Chapter 6
Angela hit the ground hard. It was enough to bruise her shoulder and she felt her teeth click together. She looked up with a narrowed look, growled and was back on her feet and poised to strike. She sprung forward giving roar as she swung hard and wide. She was determined to hit her target this time and she wasn't going to go down without a fight.
"Come on. Give it your best shot."
Angela growled as she charged at what was nothing but a memory but it was a painful one. It was what she had come to expect and no doubt it was because Lucifer was involved. He pulled things from the past and used them to torment them on a mental and emotional level; they were twisted versions of what had happened. You could say that they were nightmares and certainly acted like them. It certainly explained why they were mostly from inside hers and Sam's head. Lucifer rode Sam to the prom and with her… he had seen what happened in the dream realm.
This was a rather large brute that had been a solider back in the days of the revolutions. Swords and muskets were the weapon of choice and this particular guy was the kind to not really need it since he was big and strong but he did learn tactics and other skills. His biggest strength was that he had monster strength but it was also his weakness. She ducked under a swipe he attempted that would have lopped off her head. She pivoted and swung her blade and was promptly blocked and countered with another strike.
She landed on her feet, bending her legs at the knees to absorb the weight. Her heels barely touched the ground as most of the weight was on the balls of her feet. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at her opponent. Her hair whipped in the wind as she stood poised with her sword ready to strike as she looked at her opponent.
The guy was ready to come after her and made to charge. All of a sudden he moaned and slumped over and fell to the ground. Angela raised her brow slightly and relaxed her stance but only slightly. She straightened up when the guy was down but continued to hold her blade just in case something came out as she walked over to where Adam and Sam were on the ground with a few more scratches and abrasions that were bleeding. She kneeled by them and put a hand on Sam since he seemed to have taken the worst. "Are you all right?"
"I'm good."
Angela wasn't convinced. Since they had been left there, it had been a constant fight for survival. They barely had a moment to catch their breath before they were attacked again. Adam had abandoned his sling for a makeshift staff, which was better since he could swing it. It helped but not much since the enemies seemed to get stronger the longer they were in there. Angela knew that it was getting to the point where she was going to have to get creative and possibly use what she rarely used unless necessary.
Standing up, she looked around and adjusted her head to listen. She provided cover as Sam and Adam stood up. She noted that they were near exhaustion and she was feeling it too. She was panting even though it came out like easy breaths. It was then that she heard it. The growl followed by a piercing howl that she was hoping to never hear again.
"What was that?"
Angela shifted to look at Adam who was looking in the general direction of the howl. Sam was starting to shake a little. He knew what it was just like she did. Her eyes widened as she listened. Shifting sharply she looked at Sam and Adam and said, "Run. Now!"
The words were barely out of her mouth when it came out of the brush. It was extremely large and had three heads. Sam took a step back and couldn't help but breath, "Cerebus."
It was Cerebus and he was charging forward. He was in full hell hound glory and completely visible. While it was a good thing to see him, it wasn't necessarily a good thing since he was out to kill. It had Sam stunned and Adam gaping in disbelief since they had known nothing but the friendly, protective nature of the hell hound that became like a Wilder and had sired two puppies who were the next generation of Wilder hounds. They couldn't believe that he was going to attack.
Cerebus bared his teeth on all his heads and poised to attack, his gaze on Sam. Sam knew that if he were to start running, Cerebus would chase him. It was a basic instinct with predators. You showed your back and it invited a chase. Right now though he was stark scared of the hell hound. He took a tentative step backwards and that was all that was needed.
Cerebus charged and the intent was to kill. Sam stepped back just as Adam did since they were in the line of fire. They could run but that wouldn't do them any good. Hell hounds, once they got your scent, they chased you until they had you. You could hold them off with goofer dust but that was not a permanent solution. The only way to get them off your tail was to kill them but that was only if you managed to stay out of reach of their teeth, noxious breath and fierce claws. And from where Sam was standing, that wasn't likely. He held up his staff ready to try and defend against himself. He heard the roar but the tackle never came.
Sam lowered his arms and took a look. He saw Angela standing in front of him and Adam and Cerebus was flying backwards through the air. From her stance, he determined that she had done some sort of sweeping gesture, maybe with her sword to knock him back. Another look had him see that her blade was in one hand and it hadn't even did a move. He blinked as she stood there in the follow through of her attack.
Angela hadn't meant to go that far but since it was Cerebus, she had to use the stronger attacks to knock him away. Even though she had trained in combat arts, she had been schooled in other arts, some that would have had the hunters after her. It was a basic deflective spell that could repel attacks but could be used as a weapon. Well she figured it out and managed to convert it into a weapon as she was using it now.
Looking at Cerebus landing hard on the ground she gritted her teeth and barked out, "Cerebus, down!"
