
ON THE DARK SIDE
By Mike Mahoney
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I'd wanted to visit another "real event" in my "universe", and since Verne likes space I thought why not the Moon landings? They could also stay in Hill Valley, yet witness a historic, and real, event. The rest of this story just fell into place, and later on I decided upon the twist ending - which I'm not giving away here!
I would like to thank all the members of the BTTF Message Board who suggested titles for this story, and special thanks to "RedSlicer" who suggested the winning title. As well as referring to the dark side of the Moon, it also refers to the mistaken identities of the time travellers in 1969.
No real in-jokes this time, except the date of September 25th is the birthday of a friend of mine who likes space, so it seemed like a good date to use here for the "starting date". Happy Birthday Leon! :-) And Aunt Esther returns from "Doc's Story".
Anyway, enough talk, go and enjoy the story.
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"I can't see them, Marty. They do know we're picking them up, don't they?"
Marty looked out of Jennifer's car's window. "Yep, Clara told them enough times," he said to his girlfriend. He looked at the kids running excitedly out of Hill Valley Elementary School. The school bus drivers were on strike and so parents were picking up their kids themselves. Doc and Clara however had been unable to pick up Jules and Verne from school, so Marty and Jennifer were picking them up instead.
"Ah, there's Jules," Marty said as he opened the door. "Jules!" he called. "Over here!"
Jules walked over to Jennifer's car and got in.
"Sorry I'm late," he said. "Mr Peyton and I were having this fascinating discussion about....."
"Nobody cares!" Verne interrupted as he got into the car. "'Cause I have news!"
"Verne, don't interrupt!" Jules protested as Jennifer started her car.
"I got an A for my report!" Verne said proudly. "Mrs Gardner said it showed good intuition and she especially liked the way I described the 1890's as if I were actually there!"
"You were actually there!" Jules said, annoyed at the interruption.
"I know!" Verne replied. "Cool, huh?"
"Very cool," said Marty. "After I got back from my adventures last October, my teachers were surprised by my new found knowledge of the 1880's and 1950's."
"And Miss Shaw found your essay on Clint Eastwood very detailed," Jennifer grinned.
"Dad said if I got an A he'd take me to see the Moon landings in 1969!" said Verne excitedly.
"What, you're actually going to the Moon?" Marty asked.
"Nah, we're just going back to 1969 to watch them live," Verne explained. "I've always wanted to see it." Verne, like his mother, had always been interested in space and astronomy, and although he had seen recordings of the landing many times, he wanted to be there when it happened, seeing it live rather than a recording of it in later years.
They arrived at the Brown house. Marty got his key out to let them in, but the door was already unlocked. Marty opened it.
"Doc? Clara?"
Doc poked his head round. "Oh, Marty! We got back a little earlier from Haysville. Not so much traffic on the road as I thought there would be."
"Hey Mom! Hey Dad! Guess what I got?" Verne said excitedly as Clara entered the room. "I got an A!"
"Oh Verne, well done!" Clara said as she hugged her son. "I told you if you worked hard you'd get good results!"
"Well son, I guess this means we're off to 1969," said Doc.
"Right now?" Marty asked.
"Yep," Doc said to him. "Clara and I have planned this for a week now. We have all the details worked out."
"Whereabouts are you guys going to go?" Marty asked.
"We're going back to my old garage on JFK Drive," Doc explained. "My past self was in Elmdale that day visiting my Aunt Esther, so we shouldn't be disturbed! We just have to make sure that I don't notice we've been there when I return."
"I've always wanted to see the landings myself," said Clara. "When Emmett told me about them back in 1885, I knew that someday I had to see them for myself."
"It was Clara's suggestion that we take Verne back if he got a good grade," Doc explained to Marty and Jennifer as there was a knock at the door. Verne opened it to see Ritchie standing there.
"Hey, we're going to 1969!"
"Oh, you got a good grade, right?"
"Yep. You wanna come?"
"I wouldn't mind that actually," said Ritchie. "Back in 1969 I was only 10 years old, and that day I was out with my parents."
"Well, there's plenty of room in the train, so you're more than welcome to join us," Doc said. "Marty, Jennifer, you interested as well?"
"Yeah, why not?" Marty said. "I was only a year old at the time, so I don't remember it at all."
Jennifer also decided she would come, so the 7 time travellers headed down to the lab where the train was waiting. They passed the DeLorean, which was now out of bounds until Doc had finished the Destination Location that would allow the DeLorean to travel to different places at different times rather than just staying in Hill Valley.
