Can't believe we're at chapter 10 already! I hope you'll enjoy this one too :)
Chapter 10
Heidi frowned at the drink Ketch was holding. It smelled like months-old sewer water.
"What's in it?" she asked.
"Never you mind, love," Ketch said heading to the room where Sam and Dean were lying unconscious.
Heidi grabbed his arm.
"Don't you dare patronize me," she hissed. "I've been at your lot's beck and call all my life – hell, I've given up any semblance of a life twenty-five years ago when the first hunter broke into my house. I'm committed to your cause – God knows why, because I sure as hell don't. Now, those men are my patients. They're my responsibility first and foremost. You tell me what's in that drink and what it's gonna do to them, or I swear to God I'm gonna tie you up and pour whatever that is down your throat."
Ketch rolled his eyes.
"Alright. First of all, I am not responsible for your decisions – nor do I feel guilty in any way. We all must make our sacrifices and I assure you I've made mine. You don't want to know what I did for the sake of keeping the monsters at bay. Hell, I don't want to know sometimes. Two, if you really care about your patients, you'd let me do my job otherwise they will both remain in a coma for the rest of their lives. Three, feel free to tie me up whenever you want, sweetheart, but, as far as pouring that drink is concerned, it won't do anything to me. I have the recipe from a shaman as a failsafe when they get stuck in the spirit world. I can only give them to one of them, but I am hoping they are both together. Now, since they are, indeed, your patients, why don't you do the honors? Pick one and give it to him."
Heidi turned to the two. She hesitated. If Ketch was right, and the drink only worked if they were together, then she could be dooming one of them for good. She did not want to live with that. Patching Hunters up after an encounter with some monster was one thing. That was just her doing her job and sometimes it wasn't enough but she had learned to accept the losses and move on. But this – what Ketch was asking her to do – it was too big. It got her more involved than she wanted to be.
"Time's running out," Ketch warned her. "That antidote won't be good for long. These things have a time limit, you know"
Heidi turned to Elias and Helmi, but neither of them seemed willing to make any choices, either. She sighed. She had taken the responsibility upon herself – there was no choice but to follow through and hope for the best. She approached the closest bed. It was better if the choice was random, if she did not ask about the two, if she did not try to think which of them reminded her of her own younger brother – she had lost touch with him twenty-five years back and did not even know if he was still alive, so there was really no point in thinking about him. But a random choice would be cold and calculated and impersonal. Heidi could live with that.
She bent down over Dean's bed and made him drink the potion, massaging his throat so that he was able to swallow. Then, she straightened up.
"The effects should be instantaneous," Ketch said.
Almost immediately, Dean sat up, gasping and coughing, his panicked movements dislodging his IV. Heidi bent over him, trying to get him to lie back down.
"Take it easy," she said. "You've been unconscious for almost twenty-four hours."
Dean glared at her.
"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.
"It's ok," Elias said, approaching Dean's bed. "She's a doctor, she's here to help."
"She brought me back?" Dean asked skeptically.
"No, actually, I did," Ketch said, stepping forward. "Hello, Dean. Long time and all that jazz."
Dean froze. He glanced towards the other bed, then suddenly sprang up, ignoring Heidi's attempts to keep him down.
"Sammy," he said, rushing towards his brother, who still lay unconscious with no indication of waking up.
"Please tell me you two were together when we brought you back," Helmi said.
Dean had his hand on Sam's shoulder shaking him slightly.
"How's that relevant? We weren't."
"Well, that's bad," Ketch said. "Because it will take a while now for me to get Sam out. He was supposed to come out with you. You were supposed to be in the same place."
A look of complete horror crossed Dean's face.
"What are you talking about, Ketch? You have to get Sam out now."
"It's not that easy," Ketch pointed out.
Dean's fists clenched.
"I don't care. Sam can't be there. Piru has him. He has Sam's soul. He has mine too, so he can probably yank me back anytime he wants…but he's got Sam with him and he's desperate and you don't understand what that means. Trust me, Sam needs to get out of there now."
