Author's Games: History

Task Two: Entries

If the formatting or italics is off, I'm sorry. 

Spot 2: Sara_R_Stark 

After their first mission, Peter had expected to never again set foot in another time period, though it was made known to Kenneth's agents that he and his group had impeccable survival skills and abilities beyond the others of the museum. So when another one of their missions went haywire, their group was the first asked to fix the problem. This time, Peter was ready.

He didn't protest to being lead to the time machine again, but he was a little concerned when he was taken to a small conference room instead of the crowded main hall. The only ones in the room were members of his own group as well as about five other new people, none of which he recognized, as well as one of Kenneth's agents. Heiron had a seat saved for him when he got there, a grin already on his face.

"Are you ready to go again?" Heiron asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Peter shrugged, running his fingers over the smooth mammoth tusk they had grabbed from their previous journey. He always kept it strapped to his belt as a reminder of their brilliant adventure. Not once had he taken it off.

"As always, I will make this quick," Kenneth's agent began. "Another mission has gone bad and we need more help than ever. Two ancient empires are on the verge of toppling far sooner than they're meant to for reasons that we can't yet identify."

"Two? How are we supposed to save two empires?" Anne asked.

"You'll have to split up your groups, which is why I invited some more help. There is no time for more explaining, so I will give you two folders filled with everything you will need. Time is of the essence, so please allow me to divide your group so that we may get your groups out of here as fast as possible."

He passed Peter the first folder and gave Ammon the second, firing off names from his list as quickly as he could. When that was done, he shoved their groups out into the hallway towards the machine, his fingers flying across the control panel on its glimmering silver side until a light above the door blinked green. The door slid open and he gestured for everyone to begin filling in the space, cramming them into every inch of spare room.

"I apologize for how brief I was," he murmured, "but this is the most important mistake we have ever made and it must be fixed quickly." Peter nodded and watched silently as the door slid shut again.

His stomach flipped as they instantly began their journey, though it was over even quicker than the first. Just as before, the door at the front of the machine slid open, as well as four others he hadn't even noticed before. Beyond each door was a completely different city, the sun glaring at them from every angle possible.

"My group, we will travel to Egypt," Ammon shouted, and his group hustled through the back exit.

"And mine..." Peter paused, looking through the folder briefly. "We will go to Greece." Somewhere in the back, he heard Heiron shout excitedly as he charged through the door leading to his home country.

"Greece, huh?" Elanor asked, grinning easily. "I've always wanted to go to Greece."

"Now's your chance, but there is no time to sightsee. We need to stop for a second and figure out what we are fixing, so let's hurry out of here and start the mission."

They all filtered out of the time machine and paused at the top of a large grassy hill overlooking the city of Athens, Greece's capital city. It was beautiful there, much unlike anything Peter had imagined. According to the folder, the agents that had traveled back there had only arrived to search for another person for their exhibit from a time later than Heiron's. The year, according to their documents, was 148 BC, merely two years before Greece fell to the Romans. The documents gave no indication as to what was causing history to change, but it was clear that the scientists had majorly messed something up, as the city before them should have been beautiful.

Instead it was in flames.

"What..." Heiron gasped, staring out at his city with anguish. He murmured unintelligently in Greek as he slowly sank to his knees, Elanor placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I have no clue what could have happened," Peter murmured. "This is far beyond anything I could imagine. This is bad... really bad. We need to find someone and figure out what happened."

"I can help," Heiron said desperately. "I speak Greek. These are my people. I do not want my city to burn." He ran off down the hill, and Peter gestured for the group to follow as Heiron approached a person fleeing the city.

The two spoke in quiet Greek, the man, wearing a beige tunic and carrying a dagger glinting with blood, gestured wildly as he explained to Heiron what was going on. The rest of the group stood by, straining to pick out bits and pieces of the conversation. Peter could understand none of their quick speech except for a single repeating word.

"Hold on, Heiron," he said, grabbing the Greek's arm. "Who is Alexander?"

"Alexander the Great," Heiron responded. "I do not know of this man, but he is described as a strong military leader who has taken over much of Europe. He conquered Greece and was said to have almost died of the swamp fever or malaria."

"He didn't die?" Peter screamed. "Heiron, Alexander The Great was known as a conqueror of much of Europe. He was supposed to die in 323 BC. His empire would crumble and the world would evolve into its current state. He needs to die, Heiron. If he doesn't, everything will begin to change."

"What do we do then, Peter?" Elanor asked. "Must he die?"

"If you want us to return to the future intact, yes."

"How do you believe this happened in the first place?" Anne asked, frowning delicately.

"I have a guess," Peter said, "though my explanation must not take up too much time. We need to hurry and reverse this. The scientists that traveled here likely brought medicine to reverse the effects of common diseases so that they would not get sick during their mission. Those scientists never went back, so it was assumed this was just another failed mission, though I think they might have been captured."

"By Alexander?" Heiron gasped.

"Yes. And he must have taken the medication for himself to cure him of his ailment before he could die. Now his empire will only continue expanding until it is unstoppable."

"But how will we find him?" Anne asked. "If he has taken so much land, he could be anywhere." Peter stared blankly at her for a moment, shaking his head slowly.

"Look around you," he sighed. "It's obvious where he's been recently. I read that, in the past, Greece tried to rebel against Alexander, though he put them in their place. This might have been the case when they found out he survived his ailment, though this time, he decided to take out the city as a whole. I have a feeling they wanted to fight back while he was weakened, but he wasn't as frail as they assumed."

"My people are strong," Heiron growled. "They would not give up this easily."

"I don't think they did. This looked like an impossible battle for them to win. Alexander's armies were massive."

"If his armies are so massive, then how will we find him and assure that he is dead?" Elanor queried.

"I do not know," Peter murmured. "I think it would be best to split up. This journey will be lengthy. To find Alexander, it will take time. We must find out the full story of this battle and hopefully these people will lead us to him."

"I don't know what good we will be," Anne huffed. "We are ladies... we can't fight."

"Yes we can," Elanor countered. "Let me go on my own. I am quiet. With a change of clothes I could hurry and explore the town by sundown."

"Are you willing to go off on your own?" Peter question, raising an eyebrow. "It's dangerous out there."

"Obviously," Elanor scoffed. "But too many people would raise suspicion. I've learned a few things about sneaking around. Trust me, if you give me a meeting place, I will see you after I have finished."

"Then it is settled," he nodded. "Meet at this hill at sundown. You may leave and explore the city while I will go with Heiron to see if I can find survivors and help them flee. Anne, would you and the others like to scout a safe place for us to hide during the night? Until we have a solid plan, we will need to bide our time and figure out where will go from here."

"Of course," Anne nodded. "I will help us find some food for supper."

Peter nodded and grasped Heiron by his sleeve, pulling him down the hill in a sprint. The smoke stung Peter's eyes and he could feel ash floating into his hair. His feet hurt as the rocky ground made him stumble forwards, though Heiron stabled him before he could fall to the ground. Peter nodded in appreciation before continuing forwards, allowing them to charge into the smoky city, quickly fading from view for the group on the hill.

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

"You are really going to go out on your own?" Anne chortled, elegantly lifting up her heavy skirts as her group made it down the hill. "That's hardly ladylike."

"Ladylike," Elanor snorted. "I despise that word."

"How? A lady is supposed to be sweet, innocent, and receptive for their husband. They need to be quiet and proper and not show any will to go out and do the man's work."

"Maybe in your time, sweetheart, but not mine. I've always been a fan of the men's work. No one can tell me otherwise."

"You don't have a husband?" Anne gasped. "But you are 19! That is beyond the age of a suitable wife."

"But I don't want to be a wife," Elanor grunted, flushing uncomfortably. "My only love was left behind in 1858. I will never see him again, and therefore I will never wed."

Anne grimaced. She was never good at conversation, especially with women who seemed to consider them above their social ranking. She would never express her distaste for Elanor, nor would she ever openly insult Freydis, the other woman in their group who seemed just as dead set on adventure as Elanor. Anne was a lady in every way possible, and she wouldn't allow these vermin to taint her perfect figure. She especially wouldn't talk behind Freydis' back, even though she was far away in the land of Ancient Egypt and way beyond hearing range.

"I apologise for bringing it up, then," Anne murmured. "I have always been too straight-forwards, I suppose."

"It is alright," Elanor responded glumly, before holding out her arm and stopping the group. "These houses look promising. Let's look through these first so that I might change out of this wretched dress and put on something more suitable for adventure." Anne simply nodded. She had already brought up painful memories for Elanor, so she would not press.

They all made their way into the first house. The walls were made out of beige mud bricks, and only two little windows let light into the small house. There was no glass in either of these windows, though wooden shutters flapped in the wind on the outside of the house. They were obviously there to keep out the rain. There were no fancy rugs on the floor or tapestries on the wall, and the only furniture in the main room were small wooden stools obviously used for seating. There was a little table between these stools, and a small bowl of apples sat atop it. Elanor grinned and picked one up, taking a large bite out of it. She hummed in satisfaction as she chewed and made her way into the next room.

"Everyone," she called from beyond the doorway. "I found a chest in here. Hold on- yes! There are clothes!"

Anne walked in the room to see Elanor buried in a pile of clothes. She pulled out garment after garment made of warm wool and linen. Eventually she settled on a chiton, a tunic worn by the men of Athens, as well as multiple pieces of Greek armour.

"The person living here must have continued his military training," she grinned. "I heard they started training at age 18. Hopefully these will fit." She dashed off into the other room, and Anne listened as she began stripping down, and winced as Elanor returned.

"This is so much more comfortable," Elanor sighed. "I couldn't seem to remove my corset so I couldn't take that off, but this tunic is so soft and the armour fits me perfectly!"

Over the chiton, which went down to her lower thigh, she had a golden chestplate. Small strips of white fabric hung down over the chiton, embroidered with bright colours. On her calves and knees, two golden pieces of armour went down to just over her sandals.

"Now I just need a weapon to fight with," she said, smiling giddily. Elanor rooted through the chest for a moment before diving for the bed, searching underneath the wooden frame for something to fight with. Finally, she came up, holding three things. Over her shoulder she slung a quiver of arrows. On her belt she hung a long sword. In her hand she kept a bow, beautiful and deadly as it sat casually in her palm.

"You will be careful, won't you?" Anne asked as Elanor began making her way back outside.

"Of course," Elanor smiled. "Do not worry. I've never once gotten caught, and I'm not fond of making this my first." With that, she slipped out the door and into the smoke.

"Alright, boys," Anne grumbled, gesturing to the group. "We need to hurry. Two of you stand watch while the rest of you help me move around this furniture. We need to make sure we will be hidden so they can not look through the doorway and see us sleeping."

. . . . . . . . . . .

Meanwhile, in Egypt, the other group wasn't doing too well.

"How I have missed my home," Ammon grinned, taking a deep breath. "We must take time for me to show you all the beautiful sights."

"I'm sorry, Ammon, but we simply don't have time for any sightseeing," Freydis announced, snatching the folder from his hand. "You are here to help us navigate so that we may save this beautiful empire from devastation."

"But-"

"I am sorry, friend Ammon," Cassius murmured. Freydis almost grinned. Cassius was worse than Heiron when it came to English, but he always tried his hardest.

"If we solve this quickly," Freydis said, quickly backtracking, "we might have time for a quick tour. This is only if we do this fast, though. Don't get your hopes up."

"Thank you," Ammon smiled. "Then we will hurry."

They began to make their way through the city, Ammon looking confused at all the sights. He was born nearly 1200 years before the death of Cleopatra, which seemed to be about the time they were in, so it was obviously going to be a completely different setting than what he was used to. None of them there seemed to grasp the concept of Egypt more than Ammon, though, so they allowed him to lead them wherever he deemed necessary for searching.

The sun was hot on their backs as they made their way through the down. Freydis had never seen anything like it. She was used to the dark, wet forests of her house, not the blaring sun and the heat that seemed to seep through her clothes. She hadn't been expecting any sort of warm weather, so she still had on a thick woolen jacket and riding clothes, as well as knee-high boots made of thick leather. She had ditched her traditional dresses for something more comfortable, but she was beginning to regret it. The thin material of her dress would keep her much cooler than this.

"The heat is too much, is it not?" Ammon questioned, looking concerned.

"'Tis," Freydis groaned. "My clothes are too thick."

"We must stop and find light clothes. You will overheat."

"I know, Ammon," Freydis groaned. "But I cannot leave these clothes behind. They are my only others and I will not be seen in another dress. I will make due for now."

"If it gets to be too much, we will stop," one of their group members murmured. "You guys are leading the operation. We wouldn't know what to do without your guidance."

"Thank you, and do not worry. You are as important on this mission as we are."

They walked in silence, ignoring the odd looks they were receiving from the residents of the small village. In truth, the group didn't know exactly which town they were in, and that fact was making their trip much more difficult. What were they to fix if they didn't know what they were starting with in the first place? Ammon looked around with excitement. The sight of his home, though changed, was a relief. None of them had seen their homes for long periods of time, and they had no idea how their time periods were faring. It was depressing for most. They were ripped from their homes with no chance of returning. None would see their families and friends again. Ammon was clearly one of the lucky ones, and the tension in the group was tangible as everyone spied his enjoyment with envy.

"It is so different than I remember," Ammon grinned. "But it is a good change. If only my family was here. I have not used my native language in a long time, and I fear I will lose it soon."

"You and me both, buddy," Freydis grinned. "I have not found anyone who speaks Danish or Icelandic in many months."

"Or Latin or Hebrew," Cassius chimed in.

"I know of only one other that speaks German," one of their new recruits murmured. "He leads the other group."

"Peter?" Freydis asked.

"Yes. He is from my time, but we do not talk. There was a war and we were on opposite sides."

"I never knew Peter was from a war," Freydis murmured. "Which side was he on?"

"He was with the officers," the boy whispered, his eyes lost in another time. "They were taking over Germany, and my friends were all captured. I fought back, but it wasn't enough and I had to flee. I hid as the war raged on and then I was captured. I never got to see if my family survived." Everyone was silent as they processed it.

Freydis found herself stunned. Peter always held himself as a leader, but Freydis had never assumed that this was the result of anything but his personality. No one could imagine him as a military commander who separated families and fought back against the innocent. Now, all Freydis could see as she pictured Peter in his mind was him wearing a crisp suit, standing amongst the rubble of a ruined city as people screamed at the loss of their loved ones.

. . . . . . . . . . .

"Come on, Heiron. We must be silent and unseen." Peter quickly ushered the Greek forwards, ducking down into the shadows of a small vegetable stall.

"But we have not seen one person since we arrived," Heiron whispered.

"I've heard them marching through the streets. They're trying to make a quick escape."

Heiron was silent, but Peter could clearly see the pain in his eyes. Seeing your city in flames was enough to make anyone fret. He couldn't allow personal emotions to get in the way of their mission, though. The sun was beginning to set and heavy shadows stretched across the street, meaning that they had little time until they had to return back to their homebase.

"I hope my people have escaped," Heiron murmured.

"So do I," Peter said. "If they die, history can possibly be altered beyond all repair. This is why we need to hurry."

They jumped back out into the street, running past the empty street corner into the darkness of another stall. Heiron was about to jump back out and continue on when Peter suddenly stopped and held him down, holding a finger to his lips. They listened, hearts racing as multiple pairs of footsteps thundered by. Heiron let out a little squeak of terror, though Peter clamped a hand over his mouth before he could make any further sounds. Only when the footsteps faded into the distance did Peter release his hand, and he ushered Heiron up.

"They're getting closer," Peter hissed. "I think this is their final patrol of the city before they move on. They will leave the survivors to rebuild and will begin expanding their territory more. We can't let them leave this city."

"But we need to get back to the hill," Heiron whispered. "They will be waiting."

"We don't have time to waste!"

"We cannot just abandon the group!" Heiron defended. Peter hissed in annoyance and jumped out of the stall.

"Then you should go back," he growled. "Tell them yourself. If I am not back by morning, don't come looking for me." With that, he ran off and disappeared around a corner.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Elanor had never been more terrified in her entire life.

She regretted going out on her own now, and wished she had heeded Anne's words. She had unknowingly wandered into a base camp for a large group of Alexander's soldiers and had been surrounded as they expanded their festivities throughout the entire square. Elanor had been hiding in a small barrel for nearly three hours and was waiting for a time to slip past the soldiers and sneak away into the darkness, though as the sun began rapidly setting and their merriments only got louder and more obnoxious, she doubted she would ever have the chance. The others were probably back at their hill by now. If they sent out a search group, they would run straight into these soldiers.

"Oh, I hate my rotten luck," she grumbled to herself, adjusting her position in the barrel for the thirtieth time that night. The moldy wood creaked loudly and she cursed herself for her clumsiness, though over the sound of loud cheering and conversation, no sound would be heard.

Carefully, she peeked her head up over the side of her barrel, examining her surroundings. Sleeping mats were spread out as far as the eye could see. Men sat leaning up against railings and buildings, burying their noses in goblets of wine and stolen platters of foods. They stood in circles and conversed, telling drunken stories and gesturing wildly. Elanor grinned excitedly as she saw no one in her general vicinity, and her luck only increased as she spied a small alleyway mere feet from where she was hidden.
Careful to make no unnecessary movements, she quietly pushed herself up into standing position and slunk out of the barrel, blending with the shadows as she crept into the alleyway. As she made her way back, she mapped out her surroundings. To find this camp again, she would need to have the path memorized. The walk through the city was fairly quiet as she left the campsite, the silence only penetrated by the sound of scampering footsteps as another person fled the city or the crackling of a fire as yet another house burned to the ground. But, within the hour, Elanor was back at the hill, and she was met with the sight of a single house with a candle burning in the window. She entered inside quickly, as the temperature was rapidly dropping, and smiled at the sight of Anne dishing out small portions of food to their team.

"Oh, thank the heavens," Anne gasped, rushing up to Freydis with open arms. "I was worried something had happened to you."

"I was worried too," Elanor admitted. "I was trapped by Alexander's base camp for hours on end without a way to escape." She looked around at the faces of her counterparts as they heard her story with terror. That's when her eyes narrowed. "Where's Peter?"

"He wanted to go on his own," Heiron murmured sadly. "He will be back by dawn."

"Dawn? Why?"

"He claimed the soldiers were on the move," one of their teammates responded. "They're likely packing up and leaving the city sometime tomorrow. He wanted to find Alexander before they did that."

"I have to go back out," Elanor gasped, already making her way back to the door. "There are so many soldiers in this city. He will be captured as soon as he is seen coming."

"No!" Anne shouted. "Don't go! You need to eat and rest. You're exhausted and you're shaking. I can find you some blankets-"

"I can't. I need to find him before they do. I will eat when I return."

With that, she was back out into the darkness, this time running at a sprint to cover more ground. Peter could be anywhere at this point, but she didn't care. As long as he wasn't near the soldiers, he would be ok.

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

Peter was, in fact, at the border of the soldier's base camp, struggling to decide how he would make his way into their camp to take out Alexander. It would take extreme stealth to get through the soldiers, but he would need to be even more creative with how he would find himself where Alexander was hiding. It was obvious the leader of a vast empire would lather himself in the richest of furnishings, so his main goal was to find some sort of fancy tent erected within the mayhem.

It was then that he stopped for a moment. Being in the museum had truly changed him. Back during WW2, he would never consider himself a killer. Never would he find himself on a mission such as this one. He was never part of the army, just the youth, so his job was never out in the field. For that he was grateful.

But now, an odd calm washed over him. He was truly living up to his title. In less than a month, he would be seventeen, giving him more responsibility than ever, and he actually felt like he was ready to complete this task. So, with a smile on his face, he surveyed the soldiers again and began to formulate a plan. At this point, he was simply thinking of barging in and sticking to the walls, hopefully remaining unnoticed by the not-so-sober soldiers.

That was the plan until he felt someone tap his shoulder.

Stifling a scream, he turned around to see Elanor, a hand on her lips as she gestured to the camp. Without making a sound, she pulled him into an alley, shrouding them in shadows.

"What are you doing?" she whispered, her eyes narrowed and glinting in the dim lighting.

"Finishing our mission," Peter said in a flat voice. "We don't have the time to wait, which is why now is the time."

"You couldn't possibly be thinking of going there alone," she scoffed. "You'd get killed in a second. It's too risky."

"There is no other choice. Besides, who else could I go in with? Heiron?"

"Me!"

Peter laughed out loud, quickly silencing himself as Elanor shot him a look.

"What's so funny?" she demanded.

"You're a girl," Peter deadpanned. "It's an army of men out there, Elanor. They'd see you and know instantly that you aren't part of their group. Besides, your clothes don't look like any of theirs by a long shot."

"Neither do yours," Elanor shot back. "You're literally wearing a leather jacket and grey slacks. They all have tunics on." Peter's jaw clenched, but he nodded.

"Follow my lead. Hopefully we won't be spotted as we look for Alexander."

"What are we looking for, exactly?"

"I have no clue," Peter grunted. "But that doesn't matter. We'll find something... somewhere."

They both carefully slunk along the buildings, pressing as close to the mud bricks as possible as they made their way through the camp. Peter could feel his heart hammering in his rib cage, though none of the soldiers noticed them. He kept his eyes out for any sort of tent or large building being used to house Alexander, though he didn't see anything. In fact, as they moved further into enemy territory, he was becoming discouraged.

Finally, after nearly twenty minutes of quietly creeping past the soldiers, the two made it to what looked like a possible building. Candles burned in the windows and multiple guards were positioned outside. Peter gestured for Elanor to wait back for a moment as he snuck forwards, ducking behind a pillar to survey his situation. He could sneak up being the guards and knock them out with a swift punch in the right spot. Grinning excitedly, he charged forwards and delivered the blows, and the unconscious guards fell to the ground. Elanor rushed forwards, and the two barged into the building.

There was only one man sitting in the house's single room, and he was perched on a small bed with a scroll in his hand and a goblet of wine in the other. Upon their entry, his eyes widened, and he stood up quickly, rapidly firing off Greek in their direction. Both of them stared at him in confusion, and Peter momentarily regretted sending Heiron away. He was the only one, apart from Cas, who spoke Greek. Elanor nudged her dagger into Peter's palm, and he gripped the weapon tightly.

"Sorry, man," Peter murmured. "It's nothing personal."

With that, he charged forwards. The entire ordeal was done in a matter of moments. He gave Elanor back her weapon and she wiped off the blood with her tunic. Then, not sparing a second glance at the body on the floor, they raced out of the building and into the streets, taking an alley to quickly escape the crime scene.

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

Anne was greatly concerned when she heard nothing from Peter and Elanor. The night wore on and everyone sat in tense silence, huddling around the flickering flame of their single burning candle. They had long since finished all their food and had resorted to dozing off. Sometimes they would have a small burst of conversation, but it always died off quickly.

Finally, at about 4 in the morning, Anne heard two pairs of footsteps outside. She quickly roused everyone up, and they all stood, expecting to see Peter and Elanor walk through the doorway. Instead, two men dressed in togas, both of them holding swords, walked through the door.

Anne's heart dropped.

She screamed in terror as the man charged inside, running into the back room with the chest as she heard the sickening sound of metal slicing through flesh. Looking back, she saw Esther, one of their new partners, fall to the ground. Anne screamed again, but Heiron grabbed her arm and pulled her into the next room before the men came charging at her. This room had a large window right above a wooden table, and Heiron picked Anne up and literally threw her out the window. Her backside hit the dirt and she winced in pain, though Anne quickly scrambled to her feet and dusted off her clothes. Heiron soon followed, grabbing her arm again and pulling her back to their hill.

Their other teammate ran screaming out of the house, joining them on their mad dash to escape their attackers. They raced through the dark streets, the hill already in sight, though footsteps sounded behind them, alerting them of their pursuers continuing the chase. Anne held in another scream as someone tapped her arm, though it was just Peter. Elanor ran just behind them. The entire group quickly made their way up the hill, the grass wet and slick with dew. It took them moments to all pile inside the machine. The two soldiers yelled out as the doors drew closed, though they banged on the metal casing of the machine as it began to wither and fade out of existence. Anne couldn't stop shaking, even as the machine jolted a final time, alerting them to their return to the museum.

. . . . . . . . .

"You think this is it?" Freydis asked as Ammon lead them to a large river. "Why are we here?"

"I do not know," Ammon shrugged. "I have no leads. I do not know how Egypt falls."

"We have been walking for hours," Cas growled. "You said you were leading us somewhere important!"

"The Nile is important," Ammon defended. Everyone looked like they were about to attack Ammon, so Freydis stepped in the middle of the group and held her hands up.

"Everyone wait," she commanded. "Let's stop and think for a moment. Do any of you know how the Egyptian Empire fell?" Everyone was silent. "Darn... usually someone has an answer."

"Peter's always the one with the answers," Cas said. "He is from the future."

"But Peter isn't here. Great. I guess we'll have to figure this out on our own. We are here because these agents have somehow messed up history, and now this empire is falling well before its time. But what is the time period?"

"Well after mine," Ammon murmured. "I do not recognize my home any more. It is changed."

"It does not have to be a big change, does it?" Cas asked. "An empire does not need a big shift to fall. It could be an... an accumulation of little things. See, Freydis? Peter taught me that word."

"Good job, Cas," Freydis grinned. "And you're right. It could be something small that shifted. But, the thing is, unless we know how exactly the empire fell in the first place, we will not be able to save it. I worry this mission will fail if we do not figure this out soon."

"Don't worry," one of their teammates grinned. "We will figure it out." Suddenly, Freydis stopped and inspected this person. This was the same man that claimed to know Peter from his war in the future.

"Wait a minute. You... you knew Peter?" she asked. The man nodded. "That means you are from his time period. You must know all about this stuff."

"No," he said, shrugging. "I never researched Egypt. I've heard rumours of its demise, but was never able to connect them to fact."

