Whatever had DeLorean'd them into this alternate universe had one strange sense of humor, if one could find the luxury of laughing at this point, for the Winchesters there was no such luxury to be found, not even for Dean who loved to laugh if he thought something was worth laughing over.
For one thing, as far as Sam was concerned, they weren't even in a location that sounded familiar if the title "Amestris" was any indication, which could be found in the headlines of the newspapers Sam had managed to sneak a peak at. From what he could make of the time-frame of their new location, it was at least a century in the past, which put them at quite the disadvantage on more levels than he cared to think about at the moment. But it was difficult to shut out the nagging voice inside his head that constantly reminded him just how screwed they were at this point. His only distraction to this bit of annoyance was to take in his surroundings.
And what a sight it was.
It was like watching an old film, the kind in black and white that shook as the film went through the camera, flickering on the screen, only to take a step forward and find yourself inside the very film itself, with it's aged look and old-timey feel. Sam was in awe of the old-fashioned street-lights (Dean frowned at those), the early-century architectural structure to the buildings giving the streets on which they currently meandered an early 20th century New York look (Dean frowned some more), not to mention the early-model cars, at least 1910-edition (Dean definitively frowned at those).
Sam had been so caught up in staring about his surroundings that he'd barely noticed the other two's reaction at the scene before them. Bobby merely shrugged at Sam's inquiring expression. Dean continuously gaped at everything, his face a fixed look of utter amazement and confusion, most likely due to the shock of having barely escaped Castiel's clutches.
Thoughts about Cas brought Sam back to the issue at hand, and the fact that someone, or some thing, must have rescued them before the now-gone-rogue angel had accomplished the task of retrieving Sam's soul. More like that he had attempted to rip it out if the haunting ache in Sam's lower abdomen was any indication, he could still feel the indention of Cas's fingers, as though his hand were still hovering above his stomach…..waiting.
But what had rescued them was a mystery to Sam, however he'd be lying if he said he didn't think it might've possibly been God that had saved their asses once again. He just wish there was some way of finding out but their usual tactics, using the internet or asking Castiel out-right, were out of the question. And they sure as hell couldn't ask Bobby considering the older hunter was stuck right along with them and just as clueless as to their exact whereabouts.
"Okay…", Dean finally found the voice he'd seemingly lost in the last hour or so that it had taken them to walk from the hills they'd found themselves on and eventually into the city. "Obviously this isn't some funky dream…..", he pinched himself as though to prove his point, then moved his hand away just as quickly as though satisfied he'd proven the theory right.
"The question is….." Bobby interjected, his suspicious gaze traveling from one side of the street to the other as they walked along. "Where exactly are we?"
"Amestris is the name of the city from what I could make of those newspaper headlines," Sam replied to Bobby's question, " but I'm not sure where that is exactly. I've never heard of a town named Amestris before."
"Any shot at a library maybe?" Dean offered, visibly more relaxed though Sam was certain his uneasiness was still in place. "I suppose running around and asking people questions will start to look suspicious after a while."
"You think?" Bobby retorted flippantly. "'Oh I'm sorry to bother you ma'am but I happen to be lost, could you tell me if we're still on planet Earth or what?'" he ended the question with a slight bobbing of his head as though to add emphasis to the quip. Sam would've chuckled at Bobby's humor if he wasn't overly concerned as to whether they were still in danger or somewhat safe…..for now.
"Dammit Bobby," Dean hissed back at him, eyes darting around to see if anyone had heard just now. "Keep that shit quiet will you? It's bad enough I feel like we're the punch line to some Doctor Who joke." You could always tell when Dean was feeling more than upset when his jokes were lacking efficiency, plus Sam wasn't too crazy that he'd taken a crack at one of his favorite shows.
"Keep your skirt on you punk, it's not like I asked for us to be here. Just don't lose your head, keep your trap shut for now and we should be fine." He stopped suddenly, surveying what appeared to be a hotel, and a nice one at that. But there was just one problem…..
"Any of you ladies have money on you?" Bobby turned to look at the both of them expectantly, "And by money I mean the paper kind, not plastic."
