Look who's back!

Yup…it's me again. Sorry for the long wait. Basically, my computer crashed when I came back from my trip, so I had to wait till school started to get my laptop back, and I've been super busy lately…Anyhoo, let's get on with the next chapter! No more excuses!

By the way…this is sort of a "Diffy family" chapter, so there's a lot of Lloyd, Barb, and Pim in it as well as Phil. Don't worry, though, there'll be enough Keely to go around a little later on.

Enjoy!

It's All In the Timing

The Wrong Place At the Wrong Time

His heart pounded loudly in his ears as he sat fidgeting in his seat, the anxiety practically crushing his entire body. The minutes seemed like hours on end, and yet he felt like his future would suddenly alter at any given moment if he didn't make it in time…

He didn't notice the loud whining of the Time Engine as it rapidly whirled out of control. He didn't notice his father's unsure rambles of what could possibly be wrong again as he tinkered with the controls up front, the groans of his sister sounding next to him as she rolled her eyes.

All he knew was that the Time Machine was slowing to a stop, and he could finally change everything back to the way it was supposed to be, before it was too late.

His mind was racing; he couldn't comprehend anything else anymore as he quickly unbuckled himself from his seat and headed straight towards the door. He didn't notice his father's stern orders to stay put, or the worried cries of "Phil, no!" from his mother.

Within moments, he was already gone.

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"Phil!" Barb repeated in exasperation, quickly unbuckling herself from her own seat and hurrying to the open door. He was already sprinting towards H.G. Wells, fading out of her vision as she lightly stepped onto the burning pavement.

"Lloyd, was he even listening?" Barb turned to her husband, who was staring after his son on the steps of the Time Machine with vivid eyes. "We don't even know if it's---"

"The lovebird probably wasn't even paying attention, Mom," Pim interrupted in amusement, leaning against the door with raised eyebrows. "He's so in love with Sparkle here that I doubt he cares about anything else." She slipped past her father and dropped onto the sidewalk besides Barb, glancing around.

"So, here we are again, in the rathole they call Pickford. When are we going back?"

Suddenly met with silence, Pim spun around and, realizing that she was the only one standing there, clenched her fists in irritation. "HEY! I was talking here!"

With a disgruntled huff, she clambered back into the RV, mumbling incoherently under her breath.

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Phil stood silently before the staircase of the familiar school, gazing up at the doors with wary eyes. An involuntary shiver shot down his spine without warning, and the foot he had resting on the step immediately dropped back onto the ground. Somehow…this place looked so different…but---

The sudden shrill rings of a bell dragged him out of his thoughts, and with a start Phil hurried up the stairs as the bustle of kids began to pour into the halls.

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"Lloyd, honey, what's going on?" Barb asked impatiently, pacing through the RV in distress. "You haven't said a word since you began working on that Time Engine…is it that serious?" She stopped behind her husband, peering over his shoulder in an attempt to look at the problem herself.

Lloyd glanced at her in dismay before standing up abruptly, causing Barb to fall back against the seat in surprise. With a tired groan, he dropped his head into his hands.

"I've checked all the components and circuitry connecting to the engine valve…all completely fried." Barb took a sharp intake of breath. "The second trip back must've been too much for the Time Engine to handle again, and it just shut down completely." Lloyd hesitated then, unable to hold it in any longer, finally threw out his hands in defeat.

"It looks like we're stuck here again. Maybe even…permanently this time."

A faraway shriek suddenly pierced through the air, and with a startled jump both Lloyd and Barb rushed out of the RV and practically ran over Pim, who had appeared out of nowhere in front of the Diffy driveway.

Barb quickly steadied herself before gasping, "Pim! Wha---Are you okay?"

"OKAY?" Pim screeched, eyes wild and nearly bulging out of their sockets. "OKAY? I couldn't help but overhear, mother, you think everything's okay? I've waited so long to get out of this stinkin' junkyard and now we're stuck again!" She clutched onto her father's arm in a panic. "Fix it, pops, you gotta fix it! I'll go crazy!"

"I can't, Pim, don't you understand?" Lloyd argued, gently detaching his overdramatic daughter from his skin. "The Time Engine's completely melted down, it'd take me years to fix it in the least! This isn't like last time, I don't think we even have the right tools to fix the engine in this state---"

He was cut off by Pim, who by this time was muttering hysterically as she paced back and forth in front of him. "Well---Pimcicle, there's always this century to…to…take over, or something!" Lloyd stuttered, attempting a weak smile as his shoulders slumped even further. "That's what you've always wanted, right?"

"LLOYD!" Barb burst out in exasperation, glaring daggers at her husband as he meekly lifted his hands in defense.

"Though he does have a point," Pim stated nonchalantly with a point of her finger, instantly returning to her normal self at the mention of world domination. "Alright. I guess I can deal with this century…for now. I'll get back to you in a few months or so on that."

She hopped up the steps into the RV and grabbed her Mona Lisa painting, clambering back down to meet her parent's piercing stares.

"What?" She asked innocently, shrugging. "I'm unpacking." With that, she began walking back towards the house.

"Lloyd, honey…" Barb said softly, as Pim yanked on the front door with difficulty before wrenching it open and stomping inside. "Something doesn't feel right…this place doesn't look the same way as we left it, it seems more worn down---"

The sound of obnoxious coughing reached their ears, and within a few seconds Pim popped her head out from the doorframe.

