Disclaimer: I don't own Back to the Future.
Author's Note: Did you think it was over yet? Well, you thought wrong (dude)! As you will find out from reading this chapter, or even just from reading this author's note. And yes, I know the destination time is cliché, but... I couldn't resist. I just couldn't. Anyway, please read and review!
Chapter Twenty-Two
Wednesday, March 24, 1920
10:00 AM PDT
Hill Valley, California
Everything had failed.
Biff cursed angrily. His plan had been essentially foolproof. Had it succeeded, he would have managed to completely eliminate Brown and McFly as threats in the new timeline. They, or at least Crackpot Brown, would have been members of the Tannen family and with the information he would have given Driff he (and eventually his father, other self and son) would have been able to make sure Brown could never be in a position to threaten their regime again. And yet, he had somehow managed to escape, and now his entire plan had collapsed. He'd managed to accomplish nothing except for staying free – he had even lost his captives and his time machine.
Tannen groaned, sighing in frustration as he walked towards Hill Valley Park. How could this have happened? How could those silly descendants of his have managed to let Brown escape, and not only that, he had also built another time machine! Biff remembered that he had had some ideas on what he could do with the train, with Clara and with her boys, after ensuring the future was set on the right path. He could go to all kinds of eras, see some interesting stuff, before finally settling in the present, perhaps even in the future. But his entire plan had been thwarted and now he didn't even have a machine anymore.
Of course, he could have counted on most of that, and he had. When he first set off on this crazy journey through time he had made the vow not to let his plans be foiled by Crackpot Brown again, and he had fully intended to make true to that vow. In order to do that, he had prepared a back-up plan so that, even if everything would go wrong in 1920, he'd still have another chance to destroy Emmett Brown and Marty McFly – and preferably Emmett's wife and kids too, as they were nothing but trouble as well.
The only problem with that idea was that Biff knew he needed a time machine for it. And now that his train had been returned to Brown, the only way to get back to the future was to violently break his way into it and chase the Browns out – and Biff knew that wouldn't be easy. Yet, it was the only option, unless he could somehow find the mysterious machine Crackpot Brown had used to go back in time. Or at least, that was the assumption he was working on – Brown couldn't have just teleported, right?
Biff frowned at that thought, and looked around. This was Hill Valley Park, a central-located area in Hill Valley, yet filled with trees and bushes. If there was any place Brown would have hidden his time machine, it was here… but yet, that was all guesswork.
The old bully walked into the park, looking around carefully. If he saw anything, anything that could hint towards Brown having left his time machine here… but he had to do it soon. If the time machine was here, Brown would inevitably return to pick it up, find him, and perhaps capture him. And Biff hated to imagine what would happen to him in that case.
He tried to think as hard as he could (which was, despite the advancement of his intellect over the years, not very hard). Where could the time machine be? In a bush? Hidden behind a tree? Biff immediately discarded it. The time machine would have to be big, bigger than that. It had to be hidden on some open site of some sorts, yet at a place where people wouldn't be likely to find it…
A glint appeared in his eye as he thought of something. In this park, near the spot he was standing right now, was an open spot. It should be completely concealed from the outside world, and no one ever went there. If Brown wanted to hide his machine anywhere in this park, it would be a good idea to put it there.
Smirking, Biff walked over to the place he knew the open site to be. It wasn't easy for him to find his way there – the park had changed slightly over the years, and several times he thought he was almost there and it turned out to be just another path. But eventually, he arrived at the open spot. And as he looked around, he could see a familiar shape leaning against a tree. Ordinarily, he might have just dismissed it as a particularly odd stack of leaves. Now, he knew it was a cleverly hidden time machine.
Well, it obviously wasn't that clever, or else he wouldn't have been able to find it. Biff walked over to the machine, and took off the leaves. It was a DeLorean, he soon found – probably the same machine he had stolen on that October day. Good for him. He knew how to operate that car. He walked over to the driver's seat, and tried to open it. However, he was met with an angry beep and a red flash as soon as he touched the door handle.
Instead of frowning, Biff smiled. He had spent so much time on the possibility of stealing a DeLorean that he'd been caught off-guard for a second when it was revealed that Brown had a time travelling train. But he had eventually made his way in there, and he still knew how to break into this DeLorean. All he would have to do was take a branch and slam it as hard as he could to where he knew the weakest spot of any touch-based car lock system to be, and the door would open.
