Curse the Broken Future
A/N: Okay, so this is just a short, quick time travel story. I love time travel, and there are so few Supernatural time travel stories (excluding 2014 because there are lots of those) that I just wanted to write some. This is not the best story I've written (I may come back and improve it) but tell me what you think! Feel free to recommend some scenarios in reviews and I'll see if I can write something for it. I love the idea of season 1 Sam and Dean meeting season 8 or 9 Sam and Dean . . . the amount of character growth between them is just incredible.
Also, this takes place two days after the end of season 7 and a few months before the pilot. The younger Sam is at college, Dean and John are hunting, and Bobby is being his usual awesome self. In season 7, Sam is about to go live that life with Amelia. Sam is still recovering from being insane. I think he might still be seeing the occasional hallucination, because, come on, the dude was INSANE! You don't just 'get better' from that. I think that's what he would really be doing on that year off-adjusting to being a human being again and not a burned out shell in a mental hospital. Hope that clears things up. Anyway, note over, enjoy!
Dean landed heavily, staggering slightly under the weight of his body. He felt a hand clench his shoulder and looked over to see his dad breathing harshly, looking around and assessing their surroundings.
He was in the middle of some freaking woods, with a rough hut several yards in front of him. A gravel path curled into the undergrowth, disappearing from his sight. There was no one else but them that he could see. He grabbed out his gun, though, and made sure it was ready.
"Is everyone alright?" He asked, looking around at their group. Bobby was staggering to his feet where he had fallen, and Sam and Jess looked bewildered, though Jess looked slightly frightened. Dean felt a pang—it wasn't her fault she got in the way. Not her fault she learned that her boyfriend was really a monster killer. Dean felt bad about that. Sam clearly hadn't wanted her to know, and they had smashed that up royally.
[Flashback]
"Sam!" Dean said, bursting into the apartment, his dad and Bobby on his heels.
"Dean!" Sam looked surprised and angry, stepping in front of a blonde girl as if to protect her.
"Sam, there's something after us." Dean said as Bobby and their dad got to work with salt lines and such. They didn't know if it would work, but it was better than nothing.
"Sam, what's going on?" The girl had said, looking confused.
"Who're you?" Bobby asked, looking at Sam who glared back.
"Jessica Moor, I'm Sam's girlfriend." Jessica said, chin thrust out in defiance as she tried to side step Sam. "And you are?"
"I'm Dean Winchester, this is Bobby, and that's my dad." Dean said, then turned to Sam. "Does she know?"
"No," Sam said as Jessica had exclaimed "Know what?"
Dean looked between the two and whistled. "Healthy relationship."
Sam glared. "What the hell are you doing here, Dean?"
"We have a monster after us." Dean said. "We don't know what it is, or how to kill it."
"Or how to stop it?" Sam said with a pointed look at the almost completed salt lines.
"That too." Dean conceded.
"Why'd you come here?" Sam said. "I swore I was done hunting, for good."
"Hunting?" Jessica asked.
"Your boyfriend here hunted monsters," Dean said. "Vampires, werewolves, demons, the whole deal."
Jessica shook her head, looking at Sam. "Those things don't exist."
Sam didn't look at her, eyes sad. "Sorry, Jess."
Jess back up, "But they aren't real!"
Dean ignored the blonde. "We came to you because the creature mentioned you by name."
Sam looked at him in shock. "What?"
"Yeah," Dean said. "It seemed to know me, but I've got no clue what it is."
"My thoughts were a demigod," Bobby said. "But John and I were out on a hunt together and I didn't have access to my books."
"What about you?" Sam asked, looking at Dean.
"I was doing my own thing in Atlanta." Dean said.
"Dad let you go on a hunting trip on your own?" Sam said, amused, with a half glance at their dad. Dean noticed that his dad was doing his damnedest to avoid looking at Sam. It made him sad, and slightly pissed. He was just glad to have Sam back, to see his little brother again.
"I'm twenty six, dude." He said, and pulled out a gun. Jess shrieked. Sam looked at Dean and the gun wearily.
