NOTE: Thanks for coming along on this historic journey! Don't worry, a Part II will be forthcoming after a short break to do more editing, but we thought it best for Part I to wind up with Anna returning to her own time (despite that not being how the movies are divided). Don't forget to follow this account for updates! We hope you'll keep reading along with us!

-Frui and Jess

CHAPTER 15

The next thing Anna knew, she was being tossed into an open trunk, the lid slammed down on her and closing her off into darkness. At least Hans and his 'crew' didn't seem to be murderers, just jerks. That thought didn't really comfort her, knowing exactly what was going through Hans' head.

'I'm gonna kill him,' ran through her own. She couldn't even be sure she was exaggerating; not if he went through with what she thought he was doing. All their lives, he had been this kind of dirtbag? How could everyone look the other way? How had no one run him out of town?!

"HEY!" she screamed, pounding at the inside and flailing, rocking the vehicle. She heard some laughter and shouts from outside. "Let me out! You can't do this!"

She yelled and screamed, beating the ceiling of the trunk until her hands felt swollen and bruised. Time had no meaning, and she felt frustrated tears drip down her face. It wasn't fair.

She didn't know how long she had been trying to fight her way out of the car before suddenly the lid was being prised open. Never before had she been so glad to see a group of complete strangers.

"What the…?"

"Hey!" she panted, and when one of them reached in, she flinched. But she took it when she realised this was a friendly hand, not an aggressive one. "Oh… th-thank you, I'm… I didn't mean-"

"It's alright, girl," the man said, eyes narrowed in concern. The rest of them were preoccupied, having turned back to check on one of their friends once they were certain the girl was alive and seemed to be okay. She briefly saw that he seemed to be cradling his arm or something, but she couldn't stay.

"Thank you. God, thank you SO much, but my friend is…" Oh God. Elsa. As she took off, she heard them shouting in concern, but she couldn't waste any more time. Elsa was in trouble!

When she finally turned the corner, she was just in time to see the grand finale. Hans was standing outside the Gremlin's door… and then sliding down its surface, plopping onto the ground in an unconscious heap. What the hell had happened while she was gone?

Kristoff happened.

Both of Anna's fists had to come up to rub at her eyes, just to make sure they weren't deceiving her. Kristoff, of all the people in the universe, was standing over Hans, his fist flecked with blood. His barrel chest was heaving, and his eyes slightly unfocused in vague shock. Then he began to laugh breathlessly, dazed.

"Son of a bitch," she managed to whisper, noticing that a crowd was beginning to form around her, slightly cutting off her view of the mayhem. Perhaps that was for the best. Finally, finally her parents were together. They made their way towards the hall, though Anna could see Elsa looking around for her. She didn't want to interrupt, but she was cognisant of the time – and the fact that, the last Elsa had seen of her, she was being dragged off by Hans' cronies.

The thing that pained Anna was simply the desperation with which she wanted to go to Elsa, make sure she was okay. Comfort her if necessary. But that was not what Elsa – or she – needed. They both needed that privilege to belong to Kristoff; Elsa because he had been the one to save her, and Anna because, really, he'd saved her too. Smiling to herself, she turned to follow them at a distance. Perhaps she should go and find Principal Weselton, make sure he knew what the "star athlete" was doing to his fellow classmates.

Pulling out the photograph – more a way to calm her mind than anything – Anna was prepared to let Elsa have a dance and then announce her sudden departure from their lives.

Her heart stopped when she realised her brother hadn't returned. Not only that, but half of her sister was missing.

The plan failed.

Turning around, she began to stumble back the way she had come, gaping at the item in her hand. So much so that she bumped into one of the tall, dark, handsome men that had rescued her from the trunk-prison.

"Oh, sorry," she breathed. "I didn't mean to-"

"Don't even worry about it." His voice was weary as he turned around. "We're getting out of here, anyway. Glad you're alright, girl. Wish I had some shoes to loan you."

But she couldn't worry about shoes at the moment. She had just noticed they were all dressed in tuxedos. Much worse – they were all in the same tuxedos. A sneaking suspicion came over her when she saw one of the men nursing a cut across his palm.

"Are you… why are you guys leaving?" she asked, still not fully sure why she needed to know. Call it a gut feeling; this was important. She just didn't consciously realise why yet.

"Look at Marvin's hand," he said, tapping the bandage. There was blood leaking through the gauze. "I might be the golden throat of our act, but without him on the axe, we don't really have a show. And if we don't have a show, then we sure as hell don't need to be hangin' around a bunch of nerdy white teenagers for no goddamn reason."