His plan gave him a sense of optimism for a few seconds, but it dissolved when he heard Marty McFly's voice in the distance. He looked up, and detected people coming this way through the bushes on the opposite side of the open spot. For a moment, he began to panic. They couldn't get him now! Not when he was so close to victory!
Desperate, he slammed the nearest branch against the lock, as hard as he could. For a moment, it looked like it didn't work, as the automatic security system was setting in, signaled by an orange flash which indicated that a message was being sent to the police right now. Of course, that didn't matter, since the police would not have technology to receive it for another eighty-plus years. However, before Biff could even finish speculating about that issue, the lock gave way and the door opened. The bully smiled and was about to climb into the driver's seat when he saw Crackpot Brown emerge on the other side.
Brown saw him the moment thereafter. "Biff Tannen!" he exclaimed, gasping.
"Emmett Brown" Biff growled. "Don't even think you can stop me now, butthead." He rapidly climbed into the driver's seat, shut the door, and turned the flying circuits on.
Crackpot Brown started running towards him, but it was naturally useless. The time machine was far out of his reach by now. Biff smiled, and flew the DeLorean up into the sky, being watched by helpless colleague time travelers. They would catch up to him again somehow, but until then, he had a chance to prepare his trap. And this time, they would be caught in it.
oooooooo
Emmett Brown stared with a growing feeling of helplessness as the DeLorean shot through the sky. He watched as it accelerated up to eighty-eight and vanished through time with a brilliant flash of light.
"Next time, I'm going to the twenty-thirties at least to get my thumb-locks from" he muttered, sighing.
"Doc, what's happening?" Marty asked, concerned. "Where do you think Biff went?"
Doc sighed again. "I don't know" he said. "He can't be going to the past, unless he changed very little (which I doubt), because we're not noticing anything. So that means one of two things – either he's setting some sort of trap to us by going back in time anyway and not doing anything, or he's headed for the future and…" He blinked. "Hmm… that's odd."
"What's the matter, Emmett?" Clara asked.
"There's something in my pocket that is buzzing frequently" Doc told her, taking a small device out of his pocket and staring at it. "Ah, of course! The time tracker I installed in the DeLorean! It should be able to tell us where Biff went."
"You installed a… what now in the DeLorean?" Marty asked.
"Not a what now, a time tracker" Doc replied. "It tracks down a time machine in time and sends the Destination Time to the tracker itself. I built it in the future after concerns another Biff-incident might happen… I had no idea it would come in handy this early."
"Where did Biff go, Dad?" Verne asked. The poor boy was shaking, and Doc couldn't blame him. If you were just six years old and you'd just found out the bad man that had captured you was getting away… through time, no less… he sighed and looked at the tracker, squinting to read the numbers in the fierce rays of the spring sun.
"Eleven…" he read. "Twelve… nineteen…fifty-five." He gasped, realizing what it meant. "Great Scott!"
"This is heavy!" Marty agreed. "November 12th, 1955? Really?"
"Indeed – at 8:00 PM" Doc replied. "I don't know what Biff's up to, but I do know it could potentially endanger us greatly. That was the night I got sent back to the Old West, and if that is prevented, Clara and the boys will fade out. And if your parents don't get together, you'll fade out. Not to mention what will happen if young Biff keeps that almanac."
"I've got the idea, Doc – we have to stop him at all costs" Marty said. "Any idea on how? Last time, there were two of us, but now there'll be three. That's gonna be difficult, to say the least."
"I know that, Marty" Doc replied, sighing. "I just wish there was a way around it. But we can't go to any date but November 12th to stop Biff, and while we might be able to travel to, say, December 1955 to obtain evidence about what Biff did, it is possible that we might all erase upon arrival. We have no idea what Biff might seek to accomplish in the 1950s, and I'm not sure I really want to find out."
Marty and Clara shook her heads, gulping. "And I thought Buford was bad" Clara whispered.
