This is a rewrite of a story I started a few years ago for Meet the Robinsons. The first stab at the story was really hard to swallow, but back then I was too proud to admit it. So I started the second chapter, then forgot all about it, then after moving computers, and my current computer getting its hard drive fried, I no longer have the second chapter I started. The story has collected dust for a few years, but with my recent obtainment of the Meet the Robinsons Xbox 360 game, I have been inspired to restart the story, but give it a serious rewrite. There are gonna be some major changes this go around. Thanks to MaskedxMaestro for the help. One final note: this story has a few headcanons, such as Billie being Franny's adopted sister, Art being Franny's biological brother, Billie not being married (nor does that guy exist), and Franny, Art, and Billie's last name being Rana (Spanish for Frog. Makes sense, does it not?) Anyway, here we go.
Chapter One
He walked down the old dirt road as he brushed his brown hair out of his eyes. He wore a black T shirt with faded blue jeans, and white sneakers. A black backpack slung lazily on his shoulder, full of various odds and ins he'd picked up, as you never know when an old wire coat hanger or an abandoned screwdriver may come in handy.
He sighed, shaking his head. Another job gone. He didn't know what it was, but his ability to hold a job was hindered by some of the worst luck a person can have. It was a regular thing for him to get a job, then lose it soon thereafter to some major accident that, more often than not, wasn't his fault. But his long struggle for stable employment had taught him nothing if not self reliance. And now here he was, walking down this road with no real destination in mind. If a hover car neared, he'd raise his thumb, but thus far, none of them had even thought about stopping.
One car that drove by managed to kick up some dust in his face. His nose tingled, indicating a coming sneeze. He turned away from the road, prepared his arm in front of his face, and just before his eyes shut, he thought he saw something. He finished his sneezes then looked at what he thought he had seen. There was a billboard above him. It was copper brown, playing a simple animation of a train, with its engine puffing out some fluffy white smoke, forming letters to spell out "Third Annual Train Convention. November third through the fifth. All welcome, no tickets needed! All Aboard!" He checked his watch to see the date: November Third. David's eyes lit up.
"Maybe someone there is hiring!" He mused, and looked at the billboard again for a location, or how far it was. His heart sank when he saw it; eighty miles. How was he gonna walk eighty miles in less than one day, let alone three?
…
Meanwhile, not far away, a car was gliding smoothly through the air. It was a red and blue car with a fancy R emblazoned on the sides. Inside of the car sat two souls. The first was a robot with a yellow metal body. He had long, lanky arms, a square head, and eyes that could zoom out of his head like camera lenses. He drove the car smoothly through the air. His companion was a young lady in a sky blue dress with train track patterns on it. Upon her curly brown hair rested a bright blue conductor hat, said curly brown hair had a rising swoop in the front, and she wore a white shirt under her dress. She wore big black gloves and knee high black boots. It was very hard for her to sit still, the excitement very real.
"You excited?" asked the robot as he drove the car.
"You bet I am, Carl!" announced the woman next to him, bouncing a bit like an excited child, "For the last two years I didn't get to go, but now it's real! I'm going to the train convention!"
"You sure are, Billie." said Carl, liking Billie's Enthusiasm. "And we get to ride in Cornelius' personal company car to boot. I'm actually surprised, he doesn't let anyone drive it!"
"Least of all Wilbur." said Billie with a giggle, remembering how grounded he was over the time machine.
"He doesn't even let Wilbur sit in the driver's seat of this baby." Carl added. Everything was going smoothly, until the gentle purr of the engine suddenly clicked off.
"Uh oh." Said Carl.
"Uh oh?" asked Billie, "what do you mean uh oh?"
"The engine just died on us…" Admitted Carl. And now, the car was careening towards the ground, where a lone figure walked along on a dirt road. The only thing Carl could think to do to warn them was to honk the horn.
…
David had given up hope on going to the convention and had continued his walk, still not sure of where he was going. Suddenly, the sound of a blaring horn sharply entered his ears. David turned around, just in time to see a car falling out of the sky, straight at him! He dove to the side, just in time for the car to slam into the ground. The car left some good divots in the dirt road at the point of impact, and slowly slid to a stop. David coughed the dust out of his throat and ran over to it. He saw a yellow robot sitting inside, and next to it, a spring and some slots where a seat used to be. David knocked on the window. The robot looked at him, before rolling down the window.
"You okay?" the robot asked.
"Me?" asked David, "I think you should be less worried about me, and more worried about whoever was in that spot." Carl's head snapped to wear Billie was supposed to be, only to see the lack of her or the seat she was sitting in.
"Oh no!" cried the robot, "I accidentally hit the ejector seat button!" David looked around, maybe they landed nearby. Suddenly the sound of screaming filled his ears. He looked up, just in time to see a young lady falling from the sky. David ran to where she was going to land and put his arms out, just in time for her to land in them. The woman was shaking, and she'd grabbed him out of instinct. David stole a glance at her; man was she gorgeous.
"Th-thank you sir!" she cried. She checked herself, and ran her fingers through her hair, then stopped, patting her head. "My hat!" she cried, "where is my-" before she could finish, a bright blue hat fell out of the sky and landed on her head, as if she'd put it on normally. If that had been a video on the internet, David figured it would've taken a thousand tries for that to go right.
"You alright, ma'am?" David asked her.
"Y-yes." she managed. David felt a bit awkward carrying her. She smelled nice, and David was bashful for his own grooming.
"You can put her down now." Said Carl, coming closer. David did so.
"What happened?" He asked Carl.
"We were going along in our hover car," said Carl, "when the engine cut out. We were going at a good clip, so it's amazing no one was hurt." David walked over to the car.
"Let's have a look see." He said, lifting the hood.
"While he's doing that," said Carl, "I'm gonna see if I can call Cornelius." Carl attempted to call his creator with his built in phone. It rang twice before going to his voicemail.
"This is Cornelius Robinson." said the Answering machine, "Sorry, but I'm away from my desk right now. Please leave your name and number and I'll get back to you when I can." Then there was a beep, indicating Carl to leave a message.
"Yeah, hi, Carl Here." Carl began, "I hate to say it, but we...the car died on us while we were driving and we crashed it. We're not hurt but-"
"Done." said David, shutting the hood. Carl was so surprised by the news that he accidentally hung up.
"But how?" asked Carl. He opened the hood and checked David's handywork. One of the gears was broken, but it looked like he'd mended it with a wire coat hanger and some bottle caps. One of the wires was severed, but he'd taped it up with some electrical tape. Just little patch work here and there with everyday objects. "But does it start?" asked Carl. He got back into the driver's seat and hit the button. To his amazement, the car started right up.
"How did you do that?" asked Billie, amazed.
"I'm good with my hands," explained David, "mechanics come naturally to me, and you never know when some old bottle caps and a dirty rag can come in handy. It'll still need repairs, but it'll get you where you're going."
"Amazing!" Commented Billie, "Hey, I never caught your name."
"My name is David Sinclair," said the man, extending his hand for a handshake, "and you?"
"I'm Billie," she said, shaking his hand, before she gestured to Carl, "and this is Carl, the family robot."
"Good work," said Carl. "Say, were you heading somewhere?"
"Well, I wanted to go to that Train Convention," explained David, "but I couldn't possibly walk eighty miles fast enough."
"What a coincidence," said Billie, "That's where we're heading. Since you helped, why don't you come along?"
"Sure!" Agreed Carl, "it's the least we can do. And there's always room for one more." So the three found the ejected seat, reinstalled it in the car, and then took to the sky again. Next stop: The Train Convention!