"Tell us everything you know."

"Well, Cleopatra was an Egyptian pharaoh. She ruled Egypt right before it was taken over by the Roman Empire. I do not know the story fully, and for that I am sorry." Freydis nodded, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

"Around when was this time period?" she asked.

"I don't know... maybe 30BC? I know that as the year she died."

"How did she die?"

The man went quiet for a moment.

"Rumour has it that she killed herself with a poisonous snake," he said. "But I never knew if it was true."

"Great!" Freydis shouted, and everyone looked at her in confusion. "No, not that part. Her death isn't great. But this is a start!"

"But we do not know the whole story," Cas said. "How will we figure out what went wrong?"

"We'll just have to guess and see where that gets us. What would Peter do?"

"Exactly that," Ammon said. "He would make a theory and see if he could find evidence to prove what happened."

"So let's make a theory," Freydis grinned.

Everyone went silent.

"Come on, guys. A little participation would be nice."

"Maybe one of the agents said something," the boy from Peter's time said. "They could have let slip the fate of the Egyptian Empire, or maybe spoiled a secret of a pharaoh that lead to a revolt."

"Interesting theory," Freydis grinned. "If that was the case, someone could have overheard their conversation."

"They would want to prove it true," Ammon said. "And might go to the pharaoh for answers."

"What would they do if these rumours were proven true?"

"What any reasonable citizen would do," Ammon grinned.

"What is that?" Cas asked. Ammon's eyes glinted evilly.

"Kill the pharaoh."

. . . . . . . . . .

The group rushed back through the streets of the crowded town, once again ignoring the stares they got from the common folk as they ran by. Ammon said he would lead them to the house of the pharaoh, which, according to him, would be one of the largest, most beautiful buildings of them all. It wasn't hard to see it towering over the others. The building was made of beige bricks, but you could see a beautiful courtyard through the front gate. No other building they had passed had the same beauties.

They all screeched to a halt once they reached the building. They could see someone sitting under the shade of a tree within the courtyard. She seemed to be a woman with pitch black hair whose simple white dress was adorned with all sorts of gems and gold bands.

"Is that her?" Freydis asked.

"Most likely," Ammon said. "The royalty have all sorts of beautiful jewels. The poor can't afford such luxuries."

"What will we do now?" Cas asked. "Until someone comes in to attack her, we will not be able to do anything but sit here."

"Then that is what we will do. Hopefully it won't take too long-" Freydis was cut off by Ammon placing a hand over her mouth. He pointed to something within the courtyard, and Freydis' eyes widened.

A shadow slunk along one of the far walls, still going unseen by the beautiful pharaoh. A glint of something sharp rested in their left palm. Cassius gasped, but Ammon pulled him back.

"What do we do?" Cas whispered.

"Wait and watch." Freydis murmured back. "If they make a move... we will do something."

"Use my bow," Cas responded, pulling the weapon off his back. "I worry my hands will shake too much for me to shoot."

Freydis nodded and held the weapon in her hands, carefully nocking an arrow. They all waited in silence as the shadow crept closer to the woman, the dagger shimmering eerily in the afternoon sunlight. Within seconds, the person let out a battle cry and jumped forwards. The woman screamed and stumbled backwards, backpedaling towards the group.

"Freydis!" someone called. "Now!"

She pulled back the string and released, and the arrow went hurling towards the man's shadowy form. There was a thump, and the man fell to the ground.

"Everyone move!" Freydis then shouted. "Back to the machine!"

By this time, guards were filling the courtyard to assist the pharaoh, and the group began to sprint back to the machine. Freydis' chest hurt and her legs burned, though none of them stopped until they were back at their starting point. They piled into the machine and breathed in a breath of relief as it began to whirr and the doors slid closed. Freydis allowed herself to close her eyes and enjoy the sweet air conditioning as they traveled back to the museum. 

Spot 3: ariel_paiement1

People huddled around the platform Kenneth stood on, watching him with narrowed eyes and quiet mutters.

Kenneth tapped his earpiece to be sure it was working and turned on the screen. Manfred raised a brow when he saw words appear on the screen in multiple languages. He does understand that many of these people don't read, doesn't he?

He caught Kenneth's eye and raised a brow. Kenneth motioned him over and crouched down on the platform to meet his eye. "Manfred, you've been observing the other exhibits for a long while now. How many speak English or can read?"

Manfred shrugged. "Not many. But they can understand some English. Most of them don't read."

Kenneth exhaled sharply, his shoulders slumping. "Well, for those who can read their language, the screen will display the common ones amongst the group. For those who can't, it'll be your job to take this..." Kenneth took Manfred's hand and pressed one of the translation devices into his hand. "And use it to explain to those who can't speak the languages here. I can't use the translation devices to translate into more than one language at a time, and they won't want to speak with me anyway. So, speak to them one at a time after I've explained this. You're in charge of splitting everyone into teams too."

Manfred narrowed his eyes. "Why me?"

"You're used to forming teams, and I don't know the others' abilities to do that as well as I know yours." Kenneth curled Manfred's fingers over the device. "Listen closely to what I'm about to say."

Shrugging, Manfred went back to his spot where In-Sook still stood. The Korean girl had become his constant shadow. He didn't know what made her like spending time with him; he was worn and not a good companion for anyone, much less a child. But, after what she'd likely been through, maybe that was exactly why she liked him. She too was too serious and withdrawn to provide good company to anyone else.

She tugged on his sleeve. "What Ken-neth want?" She stumbled over the words, but she was getting better at making herself understood.

"I'll explain later."

Her brow furrowed, but she didn't ask again.

Manfred's fingers toyed with the device he'd stuck into his pocket. The cool metal acted as a grounding point for him as he shifted, uncomfortable with the crowd and the odd situation. He wasn't sure he liked Kenneth's demand. Should I really be the one in charge of creating teams?

"Those of you who can understand English or who can read one of the languages on the screen, listen up!" Kenneth clapped his hands together, the sound echoing through the large empty space where another exhibit was being constructed. The building had halted a few days back.

Manfred shoved both hands into his pockets and stared up at the platform where Kenneth stood.

"You already know the timeline is fraying, and you've already gone on one mission to fix several time periods. I know not all of you were able to go, but even if you were left here, you know what the teams were doing." Kenneth took a deep breath. "The situation has worsened. The people outside this museum are forgetting even key aspects of history. Even myself and my agents have forgotten things that we have seen in our time machines' databases. That information, which is still in the databases, has disappeared from this time."

"What..." In-Sook bit her lip, her nose scrunching. "What he mean?"

Manfred sighed and slipped the translation device into his ear. He could feel the wires in it slither out to connect into his brain through his eardrum. That can't possibly be good for my ear. But it was the only way to communicate. The device would translate his brain waves into comprehensible words in whichever language he was using. Then, it would translate those words into the language of whichever individual he needed to speak to. Assuming he knew their language.

"History is being destroyed." The device spoke to In-Sook in Korean. "Kenneth and the people from this time are forgetting things from history. Essential things they need to remember. Those things, they're stored in the time machine, but we're the only ones who don't seem to be forgetting."

Manfred paused to listen to what Kenneth was saying and then relayed it to In-Sook through the device. "We have to fix the time line. Since we're the only ones who remember some of these important events, we have to pool our knowledge together to fix what has gone wrong in all the time periods the time machine's hub has marked as deviant. If we don't fix it, none of us will exist and neither will our times."

In-Sook stared at him with wide eyes. "Really?"

The translation device translated her question into German for him. He nodded when her question was translated.

She looked to Kenneth, shaking her head. "He did this?"

Again, Manfred nodded.

In-Sook's features twisted. "I don't care if I don't exist or even if everyone in my country were put out of their misery. But this... Others do not deserve this." Her jaw clenched, and she turned away. "I cannot stomach such a selfish man."

Manfred watched her stalk away. His shoulders slumped, and he sighed. I don't blame her.

***

It had taken him the rest of the day to explain the situation each of the individuals who hadn't understood Kenneth. Once he'd finished, he'd stumbled to bed, dreading the next day when he'd have to separate everyone into teams.

Now that he was doing it, it didn't seem so bad. He looked at the first time periods on the hub's holo. It showed mostly ancient times. Many different empires appeared on the holos, a flashing red light overlaying the images representing each time period. He only had two teams left to assemble and send out. He looked at the remaining individuals.

Egypt and Rome still needed assignments, and he wasn't sure who to send where. He knew Nefertiti and Akhenaten would be good choices for Egypt. Aetius would be a good option for Rome. But from there, he wasn't positive what to do with the people he had left. I suppose I'll assign them based on who knows more about what.

"Arnold?" Manfred's fingers flew over the holo, pulling up the time periods that needed to be fixed in Egypt and Rome.

"Yes?" Arnold stepped up beside him, looking over the time line and the information Manfred was reviewing.

"We need to send people to Rome during the time of Romulus. I don't know what's gone wrong, obviously, but that's a monumental moment in history. Who knows most about that? Aetius, obviously. But who else?"

Arnold stroked his chin, examining the crowd. "No one in our group from the pre-historic man era would know much about that. I say our group sticks mostly together. I'll go with Aetius to Rome along with the others from previous groups. You know much about Rome?"

"More than I know about Egypt." Manfred chuckled. "But be that as it may, someone has to stay here to bring the groups back when they're ready. You'll all be able to communicate using the comms in your machines. They're clear glass with metal backing and some kind of crystal powering system. Kenneth said there's two per travel machine. You can use it to communicate with me or with any of the other groups if need be. We don't know how linked the problems with the time line are, but I suspect if something goes wrong with a major event in history, then other things also went wrong in other time periods."

Arnold shrugged. "Makes sense to me, I suppose."

Manfred squinted at him, a headache forming. Based on the glazed look in Arnold's eyes, he doubted the man understood any of it. Not that it mattered. As long as they fixed the time line, it didn't matter if he knew what had happened to mess it up. "Well, you go with Aetius then. Take the others. I'll send Esther, In-Sook, and Medekhgui with Nefertiti and Akhenaten. Choose one other from the others to go with them, would you?"

Arnold perused the extras and pointed to a woman who looked Native American to Manfred.

"Any particular reason?" Manfred scratched his head. "She seems like a random choice."

Arnold shrugged. "She was."

Manfred sighed. "Well, she's Nefertiti's problem now. Do you know anything about her?"

"Not much. I can ask if anyone knows her language. That way Nefertiti and Akhenaten can communicate. But I don't know anything else." Arnold walked toward the group.

"Well, those of you going to Rome, get in the left machine. Those going to Egypt need to get in the right machine." Manfred got a lot of blank looks.

He sighed. "Okay... Let's try this." He turned to Nefertiti. "Nefertiti, you're in charge of the group to Rome. As I point to your teammates, please go get them."

He pointed her teammates out and then shooed the remaining group to the left. "Alright, everyone in the machines."

That at least seemed to be understood as one or two people filtered into the machines from each group and the rest followed.

Manfred's fingers flew around the terminal, and the machines lit up, beginning to shake and waver. Moments later, the machines flickered in and out of view before disappearing completely. He slumped back in his seat, letting out a ragged breath. He knew his work wasn't over because he'd be responsible for helping the teams return safely and transferring information to them as requested. They hadn't been able to hook all of their comms up to the central hub, so while they could communicate back and forth with everyone else, most of the comms couldn't access the hub's information yet. We'll have to fix that for the next trip. I hope Kenneth doesn't forget how to do that too. If things went wrong with any of the inventions that led to these gadgets, we're going to be in trouble because he could forget how to use these things.

***

Nefertiti and Akhenaten led the group of the time machine. Esther held one comm device while Medekhgui had the other. Neither were entirely sure how to turn them on, but when a message from Manfred flashed across the screen in their languages, the two of them realized the screens were already on and just didn't come to life without some action.

Esther looked at the message with a frown. "I don't know what to do." She looked up at Nefertiti and Akhenaten as her translator set to work.

"Simple." Nefertiti took it from her and tapped a few buttons. "Manfred showed me this before he told me I'd be a leader."

Esther watched closely as Nefertiti worked.

"What is your language?"

Esther looked at a list of strange looking symbols and characters as Nefertiti scrolled through. When she saw her language, she pointed to it. "There."

Nefertiti tapped on the name of her language. A few moments later, the entire interface shifted from the strange text Manfred had originally sent the message in to her language. She read out the message for Nefertiti. "Did you make it safely?"

Nefertiti tapped something else on the screen and brought up a strange looking block with letters and numbers on it. Confused, she tapped a few of the icons. To her surprise, the device typed out the letters. She sucked in a breath and nodded, tapping on more icons to create a message. "We made it." She read the message out for Nefertiti.

The queen nodded and waved a hand at her. "Send it to Manfred."

Esther hit the button that said send underneath it.

Nefertiti motioned for her, In-Sook, and Medekhgui to follow her. Akhenaten fell into step beside his wife with a smile. The Native American woman trailed along behind them, seeming somewhat lost. Esther dropped back to where the woman followed and walked beside her. Thankfully, both woman wore earpieces. Since they didn't know what language the other spoke, it was a good thing Kenneth had given them upgraded earpieces after the first mission. The new ones would translate whatever was said automatically. The only time it had to be told a language was when the other individual didn't have an earpiece and needed to hear the message in their language.

Esther silently thanked Kenneth for making communication possible for them. "I'm Esther. What's your name?"

The woman smiled. "I am Star."

Esther smiled back. "It's nice to meet you."

"What are we trying to fix?" The woman waved a hand at the desert city they were traveling towards.

"No one knows just yet." Esther stared toward the city. "But I'm sure Akhenaten and Nefertiti will know when we get there. Their times were only shortly after Hatshepsut's. Or so they've told me."

"I do not know who that is, but I assume you are right. Unless these are a people who do not know their history."

"Well..." Esther wiped the sweat from her brow. "Most of their people didn't like Hatshepsut. She was a female pharaoh, the first one to assume the full pharaohic power. Those two—" She waved at the Pharaoh and his queen. "Had no problem with it. After all, Nefertiti assumed power as co-regent alongside Akhenaten. But before they came to power, the priests tried to remove all trace of the woman. They hated the idea of a woman having that much power."

The other woman frowned and scratched her head. "What is the matter with a woman being powerful?"

"It is..." Esther searched for a good way to explain it. "It is wrong for a woman to be in authority over men like that. In this culture and in mine, women could have a great deal of power, but it was always to be underneath the leadership of their husbands."

"We have no such system for my tribe. The women have power and position in my culture."

"Surely not in every position?" Esther sucked in a breath, wheezing at the oppressive heat.

Her clothing was becoming too heavy, and she felt as if the sun was baking her alive. Though the clothing her companion wore was nothing short of immodest in her opinion, she found herself envying the freedom of movement and the practicality the clothing must have in this environment.

"No, not in every position. But they can be medicine women or shamans. And everyone listens to them. We have no discrimination on who can do those things because the spirits choose whom they will for their spokesperson. Our virgins are highly valued as well; they have great spiritual power and can handle spiritual objects that many others cannot."

Esther bit her lip. "I see. Well, I suppose these people haven't considered that. Either way, they hated Hatshepsut for her forceful assumption of the Pharaoh's crown."

Star grunted, and the two of them continued on in silence under the blinding sun.

***

Aetius looked at his motley group as they stood on the banks of the Tiber River as it flowed past Palatine Hill where Rome would first be founded. The group looked out of place in the wide, rolling countryside. He shook his head. He knew Arnold from their last trip, but everyone else's skill sets were unknown to him. Not only that, but he didn't know if any of them could be relied upon in a battle if it came to it. Even Arnold was so far untried.

He let out a long, low breath and ran his fingers through his hair. Nothing for it. These will be my tiny army for the time being. "Pay attention, everyone!" He faced the hills and pointed. "Manfred dropped us in 754 BC. We know that the city of Rome is supposed to be founded on this spot by now, but it isn't. Not much time to get history back on track, the way I understand it. So, we have to find Romulus and Remus, and get the two of them to start the process."

Arnold coughed and raised his hand.

"Yes, Arnold?" Aetius turned back to them.

"Doesn't that mean we have to instigate the kidnapping of all the women in Sabine?"

Aetius rubbed the bank of his neck with a grimace. "Yes, well. It's already supposed to happen. So, yes. Technically, it isn't our fault. We're just encouraging things to go the way they already had before Kenneth messed the time line up."

The group stared at him with various expressions of disbelief.

I get the idea that they don't agree with my rationalization. He spread his hands. "Listen, all of you. If we don't do this, we're in deep trouble. We won't even exist, and the rest of history will be so different that none of us could recognize it. Which would you prefer? Causing this to happen like it was supposed to or letting history fall apart?"

The group muttered amongst themselves, considering the concept. In the end, they all looked back at him with slumped shoulders and frowns.

"You already know we can't leave history to fall apart." Cassius, the only other Roman in the group, glowered at him. "All of us know that, Aetius."

"Well, let's start on this then. We'd better begin looking around for the founder of illustrious city, hadn't we?"

***

Nefertiti and Akhenaten strode through the city, looking for stalls that would sell clothing at cheap prices. They had silver and gold artifacts from the museum jingling in their pockets for trade, and Nefertiti smiled as she breathed in the heavy, thick air of the market. The scent of cow dung mingled with the faint, heady odor of human refuse. The stench of unwashed bodies clung to the two as they strode through the market place.

"There. That shop looks like a good place." Nefertiti tapped Akhenaten on the shoulder. "Besides, we need to hurry up before they die of heat exhaustion on the city outskirts."

Akhenaten shifted the stack of water skins he had hanging from a pole over his shoulders and smirked at his wife. "You know, you're terribly bossy."

Nefertiti raised a brow, adjusting the wig she wore in place of her crown. "You know you like it." She shot him a smile of her own and sashayed ahead. "Besides," she threw over her shoulder. "You're used to it even if you don't like it."

He hurried to catch up as she stopped at the vendor's stall.

"I need a schenti please. And then I need three kalasiris." Nefertiti pulled a few earrings and a tiny carving from her pocket. She dropped them onto the counter while the vendor rummaged about for the garments she'd asked for. "Also, do you sell kohl and rouge here?"

Akhenaten observed his wife as she continued to haggle with the vendor over the clothes and makeup. The man looked ready to burst by the time she was done, but they came away with all of the things they'd needed plus a few additional items.

He eyed the things in her arms with a shake of his head. "Woman, you never cease to amaze."

"In a good way, I'm sure," she retorted.

***

"How long are we going to traipse across the countryside like this?" Arnold caught up to Aetius, who was leading the small group.

"Until we find Remus and Romulus." Aetius huffed. "The answer is the same as it was two hours ago."

"Shouldn't we rummage through the time machine for camping supplies?"

Aetius shot him a hard look. "Arnold, by all means, feel free to go back to the time machine with Felipe and Mary if you like. Otherwise, stopper your mouth if you must, but quit complaining. We have to set things back on track as soon as possible."

Cassius interjected from behind them. "Aetius, he's right. It's nearly dark. We should return to Palatine Hill and the Tiber."

"We have communication devices, and we brought things to camp." Aetius slung his rucksack off his shoulder to the ground. "I agree we should camp, but we can't waste time trekking to and from a central location all the time. The whole reason the others were left at the machine was to keep an eye on Palatine Hill just in case Romulus and Remus go there."

Cassius blew a long breath through pursed lips and ran his fingers through his hair. "Fine. We'll make camp then and keep looking in the morning. I hope you know what you're doing though because we're going to run out of food supplies if you don't. Beyond that, Arnold here looks very out of place in his current state of dress and with that ridiculous hairstyle." He jerked his thumb at Arnold.

"Yes, well... That's why I said he should remain at the time machine." Aetius knelt and rummaged through his pack for a bed roll and the tent. "Cassius, can you please unpack the rods I had you bring for this contraption?"

"Why would we need that thing? Isn't sleeping out under the stars good enough?"

Aetius snickered. "Not for Sir Frilly Wig Man, here."

Arnold glared at him. "I'll have you know that this a cravat and this—" He pointed to his hair. "Is not a wig."

"I don't care what it is. You're the one who insisted we bring this thing, so you can help set it up because I don't know how."

Arnold snatched the bundle of rods off the top of Cassius's pack with a huff. "Well, Mr. Too-Sarcastic-For-Your-Own-Good, I'm sorry if I'd rather not sleep in the open with a bunch mosquitoes. I didn't think it was that unreasonable, but thank you for informing of how mistaken I was. I'm glad I was corrected before I—"

"Arnold." Cassius flung his pack onto the ground. "Cease your yapping."

Arnold stopped mid-sentence, still gesturing toward Aetius, and gaped at Cassius. "But, you heard what he said to me!"

"And?" Cassius scrubbed a hand over his eyes. "I'm tired, and I don't feel like listening to you two go at each other's throats verbally."

Arnold's lips pressed together tightly, but he heeded Cassius's words and set to work helping Aetius with the tent without another word.

***

"So, what do you figure went wrong with the time line here? We've been wandering around gathering information for two days now." Medekhgui scooted over to sit beside Akhenaten as the pharaoh stirred the fire.

The group was still camping in the desert outside the city near a group of travelers who had chosen this spot to stay for a day or two. They stayed far enough from the city wall that the guards wouldn't be suspicious or alarmed but close enough to walk in to find further information. The city itself was a small one near Thebes, so Nefertiti and Akhenaten had been traveling there to find out what was happening while the rest fished for information in the town where they were camping.

"We think we have. It seems that we've arrived just after the Queen Hatshepsut is supposed to assume the full powers of pharaoh, but for some reason, the only things we're hearing are about how people think Thutmose the third should be given his rightful place as pharaoh. The city of Thebes should be in an uproar, but it isn't." Akhenaten shook his head. "I don't know what's going on, but it appears that in this version of history, Hatshepsut never took her place as the first female Pharaoh to assume the full powers of the position."

Medekhgui grunted. "Well, we'd better fix that soon then."

Nefertiti sauntered up to the two of them. "I think I've figured out a way into the palace, husband dear."

"Oh?" Akhenaten raised a brow.

"Esther, myself, and Star will go in as dancers to entertain." Nefertiti grinned at him.

Medekhgui pursed his lips. "First of all, none of you are that entertaining. Second of all, what happens to me, Akhenaten, and In-Sook?"

"Well, clearly, you're going to blend in with the slaves at the next feast. We'll get close and convince the queen to become pharaoh." Nefertiti flopped onto the sandy ground beside Akhenaten.

"Brilliant," Medekhgui muttered. "So, we just have to convince the queen to stage a huge political coup to become pharaoh. Great."

Nefertiti shot him a hard stare. "She'll do it when I tell her that the heir's life is in danger if she doesn't. I'm going to play the oldest trick in the book. I'll tell her I heard that other branches of the house are plotting to take the throne."

"That's actually a wonderful idea," Akhenaten said. "Given what history says about her, the woman would likely take the throne to preserve it for her son. Perhaps that's why she hasn't made her move—nothing has galvanized her into acting that way."

Nefertiti smirked. "Precisely. So, I'll give her that reason."

"Excuse me, but what is our part, precisely? Why do you need to act as entertainers in the first place?" Medekhgui tapped his bare foot against the cold sand.

The queen wrapped her blanket closer around her shoulders. "You're back up in case they decide it's a better idea to execute us. I'll do my best to slip the queen a message. Entertainers are offered more leeway and are not noticed in most situations. Still, you should appreciate my suggestion more, you arrogant lout! Only commoners and women from the harem houses are supposed to dance in public when not dancing for rituals." Nefertiti's upper lip curled. "It's their privilege. One of the few they relish. To do the same as they do is a high insult to both myself and to them."

Medekhgui stood and shook his head. "Fine. Whatever fixes the time line in this place and gets us back to the museum in one piece." He turned away from her. "When do we head for Thebes?"

"Tomorrow morning. Spread the news to the others to meet here by the fire when they get up. I'll explain each of your parts better tomorrow after we've all had a good night's sleep." She flapped her hand at him and leaned into her husband's side.

Clenching his teeth, Medekhgui stalked toward his tent, hollering to the rest of the group that they were to meet by the fire in the morning. Then he stormed into his tent and laid down. Moments later, worn from days of wandering about the nearby town and asking question upon question, he let sleep drag him down into the realm of dreams.

***

There was a muffled shout from outside the tent. Aetius bolted upright, his hand flying to his short sword. Through the crack in the tent flaps, he could see two people struggling with Arnold. He shook Cassius awake and motioned to the silhouettes showing through the tent fabric in the bright moonlight. He turned to the back of the tent, pulled his dagger from his belt, and slit the fabric in one sharp slash. The fabric made tearing sounds as it gave way to the knife, but the struggle outside had become loud enough that no one noticed.

Stepping out of the new slit, Aetius crouched behind the tent with Cassius beside him, the two of them observing the situation.

The newcomers looked like ancestors of the Romans. The two men couldn't determine why they'd attacked Arnold, but the poor man was starting to struggle. The strangers' backs were turned to Aetius and Cassius now as they skillfully battered down Arnold's defense.

Aetius motioned Cassius closer. "We'll sneak up behind them and knock them out, alright?"

Cassius gripped the hilt of his own short sword and nodded.

Soundless as wraiths, the two of them glided across the expanse between them and the unknown assailants. Their opponents stared down at Arnold, whispering to each other. Just as they turned to face the tent, Aetius and Cassius struck in unison.

Aetius's pommel struck one of them in the temple as he turned toward the tent. Cassius struck his opponent in the base of his skull. Both crumpled to the ground with the blows.

Satisfied that the two unknown soldiers were no longer a threat, Aetius and Cassius rushed over to Arnold, who was staring up at them with wide eyes.

After a moment, he seemed to regain his senses. "What were you two blithering fools thinking? You took ages to show up!"

Aetius nudged one of the men with his booted toe. "Who are they?"

