Dan spent half that night staring out his window in his room to the billions of stars overhanging Rodinia and PPMC. His room was small. Its walls were painted dark gray, and Dan's bed was built into the floor. To blend in with the walls, the sheets and pillows were also dark gray. There was also a closet and dresser in the bedroom. The dresser, unlike the bed, was built into the wall, and it had a mirror hovering over it. Aside of the entrance door, which was also dark gray, was a second door that led to the bathroom. Dan's room also had a plasma screen TV that was built into the ceiling, like the one he had at home. Dan, now dressed in a red tank top and light blue pants, pressed his palm up against the window and said, "If you can hear me, Dad," A tear ran down his flushed cheek, "I just want to let you know that I miss you. Somewhere up there, is 17,019. Somewhere up there, you're watching the stars as well." He sighed sadly. Then, very slowly, his eyes rolled over to a book about 17,019 Greenville, South Carolina that his father gave him before blasting off. He told Dan that if he ever felt homesick, he could refer to it. Well, Dan felt pretty homesick right now. Maybe it was best he looked at it? Yeah, maybe it was. Dan made up his mind. Sniffing, he crawled to the book and picked it up, putting it on his lap. He read its cover, "Sights and Smells of 17,019 Greenville, South Carolina", and turned to the first page. The first section of the book was about the Valley of Green, the valley he loved to hoverscoot front in 17,019. The picture on the first page was a picture of the Valley of Green's lake, a mysterious lake that was formed after a meteor crashed into Greenville's soil, 13,000 years after 2019, in 15,015. Dan ran his hand over the picture and whispered to himself, "The Valley of Green." The next section of the book was about Titanic Park, another place in 17,019 Dan loved to visit. It was located in the heart of his neighborhood. Just looking at a picture of the park, Dan was reminded of Molly, his best friend from school who also liked to visit it, and he feebly smiled. Like with the picture of the Valley of Green's lake, Dan ran his hand over Titanic Park and whispered, "You're probably jogging in Titanic Park right now, Molly. I wish I could be there with you." He sighed. As he continued to flip through the pages, his smile gradually turned into a grin. He had forgotten how awesome his time period was. When eventually he closed the book, he pressed it up against his chest, pulled a sunshade in front of his window, and plopped down on his pillows, his grin dissolving back into a frown. Dan stared at his plasma screen TV and coughed. Reaching for his forehead, he rubbed it and moaned, saying, "Oh, I don't feel good." Turning onto his side, he dropped the book to the floor and next stared at a wall, continuing, "I think I just may be tired. Oi." He shook his head, "I'm done with the Precambrian Time. I'm ready to move on. If I could just convince PPMC." Sighing, he closed his eyes and finished with, "Then perhaps we can move on to a time period that's not as empty. Ugh!" He pulled the covers over his head, "I hate the Precambrian Time! This bites!" These were the last two sentences he spoke that night though because before Dan knew it, he had slipped into a deep and cozy slumber.

The next morning, bright and early, after breakfast, he met up with PPMC's hands in her cockpit and tried to convince her to move on to the Paleozoic Era but ended up getting involved in an argument with her instead. "Maybe I didn't hear you right?" he snapped at the starship, "WE HAVE TO MOVE ON TO THE PALEOZOIC ERA!!"

"Oh but why?" PPMC asked, "The gauntlet and I are having so much fun in the Precambrian Time. We were planning on putting together a rock band, and that volcano you met yesterday would be our manager."

"Gauntlet?!" Dan asked. He edged closer to her hands, "It's a machine! Don't be such a killjoy, PPMC! Think about me! Unlike you and the gauntlet, I'm a living being, and I'd like to make it through this time traveling without being incinerated by another erupting volcano!"

"I know, Dan," said PPMC, "but we've only been here a day. Don't you want to give the Precambrian Time another chance?" Lifting his gloved fist, Dan shouted, "No! You don't understand, PPMC! Since I've been here, I've had to wear a ridiculous sunsuit, my arm has almost been knocked off my body, I've nearly drowned, twice, and I've almost been incinerated by a freaking undersea volcano! In conclusion, this era has nearly given me a heart attack, PPMC!" Gasping, PPMC asked,

"Heart attack?!" Quickly, she dropped the gauntlet and rubbed her hands together, "My hands are equipped with defibrillators." She moved her hands towards Dan's chest, "Clear."

"Stop!" Dan hoarsely shouted. He smacked her hands away, "It's just an expression! All I'm saying is that it scared the living daylights out of me! I swear, Rodinia is nothing more than a ghostly supercontinent! There's nothing here!"

"Well duh," PPMC said, "It's the Precambrian Time."

"PPMC!" Dan growled, "I've had it with you! The Precambrian Time's history now! We are moving on to the Carboniferous!"