"Get in quickly, please!" Doc said as if he were a train conductor. "Right, the touchdown on the Moon's surface was at 1.17pm Hill Valley time. We'll go back to 12.30pm. This should allow us enough time to get to my former abode."
Once everyone was inside, the train took to the sky and after hitting 88mph it disappeared.
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Doc hid the time train in his future home.
"Just like when Marty and I went back to 1968, the present owners of the house are away!" Doc announced.
"They sure take a lot of vacations!" Marty said to himself.
Once the train was safely hidden away, the party set off. Doc decided against hiring a taxi or bus to travel to John F Kennedy Drive, in case it had a repercussion on future events. Them hiring a taxi in 1968 had caused Marty to have to deliver himself on the day he was born, as the taxi driver who had originally delivered Marty had not been able to get there thanks to Doc.
"I can't wait!" Verne said excitedly.
"What is there to be wait for?" Jules asked. "It's not as if you've never seen it before."
"Yeah, but this is live!" Verne retorted. "I know what will happen, but it is live, and I'll be the only person who will know what happens before it happens!"
"Except the rest of us," Jules told him, referring to the family, Marty and Jennifer.
"Well, except you guys," said Verne. "But you know Jules, you didn't have to come..."
"I came because I wanted to see the 1960's..." Jules began as Clara interrupted.
"Boys, shh! Don't talk about stuff like that in case someone overhears you...oh, sorry!"
Clara had bumped into a man carrying a pile of books. One of the books had fallen to the floor.
"I'll pick that up for you," Clara said.
"Thank you," said the man. As Clara picked up the book, Marty took a look at the title.
Relativity Speaking - Understanding the Theory of Relativity and Other Scientific Theories.
Sounds like a book Doc or Jules would love, Marty thought. He read the name of the author.
W G Lester.
Lester? Marty knew a Lester. W G Lester was a local author, just like Marty's father. Except whereas George McFly wrote fiction (and damn good fiction at that!) Lester wrote school textbooks.
Marty looked at the man. Yep, this was the younger version of Lester.
I should know that of course, he thought. I met him in 1955. I showed him what CPR was. Marty smiled at that thought.
"You're W G Lester, right?"
"That's right."
"The local textbook author?" Clara asked. "Oh, we use your books all the time in my classroom."
"Books?" Lester asked. "I've only written one. This one."
"Uh, yes, of course. Book," Clara "corrected" herself. "That's what I meant."
"Of course," Lester said. "Well, nice meeting you. I have to take this over to my nephew's house. He needs it for his work."
"Can't you just tell him the answers?" Ritchie asked.
"No, not really. That would be cheating," Lester told him. "I give him the book, he looks through it himself to get the answer."
"A very good idea," Clara said. "It's one I use with my own children."
Lester smiled. "Then you'll want to read my next book when it comes out. It's called Astronomy For Enthusiasts, Part I."
"Based on what's been happening up there, yes?" Clara asked, pointing skywards."
"Yes," Lester said. "Anyway, I must hurry. I want to get to my nephew's house in time to watch the Moon landings. It's a piece of scientific history, you know."
"Indeed."
"Well, goodbye." He walked off.
"What an odd fellow," Doc said to Marty. "Even odder than when I first meet him in 1973 at the awards ceremony where your father will win an award."
"Hey, I'm just glad he didn't start repeating himself," Marty told him as they carried on their way.
"Wow, the Burger King isn't even here yet!" Verne said to the others as they walked up to Doc's garage.
"It didn't appear until the 1970's," his father told him. "I sold off all my land after the mansion burned down, but not all of it got built upon straight away."
He bent down and picked up the welcome mat by the door. Suddenly Doc gasped.
"What is it, Doc?" Marty asked.
"I forgot to bring the spare key with me," Doc said, slapping his forehead. "The key from 1969 is with the me from 1969!"
"So what do we do?" Jennifer asked.
"I guess we walk back to the train, go back to the future and get the key from 1986," Doc said. "Good thing I kept a hold of it all these years!"
"But we'll miss the landings!" Verne protested.
"Sorry Vernie, but there's no way we can get in," Doc said sadly. "It won't take us long, anyway."
"Hey Jules, your shoe is untied," Ritchie told his brother. Jules bent down to tie up his shoelace when Verne, still upset about things, turned around suddenly and tripped over him.
