Title: Land of the Lost - the alternative universe version
Chapter: 1
Author: squeezynz@free.net.nz
Rating: PG, Adventure
Spoilers: the episode with Titus, the balloon, fireworks,
you remember.
Why: because I can, and because I personally thought there were so many
plot holes in this episode combined with
woefully under-used characterisation that I couldn't resist.
Not that I expect to improve on the episode, just have a little fun with it and expand the adventure somewhat.
If you can't stand to see a classic mangled, then don't read.
Disclaimer: never mine, all IA's, but sure fun to play with.
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The story so far :-
Valerie and Barry are out gathering fireworks at night, they are dragging a couple of huge firecracker's towards a giant rubbish bin in a park. While they wait for Steve and Mark to catch up, a giant boy approaches, carrying an ornate helium balloon with a basket suspended under it. The boy spots the fireworks next to the rubbish bin and kneels down to investigate. Valerie and Barry cower under the bin and watch as the boy ties the balloon to the bin then puts a couple of the crackers into the balloons basket. He decides to light one of them. The boy throws the cracker near the bin and it explodes loudly. Hugely satisfied the boy reaches for another and finds a roman candle. Lighting this while he holds it in his hand, he starts to walk away from where Valerie and Barry hide. Barry decides to reclaim the hard-won fireworks and runs over to the balloon, as he climbs in a spray of sparks from an exploding overhead firework hits the rubbish bin and a stray spark catches Barry on the leg, pitching him into the cardboard basket, moaning in pain. Valerie quickly reaches him and tries to lift him out, chastising him for running away. Mark and Steve approach, also carrying firecracker's, and see Valerie inside the basket. Another spark has landed on the string tethering the balloon to the bin and burns through. Steve shouts a warning but its too late, the balloon starts to rise, taking Valerie and Barry with it. Steve and Mark both jump onto the basket and climb in, just as Dan and Fitzhugh also arrive. Dan grabs the trailing tether and gets carried some way off the ground, but lets go and falls back to where Fitzhugh watches in horror. Finding themselves flying upwards rapidly Steve tries to climb up the rigging and let some of the helium out of the balloon. He has limited success and nearly falls to his death but catches himself on the edge of the basket and gets pulled back in. On the ground Dan uses his radio to call Steve. The wind direction suggests that they should be blown fairly close to where the Spindrift lies, so Dan and Fitzhugh collect a couple of the fallen fireworks and start back to camp. In the balloon, the rest find themselves in the middle of a storm of sparks, with a strange force pushing them against the wind and away from the Spindrift. Dan and Fitzhugh reach the ship and try to radio the balloon only to find the signal weaker as their friends are carried further away. Dan decides to use the ship radio and contacts Steve who explains the unusual situation. Having survived the firework display intact, Steve attempts to once more lower the balloon by letting out more helium, but Mark stops him when Barry points out that they are now flying over a body of water. Mark and Steve discuss how a map seen only a couple of months ago had shown no large body of water within a thousand miles, and given the time they had been travelling, they must be flying at over five hundred miles an hour. Steve relays this information to Dan, who contacts a local airfield to find out where their friends are heading. The airport controller informs Dan that the water is the Sea of Storms and that no-one has ever returned from flying over it. The balloon, meanwhile, is being tossed around in the stormy conditions, the occupants all holding on for dear life. After a couple of hours the balloon reaches another shore, and the Little People see lights, as if from a city, spread out over a wide area. The balloon now starts to descend and the lights seem to disappear. After a gentle landing all four passengers watch as two giants appear, dressed in coloured tabards and wearing elaborate metal collars. One picks up the balloon and carries it to a room where it's set down on a bench top. Shortly a man dressed in sumptuous robes appears and comes over to the bench, leering down at the balloons occupants and laughing loudly. The man introduces himself as Titus, Absolute Ruler of the Land. He questions the Little People about artefacts belonging to the land across the sea. Steve adopts a suspicious attitude and refuses to co-operate with Titus. During the interrogation, a man is dragged into Titus' presence. The man also refuses to co-operate so Titus has him hauled away to have a collar fitted. Back at the bench top, Titus asks more questions, not believing a word when Valerie and Mark explain the use of some of the artefacts. The captive is returned by two guards, but now hes wearing a collar. Titus questions him again, but he still refuses to answer so Titus goes to the control panel and flips a switch. The man grabs his collar and collapses. Titus explains that the collar doesn't cause pain, usually, just robs the man of the use of his legs. Questioning the man again, Titus learns his name is Androse, but nothing more. Using the collar control again, Titus causes Androse to pass out. Titus returns to his interrogation of the Little People but gets no response, so decides a demonstration of his power is in order. Using the same mysterious force field that brought the balloon, he suspends Steve above the table top, explaining that the force field can be used for all sorts of applications. Shutting off the field, Steve drops to the bench top, bruised but unhurt.
