Whoa...has it really been since November since I last picked up this story? -whistles- Time flies, huh?
Anyway, the reason I'm updating this and not TYWAW (like I promised, I know, I know. I'm so bad. -smacks self-) is one reason and one reason only: I've missed this story! It's my favorite to write right now, and I was seriously about to combust from not writing this! I'm so so so so so so so so so sorry it wasn't TYWAW, but the Christmasiness sorta left me...heh...
Anyway, here's the next chapter! Oh, and if you're interested, I have a pic of Krys my friend Stacy (Secretwindow1) drew for me back in September posted in my profile! Then Elvenstar Imrahil drew a sketch of Krys's time machine, but I have yet to dig it out of my inbox because I was stupid and didn't save it to my pictures when she emailed it to me. :( Anyway, I'll let you know when that gets put up, too!
Now, onto the update!
Chapter Four: Code Blue
----TCTF Headquarters----
43-year-old Wilbur Robinson yawned as he stepped under the travel tube that would take him to his office. It was only eleven o'clock in the morning, but already he felt like he had been working for two days.
Agent Cali had informed him early that morning of a problem in the Victorian era, Middle Ages, and the Old West, and Wilbur had led two of his agents to the Middle Ages, where they had had to stop a thief from stealing a someday-important artifact from a church and throwing it in the bay. It had worked, and Wilbur and his team had managed to get the job done and back in the future without any problems, but the chase had still taken them a while.
Ever since his father had invented the time machine when he was eight years old, Wilbur had learned that the natural order of the timestream had gone a little…tipsy, as his father had put it in terms that little Wilbur could understand. Because the time machine had the ability to travel to any time period, small things in history were changed, but not enough to radically change things, but they were enough to change some things in the timestream, like what the effect on something could have on someone, like today's episode.
Wilbur sighed as he slumped down into his desk chair for a minute. He closed his eyes and relaxed. Just as he was about to drift off, the sound of the travel tube dropping someone off and hurried footsteps coming towards him brought him back into reality.
"Dad!" Krys said as she neared her father. "Dad, wake up!"
Wilbur sat up and looked at his daughter in alarm. Judging from the desperate tone of her voice, Wilbur guessed it was pretty important.
"Krys, what's wrong?" He asked. "Is everything alright?" He looked over her shoulder, cocking an eyebrow at the sight of his younger self.
"Lewis has been kidnapped!" Krys said.
"Krys, hold on, what do you mean Lewis has been kidnapped?" The older Wilbur asked.
His younger self spoke up. "We mean what we said! I went back to see Lewis and I found a bunch of cop cars parked on the front yard and when I asked what was going on they said they had a possible kidnapping on their hands! I looked in the lab and found a window open and then some footprints in the snow, but we weren't able to follow them the whole way."
"So Wilbur came here to get help!" Krys said.
Older Wilbur looked at his younger self. "Does the family know you're here?"
Younger Wilbur shook his head. "Krys and I came on our own."
"Then the first thing we're going to do is let them know you're here." Older Wilbur said. "Then I'm going to have Agent Cali run a time scan to see how serious this is." He pressed a button on his desk. "Agent Cali." He said.
"Yes, Captain?" Agent Cali's holographic image appeared above the button Wilbur had pressed.
"I need you to run a time scan." Older Wilbur said. "I think we have a Code Blue on our hands."
Agent Cali nodded. "What time period?"
"2009." Older Wilbur said. Agent Cali nodded again.
"I'll get right on it."
"Thanks. We'll be down in a minute." With that, Older Wilbur hit the button again and Agent Cali's hologram disappeared. Wilbur hit another button on the desk.
"Cassie." He said.
Within a minute, Cassie Robinson's hologram appeared.
"Wilbur, what's wrong?" She asked.
"Cassie, tell the family we have a potential Code Blue on our hands, and that Krys and my younger self are here at headquarters."
"A Code Blue?" Cassie's voice and face filled with worry.
"Lewis has gone missing, Mom!" Krys said, stepping beside her father. "Wilbur showed up looking for me to find help!"
Cassie's eyes widened. "I'll tell the family, then get over there as quick as I can." She promised.
"Thanks, Cassie." Older Wilbur said. "See you then."
Cassie nodded and disappeared.
Older Wilbur turned back to the two teenagers beside him. "We'd better get down to the scanner room."
