The Franklin Badge
Once the heroes returned to Happy Happy village, Paula finally saw how sad the town was. She solemnly said, "Oh dear. The whole town is under some sort of malicious control. Oh, we just have to save them! Though, if you faced Mr. Carpainter alone, you'd be struck soundly with lightning. You'll probably need this."
Frowning, Paula pulled out a small cracked badge from a pocket. The badge had some sort of lightning bolt symbol on it, but it was chipped and broken right down the middle.
"This is the Franklin Badge, a badge that, when worn, completely reflects lightning. I... I broke it when the odd men took me away, but I know where we can get it fixed! There's an amazing scientist in Winters in the north. I'm sure he could fix it! Now... the only matter is how we get there. It's over seas."
The party grouped to think about this. They couldn't walk there, and they couldn't get a boat, not in Twoson. It seemed as if something just barely evaded their memories. They thought perhaps the only person who might know what the peculiar robot in the small red house.
With a little knock on the front door, the front peeping window slid open. There were the familiar yellow eyes of Zone.
"Who is it? Oh... Oh it's... It's you guys. W-what is it you want this time..?" The party discussed their conundrum with the nervous voice, and when they were done, he answered. "Oh, well that shouldn't be hard. I-it's the... You- you don't.... Oh am I even allowed to say..?? Have you been to... the t-treasure hunter's place..?" Before he could say another word, the party immediately remembered Lier X. Agerate and what he kept in his basement.
Off to Winters!
Heading back to Lier's shabby home, they found Lier sitting on his porch, blowing into a broken harmonica. He spotted them an exclaimed, "Oh, you're back! And just in time too! I have another piece of information for you. You know the drill, pay up: $80!" The party stared blankly. "I'm just joshin' you! We're friends now, so no fee required! I wanted to tell you that I've finished excavating that strange machine in my basement. Come take a looksee!"
The adventurers followed Lier into his basement to find that the machine was dug out from all around, and a door was opened. Inside, buttons and panels lined the walls, and four seats were positioned on the floor. Lier began talking about the process of excavating a machine of this size, but the heroes were more interested in the large green button in the center of the panel. One of them instinctively pressed it. (Not to say I don't remember who, but I don't think it matters.)
The door closed, and the machine started shaking. Everyone buckled themselves in a seat as a countdown started from 10. Out of the small circular windows, Lier could be seen backing as far away from it as he could. As soon as the countdown reached 0, the machine jerked and suddenly shot into the sky, leaving a whole through Lier's roof.
Once the machine was in the sky, the ride became smooth, and the heroes became transfixed on the windows, never having been in the sky before. The only one who was investigating the interior was Cyrus, but he mostly found that other than a lot of buttons, the machine was pretty simple. Once the snowy landscape of winters could be seen below, a prompt on a screen stated, "Descending," and the machine began to drop. And drop, and fall, and then plummet. Until it slowed down suddenly just over a tiled floor in the interior of a large metal building.
Outside the door, an aged voice could be heard. "Ah, curious, I was looking for that." Then the door opened and a short, old man in a white lab coat stood at the entrance. Seeing the passengers, he started, "Oh, adventurers! I see you've found my Sky Runner. Dr. Andonuts, pleased to make your aquaintance. What, if I may ask, brings you here? Other than the machine, of course."
The adventurers gave the broken Franklin badge to Andonuts. "Ah, a franklin badge!" Then, turning to a small adolescent boy in a green suit, he asked, "Jeff, you should be able to fix this, don't you think?"
Jeff took the badge, looked it over, gave a nod, and began working to fix it.
While Jeff worked away at fixing the badge, the party members looked curiously around the lab. They all tested the Instant Revitalizing Device, feeling afterwards, as if they'd just had a good night's rest. Dr. Andonuts took note that they looked as if they didn't belong in this world, considering their look and behavior. He asked Cyrus why this could be, and Cyrus told him about the Bus, and how they accidentally wound up in Twoson.
Andonuts leaned in close and stated, "I had a feeling that happened. Are you familiar with the concept of Alternate Universes? I've been studying quantum physics recently, and I believe there are many separate timelines and dimensions we don't even know about. I suspect that the bus you all took must have somehow crossed between your worlds, and this one."
Cyrus contemplated this theory. He agreed with it, but asked, "If that is the case, how do we return to our own worlds?"
"Well," Andonuts responded, "I would think it's pretty difficult to cross between worlds accidentally. However you did it, it was probably on purpose... Like something, or someone meant for you to come here. Perhaps, if you come across that bus again, you could find a way to return? I'd love to go to other worlds myself, but as of now, I'm not experienced enough to help all too much. Ah, I'm much too old to be dreaming about such silly things anyway."
As Andonuts was finishing his thought, Jeff handed him a completely repaired Franklin Badge. With the badge fixed, it was given back to Paula, and the heroes needed to return to Happy Happy Village. As they piled in the Sky Runner, and the door closed, it was apparent that Cyrus was still outside.
The adventurers peered through the small green windows at Cyrus. He was seen, back turned towards the machine, talking to Andonuts. He pulled back a sleeve, and showed something to the doctor, but it wasn't easy to tell what it was. They spoke briefly, and much too quietly to be heard from inside the machine. Then he covered up his arm and returned to the Sky Runner.
With one press of a large button, they were flying back through the air in no time.
(Jeff cameo!)
The Instant Revitalizing Device gives you the effects of a Long Rest. I wonder what would happen if you used it excessively though. Could you extend your lifespan?
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