Chapter One: 1692, Colonial Caribbean

On a college campus in the year 5150...

Professor Cassius Cannoli was a balding, slightly overweight man grading assignments in his office on a college campus, when a strange young man who wasn't one of his students entered the room. He dropped an electronic device onto Professor Cannoli's desk.

"I was paid to give you this," the man said, and turned to leave.

"What is this?" the professor asked, but the man was gone. A hologram appeared, generated by the device; it was of a face that was digitally modified to disguise the identity of the person speaking.

"I am a member of the Death Matrix, maybe you've heard of us?" the man said. "The man who delivered this device can't be traced back to my organization."

"Yes, but what do you want with me?" the professor asked.

"We've kidnapped your daughter Arwen, and if you contact the police, we will terminate her. You must do exactly as I tell you if you ever want to see her alive again!"

"You'll have my utmost cooperation!" said the professor.

"There is an unmarked vehicle parked in the alley near the back of the school. Get in, and you will be driven to a destination where more will be explained to you."

Professor Cannoli took the device, and went to the alley as the man had directed.

"This must be it," said the professor, and the rear door popped open. Once inside, the door closed, and the car ascended into the sky. Professor Cannoli couldn't see out of the darkened windows.

The same voice that spoke to the professor earlier came from the speakers of the vehicle as it flew.

"There is a time vessel that will be parked in a garage at your destination, there will be robots assisting us, any attempt to overpower them will result in your demise, is that understood?"

"Yes!" Professor Cannoli replied.

The voice continued: "The time vessel is equipped with everything you will need on your mission. You are allowed to acquire two helpers on your mission, from any time before the 25th century. You will not be able to alert the authorities of your own time, and you will not be able to return to the present until we allow it. You will have a time limit of 12 hours for each mission. If you succeed on a mission, you will be returned to this time, where you will receive instructions for your next mission. I am from far enough in your future that the authorities from your era will not be able to track me down."

"What is my mission?" Professor Cannoli asked.

"Once you've retrieved two helpers from the past, the time vessel and everyone aboard it will be miniaturized, and you will be forced to journey from time to time, and your mission will change with each time you travel to."

"What about food and water?" Professor Cannoli asked.

"You and your two companions will be given an immortality serum before your first mission, so you will not need food or water. The three serum flasks are located in a drawer beneath the main control console. Do you understand your mission?"

"Yes!" Professor Cannoli replied. "Anything to protect my daughter!"

"The onboard computer of the time vessel has a virtually limitless database, and can assist you with just about any problem you might have. When you acquire companions to help you on your mission, you must only acquire people who were listed as missing according to historical records."

"What do you get out of all of this?" the professor asked.

"I will be running a black market betting ring, and we will be placing bets on whether or not you'll survive each adventure. I stand to get very wealthy from your exploits!"

"I've heard of this kind of thing!" said the professor. "But I never thought I'd find myself in the middle of something like this! How many missions will I be forced to experience?"

There will be thirteen missions, after that, you and your companions will be released in a time of our choosing, some time in your future. But if you fail us in any way, by not following our rules, you will die. Any attempts to escape your situation or allowing someone to rescue will result in more missions being added to the list."

The car flew for a great distance, and landed; it pulled into a garage and the door popped open. A bay door slid shut behind him, and several robots assisted Professor Cannoli to enter the time vessel. It had six thrusters arranged in a circular pattern at the base of the vehicle, and a gangplank that led to a door hatch in the center of the vehicle. It was large enough for three people to fit comfortably inside. Professor Cannoli was ushered by a robot to enter the time cruiser.

The robot showed Professor Cannoli how to work the control console, and showed him how to disengage the control crystal, so his companions can't take off in the time vessel without him.

"Now, I will search the chronosphere for two companions to join me on my journey," said the professor, thinking out loud. "Computer, find a young man and a woman who are young and physically fit, on the day they ended up missing. I want two people who have the desire to leave their regular lives behind, and will accompany me willingly!"

Meanwhile, in the early 21st century, Tad Polaris was driving his sports car to a remote part of California's central coast. His girlfriend Tiffany Tisdale was with him, in the passenger seat. They pulled over in a spot high on a hill where they could see Morro Rock in the distance.

"Inspiration point, the best place to do our homework!" said Tad, as he placed his arm around Tiffany's shoulder. Tiffany smiled, and Tad continued:

"Do you ever want to leave your life behind and go on an adventure?" Tad asked.

"Sometimes," Tiffany replied.

Tad continued: "I was a football player in high school, but when I started going to junior college, I was too afraid to join the football team. My older brother went straight to Matheson University right out of high school, and joined the football team; he warned me that college football was nothing like high school, so I was afraid."

"You were a good football player in high school," said Tiffany. "You shouldn't have listened to your brother!"

"I've always been afraid to do big things, I just wish I could be given a chance to prove myself, to make a difference in other people’s lives. I wish I could leave this life behind and make a life somewhere else, and make bolder decisions."

"Don't you sometimes wish there was more to life?"

"Like what?" Tiffany asked.

"I mean, wouldn't life be better if we could go on some kind of adventure? If I could travel to other planets in our galaxy, or travel to other times, I wouldn't care if we never returned!"

"I would only want to go on an adventure like that if we were together," said Tiffany.

Just then, The time cruiser piloted by Professor Cannoli appeared, but the cloaking device was engaged. The door hatch and the gangplank were visible, however, and the two college students could see Professor Cannoli emerging from the time vehicle.

"Tad, look!" Tiffany pointed.

Professor Cannoli approached Tad's car, on the driver's side.

"My name is Professor Cassius Cannoli, I'm from the year 5150. I've disabled your vehicle," said the professor. "History documented that after today, the two of you were listed as missing, and never seen or heard from again. I need your help, I need you to come with me."

"If you're from the future," said Tiffany, "then why are you going bald? Don't they have a cure for that in the year 5150?"

"My ex-wife has contested whether or not my 11-year-old daughter is biologically related to me," said Professor Cannoli. "There are genetic cures for baldness, but if I got a procedure like that done, my wife could claim that my genetics don't match my daughter's genetics, because my dna pattern would be altered in favor of the new matrix."

"Do you have proof that you're really a time traveler?" Tad asked. "You know we can't just take your word for it."

The professor used a remote control device to make his time vehicle visible.

"I've de-activated the cloaking device, now you can see the time cruiser in all it's glory. After today, the two of you will never be seen or heard from again during the course of your normal lifetimes. I need your help!"

“What other proof do you have?” Tiffany asked.

“I see Morro Rock in the distance,” said the professor. “How would you like to see it erupt? It’s an extinct volcano.”

“Morro Rock hasn’t eruped in millions of years,” said Tad.

“I can take you back to the Oligocene epoch, when Morro Rock was an active volcano!” said the professor.

“Okay,” said Tad, “Lead the way!”

Tad and Tiffany followed the professor into the time cruiser and strapped themselves in. Professor Cannoli keyed in the time coordinates, and they made the jump twenty five million years into the past. When the professor opened the door, they could see an erupting volcano.

“We’re on almost the exact spot where we took off in your time,” said the professor.

Tad and Tiffany both had astonished looks on their faces. They unstrapped themselves and stood on the gangplank of the time cruiser, surveying the eruption.

“It’s beautiful!” said Tiffany. “But that volcano is much bigger than Morro Rock is in our time!”

“That’s because most of the volcano eroded between this past time and your century.” the professor replied.

"It looks like we have no choice, Tiff!" said Tad.

When they returned to the inside of the time cruiser, the professor closed the door and the gangplank, and explained the dire situation to the two college students.

"So you see, none of us will be permitted to live normal lives until we succeed on the thirteen missions the Death Matrix has established for us. If the three of us succeed, we will all be able to retire in the distant future."

"I'm okay with it, we would've ended up missing any way, why not live a life of time travel?" said Tad.

"But we only ended up missing because Professor Cannoli extracted us from our time," said Tiffany.

"If I hadn't extracted you, history listed you as missing, so you would have met some other untimely fate," said the professor.

"Your name is Cassius Cannoli?" Tad asked.

"Yes, said the professor.

"Can I call you Cash?" Tad asked.

"Yes, you may," said the professor.

"Why is the Death Matrix so unstoppable?" Tad asked. "Can't the police in your era do something to stop them?"

Professor Cannoli explained, "There is a regulator on all time cruisers that prevent them from traveling into the future. This benefits the Death Matrix, because they are from further in the future than I am, giving them a technological advantage. The police in my era can do nothing to stop them."

"What's our first mission?" Tad asked.

"Our first mission is to travel to Port Royal, Jamaica, on June 6, 1692, the day before the town was destroyed by a tsunami and Earthquake. The three of us and our time vessel will be miniaturized down by onboard neutrino dissimilators so we will stand about an inch tall, and that will be our size on each of our adventures. Our mission is to convince someone to escape the city. If we succeed on our mission, we will journey through time to our next mission."

"Well, let's do it!" said Tad. "Port Royal, Jamaica, 1692, here we come!"

"First we need to drink immortality elixir before we shrink," said the professor. He took out the three flasks, and gave one to Tad and one to Tiffany. After the three of them drank the serum, the professor gave each of them a ring to wear.

"Put these on! These rings will allow us to communicate with each other. They will also allow the time cruiser's central computer to track your location, in case you ever get separated from us." Tad and Tiffany put their rings on.

Professor Cannoli activated the neutrino dissimilators, and they all began to decrease in size, but were unaware of it because the time cruiser shrank along with them, and they had nothing to compare their change in size to. "Neutrinos are being subtracted from the quarks, gluons and electrons of our bodies, causing us to decrease in size, weight, volume and mass. Dimensional membranes will surround the miniaturized atoms of our bodies to protect us from the normal-sized environment."

"I've set the navigation computer for our target time, if I explained the complexities of time travel to you, it would take longer than our journey, because this is a really advanced time cruiser."

A few seconds later, the professor said, "We're here!"

The large monitor in the center of the room showed the town of Port Royal, somewhere below them.

"We have the cloaking device engaged, so none of the locals will be able to perceive the time cruiser. Another thing I forgot to explain, if we ever land in a time where they don't speak English, the on-board computer in the time cruiser will use mind control over a 20 mile radius to allow the locals to understand English during the time we are there."

The time vessel landed in an alley between two structures, and the door hatch opened, and the gang plank lowered.

"Tiffany, I'm leaving you here, so we can communicate with you if we need assistance." said the professor. "I'm taking the control crystal, so neither of you can take off in the time vessel without me, but Tiffany will still be able to assist us if needed."

Tad exited the time vessel, followed by Professor Cannoli. Professor Cannoli carried the control crystal in his hand.

"We have 12 hours from the moment we landed here," said the professor, "if we don't succeed, we will be stuck here when the Earthquake hits at 11:43 a.m. tomorrow morning!"

The three of them were trying to be careful, there weren't a lot of normal sized people wandering around at that exact moment. The crystal in the professor's hand caught a glint of sunlight, and a thirteen year old girl saw the glint of light.

"What's that?" she asked, and walked over toward the two shrunken chrononauts.

"Cash, look out!" said Tad. "It's a giant girl!"

Just then, the girl scooped Professor Cannoli up in her hand, and took the crystal from him with her other hand.

"What kind of a man are you?" the girl asked.

"I've been miniaturized!" said the professor. "I was once normal sized, like you!"

The girl clenched the professor gently in her left fist, and while holding the crystal in her right hand, she opened a locket she wore attached to a necklace on her neck, and opened it; she put the crystal inside, and closed the locket, and let it fall back to her chest. She unclenched her fist.

"I'm going to keep that crystal!" said the young girl.

"You can't keep it!" said the professor. "I need that to return to where I came from!"

The girl stood in one spot as she surveyed her captive. Tad was at her feet, jumping up and down, trying to get her attention.

