Chapter 12
Sam heard the snap of the fingers and the crunch of bone. He was well aware that he cried out for Lucifer not to do it. But it did and the crunch was loud in his ears. And then there was the grunt of pain. Wait… pain? Sam frowned and lifted his head since there wasn't a sound made if someone's neck was broken like that.
There was blinding light but Sam could see the silhouette of someone and they were holding onto Lucifer's hand and it was a tight grip. He was staring at Lucifer with murderous intent and lying on the ground was Angela. She was semi-conscious and he could make out her eyes opening meaning that she had some sort of consciousness but it was alarming that they weren't coherent.
Another crunch sounded and Sam heard Lucifer actually grunt and he heard a feminine grunt. He directed his attention to the source and he saw Angela, the one that had been with him, wrenching the evil doppelganger of Angela by the arm to the point of disarticulation. But that wasn't what had his attention.
Lucifer's hand was straining from the pain of the figure that was holding onto it. Sam strained to see who it was but all he could make out was that it was male and probably as tall as him. The light was too bright for him to see. What could see was that they were on his and Angela's side for the most part. He wasn't going to presume since there were people that would help out Angela but wouldn't do anything willingly for him or Dean. Right now though he was holding onto the hope that it was going to be for the better.
"So you finally came out. I wondered when that would happen."
Sam frowned as he watched Lucifer look at his attacker and speak to him. There was no response but Sam could tell that whatever this guy was doing was talking through his actions. That certainly put a spin on actions speaking louder than words. Sam watched as Lucifer grinned but it was laced with pain as he stared at his captor.
"Seriously? You're really going to play the silent card?"
Lucifer was looking annoyed and Sam could tell that was not going to make things end well. He had been on the receiving end of the devil's annoyance. This was not going to go well if it was going to get more violent and judging from the case, it probably was going in that direction. He couldn't help himself and voiced, "Don't."
No one paid attention to him. The Angela that said she was the part of her that was his made a move and wrenched the arm of the darker version. He winced at the crunching sound. It wasn't his Angela but it had her face and it was hard to see her go through any trauma that would leave serious injuries. And yet the darker version only made an initial sound but after that, she merely stared and took the pain from what the other Angela was doing.
It was like watching Angela torturing herself. And Sam had a front row seat. It had him thinking if this was how she battled with herself when it came to the choices she made and with what she did before they met and after they met. It pained him that she seemed so split and there were times that she seemed to hate herself. He felt his eyes water as tears threatened, watching her two selves.
The darker half then reacted and started fighting the other one. It was a visual form of how Angela wrestled with what she did back then and what she didn't want to be. Sam remembered how she told him that she had been trained in arts that took a lifetime to master and some of that included the best ways of killing. She described it as being trained to be a killer and she didn't know it at the time and was why some of her anger was directed at her father after she died and then he died bringing her back. Then it was flung hard in her face when she was a prisoner of hell under Alistair's knife.
Angie, you are not a killer. "You are not a killer," Sam breathed as he looked down, not wanting to see her battle herself but then looking down, he saw the real Angela on the ground, wincing in pain. He tried getting her attention, "Angie, listen to me. Please look at me."
There was some response and Angela shifted to look at him. That gave Sam some relief. She was looking at him but it didn't help that it was slightly glazed indicative of the pain she was in. And if she felt it here then… He didn't want to think about the result of her physical body. It was enough to make him angry since he had seen what had happened to her and killed because of it.
"Sam?"
It was a whisper but it got his attention. Sam looked down and saw her looking at him. Her hand was stretched out towards him while on the ground. She was trying to get up. She was being who she was, not giving up as long as she had a breath in her body when it came to the fight. Sam moved to try and make the same movement towards her. His was awkward because of the meat hooks pulled and tearing his skin. Still he made an effort and reached for her too.
"I don't think so."
Sam blinked the moment he saw Angela slide backwards on the ground. Looking up he saw Lucifer pulling on her leg to bring her closer to him. Of the other guy that stopped the devil from killing her he didn't see and he wondered if it was a figment of his imagination. He looked around and saw the darker form of Angela coming towards him and grab him by the hair.
Sam had been stabbed, shot and a bunch or other things but hair pulling was a new thing. Actually he was used to Angela pulling it but always in an affectionate way and he loved how she massaged his scalp. This pulling was different and he could see it since she forced him to look her in the eyes. Those eyes…
He had always been fascinated by the coloring of her eyes, the tawny amber color and when they glowed when she vamped out… They were glittery, bright and full of life. This one… they eyes were pitch black like those of a demon. It made him swallow back the feeling of bile that threatened to rise in his throat. And they were looking at him with intense hatred or… He made a sound when the darker version pressed her lips to his and kissed him long and hard. It wasn't like the kisses he and the real Angela shared. This was full of lust or just…
Sam didn't want to resist but he did. He pulled back and looked at this darker version in the eye with wide eyes, not sure whether to be repulsed, terrified or what. He just stared into those black orbs and she stared back. There was no emotion. No nothing as she ran her hand along his face, tracing the cuts made by Lucifer from beating his ass black and blue. The blank stare was nothing compared to the bland ones she would give when she was never sure what emotion to convey and was one that he fully hated.
