Dean paced the living room impatiently waiting for Keeper to rejoin them so they could start the damn process of strengthening his connection with his Raven. Keeper had gone to the basement to prepare himself; whatever the hell that meant. No one spoke; all of them knew though that Keeper still didn't know about Dean being able to mindlink. As he paced his Raven sat perched in its usual spot on Dean's shoulder, silently observing. He had no idea what the hell Keeper was doing, he's been down in the basement, alone for over 20 minutes now and Dean was beginning to get pissed off. He was ready to go downstairs and drag the son-of-a-bitch up to the living room. He stopped pacing, pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes sighing; sensing his aggravation the Raven became restless.
"Alright, we're ready to begin now." Keeper announced smiling, breaking into his thoughts, as he came into the room.
"About damn time, Keeper!" Dean said bitterly. "What the hell took you so damn long?"
"Oh, calm down, Dean." Keeper said sighing, unmoved by Dean's anger like usual. "I had to prepare, things like this take time to perfect." He added, Dean rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Enough bullshit, Keeper, let's just get this over with." Dean ordered.
"A little impatient, aren't we?" Keeper mocked smiling.
"Keeper, I swear to fucking..."
"Alright, Keeper, can you just get on with it and stop trying to get Dean worked up?" Roman demanded annoyed, cutting Dean off.
"Fine, fine." Keeper replied sighing. "Alright, Dean, sit down on the couch and command the Raven to sit here in front of you." He ordered, as he put the birdcage on the coffee table in front of the couch.
Dean sighed annoyed that he had to be ordered around by Keeper, he bit his lip, stopping himself from saying something like he wanted to so badly. He sat down on the couch and ran his hands over his face.
"Raven Of Mourning, I order you to come to the birdcage." Dean commanded, instantly the Raven did what Dean wanted.
"Good, good, now, before we begin the rest of you must remain completely silent. There can be no noise and no distractions, I need Dean to concentrate and focus on mindlinking." Keeper said firmly, everyone nodded. "Okay, now, Dean, close your eyes and completely empty your mind, I want you to listen to nothing, but my voice, understand?"
"Yep." Dean replied, before he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
Dean took another deep breath, waiting for Keeper to tell him what to do next, even though he already knew how to mindlink, having Keeper do this he'll finally learn how to do it whenever he wanted. He cleared his mind and seconds later, he heard Keeper speak, at first, it was quiet, he couldn't make out what he was saying. He shook his head slightly, squeezing his eyes tighter, focusing harder on Keeper's voice. The harder he concentrated, the louder Keeper's voice became. Finally, he could hear him perfectly clear, as if he were inside his head. He only listened afraid that if he spoke back he'd lose the connection. He needed a way to let Keeper know that he could hear him though.
Suddenly, he heard Keeper suggest that he enter Dean's mind and guide him that way. Dean didn't want the son-of-a-bitch inside of him, but had no way to stop him without breaking the connection. Before he could react though, he was suddenly standing in a completely dark room; confused how he had gotten there he began walking around. He opened his mouth to speak, but was stopped by someone touching his shoulder, scaring the shit out of him. He turned around quickly, his first reaction was to swing, he barely missed Keeper who was standing there.
"Keeper?" Dean said confused. "What the hell are you doing here, dammit?"
"I'm not."
"What?"
"Neither of us are actually."
"What? Are you fucking with me?" Dean demanded angrily. "If this is a damn game, then you're..."
"Trust me, Dean, this is all normal, but of course, you wouldn't know how anything about mindlinking works." Keeper replied sighing.
"Dammit, Keeper, can you stop being so conde-fucking-sending and get on with this?"
"Like I told you, neither of us are truly here, we are in your subconscious. Now, you need to concentrate on every single happy memory you have of your...family." Keeper said with disgust in his voice.
"Seriously?" Dean asked confused. "So, you're telling me, that all I have to do is think of my happy memories and then what?"
"Then you give them to your Raven."
"Give them to the Raven? How the hell do we do that?"
"One step at a time, Dean." Keeper said sighing. "We don't want to get ahead of ourselves or we could mess things up."
"Fine, whatever, dammit! So, what do I do? Just think of my memories?"
"Exactly." Keeper said smiling. "Make sure they are your happiest memories, ones you know will help you stay focused."
