Chapter 18

Alex wanted to shut his eyes but he couldn't as he watched the knife sail through the air. What he didn't expect was Angela to continue to move forward. At the last moment, she moved and held up her wrists. Alex watched as the knife sailed clean through the ropes. At the last moment, she grabbed the handle and whirled around to throw it back. Alex watched as the knife embedded itself in the chest of the one behind the guy that threw it.

Angela was free now but she was still vastly outnumbered. The Master knew this and said, "You're off the edge of the map." He then thrust something at Alex and shoved him into the center of the sigil. "Now read this and maybe I won't kill you after all."

"That is unacceptable."

Angela turned to see the guy who tried to free them earlier standing forward. He had a staff in his hand. "What are you doing?" she asked in a heated whisper.

Liam glanced at the woman and replied, "Better late than never." Towards the Master, he said, "You have violated the oath."

"Liam. And here I was thinking you were trustworthy." The Master motioned behind him. He then barked out, "Kill them both."

Angela reacted by turning around to run to let the rogue Masons chase her. She then flipped forward, placing her hands on the ground and using her feet and momentum, she felt her heels kick her pursuer in the face. Once she was right side up, she brought her arm to backhand a second guy and she pivoted to deliver precise strikes. She caught a glimpse of some men, more likely Masons attacking the rogues. She glanced at Liam.

Liam had launched forward towards the Master but was blocked by his second with a similar staff. It caused his to break in half but it was no problem. Liam twirled them both and started using them as a means of striking down brothers without killing but he knew that was going to change since these rogue brothers were clearly on the Master's side. He saw the woman and he said, "Reinforcements."

Angela barely had time to process what Liam was saying when a shot rang out. Apparently some of these guys brought their guns. She didn't flinch when one of them hit her in the fleshy part of her upper arm. She took off running and jumped off the dais that she had noticed nearby, flipping over and kicking goons that were standing in front of her. She reverted to her martial arts as she kept moving and she saw Liam and his friends trying to beat back the rogue Masons. She then spotted Alex who was in the line of fire of someone trying to shoot at him. She took off running and right when the shot would have hit him, she whisked him out of the way and slid along the floor.

"Whoa, where did you learn to do that?"

Angela took a breath and replied, "Just making this up as I go." She got to her feet and she felt something. It was as clear as when Mary had called her that one time and she smiled. She turned to Alex and said, "You need to get out. They're here."

"You're not going anywhere."

Angela turned to see two goons pointing guns at them and she immediately put herself between them and Alex. She glanced and saw that Liam and his men were surrounded. The Master was laughing and he said, "I'm always prepared. Did you think that this was going to be easy? And you are right; the gates can be opened without the use of the brat." He then stood on the sigil and spoke the ancient words.

Angela reacted and batted the guns away and adding to that were two shots that rang out. She looked towards the source and saw Sam pointing a gun down. She gave a nod and started running. There was chaos ensuing as Liam and his men started moving against the rogues holding them at gun point. More shots rang out and she saw Dean running in followed by Gideon and other members of the order.

Bob stood by the Master and shouted, "Protect the Master!"

The rogues spread out, some shooting while others engaged in sword play. Angela used her hands and feet. At one point she was cornered by a Mason who pointed a sword at her. She dodged the movements by jumping backwards. She could sense the composite of the blade. She pulled out of all things the knife that Liam had given her and flipped it open. It was better than nothing. She held it out in a defensive posture. The guy laughed at her but it was proving difficult when she slashed back after dodging.

Alex watched as he scrambled to the side. He was grabbed by a Mason and he reacted using the moves that Nebi had taught him. He kneed the guy in the groin dropping him to his knees. Alex then gave a punch to the face. "That's for Nebi."

"Smooth Alex."

Alex turned to see Kelly and Mason hiding and motioning him to come. He said, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Here to rescue you," Kelly retorted. "Come on. Dean told us to get you out."

Alex looked over to see the Winchesters engaged in fist fights as well as his dad and the other knights of the order fighting with the weapons they had trained in. He then saw Angela who was still flushed with fever and she was holding off a guy with a knife and he had a sword. He then saw the Master chanting and that was when he saw the cracks of light starting to form on a wall. A closer look revealed that it was painted to resemble a doorway. He looked at his friends and said, "I can't. I got to stop this."

"Then I'm going with you," Kelly replied as she jumped down. She pulled out a piece of piping that she had found outside.

"Me too," Mason replied.

Alex smiled at his friends and said, "Alright I think I have a plan."