"Sorry, Seb," the guy hissed. "Thought I could jimmy the lock with the crowbar, but…"

"Don't sweat it. You know it wasn't on purpose, we all do. There was a girl in trouble; what kind of men would we be if we didn't try?"

"Wait… you're the band." All five of them turned to glare at her. "So I'm a little slow. Are you saying that… you can't go in there and perform? Oh… this is… not great." She swayed on the spot, and shaking her head, she turned to them, desperate. "You don't understand. If you don't play, they don't dance. If they don't dance, they don't kiss, they never fall in love and I'm history."

"What? Look, Little Orphan Annie, unless you know someone who can play, we don't got a choice, do we?"

Ignoring the comment about her red hair, Anna thought fast. This was why she was still disappearing! Because her mother and father shared their first kiss at this dance! There seemed to be only one way to prevent this disaster now.

"Wait! Hey, you need a guitarist, right? I can play. Let me help, please?"

The men looked between themselves, seemingly communicating nonverbally. "You think you can keep up with us?" one asked. Grinning, Anna nodded.

"Think you can keep up with me?"

~ o ~

Being on stage was a dream come true. And scary. Anna was grateful that she wasn't expected to sing this time, because she was afraid the tremble in her throat would be too obvious – plus something something space-time continuum. She should be keeping a lower profile than this, but she didn't have much choice anymore.

As soon as Elsa caught sight of her, her eyes lit up, a soft smile playing on her lips. Raising her fingertips to her lips, Anna pressed them there for a moment before flicking out towards Elsa, encouraging her to turn back to dance with Kristoff. It was as close as she could get.

The next song chosen was a classic – perfect, too, as painful as it was. Yet another reason Anna was glad she wasn't singing; she'd probably start crying halfway through. The previous upbeat pop tune faded out, and then Sebastian took a step closer to he microphone, clearing his throat as their pianist began to play.

"This one's a little slower for all you lovers to get super close." It seemed cheesy banter was part and parcel of being a band at a high school dance.

When her cue came up, Anna lent her electric guitar skills, sending note after soaring note to wash over the crowd. The few guys who had looked at her dubiously when they saw some chick in a prom dress holding a guitar began to shrug and turn back toward their dates. Indifference was better than being booed off the stage.

"I wanted to be with you alone," Seb started crooning. "And talk about the weather…"

Anna was really glad they were playing 'contemporary' hits. Dances seemed to have a tendency to want to push 'older music' because it was safer and more family-appropriate, even though families didn't attend homecoming-slash-autumn dances. But 80s pop was right in her wheelhouse. She didn't know a lot of Flamingos or Penguins, but she knew the hell out of Tears For Fears.

"Something happens, and I'm head over heels – I never find out till I'm head over heels…"

As she looked on, Kristoff and Elsa began to sway gently on the dance floor. She looked right at home in his arms, even if she didn't look as excited as she had been in Anna's. This was the safer option… but 'safe' had a different meaning now that she had been rescued by the sandy-haired boy. He loved her enough to stand up to a bully who struck actual terror into his heart all throughout high school – perhaps all throughout his life. That was enough to turn any girl's head.

So Anna played her heart out, watched as they danced together. Her head was getting lighter, and her stomach felt a little odd… but she ignored it as best she could. Just had to get through this song.

When she saw Elsa looking at her over his shoulder, eyebrows raised, a thousand emotions swimming through her vision, Anna only flashed a smile she didn't truly feel and nodded. When she had a half-second, she raised her other hand and waved her on. That seemed to be all Elsa needed; permission from the girl she had just gone further with than ever before. Encouragement to let what was happening unfold.

Unfortunately, the action had the effect of knocking Anna off-balance. She stumbled to the side, strumming horribly off-key. Somewhere in her periphery, she noticed Sebastian watching her, eyebrow quirked. Yeah, she really wasn't doing as well as she thought she would; where had all her skill gone?

Eyes trained on where Elsa and Kristoff were currently making eyes at each other, she couldn't help but smile…

…before she tipped right over, landing rather heavily on her side. Fucking oww. Putting her hand out to try and push herself up, it instead slipped on something that had fallen from her bra. Her head felt light, and she couldn't seem to get enough air into her lungs. Fingers finally managing to grasp whatever it was on the ground, she brought it up to her face.