"Sibling, watch where you are going!" Jules said to Verne as Verne tumbled over and bumped into the front door. The door creaked as it opened slightly.
"Verne!" Clara scolded. "Look what you've done!"
"Sorry," Verne said sheepishly.
"Don't worry," Doc said with a smile. "As I recall, I fixed that door within a few weeks of the landings! Someone tried breaking in," he explained to the others. "We can go in and watch the landings, and I'll try and repair the door so that my 1969 self won't notice we've been here, but will still replace the door when he should."
Verne sat next to his mother as the TV coverage started. Both of them were very excited. Behind them sat Marty, Jennifer and Ritchie, who were enjoying the trip down memory lane. Jules, who wasn't really bothered about seeing the landing, was helping his father fix the door.
"Are you sure you don't want to watch it, Jules?" Doc asked.
"Not really," Jules said. "Chemistry is more my kind of science. I'm not really interested in space travel."
Doc smiled. Of his three sons, Ritchie liked biology, Jules chemistry and Verne psychics. Between them they made the perfect scientist!
"Pass me that hammer, please," Doc told Jules.
"You working tomorrow night?"
"Yep. I'm working nights tonight."
"Oh, right." 18 year old Toby Baines sat in his older brother's car, watching the people on the sidewalk.
"You're never normally interested in when I'm working," Milton Baines said to his younger brother.
"Can I use your house tonight?" Toby asked.
"What for?"
"Cilla and I want to make out."
Milton smiled. "Let me guess, Mom and Dad aren't happy about her being at home?"
"That's right."
"They were the same with me," Milton said, "and probably will be with Joey as well. They aren't too keen on us bringing girls home."
"But they quite happily let Lorraine bring George home," Toby muttered. "Talk about double standards or what!"
"He did save her from being raped," Milton said. "So I suppose that's different. But I bet Dad won't be happy when Sally starts bringing boys home."
"She might not be brining them home, but she's defiantly been seeing them," Toby smirked. "So can I use your house?"
"Yeah, why not. Julia's out visiting her sister in Elmdale, so you'd be alone. Just make sure you don't mess up anything, and tidy up before you leave."
"How come you're not with your wife?" Toby asked.
"That's the beauty of being a firefighter," Milton sighed. "Duty calls."
"Yeah," Toby said.
A small traffic jam was ahead. Milton slowed the car down. Toby looked out the window.
"Hey, there's Doc Brown's house."
"Oh yeah. You know, I was there when it burned down..."
"I know, you've told the story millions of times." It was a habit of all the Baines siblings to tell long stories again and again, even if no-one really wanted to listen to them. Toby noticed something at Doc's garage.
"Hey look, there's someone there!"
"It's probably Brown."
"No, it's a kid! About 10 years old, brown hair."
"Maybe Brown has relatives over."
"No, look Milton. The door. It's been opened. It looks like Gaz's front door after someone broke into his house."
Milton looked at the door. "You're right," he said. "We'd better report this to the police. It looks very suspicious."
Verne watched excitedly as the TV showed Apollo 11 touching down on the Moon.
"Yay! The Eagle has landed!" he almost shouted with joy. Clara stared at him to quieten down, although she was almost as excited as he was.
Doc and Jules came back from fixing the door and stood behind the others, watching the screen when there was a knock at the door.
"Don't answer it!" Doc hissed. "We're not supposed to be here!"
Marty turned the volume on the TV down.
"Hey!" said Verne crossly. "I was watching that!"
"This is the Hill Valley Police Department!" a voice came from outside. "We know you're in there. Come out with your hands up!"
"Great Scott, the police!" Doc muttered.
"They must have seen the broken door and thought we'd broken in," Jules realised.
"What should we do, Emmett?" Clara asked.
"Well, they know we are in here," Doc said. "I guess I'll go out and pretend to be my 1969 self."
Doc turned around and walked out the front door. 2 policemen turned their guns onto him.
"Hold it," Doc said, "it's me! I live here!"
"Dr Brown?" a policeman said. "You look - different."
"Oh, I was just doing an experiment and it caused the door to break off," Doc lied as a car pulled up. A 49 year old man got out.
"I came as quickly as I could," he said. "What's up, officers?" He looked at Doc and gasped.
"Great Scott!"
Doc turned and noticed his 49 year old self standing in front of him. Behind 1969 Doc was Aunt Esther, who had insisted on coming with her nephew.
