All standard disclaimers that I have already used so far with any of the various stories that I
now have on fanfiction.net will apply. For your information, all of the characters that you may not
actually recognize well enough in this story are original characters of mine, unless otherwise stated, in
fact. All the Galaxians, for instance, are mine, whether in combat form or in civilian form. So please
don't steal my original characters from this story or any others, for that matter.
Now without further ado, back to the story. And I hope that you'll all enjoy it, of course.
******************************************************************************
The Inverness Chronicles
Book One
Chapter Nine
As Amy was then sleeping, Robert was currently talking with several of the local authorities
here near the middle of town. He'd found himself and others being near where the earlier seven-vehicle
accident had taken place. Which was near Calvert Hill, in fact. Calvert Hill was close to where
Crossroads Elementary School was located. And it was also near a moderately-sized creek that
eventually fed into the nearby Makonta River. It was on the other side of that creek from a hill called
Hazzard Hill. And the creek in question was Hazzard Creek. He'd been heading toward a friend's
house with his current companions. And they'd encountered the local authorities as they entered the
area where the accident had taken place earlier. He was asking them why they were there, as he and
his friends were passing through the area on the way to another of their friends' houses, in fact.
They told Robert and his friends about the accident, if they'd not already heard about it. And
Robert and his companions were all quite surprised at the severity of the aforementioned accident, for
all the obvious reasons. At the current time, they were still working on the damage and destruction
caused in the accident. And they were still trying to recover bodies from the vehicles that were still
present and were known to still contain at least one person in them. Of course, by now, any people
that were still in the vehicle or vehicles in question here were most likely dead, for all of the obvious
reasons, in fact.
And they were also trying to recover at least one vehicle from the accident that had also fallen
to the bottom of the creek, as well. At the current time, a team of divers was now trying to put ropes
or chains around various areas of that vehicle or vehicles, in fact. As they were then doing that here,
someone eventually said, "I see a mostly orange car with some sort of flag on its roof, and numbers on
its sides. The doors are welded shut, and apparently three bodies are still inside it. One appears to be
that of a middle-aged woman, if I'm not mistaken. While the other two appear to be children about
fifteen and twelve years old. The apparent fifteen-year-old girl is a blonde female with waist-length hair
tied with a blue bow. While the twelve-year-old boy is a medium brown-haired male with a near-
crewcut for his current hairstyle."
One of the authorities then asked, "Is there a driver present in the car now, Sheldon?"
"It doesn't appear so, Jonathan. The woman appears to be about forty or so years old, at
least, and she has dark brown hair. She appears to be dead, and so does the girl. Though I can't be
sure about that at the moment. For it's still somewhat dark here. Even with several of us shining our
lights toward the car's current occupants, Jonathan. The boy seems to be unconscious, but not dead. I
don't really know yet if he's dead or not, however."
"Look at the area around the vehicle's driver's seat, if you can, and tell me what you see."
For a few minutes, then, the aforementioned Sheldon did so, with or without the help of his
fellow nearby divers. He soon reported, "I now see a wallet and what appears to be some sort of
money in or near the wallet. Also several pictures and various pieces of plastic and assorted other
items, in fact, Jonathan. The first of the various assembled pictures apparently shows the woman and
two children with a middle-aged man that has either mostly blonde or mostly gray hair. Though I can't
tell which at the moment, due to the limited amount of light that we now have available here for us all.
All three of the apparent passengers are wearing seatbelts, and the girl has a stuffed animal of some sort
in her hands. The woman has her hands up. And she seems to have been putting something in her hair,
when the accident happened. Her head seems to be closer to the car's roof than it should be normally.
For her seat seems to have detached at least partially, if not totally, from where it had evidently been
attached to the interior of the vehicle on its floor. The apparent mother's also wearing a locket which
contains a picture of a younger man and younger woman. The younger woman appears to be her at a
younger age, in fact."
"I see. Do you think this is a job for the Medical Examiner or the Coroner?" These things
were either said or asked by Jonathan a few moments later, after he considered the things that Sheldon
had just told him here, in fact.
"I don't know yet, Jon. I hope not. The water seems to be quite cold inside the car, when
compared to outside of it. There's an apparent difference of about thirty or so degrees Fahrenheit
between the areas inside and outside of the car. Perhaps all the current occupants of the car are
actually alive, but look dead at the moment, or at least unconscious, if not worse off than that. We
can't really tell here at the moment, I think."
"How are you doing with getting the ropes and/or chains around the necessary part or parts of
the vehicle here, Sheldon? Should you all be ready for us to pull out the vehicle here in the near
future?"
"I suggest that we do so in the next hour or two before the water starts to get too cold around
here tonight."
"Understood." Then the person identified earlier as Jonathan said, "I'm with a few civilian
people though, at the moment. I'll be sending them through this area shortly. And then we can call the
other necessary people here, if we haven't already done so by then."
"Make it quick, then. Several of us are going to need to come up for more air shortly, Jon.
And I think it'd be best if no civilians were around when we did so, in fact."
"Granted, Sheldon. We'll send the civilians on their way shortly, after we let them know how
they can avoid this area on the way back to their respective homes elsewhere in town."
"Thanks. Denny and Jill will be up first, and then others, as needed. Denny and Jill have to be
up within the next ten to fifteen minutes, however, for all the obvious reasons."
"We'll be waiting for them both, then, Sheldon." Then Jonathan showed Robert and his current
companions a map. And he then showed them all how to avoid this particular area for at least a while,
when they were all then on their way back to their respective homes elsewhere in town. A few minutes
or so later, at most, then, Robert and all the other members of his current group left the area behind
again, of course. And they then went to their friend's place for at least a little while, quite naturally
enough, here.
After Robert and the rest of his party were most definitely out of sufficient earshot and eyesight
range, at least, if not any other range as well, Jonathan said, "Sheldon, all of the civilians are sufficiently
outside our range, I believe. We should have something ready to help you out here shortly, if I'm not
too mistaken here, I'm sure."
"If this doesn't work well enough, then we may have to call at least a few of the Scouts here, of
course."
"Understood, Shel. We're aware of that possibility, of course, but we all still hope that we
won't have to call them here, just the same. For they've been busy around here for at least the last few
days. I really don't think that we'd want to disturb them here, if we don't absolutely have to."
"Agreed, Jon. Especially the Inners, I think."
Several minutes later, at most, the divers then reported that they had the necessary ropes
and/or chains in place here. After Jonathan heard that, he then waved to a nearby crane operator.
And he did this so that they'd know that it was now all right for them to raise their crane from its current
position that was basically parallel to nearby terrain here. The crane operator then began to raise the
crane in question here, of course. And soon enough after they did so, the vehicle that still had three
occupants in it broke the surface. The crane operator soon had brought the vehicle over to a
considerably-sized clear area on the Hazzard Hill side of the creek. And then they tried very carefully
to set it down as gently as possible, just in case someone had actually somehow survived being in the
water for at least a few hours, if not even longer than that, here. This, of course, was for all the obvious
reasons. Granted, it could turn out that none of them had done so. But until the authorities knew for
sure, they'd not take any unnecessary chances here, if they could avoid doing so here, quite naturally.
As the crane operator moved the orange sedan over to the aforementioned area on the chosen side of
the creek, they also tried to make it possible for more of the water that was still in the vehicle to drain
out of it.
Eventually, the orange sedan's water contents had been emptied out of it as much as possible.
And then the authorities called some nearby emergency medical personnel to the area, just in case they
might actually now be needed here. As they also awaited the arrival of those emergency medical
personnel, they then examined the orange car and its occupants more closely, if at all possible. And
then they all tried to figure out what had happened to make it go into the creek as it had earlier done, in
fact.
Minutes later, then, the aforementioned emergency personnel arrived at the still-recent
accident's location. And the authorities led them to the strange car in very short order. After a little
more time had passed, the medics realized that the best way to get the car's occupants out of the
vehicle was through the side windows. So one at a time, they removed each of the car's occupants
from it in that way. First the woman, and then the girl, before they finally took the boy out of the car.
After they did so, they soon put each of the people on blankets spread rather hastily on the nearby
ground. And then they began trying to see if they could wake them up or revive them somehow easily
enough. Even going so far as to use some heated blankets and other warm items, if the situation
seemed to warrant it sufficiently well here, with any or all of them.
Ten or so minutes of work later, and the boy was soon sufficiently conscious and awake again.
His apparent sister eventually woke up about ten to twenty minutes later, in fact. And then the mother
also woke up about half an hour or so after her apparent daughter had done so here. It took a little
while longer for the females to realize what their current situation was than it had for the male. But
eventually, they both did so well enough here.
