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"They say that blood is thicker than water. Maybe that's why we battle our own with more energy and gusto than we would ever expend on strangers." - David Assael; "Family Feud", Northern Exposure

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"James?" Emmett gasped; eyes wide with shock and tone of voice a mix of incredulity and amazement. "I-Is that you?"

"Yes, Emmett, it's me" James responded, not willing to move any closer in case Emmett's mood changed from astonishment to anger.

"What-? How-?"

"I know you're surprised to see me, but you shouldn't be that surprised."

"What?" Emmett started. "Yes, but I mean, it's you!" he exclaimed, excitedly shaking him. "Really /you/! Here! Of all places!"

"Yes!" Attempting to change the subject, he continued talking. "Um... Why is your hair... white?" he asked. "The last time I saw you, it was blonde."

"Oh!" For the moment, Emmett seemed to turn serious again. "Er, do you know what this is?" he asked, gesturing to the car around him.

"A time machine. I was listening when you were talking to that kid, Marty", he added when Emmett glanced up, confused.

"Right."

"So you're a future version of Emmett."

The older man nodded.

"How far-?" James started to ask, but Emmett merely pointed at the display that said /OCT 27, 1985/.

"That's about the date you started using the time machine?"

"Actually, the first major jump through time was the day before, but yeah, that's pretty much it."

"But that would make you-" He quickly did the math in his head, tacking on the extra 30 years to his Emmett's current age. "Great Scott! That would make you sixty-five years old!"

"Right on the money."

"Er, ah, looking good!" he added, shrugging embarrassedly.

Thirty years... Dear God. Imagine what could have happened to him in that time... what could have happened to me... James shuddered at the thought.

"James?" Emmett asked, using that tone of voice. Specifically the one that, if he used it on you, you'd better damn well be honest about your answer. "Why were you eavesdropping on my conversation with Marty?"

"Well..." he paused, clearing his throat uncomfortably. "Do you remember what happened today, about a year ago?"

"Can you be more specific?"

He sighed. "...The whole incident in New England?"

Emmett frowned. "The only thing that I remembered was that you'd murdered the blackmailer's butler. Dear God, James, what in the name of Sir Isaac H. Newton were you /thinking/?!"

James groaned, despite the fact that he knew this was coming. "I don't know. Maybe I was crazy..."

"You weren't crazy, just desperate!"

"I-I should have realized that someone cunning enough to simultaneously blackmail six people wouldn't be stupid enough to present them with the opportunity to rid themselves of him."

"What do you mean?"

James sadly explained how Mr. Boddy had disguised himself as Wadsworth, how the butler was disguised as a fake Mr. Boddy, and how the switch had led to the fake being murdered - by him no less!

"Oh, please. You couldn't have known about the switch if they pulled it off that well!"

"But there was something I overlooked - a portrait of the false Mr. Boddy as a butler! If I'd seen that and made the connection..." He hesitated, unsure of how the death of "Wadsworth" would have affected him now. "Who knows?"

"But what does this have to do with the DeLorean?"

"Well..."

But it seemed Emmett had figured it out, or at least most of it. "You can't mean-"

He nodded slowly. "Yes."

"Are you /insane/?! You can't just go around mucking around the time-space continuum without a clue as to what you're doing! It's not-"

The walky-talky squawked where Emmett left it on the front of the car.

"I believe that's for you", James noted, avoiding Emmett's gaze.

"Right. We'll continue this discussion later." Grabbing the walky-talky, he stood quickly. "See that metal pail over there?"

"That one over there?"

"Yeah. Grab it." Quickly, he moved to the strange device attached to the car labeled "Mr. Fusion". Flipping it open, he explained what it was as he sifted through the garbage pail. "I got this on a trip to 2015-"

"2015?!" he repeated incredulously. "You were busy!"

"Yes, but things are worse than you'd think. As I was saying, Mr. Fusion powers the time circuits and flight capabilities, as you clearly saw."

"Clearly. I actually thought this thing was a UFO when it first showed up."

"You wouldn't be the first" Emmett sighed. He turned his attention to the walky-talky. "Hold on, let me turn this up so you can hear it... Marty, what's the report?"

"Biff's gone!" Marty groaned on the other end. "He's got the book. The old man's gone too. I'm locked in Biff's garage. You've got to fly the DeLorean over here and get me the hell out of here. The address is 1809 Maple Street."

"I can't take the DeLorean out in the daylight, but don't worry, Marty. Somehow I'll get over there."

Without another word, he switched off the walky-talky.

"Well?" James eyed him warily.

"You showed up recently, right?"

He nodded. "Yesterday actually, though I didn't get a chance to look for any work."

"Good. Come on, we've got to get Marty and figure out a way to get that book."

