Spot 2: Sara_R_Stark

 Anne sat silently at the window of the museum, watching the busy traffic just outside the premises. Oh how quickly things had changed for her. She twisted the ring around her finger, feeling the familiar grooves in the gold metal. There were words carved onto the jewelry in a language she couldn't understand. It looked to be Dutch or German of some sort, and she cursed herself for not being able to read it. One day soon she would request the materials to learn the languages. Maybe then she would understand the hidden meaning behind the object.

Anne missed Edgar dearly. Of course, they only knew each other for the time span of a few hours, but it was the most meaningful time of her life. No one else had ever put her first like Edgar did. He was selfless, caring, and the kind of person she would have loved to get to know. If only her group wasn't so inclined to follow the rules, maybe she could have even brought him with them.

The thought was always with her. She could go back to the day that they met and bring him with her, but what would change? What if she never found him and she was lost in the ship as it sank beneath the waves? What then? No, it was too much of a risk that she wasn't able to take. All she could look forwards to was seeing him when she too joined him in the afterlife. Maybe then they could live the life together they were deprived of.

Sometimes she could feel Edgar with her, though. She was sure her friends would scoff at her for the thought. They would assume she only missed him to the point where she was imagining it all. Anne knew better, though. Edgar had made her a promise to be with her until the day they met again. The ring she wore was proof of that promise. He was there, and of that she was certain.

But the promise Edgar had made to her was the least of her worries at the time.

There had been a nervous buzz throughout the museum recently. Rumours flew of a potential uprising of citizens outside the walls, though no one could leave the museum to prove the theories. Some even went as far as to say that these issues would arise into a third world war. Anne was never alive for either of the world wars, but from what she had read, they sounded brutally terrifying.

She was cut out of her thoughts by a soft hand on her shoulder. Anne was too tired to jump, so she lazily raised her eyes to see Seth standing over her. The boy looked troubled, causing her to furrow her eyebrows in confusion. Anne carefully scooted over to allow him room on her windowsill, and Seth sat down heavily.

"Are you alright?" Anne asked.

"Not in the slightest," Seth sighed. "You've heard the rumours?"

"Of course. Nothing to worry about, though, right?"

"Actually..." Seth scratched the back of his neck, grimacing. "I think we should be getting worried. I eavesdropped on two of the employees talking. They're planning on sending what's left of our group back to a major battle of World War 2 to figure out how to stop this mess before it escalates further."

"So it's true?" Anne gasped. "This isn't just some rebellion?"

"No. From what I've heard, it's escalating into an entire world war."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"But why?"

"I don't know yet," Dion whispered.

Cassius nodded, looking shaken. After Seth had told him the information a few hours ago, Dion was shell-shocked as well, but he made it his goal to inform the rest of their small group. Those trapped inside the museum needed to be prepared for the possible battle ahead.

"This is it, then," Cas murmured. "All our years struggling in this museum lead up to what? A war that can't be won? The destruction of everything around us?"

"I guess so, but I need to know more before we can know for sure. There's some holo tech in a back room near the machines. If I sneak in after dark, I can try to access the news."

"You'll get in big trouble if you're caught."

"I don't think it matters right now," Dion said firmly. "If there is truly going to be a world war, all of us are going to be trapped inside this building while it's happening. And you know the types of weapons these people have. Previous world wars will look like child's play compared to the carnage that would follow an attack like this."

"What caused all of this anyways?" Cassius questioned. "It was so sudden."

"I don't know. All I've heard are rumours. That's why I need to learn more."

"Good luck then, mate. I'll tell the others."

"Tell only them," Dion instructed. "No one else needs to know what's going on. We don't want a panic."

"Of course."

With that, the two split ways, leaving Dion to figure out his plan of attack for the night ahead.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"You can't be serious, Dion."

"Of course I'm serious," Dion responded. "I want to know what's going on."

"Is it worth the punishment of being caught?" Seth argued. "Security's doubled since John tried his little stunts, and the punishments have increased for those who are found guilty of sneaking around after dark."

"I don't care. They're obviously not telling us what's going on outside the walls of the museum. How are we supposed to prepare if we don't even know what we're up against?"

"We... we don't need to prepare. If Kenneth thought we were in danger, his agents would be doing something."

"Since when have they cared about any of us?" Dion scoffed. "They send us back in time to fix their mistakes, not caring when our friends are killed in battle. We mean nothing to them. They stole us from our families and our times to come here. No one will miss us."

Seth was quiet, his face flushed with anger as he played with the hem of his shirt. He had a look of deep concentration on his face. Finally he sighed and nodded slowly.

"Alright," he grunted. "I see your point. But the punishments are severe. I don't want you getting hurt, Di."

"I won't," Dion said quickly. "But I will need your help."

"Oh now you're roping me into it? Come on, Dion. This is a dangerous game you're playing."

"I get that, Seth, but these are our people we're talking about. I've been counting down the days since we got here. It's been years. The Titanic mission was five months ago! Can you even believe it? We've spent so long with our friends that they might as well be family."

"And family comes first. I know," Seth sighed. "Fine. I'll help you, but only if you take the blame for anything that goes wrong."

"Deal. We have four hours 'til it gets dark. I suggest getting some sleep beforehand."

"Whatever you say, boss."

"Shut up."

Seth left Dion alone in his room, so the Greek went to lay down in bed and think. His mind was whirring with possibilities, but there was also an exhaustion that had been there since the Titanic trip. He was just so tired of it all. Before he knew it, he was drifting off into the familiar comforts of a dream, and the spinning in his head quieted as his vision faded into a familiar scene.

He sat at the edge of a cliff by a waterfall leading into a sparkling gap between three mountains. Green grass tickled his fingers and legs, and birds chirped in the distant trees. Why was this place so familiar? Suddenly, the wind seemed to change, and a presence sat over his shoulder that definitely had not been there before. Dion turned to his right and gasped as he saw his old friend staring back at him.

"Hello again," Heiron greeted with a small smile. "I'm sorry for how sudden this all was, but it was important that we talk."

"You know what's going on?" Dion asked, standing up expectantly. Heiron winced and nervously clenched his fists as he stared out at the sparkling blue water below them.

"I do, but I cannot tell you."

"What?!"

"Though you will not remember our encounter when you wake up," Heiron began, choosing his words carefully, "I am not allowed to reveal what is to come. That is for you to discover on your own."

"That's stupid," Dion grumbled. "I don't know what to do anymore, Heiron. How do you single handedly stop a third world war from happening without even knowing what caused it in the first place?"

"That's for you to figure out. I do suppose that's why the agents want to send you back to World War 2. Maybe you could discover a way to prevent this war from happening. I would help you more, Dion, but it appears you're already beginning to wake up."

"What?" Dion gasped clutching his head as a horrible pounding sensation began in his skull. "It's been no time at all!"

"Remember, Dion, time works differently here. I wish you good luck."

With that, Dion was thrown to the ground by an invisible force, and the impact sent him flying up in bed. His breath was laboured as he looked around, panting and sweating. Already the dream was fading from him, and his desperate attempts to claw information out of his brain left him dizzy. Annoyed, he got out of bed and left the room to collect Seth.

Their mission was about to begin.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Seth was startled awake by a knock at his door. He crept out of bed and answered it, only to see Dion standing at the other side. Seth sighed deeply and closed the door behind him, standing in the quiet darkness of the hallway.

"You've got a plan, I hope?" he whispered as Dion lead him around a corner and towards the main hall.

"I always have a plan," Dion responded, pushing Seth into a doorway as security walked past. Once the footsteps of the guards faded into the distance, they swept out into the hall once more.

It took little time for Dion to spot the door he was looking for and herd Seth inside. Along each wall of the small room sat holo pads and other outdated technology the museum couldn't find time to get rid of. Dion positioned himself at one of the holo pads, sliding his finger along the shimmering blue screen in an attempt to find anything that would help them. Within moments, he let out a little breathy noise of surprise and crunched his nose up, looking far more serious than he had when they entered the room.

"What?" Seth asked, scrambling to look at the screen too. "What did you find?"

"An ancient war between the United States of America and Australia has been reignited when the newly elected American president threatened war against the prime minister. Supposedly some American citizens are being held captive in an Australian prison due to suspicions of them spying for the American government. Allies of Australia, including many European countries, have had similar suspicions over the years and are now joining in on the fight."

"That's insane," Seth gasped. "It also says here that politicians within America's government claim that the president has a grand scheme to take over major cities within certain allied European countries. America's lack of natural resources due to overpopulation lead to this plan."

Dion's face was pale as he turned off the holo and lead Seth back to their rooms in the basement. It was clear he wasn't expecting something as large as this to happen, but how could he have known?

"What are we going to do?" Seth asked desperately as he opened up his bedroom door.

"I don't know," Dion murmured. "But I have a sneaking suspicion that they want to send us back to World War 2 for a reason. Maybe we can find something there that will help us stop this war from happening."

"If you say so. I'm going to try to get some sleep before tomorrow. Goodnight, Dion."

"Night."

Seth closed the door and left Dion standing alone in the darkness of the hallway. His heart felt like it was going a mile a minute, and his head pounded as if it was being ripped open by a hammer. This was too much for him to process. He stumbled back to his room, his vision spotting with bright flashes. Before he completely passed out, he hobbled over to his bed, finally allowing his body to drop like a stone onto the mattress.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

The next morning at breakfast, Dion spread the terrible news. The group sat by one of the windows on the main floor, eating alone as they always did. Dion's eggs and bacon sat untouched on his plate. His stomach was churning far too much for him to really eat anything.

"It was far more terrifying than we ever imagined," Seth finished for him. "Everyone's in true danger."

Everyone was silent as they processed this information. Anne looked genuinely green as she set down her breakfast plate and crossed her arms around her chest. She took a deep, steadying breath and looked up at Dion, an odd fire in her eyes that had never been there before.

"So what are we going to do about it?" she asked.

"We'll just have to wait and see," Dion replied. "The agents haven't called us out onto a mission yet. Until that moment, I'll be making nightly visits to the holo room to give us updates."

"That won't be necessary."

Everyone gasped and spun around as one of Kenneth's agents lazily propped himself up against the wall to their left. Dion's face instantly paled at the agent's smug expression. It had been barely six hours and he'd already been caught? Rats.

"I see from your expression that you understand the consequences for your actions," the agent said, grinning darkly. "Luckily for you, Dion, Kenneth wants you unharmed for your mission. Leave it to your group to discover the problem before everyone else. I will admit, I'm a little impressed."

"I don't care," Dion growled. "Tell us the mission so we may get it done quickly. If the situation is as dire as it sounds, we're running out of time."

"Sadly, you are correct. As the museum is positioned in America, we are at a very dangerous point. This war must not be allowed to escalate."

"So you're leaving it to five people to save the entire human race?" Seth scoffed. "I don't think you grasp what's at stake here."

"You need to stay quiet," the agent growled. "I am not here to start a fight. I have with me all the information you will need to complete this mission. We bring you back to the Attack on Pearl Harbor in the year 1941. Be at the machines in one hour."

With that, the agent tossed the manilla folder on the floor and left the hallway. Dion grimaced as he began leafing through the information in the booklet. Seth peered over his shoulder, looking confused at what he found.

"What will this date give us?" he asked. "There doesn't seem to be anything in here that could help us."

"It doesn't matter," Dion responded. "We need to find them what they want. This might be our most important mission yet."

Anne gulped and clutched her ring, standing up quickly. The rest got to their feet after her, silently disbanding to collect their supplies. Dion went on auto pilot as he threw everything he needed into a bag. He had gone through this process more times than he wished to admit, so it took him record time to make it to the machines. Everyone else arrived moments after he finished inputting the correct information in the machine, and they all piled in.

The bumps and whirrs as the museum raced through time no longer bothered Dion. He barely even flinched as the machine finally hit solid ground, and his head didn't spin like it used to. Everyone grabbed their bags and left the machine, sitting in a circle in the grass on the hill they just landed on. Dion spent a moment passing the folder around the group and filling them in on the basics of the time they landed in.

"The Attack on Pearl Harbor was initiated by the Japanese on December 17, 1941. Just before 8 am, fighter jets swooped down and attacked an American naval base in Hawaii. Shortly after, America declared war against Japan."

"What are we supposed to get out of this?" Seth asked, looking concerned. "This doesn't tell us how to stop a war. All we'll figure out is how to begin one."

"Kenneth must have a reason," Cassius responded.

"I agree," Dion said, nodding. He quickly reached down to check his pocket watch before sliding it back into his pocket. "Alright. We have about thirty minutes before 8 am, meaning our time here is limited. I say we don't split up this time. It'll be best to converge somewhere where we'll get a good view of the action."

"It sounds like we're going to watch a sporting event," Seth said sadly.

"If only life was easy like that."

Dion lead the group off the hill and towards the nearest houses, constantly scanning the sky for any signs of planes. Nothing happened in the beginning, so they continued to make their way to where the ocean lapped at the shore of the island. Dion could feel his hands shaking as he gestured for the group to stop after they had been walking for twenty minutes. They all stood in silence, eyes sharp for anything out of the ordinary, when the sudden sound of planes in the sky towards their right made them all jump.

