A/N:

Thank you to Kajensen07 and Siv Nuruodo for the reviews!

The light washing over them caught Kara off guard a second before she would have taken Dean's hand. Startled, she ducked behind the closest cover she could find, hiding behind Dean.

Dean put his hand on her head as he stood, uncoiling from the ground like a tiger. A very tiny one. Ruffling Kara's curls for reassurance, Dean took advantage of the soft light to quickly look the others over and gauge their status. The frown on his face was almost sealed permanently in place the second he saw Sam, face scrunched in pain and leg tenderly stretched out.

Noting the fear on everyone's faces now that an unknown human was looming in at them, unavoidable for John considering his face would take up the entire door, Dean tried to quell their fears. He held up his empty hand. "You don't have to be afraid of John or Sherlock. They've been helping me track down Sam ever since he was abducted this morning."

Kara peeked around Dean's leg. "B-but humans are so big! " she said, sniffling.

Mikael scowled at Dean. "And how do we know we're not walking ourselves into the same situation with different people?" he retorted. "How do we know you're not trained like Mark to keep us off balance?"

Dean shook his head, at a loss for the suspicion. "We won't force you to come," he said earnestly. "But think of the others. Isn't it better to get them away- far away from people who'd put them in cages?"

All of the nerves winding up John's features fell slack as he got a good look inside, his thoughts swirling. Sam. The poor kid was covered in gauze and medical tape, and was obviously in a lot of pain. This had only begun to anger John when he glanced around at the others; they were all so afraid of him, and they were all so small,shorter than Sam or Dean. Especially the little girl, the sight of whom broke John's heart as she hid behind Dean. She was small enough to nearly vanish behind the other man's legs.

John had scared a little girl, simply by being what he was.

The argument between Dean and the older gentleman finally sunk in, and John did his best to convince them he was genuine.

"We just want to get you out of here," he agreed with Dean. "Then you're free to go wherever you like, you have my word. I would never keep people against their will."

"See?" Dean coaxed. "He's different than the humans you know."

Christian finally worked up his nerve enough to tug Kara away from the tall newcomer. "Kara, don't cling. You don't know him."

Growing frustrated, Dean stalked over to the last person in the cage, the only one who hadn't spoke up. "We need to go," he bit out. "What's your name?"

The girl looked up at last, her large blue eyes catching Dean off guard. " 'Mm Bree," she mumbled, her eyelashes lowered to avoid catching his eyes.

"Well, Bree, this is my friend John. He's going to help us get to safety."

When Dean held out his hand, he was inwardly surprised at how easily she took it.

Mikael snorted, unimpressed. "She's used to humans," he informed the brothers. "She belonged to the people who sold us."

"It wasn't Beth's fault we were sold!" Bree protested, her eyes filling with tears. "She never wanted this!"

"I didn't see her trying too hard to get you back!" Mikael shot back.

"Hey, whoa," Dean pulled the girl into his arms, briefly stroking her hair to calm her down. She was young. Maybe even younger than Sam. "We'll all get out of here together, promise. No more selling, no more pets."

When he opened his arms and gave her a nudge, she stumbled towards the cage door. "H-hi, John," Bree said shyly.

Dean set Mikael with a look. "Now, are you going to help me with my brother or stay here and waste away while someone else decides your fate?"

Mikael let out a sigh. "What's exchanging one human for another?" he asked, resigned. "At least this way we won't see Euan again."

Something in John warmed when he heard Dean introduce him to Bree as his friend. John might have done the same thing himself moments ago, but hearing it from Dean himself meant a lot. He offered a kind smile to Bree as she approached him. Despite hearing that this was because she'd spent a long time with humans, it was still good to see someone accepting his help.

"Hey," he whispered back, grin widening when it seemed like others were coming around. "Don't worry, I'm gonna get you far away from here. You'll never have to deal with that monster again, if I have anything to say about it."

"I'm hurt," a voice sneered behind John, wiping the smile off his face before he found himself grabbed by the shoulders and slammed into the wall next to the cages, a thin arm pressed against his neck.

Euan froze the moment the lights cut out. Geoff was an idiot, this he knew for certain, but the man wasn't so incompetent as to accidentally shut off the power in the five minutes Euan had been gone. He let his cigarette drop to the floor and listened, waiting for an opportunity to slip out and figure out what was going on.

He suspected nothing good.

When he heard the loud ruckus of two men fighting, he slunk into the main room and stayed perfectly still in a corner. Just another shadow, observing the others. Then another man came in and easily defeated Geoff, and Euan was even less keen to reveal himself. But this man was shorter, and he quickly put away the gun he'd threatened the large man with. Euan had at least a few inches on him, and the element of surprise. He liked his chances once it was only the two of them in the room with the borrowers, so while the other man was distracted with the little pests, he took the opportunity to sneak up on John.

The doctor let out a strangled noise, inwardly kicking himself for the way his gun was pinned behind his back, out of reach. He glared at his assailant, eyes widening when he recognized the shape of that face, the slicked-back hair, the pale complexion.

"You," he seethed, scowling. "Rummage."

Euan quirked an eyebrow at John. "Have we met?"

"You'll wish we hadn't!" John growled. A white-hot rage suddenly filled him, and he hooked his foot around Euan's to throw him off-balance. Once the weight was off his neck, John grabbed the other man by the collar and switched places with him, landing a punch in Euan's stomach as he threw him into the concrete wall.

