Hello lovely people! Here's chapter 7 up and waiting to be read (it nearly wasn't, as I've been having computer trouble all week and just got everything fixed Friday evening). Enjoy! Thanks for following.

Chapter 7

Helmi could not sleep. After Elias had gone home, she had lain awake for half the night, waiting to hear the sound of her car being driven back from wherever Sam and Dean had taken it. It was around two o'clock and there was no sign of the brothers. Helmi told herself not to worry. They had been through more than she would ever know. They could take care of themselves without any help from her. But the uneasiness would not leave her. Where had they gone anyway? She remembered their conversation that night and realized the brothers had been too vague. They had been hiding something from her and Elias. And that could not be good.

The last thought made Helmi get up and head to the little house built at the end of her garden. The night made her uneasy, which did not happen often. It should not have – Elias had confessed that he had been placing wards on his bandmates' properties even before they knew what he was. Still, there was something out there in the night beyond the safety of her yard. And Helmi found that she did not like the thought.

She knocked on the door of the guesthouse, even though she knew Sam and Dean were away. There was no answer from inside. Helmi shrugged and took out her spare key. Once inside, she chose to keep using the flashlight instead of turning on the lights. After all, if Sam and Dean were to come back now, there was no way she could explain what she was doing there.

Tuu-tiiki was staring at her perched on his usual spot on the bed. So that was where he had got too. The ginger cat was eyeing Helmi unblinkingly almost as if he was judging her. Helmi shook her head.

"Don't give me that. I'm entitled to be here. I know what I'm doing. Besides, whose side are you on anyway? I'm the one who pays for your food, remember?"

Tuu-tiiki kept on staring. Helmi rolled her eyes and turned her back to him.

There were papers all over the small table. Helmi told herself that maybe she had gone too far. She had no business prying into Sam and Dean's affairs. But she was already reaching out for one of the papers. After all, she tried to justify it to her uneasy conscience, it was her house. And Sam and Dean had been hiding something that evening – she knew it. And despite their insistence – Dean's especially – that she and Elias weren't Hunters, Helmi could not help feeling involved in all of this. She needed to know what was going on.

With that thought in mind, Helmi took one of the papers. She frowned at the drawings she saw there. She looked at some of the others, reading the terrible words that could only mean one thing. She shivered.

Helmi went back to her house immediately and dialed Elias' number.

"Lo?"

His voice sounded heavy with sleep.

"I think you should come here. I found something in Sam and Dean's room."

"What?" he sounded more awake now. "What were you doing in their room, anyway?"

Helmi waved that aside.

"Never mind that now. What matters is that they're about to do something stupid – unless they haven't done it already. And they might need our help."

xxxXXXxxxx

Sam lay in the small room with Mielikki close to him. Her hand was hovering above him, although she was not touching him. She looked worried, or as worried as someone like her could look. Sam closed his eyes. His head was no longer pounding so much, but there was this undeniable feeling of wrong. Something was not right – with the body he had left in the real world or with his soul, he could not tell.

"It's bad, isn't it?" he asked Mielikki. "Whatever it is, you can't heal it, right?"

Mielikki shook her head, moving away from Sam.

"There's nothing to heal. You're not injured or ill or anything."

Sam rubbed at his face. It came off wet with his sweat.

"Feels pretty bad to me."

"It's your soul," Mielikki told him bluntly. "It's been captured."

Sam froze. He felt as if he had forgotten to breathe.

"What did you say?"

"Something has laid claim on your soul," Mielikki explained patiently. "Like Luohi had wanted to do. Only – it's not as bad. That would have been permanent. This seems only temporary. Whoever performed the ownership ritual must have done only a rough variant of it. It could be broken through, I suppose. But not by me – probably not by anyone else in Tuonela."

