SN/TM Crossover: A Sketch in Time, Part 1/2
Title: A Sketch in Time (Timeshifter #6)
’Verse: Timeshifter/Tin Man Crossover
Author: Trystan
Rating: R - it’s got a bad word in it.
Timeline: any Supernatural aired in the US is fair game; Timeshifter AU: after Hunter’s Moon; Tin Man: post-mini-series
Spoilers: Timeshifter AU (but not necessary) // Tin Man: the entire mini-series
Pairings: Cain/DG (established)
Word Count: Part I - 4,743
Notable Credits: special thanks to strangevisitor7 for an awesome beta job, as well as aphrodite33, bodgei, and raggedy_edge!! Sam, Dean and Cain are not mine, although goddess knows I wish Dean and Cain were.
Author’s Notes: this is what happens when I blank my brain and think of nothing. Glitch in the synapses. John is still alive in this ’verse, and the yellow-eyed Demon hasn’t been killed - yet.
Summary: Dean and Sam are transported to the O.Z., where they find things aren’t what they seem to be on the other side of the rainbow.Two little princesses dancing in a row
Spinning fast and freely on their little toes
Where the light will take you
No one ever knows
Two little princesses dancing in a row
~ Child’s nursery rhyme
Myriad fantasy and science fiction authors have created alternate universes, alternate earths and dimensions their characters travel to - often by mistake. The trouble for these characters comes when they try to recreate the wormholes or the storm that previously took them over the rainbow.
Unless there is an outside force, something tinkering with the time-space continuum or the very dimensional fabric, the characters never get back to where they once were - but not for lack of trying. There are beings that can change and twist this fabric or continuum, and can even shift time. These Timeshifters are constantly manipulating these misguided souls who feel they need to find that silver lining to validate their sanity.
Certain Timeshifters gain an affinity for certain such souls, as was the case of one Timeshifter and its Winchester toys. They were such ... fun to play with. And on this particular day, where the Winchester brothers were again on the run from the law, their escape route took them through a peculiarly cool air mass and on to the other side.
This story begins over the rainbow.
~*~
“Dude, slow down,” Sam warned Dean has he drove the Impala a little too fast.
“Dude, Statie back there, remember?” Dean reminded his brother.
Sam sighed. It wasn’t Dean’s fault the shapeshifter looked like him when he’d killed a few people in St. Louis. When the shapeshifter struck again in Milwaukee, it was just a matter of bad luck and timing. And now, an FBI agent wanted to nail their asses to the wall and make sure they stayed there for a good long time.
Dean coasted into South Dakota doing about 90, but luckily the Nebraska State Trooper didn’t follow. They’d passed the marked car about 20 miles back, but Sam didn’t see it anywhere behind them now. He shook his head at his brother.
They were on their way to see Bobby, to talk to him about finding an easy way to tell John that he had, in fact, been helped by his two grown sons that fateful night. But less than five minutes after they crossed the state line, nothing looked familiar.
When Dean started shivering, he looked over at Sam, and they knew.
Damn Timeshifter.
Again.
Dean drove aimlessly, trying to figure out where they were, but gave up after several twists and turns, and he could have sworn he ended up back where he started from. Since he regularly drove everywhere, he knew most of the interstate system by heart. And probably lots of the back roads and county routes too, now that he thought about it.
But damn it, he was lost.
They drove for about another hour, and still didn’t see anything recognizable, let alone a gas station. They’d passed an abandoned place a few miles back, so Dean decided to park the Impala there to save what little gas they had left, and check out their surroundings on foot. It wouldn’t be the first time the Timeshifter brought them somewhere that tested their sanity.
Dean parked the car, and they both packed a duffel bag of supplies from the trunk. Sam dragged some fallen branches to try to block the view of the car from anyone who passed by. Since they didn’t know where or when they were, anything was possible. Dean tucked a gun into his waistband at the small of his back.
As they set out on foot, both were taking in the scenery and landmarks so they could return to the car. It was Sam who looked up and noticed it.
“Uh.... Dean?” he asked, distracted by the sight.
“Yeah, Sammy?” Dean was experiencing separations pains at having to leave the Impala. But not knowing where they were created an uncertainty of important things for the Impala. Like the gasoline.
Sam had elbowed Dean, who followed Sam’s upward line of sight.
And he saw two suns in the daytime sky.
“I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore,” Sam muttered.
Dean looked back at the tree line, and selected a direction in which to travel.
“Yeah, ok, come on then, Toto,” Dean said, and set off along a path littered with yellow bricks inset along the way.
~*~
They’d walked for several hours, and neither had any idea where the Timeshifter had taken them this time, when they’d heard the sounds of fighting. They broke into a run, and through the trees saw men in long leather coats restraining another man, and the one in charge was beating the restrained man pretty good.
Two more men brought a woman, kicking and screaming, from out of the house to watch, who was trying to wrench herself away to get to the man they were beating. Dean guessed it might be her husband.
Dean pulled the gun from his jeans, and fired a warning shot into the air, but nothing happened. He ran forward and was about to fire again when the scene dissipated, and he found himself standing in a dead field with a falling-down building that looked similar the one that was just there a moment ago. More tricks?
Sam followed, and after looking over the area, found something stuck in an upright piece of wood.
“Hey Dean, check this out,” he said, and Dean joined him at the post. Dean looked at the gadget, and surveyed the surroundings again.
“Hologram?” Dean finally asked.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking. But why?”
Dean looked around, at the immediate dead area surrounding them, and then at the bright hues in the distance.
“It’s here for some reason I’m sure, but that’s not our concern right now, Sammy,” Dean said, putting his bag on the ground and then sitting on a nearby tree stump. “We need to figure out how to get back without the Timeshifter screwing us up again. And then kill the damn thing. It’s seriously putting a crimp in my plans.”
Sam found an old log to sit on.
“I totally hear you, but Dean, the Timeshifter has taken us to places that need us, to do what we do.”
“Oh yeah, watching Dad die over and over was high on my list of things to do.”
“But we got the ghost off of Serenity,” Sam pointed out.
“And seeing Mom die was not how I wanted to spend my summer vacation,” Dean spat.
“This isn’t our world, Dean. We’ll take whatever the job is here, and then it will let us go home.” Sam surprised even himself with how rationally he was taking this.