"In two years I haven't bothered you, never asked you for a thing. Now we're trying to save you and your hot girlfriend from death." Dean said and offered the gun to Sam. Sam looked at him, took a deep breath and took the gun. Dean nodded and went to stand by the door with Bobby and his dad.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sam bend his head to explain to Jess what was happening. He looked away, focusing on the bitter sting of having his brother act like Dean was the last person he wanted to see. Why couldn't they just be a family again?
"Well, hello, boys!" A cheerful voice said behind them, and Dean swung around in harmony with the two men beside him to pump the monsters body with silver bullets. Jess screamed at the gunfire and the surprise of a man suddenly appearing before her. The man was grinning stupidly.
Before them was a short, light brown haired man. His hazel eyes looked happy, but were pinched in a way that Dean thought he'd experienced some grief in his life. Lots of it, in fact. He wore a dark red button shirt, an olive green jacket over that, and dark jeans and black boots. The man—monster—looked down at the bullet holes, unimpressed.
"Who the hell are you?" John snarled, glaring at the creature before him.
"Weeel," He man stretched the word, smirking at him. "I'm in a spot of trouble."
"Then why don't you just go bug your hell buddies!" Dean snapped.
The man laughed, his face lighting up, "That is so ironic!" The man laughed, shaking his head. "And anyways," He continued. "I'm bending the rules just being here." He walked over to Sam and Jess' fridge and popped a beer lid off. "I need your help." He continued. He pulled out a chocolate bar and took a large bit out of it.
"Our help?" Bobby said, startled. "What th' hell could we do for a demon?"
The man shot a frosty look at Bobby. "I'm from the future." He said after swallowing his chocolate. "I was someplace, then I was stuck here. I know why, but the only person who could help me is currently wallowing in his own misery back in my time." He finished the bar and threw the wrapper on the ground.
"Who?" Dean said. The man simply smirked and took a swig of his beer.
"What can we do?" Sam asked, gun lowered slightly in a way that made Dean want to march over there and chew him out for letting his guard down.
"Well," The man said. "You can go convince him to straighten out. Also, you can establish a connection. I'm not a full power right now, and hauling myself to my time would take more power than I have right now. I need help."
"What, in the future?" Dean snorted. "Yeah, remind us in however far along you are."
The man rolled his eyes. "So childish." He muttered and snapped his fingers. Dean yelled, hearing his cry answered by Sam and Jess and Bobby and his dad. They were floating in darkness, being tossed around and blown in circles. Screams and cries and wails and laughter sounded before quickly dying away, like pressing a needle to a record player and taking it off quickly.
Or like Sam slipping through stations trying to find one of his pussy songs.
Dean cracked a smile at that before the darkness was over and he'd landed.
[End of flashback]
"Yeah," John said, answering Dean and looking at the other three.
"Where are we?" Jess asked, "And what was that?"
"No idea," Bobby said, looking at the frightened girl. "But that there's my buddy Rufus' cabin." The others turned to look at a solid cabin, doors and walls in good repair and it looked weather proof. "C'mon," Bobby said. "Maybe we'll find some answers, and Sam, you better tell Jess everythin'."
Sam didn't look particularly thrilled at this statement, but he wrapped his arms around Jess' shoulders and guided her after Bobby.
Dean saw the relief in his brothers' eyes when Jess didn't push him away.
They entered the cabin and Dean immediately went to a small fridge, cackling slightly in success when he found beers in there. His dad and Bobby quickly searched the place, entering two doors on opposite ends of the house. Dad came back quickly, apparently searching some bedrooms while Bobby took a little while longer.
"There was blood-like substance down there." He said to everyone, and John frowned.
"Human?" He asked. Bobby shook his head.
"Probably something that idjit Rufus took down. It was black." He said.
"Well, one less monster we have to deal with," Dean said cheerfully. He tossed a beer to his dad, who'd sat down at the table with Bobby, tossed one to Bobby, and offered one to Sam and Jess. Sam refused, but Jess accepted, taking a big gulp and sinking onto the couch. Sam joined her, and started speaking in an undertone.
