taught me how to sign. We were paired to tutor in our history class and she grew frustrated writing out everything and she was still a bit self-conscious about using her voice. So she taught me and that's all she wrote."

"That's nice."

"Yeah. We still keep in touch." Angela saw that Sam was coming towards her. She had lingered long enough and she knew that Dean wasn't too good on the patience but he was trying. He had been learning since she agreed to teach him her herbs. "Well I better go. We have to hit the road if we're going to make good time."

"Alright. Have a good trip and thank you."

Angela gave a slight wave and walked away from the stand to meet Sam. She gave a slight smirk as she said, "So did the music Nazi send you over to find me?"

Sam gave a slight chuckle as he shook his head. He replied, "You better not let Dean hear you say that or he'll give the list of rules for the car."

"And he'll not follow them because it's his car," Angela replied with grin of her own. She followed Sam as they started back towards the Impala. They had stopped to gas up since they were running on near empty. She went to check the local newsstand for a paper to check for the word out on the underground as was the code word for the supernatural.

It was there where she was picking up her paper that she was looking in the direction of the boys when the kid took her picture. It was then that he proceeded to hustle her talking and signing about saving up to pay for tuition for a school for the deaf. The kid reminded her of Kara from her college days. She couldn't resist especially when the kid flashed a look that was all too familiar. She folded like a bad hand.

"I see you folded for the look."

Angela looked at Sam who was grinning at her. She replied, "And I told you that I'm a sucker for kids, which is why when you do it, I don't fall for it." She had pointed at Sam with the photo she had bought only to have it snatched out of her hand by Sam.

"So this was what you bought?" Sam waved it to hold it out of her reach. It seemed like a good opportunity to tease her a bit.

"Give it here Sam." Angela jumped to try and reach it. Even though she and Sam were almost in similar height, he still had one up on her in terms of arm reach. She looked like a little kid trying to reach something that was on a high shelf. "Just because you have one up on me on arm length…"

"It makes it all the more fun," Sam replied trying to hold her off. When she lunged, he dodged and started running towards the Impala knowing that she would give chase. When he was sure of a safe distance, he took a look at the photo.

It was a nice one and it captured her features beautifully. It looked like one of those professional photos that made it into magazines. She was looking off into the distance with a look on her face that looked like a cross between sad and happy. Some might even call it pensive. He was so busy looking at it he didn't notice that she had caught up until she leapt onto his back and locked her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. "Give it here Sam."

It was rather comical even to Dean when he came out of the minimart and saw Angela wrestling with Sam over something he was keeping away from her. Dean couldn't resist and took a picture of it with his camera phone. The stoic Angela acting like a kid for once… it made for great blackmail/prank material. Angela eventually managed to get whatever it was back and shove it into her pocket. He said, "I guess I missed the show."

"Eat me," both said in unison much to Dean's laughter.

"Angie you want some?"

Angela said nothing as she stretched out against her duffle and continued to read her paper. She was humming the song that she was listening to on her iPod. She turned the page as she continued to read the paper. She heard the question vaguely but it didn't register.

Sam held the pack of trail mix out towards the back. When she didn't respond he asked, "Are you still sore about the whole picture thing?"

Angela still didn't answer except to sing a coherent line of the music she was listening to. Dean noticed it and motioned to Sam to hand him the crumpled up receipt from the bag. With careful aiming while driving he tossed it towards the back where it bopped her right on her paper and rolled down into her lap. It gave the effect he wanted and he said, "Hey Angie, you lost back there?" Dean peered into the rear view mirror to see what she was going to say,

Angela had been startled from reading the article that had caught her interest. She pulled the buds out of her ear just in time to hear Dean's question. She replied after stretching, which was a feat in of itself, "I guess I was a bit lost. Did someone ask me something?"

"Well Sam just asked you if you wanted some of this healthy crap." Dean snatched the bag of trail mix out of Sam's hands and held it up. "Seriously you eat this stuff? With your appetite?"

Angela gave a mock frown knowing that Dean could see it. Both boys knew she didn't eat much nowadays but she could understand Dean's joking about it. She still ate more than they did but it was less than when they first met up with her. She replied, "Yeah I do but no thanks. That packaged stuff is shit."

"Thanks Angie," Sam replied not really meaning it.

"No problem," Angela replied, "Now is there something someone wanted to ask me besides food? If not I'm catching up on the news."

"Finding us another case?"