“No,” Dean said stubbornly. He stood up, and went over to get a better look at the vibrant colors outside this little area.
“First the Timeshifter, then that yellow-eyed bastard,” Dean ground out.
In the silence that followed Dean’s pronouncement, there was a cracking of dried twigs and branches somewhere behind the ramshackle house. Sam turned to look, but there was no one there.
As he stood, Sam wondered how to convince Dean to just “go along for the ride” this time, see where they were, find out what was going on - and what the reason was behind the hologram that had been playing for who knew how long.
Dean had picked up his bag and started to walk back to the same path with the yellow bricks in it, and Sam had no choice but to follow. Dean wouldn’t admit it, Sam thought, he’s more like Dad than he knows. Stubborn ass.
Behind the old shack, a man came out of hiding. Dressed in tight tan pants, a white shirt, leather vest and brown trench coat, he straightened out his hat and fixed his gun holster. He’d been at the Royal Palace when he’d heard there were Slippers sighted near his old homestead. Since they’d never been seen before in the O. Z., Wyatt Cain went to investigate.
He’d rather be at the palace, as he was needed there more than here. In the months following the Double Eclipse, the Queen and her daughters had worked to undo as much of the chaos Azkadellia created while she was possessed by the evil witch. However, there were still factions out there who were still loyal to the old witch and Zero, the head of her palace guards. His focus should be on them not these two strangers.
Just days before the Double Eclipse, Jeb and his men in the Resistance had captured Zero. Zero was the one who’d locked Cain in the tin box, and forced him to watch as Zero and the Longcoats beat, torture and kill Adora over and over... for eight long years. Until DG - Princess DG, Cain reminded himself - opened his tin prison and released him.
The younger Cain only wanted Zero’s death for what he did to Jeb’s mother. In a show of fatherly wisdom (or poetic justice), Cain locked Zero in his very own metal prison.
After the defeat of the Sorceress, Cain and Jeb did return to remove Zero from his tin prison, and transported him to the dungeons in the royal castle. But only a fortnight ago Cain found out that Zero had escaped, so it didn’t seem like a “just a coincidence” there were now rumors of impending assassination plots spreading throughout the O. Z. Cain should have remained at the Royal Palace to protect the Princess. Princesses, he needed to remind himself.
But now - he was more confused and curious about these Slippers. Who were they - this Dean and Sammy? He didn’t understand half of what they said, but he’d realized they knew about the time-loop projection. He’d have to confront them to find out about them.
And what in the name of the Grey Gale was a Timeshifter?
~*~
When the suns started setting, Dean and Sam gathered twigs and wood as they went so they could make a fire and set up camp in the first clearing along the side of the road that they came to. By the time they stopped, Dean’s watch told him it was about 8:30. He idly wondered if that was even accurate.
Sam set up the wood, but it was Dean who made the fire. Sam was impressed. They dragged logs over to sit near the fire, even though there was no chill in the air. As they worked, they kept hearing leaves crack and twigs snap.
“We’re being watched, Sam.”
“I know,” Sam said, looking off into the woods to see if he could spot anyone.
Earlier that day, they’d passed a stone marker carved with a sun-like symbol at the top, and the lettering “Central City” at the bottom. Now, sitting in front of the fire, Sam pulled a pad of paper out of his duffel, and for the first time in what seemed like years, started sketching the stone.
The man, who had in fact been following them, now watched as the taller one sketched, much like DG did. Cain smiled as he remembered DG’s stubborn insistence that everything she had drawn was before she’d even been to the O. Z. Before he realized what was happening, Cain was grabbed from behind, turned around, and slammed into a tree. Right in front of him was the shorter of the two men, Dean as he had heard the taller one call him. And Dean had a type of gun Cain had never seen before aimed at him.
“Your gun,” Dean said. Cain took it from his holster and gave it to Dean.
“Who are you?” Dean asked.
“Name’s Captain Wyatt Cain; who are you?”
“Why don’t you tell me? You’ve been tailing us since that rundown shack back there.”
“That rundown shack - ” Cain started to say he used to live there, but decided against it. “Yes, it’s my job to investigate newcomers.”
“You’re a cop?” Dean demanded.
“If you mean an officer of the law, yes. I’m a Tin Man and Captain of the Queen’s Royal Guard. Is it all right if we sit down by your fire?”
Dean just blinked, missing half of what this Wyatt Cain guy said. But he let him go, and waved him over towards the fire, where Sam was still sketching. Cain sat down on another log, and watched as Dean put his own gun on top of his bag and examine the captain’s gun.
“Hey Sam?” When Sam looked up, he handed Sam the weapon. The notebook Sam was sketching in fell to the ground, where Cain could see it.
“My DG loves to sketch,” he said.
“DG?” asked Sam.
“I mean, the Princess.”
“Tell Sammy here what you told me. About you being a cop.”
“I’m Captain Wyatt Cain of the Queen’s Royal Guard,” Cain said again.
“The Queen?” Sam asked Cain. But as he handed the gun back to Dean, he told him, “This looks old. And it doesn’t look like anything I’ve ever seen. Not even the Colt.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Dean said, tucking the new-old gun into his waistband.
“The Queen?” Dean prompted Cain. He told them her name.
“And the Princess? DG?”
“And her sister, Princess Azkadellia,” Cain added.
“Wait a minute,” Dean said, in sudden recognition. “You were the guy, back there... in the hologram,” he said.
Cain was silent a moment. “I was,” he said after a moment. There was no need to tell these to Slippers about the tin suit - they wouldn’t know what it meant. “As a matter of royal security, I need to know how you got here. There are suspicious rumors spreading through the O. Z.”
“The O. Z.?” Sam asked.
“The Outer Zone. A lot of Slippers don’t even know the O. Z. exists. Now, your turn.”
Dean looked at Sam, and then sat back down on his log. As a show of trust, Dean handed the gun back to Cain, who returned it to its holster.
“I’m Dean, this is my brother Sam. We drove here.”
“Impossible,” Cain said.
“Not if you’re ‘helped’ by a Timeshifter.”
“Dean!” Sam admonished.
“It’s ok, Sam. You were right - we’re not in Kansas anymore. And Mr. Cain here has been following us since we left his old house.”
“Just Cain,” he said, and taking off his hat and setting it beside him.
“Who were those guys in the hologram?” Sam asked.
“Longcoats. From when I was part of the Resistance.”