Dion watched with grim curiosity as the planes zipped over their heads towards the base. When the machines dipped below the tree line, all they could do was listen as a sudden boom rattled the ground underneath their feet. Anne nearly fell back onto the pavement but was caught by Seth, though his eyes never left the cloud of orange fire expanding into the sky. It was so unbelievably sudden that Dion could barely process the fact that it had happened already. What were they there for again?

"Come on, guys!" Dion shouted, his feet moving before his mind realized where he was going. "We need to see what happened!"

The group thundered down the street towards where the screams were loudest. Dion pushed and shoved his way through the crowd of people to see what was going on, and his eyes widened at the utter devastation before him. Bodies littered the street ahead, smoke rising from their clothes. The spot of the explosion was still burning, and the fire was beginning to lick at the buildings nearest to it. Ash and smoke rose into the air in a thick black cloud, blotting out the sun and chilling even those closest to the fire.

Dion watched as everyone made a mad dash to exit the scene of the attack. Moans of the wounded and the sobbing of children ate at Dion's heart, and he half heartedly covered his ears to block out the noise. Everyone around him hugged one another, pulling them as far from the fire as possible. Half of these people didn't even seem to know each other, but it was a collective effort to save as many as possible. Dion watched two men race forwards and carry and wounded man off the street and into a shop to their right, and to his left, two kids no older than twelve carried their mother back down the street. It seemed she had lost her entire left leg.

Within moments, the five of them were the only ones still stuck staring at the fire. Dion's mind tried to process what he had scene. It was all so sudden. He hadn't even witnessed the initial explosion and they had only been in America for no longer than thirty minutes before this, so why did he feel so terrible? With a stunningly vivid moment of clarity, it all made sense to him why they were sent back here.

The only people who could prevent a war were those caught in the middle of it.

All of these people had just seen the most traumatic event of their lives, yet they put themselves out there to save those they didn't even know. It was them banding together that saved the wounded unable to crawl off the street on their own. It was their banding together that forced screaming children to safety away from the fire. It was their banding together that saved all those that could be saved. Dion sucked in a surprised but pleased breath, feeling warmth spread throughout his body at the realization.

"Back to the machine!" Dion shouted. "I've figured it out! Back to the machine!"

Spot 3: ariel_paiement1

Lucia struggled to muster the motivation to get out of bed. Aetius lay curled beside her, his nose buried in the crook of her neck and one arm draped over her side. His fingers splayed close to her abdomen, holding her loosely against him. She let her eyes drift shut, and his warmth seeped through her cold body. The warmth never reached her soul, but it rarely did these days.

It had been two weeks since Manfred's death, and she still couldn't come to terms with it. Aetius and the others had been stunned as well, though Aetius had bounced back more quickly than the others. The majority of the groups had lost people close to them, and returning to discover that Manfred—the one who had become a beloved, cherished leader—had lost his life in the explosion of the shuttle had been too much. No one moved around the quiet basement in the wee hours of the morning as she lay there curled against Aetius.

She and Aetius were the only two who still maintained a working order. The rest of the museum occupants spent their times sleeping, eating, or staring at walls. Most of them refused to even entertain the notion of traveling back in time anymore. Let the time line unravel, they'd said. What was about this life worth living for anyway?

Lucia didn't agree with them. I may hae lost many people, but I still hae Aetius. He's worth livin' for. I cannae give up when he's at risk. She lifted a hand and rested it in his thick mop of dark hair, sighing. A certain lightness infused her head, making the world sway, and she wished she could ignore the duties they had to sleep here with Aetius a little longer.

That wasn't an option.

Aetius stirred, his grip tightening on her, and he pulled her body flush to his. His lips caressed the pulse point at the side of her neck, and she groaned. It wasn't an option to stay here like this, but how she wished she could! "Aetius—"

He trailed those warm, chapped lips over her bared shoulder with a smile.

"We cannae do this right noo." She tilted her head back with a whimper. "We hae to get up and start figurin' out what to do about the war brewin' outwith."

"I love when you let that brogue of yours slip out." His tongue flicked over her skin, and she gasped.

The war, she reminded herself. When they'd returned two weeks ago, the machine had begun blaring warnings about another world war, and this time, it was brewing right outside. Rumors on the street were that the war was over something that occurred in World War I. Apparently, the descendants of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Isabella had decided that their ancestors' wishes had been for them to take the first opportunity to avenge them against the country who had started it all—Serbia. Since Serbia was bordering the country one of these descendants ruled, they'd gotten into a war with the Serbs, and from there, countries lined up on all sides to stop the fighting. Currently, the fighting was at a standstill as negotiations went on, but they weren't going well, and at any moment, things could erupt into a war.

It shouldn't have been this way. No documents had ever been found saying that vengeance for the Archduke's death should be taken, but suddenly they'd popped up. Aetius's mouth pressed to her jaw just below her earlobe, and she almost lost her train of thought. "Aetius, stop. Ye cannae go distractin' me from whit we need to be doin'," she hissed.

"And why is that, love?" He traced the shell of her ear with his tongue. "You need a break from all this."

She shook her head, shivering as his mouth continued its ministrations against her skin. "Ah umnae in need o' that. Not noo. When we solve this bloody mess, then I dinnae mind."

He sighed and rolled away from her. "Very well. What's next then, my lady?"

She sat up, fixing the neckline of his shirt to cover her more modestly and tucking it back into the breeches she'd borrowed from the museum's costuming section. "Gaunnae the second world war, that's whit."

Aetius scrambled to his feet and gave her a hand up, glancing around the room as he did. "Why there?"

"Because that war caused this dighted mess." She took his offered hand and let him pull her to her feet. The rest of the room's inhabitants remained asleep, oblivious to the whispering couple standing by the door.

He bit his lip. "Then we'll go together." His gaze swept over the room. "Without them because they refuse to fight for what is ours."

Lucia raised her hand to his face, stroking his cheek and bringing his attention back to her."Aetius, love, dinnae blame them fer choosin' not to keep on. Ye dinnae wanna go on when we returned to find oot Manfred was deid."

"It just makes me mad that they won't pull themselves together and fight anyway." He turned his head, pressing his lips to her palms. "But things are what they are. Shall we go then?"

Lucia nodded.

***

Aetius determined to find a way to ease Lucia's stress and anguish. He knew she was working herself to the bone trying to figure out how to fix all the time line issues, and she'd been going on the missions alone more frequently the past few weeks because everyone else was still trying to cope with the losses they'd sustained. News of the brewing World War III didn't help matters.

This morning had been the first attempt to enact his plan, but she'd turned him down. He couldn't help feeling a twinge of disappointment. She's been avoiding me for the last two weeks. Did I do something? He didn't think so. She'd passed the night in his bed, letting him hold her and even reciprocating the tentative kisses he bestowed on her. He knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her, and he could see the longing in her eyes whenever they had a quiet moment to enjoy each other's company. Still, she held herself back as the burden of fixing the time line weighed heavier on her shoulders with each passing day.

They settled into the time machine, and he watched her flick switches and click buttons. Then she hauled the time machine door shut and pressed the launch button with a sigh. "Poor lassie's run ragged."

"Run ragged?" Aetius raised a brow.

Lucia flopped into her chair, patting the dashboard of the machine with a fond gleam in her gaze. "Aye. She's been doin' too much. Ah umnae gonnae be able to fix her fer much longer. She was ne'er meant fer this sorta prolonged travel."

Aetius spun his chair to face hers. "So, it'll take longer to get there?"

"Least thirty minutes, I wud guess." She fidgeted with the hem of his shirt.

His muscles clenched at seeing her in his clothing. A warmth bloomed in his chest, and he recognized the sensation as pride. Pride that she was clearly marked as his woman. Beneath the pride, though, burned a deeper emotion: love. This woman was his, but he also knew that meant she was his to protect and cherish, not just to fulfill his desires. He had been thinking a lot since coming back from the Challenger mission, and he didn't know how much time they had left, but he knew he wanted her to be his in every way. "Have you ever thought about getting married?"

Her gaze snapped up to his. "Merrit? I was once, ye ken." She bit her lip. "Didnae end so well."

He sucked in a deep breath. "The man was a fool."

She stared at him, anger tightening her features for a moment. Then she relaxed and nodded. "He lost his heid to the liquor. I dinnae ken how losing the war meant so much, but it did."

"What if someone asked you? Would you say yes?" He eyed her, his muscles tensing as he awaited her answer.

A sad smile flitted over her lips. "Wud ye be askin' fer any specific reason, Aetius Caelius?"

Aetius gulped and looked away. "Maybe. But would you? Say yes, that is?"

Lucia cleared her throat. "That wud depend on who was doin' the askin'."

"If it were I?" Aetius glanced at her to find her lips parted and her cheeks flushed.

"Are ye?"

"Yes?" Aetius stroked the hilt of the sword at his hip, his heart hammering against his ribcage. He doubted he could stand for her to refuse him now.

"Ye mean it?" Lucia's lower lip wobbled, and tears filled her eyes.

He sucked in a breath and stood from his chair to fall to his knees in front of her. Reaching up, he brushed away the tears with a frown. "Don't cry, love. If my request pains you that much, I'll take it back."

She leaned into his touch, shaking her head. "It's happy ye make me, Aetius. I ne'er thought to see the day when ye'd be askin' me this."

"So—" Aetius pursed his lips. "So, is that a yes?"

She nodded, her tears spilling over her lashes. "Aye. I'll marry ye, Aetius. But we've no kirk to hae the ceremony."

He stroked her cheek. "Don't concern yourself with that. We'll find one. But I want it to be in Scotland. During your own time."

Her palms cupped his jaw, and her gaze lit with joy at his suggestion. She dipped her head and fused their lips together with a cry. He pulled her from the chair to straddle his lap, holding her there as he plundered her mouth. She clung to him, her fingers digging into his shoulders as they engaged in a duel for dominance. He gave in to her at last, fierce joy filling him as he let her have her way.

The time machine landed with a jolt, throwing her into his body as he braced himself against the chair to keep them both upright. He kept their mouths loosely locked, running his tongue over her lower lip. Then he pulled back and brushed the wild strands of hair from her face with a laugh. "You like that idea then?"

She nodded, burying her face against his chest for a moment. "We'd best be gaunnae see Maximilian Ferdinand."

"Who's that?" Aetius wrapped his arms around her, not feeling inclined to move yet.

"He's the son of Archduke Ferdinand. And it's his letters that hae got the world aff their heids." She sighed. "We're in the year 1938, the year before the second world war began. We hae to convince him not to write those instructions or not to tell his bairns to carry vengeance down through the centuries."

Aetius gripped her hips and lifted her off him. "And we'll do just that, love. Don't worry about it."

She scrambled to her feet with a nod. "Aye, we'll make sure those letters dinnae survive."

***

The guards at the gate to Artstetten castle peered at them. "You say you're here with urgent news for the Duke?"

Aetius nodded with a smile, thankful their earpieces worked so well. Otherwise this could be difficult. "It pertains to the war that has ended and to his family directly."

"I'll see if he's available." The younger of the two soldiers marched in the direction of the castle, leaving Aetius and Lucia alone at the gate with the other soldier.

The three of them eyed one another and shifted about uncomfortably. The guard cleared his throat. "Did you folks travel far to get here?"

Lucia and Aetius exchanged glances with soft smiles. "I suppose you could say we have." Lucia ducked her head. "But the message we have for the Duke is urgent."

The sound of footsteps on gravel grabbed the group's attention, and they turned to see the younger soldier striding down the gravel lane. "The Duke will see you now. Allow me to escort up to his office."

"Thank you, sir." Aetius took Lucia's hand and placed it on the crook of his arm, scanning her form, which was outlined in a trim dress that flared over her broad hips and accented her breasts.

She caught him staring and narrowed her eyes, warning him off. The soldier had moved ahead, and she tugged Aetius along with a sigh. "Stare when ye've wed me, ye rake."

He snickered. "I've already seen it all, love."

"It doesnae mean ye need to stare in public, ye scunner."

Rolling his eyes, he tugged her closer to whisper in her ear. "Don't be insulting me now. I might have to punish you later."

"Yer impossible, Aetius Caelius!" She smacked his head. "An' if ye dinnae cease yer babble, I'll skelp ye again."

He rubbed the spot she'd hit him with a huff. "Fine then. I won't try to sweet talk you in public again."

She cocked her head to the side with a flirty smirk, and Aetius glared at her.

"Ye just see that ye dinnae." She patted his arm. "An' ye willnae find yer limbs missin'."

"This is why I love you," he muttered. "So full of fire."

"Ah am verra glad yer pleased wi' me." She grinned.

The soldier turned to them with a strange expression on his face, and his nose twitched as he eyed them. "I can hear you, you know."

Lucia stifled a laugh, and Aetius felt the blood rushing to his cheeks. He bit his lip and held in his retort. It had been his fault the poor man had to hear all of that, and he squirmed inside at the thought that someone else had overheard his teasing. Lucia took one look at his face, and her laughter died.

