Beatrice wasn't sure what was happening as she watched as the Errant Traveler glowed in the Tacho'noma's bridge. All she could figure before she was hastily taken onboard, was that the ancient time-traveling alien. He was fatally wounded on an alien world gripped in war, and only had enough time to drop off one of his previous companions before hastily going to find her.
Eventually, the glowing stopped. And where once there would have a man who looked to be in his late seventies with wrinkled... was a young woman, barely older than twenty. "What the heck?" Bea said in surprise as she touched the now velvet-soft ebon-hued skin. Not to mention that their hair was black and short, whereas before there hair was whispy.
Then the women woke up. "I'm up! I'm up!" She said as she sat up.
"A-Are you the Errant Traveler?" Beatrice asked.
"Well were you expecting someone else?" The Errant Traveler said, there voice now a clear and lilted with a Southern accent. As opposed to the haggard and elderly English accent they had before. "Because regardless, I am the Errant Traveler."
"B-b-b-b-b-b..." Beatrice stammered.
"Darlin', this ain't the time for a motorboat impression." The Errant Traveler said.
"Can you at least tell me what happened to you?!" Beatrice said in disbelief.
"In a word... change. Much, much sooner then I would have thought." The Errant Traveler said, she then looked into a reflective surface. "Oh... my... Chrounous." She said in disbelief. "I can't believe... that I'm still wearing these old robes!"
Beatrice's eye twitched and she sparked. "This is going to be one of those days." She said as she took a chair, and went into powered-down mode.
XXXX
Meanwhile... more or less, on a planet almost identical to Earth. Specifically, the planet Htrae, which was inhabited by humanoids virtually identical to Humans, except there skin had various shades of red, blue, purple and pink. Two siblings, a boy, and a girl were playing. "What are you kids doing?" An old man asked.
"We're bored... and the only game we can agree on to play is 'mathematics'." The boy said.
"Mordred... Morgan. You two are the biggest nerds I've ever met." The old man said in exasperation.
"Well, you haven't helped at all Great Uncle Merlock!" Morgan said in annoyance.
"Listen, your parents just wanted me to keep an eye on you for the summer," Merlock said. "Now I need to look after the store." He then left the room.
"Between the two of us, we're the most brilliant minds on Htrae... and we're stuck with a glorified con-artist while we're off from school," Mordred said in irritation. Then without warning, they were surrounded in a strange mist. "Well... would not have seen this coming," Mordred said, then the twins found themselves on an alien ship.
"I am Prince Vo-Kaa... and this is my cousin, Crown Prince G'reet," Vo-Kaa said. "Consider yourselves officially kidnapped."
XXXX
Back onboard the Tacho'noma. The Errant Traveler changed her wardrobe. Gone were the old robes, and in its place, she was wearing a black collared T-shirt, jeans with a brown belt, and sandals. "Well... how do I look?" The Errant Traveler asked as she entered the bridge. There she found Beatrice... powered down, and snoring. "I suppose after everything that's happened today, she's earned a nap... but she's going to see my new outfit!" She then used her wrench topped staff to awaken Beatrice.
Beatrice stirred awake. "Huh... you know, you look cute in that outfit." She said. "Now... would you mind explaining what the heck is going on?!"
"Ah... the change." The Errant Traveler said. "Well, it's like this. My people, when near death can rearrange our molecules. This 'Rejuvenation' changes our appearances and gives us another chance at life." She explained. "Just be glad that I turned into something recognizably Human... one of my last rejuvenations saw me as a slug-like alien, I got amnesia and became a crime lord."
"Right..." Beatrice said skeptically. "So... any chance you could drop me back at when you picked me up."
The Errant Traveler typed on a nearby console. "No can do... the Tacho'noma is in one of its moods. So it's stuck on autopilot to some planet called Htrae." The Tacho'noma then landed, and the two of them stepped out to see Morgan and Mordred being kidnapped. "Well... that can't mean anything good."
