Chapter 14

Karnak, Temple Island of Kellis

She had tracked him there. She knew she was right. He had taught her everything about tracking things. He had taught her more about fighting along with the lord and lady… It was like he knew she would find him. She had to before the assassins found him. They would kill him before even thinking of asking him what he was up to. It just broke her heart that it had come to this.

He had crossed a line but it was for the best intentions. He had done it for her, to protect her as a loyal guard of the royal family would. He had crossed the boundaries and tapped into the darker aspects of his powers and made deals when he shouldn't have in order to make himself stronger… all because of her and it was because Azazel had found her and was on the warpath to finish what had begun before the pit.

Standing at the docks of the temple island of Kellis, she could make out the small village that serviced the temple and seemed to give a careful reverence for the place. There was a reason to since it was the domain of one of the more feared gods, the one of chaos and the desert. Set was considered evil in some circles because of what he did to his brother and nephew but Angela knew that he was an epitome of the blurring of the fine lines between light and dark. Setna must have been desperate to go to that god for assistance.

Taking a breath, she made her way through the village and to the temple. She saw signs of Azazel's destruction. Setna must have fed rumors that she was there to lead him away and she saw things that the demon was not capable of. It seemed that things were worse than they appeared and maybe worse than she thought.

The temple was still standing when she walked in and surprisingly none of the guards bothered to pester her. They seemed to know who she was without her having to identify herself. The nagging thought that Setna had said to let her pass tore through her mind as well. She glanced at one of the guard who was badly wounded and she knelt by him since he was still alive. As much as he was a servant of Set, he was still a being and she couldn't deny him help.

"Thank you princess. Your kindness… it shames me."

"It is nothing I wouldn't do for even Set if he needed it," she replied softly and she meant it.

"He is in the main hall. They all are. The demon is looking for you." The guard heaved a little as he adjusted his position on the cool stone floor. He looked at her as she kneeled to help. "Don't waste your time with me princess. What he has planned will only be…"

Angela nodded and she looked in the direction he was looking at. She patted him on the shoulder gently after making sure that he was fine and stood up slowly and walked forward. She felt her apprehension rise and it quickened her pace. The only thing between her and a friend was the black ebony doors which she pushed open and charged through.

It was a standoff between Setna and Azazel. Set was off to the side, not interfering as he loosely interpreted the rules of the gods. It looked like Setna was getting ready to use his powers and Azazel wasn't going to have a problem with it either. The major difference was that her old friend didn't look like how she remembered; he was different and not in a good way. She ran up and Azazel spotted her and said, "Well this is a surprise. You brought along who I was after. Very clever."

"She is not yours," Setna growled. "And you will pay for the damages you've caused."

"Just give me the pretty and this will be over," Azazel deadpanned, "Unless you want to continue with what we agreed?"

Setna looked at the demon, "As agreed."

"Setna, don't do this," Angela hissed. She was startled when Setna strode over to her and grabbed her to move her aside. She said in a heated whisper, "Don't do this. The assassins are coming and they won't…"

"I know Shifa'. I know what I am doing."

"Don't do this. Don't sacrifice your soul for me."

"It is what I do and what I swore, princess." Setna looked at Angela with a gentle look full of tenderness. "It is for you because it is you. Not because of what you will mean to the world. You are worth it." He gave her a kiss to her cheek before turning around to face the demon.

Angela felt the air leave her lungs. She protested, "Setna, don't. Please." It fell on deaf ears as it began and the sounds of crashing through the halls as the assassins broke through.

~0~0~

Sam looked at the newcomer as they stood between him and Lilith. He blinked as they revealed their face, pulling the headscarf down to hang around their neck with the handgun still pointed in his direction. He was a bit shocked at what just happened. "Angie?"

Angela took in the sight as she held her ground. She saw Ruby who looked like she had been slapped and Sasha. Lilith was on the ground and against the altar. She then looked at Sam and repeated, "I can't let you do this Sam."

"You don't know what you've done!" Ruby screeched.

Angela made a slight adjustment that was so tiny, no one would have noticed and squeezed off a round. It hit the ground within close proximity of Ruby's foot and she had the perverse pleasure of watching the demon jump. She looked at Sam and said, "Sam, you can't kill Lilith."

"Because you want to kill me yourself," Lilith piped up with a grin. This was most unexpected and yet it was still… exciting.

Angela turned to look at the demon and replied honestly, "Oh I do want to. What do you expect from someone with a death warrant on their head courtesy of you?"

"Angie, what are you doing here?" Even though Sam had heard it, it was a little bit to process that she just crashed through a window and shot at Ruby.

