Chapter 6 – Facing the Giant
"Hey." Sam was looking back towards the ruins.
"What?" Crowley snapped. He glanced over at him. "And what are you doing just lollygagging around? I am not paying you to admire the scenery."
"Well," Sam adjusted Dean on his shoulder to avoid a particularly vicious kick, "you know how we left Gabriel behind to take care of our pursuer?"
"Oh, good. He's done?" The Brit continued walking. "Now we can get our job done without any worries."
"Yeah, it's not Gabriel following us." Sam squinted to try to get a better look. "Unless he somehow grew taller and stole the guy's trench coat." He paused. "I like to think he has better taste than that."
"What?" Crowley turned around and looked behind them.
Sure enough, making his way over hill and dale, the man in the trench coat grew closer with each step. His coat flared out behind him, making it even more dramatic looking.
"Inconceivable!" Crowley growled. "He bested that moronic swordsman."
Sam shot a glare at him. "He's not a moron."
"He still let himself be beaten." The boss whirled away from the sight of their pursuer towards Sam. "Set him down and give him to me!" When Sam just gave him a confused look, he held out his hand in a gimme gesture with an accompanying growl that made his intentions fairly plain.
Sam quickly brought the hunter down from his shoulders, setting him on his feet. For a moment, Dean thought it would be the perfect time to get away as the giant released him. However, a vice-like grip clamped down on his arm. Surprised, Dean looked down and tried to tug himself away from the short man. He couldn't even budge him though.
Crowley was a lot stronger than he looked.
"Catch up with us quickly." The Brit ordered before he began to leave, tugging Dean behind him.
"Why? What do you want me to do?" Sam's face again scrunched with confusion.
Crowley looked back at him "Finish him! Your way!"
"Right." Sam turned in the direction they had come from. "What exactly is my way?" He muttered, not expecting his boss to hear him.
"Oh for Christ's sake!" Crowley immediately halted and turned towards the giant, bringing Dean to an abrupt stop. "You've got a gun!" He pointed it out. "When the man in the trench coat comes around the bend, shoot him in the bloody head!" He was yelling now. "Or if you want it to be a bit messier, hit him with a rock! I don't care, just get rid of him." Muttering curses, the man finally left with their prize.
Sam frowned at his retreating back. "My way's not very fair." He said to himself as he drew his gun and hide behind one of the convenient boulders.
All too soon, the mysterious man was making his way through the small field of boulders. He slowed down from his run as he carefully studied the ground. He frowned at whatever he saw, when suddenly a gunshot went off.
The man in the mask jerked back as rocks sprayed from where the bullet had imbedded itself in the boulder mere inches from his head. He quickly turned to face where the shot had coming from, instinctively drawing his blade.
Sam walked around from behind the boulder, still holding the smoking pistol. "I did that on purpose. I didn't have to miss."
Where the giant might have thought that the man would actually look at where his brains were nearly blown from his head, to his surprise, the man's eyes never left him. "I can believe that." He replied. Neither of them moved for a moment. Just as an awkward silence was falling, the man spoke again. "Now what?"
"We face each other as God intended… sportsmanlike. No tricks, no weapons, skill against skill alone." Sam offered.
The man's head tilted a bit, as he looked a bit bewildered. "You mean, you'll put down your gun and knife while I'll put down my sword, and we'll try to kill each other like civilized people?"
Sam cocked his pistol and aimed it at the man. "I could just kill you now." He reasoned.
The man pondered it for a moment before sheathing his sword. "It seems you really leave me no choice." He began to remove his sword from his belt.
"I'm glad you see it my way." Sam chuckled, as he too removed his weapons.
"It does seem like the odds are in your favor in hand to hand combat." The man in the trench coat finished setting down his sword, and pulled out a knife from his boot as well.
Sam nodded at the show of sportsmanship. "It's not my fault that I'm bigger and stronger than everyone."
"Though fighting doesn't seem to be your cup of tea as it were." The man straightened and studied Sam. It made the giant feel slightly uncomfortable.
"Well, I actually want to be a lawyer, but school costs money." He shrugged. "Crowley pays well."
"So you intend to become a purveyor of the law, and yet you do criminal acts." The man settled into a fighting stance. "That does not seem to be a good start for building a reputation."
Sam gritted his teeth. "I could just pick my gun back up."
The man wasted no more time. He came at Sam a lot more quickly than he had anticipated. The giant swiftly dodged the punch aimed at his face. He was surprised as it was followed up with a punch in the stomach. It hurt a bit, but Sam made sure none of the pain showed on his face.
Sam jumped back, hoping to get out of range, but the man managed to get around him and brought his hands together to land a blow across his back. Sam grunted and stumbled a couple steps forward. He quickly brought his hand up to block another punch, and managed to throw the man back a bit.
