Chapter 2
"You plan on making me do all the packing Sam?" Dean was making sure the clothes bag and the weapons bags were packed and ready to go. They had to leave in the morning to make it to where the tournament was being held a day before the thing actually started.
As Angela explained, it was a two day competition. The first day narrowed down the numbers. The second day was the finals and essentially the championship. The night before though was a hoopla that was more like a 'hi how are you' party. The point was to show cooperation or something like that. Of course the prospect of food drew Dean.
There were also exhibition bouts in between setups. They were usually re-enactments of past battles or an exhibition of skill. Angela made those sound more desirable than others and Dean probably got the feeling that those were not affected by the present state of things. Maybe he would get what she meant when she told Bobby about honor and all that stuff.
He looked over to see that Sam was engrossed in a book and from the looks of things, it was one of Angela's books. Great, the kid was obsessing over something she said… again. He walked over and plucked it out of his brother's hands and began to look through it.
"I was reading that, jerk."
"No shit bitch," Dean replied looking through it. He knew that Sam wasn't going to try anything since it was Angela's book and from the looks of it, it was a very old one. Sam had a thing about respecting really old things especially if they belonged to somebody else. He glanced at his brother who was throwing half a bitch face and an angry face which looked pretty comical. "I was talking to you but you were reading this."
"Give it back Dean."
"Relax Sam. I just want to know what has you going into full research mode." Dean held his hand up to calm his brother down. "Hell this whole business has us both getting into shits." He glanced at what he had been reading. "History lesson?"
Sam didn't appreciate that Dean grabbed his book. Angela did say they were more than welcome to go through her books but in Sam's mind that didn't mean that they treat her stuff like crap. Since there were no more last minute training sessions, he went to read up on… well Angela. Actually it was to read up on her race. All he and Dean knew were what she told them but what she said about her race having a purpose had him thinking. Maybe it would unravel her moodiness if he could understand why.
He sighed and replied to Dean, "Yeah. On her race."
Dean was reading while listening. "Kind of bloody," he observed having glossed over the usual flowery language those books generally had.
"No kidding considering that it was a war between vampire clans," Sam replied giving an annoyed look at Dean. "Dean, her race was more of an accident."
Dean looked up or rather down at Sam since he was still sitting at the small table where he had been for the past couple of hours. "What do you mean an accident Sam? We've come across Halflings before and it's simple. One human, one whatever and you get a Halfling."
"Back then it was thought that humans and vampires couldn't… you know."
"Well vamps certainly like to feed on us." Dean continued to look through the book saving Sam from having to go technical with the sex. There were some pen and ink illustrations that were really good. Most were depictions of battles but the detail was awesome.
"Actually it's a preference. Remember those 'vegetarian' vamps?"
"Right. So what happened to this being an accident?" Dean wanted to save himself some time. It wasn't that he couldn't do research. He did and was fairly good at it but Sam was the one that was brain child of research. His version of facts usually made things easier and he didn't have to digest all the fancy language.
"It's kind of mucky but one of the vamps that became the predecessor of the ones that are made got a human girl pregnant and the result was Angie's race." Sam paused a moment as if to choose his next words. He continued, "It was discovered that these special kids had the ability to blend in like humans. They were considered perfect for… assassination."
"Assassination?" Dean wasn't sure if he heard it right. He paused from his reading to get a good look at Sam to make sure that he wasn't messing around with him. The serious look on his brother's face spoke volumes.
Sam nodded. It was a pretty bloody history. "Both sides used human servants. Using someone like Angie made it easy to get close to some pretty high up vamps. They would have the scent of a vampire on them but also human smells. It was how the royal family was almost wiped out."
"So you're saying that it is natural for Angie to be a killer?"
"I'm not saying that at all Dean. Besides Angie's race proves to be tougher to kill and were often used as foot soldiers. Dean they were bred for war but their folk hero Kuran said that they were people too and had a choice. He said that breeding Halflings like they were cattle or something was against what they were fighting for. He declared them a new race."
Dean was still looking through, trying to process what he had just heard. It sort of made sense what she meant by their purpose. She was referring to when her kind were bred to do things that even she would frown upon. "So that's what she meant huh?"
Sam came to the same conclusion. "I think so. Dean you know how she is at least in terms of not seeing herself as worthy as Kuran saw them."
"She should think of herself better. I mean we don't treat her that way, do we Sam?"