Sam felt his body tense when her hand started moving towards his chest. He couldn't help but jerk since the touch was not hers. Even though it looked like her it wasn't her and it bothered him greatly. And she didn't seem to care that it did bother him. He just stared at her blank eyes when he felt a sharp and burning pain in his left shoulder. He cried out as his arm fell slack. Looking up, he saw her darker self holding the meat hook she had ripped from his shoulder, bloodied in her hand. There was no emotion on her face as she stared at him as he continued to grunt and hiss from the pain.
It was worse than ripping a band aid off when the second ripped from under his right pec. He couldn't help but cry out in pain and looked up to see the bloodied hooks in her hands. His body collapsed to the ground and the wet sound of blood filled his ears as it dripped from the open wounds in his body. He put his right to the ground to support him since his left was near useless.
It was pointless since he was given a hard hit to the face and he fell back. He landed on his back hard and he felt winded. He grunted and shifted to look around. He saw Angela on the ground sporting a nasty cut under her eye as she struggled under Lucifer's grip. His arms were wrapped around her neck and in a perfect position to break it. He then heard her cry out and that was when he saw Lucifer driving something into her side.
Sam's reaction was like that of when she was attacked when she was a little girl and taken from him. It was visceral and prompted him to move. He managed to get to his hands and knees before getting a kick to the ribs. It hurt like a bitch and then the fists came down between his shoulder blades and he was flat on his stomach. The hands came quick and wrapped around his neck in the same position that Lucifer was holding Angela and it was clear that it was a move to kill.
"It's inevitable. We all succumb to darkness."
Sam heard the darker Angela whisper in her ears. He was panted as he was trying to get a good grip. He glanced up and saw Lucifer almost getting the one up to kill her. He heard the darker Angela whisper something else as she tightened her grip. He wasn't going to have it and grunted out and made his move.
He twisted his body and pinned the darker Angela to the ground and wrapped his hands around her neck. He was ready to squeeze the life out of her when he heard her speak. She sounded like the real Angela, looking at him and begging him to stop. He paused and that was his undoing. She pinned him again and told him he was a weakling and that he deserved to die.
The killing blow was about to be delivered and Sam was certain that he heard the real Angela call out to him. He wasn't sure because there was a blinding light. He squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them he found that his arms were raised up and he blinked in confusion while lowering them to look around. He twisted slowly while ignoring the pain in his body.
The light was still around but Lucifer and the dark Angela were gone. His companion and the real one were still there and then that mysterious figure that he had seen before was back. His back was facing towards Sam and was standing between her and him. It had him on alert even though the guy helped him. He had to ask, "Who are you? What do you want?"
The strange figure said nothing. Sam watched as he continued to look down at Angela. She was lying face down. It looked like she had been beaten to unconsciousness. It had Sam hitch his breath and he struggled to get to his feet but the best he could do was crawl towards her. He grunted out her name, "Angie."
In the meantime, the figure walked towards Angela and kneeled in front of her. Sam gritted his teeth from the pain as he continued to make his way forward. He heard the guy in front of him call to Angela and speak, "Angie. Come on. Time to wake up."
That seemed to get Angela to respond. She moaned as she opened her eyes and looked up. Sam thought she said something but he couldn't hear. The guy in front of him reached out and slowly stroked her cheek and started speaking to her. Sam paid no attention as he kept trying to get closer. He had little strength to get to his feet so crawling was his best bet. He kept asking the guy, "Hey. What do you want? Who are you?"
As Sam got closer, the light that was there got brighter. It forced Sam to squint but he didn't give up moving closer. He had to get to Angela and make sure she was okay and tell her to stay strong. He couldn't tell her to stay away since that wouldn't make sense. She was in hell with him and that was the end of it. "Angie," he grunted like it was almost a whisper.
Sam kept inching his way forward. When he was close enough, the guy that was kneeling in front of him suddenly turned and looked at him full on. Sam paused and looked at him. His eyes when wide in realization just as the light got brighter. It was then that he felt the familiar and light touch of her hand…
Angela was tired and hurting. She didn't want to give up but it was impossible to escape from an angel's wrath that would come in an instant. She would know since Zachariah decided to basically break her down literally. Of course that was pure picnic compared to what Lucifer had in mind for her. It was then that she heard Sam cry out for Lucifer to stop and a bright light appeared.
