Dean and Roman left the room and went downstairs, they found everyone in the living room together; except for the girls who were sleeping, seeing them Seth spoke.
"Hey, guys."
"Hey." Dean and Roman said together, Roman was still embarrassed by what happened earlier.
"So, Chosen One, anything new on the Vassago front?" Paige asked smiling; hoping for good news.
"Actually there is." Dean replied smiling. "Vassy-baby has called off his Raven and sent it after another family member." He explained.
"That's awesome!" Seth stated smiling. "That means we can finally start training with Keeper again."
"Yep." Dean replied. "We'll leave him a note and start training again tomorrow."
Zander sat on the couch silently watching and listening to Dean and the others talk about training. Something was off; Dean was purposely keeping something from them; whatever it was he was doing everything he could to keep it hidden. Of course, only Zander knew about it and he knew that whatever it was it wasn't just incredibly stupid and dangerous, but it involved Vassago. He decided not to confront Dean in front of the others; he'd only deny it and cause more tension and fighting between them.
"Alright, so, I'll write the note and Zander can deliver it to our spot." Dean said smiling, as their conversation ended. "Sound good, Z?" He asked, breaking into Zander's thoughts.
"What? Oh...oh...oh, yeah, that sounds good." Zander quickly answered smiling, trying to hide the fact that he wasn't listening.
"Really?" Dean asked, as he looked at the others, all of them smirking, before he looked back at Zander and crossed his arms, as he spoke. "So, you like my idea of having an orgy under the stars?" He teased.
"Yes, I already...wait, what?" Zander asked shocked.
"Busted, Z!" Roman said, as they all laughed.
"Wait, so that's a no to the orgy?" Dean asked pouting, as Roman and Seth both smacked him in the back of the head at the same time. "Ow, dammit, I was joking!" He said rubbing the back of his head.
"What's going on, Zander?" Father O'Connor asked.
"Nothing, I was just thinking of the battle ahead." Zander replied, keeping his true feelings hidden.
"Okay, I'm going to go write the note, give me 10 minutes, Z, I have to think of something believable to tell him." Dean said, before he kissed Roman and left the room.
"I'm going to go help." Zander quickly said, before he got up and left the room.
Meanwhile, Dean stood at the counter in the kitchen trying to write the note, his back to the doorway. Since returning to his body after the mindlink, he had been doing some thinking; Vassago's Raven was connected to him on many levels and he used it to do different things...so, what would happen if Vassago suddenly lost his beloved Raven? Would he somehow become weaker? Would hurting the Raven actually hurt Vassago like they were always told it would? Could Dean somehow use the Raven's powers...or abilities, or whatever the Hell they were, to help them become victorious? There were so many questions without answers and the only way to get the answers he needed was to capture the annoying, little, feathered beast and experiment.
Of course, to do that meant having to return to the nest and risk getting caught. Now that he had come into more of his powers and knew enough about controlling them from past experiences that if cornered he could get away, he decided that the risk was worth it! He'd wait until sunrise tomorrow before he returned to the nest, that gave him enough time to figure out a plan.
"Change your mind about the orgy, Z?" Dean spoke smiling, his back still to him, as he realized Zander had joined him.
"Whatever you're thinking of doing, don't!" Zander said firmly.
"Uh, I was thinking of writing the note to Keeper, but I guess you don't want me to, so..."
"Cut the crap, Ambrose!" Zander said angrily, cutting him off. "I know you're up to something, Dean." He added, Dean sighed and put the pen down, before he turned to face him.
"I'm not..."
"Tell. Me. The. Truth!" Zander demanded drawing out each word, cutting him off again.
"Fine, alright, dammit, but it stays with us." Dean replied.
"I make no promises." Zander stated crossing his arms.
"Then I'm not telling you a damn thing." Dean said, as he turned his back to Zander again.
"If you don't, then I'm going back out there and I'm telling the others that you're keeping something from us again." Zander threatened pointing towards the living room.
"You're bluffing." Dean challenged, as he turned to face Zander again.
"Tell me."
"Fine, but I'm doing it and no one; including you, is going to stop me, understand?" Dean said angrily. "Sunrise tomorrow, I'm...I'm going back to the nest and I'm capturing the Raven of Mourning and bringing him back here."
"You're joking, right? Please, tell me you're joking?"
"Nope."
"Are you insane, Ambrose?" Zander asked upset, as he began pacing. "No, don't answer that, I already know you are! I...I can't believe you're planning on birdnapping Vassago's damn Raven!"