Oh. The picture. Except now her sister had vanished, too. Right in front of her eyes, before they slowly began to fill with tears, Anna could see herself slowly fading.

It felt really crummy, too. Especially when she saw the hand actually holding the picture was fading – in real life. She was going to disappear.

"Well… that sucks," she whispered. But if this was going to be her last moment, then she didn't want to spend it thinking of dark things. Not when there were better things to look at. Swallowing her tears, she let the picture drop, gaze alighting on Elsa instead.

Apparently, some girl with black hair and a perm had cut in and was now dancing with Kristoff. Elsa looked a little annoyed, but she was sighing and turning toward the stage, resigned to letting him go. Eventually, she dodged around some other guy who tried to ask her to dance and headed toward the stage.

"No," Anna breathed in dismay. If she was going to go, she wanted to know Elsa would be taken care of…

And somehow, she heard her. Even over the song, which was muddling through without her guitar, and the chattering crowd, her mother's eyes perked up to see her – and they immediately filled with concern. But Anna mustered the last of her strength and pointed – with the less-invisible hand – at Kristoff. Just as Sebastian was singing, "Don't throw it away," Anna's mouth very clearly formed the words:

"Get him back!"

Elsa glanced between the two of them, and seemed as if she was going to protest… until she saw Kristoff sighing and rolling his eyes. Probably at something the unknown girl had said.

It was almost like magic. Even as Elsa began to stride toward them with a purpose, Anna felt energy slowly trickling back into her limbs. And when she watched her non-violent mother reach between them and physically shove the other girl's face backward until she left room for Jesus, her heart began to beat wildly.

"Don't worry," Elsa told him as she took one of his hands and rested the other on his shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere."

And as she leaned up to give him a kiss – a kiss that barely even qualified, really, as her lips pressed against his cheek, yet was so full of thanks and friendship, if not the blossoming beginnings of love – Anna surged to her feet and began to play again.

"And this is my four-leaf clover…" Sebastian sang, smiling as he saw Anna recover. Along with him and the rest of the band, Anna began to sing the backup "La la la la la" as she strummed, and they kept that up far longer than the original song required. She decided she was alright with that.

As the song reached its end, the words "Funny how time flies" echoing unnaturally, the students all began to cheer and clap. Anna took that opportunity to glance at her hand, then hastily look at the picture. It was back. Well, her siblings were wearing slightly different clothes, but all three of them were in the picture again, flashing similar plastic smiles and waving. She did it. Unbelievably, she didn't screw something up for once!

God she felt good. An energy, unfamiliar, seemed to fill her. Moving towards Sebastian, she said, "Mind a request for the next song?"

"Heh, sure thing kid," he said, stepping back from the microphone. Opening the floor to her. Beaming, she took the spot even as she turned to glance at the band.

"Now okay, this is a classic. We're gonna switch up the tempo and have a bit of fun with it, though."

Shooting a wink out into the crowd – aimed more specifically at one particular couple – she began the first few bars. It took the band a few seconds to get into it, but they must have really known their stuff because they played along perfectly.

And then Anna started sing, and she was really in her zone.

"Goddess on a mountain top," she cried. Looking over the crowd, it made her pretty damn happy that the kids were getting into it. A few looked confused, and a couple were mumbling amongst themselves. Ahh, who cared? "Burning like a silver flame!"

Elsa looked up, briefly, to smile at her again. This time, the wink was most certainly for one particular person. Ducking her head, Elsa turned back to Kristoff. He was uncoordinated and looked a bit awkward, but he was smiling, and Elsa was smiling. As she approached the chorus, Anna watched Kristoff lean down a little to ask Elsa something.

When Elsa glanced at Anna, eyes wide, she had an idea of what he asked. So, grinning, she gave a nod. The kiss Kristoff gave her was short and sweet. Barely a peck. But it was on her lips, and Elsa kissed back, and Anna's veins may have been on fire for all she knew. Maybe she did have mixed feelings about it, since she and Elsa had just pushed the bonds of friendship really far in her car less than an hour ago, but…

Everything was going to be okay. The world was not going to end, there would be no paradox, and her parents were together.

Therefore, the scream was very naturally welling up from the depths of her soul just before she got to the chorus. Putting one bare foot up on the monitor speaker, she leaned in as she sang out.

"She's got it! Yeah, baby, she's got it! Well I'm your Venus, I'm your fire and your desire!"

