Leo casually leaned against the wall inside the time machine. Across from him, behind the glass that made up the wall, colors and images blurred as they traveled through time and back to the future where the Museum waited for them. To his left, Mary, Queen of Scots, shot him a worried look. She stood with her back straight and chin up, just like a royal.

"What?" he asked.

"Are you alright, Leonardo?"

He gaped at her, stunned she actually used his full name for once. In the next second, his expression was impassive. The moment of weakness he shared with her when they had first returned to the time machine was over with and he regretted it. Now, he shoved back everything they had been forced to do and focused on the here and now. "Fine, Your Majesty." Casting a smirk in her direction, he traced his eyes over the other companions in the machine.

Hijikata and Khutulun stood in the back right corner, gazes met as if they were having a private conversation to themselves. Leo rolled his eyes at them. Joel stood over the controls of the time machine, which was normally where Leo would be.

William and Star were back in the Museum with the Egyptian man they had saved. Briefly, he wondered if the man lived or died, but Leo mentally shrugged it off and decided he didn't care. He supposed that was also where Zhen and the new young Chinese girl were as well.

The world behind the glass finally stopped whirling and spinning, so Leo uncrossed his arms and reached for the doors.

Suddenly, a wild cry of fury echoed through the glass walls, and for a second, Leo thought they would shatter. He turned around to see a man emerging from the back part of the time machine, where the artifacts were kept.

"You - I saw you! You burned the medicine! That stuff was a miracle from God and now - now my wife and daughter are dead because of you! I'll kill you!" the man screamed in fury. He lunged toward Leo with an English longsword - Leo briefly wondered why he had an English longsword when they had been in Italy - but he brushed it off and unsheathed his cutlass.

The two blades clanged against one another as Leo twisted to the left and ducked beneath another blow. Khutulun started forward as if she was going to join in and help him, but Hijikata held her back.

"This is his fight," he said with a grunt.

Joel glanced at him. "Of course you wouldn't help anyone, you filthy Jap."

Leo had no time to listen to the rest of their conversation. The man was reckless but obviously trained. He struck toward Leo in wild, vicious slashes and Leo realized he was so full of rage and grief that he wasn't thinking clearly or fighting well.

For once, Leo wasn't willing to draw out the fight.

Leo rolled on his knees as he slid beneath another one of the man's attacks to his head. He plunged his blade deep into the man's back. As he collapsed, gurgling blood, Leo caught his body and whispered into his ear. "For what it's worth, I'm so sorry about your family."

He pulled his blade out and backed away from the man's body.

Through the open doors of the time machine, other historical people gathered in a circle, staring at Leo and the man's body with mixtures of shock and confusion.

"Leo - " Joel started.

Leo brushed past Mary's outstretched hand and shoved his way through the crowd. He had no idea where he was going, but it wasn't here.

*****

".... That is when I hid in your - in what you call a time machine," Caesarion finished. Star's heart went out to him for what he had endured; the death of his mother, all the betrayals. It seemed that the white men she had faced were not the only ones with blackened hearts and lies that filled their lips.

"Och, sorry, lad." William clapped him on the shoulder.

"The gods have punished me for abandoning my kingdom. Now I will never see it again." Caesarion hung his head.

Star placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort. "The Great Spirit does not punish. Kenneth and his evil have torn many from their timelines and we are working to fix history so that we may return to our homelands."

Casarion nodded and glanced at the door. "Who are they?" The translator he spoke through buzzed for a moment, but Star understood the words it had spoken for him.

Star and William both turned toward the door where Hijikata, Khutulun, and Joel walked into the basement where the people from different time periods of history all still slept and stayed, even though Kenneth and his agents no longer worked here.

Placing her two long braids behind her back, Star stood from the cot with William beside her. He gestured for the Egyptian boy to follow them, so the three met up with their other companions.

"Och, where's t'pirate?" William frowned.

Joel shook his head. "Don't bother asking."

Zhen and the young Chinese girl, Hua, joined them. "Did you fix the timeline you returned to?"

Hijikata nodded, but it was Joel who responded. "Yeah. It's good to see you, doll."

Zhen embraced him tightly. "I was worried for you."

Star smiled at them and it warmed her heart to see the joy on both of their faces. Once she had that same joy with White Bear. Now, she found her eyes wandering to look at William. His red curly hair fell into his eyes as he and Hijikata spoke quietly. She remembered how he had spoken to her secrets of his past, that he had been sold as a slave. Once, she had believed that a man could not own the land, just as he could not own the sky or another person. After what the wasichu did to her people, she knew that not all shared the same beliefs in their own hearts.

They spent time introducing Hua and Caesarion to Hijikata, Joel, and Khutulun. As soon as they had finished, just as William had placed his hand on Star's shoulder to lead her away and speak privately, Joel glanced at his device which had been making noises like a bird's call. "Alright, fellas, dolls, we have another timeline we need to fix. I need a cup of Joe." He rubbed his head.

