Chapter 4: In the dead of night


The loyalists all gathered around.

Dean stood at the head of the group, "Tonight's the night!" He exclaimed with a booming voice, "The night we take down the Lord Regent and his men!"

The loyalists roared with agreement.

"Don't be fooled, it won't be easy. But I believe we can do it!"
"Take out anyone who tries to get in our way." Castiel added.
"Do not kill, if at all possible." Dean said, "Use any other means possible, unless there is no other options."

Castiel glanced at Dean; he was so confident, but also arrogant.
He never liked the idea of Dean going after the Lord Regent on his own.

He took a deep breath, "Dean, may I speak to you in private?"
Dean smiled, "Sure, I wanted to tell you something, anyway."


Castiel closed the door behind them, "What did you want to tell me?"
"Didn't you want to say something, too? You go first."

Castiel stood up as straight as possible, and even with that, he was still shorter than Dean.
"I'm not so great with words," He started, "But I need to get this off my chest, just in case it's our last chance."

Dean was hardly listening, just staring.
He watched Castiel's every move, not hearing a word he said.

Castiel stopped speaking once he realized Dean wasn't listening, "...Dean?"
"Sorry, I didn't catch that." Dean murmured, leaning closer to him.
Castiel's eyes widened, "What are you-"

Dean sloped his neck to match Castiel's height, and leaned in for a kiss.
He pressed his lips against the soldier's quivering, chapped lips and placed his hand on his shoulder.
Castiel was surprised, but didn't reject the kiss.

After a moment, Dean pulled away and stood up straight.
"We should join the others." He said with a smirk.
Castiel nodded slowly, a bit dazed.


When they rejoined the other loyalists, Sam was speaking to them.
"The biggest threat is the plague victims." He stated.
"How so?" A man asked.
Sam looked at him, "Basically, they are the plague. It's so easy for them to spread the illness, and they will."
"How can we avoid it?" Anna spoke up.
"Good question," Sam nodded at her, "You shouldn't breathe the air, obviously. That's why we wear masks. If one of the plague victims bites bare skin, you're sure to catch it."

Dean stood beside Sam, "Long story short, always wear your mask, don't get bitten, don't eat people."
"Thank you, Dean." He said sarcastically.
"Glad to be of service, little brother. The sun is setting, meaning we need to go." He said, putting his mask on.

"I will take my select few to the palace," He started, "The rest of you will keep the town in check, as well as helping Sam with whatever he needs."
"Who will you be taking with you, Winchester sir?" A woman asked.

Dean scanned the remaining nine loyalists.
"Novak, Milton and-" He looked at a dark-haired man wearing a military-grade gas mask. "What's your name, soldier?" He asked.
"Benjamin." He replied.
Dean nodded, "Welcome to the team, Benny."
"Honored, sir." He replied.


Four shadowy figures moved through the dark like trained assassins.

They stopped outside of the palace walls.
Dean peeked around the corner, and what he saw was frightening;
Their pair of mechanical legs that were at least fifteen feet tall. Controlling the legs was a guard sporting heavy full-body armour.

He cringed and quickly hid.
"What is it?" Benny whispered from behind him.
Dean looked over his shoulder, "Tallboy." He hissed.
"And what, exactly, is that?"
"An elite guard. We haven't used them in ages, but they must have come back when the plague started."

Benny peeked around the corner, "Damn, how do you suppose we get past one of those?"
Dean was quiet for a moment.
"We get on top of them." He stood up slowly.
Anna crossed her arms, "How?"

Dean glanced around, and then upwards.
"Cas, give me a boost."

Castiel crouched down, and Dean stepped onto his shoulders.
He slowly stood up.
Dean climbed onto the wall, and watched the tallboy.

"Help me up, Castiel." Anna said, ready to join Dean.
He hesitated, "Alright." He cupped his hands, and she stepped up.

He launched her upwards, and she grabbed the edge of the wall.
Dean glanced at her, and helped her up.

