Author's Note: I know I said I would try to get this chapter out faster than the second one and I also know that this is far from that. And you know what? I BLAME SCHOOL! (cough) Sorry, I'm just getting a little annoyed when I think about how busy that thing has gotten me lately…

Nevertheless, I finally managed to get the third chapter out, so. . .here it is!

THE FORCES OF NATURE
by Tardecita

CHAPTER 3: Cool Vibes

Don't want ya to make me feel afraid
Don't need ya to take away the hate
But I know that you will break the seal of mystery
Leave it to my fantasy, what will be

"Trust you?" Cindy repeated quietly and kept looking up at Jimmy.

"Have I ever given you reason not to?" he questioned and raised an eyebrow at her. Cindy looked quickly down at her feet, thinking that maybe not.

- flashback -

The two six-year-olds stood up from the ground, dusted themselves off and took a good look around. Mighty jungle surrounded them and thin rays of sunlight penetrated the thick roof of leaves high over their heads.

"Ehm," Cindy said a little unsure. "Where are we?"

"I don't think the question is where we are," Jimmy stated and turned to her. "But when we are."

"What? Do you mean we're still in Vanilla Falls?" Cindy asked incredulously. "The stupid time machine actually worked?"

"Well, it can't be that stupid if it really worked," Jimmy retorted annoyed. "But the person who flipped the switch when I told her not to, has to be a little dim-witted."

"Hey!" Cindy exclaimed. "If you're such a genius then figure out how to get us back home! The 'incredibly smart' time machine is right there!" She gesticulated towards the big black machine that had followed them back in time.

"I can't just do that without knowing how many years we've traveled," Jimmy said and threw out his hands as he walked closer to her. "Unless a certain someone remember which buttons she pushed?" He sent her a look that could kill.

"Of course I don't remember," she said and copied his body language. "I wasn't prepared to be sent God knows how many years back in time because of your little summer project!"

"Well, I said it was a time machine, didn't I?"

Cindy was about to reply when a roar thundered through the jungle, leaving the children frozen. Both of them looked around nervously with wide eyes.

"What was that?" Cindy whispered as both of them turned to look in the direction of the sound.

"I'm not sure," Jimmy said, still observing the surroundings warily. "But I do have a theory."

"Spill."

"I think we're-" Jimmy started, but got interrupted by another loud roar which caused Cindy to hurry behind him and put her hands at his shoulders, slightly shrinking herself. Jimmy instinctively held his arms out in a protective way.

"Wherever we are," Cindy said and swallowed hard. "Something tells me we're not welcome."

They could now hear faint sounds of trees getting broken and shattered. Something big was running towards them and every time its feet hit the ground the earth shook violently.

"Run!" Jimmy suddenly screamed and turned swiftly. Cindy didn't need to be asked twice and twirled around as well. Both of them started running through the compact jungle, getting cuts and slashes from sharp tree branches, as the thing that followed them came closer.

"What are we going to do?" Cindy breathed and pushed a big branch out of the way.

"Right now?" Jimmy panted as he ran right beside her. "Keep running!"

Cindy went on as fast as she could while casting warily glimpses over her shoulder. She couldn't see anything but it was obvious that whatever they got chased by was going to catch up to them any minute if they didn't do something soon.

"It's getting closer," Cindy suddenly gasped. "Too close, Jimmy!"

But Jimmy wasn't paying attention to what she said. He had seen something that looked like a cave entrance in a huge rock they were approaching. "In here," he yelled as he seized her by her right wrist and dragged her along while heading for the grotto.

- end of flashback -

"Okay, I'll take it," Cindy said quickly and grabbed the watch. "But you have to promise to stay away from me as long as I don't push the button!"

¤¤¤¤

"I thought we agreed on you staying away from me as long as I didn't touch the stupid watch!" Cindy said loudly in an incredulous tone, as she made her way through the small tables and chairs in front of the beach bar, not caring too much about the looks people who sat there were giving her. Jimmy, who had been leaning on the counter, turned around at the sound of her voice and frowned slightly at the irritated blonde who was approaching him.

"Yeah, and that's what I'm doing," Jimmy stated as Cindy stopped in front of him, placing her hands on her hips. "Right now, you're the one who's communicating with me!"