Sam shook his head. Just great. His soul was a prisoner, probably made so by the same guy he and Dean had so unwittingly trusted. And if it was affecting him, it was affecting Dean as well, wherever he was now. In fact, Sam thought, his heart pounding, it was probably worse for Dean. He did not have Mielikki to explain what was happening to him.

"Why would someone do that? What are they hoping to accomplish?"

Mielikki shrugged.

"That depends on who did it. If it was Lempo, he probably intends to trap you here and have your bodies killed. That's something you won't be able to return from."

A thought struck Sam. Maybe it was not Lempo. After all, from the little Dean had said about the meeting with Lempo, he and Ole had not seemed to get along. In fact, Ole had banished Lempo.

"What if it's Piru?"

Mielikki looked concerned.

"I thought Piru was dead. I thought Luohi's last act was to get rid of him."

Was there a note of regret Sam detected in her voice? Had she perhaps been hoping that Piru was dead, because there was one less problem to worry about?

"I met him in the forest outside Tampere. Trust me, Mielikki, the reports of his death have been greatly exaggerated. He's back. Goat feet and all."

Mielikki grimaced.

"Then Lempo's not as alone as I hoped."

But Sam shook his head.

"Oh no. Piru's hiding from everyone, Lempo included. Apparently, Lempo's rather displeased with the way he handled the Luohi situation – you know, allying himself with us and all."

"That's not surprising," Mielikki mused. "Lempo has never been one for forgiveness. He's always been overly passionate. That's why he used to be the god of love. You know, Sam Winchester, you think love is kind and forgiving and bright. But it's not. It's got a dark side bigger than you could imagine."

Sam huffed, thinking of him and Dean, of all the apocalypses they had started for each other, of how they had been at each other's throats at times, but had always come back to each other, like they had no other choice. Because they both knew they didn't.

"I actually think I understand more than you think I do."

Mielikki nodded.

"Yes. I think you do. You made that deal with me, didn't you?"

Sam got up. He was slightly dizzy, but he felt much better. He did not know how long it would last, though. The best thing to do was to get to work while he still could. With a lot of luck – more than the Winchesters usually possessed - he would find Dean before Piru decided to do whatever it was he intended to do with their souls. Mielikki followed his progress, thoughtfully.

"What do you intend to do?"

Sam snickered trying to appear more confident than he felt.

"What I meant to do when I first got here. Get you out."

Mielikki allowed her head to lean against the wall. She looked just as exhausted as Sam felt.

"I told you I can't leave. This place is warded against me, remember?"

"Well, that's why you have me," Sam quipped. "To break the wards."

He was sure Mielikki was aware that he had no idea how to do that. He appreciated that she refrained from pointing it out, though.

XXXxxxxXXXX

Dean was feeling marginally better by the time they got to the fortress. He could not escape the sensation that it was only a reprieve and that things would quickly get much worse. He knew he had to get to Sam – only how was he going to find Sam when he had no idea where he himself was?

He had expected the fortress to be deserted, but there were actually plenty of people there, moving around on some job or another. They nodded to Pekka when they passed him and ignored Dean completely.

"Who are they?" he asked. "Are they also dead?"

Pekka nodded.

"Of course they are."

Dean frowned. He had not expected the dead to form communities in such a manner.

"Quite social," he quipped. "And here I was thinking you Finns were all brooding introverts."

Pekka did not miss a beat.

"No, that's just when we're dealing with American tourists. I'll let you figure out why."

He led Dean up a spiral staircase.

"Seriously, though, this is not that common. But we've got to stand together. This is…well, it's an army of sorts."

Dean looked at the place with new eyes.

"What are you defending yourself against?"

"Lempo. The creatures under his control. There are plenty of monsters in Tuonela and usually, the rule used to be: we don't bother them, they don't bother us. But Lempo has upped the stakes."

"If he's so dangerous," Dean said. "Why doesn't anyone stop him?"

Pekka huffed.

"That's what Mielikki was trying to do, really. In her way. She didn't want to remove him off the board completely. I suspect some sentimentality there."