"No idea." Arnold clambered to his feet and retrieved his rapier. "They attacked me while I was in the middle of asking that."

Cassius shrugged. "I say we tie them up and ask them when they come to." He peered at the two on the ground. "Say, you don't think these are the ones we're looking for, do you? They look an awful lot alike."

Aetius lifted his hands, palms up. "I have no idea. Let's just get them tied so they can't run or kill us when they come to."

***

Romulus opened his eyes with a moan. His jaw and temple throbbed, and his arms hurt. He squinted up at the sky, noting that the sun was far into its journey across the wide expanse of blue. It was night when we attacked that oddly dressed man. They must've knocked us out and tied us up. He looked down at his body. But, looks like we're otherwise uninjured.

Two booted feet crunched across the frost-covered grass and stopped directly in front of his line of sight. Raising his gaze, he laid eyes on his first captor. The man was tall and lean, with cords of muscle lining his arms and legs. His brown eyes seemed to bore into Romulus's very soul.

Remus chose that moment to come to. "Rom..."

Romulus shot a glance at his brother.

"Rom..." Remus let out a whine, trying to raise his hands to the back of his head only to find them tied. "What...What happened?"

"You tell me." The man who carried himself with the bearing of a general crossed his arms. "Who are you two?"

Remus and Romulus shared a glance then looked back to the stranger who held them captive. Neither man spoke a word.

"Should I torture it out of you?" The man rubbed his chin. "Or maybe I could just guess and you can answer yes or no."

Romulus gritted his teeth. The man clearly likes to play games.

But when the stranger's gaze met Romulus's again, Romulus realized the man was in truth serious. It seemed on the surface as if the man was toying with them, but something akin to desperation lurked in those dark depths.

"I'm going to try this the easy way first. You two are Romulus and Remus, are you not?"

The twins exchanged another glance.

Romulus narrowed his eyes at the man. "I hardly think it's fair for you to know us but leave us in dark about yourself."

"I'm Aetius. And I'm from the future. We're both destined to be Roman soldiers. I'm the last Roman centurion alive from the Fall of Rome." The hawk-eyed man nodded at them. "And I'm here to fix something someone else screwed up."

***

Remus scooped some of the strange grub into a bowl Aetius had provided. He sniffed at it before shoving a small bite into his mouth with the strange contraption Aetius had called a spoon.

"So, let me get this straight..." Romulus jerked a thumb toward Remus. "He and I are supposed to found a giant city on top of Palatine Hill by the Tiber River? And it will grow into an empire?"

Aetius and his companions nodded.

"Rem, I told you we should choose Palatine Hill. It's the most defensible position we could choose with all those hills around it and the river." Romulus smirked at his twin.

Remus glared at his brother. "And I'm telling you it's too far away from everything. The only people nearby are the Sabines. And they might not welcome us with open arms."

"Of course they will. Two handsome men with their own city, lots of money thanks to Uncle Amulius's..." Romulus coughed with a smile playing on his lips. "Untimely death. And not to mention that, we're more than happy to take a wife or two from their daughters to prove our friendly intentions."

Remus chewed on his lower lip, twirling the spoon through his gruel. "Look, Rom, it doesn't matter how attractive their women are, we won't be viewed as friendly."

"I hate to interrupt your riveting conversation, boys." Aetius stood with a snicker. "But you founded the city on Palatine Hill in the time line before the museum curator messed it all up. We've already shown you our weapons, and you know we aren't lying about not being from around here."

"Look, I don't know if they come from the future, Rem, but I'm pretty sure they're messengers of the gods. Maybe Mars sent them."

Remus scratched his head. "Maybe. I doubt it though. Our good-for-nothing father hasn't had anything to do with us since he raped Mother. Where was he when Uncle Amulius threw us in the Tiber as babies and left us for dead? If Faustulus and Acca hadn't found us, we would've died of exposure if we hadn't died of water inhalation."

"Maybe Father is the reason we didn't drown or die of exposure," Romulus argued. "Either way, we already discussed founding that city. I say we go with what they've suggested."

Remus snorted. "You only say that because they agree with you about the location."

"Not true. You saw their weapons."

Remus pursed his lips, but he didn't say anything.

"Are you two done bickering now?" Aetius tapped a foot against the ground with a raised brow.

Romulus exhaled, puffing his cheeks out and widening his stance. "Don't treat us like children. You're not much older than us."

"And I've seen more sorrow and death in my lifetime than you have to this point. So, to me, you are children." Aetius spun on his heel and picked up the packed tent and his rucksack. "Let's go, boys. No time to waste. You're already a year behind schedule."

Romulus caught up to him with a cough. "How, exactly, are we going to build a city with no man power? You can't honestly expect me and Remus to build it alone."

Aetius muttered something under his breath that Romulus didn't catch. He straightened and shook his head. "I don't. Myself and my team will assist you in building it. And it needn't be anything gigantic yet. It just needs to be defensible and sturdy. It'll grow into more later on, I promise."

Romulus shrugged. "If you say so."

***

Nefertiti slipped down the hallway, following the queen as she left the festivities. It seemed the woman had also given the guards the slip because no one stood between her and the queen. She quickened her pace and reached out to touch the queen's arm.

Her cold fingers brushed the back of Hatshepsut's arm.

The queen spun, her dark eyes narrowing. Her arm flew out, striking at Nefertiti.

Nefertiti ducked it, crouching on the cobblestone path. "Wait! I'm not here to hurt you."

The queen crossed her arms, widening her stance. "No? Then you'd better start talking fast, woman."

"I came to warn you, God's Wife of Amun." Nefertiti bowed her head.

"Warn me of what?"

"There are factions in the royal household scheming to take the throne. I don't know who, but I overheard some people discussing how they would assassinate you and co-regent Thutmose the Third. I beg of you, God's Wife. Do something to save yourself and the young co-regent." Nefertiti glanced up with a wobbling lower lip. "The lives of our people depend upon it."

Hatshepsut threw her head back and laughed. "You speak lies. Who would dare conspire against me?"

"I swear it to be true, God's Wife Hatshepsut." Nefertiti groveled on the ground, gritting her teeth. Gods above, this woman is stubborn.

"And where is the proof?"

Nefertiti wracked her brain for any history she knew that would indicate which royal family members might've conspired against Hatshepsut. "I cannot prove it, but I know what I heard. I'm telling the truth!" Or, at least, one of the things scholars suggest is the truth.

Hatshepsut tapped a toe against the cobbled street. "You say people are conspiring against me? What are their motives?"

"They said you're becoming too powerful. Too forward for a queen. They don't like your ambition or how much control you have over the young heir." Nefertiti held her breath, waiting for the queen to respond.

The young ruler heaved a sigh. "I never thought—" Her feet shifted back toward the festivities.

Nefertiti dared a glance upward to find the young queen shaking her head and pacing.

The queen kept mumbling to herself. "I never thought they'd make a move. Thutmose is still too young... I have to do something." She whirled to face Nefertiti. "You! Obviously, you had a reason to tell me this. Why come to me? Why not tell the guards?"

"Because I believed you would listen to a poor dancer such as myself more closely than a guard. They'd be more likely to bed me than heed me." Nefertiti looked up at Hatshepsut with a smile.

Hatshepsut snorted. "You're right there." She squatted in front of Nefertiti, eyes narrowing. "You look like you're holding something back. Do you have something else to tell me?"

"I would never wish to interfere with my queen's decision." Nefertiti bit back a smirk.

"But?" The queen raised a brow.

"But I do have an idea of what you might do to fix this."

The queen cocked her head to the side. "And what is that?"

Nefertiti smiled. "May I have your permission to move into a more comfortable position, God's Wife Hatshepsut? My limbs are cramping up."

"Yes. In fact, you can come with me. I will hear what you have to say from the comfort of my own home." The queen straightened and sauntered off in the same direction as she'd been heading before Nefertiti waylaid her.

A grin slipped over Nefertiti's face. Perfect. This couldn't go much better.

***

Aetius stood atop Palatine Hill with Arnold, the two of them surrounded by roughly hewn boards and building supplies the twins had acquisitioned. Moonlight poured over everything, drenching the world in cold light. "You know the plan?"

"Yes, yes. I know..." Arnold huffed. "Remind me again why we're doing this?"

"Have you seen the way those two idolize each other? I don't know what happened to the original time line and its Romulus and Remus, but this one's set of twins would never follow history's dictate and fight each other to the death." Aetius shook his head. "Just one more evil act to fix this broken time."

Arnold bit his lip. "Maybe we should just try to set things back on their general track. I don't know about this, Aetius."

"Too late to back out now. Look, he's already coming up to talk to us." Aetius pointed to the lone figure struggling up the hill.

"But assassination is just so..." Arnold sucked in a breath and let it hiss out between his teeth.

"Dishonorable?" Aetius raised a brow. "Nothing about what we've been doing is honorable, so we may as well finish what we came to do."

Arnold's shoulders slumped, and he turned his torso away from Aetius by a fraction. "I guess."

The rest of the conversation was cut off as Remus reached them. "What did you two want me for?"

Arnold and Aetius exchanged a glance.

"We had something on the other side of the hill to show you," Aetius supplied.

Remus narrowed his eyes. "And you wanted to show me first, because?"

"Because you're going to be the king of this city, obviously." Arnold's lips stretched into a smile, but Aetius saw the sweat on his brow in the moonlight and the slight tremor in his fingers.

Remus's chest puffed out, and he smiled back at Arnold. "You'd better not let Romulus hear you. He thinks he's going to be king, after all."

"Yes, well... We all know you're meant to be the king, so he'll just have to fall in line with it." Aetius turned and strode down the hill. "Are you coming now? We need the moonlight to be able to see it properly. That's why we missed it during the day."

Remus hurried to catch up and fell in stride with him. Just as they made it to the crest of the hill, Arnold whacked Remus in the back of the head with the hilt of his rapier. Aetius caught the young man as he crumpled. "Quickly," he hissed to Arnold. "You go back to the camp. Tell them I saw him walking off and followed him to make sure he wasn't left alone in the middle of the night. I'll take care of the rest."

Arnold nodded and ran back toward the camp.

***

When Romulus showed up with the rest of the group and the men who had come to assist in building and settling the new city, Aetius had arranged everything. He knelt beside Remus, his gaze distant. Doesn't matter how many times I take a life, it never really gets easier. Not to mention the fact that this young man didn't actually deserve to die.

Romulus made a strangled, mewling noise when he saw his brother lying there, bloodied and pale. "No! R-Remus..." His gaze flew to Aetius's slack expression. "What happened, Aetius?"

"I..." Aetius shook his head and stood. "I'm not sure, Romulus. I found him like this. After I took off to follow him when he left camp, I lost him for a few minutes. When I picked his trail back up, he was already like this."

"Who would've done this?" Romulus dropped to his knees beside his brother, brushing the blood-soaked hair away from Remus's battered face. "And why were you wandering on the land of the Sabines?"

Aetius looked away, biting his lip.

"Perhaps the Sabines killed him?" One of the villagers came closer to inspect the body. "Looks like something they'd do."

Does it? Aetius grimaced. Good. Makes it more convincing.

"I'm going to kill them all," Romulus whispered.

Aetius's gaze flicked to the grieving founder. Wait, no! He can't do that... "Rom, may I suggest something better?"

Romulus's focus shifted from the corpse of his twin to Aetius. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes burned with murderous intent. "I'm listening."

Aetius resisted the temptation to shudder in response to the look. If he knew I'd done this, he'd kill me in a heartbeat. "They took Remus away from you in the worst way possible, right?"

Romulus stood, nodding.

"So, take from them what they love in the worst way possible."

Romulus crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side. His voice was cold and hard when he spoke. "I don't understand what you're suggesting."

"I'm suggesting that you kidnap their women. Think about it... You've been telling us you don't know where your men will get wives from so you can populate your city. So, just take what you need from the Sabines while punishing them for what they did to Remus." Aetius shifted from one foot to the other. "Just solve both problems in one go."

His group looked at him with sickened glances, but no one spoke up to suggest otherwise.

"It could work, but how will we get them without a fight?"

Aetius let his lips curve into a tight smile. "Simple. Invite them to a celebration of your city's founding. We've got enough houses up now to say we've founded something. Do they need any sort of good excuse to get drunk?"

"Well, no..." Romulus stroked his chin. "Continue..."

"So, you use some of the gold you took from your uncle's coffers when you killed him, and you throw a celebration. Invite the Sabines, the whole lot, as a show of good faith since you're all neighbors now. Then, when the men are all drunk, take the women. We all know how women are viewed." Aetius forced a dry laugh. "Bed them, and they're yours. The men won't be able to do anything about it without shaming their families and their daughters. It'll be the ultimate punishment for what they took from you."

Romulus grinned. "I like it. Good thing you and your team will be able to stick around and help us with this."

Aetius cleared his throat. Uh... No... Just, I can't do that. "That..." He coughed. "That's a generous offer, Your Highness. I—"

"It's settled then. And, for your trouble, I'll even let you pick your woman." Romulus's eyes glittered with mischief. "Unless you object, captain?"

Captain? What is he trying to do here? "Certainly not, my Liege."

"Good. You and your band are in charge of organizing the feast. My men are at your command. Whatever you need, they'll get it done." Romulus turned to stare back down at his twin's mutilated body. "Men, help me carry him back to Palatine Hill. We'll bury him there under the city he was so invested in. Captain, you and your group are free to turn in for the night."

"Thank you, my Liege." Aetius turned and strode through his group.

They all shot him dirty looks, understanding exactly what he'd gotten them into. I already know I messed up. You don't need to ostracize me. But this is necessary to fix history, so we must do what we must do. He clenched his jaw and continued the long, lonesome walk back to their camp.

***

"Well? Out with it." Hatshepsut turned to face Nefertiti, pulling the palm-wood door shut.

"My suggestion is..." Nefertiti played with the broad sleeves of her cloak, which left next to nothing to the imagination. "It is a bit bold, but I fear it may be the only way."

"You're stalling. What is your suggestion, dancer?" Hatshepsut's foot tapped against the rush-covered floor of her chamber.

"Declare yourself pharaoh. With your lineage, you can easily explain why you should have the position, God's Wife Hatshepsut. Then, when you are gone, your stepson can step into power, and the throne will have been preserved. The power that comes with that roll would give you the ability to stave off any attacks made against you." Nefertiti bowed her head, waiting for the response.

Hatshepsut eased herself into a couch, narrowing her eyes. She didn't speak for a long while, and Nefertiti held her breath, praying to Amun that the woman would buy the story and the suggestion.

"Perhaps that could work. Other women in my near line have wielded considerable power. If I claim I came directly from Amun's line and that my father had intended to declare me his heir before he died, I could take control in the open. There would be some dissent, and the commoners would rumble about it." Her hand went to her collarbone where her beaded collar hung. "But it could work."

Nefertiti remained quiet for a long while, waiting for the woman to continue.

Hatshepsut shoved herself off the couch and began pacing the airy chamber. "It might be the only way. I've thought about it before. Thought that maybe it would someday be the only thing I could do. But the position I was in... It was so precarious." She spun on her heel, facing Nefertiti. "But now... Now, it seems this may be the only choice."

Silence still seemed to be the best option, so Nefertiti allowed the queen to continue her monologue. It looked as if Hatshepsut had forgotten about her presence. She continued to hash the concept out, weighing the pros and cons.

The minutes passed. Nefertiti could hear the revelry in the distance dying down. The stars were beginning to fade as the night came to a close and the day began to dawn. Finally, the queen slumped into her chair with a sigh. "It appears this is the only way." She regarded Nefertiti for a moment and then closed her eyes. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will make the declaration among my private officials tomorrow."

Nefertiti cleared her throat. "I live to please, God's Wife of Amun."

"Of course you do..." Hatshepsut snickered. "You'll keep your mouth shut. If I hear one word about this before I announce it, you will be dead."

Nefertiti smiled. "You have nothing to fear. I know better than to reveal my secrets to the wrong people, God's Wife Hatshepsut."

Hatshepsut chuckled at that. "Dancers... You all have more than your fair share of secrets." She waved a languid hand at Nefertiti. "Leave. I no longer require your services."

Nefertiti stood and bowed. Without another word or glance back, she exited the chambers. A smile flitted across her lips as she flitted down the palace halls, ignored by the various passing officials thanks to her attire. Finally, she was back out in the night air. Taking a deep breath, she disappeared into the darkness, satisfied that the mission was a success.

***

Arnold shot another glare his way.

Aetius exhaled, threading his fingers through his hair and then placing them behind his back. "Arnold, glowering at me will not change the situation we're now in."

"You did this, you piece of filth. The only thing we agreed to was to set them on the right path! Not to help them kidnap and rape the Sabine women." Arnold's fists clenched, and he widened his stance.

Aetius faced him, his chest puffing out. "Arnold, stand down. I can't change what has been asked of us now! You will either go back to camp or help with the celebration. I don't care which, but don't you dare get in the way."

Arnold spat on the ground and turned to stalk off. He threw a few last words over his shoulder as he strode off. "You're a cold piece of work, Aetius Caelius."

Aetius heaved a sigh and turned back to the city. Tonight was the night of truth. Things had to go exactly as planned if any of them wanted to go home knowing they'd fixed the problem with the time line here. His stomach twisted as he realized what that meant for him. The others... They can escape attention if they don't participate in taking the women. Some of them won't even be at the party because they're women. But I can't do that. Curses on Romulus and his desire to "reward" me.

"You look glum, Aetius." Cassius strode up, crossing his arms and standing beside Aetius as he observed the preparations going on to ready the small city-in-the-making for the preparations.

"Who wouldn't? You mark my words. Someone's going to get hurt with this, Cassius." Aetius shook his head with a growl.

"Yes. Those women you sicced Romulus and his men on to keep the suspicion off you and Arnold. Don't think the rest of us don't know what you did." Cassius's tone stayed conversational, but his voice lowered to a murmur.

"There wasn't another choice, Cassius. Don't you think I wish there was?" Aetius rounded on his companion. "I don't look forward to tonight, knowing I'll have to participate to the fullest degree in what they're going to do. At least you won't have that on your conscience, eh? I watched my men die, and I nearly died in the attempt to get them out of that gods-forsaken city when it fell. How do you think it feels to know I'm fixing the time line so all of that will happen just like it did when I was in that time line?" His throat tightened. "Don't you dare act high and mighty! Not when you don't have to do the things I'm being required to do just to get all of your sorry carcasses out of this mess alive."

Cassius's lips pressed together in a tight, white line.

Aetius turned away from him. "Don't even try to add to my guilt. It's already so heavy it has broken me. There is nothing you can add to break me more, Cassius. Just thank the gods it isn't you."

Cassius grunted and ambled off, leaving him alone with the crushing weight of his guilt.

***

Aetius watched the crowds of men and women dancing and drinking around the blazing fires. Flames shot high into the air with crackling and spitting. Sparks flew off the popping wood as it burned. The groups of dancers reveled in a way he wished he could. But he knew too much about what was coming to be truly happy in this moment.

He turned his attention to the brawl Cassius had started with one of the soon-to-be Romans. He shook his head, not caring what happened to the man. After what he'd said, he could have the responsibility for his own life. Given the way the man was wobbling and staggering about, he was too drunk to be in a fight and would most likely get himself stabbed through the chest if he kept up the fight. But he wasn't one of Aetius's men. He refused to accept responsibility for the man.

His blood heating, he turned and strode to the tents where the ale and mead was flowing. Snatching a tankard off the roughly hewn tables where his men were acting as hired help for the makeshift bar, he went to find a place near the fire to sit. On his way, he was taken aside by Romulus.

"The men are sufficiently drunk. How much longer?" Romulus's gaze kept darting to a raven-haired, tanned wench nearby.

"Girl caught your eye, Rom?" Aetius took a swig of his mead.

"Don't mock me. Just answer the question." Romulus took a sip of his own drink.

Aetius glared at the alcohol swirling in his cup, already feeling the buzz in his veins. Darn, I know better than this. Drinking... Always such an awful idea. "Have whichever ones are willing now. Take the rest when the men pass out."

Romulus clapped him on the shoulder. "That sounds like the best decision. Now, why don't we find you a willing woman to warm your bed tonight, my friend?"

"Why not?" Aetius drained his tankard to the dregs, wiping the back of his mouth on his sleeve when he finished. I'm going to need a lot more alcohol in my system to be okay with what I'm assisting in.

Grabbing his arm, Romulus dragged him toward the crowd, causing him to drop the wooden tankard in surprise. But he finally got his footing and kept pace with Romulus.

They approached the young woman he'd been eyeing earlier. She sized Romulus up, a devilish grin creeping onto her rosy lips. Aetius squinted at the girl accompanying the one looking at Romulus like he was dinner. Romulus abandoned him the moment the girl he'd been watching moved to continue her dance next to him. She gyrated her hips, coming so close to touching him but refusing to do so.

Aetius abandoned the man to deal with the unabashed flirt and focused his attention on the young woman who'd accompanied her. Wide blue eyes met his, and honey-gold hair flowed over her shoulders to her waist in waves and curls. She took a single step back, her feet poised to run, but she stayed despite the obvious shyness in her demeanor.

Her lips moved, and he realized she was trying to say something, but she had to shout over the crowd's raucous revelries, which still drowned her out.

Aetius sized her up, staring at her slender figure and supple limbs, which were outlined by the firelight as it shone through the linen of her skirt. "Would you like a moment away from the noise?" He raised his voice, ensuring she would hear him.

Her eyes widened, but she nodded, accepting his hand when he offered it.

He led her to the tent Romulus had insisted he set up on the outskirts of the camp. You'll thank me when you've got one of those Sabine wenches in your bed, Captain. He shook his head to clear Romulus's voice from his thoughts. As soon as this night is over, he swore. I am leaving the minute I've satisfied Romulus's demands.

The girl pulled her hand from his when she saw the tent. "Don't you think you should at least come to know me before you take me, sir?" Her voice shook, but she was surprisingly bold in her words.

"Who said I would take you?" Aetius turned to her with a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Why else would you bring me to your tent?" She held her head high as she took another step back.

"I want to talk. Away from the noise and my friends." Aetius dropped to the ground and sat cross-legged. "If you are uncomfortable doing that in the luxury of my tent, then outside will suffice as well."

She narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms over her slender torso. "So long as we are clear that I'll be the one deciding if you have me or not."

"Very clear, lady." Aetius chuckled, already liking the wench more for her spirit.

"Good. Now, as I was saying earlier, I do apologize for Medea's behavior."

He shrugged. "It's my friend's issue if he allows her to trap him like that. At least I know a seductress when I see one."

She smirked. "Oh, do you?"

"Yes, my lady. Just as I know you're interested but don't know how to stake your claim." Aetius laughed, but it wasn't to mock her. "I've seen your behavior many times before."

Her eyes rounded, and her lips formed a pretty 'o'. "Have I picked a ladies' man, then?"

"No. Unless by ladies' man you mean that ladies very much liked me even if I didn't much like most of them." Aetius's lips curved into a wicked smile. "Because if you mean that, then I suppose I am very much a ladies' man."

She clicked her tongue in mock disapproval even as a smile flitted on her lips. "Well, since you're so experienced, what would you suggest I do?"

"First of all, I suggest you go home and don't do this." Aetius raised a finger. "But, if you absolutely refuse and you don't expect me to marry you for this, then..." He cleared his throat, swallowing. "You could help me out with a small problem."

"A small problem?" She echoed his words with a frown.

"Yes. The one that involves my friend hounding me to bed someone tonight. He, err... Well, it wouldn't be for polite company such as yours to hear why he is doing such a dreadful thing." Aetius's shoulders hunched, and his gaze flicked up to her face. "So, what do you say?"

"I say that if you're willing to take me with you wherever you end up going, I'll help your fix your problem."

He almost choked on his own spit. "Take you—" He shook his head. "I... What part of no commitment—"

She leaned forward, placing a finger against his lips with a brazen smile. "No one said anything about marriage, now did they? I want to go home, you idiot. You think I didn't see that machine you brought with you?"

Aetius narrowed his eyes but remained silent.

"You don't seriously believe your museum curator is the only one who went traipsing about in space and time, do you?" She laughed, the sound melodic. "No, no, no, my boy. Others did too. And one of them was such a gentleman that he ditched me in this time period when he got tired of me." Her lips twisted bitterly. "Care to help me with my problem?"

Aetius coughed as she straddled him, waiting for a response. "W-well, I must say... This is unexpected. I don't quite understand how you ended up still being here in this messed up time period, but..." He chewed on his lower lip. "Also, I'm not sure I fully understand your problem."

"It's two-fold. First, I need to go home to the time where you and your group have established your base for fixing this mess. Second, I would really, really like a gentleman to show me what it feels like to be loved the right way, if you catch my drift."

He did. Gulping, Aetius nodded. "It seems we could solve each other's problems then."

She got off him and offered him a hand up. "That tent of yours looks rather inviting after all."

He let her lead him into the tent and strip his shirt off him as she stole kisses from him. The whole while, he wondered what had become of the world. One thing is for certain, he thought. I really don't know how to spot a seductress as well as I thought I did. Well, at least I fixed the time line here.

***

When the team from Rome returned, Manfred was sitting at the time machine's hub, waiting for them. He eyed the newcomer without interest, recalling what Aetius had messaged about an addition to the team. He noted Cassius's absent and felt a twinge of regret as he recalled what else had been in that message. Cassius was killed in a drunken brawl. We had to leave his body there in the escape.

He shook his head and dismissed the team with a wave. What a sad state of affairs we've found ourselves in. He slumped into the chair and continued to wait for the remaining teams to send a message asking to be brought home.

Spot 4: MusicgirlXD

Stepping back into the time machine, the band of seven members sat down into their designated spot. Crossing her arms, Eletta glanced towards Artemis, "How did you know eating the apple would fix the timeline?"