"Communication is kinda necessary if I want to ask you what you're doing at the nearest beach to my hotel!" Cindy said and removed the sunglasses she was wearing to the top of her head so that the annoyed look she was sending Jimmy became more visible.

"Well," Jimmy said calmly. "I actually happen to live closer to this beach than you are doing right now."

"What?" Cindy exclaimed. "There are no other hotels in this area."

"Oh," Jimmy said in a cocky tone as Cindy observed him suspiciously. "But I live in the basement of the Indian restaurant right over there."

Jimmy turned to see if it was possible to see the building from where they were standing, but in stead of looking in the direction he pointed in, Cindy happened to cast a quick glance downwards to check out his bare torso. She smiled and bit her lip slightly before her gaze snapped upwards again as he turned back to her after realizing that they couldn't see the restaurant.

"So you live in the basement of an Indian restaurant?" Cindy gave him a skeptical look.

"Yes," Jimmy answered. "I went in there last night to ask if they knew about any cheap hotels nearby, when I started to talk with this Indian girl, about our age, named Nea, who worked there. Since they were about to close, she was the only one there who handled the English language. She got really impressed by my hovercar and then we winded up talking about science and stuff until four in the morning or something. Then she said I could just spend the rest of the night on her couch."

"Oh, so you've gotten yourself a little girlfriend down here?" Cindy crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head slightly, narrowing her eyes.

A smug smile suddenly appeared on Jimmy's face and Cindy immediately understood that there couldn't possibly be more that friendship going on between him and this girl. "Would that bother you?" he said in a tone that matched his grin and confirmed that Cindy's assumption was right. She actually felt rather relieved as the jealous feeling disappeared from her stomach.

"Hmm, let me see," Cindy said, pretending to be in deep consideration, while studying the ceiling over the bar which was made of palm branches. "Actually yes; it would bother me," Cindy continued in the same fake dumb-tone and Jimmy's self-satisfied smile seemed to grow. "Because that would mean you'd probably stay here even after the so-called danger is over!"

In a second, Cindy's original tone had returned and Jimmy's grin had vanished.

"You still don't believe me?" Jimmy exclaimed and it sounded more like an accusation than a question.

"It's been like twelve hours!" Cindy threw her hands up in frustration.

"Yeah, that means twelve hours less until the earthquake takes place!"

"Then why haven't they said anything about it in the news yet?"

"Maybe they don't know!"

"Maybe because it's not gonna happen!"

"Or maybe they're not taking it that seriously!"

"Maybe there's no reason to take it that seriously!"

Suddenly, a voice from nearby called Cindy's name and caused the teenagers to stop fighting as both of them turned to see who it belonged to.

"Oliver!" Cindy exclaimed happily when she saw the tall, blond boy approaching them. She took a few steps towards him and threw herself around his neck, giving him a big hug. Jimmy wrinkled his nose as he felt a glint of jealousy spreading from his stomach. By watching this boy's arms around Cindy's waist and how his hands moved over the thin fabric of the tight beach dress she was wearing, he got a sudden urge to walk forwards, pull this Oliver-boy away from her and hit him or something.

Stupid hormones, Jimmy thought as he turned away from the two teens in front of him, and took a sip of soda from his glass on the bar counter.

"So how was your trip yesterday?" Cindy asked Oliver as they pulled away from each other.

"Great," he answered and flashed a white smile at her. "We came back to the hotel really late last night, and I assumed you were fast asleep by then so I didn't dare to stop by your apartment. You know, in case I'd wake up both you and your parents."

"That's okay," Cindy said with a teasing smile, tugging slightly at his tee-shirt in a flirtatious way which made Jimmy, who had turned back to them a little reluctantly, roll his eyes. "But I missed you at the poolside bar last night," Cindy continued in the playful tone.

Oliver was just about to respond, when Jimmy cleared his throat loudly. Oliver looked a little surprised over Cindy's head at the brown-haired boy at the counter; as if he had just noticed that he was standing there. At the same time, a satisfied smile crept across Cindy's lips before she turned to face Jimmy. She had accomplished what she had been going for; her flirting with Oliver had made Jimmy at least somewhat annoyed.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said in tone that vaguely gave away that she wasn't as apologetic she said she was, and Jimmy slightly narrowed his eyes at her to show that he didn't believe her. Cindy ignored it and introduced the two teenage boys to each other.