"Hey! Down here!" Tad shouted.

The girl drew her attention to Tad, and knelt down and scooped him up, also.

"There's two of you!" the girl said. "I bet I can sell you at a tavern!"

The girl walked with Professor Cannoli in one hand, and Tad in the other, toward one of the many taverns in Port Royal in the year 1692.

The girl entered a tavern, and went to one of the tables where two men were gambling. She dropped Professor Cannoli and Tad onto a table, and hid them beneath the palms of her hands so the two men at the table couldn't see Tad and the professor.

The girl whispered to her captives so the others at the table couldn't hear her. "I'm Abigail, and now you're my captives. Maybe anyone will be interested in buying you from me?"

"Abigail!" Tad shouted, "You're in great danger! We're here to warn you!"

"Warn me?" Abigail asked. "Warn me about what?"

"There's going to be a great Earthquake tomorrow morning, and the entire city of Port Royal will be destroyed by tidal waves! You've got to get on a boat and get to the mainland!"

"If there's going to be an earthquake tomorrow, how would you know about it?" Abigail asked.

"You're talking to a man who stands one inch tall, and you're questioning how I know the future?" Tad asked.

"We're from the future," said the professor. "We came back to warn you!"

"What should I do?" Abigail asked.

"You need to book passage on a ship heading to Jamestown, there you'll be safe!" said the professor.

"I don't know of anyone who is heading that way," said Abigail.

"There won't be any survivors," said the professor, everyone in Port Royal will be killed!"

"I'm staying here in the tavern, to show you to some of the adults there." said Abigail. "I bet I can fetch a high price for you!"

"She won't listen, professor!" said Tad.

A woman who resembled Abigail arrived at the tavern, and sat down at the same table as Abigail. Abigail opened her hands, revealing Tad and the professor to the others at the table.

"Look what I found, mom!" Abigail told the others at the table. "These are my captives. Is anyone interested in buying them from me?"

Abigail's mother had cards in her hands, and put her cards face down on the table. "Are they clock work?" she asked. "They can move around on their own, Abigail, where did you get such expensive toys?"

"We're not toys!" Tad shouted up to the young woman.

"Then prove it, by stepping onto my hand," said the young woman. She placed her open palm down on the table in front of Tad. He stepped onto her palm as she commanded.

"We've come to warn you," said Tad, "this whole town will get destroyed by a tidal wave tomorrow morning, and you'll be killed along with everyone else unless you evacuate!"

"And how would you know such a thing?" the woman asked. "Are you some kind of a wizard?"

"We're from the future," Tad replied, "and history documents that this whole area was wiped out by tidal waves tomorrow morning!"

"I think you're lying!" said Abigail. "You're just a tiny toy man and you don't want us to keep you, so you're making up lies! If you mention anything about our town getting destroyed by a flood, I'll swallow you!"

"Abigail, you have to believe us! We're here to warn you about an impending disaster!" Tad shouted.

Abigail reached over and grabbed Tad from the young woman's palm, and shoved him into her mouth. With a tilt of her head backwards, she easily swallowed Tad. Abigail started laughing uncontrollably.

"If I can make you vomit him back up," said professor Cannoli, "will you believe us?"

"How would you make a girl vomit?" the young woman asked.

Professor Cannoli pulled out a device on a keychain. "This is a neural stimulator, it induces vomiting. If I aim it at Abigail's head, she will vomit Tad back up again."

"If you can make her vomit, I'll believe anything!" said the young woman.

Professor Cannoli aimed the device at Abigail's head, and a few moments later she vomited into a brass cuspidor close to their table. Abigail reached into the cuspidor and retrieved Tad, and brought him back to the table.

"Tad, are you all right?" the professor asked.

"None the worse for wear," Tad replied.

"Do you believe us now?" the professor asked the young woman.

"Yes," said the young woman, "I know of a vessel we can hire to take us to Jamestown."

"We need to tell Abigail where the time cruiser is located, so she can bring us with her to escape from this place," said the professor.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Tad asked.

"It's part of the mission," said the professor, "we can't go on our next mission until Abigail is safe on a sailing vessel heading away from this harbor."

"Where is it?" Abigail asked. "I overheard your conversation."

"Back where you first found us, there is a vessel that brought us here through time," said the professor. Take us with you and retrieve it!"

Abigail scooped up Tad and the professor, and headed back to the spot where she first found them. She carried the time cruiser, which was uncloaked by the professor, and brought it back to the tavern. The young woman had booked passage for herself and Abigail on a clipper ship heading to Jamestown.

Once on board and after leaving the harbor, the professor told Tad: "The Death Matrix deactivated the lock on our navigation computer that prevented us from traveling through time, and we can leave at any time."

Tad, Professor Cannoli, and Tiffany stood on the door hatch gang plank and waved goodbye to Abigail and her mother.

"I'm sorry I swallowed you, Tad! I hope you can forgive me! I wish you luck on your mission!"

The diminutive trio waved goodbye to Abigail, and headed inside. The gangplank closed, and Tiffany said, "Tad, you made a difference in someone else's life, and you showed bravery when she swallowed you!"

The professor said: "Tad will have many more chances to prove himself, Tiffany. We have the coordinates for our next mission!"

"Where to next?" Tad asked, as he and Tiffany strapped themselves into their seats.

"Pompeii, 79 A.D.," the professor replied, "the day before Mount Vesuvius erupted!"

"They don't cut us any slack, do they?" Tad asked, and the professor keyed in the coordinates to ancient Pompeii, and they took off through time once again.

To Be Continued!

Chapter Two: Ancient Pompeii

Once the time traveling trio arrived in Pompeii in 79 A.D. and they were hovering over the city, the leader of the Death Matrix contacted Professor Cannoli. His digitally modified face appeared on the main monitor.

"You have done well, Professor Cannoli, my gambling ring has made quite a lot of money placing bets on your adventure. This time, here in 79 a.d. you must befriend a 13-year-old Roman girl named Augusta living in Pompeii the day before Mount Vesuvius erupted, and convince her and her family to evacuate."

"I have the coordinates of Augusta's house locked into the navigation computer, we're ready to go!" the professor replied.

"You may proceed," said the leader of the Death Matrix.

"Cash," Tad asked, "earlier you explained briefly how miniaturization works. How do all the shrunken atoms maintain their integrity while shrinking? Does a computer keep track of the positions of all the atoms, or is it some kind of a chain reaction?"

"It's more like a chain reaction," the professor replied. "The repulsive force of electrons holds atoms in a specific pattern, so when the electrons shrink, this repulsive force diminishes, resulting in the atoms moving closer together while maintaining their original pattern in relation to each other."

"That sounds simple enough," Tad replied. "In your society, do people carry shrink ray guns?"

"Yes," the professor replied, "but they cost as much as a family vehicle, so not everyone has one. Most upper class people carry one, mainly women and children. Abductions are much more rare than in your century, because the weak have a way of defending themselves without causing harm to the abductors."

"Professor," Tiffany asked, "I'm learning to work the navigation console. It looks like we're ready to make the time jump."

Professor Cannoli walked over to the navigation console, and checked everything out.

"Yes, but remember, we stand an inch tall." said the professor.

"Why does the Death Matrix want us to stand an inch tall?" Tiffany asked.

"If we were normal sized, that would give us too much of an advantage," the professor replied. "The Death Matrix conducts betting on whether or not we will survive our ordeal, and the more the odds are stacked against us, the better it is for the gambling ring they're running."

The time cruiser cruised above Pompeii on an early morning the day before the eruption. The trio could see the wide expanse of the town on the main monitor.

"The automatic pilot will land us so we can make contact with the girl named Augusta the Death Matrix chose for us," said the professor.

The time cruiser descended onto a cobblestone walkway between two houses. The sun was up, but it was still early in the morning.

Professor Cannoli lowered the gangplank, and the trio stepped out to view their surroundings.

"As on our first mission Tiffany," said the professor, "I want you to remain in the time cruiser. Tad and I will have communicator rings so we can contact you if we need help."

"Cash, why was a specific girl chosen for us to interact with this time?" Tad asked.

"They want us to deal with someone who will cause the most conflict," said the professor, "they don't want our survival to be guaranteed. As before, we must warn her and her family to evacuate Pompeii before nightfall. We have twelve hours to complete our mission, or we will be stuck here."

"Is the time cruiser visible?" Tiffany asked from the doorway.

"Both ourselves and the time cruiser are invisible as long as we stand on the gangplank," the professor replied. "Once Tad and I step onto the ground, we will be visible to the locals."

Tad stepped off onto the ground. "You're right! I can't see you, Tiffany, or the time cruiser. Let's get moving! Is Augusta's home nearby?"

"According to this smartphone," said the professor, "her home is right in front of us." Professor Cannoli pointed at one of the homes.

"Should we enter her house and find her?" Tad asked.

"I don't see why not," the professor replied, "we can't always rely on serendipity like we did in the colonial Caribbean."

Tad and the professor walked toward the front of the massive dwelling. "What are we supposed to tell this Augusta chick?" Tad asked.

"Within 24 hours, some time tomorrow morning, this entire region will be buried in volcanic ash," the professor replied. "Thousands of people will be killed instantly."

"What if she doesn't believe us?" Tad asked. "We had that problem with Abigail in Port Royal, remember?"

"I have a holographic emitter built into my smartphone," the professor answered. "I can show her a digital re-creation of the effects of the eruption, if I need to."

The professor looked at his smartphone. "According to the sensors in the time cruiser, a teenage girl is asleep in that room right there," the professor pointed at a window. "We're going to need to climb up that bush and reach the window sill."

Tad began climbing, and in a short time, he was on the window sill. The professor followed quickly behind.

"Hey, you're pretty spry for an older man," said Tad.

"People in my time are immortal," the professor answered, "so we have athletic abilities that only younger people in your time possess."

Once they were both standing on the window sill, they peered inside the bedroom and saw a fifteen year old girl sleeping on the bed that was against a wall in the room.

"Should we wake her up?" Tad asked.

"We don't have any way to access the inside of the room without using grapnel equipment," the professor replied, "so I think waking her up would be a good idea. Remember, the time cruiser gave everyone within a twenty mile radius the ability to speak and understand modern English, so she should understand us."

"Augusta!" Tad shouted. The girl stirred. "Augusta, wake up!" Tad shouted. The teenage girl began to awaken, rubbing her eyes and turning toward the sound of Tad's voice. When she saw the inch tall figures of Professor Cannoli and Tad, she sat upright in her bed.

"Who are you?" she asked, as she stood and walked over to the window sill. She held out her hand, and both men stepped onto her palm.

"We came to warn you!" said Tad.

"Warn me?" the girl asked. "About what?"

"Mount Vesuvius is going to erupt tomorrow morning," said the professor. "Everyone remaining in this town will be killed unless you evacuate!"

"Tiny people!" said the girl. She stood up and scooped Tad and the professor up in her hands. "By the gods, they've delivered you to me!"

"We're not toys!" said Tad. "We came to warn you about a volcanic eruption that will take place tomorrow morning!"

"You and your family must evacuate!" said the professor. "You must get to Nuceria Alfaterna, a town to the East of here. There, you and your family will be safe from the eruption."

The girl held her two captives firmly yet gently within her hands, and went and got her sister. "My twelve year old sister will love you!"

Augusta entered her sister's bedroom. "Bellona! You won't believe this! I found two tiny people in my bedroom!"

The other girl was about twelve.

"Bellona was the Roman goddess of war," the professor informed Tad.

"We can have them fight each other, and have people bet money on them!" said Bellona.

"That's a great idea!" said Augusta. "And whoever loses, becomes the food of the gods!"

"What do you mean by that?" Bellona asked.

