Chapter Text
Krissy Chambers knew she was in trouble when the rugaru vanished.
How could she just let it get away, she knew better than that!
But it troubled her - the rugaru had vanished virtually in front of her eyes. She had never seen any lore indicating that ability. She hoped she be able to get an answer from the bunker before it killed again.
On her way back to the bunker, the evening’s events wouldn't leave her mind. She was going to be up all night if she couldn't find some answers quickly. *she glanced at the clock on the dash * 9:46 *...it might be too late to make some calls. Hopefully, she could find something in the library.
Sam nodded as Krissy walked through into the kitchen. "Any luck?" he asked?
"Hardly," Krissy says gruffly as she opened the fridge. "Sam? This going to sound crazy, but have you ever heard of a rugaru just...vanish? Like there one second gone the next?"
Sam looked up from his salad, fork poised in the air. His forehead creased. "No, that's definitely new." He chewed thoughtfully. "Did it vanish all at once? Or, I dunno, slow, like a Cheshire cat?"
Krissy turned to glower at him. "What difference would that make?"
Sam's mouth twisted up at the corner. "None - but it would look cool, right?"
Krissy rolled her eyes and made a face at Sam.
"You're such a dork, Sam." She turned to open the fridge looking for anything but salad. "Do we have anything but rabbit food?"
Dean stepped through the kitchen door, "I've been asking myself the same thing," he tossed a fast food bag on the table. "Dig in, Kiddo." Krissy grabbed two burgers from the bag and tossed one at Dean. Dean took a bite and put it in his cheek, "so, what's up?"
"Krissy says the rugaru she was hunting disappeared," Sam says with a smile.
"Oh really?" Dean asks around another bite, "Disappear like magic 'poof'? Or disappear like that cat thing from Alice in Wonderland...what was that thing cheese...chest..."
"Cheshire," Sam chuckles. "That's what I asked, she hasn't answered." Sam leans his chin on his fist in mock interest, "so, tell us, Krissy, how did it disappear?"
"Look, you guys, I had my butane torch ready to light, I took a step forward, and the damn rugaru was gone. It wasn't slow, it wasn't fast, just gone. So have you ever heard of that or not?"
"Nope. I'll start looking through the library for any lore," Sam said as he rose from the table. As he started past, he put a hand on Krissy's shoulder, "other than the disappearing rugaru, you okay?"
"I'd say you were very, very lucky." An unfamiliar voice accompanied a huge cloud of wavy hair into the room. The doorway had been empty, but now a slender blonde stood facing them. Dean and Sam turned towards the strange woman, casually stretching to reach hidden weapons if needed, poised and ready, but calm.
Krissy looked the stranger up and down - she was dressed in jeans and a denim jacket, but had an odd leather brace on her wrist with buttons she was staring at. The woman looked up and smiled warmly at the three startled hunters.
"You were lucky, because that was not a Rugaru, and fire would not have killed it."
"So, what was it, and who the Hell are you?" Dean asked gruffly.
"It resembled a weevil, but I'm not quite sure." She smirked up at Dean, then put her hand out to shake. "Professor River Song. And you are Dean Winchester. Stepped into any devil's traps lately?" The woman winked a Krissy.
"Umm, Professor Song? How did you manage to get in here? This place is..." Sam is interrupted by River.
"Warded, yes I know...Spoilers." River smiled largely at them all. "I'm not a demon, if that's what you're thinking." Krissy and the boys exchanged glances, "Not an angel either. You’re Sam, right?" she said, reaching out her hand again.
Krissy was getting a good read on this stranger, she thought. She seemed sassy, and she was not intimidated by the tall men flanking her. She looked tired though, and maybe a little wistful.
Krissy nodded at her, and snarked up at Dean. "Yeah, old man, have those traps been giving you any trouble lately? I heard you spent a couple of extra hours in the garage the other morning."
She grinned as he scowled, and turned to the woman. "Hey, you hungry? I've got an extra burger."
"Thank you, Krissy! Yes, I'm famished!"
"Hey! I was gonna eat that!" Dean said. "You still haven't answered my brother's question, lady. Maybe before you eat other people's food you could tell them how you got here and why you're here. And for your information, Krissy, I was spending some quality time with Baby."
"Ah, yes" began Professor Song. "I suppose I do owe you some answers. Feel free to call me River," she smiles at Krissy. "Let's see...River Song, I'm from the future, and I came to help you save the universe."