Artemis exchanged looks with Blair. "I grew up in a Baptist Church. Father, made sure I knew every story in the Bible. When I realized where we were, I told Artemis about the fruit," Blair answered for the Grecian.

The Pirate rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I was never raised in 'church'. Sounds boring."

"Can't expect a pirate to be as civilized as I." Blair snorted.

Eletta was about to retort when the machine fired up again. Grabbing the seat, Eletta's stomach flipped. The machine whirled the team in hyperspace. Blackness spun around them, mixed with dancing white stars. Coming to a dead stop, the door opened once more. The pirate was the first to emerge. "I hate it when it does that." Firm hands pressed against her back, pushing her out of the way.

The pirate glanced back at Blair who was pushing past her. "Please don't stand in my way." Growling, the pirate followed. Eletta glanced at the sight before her. Five doors had appeared. Each one different from the next. Words, along with emblems, were engraved on the doors. Each door was colored differently.

Before a move was made by the seven adventures, two more machines appeared, seven adventures appeared from their interiors. Among the new arrivals were Nefertiti and her husband Pharaoh Akhenaten along with several others. "Great royal chaos is here." Hamon muttered.

The Egyptians glared at him. "We don't accept you as one of us."

"I don't expect you too."

The pirate sighed. "So we have five doors, where do we go?"

Hamon turned his back to the Royal couple. "The door in the middle is written in Egyptian. It also displays the Ank Emblem of the people. I will take that door."

"The green door on the far left, as the insignia of my people." Artemis chirped, "I will go to that that door."

"I don't think thats the best Idea. I think we should go to Rome." Blair stated.

"But."

"I've been studying your people. We should go to Rome."

"Fine."

The pirate crossed her arms. "If you're going then I will too."

"If you say so."

Eletta glanced towards Inioa, who had wondered over to a different door. The pirate started to speak when Hamon pushed past her. "While you girls stand there and debate over where to go, I'll go to Egypt."

"Not without us." Nefertiti hissed.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Hamon rolled his eyes at her.

Akhenaten growled. "Talk respectful to your Pharaoh."

Hamon turned to him and bowed. "Yes, my Lord. After you."

Akhenaten held his head high as he entered the door. Nefertiti followed. Hamon huffed, "Those two are going to bring Egypt to it's knees. The Egyptian entered the door. The world around him changed from a black to town with cobblestone streets. Roman soldiers were marching around town. Egyptians were shackles on their wrists and ankles as they worked.

Hamon growled. The sight made him sick to his stomach. The people of Egypt had been enslaved by the Roman Empire. Hamon's muscles twitched. The sounds of screams and a whip hitting against an unruly slave meet his ears. "What's wrong, Advisor." Nefertiti hissed. "I thought you like beating slaves."

"Only when I do it." Hamon stormed off in the direction of the beating. Turning down an alley, Hamon watched as a roman brutally whipped a servant girl. The Egyptian appeared behind him. The girl looked up at the muscular man who overshadow her attacker. The servant screamed louder. Hamon's eyes seemed to glow a solid blue.

Reaching back, the guard wheeled back for another round. Hamon lifted his hand up. The ropes coiled around his wrist. "You not doing it right." Hamon grumbled. Jerking his wrist down, the handle came out of the soldiers hand. The Roman spun on his heels. He gazed into his blue eyes. Hamon had already started to run the coils through his hands. "Its no cat-of-nine-tails, but it does the job. Allow me to give you a proper lesson."

The guard went for his sword. Hamon chuckled deep within his throat. Snapping the whip, Hamon snapped the cord against the back of his hand. The soldier cried out; gripped his sword tighter. Hamon wasted no time. The Egyptian delivered blow after blow. Blood dripped off the soldiers face from where the cord came in contact with his skin.

Hamon laughed as the soldier ran off. The Egyptian placed the whip on a special hook he had on his belt. The girl slowly stood. "Thank you for saving me." She cooed sweetly.

"I'm not saving you. I'm just releasing my hostilities." The girl dropped her gaze at his answer. Chuckling, Hamon went back and meet with Akhenaten and his wife, who had already wondered near the palace. Entering the palace, the trio found a Roman Solider sitting on the throne. Before entering the throne room, they hide off to the side.

"I will command him to leave." Akhenaten stated.

"No, I will tell him leave." Hamon growled.

"I am the Morning and the Evening Star. I am Pharaoh, what I say....." Before Akhenaten could finish, Hamon took a curved sickle off the wall and ran him through. "I may not be Egyptian, but I made my way up whether you like it or not."

Guards rushed to the woman's side. Akhenaten was bleeding out on the floor. Hamon chuckled. A dark Aura began to cover him. "Release the Egyptian's or suffer a fate worse than death."

"You can't tell us what to do."

Grabbing his whip, Hamon cracked it against the air. "I believe I am."

Spot 5: JesterheadJohnSnow

"How did this get in here?"

All eyes turned to the center of the time machine where the speaker stood. Paul held up what resembled a long and curvy white tusk that had a yellowish tinge to it.

"Oi! Where did you get that?" Starkad asked.

The others muttered the same question with slurred speeches. It wasn't until after the time machine had spun and they were transported out of the Ice Age had the young soldier stumbled upon the object. The time machine still affected them in a similar way each time, leaving their heads feeling like ping pong balls.

"Lads!" Thomas called from the corner of the time machine where he stood in front of a screen. "It appears that we may have set the Ice Age back in motion. This electronic log is storing so much data."

The others hurried over to the colonist spy's side. Sure enough, the screen contained red and green texts with information about the time period they had just departed from. Paul's eyes grew wide at the sight. It reminded him of a larger version of a television set his family had. However, this screen shown everything in color rather than black and white.

How long did it take for television sets to grow larger in size and show in color? I would have enjoyed King Kong in color.

Thomas shook the boy out of his reverie. "I believe that tusk goes inside this storage area which must serve as a chamber of some sorts."

Paul glanced over to a glass chamber that was labeled TRINKETS in bright letters that flashed red.

"Vhat are you Vaiting for?" Kepler nudged the boy on. "Do as zhe teacher tells you."

"Hey!" Paul flashed a playful smirk at the mathematician. "Since when did you become the teacher's pet?"

"Make haste, will you?" Thomas groaned. "I swear you will be the death of me, boy."

"No worries, it will be done." The young soldier pressed a blue button, resulting in the glass sliding open. As he inserted the object, he turned and performed a mock bow.

"Teh boy has manners, I weel geeve heem tat." Chenggong chuckled.

"Don't give him the pleasure." Thomas rolled. "It only encourages his obnoxious behavior. Anyhow, it appears we have a new task at hand."

"You mean we don't get a break?" Akhenaten crossed his scrawny arms.

"Vell, zhe timelinez are at reesk vheech leaves us vith no ozher options." Captain Dragunov took a sip of his vodka.

"The captain is correct." Thomas held up a piece of paper. " I would appreciate it if you limit the drinking until after our objectives are complete. It could impair your judgement. " Thomas's green eyes turned back to the rest of the men. "There are five doors presented to us, meaning we have five options of destinations to travel to in order to clean up the mess created by Kenneth and his brutes. " The colonist muttered a few curses about the museum director under his breath.

"Five destinations?" Paul glanced over at the door and was greeted by five separate doors that had the names of places in flashing blue or purple lights. "Golly! Where did those come from?I swear, I can't get used to technology that looks like something from an H.G Wells novel."

"We only have to go through two of the doors. " The revolutionary refused to acknowledge the American soldier's outburst. "We will split into two teams. One of us will be segmented into four individuals while the other contains three. First of all, we need to select which time period we will rectify."

Chenggong stepped over to the China door while Akhenaten appeared in front of the Egyptian door.

"Very well." Thomas cleared his throat. "Those who wish to head on to ancient Egypt, join Akhenaten. The others can join Koxinga at the China entrance. "

Thomas and his fellow scholar Kepler made their way to Koxinga while Starkad and the Russian soldier joined the Pharaoh's side. Taking a breath, Paul chose to join up with Thomas and Koxinga at the China door.

"Very well, seeing as the selection process is settled, let's make haste and attempt the task at hand."

----

It feels so good to be home. Aten even welcomes me with its rays of warm embrace.

Akhenaten felt the sun beat down on his exposed caramel skin as he squinted across the sandy desert. The sight of the large pyramids dotting the horizon underneath the blue sky confirmed the Pharaoh of his homecoming. Upon arrival, he had returned Starkad' s cumbersome fur coat back to the Earl, but it seemed that donning the fur of a wolf or bear wouldn't be beneficial to anyone right now.

"Hey Akhi!" Starkad called out to the slender man. "You hail from this place, correct?"

"Uhh...yes, I do." Akhenaten turned to face his two companions.

"Vhy don't you lead zhe vay to zhe nearest zign of zivilization?" Viktor shed his olive-green coat and wrapped it around his waist.

"Straight away." Akhenaten took the forefront of the trek to the horizon with his 'coworkers' tagging along.

"Zo..." Dragunov broke the silence as he produced a canteen filled with cold water from one of his packs. "Anyone have any idea vhat vee are zupposed to do here?"

"Oh, I'm glad you reminded me." Starkad produced the piece of paper Thomas had handed to him before they left. His eyes scanned the words, which were transcribed in English, before glancing up at the two curious men. Fortunately, Kenneth had his 'employees' learn to read and write in English before they were set to speak before the patrons. It had only served as an advantage for him in the long run.

"What does it say?" Akhenaten blurted impatiently.

"I'm getting there." Starkad took a breath. "It appears the assassination of a pharaoh didn't go as planned so we need to complete what the assassin started."

"Zounds treeling ." Viktor smirked.

Akhenaten felt his blood run cold. "Why would we murder an innocent individual? I mean, I knew Kenneth was sick in the head,but this is beyond dastardly."

"Well, if this Pharaoh lives, history will be forever altered. Our very existence could depend on this termination." Starkad also drew his battleaxe in case it would be necessary. Who knew what threat could be lurking in the sands of the desert or the shadows of the dunes?

"A zearch and deestroy mission? Bozhe moi!" Viktor eagerly held onto his submachine gun, seemingly thrilled by their objective.

Dear me, why did I have to agree to come along for this task? Oh, perhaps it is because I have my roots here. What grand delusions did I get in my head this time? That I would be welcome back home?

The trio walked in silence through the hot sands of the desert under the blistering hot sun before Akhenaten spotted an oasis that offered a rest area for the team before they could proceed to the pyramids. As they rested up and ate some of the rations provided by the museum staff, Akhenaten's gaze fixed onto the horizon where their destination was located. Ever since he and his wife Nefertiti had done away with the original pantheon of the old gods like Osiris, Amun-Ra, and Isis in order to transition the civilization's religion from polytheistic to monotheistic, his kingdom didn't react particularly well to the reboot. This was what had earned him the title of the 'heretic king', resulting in his subsequent banishment to the desert and being captured by Kenneth and his goons. He was not sure how he would be received by his fellow Egyptians once he made contact with them.

"Eez Zhat Zhe Nile?"

The Pharaoh glanced to where the Soviet had mentioned and noticed a dark shape slithering along the golden sands. Initially assuming it was a large serpent, Akhenaten blinked his eyes and realized it was indeed the Nile from the distance. If that was true, then they were closer than they had originally assumed to the valley which the people at the museum referred to as Giza.

"Yes, that is the Nile river. Once we get closer, you can see the Papyrus reeds growing at the side. Those have served scribes well. In other words, if you lack paper"-

"Ok, we understand." Starkad rose from the sand. The Pharaoh could tell that the Viking warrior wasn't too fond of sand. After all, it was coarse and rough and got everywhere. "I believe we should make haste if we want to make it to the nearest settlement by nightfall. You know where one is located, right?"

"Y-yes, of course." Akhenaten nodded.

"Lead the way, please."

Gathering their belongings, the trio rose from the cool soil of the oasis before making their way to their destination.

---

"Mr.Chong?"

Zheng Chenggong felt the sleeve of his blue tunic get pulled by the foreign soldier boy. Responding to his pet name, Chenggong faced Paul Walker.

"Eef Eet is hard for you to pronounce Chenggong, consider using my Western name Koxinga."

Paul pursed his lips for a moment before nodding. "Alrighty then. Kozinga is it."

"On second taht, just steeck to Mr. Chong." Chenggong sighed. " What can I do for you, warrior of the new worrd?"

"Do you know where exactly in China we have materialized in?"

The two other comrades, Thomas Parrish and Johannes Kepler, also had the same inquiry as the boy. The country of China was one of the largest countries, if not the largest, in the world. Moreover, it hosted one of the oldest civilizations in the world which spanned for dozens of dynasties as well as some kingdoms. For all they knew, it was possible that they could have been at the southernmost tip of the country or even stuck in the mountainous west.

"Ah, good question." Zheng Chenggong scratched his beard as he pondered the query. "I don't have an answer for tat based on our rocation. Let us find the nearest settrement or virrage and ten I can provide some answers."

The pirate rebel, hailing from the Ming Dynasty, glanced around the luscious green vegetation dotting the vicinity around the gravel road in front of them. The foothills underneath the blue-green mountains appeared dark under the overcast sky above. Zheng had the impression that the sky would weep pretty soon so it was imperative that they get the ball rolling on their mission.

"So where to?" Paul asked, holding his pack on his arm.

"Forrow me."

No sooner had they set off down the road that a possible issue with the objective came up.

"Excuse me, but Tere is someting I need to breeng up." Chenggong turned to face his comrades.

"Good god, what is it?" Thomas furrowed his brows.

"You tree would steeck out like sore tumbs due to your round eyes and fair hair." Chenggong crossed his arms. "Not to mention your odd way of dressing."

Kepler groaned. "Ach! He haz a point."

"Would you happen to have some attire that would assist us in blending in to our environment?" Thomas asked.

"Unfortunatery, I don't. Even if I deed, you woodent have Chinese features. I don't know how hostire the rocars wood react to outsiders on their rands."

"No kidding." Paul shivered. "I have seen how ferocious Mao Zedong's soldiers defended North Korea during that winter offensive."

"So, there is nothing we can do to blend in with this time period, whatever it is?" Thomas inquired.

"Werr, there might be"-

The sound of footsteps halted Chenggong's reply. The four men exchanged concerned glances with each other. As soon as harsh voices, carried by the wind, reached the ears of the four team members, each men scurried to the sides of the road like rats and hid themselves among the trees. Holding his breath, Chenggong watched as a group of men dressed in yellow or white linen clothing that resembled Shenyis walk along the road, conversing in hushed yet excited voices. The Ming pirate tried to see if he could understand what the topic of their conversation was about, but the dialect of Chinese they spoke, possibly an ancient variation of Mandarin, made it kind of hard for him to understand them, albeit not impossible.

Shenyi have been around seence the Shang Dynasty. We are supposed to be in ancient China so cood it be tat we have been transported to the Shang era? Tere is one way to rearn.

"Risten up, I have a pran." Chenggong waved his group over.

"Oh boy." Paul strode over, along with Thomas and Kepler. "Does it involve seek and destroy?"

"Not as of yet, but you may rike tees." Chenggong motioned over for his team to huddle.

----

"You sure that the city we are headed toward isn't a mirage caused by that oasis?"

As soon as they made their way across the Nile on a large wooden platform previously left there for reasons unknown, Akhenaten turned around to face his comrades.

"I am positive. Besides, a mirage doesn't occur unless the air is really cool and the ground is very warm. Besides, direct sunlight is essential for this to happen as it is refracted on the surface rather than reflected."

Starkad and Kepler glance at the sky to see the sunset. The pinkish sun, now halfway below the horizon, gave the ensuing dusk a dark blue tinge.

"Vell, your Phyzicz zkillz are zharp, but let me remind you zhat vee traveled vhen the zun vas at itz zenizh."

As Starkad took in the Soviet's observation, Akhenaten crossed his arms and glowered at his companions.

"If it was a mirage, then the Nile or the platform should not exist at all. Speaking of which, we...Starkad, watch out!"

Whirling around, the Viking Jarl noticed a long yellowish shape emerge from the dark waters of the Nile. As it lumbered close to him, he immediately recognized it as a Nile crocodile. Spending his break time reading up on the museum's other attractions, he had learned that this fierce and aggressive reptile was the largest in the crocodilian family and responsible for high human mortality rates.

If Sigurd could slay the dragon, I can slay this foul beast.

Letting out a loud cry, the Jarl brought down his axe on the nape of the croc's neck. The first strike managed to wound it while the subsequent blows managed to behead the creature. Wiping the blood of the axe, Starkad whirled around to face his comrades.

"Years of going a viking refines your skills with an axe."

Things turned quiet again as the companions traveled to the nearest town. In the distance, the Great Sphinx of Giza stood tall and proud as if it was guarding the pyramids behind it. Ever since he read about it in the museum archives, the Sphinx looked more worn out and weathered in its pictures.

It must have been freshly made during this era.

The moon was a large round shield in the sky, shining a pale white, when they had arrived at what appeared to the entrance to a city. The buildings looked like they were carved out of the sand dunes, their windows shining really bright from torchlight. Kicking a yellow scorpion, a deathstalker most likely, away with his boot, the Viking warrior's eyes landed on the hieroglyphics carved into a slab of a wall by the city gates.

That is some impressive work of art done through chiseling. It's supposed to be some sort of written language, huh?

"Alright, we need to discuss some things prior to entering the city." Akhenaten whirled around. "First off, you both need to shed your current clothing and switch into linen cloth in order to avoid drawing unwanted attention. Thankfully, no one will notice your skin tone in the darkness. "

"Good plan."

Viktor started to shed his helmet and officer's coat before approaching Akhenaten. The Pharaoh had then handed the man his new attire before turning to hand one to his remaining friend. As soon as Starkad finished changing, he turned to address the Egyptian.

"Do you know which period we are in exactly?"

Akhenaten frowned a bit. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, ever since Lower and Upper Egypt were united into one Egypt by the first Pharaoh Narmer, Egypt had been divided into three periods. These were the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms. They ranged from"-

Viktor raised a hand. "Bozhe moi! Enough veezh zhe heestory lezzon." He faced Akhenaten now. "Akhi, if I recall correctly, you deedn't leave on good terms vizh your countrymen. Vhat eef zhey recognize you? Zhen vhat?"

"That is precisely why I asked which time period this is." Starkad crossed his arms.

"Let me ask who the ruling pharaoh is as of now," Akhenaten suggested. "Let me do the talking as to not arouse suspicion."

----

"Who is the Emperor?"

The Chinese man, his dark hair in a cone bun, stared up at the Ming pirate with a look of terror. Chenggong used his left arm to pin the man to the tree as his right arm pointed his sword toward the terrified Chinese man's throat.

"I am not going to ask again. Who is the Emperor?"

Fearing that this man didn't understand the Hokkien dialect, Chenggong was about to slit his throat before the Chinese guy started to speak in a stuttered voice.

"Qin....Er...Shi."

"Very good. It looks like we won't be needing you anymore." With that, he slit the man's throat. He turned around to address the three other people in his group. " He actuarry gave usefur information unrike hees previous two buddies. We are een te Qin Dynasty dureeng the reign of Qin Ershi, Qin Shihuang's son. Eef I recarr correctry, ten our mission ees to breeng about an end to te Qin by endeeng Ershi's rife, ushering in tze Han Dynasty."

Thomas, Kepler, and Paul exchanged glances. The idea of kidnapping three innocent men and murdering them in order to gain information about the time period as well as their clothing did not sit well for anyone, but what must be done had to be done.

Chenggong had to utilize this method in order to extract information many times on Qing soldiers or spies, but time and experience didn't make it sit any better on his conscience.

"That is correct, I presume." Thomas spoke up after sporting the attire of the era. "The mission statement informed us to end an era that has gone on too long and usher in the new era. If this is the Qin era, then the year must be 206 B.C. Moreover, these men must be commoners due to the color of the clothes they were wearing. White or yellow linen stands for commoners while nobles wear black."

Paul emitted a loud groan. "Ugh, I hope I don't have to wear this for long. If Joe and Wally see me like this, I will never hear the end of it."

"Cease your yapping, boy. We are in dangerous of losing our memories and history due to Kenneth's blunders and you have the audacity to talk about clothing?" Thomas rubbed his forehead with his knuckles. "If this is the Qin Dynasty, the shortest era to be precise since it only lasted about fifteen years, then they must have gunpowder, paper money, decimals, and even a magnetic compass. After all, they pioneered those inventions."

"Yes." Chengging nodded. " Arso, tose terracotta warriors guarding teh first emperor's tomb originated in this time period. A town shood be near as teh men we kidnapped originated from ter. Now, I weel change into my iron ramerrar armor to give me the appearance of a guard arresting you."

"Wait...what?" Paul started to object, but he was cuffed on the back of his head by Kepler.

"Keep quiet and do az you are told." Kepler warned the young man. He turned to address the Ming rebel. " You undershtand zhe dialect, ja?"

"Mandarin, or potanghua, ees a ringua franca in China. Ardough eet weel be deefeecult, I can communicate with the rocars."

----

What? Impossible! That can't be!

Akhenaten stood in shock as one of the citizens of the city, known as Giza, informed him that his son Tutankhamun was the current pharaoh. The era that they had apparated in must have been the one following his reign as pharaoh. Thankfully, no one recognized him as the previous pharaoh as he wasn't dressed in his royal clothing that consisted of leather or silk. Rather, he was dressed like Viktor and Starkad in white linen as a commoner. He felt a hand tap on his shoulder.

"Did you find out where we are?"

Starkad and Viktor stood behind him, the former clasping a brightly lit torch. The former pharaoh took a breath before he explained the situation to his buddies. The Soviet captain and the Viking nobleman exchanged glances as they heard Akhenaten out.

"Tutankhamun?" Viktor blinked. "You mean King Tut ees your Zon?"

"Indeed he is,"Akhenaten replied. "Yet he has survived an assassination attempt against him. The idea that someone tried to do him in really haunts me. Is this the fallout of my actions as pharaoh?"

The Viking and the soldier exchanged what seemed like concerned looks before turning to face the ancient Egyptian.

"Akhi," Starkad began, looking a bit hesitant. "I believe there is something dire we need to discuss with you before we proceed with the objection."

---

"Just act naturar. I'rr do teh heavy rifting."

Paul gulped and nodded. He didn't like this idea one bit. Originally, kidnapping and murdering those ordinary citizens just minding their own business and going about their lives seemed just like another mission for him but that wasn't the case now. Knowing that you ended a life in war, innocent or combatant, could do wonders to your mind. It reminded him of that night in Seoul when he shot the teenage North Korean spy that had infiltrated their camp that night during the middle of the war. The image of the headless corpse still gave him nightmares.

"If I recall correctly, there are bandits and brigands out to oust Qin Ershi ,or Ying Huhai, if you prefer to use his given name. " Thomas's pale green eyes scanned the other three as they made their way down the road. "Maybe we can link up with them in order to fulfill both our goal and theirs, thus restoring history as we know it."

Johannes Kepler then spoke up. "Vait, didn't zhe shecond Qin Emperor commit shuicide?"

A hushed silence fell between the men. "Ah, good point. " Thomas sighed as he crossed his arms. "How do we go about to making his death look accidental?"

"I weel teenk of someteeng." Chenggong patted the breastplate of his bronze iron armor. " Ret's conseeder rinking up weeth teh brigands first."

No sooner had the pirate suggested that when Paul spotted movement among the trees. Several figures sporting Fu Manchu mustaches and dark silk clothing surrounded the men. Paul nervously reached for his Browning automatic rifle when Zheng Chenggong tapped his hand.

"Eet ees dem. I weer speak to teez bandits and convince tehm we are on teihr side."

Of course. We look like members of the Qin to them.I still stand by the idea that we should have selected better clothing for the incursion.

Chenggong, or Koxinga as he was sometimes called, chatted with a few of the bandits. Once the one who Paul assumed to be the leader frowned and conferred with his associates, the American G.I. felt a nervous feeling take hold in his gut.

Gee whiz! I hope they don't decide to rob us and leave is for dead by the side of the road.

At last, the brigand leader turned to reply to Chenggong. Nodding his head, Chenggong turned to address his comrades.

"Eet ees settred. Tey are conveenced we are not weet the Qin and invite us to join them in attacking the Qin's seat of power. Tey are desperate for vengeance after teihr kin were massacred in Dazexiang uprising. Eef teh emperor's seat of power farrs,he roses the mandate of heaven as werr as his legitimacy to the trone. We can onry hope eet resurts eenn him committing harakiri."

Sounds like a good plan to me.

---

"No! I forbid you to go near him!"

Odin's balls! I knew he would react like this. How do we reason with him in order to do what's right? I mean, would I be able to sacrifice Arnvid if it meant protecting the world?

Viktor and Starkad were standing at the edge of the road near a house that had windows lit with bright candlelight, giving it the appearance of what the modern-day citizens of Earth would refer to as a Jack O'Lantern used in a pagan celebration called All Hallow's Eve.The idea of a festival of that sort intrigued the Jarl, but right now his thoughts were centered on trying to convince Akhi to allow them to complete the mission.

"Listen, I know this is a tough decision to make and it involves your flesh and blood, but we have no choice in the matter. If we let Tut live, history would blow out of proportion and who knows what could happen to the museum and its patrons? Think this through, but be quick as the more time we waste, the more history is wiped from existence. "

As the hyperventilating pharaoh considered the Viking's words, Starkad glanced downward and noticed a dark shape scuttle in the sand by their feet. He recognized it as a scarab beetle, an important symbol of the ancient Egyptian religion. Behind him, a few citizens of the city milled about, minding their own business. Children ran around the middle of the street where merchants dealt their wares. The Viking was surprised that there was activity during this segment of the evening.

