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It’s witches. It’s always witches.
With their spells and incantations that will turn you into all kinds of crazy, or transport your body and soul to the backward corners of the Earth.
Sam frowns as he stares down at himself, the ground much closer now than what he’s usually used to, having not been this short since he was, oh let’s say, fifteen years old.
"Sammy! You ready to go or what?"
"Just give me a second, Dean. Geez!"
Sam huffed, the air leaving his mouth pushing against the bangs that were starting to grow into his eyes. How did I ever manage to live with a fringe anyway?
Rubbing a hand over his eyes, Sam took a deep breath and focused his mind on his current situation.
They’d been following a lead on Rowena, a few clues here and there that eventually lead them to a old, abandoned farmhouse on the outskirts of town. Of course it was too easy, they should have known better, and when they came into contact with at least a dozen startled but quickly angered witches, well. The rest as they say is history.
The next thing he knew, he was waking up in a smelly, motel room bed to the image of his father and nineteen year old brother eating breakfast and discussing a hunt.
If it wasn’t for the fact that time travel had pretty much become a normal part of their lives, Sam would have promptly started freaking out. As such, he managed to quietly slip out of the room and into the bathroom, where he was currently hiding out in an attempt to figure out how to get back to his time, hopefully back to Dean.
He had no idea if his brother had even made it and Sam’s heart clenched painfully at the thought.
"Sammy! What are you braiding your hair or something? C’mon, dad’s waiting!"
Sighing in defeat, Sam took one last glance at himself in the mirror before stealing himself. He opened the bathroom door to reveal Dean’s young, smirking, happy face, dressed in dad’s too big brown leather jacket and wearing the amulet Sam had given him all those years ago.
"Wow, Samantha. You don’t usually take this long to put your make-up on." Dean grinned while Sam simply rolled his eyes at the jab. He shouldered his way past his brother, mind reeling slightly as his head didn’t even come up to Dean’s chin, before throwing his own smirk back at his brother.
"Shut up… Jerk."
"Bitch."
- - - - -
It was weird seeing his dad again after so many years, and Sam had to physically restrain himself from running up and hugging the man. If John noticed that his youngest was more compliant than normal, he didn’t comment, probably taking it as a blessing that Sam had finally gotten into the mindset of hunting.
Sam stared out the window of the Impala, half-listening to John talking about the case while the other half of his brain tried to come up with a plan to get back to his own time.
"-didn’t know what had happened. Said he wasn’t in control of his body and could do nothing but watch as he killed his wife."
Sam’s head perked up a little as he heard that, and then frowned as he tried to recall this particular case in his memories. Sounds like a demonic possession, but I don’t remember ever being on a case with a demon at this age.
"I’ll go in and question the guy, and then I’ll go to the house to see if there’s any clues I can pick up on. I want you and Sam to try and find out what you can from the locals, maybe go to the library to see if you can find any leads for what we’re dealing with there."
"Yes sir." Dean replied, hands twitching slightly in excitement for the hunt.
When John turned to look at Sam for his reaction, Sam quietly nodded in confirmation, before turning his gaze back out the window. This was going to be interesting.
- - - - -
As Sam suspected, it indeed turned out to be a demonic possession. Tensions were high, since this was the first time John had ever hunted a demon, not including the yellow eyed one he was trying to find, and Sam could feel the worry pouring off him in waves.
He’d dropped Dean and Sam off at the motel, telling them to stay put and to call Bobby if they didn’t hear from him within twenty-four hours.
"I’ve narrowed it down to three possible suspects that the demon could be possessing. It’s usual MO is a man, newly wed within a couple of months. The demon usually takes at least three victims before moving on to a new town so there’s still one victim here to go." John explained, packing holy water and salt rounds into his bag.
"Who are the three suspects?" Sam questioned, hopping off the bed and moving to stand by his father.
John looked at him in brief surprise before returning to his packing. “A young couple, Rudy and Emma, on the other side of town, just returned from their honeymoon. Mr and Mrs Larson over in the suburbs, married two months ago. And Jake and Millie down by the lake.”
Sam nodded. There was a newly wed couple missing from Dad’s list, but that worked in his favour. With his current knowledge and weaponry, there was no way that Dad would be able to stop or kill the demon. So Sam was going to do it himself.
"If you need to figure out if it’s a demon or not, a subtle way to do it is to say the name of God, in Latin. They’ll flinch at that."
Both John and Dean looked up at him in surprise.
"Read it in a book…" Sam shrugged before making his way back to the bed, sitting down and pulling out a gun from his bag and cleaning it. John and Dean shared a look, but didn’t make any further comments.
When John finally left, Sam waited a beat before turning to Dean.
"I’m gunna head back down to the library. See if there’s any more information to pick up." He stood up, shouldering his bag onto his back and making his way to the door.
