Disclaimer: I don't own BTTF. I do own the script I've written for this story... or did I write this story for that script? Anyway.
Author's Note: My NaNoWriMo story. This tale is based on a BTTF IV script I wrote. Basically, it's this: Griff 2060 goes back to 2015 and gives his younger self the almanac. In 2045-A, committed Marty Sr and Marty III with Griff for a stepfather build a DeLorean along with Sarah (Verne's daughter). They go back to 2015, and then Marty Sr and Sarah end up trapped in 1925 and in a Part III way, Marty III rescues them from getting shot and takes along Doc, Clara and Jules (still in 1925) on the way. They have now been living for a year in the new restored 2046.
Anyway, here we go...
The Junction Point Part One
1: Prologue
September 7, 2046
05:30 PM PDT
Martin Seamus McFly III, Hell Valley version, felt nervous. Here he was, about to get sucked up in another one of Doc's projects. As much as he'd come to like the scientist over the past year, he knew the inventor had his weird quirks… especially with his inventions. He gulped, remembering the 'train plan' a year ago… or should that be 121 years ago? Anyway. If that plan had gone wrong (which was a reasonable chance) they'd end up dead.
Then again, if we hadn't done it, we would've been trapped in the past, Marty III thought. He mentally kicked himself for not watching out much enough, back when the local version of his grandfather sent him back to 1925. If only Local Marty Senior hadn't filled up the gas tank, the DeLorean wouldn't have exploded. Damaged, yes. The birds that he flew into upon arrival would've still attacked the hover-conversion equipment and would've still caused the car to drop the 100 feet, but at least the time machine would've been repairable once he got out. Alternate Marty Senior, trapped in the Twenties, would've been able to repair it and bring them all back to the future.
But that hadn't happened. The time machine had exploded, and Marty III groaned as he thought of their quest – finding the only one that could help, the 1925 version of Old Doc. Then the mad plan had followed, with Grandpa Marty pretending to be the 'ghost' of Clint Eastwood in order to rescue Sarah… and sending Old Buford Tannen to jail again. He wondered if that eventually disrupted the events that happened in 1935, with Old Buford stealing the time machine and all… apparently not, as the universe still seemed to be intact. But then again, you could never know…
Marty then looked up, as his Local counterpart entered the room, with both version of Sarah. "Hi" Local Marty said. "You were sent by Doc too?" As Alternate Marty nodded, the local sighed. "I wonder what he's got for us this time. Remember with April Fool's day, how he managed to make himself invisible? The guy's gaining a sense of humour." He smirked. "Well, I think so. I didn't even know him that well before you guys arrived eleven months ago."
"To be honest with you, neither did I" Alternate Marty said. "I just knew him as the local nutcase who'd disappeared sixty years in the past. I certainly didn't realise that time travel could've been involved!"
"Well, the general public wasn't supposed to know that, either" Doc said, entering the room together with Alternate Marty Senior. He was wearing a lab coat as traditional, and had his mind-reading helmet on his head. Marty smirked, as he saw the thing looked just as his grandfather described it looking in 1955. Doc certainly did keep his inventions around for a long time… even though he hadn't had the ability to take care of them, for about sixty years. "Well anyway, shall we go start with the project?"
"What kind of project have you made, Doctor Brown?" Local Marty asked, curious. "Haven't you been working on that mind reader since 1955? It looks just as Local Grandpa Marty described it. Have you managed to make progress with it – with help of 2040s equipment?"
"That's correct" Doc confirmed. "With Griff Tannen's DeLorean we've travelled to all kind of times to get nice pieces for the mind-reader. Only, we discovered a little glitch in our plans, that turned out to have positive outcomes. I made my device a mind transportation machine now."
"Wha-what?" Local Sarah stammered. "Are you telling me that this machine can transport our minds… to somewhere else, where our body isn't?"
"Correction – to somewhen else" Doc said. "As you can see, I attached a miniature version of the flux capacitor to it, as well as a miniature circuit display. I have installed a timer, that goes off after you press this button. After exactly one minute, your minds will be transported to the time that is in the time circuits, and the exact place there, too. You can't return from there, so I installed a homing device. All you have to do is also input the exact time you want to leave. Since I haven't managed to let it work fourth-dimensionally, yet, I have installed for it to return at the exact time you would've been if you hadn't mind travelled. For example, if you four leave at 6PM, and stay 12 hours in another time… from 7AM to 7PM for example… you will be able to return at 6AM, no earlier, on the following morning."
"Ho, wait, let's hold one thing straight" Alternate Sarah protested. "Grandpa, who said we are going to test this device? For all we know, we could be electrocuted! It really sounds terrifying to be in a device like that… can't you use the dogs? Huey and Lewis?"
"Oh, no" Alternate Marty Senior said. "The other me would flip if he'd knew we were using his dogs. They're just puppies, and I don't think they're as able to survive as humans, if something would go wrong. Besides, they can't tell how they have been, in the past. For all we know, the experiment failed."
"Wouldn't Grandpa worry about his own grandchildren, then?" Local Marty stated. "I'm not going to leave 2046 in such a… weird device! I may not be too experienced with time travel, but it doesn't sound good to me, from what Alternate Marty told me!"
"Well, this is, to an extent, safer than time travel" Doc argued. "You see, you won't be there for real. You're still in 2046. However you will be able to see each other's bodies floating around, they won't really be there – and nobody can see you, hear you, or even touch you. You can easily fly through rocks and things like that, since you aren't there. And you can chose where to go yourself – any time in future or past, as you won't be able to create time paradoxes. After all, you're not there, and will return at the said time that we've input into the mind transportation machine."
Alternate Marty started to smile. "Anytime we want, huh?" he asked.