"After pondering this proposition, I have come to a decision. "

Starkad and Viktor glanced over at him.

"Have you come to your zenzes?" Viktor tilted his head to the side.

"I can not and will not let you hurt my son. I have always wanted to see him follow in my footsteps and become a pharaoh. To see him meet his end while he is young man with his future ahead of him would only break my fragile heart. No, I will not have it."

"Akhi, listen to me. " Starkad beckoned his friend over. "Remember what I was just telling you? If we let him live, it could potentially warp our world as we know it. For all we know, I may cease to exist if this doesn't happen. Unlike you, Viktor and I really value our existence. "

Tears rolled down the pharaoh's eyes as he struggled to come to terms with this decision. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Huh?" Viktor frowned.

Before any of the two could fathom what their friend was about to attempt, the agitated pharaoh leapt at his companions, trying to stop them from leaving to locate his son, but the two burly men managed to restrain their gaunt friend on the ground.

"I'll vatch him over heem to make zure he ztayz poot." Viktor stood behind Akhenaten and pointed his submachine gun to the nape of the terrified pharaoh's neck.

"Alright, just remember to stay out of plain sight," Starkad instructed him. "Now, where did he say Tut was staying?"

---

"Who is he?"

Chenggong held a stone-faced Paul to his side. The guards at the gate to the city had their arrows and spears pointed at them. With a little variation on the color scheme, Chenggong's armor looked mostly similar to the city guard's. Koxinga and the American soldier exchanged glances before the Ming rebel concocted the story they had planned. While this was happening, the brigands, along with Thomas and Kepler , would take the other guards by surprise and sneak in the city by scaling the walls that were not too high.

"He is a part of the foreign mercenaries hired by the bandits in order to infiltrate the city. I have arrested him and need to take him to the cells."

The guard shared a brief glance with his colleague before motioning the two inside. Letting out a sigh of relief, a disguised Koxinga led Paul several steps inside the city before leaning in to whisper in the boy's ear.

"Now ees teh time!"

Taking the hint, Paul whirled around and drew his military-issued rifle. Thinking quickly, he took out the archers on the walls in a few short bursts. While the guards on the ground tried to absorb the unforeseen turn of events, Zheng Chenggong drew his sword and capitalized on the indecision of the guards. Soon, their immediate foes were dispatched in a pool of blood.

"Look!" Paul pointed at the north end of the wall. "They have infiltrated the city!"

Sure enough, black-clad bandits poured into the city from opposite ends of the wall as terrified civilians looked on. Dozens of soldiers responded to the incursion by engaging the bandits. It wasn't long before Kepler and Thomas rendezvoused with their comrades.

"Good god!" Thomas swore. " I can't believe we are assisting a group of marauders in taking a city."

The screams of horses resounded across the air as armored horsemen came in to reinforce their ranks.

"Eet ees for teh greater good," Chenggong explained. His eyes narrowed as he looked ahead. "Prepare yourselves. We have a battre ahead of us. We may have to storm teh parace eef necessary. "

"You know what?" Thomas grinned as he slung his rifle over his shoulder. "I like that idea."

"Brace yourselves!" Thomas glanced over their shoulders. "We have a couple soldiers on horseback heading our way!"

Quick to react, Thomas and Paul took aim at the approaching soldiers and once they were in rage, they fired. Thomas's musket round succeeded in unhorsing one soldier while Paul's rifle shot went wide. Frantically reloading, Paul tried to take aim before the horsemen gained on him.

He ees too srow. I must intervene or erse he weerr rose hees head.

Chenggong drew his bloody sword and struck at the horse's legs while the rider was keen on taking out Paul to notice. Screaming, the brown steed fell to the ground along with its rider. Chenggong stepped over to the fallen soldier and took a breath before finishing the man off. The dead soldier's eyes slowly lost all signs of life as blood spurted from the young man's mouth. Fortunately, Chenggong was hardened enough by years of resistance against the Qing and the Dutch to be affected by it.

"Ret's make haste! Teh emperor cood sneak out of town in teh chaos!"

Letting out bellows and battle cries, both sides met head on in battle.

----

So, this is where the young lad stays during his visit, Quite simplistic yet fancy. I'd expected a few more guards to be posted unless he is trying to lay low.

Starkad strode through a garden filled with exotic vegetation as he made his way to the lavish white tent guarded by a few sleepy sentinels. The Viking warrior took a breath and pondered what he was about to do.

I am supposed to march up to the tent and slay a child in his sleep. Not just any child for that matter, but my friend's child.

Before the Earl could have second thoughts about his mission, a shadowy figure dashed through the shadows and pounced on a nearby guard, slitting his throat with a knife. As the other guards turned their attention to the new threat, Starkad utilized his chance to dispatch them. Slicing through the one that had his back turned to him, Starkad came face to face with the newcomer, who was dressed like the locals, but had his head shaved. His dagger was dripping from the blood of the two guards he had dispatched as he stared down the Viking. His eyes then grew wide as he recognized the other man.

"Hey, aren't you Hamon from the museum?"

In response, Hamon slashed the Earl's left shoulder leaving a bloody gash. Snarling in pain and rage, Starkad swung his axe at his foe, who managed to evade the blow in time.

"You are quite a quick one, aren't you?" Starkad managed to nick his foe on his shoulder. "Don't make me revert to my berserker mode or you'll regret it."

As the two men duked it out, they slowly began to tire while wounding each other. Starkad then saw an opening and tried to finish off his opponent, but the Egyptian managed to disarm him by striking the handle of his axe, knocking it into the darkness. Before he could follow through with a second strike, however, Starked backhanded him across his face. The Viking warrior then pinned his foe down and gripped his throat, slowly applying pressure. He watched the anguished look in his foe's eyes as the life ebbed away from him. Hamon tried to bring his dagger up in a vain attempt to get Starkad to loosen his grip, but the Norseman's knee was pinning his foe's arm to the ground. It wasn't long before he heard the Egyptian's neck snap.

Good riddance. I bet he wanted to kill the boy as well. I highly doubt that his death would have been merciful.

Starkad slowly rose and strode through the unguarded tent after retrieving his axe form the bloodied grass. The sight of a young boy sleeping on a small bed with stands resembling jackal heads greeted him. His heart pounding like war drums, the Norseman made his way to the bedside and took a long breath.

Here goes nothing.

---

The din of battle reached Chenggong's ears as he slashed and stabbed his way to the heavily-guarded gates of the royal palace. The smoke from the fires burning the buildings brought tears to his eyes as parried a blow from an iron-clad soldier. Felling his opponent with a strike across the unguarded section on his stomach, Chenggong's eyes fixed on the maroon and cream gates of the emperor's residence. He blotted out the sounds of the screams of dying soldiers and civilians as he glanced around for his fellow time travelers.

"Hey Mr. Chong!"

Chenggong whirled around and came face to face with a grinning Paul, his white robe stained red and brown.

"You know, this is ironic since I was responsible for repulsing a Chinese onslaught in Korea, but now I have the offensive."

Chenggong waved the boy aside. "Where are teh oters?"

"Thomas is by the gates while Kepler stood to the side as he isn't much of a fighter. Why did that weirdo have to come along?"

The Ming pirate stalked over to the gates to rendezvous with the others. Dead bodies belonging to the Qin, soldiers and civilians alike, as well as many bandits littered the ground, staining the stony floor a vermillion color. The sight of war was never pretty, but it was nothing new to Chenggong.

"How much longer must this continue?" Thomas asked.

"Untir teh Qin emperor farrs or abdicates."

"And how long will that be?" Thomas glanced to his side where many of their black-clad allies were holding the enemy back. Chenggong had learned that these insurgents were of the Chu and they had wanted to resurrect the previous dynasty by ousting the Qin. It reminded the pirate of his goals to oust the Manchus from his beloved China, which is why he had felt a connection to these ancient people. Perhaps his ancestors were present among this battle.

"Keep your heads up!" Thomas shouted as a few shrieking soldiers charged at them with their swords drawn. Thomas and Chenggong used their swords to beat the hysterical warriors back while Paul took aim with his rifle. A loud bang echoed in the vicinity as the soldier charging at the American was downed. Right when he decapitated his foe, Chenggong turned to see a second soldier come between him and Paul. A sword erupted from the back of his head, causing him to fall to his knees. A grinning Kepler held the bloody sword that ended the warrior's life.

"I am full of shurprises, ja?"

The battle drew on for a while longer until the remaining soldiers surrendered to them. While the Chu restorationists rounded up the soldiers, the doors of the gates opened. A man who wore the maroon robes of a Qin official strode out , flanked by a few guards. Chenggong recognized him as the eunuch Zhao Gao whom he had read about in his younger days. He couldn't help, but feel awed that he got to experience the man in person. He concentrated eagerly on the eunuch as he started to speak.

"What is he saying?" Paul tugged on Chenggong's sleeve. "Did we win?"

The Ming revolutionary smiled at his American friend. "Indeed we deed. Teh Qin ees no more! Ho! I was wondering how you feer about seeing terracotta sorjers whire tey are fresh?"

Spot 6: RondaRayl

Thomas was a young kid from the midwest in the 1800s. He sat in the corner and cried softly. Catalina, a noble lady from Italy in the 1300s, noticed that he was upset so she went over to see how he was doing.

She put her hand on his shoulder. "Everything is going to be alright. We will be able to accomplish this and go home."

"Thank you, ma'am." Thomas stood up and wiped his eyes.

Meanwhile, Alan had the mammoth tusk and stored it in storage unit in the back of the time machine. He logged it into the computer system and tried to figure out where they should go next. Personally, he thought he should be the one making all the plans. After all, he had been a French aristocrat and was skilled in negotiations and highly intelligent.

In the middle of the time machine, Richard watched Astrid and Jackson fist-fighting. He critiqued them on their fighting styles and helped train them. Richard had been a general in the Veitnam War, so training was familiar to him. Astrid had been well trained from her uncle, so she got the upper hand on Jackson, who had been a slave in America in the 1700s.

Norman was a Jew during World War Two and he missed his wife. Norman joined Alan in programing the computer system and searching through the time machine. He found translation devices that appeared to be tablets. After testing them out, he figured out by talking into it that it translated what he said to Alan and vice-versa. There were ten of them, so he gave each of them one, so they could finally fully understand each other.

One of the computer system logs had a binary system that Norman figured out because he was a mathmatician. From what he found out, it was a message from Kenneth telling them the next places they had to go in order to fix history.

By that time, Kenneth had sent another group of historical people into the time machine with them. There were six Ancient Empires so Norman, Alan, Catalina, Jackson, Astrid, Richard, and Thomas chose to go to Rome and stay together while two of the others went to Rome and the others split up to go to the other Ancient Empires.

Alan pressed the controls to take them back in time and the time machine started smoking. They all panicked and didn't know what to do. Then they realized that they were supposed to push a lever on the time machine, so Norman had to restart the machine and turn it back on again.

Finally, they were on their way.

***

Thomas stepped out of the time machine and the wind blew his blonde hair. Then Norman stepped out with a sigh and pushed his glasses up his nose. Richard stepped out and slipped his thumbs into the loops of his belt. Astrid stepped out and all of the men gazed at her because she was so beautiful, with a perfect body. Jackson followed Astrid out. He jokingly said, "Am I that gorgeous?"

Astrid hit him on the shoulder and said, "Not quite."

Catalina Allessandra Bacherelli stepped out and all eyes shifted to her. Thomas ran up to her and gave her a hug.

Alan, with his charming smile and smirking expression, strutted out to join the group.

As they arrived in Rome, it was dark, cloudy, and windy, looking like it was getting ready to storm. The city had beautiful marble temples with bright red roofs with a very beautiful bridge overlooking the water of a river. Off in the distance, the beautiful Collasseum was grand. The streets were narrow, crowded, and had a lot of mice crawling there.

Up ahead, there was a regiment of soldiers. They looked magnificient with their armor and red capes, large shields and spears marching down the street. At the temple entrance, there was a group of men. They were about 5'6 with blue undergarments and white robes and sandles on their feet. They all spoke in a harsh, gutteral language. Their wives were on the temple steps talking. They were beautiful with their hair pinned up, wearing bright colorful robes.

Catalina said, "That sure is a strange language. Let's get our devices out. We'll need them."

Her companions did as she told. The other two historical people came out of the time machine and joined them quietly.

All of the sudden, crowds of people gathered. There was shouting and everyone talked at once. Then all of the sudden, a general stepped up and quieted the people. He said, "If this doesn't stop, Rome will come down harsh on you for starting these riots! It will be a great advantage for us to move the capital to Byzantium!"

The people started shouting, "No! It's always been here at Rome! We don't want it moved! Our families are here, our jobs and business are here! If the capital is moved, then we will lose money!"

Catalina turned to the group and said, "The Roman Capital was moved to Byzantium and renamed Constatinople in 330B.C."

Thomas turned and asked one of the men at the temple, "What year is it?"

The man said, "330B.C."

Thomas read his response on the translation device. He went back and told the group what year it was.

Alan said, "This is the year it's supposed to move. We have to make sure it happens."

"By the looks of things, that isn't going to happen anytime soon," Richard said.

Without thinking, Jackson went up to Roman General and asked to talk to the crowd. The device translated it for him. The General nodded and Jackson stood in front of the crowd. He said, "It's imperative that you get the capital moved. It will help you in your buisness and they will flourish even more."

Norman stepped up and said, "I've operated a business in the past, and I can assure you that you will have great success."

"Who are you to tell us what to do?" the crowd shouted. Someone in the crowd picked up a rock and threw it at him.

Norman ducked and moved out of the way.

As the crowd charged toward them, Jackson and the other historic man with them plunged into the crowd. The Roman General grabbed a sword and stabbed the historic man in the back and killed him.

The crowd backed off in fear and hushed. Jackson rejoined the group of his companions. The other historic woman ran up and knelt beside the man who had been killed. She cried and sobbed.

A messenger came and whispered in the General's ear and he shouted to quiet the crowd. "Attention! Emperor Constantine has decided to split the Empire into two halves. Rome will remain the capital of the Western half, while the capital of the Eastern half will be moved to Byzantium."

The crowd cheered.

Jackson, Norman, Alan, Catalina, Thomas, Richard, and Astrid started walking to get back to the time machine now that they had completed their mission.

Spot 8: wordsmith-

NO ENTRY - I think she has a concussion. Please pray for her.

Spot 9: Several7s 

A scream woke Khen. She bolted upright, sweat soaking her clothes. Others in the museum were giving her quizzical looks, and she realized that the scream had been her own. "You can't escape me." Cagan's voice echoed in her mind. She'd been dreaming again. She curled up against the wall, waiting for retaliation. The guards always got angry when she woke up from nightmares. Today, that didn't happen.

"They're gone!" A shout woke everyone who hadn't woken from Khen's screaming. Within seconds, people were rushing up the basement stairs, pushing to get out.

"Everyone, get back!" A loud, annoyed voice carried over the sounds of the crowd. "Let me open it."

Khen stood and moved closer to the outskirts of the crowd, curious. She'd understood the first announcement, at least, but what did it mean? Who was gone?

Tia moved over next to Khen, who glanced up at her. "Who... gone?" she asked, hating how difficult communication had become since Gregory had broken her chip.

"Kenneth's men," Tia explained. "Leo's been pounding on the door for hours and no one has done a thing. They haven't even sent us out for another mission yet. We just checked the museum- besides us, it's empty."

"...Empty?" Khen hadn't understood most of what Tia said, but she got the gist of it. Kenneth's men had disappeared with their master.

"Yep. We can go home, Khen!"

This, Khen understood. Her eyes widened, and she started to protest, then stopped. She couldn't expect Tia to protect her forever. At this point, Tia probably just wanted to be done with it and send Khen away. After all, one person's kindness could only last so long. It wasn't such a surprise that Tia wanted to give Khen back to Cagan and the others.

A feeling of betrayal washed over her. She'd given her trust to Tia, and in return, she would be sent back to the hell she'd been taken from. It hurt, knowing that someone she'd considered a friend would do that to her.

"Home..."

Khen swallowed, rubbing her arms. She didn't want to go back. After finally escaping them, she couldn't take the thought of going back to that place. Panicked thoughts ran through her mind. What would Cagan do to her for being gone so long? He'd beaten her until she nearly died for less. The last time she'd tried to escape, he'd beaten her until she couldn't move, then given her to the men. Her throat tightened.

"Khen?" Tia waved a hand in front of Khen's face. "You okay?"

"I fine," Khen whispered.

It was a lie, but Tia didn't seem to notice. Instead, she tugged on Khen's hand. "Come on- the others are leaving us behind."

***

"We can't go home yet," Naoki announced.

At some point, Mary had pushed him forward, encouraging him to take charge of the deteriorating situation before the chaos got worse. Reluctantly, he had moved to the front of the room and attempted to get everyone's attention. Just as they finally listened to him, his tablet pinged, and he found a message sent by Kenneth.

On it, Kenneth explained what was going on- and made it clear that no one would be able to go home until history was fixed.

"What do you mean, we can't go home?" someone yelled. "We've been trapped in this place far too long, and you suggest we stay?"

"Kenneth and his men left," Naoki answered. "If the situation was not... dangerous, don't you think he would have stayed?" He held up the tablet. "Some of you have these... devices. Kenneth sent us an explanation. I believe it would be... important to listen to him. Time is broken. If we go home now, it will remain that way, ruining our homes as we know them."

The crowd immediately began to murmur and complain. Someone in the back pushed forward. "So, you expect us to clean up Kenneth's mess?" the woman asked. "Why doesn't he do it?"

"Just read the message. Please. For everyone's sake, we need to do this."

***

In the end, their group didn't end up staying together. Felipe wanted to go to Greece and Tia wanted to go to Rome, so they split into two groups and went with others. Naoki ended up with Tia, Khen, Ujarak, and two boys- Ujarak's son, Kjell, and a little boy named Turgen.

Naoki smiled, remembering how excited Turgen had been when he spotted Khen. He'd ran to her, dragged Kjell with him, and the two had joined their group. They didn't have a seventh member, but they did have the tablets, which they'd discovered would allow communication across time via digital writing.

"This doesn't look like the home I left behind," Tia noted. "This place looks..." she trailed off as she wandered the ruins of the town they'd arrived in.

"It looks war-torn," Ujarak finished. "What happened here?"

"Kenneth's notes mention a war around this time," Naoki said. "That isn't the problem here."

"Whatever is going on, if it brought down an empire, the emperor will know about it," Tia pointed out. "We should head to the capital."

***

"This is amazing!" Michelangelo gasped.

The surrounding architecture was something he'd never imagined he would see. Buildings lined up everywhere, with beautiful pottery tile roofing and small gardens in the front. Many of the homes had large archway entrances leading to wooden doors. The walls were made with crude bricks that appeared to be covered in plaster, but he liked it.

"Stop gawking, Michel," Mary said, pulling him away from the front of one of the houses. "We have work to do, and you're just drawing more attention to us."

"Oh, I'm drawing attention to us?" He laughed. "I think you're forgetting your own exotic nature. These people are far more interested in you."

"He's right," Felipe said. "It's obvious you are nobility."

Michelangelo grinned at Mary, watching her as she eyed the people and quickly concluded that they were, in fact, far more interested in her. He could see it on her face- that look of surprise. He'd thought she would be used to attention. Being in the museum for so long must have changed that.

"We need to figure out what's gone wrong here before things get out of hand," Mary decided. "Felipe, where would we find information about what's going on?"

Felipe frowned. "We could go to the public baths. Men and women gather there at the end of the day to relax, bathe, and discuss things. We could also visit the next assembly, but that would take longer. They only happen every ten days, and the last one could've happened at any time."

"The baths, then," Mary decided. "It's not like we have to get in."

Felipe eyed her but didn't say anything. Michelangelo held back a laugh. She was rather naïve if she thought it would be normal to go to public baths without actually bathing. Besides, getting in probably wouldn't be the most uncomfortable thing about it. Seeing the other people... that was going to be awkward for her.

"We should find clothes that'll fit in," he said. "Then we can figure out this bath thing."

***

Once they were in the capital, Ujarak and the others found it to be a bustling city. Rome appeared untouched by the war. They must've been in a market area, because the streets were lined with merchants trying to sell different things. Everywhere, Ujarak saw people lining up at different merchant stalls to buy things. Most of the people wandering around were followed by others that he could only assume were slaves, based on the chains they wore and how badly some of them seemed to be treated.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ujarak saw Turgen slip his hand into Khen's. The Chinese girl barely responded. She only stared at the slaves around her with a haunted look in her eyes. Ujarak wondered about her. She was so timid and had obviously been a slave before Kenneth got to her, but... she trusted Tia. Or, she had. But now, she stuck close to Turgen and seemed to avoid Tia's gaze. Her trust for others seemed to fluctuate rather quickly.

How badly must she have been mistreated, that it's so easy to destroy her trust in people? He frowned. This wasn't the time to be trying to figure out her past. They needed to find out what was going on with this place.

"Tia, where's the best place to get information here?"

Tia gestured to the slaves around them. "We ask the people who are invisible. You'd be surprised how much slaves hear. If we find one of the emperor's slaves, we'll probably get the most information."

"Great. Show us."

Tia shook her head. "This is far past my time, Naoki. I do not know this place."

"Can't you look at Kenneth's notes and figure out where the palace is from there? Or historical records might have it," Kjell suggested.

"Good idea." Naoki pulled out the tablet and scrolled through the information it contained. "Found it." He pointed toward a hill, and the enormous structure sitting atop it. "Up there."

***

Mary stared at the ground, wishing she hadn't agreed to visit the public baths. "I won't go in there."

"You sure?" Felipe asked. "The baths are nice- much better than anything Kenneth let us use."

"Unless they come in the private variety, I am sure. I'll... find someone else to talk to."

Michelangelo wandered into the bath without a second thought, his eyes drifting from person to person like a child at the market. Mary sighed and left before she saw something else that would burn into her memory permanently.

***

Felipe settled into the bath with a contented sigh. He'd missed this while at the museum. Kenneth didn't have comfortable baths for everyone. He allowed them scheduled, short showers with smelly soap and guards at the doors. It was nothing like the social gatherings that public baths allowed for. Here, he could relax, unwind, and gather information about what was happening in the world.

"You look like you've had a long day," an older man said, shifting closer to Felipe.

He smiled. It had been too long since he heard his native tongue. "I have," he answered, tapping his translation chip to disable it. "Things are getting harder around here."

"With the Sparta causing so much trouble, I'm not surprised," another person put in. This guy sat across from Felipe, lounging with an arm around a woman who must've been his wife. "I'm just glad they've finally agreed to make a treaty and end this war."

Felipe knew of this event. This was before Greece was a united empire. City states Athens and Sparta were at war because one of Athens's allies rebelled and joined Sparta. The treaty ended up being called the Thirty Years' Peace, despite ending after just fifteen years. Nothing sounded out of the ordinary there. Unless something happened that would stop the treaty.

"It is an important treaty," Felipe agreed, leaning forward. "I hear something might've gone wrong in its creation."

The man's eyes darted around the bath, and he leaned forward as well. "There have been rumors that Pericles disappeared. Without him, the other statesmen won't create the treaty at all."

That was new. Pericles never disappeared in the timeline Felipe knew. In fact, the statesman had ruled until 429 BC. If he disappeared now, it would throw all of history off balance. He slid further underneath the water and considered this. There was only one reason he could think of that Pericles would've disappeared. Kenneth.

"I'm sure they're only rumors," the first speaker cut in. When the second guy glared at him, he laughed. "You shouldn't take them so seriously, Adonis."

Adonis laughed. "Of course, Estevan, of course. I only think we should consider it. If the rumors are true, Sparta could destroy us."

Adonis's wife opened her mouth as if to say something, but immediately closed it again. Felipe noted the look on her face, as if she wanted to add to the conversation. She wouldn't- it wasn't considered proper.

"I haven't seen you around, boy," Estevan pointed out. "What's your name?"

"It's Felipe, sir."

"Felipe, eh? A good name, to be sure. What do you do, Felipe?" Adonis asked.

Felipe thought about that. I time travel. Yep. Currently, I'm an apprentice time-fixer. Because that made a lot of sense. "I'm a merchant," he blurted. "Or, I will be. I'm only an apprentice right now."

"Ah, your master's letting you out to play, is he?" Adonis laughed, clearly impressed with his own humor. "Who is your master? Perhaps I know him? I work with many merchants."

There was a long, silent moment as Felipe tried to come up with a plausible answer. He didn't know of any good merchants around, but it would look suspicious if he hesitated too long. Luckily, Esteban came to his rescue.

"Leave him alone, Adonis. Kid's master probably doesn't even know he's here right now. He doesn't need you poking around and getting him into trouble." Esteban glanced at Michelangelo. "Anyway, I'd like to know more about your friend here. Seems to be a man of few words."

"That's... Michel," Felipe said. "He doesn't speak Greek, unfortunately. In fact, the poor fellow is quite deaf."

Michelangelo turned to look at Felipe, annoyed, but he quickly disguised it. Felipe held back a grin. "My family took him in when I was just a child. Bit of a charity case, if I'm honest."

Esteban and Adonis both laughed. "You're quite the interesting fellow, Felipe," Adonis said. "You come find me when you've made a name for yourself, and we can work together."

"Of course."

Felipe relaxed. Now that they had some idea of what was going on in Greece, they might just be able to save his homeland. If only he had been able to save his home too. He pushed those memories away to think on another time. For now, he could relax.

***

They didn't quite make it to the castle. Before they got halfway there, Kjell called for everyone to stop. "We're missing Turgen and Khen."

Tia quickly scanned the group and confirmed Kjell's information. "But how?" It didn't make sense. Khen had been right next to Tia the whole time. Or... maybe she hadn't. Tia frowned. Now that she thought about it, Khen had been avoiding Tia. Had she done something?