Now read on..........
" Now I demand that you answer my questions truthfully, what are these items used for ?" asked Titus, stepping over the body of Androse as he returned to the table. Mark helped Steve get up, while Valerie and Barry backed away towards the balloon.
" We've already told you, they were made for people your size not ours," shouted Steve, brushing off his sleeves.
" I think you're incapable of telling the truth, ah well, that can be changed," Titus turned to the two guards waiting behind him," take this man, Androse, and put him in the holding cell. I will want to speak to him later. Then come back here, with two cages, I want to continue my interrogation of these intruders in my private laboratory."
Steve watched as the body of Androse was dragged out without ceremony. Titus paced between his control panel and the table, shooting suspicious glances at the Little People, as if expecting them to explode. Shortly the two guards returned, one man carrying a box in each hand which he placed on the table top next to the balloon.
" You will now get into the boxes, the woman and the boy in one, you men in the other," instructed Titus. Steve exchanged a hurried glance with Mark then stepped forward.
" We go together Titus, we won't be separated,"
" I weary of this arguing, guard ? Put the woman and the boy in a box, now."
Valerie backed away, Mark coming to stand between her and the approaching guard, Steve pulled Barry behind him, trying to shield him from capture. The guard paused, looking towards Titus for assurance.
" What are you waiting for ? Get the woman and boy...or do you want to feel the punishment of the collar ?" Titus warned. It was enough of a threat to prompt the guard. Reaching out, he pushed Steve out of the way and grabbed Barry, the boy crying out as the hand whisked him away and into the box. Steve, stunned by the force of the push, watched helplessly as Valerie was similarly treated, after the guard also dealt with Marks resistance. The two men picked themselves up and hurried over to where Valerie and Barry were now locked into one of the boxes, their scared faces reflecting Steve and Marks fear. Titus waved the guard away and once more peered down at the tiny captives.
" I have no use for such weak creatures, the woman and boy will be sent to the women's quarters, to amuse my wives," Titus waved over the guard who picked up the cage and walked out of the room, only a faint cry of protest from Valerie to mark their passing.
Steve and Mark stood impotently as Titus indicated the other box.
" When you are ready ?" he said, watching the two men closely.
Steve put his hand on Marks arm, feeling his friends tension in the slight tremor of his arm muscles as his hands clenched.
" We have to do what he says," Steve murmured, seeing a flash of anger in Marks eyes. " We have to stay in one piece to help Val and Barry."
The flash of temper quickly faded and Mark nodded his compliance. Together the two men walked into the remaining box, not once looking at Titus or the guard waiting to lock the door.
Signalling the guard to follow, Titus swept up his long cloak and marched out of the control room, the guard following meekly behind with the box.
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Dan had brought Betty up to speed on what had happened at the fair grounds, and together with Fitzhugh they manned the radio continuously, hoping that Steve would contact them and advise what their remaining friends could do to rescue them. Unfortunately the radio refused to co-operate and remained stubbornly silent, only static greeting Dan whenever he tried to call. They had no way of knowing if the unwilling passengers in the balloon survived the Sea of Storms, or were lost in the tempest. Dan refused to accept that Steve wouldn't find some way of contacting the Spindrift. They just had to give him time.