"Aren't you going to attack?" The man asked, as he paused in his attack. His head was tilted once more.
Sam faked a smile. "Just thought I would give you a chance, so you'd feel better."
In reality, he was hiding his surprise. Sure, Dean had presented an interesting challenge as it had been years since puberty hit and people willingly tried to brawl with him. This man was even better than the hunter though. One would think that he'd been training in combat all of his life.
This could be harder than Sam originally thought it would be.
This time, the giant was the one who took the offensive, but the man easily dodged, managing to slip a punch to Sam's ribs as he did so. Sam swung his arm out, hoping to catch the man as he went around his back. Instead, the man caught it and kicked at the back of the giant's knee, temporarily making the leg collapse. Sam quickly recovered and tried to grab the man once more, but he easily slipped past his grasp.
"You're quick." Sam couldn't help but acknowledge.
"And a good thing, too." The man replied as he attacked once more, Sam barely keeping up with his punches before the man retreated once more.
"Why are you wearing a mask?" Sam asked, truly curious. He took several swipes at the man, but continued to miss. "Did you get burned by acid or something?" The man actually bent fully backwards at his latest lunge, and used his momentum to flip himself over, his foot catching Sam right in the jaw. He couldn't help but be glad that he hadn't bit off his tongue as he rubbed his sore jaw. He growled though and doubled his efforts.
"It's quite comfortable. I could see it catching on." The man seemed to be hiding a smile; whether due to the conversation or Sam's inability to catch him, the giant didn't know. The man slipped under guard once more as he crouched near the ground to avoid the clutching grasp of his hands, and he swept Sam off his feet with a kick across the legs.
Sam hit the ground hard, but rolled in order to avoid the next kick aimed at his head. He regained his footing. "And the trench coat?" He aimed a punch at the man's face. He was getting pissed and he didn't care how obvious the move was.
"I like it." The man easily caught the punch and used it to swing around and jump onto Sam's back. He wrapped his arms around the giant's neck in a chokehold.
Sam grunted from the pressure, but he had enough wits to back up. A stray thought occurred to him just as he hit one of the boulders, the pursuer getting the brunt of the blow. "I just figured out why you're causing me so much trouble." It also explained his initial challenge with Dean as well.
The man grunted. "Care to enlighten me?" His hold on Sam only grew tighter. The giant walked forward a bit in order to try to smash the leech again.
"I don't fight most people one on one. I specialize in…" He groaned as he hit another rock with his back, but the man wasn't letting go. "Groups." Sam finally finished his sentence.
"What's the difference?" The man cried out as they hit another boulder.
Sam stumbled forward. "You use different moves when you're fighting half a dozen people…" Spots were appearing in Sam's vision and he felt a large sense of vertigo, "than when you have to be worried… about… one." With those final words, Sam's eyes finally rolled up into his head and he collapsed face first onto the ground.
The man quickly unleashed the giant and rolled him over. Pressing his ear to Sam's chest, he made sure that there was still a heartbeat. He lifted his head, satisfied that he had not killed him. "I apologize for the headache you will have when you awaken. Rest well for now though."
With that, the man quickly collected his sword and knife and continued after Crowley.
Meanwhile, over at the ruins, a different man studied the ground where the fight had taken place. Prince Michael crouched down and looked over the scuffmarks as Head Guard Raphael, Count Metatron, and his bodyguard Gadreel waited with the soldiers they had brought with them.
"There was… a mighty duel." Michael placed his own feet within the marks and mimicked some of the footwork that had been done.
"Who won? How did it end?" Metatron actually looked interested for the first time since they had dragged him from his work to accompany them. He always loved a good story.
Michael followed the trail until he got to where the entrance would have been. He stood slowly, his eyes tracing paths that no one else present could see. "The loser… ran off alone. And the winner…" He pointed off into the distance. "Followed those footsteps to Hell."
"Shall we track them both?" Raphael asked, ready to signal the men.
Michael waved his hand dismissively. "The loser is nothing; only the prince matters. Anna would kill us all should we lose him." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Clearly this was planned by soldiers from Hell. We must be ready for whatever lies ahead."
"Could this be a trap?" Metatron asked almost nervously, his eyes darting from side to side. Gadreel rolled his eyes at his cowardice.
Michael quickly mounted his horse. He glanced at both his head guard and the count. "I always think everything could be a trap." With a flick of the wrist, the reins snapped and his horse quickly sprang into action. "It's why I'm still alive."
With those final words, the men made their way into Hell.
AN: Today was my first day substitute teaching, and it was for PE. Both my sister and dad laughed about that. Anyway, as you might notice I changed a few things about this scene, because unlike Fezzik, I think Sam actually works out and I also tried to explain why he'd work for Crowley in the first place. And of course, Michael's making his move. I hope you like it and I'll see you on Saturday.