"Any guesses about what could've happened, Tia?" Naoki stared at her expectantly.

"I... I don't know," Tia stammered.

She shook her head, panic rushing through her. Khen would be terrified on her own. Especially in a place like this, where woman were practically objects to the men. She didn't fit in, either. Her looks were so exotic compared to everyone else around... people would probably think she was a slave if it weren't for the lack of chains.

Then it hit her. Turgen and Khen were the perfect targets. They weren't like Ujarak, Kjell, or Naoki, who were clearly warriors. They were exotic, unchained, and helpless. "Slavers."

Ujarak nodded gravely. "You may be right," he agreed. "I may not know the time, but I know the business. They were probably too exotic for the slavers to resist."

Naoki scowled. "Why not take us too, then? We are not Roman."

"No," Kjell agreed. "But if they took them in secret, they might not have wanted to start a fight. We wouldn't exactly go quietly."

"I do not know how we did not notice." Naoki rubbed his temples.

"Khen was lagging behind," Ujarak pointed out. "Turgen stayed with her in the back, but our pace was probably too hard for her."

Tia sat on the steps of a nearby building, a wave of guilt washing over her. She was supposed to protect Khen. Instead, she'd left Khen and hadn't even noticed when she lagged behind. "This is my fault. I should've noticed how close we were to the Graecostadium."

Naoki frowned. "What is the... Graecostadium?"

"It's the center for slave trade." She pointed to the Colosseum behind Naoki. "I didn't think..." She chewed her lower lip. "There are rules for slave trade. The slavers have to tell their buyers things like their slaves' origins and where they were taken from. I didn't think there would be as many people in the future who would find ways around that. But... Khen and Turgen would fetch good prices."

"Then what do we do?" Ujarak demanded. "They might already be gone!"

"No." Tia shook her head and stood. "We have time to get them back. The slavers will have to examine them before they can determine a price. But we need to move now."

***

Khen huddled in her small cage, shivering. She should have struggled harder. Why hadn't she screamed? The thought ran through her mind multiple times, but in the end, it didn't make a difference. She wouldn't have done anything different. Screaming would only have gotten the others hurt. She was only a slave- if she got free men and women hurt because of her actions, it would only bring punishment. She'd been lucky with Naoki. His hand must still hurt, but he'd never lifted a hand against her. It didn't make sense.

"Khen," Turgen whispered. "They're going to find us."

How did he always sense when she was giving up? Even with Cagan, he had always known. She'd thought she was reasonably good at hiding her emotions, but he always saw through her.

"They'll come," she agreed. "They wouldn't abandon you."

One of the guards walked by then and threw open the door to Khen's cage, yelling something she didn't understand.

She stared at him blankly, but he didn't seem to care if she understood or not. He reached into the cage and grabbed her arm, yanking her out of the cage. Turgen stood, moving to the front of his own cage.

"Khen!" He reached for her, but the guard dragged her away too quickly.

The guard took her to another room where they hung a wooden sign on her neck. She tried to make out the wording on it, but it only looked like squiggles to her. She waited silently as someone came through and began to inspect her. They forced her to open her mouth so they could inspect her teeth. It reminded her of the horse traders back home, which didn't make her feel any better.

Her heart sank as the slavers began to talk amongst themselves, clearly happy with what they saw. I'm going to be a slave in a foreign time and country. She didn't doubt that it would be just as bad as the Mongols had been, possibly worse. It would take years to learn the language and understand what her masters even wanted, and that meant years of cruel punishment for messing up.

She was pushed into a line of other dejected individuals. Some of them had one foot covered in white paint, but she wasn't sure why. She stood there for what seemed like hours, slowly moving forward as the slaves at the very front were auctioned off. It was a long, slow process and her legs soon began to ache from standing in one place for so long. She ignored the pain. It was nothing compared to what the Mongols had inflicted on her.

When the guards weren't looking, she scanned the line for Turgen. He was nowhere to be found, which only heightened her anxiety. She knew this life, but he was just a kid. He didn't deserve to become a slave. She hoped that maybe he wasn't there because the others had found and rescued him. The thought caused a strange disappointment within her. Tia might not want her around anymore, but... she found herself wishing that the others did.

She closed her eyes, remembering the rage in Naoki's eyes when he saw Gregory trying to hurt her. He hadn't hesitated to jump in and save her once he found an opening. It stirred strange feelings within her, and she found herself wishing he would come and save her again.

One of the guards pushed her forward, and she stumbled out onto a stage, suddenly blinded by sunlight. Someone pushed her toward a stand in the middle of the stage and the auctioneer immediately started talking. Soon, people were raising their hands and yelling back to him. Khen could only assume they were telling the auctioneer how much they were willing to pay for her.

Eventually, someone in the crowd yelled something that got the guards to move toward her. Her eyes widened when they grabbed the clothes they'd given her and started to pull them off. "No!"

Her protest earned her a hard slap. When they finished, she stood in front of the crowd, completely exposed. People started calling out faster, until someone finally closed the bid. The guard holding her clothes tossed them back to her, and she threw them back on quickly, thankful for what little coverage they offered her.

Once she was dressed again, the guards forced her down the stairs and handed her over to the man who had bought her. He stared at her, his gaze full of lust. Khen knew that look well- she'd seen it on the faces of every man at the Mongol camp. Now, she would be subjected to the exact same treatment by this man.

He said something to her, and she shook her head. "I don't understand," she whispered.

With a dissatisfied grunt, he shook his head and pulled out a chain. Once it was clamped around her legs, he pulled her with him out of the crowd and back into the city.

***

It wasn't hard to sneak into the area where the slaves were kept. Naoki figured that was probably because the guards were there to keep people from leaving, not the other way around. When they'd arrived, the auction was already in progress, so Naoki sent the others to watch and make sure Khen and Turgen weren't sold. He'd gone into the holding area alone, since he was the only one with a lot of skill at hiding.

A guard walked by and Naoki plastered himself against the wall, crouching. His heartbeat sped up as the guard neared and started to head his direction. As soon as the guard got close, Naoki struck. He sprung up from his position and wrapped his arm around the guard's neck. The guard gasped and started to call for help, but Naoki covered his mouth. Several seconds later, the guard lay limp on the ground.

Naoki glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then took the guard's armor and dragged him into a hidden corner. His identity safely concealed, he was able to walk up and down the line of slaves until he found Turgen, who looked anxious.

"Turgen," Naoki whispered. "It's Naoki. We're here to rescue you."

The little boy looked up at Naoki with tear-filled eyes. "They sold Khen," he answered. "She's gone."

Naoki's heart skipped a beat. They were too late. But... there might still be a chance. Maybe whoever bought her had stuck around and the others would free her. If they hadn't, though, Naoki didn't have time to sneak Turgen out and go save her.

"Listen, you need to cooperate with these people," he said. "I'm going to find Khen. The others will get you after you've been bought. Tell them what happened and to meet me where we lost you guys."

Turgen nodded and wiped his tears. "She's been hurt too much, Naoki," he said. "Don't let them take her away."

***

As she'd predicted, Khen's new owner became increasingly annoyed by her inability to understand him. Once they got to his house, he forced her into a tiny, windowless room and slammed the door on her. She sat in the far corner of the room, trying to keep from shaking. She'd wanted more from life than just slavery, and she'd hoped that maybe fixing time wouldn't be so bad. Now, she realized that it didn't matter what time she was in. No one would look at her and see anything more than a worthless slave.

The door opened again, and her new master threw a piece of clothing at her. "Habitu," he snapped.

She looked at the cloth, then back at him, assuming he meant for her to change into this new outfit. She nodded and waited for him to leave, but he only stood in the door and repeated the word.

Did he plan to watch her change? Maybe he just didn't understand that she knew what he meant. She nodded again and held up the cloth, repeating what he'd said. He said something else, then left.

She wasn't sure what the second part had been, but she changed quickly so he wouldn't come back before she was finished. The new outfit he'd given her was somehow even more revealing than the last one. She felt like she'd just draped a piece of cloth over part of her body. She wasn't even sure she'd put it on right. Roman clothes were confusing.

He returned soon after she finished changing and grabbed her, dragging her out of the room and into a bedroom. She stared at the bed and tried not to panic. When he released her arm and left, she collapsed on the floor. Bile rose in her throat. He wasn't doing anything yet, but... he'd been the one who had her stripped at the auction. It was clear he'd bought her for one reason.

She crawled onto the bed and curled up into a ball. It didn't take long for her to cry herself to sleep.

***

Any records of the auction were impossible to decipher. Tia might have been able to do it, but even if she could, there was no guarantee that whoever had bought Khen would be important enough that he could find their home in history. Instead, he was forced to roam the streets searching for her- not a promising way to go about things.

The longer Naoki searched with no luck, the more worried he became. He couldn't get past the thought that she might be gone forever. I should've noticed they were taking her, or got there sooner, before she was sold. He'd ended up being the unofficial leader of the group, and instead of keeping everyone safe, he had failed Khen and Turgen both.

There must be some way to find her. Something told him she wouldn't do anything to try to send a signal, but that didn't mean no one had seen her. Except I don't speak their language. Alone, he wasn't entirely sure what he could do. The tablets didn't show any new events in future history books that might lead back to her.

After several hours of wandering Rome, Naoki couldn't help feeling dejected. He slumped against a wall and rubbed his temples. He wished she wasn't so stubborn about letting people help her. Maybe she would have cried out when the slavers were abducting her if she'd trusted them more. Then again, maybe she just didn't get the chance. Turgen must not have.

It doesn't help to fixate on what happened. He leaned his head back and stared up at the now-dark sky. Stars glittered above him, and the moon was full. She'd been gone nearly the entire day now. The odds of finding her were quickly shrinking.

He couldn't get past the strange feeling he got when he'd seen her vulnerable in Gregory's grasp. Now, knowing she was in danger again, he felt that again- a strange urge to protect her. Something told him she was special, and if recent events were anything to go off, she would need someone to keep her safe.

A scream caught his attention, pulling him from his thoughts. He knew that sound. He'd heard it before. Pushing away from the wall, Naoki ran, following the sound toward a large villa.

***

"We find Pericles and everything will be fixed?" Mary frowned. "That sounds too easy."

Michelangelo shrugged, squeezing out his wet hair. "What would I know? I'm just the deaf charity case."

"Oh, come on. I had to say something," Felipe pointed out.

"Boys. Stop it. We have more important issues."

Mary pulled out the tablet and pulled up the messaging system they'd discovered earlier. She sent a quick letter to everyone, asking if any groups could send Pericles back to Greece to fix things. Almost immediately, a reply came in from Leo, of all people. He told them that Pericles was with his group, and that they would be along shortly.

She tucked the tablet into a pocket and looked at the other two. "Now we wait."

***

Tia paced the alley anxiously. She should be out looking for Khen too. Instead, Naoki had sent Turgen to tell everyone that he was going off on his own. But Khen didn't trust Naoki. She might not respond well to his arrival. After the last time he'd rescued her, she'd told him not to help her. It was the same response Tia had gotten at first. What if Khen wouldn't let Naoki rescue her?

"She'll be fine," Ujarak said, laying a hand on Tia's shoulder. "I may not know Naoki well, but I know a good man when I see one. He'll find her. We just need to wait here so we can find each other."

"I'm worried too," Turgen added. "But I trust Naoki to bring her back."

"It could take a while, though," Kjell pointed out. "Some of us should go figure out what's going on here while we wait. Otherwise, we're wasting valuable time. It's already dark out. If we wait too long, we might miss our chance to fix things."

Tia nodded, willing to do anything to get her mind off her worry. "Alright. I'll head up to the palace and see what's going on. I'll be able to communicate with them easier."

"I want to go," Kjell said. "You shouldn't go alone."

"Kjell..." Ujarak started to protest but quickly stopped. "Be careful."

"Of course." Kjell grinned.

Tia sighed. "Let's go, kid."

***

Naoki slammed the front door to the house open and listened. A cry of pain from upstairs caught his attention, and he ran toward it, bursting through a bedroom door to find a man pinning Khen to a bed. She struggled weakly under him as he forced himself on her.

White hot fury coursed through Naoki's veins as he processed what he was seeing. "Kanojo o hanarete!" he yelled.

The man scrambled off Khen and shouted something angrily at Naoki. He attacked, but Naoki dodged his punch and knocked the breath out of him. Adrenaline flooded Naoki's system as his anger took over. He wrapped his arm around the Roman's throat, cutting off his air.

He struggled, landing a solid blow on Naoki's ribs, but it did little to help his situation. Naoki held the man tightly, watching his face turn red from lack of air. He gagged helplessly and grew limp. Still, Naoki didn't let go. Scum like this man didn't deserve to live. He'd only hurt more people.

"Stop!" Khen cried out.

Naoki ignored her and held tighter. "He deserves it," he snapped. "He has no right to hurt you!"

"No!" She moved off the bed and grabbed his arm. "No kill!"

"Why not?" Why was she defending him? He'd tried to rape her! In Naoki's book, any man with so little honor didn't deserve redemption. If he were in Japan, he might have executed this man already.

"Maybe important," Khen insisted. "Can't kill."

She had a point. Naoki scowled. How was it that their own reason for being here protected this man? "He has no honor," he muttered. "He doesn't deserve even seppuku."

"Let go." Khen touched his arm. "He suffer enough."

"I seriously doubt that," he said, but complied, dropping the guy. After calming himself down, he turned to Khen. "How badly did he hurt you?"

Only then did he see the fresh bruises on her arms and around her neck. Fresh anger bubbled deep within him, but he pushed it back. Khen was right- this guy might be important to the timeline, and if they killed him, it might ruin everything. Even if he wasn't important, they had to keep their presence in the timeline as limited as possible.

"I..." Khen burst into tears and flung her arms around him. "You come for me."

He held her for several minutes before she calmed down, feeling somewhat honored that she let him comfort her. When she finally pulled away, she wiped her tears and stared at the floor.

"Sorry," she whispered.

"Do not be. You're safe now." He paused. "I will not hurt you, Khen. Really."

She chewed her bottom lip and nodded. "Not alone here," she answered after a moment. "Someone else. Other girl."

Naoki's stomach churned. This guy kept multiple victims here? Naoki could only imagine what the other girl must have suffered at this Roman's hands. "Where?"

Across the hall, in a small room with nothing but a cot, Naoki found the other girl that Khen was talking about. She lay huddled on a cot, sleeping. He could see tears still wet on her cheeks and immediately felt for her. Chains had been clamped around her right leg and attached to the leg of the bed she slept on. Naoki glanced at Khen and realized that she wore cuffs on her legs- cuffs that had probably been attached to something.

He knelt beside the girl's bed and touched her shoulder gently. She woke with a start and scrambled away from them, breathing heavily. Her wide eyes took in the scene before her and quickly settled on Khen. Upon seeing Khen, the girl relaxed, and Naoki got his first good look at her.

"She can't be older than six," he breathed, shocked. She looked Roman, too. What was she doing here?

The girl said something to Khen, who knelt next to her and gestured to the chain, then mimed breaking it.

"Is there a key?" Naoki asked.

Khen glanced back at the bedroom, chewing her bottom lip again. He reached out and squeezed the girl's hand. "We will get you out of here," he promised. "I will be right back."

He found the key in the unconscious guy's pocket and brought it back to the room. As soon as her chains came off, the girl lit up, smiling from ear to ear. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around Naoki, laying her head on his shoulder. He smiled and handed Khen the key to her cuffs.

"We can't leave her," Naoki decided. "Let's take her with us for now."

***

By the time they got back to the alley where the others were waiting, the girl had fallen asleep in Naoki's arms. The others gave him quizzical looks when they saw him, but their focus quickly re-directed to Khen.

Tia immediately threw her arms around Khen, pulling her into a tight hug. "I was so worried," Tia said. "You should have said something when they attacked."

Turgen wrapped his arms around Khen's waist when Tia let go. "He hurt you," he said in Mongolian, touching the bruises on her arms.

"I'm fine," she promised him. "Naoki saved me."

If she was honest, Khen was a little uncomfortable at the attention she was getting. It felt strange, going back to people who had obviously worried for her safety. Even Ujarak and Kjell looked visibly relieved at her appearance.

Khen glanced at the little Roman girl in Naoki's arms and felt a mix of feelings. The girl was so much like Khen had been- helpless and abused. But it wasn't just that. Khen couldn't help looking at the girl and wondering what could have been, if it hadn't been for Kenneth.

She shut out the memory before it became too painful and focused on the others. They were discussing the issue with the timeline now, though she only understood about a third of everything that was said.

Turgen translated everything for her. Apparently, Tia and Kjell had gone investigating while Naoki searched for her. They'd found out that the emperor, Domitian, had been killed and replaced by a family member named Titus. When Naoki looked it up, he confirmed that this wasn't supposed to have happened. In fact, Domitian wasn't supposed to die until 96 AD- ten years from when they were currently. Worse, according to the future history books, this event caused Rome to lose an important battle and eventually an entire war, which led to its early fall.

"So, what do we do?" Tia asked, directing her question at Naoki.

"We need to win the battle first," Naoki decided. "If Rome loses, it won't matter what else we do. Once we do that, we can come back in ten years and get rid of Titus so the Senate elects whoever to rule after Domitian."

Ujarak nodded, and Khen didn't miss how his face lit up at the mention of a battle. He didn't scare her as much anymore, but that look did. It wasn't right, enjoying fights so much.

"Sounds like a plan," he agreed. "Let's get to the battlefield and find some weapons."

***

Leo arrived quickly with Pericles and another of his companions- William. Mary focused on Pericles. "Athens and Sparta need to make their treaty. Without you, that doesn't happen, and they destroy each other."

Pericles frowned. "I do not think I can stay here while time is in jeopardy," he stated. "It would be irresponsible of me to ignore the issues that you face in getting home."

Leo rolled his eyes. "Just go fix the timeline," he said. "Be thankful you get to go home so soon."

"I dinna ken what yer complainin' about," William muttered. "Yer home. Jes' stay and save Greece. Ya would be helping."

Reluctantly, Pericles agreed. "You have a point. I will go fix this mess. You five should join another group- someone else might need help."

Mary nodded. "Of course. Good luck."

The group watched Pericles walk down the street and disappear behind a wall before turning toward the time machine to leave. "Who do we join?" Michelangelo wondered aloud.

"We will go to Rome, where Naoki is," Mary decided.

Leo shook his head. "Excuse me, your highness, but maybe William and I would like to rejoin our group."

Mary shot him a glare. "Do you?" she asked, holding his gaze.

The pirate shrugged. "Not particularly."

"Great." Mary waited until everyone was in the time machine, then programmed the controls to take them to Rome. "Then we're going to Rome."

***

"Is no one going to ask about the child Naoki is toting around?" Ujarak asked.

After the group had walked for a half hour through Rome, he'd gotten impatient. His curiosity drove him to find answers, and since everyone else seemed content to ignore it, he figured he would have to be the one to ask. As it turned out, everyone else must've been waiting for someone else to bring it up, because his question only sparked more.

"I have been wondering where she came from," Tia said.

"You were only out for half a day and you've already adopted a child?" Kjell grinned.

Ujarak saw Turgen's gaze dart between the child, Naoki, and Khen. "You make a nice family," he said quietly.

Khen's cheeks reddened, and she opened her mouth to protest. Naoki cut in before she could. "I didn't adopt anyone. Khen and I rescued her. She was a slave. We don't even know her name."

The girl stirred in Naoki's arms and yawned, sliding to the ground to walk on her own. She stuck close to Naoki and Khen, attached to her rescuers already. She seemed nervous about the other people around her, but Tia talked to her and the girl soon relaxed.

"She says she doesn't have a name," Tia reported after a moment. "She's been a slave all her life, and her master never named her. She never knew her parents."

Khen looked at the girl sympathetically, and Ujarak got the feeling Khen knew exactly what growing up in those circumstances felt like.

"Well, we can't just call her 'it'," Kjell pointed out.

"She does need a name," Naoki agreed.

"How about Freya?" Ujarak suggested.

Tia translated, and the girl shook her head vehemently. Ujarak laughed. "Guess not."

There was a short silence, then Naoki spoke. "Akiko Tsuki."

She cocked her head and smiled up at Naoki. Tia said something to her, and she answered back enthusiastically. Tia smiled. "She likes it."

"Akiko, huh?" Ujarak shrugged. "I think she just likes you better than me."

"To be fair, you look kind of imposing," Kjell pointed out.

"Hey!" Ujarak frowned at Kjell but couldn't keep a straight face. A laugh burst free and Kjell grinned.

"Alright, guys. Let's focus on fixing time," Naoki said, rolling his eyes.

Akiko slipped her right hand into Naoki's and reached for Khen with her left hand. Khen interlocked her fingers with Akiko's and smiled.

Ujarak noted the look of slight awe on Naoki's face when he saw her smile and concealed a grin. Looks like Turgen might just be right.

***

Mary, Leo, William, Michelangelo, and Felipe joined Naoki's group at the site of the Battle of Chaeronea. When they got there, Felipe could see why this battle was such a big deal. By his estimate, Rome was outnumbered three to one, and yet they were supposed to have an overwhelming victory here, according to Kenneth's notes.

"What happened here?" Mary asked. "Why didn't they win? Besides the obvious number disadvantages, anyway."

"Rome loses this battle because Titus replaced the Roman generals who were supposed to lead the charge here. The other generals are still here, but they don't have the power to save this battle right now," Tia explained. "If we kidnap the new ones and get the old ones to take over command again, everything should work out as it's supposed to."

Naoki nodded, then glanced down at Akiko. Leo eyed the child warily. "Where did she come from?" he asked.

"We save her," Khen answered.

"Her name is Akiko," Naoki finished. "And she is staying with us for now. But Mary, Khen, and Akiko must go somewhere safe."

William smiled and reached into his pocket. "I ken t'translators are rare, but we canno' understand her otherwise."

Naoki nodded and took the device. He knelt next to Akiko and showed it to her. Tia spoke to Akiko, telling her what it was, and the girl nodded. Naoki smiled and placed the device on Akiko's neck.

"It's cold," she said quietly.

Naoki smiled. "It will warm," he promised. "I need you to go with Khen, okay?"

She nodded. "What about you?"

"Do not worry about me. It is not safe for you here. Khen and Mary will take care of you."

Khen took Akiko's hand, and she moved closer, her gaze fixated on Naoki. He gave her an encouraging smile and turned to the others.

"Khen needs a new translator too," Tia said. "You happen to have a second one, William?"

The Scot shook his head. "I'm afraid no'."

"We'll have to find one later," Ujarak said, pointing to the assembling armies nearby. "We're running out of time."

"Felipe, Turgen, go with Mary's group," Naoki ordered. "The battlefield is no place for you. Everyone else, with me. We must switch out the generals quickly."

***

There were five generals to switch out. The way Kenneth's notes described this battle, it seemed a man named Sulla should lead the right flank. Naoki headed over there while Leo, Tia, William, Ujarak, and Kjell took care of the others. When he found the commander of the right flank, the general was in a tent with Sulla, who looked annoyed.

Naoki crept in from the back of the tent and jumped the new general. He unsheathed the dagger he'd found in the camp and slammed the hilt into the general's head before he could resist. The whole thing was over in seconds and Naoki turned to Sulla. Tia had taught him the words to say. He just hoped Sulla listened the first time because he had no arguments for whatever they might say next.

"Sullam imperatorem. Vincere pugna."

Sulla drew his sword and said something, but Naoki shook his head and repeated the phrase. Then he added the second thing Tia had told him to say. "Latine loqui et non ego operor. Vincere Pugna."

His message delivered, Naoki ducked out of the tent and ran to meet the others. When they all reported success, he checked history and relaxed. Reports said that after Titus's generals were mysteriously assaulted and taken out of commission, Sulla, Murena, Hortensius, Galba, and Gabinius took over again and won the battle for Rome. This resulted in Titus re-appointing them as generals and Rome was saved. The next eleven years didn't go quite like they should have, but it was nothing disastrous.

"Now, we assassinate Titus," Ujarak said.

***

The group took the time machine ten years into the future and straight to the Domitian Palace, where Titus had taken up residence after taking over. The place was huge, and split into three parts- the garden, Domus Augustana, and Domus Flavia. Tia, Ujarak, and William split off to search the garden while the others covered Domus Augustana and Domus Flavia.

Tia wasn't entirely sure how they were going to kill the right man if none of them knew what Titus looked like, but she figured it'd work out if they just killed the most important looking man. Either that, or they'd get lucky and someone would call him emperor within earshot.

Her biggest concern wasn't finding him though. She was more worried about what might happen when they did. If history was to proceed as it should, Titus had to die on the same day Domitian was supposed to. In her head, she understood that, but it didn't stop her from feeling guilty. Rome was her home- even if this was the future. She wasn't a traitor- she was a Roman citizen. She'd never imagined she would need to murder one of her emperors.

"Your highness, your wife is going into labor."

Tia turned to the source of the noise and saw a guard talking to a man she could only assume must be Titus. He's having a kid? We can't kill him on the day his child is born! It's not right.

William and Ujarak charged without seeming to consider the background information they'd just been given. Tia unsheathed her own sword and followed, unwilling to allow them to rush into danger alone.

Titus had three guards with him- four including the messenger. He unsheathed his own sword as well. Tia sliced down with the sword she'd 'liberated' earlier. One of the guard stepped between her and Titus, blocking the blow.

She danced out of reach when the guard stabbed at her, deflecting his sword and responding with a flurry of cuts and parries. The second he fell behind, she took advantage of the opening and rammed her blade through his chest. Once he was out of the way, Titus was the only one left.

He faced Ujarak and William, fighting both at the same time. Tia stared at his exposed back and hesitated. How could she murder him just before his child was born? No... how could she kill him at all? William's cry of pain spurred her into motion. Hesitating any longer could get them all killed.