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Valerie had maintained her composure until they were out of sight of Steve and Mark, then she'd slumped to the floor of the cage, covering her face with her hands. Barry had tried to comfort her, with limited success. Eventually he left Valerie to look out at the endless corridors the guards seemed to be carrying them down. The box swayed slightly as the guard carefully carried his precious burden. They seemed to pass a lot of doors, all guarded by more men wearing different coloured tabards, but all wearing the control collars. Eventually they reached an area with potted plants and pictures on the walls. They passed too quickly to see much but Barry reasoned that they were fast approaching their final destination. Valerie had joined Barry at the mesh, her face pink and her eyes swollen, a wan smile her only response to Barry's query.
The guard came to a halt before yet another unmarked door. He knocked twice and stood back. The door was opened by a tall woman wearing a floor length tunic with long sleeves. She also wore a collar, but a less bulky one than the men's. Waving the guard in the woman stepped back and closed the door behind him. Advancing a short way into the room the man stopped and fell to one knee, bowing his head. Valerie and Barry gazed out at the scene in front of them in wonder.
A woman dressed in similar clothes to Titus, reclined on a gold chaise longue, her dark hair dressed in an elaborate fashion, topped with a jewelled hair band. Around her were more females, all in the covering tunic and all wearing the control collars.
" What has Titus sent me this time ?" she asked in a bored voice, her green eyes narrowing slightly.
The guard, keeping his head lowered, held out the box. One of the slaves came forward the took the cage, bringing it close to the woman to look into.
" Oh lord, more Little People," she exclaimed, " they are so fragile, I never know what to do for them when they break,"
Valerie and Barry stared at the woman, what did she mean by 'more' Little People.
" I suppose I will have to keep you safe," the woman mused, tapping one finger on her lip,"...until Titus tires of the novelty...you can take them to my personal chamber and place them in the enclosure, but make sure the sun doesn't shine directly on the glass this time, we don't want to lose them too soon,"
The slave bowed low and started to back out of the room, carrying the box. Once out of sight she hurried along another passage until she reached an ornate archway. Once inside what looked like a sitting room, she hurried over to a tall, glass walled enclosure. Setting the cage down inside the glass box, the woman quickly drew the curtains hanging beside the table, to provide welcome shade from the early morning sun. Reaching over to unlatch the box, she tipped it up to empty its contents out, then before Valerie or Barry could open their mouths, the woman darted out of the room and was gone.
Looking through the glass at the richly appointed room, Valerie and Barry could only hope that Steve and Mark fared as well with Titus.
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Titus led the guard down a series of corridors, across two courtyards illuminated with the early morning sun, then finally through a huge wooden door into a room furnished with a wealth of gadgets and machinery of every description and function. The guard placed the box on a table and backed out of the room at Titus's command.
" What are you going to do with us Titus ?" asked Steve, trying to gauge the mans mood as they watched him pace back and forth.
Titus swung round, his gold cloak swirling around him.
" First I am going to fit you with control collars. Then I can trust what comes out of your mouths."
" We've told you the truth, Titus, we don't belong in your world,"
" So you say, but you are not the first to come to my kingdom. There have been others before you and they all told me the truth eventually,"
Mark and Steve exchanged a startled look.
" Titus, these other Little People, what happened to them, how long ago were they here, are they still here ?" Steve fired the questions at Titus.
" I don't have to explain, but I will, as it suits me to do so," Titus said, coming to a standstill infront of the wooden box. Mark and Steve looked up at him expectantly.
" The first time I met people like you was in the third year of my reign. A blazing star fell out of the sky and landed in the palace courtyard. It caused alot of damage and killed all the occupants on impact. We salvaged what remained and found plenty to interest our scientists. The next time was several years later, this time the falling star managed to land intact, in one of the outlying areas around the city. We collected all the survivors and managed to learn even more before they succumbed to the control collars."
" You killed them," Steve stated flatly, his head bowed.
" They resisted the collar, we told them to co-operate but stubbornness appears to be a strong trait in your species," said Titus, shrugging his shoulders.
" Is that to be our fate, Titus ?" Mark asked grimly, " what about our companions, Valerie and Barry, are they dead already ?"