Sam shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think so. I think she's changed a little in that regard. Besides I think most of her thoughts are brought on by stuff she did before she met us." Sam finally got up and started grabbing his back and tossed what he would need into it. "Sorry about leaving you to do the heavy lifting."
Dean put his finger in the spot to hold it. Looking around, he found a piece of paper and slipped it in. He put it in his pack deciding to read more later. He replied, "You implying something Sasquatch?"
"Not unless you are… Shorty."
Dean sprung onto his freakishly huge brother and tried to wrestle him to the ground. He was grinning as he said, "Take it back Sammy."
Sam grinned, "No way Dean."
The two wrestled around until Bobby shouted at them to stop trying to bring the whole house down. They promptly stopped and finished their packing. They were treating this like going on the road for any other job. A few more insults were swapped as they finished.
Angela sat on her bed with her computer pad propped on its case stand. She was looking at the face of someone she hadn't seen since he was a boy. Time had a funny way of changing people on all levels and for her it was like getting a surprise ever few years and maybe a few decades. She sat cross legged on her bed and propped her chin on her hands and her elbows were propped on her knees. She was saying, "I am sorry to hear about your father Hakim. He was always a man of honor."
"He would say the same thing about you except he called you a woman. He loved to tell me the stories of your scrapes together. His favorite was the chupracaba in Canada," Hakim replied looking at her on his video link.
Angela stared back at the image. The boy was growing into the man his father wanted him to be. "Yes I remember. He saved me by being young a foolish for once in his life. So what to I owe the pleasure? I got your letter and it said that it was urgent."
Dean had given her a letter that had come while she was upstairs after he shouted at her before running up to hand the thing over to her. Of course Bobby has his two cents worth to say and she didn't say anything since it was his house. Once she made it back to her room, she took a good look at it.
She recognized the symbol since that was used as the logo for the tournament but not the one who sent it. It was only upon opening it that she realized who it was that sent the letter. She had gone and grabbed her computer and set up the link and now she was sitting across from a very old friend.
Hakim looked at the face that hadn't aged one bit. He truly marveled at the Chaser ability to age like their full blooded relatives but she was always a beautiful one. His father had said it was rarer than the most precious gems ever found on this earth. He used to spy on her and the others as a boy and he could never forget how the men would fall over themselves for a chance to win her affections. She never bit though. It led him to believe that she was like one of the rare goddesses.
Of course those were childish fantasies. Still she was like how he remembered. He hoped though that she would understand what he was trying to do. He began, "As you know, Father has been trying to return the Tournament of Souls to what it once was back in the days before the ancient world."
"I had heard rumors but I didn't quite believe it. At least not with all the others who turned it into another gambling sport," Angela replied.
"Yes. Well I took over his dream and made it my own. Since it is our responsibility as one of the families chosen to host the tournament, I have decided to turn the event back to the glory days. Much like your human Olympics the combatants will be fighting for pride and honor."
Angela thought it sounded too good to be true. It could have been the cynic in her talking but she knew Hakim and his father had been trying for years. The last she heard he managed to get one other family out of the other five to see his way. If Hakim had been successful in persuading the other families to make the change and restore the spirit of the tournament, the ones that came after the ancient wars, then maybe… Still she had to be cautious. "Very noble Hakim but last I heard only one of the other five families agreed to this. From experience I can tell you that giving up power is much more difficult to swallow."
"I agree. That is why the other five families have decided to hold off their tournaments in order to observe ours. The heads of those families will be in attendance as guests of honor. I know that our traditions dictate that all the families and their tournaments should be held at the same time but I think that if I could show them what has been forgotten and maybe appeal to that old honor…"
Angela gave a slight smile that was almost wry. It was very noble but also very political in some ways. Hakim was too young to understand the implications but he understood enough about the power pride held over men. She had to give him credit for that. "Because the heads are older and grew up leaning it and you figure they will grasp the meaning of it by watching the bouts. Very good Hakim."
"I had a good teacher."
"Your father certainly knew people."
"I was referring to you and your negotiations over the land dispute for that one tournament in the Middle East a few years back. Father knew how to talk to people but you know how to read them. You were a good team," Hakim replied.
Angela remembered that. That was the start of getting one of the other five families to be on his side. She nodded in remembrance. "So your plan is to have all the heads of the families there."
"Yes and you can probably see the problem," Hakim replied, "There are some people outside the families who do not want this to happen. They will be willing to do anything to sabotage the event to the point where all honor and glory is lost."
