The Backyardigans Return

Time Fracture, Pt. I

Inspiration: Doctor Who and Escape The Night

Romy wasn't quite sure what she was expecting when Austin pulled her through to the other side of the fence. Maybe a mess of overgrown grass and plants covering some forgotten childhood toys. Maybe something a little bit more... illegal? 

The point was that she wasn't expecting to see a pristine landscape of perfect grass and well trimmed bushes framing three adorable pink, orange and blue houses, adorned by a picnic table with a spotty pink umbrella, a sandpit, a giant yellow slide, and a spotty blue kiddy pool with crystal clear water in it. 

This was nothing like her childhood backyard... oh wait, she lived in an apartment, there was no backyard. This also made her consider sprucing up the one she has now. 

Austin took notice of how in awe she was, and was a little confused by it. "You never seen a backyard before?" 

This broke Romy out of her trance, "I lived in an apartment complex with nothing but roads and pavements outside in a city centre, it's a miracle I even know what a tree is. But this..." she paused to gesture to the backyard before her, "This is simply breathtaking." 

Austin couldn't help but chuckle, "Well, there's a lot more to it than just natural beauty." he began to walk into the centre of the backyard.

Romy looked at him weird as she followed his lead, "You do realise that I have literally no idea what you're talking about. First you say something about historical accuracy, and now you're saying that this backyard has something else to iiiiiit..." 

Romy wasn't able to finish her sentence as her foot slipped on the grass, with Austin able to grab her before she lost balance. The two looked at the grass to see what she slipped on, and they found a piece of paper with perfectly uniform words printed on it. "It looks like it was written using a typewriter." Romy observed, with Austin's eyes lighting up immediately upon realising. 

"That means the others have already begun." 

That really caught Romy off guard, "What? Where have they gone?" 

"Not where, but when." Austin eagerly corrected her. He excitedly jumped around a little bit before taking a calming breath to explain things. "Okay. So, this backyard can bring our wildest ideas and fantasies to life, we don't know how or why, but we love it and don't question it. We have spent our childhoods letting our imaginations run wild and living through it all because of this backyard." 

Romy was completely shocked by all this, but Austin could see a curious twinkle in her eyes, so he continued, "As we grew up, it became an escape from reality. Being a teenager is hard, and this backyard has helped us through many a terrible time, but it has also been a good excuse for some senseless fun and madness. And that's what we're doing today." 

Now Romy was really intrigued, "We all have the same history class, and we love it, so, for no reason apart from a bit of fun, we're each taking on a role from a different time period, and then we're gonna meet up and show off to each other what we can do in our respective roles." he finished explaining, and the curious twinkle in Romy's eyes was replaced with bright sparks of wonder. 

"That literally sounds like a dream come true! What role in what time period do you have in mind?" she asked him, excitement evident in her voice. 

"I was thinking something a bit more simple: A novelist from the Victorian era." Austin declared, and he could practically see Romy starting to bounce in anticipation. 

"Can I come?! Please?" 

Austin chuckled, "You wouldn't be here if you weren't invited along." he then took Romy's hand and started to pull her along again, with the familiar transition music beginning to play. "Let's go, back in time to the Victorian era. To the grimy streets of London, and the much more clean hallways of my writing office, lined with books both mine and by others." 

As he said this, the backyard morphed into his office, bright and lined with bookshelves, a writing desk sitting nicely in the corner, a stack of papers for a book as well as a typewriter front and centre on the desk. 

Austin walked over to the desk, revealed to now be wearing a stylish suit with an elegant turquoise silk scarf adorned with a gold brooch, (see Alex Wassabi's costume from season 2 of 'Escape The Night' for reference). He proceeded to sit down at his desk, preparing the typewriter to begin writing. 

"So this is all real?" 

Austin looked up to see Romy, now in a fabulous, sleeveless, lavender dress with a turtleneck and slits down the sides of her legs, with silver sparkles sewn into the fabric. She was wearing matching heeled lace-up boots, a drooping diamond necklace and a matching giant headpiece with dark purple feathers on top. Her hair was curled and diamond waterfall earrings were pierced at the top tips of her ears that were sticking out from under the headdress. (see Gabbie Hanna's costume from season 2 of 'Escape The Night' for reference, as much as we hate her). 

It almost made Austin forget to breathe. 

Romy realised that his eyes were locked on her outfit, "Oh this? I've decided to also go with a vaudevillian, also from the Victorian era." she explained, "They are performers who partake in a performance style known as 'Vaudeville'. I learned about it back in my old school, and my class got to reenact a performance for the whole school." she then continued to try and give him some historical context. 

That thankfully snapped Austin out of his trance, and he lit up at the role she had chosen, "A vaudevillian? I've never actually heard of that before." 

Romy giggled, "It was part of the more glamorous side of the Victorian era, since we're showing off our love of history, I thought I'd do something a bit less well known. It started in France at the end of the 19th century, and it was huge in the US and Canada from the 1880s to the early 1930s." 

"I really like how passionate you are about history, I-I think you'd fit right in with the rest of us." Austin got up from his desk to approach her, a light floral perfume wafting past his nose. Presumably not too potent as to not irritate her enhanced sense of smell. 

"So, what books have you written as a Victorian novelist?" Romy asked him in a business tone, snapping him back to reality yet again, man he really needed to get that under control. 

He cleared his throat before speaking, "Yes. I have recently written one about the Pig War. It focuses on the perspective of Charles Griffin's Berkshire pig in Heaven watching the Pig War." 

"Ooh, did the pig regret eating Lyman Cutler's potatoes?" Romy asked him jokingly. 

"Ha! Not a chance!" Austin joked back, and the two couldn't help but laugh. 

However, their laughter turned into a yelp/scream of surprise when a giant tear opened up behind them, a strong suction pulling books off the shelves and into the void of space that was visible on the other side. Austin grabbed hold of Romy and immediately jumped to grab hold of the nearest wall, but with one arm wrapped around her, he wasn't able to hold on and his fingers started to slip. Romy used a free arm to grab onto the wall as well, but the pull was too strong, and her fingers too began to slip, leaving claw mark streaks in the wall. 

Finally, both of them lost grip, and they were sucked into the tear, out into the endless void of space, the tear sealing up after them, their screams no longer heard within the now messy office. 

The two clung to each other, shutting their eyes tightly, afraid of what would come next. Austin just hoped that it wasn't anything too bad.