Hello everyone, I'm back with another long chapter, this time checking up on Banastre and his various problems with life. Most of this chapter was actually in the original version and I liked it so much I wanted to make it fit in this version. (This is probably also the chapter you've been waiting to see again Miss1780) I hope you enjoy Tarleton's shenanigans as much as I do.

Saturday, Novenber 21, 2016

4:00 PM

Banastre sat alone at a table in a diner, it was one of those rare occasions where he did not bother to talk to those around him, he didn't even flirt with the rather attractive waitress that attended him! He just sat, silent and perturbed with a half empty beer bottle in one hand.

Banastre bitterly gazed all around him at the other patrons of the restaraunt-- a few families, groups of carefree friends, and pairs upon pairs of young and in love couples. The place was scarce of other lone stragglers such as he. Now that Wilkins, Tavington, Elizabeth, and Smith are all still cross with him, and Bordon-- well, he's simply occupied with other things now-- Banastre has been left with few other options then to have supper alone, with the twenty 'dollars' that Doctor Smith let him have.

Of course, Tarleton knew damn well that he only had himself to blame for alienating the only people that were not strangers in this foreign land! And, before, he would have had no trouble at all replacing their company, but it was an entirely different matter in the 21st century. The many times he's been rebuffed... honestly, how could people get away with being so very rude?

He quickly lifted his head at a very raucous hum outside. He abandoned his drink, threw some money on the counter, and ventured outside to investigate. He found the source of the noise, and it absolutely took his breath away.

A trio of men wearing leather rushed into the parking area straddled on machines that Banastre could only liken to metal horses. They moved fast, faster than Ban could have ever dreamed of traveling on any living moumt. He watched, mesmerised as the tough gang of men parked in formation, moving as one. Banastre gaped at the shine on the metal vehicles, he felt his heart race and instantly he fell in love.

He approached one of the riders, an older man with a towering build, and a black cloth tied on his head that covered his balding gray hair. He also wore a black leather jacket that had the letters 'BACA,' whatever that meant, sewn on it in big white letters. Despite the man's intimidating appearance, he seemed to possessed a laid back demeanor and regarded Tarleton with a nod of the head as soon as they were within talking distance. That was enough to put Banastre at ease.

"My good man! Forgive me, but I am curious. What exactly are those?" Ban pointed at his metal horse. The eloquence that he presented himself with was a stark contrast to the rural setting around him, which caused the stranger raise both brows and blink down at him for a moment before he recovered.

"They're Harleys. Y'ain't got bikes in whatev'r country yer from, stranger?" The gentleman responded. His gravelly voice rumbled from his chest then left his mouth in a manner that was very gruff. Ban shook his head, eying the lustrous black metal in awe.

"I'm afraid not. They are quite impressive."

"Hey Bear! You comin' or what?" One of the other men called from the entrance of the tavern.

"J'st a minute Rooster, I'm talking to m' buddy o'er h're!" The man answered with a guttural shout. Then he regarded the smaller man once again.

"Y' got a name, 'feriner?"

"Banastre Tarleton." The man gazed at him with disbelief, then began to bark and wheeze in laughter.

"Lak-- lak pert --of a staircase?" Ban coughed, glancing around him awkwardly while "Bear" slowly but surely began to quiet.

"I-I suppose, yes. Many people over the years have had quite the challenge spelling my name, that is certain. Most simply call me Ban for-- ahem, obvious reasons."

A deep chuckle rumbled from Bear's chest.

"Well, alrighty then, Ban, d'you wanna eat wit us? Most of the time I wouldn't offer, but it'd be a shame to be alone after comin'all the way to the middle o' this country." Banastre promptly thanked him and they both went inside the diner.

Banastre got along surprisingly well with the band of bikers. He told them about his time in the war, conveniently leaving out that it was in the 1700s. He also told them some aspects of his life in England, in particular he boasted and jested with them about his various exploits with the opposite sex. The latter part seemed to be the things that made him the most popular.

"Y'know, man?" One biker, 'Road Rash,' drunkenly slurred. "Fer a f'renier, you're a'ight. Ya oughta ride wit us!" Although his rural accent was so thick that Ban had trouble understanding him, the others did not seem to have such trouble. The bikers all murmured in agreement. The auburn haired man gave them his signature grin.