Sam immediately shook his head, having spent his last bit of cash on a hustle and lost. Dean retrieved his wallet from the back pocket where it usually stayed, but after a moment of rifling through its contents he mimicked Sam's headshake with a defeated expression.
Bobby sighed, opened his mouth to say something, when a series of shouts and a loud whistle echoed through the streets, and Sam could swear he felt a rumble beneath their feet. He looked around, his focus immediately drawn to the series of light-beams that were erupting from the ground, stretching towards the sky in a spiral-like manner. Each beam was crimson, the red glow illuminating the city in it's dim lighting, several of them at once, surrounding the city in a circular fashion. Then the ground rumbled again and Sam was certain it wasn't just a trick of the mind this time.
"What the actual fuck?" Dean responded almost automatically, steadying himself against the sudden shake and looking in all directions at the other passerby's who apparently had felt the same rumble…..and it was growing more fearsome. The red beams of light were overshadowed by the unsteady force emitting from the ground below them, but it was hard not to notice them as the red glow lit up the night sky, nearly blotting out the pale glow of the stars and moon altogether.
"Earthquake?" Bobby commented urgently, his eyes frantically searching for a place to go to get to safety, passing a glance at the beams and coming back again. With no money they would either have to force their way into someone's home or make use of an empty building for now.
"Not sure," Sam answered, his voice beginning to shake a little right along with the shake of the ground. "Let's just get the hell out of here!"
"Get the hell out of here where Sam?" Dean had to raise his voice to be heard over the sudden loudness of the rumble, his green eyes staring wildly at the beams as though he were having flashbacks from when he'd been abducted. "There's nowhere to go!"
"Anywhere is better than here right now Dean!"
"Shut-up you idjits we've got no time for you to start bickering like an old married couple!" Bobby's thunderous retort had both boys snapping their mouths closed in an instant, and the rumble just kept going, louder and stronger it grew until not only the ground was shaking but everything on it as well. Cars were skidding across the pavement, park benches were jumping against the iron fence surrounding the park, civilians were scurrying about seeking shelter and a few amongst them, Sam noticed, happened to be what he could only guess were military officials.
Two officers started shouting and running, one of them pointing furiously at a back alley before backing away. Sam's gaze followed the direction the man was pointing….and froze.
It wasn't an earthquake that was causing all the ruckus, but a giant moving wall of ice that continued to slither in between the buildings, stretching out into the street and freezing everything it touched. More to the point, it seemed as though the ice was growing for it stretched further back into the alley and towered above the buildings where it stood betwixt their walls. Men in uniforms, the military men Sam had noticed earlier but had now grown larger in number, were scurrying about firing at the wall, striking it with explosives, anything to break it down and attempt to stop it's course. But every time one of their attacks struck, the moment the ice broke under the force of them all, it seemed to reconstruct…no, heal itself…as though it hadn't been attacked at all. Sam had once heard about how ice seemingly almost had a mind of its own, the way it moved across a landscape, as though it thirsted for blood. Thinking about that now sent a creeping chill up his spine, but ice wasn't alive, it couldn't be. Yet the way it moved spoke volumes.
"Dammit is that another one?" Dean shouted incredulously, his eyes focused on the tops of some buildings in the distance. Sam followed his gaze, and sure enough, another great wall of ice was making it's way through alley after alley, it even went through an entire building, freezing it all the way through as it went.
"Now can we go find somewhere else to be?" Bobby shouted, his fearful gaze intently focused on the walls of ice. "I don't care if we have to go into the sewers and hide out like a bunch of pansies! Anywhere but here!"
Sam couldn't agree more, but a quick sweep of his gaze across the street showed no signs of a way to get down below. What the hell were they going to do? His gaze darting around helplessly, Sam spotted one alley that looked deserted, no ice-wall anywhere near it, so it seemed safe enough…for now.
"THIS WAY!"
Making a run for it, he headed straight for the alley, putting as much distance between himself and the icy Hell (how screwed up was that logic?) as possible. One quick glance behind him showed that Dean and Bobby were right on his heels, with Bobby slightly dragging behind to which Sam couldn't blame him. He wasn't exactly in his prime for this sort of thing, but there was no time to allow him the privilege of his own pace.