Dean and Sam groaned, looking weary. "Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt." Dean growled. "What is it now?"
River looked at him blankly, then grinned widely at Krissy. "Have you ever noticed, my dear, that when big tough men are in the room, they think it is all about them? No, Dean, I didn't come to help YOU save the universe. I came to help Krissy do it."
Krissy gulped.
Dean let out a snort. "I'm sorry, crazy lady, but Krissy isn't going anywhere with you. She's with us, it's our job to keep her safe."
Sam elbowed Dean, which made him grunt and his eyes flashed black, "I'm sorry about my brother, River, he forgets his manners sometimes. What he's trying to say is that wherever Krissy goes, we go."
Krissy hadn't moved a muscle since River dropped the bomb on her. "Umm...how am I supposed to save the universe? I'm not anybody special...those two," she pointed with her thumb at the boys, "those are the guys who save the world. I just hunt the small things. I can't take on something as massive as the end of the universe...that's...that's huge!"
Krissy started to wobble a bit and Sam was suddenly right there behind her with a chair. "Whoa there, kiddo...sit down a minute...that's a lot to take in, but I promise, whatever it is that needs to be done we'll help you with it." He looked up at Dean who hadn't taken his eyes off River, "won't we, Dean?
"Yea, don't worry about it Krissy. It's always the end of the world somewhere. Or the universe, I guess." Dean rolled his eyes, and leaned in a little over River Song. "So tell me, again, exactly how did you get in here? And why should we listen to you?"
River swallowed her bite of burger and licked sauce off two fingers. She seemed totally disinterested in Dean's aggressive posturing. She casually flicked the leather armband opened and nodded to the display screen and lights inside. "I got here with my trusty vortex manipulator. I won it off a very handsome man in a card game a few years ago. I think you would have liked him, Dean. I find it quite handy." She grinned at them.
"And what, pray tell, is a vortex manipulator?" Dean's temper was thin - he was using a terrible imitation accent. He ignored the comment about the handsome man.
"A tool to manipulate the time vortex." River chuckled. "OK, hold your temper. It's like my personal TARDIS - it lets me travel anywhere in time and space. I came here on the track of a very unusual weevil - the creature your young friend mistook for a rugaru? I managed to get a small tracker onto Krissy's shoe, and I transported myself here. But, unlike Krissy, on my timeline, I just left the cave."
Krissy sat down and looked at the bottom of her shoes. On her right shoe, a wad of fluorescent orange chewing gum stretched off slowly to reveal a small round blue bead with an odd glow to it.
Sam looked from the gum glob to River, "I'm sorry Professor Song, but…"
"You can call me River, Sweetie." She says with a wink to the younger Winchester.
"Okay, River, we don't have any idea what you're talking about...vortex, TAR...um...TARDIS...none of that makes any sense to any of us. Could you please explain it in detail?"
"That could take a while. It might be a whole lot simpler to show you. Are you three ready to come with me?"
The Winchesters looked at each other. Weird was their normal, and Krissy was a damn good hunter in her own right. Coming to an apparent agreement after eyebrows had quirked and lips had twitched, they turned in unison to the young woman who was staring at the little blue bead.
"What do you think, kiddo?" Dean asked softly. "Shall we go see what Farrah is talking about? You don't have to do this alone."
Krissy looked at the professor, in her denim and boots. The woman looked tough as nails, but also warm and caring. Her eyes were soft, holding Krissy's glance with a twinkle that somehow held a trace of sorrow.
"It's a lot to take in, I know." River said softly. "And it's going to get stranger the further we go. But I believe you can do this, Krissy."
"Umm...okay, I guess," replies Krissy in a quiet voice looking at her hands in her lap. "As long as Sam and Dean can come with me. I don't think I can take on something as big as the end of the universe without them."
River smiled as she stepped over to Krissy and gently lifts her chin, "Sweetie, believe me, you can do this yourself, but it's always good to have people you care for by your side. If we do this correctly, I may get the chance to tell you my story, but for now, you should know that I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for the people I love."
"Are we finished with the Lifetime movie special?" asked Dean sarcastically. "Let's go save the Universe."
River set down the remaining burger, with a look of regret. “Boys, Krissy, we all need to be in physical contact for this to work properly. Each of you gentlemen can take my elbow, then put an arm around Krissy and hold her tight. Let me get these settings finished.” She tapped busily at the panel in the leather wrist band, and looked up with a blinding smile. “Are we ready?” she asked, finger hovering over a touchpad.
