Saving Adie

Chapter 1

"Sorry I'm late." Stan replied, coming into the door. He started putting all of his winter gear away. Steve and Hayley were on the couch, while their mom had just turned on NBC for the 2014 winter Olympics in Sochi. I was in my bowl on the end table. "Traffic was just horrible out there! I didn't miss anything, did I?"

"You're just on time, Dad." Hayley said to her father. "It just started seconds ago." Stan rushed to the couch and sat down between his children.

"Oh thank goodness!" Francine gave her husband a kiss before sitting down on the sofa. Stan turned to his son.

"How was Snot's new game, son?" He asked.

"Mario and Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Winter Games was fun, Dad!" Steve replied. "We lost track of time. I just got back home five minutes before you did."

"Sweet!" Stan paid attention to the TV again. Steve did the same. I spoke up.

"Can one of you move my bowl somewhere else? I don't want to see this." Roger looked at me.

"Again?" He wanted to know. I nodded. I didn't watch it yesterday when some of the events started. Since the 1992 Olympics, I haven't watched it, not even a single sport in it. The Olympics, for me, is just too painful to watch. It gives me the awful memory of being turned into a fish by the CIA before the 1988 Olympics. I don't even watch the summer Olympics. Just the word 'Olympics' takes me back to that fateful day. Plus, with the family chanting ' TEAM U.S.A! TEAM U.S.A!' and me chanting 'TEAM GERMANY, TEAM GERMANY!', it'll just turn into one ugly mess.

"Are you sure, Klaus?" Steve asked. I nodded.

"Ja. I thought this year I could watch it, but no."

"When do you think you can fully enjoy the Olympics?" I shrugged.

"When I turn back into a human I guess."

"That'll never happen." Stan said.

"You just have to put the past behind you." Roger put in. Hayley went to me, grabbed my bowl and started for the stairs.

"You'll be missing out, fish." Roger told me. "Two weeks plus of the world coming together." I sighed.

"I know." I replied.

"So, where to?" Hayley asked, going up the stairs.

"Just set me in your room. I can watch videos on your computer."

"Okay, just don't read my emails and do anything to get me into trouble."

"I won't."

Hayley set me down and I went online as she went back downstairs to join her family.

I didn't see any one of the Smiths again until a few minutes after midnight. Roger came into the room and came up to me.

"Hey fish." He greeted.

"Hey, Rog." I greeted back.

"You missed it. The ending was the only thing that was entertaining with the lighting of the cauldron and the fireworks. The Russian dances telling of Russian history was a snooze fest. Oh yeah, and four out the five of the Olympic rings lit up."

"I don't care." Roger then saw what I was doing.

"What are you doing?"

"Playing Minecraft. Seeing what's all the hub-bub's about."

"Oh." Roger then changed the subject. "You know you're in Hayley's room, right? She'll be really mad if…"

"She knows I'm here. She gave me permission to use her computer."

"Oh." I then looked at him.

"What about you though? Does she know that you're in here?"

"Well, no."

"Then I suggest you get your butt out of here before…"

"ROGER!" We heard Hayley shout. "You better not be in my room!"

"NO I'M NOT!" He shouted back. "I'M JUST TAKING KLAUS AWAY!" He grabbed my bowl. "Come on, fish. If I can't be in Hayley's room, nobody can." He began to take me away.

"Just let me save and get out of the game." Too late, we were already out of the room. I did a sigh. "Or not."

As he carried me downstairs, he spoke to me.

"Oh, and after the ceremony, Stan told us some news." I looked at him.

"What?"

"The CIA made the DeLoreon that Stan made a few years ago into a time machine." My eyes bulged with interest.

"Really, a time machine?"

"Yeah, like in Back to the Future films. Anyways, if you drive it at a certain amount of speed, you can go to anywhere at any given time you want."

"Does it work?"

"Yeah. Stan, Avery and some other guys gave it a test run and went back to the very first Olympics in Greece in 776 BC, the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and Abe Lincoln's Gettysburg Address in 1865."

"Wow!" This got me thinking. What if I went back to 1986 to prevent my human self from taking orders from the CIA? Then I will never have to live in this stupid fish body and be forced to live with the Smiths. I laughed to myself evilly. This was a wundarbar plan; it was foolproof! Roger looked at me.

"I just gave you an idea, didn't I?"

"Yep, you did!" Roger sighed.

"Well, I'm sorry. Whatever it is, forget it!"

"Too late; it's already lodged into my brain and there it will stay until I put it into action."

"Why can't you just be a regular goldfish?"

"Because the CIA transplanted my brain into…."

"I know. You're thinking of using the time machine and go back to when the CIA did the brain transplant."

"Ja! How did you know?" Roger shrugged.

"Just a hunch. You know Stan won't let you do this." My eyes grew wide. Crap! Now that Roger knows my plan, he'll blab it to Stan and I'll never see this plan through. Dummkoph! Why did I tell Roger that was my plan? I gave him a lame smile.