A shriek rang out from Anita's cage, and she finally moved from her frightened ball, practically throwing herself against the door to see what was going on. "Mark!" she cried, calling his name over and over again, praying he wasn't hurt or worse. Unfortunately, her screams fell on deaf ears as John's anger threatened to overwhelm him and Euan was accustomed to ignoring her pleas.

During the panic that ensued, Dean grabbed Mikael's arm and dragged him over to Sam. "Help me!" he snapped out in a command. "We need to be ready to blow this joint the second there's an opening!"

Christian held Kara in his arms, the scrawny kid clinging to her father desperately as they heard the last human they ever wanted to see again gain the upper hand on John. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she hugged Christian's neck.

Together, Mikael and Dean each took a side and helped Sam to his feet, his fractured leg hanging uselessly. When another earthquake hit and Anita started shrieking in the cage next to them, he turned white, the blood draining from his face.

"What?" Dean demanded. "What's wrong?"

"Mark!" Sam said, remembering the man who Euan kept in one of his pockets. Each blow they could hear landed with enough force to crush them from existence, rattling through the cages and threatening to throw Sam's precarious balance off. "He's in the middle of the fight!"

Dean looked towards the cage opening, his face grim. The two giants were out of sight, but he knew as well as anyone that that opening could fill with a face before they knew it, friendly or not. "Mark," he repeated flatly, recalling the name from the argument with Christina and Mikael moments ago. Dean let Mikael take on all of Sam's weight, stalking to the edge of the cage and blowing past Bree.

"If I get my hands on him, I'm going to teach him a lesson he won't forget," Dean swore, leaning as far out of the cage as he dared to see John and Euan. He clenched a fist, wishing he could get a piece of the action.

Mark's heart was in his throat, pounding at a mile a minute. Euan was usually a rough ride, but this was worse. He was totally blind in the pocket and completely defenseless against the other human as he struck Euan. The impact shook the world below Mark, and then above him. A pained growl from Euan reverberated all around the borrower, who could do little else but fall into the corner of his pocket and brace himself, and hope against hope that he made it out alive.

John shook his fist out from the second punch he'd thrown, finding a bit of satisfaction in Euan's bloodied lip. His anger took over soon enough.

"You think you can just abduct people, take children from their homes, and put them in cages like animals?!" The doctor struck Euan across the jaw.

"Tch! " Euan scoffed, smirking with his reddened teeth showing. "Vermin, the lot of 'em. They're lucky we make pets of them. It's more than they deserve!"

Euan spat defiantly, spraying blood and saliva in John's face.

John saw red.

The next thing John knew, Euan was flat on the floor and he was punching him over and over again in the face.

Mark screamed when Euan tipped over and hit the ground, the force throwing the small man toward the top of the pocket. Fresh air blew over Mark, disturbed by the new human's every blow against Euan. Instinct took over in Mark, screaming at him to get away.

Scrambling out of the pocket, Mark shot a glance over his shoulder at the other human. It was truly a terrifying sight, the giant caught up in a blind rage, enormous fists connecting with Euan's cheeks with loud, dull thuds. Mark's blood ran cold, and he jumped down from Euan's shoulder without further hesitation. He'd never been more grateful for his natural ability to blend in with the dark as he made himself scarce.

Though Dean couldn't get involved in the fight between Euan and John, he was an enthusiastic onlooker, cheering when the doc tossed the other man to the ground and shadowboxing in time with John's every blow.

"You've got him right where you want him, doc!"

Sam and Mikael came slowly up behind Dean, and the older man let Sam lean against the wall to rest after so much work. Every movement sapped Sam's strength. What he really needed was a good long sleep at home, but for now he had to soldier through.

The sight of Dean, full of energy and within Sam's reach, the way things were supposed to be, brought a smile to the younger brother's face. Having his older brother around gave him hope of his own that things would work out for them.

Mikael scowled at Dean's back. "Is he insane? " he muttered to Sam in an aside, aghast at the sight of the borrower cheering on fighting humans.

Sam gave a half-shrug with the shoulder that wasn't propped against the wall. "Dean wasn't lying," he said, honesty in his eyes. "John and Sherlock really are here just to help us." He sighed. "I just hope Mark doesn't get hurt..." He trailed off, knowing if Mark got caught in the middle of the fight, there was no way to save him.

Dean barely knew the others were so close to him. He was tied up in the fight like sitting front row at the WWE Royal Rumble. A childhood dream come true combined with the satisfaction of watching Euan get what was coming to him.

Then, he saw something that everyone else missed. Sam and Mikael and Bree were too far from the edge, Christian and Kara crouched near the back of the cage, and even if John wasn't caught up in his rage, the room would be too dark for him to catch sight of the shadow that separated from Euan, seeking cover from the fight.

"Oh, hell no," Dean growled. "You are not getting away that easy."

Before he really thought through what he was about to attempt, and what a bad idea it was in a darkened room full of fighting humans, Dean had his hook out, attached to the edge of the cage, and was dropping down towards the faraway floor, leaving Sam staring wide-eyed at the vacant spot he'd left behind.

"Dean! "

A/N:

The plan was going so well, too!

Next: April 11th, 2019 at 9pm - I realized belatedly that we are at a concert on Wednesday so the update will be on Thursday

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