Heidi was starting to realize that, no matter who she would have chosen to give the drink to, there really would have been no right choice in this case.
xxxXXXxxxx
Sam walked between the two hiidet not saying anything. He had hoped Piru would take him back to the cell first, that he would manage to see Dean one last time and explain. But explain what? Dean would have never accepted Sam making another deal for him. He would not have given Sam his blessing to do Piru's bidding or his gratitude for how Sam had negotiated his release. Or his assurance that he would be fine without Sam, that he would not try to break the world yet again to get to his brother. Dean might have lied to Sam plenty of times, but never about the truly important things. Never about where he really stood with Sam.
Still, Sam would have wanted to see Dean again, even if only to have his brother call him an idiot for agreeing to play Piru's game. Seeing Dean one last time would have made everything else easier – more bearable. No doubt Piru got that. And no doubt, he was not going to give Sam what he so desperately needed. Where would have been the fun in that?
The hiidet led Sam across a deserted field and up a steep hill. Behind it, in a valley, was another fortress. Lempo's base of operations. Sam shuddered. Somehow, he had expected something else. Something like Hell, cold and dark and menacing. He had to remind himself that Lempo was not Lucifer. He was of a different sort, one who tried other forms of intimidation – but he was just as dangerous. Sam had no illusions that things would be easy for him.
Lempo's chambers were actually lavish. They were decorated with reindeer pelts on the walls and floors like the hall of some Viking lord. Sam actually felt amused. Demons from every culture apparently had one thing in common and that was their delusions of grandeur.
Lempo did not look at all as Sam had expected. He had some of Piru's fastidiousness but he seemed more confident. As if the entire world belonged to him. He was watching Sam now with the same confidence and Sam knew Lempo was certain he had won.
"Samuel Winchester," Lempo greeted. "I have heard so much about you. It's almost an honor."
"I'm sure it is," Sam said flatly. "Now why don't we cut the small talk. I already know what Piru's game is – what's yours?"
Lempo frowned. He nodded to the two hiidet to leave the room. Sam felt irrationally afraid. It was not as if the hiidet would ever be on his side – but the idea of him being alone with someone like Lempo made his skin crawl.
"You know who I am, don't you, Sam?" Lempo asked thoughtfully.
"I know enough," Sam said.
Lempo smiled indulgently.
"I don't think so. See, I'm not Piru. Piru's an amateur. I'm not Luohi either – she was a power-hungry fanatic and that led her to making mistakes big enough that they cost her her life. Granted, if you hadn't killed her, I might have had to step in. So, I suppose I'm grateful for that, Samuel."
"Grateful enough to let me go?"
Lempo chuckled.
"Don't push it. You're still way more useful to me here, on my leash than you are out there in the world planning to take me down."
Sam took a step forward.
"What if we don't take you down? I mean, we're American hunters. As long as you promise to stick just to Finland, you're not our problem."
Lempo looked as if he was actually considering Sam's proposition.
"You know," he said at length. "I'm almost ready to believe you. Except that you did rush all the way to Finland when I started to be active again so…I can't be certain, can I?"
Sam shrugged.
"I owed someone a favor."
"And how is Mielikki these days?" Lempo asked casually. "Does she remember me as fondly as I remember her?"
Sam did not answer. Lempo snorted.
"You're loyal for all the wrong reasons, Sam. But that's gonna end. Because, from this day onwards you'll belong to me and me alone."
Sam smirked.
"You sure about that?"
Lempo got up and walked towards Sam. He forced himself to remain still.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" he asked softly.
Sam took a deep breath. It was not or never.
"I challenge you," he said. "I want us to have a fair fight. You and me and no extra advantages for either of us."
Lempo froze. He drew a step back his eyes narrowing.
"What the hell did you just say to me?"
Sam held his head high. If Lempo was rattled, then he was doing something right – he had a chance.
"You heard me. I challenge you. We dish it out. If I win, I'm out of here, soul intact and you help get Dean back – also soul intact."
Lempo tilted his head.
"And if you lose?"