"Unfortunately, I know not how." The gang glanced at one another, a soft clamour rose among them. Then they all but led Banastre out to the parking lot and said something to him about teaching him.

Being the quick learner that he usually was, it was a mere few hours before he was speeding up and down the empty road.

"Hey 'Rash!" Bear roared at the scrawny, drunken man to his right that dangerously tilted a few ways too far to one side. "Y' better quit ridin' b'fore you earn yer name all over a'gain!"

Road Rash succeeded, albeit in a very sloppy, unstable manner, to pull over to the side of the road and stop riding. Banastre quickly passed him and took his place in the front. He rode faster with the others, relishing the feel of the wind billowing through his clothes, onto his face, and the hair what was not restricted by the thick helmet he wore. To say that Banastre was enjoying himself would be an understatement. How he missed sitting astride his horse and experiencing the trill of the speed and the hunt! But no, this was infinitely better, for the motorcycle that he mounted on rode far faster and smoother. Tarleton was not riding anymore; he was flying.

Eventually though, the fun had to come to an end when the biker gang prepared to depart after they had their own fill of various fried delicacies. Bear clapped Tarleton on the back as they lazily sauntered away from the diner.

The dragoon looked out at the sun, that grew ever closer to the horizon.

"I am afraid I must leave now as well. I have a long way to go." Banastre dismissed himself with a good-bye and began to make his trek four blocks and nearly a whole university campus away. Really, what was he thinking venturing so far and staying until it was nearly dark? He did not get past the parking lot however, before Bear's booming yell stopped him.

"Wait a minute! Yer gonna walk all the way to the other side o' town in the dark? Just take my bike man, now that I think about it I'd better take him home!" Bear grabbed Road Rash by the back of his jacket collar when he stumbled past and attempted to mount his own bike.

Banastre nodded, thanking him and made his way to the giant's black bike. He straddled the seat, and grinned wickedly at the roar of its engine. He waved a farewell to his new acquaintances, backed out of the lot, and traveled to Doctor Smith's home in a quarter of the time it would take by foot, whooping like a madman all the way. Bear's normally quiet second gawked after the dragoon and stood frozen in his tracks. However, he eventually did find his voice, albeit it was as uneloquent and nasal as usual.

"Hey Bear?"

"Yeah Rooster?"

"Don't ye think that maybe givin' him that bike might just have been a bad idea?"

"I reckon it might be." Bear shrugged, and said no more about it. He just dragged Road Rash closer to his own bike and started to place both of them upon it. Rooster shook his head and clapped his hands to his sides.

"But you know you ain't never seeing that pretty motercycle again, right??"

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

James sat upon a large, cushioned desk chair, holding Amelia close to him as she sat upon his lap. Her head rested upon his chest, he felt her voice vibrate against his chest as she continued to instruct him how to play a game called 'Universe Sandbox' on the computer. The screen displayed the Planet Earth in the middle of space and the speakers softly played ambient music as they 'Played God with the cosmos,' how the Captain put it.

"What do I do now?"

"If you add hydrogen to Earth, you can turn it into a star. Or you can add an asteroid or another celestial body nearby to collide with the planet."

"How very destructive! I'd like to turn it into a star. How do I add the..."

"Hydrogen."

"Hydrogen?"

"First click on earth, then click on the add button on the control panel."

"Alright..." Soon the gorgeous blue, green, and white planet turned into a brilliant ball of gas on the computer screen."

"It appears to pull other objects with it!" The Captain exclaimed.

"It is! Since it's bigger, it's gravitational pull is stronger. If it gets big enough it will trap it's own light, and it will become a black hole." James made more hydrogen appear in space, and watched it go into the star.

"It's not getting any bigger."

"It will reach a maximum amount in the game, so you can't make a black hole that way. I already tried." She remarked with a disappointed voice. She heard the door open, then turned her head and saw Tarleton come in. M.A.R.S. approached him and offered his metal hand for him to take anything to the closet.

"I do not require help, metal beast." The Colonel said to him in a clipped tone. The robot replied with an electronic whine and a bump on the man's shin. Then it slunk off as he cursed.