Star was not entirely sure of his tongue, but she knew enough. "You have not had time to rest. I will go."

"Och, ye will no' go alone, lass." William shot her a look.

Caesarion stepped forward. "I wish to do my part in restoring history. I will go with you as well."

Zhen glanced at Hua, who spoke up first. "I wish to go! I wish to go!" she called. The translator Caesarion had in his hands heard her words and spoke them in the white man's tongue for them all to understand.

"It's too dangerous for a child." Hijikata glanced at Hua and then at Zhen.

She gently grabbed Hua's shoulders and murmured softly in their language. Even though Star could not understand the words they spoke, by Zhen's quiet and comforting tone, she knew Zhen was reassuring the young girl.

Leo dashed down the hallway and stopped when he met up with the group. "I hate to say it, but she would be better off with us."

Joel frowned at him. "Why? What's wrong?"

Leo pointed a thumb back toward one of the hallways where a loud commotion was taking place. "Rioters from the streets are breaking in. The other fighters are holding them off, so if there's something wrong with the timeline, we're the only ones who can fix it. We need to do it now."

With that, they all rushed toward the time machine. Star looked at little Hua and sincerely hoped that whenever they traveled to, it would be no danger to her.

As if he could read her thoughts, William grabbed her hand. "Och, we'll keep the wee lassie safe. I promise."

*****

Joel paused for a moment as he and the others exited the time machine to take in the scenery around them. Never before had he seen such a beautiful sight. Trees towered high into the sky, stretching as far as the eye could see - pine, oak, beeches, red cedar - and it was a stunning sight to behold. The time machine had landed in a dry area in the middle of a group of pines. Snow caked on the ground, reminding him of the harsh winters back home. The men had all dressed in trousers and loose white linen shirts with wool overcoats but even then, the cold still shot straight through him. Zhen, Hua, Star, and Khutulun had all dressed in two-piece dresses made from wool. Only Zhen looked completely comfortable in it. Hua kept itching her skin, while Star stood stiffly with her muscles rigid. Khutulun, on the other hand, had to be held back by Hijikata so she wouldn't rip it off. Joel glanced back at Zhen; even with her narrow, Chinese eyes and pale skin that matched the snow all around them, she was quite a honey.

Focusing back on the task at hand, Joel cleared his throat and forced his shaking hands to still as he clutched the tablet and read through it. "Apparently, whatever was wrong in this timeline is already fixed." He looked up at the others, who stared back at him.

Khutulun smiled at him and pointed back to the time machine. "We... go back...?"

Joel nodded and slipped his tablet back into the pockets of his overcoat. "I guess so." With that, they trekked back through the snow in the short distance back to the time machine. Inside, Joel exhaled at the blast of warm air and pressed his hands on the controls. Leo shut the doors behind everyone as they gathered inside.

Nothing happened.

"What's taking so long?" Leo asked him.

Joel shook his head, sliding his hands on the controls once again. The holos in front of him were displayed correctly, showing the words: 1609 - Jamestown, Virginia. "It's not working. It won't - it won't go back."

Panic made his heart race as he fiddled with the controls and tried what little he knew to try to get the machine started again. Joel's voice cracked. "It's broken."

*****

Zhen clutched Hua to her tightly. "Are you sure you are alright?" she asked her in Old Chinese. By now, they had spoken to each other many times and had discovered a way to easily communicate with each other.

"Food and water are our priorities," Hijikata murmured softly. His arms were crossed, his expression stern, remnant of the commander Zhen had heard he had once been. They stood in the doorway of the time machine.

At first, the cold didn't reach Zhen's skin simply because of all the thick layers of the wool dress she wore. It was unlike any other dresses she wore in her time, but Zhen supposed it could have been far worse.

"These woods are not familiar to me, but I do know how to find and track water," Star said. "I shall go."

"No' alone." William grunted and Zhen almost smiled. He seemed to insist on staying with her. "Och, Zhen, why donna ye and the lassie stay wi' us?"

Joel nodded. "That would be best. Leo and I will do what we can to fix the time machine, but if something happens to it... I don't want any of you inside it."

Zhen's stomach lurched. "What if something happens to you?" She met Joel's gaze desperately.

Joel held it. "I'll be fine, doll."

Hijikata gestured to himself and Khutulun. "We'll hunt for meat. There's no telling how long we'll be stuck here."

Caesarion nodded. "I shall go with you, then."

Zhen took one last glance at Joel before she gently grabbed Hua's arms. The little girl jumped through the thick snow, twirling around. In a way, Zhen suspected she had never seen it before. Even Caesarion was gazing at it in awe.

They only had one translation device, so Zhen told Caesarion to keep it. Star and William led the way through the trees to their left, so Zhen and Hua followed close behind them as Hijikata, Khutulun, and Caesarion went in the opposite direction.