"Whoa there, Sammy! If you’re going out, then I’m coming with you." Dean stated, jumping up from the sofa and moving to grab his own bag and jacket.
"It’s only the library, Dean. I think I’ll be okay." Sam replied casually, while internally worrying because this was most definitely not in his plans.
Dean shrugged, already making his way over and opening the door, motioning for Sam to go first. Sighing, knowing that he wasn’t going to change his brother’s mind without telling him the whole situation, Sam slumped his shoulders in defeat and walked out the door, Dean trailing close behind him.
- - - - -
"I can’t believe it’s an honest to God demon!" Dean muttered, grin splitting his face in excitement. They were walking side by side, dad having taken the Impala, and Sam was still silently trying to come up with a plan to ditch Dean.
"I mean, demons Sammy! That’s a pretty hardcore hunt. Wish dad would’ve let us go with him. Taking down a demon would be friggin’ awesome."
Sam could only nod in response, the two of them having finally arrived at the library. Once inside, Dean had followed him around like a dog with a bone, only leaving him alone once he’d sat himself down at a table with a few handfuls of books piled around him.
"Gunna go see if there’s a porn section. I’ll be back in a little bit, Sammy." Dean winked, quietly shuffling away and disappearing between bookcases.
Sam breathed a huff, taking a book and pretending to read as the minutes ticked by. He waited until he was sure that Dean wasn’t going to come stumbling around the corner, before quickly grabbing his bag and making his way to the exit.
Once outside, Sam was relieved to see that there was still daylight, although the sun had started to set. Silently making his way over to the car park, Sam quickly glanced around to see if anyone was watching before he jacked open the door lock, climbing inside and hot-wiring the car into ignition.
Pulling out, Sam wasn’t too worried about people seeing him driving, the relatively small town now starting to empty as people started to make their way home, eager to get settled in for dinner.
He took a left, taking him out onto a road that would lead him to the fields. There were a couple of houses dotted about along that stretch of land, and the one in particular that he was going to be surveying.
He just hoped that he’d be back in time before Dean started tearing the town apart looking for him.
- - - - -
The sun had now set, inky darkness slowly settling over the sky with a small gradient of orange that still had yet to fade. Sam had left the stolen car parked a little ways down the dirt track leading up to the cottage, so he was now crouched just behind the hedges surrounding the property.
Through the window, he could see two men bustling about their kitchen, and Sam’s eyes narrowed in concentration.
The two men were a gay couple, having just returned from their honeymoon a week ago. The reason why John hadn’t picked up on them, was because the state they were currently in, did not recognise gay marriages, therefore the marriage was never registered.
However, after him and Dean had poked around in town, Sam had overheard a group of friends talking about an Eric and Neil, who’d just gotten married out of state, because their own did not allow them to be married.
It may have been a bit of a long shot, but Sam knew how demons worked. They were clever, most of the time. And there was no way that the demon didn’t know that it had hunters on it’s trail. This couple was the perfect option. The hunters wouldn’t know about it through the system, therefore they would never think to look for it here, and it could still carry out it’s MO.
"Spying on innocent people now?"
Sam nearly fell over from the shock of the voice, his heart leaping into his throat as he willed himself not to scream.
Dean was stood a few feet away, staring down at his crouched form with a frown on his face.
"D-Dean?" Sam gasped, turning to face his brother, still crouched low in case the couple in the house could see him.
Dean clicked his tongue, before making his way over and crouching beside Sam, looking through into the kitchen window.
"Have to say, was pretty impressed that you managed to hot-wire that car. And that you managed to drive it all this way without getting pulled over." Dean mused, his eyes twinkling with slight pride before hardening over as mild anger overtook him.
"What the hell do you think you’re doing anyway, running off like that?" Dean hissed, staring down at Sam for an answer.
Knowing there was no use hiding it, Sam quickly explained about the couple. He also told Dean about his plan, about how devil’s traps worked and about how to exorcize a demon, watching in mild amusement as Dean’s eyes got wider and wider as he tried to take in all this new information.
"How the hell do you know all this Sammy?” Dean whispered, staring at him in awe.
"Read it in a book…" Sam smiled, shrugging his shoulders before turning his attention back to the house.
A scream suddenly sounded, and there in the kitchen, they could see that one of the men’s eyes had turned black, brandishing a knife at the other.
Quickly, they shot up, running towards the front door with Dean kicking it open to get inside.
"Hey! Fuck face!" Dean shouted, moving his way quickly across the room and throwing a bottle of holy water straight into the demon’s face. The demon howled as the water burnt him, reaching his hands up the desperately wipe at the offending liquid.
Sam pushed the other man, Neil, up and out towards the front door. “Go!” He screams. “He’ll kill you if you stay!”
Neil hesitated, frozen for a moment before the demon wearing Eric’s body snarled and started to move towards him, quickly shaking him out of his stupor and running frantically out the door.