"Well, believe it, cause I'm doing it!" Dean replied. "Look, Zander, I get it, okay? It's crazy and dangerous, but so have been all my other ideas and every single one of them have worked. Please, just trust me, brother?"
"I...I can't believe I'm actually doing this or encouraging your reckless damn behavior...but, what's your plan?" Zander asked sighing, as he stopped pacing and looked at him sighing.
"Uh, well, I...I don't exactly have one yet." Dean mumbled.
"That's funny; I thought you said you didn't have one." Zander said smiling.
"That's...that's because I...I did." Dean replied.
"You...you don't have one?" Zander questioned frustrated.
"Yet, I don't have one yet." Dean quickly corrected him.
"Alright, Ambrose, since you're so hellbent on this absolutely insane idea...I'm going to be a part of it, I'm going with you and you aren't going to change my mind or stop me."
"What? I'm..."
"Letting me be a part of it or I tell the others about your little plan and all of us become a part of it? It's your choice, brother." Zander stated.
"Fine, you frustratingly annoying, old fool, you can come." Dean agreed sighing, knowing he had no choice. "You play dirty, old man, you know that?"
"Of course I do, I learned from the best." Zander replied smiling, as he patted Dean on the back, both men laughed.
**The Next Morning**:
Dean stood in the dark bedroom by the window, looking out it as the sun slowly began to rise. He had been up all night going over the plan in his head that they had come up with the night before, making sure there was nothing that could go wrong. Of course, he had learned long ago to always expect the unexpected; especially when it came to Vamps. He sighed, as he ran his hands over his face and turned to look at a still sleeping Roman. He smiled, as he watched the man he loved and remembered the love they had made last night. He couldn't remember the last time they had been intimate and they had both needed it; needed the closeness of the other.
He sighed again, as he quietly left the room, shutting the door behind him. He looked around the hallway, but didn't see Zander anywhere, so he figured that the old fool must have forgotten about going; that was even better! He went downstairs silently and headed for the door, he put his shoes and jacket on; they had already loaded the car with a bag of weapons and everything else they'd need the night before. He had just opened the door when Zander's voice spoke from behind him stopping him.
"You weren't leaving without me, were you, brother?"
"Now, would I do that?" Dean teased smiling, as he looked over his shoulder at him. "Come on, let's go, we don't have a lot of time."
They left the monastery and got into the car; Dean driving, on the way they went over their plan again for 100th time, both knew that none of their plans ever go exactly like they wanted. After driving for a while, they finally made it to their destination, they parked and got out. Dean grabbed the bag of weapons from the backseat, before he turned to Zander.
"You ready?" Dean asked, as he took three machetes out of the bag and tossed one to Zander; who caught it with one hand.
"Yep, can you sense anything?"
"Hang on, let me try." Dean replied, as he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and focused.
"Well?" Zander asked quietly, as Dean shook his head no and opened his eyes, looking at him.
"No, there's no one in the woods, but I can sense some Vamps at the nest. I can't get a clear read on how many there is, but I do know the woods are clear until the nest."
"Alright, let's go."
They quickly ran into the woods that surrounded the nest, even though there weren't any Vamps around they still stayed hidden in the shadows and thick grass. After making it to the edge of the woods, they hid in the tall grass and scouted the area for Vamps. On the outside there were only five Vamps, they were standing together near the nest talking. They waited for a few minutes, before three of the Vamps went back inside, leaving two left. Zander closed his eyes to sense how many Vamps were inside the nest. He didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but besides the five Vamps they had already seen, there were only five others left inside; including Vassago.
Dean also sensed how many were inside; they looked at each other confused. They separated and snuck around behind the two Vamps; their backs to Dean and Zander. They quietly snuck closer to the two unsuspecting Vamps, when they were just steps away the Vamps turned to face them. They had no time to react though, before Dean and Zander ran at them, cutting their heads off, catching their bodies before they hit the ground. After hiding their bodies in the tall grass, they snuck around to the back of the house; Dean remembered the layout of the nest from the last time he had been there. Knowing the Raven would be with Vassago like always, they went inside and headed to Vassago's chambers; keeping to the shadows.
As they made their way to the room, they ran into two more Vamps, taking them by surprise too and killing them. It was strange that everyone else was gone from the nest, pretty much leaving it essentially unprotected and vulnerable to attack. Finally, they made it to Vassago's chambers, neither knew how to get in or what they were going to do once they were in there. Dean didn't like having a plan though; they were usually easy to fuck up, but going with whatever happened in the moment, you had more control over the situation. Suddenly, they heard voices coming towards them; they were arguing, they quickly hid in a nearby empty room, seconds before Vassago and two other Vamps came around the corner.
