Thanks everyone for the feedback. It seems I cause some people to be late at work. Sorry about that :P In my defense, it's around 5-6 p.m. on a Sunday in my time zone when I usually post updates. Some more complications in this chapter, but also some stuff that you'll surely like ;) More notes at the end.

Chapter 9

Nana brought Dean and Blair their food and refused to tell them anything until they had eaten. Dean, for one, could not complain. He really did not think he could have paid attention to anything but the food right then.

"I see what you mean when you said best Greek restaurant in the state of Washington," he commented.

Blair grinned.

"Well, now you won't clog your arteries at Wonderbruger the next time you're here, will you?"

Dean rolled his eyes.

"You've been talking to Sam."

Blair gave him an unapologetic shrug.

"We had to pass the time somehow down there in the basement. You were slow in rescuing us."

Dean scowled, remembering the attack.

"I wonder why Cerberus bothered. Or Moira, whatever."

"To keep you from getting to us before it was too late," Blair said. "I mean, half an hour more and we would have suffocated back there."

And that was what bothered Dean the most. Now that he knew Sam was no longer in any danger of either dying without air or having the wall tumble down, he could think clearly and coolly about the situation. It didn't make any sense to him.

"Yeah but it's wrong," he said. "I mean, the anniversary of your drowning is tomorrow, right?"

"Yup," Blair stated curtly.

"In order for her ritual to work, Cerberus has to have you tomorrow. How am I doing so far?"

"Correct to the very last disturbing detail," Blair concluded.

Dean nodded.

"Thought so. Then tell me this, Sandburg, why would she want to kill you sooner? And in such a way that you probably won't even get to Cerberus."

Blair looked troubled.

"Well, maybe she didn't know we were down there. I mean, she did send Cerberus to Agatha's house. Maybe she did not know we ran away and fell into that basement."

Dean did not look convinced.

"As a matter of fact, why send Cerberus to Agatha's house at all? As I said, you were not supposed to die today."

Sandburg rubbed his arms.

"No, I'm supposed to die tomorrow…was supposed to die tomorrow. Three years ago." He paused and looked away. "Maybe it was not me she had sent Cerberus after. Maybe it was Sam."

Dean frowned.

"What and she expected the dog to get Sammy and ignore you?" he asked skeptically.

"Well, not ignore," Blair said. "Just leave alone until tomorrow. Maybe Cerberus would have been…well, satisfied with just Sam."

Dean sighed heavily.

"I think he'd have had indigestion afterwards."

Sam had died three times – although, one would argue that when he had cast his physical body into the Cage, that did not necessarily count as death. Although, what had happened afterwards certainly did, and Dean realized with a jolt that Sam had died much more than three times. He had been in hell himself. He knew one of Alistair's favorite past times had been killing his prisoners and then bringing them back to life just to start all over again. He was sure Lucifer had used that method on Sam, too. Suddenly, he felt sick and pushed the plate aside.

"Oh no, young man, you're eating all of that."

Dean tensed at the voice. He looked up at Nana, realizing that she had probably overheard most of their conversation.

"Erm, listen, we can explain. We were just…"

Nana shook her head and drew a chair to sit down at their table.

"Now, you better think real careful about what comes out of your mouth. I am not really in the mood for what you Americans so colorfully refer to as bullshit."

Dean raised his eyebrows.

"Point taken," he muttered.

"What are you saying, Nana?" Blair asked. "What do you know that we don't?"

Nana gave him an indulgent smile.

"Oh, I wouldn't give myself that much credit. There's probably a lot of stuff that I don't know. For example, I haven't managed to crack whatever's the secret about you and that partner of yours."

"That's a relief," Blair muttered.

Nana turned to Dean.

"Your name is Dean, I got that right?"

Dean nodded hesitantly.

"I believe we have a mutual acquaintance: Agatha. She told me about you and I have to say, you fit the description."

Dean eyed Nana with renew interest.

"You knew Agatha."

Nana's face clouded.

"I've just found out about her death. I managed to convince the police that I'm a distant aunt so I can take charge of her body. She wanted a pyre, you know that?"

Dean nodded tightly.

"Hunter's funeral. It's to make sure."

He was glad Nana did not ask what they were supposed to make sure of.

"Agatha came to me shortly before she died. She had something she wanted kept safe in case anything happened to her."

Dean sat up straighter.

"Nana, whatever it is, you have to give it to us. It's gonna help, trust me."

"I figured that much," Nana said dryly. "Besides, Agatha told me that you were bound to find out about me and that I was supposed to give it to you. She told me I'd have no trouble recognizing you. She said you were…how did she put it?...Ah, yes, handsome as hell, but full of crap."

Dean shot Blair a dirty look as the other was trying to mask his laughter into a coughing fit.