The hell hound landed hard on its shoulder and shook its three heads. He turned the middle one towards her and the other two followed suit and looked at her. When she barked her order it paused a moment and stared at her. He slowly got to his feet while growling.
Sam managed to process what happened and whispered, "Angie…"
"It's Cerebus. They've done something to him." Angela gritted her teeth as she glared ahead. She was brought back to the memory of when she first faced off with the hell hound and what he did to her arm. She had purified him from the demon taint. Was she to do this again? She looked at the huge beast as he glared and bared his teeth at her.
"Yeah," Adam countered as he took a couple of steps back. "I'll say. Looks like the mutt turned on his owner."
Angela heard the words but she didn't want to believe it. She knew that there were risks in any venture. Even Cerebus was susceptible but she never considered the possibility that Lucifer and Michael would torture him and turn him into a beast of hell like he had been before. Now she was faced with that possibility and the risk would end up with injuries that made falling into a ravine look like a sky diving trip and that was without the parachutes. Hell hounds were a different story and Angela wasn't prepared to do that again. But she had little choice.
Cerebus had gotten to his feet and had shaken his head. He looked at the three of them and began to growl low and bare his teeth. He took a step forward but was beckoned to stay back. He slathered and barked and growled. He tried again but something held him back.
Angela grunted as Cerebus' barks and growls grew intense. He was fighting against the alpha code. It made sense since he was one in his own right. Alphas were the ones that resisted and fought. The others followed and obeyed but even one with alpha ability submitted to the alpha that was stronger. That was the basics of pack behavior courtesy of her spending time with Lycan and his family. The intricate parts… that was something else entirely and one that was now a head on fight. She looked at the hell hound as he tried to take another step forward. She pressed her palm forward towards the hell hound and repeated her command, "Down!"
Cerebus strained as his front end went down. He growled and snarled. He pressed, trying to get up but couldn't. It was like something was pushing him down. His rear was still up giving the impression he was going to pounce. He glared at Angela as he tried again to get to his feet but couldn't. His barks came out like roars.
Angela panted as she held her hand up. She kept her gaze on the hell hound. She almost had him. She pressed her hand forward to keep it up but her shoulders began to tremble. She really was low on energy and probably had shown more bravado than smarts on this, but she wasn't going to give hose two dicks with wings satisfaction.
"Angie," Sam's voice entered from behind.
Angela gave a slight grunting pant, "I'm okay. Just… run. If I can't hold him…"
Sam looked at Angela and then Cerebus. The hell hound was straining and it looked like he was trying hard to break free and pretty much succeeding. But if… "No Angie," he protested.
Angela gave a sharp look at Sam and countered, "Run. Now!"
Sam hesitated at the look she was giving him. It was one she hadn't shot him or Dean before. He knew that she was being serious. But he couldn't leave her. Not after they were reunited and without the torturous hallucinations that were way too real. If he left… "I can't."
"Do it Sam," Angela replied as she focused her attention on Cerebus. She gritted her teeth as she strained to hold her stance. "You know what will happen if he gets your scent." She spared a glance at him. "Please."
Sam balked but he got her request. He didn't want to and it pained him to do so. He didn't want to lose her. All of a sudden the dream he had over the last few years flashed through his mind. They were always different, a different foe and different conditions, but they always ended up with the same manner. It had him gasp as he felt he could see what was going to happen.
Please, Sam. Run!
Sam was jerked out of what he had been seeing by Adam grabbing him and urging him to follow. Blinking, Sam realized that Cerebus was still straining but there seemed to be a buildup of pressure. He looked at Angela as she held on to the submission pose. He didn't want to leave but he had little choice since Adam was pulling him away. He could only watch as Angela strained against the pull Cerebus was doing. He managed to whisper, "Be careful."
Angela gritted her teeth to hold back Cerebus as Adam pulled Sam away. She felt a little bad for manipulating Adam by talking in his head but she had to get Sam out of there. She knew that one way or another someone was going to die at the hands of the other and she wasn't going to let them get caught in the crossfire. Even though they were all going to be beaten down by Lucifer and Michael, she would protect them as best as she could.
Cerebus growled and snapped as he finally managed to get to his feet. Angela widened her eyes slightly at that. He was a strong alpha. Then again that was what he was bred for. He was to guard the gates of Tartarus. He was Hades' especially pet. He was supreme except for probably one other hell hound in existence. That meant…
"Cerebus, I command you, down!"
Cerebus snarled and snapped as it looked like that something slammed from above onto his shoulders. He still remained on his feet as he snarled at her. He pushed back but it was like slamming into a wall as he resisted the command. With a final push, he was free and he charged forward.
