Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold or any of the characters. Hey Arnold is the property of Nickelodeon and Craig Bartlett.

A Trip Through Time

Chapter 4: 2025

With Kiara and Pepper

The dark haired girl was just sitting on the grass, petting the dog as she patiently waited for her best friend to come back. Its been almost 10 minutes since he went to go investigated whatever the heck happened earlier and he was still gone. She really hoped deep down that he hasn't ended up doing anything too crazy or stupid.

Again….

"What's taking him? Maybe I should go after him?..." Kiara said to the dog who just yawned in response.

"KIARA! KIARA! KIARA!..." Was suddenly heard loudly.

Kiara turned around to see a blur of yellow and red run up and she saw that it was Andy who was totally freaking out over something.

"Andy?..." Kiara said in surprise as he was now in front of her panting before giving her an astonished look.

"Youwon'tbelieveittimetravelisrealIjustsawourparentsaskidsanditsrealandinsaneandIdon'tknowwhattodo! HELP!..."He said the entire thing at hyper speed in just one breath, screaming the last word for emphasis.

Kiara merely blinked in confusion at all of that, not understanding a single word of it.

"What? Andy calm down, I can't understand a single word you just said…." The girl said calmly to her best friend who was still frazzled.

Andy took a deep breath to try and calm down and then looked at Kiara a little more rationally.

"I said…that…time travel is real and I just met both of our parents as kids…" He said a little more slowly, causing Kiara's very jaw to drop.

"WHAT?!..."She screeched.

"It's true, just come on!..." He said as he grabbed her arm and pulled her in the direction where he came from.

'Wait Andy! I'm confused…" Kiara said as she was being dragged by the oblong headed boy

Pepper, the stray Scottish terrier, merely followed the two kids, who were about to face what was probably their craziest adventure yet.

Back with our little time travelers

The four misplaced kids were still in great shock at this entire development, and some of them still had trouble sinking it in as they waited for Andy to return.

"The future? I can't believe it…" Arnold said, still in a daze.

He has faced a lot of crazy times in his young life, from dealing with monkey-themed superheroes to reviving Dino Spumoni's career, to even saving his entire neighborhood from an evil Tech CEO at one point but it all paled in comparison to this situation.

He couldn't believe that he was in the future and it seems he wasn't the only one still reeling from the shock.

"I still don't believe it, we must be either going crazy or dreaming this entire thing?..." Helga said, still worried out of her wits.

"I'm sorry Helga but as impossible as time travel sounds, the evidence is very hard to argue since it's 100% impossible for an entire city to expand so much in less than 24 hours, not to mention the odds of all four of us sharing the same exact same hallucination is unlikely. The same going for the dream thing…" Phoebe said in her usual brainy way.

"Well, there is only one way to find out…"Helga said as she suddenly pinched herself… "Ow!...Well, that theory was a bust…" She grumbled before she suddenly pinched Arnold on the arm.

"Ow!...'What was that got?...' The football headed boy asked as he rubbed his arm.

"Just making sure Football head..." Helga smirked… "Besides, this whole adventure was your idea in the first place…" She said.

"Now listen here Helga-…"Arnold started but stopped when he saw Andy was coming back.

The blonde haired boy ran up to them, this time with a new girl in toe, and they both looked pretty excited.

"SEE!SEE! I told you! I told you and you said I was losing it!..." The boy shouted in excitement as he shook his friend.

"A-A-ANDY! C-Calm down!..."Kiara said as she tried to regain her balance.

As soon as she got a good look at the kids before her, she gasped in disbelief and looked troubled.

"No…No way…This just isn't possible…" The girl stuttered in disbelief.

"But it is Kiara…It is…" Andy said to her, now calmed down.

"I'm sorry but who are you anyway?..." Phoebe asked politely.

"As I said earlier, I'm Andy and this is my best friend Kiara and we're-…"Suddenly Kiara placed her hands over his mouth, shutting him up.

"Would you all please excuse us for a moment?..." She said with a forced smile as she suddenly pulled Andy a few yards away to talk in private.

As the girl dragged the boy away, the four accidental time travels could merely look in confusion.

"What do you suppose they are talking about?..."Gerald asked, getting a strange feeling about the girl.

It was weird but she seemed familiar, as if he has seen her before but he knew that was impossible. If this was the future than she hasn't even been born yet in his time.

"She's probably questioning her sanity like I am right now…" Helga said as she dragged her hand down her face… "Criminy! How the heck did we get into this one?! I mean time traveling and running into the Football head's own kid? This is like something out of a bad sci-fi flick…"She muttered but not quietly enough as Arnold heard her.

"Wait? What?!..." Arnold whipped around in shock.

"Doi! Don't tell me that you didn't figure it out yet Head boy. It's obvious that Andy is your son…"She said in exasperation.