"Dr Brown?" the same cop said again.
"This is the burglar I was called about?" 1969 Doc said.
"That's right, he even said he was you," the cop smirked. "2 Doc Browns? Yeah, right." He turned to 1986 Doc. "You're coming with us!"
"But I'm his.....cousin!" 1986 Doc protested. "I was supposed to visit him today!"
"Emmett doesn't have any cousins," Esther Lathrop said. "His father was an only child, and as his mother's only sibling, I've never married."
"But..." 1986 Doc protested as the cops grabbed him.
"Take him away!" the cop said to the others. 1969 Doc could only look in as his future self was led away, knowing there wasn't anything he could do - yet.
The cops went into the house, and a minute later they came out with Marty, Clara, Jennifer and Ritchie in handcuffs. Jules and Verne followed them, being escorted by a police officer.
"Hey, get your hands off me!" Clara said to them. "Where are my sons?"
"They're right behind us," the policeman said.
Emmett didn't know who these people were, but guessed they were in some way related to his future self. Then he saw someone he recognised.
"Marty?"
"Doc!" Marty smiled at the sight of his friend. "Doc! You gotta help us!"
"Don't worry Marty, I'll see what I can do!" Emmett called back as the time travellers were bundled into a police car. He turned to Esther.
"Aunt Esther, those people are innocent."
"How do you know? And who is that Marty person?"
"He's an old friend," Emmett said. "That man who said he was me is his.....uncle. "
"But why did he....."
"No time," Emmett said. "We have to get them out. The police have made a terrible mistake."
Marty, Doc, Clara, Jennifer and Ritchie sat in a police cell. Doc had his arms around Clara.
"I'm sure the boys are fine," he said to her reassuringly. Since Jules and Verne were too young to be put in a cell, a policewoman had been looking after them.
"Yes, but what about us?" Clara asked.
"I'm sure Doc - the other Doc - will get us out of here," said Marty. "Just as well he found out about this."
A policeman, Sgt Giles, came to the cell.
"All right, just who are you people?" he asked them. "I can't find any of you on record!"
"We're from out of town," Doc lied. "Uh, from Trenton, New Jersey." That was where Clara lived before moving to Hill Valley in 1885.
"Hmm. Only you..." Giles pointed at Clara, "...and you..." he pointed at Ritchie, who had his New York accent, "...have accents from that area. The rest of you sound like natives of this area."
"Oh, we like to blend in," Jennifer suggested.
"You've got one more chance," Giles snarled. "Tell me who you are!"
Emmett and Esther walked to the front desk of the police station.
"Excuse me," Emmett said. The woman behind the desk looked up from her filing.
"Yes?"
"I'm Emmett Brown, this is my aunt, Esther Lathrop. About an hour ago you bought in some relatives of mine who allegedly broke into my house."
"Oh, right," the woman said. "I'll get Sgt Giles."
She returned a minute later with Giles.
"Doc Brown wants to see you," she said before returning to her filing.
"Dr Brown. What can we do for you?"
"Sgt Giles, you have to let those people go!"
"The criminals who broke into your house?"
"Affirmative. They are in fact old friends from out of time - er, town."
"They're not showing up on records."
"Like I said, they are from out of town."
Sgt Giles looked at Esther. "is this true? You didn't recognise them earlier."
"I don't know all of Emmett's friends," she replied as if Emmett had a million friends.
A policewoman, Sgt Foley, walked in.
"Has anyone come in to get those kids yet?" she asked.
"No," Giles told her. "The 'parents' aren't coming up on file. They say they are from Trenton, so we're going to call Trenton and see..."
"Kids? You mean those 2 boys from the garage?" Emmett asked.
"That's right."
"Oh, I'd be happy to look after them for you, since they are the children of my friends."
Giles stared at Emmett for a second. "Oh right, keep an eye on them. But something here doesn't add up."
Emmett and Esther followed Foley into the room where Jules and Verne were watching the TV. Apollo 11 had touched down on the Moon, but the astronauts were not due to step out for another few hours. Verne was glued to the TV, not uttering a word. The announcer was telling the audience "the latest news from out of this world".
As such only Jules, who had been reading a magazine, noticed Emmett and Esther come in to the room. He recognised both immediately. He'd seen pictures of his great-aunt in old family albums, and knew what his father looked like at a younger age!
"Uncle Emmett!" Jules lied, running over to his father.