"Whichever one of them loses, gets swallowed by me!" said Augusta, and both girls began laughing.

"How about we make a bet," said Bellona. "If the older guy wins, I swallow the loser, if the younger guy wins, you swallow the loser!"

"You've got a bet!" said Augusta.

"Let's take them into town after breakfast," said Augusta. Tad and Professor Cannoli stood on the table as the girls ate. The rest of the family was still asleep. The girls ate bread and cheese, and when they were done eating, Augusta took the two captives and carried them into town, followed by her younger sister.

Before long, a group of people had gathered to watch the fight. Tad and Cassius were in the center of a group of people who surrounded them. There was no means of escape without getting captured.

Tiffany could see what was happening from the safety of the time cruiser. She used her communicator to contact Tad before the fight began.

"Tad, you're a better fighter than Cassius, you should make it look good, then throw the fight! It's more important that the professor doesn't get swallowed, so he can explain where they need to evacuate to. He knows this area better than us!"

"Loud and clear!" said Tad.

Soon, the fight began. There were piles of coins in front of each person. Each bettor was on their knees or sitting Indian style, while others stood behind the people who were crouched down.

"Let the fight begin!" said Augusta, and Tad threw the first punch at the professor, hitting him on his right shoulder. The professor hit back, and they began trading punches. It looked like Tad was getting the better of the professor for a while, but then Tad allowed the professor to start winning.

Augusta cheered for Tad to win, and her younger sister Bellona cheered for Professor Cannoli.

Professor Cannoli used a combination to hit Tad in the face, and Tad failed to block the punches. Tad appeared dazed, then Professor Cannoli hit him with a right uppercut, and Tad pretended that he was knocked to the ground.

The crowd cheered, and Augusta collected her money, and put it in a satchel, then collected Tad and the professor in her other hand. "It was a pleasure doing business with you!" said Augusta.

"Now it's time to swallow the loser!" said Augusta, and she handed Tad to her sister.

Bellona raised Tad above her mouth.

"Prepare to surrender to the belly of Bellona!" said Bellona. "It will make me feel like a goddess!"

Bellona dropped the inch tall Tad into her mouth, and closed her lips around him. She struggled with him for a few moments, then successfully swallowed him. After he passed through her esophagus, she raised her arms in victory, and shouted, "I'm a conqueror!"

"You don't have much time!" the professor warned. "Everyone in this town are going to die unless you evacuate before tomorrow morning!"

Augusta and Bellona looked at each other.

"Do you think he's lying?" Augusta asked.

"If they have the magic to become small, they probably know the future, too!" said Bellona. "We'd better take him to our parents and warn them!"

The two Roman girls made their way home, with Professor Cannoli clenched firmly within Augusta's left fist.

Upon arriving home, their parents were awake and having breakfast. Augusta threw the money satchel down on the table. Her father Demetrius dumped out the money and said, "That's a lot of money, Augusta! Where did you get this?"

"I gambled with him!" said Augusta, as she placed Professor Cannoli on the table. "He says Mount Vesuvius will erupt tomorrow."

"Do you have proof, little man?" Demetrius asked Professor Cannoli.

The professor pulled out his neural stimulator and said, "I can use this to make your daughter Bellona vomit, she swallowed a companion of mine."

"Then do so," said Demetrius.

Professor Cannoli aimed it at Augusta's head, and she began to gag. After a few seconds, she vomited and Tad came out, and landed on the floor.

Bellona picked Tad up and placed him on the table with the professor.

"I can't believe I got swallowed by a titanic twelve year old!" Tad shouted. "You only have a short time to evacuate! Mount Vesuvius will erupt soon! It will be the most horrible destruction this part of the world will see in a thousand years!"

"Where is the safest place to evacuate to?" Demetrius asked.

"To the eastern side of Nuceria Alfaterna!" said the professor. "And you must leave soon, because it will take some time to get there!"

"I believe you!" said Demetrius. "You must have been sent here by the gods!"

Within an hour, the family had all of their belongings loaded onto a wagon, and horses pulled the wagon. Tad had explained to Augusta where the time cruiser was, and she retrieved it and loaded it onto the wagon. Before long, they were on their way to a town to the east.

Bellona had the time cruiser on her lap, while Augusta held Tad and the professor. Their father held the reigns and drove the wagon.

Once they arrived in Nuceria Alfaterna, they stopped the wagon and Bellona placed the time cruiser on the ground. The gangplank was lowered, and Augusta placed Tad and Professor Cannoli on the gangplank.

"You must not return to Pompeii for the next two days," said the professor to Demetrius. "You can never return there! Be sure to stay on the eastern end of this town."

"We appreciate all you've done for us," said Demetrius.

Tad waved goodbye to Augusta and Bellona, and the two shrunken men entered the time cruiser and the gangplank closed.

"The lock has been lifted," said Tiffany. "We're free to journey to our next mission!"

"Where to now?" Tad asked.

"Nazi Germany!" Tiffany replied.

"Take us there, Tiffany!" said the professor, and Tiffany manipulated the control console and they made the time jump to 1940's Germany.

To Be Continued!

Chapter Three: 1940s Germany

Upon arriving in the sky above Munich in 1943, Professor Cannoli and Tiffany became very drowsy.

"I'm really tired for some reason," said Tiffany, as she reclined on her bunk bed. "It's a good thing we have these bunks."

"I'm tired too," said the professor, and he reclined on his bunk.

"That's weird, I don't feel tired at all," said Tad, but they had already fallen asleep on their bunks. The main monitor came to life, and Tad could see the distorted image of the leader of the Death Matrix.

"Tad, I put your two companions to sleep, because I have specific instructions for you."

"Okay," Tad replied.

"When you get to Nazi Germany, you must get swallowed twice by two different females, and your companions are not allowed to use technology to free you. If you are to survive, you must get vomited up naturally without interference. The neural stimulator and the space warp will be offline, and you will be unable to utilize them. You are not permitted to warn Professor Cassius Cannoli or Tiffany Tisdale or tell them of your mission, if you do, all three of you will be executed by the Death Matrix. Do you understand your instructions?"

"Loud and clear," said Tad, and the screen went blank.

The professor and Tiffany soon awakened. Tiffany looked at the display screen of the navigation console, and said, "It looks like we're in Nazi Germany now. We're flying above the middle of a parade in Munich in early October of 1943!"

"Take us there, Tiffany!" said the professor.

Tiffany programmed the navigation console and the time cruiser took off for 1940's Germany. When they emerged in 1943, they could see the youth march below them.

"Land us in an alley near the march, Tiffany." said the professor. "The cloaking device is still activated, so we should remain hidden."

The time cruiser landed in an alley between two businesses, where there were no people. When the gangplank lowered, they could look out and see the backs of people's legs and shoes, as they watched the parade.

"Oktoberfest is in session," said the professor. "That must be the reason for the parade. Tad, the instructions say you know what we need to accomplish."

"And it's a secret," said Tad, as he walked out on the gangplank. The two of you just stay behind, and monitor me."

"The time cruiser will use the translator to allow any Germans within a twenty mile radius of here to understand English," said the professor. "And to you, it will seem that they are speaking English."

"I know the drill," said Tad as he exited the time cruiser, and made his way toward the crowd. It was an equal mix of boys and girls, so Tad approached one of the girls. She was wearing a skirt, with leather saddle shoes and socks that didn't go above her ankles.

Tad jumped onto her left shoe and began jumping up and down. The girl paid attention to the parade at first, but Tad's persistent jumping got her attention, and she looked down and saw him. The girl knelt down and grabbed Tad gently. She was about thirteen years old.

"Who are you and how did you get so small?" she asked.

"I'm Tad Polaris, I'm a shrunken time traveler."

"I'm Arabella Schwartz," said the girl. Some of the other children gathered around to look at Tad. "I'm a member of The League of German Maidens! What year are you from?"

"I'm from the early 21st century!" Tad replied.

"What year will the war end?" Arabella asked.

"1945," Tad replied.

"Did Germany succeed in conquering the world?" Arabella asked.

"Germany was defeated by the allies," said Tad.

"That is very upsetting," said Arabella.

"Maybe you could punish me by swallowing me, then vomiting me back up before too long?" Tad asked.

"I think I could," said Arabella. "You're certainly small enough!" Arabella turned and looked at the other children. "Do you think I should swallow him?"

"Do it for the fatherland!" said one of the other girls. "Send him straight to your belly!"

The children began chanting for Arabella to swallow Tad, so she lifted him above her mouth and lowered him in, onto her pink tongue. Her lips closed behind Tad, and she swallowed him with such force that he was instantly sent hurling down her esophagus.

The sphincter muscle that separated the esophagus from the stomach area opened, and Tad dropped into the murky chyme that composed the interior of Arabella's stomach.

When Tad was officially within her stomach, Arabella began to laugh.

Meanwhile, Tiffany was doing some research on Arabella with the central computer onboard the time cruiser.

"Professor, Tad and I know some girls in our home town of Bullet Bay who may be related to Arabella!"

"There should be an extremely accurate genealogy chart in the computer's mainframe that can prove whether Arabella is related to your friends."

Tiffany looked it up, and a family tree popped up. "Yes, just as I thought!" said Tiffany. "My two friends Kelly and Shelly Schwartz are the great grand-daughters of Arabella Schwartz! Tad can use that to his advantage! Will it hurt Arabella if I use the communicator to contact Tad while he's within her stomach?"

"No," the professor replied, "our communication system utilizes dimensional signalling, it has something to do with dimensional string theory. No radiation will affect Arabella if you speak with Tad."

"Tad!" Tiffany spoke into her communicator ring.

Inside Arabella's stomach, Tad could hear Tiffany's voice over the ring. "Tiffany, I can hear you!"

"Arabella is the great grandmother of Kelly and Shelly Schwartz, back in Bullet Bay! Maybe you can use that to your advantage!"

Tiffany turned her attention to the professor. "I'm worried about Tad! We can't even be sure what our mission is this time, or if we'll succeed! And I'm worried about Tad, he's in that girl's stomach!"

"Tad knows our mission, I'm sure he'll succeed," the professor replied. "Besides, he's been swallowed by two other girls, so he has some experience in that area."

Meanwhile, Arabella had other plans. She lifted her shirt to reveal her belly and laughed. "He was a fool for trusting me!"

An older girl spoke to her: "He's more valuable alive, you know!"

"Well, it's too late now!" said Arabella.

"Not quite!" said the older girl. "If we get some syrup of Ipecac, it will induce vomiting. Come with me to the pharmacy!"

The two girls walked to a nearby pharmacy and entered. The older girl asked the pharmacist about Ipecac syrup, and after being directed to a specific aisle, she found it and brought it to the counter to purchase it. She happened to have enough money to buy it. The two girls exited the pharmacy and entered an alley.

"Drink some of this!" said the older girl.

Arabella took a swig, and a few moments later, she vomited, and Tad came tumbling out onto the cobblestones of the alley below.

The older girl picked up Tad and held him in her hand. "I'm Anna, Arabella's older sister. I'm sixteen. What do you know of the future?"

"I know Germany surrendered in 1945," said Tad. "I don't know a lot of details about the war, but I know the two of you have relatives in Bullet Bay, California. That's where I'm from."

"We have no relatives in California," said Anna.

"But you will," said Tad. "Arabella is the great grandmother of two girls I know in my home town. Their names are Kelly and Shelly Schwartz."

"How could their last name be Schwartz, if our last name is Schwartz, and we are female?" Anna asked. "Surnames are passed won through the father!"

"He must be lying!" said Arabella.

"Can you help me here, Tiffany?" Tad asked into his ring.