With so much snow and cold, Zhen hoped they would be able to find fresh water and soon. Even though that was far more life-threatening, she glanced back at the time machine, shrinking in the distance as they trekked farther and farther away from it. What if something happened to Joel? What if he couldn't fix it?

What if they were stuck here?

*****

Snowflakes fell from the sky like cherry blossoms and the sight made Hijikata's chest ache and throb. To avoid thinking about his past and the sorrow that often choked him, he clutched a bow in his hands. Khutulun's was a slightly different style - Ancient Mongolian - and even though he preferred to use the katana on his hip, he was fairly decent with a bow. After all, he used to go hunting and fishing with Kondou all the time before they had formed the Shinsengumi. Hijikata was glad they had raided the weapons room. It felt good to have a katana and wakizashi on his hip again; it was as if it had been a severed limb that had been healed and restored.

Khutulun knelt by a series of large tracks and then pointed forward. Hijikata followed her, glancing at Caesarion. Being from Egypt, he didn't seem to be doing too well in the cold, but he kept up with them well. The tablet in Hijikata's overcoat pocket was the only noise, lightly thumping against his leg. Leo had insisted Hijikata keep one for their team, since he knew basic English, leaving Zhen one for the other team.

Something's wrong. That single thought consumed Hijikata's mind, a sinking feeling deep in the pit of his stomach. He froze, grabbing Khutulun's shoulder, and motioned for Caesarion to stop. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he peered through the trees. All he could see was white and the brown, barren trees, but he could feel someone watching them.

They appeared like ghosts gently trailing through the trees into Hijikata's view all around them. None of them ran or darted in attack, he suspected because there were so many of them. From what his eyes could catch, he counted twenty-six of them - dark-skinned warriors with fury in their eyes. Most of them had wooden bows and arrows but a few had clubs. He could unsheathe his katana and he could cut down at least three of them before the others behind him shot him with arrows. Even if Khutulun and Caesarion could do the same or a bit more, it wasn't enough.

"We cannot beat them," he muttered to Khutulun and Caesarion. For once, Khutulun looked as if she was ready to back down. She lowered her bow to the ground and held her hands to her sides, showing that she was weaponless.

Hijikata nodded to Caesarion and they both did the same. It hurt him to drop his katana and wakizashi in the snow; after all, he had just gotten them back. The strange people were natives, like Star, though their appearance was slightly different than hers. They wore furs and hides on their tanned skin. All of them were men who had black hair, some long and straight, others shaven on the sides. "We did not come here to fight," Hijikata said. He was the only one who spoke clear enough English to be understood if these people even knew it at all.

A large burly man shouted something in their language, which Hijikata couldn't understand. All at once, warriors surged on them. The tablet thumped against Hijikata's leg. He whirled around and collapsed onto the ground, grabbing it to send one of the mysterious letters.

We are captured by natives. Hijikata. He hit send and slid the tablet inside a hole in a tree. If the natives found it, it could change history, and even hiding it and hoping someone wouldn't find it was a risk. It would have to do; he didn't have time to properly dispose of it.

The warriors had already tied Khutulun and Caesarion's hands behind their backs. Hijikata suspected that Khutulun let them; if she truly wrestled them, he had no doubt she probably could have gotten away. Why she didn't was beyond him.

They tied his hands behind his back and shoved him forward. He and Khutulun exchanged a look. Panic raced through him as he stared at Caesarion wondering what he had done with his translation device.

As if knowing what Hijikata was thinking, Caesarion eyed the same tree Hijikata had hidden his tablet. Hijikata nodded to him. It would keep them from communicating but they couldn't allow history to be changed.

Now they had to figure out how they were going to survive this.

*****

We are captured by natives. Hijikata.

The instant Joel read what he now knew was called an email, his chest clenched. He wasn't exactly worried for Hijikata, but Khutulun and Caesarion were with him. It showed that the message had also been sent to Star.

"What is it?" Leo asked from where he fiddled with the controls.

Joel placed his tablet back on the floor behind him as he slipped back into the tiny crawlspace in the back of the time machine below the floorboards. It may have been futuristic technology, but Joel used to be a mechanic. He and his Pop used to put all sorts of things together before the war. So it hadn't taken him long to figure out what was wrong. "Hijikata, Khutulun, and Caesarion have been captured by local Native Americans."

Leo lifted an eyebrow. "Where are we, anyway?"

"Jamestown, Virginia, 1609. Not that it's called Virginia yet," Joel muttered. He slipped two wires together and a hum of blue energy flew from them toward the control panel somewhere above him. "Try it now."

Leo's hands pressed on the controls as Joel climbed out of the crawlspace. "Jamestown?" Leo's voice hitched.

Joel wiped his hands on a rag and shrugged. "Yeah, what about it?"

