Max and Nick's Heinous Escapade

Max sits at the Java Cafe' and downs his third decaf triple venti nonfat 3 splenda extra hot stirred no foam caramel macchiato with whip cream and extra caramel, (the girls behind the counter have started calling it a "mini-Max" because with all that sugary stuff what's the point of the splenda and non fat?).

Nick comes in looking tired. "You could have ordered me one" He says to Max "You insisted I come here at this un-Godly hour, when you knew I've been up all night working on my proposal. You could at least have a coffee waiting for me."

"Geez, if I'd wanted to listen to someone whine I'd have called Stephanine" Max rolls his eyes and gets up to get Nick a coffee. "What do you want?"

"Coffee." Nick looks confused by the question

"Yeah I know coffee but what kind?" Max asks

"Umm the hot kind? Made with water and coffee beans? What are you talking about?" Nick answers

"But what do you want IN it?" Max asks

"Two sugars? I have no idea what you are asking. Forget it, I'll get it myself." Nick stands up and goes to the counter. He comes back with a small cup and proceeds to put two sugar packets into it.

Max watches in horror. "What IS that?

"Coffee?" Nick offers Max a taste. He takes one and gags

"That tastes like battery acid! Where's the foam? And the caramel, the mocha, the whipped cream? And does that have caffeine in it? I feel a little buzzy!" Max freaks out.

Nick stares at him like he's examining some sort of new species. Max gets over his hissy fit and takes a few sips of his own "drink" to get the taste out of his mouth.

"Are you finished? Nick asks "Can we get to the reason I'm here?"

"I don't know myself." Max says "I got this strange note in the mail yesterday saying both of us were supposed to be here at 7AM. It said the fate of everyone in Salem depended on it."

"What does that mean?" Nick asks

"I think I can answer that, gentlemen" George Carlin suddenly appears next to their table.

Max and Nick look confused, nothing out of the ordinary.

"I see you're confused" George says "Shall we retire to my office and I'll explain?"
Carlin gestures towards the men's room door.

Max and Nick exchange looks but follow him into the room.

As soon as they step inside the room changes. It becomes a huge white space with no doors or windows.

"Whoa, where are we?" Max asks

"We are nowhere." George explains "Which is where the world will be if you two don't accept this mission. There are forces at work in Salem, that if are allowed to continue, will eventually destroy the world and everyone in it."

"How do we do that?" Max asks

"With this" Carlin tosses them a large unbound manuscript. Across the front it written Days Of Our Lives Episode 1.

"I don't understand. How will this help?" Nick says

"It's simple" George explains "You two are going to go back to where it all began. Salem, November 8th 1965. You two have to stop Julie from stealing a fur in Bartlett's Department store. Her arrest sends her down a path that eventually will lead to all the insanity that goes on in Salem right now."

"My cousin Julie is the reason Salem is . . . well what it is?" Nick asks

"Well not Julie personally," George explains "But . . . well I really can't say much more without running the risk of telling you too much and possibly messing up the present."

"Well, too bad!" Max says "We aren't going anywhere until we know what's really going on here? How does one little incident in Julie's life change everything?"

Carlin sighs and waves his hand. A chair appears and he sits down. He thinks for a few minutes, then waves his hand and two more chairs materialize. "Sit down guys. Now remember what I tell you has to stay a secret. If it got out I told you this, well I don't want to think about what the consequences would be."

Max and Nick take their seats and look at Carlin. He sits a few minutes longer and then starts to speak.

"Julie, isn't a bad girl. But she's a typical SALEM girl. She wants attention and doesn't care how she gets it."

"Kind of like Chelsea" Nick whispers to Max

"EXACTLY like Chelsea!" George says "In fact you'll notice a great deal of similarities between the young Julie and your Chelsea. Both are misunderstood, and just want someone to love them. They just seem to go about it all wrong.
That's why it has to be you two. You both dated Chelsea, so you'll understand Julie."

Max and Nick let this soak in for a few minutes.

"Okay, now when Julie gets arrested, she gets taken away from her parents, Ben and Addie and sent to live with her grandparents Tom and Alice.
Because of this Ben gives up on her and takes a job in Paris that leads to Addie going with him, but she resents him for making her leave her home and family. All the stress of that job eventually kills him, and later Addie marries Doug. And if that happens it will give life to the most evil force known to man. The thing that has toppled governments, destroyed entire civilizations, and made men miserable from the beginning of time."

"What's that?" Nick asks "War? Greed? The desire for power?"

"NO!" Carlin answers "More insidious than all those put together. . . Gossip. And you two are the only ones who can stop the worst source of that poison."

"Maggie Horton?" Max and Nick ask together

"Worse. Hope Brady." Carlin says. "Hope Brady has destroyed more lives with her inability to keep even the smallest bit of information to herself. If her birth is stopped, Bo will never have to choose between her and Billie. They will stay together and raise Chelsea. Chelsea will never kill Zach or Ford Decker. And best of all Shawn Brady will never be born.

Max looks at Nick "Wow, that means Chelsea would be normal. Like not crazy, needy, whiney, normal. And you guys might actually have a real relationship."

"And without Chelsea being a freak you might still be a race car driver and you'd be able to hang on to Stephanie so she wouldn't have run off and turned into a ...a...well you know." Nick says

"And without Shawn, Belle would just marry Phillip and he wouldn't be all bitter and trying to get revenge .....WE'LL DO IT!" Max says

"Excellent!" George smiles. "Okay boys, get ready to change your lives..."


*If I get enough requests I'll continue this story tomorrow. It's up to you guys.*