Tiffany pored through the computer files. "I think I have an answer, Tad!" said Tiffany. "Arabella's daughter got pregnant out of wedlock, and put the baby up for adoption. It was a boy! He was adopted by the Maisons, but upon turning eighteen, he tracked down his family ancestry and had his last name legally changed to Schwartz! He is Kelly and Shelly's father!"

"I believe you," said Anna. "My father is a guard at a concentration camp, and he assists with the escape of some of the prisoners."

Back in the time cruiser, Tiffany could hear what the girls were saying to Tad. "That's true, Tad! They escaped from Germany during the war and came to America."

"In fact," said Anna, "My father has a plan for our family to escape Germany tonight, so it's fateful that you showed up today to verify that we will escape safely."

Back in the time cruiser, Professor Cannoli told Tiffany, "We can print out fake visas for their family, to help them escape."

"Did you hear that, Tad?" Tiffany asked.

"Yes!" said Tad, back in the alley. "If you take me back to my time cruiser, we can help you with fake visas and paperwork you'll need to escape Germany."

Tad directed the girls to the alley where the time cruiser was hidden, and the professor deactivated the cloaking device. Arabella picked it up, while Anna held Tad.

"Take the time machine home to our parents, Arabella, I want to take Tad to a tavern to celebrate one last time before leaving Germany!" Arabella did as she was told.

Meanwhile, Anna carried Tad hidden within her hands to a nearby tavern. When they entered, the architecture was Germanic, and looked like it had been built during an earlier period in German history. There was a bar extending across the length of one wall of the room. There were chandeliers, and tables with patrons sitting at them enjoying their beer. Some of the people were Anna's age or only slightly older, and a couple of girls who were friends of Anna's had followed her in.

"I thought you were only sixteen?" Tad asked.

"In Germany, the minimum drinking age is sixteen," said Anna. "WE can drink beer or wine, we just can't drink spirits until we're eighteen. You Americans need to get with the times!"

Anna stepped up to the bar and showed her ID. "Bartender, a mug of your best beer, please!" Anna slapped down a Deutsche Mark. The bartender took the money, and gave Anna her change, and filled a beer mug and set it in front of her.

There were other young people Anna's age in the tavern, some of them female. When Anna revealed Tad to them, the others crowded around her.

"It's a tiny American from the future!" said Anna. "I'm going to drink him down with my beer!" Anna dropped Tad into the mug of beer, and said, "For the Fatherland!"

The others said, in unison: "For the fatherland!"

Anna began to drink the beer, and Tad with it. Tad could've tried to fight the tide carrying him toward Anna's mouth, but he knew the Death Matrix would kill him if he didn't get swallowed a second time. He actually swam toward her mouth, and a few seconds later, was swallowed by Anna.

Tad plunged down Anna's esophagus, and landed in her belly. Beer continued to pour over him as Anna finished her beer.

"Another!" said Anna, as she slammed the empty mug down and placed another Deutsche Mark on the bar. The bartender made change and brought her another mug of beer, and took her empty mug.

Anna guzzled her second beer in record time, then ordered another. After her fifth beer, she began to feel sick, and headed to the women's restroom. She vomited into the sink, and Tad came tumbling out. She picked him up, and rinsed him off. She carried him home, concealed so others in public couldn't see him.

Meanwhile, Arabella had successfully brought the time cruiser back to her home, with Tiffany and the professor inside. She set the time cruiser on the table, and the gangplank lowered, and the professor stepped out.

Arabella's mother was home, and she saw the professor.

"What is going on, Arabella?" Mrs. Schwartz asked. "How did he get so tiny?"

"He's a time traveler, mom!" Arabella replied. "He's going to help us get fake visas so we can go to America! Anna has another shrunken time traveler!"

"Where is Anna?" Mrs. Schwartz asked.

"She went to a tavern, she's probably going to swallow one of the other shrunken people."

"You shouldn't be swallowing them," said Mrs. Schwartz. "Especially if they're trying to help us escape Germany! If the government ever finds out that your father has helped Jewish people to escape from the concentration camp he works at, we would all be killed!"

"We were just having fun with them, mom!" said Arabella. "I swallowed him once already, too. They claim to know my descendants, my great grand daughters. They have historical evidence that we will make a safe journey to America."

"Really?" said Mrs. Schwartz. "What else did they tell you?"

"We will settle in California, in the city of Bullet Bay." said Arabella. "They also said the war will end in 1945, and Germany will lose the war."

"Thank heaven for that!" said Mrs. Schwartz. "I knew this war was a mistake as soon as Hitler invaded Russia. Can they really help us get visas?"

"I can answer that," said the professor. "With my onboard computer, I can replicate visas that will fool anyone. I just need some time." The professor returned inside the time cruiser and began working on the documents. After about an hour, the computer was ready to replicate the documents.

The professor exited the time cruiser. "In less than a minute, the visas will materialize on the table, try to stay clear of that area," the professor indicated the middle of the table.

"Of course!" said Mrs. Schwartz.

Moments later, four visas materialized on the table, one for the father, one for the mother, and the other two for Arabella and Anna.

Just then, Anna returned with Tad, and set him down near the time cruiser.

"Anna, are you drunk?" Mrs. Schwartz asked, feeling her forehead.

"Yes, Mama," Anna replied.

"You need to be sober if we are to escape Germany tonight!" said Mrs. Schwartz. "Let me make some coffee."

"I can assist," said the professor. "We have technology that can clear her blood of alcohol. Just give me a minute." Professor Cannoli returned to the interior of the time cruiser, and worked the controls. Within moments, Anna sobered up with the professor's technology.

"Professor, we've succeeded on our mission!" said Tad. "I accomplished what the Death Matrix told me to do today, I think we can leave now."

"Tad's right, professor!" said Tiffany, who was at the control console. "The lock has been lifted, we can leave at any time."

"What is our destination?" the professor asked.

"Chicago, in the 1920's!" Tiffany replied.

"Let's say goodbye to the Schwartz family," said the professor. They exited the time cruiser, and waved to Mrs. Schwartz and her two daughters. They entered the time cruiser, and strapped themselves in.

"Take us to our next destination, Tiffany!" said the professor, and they set off for 1920's Chicago.

To Be Continued!

Chapter Four: 1920's Chicago

The time cruiser materialized in an ice cream shop somewhere in Chicago in the 1920's. The cloaking device was on, so the patrons couldn't see the time cruiser. Inside, Professor Cannoli instructed Tad and Tiffany.

"Our instructions this time are to convince a trio of girls to evacuate before a bomb goes off that will be set by a gangster. You must allow the gangster to plant the bomb without interfering with him, then convince the girls to evacuate."

"Who are the girls?" Tad asked.

"Alma Ashman, and her cousins Alice, and Beatrice." the professor replied. "There is a timer on the main control console telling us how long we have until the bomb goes off, and Tiffany can keep us updated on the time while you and I exit the time cruiser and make contact with Alma and her cousins."

The professor keyed in a combination of buttons on the control panel, and three images popped up on the main monitor. It was three girls, one blonde, and two brunettes.

"Here are photos of the girls we must make contact with, Tad." said the professor.

"They're cute," said Tad, then he looked at Tiffany and said, "in an objective way, I'm in no way interested in them."

"Professor, maybe you'd better sit this one out," said Tiffany. "I need to keep an eye on Tad."

"If that's the way you want it," said the professor. "It's time you went on a mission, too. I wouldn't want to keep you away from all the fun." Professor Cannoli took off his necklace and handed it to Tiffany. "This is my neural stimulator, use it on one of the girls if they swallow Tad again." The professor keyed the buttons that opened the door and lowered the gangplank. "There they are sitting at that table over there, both of you must hurry, we have just under twenty minutes before the bomb goes off."

Tad and Tiffany exited the time cruiser, and walked down the gangplank. Once they stepped off the gangplank, the time cruiser was no longer visible.

"They're over there," said Tad, indicating a wooden table where three girls in their early teens sat. The proprietor brought them their order, so Tad and Tiffany hid behind a table. One girl got a root beer float, another got a milkshake, and the third girl got a banana split. When the proprietor returned behind the counter, Tad ran up to the girl the professor had identified as Alma, the blonde, and got her attention. Tiffany caught up just as Alma looked down and saw Tad.

"What on Earth?" said Alma. The girl leaned down and held her hand out to Tad and Tiffany. "Go ahead, I won't hurt you!" said Alma.

"I'm Tad Polaris, and this is my girlfriend Tiffany Tisdale."

"I'm Alma Ashman, and these are my cousins Alice and Beatrice. How did you get so small?" Alma asked, as she placed them on the table. Her two cousins crowded around to look at the shrunken specimens.

"We were kidnapped by a terrorist group from the year 5150," Tad explained, "and they shrunk us and forced us to travel to different eras, so they can make bets on whether we survive or not."

"This is the fourth time we've traveled to," said Tiffany. "We're originally from the early 21st century, but we can never return there."

"Why not?" Alma asked.

"History documented us as missing," Tiffany replied, "we can never see our families again. But on the bright side, after we complete our thirteenth mission, we get to retire in the future."

"That is, if we survive all thirteen missions," Tad corrected.

"You're like Lilliputians, only small enough to swallow!" said Alma, and her two cousins giggled. "Can I keep you?"

"I don't think that's possible," said Tad. "We're on a mission!"

"What's your mission?" Alma asked.

Tad replied: "We're here to warn you about something that is about to occur, but we can't tell you yet."

"Why can't you tell us?" Alma asked.

"Those were our instructions," said Tad.

Alma was sitting with her forearms on the wooden table. Tad and Tiffany were in her open palm.

"You can sit on my forearm," said Alma. "It's like a cushion, you two might be more comfortable."

Tad and Tiffany walked up Alma's wrist to the center of her forearm, and sat down.

"It smells good," said Tad. "Alma, are you wearing perfume?"

"No," said Alma. "That's just my natural scent."

"Tad, don't get flirty with these girls!" said Tiffany. "We're here on a mission."

Alma took a drink from her root beer float and said, "Tad, I'm going to swallow you. You're just the right size for it!"

"Let's not be extreme," Tad replied.

"You can't talk me out of it," said Alma. "I've always wanted to be big enough to swallow a Lilliputian, ever since I read Gulliver's Travels. Sometimes I imagine myself as a Brobdingnagian, where a Lilliputian would be half an inch tall according to my scale."

"Alma might not ever get another chance like this," said Beatrice. "It's not every day we encounter shrunken people."

Alma used her long spoon to collect Tad, and lifted him up to the same elevation as her face. Alma licked her lips, then opened her mouth and dropped Tad in. She used her tongue to force him to the back of her mouth, then swallowed him. Tad plummeted down Alma's esophagus, landing within the ample space of her belly.

"People in my time write stories about stuff like this happening," said Tiffany. "You don't want Tad to die, do you?"

"I just wanted to know what it felt like to swallow a tiny person," said Alma. "I don't want Tad to get digested!"

"With this device," Tiffany held up the neural stimulator,"I can force you to vomit, and that will save Tad."

"We'd better go the the girl's restroom, so I can vomit in the sink," said Alma. She collected Tiffany, and walked to the restroom. While she was inside the restroom, a man entered the ice cream parlor. He was dressed in a business suit, and carrying a briefcase.

"Who do you pay protection money to?" the gangster asked the proprietor.

"The Capone-Torio gang," said the proprietor.

"We want you to pay us from now on," said the gangster. "My gang is moving into this neighborhood, and we're taking over."

Meanwhile, in the girl's restroom, Alma had just finished vomiting Tad into the sink, so she fished him out of the vomit and rinsed him off. Professor Cannoli came over Tiffany's communicator ring and said, "Tiffany, you only have a few minutes! It's okay to warn Alma now, and don't forget to have her collect the time cruiser, we need to evacuate when they do, or we'll be killed!"

"Who is that?" Alma asked.

