Dean walked through the quiet forest, replaying Vassago's words over and over in his head. Since the beginning of this damn war, he's been trying to find a way to end it...now though, Vassago might have just given him one. Wait...was he really thinking about giving up and doing what that son-of-a-bitch wanted? What the hell was wrong with him, dammit? How could he even think like that? He had fought too damn long and too damn hard to just give up now and let Vassago win. He hated how that bastard had managed to get into his damn head again, this was exactly what that bastard wanted to happen. By getting into his head, Vassago could get him to do whatever he wanted, ensuring that he won.
Angry at the thought of Vassago manipulating him again so damn easily, Dean screamed in frustration, before he punched the closest tree; putting his fist completely through it. He needed to end this damn war before he lost what little sanity he had left. He could feel his powers flowing through him stronger than he's ever felt them before. The feeling was indescribable, it was like nothing he had ever felt before and honestly, it scared the hell out of him! It was worse than the damn bloodlust and when he had first come into his full powers. What the actual hell was happening to him, dammit? Suddenly, as he fell to his knees, grabbing his chest, overcome with the most intense pain he had ever felt before, Keeper's words about the other Chosen Ones dying from their powers rushed back to him.
The pain coursed through him along with his powers, he couldn't think or speak and it was getting harder and harder to breathe. He finally collapsed onto his back staring at the sky, struggling through the pain. This...this was it, dammit, this was how he died; alone and not by Vassago's hands. Suddenly, he heard the familiar cry of his Raven, at first, he thought he had imagined it, he knew he had left his Raven back at the monastery. He closed his eyes, squeezing them tight, groaning in agony, one hand clutching his chest, while the other hand clenched at the grass he lay upon. Fighting the pain, he heard the cry again and opened his eyes, still staring at the sky he saw his Raven circling him, crying out as if it were leading someone to him.
He quickly shut his eyes again and groaned as another wave of pain washed over him, he felt like he was burning up from the inside out. He couldn't catch his breath; it felt like his lungs had shrunk, his body arched off of the ground his one hand still clutching the grass. He was in so much pain; even touching himself caused him agony. Finally, finding his voice again, he screamed out in pain, before he collapsed back onto the ground. As he did, he thought he heard voices calling his name, but like he had with the Raven, he thought he was imagining it; it wasn't like he could let them know where he was anyway, the pain taking away his voice again.
"DEAN!" Zander's panicked voice yelled, as he came into the clearing with Keeper and found him; he ran to Dean and knelt beside him.
"Dean, can you hear us?" Keeper questioned, as he knelt beside him too.
"What's happening to him, Keeper?" Zander demanded upset.
"I...I don't know for sure, but I think he might be unable to handle his powers."
"What? You said since he came into his full powers already that we didn't need to worry about that, dammit! Why would he reject them now?"
"Dammit, Zander, I'm not an expert on Chosen Ones, I don't have all the answers!" Keeper stated bitterly. "I have seen this before though and if I'm correct, then this is..."
"Is what, dammit?" Zander asked upset, when Keeper trailed off. "What the hell is going on?"
"He's getting his full powers."
"His full powers?" Zander repeated confused. "How can that be if you told us he already got them weeks ago, dammit?"
"As I said many, many times, I'm no expert on Chosen Ones or their powers, but I have seen what happens when their powers advance. When they reach their full power their bodies go through changes, which of course, their body fights against. This is when the other Chosen Ones have died, unable to handle their powers. So, when I thought Dean had reached them without going through this, I believed that he was free of danger." Keeper explained.
"How could you not know how advanced his powers were?" Zander asked confused.
"What part of I'm no expert are you having trouble understanding, Zander? I only have my knowledge of what I've witnessed in the past, so when he presented with powers that previous Chosen Ones only had when at full power, I believed he was too." Keeper replied frustrated.
"What will happen to him?"
"One of two things; he either is strong enough and makes it through the change and becomes the prophesized most powerful Chosen One ever. Or, he..." Keeper said trailing off.
"He dies." Zander said quietly, as Keeper nodded silently. "How do you know for sure that this is what's happening?"
"I don't, but I have witnessed this personally only one other time; centuries ago. The Elders explained to me what was happening, after the last Chosen One tried to kill us, but of course, he succumbed to his powers instead. The Elders told me that it happens to every Chosen One and none have been strong enough to fight the change."
"Is there any way to know for sure?" Zander questioned scared.
"I'll have to ask him what he's experiencing, I do remember what the symptoms are, if they match then we'll know for sure; the symptoms are always the same, they never change."