Taking a deep breath, she stabbed Titus in the back. She heard him gasp in pain and yanked the sword out. He collapsed on the ground and she drove her sword through him one last time, just to make sure he wouldn't live through the wounds. When she met his eyes, they were already glazed over in death.

"William!" Ujarak knelt over the Scot, who was bleeding heavily from a wound right near his heart. "Hang on, we'll get help," Ujarak said.

"No..." William shook his head. "I ken I will no' live. Please... let me die in Scotland."

Ujarak glanced at Tia, who nodded. Carefully, Ujarak lifted William, and they carried him back to the time machine. Tia sent a message to the others through the tablet and the three of them headed to Scotland.

***

William seemed so peaceful when he saw the Scottish countryside. Ujarak felt a pang of guilt. He should've been able to block the blow that hit William. Now, because he hadn't, William would die. Still... there was such a look of happiness on the man's face when he was laid on the grass.

"Tis... beautiful," William gasped.

Tia nodded, a pained look in her eyes. "It is," she whispered.

William reached for her hand. "Thank... you. I saw home... again."

Ujarak knelt beside William and placed his sword into his hand. "You're an honorable man, William."

William didn't reply. Ujarak held a hand over the Scot's mouth and felt nothing. He wasn't breathing anymore. "He's gone, isn't he?" Tia asked.

Nodding, Ujarak gently closed William's eyes. "We can't stay," he said. "The others are waiting."

Spot 11: Shermanblook

"Look." The young Antoinette pointed to a decaying archosaur carcass.

"Lovely, dear," said her older counterpart. The queen seemed to enjoy the trip greatly, and hadn't even minded the museum too much. Her palace cell had been much worse, and so 37 year old Marie Antoinette did not complain about the future or past.

The Mayan, Hunaphu, parted the thin and rotten flesh with his fingers to draw out a rib. He wiggled it with a grin, and 16 year old Antoinette yelped as a piece of dusty flesh flew her way, then she laughed a bit, and said in German, "That's disgusting. Hunaphu sure is a fun guy, but isn't it gross to touch a dead animal?"

"Ja," agreed Marie. It certainly did not smell good.

The group was waiting by the time machine. Barbara, Max, and Maurice had called them and said they had solved the issue in that era. Carlson was inside, talking to the other groups to determine where to go next.

They heard as the group of three approached, conversation fading into hearing range. Marie recognized Barbara's voice: "... closer. Carlson should be making arrangements. Hello," the British woman greeted Marie. The others all nodded or waved in greeting as well. Barbara's brow raised as she saw Hunaphu. Hunaphu grinned to her and she scowled. "That's gross, where did you get that bone from?"

"From the lizard carcass."

"Well are you going to drop it or what?"

"Might as well keep it. It could be an artifact."

Max joined, "Why don't we just bring some dirt or something? Anything would be better than that thing."

Then Maurice jokingly, "It's a real bone of contention. I say we just bring it since it's gotten so much attention anyways."

"Yes," said Hunaphu. "The... nostalgia."

"Oh really," said Max. "You want to be nostalgic about a dirty bone that you fished out of a corpse. That thing's going to give you a disease."

"The disease of nostalgia," joked Maurice. "The effects being home-sickness and forgetting that you have a life."

"Sounds about right," a new voice entered. They looked to the time machine to see Carlson. "Now. I've been talking to the other groups, and I think we are ready to go. Barbara, take the helm." Maurice sighed in relief, perhaps glad that she did not have to pilot the machine. Carlson chuckled at this. "Are we ready to go pals?"

Maurice glanced to Barbara, who passed the glance to Max. The glance juggled around the group like a hot potato, until it landed on Hunaphu who looked to Carlson and shrugged. "We won't get more ready than this, let's go."

The group entered the time machine and made themselves comfortable while Carlson, the leader of sorts, relayed to them the plans. "There are several things going wrong. To deal with everything, we will divide now into groups. Each person keep a comm. pad so that you can have all needed information and so that we may communicate. Each group also take a scanner to assist you in finding things. We have three translating devices as well, but we will not divide them evenly." Carlson held up the three devices. They clipped inauspiciously behind the wearer's ear and Marie supposed they must translate was heard and said through the magic of technology.

He continued: "The three groups are Max and Maurice, going to ancient Greece, more details on your comm. pads; the Antoinettes and myself are going to Greece as well, a troubled time, apparently; and lastly Hunaphu and Barbara, going to the Mayan Empire. You two will have to make do without a translator, the task is simple enough. Two translators will go to Max and Maurice, my group will take one. Sound good?"

Most nodded. They strapped themselves in and prepared for the journey through time.

.

Chen lay on the reed mat, waiting. Hunaphu, her husband, certainly had taken his time in returning home, but this was common behavior of his. Often he was in after she was asleep and out before she was awake, and she had heard a rumor that he slept during the day at certain times. It seemed that his schedule was built around her.

She sat up on the mat, feeling frustrated with him. The marriage had been arranged by their parents, and the fleeting interest from newness he had given her faded quickly. When she met him first she had been taken, glad that he was not too ugly (handsome perhaps), and gladder when she learned that he had the respect of his comrades. It was clearly a non-reciprocal thing, and she could only daydream of the perfect love story. She stood. His parents who they lived with were asleep and would not notice her absence.

She wandered out into the field of corn. The moon lit her way. The night air was still hot from the daytime, and bugs sounded. She heard the rustle of corn as someone approached her from within the field. She turned to see who it was. Perhaps it was her husband, with his cool and tired voice, returning home to sleep next to her like a stone.

"Chen?" Asked the corn-man, whose voice she immediately recognized as Hunaphu. So she was correct.

As she stiffly said "yes," a hand emerged from the corn and pulled her into a passionate kiss. She doubted that it was Hunaphu suddenly, he would not kiss her like this. She pushed the man away. "Who are you!"

"I am Hunaphu, your husband."

"Why did you kiss me?"

"Can a husband not kiss his wife?"

She did not have an answer for that. Surely there was something clever to say, but she did enjoy the thought of him kissing her. 'Yes! A husband may kiss his wife!' Her inner heart cried to her, but she couldn't help her skepticism. "If he loves her, he may," was all she could muster.

He repeated the action, pulling her in for a kiss. Was there love? She was no love-detector and could not tell, but it had seemed very needy. Perhaps desperate, but she did not know what emotion this arose from.

She enjoyed a few more kisses with him, not for any reason other than she had been denied his affection for so long. She would have to make the most of his odd behavior while it lasted, and she did— that night and for a few more days, she suddenly lived the best romance that could be offered to her. It was as if Hunaphu had been replaced by a different man, one who catered to her every desire. She kept telling herself that she would question him the next day, but she never did. It felt delicate, and the question could ruin it all. Then Hunaphu disappeared. Gone, just like that. Had he ran off, or had some beast killed and devoured him? Either way, he left her with child.

After he disappeared she became unhappy, but his parents and her parents forced her to pull together and raise their son, who she named Zan. Zan became a troublesome child, and she often blamed it on the lack of example from his father. She loved the kid, because it would kill her to raise him if she did not, but he was a handful. Playful at first, energetic. This she was fine with, as it was a welcome distraction. Then he became resentful, as others told him about his father. Oh his amazing father, what a man, strong and of good temperment, but when he got your mother pregnant, he disappeared. How was a child supposed to react to this? He had been denied something apparently great, and without a good reason.

Zan spurned his father. He spurned the other people. He spurned his grandparents and Chen herself. Perhaps she had not raised him well enough. Many years later, she could only speculate. He killed a man when he was at an age just blooming out of adolescence. The man who he had killed was an outsider to the village. In return, the man's friends killed Zan, and gone was any trace of Hunaphu and his legacy from Chen's life.

His parents gave her the house when they died, but it was empty. She aged, living off of the kindness of others, and some people she allowed to work in the corn-field.

Near to her death, Hunaphu approached her. She lay on the reed mat. She did not say anything out of inability, but still she was unsure of whether he was real. He had not aged a day, he or a memory. He spoke. "The man who our son killed. He was the leader of a bandit group. Had he lived, this village would have been raided in the future, and then other villages, and a mess would be made of everything in Maya, so that they may have a few human sacrifices and land." She held out her frail and cold hand. He took it. "It was not feasible to stay for long, for me. My destiny was to die in a stone-cutting accident, so instead I left. I have not been a good man to you, and I hope that you do not hate me. I did not like you much after our marriage, but I am also at fault for treating you poorly."

Chen was too old to hate, she did not hate him. She squeezed his hand weakly. She could not quite comprehend what was happening, but she knew an apology when she heard one. He did not let go for many hours until she died.

.

They had travelled for a while, realizing that it would be far too inconvenient to find a place to hide the time machine while they did their duty. There was quite a bit of back and forth walking that they would have to do, but they weren't exactly pressured for time.

Max and Maurice both had translators. They had ditched their clothing and dressed themselves in the flowing ancient greek clothing. The clothing had been synthesized by a queer machine which could imitate something from a blueprint. Both wore leather sandals, as they were unaccustomed to going barefoot. Max wore a chiton, and Maurice wore a similar robe-like garment which went down to her ankles.

"Bit a of a weird job, isn't this," commented Maurice as the two walked through the street.

"I hear Hunaphu's got it worse."

"What is he doing?"

"Summoning a stork-- Carlson taught me that phrase, it's a bit silly. I've talked to Hunaphu before, and he had mentioned that his marriage was arranged and loveless. I do pity him."

"That does sound... morally questionable in a variety of ways."

"It is."

They approached a building, which was plain but beautiful. It was like a private library, belonging to a scholar. This scholar had somehow escaped recognition in the long run, as the scrolls stored suffered from poor maintenance and decay, but he apparently had spread important ideas merely from word of mouth. The building featured classic greek architecture, with modest arches and columns.

"So... what's the game plan?" asked Maurice. "Ruining a relationship will be difficult unless it is already unstable in the first place. A rumor might be suitable as a small start so that we may test how strong their love is. I do not enjoy the task we have been given."

Elpis and Erastos, the story of a love that must be broken. The two were not meant to meet, but through a butterfly of phenomenon caused by the time machine they did. Where Erastos would have been a lonely and somewhat effective scholar by himself, with a loving Elpis by his side his motivation and influence soared, and caused democratic ideas to bloom too early. Elpis was a slave woman who he had fallen in love with, and used some of his savings to free.

"Tell him she's been sleeping with other men, I imagine that that would do the trick," suggested Max.

"But it's a lie! If we can, I would like to separate them without ruining her life."

"You could try to seduce him, or I her."

"That's even worse." Maurice shuddered, feeling slightly sick.

"There aren't many options here. What if we were to just remove Elpis and... I don't know, take her to the museum perhaps?"

"I feel like that might cause even more problems. We would be no better than the museum people if we pulled something like that."

Max spoke sharply, and impatiently. "Well what would you have us do. As I said, there are not many options." It seemed that he was impatient. "Let's just tell a rumor and be done with it, that's the easiest way."

"Easy but indelicate."

"Let's meet Erastos before we write this love off as something amazing that deserves no ill. We are discussing this from the eyes of uneducated optimism." Without waiting for her, Max entered. Maurice followed behind, skeptically.

The room was damp and smelled of mud and plants. It was no wonder that the scrolls would rot. At a desk, a man was hunched over scroll, reading it intently. He was not handsome by any means, nor was he ugly, and it was obvious that he did not often dabble in the realm of physical labor.

"Erastos," called out Max. His voice was not mean, but to Maurice it felt just a bit cold. If she had to guess, she would say Max was not in a good mood.

The man turned around, and looked the two over. "That is me."

"I would like to buy your slave woman. Elpis, that is her name, correct?"

"She... she is not for sale."

Max looked over Erastos for a few seconds, then produced a cloth bag filled with coins. He pulled one out, showing that it was made of dull silver. "If I were to give you these, perhaps? I heard that you are going through a time of financial trouble, and you spent much of your money on Elpis, yes? This will break-even."

'Break even'- the words that summarized the entirety of their mission. Max handed the bag to the scholar who tested its weight.

.

They told her that she had been sold by her lover. Maurice could only imagine the bitter taste that it left in her mouth. The two took her another area within the polis, so that the chance of her meeting Erastos again would be slim. If the two did meet again, surely they would pass each other by and say nothing. She was still free, but she would not want to stay with Erastos.

"Funny thing," said Maurice to Max as they waited to be collected by the time machine, "I don't think Erastos was even that poor."

Max shrugged. "I didn't think that the plan would even work, it was just a way to see if his own bad traits would do our job for us. He is not poor, but he would enjoy a life of comfort that he could not live while providing for Elpis."

"How would their relationship have survived in the first place?"

"Perhaps he learned that love was worth more than any comfort. We snatched it from him before he could realize what it was worth."

"So we destroyed the life of a good man before he could become good?

"It only matters if you think about it chronologically like that. When we think in could-bes, suddenly every move is a misstep. Don't feel too bad about it. What does not exist does not matter."

Did it not?

A figure approached from a distance. Maurice messaged the group to delay the pick-up. They waited as the person came closer. It was the slave woman, Elpis. So it seemed they would not be passed by. Her expression was bitter.

"Elpis," greeted Maurice. "I'm sorry for the... thing."

Elpis frowned.

Unsure of what to say, Maurice didn't stop her from walking past her to Max. Elpis spoke silently but harshly: "You, you! You walk in here and just casually mess with my relationship and my life!"

She pulled out a knife which had been concealed in her flowing robes and lunged unpracticedly to Max. Maurice froze in shock. Max leapt away, but some of his torso had scratched under his chiton, dying the white fabric red. The furious woman turned around and attacked Maurice, who held her hands up in defense. The blade sliced her hands and she cried in pain. Her hands felt warm and became quickly numb. Elpis did not let up, and thrust the knife forward up her ribs.

Max watched in horror as Maurice became quite dead.

.

413- BC

Archelaus I becomes king of Macedon, an ancient Greek kingdom. He soon disappears without explanation, and is replaced by Aeropus II and Archelaus I's son Orestos. An unnamed foreigner gifts him expensive fabrics and silver, essentially bribing his way into becoming an advisor. He suggests that they supply the polis Athens with timber so that they may rebuild after a battle they had lost. Athens and Macedonia thusly form good relations. More oddly, he advises them to not allow Crateuas to be a royal page, and Crateuas is removed.

Over their reign, the advisor helps them build roads, establish currency, and reorganize the military. The advisor became known for disappearing for long periods of time and reappearing to provide insight on decisions.

396 BC

Orestos resigns, leaving Aeropus II as the sole ruler. The advisor does not return, and fades from influence.

395 BC

Aeropus II is succeeded by Archelaus II, Archelaus I's son; Orestos' brother.

.

Max: come immediately

The time machine was there.

Two women were on the ground, dead. One slashed, the other bruised and broken. Max was bloodied and wounded, and they helped him enter the craft.

While the Antoinettes questioned him and tended to his wounds, Barbara, Hunaphu, and Carlson began to dig a hole to deposit the bodies.

****

Spot 12: ZSB2000

Kjell staggered to the middle of the room, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He vaguely noticed Turgen trailing behind him as the basement's inhabitants went through the routine they had performed every morning for the past week by collecting themselves in an organized group, waiting to be filed out into the museum's exhibits. Ujarak was already there, looking rather spry.

"Wake up, Kjell," he ordered as he slapped his son on the back, "Something is happening."

The last week in the museum had been brighter to Kjell than before. After being separated from his father, he appreciated every moment they had together. He sensed Ujarak did as well.

"Something is always happening," Kjell muttered as he blinked away the fuzziness in his vision.

"You wouldn't tease if you were paying attention. Do you see any guards around here?"

He glanced around the room to realize there was no trace of Kenneth or his men. The room filled with foreign murmurs as they began to notice, too. Murmurs turned into shouting as panic, excitement, and rebellion came into their heads.

"Is this a trick? Are they really gone? Can we go home?" Kjell shot at his father.

Ujarak held up his hand. "Sh!"

A man stumbled to the front of the room and paled for a moment. The color returned to his face as he cleared his throat, "We cannot go home yet!" The room quieted.

"What do you mean, we can't go home?" Kjell yelled, "We've been trapped in this place far too long, and you suggest we stay?"

Ujarak yanked on his shoulder to keep him from saying any more. "Listen," he whispered into Kjell's ear, "I know this man. He should be trusted."

Reluctantly, Kjell shut his mouth and obeyed.

...

Nafanua used her finger to scroll through the message on the floating screen like Falerius had taught her. She tried to avoid using the devices knowing she would fumble with them, but there was no getting around it. The message Kenneth sent explained the situation. History was in chaos, fraying at the seams from being shaken too many times. It was cowardly of him to make them his slaves for his own problems. But what could they do? Let others suffer? No, that was Kenneth's sin.

The man named Naoki had explained this to everyone. Once convinced, they gathered into the groups they had formed the week before. It was best to work with people they knew – even if they didn't get along.

"To be honest, maybe I'd like it if my country was a little different. There are a few problems I'd like to see change," Rhonda said, not at all enjoying the idea of fixing a mess she didn't create.

"So do I, but I don't want to go back to a home I might not recognize, or exist in," Una said.

Nafanua sighed in agitation. Every time Rhonda opened her mouth, Una had something to say about it.

"As long as they still have burger joints, I'll be okay."

"If you're goin' to just spout useless nonsense all the time then we'll be better off sendin' ya back and lettin' ya get what you deserve!" Una jumped to her feet.

For the third time that morning, Nafanua had to step in to make them sit down and shut up. She charged Clara with peacekeeping as she went to speak with Falerius. He sat close enough to be included, but he was absorbed in his own thoughts.

"We must separate the girls," Nafanua grunted as she sat next to him. "If they stay together I will—" She balled her fists and scowled. "—Hurt them!"

Falerius briefly raised the corner of his mouth, never looking away from his floating screen.

"What are you thinking at?" she asked, trying to read it.

He scrolled up to a name and date – Alexandria, Egypt - 279 BC. "According to this, I was born in 318 BC. This crisis takes place one year after Kenneth took me."

"What goes wrong?"

"It says only what is supposed to happen." He shook his head. "I have a wife there. If Kenneth's men affected anything that would harm her... no, I can't bear to think of it."

Nafanua placed a hand on his shoulder. "Go. Take Rhonda and Clara. I will fix a different time with Una."

"Me?" Falerius asked as his eyebrows shot up, "Without you?"

"Your heart guides you to goodness. You must..." Nafanua paused to find the right words, "You must let the love in your heart... make you strong." To make her point, she patted his chest gently.

The look in his eyes showed he understood. "I hope I can live up to that."

"Wait!" Rhonda interrupted, calling to them over her shoulder, "What about Kjell and Turgen? Shouldn't they be with us?"

Clara raised a finger and shook her head. "No, my dear. Kjell will be accompanying his father with Turgen's companion. That brave young man is heading their party. There is no need to fuss."

"Now that is settled," Falerius said, "Where will you and Una be going?"

Frowning at the device on her wrist, she shook her head. "Do not know."

...

Turgen clasped Khen's hand as he gaped at the city around him. He thought the museum was the most spectacular thing he'd have ever seen. "Rome" was leaps and bounds beyond that. Different people, different food, and different smells accosted him at every turn. While it was overwhelming, it was also exciting. There were several times he tripped over his own feet, trying to get glimpses at all of the food. Khen didn't say anything against him, but he could hear his mother's voice in his head saying, 'Pick up your feet and watch where you're going!'

The homesickness had been growing in him. His dreams as of late were more and more about his family back in Mongolia. It left him with an ache in his stomach when he awoke.

The thrill of the adventure suppressed those feelings and let him think of something else – at least for a while.

It also brought joy to Turgen's heart to see the others just as excited as he. Kjell and Ujarak exchanged comments in their own language, joking and laughing at things they saw. Tia saw things with fondness, knowing them and remembering home. Khen's emotions weren't so vivid, but he noticed the curiosity in her, too. Even if it made her afraid, she couldn't escape the wonder.

As they walked the streets of the city, Khen and Turgen lagged behind being the weakest two. Although, Turgen may have even slowed down Khen in trying to sightsee.

Just as they turned a corner, two men jumped out of a doorway, grabbed them, and yanked them back inside the house. Turgen was about to scream when a knife was pointed at his nose.

The man spoke in a foreign tongue, but Turgen's earpiece translated. Its automated flowery tone contrasted the tone of the message, "If you cry, I'll cut you."

...

Relief washed over Falerius as he saw his beloved Alexandria alive and well. He took in the scents of the city and basked in the sun. He never thought he'd ever miss the sun. But it wasn't just any sun, it was the blistering hot sun of Egypt that smiled down on their crops and made the people want to crawl into a dark hole underground just to stop sweating. Somehow, Falerius missed that, too.

"Whew! What a scorcher!" Rhonda exclaimed as she pulled the long drape over her head. With her big hair, it looked a bit ridiculous.

Falerius had dug through a few storage crates in the basement to find something suitable for Rhonda and Clara to wear. He knew they were used to moderate climates and needed something tailored for keeping cool. He also knew Rhonda would need help blending in. There was no surprise in dark-skinned people or foreigners in general, but her hair was a feature that reached out and grabbed your attention whether you wanted it to or not.

"All seems peaceful here," said Clara, "Perhaps we have arrived too early."

"No, this is the correct time. War doesn't have to hit to take down an empire. It could be numerous, smaller things. We just have to uncover it. Let's go." Falerius began to walk, knowing each street like the back of his hand.

"Wait! Where are we going?" Rhonda asked, practically running into him.

"Home."

"Home?" she asked incredulously, "You dragged me here to put textbooks back in order, I'm not gonna make house calls!"

"I know this city's layout, architecture, and political climate. All these could easily change in a year – not to mention a year that's veered off its proper course. However, I've always been out of touch with its people – I admit that. But my wife, Titia, knows more than I ever could. If I compare our notes with her report, it shouldn't take long to pinpoint our problem."

"... So you just want to see your wife?"

Falerius paused to her straight in the eye. "... Yes."

Rhonda shrugged. "Have it your way."

Clara came to the front as they resumed their walk. "Do you have a family?"

"My parents and wife only."

"Mhm... I envy you. You are not haunted by the memories of your children. It may feel the separation of a spouse is acute, but the separation of a child in unparalleled."

Sympathy stirred in Falerius. "That is why you foster Kjell and Turgen?"

She wiped a tear from her cheek. "One of many reasons."

...

"Neither of us know these places or its culture, but ya choose it regardless?" Una frowned at Nafanua as they stepped through the time machine. Its affects still irked Una, but she put up with it, just like everything else

"I know, that's why I brought someone who does."

Waiting for them in front of the gate they had chosen, was an Oriental woman with her arms crossed and a sword at her side. Everything about her said she meant business and she wasn't afraid to do whatever it took to achieve it. This was a woman Una could get along with.

"Una, this is Ching Shih. This is not her time, but she knows more than us," Nafanua explained.

"It's a pleasure. D'you know what we're gonna be doin'?"

Ching nodded and activated her own holowatch. The blue screen popped up and she pointed to a name. "King Wu of the Zhou dynasty brought together more than 800 dukes to destroy the Shang dynasty. He postponed the attack two years to take advantage of Shang's vulnerable state. King Wu had an overwhelming victory and Di Xin Shang committed suicide by setting his own palace on fire."

"So, we're going to battle?" Una asked.

"We hope not," said Nafanua, "We will go to the meeting of the dukes."

The spark in Una's heart was snuffed out. They teased her with fighting and then pulled away the treat. Maybe there would a skirmish between the dukes from Kenneth's men spreading rumors or something. That would be fun. There was only one better idea.

"Perhaps Shang was tipped off by accident and King Wu is gonna be assassinated?"

The two other women gave one nod in agreement that it was a viable theory.

"We'll have to wait an see," Ching said as she let Nafanua go first into the doorway. Una was the last to go through.

Sounds and screams assaulted them as a chariot swerved around them. Arrows whizzed overhead and spears were thrown from every side.

"I guess we're doin' battle!" Una yelled.

...

Turgen rested his chin on his knees as he sat in a cage beside Khen's. She had started to shiver a few minutes before and he could sense the hopelessness growing in her. Knowing Khen, she probably assumed their group would give up on and leave her to be a slave. It wasn't true. From the way Naoki and Tia treated her, they would drop everything to get her back. Kjell would be looking out for Turgen, also.

"Khen, they're going to find us," he reassured.

"They'll come. They wouldn't abandon you."

His heart broke in that moment and anger flared in his chest again – not against Khen – against the world for being so cruel. It didn't matter where they went, she was still picked out and tortured as if the universe had a grudge. It was the same with all beautiful and pure things in life. What did they do wrong? Were they made too beautiful? Why did a blessing have to be such a curse?

A guard appeared, yelling and dragging Khen away. There was nothing Turgen could do but watch.

Soon enough, his time came and he was inspected – teeth and all. He was forced to stand and wait for what felt like hours. As the line of prisoners crawled along, it became clear that Khen would have already been sold. When Turgen started to think of what grubby, greedy hands were touching her, he had to suppress his tears. He didn't forget that would be his fate as well.

Turgen stiffened at the glimpse of a guard walking down the line. He had only been here a day and he learned to fear them with his entire being. It was even worse than Kenneth's men.

The guard slowed to a stop next to him and he sucked in a breath.

"Turgen, it's Naoki. We're here to rescue you."

He exhaled. That was it; he couldn't hold back the tears anymore. "They sold Khen. She's gone!" His voice cracked.

Naoki's silence told him he was just as scared as Turgen.

"Listen, you need to cooperate with these people," he said. "I'm going to find Khen. The others will get you after you've been bought. Tell them what happened and to meet me where we lost you guys."

Wiping his face, Turgen agreed. "She's been hurt too much, Naoki," his throat constricted, only allowing words that sounded like cries, "Don't let them take her away."