"That was Professor Cannoli," Tiffany replied. "He lets us know what we need to accomplish on our missions, he was kidnapped by the Death Matrix just like we were. This ice cream shop is about to get blown up by a bomb set by a gangster! You and your cousins need to evacuate!"

Meanwhile, the professor turned off the cloaking device.

Alma held Tiffany and Tad in one hand, and opened the bathroom door with the other. She walked over to the table where her cousins were sitting, but didn't sit down. "We need to get out of here!" said Alma. "According to Tiffany, this ice cream shop is about to get blown up!"

"Don't forget our time cruiser," said Tiffany. "It's over there, against that wall. Professor Cannoli is inside."

Alma walked over and picked up the time cruiser, and the three girls evacuated the ice cream shop. After they were down the block a good distance, the ice cream shop blew up.

"It's too bad we couldn't save the owner of the ice cream shop," said Alma.

"Don't feel bad," said Beatrice, "we're just lucky to be alive ourselves!"

"It's time for us to leave now," said Tiffany. "But we appreciate your help, Alma!"

Alma set the time cruiser on the sidewalk, and both Tad and Tiffany stepped onto the gangplank.

"If you ever want to retire from time traveling," said Alma, "and you want to remain tiny, you can stay with me, I'll keep you safe!"

"We'll keep you in mind!" said Tad. "I wouldn't mind being your shrunken pet!"

Tad and Tiffany waved good bye, and entered the time cruiser.

"Because we've succeeded on our mission," said the professor, "the lock has been lifted by the Death Matrix, and we are free to go on our next mission."

"Where to this time?" Tad asked.

"The year 2112, the early 22nd century!" said the professor. "We're on our way there now!"

After Professor Cannoli keyed in the controls, Alma and her two cousins watched the time cruiser fade out of existence as it entered temporal space."

To Be Continued!

Chapter Five: The Year 2112

The time cruiser appeared and hovered at a high altitude over a city surrounded by water on all sides, with monorails connecting one end with the mainland.

"We're in the year 2112," said the professor. "The entire city you see below you is located in the Atlantic Ocean, it floats and was created in the late 21st century. It was destroyed by an asteroid collision that was hurled toward Earth by the 22nd century equivalent of the Death Matrix. Hubris caused most of the people who lived here to fail to evacuate; they thought the defense grid was full proof, because it had stopped asteroids before."

“What’s hubris?” Tad asked.

“In Greco-Roman mythology, hubris was the sin of pride, usually punished by the gods,” said the professor.

“That’s the same mistake the builders of the Titanic made,” said Tiffany.

"What made this asteroid different?" Tad asked.

"It is almost pure gold and platinum," said the professor. The Death Matrix launched it from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and sent it toward Earth at a much faster velocity than the defense grid was prepared for. The pieces of the asteroid that didn't burn up caused problems for the world money system, because gold and platinum became so plentiful."

"What's our mission?" Tad asked.

"We must land at a high school in that city, and find a girl named Artemis Ashman. Coincidentally, she is a relative of Alma Ashman, the girl we just left in Chicago in the 1920's, though not a direct descendant. History documented her as surviving the asteroid collision, but we need to convince at least two of her friends to go with her when she leaves on the monorail for the mainland."

"This is the second time we'll meet someone who is related to someone we know," said Tad.

"I've noticed a pattern," said Tiffany. "All the girls we've encountered so far had names beginning with A."

"My daughter Arwen's name begins with an A," said the professor.

"Do you think if we survive these thirteen missions," Tiffany asked, "and your daughter survives, that your future self or your daughter's future self could be trying to send us a message? Maybe one of you infiltrated the Death Matrix in the same era as the version that made contact with you, professor."

"Anything is possible," the professor replied. "Only time will tell. Right now, I need to land the time cruiser in that school. It should be lunch time right now, so I need to find a secluded spot."

"How will we know when we find Artemis?" Tiffany asked.

The professor keyed in a combination of buttons on the main control console, and a photograph of a teenage girl popped up on the main monitor.

"This is her, she has medium length blonde hair and grey eyes. All the girls wear a school uniform, but today Artemis was wearing a pink ribbon in her hair. That should make it easier to spot her. One thing I should mention, in this era, neutrino dissimilators have been invented, so we might be mistaken for criminals who were miniaturized and sold at auction.”

The time cruiser landed on the concrete, and wind from the thrusters blew debris around as it landed. No onlookers could see the time cruiser, because the cloaking device was initiated. The professor keyed in the controls that opened the door and the gangplank, and they could see out. Multiple kids were milling about.

"I see her!" said Tad, pointing at a blonde girl with a pink ribbon in her hair.

"Excellent!" said the professor. "Tiffany, you stay behind, while Tad and I make first contact with Artemis." The professor grabbed the control crystal and put it in his pocket. “I’m taking the control crystal, so you won’t be able to fly the time cruiser, but you’ll be able to manipulate the cloaking device, and onboard neural stimulator or the space warp in case one of us gets swallowed, Tiffany.”

“Thanks, Professor,” Tiffany responded.

Tad exited the time cruiser, followed by Professor Cannoli. The girl they were meant to make contact with was nearby. She was standing around talking to two of her female friends. Tad knew they had to be quick, so they wouldn’t get spotted by other kids. They stayed close to the perimeter of the fence and beneath tables as they approached her, to avoid detection.

“Artemis!” Tad shouted. The girl looked down and saw Tad and the professor.

She knelt down and said, “Who are you? Did you escape from your owner?”

“We’re not criminals who were sold at auction,” said Tad. “We’re time travelers here to warn you about the asteroid collision! This whole city will get wiped out!”

Artemis and her friends started laughing. “You’re cute!” said Artemis. “The defense grid will protect us from the asteroid, it always has in the past!”

“This asteroid is too big for the defense grid to deal with!” said the professor. “It will devastate this entire city!”

“I’ll tell you what, you little imposters,” said Artemis, “you’re obviously using the asteroid as a tool to scare us, because it’s been in the news so much lately. If you don’t give up on this charade, I’m going to swallow one of you!”

“This isn’t a charade!” said the professor. “You need to get on the next monorail to the mainland!”

“That’s it!” said Artemis, “I don’t care who your owner is, they can sue me if they want to, but I’m swallowing you!”

“If I get killed,” the professor shouted at Tad, “get Artemis and her friends to the hills of West Virginia! It’s at a high enough altitude that they’ll be safe!”

“Sure thing, professor!” said Tad, and Artemis plunged the professor into her mouth. Because he was only an inch tall, Artemis had an easy time swallowing him. Professor Cannoli glided down the esophagus of the beautiful behemoth, and plunged down into her belly, where he treaded chyme.

Tiffany was in the time cruiser, and notified Tad. “Tad! The professor took the control crystal with him, we can’t leave this century without it!”

“You need to vomit up the professor,” Tad told Artemis. “He has a mechanism we need to power our time cruiser.”

“Can you show me the time cruiser?” Artemis asked.

“Tiffany,” Tad spoke into his communicator ring, “de-activate the cloaking device!”

Tiffany did as Tad instructed, and the time cruiser became visible.

“That’s impressive!” said Artemis. She dug through her purse and pulled out a small device. “This is a neural stimulator, it will make me vomit.” Artemis pointed it at her head and pulled the trigger, and she vomited on the ground. The professor dropped down onto the ground, emerging from her puddle of vomit.

“I believe you now!” said Artemis. “Where should we evacuate to?”

“West Virginia,” said the professor. “There will be a massive tidal wave, and you need to get to high ground. This entire city will be wiped out!”

“There’s a monorail leaving soon,” said Artemis, “when should we leave?”

“As soon as possible,” said Professor Cannoli. “Once people realize they’re in danger, there will be a bottleneck and most people will be trapped in the city, with no escape!”

“Do I have time to contact my family?” Artemis asked.

“There’s no time for that, you can call them when you’re in West Virginia. Your friends need to evacuate with you.”

The two teenage girls who were with Artemis looked at her. One of them, a brunette, said, “I’m not taking any chances, I’m going with you, Artemis!”

“Me too!” said the Latina friend. “Let’s get out of here!”

“Artemis,” said the professor, “be sure to grab the time cruiser!”

Artemis did as she was told, and grabbed the time cruiser and headed toward the monorail station, followed by her two friends. The brunette carried Tad, Artemis carried the time cruiser, and the Latina carried the professor.

Soon, they were onboard the monorail, heading for the mainland. Artemis had the time cruiser on her lap. The door was facing her, and the gangplank was down. Tad and the professor were in the hands of the other two girls.

“I could get into a lot of trouble for skipping school,” said Artemis. “You’d better be right about this asteroid!”

“In less than an hour, the asteroid will plunge into the Atlantic,” said the professor, “Anyone you knew at your school or in that floating city will be dead!”

“Trust us,” said Tad, “You’re doing the right thing by evacuating! The professor is from the year 5150, he knows the future!”

“A terrorist group is forcing us to go on missions in different times,” said the professor to Artemis. “Part of what makes this mission so difficult is trying to convince you three to evacuate when logic would make it seem otherwise.”

Just then, sirens began to sound from the area the monorail was passing through.

“Do you hear that?” Professor Cannoli said. “If you tried to evacuate your island city now, you never would’ve escaped from the cataclysm.”

“I appreciate all you’ve done for us, Professor!” said Artemis.

“Professor!” Tiffany popped her head out of the door of the time cruiser. “The lock has been lifted, we can leave now!”

The brunette and the Latina placed Tad and the professor on the gangplank.

“I wish I could keep you,” said Artemis, “but you need to continue on your mission and save other people.”

“A relative of yours wanted to keep us, back in Chicago during Prohibition.” said Tad.

“I can’t even trace my family back that far,” said Artemis. “What was her name?”

“Alma,” said Tad. “You’re not her direct descendant, but you’re related to her.”

“Try to help as many people as you can!” said Artemis.

Tad and the professor waved goodbye to Artemis and her friends, then entered the time cruiser snd shut the door.

“Our next mission is the Viking era!” said the professor. “Strap yourselves in!”

The time cruiser made the jump into temporal space, and disappeared from sight.

To Be Continued!

Chapter Six: Viking Era

The time cruiser emerged from temporal space above a rural area during the late morning, during summer. The blue sky was punctuated by few clouds, and the weather was neither hot nor cold, but mild.

“We’re in the Ninth Century,” said Professor Cannoli. “Below us is Scandinavia, home to the Vikings. Our mission involves befriending a girl named Astrid, and convincing her family to allow her to compete in a tournament along with her two older sisters, Sigrid and Gudrun. The tournament is this afternoon.”

“Is that the whole mission?” Tad asked.

“No,” the professor responded, “there’s more. Tad, you must allow yourself to get swallowed by Astrid, and we’re not allowed to use technology to make her vomit you up.”

“I hope she’s cute!” said Tad. Tiffany scowled at him. “I was just kidding, Tiff!”

“It’s summer time here right now,” said the professor, “but this winter will be the harshest in ten years, so it’s imperative that Astrid and her sisters win this tournament so they will have enough silver to buy food to last through the winter.”

“How do you know what the weather will be like this far in the past?” Tiffany asked.

“Time travelers traveled to prehistoric times and launched satellites into geosynchronous orbit to monitor Earth’s weather. The satellites are intangible and invisible, they exist on another dimensional plane. The results of that data were downloaded into the time cruiser mainframe before I left the year 5150.”

The professor piloted the time cruiser so it landed in front of a house where three teenage girls were practicing fencing. The oldest girl was about 17, and the youngest was about 15.

“I’m turning off the cloaking device so we can get their attention,” the professor announced.

The time cruiser became visible, and the youngest girl was the first to notice it. She dropped her sword and came closer. The professor manipulated the control console and opened the door and lowered the gangplank.

“That is Astrid,” said the professor, “the youngest of the three sisters.”