"Then...then do it!" Zander ordered, as Keeper glared at him.
"Dean, I need you to focus on me, okay? I know it's difficult, but it's important for me to be able to help you." Keeper said, as he held his hand on Dean's forehead trying to center him.
Dean stared at Keeper, trying to do what he said, one hand still clutching the grass, while Zander held his other hand tightly. He used all of the strength that he had left and focused on Keeper.
"Alright, Dean, I think I know what's happening to you, but to be certain I need to know exactly what you're experiencing. So, I want you to squeeze Zander's hand once if you understand and twice if you don't." Keeper said, Dean squeezed Zander's hand once.
"That was a yes." Zander said smiling.
"Good, good, Dean." Keeper replied smiling too, he couldn't lose Dean; he was his only way of killing Vassago and claiming his rightful place on the throne. "Alright, besides the pain, do you feel like you're burning up from the inside out?"
"He said yes."
"Okay, onemore question." Keeper said. "Do your powersfeel stronger, like as they'recoursing through you they're causing you unbearable pain?"
"Yes." Zander answered, as Keeper hung his head. "What, Keeper? What does that mean, dammit?"
"It means, I was right." Keeper replied frustrated, dammit, this was his only chance to get rid of Vassago!
"What...what do we do?"
"We do nothing; it's up to Dean now."
"How long until we know?" Zander asked sadly, hating seeing his brother in so much pain and being helpless to do anything to help him.
"Not long, it'll all be over one way or another very soon." Keeper replied bitterly, as he got up and walked a few steps away, turning his back to them.
He was pissed; he had thought Dean had already come into his damn powers and that this wouldn't happen. He had not only been wrong, but he had been foolishly naive to think that without being sure. Now, he needed to find a way to completely vanish before Vassago discovered what happened and eviscerated all of them! He had no hope of Dean surviving the change, he had seen too many Chosen Ones fall victim to their own powers and Dean would just be another fallen idol. Maybe, there was still time for him to disappear, before Dean actually died? That plan failed before it even started though, when Dean's cries of agony stopped abruptly and his body stilled.
"Dean?" Zander said upset. "DEAN!" He yelled louder, as his tears fell.
"It's too late...he wasn't strong enough." Keeper said angrily, his back still to them.
"NO!" Zander yelled upset, as he stood angrily.
"What?" Keeper asked confused, as he turned to face him.
"You heard me, asshole!" Zander said angrily, as he wiped his tears away roughly. "I...I don't believe you, dammit!"
"Whether you choose to believe me or not is completely irrelevant, brother. Dean is..."
"Shut up!" Zander yelled, as he rushed Keeper and punched him.
"You know, Zander, that almost hurt." Keeper said smirking, as he rubbed his jaw and glared at him.
"Fix him!" Zander demanded pointing at Dean's body.
"How, Zander?" Keeper questioned bitterly. "I'm no God, dammit! I can't just snap my damn fingers and bring him back!"
"I don't care how you do it, just do it, dammit!"
"Who exactly do you think I' am?" Keeper asked angrily. "I can't bring anyone back from the dead! What part of that don't you understand?"
While they argued, neither Vamp noticed that the Raven who had been constantly crying out suddenly grew quiet and landed on the very much alive and now standing Dean's shoulder. Dean had no idea what happened or how he had survived and managed to be standing even, but here he was and dammit, he felt more powerful than ever before. He watched and listened silently to the argument, he sighed bored and pet his Raven, before he spoke startling both Vamps.
"You know, as much as I'd love to watch you both fight to the death, don't you think we have more important shit to do?" Dean said smiling, as he continued to pet his Raven.
"Dean?" Zander and Keeper said together shocked, as they both turned to look at him.
"What's the matter? You two look like you've seen a ghost." Dean teased smiling, as Zander rushed to him and hugged him tight.
As Dean hugged Zander smiling, he kept his eyes locked with Keeper's; he could tell that both men were shocked to see him alive.
"How...how is this possible?" Keeper questioned shocked, as he walked closer and Zander let him go. "You...you should be dead...again." He corrected himself realizing that the three Vamps were already technically dead.
"I have noidea what the hell happened to me,one minute I feel the worst pain inmy entire life and then I thought I...died.The next minute, I wake up as if I had just been sleeping and other than feeling incrediblypowerful, I feel perfectly fine."Dean said honestly. "What was that?"
"That was your full powers coming into completion." Keeper answered sighing; hating that he had to admit again that he had made a mistake.
"Wait...my full powers?" Dean asked confused. "You said that I..."
"Yes, yes, I know what I said, dammit and I was wrong." Keeper said bitterly, cutting Dean off and mumbling the last part.
