Chapter 7

The crunching of dirt and rocks under his boots was wearing thin on his nerves but Dean kept going. He was going to make it to that aurora borealis thing in the sky. It actually reminded him a little of when he and Sam did their stint in heaven trying to avoid Zachariah and his goons. At least there was none of that but it seemed that he was destined to come across the choices he had made, a few being dark secrets, and he had to negotiate his way around them.

Looking up ahead, he saw Angela. He really was shocked by the look she was sporting since this look did make her look like one of those rebellious teenagers and such. But it was still her because it was the sassy sauciness that he knew so well. He still didn't buy that she was assuming something that he could relate to but he was willing to go with it. He took another couple of steps and asked, "How much further?"

"Depends on you, Dean," Angela replied gesturing at him as she lounged against a boulder. "You're the one that has to find the inner gate to your soul."

"And why would I want to do that?"

Angela studied Dean. He was being a little petulant at the moment and while she could be amused, she wasn't. She evened her breathing and replied, "You want to save Sam, do you? This is the way to do it." She turned and started walking up the hill.

"But that doesn't explain why I need to do it," Dean pointed out, trying not to get angry since that would get him out of breath faster than him running around. "I don't have any badass powers like you and Sam swore off demon blood. So what good does it do me?"

Angela was quiet for a moment as she continued up the hill. It was enough to get Dean annoyed thinking that she wasn't going to answer him. He got it that she knew things and had a past. Who the hell didn't? But he wanted a straight answer from her on this and maybe he should have thought about the implications of what she was asking him to do before jumping into willingly and without looking. But that was because he trusted her.

"You and Sam have the annoying penchant for surviving against the odds. Even coming back from the dead," Angela finally replied.

"Yeah so?"

Angela stopped and turned to look at Dean. She eyed him and asked, "And why do think it is that? Why you and your brother and no one else who has the same bloodlines? What Castiel told you previously about certain bloodlines… not even half of it."

"What so you're saying that we have powers like you?"

Angela snorted at that, "Not in this lifetime, Dean." She chuckled since it was hilarious to her. "You don't have powers per se but... You know about magic right?"

Dean frowned, trying to make sense of it, "Yeah."

"Think of magic like the Force," Angela pointed out, "It is in every being. Back before the world was as we know it through history, people practiced magic openly or could use magical tools with ease. Within time, it fell out of favor and is now feared and hated but it still exists. Why else can you and Bobby do spells with the right ingredients?"

"I think I get the point. The whole Force in all of thing."

Angela nodded in approval, "That is what it is with the power of the soul. Every being has one. The soul is a source of tremendous power, capable of things that are best left for legends and fairy tales. Those that can tap into it even with the faintest touch… I've seen people who should've died get out of scrapes. It is more like a sixth sense and instincts."

"So…" Dean puzzled out what he was going to say so he didn't sound like a total doofus. "This is just making my sixth sense better?"

Angela gave a slight smile, "In a manner of speaking. The soul has power but experience and taints lock it away behind a door and sometimes doors beyond doors. If you can open one… your spiritual awareness increases."

Dean thought about it for a moment but it was seriously way over his head and he admitted it, "This is seriously way out there and too new agey for me but… I'm still going. If only to get back Sam."

"As long as you know the basics, that will suffice," Angela replied as she turned around to continue up the mountain they were climbing. "Of course it depends on the amount of doors you have stashed here."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Like I said, some have doors upon doors. Some with more locks and harder to break into than others."

Dean raised his brow, "So facing every choice I made including selling my soul for my brother is a door?"

Angela paused to think about it. "No. Those are more like your own obstacles than actual doors. You will know the door when you come to it. I suspect that mostly you have to face the fundamental three: face your enemy, face yourself and your fear."

"Fundamental three?"

"The core of every breakthrough in terms of enlightenment. What is making a difference if challenges are not met?"

Dean grumbled at the fact that for every question he had, she answered with a question. She was taking the guide thing very seriously and it was grating but he got the point. She was only trying to help and it was how she operated in general. She made him and Sam work for the answers rather than telling, insisting that knowledge gained through work made it valuable. It was no wonder that Bobby liked her as much as he did.