Sam didn't expect to find the place to be so huge and not so grungy. He wondered if he and Dean had the right idea in charging in like they planned with him heading up top and Dean leading the rest in. Sam was uneasy that he hadn't met much resistance as he scrambled along the awnings of the building. How they even found this place was beyond him.

"Dean, turn right here."

"Sam, they told us where to go."

"Trust me Dean. This is the way to go."

"How do you know that Sam?"

"I don't know… I just do. Call it a gut feeling"

Dean glanced at Sam and said, "Fine. You better be right or I'll convince Angie to kick your ass later."

"Bite me jerk."

Sam really didn't have a clue how he knew but that nagging feeling that he had earlier seemed to pulse. It was like something was pointing him in that direction. Now he was here and he could see Angela. He reached for her sword that was hanging from the strap draped on his shoulder. Dean told him that she might need it and handed it to him to take. He adjusted it as he moved into position.

Angela had her back to the kid and she was standing off two bastards pointing guns at her. Granted that Sam had seen her take down armed people as she was, it didn't stop the feeling of concern that was at the back of his mind. He raised his gun up and took aim.

It was dead on and the guys dropped like flies. When Angela gave him a nod of thanks, Sam knew that she could handle whatever was going to happen next. He moved to make his way down to better help his brother who was charging in with the other knights. At first Sam thought them crazy for taking guns and blades into a fight but it proved to be useful since he could see that the room was filled with weapons of different kinds and there were Masons against Masons and knights against Masons. He moved towards his brother and took aim at a sonofabitch trying to knife Dean.

Dean never saw it coming but when the guy fell down and he saw Sam pointing his gun. He couldn't but say, "Damn. Dead eye Sam."

Sam rolled his eyes and looked around for Angela to give her the sword. He had been caught off guard by one huge guy's fist catching him on the jaw. Sam dropped his gun and whirled to face the guy. If Dean was around he would have made some stupid comment about two giants starting a rumble or something like that. Sam circled the guy waiting until he moved to make his move.

He caught a punch to where he had been shot before and he grunted. It hurt like hell but the adrenaline coursing through was enough to keep him going. Sam countered with his own punches and thought he was hitting a wall. So he focused on the pressure points that would affect the douche the most like his dad and Dean had taught him. It took a moment but he finally managed to knock the big guy down on the ground.

"Never thought there was anyone bigger than you Sasquatch."

"Shut up Dean."

Dean laughed a bit as he pushed a guy out of his way. He made his way over to Sam and asked, "You see Angie and the kid anywhere?"

Sam scanned the area. He spotted movement on the rafters and saw the three kids. "Looks like the kids followed us."

Dean scowled when he saw them but then again he wasn't going to tangle with the girl. Kelly had proven to be as intimidating at Angela and Dean knew that when women were like that, you risked getting your head bitten off. "As long as they're out of the way. Come on. We have to stop the incantation."

Sam and Dean started towards the master when they were waylaid by Bob and Taylor. Dean looked at Bob and said, "Oh so you're the douche that tried to kill my brother."

Bob recognized the hunters and replied, "You were collateral damage. The brat was important." He studied the hunters as he manipulated the knife behind his back. When he was sure they were distracted, he threw it at the one who mouthed him. He was surprised when it stopped within millimeters of Dean's chest and then flew towards him. He ducked to avoid it but it buried itself in Taylor.

"That's not very nice." Angela appeared looking a little worse for the wear but she was still fighting.

Bob started towards her but Dean grabbed a hold of him and started with the punches. Sam asked Angela if she was all right. It was then he noticed the burns on her wrists. There was still rope attached to it. "Angela?"

"Can you cut it off?" Angela handed Sam the knife that she had. "Rope is getting annoying."

Sam said nothing but manipulated the knife and sliced the remaining rope off her wrists. He didn't like that they were that red and it looked as if some of the blisters had broken and were bleeding. Looking up he noticed the bullet wound in her arm. "Are you trying to become target practice?"

Angela narrowed her eyes as she pulled out Sam's gun that she managed to recover as she made her way through the fighting. "You really want me to answer that?"

"Probably not," Sam replied as he took his gun back. In return, he handed her the sword by the strap. He watched as it seemed to fuse to her hand as it almost always belonged there. It was a normal thing to see it in her hand and she was a piece of work when she swung it. He was suddenly pushed forward as if he was going to touch his toes and he felt a slight weight on his back.

As it turned out, one of the rogue Masons had come up from behind to stab Sam in the back. Angela had seen the attack and pushed Sam down while using her momentum to roll over his back and block with Absolution. It was like watching a contortionist act as she manipulated her body to bring her feet up and complete a flip. She finished the block with a very hard backhand to the bastard's face. She turned to look at Sam and said, "That was fun."

