Let's Do The Time Warp... Again

<snip>"Is this some kind of joke?"
The others frowned. "What d'you mean?" said Phil.
"What I mean is, which bloody joker put this in?"
He held the paper up for them all to see.
It was a doodle of a cat. </snip>

Alex screwed up his eyes and let the waves of relief and embarrassment wash through him.

"Well?" Niples tutted. "We need to be taking this seriously. I'll pick another-"
"Wait."
Seymour sighed with more drama than was probably required. "Yes... Mr Solvay?"
"It was me."
"Right, well we'll be having words late-"
"No, I mean that's my suggestion."

There was a thick silence, someone sniggered.
"A cat? A cat is your suggestion?"
"No, I drew a cat, you..." he girded himself "... wouldn't have understood my writing. Trust me." He kept steady eye contact with Niples, despite wanting to break it away and leave the room with all its hot stares, but seeing his kids was more important than his pride.
Seymour frowned, not entirely sure he had a grasp on the situation.
"Oh-kay, so what-"
"So I say we go back, before the radiation, before stasis..."
"Hear hear!" Someone said.
Somebody else complained but Alex wasn't paying attention, he was focused on Seymour.
"Yes..." Seymour said, slowly. "Yes. That does sound sensible, we can get back to the way things were..." And then I can always use the time drive to...

"Right." Phil said. "So where's the time drive?"
"Well, Ms. Jones had it."
Jay almost exploded "ARE YOU SMEGGING KIDDING ME?"
Seymour frowned "Calm down please, Mr Chrysler, she assured me she'd take good care of it."
Even the pro-Cass White Wolf and Alex's faces were dismayed at this.
"Well she'll be long gone by now then, won't she?" Growled Jay. "Jesus Seymour, sometimes you really are a... I don't know what you are..." he dismissed with an angry wave of his hand.
Seymour huffed. "Let me go and see her."
"If she's still there!" Jay shook his head, certain now that some of the crew were suffering from Moronosis.
"Solvay, with me" ordered Niples.
"Ain't your smegging bodyguard." Grumped Alex, thinking that he doubted he'd be much protection anyway if Cass didn't want him to be.

---

Nearing Cass's Quarters

"Come along Alex, push me faster."
"Bloody hell. She's not gonna be there, anyway."
"Whyever not?"
"I wouldn't be."
"Hmm." Seymour filed this information away, lest Alex should ever turn out to be an evil, time-device coveting clone.

They rapped at the door. No answer.
"Told you." Said Alex, a touch smugly in Seymour's opinion.
"Oh shut up." Snapped Seymour, a touch goitily, in Alex's opinion. "Holly, open the doors."
The doors slid open but the room wasn't empty - the dark haired girl was sitting cross legged in the corner. Alex was genuinely surprised. It was Seymour's turn to be smug. He shot Alex a 'hah' look.
"Whatever."
She seemed to be meditating or something, long hair flopped down over her face as she bent forwards.
She finally noted their presence, flipped her hair back and looked up at them, a glint of something in her eye. "Oh, hello." She took a slow, deep breath, before adding "Enjoying keeping me like a hamster?"
Alex thought the hamsters on the promenade would've had something to say about that. Seymour snorted.
"Ms. Jones. The time device."
"What about it?"
"May we have it?"

Her eyes flicked between the harried, slightly flushed face of Seymour and the impatient, shadow-eyed face of Alex. She smiled. Alex gave her a polite nod in response, Seymour didn't bother to react. "Ms. Jones..."
"All right. Fine, fine." She stood up, unfolding her long, graceful legs - which today made Alex clear his throat awkwardly - and made her way over to a shelf on which sat the time drive in its satchel.
"Here you go." She shoved it into Seymour's hands. "Don't do anything stupid with it."

Alex noticed her bruises had healed a little. "You all right?"
"Yes."
She did look a bit better.
"'kay."
"Oh stop fussing, Mr Solvay, she's fine. Look, she's the picture of health." Alex did not look. "Holly's looking after her." Seymour continued. "Now, let's get back to our own time."
Cass's eyebrows lifted at this, but she said nothing.
As the door was sliding shut, Alex thought to chuck a pack of fags through.
Seymour looked up at him. "Are you soft on Ms. Jones, Mr. Solvay?"
Alex pulled a face. "No. Ain't soft on anyone."
"Then why are you so concerned about her?"
"I'd be concerned about anyone. It's called 'not being a jerk'."
"Then why were you looking at her legs the way you looked at Bedge's fried breakfast?"
Alex's face softened and he chuckled at this.
"Seymour, if you had legs like that, I'd be looking at you like you were one of Bedge's breakfasts."
Niples screwed up his face, not entirely sure he wanted Solvay to push him back to the others after that comment, quite pleased that he didn't have any legs for Mr Solvay to desire.
"C'mon sexy" came an exaggeratedly gruff voice, suddenly beside his ear. He sat up straight and his eyes opened wide. Solvay wasn't very amusing... if he was joking. Was he joking?
The ridiculous creature not only worried him with this, he then proceeded to push him down the corridors much faster than was strictly necessary.
--

Time Drive Meeting 10.45

"Okay! Let's do this! Is everyone ready?" Seymour felt a flutter of excitement in his stomach. He was about to order Phil to issue the command when Justin, Plisken and Jacky sloped in. "About time too!" He snapped.
"Right. Now, Mr. Febuggure!"
Everyone braced themselves for the jump and Phil did his thing.
Alex held his excitement behind a barrier - much as he longed for it to go right, he knew there was a fair chance it wouldn't.
BWOOHHFF.
"Was that it?" Asked Plisken. "Didn't seem like much."
"Yup."
"When are we, then?" Asked White Wolf.
"Well, according to the device, we're-" Phil pulled himself up, mid sentence.
"Yes, Mr. Febuggure?" Seymour urged.
"I've uh... I've just got to go and have a word with Holly..." he tailed off then got up and walked out of the room to speak with Holly on the monitor outside.
They made out the occasional word during the conversation, such as "time" "error" and "smegged".
Alex rolled his eyes. Knew it.

Phil walked back in and cleared his throat.
"Afraid we haven't quite made it back to our original time."

Alex felt his heart sink.
"Well where and when are we then?" Snapped Seymour.

"Well, according to the device and Holly's scan of the nearby stars, it seems that we're..."

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