The woman soon introduced herself as Francesca Duke, and both of the children as Harvey
and Anna Louise Duke. She said that they were her children with her husband Beauregard Duke. And
she asked why Bo wasn't in the vehicle when they found it. Jonathan eventually said to her, "He was
found on a bank here rather mysteriously after a major accident. We think that he was ejected from
your car after you hit the water somehow, and he washed up on that bank here, Mrs. Duke."
"We were trying to jump Hazzard Pond, after some criminals had begun chasing us back where
we all come from. The last thing I remember was hitting the water while bringing my hands up toward
my head. I think our brake lines, at least, were shot up, and Bo couldn't slow down our car for a
moment so that we could head off in another direction away from them. We ran somewhat
unintentionally through where a work construction crew had been working, while we were trying to flee
from the criminals chasing us. We then found ourselves having to try to jump Hazzard Pond. But
evidently, General Lee had suffered more damage to him than we'd originally thought, so we ended up
in Hazzard Pond. We were being chased by the criminals, and Sheriff Enos Strate and his deputies
were trying to catch them before they caught and killed us. But we couldn't avoid the jump. The
General got us as far across the Pond as possible, before he went under. I don't know what happened
to the criminals or the law, but I know we hit the water not very long after we tried to jump the pond.
General Lee hit the water, and apparently engaged some sort of system to render us at least
unconscious, if not apparently dead. I don't know for sure, but I think he tried to protect us as best as
he could, even though he might have known that he might not be pulled out of the water for a while."
"General Lee? Who's he, Mrs. Duke?" asked Jonathan.
"That's what we call our car here. He is a real wonder sometimes. And he's gotten us and a
whole lot of people out of trouble for many years, in fact. This is Earth, is it not?"
Jonathan soon replied, "Yes, it is. But you still don't seem to be from here, for some yet-
unknown reason."
"I see. But this is Earth, you just said."
"Do you know where you are?" asked Jonathan
"Hazzard County, Georgia, U.S.A."
Jonathan then said, "No, you're not. You're in Inverness, Scolvakin, Munrodoste."
"Never heard of those places, sir."
"Well, then I wonder how you all got here then," stated Jonathan.
"Seems something really freaky happened here with us then, sir."
"Maybe so, Mrs. Duke. Maybe so." Jonathan was quite curious about things that were
sufficiently relating to the car and to its occupants by now, in fact.
"Is there a garage of some sort around here where we might be able to take the General easily
enough?"
Jonathan thought for a moment, and then he said to a nearby deputy, "Edwin, call Mrs. Skyler.
Tell her to bring a tow truck with her when she comes here. Also have her try to find either Dr.
Thurston or Dr. Tompkins, if at all possible. Their services may be needed here as well, in fact."
The man now referred to as Edwin immediately went over to another nearby vehicle, and he
called Mrs. Skyler on a radio of some sort. And then he soon returned to Jonathan's side again,
saying, "Mrs. Skyler is on her way, and so is Dr. Tompkins. Dr. Thurston is currently not answering
her phone or her pager."
"I see. How soon before they expect to get here, then?"
"Twenty minutes or so, maybe. Mrs. Skyler is several minutes away from the hospital, and it's
going to take a few minutes for Dr. Tompkins to be able to get out of there easily enough here. And
then at least a few more minutes for them to get over here, of course."
"I see. Well, then, I think we'll wait here for them, of course. There's no sense in leaving here,
if we don't have to, I'm sure. Do you agree, Mrs. Duke?"
"Of course I do. Harvey, Anna Louise, and I should be fine enough here, if we stay near the
General enough, for at least a little while longer, sir. He still seems to be taking care of us here, in fact.
Even though we're not actually inside him anymore, in a physical sense, of course. He's still protecting
us with an energy shield of some sort, at least, in fact. And that's helping us get a bit warmer here, as
more time passes for us, as well. Eventually, we'll be able to turn off that shield, once we're warm and
dry enough here, people. After we are, then he'll probably allow us to turn it off here. After we do
that, and do whatever else we then have to do here, your Mrs. Skyler should then be able to tow him to
the necessary garage. Supposing that at least one of us is close enough to him before we get there
easily enough, as a matter of fact. After he's finally sure that we're all sufficiently safe from any further
harm, at least as of the current time, he'll then allow us all to leave him in that garage. He'll then do this
here, so that he can hopefully be fixed up easily enough again. But if any people seek to harm us, he'll
seek us out again, and try to protect us to the best of his abilities to then do so, in fact. No matter what
the cost might be to him, as well, he'll always try to protect us somehow, if and/or whenever he
possibly can do that at all."
"So he's not your average run-of-the-mill car?" asked Jonathan.
"No. He's quite special, and he's over forty or so years old, I think," said Francesca.
"I see. And he's apparently had a lot of modifications over the years, from what my people can
currently tell about him here," Jonathan eventually said here.
"Yes. He's been modified quite often by people, whenever the need arises for him to be
modified at all. But mainly only by very close friends of the family, or by various members of it. He's
actually had many rather interesting adventures in his own life, in fact. And several, if not most or all, of
those modifications have helped extend his useful years to us and those sufficiently close to us in our
lives."
Mrs. Duke and Jonathan, among others, conversed here for at least a little while longer, as well.
And they did so at least until Mrs. Skyler arrived in her tow truck and with Dr. Tompkins not too far
behind her, if not even longer than that, in fact. First Mrs. Skyler arrived in her tow truck, and then Dr.
Tompkins did so no more than a few minutes later. Mrs. Skyler then talked to the local authorities and
to Mrs. Duke for a little while, for all the obvious reasons, and at least until Dr. Tompkins also arrived
there as well. After Dr. Tompkins then arrived on the scene, she too was brought quite sufficiently up
to speed here, both about the three Dukes and about the General Lee, of course.
Mrs. Skyler agreed not to get too far ahead of Hannah's vehicle that would be taking the three
Dukes to the hospital, once they were all sufficiently ready to leave the scene. Mrs. Duke prepared the
General Lee for a period of towing. And she made quite sure that Mrs. Skyler could then tow it easily
enough here without having to worry about the General potentially acting against her and others while
she was taking it to her garage for a while. This, of course, was for all the obvious reasons, quite
naturally, here.
Dr. Tompkins then began following the General in her vehicle that now had the three Dukes in
it. She didn't let the General get more than a quarter-mile or so ahead of her, if it was at all possible for
her to do that here, in any case at all. For she didn't want the General to get upset and try to get away
from Mrs. Skyler while the three Dukes were now in her own car, of course. Finally, Mrs. Skyler
arrived at her garage with the General in tow, and she soon put him in her garage. Mrs. Francesca
Duke then prepared the General for a period of inactivity while he was being attended to by Mrs.
Skyler and her garage's various employees, in very short order. And she did it very expertly, for she'd
known him for quite a while, in fact, already in her own life. After she'd done so sufficiently to her
heart's content here, she then said, "Mrs. Skyler, this car is just like a part of the family to us. Treat
him as you would treat someone you really care for in your life, whenever possible. Let no mechanic
near him who's not actually an excellent one, if you can possibly avoid it at all. For if any such
mechanic gets sufficiently near him, he could very well react with deadly force, if he feels sufficiently
provoked to do so. He has been programmed to defend himself using whatever means he may then
have at his disposal when he actually feels his existence is severely threatened enough, in fact. He is
very cautious about just who he actually lets work on him without any complaint at all. If the
mechanic's hands, thoughts, and heart are excellent, then he may not get upset with them. If not, then
they'd better watch out. And maybe run for their lives, in fact. He has had too many experiences with
people who weren't good enough mechanics to let them work on him, if it can possibly be avoided. He
really gets quite upset when the mechanic doesn't really seem to know what they're doing with him, in
fact. So if they're not excellent mechanics, at least, they'd best stay as far away from him as they
possibly can, Mrs. Skyler."
"Does he have the ability to communicate intelligently enough with the mechanic, whenever the
need arises?"
"He has a touch-sensitive computer screen near the radio. And it's located in the center of the
dashboard just above the radio. His interior setup has been modified to handle the presence of that
screen and related technologies that have been developed since his original construction. He also has
the capability to recognize voice and visual commands, under most circumstances. He has internal and
external sensors, as well. He has a automatic defense system, and his self-defense capabilities have
been known to heavily damage or destroy military-style targets, if they are within the range of his
weapons. He has many friends back where we come from, and very few people mess around with us,
and get away with it. He can be a real warrior when he feels the need arises for him to be one. He can
engage energy fields and various kinds of armored protection levels, as well, depending on whatever
situation he might then find himself in at any time. His maximum speed, whenever conditions permit it,
often exceeds 2,000 mph, in fact."
"So he doesn't take well to people that mess with him or any of you who he considers his
family or friends, Mrs. Francesca Duke?" asked Mrs. Skyler.
"You can be quite sure of that. There are a lot of other features that he has, but that I can't tell
you about, for all the obvious reasons, in fact. I hope that you can understand how come that might be
the case here, of course."