Dean sprawled on one of the chairs, looking around the cabin. There was one room, this little section with a fireplace and two chairs and a couch, and beyond that a table with four chairs. Two doors, on opposite side of the house that Bobby and his dad had searched, lighting up above, and a small kitchen behind him.
All in all, Dean thought as he raised the bottle to his lips, not a bad place to crash.
His dad and Bobby were arguing about the monster, and Sam and Jess were in an embrace, Sam rubbing Jess' back soothingly.
Dean looked away, sighing through his nose.
Then everything stopped, because Dean heard something impossible—the Impala.
There was no mistaking it. It was his Baby, the rumbling sound that was music to Dean's ears. Bobby and his dad stopped talking, Jess and Sam broke apart, and Dean leapt to his feet. He rounded the chair and strode over to the door as he heard the Impala's door open and shut.
"Dean!" His dad hissed, and Dean had his gun in his hand, standing just close enough to the door that he'd be able to shoot the monster in the face. No one touched his Baby. No one.
They were all quiet as slow, heavy steps crossed the ground and reached the door. There was a fumbling with keys, the metal bumping against each other when the man paused. The door slowly creaked open and Dean point the gun at the man's face before his eyes went wide.
Sammy.
But, no, it wasn't Sam. Not his Sam at least. This Sam had long hair, longer than Dean's Sam, and a more adult face. Dean's Sam still carried some of that boyishness that made him look like an overgrown puppy.
The Sam in the door blinked, mouth open slightly before sighing.
"Bound to happen." He said to no one in particular. He then crossed over to the fridge and pulled out a beer.
"Who the hell are you?" John demanded, and older Sam looked at him.
"Sam," He said tiredly and took a deep drink, throwing his shaggy head back and letting his eyes close briefly.
He then set the (mostly empty) bottle down and leaned against the counter. He did so in complete silence, and grief lined his face.
"Prove it," Sammy said, his face hard. Sam looked at him and snorted, offering his younger self a half grin.
"How?" Sam asked.
"Silver," Sam rattled off. "Holy water, name of God . . ."
Sam laughed. "Only if you do the same thing." He said, and withdrew a silver blade from his jacket. John and Bobby still point their guns at Sam, but Dean could see it was Sam. It was no demon or shape shifter. It was Sam.
Sam cut his arm and drank the water, offering it to the group, still amused. Dean stepped forward and grabbed them.
Sam looked at him in shock, making a small whimpering noise in the back of his throat that was so quiet Dean was pretty sure only he could hear it.
"Sam?" He asked, confused. Sam only looked at him with wide eyes, hand creeping to his other hand and pressing against the palm. Dean couldn't see what was there, but Sam was still staring at him with those wide eyes. Dean cut himself and drank the water, passing it over to Sam, who passed it to Jess, who passed it to John, who passed it to Bobby, who passed it back to Sam.
Sam looked at the object in amazement, looking so surprised to have them in his hands at Dean was wondering if this Sam was mentally stable.
"What's going on?" Sam asked, looking at Dean.
Dean took a moment before answering, looking at his dad. "I think we've time traveled." Dean said slowly. "The monster we were hunting was going on and on about 'his' time."
"What monster?" Sam asked, face clearing as he stood and walked over to the door leading to the basement.
"We're not sure," Bobby said. He and John had put their guns down, but were still looking at Sam like he could be a threat. Sam reached slowly to the right of the doorway, and withdrew a bottle of cleaning solution. He quickly spun the cap off and threw some of it on John, who was closest.
John had his gun up fast, but Sam didn't do anything but watch as the cleaning solution did . . . nothing whatsoever.
"What the hell, Sam!" John shouted, glaring at the enormous man in front of him. Sam merely blinked before turning to the rest.