"Fine!" PPMC snapped, "If you want to move on to the Carboniferous, we'll move on to the Carboniferous!" Immediately, Dan smiled and asked, "Really?"

"Of course!" said PPMC. She held up her left index finger, "On one condition."

"Huh?" Dan asked, "Condition? What are you talking about, PPMC?"

"Dan," said PPMC, "Can I ask you a favor?"

"A favor?" questioned Dan. He shrugged, "Sure, as long as it gets us to the Carboniferous."

"That's good enough." PPMC said. She rubbed her hands together, "All I'm asking, Dan is for you try something out for me." Suspicious, Dan asked, "Like what, PPMC?"

"Well, kid," PPMC elucidated, "It's like this. While I was examining the PPMC Gauntlet last night, I stumbled upon something from Walmart that Professor Chenoa had packed for you to help you get out of a tight situation in case I can't get to you fast enough. All I want you to do is try them on and see if they work. If they do, I'd be glad to take you to the Carboniferous. If not, we're staying here one more day. Fair enough?"

"Try?" Dan asked, "Try them on? What are they, PPMC?" PPMC chuckled and patted his shoulder, saying,

"Dan the Man, rocket boots. They're rocket boots."

"Rocket boots?!" Dan shouted. His eyes grew wide, "You mean rocket boots like the boots every single 17,019 kid, except me, have?!"

"I-I guess," said PPMC.

"Sweet." Dan said with a grin, "I didn't realize I had my own pair of rocket boots! You've got yourself a deal, PPMC! I am awesome at technology!" Not convinced, PPMC said,

"Sure." Dan glared at her. PPMC shrugged. Then, Dan said,

"All right!" and clenched his fist, "Let's get down to business! I'll show you how a professional hoverscootist flies with rocket boots! Um," He lowered his hand, and his eyes examined the cockpit up and down, "where exactly are they, PPMC?"

"Why don't you go ahead, put on your sunsuit, and head outside, Dan the Man?" PPMC asked, "I have to find them first. I'll bring them to you." "Ugh." Dan said, "Fine but this is delaying our forward jump in time to the Paleozoic Era, Carboniferous Period, 312 million years ago."

"Well," PPMC said, slightly annoyed, "grab a straw and suck it up! Be patient! I won't be long." Groaning, Dan turned on his heel and exited the cockpit so he could grab his sunsuit. PPMC, who was left behind, giggled and said, "I've got to see this."

Twenty minutes later, Dan, now dressed in his sunsuit, returned to PPMC and found her digging around in her closet. Staggering towards her, he asked, "Hey, PPMC?" but fell onto the back of his chair, "Have you found them yet?"

"Not yet," PPMC explained, "but I'm working on it. Go ahead and head outside, Dan, and I'll bring them to you when I find them. I promise." Slightly suspicious, Dan narrowed his eyebrows and asked, "Why do I have to wait outside, PPMC? Aren't I the star of the PPMC Project?" He gasped, "What if, you made up the whole thing, and you just want to lure me outside so you can slam the door behind me, lock it, and leave me to rot on Rodinia?!"

"Dan!" PPMC shouted. She banged her hand on the ceiling of the closet, "Ow!" and shook it out, "I would never do such a thing! I just want you to go ahead and be ready by the time I give you your stupid rocket boots! That's it! There's no need for you to misunderstand me! Dang, all you humans are alike!"

"You try my patience!" Dan shouted back. He clenched his fist, "I know that's what you're planning on doing, PPMC! When will you understand that right now, we have more pressing priorities than exploring a wasteland that will soon break apart and freeze?!"

"Why can't you just, trust me?" PPMC begged.

"I'll trust you, PPMC," explained Dan, "after you prove to me that these so-called rocket boots are real!" Growling, PPMC shoved her hands into the closet again and grabbed ahold of something. "Here, Dan!" she yelled. She chucked at Dan, a pair of red-soled, black boots that had red tongues and twelve inch black rockets attached to the soles of the boots, and he caught them, yelling, falling back, "Happy?!"

"Whoa!" yelled Dan, and he held the boots up to his face, immediately grinning, "Wicked! You were telling the truth!"

"Of course!" the flustered starship snapped, "Since when do I ever lie to you, Dan the Man?! It's called the Circle of Trust! I'd appreciate it if I get an apology!"

"Okay!" Dan said. He hugged the boots to his chest, "I'm sorry! Now, PPMC," He struggled to his feet, "I'm gonna give you a show that afterwards, you'll be tempted to take me to the Carboniferous Period!"