"You know that knowledge has more power…"

"When it is earned," Dean finished, grumbling, "I know. You use it often enough when you want me and Sam to work for it."

Angela turned and gave a grin at Dean before turning back to keep going. "And it works every time."

They continued on in silence to conserve energy up the mountain. When they reached a fairly level surface they slowed. It was like being on a plateau but there was little to no vegetation. It was definitely meant to be what it was. Angela sat on a rock and pulled her legs up to relax and started meditating. She closed her eyes and tuned out everything else.

Dean shook his head at her as he walked around, taking a look at everything. There wasn't much to look at and it looked like he was seeing the same things over and over since there was nothing but rocks and dirt. He had always thought that spirit journeys were like through the forest and the whole frolicking with the animals thing. He didn't expect this but he was making the most of it and the best that he could. He worked on evening his breathing as he walked around, surveying the clearing that they had come to. He was concerned that they had been there too long.

It seemed like a rest stop before they got back up and continued. Later they managed to be traveling through a gorge canyon. The high walls of the cliff made it nearly impossible to get out unless you were a really skilled climber. Dean studied them and noted how it could easily trap them. He kept his opinions to himself and followed the trail until he heard something. At least he thought he heard something and stopped.

"Something wrong?"

Dean looked at Angela wondering why she was asking that when she was the one with super hearing. Then he realized that she was letting him take the lead. Okay fine. He would work with that. He moved ahead listening and looking around. He really didn't like this area at all. He didn't like that Angela was standing there and looking at him expectantly. Patience was not one of his strong suits.

He walked around when he heard the slight crumbling of rock that was too loud to be a natural drop. His muscles tensed as he moved forward to where he had heard it. And it was to an outcropping that looked like a cave. He had no light and he didn't want to go in but… there was noise. Might as well. Being himself he reached in and grabbed a hold of whoever was in there and yanked them out.

The body rolled across the ground and Dean stared at it ready to fight when he was attacked from behind or rather grabbed. He reacted by grabbing the offender's arm and then delivering a blow to the midsection with his elbow. The grunt and the loosened hold gave him the advantage and he pulled his attacker forward and watched them fall on the ground with an oomph. He would have gone further but he recognized him as the kid that Angela had said was her first or whatever. He said, "You need to watch what you're doing kid."

Quentin turned to see Dean offering a hand up. He gave a slight eye roll and replied, "And I would say the same but I guess that it isn't necessary." He gave a slight hop to his feet and dusted himself off. "I'm glad to see you though. I found everyone else and…" He had turned and paused, his eyes widening.

Dean followed his line of sight and could see why the kid was freaking out. There was the Angela that was accompanying him and the one that looked like how she did before they got into this spiritual stuff. It had him wary and he demanded, "Alright, what the hell is going on here, Angie?"

"Simple," Angela replied. She gestured to the newest edition, "We both are the same person."

The other Angela gave a pensive smile as she shifted her head making her look like a curious deer with the headdress and added, "Quentin completed his journey. As a shaman, not only do they have spiritual powers as healers and communicators but they are also guides for the warriors seeking to find their inner strength and to channel their gifts."

Dean looked at the pair and asked, "So…"

"We are the guide in this but we, I, was also going through a journey. I had to reconnect with a part of me that I have persistently kept buried out of fear because of the consequences."

It was way over Dean's head but he bought that it was one of those things that Angela did like going to the Gauntlet to get what she needed to help Sam. Quentin blinked and stared until he managed to get out, "So… I was your guide?"

"We were each other's." Both Angelas then looked towards the aurora borealis and frowned in a similar manner. The one dressed as a shaman said, "Your job is done, Quentin. Return to the land of waking and tell the tribe to move. Izhu knows where you are and she will be coming after my body." She shifted to look at Quentin.

"But…"

"Go." Both Angelas walked towards Quentin. At one point they seemed to fade out as they melded back together. She reached out and tapped Quentin's forehead saying, "Wake up."