"I think that I can. All right, Mrs. Duke. We'll do our very best that we possibly can not to get
on his bad side, and cause him to get really mad at us. And we'll do what we possibly can to have him
back up and running like he should run for you as quickly and as expertly as we possibly can."
"Remember this, if you remember nothing else, then. No mechanics are to come within ten to
twenty feet of him who aren't at least excellent mechanics here, if it can possibly be avoided at all, Mrs.
Skyler. Otherwise, his reaction to them could be quite strong and quite lethal, if he feels sufficiently
threatened by them at all here."
"Understood. Only myself, and my most expert mechanics, will then work on him, if we can
possibly avoid it at all. For we don't want to see something bad happen here, if it can possibly be
avoided at all, of course."
Then Mrs. Duke at least double-checked the General Lee quite thoroughly and quite
completely again, for all the obvious reasons, of course. And she did this all just before she and her
two children finally left the necessary garage elsewhere in Inverness again, quite naturally, in fact. She
then got back in Hannah's car again, and she and her children then went to the same hospital where Bo
was currently staying for at least a little while, of course.
After all three of the Dukes were then checked out quite thoroughly by a number of doctors,
including Hannah, of course, they all were eventually given completely clean bills of health. Which quite
naturally surprised Hannah and others, for all the obvious reasons. But eventually, after checking all
their information quite thoroughly for potential errors, or for any other reasons as well, all the necessary
medical personnel then let the Dukes leave it just as soon as they all might actually want to do so here.
But the three Dukes chose not to leave the hospital again at least until they could check on Bo, for all
the obvious reasons, of course.
Hannah eventually brought the other three Dukes to the ICU, where Bo was still staying, as of
the current time. And when they got there, they were quite surprised to see that he was completely
conscious again there. He was also talking quite calmly with the nearby nurses and other nearby
hospital personnel, in fact.
Dr. Tompkins then asked them, "When did he wake up well enough here?"
"A few hours ago, at most. Why do you ask, Doctor?" asked one of the nurses.
"Because about a few hours ago, at most, three people and their car were pulled out of
Hazzard Creek. And they were woken up and revived, if not brought back to life instead."
"I see, Doctor," said another one of the five present nurses. Then Dr. Tompkins conversed a
while longer, at least, with anyone else in the room who was still taking care of Bo here, in fact. And
eventually, Bo saw his wife and children here, and asked them how they and the General Lee were.
Francesca soon said, "We're fine. The General is at a garage, and he'll be worked on as
needed. I've notified the necessary person or persons about his habits here as much as possible, Bo.
And they've agreed to do what they can to help him without possibly getting themselves or anyone else
in trouble at the same time. This, of course, is for all the obvious reasons, honey."
"The General protected you after we went in the water?"
"Of course he did. But we're not in Hazzard County at the current time, Bo. It seems we were
somehow sent to an alternate Earth of some kind. I have no idea why that might be the case, if it is,
which I think it is, of course. But it still seems to be the case here, as a matter of fact, Bo."
"Well, God willing, Cessie, we'll all get back to Hazzard County somehow, I think."
"We were also apparently part of an accident, from what the local authorities seem to think
right now. There was a major accident a little while ago, it seems. And we might have been part of it,
from what they can currently gather here well enough, Bo."
"I don't remember seeing any other vehicles besides the criminals and the cops' cars, Cessie."
"They seem to think that you were somehow ejected from the General after we hit the water.
And while we were in the water, they think that we might have been somehow transported here without
our knowledge or consent. They could very well be right, of course. And if so, then we might not have
been awake enough to realize what had happened after we'd hit the water like we did. We could have
already been at least unconscious or asleep, if not worse, in actual reality. Harvey, Anna Louise, and I
don't really remember much about what might have happened to us between the time that we hit
Hazzard Pond like we did and the time that we were found and retrieved from Hazzard Creek. I
suspect that after we hit the Pond, we were somehow sent here. Though I don't really know how or
why we were, if we actually were, Bo."
Bo then talked for at least a little while longer with his wife, children, and the nearby hospital
personnel here, before Dr. Tompkins eventually thought that he'd been checked on enough here for a
long enough period of time. And then she soon shooed the other three Dukes out of the ICU again
here, for all the obvious reasons. She had a nurse that had a name tag with the name "Misty" on it then
try to reach Dr. Thurston at home again at least once more somehow, if at all possible. Misty agreed to
try to reach Amy again as soon as she could then do so, of course.
Misty eventually was able to reach Dr. Thurston just a few minutes or so before about 8:30 pm
or so local time, in fact. And she soon let her know that Bo Duke was just about to leave the ICU,
most likely. And that he was sufficiently conscious whenever he was actually awake. She also told Dr.
Thurston that three other occupants of Bo's car had been found and brought alive to their common
hospital in Inverness. Needless to say, of course, Amy was quite surprised, to put it very mildly indeed,
to actually learn all those things from Misty, for all the obvious reasons here, quite naturally.
Amy soon asked Misty, "And what of the other vehicles from the accident that hadn't been
taken care by then well enough, Misty?"
"Two vehicles are still unaccounted for here, it seems. They may be in Hazzard Creek still, or
they might not. But the necessary local authorities haven't accounted for them well enough yet, if they
ever will, I believe. It turns out the Dukes had been in an orange sedan with numbers on its sides, and a
flag of some sort on its roof."
"I see. And are these Dukes apparently staying at the hospital now?"
"Only Bo Duke, as a matter of fact, Dr. Thurston."
"And the other Dukes?"
"They'll be staying with Dr. Tompkins and her family for a while, I think. Mrs. Skyler and
others are going to be working periodically on the Dukes' car, whenever possible."
"I see. And what do you know of this orange sedan?"
"Not much, in fact. Not much at all. I wasn't able to learn much about it here. And I really
don't know if I'll be able to do so, either, in actual reality. I did hear that Mrs. Skyler might be doing
most, if not all, of the repair work on it here, though."
Amy conversed a little while longer with Misty here. And then she told the rest of her family
that she was going out for a while, at least. Greg asked, "Is that really necessary here, honey?"
"Yes, I believe that it is, Greg darling. I'll return as soon as I can, of course."
"Should I wait up after the kids go to bed?"
"I don't think so. I'll return as soon as I can, of course. Just don't expect me back before
midnight, at the very earliest here. I figure I'd better check some things out here with or without others
around me for a while."
"All right, then. Go with God, if you must leave here, of course."
"Understood, sugar." Amy then gathered up a few things from places in the master bedroom
and elsewhere in their house. And she did this just before she said, "Melody and Cassidy, if I don't
return home safely enough here, then you'll each have to do what we've all discussed several times
before, of course."
"We understand, Mother." Then Amy went around to all her children, no matter who they
were, and she gave them each at least one hug and at least one peck on one or both of their cheeks.
This she did for all the obvious reasons, of course, before she then did the same things with Greg.
Except for the fact that she kissed Greg on the lips once or twice, at least, instead of on his cheek or
cheeks, quite naturally enough here. And moments later, then, she was all the way out of the necessary
door or doors of their house again, and running toward her car. Within another five minutes, at most,
she was then on the road toward the hospital, where Dr. Tompkins was currently known to be on duty,
in fact.
On the way there, several of the other Scouts' vehicles took up positions near each other after
she'd eventually reached them on her currently-available communications systems, in fact. Serena the
Older and Darien were among them all, quite naturally, as well. Also in the assembling entourage of
vehicles were Lita, Mina, and Raye, at least, if nobody else as well. Such as Susan, for example.
Eventually, the entourage arrived outside the hospital. But only Amy parked in the employees'
parking lot for the hospital, simply because she was the only current hospital employee in that group
here, of course. Everyone else parked in another nearby parking lot, because of that very simple fact.
After she did so, she then told the others that she was also going to transform into her Crystal Sailor
Scout state of being, in fact. She soon left her car, and she ducked into a nearby shed elsewhere on the
hospital grounds. After doing so, she then transformed into her Crystal Sailor Mercury state of being,
in very short order here. The other Scouts were soon shrouded in a rather thick blanket of fog from
her. And she had each of them duck into the very same shed, so that they could also transform
themselves there as needed here.
Eventually, then, all of the assembled Scouts and Tuxedo Mask were present on the grounds of
the hospital in their respective Scout states of being. And then Mercury withdrew her fog again, when it
was safe enough for her to do that here, in fact. They all went in the front door or doors of the hospital,
and all the receptionists there were reasonably glad to see them again, as well.
One of the receptionists here asked how they were, and Mercury said, "We're fine, Antigone.
Is Dr. Hannah Tompkins available at the moment, by any chance?"
