Dean was thrown into Vassago's body, it had been a while since the last time he had mindlinked, so, he had forgotten how intense everything about it was. It still confused him how Vassago never knew it was happening, how the hell did he not feel Dean's presence inside of him? In the end though, it didn't matter because being able to do this was a bonus for them; their secret weapon really. Now that he was at full power everything seemed to be magnified 100 times more than usual and they already were strong. He watched silently, as Vassago paced his chambers, he was angry and deep down Dean felt his fear. Sensing how strong his fear was now made Dean smile knowing that he was the cause of it. Vassago then began speaking to someone else in the room with him about the battle and how he guaranteed victory for his side. Dean couldn't tell who the other person was he was talking to as the person remained silent and he never looked at them as he paced. It wasn't until Vassago stopped pacing and walked towards them, that he realized he had been talking to Rose and Violet. Seeing them locked in a tiny cage like animals, terrified; but otherwise unharmed, pissed him off.
He was forced to watch and listen as Vassago talked shit about Dean and their family to the girls; he noticed though, that Rose was playing with her necklace even though Vassago didn't. He was hoping that he'd find something out about the connection, but he had no way of making him talk about it without help. Just when he thought it was a waste of damn time, Keeper came into the room. He watched as Vassago sat on his throne, while Keeper subtly checked to make sure the girls were okay. He then listened as Keeper began talking about the Raven; Dean smiled at how Keeper was able to manipulate Vassago without the asshole catching on. Of course, the asshole just talked about useless shit, stuff they already knew about, but after a few minutes of useless chatter, he began to go into their history, Dean smiled, now this was what he had been waiting for. Unfortunately, before he could find anything out the connection was broken and he was slammed back into his own body.
His eyes opened and he sat up gasping for air, before he began coughing; he had also forgotten how much it fucking hurt returning to his own body. A few seconds later, he calmed down with Roman's help, as soon as he had returned to normal he stood up angrily and began to pace.
"Dean, baby, are...are you alright?" Roman asked concerned, as he stood too. "You were gone longer than you've ever been."
"Dammit, Ro, I had it, I almost fucking had it!" Dean replied, as he continued pacing, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
"Had what?" Roman asked confused, Dean stopped pacing and looked at him.
"The answers we needed about the damn connection!"
"What? How?"
"Keeper got the son-of-a-bitch talking about it without it being obvious, but before I could find anything fucking out the connection was fucking broken and I was sent back to my body!"
"Okay, then that means he told Keeper, so, we can just get the information from him." Roman said trying to calm Dean down.
"Yeah, I...I hope so." Dean agreed sighing.
"Come on, let's go tell the others." Roman said smiling, as he took Dean's hand. "Then we can get some training in to."
**Meanwhile**:
Keeper sighed annoyed, as he fed the girls the little portion of food and water that Vassago had ordered him to give them to keep them alive. He was so frustrated, he had almost gotten the information about the connection they needed, but then Vassago had been called away by Tora and Marcel to handle some stupid, petty problem they had. He hated not knowing anything, it made him feel vulnerable and he despised feeling like that. He was The Keeper, dammit, the third most powerful and feared Vampire in the entire world; behind Dean and Vassago. His whole being revolved around fear and intimidation and now it was being threatened, all because he had to rely on Dean and his band of rejects.
"Keeper?" Rose asked quietly, breaking into his thoughts.
"What is it?"
"Will...will Dean save us?"
"What kind of foolish question is that?" Keeper demanded, as he looked at her.
"Well, Vassago said..."
"Vassago is an incompetent, pompous fool!" Keeper said angrily, cutting her off. "He has no idea what we have planned or what we're all capable of."
"How much longer will we be in here?" Rose asked sadly.
"Consider yourselves lucky you're alive and in there, the alternative is...not very pleasant. Eat your food like a good little mortal. " Keeper explained.
"I want to go home." She said sniffling, her tears falling silently.
"Yes, and I want to be King, but we can't always get what we want, now can we?" Keeper said sarcastically, tired of her constant whining. "Just sit there and be quiet, things will work out as planned as long as Dean and the others don't screw things up."
**Back With Dean**:
After training for a while, Dean needed a break, unable to stop thinking about his mindlink and how close he had been to getting the answers they needed. What good were his damn powers if he couldn't control them or do what he wanted with them? He hoped that Zander and Jameson would be able to find something they could use.
"Dean?" Father O'Conner's gentle voice spoke from behind him.
"Yeah?" Dean answered, as he turned around to face him.
"I came to check on you, Roman told us how upset you were after your mindlink."
"Of course he did." Dean replied sighing, as he ran his hands over his face and leaned his back against the wall. "I'm fine."
"Really, Dean?"