"You're not going to tell him, are you?" I already knew the answer, but I asked him anyway.

"You know I can't keep a secret. If you really wanted to go through with this without his knowing, then you shouldn't have told me that was your plan." I lowered my head in shame.

"I know."

"But maybe I won't tell Stan if you take me with you." I just looked at him.

"Take you with me? Why?" Roger shrugged.

"Well, this sounds more fun then watching people win medals. And plus, you can't drive yourself stupid! How do you expect to get there? So, what's it going to be? Remember, if I go with you, I won't tell Stan."

I hesitated. I didn't really want to take Roger, but I didn't want him to blab this to Stan either and he was right; I can't drive. I sighed and held up my fin for a shake.

"Deal." He shook it. Not only did he shake my fin, he shook my entire body as well!

"Stop it!" I cried. "Stop shaking me!"

"Oops!" He said and put me back into my cup.

"So, you don't mind missing some of the Olympics over this?" I asked when I was no longer dizzy.

"Yeah, I don't care. Summer or Winter Olympics, they're nearly the same, minus the snow and the activities, so I guess they are different. So, when are we going to put your mastermind plan into effect?" I smiled mischievously.

"Tomorrow when the rest of the family is watching the Olympics."

"Don't you mean today?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's after midnight. Any time at and after midnight is the next day. So if you want to wait tomorrow, we got to wait until after midnight tonight." I glared at him, irritated.

"Do you want to come or not?! We'll do it when the Smiths are watching the Olympics and when I say so!" Roger waved his hands in defense.

"Whoa, whoa; okay, when you say so. Sheesh; were you always this grumpy when you were human?"

"Okay Rog, now!" I told him as we were in our winter gear and saw the other family members were watching day one of the Olympics from the corridor. Roger, who was carrying me in my hamster ball, went down the stairs. He was about to open the door when Stan spoke up.

"Roger; you're just in time! Day one of the Olympics is about to start. Get rid of Klaus and join us." Roger shook his head.

"That's okay." He said. He went for the doorknob.

"Why not?" Steve asked.

"Because I got something to do."

"Do you want us to tape it for you?"

"No; you can tell me what I've missed when I get back."

"Where are you taking Klaus?" Francine wanted to know. Roger hesitated.

"I…uh…" Stan stood up and put his hands on his hips.

"You didn't tell Klaus about the DeLoreon time machine and you two are going to try to prevent the CIA from transporting Klaus' brain to a goldfish, are you?"

"Uh… " I put my fins together. Please Roger! Don't blow this for me! "No? But

you just did." Stan slapped himself in the face.

"Well, you're not going to do it, are you? Because if you do, I'll be mad. You know I won't allow Klaus back into his body, especially after what happened last time.

"Don't worry Stan; I wouldn't dream of doing that."

"Then, what are you going to do with Klaus then?"

"I…uh…" Stan just looked at Roger. I slapped myself in the face with a fin. I knew this wouldn't work. I was in trouble now. Why did I ever put my trust into someone like Roger? Stan is too smart to fall for this. Why do I even try?

Then suddenly, to my surprise, Stan sighed in relief.

"Well…, okay!" He said. He sat back down. "As long as Klaus didn't convince you to go steal the DeLoreon from the CIA and go back to that time period." Roger did a nervous laugh.

"Riiigghhhhhttttt."

"Where are you going?" Francine asked again.

"Uh…Klaus needs more fish food so I'm going to PetSmart to buy some."

"Why are you taking Klaus with you then? Can't you go yourself? And why are you going to PetSmart, why not a grocery store like Rainbow or Cu…"

"Gotta go; bye!" Roger and I were out the door before Francine could finish. Roger closed the door.

"Well, that was close." He observed.

"Ja!" I agreed. "For a moment, I thought you were going to blow our cover." Roger looked at me.

"Just shut up or I'll march back in there and tell Stan." I saluted.

"Roger that, Roger!"

When we were in the CIA, we searched for the DeLoreon everywhere, but we couldn't find it.

"How hard can it be to find one stinkin' DeLoreon!?" Roger said.

"It looks like we can't find it, can we?" I said and shrugged. "Well, I guess we can just go home; my plan just got ruined. It was stupid to begin with. To think this was all going to work out. I should know by now that all my plans sink," I sighed sadly. "Und sadly, so has this one."

Roger then shivered like he was cold.

"It is just me or did it suddenly got cold in here?" He asked me.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "I'm in here so I don't feel a thing. I think it's just yo…" The wind then picked up. We screamed as we were suddenly picked up. Roger flew into the wall. He grabbed onto me before I could smack into the wall, which would've smashed my ball into pieces, which would've made me start the fight of my life.

"WHERE DID THAT STRONG WIND COME FROM?!" I yelled over the wind.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Roger shouted back. "HOLD ON!"