"Let me check please, Mercury." Antigone then began checking to see if Dr. Tompkins was
then available somewhere on the grounds of the hospital or in it, of course. No more than a few brief
moments later, Antigone said, "Dr. Tompkins is with a patient's family, and she's in her office with them
at the moment."
"Thank you, Antigone," said Mercury, in very short order. "We've been there before, so you
don't need to tell us how to get there well enough, in fact."
Then Mercury and her current companions went to Hannah's office, as planned, with each
other here. And Antigone watched them go briefly, before she turned back to her current work that
she'd been doing when they'd come in moments before. After she did so, she soon asked another
nearby receptionist, "Merope, do you have any idea why the Scouts might be interested in Bo Duke
and his family here?"
"I really don't know for sure, Antigone. But I still strongly suspect that it has at least something
to do with the apparent fact that they're not evidently from around here at all. It seems that they almost
always show up when something rather strange happens around this area, at least, if not anywhere else
as well. And I don't really know why that might actually be the case here, in fact, Antigone. They
seem to have been quite busy of late, as well, around here, Antigone. For there seem to have been
some really strange things happening around here of late."
"I've heard that they found themselves opposing some rather strange kind of mechanical and
modular warrior, as a matter of fact, Merope."
"They've apparently been fighting quite a few monsters and other creatures for at least the last
few days. And I heard that they healed some of them, at least. And that those ones that they healed
were actually human or humanoid beings, if what I've already heard about them of late is sufficiently
accurate here, Antigone."
"I heard that too, Merope. I heard it from Aunt Cassiopeia, in fact."
"You mean you heard it from Mother, in fact."
"Well, yes, you might say that. Your mother is one of my aunts, of course. And my mother is
one of yours, by logical extension here, then. I heard that one of the people that Crystal Sailor Moon
and Super Sailor Crescent Moon healed earlier called herself Andromeda. And that she was then in
what seemed to be some sort of mostly blue fighting uniform, as well, Merope."
"Wasn't Andromeda the daughter of Cassiopeia in ancient Greco-Roman mythology, if I
remember well enough here, Antigone?"
"Yes, I believe that you're right here, Merope. And I believe that you were named for one of
the seven Pleiades in Greco-Roman mythology. While I was named for the daughter of Oedipus, if I
remember well enough here in that part of ancient mythology. Your namesake evidently fell for a
mortal, and hid in shame, if I'm not too mistaken here, in fact. While my namesake possibly hung
herself, after she buried a brother of hers named Polynices against a certain ruler's orders."
"Well, if I ever am able to have children of my own, I don't really think that I'll name them after
mythological figures from anywhere at all. What about you, Antigone?"
"I don't think that I'll do so either, in fact, Merope."
"Your mother Miranda might not like that much, if that's the case for you here, of course."
"So what, Merope? I mean, this isn't exactly the age of mythology anymore, I think. People
may still believe in it in their lives, of course. But I still don't think that it's as major a part of most
people's lives as it once used to be. For we've explored a whole lot more of our world since then, and
we know a lot more about how things actually work in this world of ours, I'm quite sure, as a matter of
fact, Merope. I mean, if I'd have had a choice of names for myself, I might have called myself a Ginger
or a Tamara, perhaps. Perhaps not. But I still don't think I'd actually have given myself a mythology-
originated name such as Antigone, in fact, Merope. You yourself look more like a Samantha or a
Sheena to me, I think, in my opinion. Of course, that's just me, for all the obvious reasons, in fact."
"I see. And what of the Scouts that we know of here?"
"Such as, for instance, Merope?"
"Well, apparently, there are at least nine or ten rather high-ranking Scouts, if not more, here.
At least among those who are female, just like us, that is."
"You mean Mercury, Venus, Moon, Crescent Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune,
and Pluto, at least, don't you, Merope?"
"Yes. Tuxedo Mask, though, for instance, isn't exactly a Scout, for all the obvious reasons.
But he apparently does represent Earth, while the Scouts represent the known planets and moons of
our solar system, I believe."
"At least those named after known planets and moons there, that is, of course."
"Well, Corona and Eclipse, for two instances, aren't actual planets or moons in our solar
system."
"True enough, Merope. True enough. But there are many planets and moons that have Scouts
named after them, in fact. And maybe even at least one space station in this solar system as well, if not
more than one, I'm sure."
"Yes, that's right, Antigone. However, Millennium is not the name of a planet or moon here,
I'm quite sure. Phobos might be, as might Deimos, but Millennium is not, in fact."
"True enough, I suppose. I hope that they know what they're doing here, whenever they have
to fight monsters and other beings in their lives, though, of course."
Eventually, however, both of the first cousins went rather silent again. And they went fully back
to their work, when they did so, if they'd not already done so here. And they wondered who the
Scouts actually were whenever they weren't in their respective Scout states of being, as a matter of
fact.
Meanwhile, in Dr. Tompkins's office, Dr. Hannah was still in the middle of a conversation with
Francesca, Harvey, and Anna Louise Duke when the Scouts knocked on her door here. She went to
the door, and then saw all the Scouts that had decided to pay a visit to the hospital again for a little
while, at least. They were, of course, led by Mercury, in this particular case here.
Dr. Tompkins then said, "Mercury, I see you came here with several of the Scouts."
"Yes, Doctor, I did. Do you think that we might be able to talk to the Dukes here for a while?"
Hannah considered this for a few very brief moments, and then said, "All right. But try not to
reveal your normal identities to them if you can possibly avoid it at all here, for all the obvious reasons,
then. I'll let you talk to them, then. That's only supposing, of course, that they'll let you do so here as
well."
Then Hannah let her Scout friends in, and she soon introduced them all to Harvey, Anna
Louise, and their mother Francesca. When the Dukes asked why the Scouts were here, Dr. Hannah
said, "They have had much experience with dealing with things of a rather strange nature. And I
thought that they might be able to eventually come up with an idea that might get you all back to
Hazzard County easily enough again. It might take a while for them to do so, in fact. But I still have
every confidence in their abilities to come up with a sufficiently workable plan to get you all back to
where you actually come from, everyone. They all have actually done so several times before, as well.
The nature of the strange is quite often their business, in actual reality. They have fought many strange
beings, whether human, humanoid, or not, in each of their lives. And if at all possible, they'll continue to
do so for as long as they possibly can in each of their lives, in fact."
Then for at least the next hour or two of time, if not even longer than that here, the Scouts
conversed quite thoroughly with the three present Dukes and Dr. Hannah Tompkins in Hannah's office.
Eventually, Mercury then said, "Dr. Tompkins, we're going to have to process all this information for a
while, and see what kind of ideas we can come up with here well enough. We're going to have to run
for a while, I think."
"And if you have any further questions of the Dukes, then what?" asked Dr. Tompkins.
"Then we'll have to ask them those questions if and whenever the situation might warrant our
doing so, of course, Dr. Hannah. Mrs. Duke, would you mind us talking to you and your children
about this matter, at least, in the future, if and whenever we need to do so, at least once more, if not
more than that?" This question, quite naturally enough, was also from Mercury.
"Very well. We'll be staying with Dr. Tompkins at least until my husband is able to leave the
hospital again, if not even longer than that, I think. Please let her or Dr. Thurston know if and/or
whenever any or all of you have any further questions you might need to ask of us, then."
"That is acceptable to us here, Mrs. Duke," answered Mercury. Then the Scouts, led by
Mercury, soon left Dr. Hannah's office just as they'd entered it before. After they were far enough
away from it, they eventually left through the hospital's front door or doors, of course. As they left,
they also said good night to all the receptionists at the front desk who were then there, as well.
After they passed through that door or doors, they then periodically ducked into the same shed
they'd transformed themselves into their Scout states in, once Mercury again shrouded the area as
needed. No more than about five or ten minutes later then, they were all back in their normal non-
Scout states of being.
And then they were all getting in their cars again, of course. They eventually went to their
respective homes again, but only after stopping very briefly at a nearby restaurant to pick up some food
for themselves. For some of them had gotten at least a little bit hungry and/or thirsty while they'd been
conversing with Hannah and the three Dukes they'd just been with here. Especially Serena the Older,
of course.
But even they all had to return to their respective homes again, for all the obvious reasons. And
they were all back at them by no later than 1:30 am local time on September 9, 2012, most likely, in
fact. After they all returned to their respective homes again, they all quite quickly then retired for the
rest of the overnight period of time here, of course. And they all slept rather soundly, after they then
did so here, of course, in fact.
******************************************************************************
Another rather good-sized battle will probably take place in Chapter Ten, at least, if not also
Chapter Eleven, somewhere, and sometime, everyone. Until then, though, you'll all just have to see
what's coming up soon enough, of course. So please read, review, and enjoy, if at all possible,
readers. Until later, then, this is "The Universal Storyteller" signing off here. Happy reading, and God
bless, and all that, of course, readers! Over and out!
now have on fanfiction.net will apply. For your information, all of the characters that you may not
actually recognize well enough in this story are original characters of mine, unless otherwise stated, in
fact. All the Galaxians, for instance, are mine, whether in combat form or in civilian form. So please
don't steal my original characters from this story or any others, for that matter.