"Uh, what was that last part, Keeper, we didn't quite hear you." Dean teased smiling, as Zander smiled too.
"You two are enjoying this, aren't you?"
"Oh, don't be so bitter, Keeper." Dean said still smiling. "After the hell I just went through, I deserve to have a little fun, don't you agree?" He added, as he laughed with Zander. "Seriously though, what happened to me?"
"I thought you had gotten your full powers a while ago; your powers were so advanced and since that could only happen if you had received your full powers, I just believed you had them. The prophecy...your prophecy, spoke of you being the most powerful Chosen One there ever was, so when you didn't go through the rejection like the others had, I thought it was because of that. I had no way of knowing otherwise." Keeper explained truthfully.
"Until what happened tonight." Dean added quietly.
"Yes."
"How did you know I was in trouble or even where I was?" Dean asked confused.
"You can thank your feathered, little friend there for that." Zander replied smiling, as he went to pet the Raven, but it cried out angrily and tried to bite his hand.
"Sorry, Z, I guess he doesn't want to be touched." Dean apologized, as the Raven moved to Dean's opposite arm away from Zander. "I still don't understand, I left the Raven at the monastery, how the hell did he know?"
"You two are connected, remember?" Keeper said annoyed. "The little, feathered beast sensed your pain and alerted us. Zander and I being the only ones who could follow it and not lose it came after you."
"So...this is it?" Dean asked nervously. "I have my full powers now and there won't be any more of...that?"
"I have been wrong once, but that was the last time." Keeper replied firmly, as he looked at Dean. "You have your full powers now and there will be no more surprises like that anymore." He added smiling.
"How do you feel? Any different?" Zander asked smiling.
"Honestly, yeah, I do." Dean replied smiling, as he pet his Raven. "I...I can't really describe it though, other than I feel more powerful; like everything just fell into place after that happened. Other than that though I feel fine." He explained sighing.
"Really?" Keeper asked shocked. "Let's try a little experiment, shall we?"
"Like what?" Dean said confused, as looked at Zander who just shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, if your full powers have finally come in and you feel the way you do, maybe, there's a chance that you might be in control of your powers now."
"I...I never thought of that." Dean replied. "Do you think it'll work?"
"There's only one way to know for sure." Keeper replied.
"Okay, so what do we do?"
"Your usual training, after we see what you can do, then I'll do my best to try and make you angry. We need to see if you can control your powers without the Raven's help."
"Alright." Dean replied, as he took a deep breath to calm and center himself, before he ordered his Raven to wait in a tree. "Here goes nothing."
**Later**:
Roman anxiously paced the backyard of the monastery, splitting his attention between watching for any sign of the three missing Vamps and checking the time on his phone. It had been almost two hours since Zander and Keeper went to find Dean, after the Raven had suddenly started freaking out because Dean was in some kind of trouble. Of course, Roman and the others had wanted to go with them, but because they weren't Vamps, they wouldn't be able to keep up with them and they could have gotten hurt or lost. He was about to go look for them, when he suddenly heard footsteps behind him, he turned towards the noise and felt his heart skip a beat seeing all three Vamps coming towards him. Roman rushed to them and met them halfway, quickly pulling Dean in for a hug. He held onto Dean tightly, burying his face in Dean's neck, as he began to cry in relief, he felt Dean hold him tighter. He began to run his hand through Roman's hair attempting to calm his worried boyfriend.
"It's okay, Rome, I'm okay." Dean reassured him holding him close.
"I...I thought I lost you." Roman said still crying, as he pulled away just enough to kiss him. "I was so scared."
"I know and I'm sorry." Dean said gently, as he wiped Roman's tears away with his thumb.
"What happened?" Roman asked, taking Dean's hand.
"Let's go inside and I'll tell everyone together." Dean replied smiling, as he took Roman's hand.
After going inside, they went to the living room and Dean was greeted with hugs from their worried family. Once they were satisfied he was okay and uninjured, they sat together and Dean told them everything. Of course, all of them were upset and shocked by what they heard, but knowing that Dean was still alive kept them calm.
"Why were you guys gone so long?" Paige asked.
"Well, Keeper wanted to see if I could finally control my powers after what happened; without needing the Raven's help."
"And?" Father O'Conner asked, as Dean looked at the other two Vamps, before he looked back the others.
"And...it worked!" Dean announced smiling.
"It did?" Roman asked happily.
"Yep! Of course, I have a little practice to do and my Raven does help make them stronger, but I'm at full power and ready to finish this, dammit."