"Sure." PPMC unconvincingly said. Growing, Dan yelled,

"Shush!" at her and hugged the boots under his right armpit, "Just carry me outside so we can get this over with!" Scoffing, PPMC said,

"I can't believe how bossy you are!" but whatever, she grabbed him by the back of his sunsuit anyway and carried him over to her hatch. Opening the door, she extended her arm so that it was now outside and dropped Dan off on the familiar Mars-like landscape. Then, she closed the hatch and crossed her arms, hands facing Dan. "Well, Dan?" she growled, "Get on with it. If you want me to take you to the Carboniferous Period today, prove to me that those rocket boots work!"

"Very well," said Dan. He set the boots down on the rocks and cracked his fingers, "I'll show you how a professional deals with rocket boots!" Chuckling, PPMC said, "Be my guest, kid."

"All right," said Dan. He lifted his right index, "Let's began shall we?"

"Yes." PPMC said nodding, "Let's."

"Now rocket boots," Dan lectured with a grin, "Are high tech boots from the year 17,019 that all the cool kids have. Like hoverscooters, they can be powered by either solar energy from the sun or electricity and can travel as fast as a hoverscooter. Rocket boots are great because they can slip on over any type of shoe within the blink of an eye. Like, watch me." He picked up the left rocket boot and slipped it on over his sunsuit's left boot no problem. Then he did the same with the other boot. Before long, seventeen year old Daniel Matton was standing with his hands on his hips and the rocket boots on his feet. "Now," he said, proud of himself, "what's next is that you have to tighten the boots around your ankles, heels, and balls so it can have a good grasp on your feet. This is very similar to hoverscooting. To tighten the boots, all you do is pull the Velcro straps. Like this." He undid the three Velcro straps on his left boot and pulled on them. "Now," he continued, "do you see how I am tightening them?" Once he tightened the first boot, he put the straps down and moved on to the next one, doing the same thing. Once he finished, he said, "Walla!" and held his left foot out to PPMC's hands, "Now I am all ready to blast off!" He put his foot down, and PPMC clapped her hands and said, "Bravo, Dan! Bravo!" Dan bowed. Then he stood up straight and placed his hands on his hips. He so got this! He was going to impress PPMC no matter what! He was going to fly around the volcanic island and do tricks in the sky, like what he did when he was hoverscooting! He just had to get into the air. Ready, Dan said, "Now, allow me to show you how they work. First...," He took a step forward and BOOM! The rocket boots went off, and Dan went flying into the air, yelling, "AHHHH!!!" and PPMC watched him from below. Dan disappeared in the dark clouds, and laughing, PPMC said, "'Well, that escalated quickly,'" and her hands went back in the direction of the hatch. Opening it, she said, "I think I'm going to go ahead and boot up the time machine anyway so we can get out of here and find him. It looks like they're some torrential rains coming. I don't want Dan to get stuck in a Precambrian flood." Once both her hands were inside her cockpit, she closed the hatch and locked it. Then she headed over to the time machine and tapped the screen that still showed the geologic time scale. Once she tapped it, the image faded away and was replaced by three buttons. The Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic buttons. She tapped the Paleozoic button, and next, a Go button filled the screen. Next, PPMC pressed a couple ceiling buttons and said, "All right, now it's time for myself to blast off. Don't worry, Dan, I'll find you."