“Resistance to what?” Sam was curious about this place. He hoped he could get Dean to not be so bull-headed. The Timeshifter liked playing with them, but it did seem to have a purpose.
“The O.Z. was ruled by an evil Sorceress, we banded together to overthrow her and put the royal family back on the throne,” Cain replied, and then prompted Dean, “Timeshifter?”
“Near as we can tell, it’s some sort of entity, being. It likes to take us where it wants us to go. Usually gets real cold as we go through the time barrier.”
“You mentioned you might be here to do something. What is it that you do?”
“We hunt things,” Sam offered.
Cain nodded ever-so-slightly. “What kind of things?”
Dean and Sam looked at each other. Sam shrugged, and Dean raised his eyebrow.
“We hunt the things that go bump in the night,” Dean said.
“ ‘Bump in the night’?” Cain asked for clarification.
“Monsters, boogeyman, restless spirits, demons - ” Sam started listing.
“Demons,” Cain said, mostly to himself, while rolling the concept around in his head. “That could be how Zero had escaped,” he wondered aloud.
“Who’s Zero?” this was from Dean.
Cain released a ragged breath he’d been holding. Without even knowing why - hell, these two didn't even look trustworthy - he told them about Zero, beginning with the Longcoats in the hologram, about his wife and son, his imprisonment and rescue, and ending with Zero’s escape. When he was finished the three men just sat motionless, staring at the crackling fire.
“We’ve been hunting this ... thing, demon ... since it killed our Mom,” Sam heard himself say. Cain looked up from the fire to the young man.
“How long you been hunting?” Cain asked. Even though his duty and training told him that he should be suspicious of these two men, they had established some sort of trust between them.
“Most of my life,” Sam said. Dean wasn’t sure, but it sounded like he heard a cross between a longingness to get back to the hunt and regret that he’d been wasting his life in his brother’s voice. Dean just looked at the ground and fidgeted with his books in the dirt.
“Dean?”
“Me too. Been hunting with Dad since I was kid,” Dean reluctantly admitted. “Once Dad learned what had killed Mom, he became obsessed with tracking and killing it. I don’t even want to think how many times we’ve been this close...” Dean trailed off and, Sam could see his set jawline in the firelight, a glint of determination in his eyes.
“Damn Timeshifter picks us up and drops us in strange places and times.” Dean looked up at Cain. “Do you have any idea how frustrating that is?”
Cain nodded.
“How are we supposed to kill that yellow-eyed bastard if we keep getting yanked out of our time? And Geek Boy over here seems to think that every time it takes us somewhere else, we have a job to do there!” He took a moment and then took a deep breath. “We need to leave here, and kill that Timeshifter now,” Dean fumed.
Sam looked at his feet.
“Why do you not have your vehicle now?” Cain asked after giving Dean some time to cool off.
“She was running low on gas,” Dean admitted.
Cain thought for a moment, recalling something. “There is someone in Central City, who may know something about fuel for your vehicle. I have driven something similar, I believe.”
“And how do we get to this Central City?” asked Dean.
“We can leave at first light - I have some horses at a ranch about an hour’s journey from here.” Cain smiled, as he had anticipated this question. He knew the owner of the ranch, who took good care of Cain’s white horse. As soon as Cain had the news of the Slippers’ exact location, he set out for the ranch. From there, it was simple to initially find them, but he’d had a devil of a time keeping their trail, as Cain soon realized the brothers knew they were being followed.
“I prefer my horses under the hood, thanks,” Dean said.
“That’s ’cause you don’t remember when Dad and Bobby took us horseback riding when we were kids. I was like 6 or 7 or something,” Sam said.
“Huh,” Dean said, mulling this over, and trying to remember when he was 10 and 11. After a moment, he shook his head.
“Sorry, Sammy. I got nothing.”
They let the fire die out, and Dean stepped on the remaining embers with his boots. He took off his jacket and denim shirt, and used the shirt as a pillow at the base of a tree. He covered himself with his jacket and closed his eyes. Horseback riding, he snorted as he drifted off.
Cain leaned up against a tree, mostly sitting, hand resting on his gun, and pulled his hat down over his head. His sleep was light, but peppered with dreams of DG when he had them.
Sam lay down in the middle of an open area with his hands behind his head, looking up at the stars.
~*~
He was dreaming, right? But the blows felt so real, like someone was using him as a punching bag. His arms were held behind his back by at least two men, and one was hitting him rather forcefully in the head. His legs sagged, bringing his body down towards the ground.
His vision though the blood was hazy, and he was being helped to stand by the men behind him. He looked up at the man beating him, and noticed the broken nose. The man was blonde and wore a leather trench coat. The men behind him were now moving him backwards, towards a metal suit that was in the general shape of a human, and were trying to put him inside.
He looked back at the blonde again, and saw his eyes, blue as the sky ahead. Then the blonde blinked, and when he opened them again, they were solid black.
Sam gasped and sat up.
“You all right, Sammy?” Dean was standing next to the tree he’d been sleeping against, his denim shirt back on. One of the suns was just starting to peek out from the horizon.
“Yeah,” he said, sounding out of breath. He stood up carefully, and looked at Cain, who was standing next to where the fire had been the night before.
“What does Zero look like?”
Cain described him.
“What’s up, Sam?” Dean asked, wondering what had Sam’s attention.
“He’s possessed by a demon. I saw the black eyes.”
“What did you see?” Cain wanted to know.
Sam told them about the dream. When he was finished, Cain slowly sat down on the log. How could that be? he thought, with a mixture of nausea and wonderment.
“You all right, dude?” Dean asked.
“Yes. Everything is fine,” Cain said softly. He wasn’t about to tell them that Sam had seen only a part of what Zero had done to him all those years ago.
“Whatever,” Dean said, tugging on his jacket. “Let’s go see a man about a horse.”
The journey was, as Cain promised, about an hour. The homeowner came out to greet them, and spoke animatedly to Cain for a few minutes. Then the white-haired man turned to Dean and Sam.
“Name’s Zach. I have some good horses you boys can borrow.”
“We’ll return them as soon as we can, Sir,” Sam said, shaking his hand.
“If you are able to get what you need,” Cain said, “you should be back here in only a few days.”