**Later**:
Finally, Dean had collected all of his memories; it felt like it had taken forever. Every time Dean had thought he had gotten what he needed, Keeper told him it wasn't enough; it almost felt like the bastard was purposely doing it to piss him off. All he freaking wanted was to learn how to mindlink so he could practice and perfect it and use it on Vassago. This was the start of him learning how to control his powers, if he could learn to do this, then everything else would soon follow. He was the damn Chosen One, he was the most powerful Vamp to ever exist and dammit, he would learn to control his powers! Keeper stood beside him smiling proudly like he had accomplished something and it was really starting to piss Dean off.
"Alright, Keeper, I think we've got enough damn memories."
"I agree." Keeper replied still smiling.
"Now what?" Dean demanded impatiently.
"Now, we give them to the Raven."
"Final-fucking-ly!" Dean said sighing. "How?"
"Call the Raven to you."
"What?" Dean asked confused.
"Call the..."
"I heard you, dammit!" Dean said, cutting him off. "I just meant how the hell do I do that in...here?"
"Really, Dean?" Keeper said annoyed. "Do I have to do everything myself?"
"Alright, you condescending, little prick, that's fucking it!" Dean said angrily, as he grabbed Keeper by the front of his cloak and pulled him closer to himself. "I've had just about enough of your smug, know-it-all bullshit! I might not know everything I need to know to beat Vassago, but, dammit, I know enough to do it without you; look at what I've done so far, asshole. So, if you don't want me to tear your damn head off, I suggest you stop pissing me off! Got it?"
"Of course." Keeper replied, as Dean dropped him.
"Now, where the hell were we?"
"You were going to call the Raven."
"How?"
"Exactly like you would in reality."
Sighing frustrated, Dean ran his hands over his face, before he called to his Raven, telling it to come to him. At first, nothing happened, he looked at Keeper annoyed, Keeper said nothing, only motioned for him to do it again. So, Dean did, this time though he commanded it to come to him and seconds later he heard the sound of bird wings. The Raven suddenly appeared and landed on his shoulder, Dean looked at it in shock; no matter how many times this happened, having the Raven under his control still shocked him.
"Now what?"
"Now, we give your memories to the Raven."
"Can you stop being so damn cryptic, Keeper, and just tell me what the hell I'm supposed to do?"
"This is your subconscious, like us, the Raven isn't real, but the memories you give it are."
"So, how do I give them to it?"
"It's very simple actually; you just stare into his eyes and think of your memories. You'll know when you've made the connection; you'll feel it."
"Wait...that's it? That's all I have to do?" Dean asked confused.
"That's it, simple, right?" Keeper said smiling, Dean nodded. "Just remember to clear your mind of everything, except for your memories."
"Got it." Dean said, as he took a deep breath.
Clearing his mind completely, except for the memories, he held his arm out and the Raven flew to it and landed silently. He looked into the Raven's eyes and waited for something...anything to happen. After a few minutes of nothing, he was about to give up and tell Keeper off, but stopped when he suddenly felt a strange feeling come over him. He took a deep breath, as he felt his memories leave him and go into the Raven; all of it felt like a dream and he had to remind himself it wasn't, but it wasn't real either, it was all in his subconscious. As soon as the Raven received what it needed it let out a cry and flew away, disappearing into the blackness it came from. The second it was gone the mindlink was over and he was thrown back into reality. Unlike when he had mindlinked with Vassago, returning to his body this time didn't hurt at all; it felt like he had just woken up from a long sleep.
"Dean?" Zander said confused, everyone was looking at him weird, each of them had been expecting what usually happens after a mindlink.
"I'm...I'm good." Dean answered just as confused. "Did it work? Did I mindlink?"
"Yes, to both questions." Keeper replied.
"So, that was a...mindlink?" Dean asked, still unsure what the hell happened.
"That was a mindlink to your Raven; which is just an extension of you, so in a way, you mindlinked with...yourself." Keeper explained.
"Can I do that to other people or Vamps?"
"Yes, if you mindlink with mortals you'll see glimpses of their past only, mindlinking with Vamps...you basically, become a visitor in their body; unseen, unheard, and completely hidden from the other Vamp. Of course, no Vamp; besides maybe the Elders and Vassago, possess the power to or know how to do it, even I don't know how to do it; other than with your Raven, which is pretty basic and different from mindlinking with mortals or Vamps." Keeper explained, missing the look that passed between Dean and the others.