"Our apologies, good sir." Aetius cleared his throat and gazed up at the towering doors into the castle. "The Duke's home is quite beautiful."

The man nodded with a grin. "That it is. This way please." He shoved open the large doors and led the way inside.

A white-haired man with twinkling blue eyes and a hunched back greeted them with a smile. "Duke Maximilian is waiting in his study and has asked me to escort you to him." He turned and bowed stiffly to the soldier, straightening and rubbing his back. "Sergeant, I'm getting too old to be bowing to you."

The young man bellowed in laughter. "So you tell me every time, Alajos. I don't believe a word of it. You're sprier than my gelding is."

A grin illuminated Alajos's face, deepening the wrinkles and creating more fine lines around his eyes and mouth. "If you say so, Sergeant. Now, back to your post. I've got a handle on this situation, and I'll escort the young Mr and Missus."

Lucia shifted closer to Aetius, and he glanced down to find her cheeks glowing with a blush. He smiled and squeezed her hand where it rested against his arm. She gazed up at him with a shy twinkle at the corners of her mouth.

Alajos saw the sergeant out the door and closed it behind the young soldier. Turning back to them, he extended his arm toward a staircase off to the side of the entry hallway. "This way, please."

***

The two of them sat in front of Maximilian's desk, staring at the man with slicked-back black hair. He stared back with a dark brown, contemplative gaze. Steepling his fingers, he leaned his elbows on the desk. "Let me make certain I understand. You vant me to agree not to encourage my descendants to take their revenge for my father. And you vant me to destroy the letters I have vritten to my eldest son asking him to carry on that legacy?" He shook his head with a snort. "Vhere did you even discover that I had such plans? Are you a vitch, madam?"

Lucia colored, and Aetius laid a hand on her knee to restrain her. She glowered at the Duke. "I am nae a witch. I came from the future to warn ye, sir. If ye dinnae desist, ye will cause the deaths of millions more in another world war. Ye cannae wish to cause the sort of carnage yer parents' deaths caused, can ye?" She leaned forward, clasping her hands to her breast. "Sir, I dinnae ken ye, but I ken the reports of ye in my time, and they all say ye were a wise man with principles. Ye stood up to the German regime. I'm beggin' ye from the bottom of my hert. Dinnae dae this, sir."

Maximilian's troubled gaze landed on Aetius. "Control your wife, man! This is simply unacceptable."

"What she says is true, my lord. If you proceed with this, then one of the more radical members of your lineage is going to start another world war. Do you wish to see that happen simply to avenge your parents?" Aetius tugged Lucia back in her chair with a warning look. "You see the destruction the last one caused. Hasn't the blood spilled been enough to sate your desire for revenge?"

Maximilian ran his hands through his hair with a growl. Shoving away from the desk, he began prowling the length of his office. "You two speak madness! Surely a feud between my family and the Serbs who did this heinous act vould not cause such a thing."

"If you need proof, sir, we will show you." Aetius pulled his device from his pocket and tapped a few buttons. Video footage popped up on the screen.

The Duke recoiled, staring at the screen with wide eyes. "Vat devilry is this?"

"This, sir, is the future." Aetius turned the screen and placed it on the desk, hitting the play button.

Screams emanated from the device, and the Duke flinched, staring at the screen in unadulterated horror. He twisted his handkerchief between his fingers as he watched the senseless violence of the mob as it shot down any who got in the way to get at a group defending the Serbian flag. Maximilian's fingers shook as he pointed to the footage. "You say this is vat vill happen in your time if I insist upon revenge?"

Aetius took the device back and stopped the footage. "Yes." He slipped the device back into his pocket, his gaze still trained on Maximilian.

Maximilian collapsed back into his chair with a vacant gaze. "All that destruction. So much death. I cannot believe—" He shook his head. "This sorcery is beyond me."

"It isn't sorcery." Aetius stood, pulling Lucia to her feet. "And if you don't listen to us, you will die with this on your hands. Their blood will be on your conscience."

The Duke shook his head, eyes closing as if he could block out the horrible things he had just witnessed. "I—" He swallowed. "I suppose I cannot take the risk of this happening."

"Then ye willnae seek vengeance for your parents?" Lucia clung to Aetius, her lower lip caught between her pearly teeth.

"I vill not. Innocents do not deserve to die for those who are already dead and gone." The man slumped back in his chair, his face slack and his shoulders slumped. "It vill not fix things. I only vish—" He buried his face in his hands. "But vishes will achieve nothing, vill they?"

Aetius and Lucia remained silent, watching the man struggle with letting go of the anger in his heart and the revenge he'd clung to all these years.

"No, vishes achieve nothing." Duke Maximilian took a shuddering breath.

Aetius swore he saw tears glinting on the thirty-six year old man's weathered cheeks.

"I vill not be responsible for those deaths." He lifted his tear-streaked face to look at them. "It vill not bring them back." His face contorted with a mixture of grief and anger. "The Serbs have taken them away from me. But they have paid with their blood." He scrubbed his hand down his face. "Leave me, strangers from another time. I do not vish to look on your faces anymore."

Aetius nodded and bowed to the man.

Lucia followed his example with a curtsy. "We thank ye, sir," she murmured.

Aetius wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her from the room. When they'd left the study and shut the door behind them, she sagged against him, tears running down her face. "Aetius, he suffered so. Och, 'tis no fair."

Aetius wrapped her in his arms and pet her hair, rocking her back and forth. "Shh, love. I know. But we cannot change the way things were. Only put them back that way."

She clung to him, swallowing back her tears with shuddering breaths. "Aye, I ken." She pulled away from him and composed herself with a sniffle. "Well, we've averted one disaster. Methinks ye ought to be takin' me home noo and fulfillin' that promise ye made me."

Aetius laughed, threading her hand through the crook of his arm. "Yes, I'll take you home. And perhaps tomorrow we'll fulfill that promise I made you, love."

The butler poked his head around the corner, his blue eyes twinkling. "Are you to be on your way then?"

Aetius nodded. "Thank you for your kindness to us, sir."

Alajos waved them off. "It's my job. Now then, if you'll follow me, I'll see you to the door."

The two of them followed after him without protest. Aetius thought about the broken man they'd left upstairs as Alajos led them back through the carpet-lined halls and past teak-wood furniture to the entrance. The look of anguish on the man's face made his gut clench, and he wished they hadn't been forced to make Maximilian let go of his parents like that. Then again...Aetius grimaced. Sometimes, the only way we'll let go of our cherished dreams, no matter how twisted they've become, is through violent intervention. And so it is now. We've averted the war, but we've broken a man's hope for closure in doing so. I wonder if it was the right choice.

Lucia looked up at him as he nodded farewell to the soldiers guarding the gate and led her back down toward the spot where they'd hidden the time machine. "Aetius?"

He glanced down at her. "Yes, love?"

"Ye did the right thing."

A sad smile worked its way onto his lips. "You think?"

"I dinnae think. I ken."

He stopped on the threshold of the time machine. Gods, I love this woman. She's beautiful in every meaning of the word. Taking hold of her waist, he lifted her into the air, settling her lips on his. She squealed and grabbed his shoulders to steady herself. When he swung her into his arms bridal-style, she rested her head against his chest with a sigh. "An' what was that aw aboot, ye dighted mon?"

He smiled. "Nothing. I just realized how lucky I am to have a woman like you."

She smacked his chest. "Yer such a flatterer, ye ken that?"

A snicker escaped him as he strode over the threshold of the time machine, dipping his head to capture her mouth with his. "I know that very well, woman."

She laughed, hungrily accepting his kiss. "We did it, Aetius. We dinnae fail."

He suckled her bottom lip with a smile. "Indeed."

Their relieved laughter echoed around the interior of the machine, and with that, the door slammed shut with a bang on the happy couple. The machine took off, rocketing through time and space to take them home while the two celebrated their success together on the return journey.

Spot 4: MusicgirlXD

Coughs resounded in the dim light cabin. A chill raced down Hamon's spine. Thanks to Eletta both the Egyptian and the roman found themselves in a concentration camp. Growling, the advisor gripped his shirt tight. The men, in the camp, where forced to wear stripped cloths with the star of David on their chest. Pulling downwards, Hamon ripped the shirt off; tossed it on the floor.

Sunbeams made their way through holes in the siding. Through the dimness, Hamon noticed a man of similar build wondering around the door. Alexander had something on mind. Crossing his arms, the Egyptian shook his head. With his charcoal skin and Alexander's commanding voice, why did the Germans ever believe they were jews. The Egyptian watched Alexander put his fist through the door; cursing in his native tongue. Roman's despised jews. For him to be title as one was a death threat. Making his way over, Hamon grumbled. Eletta tricked them into visiting World War II. He tired of her antics.

Shouting echoed from the other of the door. The men jumped back as the door slide open. Sunlight illuminated the inside of cabin. Solders rushed in grabbing the men; forcing them in the sun. Hamon and Alexander followed. Standing outside, the men noticed the camp had buildings scattered about, a barbed ware fence wrapped around them and train tracks were on the outside of the fence.

Tapping Alexander's shoulder, Hamon swung his head towards the gate. The men exchanged glances before bolting for the door. Men raced after them. The Egyptian reached the gate before the Roman. Hamon glanced around before he continued. Somewhere in the distance a whistle blew. Horns began to sound.

Hamon swallowed hard. Men were down on their knees pointing rifles at them. If he had his whip or Alexander his sword, they could rush them and leave. However, they were weaponless. A shadow rained down on them from above. The men glanced up. A whip fully coiled fell from sky along with a sword still in its hilt.

Smirking, Hamon grabbed the whip and snapped it quickly against the guns. The coil wrapped around the barrels. Pulling back, the gun pulled out of the man's hands and hitting those next him in the process. Alexander charged forward with his blade drawn. A figure, wearing a brimmed hat with a feather poking out landed in front of the men the back. Blade in both hand, the figure made quick work of the men.

Alexander followed suite, ending the men in front. The figure turned to face them. Her red hair was unforgettable. Eletta glared at the men before rushing towards the commander. Men jumped in her way. Hamon followed. The Egyptian didn't know what she had planned but loved a massacre any day. Men fired at the pirate. Hamon watched as she jumped into the air and slammed her boot into the captain's face. "We are here to free you! The woman are waiting for you down the the track. If you hurry, you can make it there alive."

The jewish men rushed for the gate. Eletta laughed; pulled her brim down low. Hamon continued fighting the soldiers. Hamon watched as the pirate jumped in the air once more, landing on the roof of a nearby building. Something was very different with her. The Egyptian could tell from the distance that she enjoyed watching the camp run like ants.

Spot 5: JesterheadJohnSnow

"This is outrageous! It's preposterous! What on earth transpired in that madman's mind? Tell me, I demand of you!"

From where he lay on his mattress, Akh craned his head to see Thomas hollering at two security guards at the doorway that lead to the exhibit section of the Museums. The sight of the sleek metallic doors and the sound they made when they slid open still made the Pharaoh shudder. It was like a wind that materialized out of the blue. Fortunately, they never had to leave the basement in what felt like months. Despite encountering several death-defying situations in different time periods, Akh was grateful that he didn't have to stand for long periods of time without a break inside those tiny and compressing stands that invoked a claustrophobic feeling within him.

"Does Tommy boy need to be put on meds now?"

Akh glanced to his right to see Paul oiling his rifle. Beside him, Tut watched him like a young boy would view a lion at a modern-day zoo.

"I am beginning to think he needs help." Akh shook his head, chuckling. Ever since they had prevented him from remaining in his era, the colonist's mental state had seemed to deteriorate significantly. The same could be said for Zheng Chenggong after that stunt he pulled with Hijikata.

"How can you put your own agents in the line of death with no inkling of remorse? You are all flea-ridden dogs! All of you!"

Starkad stepped into Akh's quarters before crossing his arms, turning his large head to Thomas's direction. A small crowd was gathering around the former spy as he engaged in a venom-laced diatribe toward the black-clad security agents. It seemed that the Museum's occupants were attracted to disturbances like moths to a light source.

"I fear for his mental well-being," Starkad murmured. "It's the second time in a week that he has engaged in a meltdown of sorts."

"Who can blame him?" Kepler linked up with the crew. "He vash jusht forced into a precarioush shituashun not long ago."

"So was I." Chenggong rounded the corner with Xinyi. "Taht is no excuse to stir up troubre. "

"You are saying that we should walk over and restrain him before he inadvertently elicits a reaction from Kenneth or any of his lackeys?" Akh sat up on his bed.

"Precisery."

Paul rose as well. "Who will volunteer for the task? Count me out."

---

Seiji sat in an abandoned section of the basement, his eyes closed. A shiny katana lay at his feet as the samurai warrior attempted to meditate once again. It felt liberating to be back in kamishimo attire after several long hours of donning Western jeans and other clothing. It was beyond the samurai how the Westerners could tolerate such constrictive attire.

"Take me to your leader at once! I demand you to comply immediately! If you can't carry out such a feat, then tell your master to bring his flea-ridden arse here himself!"

