Chapter 11

Monday, June 9th, 1986

Hill Valley

1: 20 P. M.

The DeLorean boomed back into existence in their own time over the open space that would one day house Zemeckis Gardens. Doc landed, checked for witnesses, then drove onto a road and headed back to Lyon Estates. "Home again, with 5 minutes to spare."

Marty flopped back in his seat with a sigh. "Whew! I'm exhausted. I might not wake up for days after going to sleep tonight."

"I'll join you, if my brain can figure out what 'night' is after all this time-traveling," Jennifer agreed, putting her head on his shoulder.

"My internal clock is completely out of whack," Mystie complained, feeling blah. "I have no idea when I should next eat anymore."

"I suppose the best we can hope for is for what my future self said to be true, and that our internal clocks will quickly reset themselves." He turned a corner. "In the meanwhile, what's our explanation to Marty's parents?"

"Ad-lib something about a rogue soulless vampire," Mystie yawned. "We're always exhausted after fighting them, and we can say their faded burns are bruises."

"Excellent idea."

Marty stretched to get a kink out of his leg, then asked Doc, "Hey, when are you going to fudge our memories? I think we went way over the limit of stuff you can know about your future."

"Not today. Probably sometime within the week, but not today." Doc turned towards the lions of the estate. "But, since that was a birthday present, I'm going to be a little lax. You can remember you're going to have a music career."

Marty grinned. "Thanks. I guess that's better than remembering I'm a soloist. I can't help but wonder what happened to Rick, Spydo, and J. J."

George and Lorraine were waiting for them nervously as they returned. "Is everything all right?" Lorraine asked, eyes fearful.

"Everything's fine," Doc assured them. "We had a brief fight with a soulless vampire who had left Biff's pack. Nothing more."

"Thank God. Now we can continue with Marty's birthday in peace." George turned towards the guests. "Now that the birthday boy has returned, let's officially cut the cake! After all, there's no time like the present!"

To everyone's bemusement, the 4 friends laughed. "You can say that again!"

Monday, June 9th

9: 30 P. M.

The waxing gibbous moon illuminated 2 abnormally shaped figures as they landed in the woods. Marty slipped off Doc's body, shivering. "There's a bunch of soulless vampires here. That's another reason to look forward to the future. We know we're gonna get rid of them for good."

"We're just going to take a quick look-around for Biff," Doc assured him as they walked through the woods as silently as possible. "I can't smell him here, but you never know."

They found the clearing where VAMPIS stood, burnt and smoking a little from its encounter with the lightning bolts. The usual ring of soulless vampires stood guard, armed with stakes. The gang withdrew before they could be properly spotted or smelled. "Not here. He must be back at his residence. We'll have to go there and go on the offensive. I'm sick of trying to defend myself every time he strikes."

"I'm with you, Emmett," Mystie said, letting Jennifer climb back on. "After this, I want to make sure he can't strike ever again." They flew back into the night sky, heading for Biff's neighborhood. It wasn't too hard to find - Biff still lived in the house he'd grown up in. The place seemed disturbingly empty once they arrived. The vampires let off their Partials near some bushes for cover. "Wait here," they instructed, then forced their way in through a window and disappeared inside. Marty and Jennifer waited, tense with anxiety.

A few minutes later, the vampires returned, pissed. "He's gone. Skipped town," Mystie grumbled, annoyed. "And my stomach was all set for a snack, too. . . ."

"We can't complain," Doc said, not looking like he believed what was coming out of his mouth. "He left in a big hurry, judging by the state in which he left the house. I think it's safe to say we scared him, or at least let him know we're not to be trifled with. And he left the time chamber here too. So I say we forget about him momentarily, and use our oft-abused internal clocks to our advantage."

Marty grinned in understanding. "I'll find something heavy to use tomorrow. VAMPIS is history."

Doc nodded and allowed Marty to clamber back onto his back. "Right now, we all need some rest. We'll regroup tomorrow around 7 o'clock in the morning."

Tuesday, June 10th, 1986

Hill Valley

7: 02 A. M.

Match and 3-D patrolled the area around VAMPIS. They started at the slightest sound, yanking out their guns with lightning speed. Biff had entrusted them with an important duty, and they were determined not to let him down.

Match heard a rustling up above him and pulled his gun. A gray furry body darted into the leaves. "Damn squirrels," he muttered, chewing a toothpick. "They're making me all jumpy."

3-D pulled his gun. "Wanna see if I can pick off one of the little bastards?"

Match pointed out a particular gray squirrel. "A pack of cigarettes says you can't hit him."

"You're on!" 3-D aimed and fired. The squirrel scampered away, wounded but alive. "I hit him! You lost!"

"He's still alive! You lost!" Match protested.

"You didn't say I had to kill him! I only had to hit him!"

"It was implied!"

"Implied, nothing! I hit him! You owe me a pack!"