"Why specifically?" Beatrice asked.
"Well, I know for a fact that this planet doesn't have teleportation technology." The Errant Traveler said, she then went to her console, and quickly performed some calculations. "And from the looks of it, there's a Sym'ian ship in orbit-"
"We're going after them," Beatrice said determinedly.
"With any luck, there no Prince's onboard." The Errant Traveler then shifted the Tacho'noma's position to onboard the Sym'ian ship. She then peaked her head out of the doors.
"Intruder!" Vo-Kaa exclaimed. The Errant Traveler then ducked back in as Vo-Kaa readied a psionic blast.
"So... Prince Vo-Kaa is on this ship." The Errant Traveler said.
"Is there any way to get back to Earth in a hurry?" Beatrice asked, the Errant Traveler just shook her head. Then Beatrice groaned in irritation as she sat down. "You know... the last time I faced those Sym'ian's. I needed my Silver Automaton armor, and help from my friends and family."
"Just be glad you opted to irregularly travel with me." The Errant Traveler said. "At any rate, I think I can at least calculate a more opportune time to intervene."
XXXX
Several hours later, the Sym'ian's had put the twin children to work. "Can you at least tell us what we're doing?" Mordred asked incredulously.
"Watch your mouth boy!" Vo-Kaa said as he readied a psionic blast.
"Oh put that away you impulsive ball of fur." The deep and commanding voice of the Eternal King said as he stepped out of the shadows. "I am sorry for these circumstances. But these... Sym'ian's were all I could spare."
"Next time call a space cab," Morgan said snidely.
"I don't have the money in the first place." The Eternal King said. "But more to the point. You are here... because I require your knowledge."
"To do what?" Mordred asked.
"I will make this quick. I require a power source, and this star is about to go supernova." The Eternal King said.
"Okay... why do you need us? We're kids!" Morgan said.
"That's what I asked!" G'reet added.
"I am afraid that, while I know how to create a stasis field. I do not know how to make one big enough to encase a star." The Eternal King said. "Such a feat would require mathematic skills beyond my capabilities and those of my people who could be of aid. Would sooner lock me away in a Rift Loop. So I must settle for taking you two into my employ to bring this star with me."
"Well, why don't you take it as is if you're so advanced?" Mordred asked.
"Because transporting a star in its death throes is not safe... duh." The Eternal King said glibly. "I shall provide the means to create a stasis field. But it's size, that I leave to you."
"And if we refuse?" Morgan asked with trepidation.
"Then this ship, and everyone on it we burn with the star... so no rush." The Eternal King said as he opened a time portal and went through it.
XXXX
Several days later. The Errant Traveler's Tacho'noma materialized in the depths of the Sym'ian ship. "Sweat mother of innovation, why couldn't we land-"
"Can you please stop complaining?" The Errant Traveler said to Beatrice as they exited the Tacho'noma. "I know your under a lot of stress right now. But going on and on about how much you hate everything that's going on around you isn't going to help anyone." She chided. "As it stands, the only safe way to recover those two children. Is to move stealthily through this ship."
Beatrice pulled down her visor. "Cricket Alpha. Hack into the computer."
Cricket obeyed. "I have detected non-Sym'ian lifeforms in this ship's science bay."
"Now work on a safe route through the ship- where did she go?" Beatrice said, noticing that the Errant Traveler was gone.
"I detect that the entity known as the Errant Traveler is already in the ventilation system." Cricket Alpha said.
"Then work out an alternate route... one that keeps me as far away from that lunatic as possible," Beatrice said.
XXXX
"Okay... it's taken almost a week. But... but we've finally got it." Mordred said in exhaustion.
"And just in time... another few minutes and the supernova would have consumed us all," Morgan said, just as exhausted as her twin.
Then the Eternal King entered through a time portal. "You have done well... now the final pieces, are falling into place." He said ominously. Then the Errant Traveler fell out of a vent. He then went over to the twins and took them in his arms. "Old friend!... you're looking so much better then the last time I saw you. You don't smell like-"
"Just... get one with monologing about your latest plan." The Errant Traveler said.