~ o ~

The rest of the dance went off without a hitch. Elsa and Kristoff smiled at her between their gyrations. Maybe they weren't the most sensual couple out there, the very "nerdy white teenagers" the band had bemoaned, but at least they looked like they were having fun. Anna could take that all the way to the bank. Save for one final incident in which she started mashing up random Katy Perry lyrics in with 'Venus', which made the rest of the band a little confused, they sounded great together.

"Another song?" Sebastian asked as she took off the guitar strap. "Don't gotta run off like this; you're a pretty bad mama jama!"

"Actually, I do," she laughed. "Wish I could stay, but… yeah, gotta bounce!"

As she sprinted backstage, he called after her, "Bounce what?!"

However, just as she was trying to slip out the side door, she saw Kristoff and Elsa heading in her direction. They had clearly already spotted her, so there was no use in trying to flee. She had been hoping to avoid this talk, but she stopped moving, hanging out as close to the door as she could get. It had to be getting late now so she couldn't stay for long, but they deserved better.

"TORI!" Elsa cried. Perhaps she had forgotten that she was surrounded by her schoolmates, and that Kristoff was standing right next to her. Maybe even the couple of swigs of alcohol from earlier was to blame. Either way, Anna was surprised when Elsa threw her arms around her, pressing a subtle kiss to her cheek.

"Wha-"

"That was amazing! I don't know where you got the idea for a dance-mix of Venus, but man, it worked!"

"Heh, thanks!" Wait, wasn't it already released? Damn; yet another time-travel screwup. "Well, I just got uh, inspired," she said. Then, looking between the two of them, continued, "So, uh… you guys, huh? Didn't I tell you?!"

Elsa looked away, light embarrassment coating her features. "After- after you were dragged away, Hans started to uh… But then Kristoff must have heard, or seen something, because then Hans was getting pulled off me and Kristoff punched him and- and I'm…" Here, her voice lowered. Kristoff could probably still hear it but he was doing a very good job of pretending like he couldn't, instead being completely taken with the band – which didn't sound nearly as good without a guitarist. "Is it possible to be like… part-lesbian?" she asked softly. Anna snorted, then smiled.

"You can be whatever you want, Elsa. You don't even have to label yourself at all if you don't want to. But I think 'bisexual' is the term you're looking for – if it applies. Totally up to you."

Elsa nodded thoughtfully. "Bisexual… I'll remember that word. Sounds kind of weird, but… but I think it's the perfect word for me. You think about things really differently from anyone I've ever met. You know, I'd love to come see where you live sometime; it sounds completely radical."

"It is," she chuckled, looking down in slight chagrin. "And I think you might like it there, but… that probably can't happen. Not for a long while, anyway. Wish I could say otherwise."

They were all quiet for a moment. It was Kristoff who first murmured, "You're taking off, aren't you? After tonight."

"Yeah." She had to work very, very hard to ignore Elsa's stricken gaze. That was too painful. "Um… but you two looked great together out there. I called it, right? Didn't I call it?"

As she was fingergunning, they both laughed. Then Kristoff chuckled, "You 'called it', I guess. I mean, I knew I liked her; just didn't think I stood a snowball's chance in Hell."

"Well now you know. And, um…" This was her last chance to set their future on the right path. Maybe she should leave well enough alone, but… "Don't forget to communicate. Always important; as long as you talk to each other, you can figure your way around any obstacle. Three children, three years apart, is the perfect number. Don't forget what I said about alcohol," she added to Elsa a little more specifically, even as she was still blushing from the last comment. "And um… if you ever catch a little girl accidentally setting fire to the living room rug when she's about eight… go easy on her?"

"Um… okay, we will," Kristoff laughed, pulling Anna into a hug. "Your advice might be mondo bizarro, but it seems to turn out to be just what we need to know, so… yeah, I'll never forget any of it."

"Follow your dreams, writer," she whispered to him before letting him go. "And it's been great getting to know both of you. Really, um… educational."

Then she turned to pad out of the gym. Her feet were beginning to protest being shoeless for so long, but she couldn't even care; the cool outside air refreshed her, and she felt contentment all throughout her body. The digital watch Doc had given her still had yet to go off; they weren't late. As long as she kept to this timetable-

"Wait," came a soft plea from behind her.

As she had already come to accept, Anna was completely helpless when it came to Elsa. The bleach-blonde gave a furtive glance around, then took Anna's hand to lead her closer to the door. Kristoff was facing away from them and watching the band again, but now that Anna thought about it, he was acting as a pretty good buffer from the rest of the hall. Maybe that was on purpose.