Krissy nodded, and wrapped her arms around River. The blonde was surprised, but gave her a gentle hug before reaching behind her for the wristband. She looked up questioningly at the two brothers, who shrugged. They stepped closer and embraced the two women. “I don't think you'll like this part.” She said dryly.
“It’s got to be better than Angel Express.” Dean snarked. “I hate that, I always get constip….”
The bunker was suddenly empty.
“Alright, it’s alright, we're here.” River said to the trembling dark haired girl. Dean and Sam held on for a moment, too dizzy to stand on their own. Sam peeked for a moment, then shut his eyes as another wave hit him. They were in a long office type room, with dark windows outside. He thought it looked like some kind of lab, based on the equipment he’d seen. Out beyond some buildings he saw the top of a huge ferris wheel that his photo-perfect memory placed as the London Eye.
“Right, then, River. Who’re this lot?” A pretty brunette in a lab coat tilted her head back to look up as Sam disentangled himself to stretch. Her pony tail bobbed back as her chin raised up, and up, to look over Sam. “I thought you said we needed a ‘hunter’ named Krissy?”
“I’m here.” Krissy said, looking around. “These are my… well, they're my family.”
“I’m Molly.” The woman said briskly. “And we have to hurry.” She turned away and started walking down an aisle between the cubicles and desks. Ahead of her, the hunters saw the oddest sight.
“Why have you got a ‘60’s-ish police box in your lab?” Sam’s encyclopedic memory constantly surprised even Dean, who stared at him for a moment with the others.
River and Molly grinned at each other. “It’s not a police box.” said Molly.
“It’s the TARDIS.” River waved her hand at the narrow doors like a magician’s assistant, “Ta Da”.
Dean glowered. “OK Vanna, but we still don’t know what a Tardis is……
Molly knocked on the doors, and a sharp voice called out, “It’s about time! We’re la…” A slender, tall woman with red hair looked out from the doorway. Her nose wrinkled as she looked over the unexpected men accompanying River, Molly, and Krissy. “What are these Yanks doing here?” she frowned.
“Don’t worry, mother, they may come in handy.” River gave a peck on the red-head’s cheek as she led them into the box.
Sam, Dean, and Krissy exchange incredulous looks. There is no way that woman could be River's mother. Dean took no time in speaking his mind. "Okay, while I would never want to be the one complaining about being surrounded by attractive women, I would like to know what the Hell is going on here? What the Hell is a TARDIS? And how the Hell is that woman your mother?"
Ignoring Dean's rant, River crossed the short distance to Krissy's side and smiled at her. She took her hand and led her back towards the TARDIS and the woman she called Mother. "Here she is, Mother. Krissy Chambers. This girl is going to change everything! She can do it, Mother. She can get to the Doctor."
Krissy gulped, "I really don't think I can be much help. I'm just a kid. I really think that Dean and Sam could help more than I can. They're the best hunters I know!"
The red-headed girl looked Krissy up and down, eyebrows quirked. She reached forward to shake Krissy’s hand. “I'm Amy Pond. We all have a lot to discuss.” She grinned stepped backwards, tugging Krissy through the door of the Police Box and up a surprisingly long ramp inside.
Krissy’s eyes were trained on her face when they entered, but it was quickly obvious something was weird. She refocused her eyes to the wall behind Amy and gasped.
Everyone had walked into the box, but she saw that Molly and River marched right on up to a large several sided – table? Sam and Dean had stopped short about 4 feet in. When the doors closed behind them, Dean jumped.
“What the Hell is going on here?” he squeaked. His gruff voice seemed to have deserted him, and his eyes turned completely black as he reached into his jacket. Sam grabbed his arm, and held it in a vice like grip.
“Dean, tell me you did NOT bring that damned thing with you! Calm down – no-one has hurt us or threatened us.”
“They had to have cast some kind of spell, Sammy. Things like this don’t just happen.” But Dean slowly dropped his hand away from the hidden weapon. Sam released his arm, but still watched him carefully.
River, Molly and Amy all looked at each other smugly. “Well?” said Amy. “Exactly what do you make of this, boys?”
Sam looked around slowly. “Is the door locked, or can we go back out?”
Amy smirked. “Sure, go ahead. Everyone does.”
