Renet ran excitedly down the corridor toward the Chamber of Time. This was it! All of her hard work had finally paid off!

The door to the chamber slid open with a swoosh and Renet darted immediately inside, stopping short in the center of the small room. Reaching out a hand, she lifted the Time Scepter reverently from its plinth.

At last! Lord Simultaneous had finally granted her permission to use the Scepter for a pleasure trip of her own choosing. This reward was seldom granted and would not likely come again. Renet had been devoting herself to her missions for the last two years, desperate to prove herself worthy of this honor.

Now at last she could fulfill her promise. It had taken her longer than she expected, but it didn't matter. She was a time traveler, and when she arrived on the designated date, only a few days would have passed for him.

Whirling the Scepter over her head with practiced precision, she filled her mind with the time and location of her scheduled meeting, and with grace brought the staff down until it struck the floor, engulfing her in a momentary flash of brilliant light. Blinking, Renet found herself on a deserted rooftop, overlooking the bright lights of a twenty-first century city.

Shivering in the chilly air, Renet glanced around her. The light in the sky was fading, the sun having just set. A golden glow still stretched across the purple clouds from the western horizon. Skyscrapers, and buildings of all descriptions stretched out in every direction, their rectangular windows alight with activity within. A busy, bustling array of noises reached her ears from the ground far below, but distance muffled it into indistinction.

Here on the flat, concrete rooftop, however, all was quiet. Renet spun around a couple of times, looking in all directions, just to make sure, but there was no one there. The cold wind whipped her golden hair about her face as she frowned into the emptiness.

This was the right place, she was sure of it. Had she gotten the date wrong? Glancing at the display on the back of the Scepter, she confirmed her location in time. February 14, 2015, 7:00 pm. Valentine's Day. He had definitely said Valentine's Day.

"Ooh, ooh! Let's do it on Valentine's Day! That's next week!"

She could still hear his excited voice making the plans, and she had promised she would get the Scepter all to herself and meet him. She had even researched twenty-first century American holidays to make sure she got the date right. She worked for two years for this! Surely he hadn't forgotten?

.o0o.

Mikey lay the blanket carefully on the rooftop, spreading it out smooth. It was a little tattered, but at least it was comfy. This night was going to be perfect! Once satisfied with the blanket, he began arranging the picnic on top. Then he stepped back and surveyed his handiwork.

Sure, he'd never been on a date before, but he had seen it loads of times on TV. How could it go wrong? He had drinks – two cans of root beer; and flowers - he'd picked them himself in the park; and food. For this occasion, he'd made a very special pizza, topped with chocolates. Because girls like chocolates on Valentine's Day, and pizza is the ultimate food. Put them together, and bam! The perfect dinner!

With a smile of satisfaction, Mikey settled down on the blanket, awaiting his date. He'd even brought his elf costume, 'cause it made him look totally awesome, and hey, maybe they'd get to LARP later. Renet would make a totally amazing Amazonian princess! Maybe they could even use the Time Scepter and have an adventure in some cool far off place in the future or something. Someplace warmer than here.

Mikey rubbed his arms a little as the sky grew darker and the wind colder. Where was Renet? He didn't have a watch, but he was sure he'd been waiting here for at least half an hour. He checked the pizza and was disappointed to discover it was no longer warm. What could be keeping her?

The freckled turtle shivered again as the last light from the sun disappeared. How could a time traveler be late? She can arrive at whatever time in the universe that she wants to! Did she not want to hang out with him after all?

He glanced around at the darkening rooftop. This was the right place. And he was sure it was the right time. Valentine's Day. February 15th.

With a sigh, the dejected turtle gathered up the wilted flowers and ice cold pizza.

Michelangelo never had been good with dates.