Even when they'd stopped moving, Elsa didn't say anything. Her eyes roamed Anna's face, the feeling of want, etched deep, that had become so familiar over the past week cascading from her in waves. She hadn't released Anna's hand – and when she realised that, she only held on tighter.

"Do you have to go? I- will I ever see you again?" she asked. Her voice was soft, but Anna had the feeling that, had it been louder, the tremble would have been more obvious. God. Now Anna wanted to cry. She was about to go home and never see this Elsa again. No, she could only look forward to a mother who was barely present, her only saving grace being that she was never abusive. But neither was she much of a mother.

And the saddest part was that… it was Elsa's future. This bright spark of a girl would be reduced to nothing but the vodka bottles strewn haphazardly on the floor next to her bed. Anna couldn't answer. Her chest felt heavy and her head throbbed; though at least this time it wasn't from her rapidly-fading existence. In that moment, she realised why Doc had been so adamant about not knowing the future. It cursed and it cursed; not only oneself, but the people they cared about too.

Swallowing, she tried a smile. "Maybe…" she said finally. "When you least expect it, and the time is right. No- no promises, though." Oh god, and now Elsa was tearing up. She released one of Anna's hands to wipe at her face.

"I think I love you," she choked. Valiantly giving a pathetic smile. Anna sniffled.

"I know I love you, Elsa," Anna responded. She wasn't sure what kind of love that was anymore, but clear as day, it was there. She could lie to herself, but right now, in this moment, she refused to lie to Elsa. Still, there was a mission to maintain. "But you belong with Kristoff. Okay? I just wish-"

But whatever she wished was cut off as Elsa surged forward, pressing their lips together one last time. Anna, who had been holding the future of her whole family on her shoulders, crumpled under the crushing weight. Desperation fueled her lips as they savored Elsa's. A thousand decisions which may have doomed them all drew a fierce tremble from her hands, and she clung to the only support she had.

A guttural sob rolled up Anna's throat, which she quashed into a desperate whimper. Her knees buckled. She didn't even feel when she sank to the steps, nor when strong, familiar arms encircled her. All she felt was the absence of lips on her own — and in that moment, her tears stopped.

"You've… you've got somewhere to be, huh?" Elsa's eyes were bright and wide as she brushed her thumbs along Anna's wet cheeks. A meek nod followed, and Elsa pressed a kiss to each rosy cheek. "I'll see you again. Like, in the future?"

Despite everything, Anna barked out a hoarse laugh before refocusing on Elsa's perfect features. 'I really want to remember this Elsa… so I might as well do this right.' So Anna claimed Elsa's now trembling lips. The smell, the taste, and the weight of the body on hers, committing each to memory. The kiss was harder than before but also more brief; she couldn't draw it out or she'd never make it.

When they finally parted, Elsa let out a wet laugh and whispered, "If it ever is the right time, for you and me… you'll know where to find me."

"Yeah. But I think Kristoff is going to take great care of you. I can't believe how chill he's being about this."

"Oh, we talked about it already," Elsa admitted, cheeks burning. "Um, I had to tell him the whole story of how Hans got to me in the first place. He knows what you and I had is… special. Different, and a separate thing."

"A separate thing…" Anna could live with that. Maybe it would be painful, but she could live with thinking of this as 'separate'; not part of her own time, her own life. Whether or not it was accurate, it could help her let go.

Then her watch did beep. She glanced down at it, and then up at her parents. "I, um… have a ride to catch. Doc – I mean, my uncle – is so overprotective sometimes, y'know?"

"Thank you so much," Kristoff told her again, waving. He looked distinctly ruffled by having watched them kiss, but to his credit, he wasn't quite perving on them the way she would expect a 'birdwatcher' to be. Maybe everything he had been through had changed that within him.

"For everything," Elsa added, squeezing both of Anna's hands. "I'll never forget you, Tori. Never."

There weren't any other words. At least, none that Anna could think of. So she merely gave the hands one last squeeze back, then took off running across the lawn toward the front entrance to the school. The cold blades of grass tickled her soles, the wind ruined her ornate bun… and she felt alive and free. Whole. Happy.

~ o ~

All the way to the street where they had the 'weather experiment' set up, Anna struggled and rolled around in Doc's back seat to get out of her dress and into the clothes she had arrived in. Thanking the stars that her regular shoes were back there, she finished off by pulling them on, and felt relieved to be back in her jeans and tee. Even if the make-up and sophisticated hairstyle looked a little odd with the casual outfit, there just wasn't time.