Cain and Zach went inside the house, while Dean and Sam attempted to ride for the first time in their adult life. Sam had a tall chestnut horse with a shiny coat. After a spill that Dean laughed heartily at, Sam was able to stay on, and even gallop around the homestead. Dean’s horse was sleek and black, almost like the Impala, and at that thought, he grinned, and climbed into the saddle. After a few wobbly trots around the yard, even Dean seemed more surprised than Sam that he took to riding the horse like he’d done it most of his life.
The brothers reined the horses and were about the get off when Cain and Zach came back outside.
“Thank you, my friend,” Cain told the older man, as Cain mounted his own distinguished white horse. He guided the horse, whom he called Alabaster, over to the brothers.
“Here’s the thing - we need to ride hard, and I know you’re not accustomed to that. We can only stop from time to time for the horses. The quicker we get you to Central City, the quicker you can return to your own time for your own battles.”
Dean and Sam nodded in understanding, and they were on the move again.
The suns were well past the high point of the day when Central City came into view ahead of them. They’d only needed to stop once for the horses, and for Dean to work out a pull in his thigh. And now, with their destination in sight, they still rode quickly, but not as hard as before. They could see the city gates, and a place to tie the horses while they were inside, but Cain still hadn’t told him who they’d be meeting.
Someone came riding up the path towards them, as fast as they’d been riding before, and the three reined their horses. The rider slowed when he saw Cain, and he pulled the captain aside and spoke very quickly, making wide sweeping hand gestures. Dean looked at Sam and shrugged.
“Royal business, is my guess,” Sam suggested.
“Looks pretty important too,” Dean agreed.
When the rider was finally finished speaking, Cain came over to them.
“We part ways here, gentlemen. There seems to be some troubling news from the palace. When you get inside the City, find a club called The Twister. Ask for Antoine Demilo; he has a table reserved there. Tell him what you’re looking for, and if you have any problems, tell him you’re friends of mine.” Cain turned his horse back towards the rider, and the captain and his messenger galloped off.
~*~
It took some doing and wheedling - which Dean was good at - and now they were at The Twister, at Antoine Demilo’s table, talking with Demilo himself. Rather, Sam was doing the talking, Dean was enjoying the show with the women, who danced right up to him and blatantly flirted with him.
“We were told that you could get us some gasoline for our car,” Sam started.
“Me?” Demilo seemed impressed.
“Yeah, you,” Dean had turned his attentions from the stage back to the table. “Yanno,” Dean said, looking him over. Demilo wore flashy clothes and large hoop earrings in both ears, “you look like the kind of guy who would try to pull a fast one on unsuspecting travelers.”
“Look, I can explain...” Demilo started.
“I’m sure you can,” said Dean, who had been bluffing. “Gasoline?” Dean prompted.
“Right,” Demilo said, stalling again. “I know a guy....”
“I know lots of guys, too,” Dean said.
“It’ll cost you,” Demilo warned.
“How much?” Sam asked. Did they even use American dollars in the O. Z.?
“100 platinums.”
“How about something else?” Dean leaned in closer, and muttered, “We’re not from around here.”
“What do you have?”
Dean made a show of patting his pockets, and found nothing. Sam did the same.
“Know what?” Dean said again, “I know a guy named Wyatt Cain. He told me to let him know if you gave us any trouble.”
“Wyatt ... Cain?” Demilo squeaked. “You just told me you’re new in town...”
“Never really said that, dude,” Dean said.
“Uhhh... sure. I can find you some, uhh... gasoline.” He started talking frantically, as if Cain was actually right there. “You guys stay here, enjoy yourself, I’ll get right on that. Where’s your car? It’ll be filled up when you get back to it.”
Dean and Sam exchanged looks, but told him where to find the car, and Demilo scurried off.
“Wow, Cain’s really got an effect on that guy,” Dean said, looking over his shoulder at Demilo’s retreating form.
Dean ordered something that looked like a beer, but the waitress glared at Sam when all he wanted was water.
“Hey, you heard Demilo - enjoy ourselves. I plan to.”
One of the dancers came over, and swayed sensually to some music only she could hear. Dean was just about to reach out and pull her onto his lap.
“Dean!” Sam hissed, and Dean watched the dancer move onto another table instead.
“What, Sammy! That was me ‘trying to enjoy myself’!”
“Think about this: this Zero guy escapes from a dungeon, then there’s assassination rumors? And now I have a vision that Zero is possessed? Doesn’t that add up to anything for you, Dean?”
Dean looked at his glass with the amber liquid. He downed the rest of it, and held up the glass to a passing waitress.
“It adds up to we should get going. Demilo said the car should be filled up by the time we get back. And I figure we’ll leave here first thing in the morning, and be back at the car by evening.”
Knowing they were probably useless anyway, Dean tossed two $5 bills on the table anyway.
They made their way through Central City - it looked like every other city, Dean was not impressed - and back to the main gate where they’d left their horses. Sam mounted his slowly, as the soreness from the day’s riding was catching up to him, but Dean just stood there for a moment.
“Hey Sammy?”
“Yeah, Dean?”
“You seem to have a lot of faith that after we do whatever job it is, the Timeshifter will send us back home, yeah?”
“Yeah. It’s always worked out that way.”
Dean sighed, and then wearily got on his horse.
“Guess we’ll need to get directions to the royal palace then.”
continued in Part Two
***
Supernatural/Tin Man Crossover Fan Fiction
For entertainment only
© 2008 by Caren Franco
Only the Timeshifter and Zach are original. Beta-read by Aphrodite, Bodge, RaggedyEdge, and StrangeVisitor. Dean, Sam, and John Winchester, and Bobby Singer were created by Eric Kripke, Robert Singer, Kripke Enterprises Scrap Metal and Entertainment, Warner Brothers, and the CW. DG, Wyatt, Jeb and Adora Cain, Glitch, Raw, Azkadellia, Lavender Eyes, Ahamo, Zero, Slippers, the O. Z., the Grey Gale, Finaqua, Antoine Demilo, the Twister Club, and the “Two Little Princesses” rhyme was created by Steven Long Mitchell, Craig Van Sickle, Nick Willing, Robert Halmi, Sr., Robert Halmi, Jr., Imagiquest Entertainment, RHI Entertainment, and the Sci-Fi Channel; inspired by L. Frank Baum. Serenity was created by Joss Whedon, Tim Minear, Mutant Enemy, Inc., and Twentieth Century Fox. “Hero of the Day” from “Load” by Metallica, ©1996.