Sam pulled Dean back out through the doorway, and closed it. They looked at the blue wooden structure. It stood out from the wall, not quite far enough to walk around, but far enough that they could see each other’s baffled faces when they looked behind it. They walked to the front door, and opened it – seeing how much farther the interior extended than was in any way possible to what they knew of the world, even the supernatural. Sam’s face began to look like Christmas had come early, and Dean rolled his eyes multiple times as they walked up the ramp to the women waiting there.
“Oh what now, geek? Don’t tell me, this makes sense to you? In what world would this make sense?” Dean muttered under his breath, holding a slightly fake smile on his face.
Sam grinned. “I think that’s the point, Dean. To coin a phrase, ‘they’re not from around here’, are you?” He looked at the ladies.
“I grew up in London.” Molly said flatly.
“I grew up in Leadworth.” Amy grinned.
“Well, to be fair, I grew up a little bit of everywhere, but also in Leadworth.” River winked at Amy.
“But all of this – it’s not… from here.” Sam grinned. His voice was gaining confidence. “That Vortex Manipulator, you said it can go anywhere in time and space. And you brought us from Kansas to London?”
River nodded encouragingly.
“So…. This is the TARDIS? And it’s manipulating dimensions, right? Including the inside of this –thing – relative to the outside of it?” Sam was grinning like a fool.
Dean met Krissy’s eyes and rolled his elaborately. They were green again, at least. His little brother in full geek-out mode was somehow reassuring.
River gave Sam a high five. “So, Sam Winchester – welcome to the TARDIS, which stands for…” Sam held up a finger.
“I’ve just about got it worked out. Time, and Relative Dimensions…” the tall young man glanced down at River and raised his hands in a shrug.
“IN SPACE” Amy, Molly and River chorused at him.
"Like, outer space, not just on Earth. As I understand it, this handy ship can actually take us to other universes." Molly seemed a little impatient.
The three women took positions around the central table, upon which Krissy saw dials and buttons, an antique phone with one of those squiggly cords, some kind of scanner – oodles of junk in a hodgepodge that made no sense but seemed very deliberate. A fat tube ran from the ceiling down through the center the console, made of some kind of glass. It had a blue glow in it that reminded her of River’s tracking bead and seemed to be pulsing regularly. The women were all adjusting various thingies and whatsits, then River looked around at everyone. “Ready? She asked. No one answered, but she pulled down on a set of brass bars and a sound like the slow heartbeat of a star was heard.
Then nothing happened. Krissy giggled. River grinned, then nodded her chin towards the doors. “Take a look outside, kiddo.” She smiled.
Krissy dashed down the ramp to the doors and looked through the window panes. A chaotic swirl of light in ever changing colors pushed against the glass like flame. It looked like what she had closed her eyes against tightly when holding onto River.
“We're going to be here for a little bit, so I think we have time to get acquainted.”
Dean peeked over Krissy's shoulder, "What the Hell?" He turns around looking at Sam, "apparently, we're flying! Through what, I don't know. I'm done. It was very nice to meet you ladies," he winks at Amy. "But I like both my feet on solid ground, and I could really use a drink right about now. So, if you wouldn't mind taking us back, that'd be great!"
"The way you got here is a much more frightening way to travel," River stated. "Traveling that way, you have a higher chance of being dropped in the time stream."
"Just ignore him," Sam chuckled. "Dean's afraid of flying."
"Not afraid, I just like my feet on the ground where they belong," Dean whispered through clenched teeth. "If I was meant to fly, I'd have wings."
"Trust me, Dean, the TARDIS is perfectly safe," River smiles at the console. "Aren't you, you beautiful girl." The TARDIS made a whirring sound as if responding to River. "As I was saying, now would be an ideal time to become acquainted with everyone and the task at hand."
River gestured to a stairway at the edge of the platform, curving up to an open doorway. “Let’s retire to the library, shall we?”
Molly shook her head a little, with a small frown. “Really, River, I think I should be getting back to the lab. I have a few more ideas on tests to run on that specimen Amy caught yesterday.”
The tall red-head shuddered. “Better you than me.” Molly left the control platform on a different side, where a stairway led down. Sam was fascinated by the glass floor and the shapes of equipment and gleaming flickers of light he saw under Molly’s sensible heels as she stalked away from the group. Looking back up, odd organic looking arches reached high to a ceiling that appeared to consist of several concentric rings of bright copper, through the center of which the odd column of gleaming bluish light seemed to rise like a pillar. When he glanced around, Krissy was following the peculiarly-related women up the first stairway. He glanced at Dean and they both trailed after the women, gawking at the odd environment as they went.