But she did pack the dress, wrapping it carefully around Elsa's mixtape. Neither of those things would exist in 1985 if she didn't time travel; taking them out of the timeline was helping to preserve it, not causing further disaster.

"Alright," Doc sighed as they hopped out and approached the DeLorean where it lay beneath a tarp. "Now you remember the plan, don't you? Need a refresher?"

"Uhh…" Anna blanked briefly, her mind still stuck on everything that had happened that night. A sudden rumble in the sky had her moving a little faster than perhaps she would have otherwise. "Maybe you should go over it again. Just to be sure."

Doc squinted at her, but seemed to take her words at face-value when he replied, "I've marked a spot way over there." He pointed a few blocks east of the clock tower, along the main road. "And I've added a small alarm clock to the dash. As soon as it rings, you floor it, getting up to 88 miles per hour and holding it steady. As soon as the antenna makes contact with the cable – which will happen immediately succeeding the lighting strike – you'll be whisked off, safe and sound, back into 2015."

Anna nodded. "Well, I guess I better get going…" she said softly. A larger crackle, and the sky lit up briefly. Doc smiled, and Anna had a sudden urge to hug the old man. She didn't think she had hugged this past version of him before, but now it seemed appropriate. "Thanks, Doc. For everything."

He patted her back, a little awkward – she hadn't expected anything less. "It's been a pleasure, my dear. I'm sure the knowledge of my success will keep me motivated for years, too. Why, who knows what I'll invent after this!"

"Wait, Doc, about that-"

This time, the thunder was much closer, and lasted much longer. Anna could no longer talk – now she had to yell to be heard. The wind whipped up around their heads, making her hair crazier than usual.

"In 2015, something happens! You really gotta-"

"NO TIME!" he was shouting, cupping his ear with one hand and waving toward the DeLorean with the other. "Go! We have a timetable to keep!"

Gritting her teeth, she saluted him briefly and said, "See you in thirty years!" Then took off to run and hop into the car, peeling out and heading down the road toward the large stripe of white paint the Doc had laid down to mark where she should begin.

"Damn it, Doc," she hissed under her breath, manoeuvring into position. "Why are you so hard-headed? I guess my plan B will have to be enough." Though she also found herself wishing that she didn't have to make multiple plans about everything.

Just about the time the clock rang, she was having second thoughts. Why couldn't she stay in 1985? Sure, her band and Punz were waiting for her in the future, but a real, meaningful relationship with her parents was thriving today, in this era. She might never have that again if she abandoned it. But she knew Doc was right; much as she hated to admit it, staying in the past and leaving everything up in the air was almost guaranteed to destroy the universe.

Not to mention that it would probably destroy the people in the future. She'd be one of those disappearing kids, except this time, there would never be a body. Maybe Elsa's alcoholism would get even worse.

Painfully, Anna forced those thoughts away. It was pointless. She was going back to 2015. To be with her actual family, as broken and fragmented as they were. This version of Elsa and Kristoff didn't need her anymore. The other version did. And so did that Doc…

Eyes falling to the console with all the dates displayed upon it, Anna noticed that he'd planned to send her back at the same time she'd vanished. Like she'd never been gone at all. But what if… she went back a little early? Maybe ten minutes? That would surely be enough time to get to Doc before the nationalists without seriously damaging the timeline.

"Heh," she chuckled to herself. "This is some serious Prisoner of Azkaban shit."

Just then, the buzzer went off. No sooner had she punched in the new time coordinates than she floored it, racing for the end of the street. She had no more time to waste.

But when she got closer to the courthouse, she saw something distressing: Doc flying down from the clock at speed, attached to the wire as though it were a flying fox. What the hell was he doing?! But as she looked on in utter confusion, watching him struggling with the wires as they hooked up to the lamppost-

The sky flashed. The lightning struck.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment. All ten fingers clamped down around the steering wheel as Anna accelerated toward the thick cable strung between the lampposts, sparks erupting all around the DeLorean. The flux capacitor was ready and only needed the nuclear reaction to power the time-jump. And it was getting it; no sooner had Doc connected two wires at the last possible moment was he blown back from the force of the electricity racing through the connection into a shrub.

Anna McFly squeezed her eyes shut, praying she made it home.

NOT The End!

To Be Continued
In
FRACTAL THE FUTURE, Part II!