"You'll get along better with him if you were less rude to him. It may save you from all of the bruises on your leg." With an exasperated sigh, he regarded the woman.

"Or you can alter its behavior so that it is less touchy. But no matter. Where is Major Bordon? I have barely seen anything of him these past few days."

"None of us have, except for the lady he's...well, I can't say it because..." Wilkins eyed Amelia who took over the game for him and was now watching a galaxy collision play out. She didn't seem to pay attention enough to know what they were talking about until--

"They are likely engaged in a duet of some sort. The only question is if the nature of the duet itself is musical or sexual." She bluntly added in a matter of fact, emotionless tone.

The two men gazed at her silently once again. She never failed to befuddle James with her unpredictable nature.

"Uh...I suppose, yes." Wilkins blushed, the word itself uttered from Mia's lips rattled within his mind. Sexual. Never before has he heard a woman so comfortably regard such a subject that so many others were careful to delicately tread over!

"Anyway..." Amelia continued, quite oblivious to the effect that she had upon Wilkins. "I have put it off these past few days, but I feel that it is an important topic. I inspected the repairs that Elizabeth and Tesla made on the time travel device. Although the surfaces of it are damaged, the overall mechanics are perfectly functional. Clearly Nikola did a much better job than I ever could." Amelia paused in a moment of bitter silence before continuing.

"But what I wanted to ask, Banastre, is whether or not you wished to stay here or return to your own time. I already know about Tavington and Bordon, I'm sure that James wants to stay behind as well--"

"That's right." James cut in as he gently squeezed Amelia tighter to him. Tarleton's mouth twisted to one side of his face and his eyes narrowed at the sight of Wilkins behaving like a lovestruck schoolboy. Tarleton's bitterness from earlier crept back in, extinguishing all thoughts of flight and freedom.

"... I am really not so sure at all if I want to remain in the 21st century, actually. I have given it much thought recently, and I realize that there is not a place for me here."

Amelia nodded, then she stood up.

"I understand. You really have not seemed to be enjoying yourself here recently, so I wanted to make sure. However..." Amelia reached under her desk and pulled out something that made Banastre's eyes nearly bug out-- the History textbook he kept hidden with his other belongings!

"I wouldn't suggest that you take this."

"What-- what are you talking about? Why were you looking through my things?"

"I didn't find it, blame him!" Amelia declared, pointing downward at the flashing metal rubbage bin by her feet who appeared to be very pleased with himself. Tarleton all but glowered down at it only to be met with a tinny series of notes that sounded unmistakably like laughter.

"You must know the kind of affects that you can have on the future if you attempt to alter the timeline. There are either two outcomes that come to mind. The first one I like to call the 'River Theory,' because it suggests that the main course of history will remain the same no matter what one does to change it. But the second outcome-- that one is much worse!"

Amelia jumped to a whiteboard and began to draw a line diagram. Tarleton had to suppress a loud groan. If he had known that going home meant he had to listen to another one of Doctor Smith's boring, drawn out lectures, he would have literally camped out in the cushioned red booth in the corner of the tavern. Nevermind the fact that it stank of lard and old ale!

"Now, say that this straight line is the original timeline, and the red line that deviates from it is an alternate timeline. We know that in the original Britain loses the war, but-- hey, hey! Where are you going?"

In the middle of her tangent, with as much dignity as he could muster, Banastre promptly walked out. Amelia watched him, stunned into silence for a few moments.

"Well I didn't expect to be able to convince him so quickly! He must have gone down to Elizabeth's place to apologize for taking her book."

Tarleton stopped in his tracks beforebhe reached the stairs and cursed rather loudly. He left the textbook behind, and he still did not know the information he needed! (Well, it was a big book, he did not feel like reading or retaining all of it!) So he boldly stormed back in, snatched it from its spot on top of the desk, and marched out.

"... He even wanted to return it too her, I really am good!"

James cradled his forehead in his palm and shook his head.

"Mia, jut in case he'll need more convincing you may want to tell Elizabeth about this problem."

"Oh, you think so?"

"Absolutely!" James burst out all too eagerly. "That is... Tarleton is a very stubborn man. Many things that people tell him usually go in one ear and out of the other. But if more than one person tells him the same thing..." James trailed off, his point was made.

"Yeah, you're right."