Startled out of his reverie, Seiji's eyes popped open. Craning his neck to the left, Seiji's almond-shaped eyes turned to fixate on Thomas, who was engaged in a nonsensical rant against two of Kenneth's guards. Amused by the Western rebel's diatribe that was directed at the guards, the Eastern warrior rose to his feet and sauntered over to where a small crowd had gathered to spectate the event. Standing beside a man the same build as Starkad as well as a second man dressed in what looked like a greenish skirt, Seiji watched Thomas hurl insults at the Museum guards.

It's not as if they don't deserve every insult thrown at them. They have no shred of honor within their blood, especially not their despicable leader.

Seiji's fist clenched as he recalled Minseo and the other agents that were killed thanks to Kenneth's nefarious delusions. If it hadn't been for the dastardly director, no one would have to put their necks on the line to undo his errors. It wasn't long when he had recently rescued that little girl aboard the doomed plane and had to comfort her afterwards as she grieved for her dead mother. His fist clenched at the memory. He wasn't sure if that was supposed to happen or not, but the girl's screams of anguish still made his blood run cold.

"Enough! It is time for all of you to disperse!"

Seiji whirled around to see several men dressed in black armor, helmets, and what looked like metal sticks arrive. They reminded the warrior of the shinobi based on how they had their faces covered, but the shadow warriors never dressed in heavy gear. After all, they needed to move around quickly and the gear would just hamper their movements. Nearby, some lady in Western Renaissance garb muttered something about riot police.

The newcomers stopped between Thomas and the rest of the time travelers. The leader stepped forward, his brown eyes darting between everyone in the room before he cleared his throat to speak.

"All of you, go back to your quarters! You are causing unnecessary unrest, which is against regulations. If this persists, we have been given orders to take apart this small demonstration by force!"

Seiji noticed Thomas whirl around to face the riot police guy, his face a mask of fury.

"The coward himself lacks the gall to face me himself so he sends his emissaries to take me down?Is that it? I will not go down without a struggle!"

The leader of the masked men didn't flinch or give ground. "Sir, I will ask you this only once. Please unwind and put an end to your ridiculous demonstration before my men tranquilize you."

Seiji felt his fist clench yet again. Despite being a levelheaded and reasonable figure, his hatred for Kenneth and the Museum seemed to get the better of him.

"Don't you dare address me as a rabid dog!" Thomas roared.

"This is your final warning," the riot guy responded. "It is your last chance to stand down before"-

Unable to stand it anymore, Seiji flicked his katana's edge as he drew it. Letting out a battle cry, the warrior charged at the riot control team and swung his weapon at the leader. A loud clang signaled that another sword had prevented his blade from making contact with his intended target. The parrying sword had a Western design as opposed to the Eastern-style sword he possessed.

"Don't even think about it," a voice whispered in French. "All you would accomplish is to exacerbate the situation for the rest of us."

Seiji noticed that the weapon and the voice belonged to none other than Lanre. Ever since the Crusader had learned that Seiji had known some French picked up from the advisers that were providing support for the Bakufu, the two had started establishing a sort of friendship. His agitated mind finally able to return to logical thinking, the samurai sheathed his weapon and stood down. Behind Lanre, Starkad and the rest of the squad dragged a struggling Thomas away.

Well, that ends this incident for now.

---

"We have some breaking news.It appears that the United Arab Federation is accusing the Britannica and Europa of supporting KSA rebels in the south of the peninsula. The UAF claim that they have proof of aircraft with the emblem of the two countries airdropping weapons and aid to the rebels which Europa denies. On the other side of the world, war between the Austrolasian and the Indochinese Empire is threatening to erupt as the conflict over the disputed islands heightens. The Americas and the Japanese States are sending delegates to help diffuse the situation. These are indeed troubling times."

Paul nearly choked on his rice bowl as he watched the news report on the large television plastered on the metallic gray walls of the basement's dining room. The American G.I. fiddled with his chopsticks as he contemplated what that meant for the Museum employees. If he recalled how the geography of this current time period stood, he would assume that they were located somewhere in the Americas, most likely what used to be the United States. He could only guess as to what the other nations used to be based upon their names. Austrolasia might consist of Australia and Tasmania as well as those many islans in the Great Barrier reef while the United Arab Federation might consist of nations like Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.

"That doesn't seem promising, huh?"

Paul glanced to his right to see his fellow American soldier Joel and the Soviet captain Dragunov take a seat beside him.

"It definitely reminds me of my teenage years when we despaired at the mere thought of Nazi paratroopers or Japanese soldiers invading American lands. "

"Don't forget zhat I had to fight off zhe Nazi eenvazion force during a harzh veenter." Viktor Dragunov leaned against the wall as he opened a fresh bottle of vodka. "Eef eet hadn't been for us, your country vould have been overrun by the Germans."

"I wouldn't go so far as to suggest a scenario of that caliber, but the Russians had taken a great burden off our shoulders. Stalingrad was a deathtrap for the Jerries, lightening our load. I only wish you'd do the same to those no good Japs." Joel sighed.

"Vell, vee had run zhem off een zhe border deezputez you call zhe battlez of Khalkhyn Ghol. Zhe 57th Coprz from zhe Tranz-Baikal Military Deeztreect had zupport from zhe Mongolian Cavalry vhile zhe Japanese had zheir 23rd Infantry Division and zheir Kwantung Army encroach on our land from zhe eazt near zhe village of Nomonhan. Fortunately, zhe Mozherland's forcez vere too much for zhe invaderz."

Paul exchanged an amused glance with Joel before taking another bite of his Kung Pao chicken. "Well, it sounds like your troops displayed valiant effort in preventing the Japanese from invading your country. Were you actually there?"

"Vell..." The Soviet soldier smiled sheepishly. "I vas at a meeting een Riazan, but I vas enroute to zhe site-"

Before Viktor could proceed, a neon blue flash lit the vicinity, capturing the attention of the time travelers. Paul then noticed a blueish aura fill the area as the holograms of two figures apparated in the center of the room. He recognized the bald man as Kenneth and the woman accompanying him as Betty. The G.I. had no love for either of them.

"Good evening, my dear employees." Kenneth broke the silence. "I apologize if I am intruding on your valuable time, but some dire events that need our attention have come up recently. I will let my assistant do the honors of explaining what I mean."

Kenneth glanced over at Betty as the young woman stepped forward, her aura lighting up the dark corners of the break room with a sharp blue hue. "Thank you, Kenneth. Now, if any of you follow the events of our time period, you may be aware that the whole world is on edge due to the long anticipated Third World War being imminent. What makes it worse is that each of the superpowers of our time period possess dangerous weapons of mass destruction of the likes never seen before. This war must be avoided at all costs for the sake of humanity."

Paul felt his breath hitch as he digested what the annoying woman had conveyed to them. A third World War? He had lived through the second one as a kid and the constant anxiety gnawing at him during that time was something no one should have to go through-ever!

"How do we stop this war?" Betty blew a bubble from the gum she was chewing on before she proceeded with her lecture. "The politicians from the countries of our era are vigorously working away at the comfort of their own offices while the militaries of the world are drilling intensively in order to be prepared for combat should the war break out any moment. The citizens of the world are relying on the diplomats and politicians to settle this matter, but what they don't know is that there is another alternative to peace that we are offering. The best part is that you'll all have a part to play in it."

Paul frowned as everyone around muttered amongst themselves, perturbed by this news. What can the Museum offer that would contribute to world peace. As far as the soldier was concerned, this issue wasn't really of their concern. Nobody here, save for most of the agents, hailed from this period. Besides, whisking these people from their families and homes would only make them reluctant in assisting in whatever the Museum staff has to offer.

It was Kenneth's turn to speak. "That's correct. You, the time travelers, will be the ones doing the heavy lifting. You will be going back to one of the previous world wars and gather as much information as possible in order to document the horrors of war and showcase it to the public so we can potentially avert a costly conflict. So here is what I have planned for you lot. I am going to have my agents divide you into two groups. One group goes to the First World War while the second group travels to the time period of the other war in order to document what you see. This will prove useful in dissuading the countries from choosing war over peace. Make sure your notes are as detailed as possible in order to make a better impression on the leaders of the countries. " Kenneth stopped to cough. "Now it's time for my agents to organize the groups. The world shall know of your valor. May luck be on your side!"

The hologram petered out, leaving a baffled Paul blinking his eyes rapidly. He turned to face Joel and Viktor. "Is it me or has the world gone mad? Kenneth is going to send us on a wartime mission. I didn't see that coming, did you?"

---

"Each of you will be assigned a separate segment of the war to travel to. Make sure you are in the correct group first. This is the World War Two squad. If you were given the numbers one through six, you are supposed to be attached to Gottlieb and Anderson's group at the other machine for World War One. You all are in the correct squad, yes?"

Tut watched as he stood between his father and Starkad while everyone shouted in the affirmative. Two agents who had introduced themselves as Burne and St.Martin stood directly in front of the flashing time machine as they addressed the time travelers assigned to them. The sleek gray machine with various color lights loomed over everyone like a metallic beast.

"Now we will send you the sections of the war that you are to be sent to via tablet. In a matter of seconds, your devices shall reveal to you where you need to go."

A few seconds later, Tut's device beeped as did everyone else's. Anxiously, Tut pressed the home button and the rectangular tablet wrote in large green letters the location where he was to be sent.

North Africa Campaign. Egypt. 1942.

Tut glanced up at his father, his eyes wide with glee. "Father, we are going home."

Akh rolled his eyes. "No, we aren't, you little turd. We are going in the middle of a war zone in a different time period. It isn't the Egypt we know."

Starkad turned to them as well. "I am assigned to the country of Denmark in 1940. I guess this country is what used to be my home. Only it is not."

"If only it was in the correct time period." Akh sighed. "That would have made me a jolly man."

"I zhink zhey are shending ush to our home countriesh ," Kepler chimed in. "Only it ish at different timesh."

"It is as if they think that just because you are from a country, you can blend in better," Paul posited. "Only if that were case. I mean, if I were placed into Civil War America, I'd be an outsider."

"This is bloody prompting," Thomas muttered. "The last thing I need to be is dilly-dallying in the middle of another warzone for these dalcops. I don't want to alter my bloody appearance even more than I already have."

"Hey, you really needed that." Akh chuckled.

Before Thomas could conjure up a rebuttal, the agents proceeded to instruct the time travelers.

"Now, how many of you guys are familiar with the Second World War? I am aware that some of you have served in it or grew up during that period."

Several hands went up at the mention of World War Two.The agent that was speaking, a tall man with short cropped dark brown hair, pointed to the crowd as Tut looked on.

"You there! The one with the military gear. Can you explain the topic to your fellow time travelers?"

Wait! Did Paul serve in the war?

Tut glanced to see who was going to describe the war and was expecting to see his buddy Paul, but instead saw a different man in American military gear explaining what World War Two consisted of.

"Excellent!" The speaking agent smiled. "To sum things up, World War Two began in 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. This wasn't the first act of aggression by the country. Ever since the Versailles Treaty ended the previous war and Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points shifted the blame on the Germans for the war they had lost. This had caused outrage and bitterness on the common German folk which were suffering so much that they had to eat rats for nourishment. This was what led to the fall of the Weimar Republic and the election of Adolf Hitler, who would then become Fuhrer of Germany."

Tut's eyes widened with interest. It seemed that political intrigue impacted the war greatly.

"Hitler secured his rule over Germany, thanks to the work of the Brownshirts." The second agent, a man with a military buzz cut and a scar on his forehead, had taken over the explaining. "They then proceeded to terrorize their opponents and eventually undesirables like Jews, gypsies, and homosexuals. A notable incident is Kristallnacht or the Night of Broken Glass. When the Nazis had consolidated their control of the German government, they'd take over the Rhineland and remilitarize as a defiance of the Treaty of Versailles. Then, they'd go on to annex Austria,Czechoslovakia, and then Poland, resulting in France and England to declare war on them."

Behind Tut, Paul rose from his seat. "Yeah, we know what happens next. Joel already explained for you. No need to regurgitate what he just told us. We are wasting time enough here. Let's get going!"

The agent raised a brow."I see someone is eager to serve his country. Very well,you all know what to do. We have agents scattered about during the time period to aid you in case you require it. Best of luck to you!"

---

"Just do as your told and everything will go as planned."

Chenggong and Xinyi took their positions on the other side of the railroad on the south side of the Marco Polo Bridge as the late afternoon sun's rays struck their backs. Both of them donning military uniforms of differing Chinese forces, the two Chinese warriors were planning to deny the Japanese forces entry to the walled town of Wanping. It was July 1937 as the Imperial Japanese soldiers made their way down from Manchukuo in order to occupy Beijing. Growing anti-Japanese had united Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-Shek in a common cause and put the Chinese civil war to a brief pause in order to focus their efforts on the invading foreigners. Despite being on a fact-finding mission, Chenggong was determined to aid the Chinese in their war effort. He had no love for the invading Imperial Japanese as they were the ones that were responsible for the end of the samurai era.

