Chapter Twelve

Larry walked through the front door feeling rejuvenated yet still depressed from what happened earlier. He needed to talk to Balki; he needed to make things right. He needed to–

"Cousin! You're alive!" Balki cried out joyfully, running to Larry and hugging him tightly. "I was hoping you would be!"

"Of course I'm alive, Balki; I just went for a walk. Look, Balki; I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I lied about Mypos. I wanted to tell you, I just didn't know how and I panicked. Can you ever forgive me?"

Balki pulled away but still held onto his arms. "Cousin, I forgive you. I am still upset that you did not tell me the truth, but right now I am just so glad that we are both here now."

Larry scratched his head. "Where else would we be other than together right now?"

"Well, we gotta talk about that," Balki replied, looking away.

Now Larry was really confused. When Larry had left, Balki never wanted to speak to him again and now Balki was acting as if Larry had been missing for days with no explanation. Not only that, but Bianca was nowhere in sight. Even R.O.B., who usually charged in the corner of the living room was gone. Something was definitely up and it was probably bad. Considering Balki wasn't smiling, he knew it had to be bad. "Balki, what's going on?"

"Cousin, come; sit," Balki led him to the sofa. As soon as they were both seated, Balki rested his arm over the back of the sofa's headrest and faced him. "Cousin, while you were away and I was madder than a wet herring, Bianca come to talk to me about why I never tried to stop the Ky-Dels from taking over Mypos five years ago."

"Yeah, I wondered that myself. So, what happened?"

"Well, Bianca typed in my name on the machine over there–the one you claim to be broken–and found that I could not have stopped them because…"

"The Ky-Dels had too many men? They threatened bodily harm to you and your family? They were holding Dimitri hostage?" Larry guessed when Balki trailed off.

"Of course not; don't be ridiculous! The reason is–the reason why–the reasoning–"

"Balki, just tell me!" Larry exclaimed.

"You and I," he said slowly, "were gone."

Larry shook his head as if to clear his mind. "It took you that long to say? You couldn't fight the Ky-Dels because we were gone? Boy, I thought you were going to tell me something horrible!" he laughed nervously.

"Cousin, let me put it another way: you and I were up there," Balki said, pointing above.

"We were on the roof? Balki, what are you trying to say?"

Balki suddenly grabbed Larry by his shirt and pulled him close until their faces were inches apart. "I'll say it one more time: you…and I…were…gone!"

Suddenly, Balki's words hit Larry like a ton of bricks and his eyes opened wide. "We were dead! You and I died? But how? Why? When? Where? By whom?"

"Cardio exercise poisoning from the oven in our apartment," Balki answered, his voice breaking. "Oh Cousin; it was terrible! If only we could have been there!"

Larry raised an eyebrow at Balki. While his Myposian cousin rarely made sense, this was way over Larry's head. How did Balki know that they were dead? Was he somehow psychic or just completely delusional?

"Larry, Balki is telling you the truth," Bianca's voice said from behind, causing Larry to jump.

"But–but, I don't understand! We can't die! I have so much to live for!"

"Cousin, don't lose your head. We have been dead for a long time now. We died when the egg came to our apartment and bring us here."

Larry shot up and paced the room frantically. "So you mean we're already dead? You mean to tell me that we're stuck in some sort of limbo? I–I didn't even get to tell Jennifer goodbye–"

Balki stood up and placed his hand on Larry's shoulder. "Cousin, you can do the limbo some other time. You and I–we are not really dead–just dead in nineteen-eighty-six!"

"Bianca, help me!" Larry pleaded, turning to her. "I can't be dead!"

"According to the internet, you and Balki died of carbon monoxide poisoning the day my machine arrived at your apartment. But I can assure you that you nor Balki are dead now. My machine must've took you away before you both started to get sick. So, my time machine quite possibly saved your lives and changed the course of history. I'm glad that it did, but I don't understand the impeccable timing! Another thing I don't understand is why it came to your apartment at all! I wanted to retrieve my magazine from the store after I'd left it, but it disappeared without me and appeared at your place, instead, saving your lives. How did all this happen?" Bianca asked.

"I believe I can be of some assistance with that, Miss Bianca," R.O.B.'s voice replied as he wheeled himself into the room.