Hearing the first piece of good news in a long damn time, everyone hugged happily. For once since this shitshow began Dean felt like everything had fallen into place for them and he no longer doubted that they'd win this war. He couldn't wipe the smile off of his face, he hasn't felt this calm in a long damn time and it actually felt good. He felt incredible, he felt so powerful and all of his feelings of failure disappeared.
"So, what do we do now?" Seth asked.
"We need to prepare ourselves and make sure we're 100 percent ready. At this stage of the battle we can't take any chances or risks." Keeper replied smiling feeling the difference in Dean and he couldn't help, but feel invincible.
"Alright, tomorrow we'll get back to our training; Zander will lead the others through their training and Keeper will work with me." Dean said smiling.
"There's one...well, two little people we haven't talked about yet." Paige said sighing.
"Who?"
"Rose and Violet." She answered.
"Shit, she's right, none of us thought about what we're going to do with the girls when we finally go after Vassago." Roman said.
"What are we going to do with them?" Father O'Conner asked.
"We obviously can't bring them with us; I won't let that son-of-a-bitch anywhere near them again, dammit." Dean said angrily.
"Our only option then is for someone to stay behind here with them." Paige said sighing, as she sat on the couch, Dean began to pace.
"Alright, well, how do we decide who stays?" Zander asked.
"There's really no reason to decide." Father O'Conner said gently.
"What are you talking about, Father?" Dean asked confused, as he stopped pacing and looked at him.
"Don't sound so surprised." Father O'Conner said smiling. "This is war and in battle, you need the very best warriors on your team and let's all be honest here, out of all of us, I'm the weakest link."
"Father..."
"No, no, it's fine, really." Father O'Conner said smiling, cutting Dean off. "I'm a realist and I know that out of all of us I' am the weakest link and by staying behind I can't be the reason we fail. I will stay here with the girls and keep them safe."
"Are you sure?" Paige asked, as she took his hand and squeezed it gently.
"Paige, child, I would like nothing more than to be part of the battle, but I'm not a fighter. I can keep the girls safe here though and that's good enough for me." Father O'Conner replied smiling.
"Thank you, Father." Dean said smiling. "You're wrong about one thing though."
"I' am?"
"Yes, you are not the weakest link, none of us are." Dean said smiling, as he looked at each of them. "I just want each and every one of you to know that you all have a role to play in this war and without you, victory wouldn't be possible. I'd gladly and without hesitation go into a million battles with all of you." He added proudly, before they all hugged, except of course for Keeper.
"Disgusting!" Keeper said making a face. "I hate to interrupt your little...moment, but let me remind you all that your little lovefest won't help or be enough to win against Vassago and whatever's left of his army."
"You didn't need to remind us of that, Keeper, we aren't stupid, dammit."
"Well, Seth, I wouldn't..."
"Shut up, Keeper." Dean said annoyed, cutting him off. "Look, if we're going to win this damn war, then all of us are going to have to work together, dammit, whether we like it or not." He added looking at Keeper.
"Why are you singling me out?" Keeper questioned smirking; Dean just looked at him and rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"It's settled then, Father will stay here with the girls, while we go against Vassago." Dean said sighing, ignoring Keeper. "Even though you're staying here, Father, you still need to train; I want you to be as prepared as you can be." He added, Father O'Conner nodded.
"For now though, I think we should all get some rest." Roman said smiling, as he took Dean's hand, hoping to finally get some overdue alone time with his boyfriend.
"Agreed, we'll start training tomorrow morning after breakfast." Dean said smiling, before he was dragged out of the room by a laughing Roman.
Still laughing, they went upstairs to theirroom, once at their door Roman went to open it, but was stopped and turnedaround before Dean kissed him passionately. Without breaking the kiss, Romanreached behind him and opened the door, they went into the room and Dean kickedthe door closed behind them. They continued kissing, as they backed up to thebed; both needed this distraction from the never-ending stress in their lives. It had been too damn long since they had been intimate and both men had missed each other.
They fell back onto the bed; Dean on top of Roman, as they continued kissing. They only broke the kiss long enough to undress each other, Dean looked into Roman's eyes and smiled lovingly. This man was his entire world; he had changed his life for the better and had somehow made Dean feel things he hasn't felt since he had been turned.
"I love you." Dean said smiling, between kisses.
"I love you too." Roman replied smiling, as he looked into Dean's eyes.
Dean pushed all thoughts of Vassago and the upcoming battle out of his mind and focused his entire mind and body on Roman. Tonight the world disappeared and only Dean, Roman and their love mattered.
TBC...