Tad exited the time cruiser and introduced himself. “I’m Tad, I’m here to help you and your family.”

The other two girls came closer to see what their sister had found.

“Are you practicing for a tournament?” Tad asked.

“My sisters are entering the tournament,” said Astrid, “But father won’t let me, because I’m too young.”

“There’s going to be a really harsh winter this year,” said Tad, “so you need to enter the tournament and win, so your family will have enough silver to buy food during the winter.”

The three girls started laughing. “You must be wrong,” said Sigrid, the oldest. “This has been the mildest summer in my memory! The winter will probably be mild, too.”

“No,” said Tad, “you must listen to me!”

“Astrid, take that thing and the tiny man in and show father.” said Sigrid. “Let him decide what to do.”

Astrid grabbed the time cruiser and Tad, and carried them inside. She placed the time cruiser on the dining room table, and held Tad in her hand. “Father, look what I found!”

Astrid’s father entered the room. He was astonished at what he saw.

“Hi there!” Tad waved at him. “I’m Tad Polaris!”

“I’m Thorsten, what manner of wizardry is this?”

“He says he knows the future,” said Astrid. “He says it will be a harsh winter, and I need to enter the tournament so we will win enough silver to buy food for the winter.”

“Can you guarantee that Astrid will be safe?” Thorsten asked.

Professor Cannoli popped out of the time cruiser and said, “Our vessel has teaching machines that can instantly make her an adept sword fighter!”

“What do you think, Astrid?” Thorsten asked his daughter. “Do you want the tiny people to teach you how to use the sword?”

“Yes, father!” said Astrid.

“Please,” said Thorsten, “do whatever you need to in order to teach Astrid how to be a better sword fighter.”

Professor Cannoli entered the time cruiser.

“What martial art are you going to teach her?” Tiffany asked.

“The Japanese art of Kendo,” said the professor. “I can re-wire her brain so she has the equivalent level of skill as someone who has practiced Kendo for ten years!” Professor Cannoli manipulated the control console, and a beam of energy shot into Astrid’s head.

“Professor,” Tiffany asked, “do you think that’s ethical?”

“I’m only concerned with completing this mission,” said the professor. “The normal rules of ethics don’t apply when you’re in survival mode.”

“How long will the process take?” Tiffany asked.

“Just a few more moments,” said the professor. “There! That should do it! She now has the skills of a master swordsman!”

Professor Cannoli exited the time cruiser and stood on the table. “Let Astrid spar with her sisters,” said the professor. “I’m sure you’ll be pleased with the results!”

Thorsten ushered Astrid outside while carrying Professor Cannoli, and told her to pick up her sword. Astrid did as she was told. Thorsten ordered her to spar with her older sisters, Sigrid and Gudrun. Astrid used Kendo maneuvers that were unknown to her sisters, and easily defeated both of them during the sparring session.

“Can you use your wizardry on my other two daughters?” Thorsten asked. “Give them the same skills Astrid now has!”

“I can do that,” the professor replied. “Bring them back in the house, and I’ll use my technology on them.”

The three girls followed their father inside, while Thorsten carried the professor. Thorsten placed the professor on the gangplank, and he went inside the time cruiser and used the teaching tool to shoot a beam of energy into Sigrid’s head to re-wire her brain. Within a few moments, she had the same skills as Astrid. The professor then aimed the beam at Gudrun, the middle sister. Soon, she too had the abilities the other two had.

They went back outside to spar, and they their skill levels were equal; they could not defeat one another.

“We’ll win the tournament for sure!” said Thorsten. “Let’s go inside and have some mead to celebrate, and give you strength for the competition.”

They returned inside to the dining room table, and all three girls grabbed horns to drink from. Sigrid’s was the biggest, and Astrid’s was the smallest horn. Thorsten returned with a flagon of mead, and filled each of their horns.

“Astrid,” said Thorsten, “since you found the tiny people, maybe you should swallow one of them with your mead for good luck!”

“That’s a good idea, Astrid!” said Sigrid. “You’ll have the power of the gods helping you during the tournament!”

Astrid grabbed Tad, and shoved him into her mouth, then drank a huge amount of mead from her horn. When her horn was empty, the triumphant teenager threw it on the table and opened her empty mouth to show that Tad was swallowed.

“Let’s go to the tournament!” said Astrid. “It will be a good victory!”

“We must leave you and your vessel here in our home,” said Thorsten to the professor. “We don’t want anyone accusing us of using magic to win!”

Thorsten left with his daughters on a cart pulled by two horses, and the time cruiser was left on the dining room table. Tiffany and the professor stood on the gangplank.

“Can we watch the tournament?” Tiffany asked.

“I can launch a drone high enough so it can film the competition, and transmit it back to the time cruiser, where we can watch it on the main monitor.” said Professor Cannoli.

“Through the walls of the house?” Tiffany asked.

“I forget you’re not from my century,” the professor replied. “The drone will exist on another dimensional plane, so it will be intangible. Only we will be aware of it’s existence.”

The professor keyed in the necessary information and the drone was launched. Within moments, they could see Thorsten, Sigrid, Gudrun and Astrid riding in their horse drawn cart toward the tournament.

“Tad?” Tiffany asked, into her communicator ring. “We can see Astrid, the professor launched an invisible drone. We’ll keep our eyes on you.”

Within Astrid’s stomach, Tad was treading chyme that smelled like mead.

“I can hear you, Tiffany!” Tad replied. “I’ve actually wondered what it would be like to get swallowed by a Viking chick, so now I know!”

“That’s what you get for reading those online giantess stories!” Tiffany replied.

Before long, Thorsten and his daughters arrived at the tournament. There were very few female competitors, but Sigrid and Gudrun defeated the few females who competed. As the day progressed, they challenged male competitors and won against them, too.

Astrid fought against boys her age, defeating them easily, and moving up to compete against older male competitors.

“They’ve beaten everyone they’ve competed against,” said Tiffany to the professor.

“If Astrid doesn’t vomit Tad up,” said the professor, “then we’ll be stuck here, regardless of whether Astrid and her sisters win the tournament. Remember, there are two aspects to this mission, and we can’t use our technology to have Astrid vomit Tad up.”

“If we can get Astrid to drink more mead,” said Tiffany, “maybe we can get her to puke!”

“Puke?” Professor Cannoli asked. “I’m unfamiliar with that term.”

“Puke is slang for vomiting,” said Tiffany. “Maybe you can use mind control to get Thorsten to buy more mead. That wouldn’t be against the rules, would it?”

“I’ll see what I can do,” the professor replied.

Meanwhile, at the tournament, the final competition was in full swing. Astrid, Gudrun and Sigrid each were sword fighting opponents. Within ten minutes, their opponents were defeated. The three sisters were given large amounts of silver.

They presented the silver to their father, and he said, “This is enough silver to get us through two winters!” He purchased cheese, mead, and grain. They loaded the supplies onto the cart that was pulled by horses, and headed back home. When they got home, Thorsten and his daughters carried the supplies into the house.

When everything was put away, Thorsten said, “Now we can celebrate! Let’s drink some mead.”

Thorsten filled the horns of his daughters, and they drank their fill. Astrid had her horn filled three times, and started to get sick. She went outside, and vomited. Tad came barreling out onto the ground. Astrid picked him up and brought him inside, and set him near the time cruiser. Professor Cannoli was on the gangplank, while Tiffany was inside the time cruiser.

“Professor!” Tiffany said ad she peaked out at the door of the time cruiser. “The lock has been lifted! We can leave now!”

“Tad!” said the professor, “Let’s leave before Astrid swallows you permanently!”

Tad rushed inside without saying goodbye to Astrid and her family, and the professor activated the door, closing it and raising the gangplank.

“Where to now, Cash?” Tad asked.

“Imperial Russia, the summer of 1918! Strap yourselves in!”

The time cruiser disappeared from the dining room table, and into temporal space.

To Be Continued!

Chapter Seven: 1918 Russia

The time cruiser emerged from temporal space inside an elaborate mansion. The time cruiser was still invisible due to the cloaking device being engaged. Professor Cannoli addressed Tad and Tiffany.

"We're in July, 1918, inside the Ipatiev House in the city of Yekaterinburg, Russia, about a week before the Romanovs were executed."

"I did a report on the Romanov assassination in junior high school," said Tad.

"Will that do us any good?" Tiffany asked Tad.

"I know the names of the Tsar's daughters, Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia." said Tad.

"Didn't they have a son, too?" Tiffany asked. "I remember when you did that report, you told me about it back then."

"Yes, his name was Alexei," Tad replied.

"Don't get too wrapped up in the Tsar's daughters," said Tiffany. "I know they're attractive, but you've still got me as a girlfriend, and I'd appreciate some loyalty." Tiffany looked at the professor. "What's our mission, professor?"

"The Death Matrix wants us to give the royal family the schematics for the Sputnik rocket program."

"What will that accomplish?" Tiffany asked.

"The Russians will have viable rocket technology decades before anyone else," said the professor, "at least on paper."

"If we succeed, maybe that's why the Russians were so far ahead of us in the 1950's!" said Tad.

"Remember," said the professor, "the time cruiser has a built in mind control device that will make the Russians understand and speak English. The part of their brain that processes speech will think they're speaking and hearing Russian, so they will have no clue that they are speaking to us in English."

"We have to be careful," the professor warned, "because the royal family is being guarded, the guards are downstairs, and the royals are here, on the second floor."

"Who do we give the schematics to?" Tad asked.

"One of us will make contact, while the other two stay hidden in the time cruiser, which will remain invisible," the professor replied. "Once the royal family has the schematics, we want the guards to acquire them, and hold onto them after the executions next week."

"I volunteer to make contact." said Tad.

"I thought you would, you're such a brave boy," the professor replied. "Stay in contact with us through your communication ring, and let us know when to teleport the documents that have the rocket schematics."

"Is there anything else?" Tad asked.

"I almost forgot," the professor replied, "if one of us gets swallowed and vomited up naturally, without the use of any of our technology, one mission will be subtracted from our itinerary, so we will have a total of twelve, instead of thirteen missions."

Tad and Tiffany celebrated by cheering.

"Should I tell them the truth about where I came from?" Tad asked.

"Under no circumstances are you to tell anyone about the upcoming assassinations. That would void our mission, and we would be stuck here permanently," the professor warned. "Just make contact, then let me know when to teleport the documents. As far as who we are and where we came from, it's okay to tell her about us."

The professor hit some buttons on the control console. "The main monitor shows who is in the room, Anastasia is sitting at the table reading a book. You need to make contact with her, Tad!"

"Sure thing, professor!" Tad replied.

Professor Cannoli activated the door and lowered the gangplank, and Tad headed out into the main room. After stepping off of the gangplank, the time cruiser was not visible to him.

The room was huge, and very elegant. There were ornate wooden book shelves from floor to ceiling. The furniture in every way looked like it had been designed for royalty.

"These people seem like gods, they're so wealthy!" Tad whispered to himself as he made his way to Anastasia's feet. She was wearing a white dress, with dark stockings and leather shoes.

"She's beautiful!" Tad couldn't help whispering to himself, but he caught her attention. She lowered her book to the table, and looked down at Tad.

"Who are you?" Grand Duchess Anastasia asked.

"I'm Tad Polaris, I'm a time traveler," Tad replied.

"Have you come to help my family?" Anastasia asked. She stood up from her chair and knelt down, and picked Tad up in her hands.

"Not exactly," said Tad. "A terrorist group called the Death Matrix is forcing me to travel through time, and accomplish specific goals before we can leave and journey on our next mission."

"What is your goal in 1918?" Anastasia asked.

"I have to give you the schematics for rocket technology that will allow Russia to launch a rocket into space, breaking free from the earth's gravity."

