If you want to join just post in the OOC >>> http://www.roleplaygateway.com/time-players-ooc-signups-whatever-t13492.html

I shall now post rules, as I see I have forgetten them in the OOC. I forget to write rules alot... anyway, here:

1. NO God modding please and thank you.
2. No killing other peoples characters without their permission.
3. No one liners, if you are at a loss, describe your characters thoughts etc etc.
4. No cheese stick shamans.

Those were the only things I could think of that really bugged me. Now, to make this RP less confusing. When you are quickly shifting through time, things can get very confusing. So:

Before each time in your post, state the time (Year, month, day, hour) above the text in which said time is taking place. If you change times in one post, simply state the next time above the next block of text. Color the text please, so it looks like:

March 4, 1923 14:00 France
Stuff happens, person time travels again.
July 5, 1530 8:00 New York, USA
More stuff happens. Person time travels again.
January 23, 2003 18:00 Venice, Italy
And so on and so forth. Use any color

Please use military time, pm and am can easily get confused. As you notice, I have places noted too. Note places as you wish, you can state the country, continent or perhaps even the specific city, your choice, I don't care. And yes, I know the major thing is supposed to be TIME travel, but for the sake of dozens of posts explaining how one got from Austria to the US during 1369, travel through space is also allowed but only when also traveling in time So you can time travel from 1930 New York to 1820 England, but you can't just poof wherever you want without also time traveling.

Those rules are only to create less confusion. Other than that, it's basically a sandbox RP. Have fun. If you create confusing circles, i.e. going into the past to stop yourself from doing something then going into the present to stop yourself from stopping yourself from doing something, then going back to the past to stop yourself from stopping yourself from stopping yourself from doing something, I will try my hardest to keep up and will most likely be able to do so, but it is up to you to always know what the hell your character is doing, at ALL times. Everything else you need to know is in the OOC. Have fun. Or else. I will post my first post in a second.

"Present"

This story begins as many other stories begin : Someone is bored. Who is bored? Veloris Fang is bored. Why is Veloris Fang bored? Well, that's quite simple really. Veloris Fang is in school, and her psychology teacher was mumbling in his beard, as he often did. Veloris could never understand a thing the man said. For all she knew, psychology might be the single most interesting thing in the whole universe, but her psychology teacher failed to give up any of what the world of psychology might contain. The unfortunate thing about this unbearable college course was the fact that it was two hours long, three days a week. Veloris quickly calculated that this was 6 hours a week, which means it was 1/4 of a day. That was roughly one day a month. In her opinion, one day a month was far too long to spend simply listening to an old fart mumble things that no one could translate and taking tests that no one could pass. So yes, Veloris Fang was bored.

So, like every other time she was bored, Veloris started brainstorming times she'd like to go to. Places she'd like to be. She wasn't just day dreaming. She could actually go back to those times. Veloris Fang could travel through time. She had seen the Boston Tea Party, had helped revolutionaries storm the Bastille during the French Revolution. She had witnessed the creation of Hammurabi's code and had been present at JFK's assassination. She knew who did it: There were two men. One named Henry Wall and the other named Benjamin Smith. One had been behind a grassy knoll, the other had been on top of a building. No one noticed either man. Oswald was a pawn.

Veloris had never actively taken part in any legislation or invention or plot or war. Not yet anyway. She didn't know the consequences and was happy enough just to watch things unfold before her eyes. Veloris knew many things most people didn't. She knew, that before Europeans and the Vikings came to The Americas, they were ruled by beings of fantasy. Fantasy according to modern people. The gnomes, elves and griffons were very much real. But the Native Americans, once they crossed the Berring Straight, had slaughtered them. Just as the English colonists slaughtered the Native Americans. Oh how history repeats. That's one thing Veloris noticed about history : It did indeed repeat itself.

Veloris had made up her mind. She would travel to the times of World War I, and she would visit the trenches. Trench Warfare was a gruesome thing indeed. And so she felt time shift before her. It was a nauseating feeling but oh how it was worth it! Who else got to witness first hand, events of the past? Veloris saw the present slowly fade, and then all was black.

September 1914 The Western Front in WWI 13:00

Veloris opened her eyes slowly, knowing it might be bright, even though she knew it wasn't. She was underground, in a dugout. Since it was early, no one was in the dugout at the time. Orders had just been given and there was no need to be somewhere safe, especially this early in the war, before they knew how brutal it would get. She was in the first trench, made by General Erich von Falkenhayn. There was a reason she wanted to be in the dugout. She had her normal clothes on, that simply wouldnt do. She scoured the room searching for something a soldier left behind, and sure enough, she found a uniform. She slipped it on and tied her hair up. She grabbed a helmet she found on the floor and put it on. The clothes were already dirty, her face was not. So she fixed that, grabbing some mud off the ground and making herself look like she was supposed to be there. She hoped she looked like a boy. She went out into the trench and asked an officer what to do.

"Sir! I am private Ziegliechen!" She said, hoping the name sounded legit. "I missed orders, sir! My cousin was dying of mustard gas, sir!"

