Title:These Woods Aren't Safe For Us

Authoress:superhackaninja5

Rating:M

Summary:see chapter one

Warnings:see chapter one

Omigod I am so sorry it took so long for this next chapter but in my defense I had a lot on my plate and then writer's block hit like a motherfucker after the last chapter of Book of Terrors. But I finally got started and hopefully it won't be so long before the next one. I think this story is about half-done, too so. Enjoy this.


Chapter 8:Icebound

The plan went like this:a small group was going to be taken the light's hideout by Castiel to provide the distraction. While they engaged the angels, Dean and Itachi were going to track down the doomsday prophet and get to the bottom of his declarations regarding the Hybrid and the Nox angel.

The selected group had assembled in the sitting room of the dark's hideout, all gearing up for the mission. It consisted of Dean, Itachi, Alaric and Castiel;it wasn't a very large group, but then, this wasn't meant to be a real fight. Just interference.

"Sure you guys can handle this alone?"Katherine quipped dubiously from the corner of the room, leaning her shoulder against the wall and folding her arms. She was a little miffed at not being chosen to come along;even if she understood the reasoning, it didn't mean that she had to like it.

A minute passed before anyone answered her. "This isn't a fully-fledged battle and, with Damon missing in action, we can't risk our only other lamia,"Alaric stated matter-of-factly, "So even if we couldn't, bringing you still wouldn't be the smartest course of action,"

The female caught sight of something in the dark ruler's black coals at the word "lamia", but it was gone before she could figure out what it was. She shook her head and lifted a single shoulder in a shrug.

"Fine, whatever. Just, the rest of you don't go getting yourselves killed or anything,"

The former vampire hunter shot her a grin. "I'm touched to know you care, Katherine,"he said mockingly, showing his teeth.

"I don't,"the brunette insisted defensively, "I just kind of need you people to stay alive," Alaric just laughed, turning away from her quietly fuming face in amusement.

The shadow, unfortunately, chose to break into their moment of levity with his grim, unemotional voice.

"Remember the plan, Castiel. You are to distract Raphael and the other angels while Winchester and I track down the prophet. This is a quest for information, nothing more,"he intoned flatly in a tone that left no room for arguments.

Not that anyone had any.

The former light ruler inclined his dark-haired head in understanding. "I've got it-but if Dean comes to any harm under your watch-" "He won't,"Itachi cut him off before he could finish his obvious threat, ivory features utterly inscrutable, "You forget, I need Winchester alive just as much as you do,"

Castiel seemed satisfied, although a little disconcerted, by that, and he fell silent. Dean came to his side and gripped his hand reassuringly. "Are we ready to go, then?"he asked to defuse the sudden tension, addressing the room at large.

His boyfriend caught Alaric's eye and the shykari gave him the barest trace of a nod. Inhaling deeply, the Nox angel nodded as well. "I dare say we are,"he affirmed in as composed a tone as he was capable, squeezing Dean's hand tightly.

The Hybrid set his jaw, free hand sliding out of the pocket of his black jacket to spin his .45 between his fingers. "Let's get this party started, then,"he declared with his characteristic bravado.

Itachi met Castiel's bright blue eyes without blinking. "You take point. I'll meet you at the invasion site,"he directed the angel with authority, vanishing before he had a chance to protest.

The Nox angel let out a slow, measured breath before beckoning the shykari to join him and Dean in the centre of the room. "Hold on very tightly,"he instructed an instant before spreading his wings and taking off with the two hunters in tow.

It was a relatively quick trip, even by flying standards and they arrived at the invasion point within what seemed like minutes. Itachi wasn't there yet, however, so they had to wait;Castiel made the decision to pull Dean aside.

"If this doesn't go the way we want, Dean, just know that I love you. No matter what,"he said in a fierce whisper, grasping the Hybrid's upper arms. Dean pressed a finger over his lips to stop before he could say anything else, though.

"Don't say that, Cass,"he said darkly, shaking his head. "If I'm right, and the prophet was lying when he said that our bond was going to be the end of all the other children of the dark, then that means we'll have an advantage. Everything we've gone through for each other won't be just to lose one another again. We'll be stronger. We can win."

Castiel heaved a quiet sigh. He wasn't used to Dean being the positive one between them-not after everything that had happened;but he did appreciate it. "I know. And I want you to be right this time, Dean. But I just wanted you to know that I'll be the same if you aren't,"

"Hey,"Alaric called to them from the brush where the three of them had been hiding, "Call me crazy, but isn't that your brother, Dean?"

Dean froze for about a fraction of a second, turning slowly back around to face Alaric with an unreadable expression on his tan features. "Where?"he questioned in a deceptively calm tone, walking back to his previous position without waiting for Castiel to follow.