-
’Verse: Timeshifter/Tin Man Crossover
Author: Trystan
Rating: R - it’s got a bad word in it.
Timeline: any Supernatural aired in the US is fair game; Timeshifter AU: after Hunter’s Moon; Tin Man: post-mini-series
Spoilers: Timeshifter AU (but not necessary) // Tin Man: the entire mini-series
Pairings: Cain/DG (established)
Word Count: Part I - 4,743
Notable Credits: special thanks to strangevisitor7 for an awesome beta job, as well as aphrodite33, bodgei, and raggedy_edge!! Sam, Dean and Cain are not mine, although goddess knows I wish Dean and Cain were.
Author’s Notes: this is what happens when I blank my brain and think of nothing. Glitch in the synapses. John is still alive in this ’verse, and the yellow-eyed Demon hasn’t been killed - yet.
Summary: Dean and Sam are transported to the O.Z., where they find things aren’t what they seem to be on the other side of the rainbow.Two little princesses dancing in a row
Spinning fast and freely on their little toes
Where the light will take you
No one ever knows
Two little princesses dancing in a row
~ Child’s nursery rhyme
Myriad fantasy and science fiction authors have created alternate universes, alternate earths and dimensions their characters travel to - often by mistake. The trouble for these characters comes when they try to recreate the wormholes or the storm that previously took them over the rainbow.
Unless there is an outside force, something tinkering with the time-space continuum or the very dimensional fabric, the characters never get back to where they once were - but not for lack of trying. There are beings that can change and twist this fabric or continuum, and can even shift time. These Timeshifters are constantly manipulating these misguided souls who feel they need to find that silver lining to validate their sanity.
Certain Timeshifters gain an affinity for certain such souls, as was the case of one Timeshifter and its Winchester toys. They were such ... fun to play with. And on this particular day, where the Winchester brothers were again on the run from the law, their escape route took them through a peculiarly cool air mass and on to the other side.
This story begins over the rainbow.
~*~
“Dude, slow down,” Sam warned Dean has he drove the Impala a little too fast.
“Dude, Statie back there, remember?” Dean reminded his brother.
Sam sighed. It wasn’t Dean’s fault the shapeshifter looked like him when he’d killed a few people in St. Louis. When the shapeshifter struck again in Milwaukee, it was just a matter of bad luck and timing. And now, an FBI agent wanted to nail their asses to the wall and make sure they stayed there for a good long time.
Dean coasted into South Dakota doing about 90, but luckily the Nebraska State Trooper didn’t follow. They’d passed the marked car about 20 miles back, but Sam didn’t see it anywhere behind them now. He shook his head at his brother.
They were on their way to see Bobby, to talk to him about finding an easy way to tell John that he had, in fact, been helped by his two grown sons that fateful night. But less than five minutes after they crossed the state line, nothing looked familiar.
When Dean started shivering, he looked over at Sam, and they knew.
Damn Timeshifter.
Again.
Dean drove aimlessly, trying to figure out where they were, but gave up after several twists and turns, and he could have sworn he ended up back where he started from. Since he regularly drove everywhere, he knew most of the interstate system by heart. And probably lots of the back roads and county routes too, now that he thought about it.
But damn it, he was lost.
They drove for about another hour, and still didn’t see anything recognizable, let alone a gas station. They’d passed an abandoned place a few miles back, so Dean decided to park the Impala there to save what little gas they had left, and check out their surroundings on foot. It wouldn’t be the first time the Timeshifter brought them somewhere that tested their sanity.
Dean parked the car, and they both packed a duffel bag of supplies from the trunk. Sam dragged some fallen branches to try to block the view of the car from anyone who passed by. Since they didn’t know where or when they were, anything was possible. Dean tucked a gun into his waistband at the small of his back.
As they set out on foot, both were taking in the scenery and landmarks so they could return to the car. It was Sam who looked up and noticed it.
“Uh.... Dean?” he asked, distracted by the sight.
“Yeah, Sammy?” Dean was experiencing separations pains at having to leave the Impala. But not knowing where they were created an uncertainty of important things for the Impala. Like the gasoline.
Sam had elbowed Dean, who followed Sam’s upward line of sight.
And he saw two suns in the daytime sky.
“I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore,” Sam muttered.
Dean looked back at the tree line, and selected a direction in which to travel.
“Yeah, ok, come on then, Toto,” Dean said, and set off along a path littered with yellow bricks inset along the way.
~*~
They’d walked for several hours, and neither had any idea where the Timeshifter had taken them this time, when they’d heard the sounds of fighting. They broke into a run, and through the trees saw men in long leather coats restraining another man, and the one in charge was beating the restrained man pretty good.
Two more men brought a woman, kicking and screaming, from out of the house to watch, who was trying to wrench herself away to get to the man they were beating. Dean guessed it might be her husband.
Dean pulled the gun from his jeans, and fired a warning shot into the air, but nothing happened. He ran forward and was about to fire again when the scene dissipated, and he found himself standing in a dead field with a falling-down building that looked similar the one that was just there a moment ago. More tricks?
Sam followed, and after looking over the area, found something stuck in an upright piece of wood.
“Hey Dean, check this out,” he said, and Dean joined him at the post. Dean looked at the gadget, and surveyed the surroundings again.
“Hologram?” Dean finally asked.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking. But why?”
Dean looked around, at the immediate dead area surrounding them, and then at the bright hues in the distance.
“It’s here for some reason I’m sure, but that’s not our concern right now, Sammy,” Dean said, putting his bag on the ground and then sitting on a nearby tree stump. “We need to figure out how to get back without the Timeshifter screwing us up again. And then kill the damn thing. It’s seriously putting a crimp in my plans.”
Sam found an old log to sit on.
“I totally hear you, but Dean, the Timeshifter has taken us to places that need us, to do what we do.”
“Oh yeah, watching Dad die over and over was high on my list of things to do.”
“But we got the ghost off of Serenity,” Sam pointed out.
“And seeing Mom die was not how I wanted to spend my summer vacation,” Dean spat.
“This isn’t our world, Dean. We’ll take whatever the job is here, and then it will let us go home.” Sam surprised even himself with how rationally he was taking this.
“No,” Dean said stubbornly. He stood up, and went over to get a better look at the vibrant colors outside this little area.