"Yes, really." Dean said frustrated. "I wish everyone would stop asking me that, dammit!"
"I understand your frustration, Dean, we all do, but we're also worried that you're putting too much pressure on yourself."
"No offense, Father, but all the pressure I have on me is because I'm the damn Chosen One. So, unless you can somehow trade places with me, then I'm screwed" Dean said sighing, before he sat down on the ground and leaned his back against the wall, bringing his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. "I'm sorry, Father, I know you're just trying to help, I'm just so angry and frustrated."
"No apologies needed, Dean." Father O'Conner said smiling sadly, as he sat beside him and put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently. "We all feel the same way as you do, it must be even more frustrating for you because of your powers. You must remember though, that you're not alone in this fight and no matter what happens we're in this together."
"I know, it's...it's all still new to me having someone other than myself to depend on, you know? Then there's the pressure I have to keep all of you guys safe on top of that."
"You forget that each of us, even though we aren't as powerful as you or your kind are, we each do possess our own strengths that will help us in the battle."
"I know, and I'm working on trying to not do everything on my own, it's just hard."
"Dean, Father O'Conner, here you are!" Seth said out of breath, as he rushed up to them.
"Seth?" Dean said, as they stood quickly. "What's going on?"
"Zander just called Roman, they found something in the tomes already." Seth answered smiling.
"What?" Dean said shocked. "Already?"
"Yep."
"Let's go then, where are the others?" Dean asked.
"They went back inside, I came to find you guys."
The three men hurried inside the monastery,they found the others in the living room waiting for them.
"Alright, we're all here, what did you find?" Dean questioned.
"Well, there's still more of it to translate, but as we were reading the first tome, near the end of it we found a section that speaks of the Raven and its connection to Vassago." Zander explained.
"Does it tell us what we need to do?" Roman asked hopefully.
"Well, that's the part we're still working on translating, but there is an incantation we're almost done translating that tell us how to break the connection they share and replace it with one of your own." Jameson answered.
"Can you translate it?" Dean questioned.
"It's taking us a little longer than I thought to translate it, as I'm sure Vassago wanted it to be as guarded as possible. We have been able to translate the list of ingredients needed though; the actual incantation is what we're still working on."
"Okay, what's the list and can we get the ingredients?" Dean asked.
"The list is surprisingly easy to acquire, except for one...the main ingredient needed for the incantation to work." Jameson answered.
"What is it?" Dean asked, Zander and Jameson looked at each other, before they looked back at the others. "I saw that look, what was that look?" He demanded.
"Well, the main ingredient is...Vassago's blood. It has to be fresh and more than a few drops."
"What?" Everyone said together shocked.
"His blood?" Dean repeated.
"Unfortunately, yes." Zander replied sighing.
"Dammit!" Dean said frustrated, as he ran his hands over his face.
"Don't freak out yet, we do have Keeper on our side and that means he can help us get what we need." Zander reminded them.
"Oh, yeah, right! He's just going to be willing to get blood from Vassago. Even if he did agree, how the hell would he even do it, huh?" Dean said bitterly.
"He'd think of something, he always does." Zander answered.
"I need to go for a damn walk and think." Dean said, as he walked out.
**With Keeper**:
Keeper sighed annoyed; he had been in his chambers trying to figure things out, when Vassago had called him to his room. He had just seen the bastard an hour ago, what could he possibly want from him now? Arriving at Vassago's chambers, he knocked on the door and went inside to find Vassago standing looking out the window, his back to Keeper.
"Sire, you wanted to see me?"
"I did." Vassago answered sighing, keeping his back to him. "Keeper, I've been doing a lot of thinking."
"About what, sire?"
"Why Dean took my precious Raven, there was no reason for him to have done that...unless, he figured out that he could use it to beat me. Then I remembered there was no way for him to know that either, only the Elders and I know how he could use it. So, I decided to do a little investigating and I discovered that the tomes the Elders had written of our history; including the part about my Raven, have mysteriously gone missing." Vassago said, no emotion in his voice, as he kept his back to Keeper.
"Missing, sire?" Keeper repeated keeping his nerves hidden.
"Keeper, there are only two Vamps who not only know about the tomes, but also where they were hidden. Do you know who those Vamps are?"
"You, sire, and myself." Keeper answered.
"That's correct, since I didn't take them, that only leaves you." Vassago said, as he finally turned around to face him.
"What exactly are you saying, sire?"
"I'm saying, that you, Keeper, have betrayed me." Vassago said angrily, as he lifted his hand and threw Keeper across the room.