"TO WHAT?!" Just then the wind stopped. Roger stood up.

"Finally; it's over with."

"Roger; look!" I said. Roger saw me point a fin at a green portal that materialized out of nowhere. Out of it, came a DeLoreon. We watched as the car dropped to the floor. Agent Duper then stepped out. He held his hand for somebody and a woman emerged with 70's clothing. They then went off, laughing. They also walked like they were both drunk.

"You think that's the time machine?" Roger asked. I just glared at him, irritated. If I weren't in this ball, I would've smacked him.

"Ja, it's the time machine!" He held up his hands in defense.

"Okay! I was just asking because that woman could've been from a 70's party!"

"Then explain the portal and the strong wind!" I rolled to the car.

"Well the wind from outside could've picked up. How the car was in the air and emerged from a portal that materialized out of nowhere, I don't know." He went beside me. I turned to him, teary eyed with joy. I looked at the car and hugged the tire of it as best as I could.

"Isn't this beautiful, Roger?" I asked him. "All of these years and the answer to my problems is here now in front of us."

"Yeah!" Roger said (I knew he didn't mean it). "It sure is something!" I turned to him again. "And doesn't Duper have a wife?" I shrugged.

"Let's get in it!" Roger then grabbed me and we got into it. I marveled at all the buttons. "Holy shoot; look at all these buttons!" I pointed at a button from random. "Press that button." Roger looked at me like I was crazy.

"What?! You can't press any button you want! What if it's a self-destruct button?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"What kind of dummkoph would install a self- destruct button in a beauty such as this? This would've taken Stan years to build and you think the CIA made a button that will cause its own destruction?"

"You're right." He was about to press it when he asked another question. "What if it's a seat-ejection button?" I sighed.

"Just press it."

"Okay, okay! I kind of hope it is and I hope it's you that gets ejected." He pressed the button and prepared for the worst. I sighed. What a baby!

Then out popped cup holders, each with plastic cups already in them. There were also plastic straws and plastic lids. He opened his eyes and looked at them. I pretended a gasp.

"Oh no!" I faked. "Cup holders with the cups already in them. Run for your life!" I burst out laughing.

"Knock it off!" He barked.

"I'm sorry, but it's just so funny!" I stopped laughing and wiped my brow.

Then I looked at a screen. It was like a soda machine you might see at a restaurant nowadays.

"Hey!" Roger pointed out. "We get free fountain drinks; sweet!" He looked at all the drink choices.

"Darn it!" He cursed. "No wine."

"Probably smart." I told him. "The CIA most likely didn't install it because they didn't want people to drive while intoxicated. You could get pulled over for that and you might die or kill someone else you know."

"Fine, if I can't have any alcohol in my system, then I'll have…" He thought a few moments, and typed what he wanted into the machine. Pepsi came out. He started drinking. Next came my turn. I did the same thing, except I chose orange soda.

We sat there for a while, just drinking our drinks when Roger spoke up. "Well, we better get going." I put the straw deep into my drink before closing it and placing it into my cup holder.

Four knobs were under the screen. Under the knobs told us what each one did. One: month, two: day, three: year, and four: Location. By the fourth knob was another screen with a keyboard under it. Under that was a lever.

"Okay," Roger began, cracking his knuckles. "Where do we want to go?"

"The year 1986." I told him. "The Swiss Alps in Switzerland. January 7th." Roger then realized something.

"There wasn't a Winter Olympics in 1986."

"I know. It was a goof. The author made it 1988 instead. I was just practicing in 1986." He nodded and turned knobs and typed on the keypad.

"Where exactly in the Swiss Alps? What mountain? What time?" I shrugged.

"How the heck should I know? Try, 'the place where Klaus Heissler's brain was transplanted into a goldfish.' Und do one minute to ten in the morning." Roger just looked at me. I was confused. "What?" Roger ignored me and just typed it in.

"Wait!" I shouted at him as he was about to press the lever. He looked at me. "Seatbelts." He nodded.

"Right. Almost forgot in all of my excitement. Thank you." He buckled himself in. He was about to press it again when I piped up again. "Hold me tight so I don't fly forwards and crash." He sighed and grabbed me. "Anything else?"

"No. I'm good. You can pull the lever now." He pulled the lever.

Suddenly, we felt the car lift up off the ground. Through the window, we could see the portal again. We screamed as we felt the strong winds again as we zoomed in.

We landed in the snow and looked at our cup holders. Surprisingly, our cups were still there in one piece. We then looked at our surroundings. To our left were Avery, a younger Stan, and the member of the CIA with the transplant machine with the dead fish on it. To our right was the ski lift.

"Did we do it right?" Roger asked. "Are we at the right location on the exact day in the exact year at the exact time?"

"I think so." I replied. "If I'm right, my human self should be arriving just about…" I then saw a man come up the ski lift but not just any man; it was me, 28 years ago. "Now!"