"Now it's your turn." He said, almost threateningly. He held the bottle up and they looked at each other. Sammy strode forwards, Jess in tow, and they held out their hands. Sam's face twitched when he looked at Jess, but he obligingly poured some of the fluid over their hands. Nothing happened. Bobby stepped forwards next, then Dean. Nothing happened, but Sam didn't look satisfied.
He withdrew another silver blade, this time made entirely of silver—blade and hilt—and carefully cut Dean's skin. Nothing happened. He did the same to the rest before he finally looked at them and nodded.
"My tests are done." He said simply, and returned the cleaning fluid to its self.
"What the hell were the last two?" Bobby asked.
"The Borax was for Leviathan." Sam said. "And the silver blade for angels."
Dean stared at him. "Angels don't exist."
Sam smirked at him. "Yeah, they do, and they're dicks."
Dean glared. "No, really, Sam, angels don't exist. If they did, they'd have stopped mom from being killed."
Sam merely pulled a half smile and shook his head before he sighed. "Tell me about this monster you were fighting."
"He was humanoid." Bobby said. "I thought he was some sort of demigod."
Sam's head snapped up. "Describe him." He said, his voice low.
Dean did, and Sam laughed long and softly. Dean wondered again if his brother was all there.
"Are you alright?" He finally said.
Sam shook his head, his eyes sad.
"I don't know what to do." He said finally, looking directly at Dean. "For the first time in a long, long time I'm alone, and I have no idea what to do."
"Where're am I?" Dean said.
"Dead." Sam said. "And so is Cas, and dad, and Bobby, and Jess." He sighed threw his nose. "Kevin and Meg are missing." He added, as if Dean would know who the hell they were.
"What?" Dean bellowed just as Sammy cried "Jess?" and dad and Bobby were demanding answers, and Jess looked like she was going to cry, and that older, sadder Sam just looked at Dean like I've got nothing to lose and I've got no more tears to shed and Dean felt like all the air was taken right from his lungs.
"Hold on!" Dean shouted, effectively quieting everyone down. "You better give me—us—some answers." Dean ordered Sam, who looked at him.
"Where do you want me to start?" Sam asked calmly.
"Let's start with me. When did I die?" Dean asked.
Sam's face clouded, and he looked away. "About two days ago." He said, looking back at Dean. "We were trying to take down the leader of the Leviathan, and you and Cas . . . you didn't make it."
Dean thought back to the list of people Sam had ticked off. "Okay, how 'bout dad?"
Sam laughed. "He died years ago. Ol' Yellow Eyes killed him."
"The demon?" John demanded. "Did I kill it?" And Dean looked at him, because it wasn't worth losing his father over something like the demon, even if it killed mom . . .
"No, Dean did about a year later." Sam said, and seemed content to leave the subject there.
"Bobby?" Dean said, deciding to play along and ask his brother (who was older than him right now) later.
"Got shot." Sam said. "By the leader of the Leviathan. Came back as a ghost," Here a smile quirked his lips. "But eventually he moved on."
"A ghost?" Bobby demanded.
Sam shrugged. "You had important information. You had to tell us. Took you a couple of months to gather enough energy, but you helped us, in the end."
"Jess." Sammy interrupted. "What the hell happened to her? Did you say she was dead?" He looked at Jess, horrified, and Jess was looking steadily back at him before looking at the older Sam, who was looking at her.
"The demon got to her." He said. He opened his mouth as if to say more, but closed it again. "She burned," He said at last, and Sammy widened his eyes in grief and hid his face in Jess' hair. She comforted him, murmuring softly.
Sam stood, rolling his neck slightly, and walked over to his half-finished beer. "So this monster, short, brown haired, hazel-eyed?" He asked, taking a swig.
"Yeah," Dean said, thinking back to the three names on the list—Kevin, Meg, and Cas. He had no idea who they were.
"Did he eat any candy?" Sam asked and Dean looked at him like he was crazy.
"What does—" He began.
"Yes," John said, "Do you know what it is?"
Sam laughed and nodded.
"Well?" Bobby prompted.