Sam couldn't help but grin before taking on another rogue Mason. There seemed to be hundred of them and they seemed to spring out of the woodwork. Sam tried working his way towards the Master but it was like trying to go upstream against the current. Suddenly he saw a flash of light and he stopped and saw Angela following the leader to the gate that revealed a strange sight. He shouted at her just as she took a leap in after the Master.

Alex tried to get down to towards the Master. He paused by a statuette and saw something that could be used as a weapon. It was a spear and it had a sigil on it that was strange. As he stared at it, the feeling that he was supposed to use it for something overcame him.

"Alex, you okay?"

Alex heard Kelly's voice and looked up. He saw the Master still chanting and he saw Angela running towards him. He looked at the ground and saw the cracks of light starting to form. He looked again at Angela and she was still looking like she was suffering from a fever. Suddenly he knew what it was and what he had to do. He couldn't explain how he knew but he reacted and said, "Kel help me pull this thing loose."

"What good is that going to do?" Kelly wondered where Alex's mind was going. At first they were going to try and use the building's own crap inside against the Masons that kidnapped him. Now he was saying that they needed to get this spear thing loose. She looked at Mason who was just as confused as she was. The benefit was that no one seemed to notice them.

Alex knew his friends were confused and heck even he was confused but right now he needed to get that spear free and hand it off to Angela. Once her job was done, he could seal the gates. He replied, "We need it if we are going to reseal the gates."

"How do you know that?" Mason looked at Alex.

"I… have no idea. I just do, Help me, please." Alex began trying to tug it out of the statue's hand.

Mason looked at Kelly and Kelly looked back. They had stowed away and snuck in to help rescue Alex. Now it seemed like they were in way over their heads. Kelly looked at the fights occurring and saw the cracks of light as the locks were being forced open. She shrugged her shoulders and started to try to help Alex pull the spear out.

Mason followed Kelly's lead but instead tried pushing the bottom of the spear to try and get it free. He felt it stuck in there really good. He got an idea and tried to twist it. He said, "Try twisting it. Then pull."

Alex and Kelly started twisting near the top while Mason did the bottom. As they twisted, they pulled/pushed. The spear started to move and it looked like that they might be able to get it out. Unfortunately it was slow progress and glancing at the growing cracks of light, Alex knew that they were running out of time. He encouraged, "Come on guys keep going a little faster."

"I'm trying but it's like this thing is wedged in there," Kelly retorted, frustrated that the progress was going so slow. "If we only had something like grease or oil."

Mason perked up. He remembered seeing something when they snuck into the building. He said, "I know. You two keep trying and I'll go get it."

"Mas!" Kelly yelled after Mason but it was to no avail. He disappeared into the shadows leaving them to continue to try and pull the spear out. Kelly looked towards Alex who was muttering something in a strange language and she asked, "What?"

Alex didn't realize that he had been speaking in another language. How did that happen? He jerked to attention and saw that Kelly was staring at him with a worried expression. He replied, "I… was just cursing at this stupid spear. It's stuck." He gave a slight shuffle of embarrassment as he went back to trying to twist and pull.

Kelly frowned slightly. It was as if Alex changed a bit. It was still him but he was talking about things that were strange. Still she had faith in him and joined in helping him try to pull the damn thing out of the statue's hand.

They didn't have long to wait for Mason came running with a small can. "Grease. Saw it when we were sneaking in Kel." He then proceeded to pour a liberal amount on the spear near the statue's hand where it was wedged. Satisfied that there was enough on it, Masson began to twist and push from the bottom.

Alex and Kelly started to pull from the top. Mason almost wanted to whoop out for joy when he felt the spear start to slide along easily through the hole. It still stuck in places but it was moving. Alex said, "Almost there."

The victory was short lived. There was a brilliant glare of light. Alex cast a glance. The gates were open now. They had to get the spear out now. He started doing frantic tugs like a little kid would do to try to pry something loose. He had to get it out and seal the gates. He paused when he heard the Master laugh and say something he couldn't make out. Watching him, Alex saw him approach the gate. The Master's back was to whatever it was behind him and there was a creature approaching. For some odd reason Alex knew exactly what the creature was and it became important that they get the spear out.

Angela left Sam to take care of the rest of the rogue Masons. She had to focus on the gate and the Master. The Apkallu said that she had a limited amount of time once he imparted his knowledge to her. She agreed to it since hell she had been willing to be possessed by the spirit of a Champion back in Chicago. That was before she found out that she had already been considered one by the gods and it was probably written somewhere in the damn Seer's book.