Now without further ado, back to the story. And I hope that you'll all enjoy it, of course.
******************************************************************************
The Inverness Chronicles
Book One
Chapter Nine
As Amy was then sleeping, Robert was currently talking with several of the local authorities
here near the middle of town. He'd found himself and others being near where the earlier seven-vehicle
accident had taken place. Which was near Calvert Hill, in fact. Calvert Hill was close to where
Crossroads Elementary School was located. And it was also near a moderately-sized creek that
eventually fed into the nearby Makonta River. It was on the other side of that creek from a hill called
Hazzard Hill. And the creek in question was Hazzard Creek. He'd been heading toward a friend's
house with his current companions. And they'd encountered the local authorities as they entered the
area where the accident had taken place earlier. He was asking them why they were there, as he and
his friends were passing through the area on the way to another of their friends' houses, in fact.
They told Robert and his friends about the accident, if they'd not already heard about it. And
Robert and his companions were all quite surprised at the severity of the aforementioned accident, for
all the obvious reasons. At the current time, they were still working on the damage and destruction
caused in the accident. And they were still trying to recover bodies from the vehicles that were still
present and were known to still contain at least one person in them. Of course, by now, any people
that were still in the vehicle or vehicles in question here were most likely dead, for all of the obvious
reasons, in fact.
And they were also trying to recover at least one vehicle from the accident that had also fallen
to the bottom of the creek, as well. At the current time, a team of divers was now trying to put ropes
or chains around various areas of that vehicle or vehicles, in fact. As they were then doing that here,
someone eventually said, "I see a mostly orange car with some sort of flag on its roof, and numbers on
its sides. The doors are welded shut, and apparently three bodies are still inside it. One appears to be
that of a middle-aged woman, if I'm not mistaken. While the other two appear to be children about
fifteen and twelve years old. The apparent fifteen-year-old girl is a blonde female with waist-length hair
tied with a blue bow. While the twelve-year-old boy is a medium brown-haired male with a near-
crewcut for his current hairstyle."
One of the authorities then asked, "Is there a driver present in the car now, Sheldon?"
"It doesn't appear so, Jonathan. The woman appears to be about forty or so years old, at
least, and she has dark brown hair. She appears to be dead, and so does the girl. Though I can't be
sure about that at the moment. For it's still somewhat dark here. Even with several of us shining our
lights toward the car's current occupants, Jonathan. The boy seems to be unconscious, but not dead. I
don't really know yet if he's dead or not, however."
"Look at the area around the vehicle's driver's seat, if you can, and tell me what you see."
For a few minutes, then, the aforementioned Sheldon did so, with or without the help of his
fellow nearby divers. He soon reported, "I now see a wallet and what appears to be some sort of
money in or near the wallet. Also several pictures and various pieces of plastic and assorted other
items, in fact, Jonathan. The first of the various assembled pictures apparently shows the woman and
two children with a middle-aged man that has either mostly blonde or mostly gray hair. Though I can't
tell which at the moment, due to the limited amount of light that we now have available here for us all.
All three of the apparent passengers are wearing seatbelts, and the girl has a stuffed animal of some sort
in her hands. The woman has her hands up. And she seems to have been putting something in her hair,
when the accident happened. Her head seems to be closer to the car's roof than it should be normally.
For her seat seems to have detached at least partially, if not totally, from where it had evidently been
attached to the interior of the vehicle on its floor. The apparent mother's also wearing a locket which
contains a picture of a younger man and younger woman. The younger woman appears to be her at a
younger age, in fact."
"I see. Do you think this is a job for the Medical Examiner or the Coroner?" These things
were either said or asked by Jonathan a few moments later, after he considered the things that Sheldon
had just told him here, in fact.
"I don't know yet, Jon. I hope not. The water seems to be quite cold inside the car, when
compared to outside of it. There's an apparent difference of about thirty or so degrees Fahrenheit
between the areas inside and outside of the car. Perhaps all the current occupants of the car are
actually alive, but look dead at the moment, or at least unconscious, if not worse off than that. We
can't really tell here at the moment, I think."
"How are you doing with getting the ropes and/or chains around the necessary part or parts of
the vehicle here, Sheldon? Should you all be ready for us to pull out the vehicle here in the near
future?"
"I suggest that we do so in the next hour or two before the water starts to get too cold around
here tonight."
"Understood." Then the person identified earlier as Jonathan said, "I'm with a few civilian
people though, at the moment. I'll be sending them through this area shortly. And then we can call the
other necessary people here, if we haven't already done so by then."
"Make it quick, then. Several of us are going to need to come up for more air shortly, Jon.
And I think it'd be best if no civilians were around when we did so, in fact."
"Granted, Sheldon. We'll send the civilians on their way shortly, after we let them know how
they can avoid this area on the way back to their respective homes elsewhere in town."
"Thanks. Denny and Jill will be up first, and then others, as needed. Denny and Jill have to be
up within the next ten to fifteen minutes, however, for all the obvious reasons."
"We'll be waiting for them both, then, Sheldon." Then Jonathan showed Robert and his current
companions a map. And he then showed them all how to avoid this particular area for at least a while,
when they were all then on their way back to their respective homes elsewhere in town. A few minutes
or so later, at most, then, Robert and all the other members of his current group left the area behind
again, of course. And they then went to their friend's place for at least a little while, quite naturally
enough, here.
After Robert and the rest of his party were most definitely out of sufficient earshot and eyesight
range, at least, if not any other range as well, Jonathan said, "Sheldon, all of the civilians are sufficiently
outside our range, I believe. We should have something ready to help you out here shortly, if I'm not
too mistaken here, I'm sure."
"If this doesn't work well enough, then we may have to call at least a few of the Scouts here, of
course."
"Understood, Shel. We're aware of that possibility, of course, but we all still hope that we
won't have to call them here, just the same. For they've been busy around here for at least the last few
days. I really don't think that we'd want to disturb them here, if we don't absolutely have to."
"Agreed, Jon. Especially the Inners, I think."
Several minutes later, at most, the divers then reported that they had the necessary ropes
and/or chains in place here. After Jonathan heard that, he then waved to a nearby crane operator.
And he did this so that they'd know that it was now all right for them to raise their crane from its current
position that was basically parallel to nearby terrain here. The crane operator then began to raise the
crane in question here, of course. And soon enough after they did so, the vehicle that still had three
occupants in it broke the surface. The crane operator soon had brought the vehicle over to a
considerably-sized clear area on the Hazzard Hill side of the creek. And then they tried very carefully
to set it down as gently as possible, just in case someone had actually somehow survived being in the
water for at least a few hours, if not even longer than that, here. This, of course, was for all the obvious
reasons. Granted, it could turn out that none of them had done so. But until the authorities knew for
sure, they'd not take any unnecessary chances here, if they could avoid doing so here, quite naturally.
As the crane operator moved the orange sedan over to the aforementioned area on the chosen side of
the creek, they also tried to make it possible for more of the water that was still in the vehicle to drain
out of it.
Eventually, the orange sedan's water contents had been emptied out of it as much as possible.
And then the authorities called some nearby emergency medical personnel to the area, just in case they
might actually now be needed here. As they also awaited the arrival of those emergency medical
personnel, they then examined the orange car and its occupants more closely, if at all possible. And
then they all tried to figure out what had happened to make it go into the creek as it had earlier done, in
fact.
Minutes later, then, the aforementioned emergency personnel arrived at the still-recent
accident's location. And the authorities led them to the strange car in very short order. After a little
more time had passed, the medics realized that the best way to get the car's occupants out of the
vehicle was through the side windows. So one at a time, they removed each of the car's occupants
from it in that way. First the woman, and then the girl, before they finally took the boy out of the car.
After they did so, they soon put each of the people on blankets spread rather hastily on the nearby
ground. And then they began trying to see if they could wake them up or revive them somehow easily
enough. Even going so far as to use some heated blankets and other warm items, if the situation
seemed to warrant it sufficiently well here, with any or all of them.
Ten or so minutes of work later, and the boy was soon sufficiently conscious and awake again.
His apparent sister eventually woke up about ten to twenty minutes later, in fact. And then the mother
also woke up about half an hour or so after her apparent daughter had done so here. It took a little
while longer for the females to realize what their current situation was than it had for the male. But
eventually, they both did so well enough here.