"Alright, now that the Raven has Dean's memories, how does he use them in battle?" Zander questioned.
"It'll happen naturally, the Raven, as I've said, is just another extension of Dean, so it'll know what to do and when to do it without being prompted."
"Okay, let's get some more training done while there's still daylight. I want all of us to be as prepared as possible." Dean said, as he stood.
**Two Days Later**:
Dean sat outside in the backyard alone; except of course, for his Raven who sat on his shoulder keeping watch. He stared at the night sky, enjoying the silence that nighttime brought to the world, he sighed, before he laid down in the grass, arms under his head and thought about the upcoming battle; his Raven had flown to a nearby tree still keeping watch. He had always known that this would be the final battle between them and Vassago, it would be brutal and the hardest fight he's ever been in. He also knew the chances of him losing one of his loved ones was high; he'd have to be completely foolish and naive to think otherwise. What he didn't know until recently though, was that there was the very real chance that he'd lose himself in this battle. That thought scared him the most, if he lost himself, then he'd lose his family, there would be no coming back from this.
He loved his family...he loved Roman more than anything in this entire world; he had spent his mortal life and centuries after as a Vamp alone and unloved. He had thought he'd never find love or a family, but one random, chance meeting at a crappy bar months ago changed that. He had screwed up so damn much both in his mortal and Vamp lives and he truly believed he didn't deserve to love or be loved; honestly, he still felt this way. Roman loved him despite his past and what he is and he believed in Dean even when he didn't believe in himself. He had everything he could ever want or need with his family and now it could all be ripped away from him.
Even though Roman was the love of his life and he loved each member of his family and would give up his life for any of them without hesitation...it was Rose and Violet he thought of most. It could have been the guilt over his kind being the reason they were orphans, or that he had secretly always wanted to be a father, or it was something else entirely, but whatever it was they were the ones he cherished the most; hell, even Vassago had known that. They were the ones he worried about the most; his heart physically hurt thinking about losing them, whether it was because of Vassago or his going dark.
"Dean?" Roman's worried voice spoke from behind him.
"Yeah, baby boy?" Dean replied sighing, as he ran his hands over his face and sat up.
"Are you okay?" Roman asked gently, as he sat beside him and took his hand.
"Yeah."
"Dean, I may not be able to read your thoughts and feelings like Zander and Keeper can, but I do know when you're lying to me."
"You're right, I'm sorry." Dean said sighing. "I just can't stop thinking about what Keeper said about me having to go dark."
"Dean, I..."
"Rome, I can read your thoughts and I know what you're going to say, so can we skip the pep talk, please?" Dean said, cutting him off. "I don't want to go dark, dammit, to me that's worse than death."
"Dean, there's a chance you won't have to." Roman reminded him.
"I keep telling myself that, but it's always there in the back of my mind, taunting me." Dean said frustrated. "All my mortal life, I never knew love and honestly, I didn't even give a damn about that; I never knew it so I never missed it, you know? As a Vamp, I didn't need it, then I met you and I found what I had been missing my entire life. I don't want to lose you or our family, Roman; I don't want to lose...myself." He added sadly.
Instead of saying anything, Roman pulled Dean to him and kissed him, throwing every bit of love and want into the kiss. Dean held onto Roman tightly afraid to let him go. They kissed for a few minutes; before Roman pulled away and smiling he laid down in the grass, pulling Dean down with him. They lay together in peaceful silence, just enjoying their time alone, suddenly, Dean felt the familiar dizzy feeling come over him and knew he was about to mindlink; he managed to look at Roman and tell him, before he passed out.
Dean opened his eyes expecting to find himself in Vassago's body, but was shocked and confused to find himself still outside, the only differences were that Roman was gone and he was now in the woods. As he walked around something seemed familiar to him about where he was, he just couldn't figure out what it was. Sighing, he began looking around, how the hell did he get to the woods and where was Roman? As he made his way into a clearing he saw a lone figure standing in the shadows, their back to him. He slowly and silently walked closer to the person, he had no idea if the person knew he was there or not, they never moved or spoke.
"Hello again, Dean." The person said, their back still to him, he froze hearing the voice.
"Vassago." Dean said angrily, as he clenched his hands into fists at his sides.
