"What do you want to know?" Lucy asked with far more confidence than she felt. "Are you still after the elusive golden man? If so, I can't help you."
"Can't or won't?" Dean retorted with a scowl.
"Can't. I haven't seen it, and to be honest I'm pretty sure that a bunch of old drunks made it up to scare the young'uns."
"But you have seen something strange. You were acting… suspicious last time we talked to you?" the taller one said with certainty.
Lucy's heart beat fast as she struggled not to panic. These people seemed like they could be a threat to Caan, but would it be better to warn them of him? If not, they might see him as a threat and try to kill him. Lucy sighed and responded, "Well, to be honest I lost a… creation of sorts, but he's not a 'golden man.' He's a robot. I built him, and unfortunately a circuit seems to be loose. He's rolling around like a loon, and I can't catch up to him. He's not whatever you're after though."
"A robot? Yeah, we actually did get report of that," the taller one said and turned to Dean.
Lucy took a breath to calm herself. That idiot had been seen by people; what was he doing?
"Okay," Dean responded and turned to Lucy. "But why didn't you just say something before?"
"He's an AI, which means that he can think independently," Lucy explained when she saw Dean's look of confusion. "He's worth a lot, and I couldn't just go around telling people that he was out there for anyone to steal. You're not even real agents. Real agents don't investigate 'golden men who can make people disappear with a touch.' I heard you talking to each other."
The two men gave each other a look, and Garth went to check on his wife. Clearly, he didn't think that they were a threat.
"Sorry about that," the tall one said and held out a hand. "I'm Sam. This is Dean. He's a bit… straightforward."
Lucy shook Sam's hand as Dean threw him an irritated look. After looking back and forth between them, Lucy pulled her hand back and crossed her arms defensively. They didn't seem like bad people, but she needed to be careful. Caan could still be in danger.
Faking a smile, Lucy turned back around to see Garth gingerly making sure that Bess' wound was bandaged tightly. Bess winced but seemed to be doing better. The sound of whispering behind her made her turn back to Sam and Dean; they were quietly arguing over what to do next. Lucy took the opportunity to dodge around them and head out the door with her backpack in hand. A hand on her shoulder made her stop.
"That's a bad idea," Sam said with pleading eyes. "There really is something out there. People have gone missing."
"And what makes you think that I can't handle myself?" Lucy asked coldly and started walking into the forest.
"Hey!" Dean shouted angrily. "You're gonna get yourself killed!"
"Already did today but thanks for the concern," Lucy replied and quickly walked into the brush. Losing them might take a bit of maneuvering, but she was sure that she could do it if necessary.
"What?" Dean asked incredulously.
"It's true," Garth said from further back, and Lucy took their momentary surprise as a cue to bolt.
"Dammit, wait!" Dean shouted, but Lucy already had an impressive lead.
The sun had already disappeared, but Lucy remembered enough of the forest to lose them. She hugged the backpack to her chest as she ran. Choosing small pathways that would take them longer to maneuver through, Lucy made her way through the forest. There was a shopping center where she could lay low until she was sure that she'd lost them. A groan to her left caught her attention, and a man stumbled out. He seemed to be drunk at first. Swaying as he walked, he made his way toward Lucy, but it was his skin that caused Lucy to jump back.
His veins seemed to glow with a golden light, and when he looked up from the ground and into Lucy's eyes, his eyes illuminated his face with a golden glow. Lucy backed away slowly. The Monk shambled toward her, and she heard branches break from her right. A large hand gripped her arm and pulled her away. Dean nearly dragged her behind him as he ran.
"Do you believe me now?!" Dean asked angrily, and for once Lucy was speechless.
The Monk had disappeared inside the machine that The Rani was planning to use on Lucy. She had assumed that he'd died, but Time had changed him as well. Had it sent him to bring her back? Lucy tried to focus more on running instead. It stressed her heart out less than the monstrosity that was after them, but suddenly Dean stopped. Lucy barely avoided crashing into him.
"What were you thinking?! We just said that there's something out there, and you go running straight for it! Are you insane?!" Dean yelled, and Lucy took a second to catch her breath and collect her thoughts.
"I wasn't expecting to find it," Lucy retorted defensively. "Seems like I'm extra unlucky today. Where's the other one? Sam?"
Dean looked around and cursed under his breath. After seemingly deciding where to go, he gestured for Lucy to follow him. She complied and looked behind him. Luckily it seemed like The Monk had difficulty walking quickly, so that would give them time to escape. A movement caught her eye, and she grabbed Dean's sleeve. He raised his gun but immediately lowered it. Sam came out of the bushes and dusted himself off with an odd look at Dean.
"Oh, good. You found her. I think I found your robot. It ran away before I could do anything," Sam said wearily.
"Good. You shouldn't touch him… He has some problems that I still need to work out," Lucy explained and thought about what to do next while Dean and Sam fought. Would Caan escape without her? He must have been acting strangely due to The Monk's influence. Rustling caught her attention, and D'Artagnan made an odd noise.
As The Monk stepped back out of the trees, Lucy realized that D'Artagnan was terrified of this thing. Dean stepped in front of Lucy and fired the gun at The Monk. Bullets disintegrated into a fine dust as they struck him, and Dean stopped. The Monk slowly walked toward them.
"Lucy… Allen," The Monk said in a voice that was not his own. It was female and oddly sinister. "I've been… searching for you. The process is… incomplete. Please return… to Time. I've done so much work."
Lucy took a step back and thought over her options. This had to be 'The Rani.' She was probably the only one capable, or knowledgeable, enough to pilot The Monk like a puppet.
"You already have him. He looks good enough. Why not use him?" Lucy said and backed away.
The Monk's hand raised revealing that the skin was withering away. The Rani said irritably, "His body isn't… suitable for my purposes. Don't make this… harder than it needs to be. It'd be a shame… for those boys to become… an obstacle."
Dean looked from Lucy to The Monk in confusion but said, "Dude… lady? We aren't going anywhere. I suggest you get going."
Laughter rose from The Monk as his body glowed ominously. Dean fired more shots, but The Monk's body didn't even flinch. Sam was shouting an incantation of some kind. The Monk merely regarded him for a moment with irritation before he suddenly appeared in front of Sam. He had moved so fast that all Lucy had seen was a flash of light. He reached out to Sam when a scream pierced the night air, and Caan collided with The Monk. The Rani let out a scream of frustration. Caan and The Monk's body emitted golden sparks, clashing with each other before both disappeared.
"Wait," Lucy whispered and looked around, expecting him to come flying out of the trees, but there was nothing but silence. No screaming, no laughter.
A beeping sound broke Lucy from her daze. The watch that Caan had upgraded was beeping and flashing an arrow. Lucy ran toward the arrow and found a breach to another world; she started to run to it when Sam's voice made her turn around.
"What was that, Lucy? Is something after you?" Sam asked as though trying to conceal an accusatory tone with concern.
"I… I'm sorry. I have to go. Caan… he might be through here," Lucy explained and realized how desperate and uncertain she sounded. Like a child. She hated that; it made her sound… Caan had to be okay. He was probably just waiting on the other side. That made sense. She would jump through, and he'd be waiting on the other side before bolting off to cause trouble. Everything was fine. She tried to calm herself, but the sound of white noise in her head made it difficult to concentrate.
Her tone had made Dean and Sam look at each other, and Dean's voice lost its edge, "It's okay. Come on. We'll go back to the motel and figure things out. Just… that's dangerous."
Lucy gave Dean and Sam a small smile and said, "I'm sorry." She quickly jumped through the breach before they could get close enough to stop her. It closed behind her, and she felt herself get swept into another world. Alone.