Dean blinked as the kid disappeared like it was nothing. He had already been stunned by Angela's two selves melding back together. At least she looked normal. Her hair was how it was when she got back from hell but her outfit was different. It was like it was a mixture of clothing from the different eras, mainly from her coat she got at that hacienda and the deer hide clothing she made. "This is really out of there."

Angela turned to look at Dean and gave a smile, "It's a lot to take in. Believe me I was already crazy from the first time. Sometimes I still think I am."

"Not funny," Dean replied with a slight shake. He looked around and then asked, "So why the kid leave and not us?"

"You still have to finish."

"Right." Dean rolled his eyes slightly at that and sighed. He turned to look at the light he had been following. "So we're going to stay here until I open my door right?"

"Now you're getting the idea."

Dean blew a slight raspberry as he turned and started walking. "So what is it? Your fundamental three thing?"

"You have encountered the first two a number of times," Angela replied as she followed him like it was more of a stroll than a hike. She gave a lopsided grin as she caught up with Dean and walked side by side with him. "Most everyone does."

"So that leaves me with…" Dean paused when he realized that they were at the light. He blinked at it noting the coloring. He had heard Augusta talk about auras and the colors of them but this was something else. He looked around until he tracked a shadow and followed it down until his gaze lighted upon the most familiar figure he would ever know.

"Your greatest fear," Angela said in a somber tone.


The sound of thunder woke Sam and he opened his eyes. He found himself on the ground but it wasn't where he was being held. He looked like he was out in the middle of the desert. There was nothing but rocks and dirt, like a wash or dry riverbed. He looked around for any signs of a flash flood since the lightning and thunder were signs that a rainstorm was coming.

Don't worry about that. There are no storms in the sense you're thinking of.

Sam whirled around. He had heard it since it was loud and clear. "Where are you?" His voice came out demanding and gruff.

The question is, where are you?

Sam growled at that. He was tired of being toyed with and this was just threatening to make him explode. He looked around as the breeze played with his locks. "Where am I? What did you do?"

Don't you remember? You are in the Valley of the Dead.

"Valley of the Dead?"

The place where souls cross between waking and… dead.

Sam knew about astral projection. He had done that. This was different. It was implying that he was on the brink of death or someplace in between. Like that was any better. He took a couple of breaths and remembered the last thing that happened. He had been resisting whatever Izhu was planning to him in order to get back at Angela. She then hit him and… "What did you do?"

I sent you to the Valley to do something for me.

Sam snorted at that, "Yeah right. Like I'd do anything for you."

You don't have a choice.

Sam felt his left arm raise. He struggled against it but ultimately his arm was raised so he could see the marking on the top of his hand. He pulled a face at it as his wrist was released. He shook his limbs out more in defiance.

As I said, you don't have a choice.

"I won't do it."

You will.

Sam narrowed his eyes and stared upwards since it seemed like a good idea at the time. "I won't hurt my brother or Angela."

Don't you mean your mate?

Sam paused at that. He had forgotten that Izhu had looked at him closely and that her gaze lingered on his neck where Angela's mark was. He could lie but that hadn't gotten him very far. Rather it got him a punch in the face, gouges in his cheek and he probably had a bump on his head the size of an egg. So nope, lying wasn't going to help. He sensed that telling the truth wouldn't help either. Yet it was like the lesser of two evils. He choked out, "Yes."

So you do admit it. You bang a vampire on top of the werewolf and a demon.

Sam blanched at that. "Screw you," he retorted.

So much anger. And still you believe in her despite my best efforts to get you to see otherwise. You must be stupid.

"Angie is a good person," Sam huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "And I won't help you do whatever you are planning."

Yes you will. You will do what I want or you will face a punishment far worse than death.

"What is there?"

Spending eternity as my slave with you official dead on my side of the veil.

Sam snorted at that. It was pretty bad but it didn't compare to not having his brother or Angela by his side doing what they did as a family. If anything the part of him that remembered hell would think eternity in this place was a joyride. "Not impressed."