Angela knew that it was only a matter of time before Cerebus broke free. Alphas were supposed to fight. It was in their nature since they never submitted willingly. She straightened slightly as Cerebus snarled at his freedom and charged forward. She still held her hand out since it would slow him down but she knew that it was going to come to a head. This would force her into doing something that she didn't want to do but it seemed that she wasn't to get her wish. She looked at Cerebus as he charged. She narrowed her eyes as she brought up her left arm while her right was extended. As soon as Cerebus was close enough, she swiped down her left and said, "Strike."
Adam didn't know where he was going. All he knew was that he had to obey the prompting in his head that said to take Sam and run. He didn't like that Sam was resisting him and yanked harder since his half-brother was larger than he was. He just had to keep going.
"Adam… wait."
Adam felt Sam's hand slip from his grasp and he stopped. All of a sudden the prompting was gone. He gasped slightly and looked around. They were still in the arena; that was clear enough since the look was like a forest. He turned to see Sam out of breath and doubled over while trying to catch his breath. He looked around and asked, "What just happened?"
Sam caught his breath and looked at Adam. He saw that he was looking confused at the whole thing. It was genuine confusion and had Sam think about it. It was then that it hit him.
Strong enough to make you do something against your will and I can make it so you have no idea what you were doing.
Show me.
No.
Sam closed his eyes and sighed. Then he opened them and looked at Adam and replied, "She had you drag us out of there."
"What?"
Sam tried to explain, "She managed to convince you to grab me and run from Cerebus. She… uh…"
"She was in my head," Adam said in a quiet tone. He looked at the ground and then at Sam. "I heard her. She said that we needed to run in order to escape the hell hound's scent before he caught us. I said no and that we wouldn't leave her behind."
Sam straightened up. He didn't know Adam well except that he was John Winchester's third son and he wasn't even sure if what the ghoul had revealed had been true. Also Adam had seemed skeptical and resentful of him and Dean when he was resurrected. He didn't say anything but let Adam speak.
"The next thing I knew was warmth and it was in my head." Adam gave a lopsided smile and looked at Sam. "Can you imagine that? Even when she uses her powers it is warm."
Sam wasn't sure about that. He couldn't remember too much if any use of her powers. She always preferred to fight with her fists. Then again… he recalled all what she had done in terms of talking, and soothing bruised egos, souls and hurts. He remembered how she was when she admitted what she had done with Madison and how she looked at him and Dean. He hadn't seen clearly her expression since he had been so angry at the time.
Adam looked at Sam's thoughtful expression and commented, "She's never used it on you, has she?"
"No."
Adam grew thoughtful about that. He then turned to look at nothing in particular. "I guess it's because desperate times." He looked at Sam and added, "She really cares about you. It was the only reason she was here. I just happened to be a tagalong."
"She won't think of you like that."
"Really?" Adam looked at Sam. "Are you saying that even if you two weren't together, she would have jumped into hell because of me?"
"You'd be surprised," Sam countered. He took a couple of deep breaths. "She was willing to give her life to save a boy from being a werewolf. She knew of a cure and with it came the price of a life. The life of one of her kind and she is only half. She almost died and has died because she did what she believed in." He looked down as he remembered the times she had died and nearly died since hooking up with him and Dean.
Adam looked at Sam. There was no deceit in that. True he and Angela had talked before this mess. But he still felt resentment that she was pursuing Sam and bringing them closer to danger. Yet she had kicked Michael out of his body and kept whatever Lucifer and Michael threw at them away. She was more beat up than him and Sam combined and yet she was still fighting to protect them. Sam was right on that account. He nodded and replied, "I know. It just has me wonder why she didn't use her powers on you."
Sam had to wonder that too. He trusted her if she had to do that but it seemed like she was trying to avoid using her abilities on him or Dean. He had seen her use it on others. It was a puzzle to think about. At the moment his thoughts were consumed with what she was doing. As if to answer his thoughts, there was a loud crash. He turned in the direction of it.
Adam turned in the direction of the crash. It felt like something was pounding in his chest. He gasped as he felt the pulse in his feet. "What was that?"
"That… was the sound of the inevitable."
Sam and Adam turned in the direction of the voice. Both took a step back to see a duplicate of Sam coming out. It was an exact copy of Sam but a few things were different. For one, there were no injuries on his person and second… the eyes. The eyes were pitch black much like that which appeared on demons. It had Sam catch a sound in his throat and Adam took an involuntary step backwards. Sam managed to speak, "What do you mean?"
"What I said," the Sam doppelganger said, "The inevitable." He looked at the pair head on and grinned, "And that is death." He then gave a sweeping motion of his arm.
Sam and Adam flew through the air each hitting a tree. To Sam it felt like getting slammed down on his back but that was the least of his worries since his double didn't bother pinning them but rather let them drop and it was a few good feet from where he hit to the ground. He landed with a thud and it felt like he broke something though he probably already did. He heard Adam grunt and cry out in pain. He tried to look for him but felt a hand grabbed around his neck and he was lifted off his feet and slammed into the tree.