"HOLY FUDGESICLES! A BUNCH OF EVIL DUSTBUNNIES HAVE TAKEN OVER THE HOUSE!" She shrieked loudly, waving her Wizrd in the air like a maniac. "Can I get rid of them?"

Exchanging a quick glance, both Barb and Lloyd nodded somewhat shakily, and Pim was out of sight yet again, followed by a deafening whoosh of noise that neither of them wanted anything to do with.

"See?" Barb insisted loudly over the commotion, motioning towards the house. "Something's wrong, Lloyd, we both know it!" She paused, eyes widening in horror as a thought crossed her mind.

"Lloyd…are you sure we landed on the same day we left?"

For a brief moment, the noises inside the Diffy household subsided, and there was complete silence as the color drained from Lloyd's face.

And in the next instant, silence turned into chaos.

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Phil slowly pushed his way through the sea of students in the halls, eyes frantically searching for a certain blonde-haired beauty or a splash of outrageously colored clothes. But something was wrong; he felt like he was surrounded by a bunch of strangers, no matter how familiar they seemed…

Finally pulling out of the swarm of people, he rushed to his old locker and fell against it, his breath ragged as his eyes continued to scan the hallways. She had to be here, she always came through this area to get to her classes---

A flicker of blonde suddenly caught Phil's eye, and his head turned so fast he swore he heard his neck crack. But there she was, her back to him as she chatted cheerfully to a boy he didn't recognize, both of them walking towards the end of the hall. It had to be her, he knew those silk blonde tresses anywhere…

Phil took a step forward, relief flooding his entire body knowing that she was okay, that everything still seemed normal. He took another step, and---"Keely!"

The girl immediately jerked to a stop, body stock still as if she were paralyzed, as if she couldn't believe what she had heard. The boy next to her halted as well, resting a hand lightly on her shoulder with concern etched in his features. Slowly, though, the girl began to turn---

Out of nowhere, a hand grasped Phil's arm and swiftly yanked him back, dragging him out of sight and towards the nearest empty classroom. "What the---"

The door was opened and the hand clutching his arm finally let go, pushing him firmly against the wall before he could even steal a glace at the person who had pulled him away. Phil shook the pain out of his arm as the shock subsided and anger took its place. "Hey! What was that fo---"

The door slammed shut, and a familiar brunette spun around to face him, a mixture of emotions blazing in her eyes as she slowly made her way across the room. His eyes widened in surprise.

"What are you doing here, Phil?" She hissed, disbelief beginning to form in her features. She stopped midway, her stare piercing through him like so many times before, and a shudder instinctively ran through his body.

Phil's anger faded away immediately, only for confusion to jump in its place. "Via? You look…I don't---What's going on?"

"What's going on?" Via repeated, stunned. "What's going on? I'd like to ask you the same question!" She took a step toward him, eyes narrowing dangerously. "You show up out of nowhere after being gone for so long, and now you expect Keely to come running back to you as if nothing ever happened? Honestly, Phil, I thought I knew you better than that, especially after everything you've done to her!"

'What?' Phil thought, completely baffled. 'What the heck is she talking about?'

"Via…I seriously have no clue what you're---wait, what did I ever do to her?" He asked suddenly, furrowing his brow in irritation as he rebounded into defense. "I came back to save her, if anything!"

The brunette scoffed, folding her arms across her chest in defiance. "Save her?" She asked sarcastically, her frustration now emanating off her body. "If you wanted to 'save her' you wouldn't have left in the first place! You're the reason for practically ruining her!"

"I never left!" Phil countered angrily, throwing his arms out to emphasize his words. "Do you seriously think I would do that to the girl I---"He quickly caught himself and rephrased--- "to my best friend?"

"That's exactly what you did at the end of our sophomore year!" Via cried in exasperation. "What is wrong with you, Phil, you act as though you don't even remember any of this!"

The rage, as quickly as it had come, dissolved almost instantly as what Via said fully registered in his brain. Phil turned completely pale as a horrible thought entered his mind, a realization he hadn't noticed earlier hitting him square in the chest.

"What did you say?" He managed, in a voice barely above a whisper.

With those simple words, Via's anger died out almost instantly, and her eyes flickered in concern at Phil's sudden switch of emotions. "What? Phil, are you---"

"What year is it?" He interrupted faintly, looking as if he was going to collapse. Via quickly closed the distance between them and held him up by the shoulders, utterly confused at his question.

"What are you talking ab---"

"What year is it?"

Via hesitated, mostly because she had a feeling that if she told him the answer, something bad was bound to take place. But something was definitely wrong, she'd never seen her old friend act this way before…

His eyes were pleading as he waited for her to answer him, and finally, she cracked.

"It's…it's the year 2007, Phil. You've been gone for an entire year."

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A/N: Whee! The end of yet another chapter. I didn't like this one at first, but gradually it got better, I guess. So how was it? I know Via was a bit OOC, but hopefully you all know the reason to that. I hope it wasn't too confusing…Anyhoo, I've got some major homework to finish, so please review, and the next chapter will be up as soon as possible! Thanks!

jaime