She found herself dropped. Her first thoughts were that Sam had gotten free and started going crazy because she was hurt. That was his normal reaction and no matter how many times she scolded and teased about it… right now it was welcome. It was dispelled however when she looked up when she heard her name and saw Sam hanging from meat hooks. It had her confused at who it was that helped her but…
"Angie."
Hearing her name, she looked at Sam and returned the call and reached out towards him. She saw Sam try to do the same thing. Suddenly she found herself being grabbed by the leg and pulled away from Sam. It was like those creepy horror movies as she slid across the ground and towards the thing that could kill her. She dug her nails into the ground and it felt like she was getting her nails ripped out as she dug in.
The next thing she knew, Lucifer was on top of her back and holding her in a chokehold and forcing her to watch. She watched as a darker version of herself toyed with Sam. She felt her breath hitch as she watched her darker self grab Sam's hair, and pull it and touch him. She hissed when the meat hooks were ripped out of Sam.
She had seen blood before. She had fought in wars and spilled that blood herself but it was always different when it was someone that you cared about. She watched as Sam collapse and then her darker self moved to pin him in the same manner that Lucifer had her. She felt Lucifer tug her and he whispered in her ear, "Just keep on trying. You're not going to get out of this any time soon."
Then she felt the sharp pain in her side as Lucifer stabbed her in the side. And that started a rampage she knew would get Sam going. She struggled and luckily the blade was pulled out but Lucifer still had the upper hand on her and had her pinned. She was in a good position to see that Sam had straddled her dark half and was in a position to choke her.
It had to be torture to Sam when her dark half begged as she would, begging Sam not to hurt her. She knew that Sam still felt guilty about what he had done to her on Valentine's Day with the whole thing with famine. She saw it in the look he gave her when he realized whose blood it was he swallowed from the vial. And now it was going to be the thing that would cost him and she saw it as her dark half used his hesitation to her advantage and twisted to pin him.
"I knew it. You're too weak. You won't do what needs to be done."
Angela saw the killing blow that would be done. She knew it all too well having done it herself. She used it several times over. She couldn't helped it. She elbowed Lucifer despite the pain that she was in and scrambled to try and reach Sam. She screamed, "Sam!" Her hand was outstretched, reaching towards Sam.
The white light was blinding and it almost seared her eyeballs. She forced them shut but continued to reach out for Sam. She thought that she felt Lucifer's hand on her leg but it was gone. She thought she heard his voice but it was gone. She couldn't open her eyes yet since the light could blind her. She thought Michael was adding to the fun he and Lucifer were having or it was all Lucifer's doing just to make her see that she really had no control here in hell. Rather she felt like all her energy was expended and she just collapsed.
Angie.
She heard his voice and she could smell him. It was Sam but it couldn't be. She was in hell. She was trying to find him. It was one of Lucifer's tricks.
No lying on the job now.
Angela felt a finger gently hook under her chin and lift her head. She looked up and saw Sam. He was kneeling and looking at her with that gentle smile that made her feel like putty. "Sam," she breathed.
"You've done what you came to do."
"No I didn't. I…"
"You did."
Angela looked at the smile that was on Sam's face. It was more reassuring than she had seen since being here. It allowed her to breathe and relax. But she was still concerned and voiced it, "But…"
"You have to go now. You are in danger in the real world."
"But I can't leave you here."
"Then take us. Take us both."
At that moment the light grew brighter and Angela squinted but she felt the rush of energy. Sam was disappearing. There was no way she was going to leave him behind. She reached out and grabbed his hand and held on as the light engulfed them both. It was so bright that she closed her eyes to avoid being blinded. When she opened them she found that she was in a cave and Michael was looming over her ready to kill her.
It was a split second when Sam tackled the archangel. It surprised her since one, Sam was there and two, Sam got the one up on an archangel. She didn't have time to reflect on that since Michael managed to throw off Sam and was turning onto Adam and Mac. She flipped forward onto her feet and charged forward. It was probably foolish and she was going on instinct. She ended up grabbing the archangel and throwing him as hard as she could.
She followed through by flinging her arm in a sweeping motion. It was a good thing too since some of Lucifer's minions had manifested and were making their way towards Tsura and the others. They flew like they were rag dolls and hit the walls leaving Michael standing there. She narrowed her eyes at Michael as she backed into a fighting stance.
Michael narrowed his own eyes at Angela as she prepared to fight with her. "How did you do that?"
"Do what?" Angela kept her focus on Michael.
"I can understand coming back from the dream state on your own but you brought back another."