"He was, but Biff can be just as evil or worse some times, as this trip proves" Doc said. "And he's slightly smarter too, which makes him more dangerous." He sighed. "We'll have to plan extensively for this before our departure, and try to do the best we can afterwards. However, first we have one final matter to take care of here in 1920."
Marty nodded. "Griff Tannen."
Doc frowned. "No, I meant the baby Biff had placed in the hospital in my younger self's place. It's vitally important that he is returned to his place of origin. Or did you mean to say that you thought it was Griff?"
Marty shook his head. "I don't think it – I know. Biff told me when he had me as a captive. He also said he had taken Griff from the very day he was born."
Doc smiled broadly. "Now that gives us some clues" he said. "It means that we know exactly where to return him. I'm not sure when Griff was born, besides that it was in 1996, but we can always look it up in future newspapers – after all this is sorted out."
Clara frowned. "Do you really think we ought to return him, Emmett?" she asked. "If he's left there to continue the Tannen line…" She shivered. "I'm not sure what else we can do to him, but I don't want a time machine theft like this to happen again. The thought of it is making me nervous, and I can't begin to imagine what it's doing to poor Jules and Verne."
"We'll be fine, mother – Mom" Jules said, though from his tone of voice one could see that he was talking tougher than he really was. "Don't worry. I might sleep badly tonight, but considering the fact that we've been up for quite a while already, I don't think that will be too much of a problem. We'll get over it, I'm sure."
"Don't underestimate problems like this, kid" Marty said. "I've been through hell the past few weeks, and it's certainly been keeping me up at night. Your Dad getting shot at Twin Pines, er, Lone Pine Mall, and my Dad dying in Biff's first alternate reality…" He shuddered. "By the way, you did a great job at recreating that first experiment, Doc. I have double memories of the silliest things, but the memories I've got of that night barely contrast at all."
"Barely?" Doc replied, smiling.
"Well, there are some differences" Marty said. "A little bit of different conversation here, a few minor different actions there. No big deal, and it all ended the way it…" He shuddered again, before forcing himself to say the words: "…the way it should have."
Doc sighed. "Marty, I'm sorry for putting you through all that" he said, softly. "Had I known about what would happen in the old timeline, I probably never would have made that silly deal with Libyan terrorists." He sighed. "But I didn't, and I made the deal, and after you got back in time I had to make it again. There was no other option."
Marty nodded. "Then I guess I'm sorry about it, too" he muttered. "For putting you through it." He held up his hand, forestalling any protest from Doc that there was no need for him to feel guilty. "It's all in the past – er, future now. Let's get Griff and then go to 1955."
"We should" Doc said. "Although I'm not sure whether Clara and the boys would want to come along."
"Don't speak about me as if I'm not here, Emmett" Clara said. "Why wouldn't I want to come along?"
"Because whatever happens will shock you for sure" Doc replied. "It will take Marty and me a lot of work to fix history. Yet, we can't really not bring you along. To leave you in 1920 is no good option…"
"Then let us go with you" Clara said, firmly. "Don't argue with me, Emmett. I know you mean well, but I can stand up for myself. Even if you would return us to 1895, it would just leave us sick with worry if you never returned – not that I expect you to fail, but I'd like to be there and help you in whatever way I can. Also, I've always wanted to see the date that you and Marty went to twice and on which you had so many adventures."
Doc frowned. "I must warn you, my dear, it won't be a pleasure trip" he said. "Biff Tannen is a dangerous character, and we'll have to stay out of the way of our other selves. The less people, the less…"
"…of a burden?" Clara finished. "I'm not a burden, dear. I want to come, and surely you agree that I can't leave my sons alone."
Doc sighed, and nodded. "All right" he muttered. "I guess that's settled, then. Marty, can you go over to fetch Griff for me? We'll meet you back at the train – it'll give me the chance to reset those pesky access locks Biff installed on it."
"But why can't you… right, because they're your parents" Marty said, answering his own question. "I've seen the resemblance with your father, Doc – it's not as extreme as it could have been given the pre… the precedent of me and my future son, but they'd still give you a strange look."
"Exactly" Doc said. "And that's one thing we don't need right now. Good luck."
He sighed as Marty ran off, and smiled warily. Maybe, just maybe, they would be able to fix this problem in 1955 and end this whole adventure for once and for all.