Dean's eyes widened.

"What…you mean she and Lempo…? She and the guy who's basically considered the devil? Really? That's how low her standards are?"

Pekka shrugged.

"Have you ever heard the expression the devil wears a friendly face?"

Den rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I've seen the devil. Friendly face is not the phrase I'd use for him."

"You've seen your devil," Pekka pointed out. "This is Lempo. He's different. And he used to be the god of love. I'd say Mielikki's standards are pretty high."

A thought suddenly struck Dean. He shuddered.

"Please don't tell me that Elias…"

Pekka shook his head quickly.

"No. definitely not. Elias isn't Lempo's son. But, from what Mielikki was saying, a lot your people – Hunters, whatever – would jump to that conclusion."

Dean nodded in understanding. He did not need Pekka to continue. He knew what would happen to Elias if that took place.

The sudden blaring of a horn distracted him. He noticed Pekka tensing.

"What is it?"

"Hiidet," Pekka replied tersely. "They've been bothering us for quite some time. The place is crawling with them."

That was not good, Dean thought. How was Sam going to get to him if there was an entire army of hiidet in his way?

"So, what do we do?" he wanted to know.

Pekka measured him up and down.

"How good are you with a bow?"

Dean smirked.

"My Dad used to say I'm the best there ever was."

Pekka rolled his eyes.

"My Dad used to say my stick figures were works of art. That will do, though. Let's give you a bow and arrow and put you to good use. Looks like your stay here is going to be long anyway."

Dean froze in his tracks.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Pekka stared pointedly at him.

"Unless someone from outside helps you, you're gonna die. I told you that. If you die and your soul's here – well, it's gonna stay here."

Dean thought back of all the other afterlives he'd been to – Hell, his disappointments with Heaven, Purgatory. He shrugged.

"Doesn't seem so bad, really."

xxxXXXxxxx

Sam searched the entire wall of the room. He could find nothing. Whatever markings there were that kept Mielikki inside, he could not see them. Of course, he could not get out either. The door to his cell was locked and the window was too small and too far to matter.

"All right," he said, not wanting to be discouraged. "We can do this."

Mielikki said nothing and Sam did not look back to see the skepticism on her face. He'd never liked being kept somewhere against his will. He was plenty motivated to get himself out of this.

"Any lock can be broken," he said confidently. "And any door can be open, if only you know how."

If Dean had been there, he'd probably have given Sam hell for his platitudes, but he wasn't, so Sam could say what he wanted while he tried to figure out a way out of this. He pushed himself against the door, not really surprised that it would not give. He kicked at it and got nothing but a stubbed toe for his efforts.

"Doesn't anyone come in here at all?" he asked, finally turning to Mielikki who had, until then, been watching Sam's progress – or lack thereof – impassively.

"Hiidet do come to bring me water," Mielikki said.

Sam frowned.

"There's something you're not telling me, is there?"

"It's water from the river of death," Mielikki said. "Drinking it takes you places, do you know that?"

Sam shrugged. Dean had been pretty vague the last time they had been there and he had inadvertently swallowed the river water. He had seen something, Sam was sure of that, as he had noticed a subtle shift in his brother's behavior afterwards. Still, he had not mentioned being taken anywhere.

"What do you mean places? What kind of places?"

Mielikki shrugged.

"In the past, in the future – in someone else's life. Lempo thinks I can give him answers – ways to defeat you. He's very afraid of you and your brother, Sam Winchester."

Sam snorted.

"I'm flattered."

He did not want to stick around to meet Lempo, especially not now that his soul was not his own. That would have to be fixed somehow, but the first order of business was to escape.

Sam walked back to his former spot next to the wall, on the opposite side of Mielikki.

"How many hiidet come to give you the water?"

"Just two," Mielikki said.

Sam nodded, satisfied.

"We can handle two."

Mielikki shook her head.