"Is such a thing possible?" Anastasia asked. "I know Jules Verne wrote a novel about traveling to the moon, but that is pure speculation."

"Sure!" said Tad. "The Americans sent men to the moon in 1969. The Russians beat us at a lot of firsts, though. They launched the first artificial satellite, and got the first man into space before we did."

"Excellent!" said Anastasia. "And how would you produce such a document? You're a very tiny man, so please forgive my doubts."

"I have partners standing by," said Tad, "and they will teleport the documents to this table, when I give the word."

"Then give the word!" Anastasia ordered.

"Professor?" Tad spoke into his communication ring, "I've made contact with Grand Duchess Anastasia, and I'm ready for you to teleport the documents!"

Inside the time cruiser, the documents were in digital form on the main monitor. Professor Cannoli pressed the button that would execute the command that would make a physical copy appear on the table where Anastasia was seated.

Within seconds, the document materialized in front of Anastasia.

"Ooh!" she exclaimed. "This is like magic!"

"It's a science so advanced that it seems like magic," said Tad. "I'm paraphrasing a famous science fiction author named Arthur C. Clarke."

Anastasia looked through the pages of the document. "So this will allow us to build a rocket that can travel to the moon?"

"No, Grand Duchess," Tad replied. "It will allow you to launch an artificial satellite into Earth orbit. The moon is too far away for a rocket like this to reach it."

Anastasia's other three sisters entered the room. They spotted Tad, and walked directly toward Anastasia. Grand Duchess Maria, the 19-year-old, picked Tad up from the table.

"What is this?" Grand Duchess Maria asked. "Is it a toy of some kind? Is it a clockwork mechanism? Did Dr. Botkin or Anna bring this to you?"

Anastasia quickly grabbed Tad from her sister Maria. "He's not a toy, Maria! He's a little man! He's been miniaturized and forced to give us scientific secrets. He's from the future!"

"You'd better not let the guards find him," Maria warned. "They would take him away from you! And what is this?" Maria indicated the document that had materialized moments earlier.

"It's the schematics for constructing a rocket," said Anastasia. "The Russians will be the first to launch an artificial satellite into orbit!"

Maria looked through the pages of the document. "This all looks very complex, I don't think this is a hoax, Anastasia!"

"Of course it isn't!" said Anastasia.

"We'd better show our father!" said Maria, as she took the document and carried it to her father. "You'd better hide your little friend, before the guards see you with him!" The two oldest sisters, Olga and Tatiana, followed Maria.

Anastasia took Tad, and lifted him to face level. "You don't mind if I put you in my mouth, do you? It's just to keep you hidden from the guards."

"I don't mind," said Tad. "I've been in plenty of girl's mouths before this!"

Anastasia gently placed Tad on her tongue, then closed her mouth with him inside. Just then, one of the guards entered the room. This startled Anastasia, and she accidentally swallowed Tad.

"What is that document?" the guard asked Maria, taking it away from her.

"It is the schematics for a rocket that can break free from Earth's gravity!" said Maria.

"Nonsense!" said the guard. He looked over the document, turning the pages, and was amazed. "This information is very technical, an engineer should look at it!"

"Give that back!" said Anastasia.

"No, Anastasia," said Maria, holding her back, "let him have it. There's nothing we can do at this point!"

Meanwhile, inside the time cruiser, Tiffany was watching the Romanov sisters on the main monitor.

"Tad has been swallowed by Anastasia," said Tiffany to Professor Cannoli. "If he is to be vomited up naturally, one of us needs to explain that to Anastasia."

"It will do no good!" said the professor. "If we warn Anastasia that she needs to vomit Tad up, then that will void our mission! According to the control console, the lock has been lifted, because we've given them the rocket schematics. So if we retrieve Tad, we can leave. We might need to use the space warp to get him out of her stomach!"

"I think we should leave it up to Tad!" said Tiffany. "He really wanted to succeed on getting one mission dropped from our itinerary."

"Then contact him, I'm just saying, if worse comes to worse, we may have to use our technology to retrieve him, and we can't use the space warp while the cloaking device is engaged."

"Tad?" Tiffany spoke into her communication ring. "Can you hear me?"

Meanwhile, inside Anastasia's stomach, Tad was chest deep in chyme.

"Loud and clear!" Tad replied.

"Do you want us to rescue you?" Tiffany asked.

"No!" said Tad. "Try to let her vomit me up naturally!"

Inside the time cruiser, Tiffany looked at the professor. "He wants to ride this one out all the way, professor!"

"Your boyfriend can be very stubborn!" said the professor.

"Tad?" Tiffany asked into her communication ring, "If we use the space warp to get you out of there, we'll have to disengage the cloaking device."

Inside Anastasia's belly, Tad replied, "Then we would be sitting ducks! Just leave me in her stomach for now, only use the space warp if there's no other way!"

"How is it in there?" Tiffany asked.

"There's more stomach acid than there was with the other girls who swallowed me," Tad replied. "I think Anastasia must be stressed out because of all the things that are happening to her family right now."

"Will he be okay in there?" Tiffany asked the professor.

"It is possible that if enough of Anastasia's stomach acid eats away at him, he could die."

"I thought that elixir we drank before our first mission made us immortal?" Tiffany asked.

"Immortal to normal wear and tear," said the professor. "But not to things like bullets, falls from high places, or stomach acid. It's just too corrosive; he can survive for a short while, but not indefinitely."

Meanwhile, the Romanov sisters were arguing with the guard who took the rocket schematics. "I said to give it back!" said Anastasia to the guard.

"This should be in the hands of the government," said the guard. "Where did you get this document?" The guard turned and yelled into the hallway, and more guards appeared.

"Scour this entire room, and find any sign that there has been an intruder!"

Three guards began looking through the room.

Meanwhile, Tad was having difficulty within Anastasia's stomach.

"Tiffany!" said Tad, "The stomach acid levels are off the hook in here!"

"Anastasia is experiencing a lot of stress," said Tiffany. "And the guards are shaking down this whole room. Should we use the space warp?"

"Yes!" Tad shouted into his communication ring. "Get me out of here!"

Professor Cannoli began activating the space warp. He locked onto Anastasia's stomach, then de-activated the cloaking device. A dimensional portal appeared in the floor of the time cruiser. Professor Cannoli could see down into Anastasia's stomach, and saw Tad swimming around in her chyme.

Meanwhile, one of the guards spotted the time cruiser while they were searching the room. He walked toward it, with the intention of grabbing it.

Inside the time cruiser, the professor reached his hand down into the dimensional portal, and grabbed Tad's hand, and pulled him up and out. Once Tad was safely inside the time cruiser, the professor hit the button that would send them back into temporal space.

The time cruiser disappeared from the guard's grasp, and the Tsar's daughters laughed at him.

Back inside the time cruiser, Tad asked, "Where to now, Cash?"

"1958, Bullet Bay, California!" the professor replied.

"Tad," said Tiffany, "we'll be able to see our home town before we were born!"

To Be Continued!

Chapter Eight: 1950's America

The time cruiser emerged from temporal space above Bullet Bay, California. The sun was just starting to set. The sky was pink and purple with some clouds, but it was a nice evening.

"It's Friday, May 9th, 1958 and we're above Bullet Bay, California," said Professor Cannoli. "You can see the town on the main monitor."

"What's our mission this time?" Tad asked.

"There is a girl named Ariana Armstrong who is somewhat of a juvenile delinquent, and it's our job to make contact with her and try to get her to do better in school."

"Are there any other objectives for this mission, professor?" Tiffany asked.

"Just one, if Tad can get swallowed and vomited up without using our technology, then we have another chance at getting one mission subtracted from our itinerary. I know we failed in Russia, but now we might have a better chance."

"Why is that?" Tad asked.

"We're ordered to land across the street from a house party where teenagers are sure to be, and we have to turn off the cloaking device."

"So if Ariana finds us, she can collect the whole time cruiser?" Tiffany asked.

"Exactly," said the professor. "I have the latitude and longitude of our coordinates, I'm landing the time cruiser there now."

The time cruiser landed near a vacant lot, and there was no sidewalk there, just a curb. The professor tried to land the time cruiser near a telephone pole, so it would be somewhat hidden, but it was still mostly visible.

"I'm launching a drone," said the professor, "to see what is going on around this area."

The drone shot up out of the top of the time cruiser, and ascended until it was so high, it could not be seen.

"Here is a photo of Ariana, I'll post it alongside a view of the party across the street," said the professor. On the monitor, on one side a cute blonde girl about sixteen years old was on the left side of the screen, while video of what was happening across the street was on the right side of the screen.

There were about a dozen girls and boys in their mid teens, standing around holding bottles of beer. Some teens exited the house, while others returned inside.

"That house still exists in the time me and Tiffany are from, and they always throw parties there. It looks like that party has been going on for some time," said Tad. "I'm surprised it hasn't gotten busted yet."

"You spoke too soon," said the professor. "The police are on their way now, my drone is transmitting the video now."

Three police cars pulled up to the front of the house where the party was in full swing. There was a mad dash to escape, as multiple teenagers, boys and girls, ran in all directions to escape the police.

Three girls ran out, then crossed the street and slowed to a quick walk. One of them was Ariana. while another of the three girls, a Latina, held a jacket that contained several bottles of beer.

"It's Ariana, professor!" said Tad. "I recognize her from the photo. I'd better exit the time cruiser and make contact with her."

The professor activated the door and gangplank, and Tad ran out to greet Ariana. The three girls were wearing poodle skirts and saddle shoes. Tad jumped up and down and yelled at the titanic teens.

"Down here!" said Tad. "Ariana!"

Ariana and her two friends were astonished when they saw the inch high man waving at them, jumping around.

"What is that?" Ariana asked.

"It looks like a tiny man!" said the Latina, as she shoved the jacket to Ariana. "Here, hold the beers while I collect him!"

The Latina knelt down, and tried to scoop Tad up. Tad jumped onto her palm and said, "I'm a time traveler from the future, I've been miniaturized!"

The Latina stood up, carrying Tad in her palm. "My name is Elle, Elle Dorado!"

"That's a cool name!" said Tad. "I need one of you to collect my time cruiser, I have two friends with me who are inside. I'm here to help Ariana become a better student."

"You'd better worry about becoming the food of the gods before you concern yourself with anything else," said Elle. "I have half a mind to send you straight to the depths of my Aztec belly!"

"You're just saying that because you're drunk!" said Tad. "You're too beautiful to swallow someone!"

"You would dare to challenge me?" said Elle. She lifted Tad above her mouth, and said: "You're just the right size for swallowing!"

Elle dropped tad onto her tongue, and closed her lips. With some effort, she was able to swallow her tiny captive. Elle and the other girls began laughing furiously when Elle had finished swallowing Tad. She stuck her tongue out to prove he had been vanquished.

"I want to find the other two he talked about, and swallow them, too!" said Elle, as she lifted the time cruiser in her right hand.

"We'd better get to my house first!" said Ariana. "We're still within easy reach of the police!"

Meanwhile, inside the time cruiser, Tiffany asked the professor, "How far is Ariana's house from here?"

"I'll put a map on the monitor," the professor replied, and within moments, a map that showed a red line going from the house where the party was to another house a couple of blocks away.

"She lives pretty close," said Tiffany. "If they plan on swallowing all of us, what can we do?"

"That has always been a possibility on every one of our missions," said the professor. "It could happen at any time!"

"Can we do something about it?" Tiffany asked. “Like using mind control to force them not to kill us?"

"We aren't permitted to use mind control to affect free will," said the professor. "All we can do is hope that we can convince these cannibalistic conquerors that we're better off alive than dead, because of what we can do for them!"

"There must be something proactive that we can do," said Tiffany. "Elle seems very dangerous! Can't we use mind control to find out what their innermost desires are, and exploit that knowledge?"