Down a hallway, past a turn, and through an archway, they found themselves in a very comfortable looking library. Books and objects filled shelves radiating out in several directions. One set of shelves held glass jugs, filled with more of that soft blue light. It reminded Sam a little of the light shed by Angels when their grace leaked out, but clearly it was some part of this other-worldly technology.
A low leather sofa and some of overstuffed chairs and an ottoman made for a cozy seating area. A matronly woman in a classic pale pink sweater set and dark skirt was carrying in a tray from the other side of the room. It was hard to see how large the room was, it seemed to shift when they weren't looking at it.
“Here you go, my dears. I’m sure that some nice hot tea will be welcome after all the excitement you've had. There are fresh ginger biscuits and some Madeleines if you are peckish.” Her face looked kind and worn, with a mischievous intelligence sparkling in her eyes. “Please don’t expect this kind of treatment often. I’m definitely NOT the housekeeper of this amazing vessel.”
“Thank you so much, Mrs. Hudson. These look lovely!” said River, helping to set the items from the tray out on the low table in the middle of the seating area.
“Please dear, call me Martha.” She looked up, and up into Sam’s face and smiled. “And who is this lovely couple?” she said, gesturing at Sam and Dean.
“I’m Sam Winchester, and…” Krissy jumped in and cut him off with a sly twinkle. “And this is Dean Winchester, and my name is Krissy Chambers.”
“Oh, lovely, you’re married? How long? How did you meet?” The older woman’s eyes were alight with lively interest, looking at the two tall good-looking men.
Dean gave Krissy a not-so-gentle push towards a chair, and held his hand out to shake Mrs. Hudson’s. “Sam’s known me all his life, ma'am. He’s my little brother.”
Sam laughed. “Little….”
Martha Hudson looked a bit disappointed, then shrugged. “Well, it is lovely to meet you both.” She took one of the straight backed chairs from a nearby table and joined the circle.
As tea was served out, and everyone settled back, Amy began to explain the dire situation, and exactly why they needed Krissy’s help.
“We aren't sure exactly what has happened, or who is behind it. But my husband Rory went missing about 2 weeks ago, without any word. I searched everywhere that I could think of, but nothing seemed to stand out, until I snooped on his laptop and got into his email.”
“And you know he really won't be happy about that, mother.” River grimaced.
“Well, at least I was able to guess his password – 'Melody'! Seriously, the man deserved to be hacked!” Amy flipped her red hair and pouted at the blonde woman, who actually appeared about 5 years older than the ginger woman she kept calling mother. “Anyway, I found an email from a Dr. John Watson, urging Rory to bring ‘his concerns’ to 221B Baker Street in London for a consult. When I got there, the door was off its hinges, and there were police everywhere in the flat. Mrs. Hudson was very kind, if sort of distraught. She recognized Rory from his picture, and said that he had been upstairs with her lodgers, and then some huge flash of light had erupted, and when she went up to see if everything was ok, all three men were gone.”
“That’s right, dear, it was so distressing. They didn't come down the stairs, or leave the apartment as far as anyone could see. But they were gone. Except for their shoes.”
“Right – that was really odd – I got a chance to go up after the police left, Mrs. H sort of insisted that we sneak past the crime scene tape.” Amy looked a bit pink, but winked at Martha. “And there were three pairs of shoes on the floor. A pair of dress black oxfords were in front of a wing-backed chair in front of a window, about a foot and a half apart. A pair of boots were in front of the facing chair, but the left shoe was on the wrong side, like the person’s legs had been crossed. Martha said those were John’s. And of course I recognized Rory’s trainers, sitting in front of the small sofa against the wall.”
Sam looked at Amy. Dean snorted. “Are you going to ‘drop the other shoe’?” he asked. “Who owned the first pair of shoes – the dress black oxfords?”
“Well, those were Sherlock’s, dear, of course.” Mrs. Hudson’s eyebrows were raised. “Sherlock Holmes. You know, the consulting detective?”
Krissy’s jaw dropped. She saw the same shock on Sam and Dean’s face.
“Sherlock Fricking Holmes??? You have GOT to be kidding me!” said Dean, frowning.