The shykari jerked his chin at someone outside of the bushes;a tall, long-haired brunette in a flannel jacket and stonewashed jeans. Dean clenched his teeth, feeling his heart speed up at the familiar sight.

That was his brother, all right.

"It appears I'm going to have to find the prophet alone,"Itachi's voice suddenly spoke from behind him, sounding almost as if he'd been expecting this.

Dean hissed under his breath. He'd really been hoping to avoid this, but it seemed that it was just hopeless. So he didn't bother to correct the shadow-because his assumption was all too correct.

"I'm afraid you are going to have to find your brother without me-because I think it's time I had a long overdue chat with mine,"

Itachi inclined his hooded head knowingly. "Well then, let's get to it,"he stated coldly, striding forward with the Nox angel close at his heels.

Their attack had begun.


(Sam's POV)

I sensed the intruders from the moment they came within shouting distance, but I didn't raise the alarm because I knew what this was about. Raphael's prophets had been expecting this-and so had I.

So it was no surprise when I saw not only the former light ruler and his opposite, but also my elder brother striding out of the surrounding hedges, clearly ready for a fight. "He knows you're here,"I greeted them all tersely, not bothering with any pleasantries, crossing my arms over my chest;none of them looked fazed, but my eyes were on Dean.

My brother was about as far from what I was used to as it could get. Almost everything about his appearance, not to mention his overall demeanour had changed to reflect his newfound powers;his hazel eyes were darker than I had ever seen them and he was clad entirely in black, no longer wearing our father's favourite leather jacket his security blanket. Instead, it had been replaced with a matte black car coat that came down to his knees, designed to just barely conceal the multiple guns and other weapon he had strapped to his belt.

One thing hadn't changed, however;he could still scare the shit out of me when he wanted to. Not that I would ever show it.

I stood my ground as he positioned himself in front of me, his posture deceptively casual and unguarded. He waved a glove hand at his companions, gesturing at them to go on, "And yet, you're the only one out here, which makes me think your boss wants us here,"he turned to Castiel, who was still gripping his arm, "You guys go ahead. Sammy and I have some family business to discuss,"

I narrowed my eyes at him, bristling at the childish nickname. Something else hadn't changed;Dean could still get on my nerves like no one else.

I made no move to stop Castiel and the others as they brushed past me, heading straight for the church where the rest of my brethren were waiting for them. They were prepared for this, after all and I had been ordered not to interfere.

My brother and I engaged in a silent battle of wills while his comrades continued on without him. It wasn't until they were gone that one of us decided to speak again.

"So,"Dean started in a falsely calm voice, eyes flashing beneath his lashes with anger-and something I couldn't identify, "Are you happy here? You finally got your wish;you don't have me on your back twenty-four seven anymore. How's it been working out for you?"

Whatever I had been expecting him to say, it definitely wasn't that. I'd expected his rage, his hurt, but this cool, detachment was something I had never seen before. I had expected him to demand an explanation for my betrayal;I had never expected him to ask me if I was happy.

I didn't know what to say. Truthfully, I had no idea whether I was happy or not;Dean was right, though. I had done this partially because I didn't want to have to deal with him all day, every day. But I couldn't tell if I was better or worse off for it.

So I evaded the question. "What does it matter, Dean?"I shrugged nonchalantly, stuffing my hands in my jacket pockets, "I didn't do this to make myself happy-"

"Then why did you?"Dean interrupted me before I could finish my sentence, his tone turning practically arctic, "Please explain to me why you decided to turn your back on me, again, because I can't figure it out,"

This was the confrontation I had been anticipating;Dean was a lot of things, but subtle was not one of them-especially when it came to hiding things from me. I knew him better than anyone-I ought to, after knowing him my entire life.

"I did this because I had to,"I told him bluntly, not bothering to sugarcoat it, "Being a hunter was what I was best at, but only because it was all I knew. I tried to be someone else at Stanford, but the second you pulled me back in, I knew I could never walk away again. But after everything that happened last year, with Ruby and Lilith and Lucifer and the other angels, hunting stopped being enough. You stopped being enough. Something had to change;I chose for myself what that was,"

Dean gaped at me, and I couldn't tell whether he was appalled or just furious. His voice, though, was as carefully controlled as I had ever heard it when he summarized my words, "So basically, you're telling me that you just got tired of hunting monsters and decided to become one,"

I didn't deny the claim. "Well, I suppose if you want to look at it that way, but that's not how I see it,"I was lying through my teeth now and I knew it. But I couldn't make Dean understand what I didn't even myself.