Angela looked at Sam and said in the simplest way, "To stop you, Sam. To stop you from committing the biggest mistake of your life."

"I have to do this," Sam replied. He just couldn't believe that she was there.

Angela lowered her weapon and stood to face Sam. "I know you think you do but you can't. I got your messages and I am here now to tell you that this isn't the way to go. Another day and another time."

"Lilith is here and now, Angie. We have a chance to stop it before it begins."

"And it will be stopped if you don't do it now." Angela looked at Sam and noticed that he wanted to believe her. She knew she should come out and say it but she needed his attention first. "Trust me that by walking away… we will get her on our terms, not theirs."

Lilith began to laugh, "Oh tell the truth Absolution. You want him out so you can do it yourself. Always taking the burden for others or what is it that you're really afraid of?"

Angela would have answered but Sam asked, "Are you still trying to protect me? When are you going to realize that you don't have to do that?"

Angela saw Sam visibly get agitated and replied, "It's not about protecting you Sam, it's about protecting the world. The First is the key and as the First has been changed so shall be the Sl…"

"The Slayer, yes," Ruby interrupted. She ignored Sasha who was growling at her. "You want to do this for yourself because you want the rewards that come with it."

"What rewards?" Sam frowned in confusion as he looked from Angela towards Ruby.

"Power, the usual," Ruby replied, "Something that could only be arranged between the Slayer and the First." She had waited and now was the time. "Why do you think she let this go on for so long?"

Angela narrowed her eyes and retorted, "Shut up you bitch."

"Is it true Angie?"

Angela looked at Sam just as Lilith said, "So cute. The lure speaks and the hunter is speechless."

Angela couldn't resist since her temper was up and Lilith was pressed harder into the altar and the bowl she was going to use clattered to the ground. At the same time she sent Ruby towards the doors and the demon collapsed. She pointed at Lilith, "Stop talking bitch."

"Angie."

Angela looked at Sam. The situation was getting way out of hand. "Sam," she said in a controlled voice, "You've always trusted me. I am asking you to trust me again when I say that you don't have to do this."

"I have to do this."

"No you don't. There is another way." Angela stared at Sam as it became clear that there was going to be a face off. If she had to… She raised her handgun and pointed it at Sam. "There is another way." Her way involved having Sasha charge forward and she signaled the pup to be ready. She didn't want to use her gun but it was the only thing holding Sam at bay. It certainly wouldn't win any points in Dean's book if he saw this. "Something else kills Lilith and the beginning of the end won't come. Sam, Lilith is the fi…"

"She's only trying to stop you," Ruby spluttered as she got to her feet. She was not going to let Absolution ruin everything. "She's with Lilith. She's pointing her weapon at you." She gestured at the scene even though Sam wasn't looking at her.

"Alright, I'll tell you," Lilith piped up, "If the Slayer kills me then it leaves the way for other things that Absolution would be known for and we all know they are one and the same."

The confusion was clear in Sam's eyes. Angela appealed to him, "Sam, that is not what it is. You know me. Yes I want to kill her but not now." She gave a bark and Sasha ambled forward.

It was a surprise when Sam told Sasha to halt and it was clear that there was confusion with the pup. It was a war between obeying two alphas from her view. Sam looked at Angela as she pointed the gun at him but he could tell that it was shaking. She didn't want to do this yet she was preventing him from killing the one demon that brought so much misery to her and for so long he wanted revenge against. He didn't want to believe that she was with Lilith on this because she wasn't like that; she wouldn't pick sides with a demon. He was determined to do this. "Step aside Angie." He advanced towards her.

"I can't let you kill Lilith, Sam," Angela replied. She could smell the demon blood starting to pulse in his veins. It flooded her senses. "Not like this. Just walk away and I will take care of it."

"Step aside Angie. Quit trying to protect me."

"I'm trying to save you from yourself."

"Oh yes save Sam. Are you going to do that impressive display like before?" Lilith taunted from her spot.

Angela looked at Sam as he advanced and said, "No."

"Don't make me fight you." Sam hadn't wanted to say that and it pained him that it was coming to this.

"I will do what I must but hear me out: If you kill her, Lucifer…"

"Sam, just do it," Ruby shouted. "She made a pact with Lilith."

Angela made the mistake of taking her eyes off Sam and looked at Ruby for a split second. It was enough for Sam to get inside her guard and twist the gun away. Her reaction time was enough to counter by grabbing onto Sam and swing him around and push him towards the doors. "Don't," she warned with a painful look on her face.