"Sam, this place is warded against me. It means I can't use any of my powers. I can't blast those hiidet out of here."

Sam was starting to feel irritated.

"Then knock them over the head. One way or the other, we're getting out of here, preferably before Lempo comes to pay us a visit. And our best chance is when the hiidet come to give you that drink."

They waited for about two hours, although Sam was no longer sure of the time. They did not speak much during their wait. Sam was too worried about Dean. He hoped that, wherever his brother was, he was not getting himself into too much trouble.

Sam stiffened when he heard the unmistakable sound of a key in the look. Slowly, he got up and walked towards the door, flattening himself against the wall. The door opened and two hiidet walked in holding two mugs of water from the river. So Sam was expected to drink as well. Before they could close the door Sam had already knocked one out. The other threw the mug of water at him. Sam ducked, closing his eyes and trying not to breathe. He scrubbed at his face furiously, losing for a while any sense of the events that were happening around him. When he was sure he was not in any danger of swallowing the water from the river of Tuonela, he opened his eyes in time to see Mielikki bending over the second hiisi, lying at her feet unconscious. She was holding the mug in her hands.

"He was not so lucky," she said grimly. "I made him drink. He's having some not so very nice dreams right now."

Sam stared in vague horror at the twitching hiisi. He had to wonder what he was seeing. Then he dismissed the thought.

"Hold on," he told Mielikki. "I'll have you out of here in no time."

He went out. He was in some kind of dark corridor. It appeared to be empty. He looked at the door to their cell and spotted some markings carved into the wooden beams. Sam frowned. He had been hoping they had been simply drawn them, so he could erase them. They could still be removed though. It was just going to take time.

Sam spotted a jagged stone and picked it up. He got to work on the markings. In ten minutes, he had managed to damage all of them. He glanced at Mielikki, still in the cell.

"Try to step out now."

Mielikki hesitated briefly. Then she walked out. Nothing happened. She smiled.

"You seem to be living up to your reputation, Sam Winchester," she commented.

"Which reputation would that be?" Sam quipped. "Come on. "Let's go find Dean."

xxxXXXXxxx

Elias was at Helmi's place in half an hour. He looked tired and irritated, and Helmi felt guilty for waking him up in the middle of the night. She knew he had not been sleeping well since Pekka's death and had been dividing his time between whatever mysteries Pekka had left behind and the rehearsals for the upcoming concert.

"Still no Sam and Dean?" he asked when he arrived.

Helmi shook her head.

"I found some notes," she said leading him to the guesthouse. "Let me show you. I couldn't really make sense of everything that was there, but I'm afraid I kind of got the gist of it. They're…trying to reach Tuonela, aren't they? If that's possible at all."

Elias nodded quickly frowning at the pages.

"It's possible. You need a trained shaman to show you how – and an assortment of herbs and plants, not all of them legal."

"And a place," Helmi guessed. "At least – a place no one's gonna ask questions when they find you unconscious and unresponsive."

Elias looked thoughtfully at Helmi.

"The warehouse, then?"

Helmi shrugged.

"It's as good a place as any."

But Sam and Dean were not at the warehouse and, in retrospective, Helmi supposed the place wasn't really that good. The hiidet knew about it, after all.

"So where to now?" she asked. "Any ideas? Where would they go? They don't even know the town so well."

Elias said nothing. He glanced at the houses across the street and frowned.

"Hey, isn't that your car?"

Helmi followed his gaze.

"That is my car. Looks like we found them."

The car was parked in front of a quiet house. The place looked deserted. The windows were dark and there was no sign on anyone living there. Elias tried the door. It gave way.

"Ok, that's not creepy at all," Helmi commented. "If this was a horror movie, this would be the part when I'd start shouting at the characters not to go in the dark empty house."

Elias snorted.

"No choice, I'm afraid. If Sam and Dean are here, we need to know."