The woman soon introduced herself as Francesca Duke, and both of the children as Harvey
and Anna Louise Duke. She said that they were her children with her husband Beauregard Duke. And
she asked why Bo wasn't in the vehicle when they found it. Jonathan eventually said to her, "He was
found on a bank here rather mysteriously after a major accident. We think that he was ejected from
your car after you hit the water somehow, and he washed up on that bank here, Mrs. Duke."
"We were trying to jump Hazzard Pond, after some criminals had begun chasing us back where
we all come from. The last thing I remember was hitting the water while bringing my hands up toward
my head. I think our brake lines, at least, were shot up, and Bo couldn't slow down our car for a
moment so that we could head off in another direction away from them. We ran somewhat
unintentionally through where a work construction crew had been working, while we were trying to flee
from the criminals chasing us. We then found ourselves having to try to jump Hazzard Pond. But
evidently, General Lee had suffered more damage to him than we'd originally thought, so we ended up
in Hazzard Pond. We were being chased by the criminals, and Sheriff Enos Strate and his deputies
were trying to catch them before they caught and killed us. But we couldn't avoid the jump. The
General got us as far across the Pond as possible, before he went under. I don't know what happened
to the criminals or the law, but I know we hit the water not very long after we tried to jump the pond.
General Lee hit the water, and apparently engaged some sort of system to render us at least
unconscious, if not apparently dead. I don't know for sure, but I think he tried to protect us as best as
he could, even though he might have known that he might not be pulled out of the water for a while."
"General Lee? Who's he, Mrs. Duke?" asked Jonathan.
"That's what we call our car here. He is a real wonder sometimes. And he's gotten us and a
whole lot of people out of trouble for many years, in fact. This is Earth, is it not?"
Jonathan soon replied, "Yes, it is. But you still don't seem to be from here, for some yet-
unknown reason."
"I see. But this is Earth, you just said."
"Do you know where you are?" asked Jonathan
"Hazzard County, Georgia, U.S.A."
Jonathan then said, "No, you're not. You're in Inverness, Scolvakin, Munrodoste."
"Never heard of those places, sir."
"Well, then I wonder how you all got here then," stated Jonathan.
"Seems something really freaky happened here with us then, sir."
"Maybe so, Mrs. Duke. Maybe so." Jonathan was quite curious about things that were
sufficiently relating to the car and to its occupants by now, in fact.
"Is there a garage of some sort around here where we might be able to take the General easily
enough?"
Jonathan thought for a moment, and then he said to a nearby deputy, "Edwin, call Mrs. Skyler.
Tell her to bring a tow truck with her when she comes here. Also have her try to find either Dr.
Thurston or Dr. Tompkins, if at all possible. Their services may be needed here as well, in fact."
The man now referred to as Edwin immediately went over to another nearby vehicle, and he
called Mrs. Skyler on a radio of some sort. And then he soon returned to Jonathan's side again,
saying, "Mrs. Skyler is on her way, and so is Dr. Tompkins. Dr. Thurston is currently not answering
her phone or her pager."
"I see. How soon before they expect to get here, then?"
"Twenty minutes or so, maybe. Mrs. Skyler is several minutes away from the hospital, and it's
going to take a few minutes for Dr. Tompkins to be able to get out of there easily enough here. And
then at least a few more minutes for them to get over here, of course."
"I see. Well, then, I think we'll wait here for them, of course. There's no sense in leaving here,
if we don't have to, I'm sure. Do you agree, Mrs. Duke?"
"Of course I do. Harvey, Anna Louise, and I should be fine enough here, if we stay near the
General enough, for at least a little while longer, sir. He still seems to be taking care of us here, in fact.
Even though we're not actually inside him anymore, in a physical sense, of course. He's still protecting
us with an energy shield of some sort, at least, in fact. And that's helping us get a bit warmer here, as
more time passes for us, as well. Eventually, we'll be able to turn off that shield, once we're warm and
dry enough here, people. After we are, then he'll probably allow us to turn it off here. After we do
that, and do whatever else we then have to do here, your Mrs. Skyler should then be able to tow him to
the necessary garage. Supposing that at least one of us is close enough to him before we get there
easily enough, as a matter of fact. After he's finally sure that we're all sufficiently safe from any further
harm, at least as of the current time, he'll then allow us all to leave him in that garage. He'll then do this
here, so that he can hopefully be fixed up easily enough again. But if any people seek to harm us, he'll
seek us out again, and try to protect us to the best of his abilities to then do so, in fact. No matter what
the cost might be to him, as well, he'll always try to protect us somehow, if and/or whenever he
possibly can do that at all."
"So he's not your average run-of-the-mill car?" asked Jonathan.
"No. He's quite special, and he's over forty or so years old, I think," said Francesca.
"I see. And he's apparently had a lot of modifications over the years, from what my people can
currently tell about him here," Jonathan eventually said here.
"Yes. He's been modified quite often by people, whenever the need arises for him to be
modified at all. But mainly only by very close friends of the family, or by various members of it. He's
actually had many rather interesting adventures in his own life, in fact. And several, if not most or all, of
those modifications have helped extend his useful years to us and those sufficiently close to us in our
lives."
Mrs. Duke and Jonathan, among others, conversed here for at least a little while longer, as well.
And they did so at least until Mrs. Skyler arrived in her tow truck and with Dr. Tompkins not too far
behind her, if not even longer than that, in fact. First Mrs. Skyler arrived in her tow truck, and then Dr.
Tompkins did so no more than a few minutes later. Mrs. Skyler then talked to the local authorities and
to Mrs. Duke for a little while, for all the obvious reasons, and at least until Dr. Tompkins also arrived
there as well. After Dr. Tompkins then arrived on the scene, she too was brought quite sufficiently up
to speed here, both about the three Dukes and about the General Lee, of course.
Mrs. Skyler agreed not to get too far ahead of Hannah's vehicle that would be taking the three
Dukes to the hospital, once they were all sufficiently ready to leave the scene. Mrs. Duke prepared the
General Lee for a period of towing. And she made quite sure that Mrs. Skyler could then tow it easily
enough here without having to worry about the General potentially acting against her and others while
she was taking it to her garage for a while. This, of course, was for all the obvious reasons, quite
naturally, here.
Dr. Tompkins then began following the General in her vehicle that now had the three Dukes in
it. She didn't let the General get more than a quarter-mile or so ahead of her, if it was at all possible for
her to do that here, in any case at all. For she didn't want the General to get upset and try to get away
from Mrs. Skyler while the three Dukes were now in her own car, of course. Finally, Mrs. Skyler
arrived at her garage with the General in tow, and she soon put him in her garage. Mrs. Francesca
Duke then prepared the General for a period of inactivity while he was being attended to by Mrs.
Skyler and her garage's various employees, in very short order. And she did it very expertly, for she'd
known him for quite a while, in fact, already in her own life. After she'd done so sufficiently to her
heart's content here, she then said, "Mrs. Skyler, this car is just like a part of the family to us. Treat
him as you would treat someone you really care for in your life, whenever possible. Let no mechanic
near him who's not actually an excellent one, if you can possibly avoid it at all. For if any such
mechanic gets sufficiently near him, he could very well react with deadly force, if he feels sufficiently
provoked to do so. He has been programmed to defend himself using whatever means he may then
have at his disposal when he actually feels his existence is severely threatened enough, in fact. He is
very cautious about just who he actually lets work on him without any complaint at all. If the
mechanic's hands, thoughts, and heart are excellent, then he may not get upset with them. If not, then
they'd better watch out. And maybe run for their lives, in fact. He has had too many experiences with
people who weren't good enough mechanics to let them work on him, if it can possibly be avoided. He
really gets quite upset when the mechanic doesn't really seem to know what they're doing with him, in
fact. So if they're not excellent mechanics, at least, they'd best stay as far away from him as they
possibly can, Mrs. Skyler."
"Does he have the ability to communicate intelligently enough with the mechanic, whenever the
need arises?"
"He has a touch-sensitive computer screen near the radio. And it's located in the center of the
dashboard just above the radio. His interior setup has been modified to handle the presence of that
screen and related technologies that have been developed since his original construction. He also has
the capability to recognize voice and visual commands, under most circumstances. He has internal and
external sensors, as well. He has a automatic defense system, and his self-defense capabilities have
been known to heavily damage or destroy military-style targets, if they are within the range of his
weapons. He has many friends back where we come from, and very few people mess around with us,
and get away with it. He can be a real warrior when he feels the need arises for him to be one. He can
engage energy fields and various kinds of armored protection levels, as well, depending on whatever
situation he might then find himself in at any time. His maximum speed, whenever conditions permit it,
often exceeds 2,000 mph, in fact."
"So he doesn't take well to people that mess with him or any of you who he considers his
family or friends, Mrs. Francesca Duke?" asked Mrs. Skyler.
"You can be quite sure of that. There are a lot of other features that he has, but that I can't tell
you about, for all the obvious reasons, in fact. I hope that you can understand how come that might be
the case here, of course."