Sam hesitated. Lempo was not going to do Sam any favors if Sam lost.
"It's up to you. Just leave Dean out of it."
Lempo smirked.
"Very well, Sam. If you lose, you'll be mine – forever and always, Sammy. My attack dog to sicc on whoever I please no questions asked. My mercenary to keep my empire running. Anything I want – you'll give it to me and more. Deal?"
There was really no way Sam could say no. Not without calling off the challenge altogether.
"Fine. We'll do it your way."
Lempo called for two hiidet to come take Sam away while he spent some time considering, as he put it, Sam's generous offer. Just as they were about to leave the room, Lempo called Sam back.
"One more thing, Samuel. If I find out you're trying to trick me – if you welch on this challenge in any way – Dean dies. I don't care who owns his soul, he's gonna die and it's not gonna be fast and it's not gonna be pretty. Got it?"
Sam swallowed harshly against the panic, but tried not to let it show. He nodded, wordlessly, and allowed the hiidet to lead him away. He wondered how he was going to do it – how he was going to keep both the deal with Piru and the one with Lempo, and keep Dean alive and safe. He also asked himself with a pang of guilt what Dean was going to say when he learned of Sam's involvement with the two.
xxxXXXxxxx
It had been two days since Sam and Dean's attempt to reach Tuonela and one since Dean had been brought back. Ketch was now ready to attempt the spell again and get Sam out of there.
"It's only a temporary fix," Ketch warned. "If Piru has ownership over your souls, he could yank you back as easily as plucking cherries and I'm not sure I'll be able to get you out again. In fact, I'm surprised he hasn't tried anything. He must know you're no longer there."
Dean said nothing. He had not mentioned the sharp pains he was feeling on and off, pains that felt more intense than the usual injuries to his body. He had once told Sam about pain being something different in Hell – because that was when they hurt your soul, which was way, way worse than anything that could happen in the real world. Dean had no doubt this was Piru showing his displeasure with him.
Castiel arrived that afternoon. He examined Sam, proclaimed that, someone, indeed, had ownership over his soul, but that otherwise he was not in danger of dying just yet. Neither was Dean.
"What about Piru?" Dean asked. "How do we get back our souls?"
"Technically your souls are still in place," Castiel said. "But Piru owns them, meaning that, in theory, he could make you do his bidding and you wouldn't be able to say no."
"So, how do we fix this? Can't you do anything?"
Dean felt the need for a long hot shower. The idea of someone having ownership on his soul was so intrusive, it was nearly panic-inducing. He knew that it had to be way worse for Sam after all the possessions and control issues he'd been through.
"You could convince Piru to let you go," Castiel said, not too hopeful. "Or you could kill him."
Dean did not have much hope, considering until a few days they had been sure Piru was actually dead.
"Weren't you saying there's a special blade to take out Piru?" he argued. "Something dipped in elk blood or something."
"Dipped in the blood of a Finnish forest reindeer," Elias said from the doorway. "Witches use such blood for other purposes too in these parts. There's a black market for it if you know where to look."
Dean turned to him.
"And you do?"
Elias shook his head.
"Me? No. But I know people who do."
Dean nodded. A weapon against Piru was always good.
"Fine," he said. "See what you can do, then. In the meantime, let's get Sam back."
They went back to the room where Sam still lay in his bed. Ketch came with the drink and gave it to Heidi. Dean, however, took a step forward and took the drink from her.
"Allow me," he said.
The doctor frowned.
"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of my patient, thank you."
Dean's face was hard.
"I'm sure. But he was my brother long before he was your patient. So…let me handle it. Please."
The doctor still hesitated. Dean really could not blame her. She did not know him, after all. Everyone else in the room knew better than to interfere with his need of being the one to bring Sam back. In the end, Heidi shrugged and stepped aside.
"Suit yourself," she muttered.
Dean bent over Sam. He put a hand on his brother's forehead, frowning when he found it too hot. He had no idea what was happening to Sam in Tuonela. He needed to be brought back. Dean needed him back.