Angela could see where this was going. Surely Hakim knew that she already had someone participating in the event. Technically she couldn't unless… She had to hear him out before jumping to conclusions. "So what are you asking Hakim?"
"I know that you have a student in the tournament so I cannot ask you to be a combatant." Hakim thought this was the hardest thing ever to ask. As a boy, he had learned a few things from her such as what it meant to be a warrior and that there was more to it than the fighting for glory. She was the one who explained honor to him. Sighing he spoke, "I am asking if you are willing to be the exhibition fighter; for the match before the championship."
It was a tall order. Those chosen for that fight were selected from warriors and all with more or less illustrious careers as champions for the mortals. The unofficial name for it was the champion's exhibition. It was no holds barred to show off talent and no killing. Angela looked off at nothing in particular and then back at the screen. "You want me to do this?"
"I want you to but I am asking. I know you haven't been as enthusiastic about this for some time now but if you, and forgive me, you, the Malachi of Absolution, were to stand up and fight, it would show the heads of the families…"
"It would show them what it means to fight with honor especially if it came from someone well known in that area," Angela interrupted. She suspected that was what Hakim was going to ask of her. She could say no since there were literally half a dozen others she could name and Hakim would go to him because he trusted her judgment. However she knew the boy's father's dream and she knew Hakim wasn't in this to make a name for himself. Hell she had taught him that as much when he was a boy.
The choice seemed easy but it was difficult for Angela. Fighting she didn't have a problem with. It was the fact that her actually being there could be taken the wrong way; as in terms of politics. Then there was the issue of having the five heads there themselves. If there were outside parties that were interested in making sure that the spirit of the tournament is defiled and broken, then Hakim was going to need help. Of course that meant asking Dean and Bobby to play spectator and investigator; something that wouldn't sit well with them especially when Sam's turn was up.
Angela looked over to where her closet was. Bobby gave her a room and she more or less was a permanent fixture when she wasn't traveling with the boys. In that closet was something she hadn't worn since she last participated in a tournament and that was the real deal. She could hear the crowds and the smacking of limbs and weapons in her mind and the chorus at the end. She then looked back at Hakim and said, "Alright. I will do it for the spirit of the tournament."
"That is what I hoped you would say."
"Hakim you know it's not going to be enough with just me being around there. You have to have security for the five heads. I know that ancient law states the location of the tournament is to be neutral territory but you know that there is the incentive for loopholes."
"I am with you on that. I have ordered the guards of my family to be diligent in their duties regarding the other families and plus I have someone who knows a thing or two about the law coming by. But I am seeing that you have something else in mind."
"I do and I better not say anything now. There is a little something I have to do. I will see you within a day." Angela made to turn off the connection but decided to part with a little joke like she used to with him. "You know I find it strange or rather a coincidence that the tournament is being held in the deserts of Texas?"
"Tradition since the first was held in what is now called Egypt," Hakim replied. "I look forward to seeing you again in person Wosret."
Angela chuckled as the screen when black to indicate the end of the chat. It had been years since Hakim called her that. It was something that became a joke between them. When he was a boy, he had been studying Egypt and the gods that were associated with the tournament and he had just been reading about Wosret, a local guardian goddess and protector of Horus. When they were introduced he though she was the goddess incarnate. It had been a funny moment for her but embarrassing for his father. She had been quick to assure him though that she was not offended.
Sighing off the memory, she went to the closet and opened it. On the floor was a trunk. It wasn't the steamer trunks that were typical of say the 1920s but rather one of those old trunks from the Middle Ages. The funny thing was that it was way older than that and made of craftsmanship that disappeared when the land of its creation sank into the ocean… or so the stories are told. It was special though in that the very wood itself was said to preserve anything that was kept in it and that was mostly by the spells and sigils put upon it. It was something that would take a normal human a near lifetime to acquire but this was given to her as a gift.
She slowly undid the locks and opened the chest. It was almost cliché of opening the treasure chest and the dust flying about. Dean would get a kick out of that no doubt since he liked old movies though she knew Westerns were his especial favorite. She humored him when he went into the inaccuracies that Hollywood employed and just agreed or give a 'that's nice' comment. What she had in that trunk was the real deal stuff.
Reaching in, she fingered the items in there, recalling the memories easily. It sounded contradictory in terms of the fighting part and she was one not to fight. She used it for defense only and that was pretty much her job description period. It was difficult to describe but her father once said that true warriors knew when to fight and when not to fight and when they had to fight, they fought towards a better solution. Maybe what Hakim was trying to do would show promise.