" Not dead, they will provide amusement for my wives, we have learnt much since the first contact with your kind, we are unlikely to lose you to careless handling, and if you adapt to the control collars you will find your life comfortable under my rule," Titus told them.
" We want our freedom, and that of our friends, we can't help you Titus, we have nothing you want," Steve shouted, his frustration evident.
" What you want is irrelevant, what I want is the only thing that counts in this land," Titus stated with conviction, " and right now I want answers to questions about the land over the sea, and you can supply me with those answers."
" Then why don't you kidnap someone your size from that land, we don't even belong here on this planet, let alone that place," Mark growled.
" We have in the past rescued fishermen and captured flying machines, but all the people in them were too ignorant or simply too unimportant to give us the knowledge we seek. You are unique in that you have lived among the people over the sea, seen their secrets, accumulated their knowledge. I'm sure there are many things locked in your heads, useful information that could aid our ultimate goal,"
" What is your goal Titus, what do you hope to achieve ?" asked Steve.
" Total conquest of course, what other purpose is there, I will become ruler of all the lands, here and over the sea, it is my right and my destiny," stated Titus, his eye's fixed on a vision that only he could see. Steve shook his head, his assessment that Titus was quite probably mad, definitely a megalomaniac, and a serious threat to their survival, all too possible for his peace of mind. They would be skating a knife edge with the unstable ruler. Steve would have to think of a way to get them out of Titus' clutches as soon as possible. Titus was still standing contemplating his vision for the future, his head thrown back, his mouth curved in a self-satisfied smile.
" You won't succeed in enslaving the people of that land Titus, because they are far in advance of your technology, they could blow you into oblivion with a touch of a button," said Steve, watching as Titus lowered his head, a sneer forming as he surveyed his tiny captives.
" You cannot frighten me, you are too small to be a threat to me, I could squash you with my clenched fist,"
" Yes you could, but the people that live in our land have machines that they can send to you here and wipe you out. You won't be able to squash them so easily."
" What machines ? You lie to save your skins, enough of this, it is time you were fitted with your collars."
" The truth won't change Titus, collars or not, we have no reason to lie, you hold all the advantage," Steve tried again.
Titus slashed his hand to shut Steve up, his expression dismissive.
" You tried your best Steve, there's no reasoning with a mad man," said Mark, turning away from the mesh and going to sit down on the wooden floor, his back against the wall.
" Reason is the only weapon we have, we have to convince Titus to send one or both of us back for proof of our claims," said Steve quietly.
" How is that going to help ?" asked Mark, not following his friends' line of thought.
" If we can get Titus to send one of us back, then maybe, with Dan's help, we can devise a way to get us all back, plus if we can convince Titus to give up his plans for conquest we secure our own future," Steve explained. " War between the continents would spell the end for our survival."
" I'm not going to argue with that...we wouldn't stand a chance if Titus succeeded."
" Lets hope my remarks about superior firepower spark some interest with Titus, he's surely going to want proof positive,"
" Where were you planning of getting that proof ?" asked Mark.
" From Inspector Kobick...where else would you find top secret information but at the SID. We know that Kobick has photographic evidence of our existence, he's bound to have other proof we can use, we just need to get it to Titus," Steve explained, casting a glance over his shoulder to see what the man in question was doing.
" Breaking into Kobick's office is not exactly an easy option, Steve,"
" That's why I need to get back to Dan and Fitzhugh, together they can do some preliminary work for when one or the other of us gets back,"
" There's alot of if's and maybe's in your plan Steve," said Mark, ruefully.
" Don't remind me, it all hinges on Titus and his curiosity about the other Giants,"
The two men heard Titus returning and got up to face the Giant ruler.
Titus was holding a small tray in his hands, his cloak taken off and hung on a rack to free his hands. Under the cloak Titus wore a simple longsleeved brown poloneck top. Without his regal robes, Titus appeared more menacing and downright dangerous. Watching him warily, Steve saw the items on the tray as Titus set it down next to the box. Two gold coloured rings caught his eye, plus an assortment of small implements that looked suspiciously like jewellers tools.
" I don't think I'm going to enjoy this," Mark observed, sharing a look of concern with Steve.