Sam stared at Angela. She was going to stop him but he could do this. She said he could. He reached out with his hand in defiance and aimed his powers towards Lilith. He looked at her when nothing happened and discovered that she was countering him. "Angie stop it," he demanded.

"No Sam."

"Don't make me…"

"Do what you have to do," Angela said with a firm look though her eyes were sad.

It was surprising and painful when Sam tried again but was blocked and he retaliated by charging at Angela. It was a testament to how well she had trained him by the way that he struck out and with fists. She defended herself leaving her hands open, indicating that she was not out for the kill; she didn't want to hurt him.

Ruby got to her feet and watched as they fought almost like a pair of bulls but she could tell Absolution wasn't going in for the kill. She couldn't believe that Sam finally snapped and raised a hand against her. She watched as the fight continued.

Angela delivered an open palm strike to Sam's chest and tried to get him to back off and every time she tried to shout that Lilith was the final seal, she was cut off. It was like something was working against her for her kicking Zachariah's ass when he tried to stop her earlier. The best she could do was fend off Sam but unfortunately the only way for her to do that was to get a lot more physical and put him down so he wouldn't get back up and at that moment… she wasn't ready to do that.

Sam threw a punch and it got through and hit Angela square on the jaw. For a brief second he was stunned that he did that. He had never hit her in the face before or like that ever. The last person to clip her on the jaw was Dean and now Sam could understand why his brother had a hard time accepting the forgiveness from her. Yet there was the matter of Lilith and Angela was refusing to back down. He didn't want to hurt her but…

Angela took the next step and pushed Sam back with her powers. It wasn't like when she did it to Ruby. It was more gently and enough to feel like she was using her own hand to hold him back though using it was just her grasping the cuff of his jacket that did that. It pained her to do that but she stood her ground and was well aware that it was entertaining for everyone else. When she caught Sam in an arm lock, both of their limbs were stuck together, she snapped, "Sam, stop it!"

"Stop bossing me," Sam replied instantly and ended up hitting her hard. He sent her colliding into debris with more force than he intended and was necessary.

Angela hit hard and felt something fall across her back. She was effectively pinned and couldn't move and tried to wriggle out but she was stuck. She barked out a command to Sasha, one she would be inclined to obey and the pup charged forward towards Lilith. Sasha didn't make it. Ruby ended up using her powers to send the dog careening into a wall. Angela gritted her teeth since she heard the squeak from the pup indicating pain.

Sam thought Lilith did it and wheeled to face her. With his heart pounding, he raised his hand and summoned his abilities. He thought he heard someone call his name but his focus was on Lilith. He pushed and pushed… He watched as the demon convulsed and the light from her burning out died out before he finally took a gasp of air. He watched as blood started to flow from Lilith to form a shape on the ground, barely hearing Angela grunting as she was struggling to get free; he was more focused on the blood forming. "What the hell? Ruby, what's going on?"

"You did it. I mean, it was a little touch and go there for a while especially when that Absolution bitch almost spilled the beans, but… you did it."

"What? What did I do?" Sam was thoroughly confused now.

Ruby looked at Sam and said, "You opened the door. And now he's free at last. He's free at last."

It didn't sound right to Sam, "No, no, no – Lilith – I stopped her. I killed her!"

"And it is written… that the first demon shall be the last seal," Ruby revealed, "The First craves the blood of the young and innocent, barely touched. Blood is life… The First shall break and the seal shall break. Blood must flow. As the First was changed so shall the Slayer be changed. And you busted her open. Now guess who's coming to dinner." She grinned big at Sam, "And to think that you actually believed that Absolution would side with Lilith."

Sam was in shock, "Oh my God."

"Guess again."

Sam realized what he had done. What did he do? He thought he had done it but he was wrong. He was so very wrong. He watched as the blood form Lilith spilled and formed the gateway. He… stopped Absolution from doing what she had set out to do…

"You don't even know how hard this was," Ruby continued, pleased with herself. She smirked at the pup struggling to get to her feet. "All the demons out for my head – no one knew. I was the best of those sons of bitches! The most loyal! Not even Alastair knew! Only Lilith. And of course Absolution always suspected but I knew she wouldn't do anything because you would ask her not to. Yeah, I'm sure you're a little angry right now but come on, Sam! Even you have to admit, I'm – I'm awesome! And I would have killed her if you hadn't stopped me."

Sam stared hard, feeling his temper grow. He growled, "You bitch! You lying bitch." He put up his hand to kill Ruby but nothing happened. He felt a surge of weakness and collapsed and looked over to where Angela was struggling still. He locked his eyes onto hers as she managed to pull herself a little and saw the truth in her eyes.

