Zach had thought he'd never come back to this. Not after his last mistake. Yet there he was in his basement. Unlike the rest of the mansion, the basement was rather grungy, with old pieces and now identifiable parts. This was where he kept his old failures of inventions. The ones he hide from himself, hoping never to see them again. In front of him was a large machine, covered with a dusty, torn cover. The inventor stared at it for the longest time, but his mind was elsewhere.

Would this really work? Would he be crazy enough to try messing with time once again? He knew what happened the first time around and he would have to be a plain maniac to do it after he learned the consciences.

Changing one thing, changed everything.

He frowned, thinking of every possible thing that he might do, every possible move that could be made, and worked out the possibilities, everything that could be changed. Well doing this would really change a lot. No doubt. You can't just remove a person from the past and expect it to not be altered. Messing with history, as many people have learned before, was dangerous.

The prospects of time were definitely a headache if thought over too much. But Zach was aware of the conveniences and he figured he would be able to live with them. Making up his mind, Zach pulled the previously white, now grey, sheet from the machine, throwing a thick cloud of dust from years of sitting into the air. He coughed and tried to wave it away.

Once it was cleared enough, he stood back, looking over his old work. It was still in the same condition from when he'd last used and therefore would only need a few tweaks to be fixed up to at least working condition.

He smiled faintly, and went to work. He could have this pile up and running in a week. Maybe even less.

In fact, Zach couldn't wait. He was working all night, into the next day, to the next day's evening.

"And...just cut the blue wire...there!" He said finally. The Time Machine was as good as new.

Not wasting any 'time', he quickly hopped in and punched in a particular date: July 20, 1969, a day after Chris was born. He was certain the young newborn would still be there in that small nursery in New Jersey, then he would put his perfect plan into action.

He pushed a square, clear shaped button in the small chamber's wall and then put in a place on the dial: Warren County, New Jersey. He pushed another set of dials and the machine revved. It shook violently and in less than a second, he vanished along with the machine.

4:23 am- Warren, New Jersey.

The machine appeared randomly in an abandoned back lot of a library. Zach walked out dizzily, remembering another reason for not using the time machine. Had it really worked again?

He walked around to the street, shaking off the dizziness.

Walking past a store window, the menu had on it daily specials along with the date: 7/20/69.

Zach smiled to himself. "It had worked perfectly. I just hope that means 1969, and that I'm not in the wrong century..." But as to where he was, he probably should've been more specific with the place. But he'd been so deliriously tired, he couldn't think straight. He decide that after he got Chris, the first thing he would do was find so we here to sleep. He could head back in the morning.

Due to the very early hour, there was hardly anyone in the streets ever for a few joggers and people with early jobs. A man was outside a restaurant sweeping, preparing it for the day ahead.

Zach approached him. "Excuse me. But do you know where the main Warren Hospital is?"

The young man nodded, tiredly. "Mmhmm. It's two miles from here. Head straight down the road that way, make a left at the general store and keep heading that way. It's a huge building on the right. You couldn't miss it if you...were sleeping" he managed between yawns. He leaned n the broom a bit and started dozing, half awake.

Zach was going to thank him, but he seemed to be only half-conscious. "Err...thank you"

He walked off, hoping the directions he was given weren't wrong considering he'd gotten them from someone in the verge of unconsciousness.

He soon discovered that the directions were actually very wrong with the distance, though not that he was complaining. The hospital was pretty close by, only about half a mile down the road.

He walked inside the building and was immediately hit with the smells of disinfectant, chlorine, and anesthetics.

This was one place he really disliked to be in. He was pretty sure nobody did and could figure out why someone would want to work with sick people and blood for a living. He shivered, both out of being anxious and cold. It was like a near freezer!

He walked up, intending to pass the desk when the nurse sitting at it called him out.

"Excuse me, sir! You can't go back there without checking in. Do you have an appointment?" she asked with a fake sweetness to her soft voice. It kind of scared Zach the way she was staring him down impassively. She was intimidating for some reason- nearly made him want to just run out and forget the whole thing, rather than face her.

"Uh...a-appointment? No, I'm...visiting..."

"Who are you visiting, sir?"

Didn't she have better things to do at four in the morning than play twenty-four questions with him?

He wracked his brain trying to remember the right name for their mother. "The, uh...K...Kratts. Linda Kratt, yes that's who I'm visiting!"

He hoped that had sounded more convincing than he knew it had.

She sighed with a nod. "Room c223. That's on the third floor"

Eager to leave, Zach gave her a quick nod, and hurried in the other direction. Yeesh, that lady was...kinda scary. Shaking it off, Zach went to the elevator and to the third floor- the same floor of the nursery.

He walked down the hall and found the nursery window...and he wasn't alone.

A young boy with a blue jacket on was leaning heavily on the sill of the window with the help of a chair he was kneeing on, looking in sleepily. Zach had hoped he would be alone at this time of morning. But it didn't seem to matter- the kid looked like he would give out any moment.

However he noticed Zach and looked over at him, with the tiredness showing distinctly in his blue eyes. Now looking at him more closely, Zach really hoped that wasn't who he thought it was. But there was no mistaking it. How many blond, blue-eyed little kids could be at this hospital at now five in the morning? Of course there was always the chance...

"Um...you looking for someone?" Zach asked awkwardly.

The boy looked at him again, a faint smile on his very young face. "Yeah. My little brother. I was watching him since my dad brought me"

Zach frowned a bit. All clues pointed to him being the last person he needed here. He approached him slowly. "Really?"

Zach wondered if he could wait him out.

