Chronicles of Absolution: A Fist with Attitude

Chapter 1

The grunting was consistent in the gym. Henry looked around the gym before lighting on the black silks hanging against the wall. He sighed as he looked at the display. It had been a rough couple of days and then there were the suits asking whether the plan was going to go forward. Henry gave them the run around but he couldn't do it forever.

Continuing on his way, Henry went through the doors he had been through many times and it was always the same sight. He was directed to the grunting and the sound of leather on leather in the corner. As he looked he shook his head at the poor form mostly from anger… and sadness.

"You can tell Auntie Lulu that I'm not hungry."

Henry looked at the young man still hitting the punching bag. Even in his sadness and anger, his form was perfect, like he was taking on an opponent. He replied, "Oh she knows. She left a plate for you in the refrigerator." He walked up to get a closer look since his eyes were getting older. He sighed, "Eli, why are you here?"

Eli Langston paused in his activity to look at Henry. His dark African skin glistened from the sweat in the overhead lights, and his mop of curly-wavy hair was styles in an afro. He replied, "Because Uncle Henry, I need to practice. Little more than two weeks until show time." He went back to punching the bag.

"I know that," Henry replied, "But you know you can postpone. There ain't no shame in that."

Eli paused after giving a few hard final punches. He hugged the bag and tried to keep the sobs from coming. He gritted his teeth trying hard not to let the sounds of his sobbing leak through. "I gotta do this Henry. We've worked so hard."

"I know that. I was here through the whole thing."

"Thing is I didn't think I was ready. Now I know I'm not. I can't do this."

Henry watched as Eli breathed heavily and walked to look out one of the old dirty windows. He knew the story behind that. His bushy white brows frowned in worry as the kid just walked around looking lost. He could say that it was a benefit that he wasn't on a drinking binge. "Kid, do you really want to do this?"

"I got no choice right?" Eli looked at Henry as he paced. He then saw the punching bag and started punching hard punches. "Gotta stay strong. Slip the jab and counter. Light on the feet. Damned Drifter and the stupid stories…"

Henry shook his head. He was familiar with the Drifter. It was a racer's name but also used in this circle as well. His friend used to tell stories about the one who once when three rounds sparring with some of the greatest heavyweights and the guy was the size of a bantamweight or even a welterweight. Eli had grown up on those stories.

It wasn't that Eli hated the stories or the sport. He felt that he had to live up to a shadow, the hero of those stories. A few of them included his dad as a hero in those stories. They were also stories that seemed to exist only in the wildest of imaginations. Henry knew different though and Eli didn't exactly scoff at them.

It had been a rough few days and Henry knew that it was weighing heavily on the kid. He and Lulu had done their best to help him along but Eli had only responded out of politeness. Something was burning inside the kid. It wasn't just sadness. Henry knew that Eli was a bit of a complicated kid but a good one. He just seemed so lost and he was only going through this out of obligation.

Henry watched as Eli went back to sparring with the bag. He said, "You used to love those stories."

"And they've dictated everything. Right down to the training. I wasn't allowed to work with what felt comfortable."

"But you know that challenging yourself allows you…"

"I meant in reading the ring Uncle Henry." Eli paused in his punching. "I have the technical up here," he tapped the side of his head with his glove, "but I don't feel alive. I feel I have to prove something and it isn't me. None of it ever was." He gave another punch to the bag. "I just… don't think I want to go through with this but…"

Henry nodded a bit. Then he asked, "Have you spoken to your godmother?"

"We haven't spoken in a month," Eli replied a bit nonchalant as he continued to punch. "She did say to go for it if I wanted it." He stopped and looked at Henry. "You know Uncle Henry, I was told I met her when I was a little kid but I've never met the woman. Yet every year she sends me something for my birthday, Christmas, the holidays and in between her letters. I've never even heard her voice. I don't even know if she exists."

"Obviously she must exist," Henry pointed out.

"Or Dad made her up and had someone postmark stuff at regular intervals," Eli spat back bitterly. "Just another one of his schemes to make sure I wasn't lonely."

"Eli…"

"Can I be left alone Uncle Henry? Tell Auntie Lulu I'll be home in an hour and I'll eat dinner," Eli interrupted. He didn't want to talk about it anymore. He just wanted to hit something and he didn't want Uncle Henry to eye him with sympathy or pity.