"Correct" Doc said. "From January 1, 9999 BC at 12:00 AM to December 31, 9999 AD at 11:59 PM. However the latter isn't that wise, as the time circuits display might malfunction if you use that many digits, as it isn't possible in the circuits-system. I yet have to install something like that with the DeLorean and the train, too – then I'll take care of the mind transportation machine, as well."
"You're the Doc, Doc."
"Right." Doc stepped forward. "So, who wants to go?"
Local Marty exchanged uneasy looks with Local Sarah. "If it's really safe, maybe we can try it. I'd always loved to see the Old West, when my girlfriend's parents were born. How about… September 7th? That was a huge date in your history, if I'm correct, and I think it would be a nice date to visit with the mind transpo…transpa…"
"Transportation machine" Doc helped.
"Right, right. I think that would be fine." The local turned to Local Sarah, and the alternate versions of himself and his girlfriend. "What about you three? What do you think of 1885 to visit? It sounds like a nice enough place."
"Yeah, 1885 would be fine" Alternate Sarah said. "I'd like to see my father again – for real. I mean, I know that this Verne is also my father, to an extent, but I think that for the younger version of Verne Brown, it would even be more true, as that's prior to the point the two timelines split. This is in 1905, and didn't the timelines split up in… what, 1910? That was when Dad travelled to 2020 to settle there. Griff's first big win wasn't until 2023, though…"
"But he received the almanac from his older self on October 21, 2015" Alternate Marty reminded his girlfriend. Then smiling with nostalgia, he added: "And then we took it away from him, again, and ended up ending the horrible Griff-world."
"On the same date we got sent back to 1925" Alternate Sarah shivered, staring at Alternate Marty Senior. "Seriously, Marty, I don't know why your Gramps was so happy there, especially after his experiences in 1955. Well, I guess that he learnt to respect the beauty of the past later on. Maybe I'll do that, one day, as well."
"Travelling to 1885 would be a step" Doc said. "Now, who's against, and who's agreeing with the trip? Who agrees, first?"
The inventor smiled, as everyone raised his hand. "Okay, then it will go on." He then remembered something. "Oh, guys… you can't stay any longer than 5 hours. This is just the prototype… maybe you can always live through the rest of the day some other time. For now, though, you guys will have to settle with 5 hours."
"Sounds all right with me" Local Marty said, sighing. "I wished we could've stayed longer, but well… anyway, let's arrive at six AM. That is the same time Jules and Verne arrived, from 1905. Dr. Brown should be in the saloon at that time, Buford Tannen at his camp, asleep, and Grandpa Marty at the campfire." He didn't add the 'Local' to his line as he realized that at this point, their histories matched. "We can leave at 11… most of the action was over by eight-forty-five, anyway."
"All right" Doc said, grabbing some wires and the cup he'd used with Marty in 1955. Carefully, he placed one on each of the mind travellers. "Well, hold on to your seats, everybody!" he exclaimed, as he was done. "Let's see… Destination Time, September 7, 1885, 06:00 AM. Departure time: September 7, 1885, 11:00 AM. Destination Location for the TFE… Shonash Ravine, Hill Valley, California."
"TFE?" Local Sarah asked.
"Temporal Field Extender" Doc explained. "It's to transport to places as well as to times. Comes in handy, as our lab isn't at Shonash Ravine… Eastwood, now." He smiled. "I still remember my reaction, just after Marty Senior had left. Here my best friend was gone, I was breathing from the excitement, and suddenly I'm confronted with two teenagers who looked just like me and wanted my help in 'getting back to the future'! No wonder I fainted from shock!" Recovering from his nostalgia, he pressed the button. "All right, you two should leave in about… fifty-seven seconds, fifty-six, fifty-five, fifty-four…"
"This is heavy" Alternate Marty breathed, twisting in his seat. "I can't believe I'm going to 1885. 1925 was far enough in the past for me."
"Aw, come on" Doc laughed. "It's five hours – and you'll be too distracted by watching everyone to get homesick."
"Forty-five" Marty Senior reported.
"That's true" Local Marty stated. "You shouldn't exaggerate that much, Alternate Marty. We aren't going to be there for that long. Actually, now my nervousness has calmed down a bit, I'm pretty excited. I haven't time travelled as much as you have."
"You wouldn't want to, either" Alternate Marty said back.
"Thirty seconds…"
Local Sarah suddenly realized something. "Hey, where in Shonash Ravine are we going to arrive? On the bottom? And how are we going to get out?"
"The bottom, yes" Doc said. "And since you're not really there, you'll be able to fly out. All normal human restrictions, like gravity, are taken away from you as you're not really there. You'll still be able to speak to each other, though, and watch, hear, feel things. The thing is, though, no one else can hear you, feel you, see you, let alone interact with you. In that point, it's completely safe."
"Twenty seconds…"
"I just wish that Local Grandpa Marty wasn't so strict" Local Marty said. "I mean, I was first nervous, then enthusiastic about going on a time trip… but now, I'm nervous again. I mean, travelling to another time like that… and on such a weird way…"
"Like time travel is really that normal" Alternate Sarah said. "You'll be fine."
"Ten!" Marty Senior shouted. "Nine, eight, seven, six, five…"
Alternate Marty felt his heart beating ten times it's normal rate. Suddenly, he started to have second thoughts.
"Four, three, two…"
"No!" Alternate Marty weakly called out. Was it him, or was his voice getting fainter with the second?"
"…one, take off!"
Alternate Marty gasped, as he felt himself shaking in the chair. Suddenly, he felt himself getting a small electric shock. As he'd barely recovered from that, everything went black for his eyes. Then, he felt himself being shaken again, as he was mind-warped backwards in time. After just two seconds, he felt a loud thud, and found himself lying at the bottom of Shonash Ravine, 1885.
