Disclaimer: Ana, Lisa, Gwen, Carrie-Ann, and the time machine are all of my creation. Alanna, Tortall, and all of Tortall's contents, however, belong to Tamora Pierce. I take no credit whatsoever for her work.

Author's Note: This is my first fic. I don't know how well it will turn out, but I have had fun writing it! Please reveiw. If you like it, let me know why and if not, constructive critisism would be helpful. Flames, however are very unwelcome and are a waste of my time, as well as yours. If you don't like my story, don't ruin it for others. Read something else. Thank you.
P.S. In case it is not clear, the narrator's name is Ana.

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Chapter One – The Accident

"Are you kidding me?!" I stomped down the cellar stairs, glaring at my friend all the while. "I spend four hours shopping at Wal-Mart, and I come back to find you lounging and reading?!"

No reply…

"LISA!!"

"Wha… huh?" She glanced up from her novel.

"Why are you not working on it? If you didn't plan to do anything, you could have gone shopping while I worked on it! You know I hate shopping!"

"I did work on it! It's done!" came the reply. I almost dropped the heavy canvas shopping bags I was carrying.

"Done? Already?"

"Naw… I just said that to see how you'd react… Of course it's done!"

"I just thought it would take a lot longer… that's all…"

"Well it didn't." Lisa opened her book again.

"Lisa! We've wanted to learn more about the Aztecs since we were toddlers! Why are you just sitting there reading The Lioness Rampant for the eighty-billionth time? It's not like you haven't memorized it already." I put my bags down and reached out to shake my brown-haired, hazel-eyed, innocent-looking friend's shoulder when she again failed to reply. "Lisa! Let's test it out!"

"Hmm…?"

"I said let's test it!" This time my suggestion elicited a response.

"Right now?" she said, leaping up.

"Well certainly not next Tuesday! Where are the others?" I, of course, was referring to our friends Gwen and Carrie-Ann. The two of them, Lisa, and I all lived on the same quiet street in the same tiny town way up near the tippety-top of New Hampshire. We were a close-knit group of friends, and we took our childhood oath of 'Best Friends Forever' very seriously. We had all planned to test our experiment together.

"Well, you know Gwen. Animals first. She left for a farm on the other side of town about an hour ago. I guess one of the mares there went into labor. As for Carrie-Ann… well, she took Kassy and Rob to the dentist. Routine cleaning. Funny how children disrupt everything, eh?"

"Well, you would think so… you're biased, though. You just hate them all." I started towards the 'experiment room.' "Then they aren't coming with us?"

"No. They said it was all right if we went ahead and took her for a spin by ourselves, since we aren't entirely sure when we will all be together long enough."

"Oh well… they have a valid point there… we do all live very busy lives…" I looked the machine over. "You're sure it's done? And it is safe?"

"Done, yes. Safe, not so much… but what's life without a little risk and excitement?" She powered it up. "Time to pick the year. When shall we go back to?" Just then, the phone rang. "Agh… phones are almost as bad as kids! I'll be right back." With that, she began to run up the stairs in order to catch the phone before the fourth ring, when the answering machine picked up. But, in her haste, she managed to trip and fall three times in quick succession. Needless to say, she failed to reach the phone in time, and picked up a few seconds after the answering machine did. Her mother's voice floated through the open cellar door and down the stairs. I groaned loudly.

"Oh, no… she's gonna be there a while." Lisa's mom was notorious for keeping one on the phone for several hours at a time. "I guess I'll just have to wait here." I switched the machine to 'idle' and picked up Lisa's dropped book. I flipped it open as I settled into the 'drivers' seat of our machine. There I sat for a long time, reading, until Lisa shouted down to me.

"Ana! I'll be there in just one minute, okay? Sorry for the long wait!" Her voice broke the silence, severely startling me. I jumped, and my feet slid down from the 'dashboard' of the vehicle, hitting several buttons and switches on the way.

"Oops!" I put my feet back up on the 'dashboard' and leaned a little farther back. I went back to my book, so absorbed in its content that the possible ramifications of the knocked switches and buttons did not even cross my mind. Meanwhile, the dull hum of the 'idling' vehicle increased to a roar. I looked around, trying to discover the source of the racket, then looked down at the machine. "Aw, crap!" I exclaimed, realizing what I heard. Suddenly, there was a whooshing noise and my vision went fuzzy. Then, my body went numb and everything went black.

For several moments, I fumbled in the darkness with the controls of the machine, trying to stop its journey. Very quickly, my attempts were cut short, as it started to vibrate and there came another loud whooshing noise. I sat expectantly, waiting for my vision to clear. It didn't. In a few more moments, I felt a sudden wave of dizziness wash over me and then there was nothing.