This is just like the time I was tasked with defending Fujian from the Manchu invaders from the north except now I am fighting the Westernized Japanese that lack culture. oh, the irony!

Dressed in the uniform of the White Army under Generalissimo Chiang, Chenggong lay flat on the soft dirt, his rifle pointed at the bridge as he awaited the Japanese onslaught. Beside him, Xinyi did the same alongside several other soldiers. One of the soldiers donning the Red Army like Xinyi was actually an agent who was tasked with assisting them in their objective. Agent Wang had trained the two ancient Chinese men how to use their rifles before they had joined up with the opposing armies. Now they were training those rifles on the Japanese forces that were garrisoned at the Fengtai railway junction.

"Prepare to fire when given the signal. They are here for one of their soldiers we are holding captive. Compared to how many of our people they slaughtered, one soldier's execution is too generous."

Chenggong gritted his teeth as he felt the rage course through his veins. The Japanese soldiers made it to the end of the bridge before halting. One soldier, whom Chenggong assumed to be the leader of the regiment, ride forward on his horse and started shouting at the Chinese soldiers guarding Wanping's entrance. The Japanese wanted to enter the city to recover their soldier, but the Chinese troops were denying them that right.

"Fire!"

Hearing the signal, Chenggong steadied his rifle and shot at the mass of enemy soldiers huddled at the bridge. It wasn't long until the enemy returned fire, starting a firefight. Chenggong rolled to the side to avoid getting hit by the staccato of gunfire, sending dirt and grass into the air. The Ming warrior spotted a comrade of his in matching uniform crumple to the ground under heavy fire. Enraged, Chenggong shot down the nearest Japanese soldier and went over him, finishing the job by pummeling his face with the butt of his rifle. Loud explosions shook the vicinity as dirt shot up around the Ming rebel.

"They are firing on us with Type 95 Ha-Go tanks!" Wang shouted as he regrouped with Chenggong and Xinyi."Once the soldiers clear the bridge, they'll bring the tanks across it and take Wanping. Let's fall back while we can."

"No!" Koxinga snarled. "That is not the way of the warrior!"

"Listen, we aren't here to fight. We are here to gather information for Kenneth. Besides, this is just the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War."

Chenggong begrudgingly agreed and retreated with his fellow time travelers to fight another day.

---

"What do you call this?"

Starkad and the agent assigned to him ran for it as the German war machine landed onto the snowy banks of Norway. Agent Wessler and the Norse warrior were in Denmark until the Nazi military divisions consisting of both SS and Wehrmacht soldiers broke into the country. Fleeing the enemy forces, the two had stowed away on a boat carrying refugees to Norway, only for the German units to come up on their flanks.

"It is called Operation Weserubung." The agent's brown eyes glanced back warily at the advancing troop carriers and tanks. "They supposedly told the Scandinavian countries that they are here to protect them from the British and the French, but what we are seeing now is quite far from what they had promised."

Impossible! How could these once proud countries fall like dominoes?

"It seems that the Kriegsmarine have unloaded most of the enemy troops and now the local forces are going to mount a weak resistance."

Starkad watched as the German columns made their way toward the nearest village before sporadic gunfire lit up the early evening. The Germans soon open fired with their own guns. Starkad flinched as the tanks and some of the warships fired at the villages. It was as if Thor himself was striking the earth with Mjolnir.

"You see those armored carriers and tanks?" Wessler pointed. "Those are Leichter Panzerspahwagens and Panzer tanks. The latter are Germany's deadly war machines. Speaking of which, the Luftwaffe are here!"

Starkad glanced up to see greenish metallic birds swoop out of the air and fire at the villages and towns nearby. The sight of those warplanes made the Norseman shudder as he had never viewed a spectacle like them before.

"Nikolaus van Falkenhorst has come prepared." Agent Wessler glanced at Starkad. "Vidkun Quisling will soon become the puppet of the Nazi scumbags."

"So the Germans will be victorious?" Starkad's eyes narrowed in fury.

"Yes, as history goes, the Nazis will occupy Norway and Denmark." The agent sighed. His eyes then grew wide. "Take cover!"

As soon as he said that, gunshots echoed around the snowy clearing. Starkad dove the cold snow as the gunfire flew overhead. He noticed Wessler shudder as the bullets made contact with him and collapse onto the snow, his blood staining the white with a dark crimson color. Starkad crawled over to a nearby area that had dense trees situated there. Perhaps he could lose his pursuers here.

So it's up to me now? I'll need to send the information back before I am discovered.

The Viking used his tablet to send the stored information back to the Museum before shouting nearby caught his attention. Starkad hid behind a tree as one of the soldiers, dressed in forest green attire, scanned the area for him, his gun raised. Seizing upon an opening, Starkad snuck behind the lad and broke his neck.

Pity. In war, the young always tend to pay for the mistakes of the old. Back in my day, the old warriors fought alongside the young.

Thinking quickly, he picked up the firearm and sprayed the area he heard the voices with bullets. It was his first time wielding a gun and the weapon felt awkward in his hands. He heard screams and yelps as he took out enemy soldiers

I could get used to this.

Suddenly, he felt a searing pain through his chest as he collapsed to his knees. Starkad glanced downward and noticed the blood seeping out of his chest. It appeared that he had taken a critical hit. He quickly destroyed the tablet with his large hands before he the enemy could get their hands on it. As he collapsed, he glanced up to see a bright shape emerge from the dark clouds. He recognized it as a Valkyrie by its blond hair, blue eyes, and armor. He absentmindedly reached out for it as the German soldiers surrounded him.

Valhalla, here I come.

---

This is madness!

Thomas was huffing as he and Lanre were trotting alongside two agents, trying to flee from the German troops that have pushed into France. Gunfire flew from all directions as the Nazis tried to take out the retreating Allied troops with their machine guns. As they ducked between alleyways and darted between brown and white lavish houses that reminded the colonist of his country, Thomas glanced up to see an overcast sky.

I suppose that's appropriate. The sky shall weep for us all.

As the various British and French soldiers scaled the walls of a nearby house in order to make it to the beach for evacuation, the staccato of the enemy guns rang out and some of the soldiers collapsed. Without glancing back, Thomas leapt up onto a hedge and once he got a foothold, he scaled the wall and made it to the top alongside a couple British soldiers. Glancing down at his beige uniform, the colonist found it ironic that he was back in the British army after deserting to the American side.

Oh, the irony! Why must I link up with the British army yet again? This is all because that flimsy Maginot Line didn't hold.

The French had assumed that the weak Maginot Line that seperated their country from the Germans would offer sufficient security for them, but what they failed to take into account was the German military invading from the north after rolling through the Netherlands and Belgium. If the Allies hadn't declared war on the Axis powers, perhaps Thomas, Lanre, and the rest of the Allied forces wouldn't be in this mess. Or would they?

"Parrish, glad you made it. Why are you stopping? You are only a sitting duck for the Nazi sharpshooters up here. Get down now!"

No sooner had agent Dougherty reprimanded him, a hail of bullets shot through the air, resulting in the screams of soldiers they made contact with. Thomas and the agent slid down from the wall and made a dash for the beach that held the huddled masses of tan uniforms. That was when he recalled something important.

"Halt! Where are Lanre and Agent Lemelin?"

Agent Dougherty just yanked Thomas ahead by his collar. "They are right behind us. Don't put the mission or yourself at risk for them. Our world depends on it."

Aye, your world does, but not mine.

Ahead, the former British officer spotted the throng of soldiers trying to force their way onto the ship that would carry them across the English Channel. Scrutinizing the soldiers, he recognized that the majority of them were British as opposed to French. This may be due to most of them accompanying General Maurice Gamelin north to assist the beleaguered field armies of the Belgians.

"Oy, let us through!"

Thomas glanced behind him to see Lemelin and Lanre forcing their way through the crowd to link up with their companions. Lanre was bleeding from a cut on his face where Thomas had assumed a bullet had scraped him.

"I see you made it." Dougherty smiled at his comrade. "It is only a matter of time-"

A shrill sound echoed through the air, causing a chill to run down Thomas's spine. The Allied soldiers murmured amongst themselves and pointed at metallic blue or green aircraft swooping out of the sky. Bright flashes could be seen on the aircraft as it began to strafe the soldiers trapped on the beach. Screams of the wounded or dying soldiers filled the air as the four time travelers threw themselves on the floor to avoid being cut down by the strafing planes. Thomas saw the sand in front of him shoot into the air as the bullets from the German planes narrowly missed him. Before he could process what he was witnessing, a hand grabbed him and yanked him through the crowd. After dodging several bodies, some alive while others were not, Thomas found himself boarding the ship.

"Did you see that Messerschmitt BF 109 E?" Dougherty, the one who dragged Thomas onto safety, smirked.

"Is that what you refer to that monstrosity?" Thomas glanced up to the German warplanes circling the beaches like hawks. In the ship, the occupants were huddled together as if a large wave would overturn the vessel. They eyed the planes warily as the horn sounded. Thomas felt the vessel lurch as it detached itself from the docks and started to widen its distance from the bloody sand.

"Did Lanre and Lemelin make it on board?" He turned to the agent. Before Dougherty could reply, loud buzzing sounds filled the air. Worried that more German planes were on the offensive, Thomas glanced warily at the cloudy sky and saw that these planes that were approaching from the north were colored differently and were engaging the Germans.

"Ah, the Spitfires and Hurricanes are here to cover our retreat. It may be our lucky day after all." Dougherty chuckled.

---

"Captain Dragunov, you're back! I thought the Germans had apprehended you."

Donning his olive-green coat as the winter chill blew at his exposed face, Captain Dragunov had regrouped with his former squad south of the city of Leningrad. The moment he had set foot back in his homeland, he sought out his squad and linked up with a second squad led by his close friend Sergei Azarov and decided to relieve the Russian forces trying to break the German siege of Leningrad. He had heard rumors that the siege had affected the citizens of the beleaguered city to the point where they ate whatever they could get their hands on, including pets and suitcases. Some even resorted to thieving to avoid starving to death.

"Ah, it's a pleasant surprise, Sergei!" The Soviet captain embraced his old friend in the deep snow. Behind Lieutenant Azarov lay the once great city of Leningrad, named after Vladimir Lenin, but now most of it was in ruins due to the constant German bombardment. "Let's say I was a captive for a while, but I was able to plot my escape."

"You sound very cunning as always," Sergei quipped and lightly punched Viktor in the arm. "Anyhow, is there any way you'd like to attempt to punish these Teutonic rats?"

It wasn't long until the Russian soldiers under Dragunov and Azarov crouched onto the snow and awaited the German convoy. Soon, a group of mostly Wehrmacht and some SS soldiers marching through the snowy trees and wet ground on the way to reinforce their comrades. Once the signal was given, the Soviets open fired on the Nazis, catching them off guard. Seeing several of their comrades downed in a pool of blood, the Nazi forces retaliated with their own fire. Dragunov and Azarov crawled through the icy snow to avoid being hit by the screaming bullets. Explosions sent snow into the air as tanks from both sides engaged each other and the infantry.

Time to put their Operation Barbarossa out of business.

Dragunov came upon a German army man who had tried to crawl away from the carnage and chaos. The Soviet captain fell upon him and engaged him in hand to hand combat. Obtaining a scratch on his cheek, Captain Dragunov managed to finish off his opponent by bashing his skull with the butt of his submachine gun. Standing up, he turned to see most of the enemy forces scattering. Despite losing a handful of soldiers and a BT-7 tank, they had completed their objective.

"Excuse me! You are part of the Red Army's 76th Regiment, yes?"

Viktor whirled around to face a middle-aged woman with short brown hair and a robust body approach him from a snowy hill. The Soviet captain thought she had to be insane to be out here by herself. Her face did have a gaunt look of someone who went without food for a long time.

"May I ask who wishes to know?" Captain Dragunov crossed his arms.

"I am Elena Kochina and I am out here searching for food to feed my starving daughter. I also am documenting the plight of my fellow citizens as the enemy encircles our hometown. You wouldn't happen to have any extra rations on you?"

---

What in Aten's name happened to my hometown?

Akh, dressed in a long white robe, stared out across the sands at the mass of modern buildings in what was known as Cairo. Although it didn't look like the metropolitan city he had experienced when they visited the arcade, it was a far cry from the sand huts that his people lived in.

"Akh, it is time for us to view the confrontation between the Afrika Corps and Patton's 1st Armored Division."

The Pharaoh turned to the man that had addressed him. The rising sun shone brightly against the cobalt blue sky behind the agent who had accompanied him and Tut to this time period.

"I see."The Pharaoh narrowed his eyes. "And we are supposed to ride those camels to the battlefield?"

Agent Hamadi glanced at the three camels that were drinking water from the troughs on the coarse sand. Tut had staggered over to one of the camels, petting it.

"Father, I'd love to ride one of these. I can't wait to see the war. "

"For Aten's sake, Tut! War is not a game!"