Suddenly, blinding light washed all around the outside of the glass, replacing the scenery of the woods and the snow falling. The time machine wobbled so much that Joel nearly fell. By the time it stopped, he glanced through the glass. Wooden walls of a building surrounded them and Joel realized they were back in the Museum.

Leo pounded at the controls. "No, no, no, no..." He tried again, but nothing happened. "No!" He cursed and pounded his hands against the side of the control panel.

"What is it? Do you know about Jamestown?" Joel crossed his arms.

Leo nodded, running his fingers through his hair. "Yes, I do. Before I became a pirate, I was on one of the ships bound for Jamestown. I was there in the Starving Time."

"The what?" Joel frowned, creasing his eyebrows in the center. He didn't know anything about the history there.

"The winter of 1609. Half of the men in the fort died. Indians surrounded us and barricaded us inside." For once, Leo had lost his confidence, his snarkiness and it was replaced by a look of sheer agony and horror - the most emotion Joel had seen him show, other than after the plague. " If - if we don't get the others and bring them back here... they're all going to die."

*****

Star was glad when she, William, Zhen, and Hua found water. It was frozen over, but Star cracked the ice and they ignored the cold to take a drink. William had brought three canteens so after they had drunk plenty for themselves, they filled all the canteens.

Through the trees, Star spotted movement. With a smile, she watched as a deer leapt through the branches in beautiful, graceful movements. Before they left, she had grabbed a bow and quiver of arrows, so she readied her bow and quietly followed behind the deer. It finally slowed and then stripped the bark of the tree to eat it. Food must be scarce, Star thought. She had seen many deer do that in her homeland during the freezing, winter months.

"Star! Lass!" William shouted behind her.

Men shouted through the trees and the familiar booming echos of their mysterious sticks that spewed fire made Star's head snap up just as William reached her. He grabbed her arm and gently shoved her behind him as Zhen held Hua and stood behind Star.

"Who goes there?" one of the voices asked.

"That's an injun!"

"Kill her! One of those bloody savages!"

Their words stung her, but Star forced the tears back. They spoke to her like the other wasichu she had been around before, but she would never grow used to it. Their words still carved her like a knife.

"No, she - she's my wife. She's been Baptised." William smiled at them. "We're from a settlement farther up t'coast. We're t'only survivors. Please, ye - ye must help us."

The men all exchanged a look.

Star's heart pounded in her chest.

"You can return to the fort with us," one of them said.

"We don't have enough food! We're starving and dying as it is!" a second shouted.

The first shot him a glare. "That's an order! Return to the fort. The savages will be close and we won't survive an attack." With that, the five men turned back around, so Star followed closely behind William as Zhen carried Hua and followed her.

"You saved me," Star whispered in William's ear.

"Aye. I could no' let them hurt ye, lass." He smiled tensely at her, snowflakes making his bright red curls turn partially white.

She felt flutters in her stomach, like the wings of a bird. He had called her his wife. It was a lie, she knew, one to keep her alive, but the thought made her oddly... content and relaxed. As if, as long as he was by her side, she could face anything.

*****

Khutulun glared at some of the strange tan men as they harshly argued outside the longhouse. HIjikata and Casarion had been tied to posts behind her, leaving her in one near the entrance, forming the tip of a triangle, from what she could see.

"Khutulun, are you alright?" Hijikata murmured.

She nodded. Glancing over her shoulder, she tried to shift through the dirt on the ground to see if there were any rocks to cut the ropes with. Nothing. Unfortunately, the men had taken her weapons, Hijikata's, and Caesarion's before capturing them.

One of the men strode through the longhouse's entrance with a grin on his face and a gleam in his eye. There was no doubt of what he wanted from her. This was her chance. He reached around to untie her. Heart racing, she forced herself to stay still and not fight him as he untied the ropes.

Not yet.

"Leave her alone!" Hijikata shouted. A peek over her shoulder told her that he was absolutely furious; red in the face, eyes narrowed on the man with a look that could kill.

The man grabbed her arm and wrenched her to her feet. In a quick, smooth movement, Khutulun slipped her arm around behind him and placed his head in a chokehold at the side of her waist. With her free arm, she kept his arms pinned behind his back. This only left his legs free to struggle, but she kept hers in a wide stance so that he couldn't reach her. Slowly, his movements slowed and stopped as he fell unconscious from lack of breath.

Casarion's eyes widened on hers in shock. Most foreign men reacted the same way when they saw her fight. Kneeling down, she slipped a knife from the unconscious man's belt and then cut Hijikata and Casarion free.

Hijikata searched the man but found no other weapons. He eyed her dagger.

She tossed it to him, knowing he would need it more than her. If she could sneak behind the men and get them close, she could wrestle them to the ground and no weapon would be needed. It was Caesarion who would be weaponless. At least, until they stole more.