Darting into the shadows of the alley, Sam made a dead-on sprint to the other end, but was suddenly brought up short by a shady figure standing before him. Dean and Bobby came to a sudden halt just a couple feet behind him, the three of them panting from the effort of the run. As the rumble continued on, and the beams kept up their almost cryptic glow, Sam studied the figure for a brief moment. He was tall, broad-shouldered with long dark hair that was tied back. He had on some kind of cloak, and his right arm had some kind of metallic brace with a strange-looking symbol engraved onto its surface. Even in the dim lighting, Sam could see what appeared to be a military uniform, but the younger Winchester was fairly certain this man wasn't part of the ones attempting to destroy the ice-walls. His instincts were screaming at him to be careful, that this stranger was some kind of threat.
"Hate to say this but I think you're in the wrong place at a very bad time," his voice was slightly hoarse, full of cynical humor with a touch of foreboding, enough to make Sam tense even further. What the hell did he want? And what did he mean by all that just now?
"Freezer!" Another voiced sounded off at the other end of the alley, though it sounded lighter and higher-pitched than the military stranger's voice. Sam glanced over the stranger's shoulder and spotted what appeared to be a young boy. He had long blonde hair, was seemingly just above five-feet tall and wore a long red coat, and he was standing next to…..a robot?
"Don't you get it!" The stranger roared back, turning slightly to face the newest addition to the already-occupied back alley, "I'm doing us all a favor! Why can't you just accept that and leave me be!"
"I refuse to sit idly by while you murder innocent people!" The little runt of a kid, surprising the hunter trio with his blatant gallantry, strode forward as though he were invincible. The robot, or whatever it was, moved alongside it's smaller companion, its hands outstretched in a peaceful gesture. And then it spoke.
"Please sir, stop before someone else gets hurt," a child-like voice came in a slight echo-like fashion from the robot, a boy from the sound of it. So the damn thing could talk too? And since when did robots sound…..almost human. There was real emotion in that voice, not the usual monotone one often heard with robotic like "beings."
"What in the hell is all this? Is Robotech having a convention?" Dean suddenly retorted, but he was only heard by Sam and Bobby. The rest of the alley's occupants seemed to not have noticed that Dean had even spoke.
"The only one who needs to be hurt tonight is Bradley," the stranger spoke again, the cynicism tossed aside to make room for vehemence. "But anyone who gets in my way will face the consequences," and with that he turned to face the trio again as though his next move was to prove his point…but Bobby wasn't having it.
Stepping in front of him, the older hunter used some vehemence of his own. "Listen here you arrogant dick," Bobby's tone was purely laced with a fierceness that Sam often heard when the man was dealing with anyone who had the intention of hurting his family. "You make one move further with any intention of hurting civilians….I'll make sure your days are severely numbered."
The stranger looked at Bobby for a moment, his expression blatantly revealing his inner struggle on whether to laugh or retort violently. He settled for snark, a grin breaking out over his face.
"You see now old man, I don't respond well to threats. I have a destructive reflex towards those who threaten me." He demonstrated thus by lifting his arm, his open hand suddenly making a beeline straight for Bobby's face.
Dean immediately pushed the older man out of the way, the stranger's hand caught the edge of Dean's jacket and as it slid past, blue light suddenly emitted from the strange symbol on the mysterious man's metallic brace, his fingers slid across Dean's collar and tore it off in a sudden rush of steam that seemed to come from nowhere. The stranger shuffled his feet and in a blur of movement he jumped away from the three of them but barely was he fast enough to dodge the huge fist of the robot that swung forward out of nowhere to strike him in the face.
The stranger ducked and swerved, narrowly missing a punch or jab here and there, but when the kid joined in on the struggle it became a sudden blur of bodies fighting amongst each other.
"What the hell should we do, fight or just stand here?" Dean inquired as he helped Bobby to stand, his eyes intently focused on the struggle before them, but Sam could only nod. There was a chill all around him, and he was beginning to wonder if the icy sensation was simply him feeling dreadful of their situation. When it became apparent that the chilly feeling was more physically than internally felt, Sam looked beyond the blurred battle….where an enormous ice-wall headed straight for them.