It wasn't long until they were riding through the beige sand on the back of the camels. A soft wind blew some sand into the Pharaoh's face as they made their way to the battlegrounds. Akh was disheartened to see how much his beloved Egypt had transformed through the ages. The language was unrecognizable as was the religion. They worshiped a deity called Allah. replacing the sun disc Aten. Despite the temples still being present, they were being replaced by temples Hamadi called mosques that blared out calls to prayer from buildings called minarets.

At least they stayed true to the monotheistic movement Nefertiti and I had launched. I can give them credit for that.

An explosion from the distance had jolted the Pharaoh from his reverie. A couple more bangs followed suit and one even landed close to the group,sending sand dispersing into the eyes of the three time travelers.

"Good Aten!" Akh cursed. "This is already out of control!"

Hamadi chuckled. "This is modern warfare, my friend. General Rommel's Panzers are taking on General Patton's Sherman tanks behind those dunes. This is as close as we can get to the battle lest we risk getting hit by stray fire."

"Awww." Tut pouted. "I wanted to get a closer look."

Akh just rolled his eyes. "Sometimes I wonder whether you really are my son."

---

"May I ask where we are heading?"

Kepler glanced around the cobblestone pathways of Berlin alongside Agent Lutz as the two took a stroll through the city of Gottingen in Eastern Germany. The fair-haired agent glanced at Kepler with his ocean-colored eyes as they rounded a corner, nearly bumping into two teenagers. After muttering an apology, the agent turned to address the mathematician's question.

"We are going to swing by the Max Planck Institute to meet Werner Heisenberg. I believe he is meeting with fellow physicist Niels Bohr at the moment."

"Ho! He is a physicist like me?" Kepler's mouth formed into a grin.

"Indeed, he would become a key pioneer in the field of theoretical physics. " Lutz chuckled. "Boy, talking about math and physics really drains me. They were not my strongest subjects during my school days."

"Ah, well don't worry about your problems." Kepler chuckled. "Mine are greater."

As they entered the university grounds, Kepler became aware of several soldiers dressed in tan shirts and bearing red, white, and black bands on their arms. Some of the individuals wore one that bore a golden star band on their arm. He pointed his observations out to his companion.

"Yes, those men wearing the swastika armband are Nazis while the ones wearing the stars are the Jews. They wore those armbands so they can be identified and eventually be rounded up and taken to the concentration camps."

Kepler furrowed his brows in his bafflement. "What is the reason for this?"

Lutz glanced around to make sure no one was nearby before he leaned over and whispered in the astronomer's ear. "For the Final Solution. "

---

"Hunker down now. This is going to be a grueling battle."

Paul glanced over at Joel as they disembarked from the ship carrying the troops and landed on the humid tropical island. Paul, now in forest green World War Two Marine garb, held his rifle cautiously as the troops scanned the area for any signs of the enemy. Ever since Japanese Zeros had bombed Pearl Harbor,sinking and crippling American warships, President Roosevelt had declared war on the Axis powers and now the United States was engaged in island hopping, turning the tide against the Imperial Japanese. After Joel had passed Paul off as a Marine in his regiment in order for them to complete their objective for Kenneth.

"The Japs are coming!"

Startled, Paul turned to see Japanese soldiers, their tan uniforms bright against the shining sun, burst out of their hiding places and engage the invading Marines. Paul ducked onto the sand, his finger resting on the trigger of his rifle. As soon as he was sure his aim would be true, he fired on the advancing Japanese.

I still have it in me!

An explosion sent the G.I flying back near the water line. His ears ringing, he awaited the return of his hearing before making a charge ahead.

I will not fall here! Not today, not ever! My brothers back in Korea need me!

---

Is this what my beloved country has devolved into?

Donning Imperial Japanese military gear, albeit reluctantly, Seiji glanced around in horror at the Japanese soldiers burning down a village in the Philippines. The bright sun shining on the back of his neck, the samurai gazed downward to avoid eye contact with his former foes. These were the people that the Shinsengumi and the Bakufu had fought and lost against in the Boshin War. The sight of how they treated the vanquished in war had caused bile to form in the back of Seiji's throat.

What kind of a warrior sacks a village and burns innocent men and women alive due to alleged suspicions? That goes against every ethic we were taught as samurai.

He had only accompanied Kimura the agent on this mission due to his desire to avoid a full-blown war in the future that would result in the deaths of many innocents, something he was loathe to witness. The fearsome warrior had been distraught to learn of the Japanese takeover of Korea which was then followed by the invasion of China. Southeast Asia and the Philippines were taken over due to the commodities they offered such as oil. Due to the Atlantic Charter, the Americans wouldn't sell oil to fuel the Japanese aircraft, ultimately resulting in the Americans entering in the war.

"Come!" Kimura touched Seiji's arm. "Douglas MacArthur has retreated. Soon, we will set upon Indonesia where your eyes will feast on horrors never before seen in war."

"What?" Seiji's blood ran cold. "You are saying there is worse out there than comfort women and children being used as bayonet practice?"

"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet." Kimura shook his head. "The images will be retained in your mind for years to come."

---

"Fall back!"

Chenggong, Xinyi, and the others retreated as the Japanese forces gained on them. As what was left of the combined Chinese military retreated outside of the city of Nanking to the banks of the Yangtze River, Japanese planes were heard swooping down and dropping their loads on any soldier or civilian inside the city unlucky enough to be in the line of sight. Crouched down along the muddy banks, Chenggong clenched his fist as he felt the ground rumble from the bombs or artillery shells launched by the Japanese soldiers. People were dying inside the city and they were stuck here hiding like craven foxes.

"This event would be known as the Rape of Nanking." Wang leaned over to convey that piece info to Chenggong. "It is referred to that because-"

Chenggong rose, let out a battle cry, and charged into the Japanese-occupied city as Xinyi followed suit. The Qin warrior was always eager to learn from the Ming mariner.

"What in Confucius's name are you two doing? Get back here, idiots!"

Ignoring Wang' s demand for them to return to their positions, the two warriors came upon the Japanese soldiers, but before they could fire their weapons, they found themselves surrounded by the enemy. Seeing no way of getting out of their predicament alive, Chenggong and Xinyi surrendered to the Japanese. As the two were marched into the ruined city, Chenggong noticed plenty of bodies piled onto the street. He shuddered as he realized that most of the bodies didn't belong to captured soldiers.The Ming pirate hadn't seen this level of devastation to his country since the Manchu barbarians blazed through the capital.

"Halt!"

The soldiers stopped at once at the order. A Japanese officer, a stout man with a small mustache, walked up to Chenggong and pointed at him, signaling for him to follow him. Keeping his mouth shut to avoid letting the fact that he spoke the enemy's tongue slip out, he obeyed immediately. At the officer's signal, two soldiers forced Xinyi on his knees. The officer turned back to Chenggong and made a shooting motion with his fingers. Once he deciphered what he was supposed to do, Chenggong felt a chill enter his chest.

No! I can't shoot my friend! Not even to spare my life!

The Japanese officer urged him forward as a soldier pressed his rifle at the back of the Ming warrior's head. The late afternoon sun left a shadowy expression on Xinyi's face, but his eyes showed no fear. Around him, the screams of the women being brutalized by the Japanese military men reached his ears.

"I figured he was a coward. Let's shoot them both."

Overhearing the Japanese soldiers conversing with their officer, Chenggong knew he had to do his duty. They needed one person to rendezvous with Wang and return back in time with the information gathered here. Chenggong took a steady breath and aimed his weapon between Xinyi's eyes.

"I will make sure your death won't be in vain, my brother." Chenggong's eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"Do as you must, Zheng Chenggong." Xinyi smiled up at him.

Choking back a sob, the Ming soldier fired his weapon.

---

"That man is Charles de Gaulle. He is the leader of the free French resistance group. This is one of many resistance groups scattered about the country."

In the basement of a building in Algeria whose facade was a cleaner's shop, Lanre, Agent Lemelin, and the rest of the French Resistance operatives sat around a large rectangular table. Based on what the former Templar had learned, France was now split into two halves. The north run by German-occupied Paris and the south, known as Vichy France, that was run by World War 1 hero Marshal Petain and his minister Henri Laval. The latter two were well-known Nazi puppets.

"Monsieur de Gaulle, we have identified targets where the French militia are the most vulnerable. When shall our forces make their move?"

Lanre glanced up to see a man with short-cropped dark brown hair and a matching mustache approach the Resistance leader. He watched the whole scene with piqued interest as he and Lemelin documented the whole exchange for Kenneth. They were only able infiltrate the Resistance meeting due to Lemelin's connections.

De Gaulle puffed on his cigar as he glanced over his plans. "As soon as possible. The Allies plan a massive attack on Europe's soft underbelly in the coming days. The days of the Axis Powers are numbered."

---

Dear me, who knew flying was so beautiful?

Thomas glanced out the window of the Avro Manchester. He and Agent Dougherty were disguised as bombardiers as they joined the Royal Air Force in their nighttime raids on German positions alongside the American planes. The setting sun cast a magenta glow in the sky as the lush green landscape of Britain receded behind them. Ever since Herman Goering's Luftwaffe launched near daily raids on London as part of Hitler's Operation Sea Lion, the Allies had retaliated with raids of their own on German infrastructure. If Thomas recalled correctly, today's target was Dresden.

"Enjoying the bird's eye view?"

Dougherty appeared beside Thomas, glancing out the window. The two were wearing similar brown bomber jackets in order to make the chill inside the aircraft more bearable.

"I must say it is marvelous, to say the least. However, the constant droning of the engines always rattles me."

Dougherty chuckled and patted the colonist's back. "I thought you'd get used to it by now. This will be our last raid before we report back to Kenneth. Make it count."

"Dear God, why must I do favors for people without receiving anything in return?" Thomas muttered.

"Hey, if war is averted, Kenneth might reward you by sending you home." Dougherty placed a reassuring hand on Thomas's shoulder.

"A man can only dream." Thomas chuckled.

Soon, it was time for them to attend to the bomb bays. Thomas held his breath as he heard the sounds of combat outside. The explosions of anti-aircraft cannons indicated that they were close to their target.

Here goes nothing!

The bomb bays had started to open up like the mouth of a metallic beast. Thomas and his partner had loaded the incendiary bombs onto the bay before it had opened up.

"Bombs away!"

---

The howling of the air raid sirens jolted Kepler from the mathematical problem he was trying to solve. He and Lutz were seated on the benches in a park when the sirens were heard and people were scrambling for cover.

"Another air raid, huh?" Lutz grumbled."Let's find the nearest shelter and fast!"

As Kepler and Lutz shoved past people, including soldiers, the bombs had fallen. The ground shook as if giants were stomping on it. The smell of fires burning up the city of Dresden had reached the astronomer's nose as he and his partner hurried to find shelter before it was too late.

What in the world is happening? Why must civilization be subject to something as heinous as this?

Kepler glanced at the burning buildings as they hurried past other people who had the same objective as himself. The screams of burning people captured his attention as he strode toward the nearest shelter. Johannes Kepler averted his gaze as he didn't want to see the horrendous sight. As they arrived, the two time travelers got entangled in a shoving match with a couple men vying for the same spots they are.

"Johannes, you dropped the tablet! Retrieve it or Kenneth will have our heads!"

Kepler glanced back to see the black rectangular shape on the cobblestone road. Thinking quickly, the mathematician bounded for the object when he heard Lutz shout at him. Startled,Kepler turned to see the agent run toward him. That was when he heard the whistling sound. Before he could glance up, something exploded over head, engulfing him in searing flames. Within minutes, it was over.

---

"Alright, my men!" Viktor's gray eyes raked the men garbed in all white as they settled inside a blown-out building in Stalingrad. "In about fifteen minutes, give or take, the Nazis in the next room will try to penetrate this one and take it for themselves. We want to deny them that, right? After all, the Motherland is ours!"

His men shouted in unison as they raised their weapons. Ever since they had harassed the German lines in Leningrad like hornets, Viktor's troops were transferred to Stalingrad to relieve the beleaguered forces trying to hold it. Joined by partisan fighters, Viktor and his regiment were engaged in brutal and often long street to street battles as opposed to standard battles in an open field. This is where the partisans came in handy.

"I hear them scuttling like rats out there." Azarov motioned out the icy door of what used to be a factory. "We may be in for-"

A loud explosion blew out the window, bringing in some snow and a chilly wind. Startled, some of the Soviet fighters turned to face the window while others trained their weapons at the doors. The door was then breached and the German soldiers, garbed in green, rushed in face the occupants. This is what gave Captain Dragunov a thrill. A good battle at close quarters with the enemy.

I only wonder when I'll be able to see Oksana again.

Ever since he had returned to his country, Viktor had no word of his pregnant wife or her whereabouts. He wondered if she had already given birth or is still alive. Those thoughts would have to wait as he engaged in return fire. Walking over a corpse of a young German soldier, his blue eyes still wide as if he'd seen a ghost, Viktor and Sergei cautiously approached the hall of the factory.

"The enemy looks like they died in their sleep. Perhaps the Russian winter is too much for them to bear."