Sam turned back when he heard a slam, Dean having just been thrown against the wall. He shouted, turning the demon’s attention onto him while Dean struggled to get off the floor.
This is definitely not how I imagined the plan going, Sam internally sighed, berating himself for not having thought things completely through.
The air rushed out of his lungs as the demon used it’s powers to throw him against the nearest surface, its power pressing down on his chest giving him difficulty breathing.
"Little young to be hunting demons, ain’t ya?" The demon chuckled, looking across from where he had Sam pinned to the counter, and Dean to the wall.
Neither of them answered, instead simply concentrating on getting breath into their lungs.
"Not my usual kinda kill. But I’m gunna have fun tearing you two apart." He smirked, licking his lips in sadistic glee.
Sam rolled his eyes. “Yeah well, we’ve both been to hell, and I spent a year in Lucifer’s cage so I highly doubt that anything you do to us could ever be compared to that.” He scoffed, before he could realise what he was saying.
The demon and Dean were now staring at him in disbelief, the silence stretching for a few moments before Dean shouted “What do you mean 'been to hell'?!”
The demon’s eyes had widened, before he stalked up angrily and grabbing at Sam’s throat with his fist.
"What do you know about Lucifer’s cage? Tell me!" The demon hissed, bringing up the knife that had been clutched in his other hand to lay against Sam’s neck.
Sam simply shook his head, keeping his mouth shut lest he freak Dean out even more with his knowledge of their future.
"Tell me now or I swear I’ll-…"
"Get your filthy hands off my boy."
Three pairs of eyes suddenly turned to face the figure now stood in the doorway of the kitchen, pointing a gun at the demon. The demon laughed, fingers tightening around Sam’s neck as he stared at John in amusement.
"You really think that gun is going to do anything?" It taunted, tilting its head to the side in laughter.
"Nope. But this is…" Sam muttered, quickly pulling out the gun hidden in his jeans before placing a shot right into the demon’s head. It jolted back, surprise colouring his features before they morphed into anger, moving to grab at Sam would had managed to jump out of the way.
The demon wavered, trying to move it’s body but it was stuck, roaring in fury as the body he was in refused to move. Sam smirked.
"Devil’s trap carved into the bullet. Learnt that little trick from Dean when I was captured by a knight of hell." Sam grinned, watching as the demon became more and more furious, not being able to move or smoke out.
Sam ignored the shocked looks on his dad’s and Dean’s faces, and instead he started chanting. "Exorcizamus te, Omnis Immundus Spiritus, Omnis Satanica Potestas, Omnis Incursio Infernalis Adversarii, Omnis Congregatio et Secta Diabolica, Ergo Draco Maledicte, Ut Ecclesiam Tuam Secura, Tibi Facias Libertate Servire, Te Rogamus, Audi Nos!"
With a scream, the smoky darkness left the man’s body, pouring out of him in rivers and burning into the ground, leaving a smouldering mess behind it. Eric’s body collapsed, body already cold as it hit the ground and silence rang through the house.
John was staring at him in shock, Dean in slight horror. Sam hung his head, knowing there was no way he’d explain himself out of this one.
Hopefully they’ll believe that it’s because I’m actually from the future, and not that I’m turning into some sort of freak.
He looked back up, watching as his father took a tentative step towards him.
"Sammy… Wha-"
"Sam!"
Recognising Cas’s voice, Sam’s head whipped to the side to see the trench coated man quickly moving towards him, hand reaching out. Sam spared one last glance at his father and Dean, smiling sadly.
"I love you dad. And I’ll see you soon, Dean." He said, grabbing onto Castiel’s hand before a bright light engulfed them.
- - - - -
"Back in time, huh?" Dean, the present Dean, muttered, wincing as he shifted the bag of ice against his ribs.
Sam nodded, smiling at his brother and handing him a glass of whiskey to take the edge off.
They were back at the bunker now, Cas asleep on Sam’s bed. Bringing Sam back hadn’t been easy, and he’d used a lot of energy that he shouldn’t have even tapped into. Sam made to mental note to make it up to him.
"Yeah. It was a demon case, the first one. Funny thing though, I didn’t ever remember being on that case." Sam frowned, seating himself in a chair.
Dean shrugged. “All I can really remember from that is following you to that house. We ran in when we saw the demon and dad came busting in a few minutes later. It’s a bit fuzzy, but the next thing we knew the demon was gone and you were unconscious on the floor.”
Sam huffed out a laugh, realising now that Cas had probably wiped a little of their memories, only leaving the bare details. At least he’d left John the knowledge of how to take down a demon.
"Friggin’ witches. Hate them sons of bitches…" Dean grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose as a headache started to makes itself known.
Sam smiled, happy to be back in his own time-line and back with Dean.
"Where did you get sent anyway?" Sam questioned, tilting his head.
Dean groaned.
"Madagascar, Sammy. It’s a crap movie, and even crapper in real life."
END