"I think that I can. All right, Mrs. Duke. We'll do our very best that we possibly can not to get
on his bad side, and cause him to get really mad at us. And we'll do what we possibly can to have him
back up and running like he should run for you as quickly and as expertly as we possibly can."
"Remember this, if you remember nothing else, then. No mechanics are to come within ten to
twenty feet of him who aren't at least excellent mechanics here, if it can possibly be avoided at all, Mrs.
Skyler. Otherwise, his reaction to them could be quite strong and quite lethal, if he feels sufficiently
threatened by them at all here."
"Understood. Only myself, and my most expert mechanics, will then work on him, if we can
possibly avoid it at all. For we don't want to see something bad happen here, if it can possibly be
avoided at all, of course."
Then Mrs. Duke at least double-checked the General Lee quite thoroughly and quite
completely again, for all the obvious reasons, of course. And she did this all just before she and her
two children finally left the necessary garage elsewhere in Inverness again, quite naturally, in fact. She
then got back in Hannah's car again, and she and her children then went to the same hospital where Bo
was currently staying for at least a little while, of course.
After all three of the Dukes were then checked out quite thoroughly by a number of doctors,
including Hannah, of course, they all were eventually given completely clean bills of health. Which quite
naturally surprised Hannah and others, for all the obvious reasons. But eventually, after checking all
their information quite thoroughly for potential errors, or for any other reasons as well, all the necessary
medical personnel then let the Dukes leave it just as soon as they all might actually want to do so here.
But the three Dukes chose not to leave the hospital again at least until they could check on Bo, for all
the obvious reasons, of course.
Hannah eventually brought the other three Dukes to the ICU, where Bo was still staying, as of
the current time. And when they got there, they were quite surprised to see that he was completely
conscious again there. He was also talking quite calmly with the nearby nurses and other nearby
hospital personnel, in fact.
Dr. Tompkins then asked them, "When did he wake up well enough here?"
"A few hours ago, at most. Why do you ask, Doctor?" asked one of the nurses.
"Because about a few hours ago, at most, three people and their car were pulled out of
Hazzard Creek. And they were woken up and revived, if not brought back to life instead."
"I see, Doctor," said another one of the five present nurses. Then Dr. Tompkins conversed a
while longer, at least, with anyone else in the room who was still taking care of Bo here, in fact. And
eventually, Bo saw his wife and children here, and asked them how they and the General Lee were.
Francesca soon said, "We're fine. The General is at a garage, and he'll be worked on as
needed. I've notified the necessary person or persons about his habits here as much as possible, Bo.
And they've agreed to do what they can to help him without possibly getting themselves or anyone else
in trouble at the same time. This, of course, is for all the obvious reasons, honey."
"The General protected you after we went in the water?"
"Of course he did. But we're not in Hazzard County at the current time, Bo. It seems we were
somehow sent to an alternate Earth of some kind. I have no idea why that might be the case, if it is,
which I think it is, of course. But it still seems to be the case here, as a matter of fact, Bo."
"Well, God willing, Cessie, we'll all get back to Hazzard County somehow, I think."
"We were also apparently part of an accident, from what the local authorities seem to think
right now. There was a major accident a little while ago, it seems. And we might have been part of it,
from what they can currently gather here well enough, Bo."
"I don't remember seeing any other vehicles besides the criminals and the cops' cars, Cessie."
"They seem to think that you were somehow ejected from the General after we hit the water.
And while we were in the water, they think that we might have been somehow transported here without
our knowledge or consent. They could very well be right, of course. And if so, then we might not have
been awake enough to realize what had happened after we'd hit the water like we did. We could have
already been at least unconscious or asleep, if not worse, in actual reality. Harvey, Anna Louise, and I
don't really remember much about what might have happened to us between the time that we hit
Hazzard Pond like we did and the time that we were found and retrieved from Hazzard Creek. I
suspect that after we hit the Pond, we were somehow sent here. Though I don't really know how or
why we were, if we actually were, Bo."
Bo then talked for at least a little while longer with his wife, children, and the nearby hospital
personnel here, before Dr. Tompkins eventually thought that he'd been checked on enough here for a
long enough period of time. And then she soon shooed the other three Dukes out of the ICU again
here, for all the obvious reasons. She had a nurse that had a name tag with the name "Misty" on it then
try to reach Dr. Thurston at home again at least once more somehow, if at all possible. Misty agreed to
try to reach Amy again as soon as she could then do so, of course.
Misty eventually was able to reach Dr. Thurston just a few minutes or so before about 8:30 pm
or so local time, in fact. And she soon let her know that Bo Duke was just about to leave the ICU,
most likely. And that he was sufficiently conscious whenever he was actually awake. She also told Dr.
Thurston that three other occupants of Bo's car had been found and brought alive to their common
hospital in Inverness. Needless to say, of course, Amy was quite surprised, to put it very mildly indeed,
to actually learn all those things from Misty, for all the obvious reasons here, quite naturally.
Amy soon asked Misty, "And what of the other vehicles from the accident that hadn't been
taken care by then well enough, Misty?"
"Two vehicles are still unaccounted for here, it seems. They may be in Hazzard Creek still, or
they might not. But the necessary local authorities haven't accounted for them well enough yet, if they
ever will, I believe. It turns out the Dukes had been in an orange sedan with numbers on its sides, and a
flag of some sort on its roof."
"I see. And are these Dukes apparently staying at the hospital now?"
"Only Bo Duke, as a matter of fact, Dr. Thurston."
"And the other Dukes?"
"They'll be staying with Dr. Tompkins and her family for a while, I think. Mrs. Skyler and
others are going to be working periodically on the Dukes' car, whenever possible."
"I see. And what do you know of this orange sedan?"
"Not much, in fact. Not much at all. I wasn't able to learn much about it here. And I really
don't know if I'll be able to do so, either, in actual reality. I did hear that Mrs. Skyler might be doing
most, if not all, of the repair work on it here, though."
Amy conversed a little while longer with Misty here. And then she told the rest of her family
that she was going out for a while, at least. Greg asked, "Is that really necessary here, honey?"
"Yes, I believe that it is, Greg darling. I'll return as soon as I can, of course."
"Should I wait up after the kids go to bed?"
"I don't think so. I'll return as soon as I can, of course. Just don't expect me back before
midnight, at the very earliest here. I figure I'd better check some things out here with or without others
around me for a while."
"All right, then. Go with God, if you must leave here, of course."
"Understood, sugar." Amy then gathered up a few things from places in the master bedroom
and elsewhere in their house. And she did this just before she said, "Melody and Cassidy, if I don't
return home safely enough here, then you'll each have to do what we've all discussed several times
before, of course."
"We understand, Mother." Then Amy went around to all her children, no matter who they
were, and she gave them each at least one hug and at least one peck on one or both of their cheeks.
This she did for all the obvious reasons, of course, before she then did the same things with Greg.
Except for the fact that she kissed Greg on the lips once or twice, at least, instead of on his cheek or
cheeks, quite naturally enough here. And moments later, then, she was all the way out of the necessary
door or doors of their house again, and running toward her car. Within another five minutes, at most,
she was then on the road toward the hospital, where Dr. Tompkins was currently known to be on duty,
in fact.
On the way there, several of the other Scouts' vehicles took up positions near each other after
she'd eventually reached them on her currently-available communications systems, in fact. Serena the
Older and Darien were among them all, quite naturally, as well. Also in the assembling entourage of
vehicles were Lita, Mina, and Raye, at least, if nobody else as well. Such as Susan, for example.
Eventually, the entourage arrived outside the hospital. But only Amy parked in the employees'
parking lot for the hospital, simply because she was the only current hospital employee in that group
here, of course. Everyone else parked in another nearby parking lot, because of that very simple fact.
After she did so, she then told the others that she was also going to transform into her Crystal Sailor
Scout state of being, in fact. She soon left her car, and she ducked into a nearby shed elsewhere on the
hospital grounds. After doing so, she then transformed into her Crystal Sailor Mercury state of being,
in very short order here. The other Scouts were soon shrouded in a rather thick blanket of fog from
her. And she had each of them duck into the very same shed, so that they could also transform
themselves there as needed here.
Eventually, then, all of the assembled Scouts and Tuxedo Mask were present on the grounds of
the hospital in their respective Scout states of being. And then Mercury withdrew her fog again, when it
was safe enough for her to do that here, in fact. They all went in the front door or doors of the hospital,
and all the receptionists there were reasonably glad to see them again, as well.
One of the receptionists here asked how they were, and Mercury said, "We're fine, Antigone.
Is Dr. Hannah Tompkins available at the moment, by any chance?"
