Chapter 10
One year from now
"What's the plan?" ask Lilly as she approaches the library's door.
"Get everyone off the streets while I check it out." said Matt as he slowly approaches Lilly's side.
"You want me to do that while you might be walking into a potentially dangerous situation? You are a moran."
"The more I am thinking about it, the more I know I am right. The problem is that you can be right too. If something goes wrong, people could get hurt. We need the streets to be at least clear while I go in."
"No." said Lilly. "I watch your back and you watch mine. That is the deal. I don't care if you are my boss."
"Lilly. Your responsibility is to this town, not to me." said Matt. Lilly stares at Matt. Matt simply return her.
"Fine." concede Lilly. "Just be careful."
Lilly starts to run toward the corner across to street to get people back inside. Matt smiles on how much she has changed from being a rookie to being a full fledge law officer.
Matt tries to open it. It was locked. Matt reaches in his pocket to take out his keys. Regina, in her infinite wisdom, gave everyone in the sheriff's department a key to the library. She simply got tired of replacing the door after so many break ins.
Matt unlocks the door and walk in. He looks around at the library. It was quiet. Dust had made the library it's home now. The air had the stale smell mixed with that book smell. With Belle taking care of a newborn, no one really had been running the library.
The silence is interrupted by footsteps on the roof.
Keeping his focus on the task at hand, Matt slowly walk up the stairs that is located at the back of the library. Keeping his eye on what is in front of him. When he got to the top of the stair, Matt slowly opens the door that leads onto the roof.
From a distance, he can see the machine and a man standing beside it. He takes out his tranquilizer gun. In a town filled with magical beings, any gun seems useless. He still carries it. It is better that he use a gun as opposed to the sword that is by his side. That sword is a last resort.
As he slowly approaches, Matt can see the craftsmanship on the machine. It is exactly how it looks on the blueprint. It did look like Santa' sled with a bizarre circular back. The machine did have enough room for a chair and a console. In fact, it is a sled on magical steroids. Matt already knows that the primary builder of this legendary machine is the man standing beside the machine. He could see that the man is simply stoking the device like it is a pet.
In Storybrooke, no one is what they are. Everyone had a story. It might be minor as a soldier for Prince Charming's army or the candlestick maker for the Evil Queen. Matt hates to admit it, but he has a story. This man that is staring at the machine is no different.
But the man is not a soldier, candlestick maker or even a man who have seen too many vampires. The man is one of the major literary characters. He is the original Time Traveler. And he just built the Time Machine in Storybrooke.
Matt purposely makes some noise with his feet.
"Sheriff Donovan." said the Traveler as he looks up.
"Mr. Wells." The blueprint from the house had the name of H.G. Wells. That is what connected the dots in Matt's mind.
"What are you doing here? Are you not supposed to be on vacation?" asks Mr. Wells. Matt knew the Traveler was not the real H. G. Wells. He died a long time ago. Where he got the name, Matt never asked.
"It was a horrible vacation. I came back." answers Matt.
Matt met the man a few times during his morning run. The man had a cup of coffee and an umbrella with him and he walked around town. Always checking his watch with the clock. One day, Matt stopped from his run and started to talk to Mr. Wells. Never in their conversation did he reveal what he was. Just wanted to talk about the simplest things like love and what the future would be like.
"I am sorry." apologizes Mr. Wells.
"Don't worry about it. It is not your fault." said Matt. He looks at the famous Time Machine that is not a Delorean. "Mind telling me what you are planning to do?"
"If you are here, then you already know."
"I rather hear it from you. I am just some guy from a small town. I don't know anything."
"You know, you are smarter than you look." said the Traveler. "I thought for sure you would have figured it out.
"Really." said Matt. He did have an idea, but that is beside the point. "Still, what are you doing?"
"What else? Going back to the future." The Traveler looks at Matt and smiles. Matt smiles at the lame joke.
"Why haven't you?" ask Matt as he put his gun back in the holster. Matt knows that he is not going to need it. Mr. Wells did not have anything on him. If he was going to the future, nothing he would have here would help him there.
The Traveler looks at the machine and place his hand on it. Matt could see the Traveler is using the machine to support him.
"I met the love of my life. I didn't realize it at the time. If I did, I would have tried harder to….." Mr. Wells simply stop talking as if completing the sentence would hurt him.
"Ever since then, I have been trying to get back." said the Traveler. Matt could see the tears slowly forming.
"What happened?" ask Matt.
"I cannot seem to go back."
The Traveler seems to go off in the distance. Matt could hear Lilly walking up behind him.
"The first time I tried to go back, the machine placed me in 2099. Would you believe that it broke down? It took me a year to get the part replaced.
"Then I try again. Somehow, it malfunctioned and put me in the 1700's. Took me seven years to fix it at that time.
"You can guess what happened after I fixed it. It kept malfunctioning by sending me the wrong year and then breaking down. It was like I couldn't go back. All I wanted was to see my love and something always happened. It became a pattern. As a man of science, I refused to believe fate or destiny. This last time, the machine put me in that land where Hyde and the others lived. They called it the Land of Forgotten Stories. Still don't believe that he is Mr. Hyde. Somehow I found myself somewhere unknown and the machine completely broke down."
Matt looks at the man, waiting for him to finish the story.
"The land had nothing I need because I had to start all over again. It was not like I was replacing a part. I had to rebuild the time machine all over again from the start. So, when the opportunity to leave that place came up, I took it.
"Imagine my delight to see someplace similar to my time. Sure time has marched on, but I could see the foundation and that is what I knew. I knew that I can rebuild my machine in Storybrooke and get back my love." Matt slowly walks toward the Traveler.
"What does Hyde get out of this?"
"What he wants is the machine." said the Traveler. "I think he has his own love that he wants to go back too."
Matt swallows and wonder if he was too late.
"You can relax." said the Traveler. "All he has is plans for a broken machine. In fact, the plans that he has was for the first machine I built, which by the way does not work at all. If he has any type of brain, he will realize that the plans are no good. This….
Mr. Wells pats the machine like it was a pet.
"This is the only working time machine in the world."
"So, why haven't you used it?" said Matt.
The Traveler looks at Matt.
"I am afraid." said the Traveler. "I am afraid that it will not work. I am afraid that it does not want to work. I know it sounds weird, but I am pretty sure that it is alive. It is the only thing that I can figure out on why it had never send me back to her.
The Traveler looks at Matt.
"I completed the machine last night. And I am afraid what it might do if I activated it."
"I am no hero but I am not a villain. I just want to see her again. That is all I want. I want my time with her again. Do you understand what I mean?" Tears is coming down the Traveler's face.
Matt start walking up to the man. Matt extends his hand.
"Yeah. I know what you mean." said Matt as he could see his fiance and his sister in his mind. "What you have told me, it sounds like something is preventing from going back. I hate to say it, but it has been giving you signs. I hate to say it, but it sounds like every time you try to go back, the signs are getting worse. You should listen to your gut. Beside, if something does happen, what do you think she would say?"
The Traveler looks at Matt and let out a sigh of acceptance and a small chuckle.
"I imagine that she would hit me if someone got hurt." said Mr. Wells. "I am going to need help to take it apart."
"I can do that." said Matt. The Traveler takes Matt's hand and shakes it.
Lilly Page let out a sigh of relief as she make the call to Emma.