Keeper landed hard against the wall before he fell to the floor and rolled for a few seconds. Before he could recover though, Vassago threw him again into another wall. He was thrown around the room a few times landing hard against different objects. Finally, after being thrown against another wall, Vassago stopped his assault and slowly walked towards the injured Vamp. He then knelt down beside Keeper, as he lay on the floor and smiling he spoke.
"You see, Keeper, there is one key ingredient that they'll need to be able to take control of my Raven...my blood." Vassago said, as he grabbed Keeper by the front of his shirt and brought him closer to himself.
"Why...why are you telling me this if you believe me to be a traitor?"
"Simple, I'm going to kill you, so, my secret will die with you." Vassago replied smiling.
"That's what you think." Keeper said smiling, before he pulled out his dagger from his cloak pocket and slashed at Vassago.
He hit his mark, drawing blood from the gash on his cheek, the attack caught Vassago off guard and he stumbled backward away from Keeper, causing him to let go of his shirt. Using the distraction Keeper got to his feet and got himself together, while Vassago still holding his cheek got to his feet too. Once both Vamps were standing, Keeper charged Vassago, connecting hard sending them both to the floor. They then began fighting, trying to get the upper hand over the other, both Vamps gave and received hits; it shocked Keeper that Vassago had decided to fight back with hand to hand combat, instead of using his powers to eliminate him. A few minutes later, Keeper managed to get the upper hand, he slashed Vassago across the chest incapacitating him long enough for Keeper to grab a small bottle off of a shelf on the wall and collect some of his blood. He knew Vassago wouldn't be down long, so he rushed to the cage and unlocked it freeing the girls; he then gave the bottle to Rose and told her to give it to Dean.
Before she could escape though, Vassago regained enough of his strength to use his powers to throw Keeper against the wall; he hadn't seen Keeper give Rose the bottle, his focus wasn't on the girls. Rose hid behind a wall, not sure what to do, she had no idea how to get back to the monastery on her own. And it didn't feel right to her to just leave Keeper to die, so she knew she had to do something. She carefully laid Violet on the floor, before she left her hiding place and looked around seeing Vassago choking Keeper on the floor by the window; Vassago had just stabbed Keeper three times with the dagger, before he managed to knock it out of Vassago's hand. Needing to stop him, she looked around the room and saw Keeper's dagger on the floor near the throne. She rushed to it and picked it up, before she ran back to the two Vamps, she then stabbed Vassago twice in the side distracting him. She dropped the dagger and ran back to where she had left Violet, while Keeper pushed Vassago off of him and got to his feet. He raced to the door, Rose holding Violet quickly followed him; they left the room and raced through the nest avoiding the other Vamps. Once outside, Keeper knew they'd never get away if the girls were on foot and he couldn't just abandon them; if he did that then Dean definitely wouldn't help him kill Vassago. So, he took Violet from Rose and told her to get onto his back and hold on tight, he then quickly made a carrier for Violet with his cloak. Once the girls were safe and secure, he took off running using his Vamp speed heading for their meeting spot in the woods; despite being injured he was still able to get away easily.
Even though he was certain they hadn't been followed, Keeper still took the long way to make sure they weren't. Once he knew they were safe, he went to the clearing; he took Rose off of his back and handed Violet to her, before he sat on a rock to rest. Rose looked around and recognized where they were, she smiled, before she looked back at Keeper and spoke excitedly.
"I...I know this place, Dean brought me here before." She said smiling. "I can find my way home."
"Well, goody for you." Keeper replied sarcastically, as he held his side. "So, what are you waiting for then? Leave."
"I...I can't just leave you, you're injured."
"You mortals and your disgusting, useless feelings." Keeper said bitterly, as he shook his head disgusted. "I'm a Vamp, remember, I'll be fine in a few hours. Just please go away, child, I can feel your human pity and it's disgusting."
"I can't help it, I'm sorry." Rose said sadly. "You got hurt helping us escape, thank you for helping us."
"You can thank me by leaving me alone, dammit!" Keeper said angrily.
"I know, I'll go get Dean and he'll know what to do." Rose said quickly.
"No, don't..." Keeper began, but Rose had already taken off running. "Damn mortals."
Meanwhile, Dean was walking through the quiet woods, trying to get his head clear after hearing what Zander had said about them needing Vassago's blood. He was so frustrated with the whole situation; every damn time he thought they might be getting ahead, something like this happens stopping any momentum they had. Suddenly, he thought he heard his name being called, he stopped walking and looked around, not seeing or hearing anything he brushed it off thinking he had imagined it. He turned around to walk away when he heard it again, this time he was sure he had heard it and he'd know that voice anywhere...it was Rose! He quickly turned in the direction of her voice, as he did he saw her holding Violet as she ran towards him.
"Rose, Violet!"
"Dean!"