Helmi nodded, her throat suddenly dry. She was beginning to think Dean was right – she was not a hunter. She was not ready for any of this.

They found Sam and Dean lying on two mattresses in a small bedroom. At first, Helmi was afraid they were dead. Elias, however, shook his head.

"They're alive," he said. "Sort of. They're in too deep. I can't say why. Something must have gone wrong. And there should be someone with them. Attempting to take your soul to Tuonela shouldn't be done unsupervised."

Helmi had her phone in her hand. Elias' eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing?"

Helmi looked at him like she doubted his mental state.

"Calling an ambulance," she explained patiently. "What else?"

Elias shook his head.

"And what exactly are you going to tell them? There's goodness knows what drugs in their systems…and there's nothing wrong with their bodies. They're just…empty right now."

Helmi ran a weary hand over her face.

"There might be nothing wrong with their bodies now. But there will be soon. They need IVs and other stuff to help them function until we get them back – somehow. You know that, Elias. You must know that."

Elias seemed to be considering her words. In the end, he nodded.

"You're right," he said. "But we can't call the hospital. Like I said, there'd be too many complications. I know someone. She's sort of a doctor. She helps hunters sometimes – no questions asked. We'll call her."

xxxXXXXxxxxx

Dean leaned against the fortress walls wearily. The hiidet attack must have lasted at least an hour. They had all been driven back in the end, but, according to the others, they would come back soon. They always came back – faster and stronger than before.

"It's not just hiidet, either," Pekka told him. "There are plenty of things in here that aren't that friendly to us. Demons of a sort I suppose. You saw them."

"And they all work for Lempo," Dean guessed.

Pekka nodded.

"Most, yeah. There are a few that are neutral, but not that many. I suppose some might work for Piru as well."

Dean glanced sharply at him.

"What do you know about Piru? Everyone thinks he's dead."

Pekka smiled grimly.

"Well, I know what being dead looks like and he ain't it. Piru's in hiding. Building himself an army, but it's hard with Lempo recruiting everything in sight. He needs something to tip the balance."

A sinking feeling took hold of Dean.

"Like souls," he said. "Ole was working for Piru."

"I have no idea who Ole is," Pekka said. "But it's quite possible Piru has your souls now. It can't be Lempo that's for sure."

Dean's eyes narrowed.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because if it was, you'd both be dead," Pekka said bluntly.

Except that Lempo had tried to weasel a deal out of Dean. Maybe he wanted to do more to the Winchesters than just make sure they stayed down for good. Luohi certainly had.

"Well, whoever it is, is gonna be disappointed," Dean said. "No way am I letting myself be used like this."

There was a hint of pity in Pekka's eyes.

"Dean, they're gods. Their purpose is to use people. We're their tools – always have been. Our free will extends only as far as they're willing to stretch the chain."

Dean rolled his eyes.

"I've heard that too. More times than you'd imagine. Sam and I – we've grown quite skilled at cutting ourselves loose."

A cry from the battlements distracted the two.

"Company," Pekka said grimly. "Here we go again."

He and Dean went back to the battlements. Dean had expected another army of hiidet. But it wasn't. He spotted two figures approaching the forest, a man and a woman. The woman he had seen twice before. The man, he would recognize anywhere.

"Don't shoot!" he cried to the others on the battlements. "Don't shoot, let them in."

He ran down the stairs, nearly tumbling several times in his speed. Pekka was struggling to keep up. He was at the fortress door just as Sam and Mielikki had reached it. Sam stopped in his tracks when he suddenly found himself face to face with Dean. The anxious darkness in his face seemed to vanish.

"Dean?" he asked uncertainly, as if he did not dare to allow himself to believe he had found his brother.

Dean could feel himself breaking into a grin.

"Took you long enough to get here, Sammy."

Well, I did say I'd get Sam and Dean reunited in this chapter, didn't I?...Of course, being me, I chose to do it in the final four lines…ooops…sorry.