"What have you got, then?"

"It's a bottle of something. She said it's from the River Styx."

Blair frowned.

"Wait, but that's…"

Nana nodded.

"The river of the Underworld. I was ready to tell Agatha she was full of hot air, but she looked so serious. She said it was supposed to temporarily paralyze Cerberus."

"That doesn't sound too encouraging," Dean muttered

"I don't know," Blair said. "Even temporary is good."

"Ten hours temporary is good," Dean protested. "Five seconds temporary doesn't do jack for you."

"It can't be just five seconds temporary, or Agatha wouldn't have gone to such trouble trying to hide it or pass it on to you. Besides, this could be the reason why Cerberus was at Agatha's place and why he tried to delay you from getting there."

"Moira was looking for the elixir," Dean realized.

Blair nodded quickly.

"I bet she didn't even realize she nearly killed us."

It would have been ironic, but Dean wasn't laughing. Not when he had almost lost Sam only days after he had gotten him back completely, soul and all.

"OK, at least we've got something to buy us some time. A temporary something."

"We need to find that amulet."

Dean nodded.

"Let's hope Sam and Ellison are having better luck."

Blair's eyes darkened.

"They'd better. At least some good should come out of Jim going to see her."

xxxXXxx

The nurse from reception took Sam and Jim to a private room where they could view the security cameras. Sam thought they were wasting time. They already knew Moira had been there.

"Who else would read that particular story to Alex?" he pointed out.

Jim nodded curtly.

"Maybe. But I want an insight into her mind. I want to see what she looks like going in – and coming out."

Sam did not see why an insight into Moira's thoughts and feelings was so necessary when they knew her plans pretty well. He kept the thought to himself, though. Ellison had been in a strange mood ever since he had entered the hospital. There was a certain volatility to him that told Sam he would be wise not to provoke him. It was better to humor Jim for now. They'd watch the tapes, see whatever there was to see and move on. The sooner they were out of there the better.

"Alright," Jim said. "Let's have a look at the last time she visited."

He fast forwarded the tape until the right timestamp, then set it to play at a normal speed. They watched the people coming and going for a while until Sam spotted a familiar figure. He straightened up.

"There she is."

"Yeah, that's her," Jim agreed.

Moira was walking briskly, looking neither worried nor sad. She nodded to the receptionist who handed her the register to sign in. She did so mechanically, then smiled and presumably told the nurse to have a nice day.

"So far everything's normal," Sam said.

He felt Jim tense.

"Freeze it a bit."

Sam did so, slightly puzzled.

"Ok, now enhance the image as far as you can."

Sam followed his directions. Jim pointed towards Moira's neck.

"See there? She's wearing some kind of chain."

Sam squinted.

"I don't see anything of the kind, but I'll take your word for it."

"Do you have Agatha's journal? Show me the amulet."

Sam handed him the journal. He watched as Jim's fingers traced the drawing of the chain.

"You can't be serious," he said.

"Well, what better way to hide it, than to wear it herself?" Jim pointed out, then frowned. "Although, I don't think she was wearing it when I bumped into her the other night…"

"How do you know it's the amulet, though?" Sam insisted. "Look, I'm not denying you're good, but no one's that good. I mean, ok, you spotted the chain around her neck. It could just be some pendant she's wearing."

Jim shook his head.

"There are small irregularities in several places," he said. "Trust me, I can see them, just as I can see the letters on the amulet itself."

Sam bent over the notebook.

"What letters?"

Jim huffed, slightly impatient. He took out a pen and wrote several signs next to the drawing of the amulet.

"This is what I see. I don't know what they mean, though. I assume they're Greek. Sandburg might be able to tell."

Sam's eyes widened as he saw what Ellison had written.

"They're not Greek. They're Enochian. That's a…uhh…occult language. It's very rare. Here it says Exchange of Souls." He paused, shaking his head, slightly dazed. "I have no idea how I know that."

How do you think? His thoughts mocked him. What else would Lucifer and Michael speak down there in the Cage? People said the best way to learn a foreign language was through exposure, and boy, had Sam been exposed all right.

He felt himself jolted out of his state when Ellison tapped his arm.

"What the hell was that, Winchester?"

Sam shook his head, disoriented.

"What…? What do you mean?"

"I mean your eyes just started to get this glassy look and your heart was dancing the polka. Are you losing it on me? Because this isn't the time or the place."

Sam ran a shaky hand through his hair. What the hell had happened? He had only thought in passing about Hell and he had damn nearly embarrassed himself by having a full blown panic attack. Just how secure was that Wall Death had put on him anyway?

"Sorry," he said. "I was somewhere else for a moment. Just got reminded of something that's all. So the…uhh, text on the amulet…"

He made to look again but Ellison slammed the diary shut. He was still watching Sam through narrowed eyes.