She crouched down, matching Hijikata's stance and they peered through the exit of the longhouse to assess the situation before they made their escape.

*****

Zhen dabbed Hua's forehead with a cloth. The fort was in a poor state; everywhere she looked, emancipated men were sick in some shape or form. Star used her herbs to tend to whom she could, but there wasn't much that even she could do. None of the men had offered them food and it had already been an entire day since they had arrived.

The water was brackish and bitter. Zhen knew they needed to drink it, but suspected that was what contributed to Hua's sickness. The little girl coughed and shivered, even though her skin was burning up. Perhaps in Zhen's time or in the Museum, they could give her medicine and she would be just fine. Out here, however, there was nothing.

"Och, how's the lassie doin'?" William murmured as he walked inside the clay hut Zhen sat inside with Hua. Star joined them with a bowl full of herbs.

Zhen shook her head. "I - I am not sure, but we are going to need a different source of water."

William nodded his head to the snow on the ground. "If we boil t'snow, it will be good enough ta drink."

Star looked at up him. "I will stay here and tend to Hua and do what I can to help her. Will you gather the snow?"

"Aye." William pushed open the door but swayed and then collapsed against the doorway. He doubled over and violently coughed, wheezing to catch his breath.

Star jumped up and grabbed his arms. "You have the white man's sickness!"

William shook his head. "Och, I'm fine, lass..." He gasped for air.

Star placed a hand on his forehead. "Your skin feels as if it is on fire. Come inside. You must rest with Hua." Tears glistened in her eyes and Zhen could imagine how Star felt. If Joel were here, sick...

Her mind wondered where he was and how he was doing. She glanced down at Hua as Star helped William lay down beside the little girl. He looked as pale as a ghost. Hua was in no better shape, worse even.

Zhen closed her eyes, sucking in a deep breath. "What are we going to do, Star?" she whispered.

Star's hands shook as she wrung out a cloth and dabbed William's forehead. "I - I do not know."

Outside there was a loud commotion and men's voices rising. Zhen stood up and slipped out there, wrapping a wool overcoat around her shoulders. The cold bit into her skin, so she clenched it tighter around her.

Two men grappled on the ground. One of them slammed the other's head against a rock and then snatched something from his hand. When Zhen peered at it closer, she realized it was a piece of meat.

"Lucky bastard," a rough-looking man standing near Zhen muttered as the man darted off with the piece of meat.

Zhen glanced at him. "Because he has food?"

The rough man nodded. "We ate the last of the horses and cats several weeks ago. That's the first piece of rat meat we've found. I had to boil my last shoe four days ago."

Zhen glanced down at his feet. They were bare, standing on the cold, hard ground, on top of the thin layer of snow with no warmth or protection. His toes were black.

Across from her, sitting in the doorway of another hut, was a familiar-looking young man with shaking fingers. He drank soup but from what Zhen could see, it had bits of meat in it.

"Oi, where'd you get the meat?" the rough man beside Zhen asked the young one.

He shook his head and pointed to one of the commanders patrolling. The commander stopped and stared at Zhen and the rough man beside her. "You really want to know what's in it?"

The rough man beside her nodded.

Zhen swallowed deeply.

"Ann."

The young man holding the empty soup bowl placed it down on the ground and ran around behind his hut. Zhen could hear him dry-heaving and knew he was throwing up. Horror filled her as she grasped just what the commander had meant. As the young man returned, she peered at him and finally realized why he had looked so familiar.

He was Leo.

Or at least, a younger version of him. More than anything, she wanted to go comfort him but had no idea how that would mess up his history. Leo... None of them had had any idea of what he had endured in his past. Zhen had assumed just like the others that he had always been a pirate, a man who did as he wanted without a care for how it affected the rest of the world.

Now... Now it all made sense.

Tears pricked at her eyes so she darted back inside their hut before Leo could see her. She closed the door tightly. Breathing heavily, she squeezed her eyes shut, but kept picturing the bowl of soup.

*****

While Joel, Kepler, and a few of the other historical people from the Museum figured out how to fix the time machine, Leo sat on a bench outside it, hands trembling. His mind was back in fort Jamestown. The cold, the raw hunger that ate away at his body bit by bit. Losing Andrew in an Indian attack, having to kill and eat his own horse, Penelope.

Ann.

Leo still couldn't even think her name without gagging. At the time, he had been two weeks without food. The last meal he'd even eaten had been a sliver of meat from a dead mouse. So when Bartholemew had shown up and given him a bowl of warm soup, Leo didn't ask any questions. Instead, he ate and he savored every bite. It had tasted delicious, satisfying the deep hunger that had become part of his life back then.

"You really want to know what's in it?" Bartholemew had asked.

Thomas had nodded.

"Ann."

Two days before that, Ann had mended Leo's shirt for him.

He placed his hands on his eyes and felt bile in the back of his throat.

"Leonardo," a smooth voice murmured softly.