"I hadn't considered that," said the professor. "I'll look through the set of rules the Death Matrix left me." Professor Cannoli started reading through the text on a small monitor on the control console.

Meanwhile, the three teens were walking to Ariana's house, and were almost there. Elle carried the time cruiser, while Ariana still held the jacket that contained multiple bottles of beer.

"So are we going to finish partying at your house?" Elle asked.

"Yes," Ariana replied, "my parents are out of town. They went to Santa Barbara for their wedding anniversary."

"I think I should keep this time machine," said Elle.

"The shrunken guy you swallowed said they were here to tutor me," said Ariana. "I think I should keep it!"

"Let's find a pair of dice and roll for it," said Elle.

"Okay, that sounds fair," Ariana replied.

Meanwhile, inside the time cruiser, the professor finished reading the rules set forth by the Death Matrix. "We're able to read their minds and exploit that knowledge, just as you suggested! I'll do that now!"

Professor Cannoli hammered across the controls with his fingers, coaxing the buttons to initiate the mind control device so it would scan the minds of all three girls simultaneously. Within moments, the computer notified the professor that it had the results.

"They all want an advantage when it comes to gambling," said the professor. "If we can manipulate the outcome of any bets they make, say by controlling the dice, or giving them sports information in advance, then we can win them over."

"Will the rules allow us to do that?" Tiffany asked.

"Let me read through that section of the rules," the professor responded.

"Hurry, professor!" said Tiffany. "That map says we're only a few houses down from Ariana's house!"

"According to the rules, we can manipulate the outcome of bets!" said the professor.

"Tad!" Tiffany shouted into her communication ring. "We've got a plan, hang in there!"

Just then, the three girls arrived at Ariana's house. Ariana got her key out of her purse, and opened the door. The three girls entered the home, and Ariana turned the lights on. Elle set the time machine on the dining room table. Ariana set the jacket on the table, and set the bottles of beer upright. There were six bottles.

"That's two for each of us!" said Elle, as she used a bottle opener to open one of the beers. She began guzzling the beer, until she had drank the whole thing in less than twenty seconds.

"I think I'm going to be sick!" said Elle, as she rushed toward the bathroom. She stopped up the sink, and vomited into it. Tad came tumbling out, into the puddle of vomit. Elle grabbed him, and rinsed him off.

"Hey!" said Elle, "now I get to swallow you again!"

"First, take me to my two friends!" said Tad. "We've got something important to tell you!"

When Elle carried Tad into the dining room, Ariana had returned from her bedroom with a pair of dice.

"I found the dice!" said Ariana.

"Stay here in the time cruiser," the professor told Tiffany. "In case we need help."

Professor Cannoli exited the time cruiser, and walked down the gangplank.

"I'm Professor Cassius Cannoli, and I can be of great assistance to you!"

"Yeah?" Ariana asked. "How so?"

"If you don't swallow us, we can help you win at gambling. If you invite people over here, and you gamble with dice, I can use my technology to manipulate the outcome so you'll always win!"

"That sounds like a good idea!" said Ariana, licking her lips.

"I still want to swallow this tiny guy again!" said Elle. "It makes me feel like a goddess!"

"But we can make you rich beyond your wildest dreams!" said the professor.

"I don't want to be rich," said Elle, "I want to feel like a goddess!"

"You must listen to reason!" said the professor.

"I don't 'need' to do anything," said Elle, "especially not coming from a pint sized man who stands an inch tall! There are supposed to be three of you, I'd like to swallow all of you. Make the other one come out of your time machine!"

"Elle," said Ariana, "maybe we should listen to him, we can make a lot of money!"

Elle thought about it, and set Tad down on the table. "I guess you're right," said Elle. "I get a little bit drunk, and I turn into some kind of a cannibal! I'm sorry, tiny one!"

Tad walked over to the professor. "So we're going to make them rich by gambling?"

"I showed Tiffany how to work the control console to manipulate the dice," said the professor. "Ariana, take the dice, and predict the outcome, and Tiffany inside the time cruiser will match that outcome."

"Okay, how about seven?" Ariana asked.

"Now throw the dice!" said the professor.

Ariana threw the dice, and got a five and a two.

"Again!" said the professor, and Ariana threw again; this time, she got a six and a one.

"Again!" said the professor, and Ariana threw the dice a third time, and got a four and a three.

"Do you see?" the professor asked. "With us in charge, you can't lose!"

"I need to make some phone calls!" said Ariana. "If I keep your time machine in my bedroom, can you manipulate the dice from there? I have to keep you guys hidden!"

"Yes," said the professor, "our technology utilizes dimensional string theory, so we can use force fields projected from other dimensions to force the dice to land as you choose."

"Okay, get back in your time machine, both of you," said Ariana, "and I'll carry you to my room. I know some kids who love to gamble, and some of them are rich!"

Within an hour, the living room was full of teenagers who had been at the other party earlier that night. It was an equal mix of boys and girls, the average age between 14 and 17. Some of the kids had brought more beer. The record player was going, and they were listening to rock and roll.

By this time, Ariana had a stack of cash next to her on the dining room table. She was betting with some boys on the football team, and they were angry that they were losing. Ariana got lucky once again, and collected her winnings from one of the athletes.

"How does she keep winning?" he shouted, as he beat his fist against the table. He got up and left the party.

Elle whispered something in Ariana's ear, and got up and went to Ariana's bedroom. The time cruiser was on the dresser, with the door open and the gangplank down.

"Tiny one?" Elle asked, and Tad came out.

"Yes, goddess?" Tad asked.

"She's winning too much, they're going to know she's cheating unless you have her lose once in a while. Just don't let her win every time, unless she's betting everything."

"Will do!" said Tad, and he went back inside the time cruiser to tell the professor.

"The Mexican chick with the epic legs told me you can't let Ariana win every time," said Tad to the professor, "they're starting to suspect she's cheating."

"You mean Elle Dorado?" Tiffany asked. "I'll never forget that name!"

"Just don't let her lose when she bets everything," said Tad. "That's what Elle said."

"At what point are we going to tutor Ariana?" Tiffany asked the professor. "I don't feel safe here, that girl might try to swallow us again."

"We can contact one of Ariana's teachers," said the professor. "With the control console, I can contact anyone through the existing telephone lines of this era. Maybe we can convince her to tutor Ariana for free."

"Can the time cruiser central computer calculate who the best teacher to contact would be?" Tiffany asked.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," said the professor. He implemented Tiffany's plan, and got some results. "It says here, Ms. Warren is the most suitable."

"Call her up, professor!" said Tiffany.

Within moments, Professor Cannoli was speaking with Ms. Warren.

"I need someone to tutor Ariana Armstrong," said the professor. "She's struggling in school, and needs someone to help her get back on course."

"I'm always willing to help a student in need, that's why I became a teacher!" said Ms. Warren. "Give me the address, and I'll be right over."

"It's 238 Newport street," said the professor.


Just then, Elle entered the bedroom with two younger girls.

“Tiny one?” Elle asked, indicating she wanted to speak with Tad.

Tad exited the time vehicle and walked down the gangplank.

“Yes, goddess?” said Tad.

“My mom doesn’t know about the party, and she asked me to watch my 13-year-old sister and her friend. Can you entertain them, and keep them out of trouble?”

“Sure, no problem! One of your teachers is coming over right now to tutor Ariana,” said Tad, “so you need to hide the beer!”

“Which teacher?” Elle asked.

“Ms. Warren,” Tad replied.

Elle left the bedroom and went to the dining room.

“Ariana!” Elle shouted. “Ms. Warren is coming over right now!”

“Hide the beer,” Ariana replied, “there’s another refrigerator in the garage, we have several cases of root beer, we need to swap the beer for root beer before Ms. Warren gets here!”

“Won’t your parents get mad that all that root beer is missing?” Elle asked.

Ariana waved the cash she won in front of Elle’s face. “Elle, I can buy more before they get back!”

By the time the teacher arrived, all the beer was hidden in the garage, and the kids who remained were drinking root beer. Ms. Warren arrived at the door, and Ariana let her in.

Ms. Warren pulled out a pocket watch, and said, “I’ve come to tutor you, I’ll stay for two hours, free of charge. This pocket watch will keep the time.”

As the teacher and Ariana studied at the table, Tad tried to entertain Elle’s younger sister.

“So your name is Rhea?” Tad asked.

“Yes, I was named after one of the Titanides,” said Rhea.

“Tad!” said Tiffany, as she peaked her head out the front door of the time cruiser. “The lock has been lifted! We can leave any time!”

“Okay, I’ll be right there,” Tad replied.

“My sister said she swallowed you,” said Rhea. “Will you let me swallow you, too?”

“You’d have to vomit me up afterwards,” said Tad. “It wouldn’t be a pleasant experience for you!”

“I don’t mind at all,” said Rhea. “I’d love to swallow a shrunken man!”

“Tad!” said Tiffany. “Let’s go!”

“I’ve got to leave,” said Tad. “My girlfriend is getting fussy.”

Rhea grabbed Tad and shoved him into her mouth and swallowed him. She raised her arms in victory after Tad was in her stomach.

Meanwhile, inside the time cruiser, Tiffany was concerned. “Professor, if we use the space warp to get him out of that girl’s stomach, will that cancel out the part of our mission where Tad was vomited up naturally?”

“I don’t know,” said the professor. “But it looks like we have no choice, we need Tad, and we have to get him out of the stomach of that giant girl!”

The professor activated the space warp and pulled Tad out of the dimensional hole that appeared in the floor of the time cruiser.

“Thanks, Professor!” said Tad.

“We completed our mission, our next time is the era of the Aztec empire in Mexico!” said the professor. He activated the controls, and something weird happened.

“There’s a power surge the likes of which I’ve never seen before!” said the Professor.

Just then, the power went dead.

“Professor, what happened?” Tiffany asked.

“I’m not sure, but we’ve reached an unknown time. I need to use the manual override to open the door,” said the professor.

When the door was open, and the three of them were outside, they were still in Ariana’s bedroom, and Rhea and her friend were still there sitting on the bed.

“Rhea is still here, we never left!” said Tad.

“We’re not in the twentieth century any longer,” said the professor. “But the power in the time cruiser went out, so I can’t be sure what era we’re in!”

“Perhaps I can clear this up!” said Ms. Warren, who had just entered the bedroom. “You’re a thousand years farther in the future than the year you are from, Professor!”

“How can this be?” the professor asked.

“I’m your daughter, I’ve been working all of this time to free you from the Death Matrix. I pursued a career in law enforcement, and when technology progressed to the point where we were superior to the technology of the Death Matrix, I infiltrated their group in the past, and manipulated them so they would bring you to me.”

“You posed as a teacher in the 1950’s?” The professor asked.

“Yes,” said the professor’s daughter. “I still must get back to that time, so the Death Matrix doesn’t figure out what I did. But before I do, I need to explain other things I did. I created duplicates of the three of you and your time cruiser, and they will go on your remaining missions, not knowing they aren’t you. The Death Matrix won’t know, either. They left to the era of the Aztecs when you were brought here.”

“But what about the kids at this party ?” the professor asked. “Why were they brought into the future?”

“They are duplicates, I created them when I created your doubles. They will have to integrate into my era, just as you will. Here is a neutrino dissimilator, it is programmed to re-enlarge you, it will bypass the dimensional lock the Death Matrix put on you.”

Arwen pointed the device at the professor, and he was instantly re-enlarged. She then re-enlarged Tiffany and Tad, in that order.

The professor hugged his daughter.

“I can’t believe the nightmare is over!” said the professor.

“Welcome to the year 6150!” said Arwen. “after you are de-briefed, you will be free to live in this time period without any further problems.”

THE END