"What? How do you even know that?..."Arnold asked in shock.

"Where else could a head like that come from?! Criminy! I knew that you could be dense but there's a limit..."Helga said in annoyance.

Arnold blinked and then looked to Gerald and Phoebe for confirmation. They just didn't disagree with the theory Helga just provided.

"I have got to admit it man, the guy looks too much like you for it to just be a coincidence...'Gerald admitted.

"Oh man..." Arnold said as he then looked to the boy who was only 10 feet away and still arguing with his female friend.

Now that he finally got a better look, he could see the resemblance. Andy did look like him, not just the head shape but he also had the same nose and facial structure as well. There were only some subtle difference, such as the fact that he was a little taller than him, he had blue eyes instead of green and his hair was a different kind of blonde and was much more tamed.

The fact remained that they definitely looked like they could be related...and they just might be.

"A son?..." He thought in disbelief, finding this entire thing to be surreal.

"Took him long enough..."Helga thought in annoyance but on the inside was feeling some turmoil.

She really wondered who Andy's mother could be. She really hoped that it was her since that would mean that she married Arnold as a grown up, which was all she ever truly wanted in her life. She desperately wanted that more than anything in the whole entire world but there was always the uncertainty that some other girl could be his mother. If that was the case, Helga knew that she couldn't be able to bare such a thing, especially if the mom ended up being an "ever so" annoying red haired girl that seriously needed a real personality.

"Please, oh please let it be me...I will never ask for more but please heaven above...Let it be me..."Helga internally prayed.

She desperately to know but the only way was to directly asked the kid but she couldn't even do that. It was too risky with her friends so close and if by some horrible nightmare reality, Andy isn't her kid, she would just end up making a gigantic fool of herself and have her heart crushed in the cruelest way possible,

She wanted to know but at the same time, she was completely terrified of the kind of answer she would receive.

She had no idea what to do...

With Andy and Kiara

"What's with you?..." Andy demanded as he pulled his hand away from her grasp.

'Andy, we have a serious problem here..."Kiara said with concern.

'Obviously! We're dealing with our folks as kids and actual time travel..." Andy said in exasperation.. "Man, looks like we might have our news story afterall..."He joked.

"No jokes! This is serious!..." Kiara scowled.

"I know! I know but we can't just leave them...They are our parents and they need our help..."He pointed out.

'I know but it's not just that, we can't let them find out too much about their futures..."Kiara warned.

"Why not?..."Andy questioned.

"BARK! BARK!..." They turned to see Pepper run up to them, wagging his tale.

"Hey boy..."Andy said as he patted him on the head.

"Andy! Focus! Haven't you ever seen the movies? When dealing with time travel, you can't make any changes to the past or you might risk changing the future...usually for the worse..."She explained.

"You said that you didn't even believe in time travel five minutes ago..."He said as he picked Pepper up.

"So I was wrong, shut up!...' She grumbled before being more serious... "I mean it Andy, this is really dangerous, this is our parents as kids...What if them being here does something bad?! They look like they are our age and you remember all the stories they told us about their youth...about how they found your grandparents in San Lorenzo and how your folks got together...What if something happens that ends up preventing all of that?..."She whispered seriously, fear and concern evident in her expression.

Andy thought it over and gulped, realizing that she was right. Growing up, he listened to stories about his dad's youth and the biggest one was the adventure in San Lorenzo when he was reunited with his grandpa Miles and grandma Stella, and it was during that time that when his dad fell in love with his mom. He hasn't realize that his very existence, along with his brother and sister could very well be in danger.

"Okay, I get it...It won't happen...I'll make sure of it but either way we can't just leave them stuck here...We have to help them find a way back to their own time...He said.

"I know and you're right but rule is that no matter what, under any circumstances, they cannot know anything about the future, the less they know the better, although I think they might notice the resemblance between you and your dad..." She considered.

"Maybe we'll be lucky and they won't notice..." He said not-so-helpfully.

"I hope... I swear, how do we end up in these situations?...' She asked in exasperation.

"Heck if I know..."He shrugged as he and his friend and new pet went to join the other kids.

They knew that this was going to be one heck of a day.

The two friends soon rejoined the misplaced time travelers. Both groups were really nervous but for different reasons.

"Where'd ya get the mutt?..."Helga asked as she noticed the dog.

"He's Pepper and he's mine...Well, he's going to be anyway..."Andy said..." Okay, so you guys have traveled through time and need to get back home..."Andy started.

'Obviously..." Helga said in her usual snarky way.

"Okay, well, me and Kiara will try and find a way to send you guys back but before you ask, we can't tell you guys anything about this timeline that isn't necessary..." Andy said... "I'm sorry but it's for the best that you guys don't find out anything that could be crucial..." He explained.