"This is Oliver Masterson," Cindy said in an important voice, gesturing to the boy behind her, before she turned and said, "Oliver, James Neutron." She turned back to Jimmy again and gestured towards him as he said his name.

"Nice to meet you," Oliver said, a little too enthusiastically if you asked Jimmy, walked pass Cindy and extended his arm.

"Err," Jimmy started, but soon accepted his hand and shook it. His suspicion towards this boy was probably just because Cindy seemed to like him. "Likewise," he finally said. "And you can just call me Jimmy, by the way."

"Or Nerdtron," Cindy suddenly blurted out, and earned herself an angry glare from Jimmy, which she responded to by looking innocently up in the air while folding her hands behind her back.

"Do you guys know each other well?" Oliver said astonished, and looked at Cindy for a second before turning back to Jimmy.

"Yep," Cindy answered swiftly. "Ever since kindergarten actually. Isn't it a small world, eh? You see, Jimmy is currently visiting his little Indian girlfriend who works here on the island," she rattled off in a sarcastic tone and Jimmy suddenly understood why she had been flirting so obviously when she knew perfectly well that he was standing right next to them; it was mainly just to bother him.

"She's not my girlfriend," he mumbled and continued glaring at Cindy who was standing behind Oliver, frowning back at him.

"Well, what a coincidence," Oliver said, purposely ignoring Jimmy's comment and Cindy's sarcastic tone. "Maybe we could all go out on a double date or something then?"

Cindy's eyes got wide; she wasn't prepared for something like this at all. Oliver turned quickly to check her response, but all she managed to say was, "Well, I-", before Oliver had turned back to Jimmy again.

"What do you say, Jimmy?" he asked politely. "We could go out for dinner. Find a good restaurant and have a good time. The four of us."

Jimmy glanced at Cindy who now was silently waving vigorously with her arms and shaking her head to show him that she thought this was an extremely bad idea. A mischievous smirk appeared on Jimmy's face as he understood that he had a chance to get back at her for the exaggerated flirting earlier.

"Hmm," he started, still gazing in Cindy's direction. Oliver turned around to find out what he was looking at and Cindy immediately dropped the gesticulating to give him a very innocent smile. But as soon as he had returned the smile and turned around again, she gave Jimmy an ice cold look and slowly mouthed the words Don't you dare!

As if that was Jimmy's cue, he looked at Oliver and said, "That sounds great. Why don't Nea and I meet you outside your hotel's reception at 6pm tonight?"

"Yeah, we'll see you there then," he replied and turned to leave. "You coming, Cindy?"

"Of course," she replied with a forced smile on her face, but as soon as Oliver had passed by her, the icy look reappeared. She turned back to Jimmy again, her hands curled into fists along her sides, while slowly narrowing her eyes. Jimmy on the other hand, just smiled innocently and shrugged, as if she should have seen it coming. Cindy shook her head and pointed an accusing finger at him.

"You're gonna pay for this, Neutron," she hissed, before twirling around to follow Oliver.

- flashback -

When the two children got inside the grotto, both of them stopped and tried to catch their breaths as they looked towards the exit.

"What was that?" Cindy panted slightly as she was leaning forward with her hands on her knees.

"I think it was a dinosaur," Jimmy answered and bent forward as well, just when it seemed like the big creature ran past the cave. "Something big, like maybe a Tyrannous Rex."

"What?" Cindy exclaimed as Jimmy headed back to the entrance.

"Are you coming?" he asked her as if he was ready to leave the cave already.

"You've got to be kidding me?" Cindy yelled. "I'm not going out there again."

"But we have to get back to the time machine," Jimmy stated.

"But you said you couldn't get us back unless you knew how many years we traveled!"

"I don't know," Jimmy said annoyed and turned to her as she was approaching him. "Maybe I could try to wing it or something. We could have opened a time portal for all I know!"

