When Cliff awoke, it was to find himself in a side room, on a small, rather functional bunk. The situation inside his trousers seemed to have returned to normal. He half expected to be uncomfortably sticky down there, but everything felt fine. He realised that Suzanne was standing in the doorway, cleaning her hands on some wet wipes.
"How long was I out?" he demanded. "What's going on?"
"Just a few minutes," said Suzanne. "You're fine. Look, it wasn't my idea to kidnap you-"
Cliff swung his legs off the bed and stood up. "Where's Lola? I demand you take me to her."
"Yes, of course. Look, it's a lot to take in-"
"Now."
Suzanne sighed and led him down a short corridor, to where Lola was lying in an identical bunk room. The Professor was just standing up from adjusting her skirt as they came in. Cliff glared at him suspiciously, then went to Lola's side. "Lola? Are you okay?"
Lola stirred as he spoke, and opened her eyes. She adjusted her glasses back into place and looked up at him. She was beautiful, he reflected. "Cliff... where are we?"
Cliff turned to the Professor, "I insist you let us out, now."
Professor Wot just shrugged. All of the aggression seemed to have just leaked out of him. "Of course, whatever you like..." he muttered.
Back in the control room, the Professor flipped a switch, and the large double doors swung open. Cliff stepped through, expecting to find himself back in the junkyard, and yards from the safety of his car.
***
Instead, he stood, teetering, on the edge of a cliff looking down on an arboreal paradise. The sun blazed down from overhead, and strange birds flew across the sky. The valley below seemed to be a mixture of jungle and open plains, stretching up to purple mountain tops on the other side. Next to him, Lola clutched tightly onto his hand. It was the most intimate contact they had ever had, he reflected.
"Cliff... what is going on?" she asked. He just shook his head.
Professor Wot and Suzanne had followed them outside. "Curious..." he said, "Pisspot is still a portaloo, it should change..."
"What have you done to us?" demanded Cliff, "where are we?"
"Anywhere in time and space," said the Professor, "give you a clue? Should still be your planet, but it could be anywhere from your distant past... to your distant future."
"I demand you take us back home!"
The Professor just laughed. "I couldn't if I wanted to," he said.
"Gramps can't really steer the Pisspot," explained Suzanne. "We never know where we're going to end up."
Lola gave a tiny gasp. "Are you saying we can never get back home?"
"It's extremely unlikely," huffed the old man. "But then, I can't see why you would want to. You'll have a much more interesting time travelling with us."
"You... stupid old fool!" shouted Lola. Then, sobbing she ran down a dirt path and into the woods.
Cliff shook his head. "This has to be a dream... or a nightmare."
"I'd get after her, if I were you," said the Professor. "We have no idea what dangers we might run into."