Naoki squeezed him on the shoulder before turning back. He would find Khen. He had to.

But who would find Turgen?

...

Falerius knocked on the door with a giddy smile on his face. He contemplated what he would do when he saw Titia. A dozen things came to mind, but he couldn't choose. Perhaps he would do all of them.

The door opened and there were her beautiful blue eyes and swept blond hair.

"Falerius, you're alive!" Titia threw her arm around his neck and he pulled her close. Burying his nose into the crook of her neck, he took in her scent and soft skin. Tears pricked his eyes as joy overwhelmed him. Titia was outright sobbing into his ear and he relished the sound of her voice. As they finally pulled away, she tenderly kissed him and wiped her cheeks.

"W-who are these people?" she asked as she noticed his shadows awkwardly standing behind him.

"These are my, uh, friends. Rhonda and Clara. They cannot speak our language, but I can speak theirs." It occurred to him he didn't really know who they are to him. Were they colleagues? Were they cellmates?

"Oh," she acknowledged them, but there seemed to be something on her mind. "Falerius, there is someplace I must take you. It's... it's very important." Concern was etched on her face.

"What's wrong, my sweet?" He took her hand and squeezed it.

"There is something very wrong. Now that the King has sent you back, we have to save the boy."

"What are you talking about? The King has nothing to do with my return."

Titia scowled in confusion. Before she could say anything else, Falerius coaxed her inside and invited the other two to sit down with them. He explained to his wife what happened to him and why he was back.

"A whole year I thought I might not see you again. That's... that's why—" Titia remained composed, but Falerius knew those words broke her inside. It broke him, too.

Squeezing his hand, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "I think I might know what problem you're looking for. To fix it, you'll have to come with me. I can't say what it is, you'll just have to see."

Rhonda and Clara looked at Falerius, hoping for a translation.

"I think we are taking a trip."

...

Nafanua, Ching, and Una dove for cover under a broken chariot.

"Where are we?" Una shouted.

"Right where we're supposed to be. This battle is two years early!" Ching said.

Nafanua reached out of the chariot and pulled a sword out of a dead soldier's hand. "Why?"

"Who cares? All that matters is who wins!" Una exclaimed. "So, who's winning?"

Observing the battle from the mud, the women determined who was Zhou and who was Shang. The battle was confusing. Not only did they have a limited view from the ground, but it appeared that soldiers fought for their enemy against their own.

"They must be Shang soldiers. Di Xin was such a horrific ruler, his own army betrayed him," Ching pointed out.

The thought of betrayal was foreign to Una. She had always loved her homeland and people. For a leader to be so heinous that his soldiers changed sides was unthinkable.

"Could they help us? If he must die by fire, the defectors could get us to the palace," Nafanua suggested.

Ching nodded. "That is a good idea. But we should act fast. Zhou can't afford to lose this battle in the meantime."

They crawled out from their hiding place and readied their weapons

"We should dress in their armor. Our looks may confuse them." Pulling a helmet off a dead soldier, Nafanua twisted her hair around her head and slipped the helmet over it. It didn't fit right, but it had to do.

Una and Ching foraged for armor that wasn't too big for them while Nafanua foraged for armor that wasn't too small. They eventually found sizes that at least allowed them to move without too much frustration.

With their swords in their hands and their will of iron, they stormed into the battle. The flow of the fight caught them up in a wind of flurry.

There were moments when Una saw Nafanua take down five men in succession with dual blades. She had never seen anyone so skilled and refined. Watching her was like watching a dance, while Una felt she had the grace of a toad. Una promised herself that if that made it through this, she would ask Nafanua to teach her.

...

"Can you do it?" Tia asked.

The three had tracked down Turgen's buyer in the marketplace. It was crowded and stuffy and they had to execute their plan carefully.

"Doing it is the easy part. Getting away is the question." Eyeing the slaver from behind, Kjell wished they could put an arrow in his skull and be done with it.

Turgen was bound with rope and walked with his head down as he was forced to follow. Who knew what the poor kid had been through. If only Kjell had paid more attention. But he couldn't think about that now; he had a job to do.

"Once Ujarak is out of sight, go into the thick of the crowd and blend in," Tia instructed.

Kjell nodded. "Then let's go."

He and Ujarak approached the slaver from behind. They patted Turgen's shoulder to let him know they were there and motioned him to be quiet. When Ujarak nodded, Kjell pulled back.

With a bounce in his heel and his hand readied beside him, he sprinted toward the slaver and slapped him on the back of the head. He whooped and laughed as the man stumbled forward. When he righted himself, he lunged at Kjell with a furious expression, shouting something in Latin.

Ujarak swept Turgen off his feet and dashed off. The man didn't even notice until Kjell stuck out his tongue and disappeared into the crowd.

They met up in a place that wasn't so busy where they could cut Turgen's bonds.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes! I'm so glad you found me!" He threw his arms around Kjell's waist as soon as he was free.

"My pleasure," Kjell chuckled.

"Hey," Tia said as she sheathed her sword, "How did it feel to smack that guy so hard?"

He grinned, "Incredible."

...

Titia led Falerius, Rhonda, and Clara through the backstreets of Alexandria, ducking here and there until they entered a small house with an elderly woman inside. She asked them a strange question to which Titia gave a strange answer. The woman gestured to an area on the floor and Titia removed a mat, revealing a trap door. At Titia's urge, they followed her down the ladder inside to a cool basement.

There was little light, but they could see a group of people huddled and whispering in the middle of the room.

"Stop!" Titia yelled. The group's attention snapped to the newcomers. Before they could speak, Titia pulled Falerius forward. "This is my husband, one of those who was taken."

Gasps filled the room.

"The King heard us!" said one. "He didn't kill them all!" said another.

"No," Falerius protested, "It was not the King who abducted me and any of those you know. There is another man of power who is to blame for all of this. Our King is good and he promotes knowledge, not murder."

A man who appeared to be the leader approached Falerius. "How can we be sure you're not covering for him? What were you offered? Your precious 'knowledge'? Money? Or perhaps the life of your compromised bride?" He spat at Falerius' feet. "I should just kill the kid anyway."

"Sadiki!" Titia snapped.

"Don't start with me, woman." Sadiki pointed a finger at her. "You brought him and his cohorts here without my consent."

"I couldn't let you hurt the boy!"

"What boy is this?" Falerius interjected, his curiosity and irritation getting the better of him.

Sadiki snapped his fingers. "Hehet!"

A woman scurried into the dark and came back with a small boy in her arms about five years old. Panic rose in Falerius' chest. "Is that...?"

"Yes, that's Ptolemy the Third, son of our 'good' king."

Titia ran past Sadiki to see the child. At first, Falerius thought he was sleeping, but then he began to moan.

"He's sick! Sadiki, what did you do to him?"

Clara seemed to sense the situation and started for the sick boy. Sadiki stopped her and glared at Falerius. "Who are these people?"

"They were taken from their homes – just like me. This one is excellent with children."

Reluctantly, he let Clara go.

Blood boiled in Falerius' veins. Were they truly willing to murder a child in return for revenge? Even if they were, they did not realize the implications of this. If he died, Egypt died. "How did you get him here?"

"Some of us here aren't just pining loved ones. We have a few spies and assassins in our midst able to slip in and out of places without being noticed.

"We didn't need to assassinate him. We were going to play by Ptolemy's game. He returns our people – we return his son."

A belligerent sigh escaped Falerius, "Ptolemy is not to blame!"

"Then who?" Sadiki shouted suddenly, "Who is this mysterious man you say that abducted you?"

"His name is Kenneth. He does not live here, and he does not show himself. He takes us as his pets."

It didn't seem like Sadiki was convinced. At this point, Falerius wasn't sure if it was possible. Sadiki believed what he believed and unless Falerius had solid proof, history would be in shambles. Then again, it would be difficult to convince such a cynical man there was such a thing as time travel.

There had to be another way. It made Falerius cringe, but perhaps it was necessary to commit another kidnapping... to reverse the kidnapping. It would require leadership – leadership from him.

"Titia, let's go home."

"What?"

"We need to have a talk."

Titia let Ptolemy rest in Clara's arms. "We can't go just yet, he's very sick."

After a moment of thoughtful silence, Falerius switched to English, "Clara, will you stay here and take care of him?"

"Yes, I know how to help him."

"We'll be back for you and the boy. Be prepared for anything. His safety is our top priority."

Realization flashed across her eyes, but she remained calm. "I understand."

As Falerius allowed Rhonda and Titia to exit first, Sadiki smirked at him. "Don't forget to let the King know – we are not bluffing."

...

The sky was dark and heavy with clouds, threatening to rain and storm at any moment. Its grey shroud helped Una, Nafanua, Ching, and their new guide slip through defenses and the inner city. Because they wore Shang armor, they were not questioned at first glance.

Nafanua had saved a Shang officer's life when it was obvious he had turned against his King. Ching tried to communicate, but it was difficult considering she not only spoke a different dialect, but this was hundreds of years before her time. Some words got through, however, and the officer agreed to sneak them into the palace.

The officer took his leave once they were hidden in the palace. The three thanked him heartily by bowing and repeating the words Ching had them say.

Wandering through the palace and trying not to be suspicious, they eventually found the throne room.

After quietly disposing the guards, Ching peeked through the crack in the elaborate door. "There are a lot of soldiers in there. Di Xin seems please with himself. His wife is with him."

"So, why don't we just set everythin' on fire?" Una asked.

Nafanua shook her head. "That is not all we have to do. We have to make sure he does not run."

"That's right," Ching agreed, "He let himself burn because he was defeated."

"Now we have to defeat him by makin' him burn?"

"Yes, but we could kill him and then set it on fire," Ching suggested.

Nafanua pulled out her swords"Good plan. I will go first. You two go around and make sure he can't leave. If you have a chance, kill him."

...

Kjell hugged a column as a group of Romans passed by. Adrenaline had been pumping in his veins ever since he entered Domus Flavia. He wasn't sure what he was doing there. The assassination of an emperor was a task far beyond his ability. In ducking behind plants and sculptures, Kjell had made up his mind that he wouldn't even try to attack. He would find the other, more capable members to do it instead. This was probably what they assumed he would do, but sometimes he wasn't sure what was going on in adults' heads.

A wail echoed through the palace and Kjell sprinted toward the source. Shouting followed and his hands trembled as he peered around the corner.

Tiered seats curved around a stage with people in strange masks, jumping around and gesturing wildly. Important figures lined the steps; sitting, standing, and lounging.

"Valete et plaudite!" an actor called out.

The audience erupted in shouts and whoops. A man stood as the room quieted and he went to the stage. His complexion was different from the others who were lighter with lighter hair and eyes. He gave a speech with such strength of character, Kjell was entranced despite not understanding a word he said. The audience laughed or smiled solemnly as he went on until he bowed and returned to his friends. Kjell found himself feeling moved by the man's voice.

Someone called out, "Nerva!" as they descended the steps and Kjell assumed that was his name.

The people gathered in a group with Nerva near the front to exit the theater. Kjell was so distracted, he forgot he was supposed to be hiding. Fear grabbed his chest and froze his limbs. What should he do?

As Nerva passed, he paused when he saw Kjell.

A lump rose in his throat and he stopped breathing.

"Nonne te ludere frui?" Nerva asked.

Kjell panicked. What did he say? Should he say yes? Should he not answer at all? The other Romans started to take notice of him, too. He nodded his head, hoping it would make them go away.

Nerva smiled and patted him on the shoulder before rejoining his group.

Slinking back into a shadow, Kjell forced himself to breathe and think straight. That guy wasn't just popular, he was supposed to become the next emperor. The assassination was happening because Nerva had to be elected that day.

There was a commotion down the hall and soon there were people running around and yelling. This wasn't theatre. Someone had killed Titus.

A hand touched his shoulder and Kjell jumped out of his skin.

"Sh! It's just me," Naoki said with a finger to his lips, "It's time to go."

...

"I should never have supported them!" Titia paced the floor in her home. "I was just clinging to a hope that maybe it would bring you back. I never meant to put an innocent child's life on it!"

Falerius pulled her into a hug. "I know, I know. The blame doesn't belong to you. In fact, if it weren't for you, we wouldn't have found him in time."

"Look, I get you two lovebirds like each other and all, but I thought we were going to plan a kidnapping here." Rhonda reclined in a chair with her legs spread out as she fanned herself with her hand.

Falerius sighed, "You're right."

They all sat down and formed a plan. It relied on the loyalties Titia made and Rhonda's skill as a trouble-maker, but they made sure to have fail-safes in case something went wrong with the boy.

"In case something happens," Titia whispered in Falerius' ear as they left the house, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

When they arrived at the meeting house, Rhonda went in while the other two hid around the corner.

"Hey, old lady! I don't have any passwords, but I know where your secret hideout is!"

Falerius could hear Rhonda as she opened the trap door and shouted into it. "This place stinks, Clara! Get the kid ready to get outta here! Also I have a message for Sadiki!"

She didn't have time to relay the message before Sadiki shouted back, presumably climbing the ladder, "What is she doing here?"

"Ay, big bad dude with the bad attitude! I'm pretending to be upset and say something about Ptolemy and point outside so you'll follow me. Please be a good fishy and follow my bait!" Despite what she was saying, her voice acting abilities were incredible. Sadiki was immediately convinced something was wrong and told the people in the basement to lock the door and keep quiet. Rhonda led him into the street and away into the city.

After a minute or two, Titia went inside. "It's Titia! Sadiki sent me! Please let me in!" They listened and let her in.

The only sound after that was the birds in the trees and the distant clacking of horse's hooves. Even so, Falerius could imagine the conversation. Friends of Titia's would trust her made up story about how Sadiki told her to evacuate the boy, so he wouldn't be discovered by soldiers. She and Clara would be the only ones needed to take care of him since he was already disguised as an average child.

They emerged alone as planned and Falerius joined them as they made their way to the nearest barracks.

"Falerius!" Rhonda screamed behind them.

Pulling her by the hair, Sadiki stalked toward them. "You think you can trick me, traitor?"

"Go! Run! I'll take care of this!" Falerius said. Titia and Clara obeyed, turning into another road the first chance they got.

"You're the traitor, Sadiki!"

He pushed Rhonda aside, making her fall. "You betrayed your own people!" Sadiki punched Falerius and caught him by his tunic. "You should be ashamed!" He shoved him to the dirt.

Falerius got to his knees and lunged, ramming into Sadiki's stomach. Rolling Falerius to his back, Sadiki threw his hardest punches.

A pot crashed over Sadiki's head and Rhonda kicked him off. She grabbed Falerius' hand and dragged him to his feet.

"You might have killed him!" Falerius panted as they ran.

"Good riddance! I didn't see any 'Sadikis' in my history textbook growing up!"

...

Nafanua burst in the throne room, her two blades shining in the lantern-light. Una and Ching sprinted down the sides of the room, attacking the soldiers behind the King.

There were about thirteen soldiers altogether, five of which charged for Nafanua. She struck them down with ease and went after the next five. Two soldiers dropped to their knees and although she could not understand them, she knew they asked for mercy. Gesturing to the door with her sword, they got the message and left.

Between the three female warriors, the soldiers were all dead or gone in ten minutes.

The King stepped in front of his weeping wife and spoke. He was furious, but there was also something in his eyes like fear. What if he was asking for mercy? Nafanua could not kill him then. It was her only law in the fight. Even if it was to correct history, she could not be the one giving the final blow.

"Ching, would you?"

Ching nodded and approached the king. He said something to her with obvious contempt. With a scoff, she impaled him in the chest with her dao. With a desperate cry, the Queen jumped from her seat and unsheathed a hidden blade. She ran it through Ching and charged Nafanua who parried her and knocked her unconscious with the but of her sword. She had to live.

Una knelt beside Ching and placed a hand over her mouth. "She's dead... what are we goin' to do now?"

"I will take the Queen somewhere else. You find a flame and wait for me. When we set this room on fire, we will take Ching with us to the museum."

...

Ptolemy III was taken by an officer and escorted to the palace. Falerius and the others were temporarily being held in a room in the barracks. Their story was strange and they had foreigners with them, so it was no wonder the law enforcement would want to know more.

Falerius didn't care – he was just glad the boy would be returned to his parents and live to see a full life. He was also glad Titia was there with him.

Sitting on the floor with her cuddled next to him was the most peaceful moment he'd had in a long time.

A strange sound interrupted the moment and three men appeared out of a strange door.

Kenneth's men.

"Well, well, well! It looks like you were productive!" The head man laughed. Another man took out the guard and made sure no one else was coming.

"But it's time to come back. You think we didn't know about your little romance? What would keep you from staying? But! Because I think you're just an oversized twerp, I'm going to take you three, and leave your pretty lady behind."

Falerius jumped to his feet. "I'm never going to leave her again!"

The man laughed in his face. "You won't be leaving, I'll be taking!"

After the rush of his fight with Sadiki, Falerius didn't feel like being pushed around anymore. He made a fist and decked the man. Another one of Kenneth's men grabbed Falerius and looked like he was about to slam him into the wall.

"Uh, Dan? I think those soldiers heard that," said the lookout.

"How many?"

"Too Many! Let's go!"

Falerius elbowed the man in the gut and took Titia's hands. "Are you ready?"

"With you? Always."

Spot 13: TheCrazyMeifwaGirl

 Argenti tapped the side of the Time Machine with his hand, the Roman citizen's silver eyes glaring a bit over the crowd he was with. He'd gone through all the trouble to get all the way to Galilee, only to get captured and placed with these...these hooligans of a group of human beings?

He scoffed. As a high ranking citizen of the Roman Empire, he would have never dreamt that he, Argenti Patherinos, would be seen alongside a good for nothing Israelite, some future freak with a fire rod, some Portuguese girl who could barely even speak, and worst of all, a twelve year old boy who could barely hold his own!?

He was honestly disgusted with his company. The Roman slid his fingers down the red sash running down his white linen toga, looking out over the group once more. He was scrutinizing, staring. These jesters around him had just helped save part of history...he had to give credit where credit was due, that's for sure. The man with the name of Arthur, the one whom had the strange rod that could create a small explosion and even kill a man, had lead well..even with that insufferable girl clinging to him. It was a bit impressive, to say the least. Though Argenti found this group quite...annoying, to say the least, the American soldier had managed to gain a scrap of respect from the Roman man.

This was most definitely not the case for Joseph, the Renaissance painter. Argenti kept up his bickering and arguments bitterly, with the artist dressed in leather and fur would argue back, again and again, that the Earth was a spherical shape. Of course, the conversation had eventually petered out when the Israelite woman, whom Argenti now knew was named Elizabeth, had broken up the argument with soft words of Latin. He'd been about to argue, to tell her to get out of the way, but he was honestly done with the idiot man he'd been aggressively conversing with.

Argenti now walked to the console of the holo which was controlling the Time Machine. That Jewish boy...Shmuel, his name was...was talking to Elizabeth in quiet Hebrew and fragments of English. The painter was now conversing with Josephine, the young woman from the very beginning of the American Revolution, in awe at how well educated this young lady was. From the shards of conversation Argenti had picked up on, she knew much of the literate arts and was content with reading a good book every now and then. He was a bit impressed, for most of the women he knew and often spent time with were all illiterate. He adjusted his toga, sensing an air of relaxation. He was beginning to grow affected by the soft satisfaction before, once more, a blip appeared on the screen. His silver eyes dart for it, as do Arthur's light brown ones.

The Union soldier shifts the small girl in his arms, keeping her hands away from his gun as he then reaches out, a bit of dread forming in his stomach.

"Again? We..just fixed something..."

Comes the voice of Elizabeth, her words a bit clogged with a heavy Israelite accent. Argenti nonchalantly shoves Arthur out of the way, causing little Mariana in the soldier's arms to say something in very nervous Portuguese mixed with some broken English.

"M..Man..no..nice.."

She stutters in between many Portuguese words, Arthur sending a heavy glare to Argenti as the Roman then opens the blip.

His face promptly pales.

Arthur, seeing this, looks to the holo screen. Joseph's voice trails off, stopping his conversation with Josephine as he stands up. Josephine was about to ask him what the matter was when Argenti lets out a very loud, Latin swear which makes Elizabeth and Joseph gasp in disgust.

The time which was now in danger was Argenti's own...

"We must fix this!! NOW!!"

He exclaims, not bothering to speak in English. If his world, his everything, was in danger...he was going to make sure whoever was responsible was scourged and crucified in the most horrific way possible. Josephine blinks in confusion, as she doesn't understand him, but soon very much understands as Argenti then thrusts all of them back, back, back through time. Mariana lurches in Arthur's arms, starting to cry all over again and clutching to him like he's her own father. Argenti's silver eyes reflect the glowing screen before him, his heart set and mind determined. It was almost scary, how dead serious the slightly tan man looked. He was dead-set.

Soon, the machine stops it's terrible whirling, sending Shmuel almost sprawling if it weren't for Elizabeth's arms that caught him. Arthur gently hushes Mariana, keeping the girl in his arms and making sure she becomes calm. Josephine has a hand over her heart, her bonnet lopsided and her hair a little crazier than it had been before the machine had started up. Joseph steadies the hat he was wearing upon his head, checking the year that now came up in the holo. It read 32 A.D..

"..One year after I was taken from my journey to Galilee.."

Argenti mumbles under his breath, Elizabeth gawking at the date.

"W..What is the day?"

She asks with a dry throat, wondering if what she was thinking was correct..

"How am I supposed to know!?"

Argenti snaps in Latin, his toga swishing slightly as he shoves open the doors of the machine.

"Whatever is wrong, we must fix it. Whoever is causing this shift in history will die, and if not by my hand, will be nailed to a cross."

He spits as he walks out.

He was in Jerusalem,..granted, the Time Machine was disguised as a run-down building, but he knew what the temple looked like; and he could see the massive building from where he stood. It shone proudly, the gorgeous stone, metal, and wood structure standing tall and reaching toward the sky. Elizabeth stands in awe behind Argenti, Shmuel letting out a cry when he sees the temple that. Had been so brutally destroyed so many years before the Jewish boy was born. Tears began to stream down his face as he began to praise God for this chance to see the beautiful temple, which would, sadly, never be rebuilt after it's terrible siege. Argenti, quite aggressively, tells the boy to shut up before hiding them all back into the time machine.

"Stay. Here. Don't move from this accursed machine."

He hisses, before walking off holding his dagger and clutching the bagful of coins that he still had. Kenneth had let him keep it to show the guests of the museum, which he was now, reluctantly, thankful for.

After about thirty minutes of Argenti being gone, the man comes back with countless togas, some quite simple.

"Take one."

He says quickly, laying each toga out swiftly and deftly.

"If we must save time, we must do so in hiding. You, Israelite."

He then says to Elizabeth, who looks up to him from wiping Shmuel's tears.

"Pardon?"

She says in a soft voice, Shmuel once again clutching at her skirts. Argenti makes his way to her, looking her up and down before speaking.

"You know this land better than I, or anyone in this chamber."

He says to her in Latin, sighing and looking back towards the doors.

"Lead us, and make sure we do NOT get lost."

He says with slight malice, making Elizabeth cringe back just slightly. Shmuel has donned a small toga, his clothes folded neatly in the corner. Josephine absolutely refused to change with anyone remotely facing her direction, which was a bit of a pain at times when someone had to put their clothes away. After much rustling, putting things on backwards, and getting arms through the proper holes, the entire group eventually looks like they have all just walked right out of Rome or crawled out of the streets of Jerusalem. It was an odd mix, but it would have to do for the sake of the mission a hand here.

Elizabeth walks out into the street, her leather sandals making soft noises on the dusty path as she walks out into the quietness of Jerusalem. It must have been the day before the Sabbath, or a Friday, for little to no Jewish people were out and about. Her throat tightened even more. Friday...in the year 32...

"Elizabeth, you look very upset.."

Shmuel says, squeezing her hand gently. Elizabeth snaps out of her funk a little, smiling in a strained way.

"I don't mean to..."

She says softly to him, rubbing the palm of his hand to calm any of the boy's fears. They all begin walking, when a crashed chariot is revealed as they turn a corner. Elizabeth gasps, Argenti also turning away from the way all of them were going as they run to help the people whom had suffered the crash. Argenti helped up the high-ranking Roman guard whom had been driving, while Elizabeth reaches for the other man, who looked like a prisoner.

"Here, sir. Take my hand."

She says in gentle Hebrew, helping the bound man up before completely freezing. She stares at the Nazarene standing before her, her heart pounding as her hands start to tremble. One look into his eyes and she knew. She knew who he was. She was shaking, her eyes wide as saucers now.

"Son of God..."

She murmurs, her breathing becoming ragged as she falls to her knees before the man.

Before Jesus.

The chariot crash...which was now revealed to have been caused by a leftover gun that had been lost by Kenneth's employees...was what had messed up history.

Without it, Jesus would not be...

Would not be killed.

Elizabeth begins to sob at his feet, tears pouring down her cheeks. The man, Jesus, gently stoops down, Argenti busy righting the chariot and helping out his own kind to notice.

"I'm sorry...I-I'm so sorry.."

Elizabeth cries into Jesus's cloak before He gently pulls her to her feet, tenderly wiping her tears. One look into His eyes tells her that He knows. He knows why they are all here. Josephine looks on in confusion before helping the guard once more.

"I...I don't...I can't..."

She can barely even make Hebrew words come to her tongue, trembling terribly. The Nazarene takes her shoulder with a bound hand, his eyes visibly sad.

"Fear not, child."

His voice is very melancholy, for he knows what must happen. Tha guard soon, and roughly, takes Jesus back, Joseph and Arthur having rounded up the horses that had once been attached to the chariot. Elizabeth sinks back down to her knees as she watches the chariot rumble away, her heart shattered...