Angela blinked slightly and shifted. She wasn't hallucinating when she saw Sam. There he was standing beside her. He was covered in dried blood and injuries but he was there. She brought him with her? She frowned and looked at Michael. She grunted and held up her fists and replied, "Good. More to beat the crap out of you."
Michael grinned, "Fine." He raised his fingers and snapped them.
There was a loud crack and Sam and Adam were both down grabbing a limb. Adam held his arm and Sam grabbed his leg. Angela looked at them and gritted her teeth. Her breath came in heaves as she panted, trying to control it but it was too much. She let her rage take over and with a feral growl, she rounded on the archangel and flew at him.
Angela had been told that she was fast but she scoffed at the idea. When she was in the zone, she only had eyes for her enemy and in this case it was Michael. She flew at him and threw punches. They made contact with flesh and it was satisfying to hear. Some of her blows were blocked but that didn't matter. All she saw was red and Michael's face. At one point they grabbed each other by the collar and slammed each other into the walls.
It was a painful business since they left sizeable dents in the walls. Angela persevered and managed to slam Michael into a wall causing the walls to start to crumble. She turned towards Mac and Tsura and said, "Mac, Tsura, get them out."
Angela didn't need to watch them do it. She turned her attention to Michael as he got up. The walls were starting to crumble meaning that it was going to collapse soon. She didn't have a whole lot of time. She readied herself as Michael did the same. She grinned a bit and waited until Michael made his move and charged.
Gabriel had been the angel, the archangel, that taught her how to fight against his kind. He taught her how to use her abilities to the max and effectively since angels were the toughest things to beat and could do a lot of damage. He never made her dependent on a weapon but instead taught her to use her bare fists and to use her abilities as a sort of last resort kind of thing. His reasoning was that she would become too dependent on a weapon and not her brain, her resourcefulness. The lesson was a hard one and she ended up with a lot of bruises for her trouble but she learned and she was using it to her advantage.
It also helped that after Gabriel she trained with various martial artist masters including Master Ru. They taught her fighting styles as well as the philosophies attached to them. In turn, she combined them to create a unique style of her own and that fed into the reputation the known world had of her. She used it now against Michael, delivering blows that held a lot of power behind them. It also was pretty destructive when she was super mad. It was why she always tried to talk things out.
"You're doing well. I remember this part. Of course to go all the way I guess I'll have to kill Sam."
Angela growled and she shoved Michael into the wall. It was the straw that broke the camel's back. The walls were coming down. Looking up, Angela knew she had to get out. She charged towards the exit but she was not going to make it unless… A bark got her attention and she felt relief and joy. She sprang and grabbed onto Cerebus as he charged right by her.
By that time, more of the ceiling was coming down. She held on and said, "Charge Cerebus. Go, go, go!"
Cerebus gave a final lunge and they cleared the cave just as it collapsed. Angela let go and hit the ground and rolled clear. She came to a stop and looked at the damage and sighed on relief and got to her feet. She made her way to where Adam and Sam were waiting with Tsura and Mac. She collapsed to sit next to Sam and even though he was grimacing from the broken leg, he was smiling in relief.
"It's you."
"Who else would it be?" Angela couldn't help but tease him.
Sam chuckled and Angela drew him into a hug. It was a relief to be together. She looked at Adam and grinned, "Well I guess that's phase one done. Time for phase two."
"Phase two?" Adam looked at her alarmed.
"I don't want to know," Sam muttered with a slight grin. There was still things to talk about but there was plenty of time to do that while they were stuck in hell.
Angela looked at them and chuckled. It died when a mocking clap sounded. She turned to look in the direction of the sound. Her eyes narrowed as Lucifer stepped into view. She stood up and made ready to fight. She waited until Lucifer made a move and she charged. Her attack was batted aside and she was grabbed by her neck. She was then flung until she was suspended in midair. She couldn't move and all she could see was Sam and Adam being pinned on the ground. She turned her attention to the devil and growled, "Lucifer."
Lucifer grinned at her, "Now, now. You've had your fun." He looked at everyone. "You've have your protection in what you created. Now it's time to get to business." He chuckled as he looked at them. "This is going to be fun."
Angela grunted as she was suspended. She tried to struggle but she couldn't get free. She looked at Sam and Adam. She had long known that she was walking into a bigger game but she clung to the belief that she could do better. Now she was caught. Sam was caught. And now they were going to get into something that would prove to be the true test of withstanding hell. She glanced at Sam and stretched her hand towards him.
Remember. Always and forever.
A/N: Sam and Angie are out of the dream and together but it isn't over. Stay tuned for the next episode of Chronicles of Absolution: Let the Games Get Bloody...