"An old ally." Sam said, grinning slightly. "He was killed several years ago. I suppose that shouldn't be a shock—he's faked his own death several times."
"Why's he stuck in the past?" Dean demanded.
Sam shrugged. "I'm not sure. Did he say anything?"
"No," Dean said.
"Who is he?" Bobby demanded.
"An archangel." Sam said. "Gabriel."
"Gabriel?" Dean said, unimpressed.
Sam nodded.
"How does an archangel die?" Dean demanded.
"Well, usually my blade works." Sam said, "But in Gabriel's case, Lucifer himself killed him. Did he leave you anything?"
As Bobby was exclaiming over Lucifer, Dean's hands, almost on their own, slipped into his pocket and held out a slip of paper he hadn't known was there to Sam. Sam took it and read through it.
"Huh," He said before starting to chant "Gabrieladhoctempuseteducam vosdocebitvos inquolumenpraebere."
Thunder shook the cabin, and a bright, blue-white light shone from in front of Sam, glowing brighter and brighter, and Dean had to look away . . .
And the man, Gabriel, stood in front of him, grinning cheekily up at them.
"Hey-o, Sammy boy!" He chirped. "How's life?"
Sam just looked stonily back at him, and Gabriel laughed. "That bad, huh?"
"How the hell are you not dead?" Sam exploded. "Where were you after? Heaven had a civil war, and Cas had to fight it on his own. Where were you?"
Gabriel backed up, looking wearily at Sam and before Dean could process that an angel was skittish around his little brother, Gabriel was speaking again, "I was dead he said. And because I Fell, but not for anyone, and had sort of become Pagan, I went to Purgatory."
"Purgatory." Sam exclaimed, and Dean wondered what that was.
"Yeah," Gabriel pulled a face. "I was there for several years, and then found myself in the past . . . two days ago."
Sam gaped. "When Dean and Cas went to Purgatory."
Gabriel winked. "Right-o. Now," He turned back to Dean and Sammy and Jess and Bobby and John. "Time to wipe your memories and send you back. This will have never happened, and you guys can keep living your lovely lives until it all goes to shit." He gestured at Sam, "And becomes this!"
Sam made a noise of protest, but Gabriel waved him away. "No messing up the time lines, Sammy."
"Why the hell not?" Sam demanded. "I could save her!" He pointed at Jess. "I could save her," He repeated softly, looking longingly at Jess. She stepped away from her Sam and over to him and reached up, giving him a soft kiss on the lips before pulling away.
"I love you," She said softly, and Dean felt incredibly wrong listening in, even if there was nowhere he could hide and not hear it.
Sam looked at her, his eyes close to desperation. "I miss you," He said. "Every day, I miss you."
"I know," Jess answered and stepped away, back to her Sam.
Gabriel had stayed quiet throughout that conversation, and cleared his throat. "Well, now, Sam, time to go bring back Dean and Cas, and to help the world again!" Sam only nodded, his eyes still on Jess who looked unwaveringly back at him.
Dean watched as Gabriel snapped his fingers, and Bobby and his dad disappeared. Another snap and Sammy and Jess disappeared. Then it was just Dean.
"Sammy," He said, and Sam tore his gaze away from where Jess had been. "You'll be alright." Dean said.
Sam cracked a grin, though without any humor. "You always say that."
"I'm always right," Dean smirked. "I'll be there for you, Sam, just help me get out of this . . . Purgatory, first, huh?"
Sam nodded and Gabriel snapped his fingers and Dean was enveloped in darkness.
He'll be alright. Dean thought before everything drifted away. I'll take care of him.
A/N: "Gabrieladhoctempuseteducam vosdocebitvos inquolumenpraebere" means "I bring you forth to this time Gabriel and provide the light by which to guide you home" in Latin.
And, yes, Gabriel. I have a love-hate relationship with the dude. I couldn't not write him.
I also apologize if the characters seemed OOC . . . this was just a quick story I wrote, and I haven't spent that much time on it. Feel free to let me know where you think I can improve, that'd help me a lot!