"A time portal?" Cindy said disbelievingly, as she understood that Jimmy was trying to say that if there was a portal, it could close itself up any minute. "Then what are we waiting for?" she added with a nervous laugh.

She strolled bravely out of the cave with Jimmy right behind her, and the two of them headed in the direction they had come from.

"Do you remember what the first numbers you pushed were?" Jimmy suddenly asked Cindy as they were making their way through the compact jungle.

"Uhm," Cindy said as she tried hard to remember. She got quiet for a while, but then she answered, "I actually think I started to push one and two."

"About 120 million years," Jimmy mumbled as they finally reached the time machine.

"Huh?" Cindy questioned and followed him to the big invention.

"It's about 70 to 190 million years since the dinosaurs lived," Jimmy explained as he studied the machine closely. "So since you pushed one and two as the first numbers, we have to have traveled about 120 million years, since it can't be only 12 million years."

"Yeah yeah," Cindy said impatiently. "Do you think you can get us back to our era now?"

Jimmy nodded uncertain as he pushed some buttons, before opening a hatch and starting to reorganize some cords. "I don't know if this'll work but let's try."

He then pushed some more buttons and all of a sudden they were experiencing the same loud crash and flash of bright light as earlier, before they were swirling in the air again.

When they hit the ground for the second time that day they were both quite eager to check out the surroundings. And as they understood that they were back in Jimmy's backyard and saw Mr. and Mrs. Neutron in one of the windows, they both sighed relieved.

It seemed like Jimmy's parents were on their way out to them and when the six-year-olds noticed the twilight around them, they understood why Judy and Hugh had looked so worried.

"Do you think we've been gone for a very long time?" Cindy asked nervously and looked at Jimmy. "I told my mom I wouldn't go too far. She's going to freak."

"I'm sure my parents can talk to your parents about it," Jimmy said. "I haven't done anything like this before, but they're starting to get used to me experimenting."

"Uhm, sorry for messing with your invention, Jimmy," Cindy suddenly murmured. "And thanks. . .for kinda saving my life."

Jimmy couldn't help but smile and simply said, "Let's get you home."

- end of flashback -

"Oh c'mon, Nea," Jimmy begged while strolling after the 16-year-old Indian girl. "It'll be fun!"

"I'm sure it would, Jimmy," Nea said as she set a glass of soda on a table in front of a customer, before placing the tray she was carrying, under her arm and then heading towards the counter with Jimmy right behind her. "But I have a job, remember?"

"Why can't you take one night off?" Jimmy asked serenely as they were both leaning on the counter. "I'll only be here for a few days."

"I know," Nea sighed. "But I can't just leave the restaurant in the period we usually have most costumers during the day."

Jimmy was just about to protest when Mrs. Gandasi, the owner of the restaurant, stopped on the other side of the counter and began talking to Nea in Hindu. Jimmy remained silent and tried to guess what they were talking about. He was hoping he hadn't got Nea in trouble for talking to him when she was working, but when Mrs. Gandasi started to walk away he thought she sounded rather annoyed.

"What did she say?" he asked a little confused as he turned to Nea.

"Oh," she responded, as a big smile spread across her face. "Just that it was ridiculous if I didn't think I could get one night off in the middle of the week when I'm doing such a great job here. Looks like we're going out tonight after all!"

Author's Note: It happened a little more in this chapter, right? Even though the second chapter has more words than this one, I somehow feel like this is a little longer. Hmm, strange… Well anyway, about that dinosaur that was chasing them; that part was from my dream. And I think that was a little inspired by "LOST" (the first season)! Hehe… ;p Anybody who recognized it? Oh, and regarding this double date, I have some good ideas! I just need to write them down. I think I'll start right away, actually…

So what do you think so far? Please leave a review and you'll make me very, very happy... :)

acosta pérez josé ramiro: Yeah, I'm definitely gonna continue with the flashbacks, because it's the best way to tell what happened in the past. And the dream that gave me this idea is mostly what happens in these flashbacks. Thanx for reviewing again... :)

kingdom219: Thanx, I'm glad you think so! ;) And sorry for the delay when it comes to this chapter…

cutterforthecause: Thank you and thanx for reviewing... :)

Madame Pink: Thank you! (bows) :D