A/N: For a moment, I thought maybe I'd be devious and wait until after my day away was done, but since chapter two is done, I suppose I've really no excuse to postpone.
Thanks to all those who are following this story, already, and those of you who have reviewed - you have no idea how much it means to me!! I hope all of you will continue to find it enjoyable.
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Chapter 2
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"Sammy!" Dean exclaimed, rushing to his brother's side. He should have known. Of course the damn trickster would find some way to fool them. "Sammy? You alright?"
Sam coughed, winded by the physical blow of the beam that hit him. "Yeah," he grunted. "I'm fine - nothing broke."
"You sure?" the elder Winchester demanded as his brother looked around dazedly for a moment.
The younger man nodded. "Let's get out of here," he said. Dean helped him to his feet and after Sam managed to catch his breath, they headed for the Impala. A second glance confirmed that building appeared just as it had when they approached it. Somehow, it seemed so much larger inside. Granted, they were dealing with mischievous demigod, so it really shouldn't have come as a surprise.
Dean sent a worried glance Sam's direction. Hit with a beam of blue light and they're free to go? It seemed a little too easy...
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Sam went to bed before him, after finally convincing him that he really was okay, climbing into bed and burying himself beneath the covers. Dean soon followed and the night hours flew.
The younger Winchester was the first to rise, making his way to the bathroom for his morning routine. His brother roused enough to note that he was awake before dozing back to sleep. That is, until a startled cry emerged from the bathroom.
"Sam?" Dean was up at the door in an instant.
"Don't come in!!" Sam's voice sounded... unusually high-pitched.
"Sam, open the door!" his brother demanded worriedly. No response. "Sam-my!"
Finally, the door opened and a girl stood there, brown hair hanging into her face. She wore one of Sam's t-shirts and a pair of boxer shorts.
"Oh... uh," Dean flashed an self-conscious smile. "Sorry – didn't know my brother had company."
She drew in a deep breath. "Dean, it's me," she told him.
"Excuse me?"
"I'm Sam."
Dean blinked at the girl in front of him. She didn't look like she have been more than 18 or 19 years old. She was about 5'6" with pleasant curves that were not beyond notice despite her baggy attire. In fact, the messy bedroom look really worked for her – and that wasn't necessarily Dean's big brain talking. He was just thinking that his brother had great taste in girls when he heard what she was saying.
"What?!" the elder Winchester exclaimed, jumping back.
"The trickster," she said, her words contorted with distaste and loathing, "he must've changed me." Misery was clearly visible on her - no, HIS delicate features.
"Oh – that is just WRONG!" Dean exclaimed, suddenly feeling sick to his stomach. He wanted to crawl into bed and never come out, the thought that he'd just checked out his own brother enough to make him never be able to keep down another morsel of food again.
"You're telling me!" Sam snarled. Apparently, a dose of estrogen this early in the morning didn't agree with him too well. That thought made Dean laugh.
Familiar hazel eyes glared up at him and in that moment of undeniable recognition, Dean felt his lips twist into an amused smirk.
"This isn't funny, Dean."
A snort made its was past Dean's defenses as he attempted to school his features.
"This isn't funny," Sam reiterated.
"Oh, I don't know," Dean couldn't help but remark, "this is sorta funny." Sam glowered at him, but it no longer held the same effect. Dean burst into laughter.
"Right," Sammy was fuming. "Yuck it up, why don't you?"
"I'm sor-sorry, Sam," Dean gasped, "I know... I shouldn't laugh, but – he got you! The guy has some sorta unhealthy infatuation with you and he to..." A burst of helpless giggles. "Totally got you in th-the worst way possible."
Sam remained unamused by the situation. "You realize I might be stuck like this, right?" he demanded, his eyes flickering with anger.
Dean abruptly stopped laughting. "Oh, shit!"
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Sam had managed to get his pants to stay in place with use of a belt, the material bunching up in a manner that was less than fashionable. His torso was fully concealed underneath several layers, the outermost of which was a sweatshirt that hung halfway to his knees, hiding the atrocious state of his jeans.
His appearance was completed with the pout of the oppressed, giving him the aura of a preppy teen who was dragged along on her hokey parents' asinine camping trip. Dean resisted the urge to tell his brother how well he was pulling off the whole girl thing.
They headed back to the diner where they had first run into the trickster the day before. No luck. Afterward, they made their way to the abandoned building. It didn't seem nearly as big inside now that the demigod's influence had left, nonetheless, it still took them a few minutes to find the door through which they had finally escaped.
"It's not working, Dean," Sam sighed as his brother closed the door for the third or fourth time.
"I know," the elder Winchester said. "Let's try one more time. Let's see - I think you were standing right about... here." Sam released a frustrated sigh as his brother repositioned him about a foot to the right with disheartening ease.
"Dean..."
"Then, I approached the door like this," Dean continued the demonstration. Sam sighed again. "And I reached out and opened it like – THIS!" With an expert twist of his wrist, Dean jerked the door open. Sam jumped back in surprise and Dean followed his startled gaze.
Standing in the doorway, a self-satisfied smirk upon his face as he rocked back on his heels, was the trickster. Overcoming his surprise, Sam charged at him.
"Now, now, now, Sammy-boy," the Trickster chuckled, effortlessly holding the enraged hunter at bay with a slight wave of his hand. "Whatever are you so worked up about?"
"You bastard!" Sam growled. "This isn't funny – change me back!"
"You don't like it? But you look so nice! I mean, the outfit could use some work, but I think that I have made you into a very attractive young woman." The younger Winchester gave him a glare with enough venom to eat through concrete.
A gun cocked and the demigod turned to find that Dean had crept around him while he'd been focusing on Sam. "I think you should do as he says," he stated, letting the weapon do all the persuading.
The Trickster looked at him like he was mentally deficient.
"Seriously, Dean?" he asked. "You impaled me with a stake – a big one, at that. That didn't kill me. Do really think bullets will work any better?"
"Dunno," Dean smirked. "Wanna find out?"
The Trickster let out a defeated sigh, throwing his hands up in surrender. "Fine," he said. "Fine, I'll do as you ask..."
The hunters exchanged a suspicious glance, Dean pulling the trigger another fraction of an inch.
A devious smile spread across the demigod's face and he winked mischievously at Sam. "But, you'll have to catch me first." Dean fired the gun – anything to slow the maniac down – but the Trickster had already vanished.
The elder Winchester cursed under his breath. "Sammy, you okay?" he asked after a moment.
Sam stood in utter shock for a moment, staring blankly at the spot where the Trickster had stood seconds before.
"Sam?" Dean watched as his brother's expression darkened into a malevolent scowl that even he found a bit frightening.
"I'm going to kill him," Sam declared. Dean didn't doubt for a second that he absolutely meant it.
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To be continued...
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A/N: For a writer, reviews really do make the world go 'round...