“First the Timeshifter, then that yellow-eyed bastard,” Dean ground out.
In the silence that followed Dean’s pronouncement, there was a cracking of dried twigs and branches somewhere behind the ramshackle house. Sam turned to look, but there was no one there.
As he stood, Sam wondered how to convince Dean to just “go along for the ride” this time, see where they were, find out what was going on - and what the reason was behind the hologram that had been playing for who knew how long.
Dean had picked up his bag and started to walk back to the same path with the yellow bricks in it, and Sam had no choice but to follow. Dean wouldn’t admit it, Sam thought, he’s more like Dad than he knows. Stubborn ass.
Behind the old shack, a man came out of hiding. Dressed in tight tan pants, a white shirt, leather vest and brown trench coat, he straightened out his hat and fixed his gun holster. He’d been at the Royal Palace when he’d heard there were Slippers sighted near his old homestead. Since they’d never been seen before in the O. Z., Wyatt Cain went to investigate.
He’d rather be at the palace, as he was needed there more than here. In the months following the Double Eclipse, the Queen and her daughters had worked to undo as much of the chaos Azkadellia created while she was possessed by the evil witch. However, there were still factions out there who were still loyal to the old witch and Zero, the head of her palace guards. His focus should be on them not these two strangers.
Just days before the Double Eclipse, Jeb and his men in the Resistance had captured Zero. Zero was the one who’d locked Cain in the tin box, and forced him to watch as Zero and the Longcoats beat, torture and kill Adora over and over... for eight long years. Until DG - Princess DG, Cain reminded himself - opened his tin prison and released him.
The younger Cain only wanted Zero’s death for what he did to Jeb’s mother. In a show of fatherly wisdom (or poetic justice), Cain locked Zero in his very own metal prison.
After the defeat of the Sorceress, Cain and Jeb did return to remove Zero from his tin prison, and transported him to the dungeons in the royal castle. But only a fortnight ago Cain found out that Zero had escaped, so it didn’t seem like a “just a coincidence” there were now rumors of impending assassination plots spreading throughout the O. Z. Cain should have remained at the Royal Palace to protect the Princess. Princesses, he needed to remind himself.
But now - he was more confused and curious about these Slippers. Who were they - this Dean and Sammy? He didn’t understand half of what they said, but he’d realized they knew about the time-loop projection. He’d have to confront them to find out about them.
And what in the name of the Grey Gale was a Timeshifter?
~*~
When the suns started setting, Dean and Sam gathered twigs and wood as they went so they could make a fire and set up camp in the first clearing along the side of the road that they came to. By the time they stopped, Dean’s watch told him it was about 8:30. He idly wondered if that was even accurate.
Sam set up the wood, but it was Dean who made the fire. Sam was impressed. They dragged logs over to sit near the fire, even though there was no chill in the air. As they worked, they kept hearing leaves crack and twigs snap.
“We’re being watched, Sam.”
“I know,” Sam said, looking off into the woods to see if he could spot anyone.
Earlier that day, they’d passed a stone marker carved with a sun-like symbol at the top, and the lettering “Central City” at the bottom. Now, sitting in front of the fire, Sam pulled a pad of paper out of his duffel, and for the first time in what seemed like years, started sketching the stone.
The man, who had in fact been following them, now watched as the taller one sketched, much like DG did. Cain smiled as he remembered DG’s stubborn insistence that everything she had drawn was before she’d even been to the O. Z. Before he realized what was happening, Cain was grabbed from behind, turned around, and slammed into a tree. Right in front of him was the shorter of the two men, Dean as he had heard the taller one call him. And Dean had a type of gun Cain had never seen before aimed at him.
“Your gun,” Dean said. Cain took it from his holster and gave it to Dean.
“Who are you?” Dean asked.
“Name’s Captain Wyatt Cain; who are you?”
“Why don’t you tell me? You’ve been tailing us since that rundown shack back there.”
“That rundown shack - ” Cain started to say he used to live there, but decided against it. “Yes, it’s my job to investigate newcomers.”
“You’re a cop?” Dean demanded.
“If you mean an officer of the law, yes. I’m a Tin Man and Captain of the Queen’s Royal Guard. Is it all right if we sit down by your fire?”
Dean just blinked, missing half of what this Wyatt Cain guy said. But he let him go, and waved him over towards the fire, where Sam was still sketching. Cain sat down on another log, and watched as Dean put his own gun on top of his bag and examine the captain’s gun.
“Hey Sam?” When Sam looked up, he handed Sam the weapon. The notebook Sam was sketching in fell to the ground, where Cain could see it.
“My DG loves to sketch,” he said.
“DG?” asked Sam.
“I mean, the Princess.”
“Tell Sammy here what you told me. About you being a cop.”
“I’m Captain Wyatt Cain of the Queen’s Royal Guard,” Cain said again.
“The Queen?” Sam asked Cain. But as he handed the gun back to Dean, he told him, “This looks old. And it doesn’t look like anything I’ve ever seen. Not even the Colt.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Dean said, tucking the new-old gun into his waistband.
“The Queen?” Dean prompted Cain. He told them her name.
“And the Princess? DG?”
“And her sister, Princess Azkadellia,” Cain added.
“Wait a minute,” Dean said, in sudden recognition. “You were the guy, back there... in the hologram,” he said.
Cain was silent a moment. “I was,” he said after a moment. There was no need to tell these to Slippers about the tin suit - they wouldn’t know what it meant. “As a matter of royal security, I need to know how you got here. There are suspicious rumors spreading through the O. Z.”
“The O. Z.?” Sam asked.
“The Outer Zone. A lot of Slippers don’t even know the O. Z. exists. Now, your turn.”
Dean looked at Sam, and then sat back down on his log. As a show of trust, Dean handed the gun back to Cain, who returned it to its holster.
“I’m Dean, this is my brother Sam. We drove here.”
“Impossible,” Cain said.
“Not if you’re ‘helped’ by a Timeshifter.”
“Dean!” Sam admonished.
“It’s ok, Sam. You were right - we’re not in Kansas anymore. And Mr. Cain here has been following us since we left his old house.”
“Just Cain,” he said, and taking off his hat and setting it beside him.
“Who were those guys in the hologram?” Sam asked.
“Longcoats. From when I was part of the Resistance.”