"What's the plan, boss?" She whispered.
"We get close to one - without being noticed, hopefully - and jump on top of them. We should be able to take them down."

Dean scanned the premises. There were two tallboys; one patrolling either side of the grounds.
He pointed at Anna, and then at the closest tallboy.
She nodded, and went after it.

Dean moved swiftly across the wall, readying his sword.

Anna crept along the wall behind her target.
She she braced herself, and leaped towards the guard.

The tallboy started to move, and she missed her shot. Instead, she slammed into the top of its legs.
It staggered, and started to search the area with its spotlight.

The tallboy on Dean's side started towards the other one.
Dean ran at top speed, and dived onto the tallboy. He raised his sword over his head, and stabbed it through the guard's armour.

As the tallboy collapsed, Dean jumped off, and rolled as he hit the ground.

Anna held onto the tallboy's legs, struggling with its movement.
She quickly climbed up it, and wrapped her arms around his neck.
The guard swiped at her, and tried to hit her with his compact bow, but she managed to dodge.
She raised both of her knives, and stabbed them into the guard's neck.

She jumped off of the tallboy before it collapsed, but didn't land as gracefully as Dean.

He sprinted over to her, and offered a hand.

They worked together to drag the tallboys out of the way, and then opened the gate for Castiel and Benny.

Benny glanced around, "What now?" He asked.
Dean examined the palace, "We need to split up," He started, "We have to get into the castle, but we'll be easily noticed if we stay together. I'll find a way in, and you guys stay out here and keep watch."
Castiel shook his head, "No, you're not going in alone."

Dean turned to Castiel, "Look, it's better this way. I know the palace better than any of you. Plus, if something did go wrong, you guys will still stand a chance."
"He has a point, Castiel." Anna murmured.
Benny nodded in agreement.
Castiel sighed, "Fine. It's your funeral."


Dean sneaked around the grounds until he found a point of entry.

He scaled the wall using windows and ledges, until he got to the third story.
He climbed through a window, and scanned the halls.

He moved swiftly through he shadows, until he spotted a guard.
He crouched against the wall, and the guard walked right past him without a second glance.

Quietly, he made his way to a door. It was locked.
He produced a length of wire from his sheath, and started to pick the lock.

As soon as he got the door unlocked, he slipped into the room.

The Empress lied on the hospital bed, her eyes closed.
Dean smiled softly.

She was alive and breathing well.

He wanted her to know that he was alive, but he had more important things to tend to, so he slipped out of the room without making a noise.


Dean made his way through the palace, hiding in the shadows and slipping past guards.

He took out the two guards outside of the Lord Regent's office, and glanced around.
"Too easy." He murmured with uncertainty.

He slowly turned the door handle to find that the door was unlocked.
Swallowing hard, he pushed the door open.

The middle-aged man stood facing the window.
"Hello, Winchester." He said without turning around.
Dean froze.
"I knew it'd be much more difficult to kill you." He said, turning to Dean. "I see you made it past my guards."
"You tried to kill the Empress." Dean stated.
The Lord Regent smiled, "Of course I did, since she has no children, I'd be next in line."
"And I bet you spread the plague, too."
"Dean, Dean, Dean. How do you suppose I did that?"

Dean didn't answer.

"I suppose I've told you too much, now. You know what that means?"
"You have to kill me," He paused, "But not if I kill you, first."

He drew his sword, and charged at the man.
The Lord Regent barely dodged, grabbed a revolver.
He pointed the gun, but before he could fire a round, Dean charged at him, and sliced his hand with the sword.
"Dammit!" He hissed.

He grabbed a rusted syringe off of his desk, and stabbed it into Dean's neck.
Dean yelped, and staggered backwards.
The Lord Regent walked towards him, and kicked him in the stomach with all of his strength, and Dean crashed through the window.

Dean flailed about, trying to grab onto anything to stop himself.
Now he was certain that he'd fall to his death, or at least break every bone in his body.