Younger Wilbur and Krys nodded, following Older Wilbur to the travel tube in the corner. They soon found themselves standing in the main lobby, heading towards yet another set of travel tubes, stepping under the one labeled "Scanner Room."
Once they found themselves in the scanner room, Older Wilbur directed them both towards a woman with dirty blonde hair that they both recognized as Agent Cali, who ran a lot of the time scans that searched out and pinpointed a threat in the timestream.
"Anything yet?" Krys asked as they neared Agent Cali. Agent Cali didn't turn around as she said,
"Almost finished. We'll know in a minute."
"Good." Older Wilbur nodded. He turned back to his younger self and Krys. "Once we find out what's going on, I'll evaluate the conditions. Then I'll decide what should be done."
Before either Krys or Wilbur could reply, Agent Cali spun around in her swivel chair.
"Captain, the scan is finished."
"And…?" Younger Wilbur asked, waving his hands for emphasis, wanting to know what was going on…and fast.
Agent Cali sighed and looked at the older Wilbur.
"Well?" He asked.
"We have a Level 2 Code Blue: Existence and timestream threatened."
Krys's eyes went wide as Wilbur looked at her in confusion. Older Wilbur quickly nodded and put his hands on both of their shoulders.
"Thank you, Agent Cali. If the timestream is also threatened, alert the agents. We may have more than just one problem on our hands here."
"Yes, Captain." Agent Cali said, turning back around. She hit a button on the desk and a blue light began to flash on lights mounted around the room.
"Attention TCTF: We are currently under a Level 2 Code Blue. Gather in assembly hall immediately for orders. I repeat, Level 2 Code Blue. Meet in the assembly hall immediately for orders."
Older Wilbur quickly turned the two fourteen year olds in front of him around and quickly guided them back the way they had come.
"What's going on?" Younger Wilbur asked, looking up at his future self in confusion. He knew he would one day come up with everything the TCTF was, and all the terms they used, but that was a good ten years into his future, and at that point, he was pretty confused.
Krys quickly readjusted her glasses. "It means a time lapse is possible." She said. "It also means that someone's existence could be on the line, this time it looks like ours."
"Greeeeeeeeeat." Wilbur said. "Why is time travel always trying to off me?!"
"That is an excellent question." Krys said, quoting her best friend.
"That's my line!" Younger Wilbur said.
"Alright, that's enough." Older Wilbur said. He walked ahead of the two and stepped under a green travel tube labeled "Assembly Hall." Krys and Wilbur followed close behind, and soon found themselves standing in a large room filled with people. Older Wilbur was quickly making his way down the aisle, and Wilbur could see that his father, mother, and future wife waited on the stage as well.
"C'mon!" Krys hissed, poking him in the side. He followed her up the aisle onto the stage, where they both stood in between Cassie and Franny.
"Alright, everyone, calm down." Older Wilbur said, his voice amplified by a microphone Younger Wilbur couldn't see. The loud chatter echoing through the room quieted down, and Older Wilbur waited a minute before speaking again.
"As you've heard, we are all currently under a Level 2 Code Blue, existence and timestream endangered. Not an hour ago, my daughter and my younger self showed up in my office, informing me that my father's younger self has been kidnapped."
Franny squeezed Cornelius's hand.
"We're not sure as to why Lewis was kidnapped, nor are we sure as to who did it, but because Lewis is my father, not only is his future in danger, but his family, including myself and my family." Older Wilbur went on. "Because of this, I am putting all time machines on lockdown. I'm sending Krys and my younger self back to 2009 to see what they can find out, and as soon as they know enough, I will send agents in to help. Until then, they will not be using any TCTF gadgets to find Lewis, such as the tracking devise that was implanted under his skin when he was here three months ago when I was taken hostage by James McPhearson."
"But Dad!" Krys said, stepping forward. "How do you expect us to find Lewis if we can't track him?"
Older Wilbur turned to his daughter. "You'll be looking for all the evidence you can." He said. "Once you've found what you think is a good lead, you'll report back to me and I will send in a few agents to track him and find him. We don't know how dangerous Lewis's kidnappers are, and I can't risk letting you find him on your own."
"But Dad…" Krys started again.
"Krys." Cassie said quietly, stepping forward and putting her hand on her father's shoulder.
Krys got the hint and shut her mouth. She knew her father was only looking out for her, but she could take care of herself. Besides, it wasn't like she was going alone.
"Fine." She said. She grinned. "What are the orders, Captain?"