They ran towards each other, Dean met her halfway and picked them up, holding them close; the others who had been in the woods looking for Dean heard their voices and rushed into the clearing. Seeing Dean holding the girls, they rushed to them and they took turns hugging the girls making sure they were both alright. Once Rose was back on her feet; Paige held a sleeping Violet, she told them what happened.
"Wait, so Vassago figured out that Keeper's been helping us?" Seth asked.
"I...I don't know for sure, but he did find out that Keeper gave you those old books." She answered. "While they were fighting Keeper freed us and he gave me this to give to Dean." She added, as she took the bottle out of her pocket and held it up so they could see what it was.
"Is that...Vassago's blood?" Seth asked, as Dean took the bottle and examined it.
"Yep." Dean replied smiling, as he put the bottle into his pocket. "How did Keeper know we needed this?"
"Vassago told him, he thought he was going to kill Keeper, but he fought back."
"Is...is he dead?" Paige asked quietly.
"No, but he is hurt pretty bad." Rose answered.
"He's probably dead by now though, Vassago would have..."
"No, he's still alive!" Rose said quickly, cutting Dean off.
"How do you know for sure?" Roman asked.
"I know cause he brought us here, I left him in the spot Dean took me to a while ago."
"Take us to him, honey." Paige said gently.
Rose led the way to their meeting spot, they stayed hidden in the tall grass that surrounded it while Dean and Zander sensed for Vamps. Finding none other than Keeper, they came out of hiding and looked around for where Keeper was hiding, not finding him Dean spoke sighing.
"We know you're here Keeper, there's no one around, but us, so, you can come out now."
"I know that, Dean, I' am a Vamp too remember?" Keeper said sarcastically, as he came out of his hiding place, as he walked towards them he stumbled, but Dean caught him before he could fall. "I'm fine; it's just a little flesh wound." He added pulling away from Dean stumbling again.
"Oh, yeah, you're bleeding pretty badly from your side, but you're right it's only a little flesh wound." Paige said sarcastically.
"I'll be fine by tomorrow, you all know that." Keeper replied annoyed, as he sat on a rock, wincing from the movement.
"How much does Vassago know?" Zander asked.
"Well, as far as I can tell he only knows about me giving you the tomes, he never said anything about the other things." Keeper answered.
"So, what...what happens now?" Roman asked. "Where will you go?"
"Now that's a good question, big man, I can't return to the nest I've been branded a traitor and I'll be killed, so, I guess I'll have to stay here." Keeper replied sighing.
"Dean, he helped us and he got hurt rescuing Violet and I, can't he come home with us?" Rose asked.
"What?" Everyone including Keeper said together.
"Dean?" Roman said shocked, when he didn't answer her right away.
"Let's go over there and talk, Rose, honey, take Violet and stay with Keeper, okay?" Paige said, as she handed the baby to her.
"No, I don't want to babysit!" Keeper replied bitterly.
"You're not, she's babysitting you." Paige said smirking, before they moved away from them.
"Dean, what are we going to do?" Roman asked.
"I..."
"We can't let him come back to the monastery." Seth said, cutting Dean off.
"Look, we..."
"He did help us and we can't just leave him alone when he's injured and not at 100 percent. He's vulnerable like this." Zander said, cutting Dean off again.
"Guys, I..."
"He is injured pretty badly; we can't just leave him like this after all he's done for us." Paige added, cutting Dean off. "It's the right thing to do."
"Enough!" Dean yelled annoyed, shutting everyone up. "Look, I don't like the idea of bringing Keeper back to the monastery any more than you all do. But, he has helped us and he did get hurt saving the girls, we can't just leave him here injured and unprotected." Dean said sighing.
"So, what are you saying?" Father O'Conner questioned.
"Keeper?" Dean said ignoring the question, as he turned around and walked back to him.
"Yes?"
"You're coming home with us." Dean replied sighing again.
"Wait, you're kidding, right?" Keeper said shocked, as he looked at each of them.
"Nope." Dean answered sighing, as Rose happily hugged him smiling.
"Why? Am I going to be locked up or something?" Keeper asked suspiciously.
"No, dammit, you helped us, so we're returning the damn favor. Just be grateful and accept our damn help!" Dean said angrily.
"So, is this the part where I thank you for saving my life?" Keeper replied sarcastically.
"No, asshole, this is the part where you shut the hell up and come with us, dammit." Dean replied annoyed.
"Fine, let's go then." Keeper said smiling, as he stood.
"Don't be so smug, asshole, while you're with us we're putting you to work." Dean said smirking.
Zander supported Keeper, as they walked back to the monastery; Dean wasn't sure what would happen now that Keeper was no longer with Vassago helping them from the inside. Things may have changed, but the end remained the same, Vassago was going to die by Dean's hand!
TBC...