One of my brother's eyebrows shot up so high that it looked to be in danger of disappearing into his hairline. "And how do you look at it, Sam?"he shot at me with obvious derision, upper lip curling in an unfamiliar expression, "Enlighten me,"

I let out a sigh of resignation. "You wouldn't understand. And I don't really need you to,"I inhaled deeply before putting the final nail in my coffin, "All you need to know is that from this moment, you and I are nothing but enemies;Raphael wants you alive, but I won't hesitate to kill you if it comes down to that, and you shouldn't, either,"

I was unprepared for him to wrap a hand around my throat and slam me up against the side of the building, bringing our faces closer until they were mere inches apart. "I won't,"he vowed in barely above a whisper, his harsh breaths fanning out over my face, "You can count on that, Sammy,"

This time, when he uttered the nickname, it was in a disdainful sneer. He shot me a final look of pure animosity-something I never thought I'd see him do-before releasing me and departing without a backward glance.

I drew myself back up into a standing position, rubbing my throat. That was that, then;Dean knew where I stood. And now, I knew where he did as well.

From here on in, there was going to be no more hesitation, no more playing nice. Whatever we'd had before that had been so difficult to break, to turn our backs on was finally at an end. We were enemies now-and there was no turning back.


(Normal POV)

"So much darkness inside that soul of yours,"the servant of the light observed in an unreadable tone. "It is no wonder that you are the Anti-Light. If you had any more shadows around you, you would be the dark ruler,"

The current dark ruler just caught the tail end of that sentence as he came around the corner, dark hood pulled up so that it just barely covered his eyes. The scene he found himself in was one even he could never have foreseen.

The doomsday prophet was standing in the center of the congregation room, the hood of his mottled green cloak pulled back to show his inhumanly pale face and spiked blue-ebony hair. His presence wasn't what managed to actually surprise the shadow, though;the other person's, however, was.

Jeremy Gilbert was leaning casually against one of the pews, dark brown jacket zipped up to his chin and long legs crossed at the ankles while the prophet continued to scrutinize him like a scientist investigating a particularly interesting experiment. "You should be happy I'm here, then, shouldn't you?I am, after all, one of the only ones strong enough to put an end to your master and the rest of his like,"he shot back cockily, hands retreating into the front pockets of his coat.

A mirthless smile crossed the shorter male's bloodless lips at that. "Oh, I have no investment in the Archangel's victory, nor in the continued existence of him and his brethren. I'm merely here to ensure that this war comes to the correct end,"he waved away the phantasmist's comment in as apathetic a tone as either of the other two men in the room had ever heard.

The brunette's eyebrows arched dubiously. "And the ''correct end'' would be what, exactly?"he quipped coolly, managing to feign disinterest.

"I think you already know. Because that's the reason why you're here, isn't it?"the latter stated cryptically, a knowing gleam in his onyx orbs.

Itachi had seen enough. His answers were much more important than whatever was ensuing here;so that was when he decided to make himself visible.

"A reason I would like to hear,"he spoke up, making his presence known by crossing the room and coming to stand at the prophet's side.

The blunette's head whipped around at the sound of his voice and he found himself looking into a pair of very familiar soulless dark coals. "You,"he whispered with something actually akin to emotion in his usually rigidly controlled tone.

"Hello, Sasuke,"Itachi greeted his younger brother in an inhumanly cold tone-but his eyes were on the phantasmist. He jerked his chin in the brunette's direction. "I'm waiting, Gilbert,"

Jeremy let out a singularly humourless laugh. "What, your precognitive powers haven't told you this already?"he shot at the shadow mockingly, a cocky smirk curving his full lips, "I thought you could see everything,"

Itachi took a deliberate step forward, containing his anger at the obvious challenge to his power. "Tell me what you are doing here,"he commanded softly, and there was more danger in the silkiness of his tone than in the most potent of curses.

The teen his command was directed at, however, appeared supremely unaffected, and he merely lounged back against the side of the wooden pew behind him, dark brown eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

"Isn't it obvious?"he said, spreading his arms so that Itachi could see the markings that were suddenly crawling over them. His sleeves were rolled up and the sigils that covered his skin were all glowing;every single one of them. "This is my side of the fight now. You should think about changing yours as well, dark ruler;the tides are turning-this battle is no longer merely between the light and the dark."

"I didn't come here for this,"Itachi dismissed the statement a little too quickly, turning away from the Anti-Light and locking eyes with his brother. "I came here for you."

"For me?"Sasuke repeated, rapidly regaining his composure after the initial shock of seeing his only remaining family member for the first time in thousands of years, "And what is it, exactly, that you want from me, Itachi?"