"Does this look familiar to you, brother?" Vassago asked, still not looking at him, Dean looked around and realized he knew this place.
"You know damn well that it is, dammit." Dean replied bitterly. "This is where you took the girls from me."
"I thought you'd like it here." Vassago said, still keeping his back to him.
"You brought me here, didn't you?" Dean asked angrily. "Look at me, dammit!"
"I did." Vassago answered smiling, as he finally turned around to face him, Dean wanted to rip him apart. "Of course, just like last time, none of this is real."
"Why?" Dean demanded angrily. "Why the hell did you bring me here?"
"I brought you here because I decided to give you one final chance at a way out of this whole mess...a mess that you created, let me remind you. A way to save your precious family."
"Why the hell would I listen to anything that comes out of your mouth?" Dean asked, as he crossed his arms.
"Because I know you want to save your family." Vassago replied. "Really, Dean, you aren't that hard to figure out."
"Well, if you already have me figured out, then you should know what my answer is then." Dean replied smirking.
"Trust me, brother; I know more than you think."
"Is that right, Vassy-baby?" Dean said, as he sat on a rock. "Please enlighten me."
"Oh, Dean, your tough guy attitude doesn't fool me." Vassago said smiling, as he sat on a rock across from him.
"It's not an act, asshole."
"Oh, but it is." Vassago said still smiling. "You see, Deano, I know all about your pathetic mortal past; how even your own mommy didn't love you." He mocked.
"Shut the hell up!" Dean demanded angrily.
"I know how that made you what you are, I handpicked you, Dean, I knew you would be the perfect addition to my family."
"Guess I disappointed you then, huh?" Dean said smiling.
"Actually, despite your little rebellious side, you were my proudest acquisition. Then you just had to mess everything up by falling in love with a pathetic mortal."
"I'm warning you, you son-of-a-bitch, watch how you talk about Roman and my family, dammit." Dean threatened.
"Anyway, I know you'd do whatever it takes to keep your family safe and that is why I'm here."
"What do you want?" Dean demanded impatiently.
"One thing."
"Me!" Dean said knowing his answer already.
"Yes."
"I'm not going to surrender and let you kill me, dammit! I'm not stupid, Vassago, I know the second I'm gone you'll go after my family."
"Kill you?" Vassago said faking his shock. "No, no, no, you misunderstand me, Dean."
"What?"
"I don't want to kill you; I want you to rule by my side."
"Wait, what?" Dean said shocked, as he stood.
"Rule by my side and I'll leave your family alone."
"I get it!" Dean said smirking again. "You know you have no chance of defeating me, so you're trying to bribe me with my family's safety."
"Wrong." Vassago said, as he stood too. "I'm only doing this because I truly believe we could do great things together." He added sighing. "I used your family as a way to ease your mind."
"Forget it, asshole, I'm not doing it."
"Very well, brother." Vassago said sighing disappointed. "I guess the next time we're face to face will be in battle. Remember, your family's blood will be on your hands!" Vassago said, before he walked away, disappearing as he did.
As soon as he was gone, Dean was thrown back into reality; he sat up gasping for air, before he began coughing. He was quickly held by Roman; at least with these mind fucks, coming out of them was painless compared to the usual mindlinks. Dean held onto Roman tightly, as he calmed down, he knew Roman was talking, but he couldn't make out what he was saying, as Vassago's words echoed in his head.
"You okay, babe?" Roman asked pulling away, as he put both of his hands on Dean's face and looked into his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, baby boy." Dean answered, as he pulled away and stood.
"What did you see?" Roman asked, as he stood too.
"Uh, the usual." Dean quickly lied. "Vassago alone and bitching about the upcoming fight."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No, there's nothing new, so there's no reason to talk about it."
"Okay, so, what..."
"I love you, Rome, but I think I need to be alone right now to think." Dean said, cutting him off.
"Are you sure you're okay, Dean?" Roman asked concerned by Dean's behavior.
"I'm fine." Dean said faking a smile. "I just need to think about things."
"Okay." Roman replied unsure.
"I'll be back soon, I promise, love you, baby boy." Dean said, before he kissed him and left.
As Dean walked away, Vassago's words echoed in his head again and he began to wonder if he had made the right choice turning Vassago down. He needed to think about this, maybe it wasn't too late to agree to his offer; he'd do anything to keep his family safe...even returning to Vassago.
TBC...