“Resistance to what?” Sam was curious about this place. He hoped he could get Dean to not be so bull-headed. The Timeshifter liked playing with them, but it did seem to have a purpose.
“The O.Z. was ruled by an evil Sorceress, we banded together to overthrow her and put the royal family back on the throne,” Cain replied, and then prompted Dean, “Timeshifter?”
“Near as we can tell, it’s some sort of entity, being. It likes to take us where it wants us to go. Usually gets real cold as we go through the time barrier.”
“You mentioned you might be here to do something. What is it that you do?”
“We hunt things,” Sam offered.
Cain nodded ever-so-slightly. “What kind of things?”
Dean and Sam looked at each other. Sam shrugged, and Dean raised his eyebrow.
“We hunt the things that go bump in the night,” Dean said.
“ ‘Bump in the night’?” Cain asked for clarification.
“Monsters, boogeyman, restless spirits, demons - ” Sam started listing.
“Demons,” Cain said, mostly to himself, while rolling the concept around in his head. “That could be how Zero had escaped,” he wondered aloud.
“Who’s Zero?” this was from Dean.
Cain released a ragged breath he’d been holding. Without even knowing why - hell, these two didn't even look trustworthy - he told them about Zero, beginning with the Longcoats in the hologram, about his wife and son, his imprisonment and rescue, and ending with Zero’s escape. When he was finished the three men just sat motionless, staring at the crackling fire.
“We’ve been hunting this ... thing, demon ... since it killed our Mom,” Sam heard himself say. Cain looked up from the fire to the young man.
“How long you been hunting?” Cain asked. Even though his duty and training told him that he should be suspicious of these two men, they had established some sort of trust between them.
“Most of my life,” Sam said. Dean wasn’t sure, but it sounded like he heard a cross between a longingness to get back to the hunt and regret that he’d been wasting his life in his brother’s voice. Dean just looked at the ground and fidgeted with his books in the dirt.
“Dean?”
“Me too. Been hunting with Dad since I was kid,” Dean reluctantly admitted. “Once Dad learned what had killed Mom, he became obsessed with tracking and killing it. I don’t even want to think how many times we’ve been this close...” Dean trailed off and, Sam could see his set jawline in the firelight, a glint of determination in his eyes.
“Damn Timeshifter picks us up and drops us in strange places and times.” Dean looked up at Cain. “Do you have any idea how frustrating that is?”
Cain nodded.
“How are we supposed to kill that yellow-eyed bastard if we keep getting yanked out of our time? And Geek Boy over here seems to think that every time it takes us somewhere else, we have a job to do there!” He took a moment and then took a deep breath. “We need to leave here, and kill that Timeshifter now,” Dean fumed.
Sam looked at his feet.
“Why do you not have your vehicle now?” Cain asked after giving Dean some time to cool off.
“She was running low on gas,” Dean admitted.
Cain thought for a moment, recalling something. “There is someone in Central City, who may know something about fuel for your vehicle. I have driven something similar, I believe.”
“And how do we get to this Central City?” asked Dean.
“We can leave at first light - I have some horses at a ranch about an hour’s journey from here.” Cain smiled, as he had anticipated this question. He knew the owner of the ranch, who took good care of Cain’s white horse. As soon as Cain had the news of the Slippers’ exact location, he set out for the ranch. From there, it was simple to initially find them, but he’d had a devil of a time keeping their trail, as Cain soon realized the brothers knew they were being followed.
“I prefer my horses under the hood, thanks,” Dean said.
“That’s ’cause you don’t remember when Dad and Bobby took us horseback riding when we were kids. I was like 6 or 7 or something,” Sam said.
“Huh,” Dean said, mulling this over, and trying to remember when he was 10 and 11. After a moment, he shook his head.
“Sorry, Sammy. I got nothing.”
They let the fire die out, and Dean stepped on the remaining embers with his boots. He took off his jacket and denim shirt, and used the shirt as a pillow at the base of a tree. He covered himself with his jacket and closed his eyes. Horseback riding, he snorted as he drifted off.
Cain leaned up against a tree, mostly sitting, hand resting on his gun, and pulled his hat down over his head. His sleep was light, but peppered with dreams of DG when he had them.
Sam lay down in the middle of an open area with his hands behind his head, looking up at the stars.
~*~
He was dreaming, right? But the blows felt so real, like someone was using him as a punching bag. His arms were held behind his back by at least two men, and one was hitting him rather forcefully in the head. His legs sagged, bringing his body down towards the ground.
His vision though the blood was hazy, and he was being helped to stand by the men behind him. He looked up at the man beating him, and noticed the broken nose. The man was blonde and wore a leather trench coat. The men behind him were now moving him backwards, towards a metal suit that was in the general shape of a human, and were trying to put him inside.
He looked back at the blonde again, and saw his eyes, blue as the sky ahead. Then the blonde blinked, and when he opened them again, they were solid black.
Sam gasped and sat up.
“You all right, Sammy?” Dean was standing next to the tree he’d been sleeping against, his denim shirt back on. One of the suns was just starting to peek out from the horizon.
“Yeah,” he said, sounding out of breath. He stood up carefully, and looked at Cain, who was standing next to where the fire had been the night before.
“What does Zero look like?”
Cain described him.
“What’s up, Sam?” Dean asked, wondering what had Sam’s attention.
“He’s possessed by a demon. I saw the black eyes.”
“What did you see?” Cain wanted to know.
Sam told them about the dream. When he was finished, Cain slowly sat down on the log. How could that be? he thought, with a mixture of nausea and wonderment.
“You all right, dude?” Dean asked.
“Yes. Everything is fine,” Cain said softly. He wasn’t about to tell them that Sam had seen only a part of what Zero had done to him all those years ago.
“Whatever,” Dean said, tugging on his jacket. “Let’s go see a man about a horse.”
The journey was, as Cain promised, about an hour. The homeowner came out to greet them, and spoke animatedly to Cain for a few minutes. Then the white-haired man turned to Dean and Sam.
“Name’s Zach. I have some good horses you boys can borrow.”
“We’ll return them as soon as we can, Sir,” Sam said, shaking his hand.
“If you are able to get what you need,” Cain said, “you should be back here in only a few days.”