"Of course I didn't say whose death," the dark double said with a grin. He looked at Sam, "Though I think it is obvious. It was only pure luck she survived the first time with that beast."
Sam struggled since the hand squeezed on his neck. He didn't really think about how it was like for her when she first went against Cerebus. He had seen the end results but mostly the dislocated arm. He never saw the bite mark but he did see the faint scar that she said was a tooth mark. Dean never spoke a word of it and he figured that it had been bad and he wasn't going to put his brother through it again. He didn't believe that it was luck that had her get the better of a hell hound let alone be able to train its offspring to hunt. Besides anything that was from luck you had to wait until the other shoe dropped. That was how it worked with them. He looked at his double and grunted, "Wasn't luck."
The dark double peered at Sam with a bored expression. "Hmm? Not luck you say? Then… is this luck?" He then flung Sam aside where he collided with Adam who had managed to get to his feet. The dark double laughed at the collision. "Now that felt good."
Sam grunted along with Adam as they struggled to get to their feet. Sam was pissed and he growled out, "Would you just quit the double act, Lucifer?!"
The dark double chuckled and replied, "I could but I think it's fun being like this." He crossed his arms over his chest and grinned, "But then again…" He snapped a finger and changed his appearance, "This would bring insult to injury, don't you think?"
Sam and Adam looked at the fallen angel and blinked at the transformation. Sam felt a shiver trickle down his spine. Not this again. He took and involuntary step back. He wanted to stay and fight but he also wanted to bolt. He felt his insides quaking.
"What's the matter, Sam?" Lucifer grinned at Sam. He gestured at the form that he had taken. "This is only to get you in the mood. And little brother too." He looked at Adam with a speculative look.
Sam felt his body shake. He stared at Lucifer and shut his eyes. He couldn't stand it when Lucifer took her form. It was… "Don't do this," he muttered.
Lucifer merely chuckled as Sam's discomfort as he inched closer towards Adam. He put his arm around the younger one and teased, "Now tell me you find this form more to your liking?"
Adam had been just as shocked as Sam seeing Lucifer change from being Sam's dark double to being a seductive version of Angela. He barely noticed that Sam seemed to really freak out at the sight. He had to admit that it freaked him out as well since he was certain that Lucifer was a guy. Seeing him like a girl… It had him speechless and all that came out was an intelligible sound. He didn't know what to think and he could tell that Sam was completely terrorized by it.
Lucifer grinned at the pair as he put an arm around Adam's shoulder. His hand started playing with Adam in a seductive way as he teased, "Now tell me you didn't think about me doing this. Or should I say her?" He leaned in to almost whisper into Adam's ear. "You know you wanted her for yourself."
Adam made a sound and tried to pull away. He was held in place by Lucifer cooing at him. It was hard to think of him as the devil since he looked like Angela. Everything, down to her curves was perfect. He stiffened and leaned back and a squeak came out of his mouth.
"Leave him alone."
Lucifer looked over to see Sam giving a firm stance. That was surprising turn of events since he had his fun with Sam in this this form. He grinned, "So you decided to stand up to me?"
Sam was still quaking on the inside as he looked at Lucifer's most effective form of torture but he maintained his stance. He knew this wasn't the real one but he had seen one too many fake ones and Lucifer always used his memories against him when he wanted to have fun. Taking a deep breath he replied, "Leave my brother alone."
Lucifer, thoroughly aroused by Sam asserting himself, shoved Adam to the side, not caring that he fell. He took a few steps forward to get in front of Sam. He didn't change out of his form since he was going to have fun with this. "You really want to take me on? You couldn't even fight her. What makes you think you can this time?"
Sam narrowed his eye and threw a punch. It caught Lucifer across the face but it didn't faze the fallen angel a bit. In fact Lucifer laughed at him for that and called it pathetic. In the end Sam found himself grabbed and his arms wrenched behind him with Lucifer rubbing his hands on Sam's body making Sam struggle. He added a few pressure points and stabs with an iron poker. Sam tried to get away but it wasn't working.
"Stop struggling Sam. You know what happens with that."
Sam started trembling at that. He knew full well what it meant. He begged, "Please. Don't."
Lucifer chuckled as he looked down at Sam. "I think I'll do something more delightful with little brother. He wanted her too." He put a hand on Sam with a patronizing pat and seductive rub. "Of course she'll be a mere memory by now."
Sam looked up at Lucifer. He really didn't like that he was looking like her. He narrowed his eyes in anger. Even though he knew what this meant. Enough was enough. He straightened up and prepared to charge.
A/N: Looks like Lucifer turned Cerebus and Angie is holding him off for Sam and Adam to escape but it looks like Lucifer has other ideas. Stay tuned for next time on Let the Games Get Bloody...