"I have taken these children to create a stasis field for this dying star. Now, I need your help to transport this star. Refuse to aid me... and they will die." The Eternal King said.
"WHAT?!" The twins protested, then Beatrice burst through the door with a plasma cannon-armed.
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" She said as she readied to fire.
"Please... let us be sensible." Then the Eternal King used a staff, a device not unlike the Errant Travelers. Waved it, causing Beatrice to slump over and her plasma cannon to deactivate.
"Cricket, what just happened!?" Beatrice said in shocked surprise.
"He has deactivated your neural network, your body isn't responding to any of your CPU commands," Cricket explained.
"Now let me make this clear, my dear, Errant Traveler... either you help me. You can either aid me... or I will make certain that your latest companion suffers." The Eternal King said.
The Errant Traveler just took a deep breath. "You're lucky that I value life. Otherwise, I'd let them die rather than aid you." She said in resignation.
"We don't even know what he's planning!" Beatrice protested.
"I can assure you. It is nothing malevolent... on basic principle." The Eternal King said.
"And what, oh Eternal King. Would you need a Solarius Battery for?" The Errant Watcher asked.
"Now why would I ruin a surprise... now be silent and shrink the sun!" The Eternal King barked.
XXXX
Several hours later, the Errant Traveler finished shrinking the star to about the size of a cinder block. "There... I hope you don't burn your hands on it." She said with contempt.
"Good... we shall meet again my darling Errant Traveler. But before I go-"
"No. You'll go now." The Errant Traveler said incredulously.
The Eternal King said nothing as he opened a Time Portal, and on the other side was an empty room that looked like a power room. "Here goes nothing." He said as he made his way to a receptacle that he placed the Solarius Battery into. The room then lit up. "Yes... YES! NIDAVELIR HAS AWAKENED!" He then went back to the Sym'ian ship... to find the place in chaos. "Naturally... even without a Y chromosome, the Errant Traveler is a master escape artist... and letting everyone know that there escaping."
Meanwhile, the Errant Traveler and Beatrice had gotten the twins back to the Tacho'noma. "PUNCH IT!" Beatrice yelled.
The Errant Traveler then punched a console. "Oh, you meant the- right." She then set Tacho'noma to dematerialize. "Sorry... I just panicked." The Errant Traveler apologized. "And we're now safely in the Time Stream."
Beatrice then noticed that the twins looked depressed. "Hey... you two doing okay?" The robot teenager asked in concern.
"Lady... we were abducted by barbaric alien monkey's, and forced by another alien to encase a star in suspended animation," Mordred said in exhaustion.
"How, can we be fine. After all of that?" Morgan said, just as worn out as her brother.
"Trust me when I say I know the feeling. I've been through so many adventures... including several were I narrowly cheated death." Beatrice said. "So... ET, set a course for somewhere, and when for ice cream and pizza for these two!"
"And lucky for you, I know just the place!" The Errant Traveler said as she typed away on her console.
XXXX
"-and that's what the Errant Traveler and I did." Beatrice finished, to her bewildered friends, as they sat around a TV that had a console game running
"Okay... how did this all happen in thirty seconds between leaving and coming back?" Jennifer Amberwall asked.
"Again, time travel. The Errant Traveler is a time traveler. He, or rather she has a time machine... her species have effectively mastered time travel." Beatrice said. "She's staying here while she and dad and uncle Ferb are working to repair her Tacho'noma... again."
"So, do we just continue the party like nothing happened?" Mathew asked.
"It's just playing co-op video games," Beatrice said. "But please, don't stop on my account."
XXXX
Meanwhile on the bridge of the Vow of Vengeance. "I do not believe it... the Bride of Cy'tar is awake," Doombringer said in awe.
"Not entirely. Her automated foundries are working again. But she is effectively in a coma." The Eternal King said.