Viktor went over to the clumps of green uniforms lying prone on the cold gray floor. Sure enough, the sub-zero temperatures had done the Wehrmacht soldiers in. This would mean less German soldiers occupying the Soviet Union and its satellite states.

"Viktor, we need to clear the rest of the building!" Sergei tapped his shoulder. "The German rats are infesting other rooms."

His lieutenant had a point there. Viktor rose from his position and warily accompanied his troops, his PPS submachine gun at the ready. Taking a breath, he watched in silent anticipation as two of his soldiers, garbed in white, entered the second hallway. The deafening silence was so thick that the Soviet soldier could hear the echoing footsteps of his men.

"Clear!"

The shouts indicated that there were no enemy troops, at least living ones, in the hallway. As soon as received the signal, his troops poured into the liberated hallway. His eyes darting back and forth, Captain Dragunov spied the limp bodies of both Soviets and Germans lying prone on the ground. Some of the bodies had pools of blood running from under them, indicating that these men were killed in a firefight rather than becoming human popsicles.

"Toropitsya!" He ordered his men to move on cautiously. " Be wary of a possible ambush!"

No sooner had the words left the soldier's mouth, three dark green objects, flew like balls into the throng of perturbed Soviets. A shock had registered on Viktor's face as he recognized the projectiles.

"Take cover!"

Deafening explosions shook the vicinity as a bright flame erupted and engulfed several soldiers unlucky enough to be within the radius of the grenades. German soldiers then erupted from their hiding places, firing on the disoriented Soviets. Viktor's eyes grew wide as he registered Sergei collapse, his blood and guts staining the wall , floor, and the beams. Eager to avenge his dead lieutenant, whom he had treated like an inseparable friend since they joined up in the Red Army, Viktor sprayed the area that was the most concentrated with enemy troops with bullets.

Die, Nazi scum!

The Red Army captain felt adrenaline course through him as each German soldier fell like a broken toy. After several seconds, Viktor felt a stinging pain in his hip. Gritting his teeth in pain, he crouched on the ground and continued to fire at the enemy along with his soldiers until he spotted another grenade land on the floor in the middle of their lines. If it detonated, that would prove to be devastating and possibly catastrophic to the Soviets in securing the factory.

No, I have no more regrets in life. I'll do what I must. I will not return to that dreadful Museum for I am home!

Viktor took a running leap and landed on the grenade seconds before it exploded. The searing heat soon gave way to a numbing darkness.

---

"Soon, Fat Man will drop on Nagasaki as Little Boy had on Hiroshima a few days prior. I suggest you look away."

From inside the time machine situated at the top of the hill, Seiji glanced out toward the port city of Nagasaki amid the pale dawn as Agent Kimura spoke. The magenta sky had tinges of blue tugging at its horizon as morning approached. Too bad the inhabitants won't view the morning as such. As much as Seiji had despised the Imperials, he believed that innocent people needn't suffer the consequences of the government's atrocities.

How can civilization live like this? If it is worse in the future, then Kenneth's world is doomed.

"Seiji, we must go now!"

As a bright flash lit the horizon, the time machine spun and vanished as the shock waves from the bomb leveled the domain.

---

"I told them not to act stupid and now his friend paid for it with his life!"

Back at the museum, Paul glanced over at Agent Wang. Beside the man, Chenggong was weeping and muttering things. There was no sign of Xinyi and Paul could only guess what fate befell him. Everyone had returned, but the G.I. couldn't find Starkad, Kepler, or Dragunov.

"You know if a big lug, a Commie bastard, or a dude dressed like he is in a Shakespearean play had arrived?"

Wang frowned at the boy. "If they hadn't shown up by now, they are most likely dead. I received word that a couple of my colleagues Lutz and Wessler who were with your friends had been killed in action. I can assume they met the same fate as the agents."

"Pardon?" Thomas shouldered his way to Paul's side. "You tell me Kepler never returned?"

"That's correct." The Oriental agent faced the colonist, stroking his stubble. "I believe he was killed in the bombing of Dresden that you and Dougherty partook in. It is probable that you both inadvertently laid waste to Lutz and your buddy, but they died for a great cause. Now if you excuse me, I need to report the information we gathered to Kenneth. "

As Wang shoved past the two, Thomas glanced downward, looking glum. "Possibly another death at my hand. How can I live with myself?"

Paul left the colonial spy to mope as he sought out the others. He found Tut trying to comfort a bawling Akh. Upon seeing the American, Akh glanced up with eyes brimming with tears.

"It's true, isn't it?"

"What's true?" Paul frowned although he had suspected what the Pharaoh meant.

"Starkad is gone!" Akh started to wail.

Eager to get away from the overly emotional Pharaoh, Paul sought out Lanre and tapped the Crusader's arm. Lanre, still in his tan uniform, glanced over at the American soldier.

"Hm?"

Paul cleared his throat. "You know where Seiji is? You know, the Japanese sword guy?"

Lanre nodded. "Yes...I know...his eyes went bad. Seek help...at medical bay."

---

"Great work. Now, we can send our information to the Defense Chief."

Wang watched silently alongside the other agents as Kenneth, flanked by Gregory, glanced over the information on his tablet. Wang shifted a bit in his seat as he glanced between the two agents on either side of him. They seemed to have concerned or baffled looks on their faces as they stared across Kenneth from the round oak table inside the director's office. Finally, Wang raised his hand.

"Yes, Agent Wang?" Kenneth raised a brow.

Wang steadily rose. "Um, I know this is not my place to ask, but how is the information was have recovered going to help avert a full-scale war?"

Kenneth just chuckled. "Oh, you got it all wrong. I only told the employees we want to avoid war to get them to partake in this mission. I sent you all back so I can document the mistakes made by all sides in the war. Once the Department of Defense receives our hard-earned info, we will be rewarded for assisting the American military in their road to victory against the other superpowers of the world. It's time for Betty to contact Marshal Winters."

As Kenneth started to send a hologram message to his assistant, Wang glanced down, feeling a queasy feeling in his stomach.

Dear lord, what have we done?

Spot 6: RondaRayl

 Captain Mochitsura Hashimoto of the Submarine I-58 highly skilled strategist. "Visibility clear," he said. "Let's surface." The long Japanese submarine flew toward to the surface at at an angle and then settled itself. As the captain, his right hand man, and two of the crew all four went up into the Submarine I-58's tower to look and see what was going on.

Outside, the moon was bright and clear. In the distance, Captain Mochitsura saw a dark object. "Dive, dive!" Mochitsura shouted as he and his three companions darted back into the sub. As soon as the submarine was beneath the water, Mochitsura wanted to turn the I-58 around to use the missles in the back if they needed them.

"There's an object 10,000 meters, bearing 90 degrees," Mochitsura said. As they got closer, they realized it was the USS Indianapolis. It wasn't zigzagging like normally, but it was on a straight course.

Patient as always, he waited for the proper time to fire the torpedoes. They could travel 9,800 yards. When they came up closer to the USS Indianapolis, he fired six torpedoes at them, two of which hit the American battleship.

After firing the torpedoes, Mochitsura put up his perisope to watch and see if the torpedos hit. They made three hits in the forward part of the ship between the bridge and the bow and then a fourth torpedo hit and he saw a cloud of water aft of the ship's bridge.

At that time, he turned his ship around at the same time he lowered his periscope. He heard a total of ten explosions.

***

Meanwhile, Captain McVay of the USS Indianapolis realized that they had been hit by two torpedoes by a submarine. The explosions caused the ship to break up into three sections, throwing Captain McVay from the bunk on the bridge out into the water. From his view, the ship was going down rapidly.

As he turned and looked, he saw hundreds of men in the water. He heard a lot of yelling and screaming and realized that the sailers were swimming through oil. Their screams came because the oil was getting into their eyes.

At this time, the rest of the men on the USS Indianapolis went down with the ship. A lot of sailers were getting into groups of 30 because of the sharks that circled around them. They learned not to splash and make noise but to be quiet.

As the ship was going down, one of the sailers got off an SOS, of which reached another ship. That captain was drunk and didn't take it seriously. They realized that nobody was going to come and get them for a while.

As the nights dragged on, they were getting dehydrated, suffering from hunger, and the worst part was the sharks attacking them. Some of the sailers started giving up and drank the salt water to speed up the dying process because they couldn't take it anymore.

***

Back at the Museum, Norman, Richard, Astrid, Jackson, and Catalina went back to their own cells. They each collapsed onto their own bed and slept for eight hours. Kenneth's helpers went to each one and woke them and said, "Get up. It's time to eat, shower, and get ready for your next mission." Kenneth and Richard looked eye to eye.

Richard said, "I look forward to the day I get to kill you, slow and easy."

Kenneth just shrugged his shoulders, took his knife out, and handed it to Richard. "Do it. Do it now. Go ahead."

Richard said, "It's not the right time."

Kenneth grabbed Richard by the shoulder and said. "Move on."

Meanwhile, Norman, Jackson, Astrid, and Catalina went on down to the cafeteria and ate breakfast. Finally , Richard came in. Catalina and Astrid ran to greet him. Catalina said, "Where have you been? You just about missed breakfast. You need to eat to keep up your strength."

"Yeah, yeah, okay." Richard smiled at her.

After breakfast they all took showers and got ready for their next mission.

***

Kenneth yelled, "Something has gone wrong! Something's caused several countries to threaten each other. With our technology we could destroy the world and it would be worse than a third world war! I need all of you to go back and obtain information that can stop this war from happening."

Norman, whose family was from Poland, since he was from a Jewish background, got up and screamed, "Go back there yourself! My family was takento a concentration camp. My family was killed!" This made him angry.

Richard came up to Norman and said, "I know how you feel. I've been there. Come on now; all of this will soon be over. Then - "

Norman interupted him, "This brings back a lot of bad memories. I'm not sure I can do this."

Catalina, Jackson, and Astrid all came up to him and said, "We all have your back. We can do this."

Into the time machine they went. While inside, Norman looked at the computer and realized that it was almost at the end of World War II. The day was set for September 15, 1945 as they landed at a Port off of San Francisco.

"But why that day?" said Richard.

Norman said, "The only reason Why I could figure is that back in July 15, the USS Indianapolis left to go to the Tinian Island. From my own knowledge, they left on July 16 from San Francisco, went to Tinian Island, got there on July 26th to deliver parts for the atomic bomb, called 'Little Boy.' Then, if it serves me right, they left there and was attacked by a Japanese submarine, the I-58. They fired two torpedoes which hit the USS Indianapolis and it sank."

Catalina said, "So we have to go there to get all our information."

Everyone was talking all at once, so much so that Norman couldn't think straight. He then yelled, "Here, here, everyone! Quiet! I'll try to answer all your questions!"

Astrid said, "How many died?" she started to cry.

Jackson came over to comfort her.

Norman said, "There were 1,196 sailers on board. There were only 300 survivors."

He wanted to tell them about the sharks but before he could get it out, Catalina interupted him and said, "How are we going to do this?"

"We will figure it out," said Richard. "We always do."

They landed at the Navy base in San Fransisco later that afternoon. Catalina found out by getting into the navy records that the father of Captain Charles Butler McVay III of the USS Indianapolis and the Captain of the I-58 had met before and had a fight. She wondered if this was done in revenge. She told Richard and Norman who was still trying to figure this out. "Hey, look," she said as she turned toward them.

"What is it?" Norman asked.

"It's a record of Captain Charles Butler McVay III's father and the captain of the I-58 - read this." Richard snatched it away before Norman could grab it.

Astrid was looking around and found a map of where the USS Indianapolis started. It showed that Norman was right. It left San Francisco on July 16, 1945. It made it to Tinian Island on July 26, 1945 and showed them missing. They never arrived at the Philippines to join the rest of the fleet.

Jackson found a statement saying that World War II started by Germany in an unprovoked attack on Poland. Britain and France declared war on Germany after Hitler had refused to abort his invasion of Poland.

"Hey, that's good, Jackson," said Richard. "We can sure use that information. Good job."

Norman said, "Let's go into this other office and see if we can find more information." Jackson turned toward Norman and they went into the other room and looked, while the rest stayed in the general's office and continued searching.

Jackson opened up a drawer and there was the same paper that he had found earlier but with more information. "Look here, Norman."

Norman turned and Jackson handed him the paper. It said, "Among the causes of WW II were Italian fascism in the 1920's, Japanese militarism and invasion of China in the 1930's, and especially the political takeover in 1933 of Germany by Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party and its aggressive foreign policy.

Just then, back in the general's office, a high ranking officer came in. He said, "Who are you and why are you here?"

Richard's quick thinking said, "We're here to ask you about World War II. We're doing a project."

"Yeah, a project," Astrid said.

"For school. We're doing a project and need information about World War II," Catalina added.

Norman and Jackson luckily had all the papers they needed and heard them talking so they got out by going out the back door and waited nearby.

The general said, "You kids just run along out of here before I call the M.P.'s."

Catalina said, "Yeah, we'll just run along."

They all walked out the door and saw Norman and Jackson. Richard said, "Did you get all the information?"

"Yeah," Jackson said.

"Let's go home."

They got back into the time machine and went back to the Museum where Kenneth was waiting for them.