" Titus, we've told you all we know...torturing us won't change that," Steve tried, hoping to delay the Giant.
Titus ignored his captives protests and opened the door of the cage, gesturing for them to step out. Knowing that resistance was pointless, Steve and Mark stepped out and faced Titus.
" I had these collar's made by the finest jeweller in our land, you should feel privileged to wear such an object of intricate workmanship," Titus told them, holding one of the collars in a long handles clamp and turning it so it caught the light.
" Bring the designer here and we'll thank him in person," Mark said, trying to dispel the tension.
" Oh I would, he was so much better at this, but I had him killed," Titus replied, his voice deceptively bland.
Picking up another delicate tool, and belying his calm demeanour, Titus suddenly shot out a hand and encircled Mark, picking him up and carrying him over to a metal jig where a few deft movements secured Mark in preparation for attaching the collar. It had all happened so fast that Mark hadn't drawn enough breath to shout a protest, not that it would have made any difference. Steve had fallen back, the Giants hand having knocked him flying during the manoeuvre. Now, getting back on his feet, Steve watched as Titus adjusted the jig to provide the optimum exposure of Mark's neck for the placement of the control device. Steve could see Mark trying to free himself, his body twisting in a vain attempt to loosen the metal bindings. Titus, bending over the small body splayed for his dark purpose, positioned the metal ring around Mark's neck and snapped it shut, using another tool, a tiny jewellers soldering iron, to finalise the permanence of the catch. Leaving Mark while the metal cooled, Titus turned to Steve who stood like a statue, watching the whole process with horror.
" I secured your friend because he struck me as a man who wouldn't submit quietly to the control collar, was I correct in my assumption ?"
" None of us like to be forced into anything Titus. I won't submit any more readily than Mark, none of us will,"
" I expected as much from past experience with your kind. Your warped adherence to the fantasy of freedom is what keeps rebels like Androse perpetually striving to oust me from my rightful place as ruler. How futile your struggles are, why persist with fighting the inevitable, you have no hope of succeeding, anymore than the people over the sea have a chance of resisting my invasion. It will happen. I have decreed it."
" Your plans are doomed Titus, the people in the land we live in have a device that will crush any effort you make to subdue them. Listen to me, I can bring you proof of this device, proof that any campaign against these people is a waste of time and precious resources. Are you so rich in men and supplies that you can wage a pointless campaign ?" Steve could see that his words were finally getting through.
" What is this proof you speak of ?" said Titus after a brief silence.
" I can bring you photographs and documents to prove what I say, but I would need to go back to get them," said Steve, almost holding his breath in anticipation.
" How do I know you'll return with this so called proof ?"
" You are holding my friends as hostages, Titus. I don't abandon my friends." Steve stated, his gaze unfaltering.
" Then I will grant you the opportunity to obtain this proof you profess so much faith in, I will send you back over the sea, but I warn you that if you decide to stay too long, your so called friends will be executed, starting with the boy, then the woman and finally this man, but only after I extract all the information I can, then what will be left won't be worth keeping."
" If you harm them....." Steve started, then paused, getting his rage under control. " I will return Titus, there is no need to threaten me or my friends, and I will bring back the proof you demand."
" I will give you as much time as it took you to fly here and back, twice times over. That should curtail any thoughts you may have of plotting and scheming anything elaborate. You friends lives depend on your return, keep that in mind."
" You don't give me much choice Titus."
" Precisely....now, we will leave your companion here while you start on your journey back." Titus raised a hand to forestall anymore protests from Steve. " If you want to help your friends, you need to leave now, get back into the cage and you will be returned to the balloon, from there my machine will transport you back to where you started from. Hurry now, time is precious."
Steve sent Mark a speaking look, part triumph and part regret. If he was successful, Mark, Valerie and Barry would be released within a day. If Steve failed....no, he simply couldn't fail, it wasn't an option. Mark nodded imperceptibly and Steve raised a hand in acknowledgment. Turning away he climbed back into the cage and waited for Titus to secure the latch. As Titus lifted the box Steve cast one more look at Mark, still held immobile in the jig, hoping that it wouldn't be his last.
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