No, Leo thought. Not her. Not now. I can't...

Mary's hand rested on his shoulder and he finally pulled his hands away, staring at the ground. "I am so sorry about your friends, but don't worry. Kepler, Joel, and Richard are bound to figure the time machine out."

Leo shook his head, swallowing deeply. "They're in my timeline."

Mary pulled her hand away with a small gasp. "Oh, Leo. I'm sure you must be eager to see your family again."

Leo shook his head. "No, this was when I was far younger than I am now. Away from my family, in - in the New World."

Mary's eyes widened in surprise. "You sailed to the New World?"

Leo nodded. "Yeah. I know what they're going through and - I don't think they're going to survive."

"I wouldn't have thought you would be worried for them." Mary lifted her eyebrows at him.

Leo shot her a look. "I show you only what I want you to see, Queen Mary."

She frowned. "If you truly care, then why - "

"Leo," a voice interupted.

Leo stood off the bench to meet Joel's gaze.

"We got it working. You and I are going back. There's a risk if we go back, we may never be able to come back here," Joel explained.

Once, Leo would have stayed there, refusing to go back even if he had been paid to. Now, he didn't even hesitate. "I won't leave them back there to die," he murmured firmly. He followed behind Joel and stepped into the entrance of the time machine.

Mary caught his arm before he went completely inside. "You are actually doing the right thing for once, pirate," she said with a smile.

He grabbed her hand and kissed the top of it with a smirk. "On occasion, your Majesty."

With that, he joined Joel in the time machine. "We're going alone?" Leo asked.

Joel nodded. "I convinced the others to stay here in case we didn't come back. It's only us risking our lives for our... group."

Leo glanced at Joel. "Start it up."

Joel pressed on the controls and the world disappeared from around them.

*****

Zhen held Hua in her arms, gently singing to her in Mandarin. It was Zhen's original language, so it was easier for her to think of a song, even if Hua couldn't understand it. Beside them, Star knelt over William, giving him a drink of water. They had boiled snow, but all of the water around here was so spoiled and brackish that when the snow fell, even it wasn't clean.

Suddenly, Hua's breathing stopped. Immediately, Zhen felt the young girl's entire body weight against her arms. "N - No, Li Hua! Li Hua!" Zhen cried out.

Star stared at Hua with tears in her eyes. "No..."

Zhen sobbed, clutching Hua's body to her chest tightly. Rocking back and forth, she shook her head, tears streaming down her face. Hua was too young; this never should have happened.

Grief weighed heavily upon her, so all she could manage to do was continue singing the song.

*****

Clenching the dagger, which felt too light and too small in Hijikata's hands, he and Khutulun slipped out of the longhouse. Fortunately, the snow had picked up and become worse, which gave them plenty of cover as they snuck through the camp. Caesarion did well to stay behind them and keep out of sight.

From where he and Khutulun crouched behind another longhouse, he grabbed her hand and motioned for Caesarion to stop. "They're watching," he murmured as he narrowed his eyes at a group of warriors all with bows and arrows raised toward them, scattered in between the other longhouses.

Khutulun followed his gaze and muttered something in her language. He suspected it was a curse.

They must have been watching the longhouse we were kept in, Hijikata realized. These people were highly skilled at being silent and unseen. Pressing a hand against Khutulun's chest as a way of telling her to stay back, he stepped forward, throwing the dagger to the ground with his hands up.

"We just want to be released," Hijikata said in English, knowing they couldn't understand him. He hoped his tone and actions were enough. "We will not fight you if you let us go."

The burly leader from before nodded his head to one of the other warriors. This one placed his bow and quiver of arrows on the ground and stepped forward.

The leader said something to Hijikata in their language and gestured to the warrior in front of him and then to Hijikata. He waved his hand to the trees.

Hijikata frowned. Does he want me to fight this man in order to win our freedom? he wondered.

The warrior gestured for him to attack.

Taking that as his answer, Hijikata darted toward him. Even though he had no katana, Hijikata planned to use many of the same tactics as if he had one. He knew it was unlikely these people had ever trained in such a way before, so he hoped it would give him the upper hand.

The warrior had crouched to tackle him to the ground, so when Hijikata copied one of Saitou's signature moves - a quick draw, though he was not as fast or efficient as Saitou had been - it surprised the man. Without a katana, Hijikata simply copied the movement of a quick draw and slammed his fist into the man's side instead of slicing it with a katana. Behind him now, Hijikata kicked the back of the man's knee and as he crumbled to the ground, Hijikata struck the back of his head with an open palm. Jumping into the air, Hijikata kicked the side of the man's face.

He collapsed on the ground and Hijikata stood over him and eyed the other warriors.

Suddenly, war cries echoed through the trees. Hijikata's head snapped up at the same time the warriors all drew their bows.