"Hey.....you!" Emmett said, suddenly realising he didn't know the boys' names.
"Hey Verne, it's uncle Emmett," Jules said to his brother. Verne stayed glued to the TV. "Verne!"
"What?" Verne said, still not turning around.
"Look, it's Uncle Emmett," Jules told him.
"We don't have an Uncl....." Verne began before Jules put his hand over his brother's mouth.
"Of course we do, silly," he said, staring at Verne. "He's come to take care of us."
Verne turned around and spotted his future father. "Oh!" he said, realising. "Hi Uncle Em."
Jules turned to Foley. "Are you releasing our parents from their imprisonment?" he asked.
She shook her head. "They are still not telling us who they are," she said. "Boys, can you please tell mw who you are?"
"I told you," said Jules. "Our names are Julian and Vernon Von Braun. Our parents are Emmett and Clara."
Clara? Emmett froze at the sound of that name. It was the name from the gravestone in 1955.
Beloved Clara?
"Well, no one with those names lives in Hill Valley," Foley said.
"Uh, can I see my friends?" Emmett asked.
Foley sighed. "Sure. Maybe you can get some sense out of them."
Foley led Emmett down to the cell, leaving Jules and Verne under the care of Esther.
There's something familiar about those boys, he thought. Especially the younger sibling. He looks a bit like me. And those names. Julian and Vernon. But the elder called the younger "Verne"...
"Here we go," Foley said.
"Can I have a minute alone, please?"
"Sure."
Once Foley had gone, Emmett turned to the cellmates. "Marty?"
"Doc!" Marty came to the door.
"Marty, what are you doing here? And who are all these people?"
"We came back to see the Moon landings."
"You must have seen them a lot by 1985."
"I'm from 1986 actually, and it was Verne who wanted....." Marty stopped. "I'm sorry, I don't think I can tell you any more."
"That's my future self in there, isn't it? Him, hiding his face?"
Marty looked to "his" Doc. Doc had taken his jacket off and had hidden his face. Clara and Ritchie had done the same. They couldn't let 1969 Doc know who they really were.
"Yeah," Marty said, hiding a smile.
Emmett looked around. "That must be Jennifer," he said, looking at the only person in the cell with her head exposed. He winked at Marty. "You were right, she is pretty! But how does she know about the time machines? No, wait, don't tell me!"
"What are you going to do about us, Doc?" Jennifer asked as she joined Marty by the cell door.
"The police are being very awkward," Emmett said. "They won't release you on bail because they don't know who you are, and we can't tell them, can we? We can't leave them with memories of time travel!"
Clara stood up at that mention.
"We have a way around that," she said, still with a jacket over her head. "In the time machine we have a memory eraser from the future. We will use it on the cops so they will forget ever arresting us, and we can leave and go home."
"Memory eraser?" Emmett asked, confused.
"Of course!" 1986 Doc stood up, causing the jacket to fall off his head. Realising that his past self knew who he was, he didn't bother putting it back on. "We can send the boys to go and get it for us."
"Those young lads?"
"Yes," said Clara. "Where are they?"
"My aunt is currently looking after them," Emmett said. "I take it I'm not allowed to see your face?"
"No," Doc shook his head. "You can't meet her just yet. Or him," he said, referring to Ritchie. Letting his past self know about a wife and son he didn't yet have, or know about, wouldn't be a good thing.
"You're beloved Clara, aren't you?" Emmett guessed. "From the tombstone."
"Um..." Clara didn't know what to say.
"If you are, I guess I'll be meeting you in 1885. And from the a sound of your voice, I'm looking forward to it."
"Did you get any sense out of them?" Foley asked Emmett when he returned.
"No, not really," he told her. "I'm sure you fine officers of the law will be able to sort this out. Listen, I have to take my aunt home, and I'll take the young boys somewhere and feed them."
"OK," Foley said. "I'll let Sgt Giles know."
Emmett picked up his aunt and future sons and took them to his car.
"I'm sorry about all this, Aunt Esther," he said. "I know how much we were looking forward to the Moon landings."
"So was I!" Verne said, annoyed he'd been taken away from his TV coverage.
"That's OK, Emmett," said Esther. She turned on the radio.
"This is KKHV News, bringing you live coverage of the Moon Landings. The Apollo 11 craft touched down on the surface....."
Once Emmett had dropped his aunt home in Elmdale, he turned to Jules and Verne.