Another rustling interrupted their argument. "Maybe he came back," 3-D said, aiming the gun. "If I kill him, you're buying me that pack."

Suddenly, a human form swung down from the trees - upside down! Doc Brown smiled cheerfully at the startled pair. "Hello, boys," he greeted them, pulling something from a "Velcro"-sealed pocket. "Pleasant dreams." He flipped the device over so it was the right way up and pointed it straight at them.

3-D remembered there was something called 'moving' that you could do in these kinds of situations. He raised his gun, just as Doc activated his device. Before either could react, their minds went perfectly blank.

Doc waited a moment, then turned off the sleep-inducer. Match and 3-D collapsed in a heap, snoring loudly. Doc flipped himself right side up and dropped to the ground. He made a check for other guards, then, satisfied there were no others, whistled.

His 3 comrades appeared from the foliage. "I take it our plan worked," Mystie said, looking disdainfully at the pile. "How long will they be out for?"

"I had it on the 2-hour setting, but it worked on both of them. I'd estimate an hour." He looked at VAMPIS and extended his hand. "Crowbar, please."

Mystie happily handed the implement of destruction to him. Doc stepped up to the time chamber. For a moment, he sadly admired his colleague's work on the thing. Then he swung the bar with all his might into the side. A shower of sparks exploded from it as vital circuits were destroyed. Marty and Jennifer produced baseball bats, and Mystie an ax she'd managed to dig up, and they began systematically destroying VAMPIS. Within half an hour, the time chamber was smashed beyond recognition. Pieces of it lay scattered all over the clearing. Electronic parts were pulled apart and tossed aside. The grip bar was pried loose and used as a smasher.

Marty spotted the double flux capacitor, unhooked but not destroyed. With a wicked smile, he raised his bat for the death blow. "Prepare to meet your maker."

As he swung down, though, Doc caught the end of the bat, stopping it. "Actually, Marty, I'd like you to spare that. With a little manipulation, I could turn it into a spare flux capacitor for us. I think I might take a few of the electronic parts too. Joel's work is close enough to my own so that I can use them in our car. Plus, I would really like for part of his work to live on."

"Fair enough, Doc." Marty redirected his force to the remaining wall of the chamber.

Finally, they were finished. Doc gathered up what pieces he wished to save (including the thankfully undamaged Time Tracker), and they beat it out of there.

10 minutes later, 3-D gave a snort, then awoke groggily. "Ugh, what happened? The last thing I remember is seeing a bright light. . . ."

His eyes found the VAMPIS, smashed beyond repair. His jaw dropped open in horror. "Oh, shit! Biff'll kill us! Match! Match, wake up!"

Match simply gave an particularly loud snore. 3-D smacked him in the face. "Harold Justin Needles, wake up!"

That brought Match back to consciousness. "Why the hell are you calling me Harold, Dennis?" he snapped, using 3-D's real name.

3-D pointed to the VAMPIS. Match felt a black cloud of doom obscure the sun, making everything abruptly dark and cold. "Damn," he muttered weakly, pale. "It's dead. Just like us, once Biff finds out. What the hell are we gonna do, 3-D?"

"I guess there's no sense in delaying the funeral," 3-D sighed, taking out his portable phone. He dialed the number of Biff's hotel in San Francisco. "Hello? Can you forward me to Biff Tannen's room? Thanks." He waited in fear as the connection was made. Match moaned and fell against a tree.

"Who's this?" Biff demanded as he picked up.

"It's 3-D, Biff," 3-D said, shaking in fear of Biff's wrath.

"Hey, 3-D. How are ya?"

"Biff - VAMPIS has been destroyed."

There was a brief, uncomfortable silence. "How?" Biff finally asked.

"Dr. Brown smashed it! We would have defended it but he flashy-thinged us! Whatever it was, it knocked us cold! We can't salvage it, but if you want, we'll go after Brown. We'll do anything to make it up to you. Just don't-"

To his surprise, Biff just sighed. "Stop sniveling. I shoulda expected something like this to happen. Don't know what I could have done with it anyway. He probably got you with some future thing."

Match, who had come over to listen, started in surprise. "Does Dr. Brown have a time machine? Maybe we could swipe it!" he suggested, his spirits lifting.

Biff heard him. "Don't bother. It's more trouble than it's worth. I've got a new plan that only involves this time. I'll be back in a couple of months, so you don't have to worry about me killing you. Get rid of the pieces, look after my house, and keep the vampires in their place."

"Okay," 3-D said, relieved. "See you in a few months, Biff."

Biff hung up on his gang. It would be hard, staying away from his hometown for a few months, but what he was doing would make it all worth it. Smiling wickedly, he pulled from his pocket a photo he had obtained. It showed all 4 Time Trippers together, smiling. He pulled out a lighter and set the photo aflame. His smile got wider as he watched the tiny flames consume the images. "I'll have my revenge, Brown," he whispered, dropping the burning photo in the sink. "You wait and see."

The End