The elder Uchiha advanced toward him, invading his personal space and boring holes into his frigid cerulean orbs. "The truth,"he responded coldly, tone leaving no room for arguments, "I want to know if what you told Winchester about his bond with the Nox angel was just Raphael's way of getting the two of them to break up, to sever their bond so that Castiel would die,"

His brother stared back at him without blinking, not at all concerned by the elder's sudden proximity. The two of them were on almost equal standing, after all;possessing the same bloodline as the dark ruler did have its advantages.

"I assume you can merely read my mind and find out for yourself without me saying a word,"he retorted almost lazily, crossing his arms over his slim chest.

One of Itachi's midnight eyebrows cocked-and that was the biggest display of surprise he was able to allow. "Are you saying you'll let me invade your mind? Find the truth for myself, instead of you just telling me?"

"I've had my tongue bound by the light ruler, brother-so even if I wanted to verbally tell you, I would be unable to do so. So, yes, I will lower my mental defenses and let you see the reality,"Sasuke supplied dully, letting his stance relax and tilting his head up so he was looking straight into his brother's face as the elder prepared to do as he said.

Itachi accepted that and came closer, waiting until they were mere inches apart before focusing his eyes on the younger's without blinking. He felt Sasuke put down his mental walls and in a few short seconds, he was able to see the truth behind Raphael's falsehoods.

The images circled throughout his mind and he felt something unfamiliar stirring in his chest. Maybe the male Gilbert had a point. Maybe it was time to change his position in the war.

He pulled out of the prophet's mind with a look of grim determination on his ivory features. What he had seen could not be unseen now-and it changed everything.

Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply before declaring in a quiet voice, "You have the right idea, Gilbert. I think it's time this war gained a third front." He turned toward the phantasmist, a brow raised in question. "What do you say?"

Jeremy grinned.

"Sounds good to me."


~FLASHBACK~

The Phantasmist and his boyfriend were at the gates to the kingdom of Myrkur, ice surrounding the taller between them like a shroud. It was to him the gates opened-because this was where he had come from. This was his birthplace.

"So the plan, then,"Damon prompted his companion once they were inside the haunted fortress and he was resplendent on his throne once again. The ice was like a poison now, seeping out of every pore and piercing through every one of his words. It was the reason why he'd come here-the reason why he'd left his heart on that frozen altar.

Jeremy appeared actually impressed rather than terrified by the changes in the blacknette's personality,though-because he had been the one to help bring them about. He was the reason for the unforeseen power shift.

"The plan is that I get the dark ruler to start acting independently,"he recited the words as if he knew them by heart. He met the elder's steely gaze with confidence. "I can fool the light into thinking that I've left you to join them because of you lying to me. The Nox angel plans to attack their compound in order to provide a distraction while Winchester confronts the doomsday prophet about their profound bond, so that will provide the ample opportunity for me to make my apparent new allegiances clear,"

Damon nodded in acceptance of his answer, then prompted, "And while you're there, in the den of our enemies?" "While I'm there, I will do everything I can to transform this war into back into what it was supposed to be:a showdown between the shadow and the ArchAngel,"the brunette supplied matter-of-factly, tossing him a slight smile. "Don't worry, Day, I haven't forgotten what we discussed,"

Satisfied, the child of the ice leaned back in his throne, long fingers playing idly at the edge of one of the armrests. "Good,"he said after a moment's silence, "Then everything is in place. The Raven will rise up again-and I will regain my memories and everything that I lost when I became human. As the only winter-born, I was never meant to remain in this single form-and changing this game will give me back my true one,"

Jeremy climbed up onto the dais, closing the distance between them and lowering himself to kneel between the winter-born's thighs. "And once you have?"he questioned offhandedly, as if it were a throwaway matter of no real importance.

Damon tilted his head downward to look at him, cupping his chin and brushing a frost-edged thumb affectionately over the boy's bottom lip. "You know what happens next, Jer,"he said in an undertone, voice completely void of emotion-though there was an undercurrent of something resembling tenderness.

He leaned in so he could press his forehead against Jeremy's. "We will finish this, once and for all;we will make the light pay for everything they've done in the past and everything they will do in the future,"he whispered firmly, eyes inhumanly bright and empty beneath his charcoal lashes, "We will put an end to this war and then, you and I can have a life. We can rule this part of the world for the rest of our lives,"

The brunette nuzzled his hand, heartened by those words and their passion. Even without a heart, Damon still loved him;now that was an impressive feat.

"We'll get started right away,"he promised firmly, getting back to his feet and pecking Damon on the lips. He turned and added just as he was exiting the castle, "And I already know exactly how to play this to our ends,"


Yeah, it was short and the last scene was kind of cryptic but I was half-asleep for the last two scenes. And I still think it was pretty good.