"Oh, you mean like how you are the Football Head's kid here...'Helga said as she jerked her thumb in his direction.

Andy's jaw dropped and his eyes widened, unable to believe that his mother already figured it out so fast.

"How did you-..."Andy started in shock.

"Oh please, you have to be blind to not see that you obviously got your looks from him..."Helga said with a smirk as she crossed her arms.

Andy blinked before shaking his head, laughing at this and smiled at her. His mother was as sharp as a kid as she was now and she could still figure him out almost without even trying. He took it as a good sign that her figuring that out didn't automatically undo his own birth, so he figured it was alright.

"I guess I never really could hide something from yo-OW!..." Andy yelled when he suddenly felt Kiara stomp his foot.

"One moment please..."Kiara said in a faux-sweet tone as she pulled Andy for another private conversation.

"What?..."Andy hissed in pain.

"You were about to call her "mom" weren't you?..."Kiara accused.

"She already figured out and I'm still around, so what?...'Andy asked.

"She only figured out about your dad! Don't be careless! Just because she figured out who your dad is does NOT mean that she knows the rest of the story..."Kiara whispered harshly in his ear.

"Oh man, I have a big mouth don't I?..." Andy said as he dragged his hand down his face.

"Yes, you do, which is why you have me to keep it in check..." Kiara said cheekily.

Andy just frowned before they turned to the group who looked confused by their sudden retreat.

"What was that about?..."Gerald asked, not getting it.

"Never mind about that..." Andy said and then turned to Arnold who was still with wide eyes.

"So...Are you actually...really..." He was stuttering now.

Andy turned to Kiara who sighed and then nodded, seeing that the damage was already done before they could prevent it.

"Since the cat is out of the bag, I might as well say it: My name is Andrew Shortman but everyone calls me Andy..."He reintroduced himself.

"You are a-a-actually m-my...my..." He was stuttering now.

"Yeah, you're my dad..."He admitted.

Arnold was pale and soon found himself nearly sliding to the ground by the entire thing.

"I think I need to lie down..." The blonde boy thought as he went down but was caught by Gerald and Helga by instinct.

"Hey, easy there man...'Gerald said.

"Don't go cold on us Arnold..."Helga said with faux-annoyance to hide her concern.

"I'm going to have a son..." Arnold said in disbelief.

"Yeah...Kind of crazy, isn't it?..."He chuckled.

"You could say that again..." Arnold said, trying to get his nerves in control.

"Yeah...Kind of crazy, isn't it?..."Andy repeated with a grin.

Arnold blinked at that until he realized what he did and laughed a bit at his joke.

"Alright, so if we are done with the little family reunion, can we get on with this?...'Helga said impatiently.

"Mom is pretty moody as a kid...She must be really stressed out..." Andy theorized as he turned his attention to the whole group.

"Okay, so since the fact that you guys knowing about...well, this didn't automatically change anything yet, the I guess that it's alright but nothing else..."Andy said seriously.

"Why not?..."Helga demanded.

She really wanted to know what her future was and to see if she either managed to marry Arnold or is destined for a life of heartbreak.

"Because it's dangerous..."Kiara explained.

"What do you mean?...'Arnold asked in concern.

"Knowing too much about the future in advance is really risky...You guys being here is already bad enough but if you guys find something you might end up undoing it..."He clarified.

"Basically, you guys are risking changing all of time by just being here..." Kiara continued.

"Oh I get it, it's kind of like in "Back to the future"..."Gerald said.

"What?..."Andy asked in confusion.

"You have never seen that movie?..." Helga asked... "It's a classic time travel flick..."He said.

"Sorry but I don't do retro..."Andy said simply.

"Anyway, back on topic...Let's go..."Kiara said before turning to Andy... "I guess this means no movie tonight Andy..."She sighed.

"Sorry Kiara, maybe next time..." He said to her before turning to the group... "Come on, I think I know someone who can help us figure out about the time portal. ." Andy said as he marched toward the direction of the town with Kiara in toe.

Arnold, Helga, Gerald and Phoebe all followed these two kids who may be their only hope now.

-To be continued-

Next time on A Trip Through Time

Future Hillwood

A/N: I forgot to mention this in my last chapter but Pepper here is named after my old childhood dog, may he rest in peace :(

REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewers:

Ajay435: Glad you like it. Yep, Kiara definitely has brains but as shown here, she has a little of Gerald's moxy too.

Yali Page and Call me Nettie: All that will be explained in the upcoming chapter. No spoilers.

Metalheadrailfan: Nice reference :)

Invader Johnny: Arnold is a dense little guy but that's why we all love him.

Guest(1): Aqui esta :)

Guest(2): I remember that episode, "the headless Cabbie". Classic!

Guest(3): Thanks and please enjoy :)

:) Till next time beautiful people, remember to read and review :)