"Sire, do you really think it was a good idea sending the family out to hunt and recruit new members?" One of the Vamps questioned.
"How dare you question me, Connor!" Vassago said angrily.
"Sire, I meant no disrespect, I'm just a little concerned about how unprotected we are." Connor said quickly, trying to keep Vassago calm.
As they listened to the argument, the Raven; who was perched on Vassago's shoulder calmly and silent, suddenly turned its head to look at the room where Dean and Zander were hiding in. None of the Vamps noticed, Vassago opened his chamber door and they went to go inside, but were stopped by his Raven crying out.
"Easy, my beloved pet." Vassago soothed, as he pet the bird. "What is it, do you sense something?"
"Sire?" Connor said impatiently, drawing Vassago's attention.
"Yes, Connor, I know!" Vassago said annoyed. "Go, my pet, go have some fun while I take care of some business." He added, as the Raven let out a cry, before it flew off.
Once the Raven was gone, Vassago and the other Vamps went into the room, shutting the door behind them. As soon as the door shut, Dean motioned for Zander to hide, while he opened the door and whistled softly to catch the Raven's attention. Seconds later, the Raven flew into the room, Zander; who had been hiding behind the door, shut it quietly, trapping the Raven inside with them. The Raven didn't see them at first, so Dean signaled Zander to go left, while he went right. The Raven sat quietly perched on the window ledge, still not seeing them, until they were right beside it. Both went to grab it at the same time, but missed at the very last second when the Raven flew up crying out as it did. They chased the Raven around the room; seconds later, the sounds of running feet and angry voices were heard coming towards them.
"Get the damn bird, I'll hold them back!" Dean ordered, as he held his hands out in front of him and used his powers to keep the door shut.
After a few minutes, Dean could feel his powers weakening; he turned his head to see Zander miss the bird again.
"Dammit, Zander, now!" Dean ordered, before he raised one of his hands away from the door and pointed it at the bird and with a flick of his wrist he hit it, sending it into the wall, stunning it, causing it to fall to the floor unmoving. "Get it and get out of here, I'm right behind you!"
Zander quickly grabbed the bird and ran to the window, he opened it and with one last look at Dean, he jumped out of the window. Once he was gone, Dean backed up towards the window; still keeping the door shut, until he was on the window ledge. Smiling, he put his arms down and the door burst open, he made eye contact with Vassago, he stuck his middle finger up at them, before he jumped out the window. He hit the ground on both feet and did a couple of somersaults, before getting back to his feet; still smiling he used the last of his strength to super run back to their car, Vassago's angry voice following him. Once he made it back, he fell to his knees, completely exhausted; Zander rushed to him and helped him up. They went to the car and Zander gently leaned him against the door, before he took the weapon bag from him and quickly put it in the backseat. He then helped Dean into the passenger's seat, before he got into the driver's seat and started the car. He quickly drove away heading back to the monastery; Dean closed his eyes and leaned against the door.
"Dean?" Zander said gently.
"I'm okay, Z, I promise, I'm just completely exhausted from using my powers, nothing a little rest won't fix." Dean answered sighing. "Where's the Raven?"
"Safe, I put him in a bag in the trunk." Zander answered, as Dean sat up and ran his hands over his face. "I also blindfolded it so Vassago can't see through its eyes and find us."
"Good thinking, Z." Dean said smiling. "That was fucking crazy! You should have seen Vassy-baby's face when he saw it was me, he was so angry!"
"You, Ambrose, are insane!" Zander said smiling, shaking his head at Dean's excitement over what happened. "Certifiably insane!"
"Yeah, but you gotta admit, I'm a Hell of a lot of fun! Life with me is never boring!" Dean said smiling too, before they both began laughing.
Suddenly, Dean's phone went off signaling he had a new text message, he took his phone out of his pocket and checked the message, it was from Roman.
R- Where the Hell are you and Zander? We woke up and you guys were gone!
"Shit, we've got a lot of explaining to do when we get back." Dean said sighing, as he put his phone away and ran his hands over his face again. "I was hoping to get back before they woke up and found us gone."
"Me too, but at least we have 15 minutes to prepare ourselves for the shit storm coming our way." Zander said sighing too.
"It was worth it though!" Dean said smiling again. "Wake me up when we get back." He added, before he leaned back, closed his eyes and went to sleep, a smile on his face as he dreamed of Vassago's angry face.
TBC...