Her father grinned. "Deport to 2038 first and freeze time. I don't want Mom to worry in the past when I don't show up at home for a little while. As soon as that's over –" He looked at his younger self. "—I suggest you get a few changes of clothes and anything else you think might come in handy. You might be in the past for a little while. After that, deport to 2009 and begin looking for clues. You'll know what to do once you find a good lead."
His younger self and daughter nodded.
Older Wilbur gave them both a nod, then turned back to the TCTF special agents, detectives, officers, sergeants, and investigators. "Everyone, please return to your work stations. Agents Stacy and Joey, please see to it that the time machines are put on lockdown."
Special Agents Stacy and Joey nodded. "We're on it, Captain."
As the room cleared out, Older Wilbur sighed and turned back to his family. Cassie smiled encouragingly at her husband, and Wilbur's parents did the same.
"It'll be alright, son." Cornelius promised. "Lewis is going to be fine."
"Do you remember anything about being kidnapped?" Younger Wilbur asked. "I mean, you remember me bringing Lewis to the future and everything that happened after that, so that means you must remember this!"
Cornelius shook his head. "I'm completely blank on this one." He said. "And while I do remember everything that happened after you brought me to the past when I was twelve, it took about a week to gain all the new memories."
Wilbur cocked an eyebrow. "That long?" He asked. "Geez, I thought it took about five seconds or something!"
"Time travel's complicated, Wilbur." Franny said. "You know that."
"Well, yeah, but still!" Wilbur said. He turned to his future self. "What about you? How long did it take you to gain all the memories of what happened after Krys brought Lewis and me here?"
"A week." Older Wilbur said. "Just like Dad."
"So…" Krys said. "It could be up to a week before Grandad can give us any clues as to what's going on?"
Cornelius nodded. "Unfortunately."
"But there's just one thing I still don't get." Wilbur said, looking at his dad. "If this has happened before, wouldn't you already remember it?"
Cornelius shook his head and looked at his older son. "Do you want to explain it?"
"Might as well." Older Wilbur said. "Do you remember when Dad told us about how the timestream was a little unstable and always would be after he invented the time machine?"
"How could I forget? He explained the whole thing to me and then the first prototype blew up. The only thing that was left was a screw." Wilbur said, cocking an eyebrow once more, remembering the day that would forever be known as the 'dark day at the Robinson house.'
"Right. Well, because the timestream is so unstable, small bits and pieces of history are changed. Some things are major, or could turn out to be major, but most of the time, it's simply that an ant was stepped on when it wasn't supposed to be." Older Wilbur went on. "But in this case, a Code Blue case, it's serious. When a Code Blue is issued, it means that the existence of possibly thousands of people could be in the hands of one person in the past whose about to do something stupid or something is about to happen to them. That means that the future could dramatically change. Like when we knocked over Stanley at the science fair, and he knocked over Lizzy's ants. Or, like it is in this case, if it's serious enough, the timestream could collapse entirely, and time would end entirely."
"So does this mean…that this has never happened before?" Krys asked.
"Exactly." Older Wilbur said. "The trip to this future might have been just enough turbulence in the timestream to cause Lewis to get kidnapped, while he would not have if it happened before."
"And that's why you have to hurry and find Lewis as fast as you can." Cassie said. "Not only is the timestream in danger, but your very existences could be, too."
"Don't worry, Mom." Krys said. "We can do this."
"I have no doubt." Cassie said, laughing a little.
"As for right now, head back home and do what I told Wilbur to do." Older Wilbur said. "Grab anything you think you might need."
"Got it, Dad." Krys said. "We'll report back here in an hour."
Older Wilbur nodded. Krys and Younger Wilbur turned and walked down the stairs from the stage and up the aisle, where they stepped under the travel tube and disappeared.
As soon as they were gone, Wilbur turned back to Cornelius.
"Are you sure you can't remember anything?" He asked. Cornelius shook his head.
"Nothing whatsoever, Wilbur." He said. "I wish I could, but it looks like today has never happened before."
Alright, so for those of you who have ever heard this story's theme song, Dare You to Move by Switchfoot, you'll know that "...today has never happened before..." is a quote from there. It fits well with this story.
Anyway, I wasn't too happy with the ending, but that's as good as I can do right now! I have to go study for two of my midterms tomorrow. Adios!
Please review! Frankie's bored now that he's killed Mini Doris at least fifteen times...