Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey Grey finishes another round of plugging himself into the ship’s computer and took a moment to assess his condition. He had found the cerebral enhancer within his suit to be of extreme assistance in his higher cognitive function. Reasoning, logic, deduction, all these things he found too confusing or troublesome previously came more intuitively now and it brought about subtle changes in his way of thinking. After finishing up his self-assessment he prepares himself for the dinner on the dwarven vessel. Seth had mentioned not to bring any concealed weapons so besides his claws Grey made sure to keep his weapons out in plain sight. Once he was inside the dwarven ship Grey was immediately aware that this was a ship made specifically for dwarves. The ceiling were just below six feet high making nearly every member of the crew have to crouch and duck to get around. The group is then led to the commander of the ship, commander Beowulf. Introductions are exchanged and Seth introduces everyone using vague titles, such as bodyguard and marksman, the only exception being Northorn who receives the two illustrious titles of culinary specialist and pyrotechnics expert. Seth and Captain Beowulf have a discussion about the reason for our group’s presence in the area and the current circumstances. While they are discussing matters Grey spots some goblins with detonation collars bring out food and very strong alcohol. Grey primarily keeps his eyes on the surroundings while casually listening to Seth and Beowulf talk about the war, the need for going to the elemental planes, and some other topics before something odd caught his eye. Grey notices that the dwarves are all fully armed, armored, and not eating or drinking. There is a nervousness coming from them that was making the hairs all over his body stand on end. It was as if they were ready to attack at any moment. Grey’s thoughts spun quickly, his usual style would be to take the initiative and attack first but what if he had been mistaken. This was not the time to be making new enemies but he still needed to alert his team somehow. Grey thinks for a moment, ‘what should I do? I need to do something to change the pace of things, it might give us a chance to act if this really is a trap.’ After mulling over his thoughts a moment Grey decides to ask Seth to go to the bathroom. Grey knew this would likely draw suspicion but it would also help to either force the dwarves to act before they were ready or they would try to take him out in the bathroom while he’s away from the rest of the team confirming his suspicions. Grey suddenly hears Seth’s voice in his head asking if things are all right. As Grey gets led to the bathroom he informs Seth of his suspicions while simultaneously wondering if he will have to kill the dwarf leading him. Fortunately, the dwarf did not take any hostile action against Grey and by the time he returns from the bathroom everything seems to be sorted out and everyone is much more relaxed and amicable than before he left. The dwarves even offer some of their rarer dwarven and fairy alcohol, which most of the crew refused out of concern for melting their internal organs. These past few days Grey had gotten used to the constant hum of the weapons being active so it was undeniably apparent when the weapons began to power down. It was not only Grey that was curious about the situation and it was then that Seth told everyone that there was no point shooting into the time bubble. He explained that the bubble is going backwards in time and when it pops things will just go back to the present so there is no point in shooting at it. It won't do any damage to the things inside of it. Grey had not thought it was such a big deal that they could not harm the ships inside the time bubble. He had learned long ago that things in this universe never came freely or without effort. However, this was not the most pressing information Seth shared. Next, Seth tell the group that somehow there is a version of them all that are already inside the time dilation sphere and they are already engaged in the battle within. Everyone, including Grey, ask with concern how this happens and how to avoid it but little is clear at the moment, even to Seth. Seth, however does reassure everyone that the crew should be long gone before that happens them in this reality. Nevertheless, Grey, and likely the rest of the crew, still had the eerie sense that things would not end so simply. Training begins anew and Grey attempts to understand the new armaments and features of his nano suit. The degree of versatility and adaptability the suit provided him continued to astound and please him with each new round of experimentation and understanding. One day, a training scrimmage is prepared for the two newly acquainted crews. At first, Grey took the scrimmage extremely seriously, using it as a testing ground for his growth but slowly with each passing moment the tension in his body began to relax and the smile on his face began to widen. When was the last time he could just have fun and play a game? His laughter echoed out through the scorch filled planet yet the sound filling his ears was more than just his own laughter it was that of everyone. The whole crew was noticeably relaxed and enjoying themselves. That was when they noticed it... The Dwarven Construction Tactic!! This was also the moment that everyone besides Bjorn lost it in a fit of uncontrollable laughter. The dwarves has joined together and began using their bodies to construct bridges and conduct tactics that while practical made them look like a bunch of stubby, hairy cheerleaders. If he could breath between his raucous laughter he would ask them to ‘Give me an A!’ This contributed to the single victory obtained by the dwarves but Grey was sure everyone agreed it was a win well deserved. By the end the outcome had been three out of four matches being victories for the crew. After some time a call comes in from Gil and everyone gathers together. Gil shows everyone a bullet, specifically Ambella’s bullet. He begins to explain that time is moving in flux in the area. As Gil points Grey can see trees replanting themselves, demolished buildings reassembling piece by piece, it was extraordinary and gave a tremendous sense of foreboding all at once. Grey begins to recall his time on Neptoor and felt the pull of fate. ‘This is why the universe has led us here, this is our cycle to complete.’ In the midst of his pondering Gil begins to speak again and points out when everyone in the group can be seen going through the portal making the tension and confusion in the room skyrocket. No one knew what to expect next but Grey had a feeling that this is how the group ends up in the past. Grey is unsure exactly when it was but at some point the time bubble began pulling the crew towards it like a black hole. Grey dug his claws into the floor and tried leveraging his arms and legs to get away and only managed to pull a few feet away. While he struggled to move he could see out the corner of his eye the others each using their own means to escape the pull. That’s when Grey sees Bjorn being pulled closer to it at a rapid rate. Grey thinks to reach out and help but it is taking all of his effort just to keep holding on himself. Realizing his claws aren’t helping much and strength alone isn’t enough to successfully escape Grey begins doing controlled leaps with the assistance of his jump jets using his tail, arms, and legs to grab onto anything that can act as a support. At the same time, he can hear a flurry of motion and action behind him as he moves further away. Grey moved closer and closer to the exit but at that same time the pull he felt was getting stronger as well making him put greater effort in his escape. Then suddenly, an explosion went off behind him. -BOOOOOOOM!!- Grey could feel the heat on his back and the force of the explosion pushing him and counterbalancing the pull giving him a few more feet of movement towards the door. That’s when he saw it, a short, hairy, and slightly charred arm came flying past him which he instinctually snatched out of the air. A few moments later Grey saw Bjorn’s still smoking, body flying past him, helmet backwards, armor in tatters, and missing the arm Grey now had in his hand. ‘Did he just blow himself up??!!! What the hell kind of plan is that??!!’ Grey shouted to himself inside his mind as he clutched Bjorn’s severed limb and continued his attempted escape, dodging flying pieces of debris with each step. While internally chanting ‘I’m gonna make it! I’m gonna make..’ Next thing Grey knew he was waking up in a courtyard. His head was still buzzing and he was slightly disoriented but gauging his surroundings he knew this was no time for delay. One of the first things Grey noticed was that only Ambella, Seth, Corvus, Bjorn, himself, and one other person were present. The other person being Seamus who had somehow appeared while Peyton, Ralph, Northorn, the dwarves, etc. were nowhere in sight despite not having been far from the group moments ago. The next thing Grey noticed was the buildings and courtyard, no signs of scorch or destruction can be seen on any of the buildings which is contrary to what the scorch-filled and war torn surroundings looked like not long ago. That’s when the screams begin to register in Grey’s mind and he looks at the item he is holding and then towards the screams. Bjorn had woken up and began screaming because of his severed arm, which Grey was holding. Grey had little time to process all of this new information as armed forces began surrounding the group in an attempt to detain them. By now, Grey had already formed a theory as to where the group was. The lack of scorch, the intact buildings, the presence of Seamus, and the legionaries running towards them were all clues to what he instinctually knew deep down. The group had returned to the past. This is when they will become the individuals they had heard stories of, this is when they would become symbols of defiance, resistance, and most importantly, hope. It was at that time that the individuals that looked like legionaries began to close in on the group with their weapons drawn. Grey decided against being detained until he had more information about the circumstances and immediately phased through the ground but remaining nearby to listen in on the conversation. Grey could hear Seth talking to a man that introduced himself as Commander Steve Hunter and couldn’t help but wonder if there was some relation between the two. Eventually Seth called out for Grey to reveal himself and Grey cautiously appeared outside of the encirclement in case it was some sort of trap. When Grey looked over towards the arm he had left on the ground and Bjorn who had stopped screaming he was amazed to find that other than the stump where Bjorn’s arm had been and the scars that had already existed Bjorn was completely healed of all of his injuries and looked practically good as new. Seth continues his discussion with Commander Hunter and the group gets confirmation that this definitely is Neptoor roughly sixty years prior. Seth informs the Commander of certain things he did not know such as the fact that the scorch was already spreading on the planet from the ocean and how it might be stopped. Grey listens intently to the discussion of topics that had long since passed for him and the rest of his crew mates. Would the group be able to change the future for the better and save this planet? Would the cycle just begin anew? Would he have to watch more of these brave denizens of Neptoor fight and die for a lost cause? Grey hoped that the group’s knowledge and experience could help prevent the future he saw and yet a part of him was almost resigned to being no more capable of changing the flow of time as a grain of sand can change the flow of a river. Either way, he would stand with these people once more, fight alongside them, and when the time came, witness what fate had in store for them. After discussions were completed Commander Hunter had Sanctus, who we were meeting for the first time again, lead the group to get some much needed rest. On the way to the lodgings Ambella, who had been missing for some time suddenly appeared startling both Commander Hunter and Sanctus. Once the crew is brought to the lodgings Grey readily accepts the chance to rest after all that had happened. It would give him time to organize his thoughts and all the things that had happened recently... or so he thought. Grey finds himself walking through the portal as if he was just returning from Neptoor as he had several months ago. The scene before him stops him dead in his tracks. The sense of deja vu is overwhelming. He had been here before. He had done this before. ‘What the actual fuck is going on?!’ Was the only thought he could muster until he felt something in his hand. It was Bjorn’s arm. Somehow, Grey was still holding Bjorn’s arm and as Grey looked towards Bjorn he was just as injured as the moment the explosion went off. Grey could not make heads or tails of the situation. He looked at himself, he still had his armor, could still phase, and all his training these past months remained within his muscle memory but the world was not the one he left. The group had somehow returned to several months ago and this was verified by what happens next. Just as everyone is in a haze of confusion and alarm Nuhul comes in just as she had last time. Of course, the crew were strangers to her as they had been in the first meeting all those months ago. Solidifying Grey’s suspicions that the group has entered an alternate reality to their previous one and that things in this timeline would not progress the same way they had in the original timeline. The very fact that they have knowledge of the future and have returned to the past means things will change in various ways and this timeline will ultimately go down a different path to the timeline the group was originally from. This is proven to be true as the group begins to reject the orders to go into isolation and as if the ripples of these circumstances had already spread far and wide. ‘She’ wanted to speak to the group right away. ‘She’ being Tiamat. Everything commenced in a hurried fashion, the portals that didn’t work last time the group had done this were now operational making the journey incredibly short. Tress, Hail, and the crew skipped the several week flight that was previously necessary in the last timeline and arrived for the audience with Tiamat in moments. Seth speaks with Tiamat briefly and it becomes clear to Grey that even the great Tiamat does not seem to have any recollection of the other timeline, the group does not yet work for her in this reality and are known only as the ‘Neptoor Legionaries’. Tiamat, does however, recognize that the group is ‘out of time’ and are anomalies of the time-stream. After some more discussion the group is told they must retrace their steps and actions but Grey felt this was nearly impossible. The mere fact that the group was having this conversation right now instead of sitting in isolation showed how things were already changing and would surely only continue to change to greater and greater degrees. Suddenly, the door flew open and there stood the elven counsel member that had wanted to speak to Ambella last time. He looked around the room as if searching for something and then Ambella removes her helmet and his attention is drawn to her once more as it had in the previous timeline. Afterwards, the group is introduced to Peyton and Ralph. Grey found it strange to look at the two individuals who had become honorary crew members and thought of all the memories they all had shared in the months spent together that no longer existed for them. In truth, it was somewhat painful to be looked upon as a mere stranger when hours prior these two men had been brothers in arms. The following day, the group sees individuals such as Negemphrael and Ventrus just as in the previous timeline. This time however, Seth chooses to speak with Ventrus instead of avoiding her. Grey makes a mental note of the change, trying to keep track of all the changes in the new timeline. Some hours later the group was heading to bed and as Grey shut his eyes to sleep he wondered what he would open his eyes to. ‘The future? The past? Another different timeline? Wherever or whenever will we end up next?’ ‘-sigh- We’re back to the past.’ Grey knew it the moment he opened his eyes. The group had returned to the past once more but by now he was less surprised and had somewhat adapted to the bizarre situation. Time in the past passes in a blur and before he knew it Grey was waking up once more in the present of the alternate timeline. The group must once more present themselves before the counsel and give their names. Grey had all already convinced himself that this was a different reality, a new timeline. Thusly, he decides to change his introduction accordingly. As he looked towards the historically significant figures Grey steeled himself and spoke calmly and with a hint of amusement at his own words “I am Grey from timeline 1.0.” Next, things progress similarly to the past timeline, except at a significantly accelerated pace. The crew skipped the planet where Corvus had his duel with the Mortus priest and went right to the planet where we encountered the criminal syndicate and the titan named Francis. The crew rips through the opposition and preemptively arrest the individuals engaging in various illegal activities. Grey did notice that this time around two more fake power armor suits were present meaning two lives were saved by the crew coming so quickly. Not to mention, most of the individuals they killed last time were detained for proper sentencing by the authorities. The crew cleans out all eight paths at an astonishing pace and Corvus takes care of Francis once more just as he had last time. Overall, things were progressing more efficiently and thoroughly making Grey feel as though it wasn’t half bad being in a new timeline, at least thus far it had given the crew the opportunity to fix their mistakes and surpass their successes. Was this what it was like to be a traveler? Grey couldn’t deny that such a life is as much a curse as it is a gift. What future is the best future? What actions bring about such a future? Which changes are permissible and which are not? The burden and responsibility of such a life is more than most can handle and if for no other reason than that Seamus deserved some respect and recognition.