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/That night.../

"Damn!" Emmett spat, though James couldn't blame him. Marty was gone. As they moved off, he switched on the walky-talky. "Marty! Marty, come in!"

"Doc!" Marty managed to say on the other end before he was apparently cut off.

/Must be a tunnel/, he thought. That was the only thing he could think of that would cut off a walky-talky from its partner.

"Oh my..." Emmett whispered from his bicycle.

"What?"

Emmett jerked his head in the direction of something hidden under a gray tarpaulin. Carefully both men crept over to it, and Emmett carefully lifted the material-

It took a moment for him to recognize the rear end of the DeLorean.

"Oh my God", Emmett groaned. "Listen, keep going and make certain that no one sees your face for the next couple of blocks."

"What? Why?"

"Because this is where my other self is working on the DeLorean, getting it ready for the other Marty to go back to 1985."

"I see" James commented, remembering Emmett's comment about not running into his "other self" back by the billboard when he was talking to Marty.

"Go! Go!"

"Right!" Without another word he quickly moved past the DeLorean. Apparently '55 Emmett was as engrossed in his work as '85 Emmett had been, because he wasn't noticed. Reaching the end of the block, he quickly hid, glancing back to see if '85 Emmett was coming. Unfortunately, the man in question was talking on his walky-talky, and James could only watch in terror as '55 Emmett spotted him.

As his 35-year old self called him, '85 Emmett stiffened, pulling down his hat in an attempt to disguise his identity. '55 Emmett apparently asked for something out of his toolbox, because he slowly edged towards it, keeping his face out of view. Grabbing something that James couldn't quite make out, he moved towards his past self, keeping the lamp post between them when he handed over the tool - a wrench, it looked like. The two briefly conversed, the current self checking the tautness of the cable attached from the lamppost, and '85 Emmett got back on his bike and rode off in his direction.

"What was that all about?" he hissed as the two moved away from Emmett's past self.

"Marty tried calling again just as I was going past. Fortunately I managed to get away without my other self recognizing me."

"What would've happened if he'd recognized you?"

"I don't know. At first I thought it would cause a paradox, but-"

"A paradox?" James inquired. "Wouldn't that be more like going back in time and somehow causing said trip from occurring for some reason?"

"I'm starting to think that, too. Either way, I would've run the risk of A.U. Syndrome because my past self wasn't expecting me."

"A.U. Syndrome? I don't think I've heard of that one."

"Imagine what it would be like to see you, but with minor changes. The shock would probably cause the subject, i.e. me, to pass out at the most, but given that my past self was working on helping Marty, I couldn't allow that to happen."

"Right. Well, now what?"

"We'll have to head back for the DeLorean and wait for Marty to contact us again. Hopefully he'll have another chance at the almanac."

"What is this almanac you keep mentioning?"

"Oh, it's a long story."

"It'll be a long trip", James argued.

"Point made. Well-", Emmett cleared his throat. "It actually began on our second trip to 2015. We'd gone there to stop a guy by the name of Griff Tannen from involving Marty's kid in a bank robbery that would land him in jail."

"Griff Tannen? Is he a relative of that Biff Tannen you mentioned earlier?"

"His grandson, actually. As I was saying, we succeeded (though not exactly in the way I planned). Unfortunately, I needed to do something that took me away from Marty. While I was away, he got the idea that if he brought back information about sports events in the future, then he could make successful bets and become an instant millionaire."

James laughed curtly. "I take it you didn't agree?"

"Exactly. I was about to throw it out when we were distracted by another crisis. Don't worry, we'll give a more detailed explanation as soon as we can", he added, realizing the former psychiatrist was about to interject again. "Meanwhile, while we were attending to that, the 2015 Biff stole the sports almanac, followed us, stole the DeLorean while it was left unattended-"

"And brought it back here."

"Precisely. He gave it to himself on this date, and when his younger self used it, it altered his destiny, and now has created a paradox."

"And that means?"

Emmett grimaced. "When Young Biff used the almanac, he altered his future enough so he dies before he can become the Biff that gave himself the book."

"Hence the creation of a paradox."

Nodding, Emmett continued. "According to my calculations, when the date Old Biff went back in time rolls around, the chain reaction will unravel the very fabric of the space-time continuum and destroy the entire universe."

James blanched. "Right, now that's bad."

"Granted, that's more of a worst case scenario. The destruction might, in fact, be very localized, limited to merely our own galaxy."

"And that's supposed to be a good thing?"

"No", he sighed, "but it demonstrates the need for multiple precautions when we go back to warn your past self."

"When? You don't mean-?"

Emmett nodded. "I do. As dangerous as it is, the alternative is not worth avoiding it."

James scowled. Emmett clearly knew what would happen to him in his future, but he would have to ask later.

If there is a later...

To Be Continued...