"My future self says you have some sort of memory eraser in the time machine," he said to them. "Where have you parked it?"
"At our house," said Verne.
"Your house?"
"Our future home," Jules explained. "In the 1980's."
"You'll have to give me directions," Emmett said.
"You know where Hyams Road is?"
"Yes."
"Number 26."
The three listened to more coverage of the Moon landings on KKHV as they drove back to Hill Valley. Since Elmdale was still in Hill County, they could still pick up the station. Verne's mood about not being able to watch it lessened slightly as he listened to the latest updates.
"I hope we can get Mom and Dad out before the landings take place," he said.
"Shh!" Jules hissed. But Emmett had heard it.
"'Mom and Dad'? Then you are my future children?"
"Uh, yes," Jules sighed. "We didn't want you to know. I'm Jules and that is Verne."
"I like my choice in names," Emmett smiled. "So I have children with Beloved Clara. Incredible."
They arrived at Hyams Road and got out of the car.
"We need to be careful," Emmett said. "The last thing we want is for us to be arrested for breaking in to here!"
"Don't worry, the time machine is hidden away," Jules said.
"I'll stay here," Emmett decided. "I don't really want to see the DeLorean again. I know far too much about it already."
"What DeLorean?" Verne said as he and Jules ran to the train. Emmett was confused for a second, but decided he didn't want to know.
"Found it yet?" Jules asked Verne.
"No, it's not in here," Verne said, going through a box.
"Father will have hidden it away," Jules said. "Aha! Here it is!" He produced the memory eraser and the sleep inducing alpha rythmn generator from their hideaway.
"Don't you mean here they are?" Verne smirked, pleased to have to correct his brother for once. Jules dismissed him.
"We have to get Father to get these to Father!"
"Oh, hello!" they heard Emmett say as Verne got out of the train. Jules walked over to the control panel and made sure everything was secure. He noticed his shoelaces had come undone again.
"Bother those shoes," he said to himself. But before he could bent down to tie them up, he tripped over them.
"Argh!" he cried as he fell. He grabbed hold of the train whistle to support himself.
Poop! Poop! the train whistled.
"What did you do that for?" Verne asked as Jules came down from the train.
"I tripped."
"You should watch where you're going."
"Just like you should have watched where you were going earlier. If you had, none of this would ever have happened."
"Enough of the bickering, boys," Emmett said. "Great Scott! This is your time machine?"
"Yes," said Jules. "You make it in the 1880's."
"I did wonder why I heard a train whistle," Emmett said. "There is a track near here, but steam trains don't often run on it. Fortunately I managed to convince that passer by it was a train on the tracks!"
The three went back to Doc's car.
"Right, let's go and save myself!"
"Do you think they found it?" Jennifer asked Clara.
"Oh, I know those two. They can find anything they want when they put their minds to it," said Clara. "Hiding their birthday presents is almost impossible."
"I think we may have to hide Vernie's in the future," Doc said.
"Hide my what?"
"Oh, nothing," Doc said as Verne arrived outside the cell, followed by Jules and Emmett.
"We found it," Verne said.
Emmett shielded his eyes. "I shouldn't really be seeing this."
"Quick, go get the cops," Doc told his past self. Emmett ran off to the front desk.
"There's a riot in the cell! My friends are causing a disturbance," he said. Sgt Giles and Sgt Foley ran down to the cell.
"Hey, what's going on....." Giles began, before Doc used the eraser on them. Verne took the key from Giles and unlocked the cell.
"Hooray!" Jennifer said as she led Clara, still with the jacket over her head, out of the cell. Marty followed, leading Ritchie, and then Emmett and the boys.
They ran out of the police station as Doc applied the memory eraser to the officers. He then followed himself out of the station and zapped the entire police station with the eraser. Emmett watched, amazed.
"An amazing invention," he almost whispered.
"It's from about 100 years in the future," Doc said to his past self. "There. Now no-one ever recalls arresting us."
"Does that mean...?" Ritchie asked from under his coat.
"We're free to go."
Verne looked at his watch. "Hey, it's 4.56pm. The landing is in 1 hour!"
"I would like to see it myself," Emmett said. "Listen. Why don't you all come back with me to Elmdale? We can join Aunt Esther to watch the landings there, like I was supposed to have done."
Doc shook his head. "Sorry, but no."
"You can use that thing on me afterwards so I don't remember anything."