"Did you get the information?" Kenneth asked.

"Yeah." Richard then shoved the papers into his chest. "Here's your information."

"Now, with that attitude, why don't you just enter that into the computer system?"

"Here, I'll help," said Norman. So they both put all the information into the computer and fixed the timeline.

Spot 9: Several7s

 Naoki nodded. "I understand. After everything... you deserve that much. We will drop you off after regrouping at the basement."

"Thank you." Ujarak's eyes flicked down at Naoki's hand, then back up to meet the samurai's eyes. "Naoki... I saw what you brought back. If you're doing what I think you are, then I pray Freyja's blessings will shine on you." He hesitated, a sad look furrowing his brow. "Don't wait too long. Anything could happen."

"Yeah." Naoki wrapped the chain of the necklace around his finger and smiled. "Thank you."

***

Khen hummed softly to Akiko as she combed the young girl's hair. It was long and soft, much more cooperative than Khen's own dark hair. She enjoyed taking care of Akiko. Sometimes she wondered if it was because she never got that as a child.

A strange calm had come over her the past few days. She wasn't sure why, but the pain of losing Turgen wasn't so bad. Deep down, she knew Turgen would never have wanted her to become as depressed as she did when she first found out. He had always been more dedicated to her happiness than even she could be, and for that she would forever be grateful. But it was more than that, even. Somehow, she just got the feeling that he was still out there, looking out for her in the same small ways he had when he was still alive. That comforted her more than she could have imagined.

"Khen, Naoki asked to see you. He said it's urgent." Tia glanced at Akiko. "I can watch her. It seemed like a private thing."

Khen finished braiding Akiko's hair and pinned it into place. "All right, thank you Tia." She smiled at Akiko. "I'll be back soon," she promised, and stood.

When she found Naoki, he was standing in the doorway of a time machine. He looked oddly vulnerable and almost scared, which made her nervous. Even in battle, she had never seen that look on his face before. It made her wonder what exactly was about to happen.

"Naoki?" Hesitantly, she stepped into the time machine. Inside, she found an assortment of flowers scattered everywhere. White lilies, hyacinths, roses, and all sorts of wildflowers created splashes of color in the otherwise drab compartment. "What is this?"

He smiled at her. "You'll see."

She could see a destination pre-programmed into the time machine. Behind her, the door slid closed. The time machine hummed to life beneath them. They travelled in silence as Khen tried to piece together what was happening. Were they going to fix a minor issue in the timeline?

Naoki seemed full of nervous energy, his leg bouncing constantly throughout the ride. When the machine finally landed, he leaped to his feet and opened the door for Khen, who peeked outside to find that they had handed on top of a hill in the midst of a field of flowers. In front of her, the sky was filled with vibrant pinks, oranges, and streaks of purple as the sun began to set. All around her, patches of white, purple, yellow, pink, and red bloomed everywhere.

Khen turned in a circle, taking in the beautiful sight. "This is amazing." Her voice was a hushed whisper. She was almost afraid to disturb the sound of the birds singing in the trees. "Where are we?"

"This is near where I lived once, in Nihon. I would come here to relax and think." Hands slipped into hers, and she looked up at Naoki, who stared at her, an intense longing in his gaze. "I wanted this to be perfect. If circumstances were different, I would have tried to follow tradition, but..." he trailed off and looked out at the sunset. "Things aren't exactly typical."

"What are you talking about?" Khen's brows furrowed in confusion.

He reached up and brushed a lock of hair out of her face. "I love you." With his free hand, he pulled something out of his pocket and pressed it into her hand.

She looked down at it and found a small jade necklace, with a crescent moon pendant. It was beautiful, and easily the nicest thing she'd ever been given. It probably cost a fortune, too. She opened her mouth to tell him that she couldn't accept it, but he didn't give her the chance.

"You are the light in my darkest night. The thought of spending the rest of my life without you by my side is excruciating. With everything that has been happening, this might not be the best time, but I'm afraid if I wait any longer, I may never get the chance." He chewed his lower lip, something she hadn't seen him do much before. "What I am trying to ask is... will you marry me?"

Slowly, the words processed. I love you. Three words she hadn't heard before. A feeling she'd convinced herself she'd never feel. And yet... here she was. I love you. There wasn't even the slightest doubt in her mind about it. She believed him, and she loved him back. With all her heart, she loved him.

"Yes!" She threw her arms around him, and for the first time, she kissed a man willingly.

***

When Naoki got back with Khen, Tia immediately noticed how happy they both looked. Considering everything that was going on, she could only imagine one thing that might life Khen's mood like that.

Just thinking about it made her heart ache. Felipe instantly came to mind. They were supposed to have the rest of their lives together. Now she was alone and living without him was so much harder than she could have imagined. She tried to block out the image of him bleeding out in her arms. When it didn't work, she refocused on the other issues at hand.

"Naoki, we have a problem." She glanced between Khen and Naoki. "I think I figured out why Kenneth and his men disappeared. It's not good."

Instantly, the smiles disappeared from their faces, replaced with serious expressions. "Why?" Naoki gestured to the tablet. "Did Kenneth break the present too?"

"Not exactly..." Tia handed him the set of articles she had found. They had been buried at the bottom of everyone's to do lists, since they were only three or four years in the past. But Tia hadn't found any clear issues in the past, and out of boredom, she had decided to look into reasons why Kenneth might have disappeared. What she had found seemed like a pretty good reason.

Naoki scanned the articles quickly, and Khen peered over his shoulder to get a look. "World War III?" When Naoki looked up again, there was fear in his eyes. The same bone-chilling fear Tia had felt upon first discovering it.

"We're in the middle of the warzone, aren't we?" Khen seemed calmer about the situation than the others had been. Maybe she had just experienced enough war with the Mongols that it wasn't a big deal.

"It was hell in Nihon, fighting Oda and everyone else, and that was just one country. What would possess anyone to cause war throughout the world three times?" Naoki set the tablet down on a nearby table. "How do we stop this?"

"August 5th, 1945 in Hiroshima, Japan. It seems as though the underlying cause of the war is a Japanese artifact called Kusanagi."

Naoki's jaw dropped. "It exists? I have only ever heard of it in legends!"

"Apparently it does. On August 5th, a research team uncovered it in Hiroshima. It isn't mentioned in Kenneth's original historical records. I think it was destroyed before information about it even got out. In the altered timeline, it shows up in the journals of a collector who bought it from a thief. It was stolen from the research team and stayed in the collector's family for generations. When his line died off, the artifact was stolen again, right before it was supposed to be shipped back to Japan. Someone used it to spark a war between Britain and Japan. From there, everything spun out of control." Tia paused. "I think if we ensure the artifact isn't stolen, everything goes back to normal here."

"But Kenneth and his men will come back." Khen shivered. "I don't want to see him again."

"The others are ready to go. Ujarak agreed to come as well, in case he is needed." Tia gestured to a nearby time machine. "We were just waiting for you to come back. But... Khen has a point. Maybe we don't need to fix this. It isn't our timelines. This is hundreds- even thousands- of years after we all should be dead."

Naoki shook his head. "If this world war was not supposed to happen, we cannot allow it to. We are free now- if Kenneth and his men return, we can fight back. He will not enslave us again."

Khen nodded slowly. "Then we should go."

"There is one other thing. The day after we arrive, Hiroshima is attacked. Bombs are dropped on the city, and it destroys everything. The artifact has to be there when that happens, but we can't be. It will be dangerous. The rest of us agreed... Akiko needs to stay behind with someone."

"Khen can watch her." Naoki's reply was immediate.

"What about you?" Khen frowned. "I don't want to send you into that kind of danger alone."

"I'll come back," he promised. "But I want you safe, okay?"

She chewed her lip for a moment before nodding. "Come back to me," she whispered, and kissed him.

He grinned at her. "I would not dream of doing otherwise."

***

Hiroshima was a bustling city of people when they arrived. Rebeckah had to step out of the way of several people, who hurried past without bothering to apologize. Several of them looked far too thin, and everyone looked nervous. She couldn't help casting nervous looks at the sky herself. Intuitively, she knew the bombs wouldn't hit until the next day, but that didn't stop her from worrying about it. If they didn't get out in time, they wouldn't survive.

Ujarak pointed to a warehouse. "You said the excavation was in the basement of a warehouse, right? Is that it?"

Tia glanced at the tablet and nodded. "The thief shows up sometime today- I don't know when or what he looks like. We just need to look for disturbances."

Rebeckah sighed. That meant they would have to sit and wait for something to happen. Wonderful. Something told her she'd be there much longer than she wanted to be.

Sure enough, they sat there all day, and nothing happened. It wasn't until after night had fallen and the research team was gone that Naoki spotted something. "Stay here," he ordered, and disappeared into the night.

A muffled thump sounded in the night, and Naoki soon returned, dragging a young man dressed completely in black, with a face mask. "So... now that he's gone, we're good, right?"

Tia frowned. "There's movement by the warehouse."

Rebeckah glanced at the unconscious man. "I'll tie him up- the rest of you should figure out what's happening."

Naoki agreed, and disappeared with Tia, Ujarak, leaving Mary to help with their prisoner.

***

In the basement of the warehouse, three people dressed in outfits like the first were busy sifting through the bagged artifacts. As Naoki and the others watched, the group left behind most of the artifacts. They seemed intent on finding one specific artifact. Naoki gestured for Tia and Ujarak to come closer.

"If we lock them in and guard the door, they will not be able to leave. We can leave half an hour before the bomb strikes and they will not have time to get away."

"That's cutting it really close," Ujarak pointed out. "I'd rather get out with my life."

Tia shook her head. "We can't all stay and watch. I'll stay by the door while you guys go. You can send the machine back for me."

"Are you sure?"

"You proposed to Khen, didn't you?" Tia gave him a pointed look. "You, Ujarak, Rebeckah, and Mary have people to go home to. You shouldn't take any more risks than necessary. I'll get back as soon as I know they won't escape. I can handle it- don't worry."

Naoki hesitated. It seemed like a bad idea. Deep down, he got the feeling she was lying about coming back, but she didn't seem suicidal. She was a fighter- she would want to go down fighting.

"We can't leave you here alone," Ujarak argued. "What if something goes wrong?"

"Then I'll handle it." Tia pushed them both toward the door. "Go. I'll lock them in and make sure they can't leave."

At her urging, they finally agreed to let her stay behind, after making her promise several times to return with the machine they would send. They barred the doors to the warehouse just as the thieves found what they wanted and came up to leave. Luckily, there weren't any windows, so the only exit wasn't hard to block.

The group returned to the time machine without Tia and set it to return to the museum. As the doors closed behind them, Naoki couldn't ignore the terrible feeling in his gut. Something was going to go wrong.

"We can't leave her." He started to leave, but Ujarak pulled him back.

"She's a fighter, Naoki. It would take a lot to keep her from getting back. She wants us to get out safe, and as much as I hate leaving her alone, she has a point. We've given her a good time margin. She'll be fine."

Naoki tried to accept the words, but it was difficult. The unsettling sense of foreboding wouldn't go away, no matter how much he tried to reassure himself. You just don't like the idea of leaving someone behind, even for a little while. Let it go. She'll be alright. She knows what she's doing.

***

Khen clutched the pendant on the necklace Naoki had given her, tears dripping down her face. She lay curled under the blankets that Naoki had slept with, soaking in his smell. I should have told him not to go or fought harder to go with him. Weeks of waiting had turned to despair. Three months later, everyone was fully convinced that no one made it out alive.

"They cut it too close," someone had said. "They should have known it was too dangerous."

Akiko had been a small comfort through it all, but Khen's emotions were all over the place. She couldn't help jumping up to see who came back whenever a machine arrived. When she saw the same groups that had left not long ago, it was like losing Naoki all over again. She had so little hope left, but still, she couldn't believe he was gone.

"Khen?" Leo knelt beside the bed she was on. "There's another time machine arriving, and you haven't moved."

"I don't care," she whispered. "He's gone. Hoping he isn't won't change that."

"Don't give up." Leo's voice held an unspoken plea. He'd been just as devastated by the loss as Khen was. It was the first time Khen realized just how close he and Mary had become. "We can see who it is together. Just one more..."

She shook her head and pulled the blanket closer. "I can't."

Gently, Leo coaxed her out of bed. They walked to the room where the machine flickered into existence and watched the door open. Despite everything, Khen's heart jumped when she saw the dark-haired man stepping out of the time machine. Hope flared within her, and she dared to look at his face.

"Naoki!" Her voice was a breathless cry of relief, and she flung her arms around him. "You're alive!"

He gave her a confused look, but she didn't bother to explain. Leo ran past them and into the time machine. Khen stepped inside to see who had come back, and found Leo kissing Mary, who looked just as confused as Naoki had been.

"Where's Tia?" Khen scanned the room again. "Is she...?"

"No." Ujarak was busy punching instructions into the dashboard. "We need to send this back for her. Now."

Everyone piled out of the machine as Ujarak hit the final buttons. They watched it disappear empty, waiting for Tia to return with it.~~~