"Let me check please, Mercury." Antigone then began checking to see if Dr. Tompkins was
then available somewhere on the grounds of the hospital or in it, of course. No more than a few brief
moments later, Antigone said, "Dr. Tompkins is with a patient's family, and she's in her office with them
at the moment."
"Thank you, Antigone," said Mercury, in very short order. "We've been there before, so you
don't need to tell us how to get there well enough, in fact."
Then Mercury and her current companions went to Hannah's office, as planned, with each
other here. And Antigone watched them go briefly, before she turned back to her current work that
she'd been doing when they'd come in moments before. After she did so, she soon asked another
nearby receptionist, "Merope, do you have any idea why the Scouts might be interested in Bo Duke
and his family here?"
"I really don't know for sure, Antigone. But I still strongly suspect that it has at least something
to do with the apparent fact that they're not evidently from around here at all. It seems that they almost
always show up when something rather strange happens around this area, at least, if not anywhere else
as well. And I don't really know why that might actually be the case here, in fact, Antigone. They
seem to have been quite busy of late, as well, around here, Antigone. For there seem to have been
some really strange things happening around here of late."
"I've heard that they found themselves opposing some rather strange kind of mechanical and
modular warrior, as a matter of fact, Merope."
"They've apparently been fighting quite a few monsters and other creatures for at least the last
few days. And I heard that they healed some of them, at least. And that those ones that they healed
were actually human or humanoid beings, if what I've already heard about them of late is sufficiently
accurate here, Antigone."
"I heard that too, Merope. I heard it from Aunt Cassiopeia, in fact."
"You mean you heard it from Mother, in fact."
"Well, yes, you might say that. Your mother is one of my aunts, of course. And my mother is
one of yours, by logical extension here, then. I heard that one of the people that Crystal Sailor Moon
and Super Sailor Crescent Moon healed earlier called herself Andromeda. And that she was then in
what seemed to be some sort of mostly blue fighting uniform, as well, Merope."
"Wasn't Andromeda the daughter of Cassiopeia in ancient Greco-Roman mythology, if I
remember well enough here, Antigone?"
"Yes, I believe that you're right here, Merope. And I believe that you were named for one of
the seven Pleiades in Greco-Roman mythology. While I was named for the daughter of Oedipus, if I
remember well enough here in that part of ancient mythology. Your namesake evidently fell for a
mortal, and hid in shame, if I'm not too mistaken here, in fact. While my namesake possibly hung
herself, after she buried a brother of hers named Polynices against a certain ruler's orders."
"Well, if I ever am able to have children of my own, I don't really think that I'll name them after
mythological figures from anywhere at all. What about you, Antigone?"
"I don't think that I'll do so either, in fact, Merope."
"Your mother Miranda might not like that much, if that's the case for you here, of course."
"So what, Merope? I mean, this isn't exactly the age of mythology anymore, I think. People
may still believe in it in their lives, of course. But I still don't think that it's as major a part of most
people's lives as it once used to be. For we've explored a whole lot more of our world since then, and
we know a lot more about how things actually work in this world of ours, I'm quite sure, as a matter of
fact, Merope. I mean, if I'd have had a choice of names for myself, I might have called myself a Ginger
or a Tamara, perhaps. Perhaps not. But I still don't think I'd actually have given myself a mythology-
originated name such as Antigone, in fact, Merope. You yourself look more like a Samantha or a
Sheena to me, I think, in my opinion. Of course, that's just me, for all the obvious reasons, in fact."
"I see. And what of the Scouts that we know of here?"
"Such as, for instance, Merope?"
"Well, apparently, there are at least nine or ten rather high-ranking Scouts, if not more, here.
At least among those who are female, just like us, that is."
"You mean Mercury, Venus, Moon, Crescent Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune,
and Pluto, at least, don't you, Merope?"
"Yes. Tuxedo Mask, though, for instance, isn't exactly a Scout, for all the obvious reasons.
But he apparently does represent Earth, while the Scouts represent the known planets and moons of
our solar system, I believe."
"At least those named after known planets and moons there, that is, of course."
"Well, Corona and Eclipse, for two instances, aren't actual planets or moons in our solar
system."
"True enough, Merope. True enough. But there are many planets and moons that have Scouts
named after them, in fact. And maybe even at least one space station in this solar system as well, if not
more than one, I'm sure."
"Yes, that's right, Antigone. However, Millennium is not the name of a planet or moon here,
I'm quite sure. Phobos might be, as might Deimos, but Millennium is not, in fact."
"True enough, I suppose. I hope that they know what they're doing here, whenever they have
to fight monsters and other beings in their lives, though, of course."
Eventually, however, both of the first cousins went rather silent again. And they went fully back
to their work, when they did so, if they'd not already done so here. And they wondered who the
Scouts actually were whenever they weren't in their respective Scout states of being, as a matter of
fact.
Meanwhile, in Dr. Tompkins's office, Dr. Hannah was still in the middle of a conversation with
Francesca, Harvey, and Anna Louise Duke when the Scouts knocked on her door here. She went to
the door, and then saw all the Scouts that had decided to pay a visit to the hospital again for a little
while, at least. They were, of course, led by Mercury, in this particular case here.
Dr. Tompkins then said, "Mercury, I see you came here with several of the Scouts."
"Yes, Doctor, I did. Do you think that we might be able to talk to the Dukes here for a while?"
Hannah considered this for a few very brief moments, and then said, "All right. But try not to
reveal your normal identities to them if you can possibly avoid it at all here, for all the obvious reasons,
then. I'll let you talk to them, then. That's only supposing, of course, that they'll let you do so here as
well."
Then Hannah let her Scout friends in, and she soon introduced them all to Harvey, Anna
Louise, and their mother Francesca. When the Dukes asked why the Scouts were here, Dr. Hannah
said, "They have had much experience with dealing with things of a rather strange nature. And I
thought that they might be able to eventually come up with an idea that might get you all back to
Hazzard County easily enough again. It might take a while for them to do so, in fact. But I still have
every confidence in their abilities to come up with a sufficiently workable plan to get you all back to
where you actually come from, everyone. They all have actually done so several times before, as well.
The nature of the strange is quite often their business, in actual reality. They have fought many strange
beings, whether human, humanoid, or not, in each of their lives. And if at all possible, they'll continue to
do so for as long as they possibly can in each of their lives, in fact."
Then for at least the next hour or two of time, if not even longer than that here, the Scouts
conversed quite thoroughly with the three present Dukes and Dr. Hannah Tompkins in Hannah's office.
Eventually, Mercury then said, "Dr. Tompkins, we're going to have to process all this information for a
while, and see what kind of ideas we can come up with here well enough. We're going to have to run
for a while, I think."
"And if you have any further questions of the Dukes, then what?" asked Dr. Tompkins.
"Then we'll have to ask them those questions if and whenever the situation might warrant our
doing so, of course, Dr. Hannah. Mrs. Duke, would you mind us talking to you and your children
about this matter, at least, in the future, if and whenever we need to do so, at least once more, if not
more than that?" This question, quite naturally enough, was also from Mercury.
"Very well. We'll be staying with Dr. Tompkins at least until my husband is able to leave the
hospital again, if not even longer than that, I think. Please let her or Dr. Thurston know if and/or
whenever any or all of you have any further questions you might need to ask of us, then."
"That is acceptable to us here, Mrs. Duke," answered Mercury. Then the Scouts, led by
Mercury, soon left Dr. Hannah's office just as they'd entered it before. After they were far enough
away from it, they eventually left through the hospital's front door or doors, of course. As they left,
they also said good night to all the receptionists at the front desk who were then there, as well.
After they passed through that door or doors, they then periodically ducked into the same shed
they'd transformed themselves into their Scout states in, once Mercury again shrouded the area as
needed. No more than about five or ten minutes later then, they were all back in their normal non-
Scout states of being.
And then they were all getting in their cars again, of course. They eventually went to their
respective homes again, but only after stopping very briefly at a nearby restaurant to pick up some food
for themselves. For some of them had gotten at least a little bit hungry and/or thirsty while they'd been
conversing with Hannah and the three Dukes they'd just been with here. Especially Serena the Older,
of course.
But even they all had to return to their respective homes again, for all the obvious reasons. And
they were all back at them by no later than 1:30 am local time on September 9, 2012, most likely, in
fact. After they all returned to their respective homes again, they all quite quickly then retired for the
rest of the overnight period of time here, of course. And they all slept rather soundly, after they then
did so here, of course, in fact.
******************************************************************************
Another rather good-sized battle will probably take place in Chapter Ten, at least, if not also
Chapter Eleven, somewhere, and sometime, everyone. Until then, though, you'll all just have to see
what's coming up soon enough, of course. So please read, review, and enjoy, if at all possible,
readers. Until later, then, this is "The Universal Storyteller" signing off here. Happy reading, and God
bless, and all that, of course, readers! Over and out!