Title: The Chronic ArgonautsAuthor: AtradiesHikari a.k.a. Sanura Dayshaun (or if you're on DA, moopies)
Rating: PG-13 for mild swearing.
Chapter: 3- "Rubik's Cubes Are For n00bs"
Date Chapter Started/Finished: 2/3/07- 4/18/07
Word Count: 1375 not counting opening and closing notes.

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

Summary: Slight A.U. (The DeLorean did not get smooshed by the train, and Doc took it back with him) Two teenagers find a beaten up old DeLorean in their dad's garage, and drag a friend along for the ride. We join Doc's youngest, Minnie and Emmett Jr., and Marty Jr. as they have some fun with the time line. But, there is always the risk of unmaking the universe. Now children, why don't we play with the fabric of time?

Opening A/N: Wuahahhaha. Editing like a mad(wo)man.

"Knowing you Em, I am going to hope and assume that you left your wallet at home, and not worry about it." Minnie sighed, "Because if I start worrying about it, then I'll start panicking, and hyperventilating, and pass out, which will start a whole new chain of problems, 'cause God knows you two shouldn't be left alone when there's a chance of the world, as we know it, ending. And if I did pass out then-"

"I thought you said you weren't going to worry about it?" Jr. asked leaning on the hood of the DeLorean.

"I'm no-"

"Yes. You are, you're doing that thing where you talk so much trying to convince yourself not to worry and you end up not breathing and pass out anyway." Emmett said, walking back towards them from down the street where he had been checking the alley way they had changed in. "So, chill, before you faint, okay? I'm sure I forgot it at home, or something."

She looked at him warily before responding, "Yeah, okay, let's go…"

As they set off, for a second time, Minnie discretely dropped behind the other two and checked the pouches on her belt for her ID, to make sure she had brought it, and hadn't lost it as well. Usually, if Emmett forgot something she did too… It was some weird twin thing. She had her state issued ID, school issued ID, library card, social security card, and all of her charge cards, which probably meant that neither of them had forgotten anything that morning.

She sighed, it wasn't that he was stupid, quite the contrary, he was absolutely brilliant,… Hell, she thought, he's the class valedictorian. He was just a tad… absent-minded… She often wondered how many times he had been dropped on his head as a baby… Maybe he had been abducted. That would explain so much…

This is not good…she thought, catching back up to the boys.

"What the hell is this thing?!" Jr. exclaimed, twisting and turning sections of a multi-colored cube.

Minnie looked up from the book she had been flipping through. "We've got some of those in the shop," she said, recognizing the small cube "It's called a Rubiks cube… you're supposed to match the colors up." She finished, snatching the cube from Jr.

She twisted and turned it for almost ten minutes before grunting in frustration and thrusting it back into Jr.'s hands. As she turned to go back to the book she had been looking at Emmett wandered over with a board game under his arm and a blank look on his wide-eyed face.

"What's that?" He asked, snatching the cube from Jr.

"A Rubik's cube… You match up the col-" Minnie stopped short as Emmett held up the cube. All of the colors were perfectly matched up.

Minnie narrowed her eyes at him, "I hate you so much, sometimes, Em."

He just smiled and nodded before venturing back to the board games section that he had come from.

Jr. watched him go for a minute before saying, "D'you think he knew he was talking to us?"

"Probably not."

"So he would've done that even if we were two random strangers?"

"Probably."

"Wow."

"I know, right?"

(Beat)

"Minnie?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm hungry."

"That's great, Jr., and what would you like me to do about that?"

"Food."

"I don't think that was a grammatically correct answer to that question…"

"What?"

"Nevermind, EMMETT, come here!" Minnie yelled into the shop at her brother, hoping that he hadn't wandered out.

Emmett sighed, most of the games looked fun, but provided no real challenge (except maybe the dated trivia games, History was Minnie's subject, not his). That little cube thing was easy. A simple and predictable pattern.

This store is boring, he thought, making his way to the entrance of the store, taking care that neither Minnie nor Jr. saw him leaving. Minnie'd flip.

He wondered away from the game store they had been in, towards the directory stuck on the wall between two stores. His eyes darted quickly over the listings, 2088 … That means… he paused to think Second story… west wing… arcade leading up to.. Penny's… Before he moved, he checked the map, just to be sure. His inner compass was a little off sometimes, and really off other times… Like when he fell on the stairs and forgot where his bedroom was…

…

Or when he got lost on his way to class and ended up twenty minutes late… I'm not sure what's worse… That I got lost… or that my teacher believed me…

He turned and took off towards the stationary stairs to go upstairs, just as he turned on the landing to go up the rest of the way, he saw Minnie and Jr. dart out of the game store looking around frantically. He snickered and picked up the pace. He got some odd glances as he practically ran across the second story, towards the west arcade.

Emmett spotted the shop he was after and dove in, earning a frown from the strict looking woman behind the counter. He smiled sweetly at her as he pulled himself off and fixed the collar of his polo.

He glanced around, trying to determine how the multitude of books were organized. He spotted the section he was looking for, and turned and stuck his head out of the shop, to make sure he wasn't about to be found, before making his way to the very back corner of the store that housed the limited number of books on the paranormal.

Minnie darted out of the store, with Jr. close on her heels, as she looked up and down the rows of shops, hoping to spot her brother, hoping he hadn't gone off too far, hoping that he wasn't about to implode the universe.

"Damn, I don't see him, d'you?" she questioned Jr., eyes darting quickly back and forth, searching desperately for her wandering brother.

Minnie scanned the crowed a moment longer, and realized Jr. had not answered her. She turned quickly, fearful that he had wandered off as well.

"Jun…." She stopped short upon seeing him right behind her… watching two girls that looked as if they had just come from the gym at the far end of the downstairs arcade.

"Jr.!!!" she exclaimed as she smacked him upside the head.

"Wh-what?!" He jumped, and looked at her confusedly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Focus! Dazed and confused threat to the universe wandering around!"

"Huh? OH! Right!" Minnie groaned as Jr. scanned the crowd, though she doubted he was looking for Emmett.

Emmett shifted uncomfortably in his chair, the book store clerk kept staring and it was starting to make him uneasy. He hated having eyes on him, even if it was only one pair. He glanced over the top of his book, Haunted America, and met eyes with the freaky old lady behind the counter. Try as he might, he couldn't look away. Her white hair was pulled back in a bun so tight that her eyes slanted and the wrinkles on her face were pulled flat, making odd lines appear across her face. Her make-up did little to conceal the taut wrinkles, it more outlined them, filling in what little groove there was on her face. He shuddered as she narrowed her unnaturally slanted, overly outlined, brown eyes. Not being able to take the staring, he stood and quickly retreated to the back corner where he had found his book.

Crazy old bat, freaky wrinkles… Freaky crazy old bat… Staring… Buuh.

He flopped on the floor and leaned back against the unsteady shelf that looked as if any more books would topple it. He sighed, trying to get rid of the 'watched' feeling that had settled over his shoulders. Though he had moved away from the clerk…. The feeling just wouldn't leave. He shivered a bit, and tried to resume reading his book. Just as the feeling started to fade, the bookcase he was leaning against jerked violently, like someone had stumbled into it from the other side. He gave a short, surprised shout before he was buried under at least a hundred paperback books.

End A/N: This chapter made me remember how much I love Emmett. It really did.