Cain and Zach went inside the house, while Dean and Sam attempted to ride for the first time in their adult life. Sam had a tall chestnut horse with a shiny coat. After a spill that Dean laughed heartily at, Sam was able to stay on, and even gallop around the homestead. Dean’s horse was sleek and black, almost like the Impala, and at that thought, he grinned, and climbed into the saddle. After a few wobbly trots around the yard, even Dean seemed more surprised than Sam that he took to riding the horse like he’d done it most of his life.
The brothers reined the horses and were about the get off when Cain and Zach came back outside.
“Thank you, my friend,” Cain told the older man, as Cain mounted his own distinguished white horse. He guided the horse, whom he called Alabaster, over to the brothers.
“Here’s the thing - we need to ride hard, and I know you’re not accustomed to that. We can only stop from time to time for the horses. The quicker we get you to Central City, the quicker you can return to your own time for your own battles.”
Dean and Sam nodded in understanding, and they were on the move again.
The suns were well past the high point of the day when Central City came into view ahead of them. They’d only needed to stop once for the horses, and for Dean to work out a pull in his thigh. And now, with their destination in sight, they still rode quickly, but not as hard as before. They could see the city gates, and a place to tie the horses while they were inside, but Cain still hadn’t told him who they’d be meeting.
Someone came riding up the path towards them, as fast as they’d been riding before, and the three reined their horses. The rider slowed when he saw Cain, and he pulled the captain aside and spoke very quickly, making wide sweeping hand gestures. Dean looked at Sam and shrugged.
“Royal business, is my guess,” Sam suggested.
“Looks pretty important too,” Dean agreed.
When the rider was finally finished speaking, Cain came over to them.
“We part ways here, gentlemen. There seems to be some troubling news from the palace. When you get inside the City, find a club called The Twister. Ask for Antoine Demilo; he has a table reserved there. Tell him what you’re looking for, and if you have any problems, tell him you’re friends of mine.” Cain turned his horse back towards the rider, and the captain and his messenger galloped off.
~*~
It took some doing and wheedling - which Dean was good at - and now they were at The Twister, at Antoine Demilo’s table, talking with Demilo himself. Rather, Sam was doing the talking, Dean was enjoying the show with the women, who danced right up to him and blatantly flirted with him.
“We were told that you could get us some gasoline for our car,” Sam started.
“Me?” Demilo seemed impressed.
“Yeah, you,” Dean had turned his attentions from the stage back to the table. “Yanno,” Dean said, looking him over. Demilo wore flashy clothes and large hoop earrings in both ears, “you look like the kind of guy who would try to pull a fast one on unsuspecting travelers.”
“Look, I can explain...” Demilo started.
“I’m sure you can,” said Dean, who had been bluffing. “Gasoline?” Dean prompted.
“Right,” Demilo said, stalling again. “I know a guy....”
“I know lots of guys, too,” Dean said.
“It’ll cost you,” Demilo warned.
“How much?” Sam asked. Did they even use American dollars in the O. Z.?
“100 platinums.”
“How about something else?” Dean leaned in closer, and muttered, “We’re not from around here.”
“What do you have?”
Dean made a show of patting his pockets, and found nothing. Sam did the same.
“Know what?” Dean said again, “I know a guy named Wyatt Cain. He told me to let him know if you gave us any trouble.”
“Wyatt ... Cain?” Demilo squeaked. “You just told me you’re new in town...”
“Never really said that, dude,” Dean said.
“Uhhh... sure. I can find you some, uhh... gasoline.” He started talking frantically, as if Cain was actually right there. “You guys stay here, enjoy yourself, I’ll get right on that. Where’s your car? It’ll be filled up when you get back to it.”
Dean and Sam exchanged looks, but told him where to find the car, and Demilo scurried off.
“Wow, Cain’s really got an effect on that guy,” Dean said, looking over his shoulder at Demilo’s retreating form.
Dean ordered something that looked like a beer, but the waitress glared at Sam when all he wanted was water.
“Hey, you heard Demilo - enjoy ourselves. I plan to.”
One of the dancers came over, and swayed sensually to some music only she could hear. Dean was just about to reach out and pull her onto his lap.
“Dean!” Sam hissed, and Dean watched the dancer move onto another table instead.
“What, Sammy! That was me ‘trying to enjoy myself’!”
“Think about this: this Zero guy escapes from a dungeon, then there’s assassination rumors? And now I have a vision that Zero is possessed? Doesn’t that add up to anything for you, Dean?”
Dean looked at his glass with the amber liquid. He downed the rest of it, and held up the glass to a passing waitress.
“It adds up to we should get going. Demilo said the car should be filled up by the time we get back. And I figure we’ll leave here first thing in the morning, and be back at the car by evening.”
Knowing they were probably useless anyway, Dean tossed two $5 bills on the table anyway.
They made their way through Central City - it looked like every other city, Dean was not impressed - and back to the main gate where they’d left their horses. Sam mounted his slowly, as the soreness from the day’s riding was catching up to him, but Dean just stood there for a moment.
“Hey Sammy?”
“Yeah, Dean?”
“You seem to have a lot of faith that after we do whatever job it is, the Timeshifter will send us back home, yeah?”
“Yeah. It’s always worked out that way.”
Dean sighed, and then wearily got on his horse.
“Guess we’ll need to get directions to the royal palace then.”
continued in Part Two
***
Supernatural/Tin Man Crossover Fan Fiction
For entertainment only
© 2008 by Caren Franco
Only the Timeshifter and Zach are original. Beta-read by Aphrodite, Bodge, RaggedyEdge, and StrangeVisitor. Dean, Sam, and John Winchester, and Bobby Singer were created by Eric Kripke, Robert Singer, Kripke Enterprises Scrap Metal and Entertainment, Warner Brothers, and the CW. DG, Wyatt, Jeb and Adora Cain, Glitch, Raw, Azkadellia, Lavender Eyes, Ahamo, Zero, Slippers, the O. Z., the Grey Gale, Finaqua, Antoine Demilo, the Twister Club, and the “Two Little Princesses” rhyme was created by Steven Long Mitchell, Craig Van Sickle, Nick Willing, Robert Halmi, Sr., Robert Halmi, Jr., Imagiquest Entertainment, RHI Entertainment, and the Sci-Fi Channel; inspired by L. Frank Baum. Serenity was created by Joss Whedon, Tim Minear, Mutant Enemy, Inc., and Twentieth Century Fox. “Hero of the Day” from “Load” by Metallica, ©1996.
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