The knowledge was to help her against the guardian of the Plain. The sage told her that the guardian was designed to protect the Plain at all costs unless he was defeated in combat or told to stand down by the overseer. The only other option was to have the heir of Melchizedek stand at the sigil and use his knowledge to tell it to stand down. The guardian would not attack the heir. Angela didn't want to take that chance since the boy was an old soul. If she was not mistaken, old souls took time to assert themselves in terms of their knowledge. As far as she could tell, the boy was intelligent and some of the responses he had made in history class bordered on memories being shared. Complicated thing in terms of souls and the Old Religion… whatever that meant. The Apkallu said that not her.

So when she agreed, the Apkallu touched her temple and he picked the one that had been bashed by Nebi. The sting had already gone but it was still sore. All she knew was that she was going to get either a lecture when this was all over from Dean or Sam or both and that was if this whole thing worked. The knowledge came so fast that she nearly fainted from it but she held firm to her posture. She felt like she was going to be sick but the sage told her that such was the case when knowledge was giving too much and too fast.

So she had bided her time throughout the beginning of the fight so as not to waste a moment once she utilized it. Once the gates were sealed, the knowledge would be gone. That was fine with her. Now she needed to get to the Master. She batted her way towards where the sigil on the ground was. As she got closer she saw cracks of light on the ground and they were heading towards a blank wall. They were becoming more intense and started to form a symbol. Without delving to deeply, she knew what the sigil was. She started to run towards the Master.

The Master was finishing the last of the incantation when she came up to him. She had her blade drawn and was going to strike when he said, "Go ahead and strike me down. You're too late. I have just opened the gates to the Plain of Shar-On. The secrets of the House of Gold will be mine and we will have no need for the line of Melchizedek.

Angela halted but held Absolution ready to attack. She replied, "It is never too late."

The Master laughed at Angela. He clearly thought that she was a bit addled in the head. Probably that worthless Nebi hit her too hard when they took her. Or she was just like the crazy old bat that the order kept around. He replied, "You realize that the Plain contains secrets that have been considered lost to man for centuries when in fact they have been entrusted to just a privileged few. I am trying to redistribute the knowledge so that all may share."

"You ever consider the reason why only a few could access such things?" Angela circled the Master. She was looking for an opening to strike but he was edging nearer to the gate as it was opening. If he went through, she would have to go in after him and pray that she could do what was needed and make it out before it was closed. "Men's hearts hold shadows that are darker than any dark creature."

"Spouting the wisdom of the old ones I see. Well too bad. The gate is opened and the power of the therapeutate and the ultimate secret will be released."

Angela watched as the gate opened to reveal a place. She could make out a pyramid, a castle and quite possibly a church. There was also a sun and a moon and stars sharing the same place. It was rather strange and wondered if it manifested whatever form it wanted. She then saw a man dressed in the garb that she had seen in pictures of Bible figures and a he was wearing a hood. In one hand he was carrying the staff of the brazen serpent. At some angles it seemed to look like the Staff of Hermes. It certainly was fascinating enough to draw the attention of the people that were fighting.

The Master wasn't looking at this for his back was to it and he was standing on the sigil. He was looking at Angela and said, "You can't possibly win."

"I've heard that before," Angela muttered as she watched the scene behind the Master. She noticed that the man with the staff was saying something.

The Master laughed and walked up to the gate and said, "Try to catch me." He then walked through the boundary.

Angela paused a moment. Then without another hesitation, she ran forward and leapt through the barrier. The last thing she heard was someone shouting her name. She entered the realm and saw the splendors of ancient Egypt, then the Qumran region, beings wandering around. She spotted the castle and the church of Gothic look. She had no idea where to start looking.

She didn't have far to look for the Master was stepping up to an altar structure. She ran towards him. She never reached him for a creature landed behind the Master and grabbed him away. It was quick but Angela had seen people get possessed and she knew what had happened. She held up Absolution and looked at the Master started laughing a deep laugh that sounded distorted and hideous. He said, "Now those who dare defile shall be destroyed."

Angela held up Absolution and replied, "Not if I can help it." She then whispered a short incantation and the wind billowed around her.

"Then you face the Guardian… puny mortal."

A/N: Egads and inter dimensiona portal now? What's next? Aliens from outer space? Will Alex's own plan work? Find out next time on The Order of Melchizedek...

Acknowledgement: Most of the fighting and the pace and tempo was inspired in part by The Mummy Returns. Listening to the soundtrack music gets you going and I really wanted more fists flying. Too easy with guns and the like.