Sorry for the delays between updates; I have the whole thing plotted out I just need time to clean it up into something readable and I've been so busy with research I haven't had that time. Sorry again, but I hope you enjoy this next part! If you have been enjoying this story, I'd love to know what you think so far. Reviews are always welcome! :)

Chapter VI

The wormhole spat the disoriented astronaut back into Game Space, sending him hurtling - smack - against a window like a bug against a windshield. Walter groaned and blinked to clear his vision, only to see a boy staring at him through the glass, wide eyes startled. Walter had barely time to notice the boy was standing upside down before the motion of the floating house sent him spinning toward the front porch.

Helpless to stop himself, the weightless astronaut slammed into a water pipe sticking out from the clods of earth that still remained of the yard, then into a wooden support strut before he managed to reach the control switch for his rocket pack and slow his dizzy spinning. With the skill of a master gamer, he used the rockets to position himself in front of the door and keep himself in place long enough to ring the bell. He waited a moment for the boy to answer, then reached down and worked the latch himself.

The door burst open in a dramatic cloud of frozen exhaust vapors. Walter turned until he was right side up, relative to the house, then propelled himself through the door to land on the wooden floor.

Two small boys huddled in a frightened clump at the far end of the foyer. Two unmistakably familiar little boys. They stared at the Astronaut, eyes wide with trepidation, as he broke his suit's environmental seal and pulled off his helmet.

A powerful wave of deja-vu washed over the Astronaut as he stared around the small, wooden space. This was his father's house, there was no doubt. For a moment, he wondered if he was asleep, if this was all just another one of his restless dreams. Those two children – little Danny and his own former self, sitting together in the corner – they certainly could be figments of his imagination. But that smell…the scent of old wood and new paint, mixed with the awful, charred, electrical stench left by the Zorgon missiles…

The smell made it real. Present.

This was no dream. His test had begun in earnest. But then, why was his younger self there?

Walter frowned. Could it be that the Game Masters didn't intend to send him home after all? Could all his training, his years in the field, losing Zöe… Had the Game Masters put him through all that just so he could act as a guide for his former self – prevent him from making the wish that had cost the Astronaut his childhood? His life? And if he succeeded, what then? Was he doomed to fade away, the victim of a redundant timeline? Is that what the Game Masters had done to Zöe? To the other Penalty Kids who'd worked so hard to get their 'second chance'?

The Astronaut straightened, feeling his anger surge, then fade. His fate wasn't important. He was here for Danny's sake, not his own. He had to undo that awful wish, even if it meant he had to give the Game Masters his life in exchange. But first, he had a duty to perform. Zorgon ships had the house surrounded. It was time to put his training to use.

"Which one of you spun me?" he said, turning his attention to the boys.

They stared, hesitant to answer this tall, scruffy stranger.

"Who was it?" the Astronaut demanded.

Ten-year-old Walter pointed to his little brother. "Him."

The Astronaut scowled down at the boy, fighting back a powerful wave of resentment. Self-loathing was one thing the Astronaut was all too familiar with, but if he was to succeed in his mission, he couldn't let it cloud his judgment.

"Don't be so quick to sell out your brother, kid," he said. "He's all you got."

An explosion shook the house, and the Astronaut swayed to keep his balance.

"Looks like you got a pretty serious Zorgon problem," he said.

"Yeah," Walter said, looking up at him. "What do we do?"

The Astronaut would have smirked if the situation wasn't so serious.

"Hide," he said.

"Hide?" Danny said. "But they'll just explode the whole house."

"We're gonna hide the house," the Astronaut told him. "Come with me to the kitchen. I'm gonna need your help."

To Be Continued...