“Now what are we going to do?” Sami peered cautiously around the basement door frame to view The Machine. “Where’d he go?”
Loki turned to Aleiki and crossed his arms. “That’s a question I’d like the answer to myself.”
Aleiki shook her head. “I have no idea…….wait a second.” She thought for a minute. “The shockwave was probably caused by an overload of the transformer system…they’re not designed to handle that kind of power flowing simultaneously in and out, like electrical feedback.”
“This is fascinating, really.” The expression on Loki’s face indicated that he had no idea what his sister was talking about. “But how does it help us find Donovan?”
Aleiki glared up at him. “The last spoon we sent through emerged in France, and like you said, it looked ancient. The portal is probably still running on the same coordinates.”
“Woah, hold up.” Valdor butted in. “France? Are you fuckin’ kidding me?”
Aleiki rolled her eyes. “Nothing like the France you know. I’d guess it’s probably at least a hundred years back, maybe two.”
“Can you bring him back?” Dead Man asked. “You brought the spoon back, yeah?”
Aleiki shook her head. “Time travel, and dimensional travel leave minute traces of radiation on the traveler. The recall system locates that radiation signature. But so far it only works on a spatial basis, not a temporal one.”
Loki gestured for her to continue. “Meaning?”
Aleiki sighed. “I can bring him back through space, but not time. He’d be long dead.”
Loki rubbed his temples. “Can you fix it? To recall him in time?”
Aleiki hesitated. “No….maybe. In theory.”
“Well then, what are you waiting for? Get to fixing!”
**************************************************
The first thing Donovan became aware of was something sharp jabbing him the stomach. Shortly thereafter, he became aware of lying facedown on a rocky surface with a splitting headache.
Rising to his knees, he groaned as his back and neck popped in several places. As he rose, the stabbing ceased, and he looked down to find the broken remnants of his guitar lying under him.
He swore, violently enough to curdle breast milk, and finished standing up. Unwrapping the tangled guitar strap from his neck, he let it fall to the ground and took stock of his surroundings.
He stood on a grassy hill, covered in small rocks. Forest lay all around, mighty, ancient trees that rose hundreds of feet in the air.
“Let me guess.” He said to no one in particular. “France?”
*******************************************************
“I’ve got him.”
It had been six hours since Donovan had disappeared, and Loki was beginning to lose his patience. “Come again?”
Aleiki swiveled her chair around to face him. “I did it. I’ve managed to reprogram the recall tracking system through the flux capacitor…..” She realized that Loki wouldn’t understand, so she simplified. “I can recall in time now, but the machine traces a different signal. If you can go into the past, and take an item to Donovan that’s encoded with the new signature, then it might trick the machine into thinking that the blended signals are similar enough to recall him.”
“Wait, wait. Are you saying that I have to go back in time?”
Aleiki shrugged. “Only if you want to get Donovan back.”
********************************************************************************
Another hour later, The LHOP crew was assembled in the basement, staring at Loki. Like something out of a very strange commando movie, he was decked out in a chainmail wifebeater over his regular black one, and a broadsword was strapped to his back. He had a pair of longknives on his belt, and a japanese cane sword in his hand.
“Alright.” He stood with his back to the portal. “As we all know, Donovan is stuck in nineteenth century France, and in need of a rescue right about now. This is a volunteer only mission, so anyone who doesn’t want to come should stay here and look after the house.”
Valdor raised a hand. “Sorry man, but you couldn’t pay me enough to go back to France.” Shmoo nodded in agreement.
Loki nodded. “I understand. Anyone who actually wants to come along?”
Dead Man, Asraiah, Aleiki, and Gisiebob came to stand to near him. “Sami?”
Sami snorted indignantly. “Maybe you forgotten, but the last time I went adventuring, [i]he[/i]tortured me almost to death.” She stabbed a finger at Dead Man. “And the time before that, I had my legs broken jumping into a dumpster off the roof of a building filled with monsters.”
“Point taken.” Loki turned to those that were actually going. “You guys might want to saddle up. Oh, and Shmoo?” Shmoo perked up in interest. “Try not to burn the house down while I’m gone.”
And with that, he stepped through the portal.
Aleiki rolled her eyes. “Someone go keep him in one place while I get my stuff, the dumbass doesn’t even know how the recall system works.”
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