"I don't see any harm in that, Doc," Marty said.
"Well, what the hell," Doc said.
"Can I see Beloved Clara before my memory gets erased?" Emmett asked. Clara removed her coat.
"Wow!" Emmett said. "Beloved Clara, I look forward to the day we meet."
The lander door slowly opened, causing a shadow to drift across the lunar landscape.
"The door is opening," the KKHV announcer said on the radio behind them. "History is about to be made, folks."
Esther turned off the radio as Neil Armstrong stepped out of the lander. He took the first footstep on the Moon, the first man to walk on another world.
"They name a spaceport after him in the future..." Jules began.
"Shh!" everyone else - including both Docs - said to him. Neil Armstrong spoke to Mission Control in Houston.
"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
"Well Vernie, what did you think?" Clara asked.
"Mega cool," Verne said in awe.
"Mega cool indeed," smiled Clara.
"Well, this is goodbye. I'll be seeing you all in the future!" Emmett said to the time travellers. They were outside Esther's garage.
After everyone had said their goodbyes, Emmett spoke to his future self. "Are you sure I can't give you a lift back to Hill Valley?"
"You have to stay here so you and Aunt Esther will remember your original memories," Doc explained. "Don't worry, we'll be fine getting home. We'll catch a train."
"The time train?"
"No, a normal, diesel train to Hill Valley Station," Doc smiled.
"Clara, can I take one last look at you?" Emmett asked.
"Sure," she smiled. Emmett also smiled.
"You're a lucky man," he said to Doc.
"You will be too," Doc replied.
Once everyone had said their goodbyes, Emmett and Esther sat down in their armchairs and focused on the TV. The time travellers made sure they were clear of the house.
"What a nice man your future self turns out to be," Esther said. "To think my nephew invented time travel!"
"You won't be thinking it much longer," Emmett said. There was a flash, and both of them were now completely unaware that Doc and his family had ever visited Hill Valley on that day.
"You must be fed up of meeting your past self all the time," Marty chuckled to Doc. "First you meet you in 1975 and nearly end up killing yourself - literally! - and then just 2 weeks later the 1969 you has to bail us out of jail."
"Do you remember any of this?" Ritchie asked Doc as they boarded the train. "Since you changed your own memories....."
"I remember the saga from my 1986 point of view," Doc said. "But I don't remember this happening to my younger self. Perhaps the ripple effect hasn't caught up yet to make me remember it."
Doc now couldn't remember anything his younger self had remembered about he trip. Since 1969 Doc's memories of the day had been changed, so had 1986 Doc's. 1986 Doc only remembered his younger self watching the landings with his Aunt Esther.
"Let's go home," Clara said.
Once everyone was in the train, Doc set the Destination Time for September 25th 1985, 4.30pm. The train took to the air and was about to hit 88mph when something bumped into it, causing the time circuits to flicker, just as they had in the DeLorean in 1955. The Time Display Panel now read July 20th 1969.
No-one noticed the error.
"What was that?" Jennifer asked.
"Probably a bird or something," Doc said. The time machine hit 88mph and disappeared.
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"This doesn't look like home," Marty said as the train flew across Hill Valley towards the Brown house.
They looked at the Time Display Panel. "July 1969! I guess that bird must have reset the time circuits or something," Doc guessed correctly. "Never mind, I'll just reset it again and....."
"Emmett, take a look at this," Ritchie said. Doc went to the window. There was a large housing estate and several industrial estates below them.
"That's odd," Doc muttered. "Even by 1986 this area is very secluded. It's why I chose it for our living quarters."
"It looks like a big housing estate below us," Jennifer said. "Doc, is this the right place?"
"Yes, it is," Doc said, confused. "Look, there's the ravine. This is where Hyams Road should be."
"Hyams Road is there, and so is your house. Your street looks the same, but everything else is different," she told him.
"Emmett, watch out!" Clara yelled. Doc shrieked as a flying car flew towards them. He swerved and managed to avoid it.
Doc landed the train and the time travellers got out. The housing estate looked like the 1980's, but flying cars flew ahead and the costumes people wore looked like those of the late 2000's, based on what Doc had discovered when visiting that time period.
"Everything has changed," he muttered. "But how? We were in the normal 1969 just a few minutes ago!"
"Doc," asked Marty. "What happened?"
To Be Continued!
I do not own Back to the Future or its characters, my story is completely unofficial.
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Last Revised: June 11th 2004
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