Other natives, with paint on their faces and slightly different appearances, stormed through the camp. Arrows flew toward him, so Hijikata ducked out of the way, snatching one of the stray arrows off the ground. It wasn't the best weapon, but it was the only one he could get his hands on.

Khutulun had leapt on top of one of the men and had him wrestled to the ground. The fallen warrior didn't move as she stood up and threw his bow toward Hijikata. He nodded in thanks to her and nocked the arrow he had.

For now, they would fight with the first tribe of natives and wait for an opportunity to slip away in the chaos.

*****

"Great Spirit, watch over Li Hua and take her into the skies in Your warm embrace," Star prayed. Zhen had gone to find a place to bury her, leaving Star alone with William.

His breathing came in shallow gasps, like a river that had almost dried up in summer. Violently, he trembled and shivered, coughing and gagging, unable to fully breathe. There was nothing she could do here. No herbs, no medicine, nothing but watch him fade away, just as she had been forced to do with Li Hua...

With her children. With White Bear.

For the first time in many winters, Star released her composure and allowed the sobs to tear through her body like a mighty rainstorm, both inside and outside. She fell upon William's chest, shaking just as much as he was. "P - Please, William, do not die! My heart cannot take any more loss or sorrow."

"Och..." he whispered, running his fingers through her silky hair. It came loose from her braid and his lips turned into a small, weak smile. "Dinna fash, lass. Ye'll... remember me, aye?"

Star nodded, tears dripping from her eyes to his feverish, flushed cheeks. "Y - Yes. But - But I..."

William traced her jaw with his finger, blinking at her. "Ye're so bonny. I wish we'd had more time together."

"Me too..." Star's voice trailed off as she leaned down toward him. Her lips brushed against his in a soft kiss, like a whisper in the wind, a faint flame of a fire flickering and almost gone. It became stronger, fiercer as if more wood had been added to the fire and the flames burst to life. Star's hands clung to William's hair, desperately trying to hold onto him.

William pulled away from her and coughed, wheezing as he tried to catch his breath. He groaned and Star held onto him since it was all she could do.

*****

Khutulun clutched the stolen bow in her hands tightly as she, Hijikata, and Caesarion made their way through the thick snow in the woods on the outskirts of the camp. They had finally found an opening to sneak away.

Caesarion shouted in his language and lunged toward a warrior Khutulun hadn't seen to their left. He slammed the warrior's head against a tree.

"Khutulun!" By the time she heard Hijikata's warning, it was too late.

He dove on top of her and she heard the thwack of an arrow. Hijikata's muscles instantly went completely rigid as he cried out in pain. She turned around and behind Hijikata she could see the warrior up in the trees, aiming a bow and another nocked arrow at them. To the left, Caesarion was fighting another warrior.

Beneath Hijikata, Khutulun couldn't do anything. If she moved him in a rush, the arrow in his back could shift and kill him. Suddenly, a loud thundering sound exploded and the warrior in the trees collapsed to the ground.

Joel and Leo appeared above her. "Khutulun!"

Leo grabbed Hijikata and gently lifted him off.

Khutulun batted his hands away and glanced at the arrow wound. It was in the lower part of Hijikata's back, but she couldn't remove it without fire to stop the blood and another knife to remove it with. She had removed arrows from men and seen it done many times in the battlefield, but she couldn't do it here.

Joel turned his attention to Caesarion and Khutulun wanted to strike him in the throat. Whatever reason he hated Hijikata for, uncaring that he could die was going too far.

"We have to get back to the time machine," Leo said in English. Khutulun often understood what they were saying now, after catching on, but she still couldn't replicate the strange language.

"Help..." she murmured to Leo and Joel.

Leo and Caesarion darted to her side and, no thanks to Joel, they carefully carried Hijikata through the trees, away from the fighting.

*****

Night had fallen when Star found herself crying silently to herself. William had gotten worse and had been unconscious since earlier. His breaths came in harsher, wet rasps, and less frequent than they had been.

He is dying, she thought. The same had happened to little Hua before... Star cringed. Suddenly, the door to the hut burst open and Zhen stared at her in horror. "Star, the - the men. They - they - " She choked and collapsed near Hua's body.

Star stood to her feet and crouched beside Zhen. "What is it?"

Zhen shook her head. "They want Li Hua's body. T - to... to feed them."

Never in her life had Star heard something so horrific and unthinkable. She glanced at William and back out the door, where men's voices rose and shouted loudly. "I will need your help to carry William," she said.

Zhen looked at Hua's body. "I cannot leave her to them!"

Star gently shook William, trying to wake him up, but all that he did was groan. His body was far too weak. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed William's right arm and heaved him up. Half of his body slid upward and she slid beneath him so that he rested on her back. It was easier to carry him this way.

Zhen clutched Hua's body to her chest and then slid beneath William in the same way as Star. Both women grunted under his weight but headed to the door. They were met by three starving wasichu.