"Don't worry, little brother," he said softly, so quiet that he was sure the others could not hear him. "I'm getting you home."
xxxXXXXXxxxx
Sam did not know how much time he spent in Lempo's dungeon. This was different from the place Piru had held Dean and him. That had looked more like a small storeroom, and it had at least held a window. This one, however, looked exactly like what it was supposed to be – a prison cell, down to the bars at the door and window and the cold hard walls. Sam hated it. He hated being alone there, remembering all the games Lucifer had played that involved him being alone in the dark. He was sure that, if he had to stay there any longer, he would go completely insane.
He had managed to fall into an uneasy doze when the door opened. Sam sprang to his feet immediately on the alert. Lempo was there, flanked by two hiidet.
"I accept your challenge," he said.
Sam was actually surprised by that. True, the deal was good, if Lempo won, but he had somehow expected him to play with Sam some more before he gave in.
"You're in an awful hurry," he remarked. "Should I be worried?"
Lempo smirked.
"Not about me cheating in our little competition. That isn't how we do things round here. We're not your average Judeo-Christian demons. We're like the earth, functioning under rules too strict to break. If we do break them, there are consequences of apocalytptic proportions for us. Trust me, Samuel, you and I will have a fair fight. Besides," he added thoughtfully. "I think I'll enjoy the challenge for its own sake not just for the many benefits it will bring me. Do you think they'll be singing songs about us later? How Samuel Winchester bravely fought the evil god Lempo in the underworld? Has a nice ring to it, does it not?"
Sam huffed.
"We're in the realm of the dead," he pointed out. "They don't do much singing. Besides – all those benefits you mentioned, they only work if you win. Who says you'll win?"
Lempo stepped aside, indicating that Sam should walk with him out of the cell.
"We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"
They walked down the long corridor that led away from Lempo's dungeons, flanked by the two hiidet. Sam had no idea how this was going to end. He knew there was a chance he was not going to win the fight. If that happened, he would have to find some form of loophole. Otherwise, Dean would not be released and Lempo and Piru would keep on using Sam against each other.
They were nearly at the end of the corridor when Sam felt a change coming over him. He staggered and coughed, feeling an unknown taste in his mind. Lempo stopped to look at him.
"What are you doing?" he asked, his tone sharp with suspicion.
Sam shook his head, panicked. He had no idea what was happening, but whatever it was, he knew he was not doing it.
"I'm not," he muttered, feeling his limbs grow heavy. "I'm not…"
Lempo approached him and grabbed him roughly by the shoulder.
"You're being pulled out of Tuonela," he hissed. "Is this your idea of a fair fight, Samuel?"
"No," Sam said. "No, this isn't me…you have to understand…I'm not…"
Lempo's face was still harsh.
"What do you think I'll do to Dean if you weasel your way out of this fight?"
Sam gasped. He tried to stay where he was, tried to will himself not to wake up in the real world and remain there with Lempo, at least until the job was done. But whoever was pulling him back, whatever they were using on him, Sam could not fight it. His vision darkened. The last thing he saw was Lempo's furious face.
XXXxxxXXX
Sam came to gasping and wheezing, as if he could not remember how to breathe properly. The panic at the thought that he had been taken away from Lempo, and that Lempo would see this as Sam backing out of their agreement only increased his breathlessness. Dimly, he was aware of the hands shaking his shoulders. Dean's hands. Sam would know them anywhere. As the fog cleared from his mind, he could finally hear Dean's voice and understand his words.
"Now take it easy, Sammy. You're gonna be fine. You're back in the land of the living."
Sam shook his head frantically.
"No, you don't understand," he gasped. "You've got to take me back…"
"What?"
Dean shook him slightly at that. Sam opened his eyes and looked into his brother's anxious face. He reached out and clutched Dean's hands almost to the point of pain. He did not care. He needed to hold on to Dean, afraid that, if he didn't, Piru and Lempo would snatch him away. Well, they could snatch Dean away even if Sam did hold on to him…
"You don't understand," he repeated. "You're in danger, Dean. You've gotta send me back!"
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