"And if you hadn't abused the foundries in the first place. This wouldn't have been an issue in the first place." Ty'raka said in annoyance. "Honestly Doombringer, what made you think that a deactivated Nidavelir could handle so much-"
"Enough!" The Eternal King commanded. "The important thing is that I accomplished what I set out to do. Nidavelir can produce materials again. Now you'll excuse me. I need to look into young Beauregard." Eventually, he made his way to the lab that was set aside for Beatrice's twin brother.
Inside of that lab. Beauregard was trying to wrangle with his creation. A robot not unlike himself or his sister. A bio-organic robot created with a Quantum Android Forge. However, unlike him or any of his fellow BEA-Droid's, which were made with Human DNA. This one was made with material from both Yoral's and Cy'tarian's.
"I take it that it's still a work in progress?" The Eternal King said as Beauregard attempted to restrain the still developing BEA-Droid.
"WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE!?" Beauregard screamed as he tried to keep the as yet half-formed robot from thrashing. The Eternal King then waved his staff, causing the robot to slow to a crawl. "You know if you helped this would be done a lot quicker."
"Then I shall. This project has gone much slower then I had expected." The Eternal King said, and over the next few hours. Beauregard's BEA-Droid was finally complete. "Well... I must admit. Your father is quite a skilled craftsman. But why was it reacting in pain?"
"Near as I've figured," Beauregard said. "The two different kinds of genetic material, not to mention from so many individuals... well with my dad's improvements. BEA-Droid's can inherit personality traits from each of there donors."
"I see... so with so many personality traits from so many individuals. Your creation is likely a psychologically unstable mess?" The Eternal King said.
"There might not be any therapy in creation that could help him," Beauregard said with concern as he looked on his creation. A robot about the same height as the Cy'tarian's. "Uh... hey there champ." The robot then roared at Beauregard. "Okay! I'm sorry to have to do this. Override Command Code Epsilon!"
Then the robot became docile. "How may I serve you, creator?" He said in a blank monotone voice.
"I just need a simple test first," Beauregard said. "First, I want to see if you have an alternate form like the Cy'tarian's do."
"Affirmative, Creator Beauregard Flynn." The robot did nothing after that.
"May I see it?" Beauregard asked.
"Affirmative, Creator Beauregard Flynn." The robot then changed from his current humanoid form. To one that closely resembled a large dragon.
"Okay, now we're talking! Now I'm going to have to run more tests before your ready for combat... and also having the override lifted." Beauregard said.
"I understand. Though I must ask... what is my purpose? What even is my name?" The robot said.
Beauregard mused on this. "Well... your designation is BEA-Droid Draconis. So why not Draco?"
"Seems rather uninspired to me." The Eternal King said.
"I shall accept the designation, Draco," Draco said. "Though I must ask. What shall be done regarding my... defect?'
Beauregard looked concerned. "I'll... I'll do what I can." He said with uncertainty. "F-For now, let's just focus on testing, shall we?
XXXX
"So basically the repairs we've given to the Tacho'noma still aren't working?" Phineas said.
"Yes, that is the gist of what I was telling ya'll." The Errant Traveler said. "You'd think I'd learn by now to not Rejuvenate on the bridge... so many centuries and I still haven't learned my lesson."
Ferb then entered the room. "Well bad news, you're going to be stuck here for a while. The components that allow the Tacho'noma are severely burnt." He said as he dumped the components in question.
"Good call, if I tried to use the Tacho'noma with these parts damaged. I'd be lucky to get out of the Time Stream alive." The Errant Traveler said. "That's the good news. The bad news is that some of those components power the communications systems, so I can't just order replacement parts."
"Well we can make replacements... not sure how long that could take, however," Phineas said.
XXXX
Meanwhile, on Htrae, the twins were glad to be home. "Seriously though, next summer we go the Great Uncle Merlin's," Mordred said.
"Agreed." Morgan agreed.
