Chapter Four

In the 'good' Lazy Town.

It felt like forever before the machine appeared to be working again. It switched on at least and managed to stay on for a period of time. It would overheat occasionally but Pixel was working on that. Whether it would fire an energy bolt or not was another thing. Pixel and Robbie were yet to conduct a test run on that part. Stephanie was glad to know that the machine's repairs were going in the right direction but, at the same time, she was beginning to wonder if she actually wanted to go back to her timeline. Everyone had been so kind to her and she was with the one person who had actually meant anything to her.

But she knew she couldn't really stay. Who knew what damage her existence was doing to their timeline. She couldn't live with herself knowing she could be having a detrimental affect on the lives on these people who seemed to really care about her. But there was that part of her that enjoyed the shopping trips with the younger Stephanie and playing sporty games with her friends. It was the first time in years that she had been able to just relax and have fun; without the worry of anyone trying to shoot her in the head or blow her up.

One morning Steph hadn't been able to sleep and decided to go for an early morning jog. She ended up running for miles and was deep in Lazy Town's countryside before she stopped for a rest and to stretch out her tired muscles. She wan't aware of the fact she had company until Sportacus spoke.

"I saw you heading out of town. I just wanted to check you were okay," he said in way of explanation. He had two bottles of water with him and he handed one to her.

Steph nodded. "Yeah, just needed to do something to clear my head." She took a deep drink from the water bottle then they began to walk back to Lazy Town together.

"Pixel tells that the machine appears to be ready. He wants to see if he can get it to work later today."

After a pause, Steph frowned but then dropped it in order to smile. Despite her own reservations, the last thing she wanted was Sportacus to worry more than he needed to. He genuinely cared about those around him; a trait that remained true in both realities. It was that trait that had made her fall in love with him the first time around. Being in this reality was bringing all the old feelings back. Without warning, Steph suddenly found herself crying. She couldn't help it. It all just suddenly got too much.

It felt so unfair. Why did her Sportacus have to die yet the current reality still had theirs? Eventually she was going to have to leave him behind - just like she had to once before - and she would never see him again. It was too heartbreaking to bear. She had been too busy crying that she hadn't noticed that Sportacus had wrapped her up in a hug. He didn't say a word. He just allowed her to cry and get it out of her system. Eventually Steph calmed down and cried herself out. Sportacus's steady breathing and heart beat was a comfort. Steph closed her eyes and clung to him, keeping her head rested on his chest.

Pulling herself away from him at least, Steph couldn't bear to look him in the eye at first. She didn't trust herself. Thankfully Sportacus didn't question her. All he did was take a-hold of her hand and they walked back to Lazy Town in silence. It was almost like he understood and he was allowing her to have the quiet time she needed to process whatever it was going on in her head. Steph was soon pulled out of her brooding when Robbie came dashing towards them. He looked scared and he appeared to be running from something. It took a few minutes to get any sense out of him.

"It's the machine...they got through..." Robbie panted.

"What do you mean? Who got through?" Sportacus asked.

"The machine. We gave it a test run, to see if it was power up and stay on... It went off and these people got through. One of them looked like me."

Steph seemed to accept what had happened. "They got through. They're here for me. And they won't care who they have to get through to get to me."

After establishing that Pixel had also managed to escape - Robbie had told him to get out and warn the others - the three of them knew there was probably only one thing they could realistically do. That was to go back into Lazy Town and try and get everyone out and to safety. Also they needed to do this without getting caught. Steph suggested the idea that she would go and give herself up to the evil Robbie to serve as a distarction so that the townsfolk could get out. Sportacus didn't like the idea.

"It's probably going to be the only way," Steph pointed out to him. "If these people are who I think they are, then they are after me. I don't want anyone else getting killed because of me. Believe me they won't care about innocent casulties."

When the three of them got to the town, they could see that evil Robbie and his minions had already started attacking. There were buildings damaged or on fire. Large plumes of smoke rose into the air. Although they couldn't see any from their hiding spot behind a wall, they guessed there was probably casulties as well - both injured and dead. Steph knew this was all down to her - if she wasn't there then evil Robbie and his cronies wouldn't have come looking for her. The good Robbie looked genuinely scared to be back there and probably wanted to be anywhere but there.

Then Steph saw him - evil Robbie. He was strutting around, obviously looking for her or anyone who had found her. Even if it was her dead body, she knew he would be happy either way. He wanted her gone. If she turned up dead then it would say him the bother of having to kill her himself. Giving the two men a nod to get going and find their friends and get them out, Steph hopped over the wall and - bold as brass - walked towards her enemy.

"Hey Robbie! Looking for me?" She shouted.