Star grabbed the snow that had been boiling over a fire next to their hut and threw it on the three men. As they screamed and backed away, she gestured for Zhen to stay with her. They hurried as fast as they could, struggling to hold William upright as they made for the fort gates.

One of the wasichu leaders glared at them. "You'll never make it alive out there," he warned.

Star glanced over her shoulder at the three men who had recovered and were coming after them. "It will be a better death than in here."

He removed the log and opened the gate. As soon as they were through and it shut behind them, Star collapsed into a pile of snow with Zhen still clutching Hua's body beside her.

William rasped with another groan. Star took off her wool overcoat and wrapped it around William's body.

"What now?" Zhen whispered.

Star shook her head. "I - I don't know."

*****

Khutulun finished tying the cloth tightly around Hijikata's waist. Fortunately, back at the time machine, she had found a dagger and managed to pull the arrow out. Leo had found an odd, tiny square piece of metal that lit a fire for them. So Khutulun had used it to cauterize Hijikata's wound.

He had woken and stared at her with softened eyes. "Arigatou'gosamashita, for saving my life, Khutulun," he murmured.

Khutulun smiled at him and grabbed his hand.

"We have to find Zhen and the others," Joel said, heading back toward the time machine's door.

Caesarion had a khopesh and gestured to Joel and Leo by the door. Each of them held one of the mysterious sticks in their hands that Khutulun found to be some sort of advanced version of a bow and arrows.

Hijikata started to sit up and follow them, but Khutulun shoved him back down and glared at him.

The three men left and Khutulun hoped that Zhen, Star, little Hua, and William were all safe.

*****

Star's body was utterly exhausted. She couldn't remember the last time she had ate or slept or even had a drink of water. She and Zhen had avoided it after learning of its poison. Neither of them could keep going. The cold slipped through Star's body and she found moving difficult.

Zhen shivered and her teeth clacked together. "S - S - Star... W - we w - will - no - not m - make it."

Star peered through the darkness of the trees. There. Over to the far right was the corpse of an elk and nearby a bear. She had heard tales in her tribe of a lone warrior who had been forced to do this to survive. Gently lying William on the ground, Star checked to see if the blood was still warm. Fortunately, it was. She silently thanked the Great Spirit.

"Wh - Wh - what a - are y - y - you doing?" Zhen asked through her shivers.

"It is an old warrior's trick in dire circumstances." Star pulled out the knife she had kept hidden in her boot along with the odd device from the time machine. Kneeling in front of the elk, she slit open its stomach and began the horrid, stinky task of pulling out all of its guts and organs. It reminded her of when she and her mother and sisters would skin the buffalo after a good hunt. Tearing parts of her dress for a makeshift bag, she saved the good parts - the liver and the heart - and knew that even raw, it would feed her, William, and Zhen.

Zhen only stared at her in shock and horror, unblinking.

Then Star did the same to the bear. When she finished, she turned to Zhen. "Zhen, you must come!" Star stumbled through the icy cold, dragging William to the elk. She held its stomach open and forced as much of his body as she could fit inside. Going back to Zhen, she met the woman's shocked, horrified gaze. "Close your eyes, Zhen. Do not think of it."

Zhen released Hua's body and did as she asked as Star helped her to the bear. Both of them were tiny enough that they curled up and managed to squeeze their bodies inside.

If the Great Spirit willed it, the snow would pass soon.

*****

As the snowstorm worsened, Joel, Leo, and Caesarion trekked through it in heavy wool overcoats. Joel could hardly see a thing. He wished he could use lights from the tablet, but he couldn't risk changing history somehow. So they wandered around through the dark, only using Joel's tablet to track Star's tablet.

"There..." Even in the dark, it was obvious that the ground was coated in a thick layer of blood. Joel froze for a moment, and in his mind he was back on one of the South Pacific Islands, staring at a beheaded man's corpse that the Japs had left for them to find.

Anger gripped him as Leo collapsed onto the ground in front of a tiny body. "It - it's Hua," Leo choked.

Joel looked behind him to what looked to be some sort of animal corpse. At first, he wasn't sure what it was. The thing had a human foot sticking out of the back and the front and it took him a minute to realize what he was looking at.

The first was a dead elk and the second appeared to be a bear.

"What the...?" Leo stared at both corpses in shock.

Joel wanted to smile in relief but he couldn't. "It's an old survival trick," he said, kneeling in front of it. Inside the elk, William's body trembled inside. When Joel checked inside the bear, Zhen and Star huddled together, desperately trying to stay warm. Together, Joel and Leo carried William as Caesarion helped Star and Zhen, using the extra overcoats they brought to keep them all warm. Blood coated the two women and William from head to toe, and Joel tried not to think about the smell that made him gag.

William didn't seem to be doing good, so the group hurried as fast as they could through the trees and back toward the time machine.