The boy nodded and yawned. Zach followed his train of vision and saw the one he was looking at. Wrapped in a blue blanket fast asleep was a newborn. The bottom of his bed had the name on it: Christopher Kratt.

"Great" he whispered.

Just when he thought he was gonna have to go ALL the way back to the Time Machine and go back in time another few hours, another man called young Martin over to his side. They probably were going back to the mother's room or something. Perfect. Now was his chance. No one else was in sight. It was time to change his fate once and for all.

He waited a moment to elude suspicion...then outright broke the window. Thankfully, the babies were set far enough from the window that the glass landed nowhere near them. Zach went to grab Chris, only to spot a nurse standing, horror-stricken, in the back of the room.

Zach froze too, unsure what she was gonna do. However his sense quickly came back to him when he heard an alarm start to go off.

"Attention, Code Pink. Attention, Code Pink" someone over the intercom announced.

Zach panicked, trying to be careful as he swiped the newborn out of the bed and made a dash for the door. Several nurses and doctors caught sight of him as he ran.

He realized how many flaws the plan had now, him coming completely unprepared being the main cause. No basket, no distractions, no glass cutter(now he had some cuts to treat from the window), no nothing. He didn't even have an escape plan!

And now that he thought about it, taking the elevator was a pretty dumb idea, but it was too late as the doors closed, just as one of the male nurses pursuing him got to the doors, banging and shouting at him.

And of course he'd forgotten about the cameras, too. 'Smart move, Zach. You just couldn't wait until you had sleep' he thought banging his head on the elevator wall. 'You could've prepared for this! Of course hospitals have security!'

"Idiot, idiot, idiot..."

There were probably police already at the first floor waiting for him. Zach braced himself as the third bell dinged, signaling that he had reached the first floor. The stainless steel doors slid apart, and Zach was met with...nothing. Absolutely no one.

That's it. It was a trap. They were just trying to get him to think he was safe, yes, that was it!

Zach cautiously stepped out of the elevator peeking around the corners including at the desk he'd passed earlier. The woman sitting there boredly seemed very unconcerned.

What?

Zach, though, decided not to question his luck. He ran before the news three floors up reached this floor. He had no clue why it already hadn't. He raced out of the backdoor, a surprisingly still sleeping baby held in his arms.

Zach stopped running to catch his breath once he was a generally safe distance from the hospital, but no doubt the police had been alerted. Zach stared out from the wall he was leaning against, constantly glancing between the infant and over his shoulder, expecting a cop to be on his tail. He couldn't believe it though.

"I actually did this. I-I kidnapped this kid and got away with it. I'm crazy, that's what I am..."

He realized just how delirious he had been with all the bad decisions lately, but it's not like he could waltz back into the hospital with an apology and hand him back over. No, he was in deep now.

He heard the sirens now, heading his way. He couldn't stay in town; no that was just pushing his luck. But there was no way he could get back to the time machine- he didn't even know where he was compared to it. "Okay, genius...now what?" Zach mumbled from the alley he was hidden in.

Maybe he could blend into the crowd when the day came. However, it was no doubt they had his picture. He wasn't exactly the type that just could blend into crowds and he didn't mind that until now. He wished he could blend into the wall.

The sat down and decided for the first time to think, if only a bit. He had the time...he hoped. He cradled the baby Kratt in his arms placing on his knees, leaving a gap to settle the infant and rest his arms.

He sighed. He had ran east facing the hospital, so he had gone in the completely wrong direction. He had to go backwards. Up the street he was on, past the hospital, and down the road coming off it. And then it hit him. What was he gonna do with Chris, exactly?

Zach was severely agitated by all the questions and problems his mind kept finding for him to puzzle out.

However, then, he got the perfect idea. It'd be difficult getting out of town, but not with a time that could fly like a car drives on the ground. Staying in the shadows of the buildings, which he did pretty well since he had a black sweater. He was able to remember where he 'parked'. Amazingly, the whole time, Chris did whine, cry, or even really make much of a sound. He just stared wide eyed at the stranger that scooped him up about half an hour ago.

Zach finally made it to the TM, and with Chris still in his arms, he quickly turned on the ignition, and zoomed outta there. But...where would he go exactly? Definitely no where in New Jersey! But maybe, somewhere else? Somewhere where there's so much hussle and bussle, would anyone even care to look at a baby? There was only one place he knew of that was that crowded, and in fact, it was the place where Zach Varmitech Inc. would be located about thirty years later...the Big Apple. NY,NY.

Martin, being so young, couldn't quite understand what was going on. One minute he was in the cafeteria with his dad, the next they heard news that the nursery had been broken into. But the poor child couldn't get anywhere close to that room though, now. Police had taped it off. Suddenly, like a wave, he heard everyone whispering something about the Kratt being gone. That's when Martin finally understood.

All the strength in his knees left him, and he fell to the floor on them. He tried hard not to cry, since he had been taught to be the strong one. But who would he be strong for now?! Sure, his sisters, but...who was he gonna teach to play baseball, or climb trees and swim with, to wrestle on the ground with?! He was gone! His brother was gone.

Forever.

It was at that second, he still doesn't know how, but a sorrowful scream came from his own throat, and since he was still little, it was pretty loud. His tears fell freely now off his cheeks, and in the scream, even though it was high pitch, you could still hear the syllables Chris-to-pher leave his mouth.

His father silently picked his crying son up and walked away from the scene, sorrow tearing at him from the inside, but for now, his wife, daughters, and son needed him most. It hurt that he couldn't do the same for Christopher.

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