In Which People Argue, People Get Interrupted, Time Travel is Explained, and We Get Ready to Meet an Old Face from the Past.
---
Chapter Four
"What's taking them so long?" Carmelite sighed. She and Leopold were standing outside of the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S., waiting for Abby and Heinrich to join them.
"Mom's only been up for five minutes." Leopold pointed out.
"Well, Dad can't take that long to wake up..."
"Just relax...they'll be here soon, and then we can get going."
"We've never gotten Mom out of jail those first few times...what makes you think we can do it now, especially while trying to find Dad at the same time?"
"Could you just trust me?"
"I trust you, but I'm just not sure if you've thought this through."
"Thought what through?" interrupted Abby, as she entered the hangar.
"Nothing." Leopold replied, "Where's Heinrich?"
"He'll be here soon." said Abby. She then glanced at the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S.
"What were those 'adjustments' you made, anyway?" she asked Leopold, "Looks just the same..."
"I'll show you." Leopold replied. He popped open the hood of the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S., and motioned for Abby to come take a look.
Inside, there was a peculiar device on top of the normal machinery. It was a small, metal box, with keypad of numbers, and a screen with a date 30 years into the future displayed on it. A few wires stuck out of the device, and were attached to the engine, and elsewhere inside the hood.
"That's the time machine." Leopold explained, pointing to the device, "I've got a remote control for it in my pocket, so once we're all ready, I'll activate it, and it'll take the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S. 30 years into the future - and us with it."
"Where'd you get it, anyway?" Abby asked, out of curiousity, "Does everyone in the future have one?"
"No..." Leopold said, "The adults were planning on using time travel against the Kids Next Door, but one of our undercover agents grabbed a few prototypes before they could test them. Actually, Carmelite and I are the first ones to use this thing."
Meanwhile, Carmelite spotted Heinrich walking into the hangar.
"You don't look so good." Carmelite said, commenting on his tired apperance.
"You voke me up last night, remember?" Heinrich replied.
"When else was I gonna get a chance to look through Mom's stuff? I mean, it's not like we have much time before the rest of Sector V wakes up, finds you here, and wrecks the entire plan."
"Vhat plan?"
"We'll fill you and Mom in on the way..."
"Nein! I'd like to know vhy you und your brother brought me here!"
"And I'd like to taste the Fourth Flavor, but that's not gonna happen, now is it?"
"Hey, when you're done fighting, it's time to go." interrupted Leopold, as he and Abby got into the bus. Heinrich and Carmelite glared at each other, then got on, too.
"So, where're we goin', anyway?" Abby asked, as they all sat down in the nearest seats.
"Well, first off, we owe you guys an explanation." Leopold answered as he sat down in the pilot's seat, "After we take off, that is..." He started the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S. and the vehicle took off, as he piloted it towards the sky.
"Okay, here's the situation." Carmelite began, "First off, we're trying to break Mom out of jail."
"Second," Leopold continued, "Dad went missing two days ago, and we need to find him."
"Vhat does zis haff to do with me?" Heinrich asked, getting impatient.
"Let's just say you're very close to our family." Leopold responded. "Anyway, we're visiting the last person to see Dad - besides us - before he went missing."
"Who is it?" Abby asked.
"An old...acquaintance of the family." Carmelite replied, "And I mean old. I'm surprised he hasn't retired yet at his age..."
"What do ya mean by 'acquaintance'?"
"Well, he and Dad get along pretty well...he used to be Dad's boss or something back in the day. You don't really get along with him in this time period, though, if my understanding's correct...I mean, he IS an adult, and you're a Kids Next Door operative."
"Right," Leopold added, "So we're gonna go talk to him..."
"We?" Carmelite interrupted, "Leo, why don't you let me handle this? I'm better at dealing with candy pirates than you are..."
"Candy pirates?" Abby said, "Wait, are you guys talkin' about-"
"Okay, I think we're ready." Leopold announced. He pulled a small, silvery, rectangle-shaped object from his pocket, and pressed a button on it. There was a bright white flash, which lasted for about five seconds, and then it faded away.
"That's it?" Abby asked.
"What were you expecting?" Leopold asked.
"How long will it take to get there?" Carmelite wondered.
"We've got a couple minutes left."
"Really? Wow...this old piece of junk's faster than I thought..."
There was a brief silence, then Carmelite spoke again.
"So..." she began, facing Abby and Heinrich, "How come you guys are fighting? Heinrich said something about Guatemala..."
"Well," Abby explained, "Heiny and I were gettin' these sacred caramels in Guatemala, some urgent business came up, I had to leave, he got in trouble, and guess who he blames for that?"
"Don't deny it's YOUR fault, liebchen." Heinrich snapped.
"Don't go pinning this on me, Heinrich!"
While the two bickered, Carmelite got up from her seat and approached Leopold.
"I thought you said Dad hated Mom when they were this age." she whispered.
"Yeah, I did. So?"
"So, then, why did he just call her 'liebchen'?"
Before Leopold could answer, there was a booming sound, and something struck the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S. All four kids turned to look at a window on the left side of the bus, where a giant, pink wad of gum was stuck.
"Why are they firing at us?!" Carmelite asked Leopold, as she got back in her seat.
"We're in a Kids Next Door aircraft," Leopold reminded her, "I'd be surprised if they didn't fire at us."
"So vhat do ve do?" Heinrich asked.
"Land." Leopold replied, turning the vehicle to the left, "It's risky, but I really don't want to fire at the only guy who might have information on Dad."
As the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S. flew downwards, Abby and Heinrich looked out the windows - or at least through the windows that weren't covered with gum - to see they were over an ocean, and heading towards a very familiar pirate ship.
"Hang on," Leopold told the other three, "We're gonna land...NOW!"
The vehicle then came to a screeching halt as it hit the deck of the ship. As the group recovered from the shock of the rough landing, Carmelite got up and headed for the door of the bus.
"What are you doing?" Leopold asked.
"What do you think I'm doing?" Carmelite replied, "I'm gonna tell them we need to see the captain." She then opened the door and leaped out.
There was another brief silence, as they all waited for Carmelite to return, until Abby broke the ice.
"So," she began, turning to Leopold, "Who is your daddy, anyway?" Heinrich, upon hearing the question, paid close attention to the other two, waiting for Leopold's answer.
"Um...this isn't really a good time to talk about it..." Leopold answered, getting nervous.
"Vhy not?" Heinrich asked. There was a hint of frustration in his voice, and Abby wondered why he would care about whether Leopold answered the question or not.
"Look, I really didn't plan on telling you guys for a while..."
"Vhy can't you tell us now?"
"I'll tell you later!"
"Heinrich, if he doesn't want to tell us-" Abby began. Suddenly, the door opened again, and Carmelite poked her head in.
"Sorry to interrupt," she said, "But Stickybeard will see us now."