Angela fingered the materials as she looked over at the nearly finished project draped on her desk chair. She had been working on it late at night the past several days and was going to give it as a surprise. Peering at it and then glancing in the chest, she gave a slight hum. Apparently memory has a way of making an appearance.
Looking at the things in the chest, Angela made up her mind. She was going to have to do a major sell job on Dean and Bobby though she could use her one persuasion weapon that worked on all three men in the house. She put the materials back down and closed the lid of the trunk. Picking it up, she hauled it down the stairs over her shoulder with a little bounce into her step.
It was early evening when everything was loaded in the van that Bobby kept for such cases. Dean was surprised that they were able to fit everything in the thing and there was room for people back there. He looked inside and said, "Damn Angie you sure know how to pack."
"Just thinking of it like any other case," Angela replied as she checked her trunk. It was secure but she didn't want anything to happen to the other stuff in the van.
Dean chuckled as he downed a gulp of beer, "You got a secret weapon in there?"
Angela smiled as she stroked the wood lovingly, "Just something I haven't taken a look at in a long time. It's for the exhibition. I was asked." She checked the bindings one more time to make sure that they were secure. She then placed her duffle over it creating a nice cushion space for it. Next to it she made sure the medical supplies were secure; all in an attempt to not look at Dean while he thought about what she had said.
"I thought you weren't allowed and you didn't seem particularly enthusiastic about even going and have been treating this as an obligation ever since you tried to get Sam out of it in the beginning." Dean frowned a little in confusion. He knew that Angela avoided a fight if she could.
Angela finished what she was doing and turned to look at Dean. "Well I considered it an obligation because it has turned into something like modern sports. Fighters are given money, and all that hoopla. Things were different before."
"Sam mentioned that you knew a thing or two about that."
Angela hopped out of the van and shut the door. "Actually I fought in one and I'm sure he mentioned that I said it was the real deal."
Dean gave a slight nod. "Said something like that. So it was…?"
"Fight for the right to land. Diplomacy failed and the warlord wanted the land. He called for a challenge. I fought him. He ended up dying but not by my hand."
"That's a relief. Angie about how your kind came to be, is that what you meant about purpose?" It came out awkward but it was either him or Sam that was going to ask the question sooner or later. Might as well be now.
"I see somebody has been eavesdropping," Angela replied with a slight smile, "Then again I knew you were listening. It was, Dean. That was before I found out what was going on with the tournament."
"So I take it that it is good news?"
Angela nodded as she started back towards the house with Dean in tow. She had one more thing to get. "Well I know the family that is hosting it. His father started the ball rolling a few years ago but little Hakim is taking the reins and well finishing what his father started."
"Nice to see you not as moody," Sam called out as he walked through the study. In his hand he had the pad that she had removed from the Camaro. "I fixed it though I am surprised that you couldn't do it yourself." He handed over the pad.
"Oh I could do it," Angela replied as she looked over the specs that Sam set. "I just get a kick out of making you do it." She looked up with a smile on her face.
Dean couldn't help but laugh even though he had been had with her getting him to help load the van. "I warned ya Sammy. She's giving you a run for your money."
"Whatever, jerk," Sam replied realizing that she did exactly what he would do when he wanted something really bad from Dean. That was how he persuaded him to invite her along.
"Hey, she's good with the puppy look and she can hand you your ass."
"I would call this morning a draw," Angela replied as she looked at the pad. Sam did a good job with the GPS settings. Of course Bobby was going to say something but it would make the trip interesting. "And I heard that he made you tap out Dean."
"Technicality."
"Still a win," Angela countered with a teasing grin.
"Christo," Sam muttered with a slight smile. At her reaction he replied, "Hey the sudden mood change is suspicious. It's almost like you are planning to join in the tournament or something."
"Actually yes. The exhibition bout," Angela replied. "I was asked and I said yes… more or less. It's not an ideal thing but if it convinces the other five families then…" She gave a slight shrug of her shoulder. She didn't have to explain what she meant since she had been going over rules and protocol by night and training by day the last few days. "Well I guess that's everything." She gave a slight pat on the shoulder to both boys and went to find Bobby.
Sam looked at Dean who simply said, "Don't look at me. She's the one in the good mood."
A/N: Some history and memories come alive and Angie just is bouncing around. It's off to the tournament! Stay tuned for the next chapter of Warrior's Honor...