"Just finding out what the word is on the underground," Angela replied as she opened up her paper again.

Sam turned around to look at what she was reading and caught the title. "You got to be kidding me. Pickwick Papers?"

Dean had no idea what the hell that was and asked, "What is that?"

Sam answered, "It's more or less a newspaper for kids adapted from the book Little Women. Most of it is stories and stuff for kids. Just pure entertainment by a company actually called Pilgrim's Progress."

Dean frowned. "Seriously?"

Angela wanted to laugh at that. They thought she was nuts for buying a kid's paper. Well if only they knew the whole story which she was going to give them now. "Yes seriously and I do mean I am catching up with what's going on. Pickwick Papers is designed for kids but it is a good source of information… if you have the right cipher."

"Cipher?"

"She means a key, like a code that makes sense out of what is written. Remember when we were kids…"

"Alright I get it Sam," Dean replied, "So this kid's paper is like the official supernatural paper then?"

"Oh yes and from the looks of things someone has been blabbing about the slayers. I guess I'll be hearing something from the big boys. Oh and it looks like a new hunter joined the fold. Remember Jo from the point? She and Barcalow tag teamed on a hunt with a werewolf."

"Always thought she was a nice tough chick," Dean commented.

"Really?" Sam was curious about it. "Do you happen to have the cipher handy?"

"Yep in my mind. One for each month and they haven't changed. I long ago memorized it but I have the actual booklet in my other pack. Knock yourself out." Angela leaned back to relax some more and read.

"So Angie anything in there related to a job?"

"Maybe. I haven't checked that yet but just be prepared for rain tonight."

Dean accelerated a bit and replied, "I'm not even going to ask how you know that."

It turned out that Angela was right. It was raining when they pulled up to a diner. As soon as Dean stopped the car, he pulled out a wad of cash and said, "Don't forget the extra onions."

Sam gave an annoyed look. "Dude, Angie and I are the ones who are gonna have to ride in the car with your extra onions." He gave a slight huff as he got out of the car.

"And I need to stretch otherwise I'll suffer cramps and onions." Angela got out of the car. As an afterthought, she poked her head back in and said, "You are evil Dean," and gave a teasing grin. She shut the door of the Impala and rotated her shoulders to stretch them out. The walk would stretch out her legs some.

"Hey see if they got any pie," Dean called out. As soon as Sam gave him the bitch face he said, "Bring me some pie." Dean grinned as he watched Angela and Sam walk into the diner thinking about ways to tease her about wanting alone time with Sam though if it had been him going she would have gone anyway. Still it was fun to tease her though he did suspect that something was going on even though it was friendly conversation.

"You didn't have come."

"It's no problem," Angela replied, "I needed the stretch and I like ordering my own food. Besides I have an idea regarding Dean's extra onions."

Sam looked at Angela as a slow grin came across her face. She was up to something and she was dangling the line to see if he would bite. He took it. "Don't tell me you plan on replacing those onions with something like radishes."

"That's kid's play and you know it," Angela replied as she pulled open the door of the diner. "I thought about that but then I thought about picking off the onions and make him think that he is eating onions and the odor will be eliminated. He'll never know the difference."

"Let me guess, you have something in your potion kit for that?"

"I may," Angela dropped as a hint. She gave a slight smile. "Think about it."

Sam couldn't help but chuckle. He was glad that she had gotten back into the mood of playing pranks on him and Dean. It was always interesting to see what she could come up with since she had a variety of sources to work with and she always seemed to play on their peeves. He considered her best still to be the one with the kachina. Dean still hadn't figured that one out and it was highly unlikely that he would at this point. "Knock yourself out. It will certainly be a relief not to smell onions."

Dean was watching the pair of them walk in when his attention was diverted to the copy of the Pickwick Papers that Angela bought. He had never heard of it and decided to take a look. Maybe he might try to figure out the cipher on his own. He glanced up to find no sign of Sam or Angela and his senses went on alert. Running inside the diner he found dead people and the remains of sulfur. There was no sign of either of them.

A/N: Welcome back everyone for the season finale of Season One of Chronicles of Absolution. Yes the season finale not series. Hell I still have 3-6 to get through and Dean is being a nag on that. As you may guess, this takes place during the final two episodes of Season 2 and it looks like Azazel is going to have fun with his 'favorites.' What exactly is the game? Find out next time on All Hell Breaks Loose...