Henry watched as Eli started punching the bag again. There was much anger in his punches and while it looked like he was doing good at not keeping it pent up and expelling it on a physical activity… Henry nodded and said, "Alright son. You know where to go."

Henry walked towards the doors, leaving Eli bathed in the light that he was crowned in. He watched as Eli started punching harder and faster. It was almost a blur and it looked like the old bag was going to get knocked off its hook until Eli finished one last punch and collapsed to his knees. The boy just sat on his knees, his sides heaving as he breathed heavily.

Eli had said that he might not want to go through with it at one point but at another he did. Henry studied the boy with sad eyes. He knew there was a reason for the way things were but maybe this was the time to change all that. His friend did leave means of a contact and it wasn't like they both weren't strangers to the world that they made Eli believe was only make believe in the stories.

Lulu wasn't going to be too pleased but she would understand. Henry knew that if anyone could help the boy in his current state, it was the one who kept her word and an old friend. Full of resolve, Henry left the gym and Eli to his own devices and went home to tell Lulu what his decision was. As he predicted she wasn't totally receptive to the idea.

"You mean you want to call and ask the one person Eli met only once as a baby to come here? What are you thinking Henry?"

"I am thinking of Eli, Lulu," Henry said as he hung up his coat and hat. "The boy is grieving and he has been experiencing some things…"

"Lordy Lord," Lulu countered as she wrapped her robe tighter around her. "Has Eli figured it out yet?"

"No but he will notice when certain things seem out of place." Henry took his wife's arm and led her up the stairs of their house. They were getting older and probably should move downstairs but they had lived in that house for many years. It was too hard to change old habits.

"But we've kept it hidden for over twenty years. The training kept the urges in check," Lulu said as they climbed the stairs.

"I know but given what has happened, Eli is under a lot of stress. He wants to continue but he doesn't," Henry pointed out. "In my experience, that is usually the best time to call upon someone who knows more than we do."

"Meaning her," Lulu countered. Her voice wasn't exactly friendly and it wasn't cold either. It was a state of someone indicating that she didn't like the person they were talking about and for reasons that had been left to fester. "Having her come here and stir up God knows what else."

"Are you still blaming her for that?"

"It's her fault Eli was left to grow up without a mother."

Henry sighed. It seemed that memories went a long way and some things were not that easy to forgive or forget. Even though it wasn't her fault per se, it still was perceived that way. The aftermath of what happened… it tore at his friend but that didn't stop him from making her the boy's godmother. It was a promise that was made and kept fully.

In the beginning, Eli had been receptive. He thought it cool to have a godmother that traveled the world saving people. He accepted why she couldn't come to see him, but he always got her letters and Henry thought he saw a picture once. He sighed inwardly at what he thought was foolishness on both sides' part. He looked at Lulu and said, "It wasn't. She tried to save her."

"She still died."

"Lulu, Eli is all that matters now. It is time that he met the one person who could answer questions for him and fill in the holes that we kept there." Henry was going to be adamant about that. "Lulu, I'm going to call her in the morning."

Lulu knew that when Henry made up his mind, it was going to be kept. She knew that her anger was being misplaced but it just seemed easier to blame the person that had tried to help and failed. She just couldn't warm up to the woman that was able to waltz in and out regardless of anything that occurred when she arrived, even if she did help in the best possible way.

Looking at her husband as he got ready for bed, she nodded and said, "Alright Henry. It is only because it involves Eli that I am agreeable to this."

"She's not moving in Lulu."

"I know but I will not have her or her kind in the house. It will be bad enough once Eli learns everything."

"Once he learns and understands, he'll be aware of the dangers."

"And then what? Will that mean he will be leaving us? Join that lifestyle on the road and us not knowing if he'll be all right?" Lulu's worry showed on her face.

Henry knew she had every reason to be worried. He could have backed off before finding out from his friend but they were like brothers. At the time they agreed to be careful and not be glaringly obvious for Eli's sake. Now the time had come for stops to be pulled out. Personally Henry thought they shouldn't have waited this long but promises were made and had to be kept. "At least he will have answers Lulu. He is an adult to decide. He just needs to know that someone out there thinks that he can stand on his own besides us."

Lulu sighed, "Alright. Make your call though more likely she'll hear about it soon enough. I remember those days with those two."

"And he respected her for her insight," Henry pointed out. He kissed his wife on the cheek before settling in. "Eli said that he would be home within an hour and he knows about the plate you left him."