The rocket boots' malfunction had not only taken Dan far away from PPMC, but they had also knocked him unconscious. The rocket boots dropped him off just under a cliff, not far from a mass of land volcanoes, and the second Dan landed, torrential rain plummeted down from the Precambrian clouds and hammered him. Luckily, he was wearing a waterproof suit and gauntlet. After a few minutes, he began to stir and wake up. Groaning, he turned onto his front, oblivious of the torrential rain, and coughed. His head was resting on a puddle of mud. Dan stared at it. Then he yelled, "Oh God!" and jumped to his knees, "You're kidding me right?!" He peered into the dark sky and added with, "Torrential rain! Oh no!" He pulled the rocket boots off his sunsuit's boots and leaped to his feet. Checking his surroundings, he said, "Nobody likes, torrential rain on Rodinia!" His eyes landed on the volcanoes, "Idiot boots!" and he shook the rocket boots, "Why would you drop me off right next to a mass of land volcanoes?! If those erupt, and the ash mixes with the rain, it's gonna turn into acid rain, and if the acid rain turns into sulfuric acid, I'm gonna die! Ugh!" He stomped his foot, "I hate this! I want to move on!" Thunder shook the sky, and shortly afterwards, lightning pierced it, and Dan jumped despite how close it was. The familiar, pipe organ-like sound came from the volcanoes, and he gasped, shouting, "Oh great, the volcanoes are going to erupt soon!" Not far from him, lightning slammed into Rodina's rocks, and rocks went flying everywhere. Eyes widening, Dan retreated backwards and yelled, "AHH!!" Quickly, he picked up the PPMC Gauntlet and pressed the button to call for PPMC, yelling into the screen, "PPMC, help! The volcanoes are about to erupt, and the lighting is getting closer and closer!" Unusually, PPMC didn't answer him! Confused, Dan asked, "Huh? PPMC?" and he pressed the button again, "PPMC! Where are you?!" Once again, PPMC didn't answer. Groaning, Dan once again stomped his foot. Then he made a run for it and tried to get away from the volcanoes. As he ran, he searched for a cave he could hide in, but he didn't see anything. The pipe organ-like sound grew louder and louder as the magma in each volcano kept getting closer and closer to the exit. Dan was halfway home to safety from the volcanoes when his foot crashed into a crack in Rodinia's rocks, and he fell onto his front. Peering back to his foot, Dan shouted, "Oh no!" and he grabbed it, starting to pull, but his foot was stuck! Dan continued to pull, but he wasn't making much progress. Then, to make his life in the Precambrian Time even better, a great torrent of water sloshed out from the edge of the cliff and came directly towards him! It was a Precambrian flood! At the sight of it, Dan said, "Sweet nibblits!" and he gave his foot a good jerk, but he was only succeeding in hurting it. The wave of water kept creeping closer and closer to him. High in the sky, not far from him, PPMC was flying and searching for him. Seeing him, she gasped and shouted, "Dan!" Then she saw the flood coming towards him and gasped again, starting to descend from the sky. As she descended, she said, "Oi, I'm gonna gave to put that kid in a bubble!" and called down to Dan, "Oh yodelayheehoo!" Hearing her, Dan peered up to the sky and grinned at the sight of the starship, yelling, "PPMC, it's you!" Focusing in on his foot, he grabbed it with both hands and jerked as hard as he could, crying out in pain, but finally, his foot became free, and Dan fell backwards and landed on his spine. Grabbing his rocket boots, he struggled to his feet and waved up to PPMC, shouting, "PPMC, hurry!" The torrent of water was almost at him, and Dan repeated, "Hurry!" Reaching him, PPMC said,

"Whoa, Dan, what'd you do this time to make Rodinia mad?" Her left hand extended from her hatch, and she stretched it down towards Dan who shouted, "Never mind that!" as water from the torrent of water splashed onto his helmet. He grabbed PPMC's hand with one hand and his rocket boots in the other, "Quick, pull me up!" PPMC's hand jerked, and she pulled Dan up right as the torrent of water flooded the area where he used to be. Also, one at a time, the volcanoes erupted and spewed lava, ash, and pyroclastic into the young atmosphere.

PPMC pulled Dan into her cockpit, but since she was so focused on getting him to the Carboniferous where he'd be safe, she forgot to close the hatch. She dropped Dan off behind his chair and reached for the time machine, shouting, "Hang on, Dan, we're moving on to the Carboniferous!" Dan, who was not totally, recovered from the Precambrian floods, volcanoes, and torrential rains, shouted, "Wait, PPMC!" He reached for her hand, "I'm not strapped in!" PPMC didn't hear him over the roaring of thunder, rain, volcanic eruptions, and floods. Instead, she shouted, "And we're off!" and she smacked the Go button. Immediately, the geologic time scale and a clock that had the numbers of how many million years Dan and PPMC were supposed to go back to appeared on the time machine's screen, and PPMC started to spin clockwise. Screaming, Dan fell onto his front and grabbed his chair, shouting, "I'm doomed!" Outside, there was a blast of thunder, and lava, spewed out from the volcanic eruptions, barely missed PPMC. Her clock started to beep, and its hand started to spin clockwise. Dan, who was trying his best to hang onto his seat, shouted as the starship spun faster and faster. Before long, the sound of volcanic eruptions, torrential rains, and floods died down, and Dan peered up to PPMC's windshield which her robotic hands pulled the sunshade aside. Very faintly, out the windshield, appeared green and brown blurs, and Dan gasped at the sight of them. Were those trees?! After a minute or two of insane spinning, PPMC shouted, "We're here!" and the hand on her clock stopped at 312 million years ago. Warm air blasted through her hatch, and Dan yelled as his fingertips slipped from his chair, and he slid towards PPMC's hatch, shouting, "PPMC!" PPMC, who was still spinning, yelled,

"Daniel!" but she wasn't able to grab his arm. She was spinning too fast. Dan repeated,

"PPMC!" and tried to stand but was quickly thrown to the ground again. He closed his eyes, and PPMC jerked. This jerk sent Dan flying out of her hatch and into a warm place. He shouted as he began to fall, but he wasn't able to check his surroundings because his eyes were closed. PPMC grabbed his rocket boots before they could fall too, and she sighed. Then, she slammed into dirt ground, and the force of the landing caused her hatch to snap shut. Dan's fall finally ended when he crashed face-first into none other than, a river! Yes! A real river! Before long, everything calmed down, and Dan and PPMC were officially in the Paleozoic Era, Carboniferous Period, 312 million years ago!