"Don't hurt yourself Sammy, it's useless. You shot your payload on the boss. After all you're not like Absolution. You are too different."

"The blood," Sam gasped as he looked up at Ruby. "You poisoned me." It was hard to bear that Dean had been right and said the same thing before all this happened.

Ruby shook her head, "Haven't you learned anything being with that bitch over there? She's the biggest advocate and still she tried to stop you." She looked at Sam and continued, "It wasn't the blood. It was you. And your choices – I just gave you the options, and you chose the right path. Every time! You didn't need the feather to fly – you had it in you the whole time, Dumbo." She kneeled in front of Sam as he stared at her. "Just like she said, only when you leap do you know you can fly. I know it's hard to see it now, but this is a miracle! So long coming. Everything Azazel did, and Lilith did, just to get you here! And you were the only one who could do it." She paused a moment to think about it and added, "Well Absolution could have done it and with her, used that mutt and ruined it since it is a thing."

"Why me?"

Ruby took in the look Sam was giving her and gently stroked his cheek, "Because… because it had to be you, Sammy. It always had to be you. You saved us, you set him free! And he's gonna be grateful! He's gonna repay you in ways that you can't even imagine!"

"I can imagine quite a bit," Angela spat as she continued to shift to pull herself out.

Ruby looked at Angela, "And look where we are. You should have just killed me the first time."

At that moment the doors burst open and Dean emerged with a very large dog that was ready to raze hell on Ruby. Dean held the demon killing knife in one hand and took in the scene, ready to charge with hell on four legs.

"You're too late," Ruby said. She didn't notice that Angela managed to pull the last of herself free.

Angela managed to get free but she had to pause for a breath. She had been in a crushing situation before and it hurt like everything else. She could feel the pain her body felt and was certain she had bruises to the bone but luckily nothing was broken. She was on her back and she spotted Sasha getting up to stand with Cerebus and couldn't help but think with pride that Dean managed to summon him. She focused and called to her hounds, Sam and Dean make the call. Attack if they fail.

The beta will not be harmed by the pit beast. The alpha's alpha will not be harmed by the pit beast.

The pit beast will pay for what it did to the alpha's alpha.

It was disturbing to hear that killer mentality in her mind but Angela knew that it was what Sasha had been bred for and Cerebus was the guard dog of Tartarus, bred for his intelligence by Hades himself before he was commandeered by the demons. They were hunters in every sense and were guardians of a sort. They would protect their own; it was basic pack behavior and one thing she fully encouraged.

The respite allowed her to get to her feet slowly and put a hand to Absolution's hilt. She felt it pulse and she whispered, "I know. The worst is to come." She slowly started walking forward to break into a sprint run.

"I don't care," Dean said as he raised his arm to strike.

It seemed almost sudden and at the same time as Angela used her powers to force Ruby to stay in her spot while Sam grabbed her from behind. Dean was the one that plunged the knife in but Angela was the one that made Ruby suffer by twisting the knife aka her powers. It was one kill that she enjoyed as she watched the life get snuffed out of the demon bitch and collapse to the floor. She had Absolution drawn but held in her hand.

Dean looked at Angela who was staring and looking very much like she had gotten beaten up as she reached out and a handgun flew to her hand. So she was the one that fired. It had freaked him out when he heard it and thought something had happened to Sam. He then looked down at Ruby and slowly raised his eyes to meet Sam's.

Sam looked at his brother after glancing at Angela. She wasn't looking at him and that cut to the core and the worst part was that he didn't blame her for it. Looking at Dean, he said, "I'm sorry."

Dean wanted to say something and was going to when the moment was interrupted by the sudden appearance of light appearing in the middle of the bloody circle. He watched Angela snap to attention, looking like she was going to attack it before she barked an order and the dogs took off. It looked bad and he reached out and grabbed Sam's jacket just as Sam did to his. "Sammy let's go."

"Get out," Angela encouraged. "Get out now." She twirled her blade ready to fight.

Sam would have gone but he couldn't help but watch. "He's coming," he said to no one in particular. He said it again but this time in a whisper. Sam realized what he had done. He had started the Apocalypse. The last thing he saw apart from the approaching light was Angela pushing him and Dean away telling them to go. He blinked and he thought he saw her hands glow as she said, "Get out!" Then the room was full of light.

A/N: There you have it folks: Sam killed Lilith and broke the final seal and now Lucifer has been set free. What will happen now? Stay tuned for next season with 4.01 Don't Suffer Fools Gladly...