"Exchange of souls, you said. What does that mean? Blair for Alex?"

"Or all the victims for Alex," Sam said. "We really need to get our hands on that amulet."

He turned his attention to the tape. Moira was coming back.

"She didn't stay long," he observed.

Jim grunted.

"Yeah, makes you wonder what she did there."

Sam shrugged.

"Assure Alex she's working on helping her? Sort of a status update?"

Jim straightened up, his eyes on the screen.

"Freeze it again and zoom as close as you can on her."

Sam followed the instructions without asking, even though he was curious to see what Jim had discovered now. Jim, meanwhile, was vibrating with excitement.

"She's not wearing it."

Sam frowned.

"What?"

Jim made an impatient gesture with his hand.

"The necklace. The amulet, whatever. She's not wearing it!"

Sam squinted at the frozen image.

"How sure are you?" he asked worriedly.

Jim scowled.

"What kind of a question is that?"

Sam gave him back look for look.

"Because I know what you want to suggest. And we'd both better be damn sure before we even try to follow this through."

XXXxxxxXXX

Dean and Blair were leaving the restaurant when they both froze. From close by they could hear the howling of a dog.

"Just ignore it, man," Blair said, taking a deep breath.

Dean could not ignore it, though. Cerberus sounded too much like a hell-hound and that never brought about good memories.

"Sandburg, contrary to what parents of bullied children insist, if you ignore the problem it won't eventually get bored and leave you alone."

Sandburg chuckled.

"Oh, I do know that. Can we make it to the car?"

They had to cross a rather large portion of sidewalk to get to where the Impala was parked and Dean did not like the look of things. It was getting dark, and baddies such as Cerberus always got more active when it got dark.

"We'll have to be quick."

Blair nodded tersely.

"I can do quick."

Dean eyed him skeptically. He was leaning on his cane a bit too much for Dean's liking.

"Right."

"Besides," Blair added. "It's supposed to happen tomorrow, right?"

Dean nodded. The only problem was that tomorrow was now only several hours away and that was enough time for Cerberus to chase them all over Cascade. He'd probably enjoy the hunt.

"On three," Dean said. "When I say run, you run and don't look back. Got it?"

Blair gave a curt nod.

"Got it. On three. Run. Don't look back."

Dean wished he had Sam there.

"We might not make it to the car," he said. "If we're cut off from it, I saw an alley on the right. We'll go there."

Blair frowned.

"That's a dead end."

Dean waved that aside.

"Just let me worry about that, ok?"

He had a plan. He only hoped Sam was not going to whack him upside the head when he discovered his recklessness.

Dean ran as fast as he could but something blocked their way to the car. He did not know if it was Cerberus or some weird spell Moira was using, but suddenly there was a shadow between him and the Impala and the mere thought of it made his blood boil in anger.

Suddenly, the street was also empty. There was only Blair and him there. Dean scowled. It was as if they had the word target pinned to their backs.

"Alley," he told Blair through gritted teeth. "Now. Move!"

To his credit, Blair did not argue and tried to follow Dean's instructions – which was the one good thing about this whole mess, as Dean remembered from their previous case in Cascade that Blair was not really stellar at following instructions. Still, Blair only had one functional leg, and while he was trying his best to keep up, he wasn't moving quick enough for Dean.

Sharp teeth grabbed Dean's leg, not hard enough to break skin, but that was only a matter of time. He did not manage to pull out his gun before Blair's cane smacked itself against whatever was holding him. The teeth let go but the cane had fallen as well and there was no time for them to pick it up. Blair had trouble standing without support and Dean had to drag him all the way to the alley. Judging from Blair's irregular breathing, Dean was not being gentle either, but he would have time to apologize for that later.

They reached the alley and, as Blair had predicted, it was a dead end.

"Great," Blair muttered through gritted teeth. "Now what?"

Dean leaned Blair against the wall and took a step forward. He could hear the dog's heavy breathing at the entrance of the side street. It was only a matter of time before Cerberus figured out they were there. And if Dean's plan did not work, he would only tip Cerberus up sooner. Still, it was all Dean had.

"Castiel!" he shouted. "I know you're ten kinds of busy but I could really use your help right now, man."

He could sense Blair watching him and was convinced he thought Dean had completely lost his mind.

"Cas!" Dean repeated. "You don't come now we'll turn into dog food."

A flutter of wings and Blair's gasp had Dean nearly dizzy with relief. He turned to grin at Castiel.

"Am I glad to see you!"

"Dean," Castiel said gravely. "This is not a good time. The angels…"

Dean nodded, cutting him off.

"I'll make it up to you later, I swear, but right now take us to 852 Prospect and then we'll talk."

