Author's Note: The plot starts here, as does the Martywhacking. Last chapter's non-BttF Michael J. Fox reference was indeed from Homeward Bound, where Marty almost trips over the two dogs and a cat on the sidewalk. One of the dogs, Chance, was voiced by MJF.

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Chapter Two – Kidnapped

Tuesday, April 2nd, 1985
Hill Valley, California
8:23 AM

Einstein had always loved his master's friend, who took him for walks and gave him special treats. He knew that there were many humans who wouldn't treat their companions so well, and sometimes his own master would become busy with his strange devices and forget to feed Einstein. Thankfully, his master had also made a machine that would give Einie his food, just in case he forgot, and he loved his master very much for being so kind to him.

Einstein could hardly remember the days of his puppyhood, when his master had made friends with a young human boy. At first he had been distrusting of the strange human, but the boy would go out of his way to pamper the dog and make sure he was happy, so the boy had earned the puppy's loyalty very quickly. The boy had grown up, but still remained friends with the dog's master and continued to treat Einstein like a prince.

Today, however, the boy was distracted and tired, and his scent held the distinct tang of boredom and loneliness. His master's friend didn't even react when a noisy vehicle crashed through a fence a few paces away and ran over a strange object on another human's lawn, despite the owner of the house screaming after the driver of the vehicle as loud as he could. Einstein thought about this as he walked along at the boy's side. It was clear that the boy needed rest, and that he needed to treat the boy extra-well today in exchange for the way the boy always treated the dog.

They reached the park and the boy unclipped the leash from Einstein's collar. "Go on boy," his master's friend said to him. "Just don't go too far."

Einstein looked back at the boy, wondering if he should go. The boy seemed to need companionship, and if something happened to him, the dog wasn't sure what he'd do. He wagged his tail briefly when saw the boy take a seat on a park bench, and knew that he would be fine there. Content in the knowledge that his master's friend was safe for now, Einstein trotted off across the grassy field.

The dog was in the midst of investigating an overgrown hedge when a strange scent reached his nose. He put his head up and sniffed harder, and he knew at once that something was wrong. There were two strange humans nearby, and their scents were not friendly. The looked around quickly, seeing his master's friend still sitting on the bench and listening to the musical machine. Sneaking up behind him were two unfamiliar humans, and Einstein realized in alarm that their scents were practically dripping with malice.

The dog began barking in alarm as he raced back towards the boy, but the music machine prevented him from hearing Einstein until it was too late. One of the bad men jabbed the boy in the small of his back with a device that Einstein knew was called a gun. The boy's face paled as the bad man whispered in his ear. The little dog growled savagely as he reached the bad men, but the other man kicked Einstein in the side as he lunged at them.

"You jerks!" the boy yelled, and the dog saw him take a step towards the man who had kicked him. The first man snarled something in a strange language and abruptly slammed the heavy gun into the back of the boy's head.

Einstein snarled in fury as his master's friend collapsed in unconsciousness, and tried to scramble to his paws to drive them away from the boy. The kick had hurt him more than he realized, though, and by the time he managed to stand up, the men were dragging the boy away to a large vehicle. Einstein tried his hardest to follow, but he couldn't reach them in time. The men put the boy in the back of their vehicle and drove away, disappearing down the street.

Einstein stood at the edge of the park, staring at where the vehicle had gone and whining softly. The boy was gone, and this was not good. His master must be told immediately.

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With Marty gone, Doc was free to work on modifying the DeLorean's dashboard without fear of having his most important invention discovered too early. Almost thirty years now, and it's nearly completed, he thought, feeling a shiver of excitement up his spine as he wondered what the future would be like. I'll get to travel through time...the first person to do so. I wonder what Marty will think when I finish the time machine and tell him what exactly I've been doing with this car. Knowing him, once the shock wears off, he'll write a song about it.

There was a familiar scratching noise at the door, and Doc looked up in surprise. He glanced over at the nearest clock, which proclaimed that it was currently 8:52 in the morning. It's too soon for Marty and Einie to be back... He got out of the DeLorean and closed the door before covering the car with the giant sheet again. The scratching at the door continued, almost sounding frantic as a canine whine joined it.

Doc hurried to open the door, and a wave of foreboding descended on him. Einstein stood on the doormat, holding one paw as if it was injured and a look of hurt in his eyes. Marty was nowhere to be seen, even though Doc leaned out of the doorway and looked around in every direction for the kid. "Einie!" he exclaimed, kneeling down to inspect his beloved pet. The dog was rather bruised on one side, but wasn't bleeding or otherwise visibly injured.

The dog actually pulled away from Doc's careful inspection of his wounds and began whining, sounding almost as if he were crying. "What is it, Einie?" the aging scientist asked in concern. "Is it Marty?"

To his surprise, the dog barked in affirmation and took a few steps back out the door before looking over his shoulder at Doc. I feel like I'm stuck on a rerun of Lassie, a corner of his mind commented even as he quickly followed the dog. He watched Einstein's gait carefully, and was relieved to notice that the dog was only limping slightly from his encounter with...whatever had caused this.

They arrived at the deserted park after only a few minutes, and Einstein made a beeline for one of the park benches. Doc picked up the leash that lay abandoned on the grass next to the bench, recognizing it as the one Marty had used on Einstein not even a half hour ago. His alarm spiked up a few levels as he spied a black object a few feet away, and he snatched it up. It was Marty's Walkman, still playing the Huey Lewis tape inside of it.

Doc stared at the Walkman, an ugly suspicion beginning to form in his mind as he slowly pushed the button to stop the tape from playing. Marty wouldn't abandon Einstein...and he wouldn't just leave his music playing without him being around to hear it...

He shook his head. Calm down, Emmett. There could be a perfectly innocent explanation for all this. Don't panic yet; wait another hour or two before worrying. Marty's probably fine, and he'll show up later with some strange excuse for disappearing like this.

Three hours later, there was still no sign of Marty. Doc couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly, terribly wrong as he reached for the telephone. He fought down the urge to call the police, and dialed the number that he seemed to call most often.

There was a click. "Hello?"

Despite only meeting her a few times, Doc recognized the voice. "Lorraine McFly? It's Doctor Brown."

There was a long pause. Doc didn't doubt that she was wondering why the hell the town crackpot would be calling her. "What do you want?" she asked at last.

"Well...it's about your son, Marty. You haven't seen him today, have you?" He suddenly realized that perhaps Marty had gone home and forgotten to tell him, or if some sort of emergency had come up. But he was grasping at straws, and he knew it.

"No, I haven't...but he left a note saying he would be over at your place," Mrs. McFly answered with a note of suspicion in her voice. "That is where he is, right?"

"He was," Doc admitted hesitantly. "He went out to take my dog Einstein for a walk over three hours ago, and Einstein came back without him. I found his Walkman in the park, but I can't find Marty anywhere. I was hoping maybe he'd had to go home right away for some reason, but..."

The other end of the phone line was very, very quiet for a long time. Then, finally, Lorraine said, "Thank you for telling us right away, Doctor Brown...we'll start looking for him right away, but if you find him, would you let us know?"

"The instant I find him, and not a nanosecond later," Doc promised.

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A/N: Once again, there is another non-BttF Michael J. Fox reference hidden in this chapter. Happy hunting!