"Good, because I would hate to resort to other means of getting that boy to eat healthy," Lulu shot back as she settled in.

Henry chuckled as he drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day. He could only hope that it wouldn't be too awkward or bad timing when he made that long overdue phone call.

The morning air was crisp and fresh. There was some dampness that was indicative of spring and the light breeze told of a good day as the first rays of the morning sun poked through. All in all it looked like it was to be a promising day as Angela acknowledged the coming of dawn as her breath came out in puff of smoke.

The neighborhood looked fairly decent for this time of night or rather the hour of vespers as it used to be called. If that was the reference to the hour before dawn… she didn't really quite remember but it was a nice turn of phrase as she jogged through the streets of the current stop they were in. Early morning jogs were good for clearing the head and that was something she felt was necessary considering…

She never liked the fact that she had a propensity for getting ambushed by dickhead angels. Castiel and Gabriel were the exceptions and so was Anna and if she wanted to stretch Amitiel though she had only met that angel once and she had a worshipping complex about her. The newest one to steam her clams after Uriel was one called Zachariah. He ambushed her while Dean was recovering from his bout with Alistair and asked for her help.

She had refused stating that she wasn't up to playing games anymore and that he could tell his superiors to shove it. Of course that wasn't the correct answer and the angel pulled a Uriel. After that, it was a little fuzzy. She did remember a few things and one of them was feeling like she stuck in someone else's life. The same happened to Sam and Dean.

Other parts she remembered was… drawing and painting. She was the head of market designing and ads. She designed the campaigns… but that was not all she did. After Zachariah put things back, she found that she had been painting things, memories. Some were pencil sketches and others were charcoal. Sam and Dean found them to be in that realm of wow when they saw them and immediately they, well mostly Dean, took them and stashed them away to show Bobby when they swung around.

Other memories included fighting off the ghost that hunted the building. She could recall feeling wierded out when she did things with her powers as her identity the angels implanted. It was like going Total Recall on the whole experience. It made Dean proud that she actually used a more modern movie reference for that.

On the whole during that 'experiment' the angels did, not much had changed with her personality. Her memories did a little but her dreams felt more real than those memories like an ex-boyfriend Liam the musician who died horribly from an animal attack when he went camping. That was crazy even when things were back the way they were. Then she learned the truth from Zachariah.

As it turned out, they initially tried to keep her from being a part of it. She didn't remember but that was because they didn't want her to remember. When it became evident that the Winchesters weren't cooperating in terms of the memory implants; they kept moping like something was missing and they put her in with the same treatment. She became Angela De Lauzon and was apparently an artist that was well known in that part of the country.

Angela never attempted to force the fuzzy stuff through and instead put together what the boys filled in and was able to figure out that they were able to take on the ghost that haunted the building like they always did. Dean mentioned that she had a funny way of looking at Zachariah when he was playing the boss and would walk in to talk to him; like she recognized him from somewhere like Sam shot him that look in the elevator.

Putting you in the mix seemed to be the only way to make a point with Dean. Mostly it was him trying to look for you for advice while Sam was concerned you were hurt.

Angela continued on her jog as she recalled her posttest interview with Zachariah. It was rather insightful that Dean looked for her like he would for Sam and cleared away the doubts that had stemmed from the siren case. Sam's attitude surprised her as well though it really shouldn't have. That angel also told her that they needed her to be strong as well for the fight to come. He even mentioned the fact that she had tamed a hellhound and a Wilderling had bonded to her at a young age was a sign of…

It was the usual shit she had dealt with when she first became Absolution. It was different because she was not alone in this endeavor and Zachariah had to be a bastard and have her read about the Malachi's part regarding the righteous man that begins it being the only one that can end it. She actually growled at the angel and told him to fuck off. She was actually lucky that he decided to leave with that stupid smile plastered on his face rather than attempt to kick her ass. It was a decision that she made without regard to anything. She was pissed and as Sam had said, she was allowed that since she was, for the most part, human.

A low rumble caught her attention and Angela looked down. She looked up and saw that she didn't have much further to get back to the motel. Time for a last second sprint. She grinned and said, "Alright Cerebus, Sasha… Let's see who's the fastest."

Cerebus rumbled and Sasha yipped. Both started to gain momentum as Angela sped up into a sprint run for the homestretch to the motel. It had been a long time since she had a sprint run and in competition with something that was equally fast as she was. She put an extra sprint into her muscles as she went neck in neck with Cerebus towards the door. She could hear Sasha keeping up but a leap behind her.