Castiel nodded curtly and reached out for both Dean and Blair. For a second Dean thought Blair was going to swat Castiel's hand away, but he must have changed his mind and decided to keep still.

They were back at the loft instantly. Blair stepped away from the both of them, looking at Castiel wide-eyed.

"Jesus Christ almighty!" he exclaimed.

"I am afraid not," Castiel answered gravely.

Dean snorted.

"Right. Cas, this is Blair Sandburg. Sandburg, that's Cas."

"An…uhhh…alien with teleportation powers?" Blair asked uncertainly.

Castiel looked positively insulted.

"I'm an angel."

Blair was looking at him up and down.

"Angels wear raincoats?"

"Why not?" Castiel asked reasonably. "You seem to have a liking of extremely brightly colored sweaters."

Dean was sniggering. If they were not so pressed for time, he would have let the back and forth continue and enjoyed the show.

"Ok, not that this whole debate about angel fashion sense isn't illuminating and disturbing in so many ways, but I've got to ask. Cas, can you do something against Cerberus?"

Castiel turned his attention to him.

"By do something I assume you mean kill?"

Dean shrugged.

"Kill it, imprison it, hell, adopt it as a pet if you want to."

Castiel gave him a scathing look.

"It appears I have my hands full with you and Sam as it is, Dean. And, in answer to your question – no. There are several ways to subdue Cerberus, using an angel isn't one of them."

Blair leaned forward.

"Several ways. You mean, we could do it without the amulet."

Castiel frowned.

"I should hope so. The person who uses Cerberus' amulet for more than a certain amount of time is in great danger."

"Of what?" Dean asked sharply.

Castiel looked him straight in the eye.

"To put it bluntly, of creating a cataclysmic reaction that could very well lead to the breaking of the world as we know it."

Dean gaped at Cas.

"You're joking, right?"

Castiel watched him soberly.

"I do not joke about the end of the world, Dean. You should know that be now."

Dean rubbed at his forehead. He had hoped the case would be simple, not apocalypse inducing.

"Alright. I suppose Agatha was right and the only thing we can do is destroy the amulet."

"Yes," Castiel agreed reluctantly. "But what she did not know – what few people probably do, is that it will not be enough."

"What do you mean?" Blair asked.

Castiel glanced at him.

"What I mean is Cerberus will need something from you before he decides to go quietly. A sacrifice, I suppose you could call it"

Dean swore. Blair let himself fall against the couch.

"Why isn't it ever easy?" Dean muttered.

xxXXXxxx

"I still think we're doing wrong by not acting immediately."

Jim was driving away from the hospital, glaring at Sam who was sitting in the passenger seat. Sam wasn't even looking at him.

"What exactly were you planning on doing?" Sam argued. "Steal a necklace off a coma patient? You know how that'd look?"

"I doubt she's had Alex wear it. The doctors would have noticed."

"Well, if you're right and it's in that room, we've got to do this smart," Sam argued. "First off, Bradshaw won't let you anywhere near Barnes."

"I could say she needs protection," Jim tried.

"And Bradshaw would argue that the only protection she needs is from you," Sam pointed out. "Blair, meanwhile, would say that you're the one needing protection from her."

Jim had to secretly concede to that.

"It's nearly midnight, though. Blair doesn't have long. Probably you don't either."

Sam nodded.

"Yeah, you're probably right at that."

Jim was irritated by how calm Sam was.

"So – seeing as we agree we're on the clock, why didn't we get the amulet now?"

He heard Sam take a deep breath.

"Are you so eager to start breaking the law, Detective? Because, you go in Alex's room and that's what you'll be doing and people will know who you are. What do you think is going to happen after that?"

Frankly, Jim did not care. Not as long as he got that damn amulet.

"Look, all I know is that after that Blair's gonna be safe. So what happens to me…"

Sam shook his head.

"You and I both know Blair won't see it that way. Now, luckily, you have us."

Jim frowned. He did not know why he didn't like the sound of that.

"And what exactly do you intend to do?"

Sam smirked.

"What we always do. But the less you know about it, the better. Plausible deniability and all that."

To be continued next week ;)

Now, I promised a meeting with Cas, and I delivered – more or less, Cas is busy with his own stuff and we wouldn't want to make this too easy, would we? Therefore, I also brought in more complications as well. You can't have too many complications.

There will still be about three more chapters, so it's not ending right away, don't worry about that. We still have some way to go before we reach the finish line and still time for the ride to take on new twists and turns.

As you've noticed, I'm one of those who think Sam definitely learned some Enochian in the Cage. Exposure is a powerful language learning tool. I'm also sure it wouldn't be a pleasant reminder for him if he encountered it, even with the Wall still up. That's how that little scene with the markings on the amulet was born.

Until next week, then :)