Not as impressive when you kill your brother and mate and have to watch them serve me.

Sam growled at that. No way was he going to let that happen but he was in a bind. He got the feeling that at least killing Angela was what Izhu wanted him to do. That he wouldn't do. He couldn't. He couldn't even when she told him to when Ares had them fight against each other. He could never see her as an enemy.

Are you done pouting?

Sam narrowed his eyes and looked around, "What do you want?"

There was no reply but something like an aurora borealis appeared revealing a pedestal with a gauche chalice on it. Sam approached it, not liking the possible implications of it. Once he got close enough, his nose did the rest. He could smell it and he violently backed away. "No. I'm not doing that."

You will do as I tell you.

"No. Not again." Sam backed away. There was no way that he was taking demon blood again. He had caused enough pain with that.

You have no choice.

Sam resisted and in the end was pulled by his arms. He looked like a comical rendition of the monster of Frankenstein but he wasn't amused. There wasn't anything amusing about it at all. He gritted his teeth against the pain in his arms as he pulled against the force yanking him towards the chalice to the point that his feet were dragging and making marks in the ground. He kept it up until he was leaning heavily on the stone slab.

Now drink.

"No."

Sam gritted his teeth as his arms maneuvered around the chalice. He refused to open his fingers thinking that he had the upper hand. He was in for a nasty surprise as it felt like his fingers were being pried open. He heard a crack and cried out as one of his fingers broke from the pressure. Finally his hands were open and his wrists were moving together until his hands were wrapped around the chalice. Sam gasped from the pain since he had a couple of broken fingers in there now as a result of his resistance.

Sam felt exhausted from struggling against getting his hands on the chalice. It wasn't over as his hands lifted to bring it to his mouth. Well there was one thing that Izhu bitch couldn't do and that was make him drink. He wanted to chuckle and laugh at the standstill that they were at. His hands held the chalice up to his mouth but he wasn't opening his mouth. She couldn't make him drink. No way.

The pain to his abdomen was intense as the memory of being beaten up by Joseph that werewolf. He felt the pain in his leg from it being ripped open and he fell to his knees and his mouth opened. In one fell swoop his arms raise dup and poured the blood into his mouth. Before he could try and spit it out, his hands had dropped the chalice and held his face to force him to swallow it. He fell to the ground panting and coughing since he almost choked on it.

I told you that you would do what I say.

Sam coughed again and tried to spit out what was left in his mouth. It wouldn't do much good since it was already in his system. He cursed and pounded his fist on the ground. Since there was nothing else to do, he tried to clamber back to his feet. When he put weight on his leg, he winced. He checked and there was no injury but it still felt like he had his leg sliced open again. He bent over and rubbed his calf, hissing at the pain.

Call it an incentive to do as you are told.

Sam spat into the ground. He didn't know if Izhu could see him or not but it made him feel better. It was just adding one more reason to slowly torture and kill this bitch when he got free. He leaned against the pedestal and panted. He could feel the blood starting to work, powering up the abilities he had learned and improved on to impress Lucifer. He kicked the ground in anger since he knew or had an idea what Izhu wanted him to do.

Now that you are powered up the game is simple. Shifa' will be arriving with your brother. No doubt she sent the others back or they actually found their second wind.

"Wouldn't surprise me. She cares about everything," Sam muttered, not liking where this was going.

So you think. I think you know what needs to be done.

"I am not going to hurt either of them."

You don't have a choice. And I get the feeling that she will make you fight to the death.

Sam stiffened as he felt a chill down his spine. He didn't like it at all and didn't want to do it. He could resist but then Izhu would probably make his limbs move for him. That was physically painful and he wouldn't feel bad since he resisted but if he did it willingly… That was something else and he was done with being that asshole.

"Your greatest fear."

Sam heard her voice. She was there and if she was there, that meant Dean was there. Slowly he turned around.


A/N: Now Sam is in the Valley of the Dead and it looks like Izhu is going to make him do things he doesn't want to do. Let's see what happens next time on Redemption of the Soul...