It would have just been a run to her door but at that moment Sam decided to open the door to his and Dean's room. The dogs changed direction and headed for the open door. Angela managed to stop but not at a cold stop or she would have hurt herself. She stopped and watched as Cerebus actually put his paws up and knocked Sam over while Sasha leapt up and used Cerebus as a stepping off point and jump into Dean's arms and both started licking their respective tackles.

Angela made a slight face of apology and put her fingers in her mouth to whistle command them off. She made a slight hiss of apology and said, "Sorry about that. I guess the um… er… run got them excited."

Sam pushed himself off the ground and almost collided with Cerebus' head since the mutt refused to budge too far. Dean was still holding Sasha since it caught him off guard that she just leapt into his arms like a kid giving a favorite uncle a hug. Even more off surprising was hell on four legs making moon eyes with his brother. Then again he was a clingy bastard and he always liked Sam. He said, "Um… enjoy your… uh… what were you doing?"

Angela cleared her throat, "Morning run. It's something I used to do with hardcore training of a different kind. When on the home stretch, I sprint. I challenged them and we were doing good." She extended her hand to help Sam up but it wasn't necessary since he was already getting up. "It was supposed to be their walk for the day. I guess it made them excited… Come on you two."

"Wait Angie," Sam began but she was already gone and the dogs close on her heels giving apologetic looks. "It's… okay."

"Let it go Sam," Dean said. He wasn't sure what happened there but he was fine with it since it was harmless. "You know how she can get with embarrassing situations. I would wash your face though. Dog breath." He made a motion like it was stinky. "She'll be fine at breakfast."

Dean's prediction was correct. By the time they hooked up for breakfast, Angela was over her initial embarrassment and having a decent conversation. She sat next to Sam in her usual spot while Dean sat in his which was facing the door. Between him and Angela, they had all exits covered for any funny business. As it were, they were looking for a job and Sam had found one and was pointing it out, "Here's one: a local town's river changed direction when the new fishing and dumping laws went into effect."

"River changes?"

"The change in the directional flow of water can have a drastic effect on the ecosystem," Angela replied as she was finishing the 'senior' plate for breakfast. "Can kill off whole species, change and effect economy climate… affects things on a whole different level."

"Thank you Green Peace," Dean countered, "But seriously? That is supernatural?"

"It's probably Coyote," Angela replied as she shoveled the last of her pancake into her mouth.

"Coyote, as in the Trickster?" Dean's features started to scowl as he shared a look with Sam.

"Not that Trickster," Angela said. "Coyote is a trickster but follows the traditional path as told in Native American folklore. Generally he is seen as a culture hero amongst them."

"But he's threatening as you said an ecosystem," Dean said.

"And probably with good reason," Angela pointed out. "Tricksters in general break the rules of nature. The one that pisses you off likes to do it maliciously. Coyote has one concern and that is respect for the environment. He changes things to make a point and people repent and he fixes it."

"So you're not interested in ganking the sonofabitch?"

"No but I do see a series of deaths resulting in the victims having their lungs burned from the inside out. The fourth one just reported there," Angela pointed out. She looked at the boys and said, "Coyote is not evil. He's a nature god and as such is concerned with how we take care of the world. He's not like we all have to go back to living in caves. He wants us to understand the effects we have on the world around us. I've run into him a couple of times and believe me it was a bitch trying to convince him to leave a camp alone when they refused to heed his warning."

"So we should head that way."

"We could but I doubt you'd get very far. Like other tricksters they will sniff you out and turn you in circles." Angela drank her coffee empty. "But I guess we should give him a talking to. At least he's amicable with talking. Where is it?" She looked sideways and saw an article on the back page.

Sam gave the name of the town and Dean started making plans on the game plan. Angela heard it but she was focused on the article that she was reading. She read it even though it was at an odd angle. She almost wanted to cry but didn't.

"Hey, are you with the program Angie?" Dean snapped his fingers to get her attention.

Angela heard the snapping. Normally if Dean so much as tried to poke her with a spoon, she'd be quick on the draw and grab it. She looked around and said, "Uh… I gotta make a call. Excuse me." She scooted out of her seat and headed outside, pulling her phone out.

A/N: And here we go with a kid named Eli and a sort of normal day for the Winchesters and Angie. Wonder why she needs the phone? Keep watching for more A Fist with Attitude...