"Ziegliechen... can't recall that name... eh, you're all the same! Just get the barbed wire up, won't you? We need it up on the double!"

"Yes, sir!" Veloris replied and went to work. Understanding other languages was a gift that came with time traveling. To Veloris, even being in the trenches was more interesting than listening to her psychology teacher mumble in an unintelligible tongue.

((Aww....I so wanted to meet a cheese stick shaman :\ ))

April 12, New York City, Present Day. 16:23

Darren Morton glanced down at his watch and sighed. He wasn't sure why he did that anymore. His watch usually just confused him. He shook his head, and continued walking through the crowded, rush-hour traffic of cars and people. That was New York for you. Tons of people. Easy to hide. Just the way Darren liked it.

Why would Darren Morton have a reason to hide? Darren was gifted. He was a time traveler, and had been for a few years now. He'd met his share of people in the past, present, and future, who didn't think it was fair that he existed, so Darren had learned to be cautious. He was his number one priority, and that was how it was going to stay.

He somehow managed to make it through the crowded street without bumping into a single person. That was another wonder of New York. There were so many people, yet everyone was invisible. No one asked questions here, and no one cared about you here. That was fine with Darren. He climbed the steps to his tiny, temporary apartment, and pushed the door open. He plopped down on the couch and instantly became bored. Sighing, Darren turned on the History Channel. After browsing through what programs were coming on, one in particualar caught his interest.

April 12, The Urubamba Valley, Peru. 1467. 16:23

Machu Picchu. Thought to be a great mystery, predicted to be a religious sanctuary for the Incas. Well, Darren was about to find out. He had to admit, this place was beautiful. Religious haven? He didn't think so...

((Here comes mr.I must kill all other Time manipulators to brighten up our day with the great ol' color of Red!))

April 12, Boston, Present Day. 14:43.

Dante Bendarus slowly walked down the alleyway, waiting for his target to show his face. It was yet another Time manipulator, yet another abomination to God. Dante watched his target peek over the dumpster, and waited for him to hide back behind it. Just as Dante predicted, the Time Manipulator did just that. Dante sighed, seeing himself leap from inside the Dumpster onto the Time manipulator, hearing a few moments of calm and quiet whispering, then.. Two gunshots. Just as planned Dante thought as he quickly went back in time.

April 12, Boston, Present Day. 14:40.

Dante Bendarus quickly lifted up the Dumpster lid, then leapt inside and closed the lid shut. It smelt disgusting, however he would do anything to get his target. He waited a couple minutes, hearing his Target leap behind the Dumpster and yell in pain just as the Past Dante shot him in the leg. Dante waited a few seconds, then leapt out of the Dumpster and onto his target. Pulling out a pistol he asked his target in a calm, almost bored voice. "Any last words, Time Manipulator?" The teenager shook with terror as he quickly begged for mercy. "Please!! PLEASE!! Spare me!! I.. I was just using these times to get my Grandma some cookies! I swear! S-See?.. Here they are.." Dante let the Teenager go, knocking the bag aside and quickly grabbed the Boy again in one quick movement. The bag did not contain Cookies, it instead contained various drugs and painkillers. Dante, without a second thought or hesitation, lifted his pistol up to the boy's head and fired it twice. Dante then sheathed his pistol, did a quick prayer for the Boy's soul, then quietly said. "I will inform your kinsmen of your death, young and misguided boy. May your soul rest peacefully in the Abyss." Dante stands up, seeing the past Dante dissapear as he traveled through time. Dante then smiled slightly, going through time once again..

April 12, London, 1724. 16:20.

Ahh.. Now to create his next plan..

((Too bad, no cheese stick shamans for joo))

September 1914 The Western Front in WWI 14:00

Veloris and two other soldiers worked together for a tireless hour to put up a barbed wire fence. The objective of this barbed wire was to make it more difficult for the other side's attacks to get through. Putting the fence up, however, was not one of the best tasks one was ever given. Veloris had Time traveled to a time after the Allies had also made their first trenches to combat the German trench on the western front. Which means, all the while Veloris and her two comrades were setting up the fence (That was deadly in itself) grenades were thrown, bullets shot and everything whizzed above her head. Veloris had done this probably twice now and was not afraid of the bullets. She was at first, but she knew if she showed the soldiers that, she would totally be found out. But now she was simply used to the bullets. Veloris and company finished their task and headed back into the trench to take up arms.

The trench was not the most beautiful place in the world. Giant rats the size of house cats ran about, and sometimes the mud ran up to your knees. Every man seemed to have lice or fleas and some kind of infection. Veloris could hear the screams of dying men and could see the gaunt faces of those who had been gassed. Veloris watched one man as he controlled an early machine gun. There wasn't just one man, of course, it took several to maneuver the gigantic thing that was still yet more slow than guns in the "present." Every man controlling the thing would surely be dead soon. They were key targets. Veloris was talking to one of the soldiers. "So, when do you think the war will end?"

"The war ain't never gonna end." Said a scruffy middle-aged man. And to think this was early in the war. Veloris got to know alot about how people felt about different things. Trench warfare was highly regarded as a very, very bad thing. Eventually, Veloris decided to go to a different time, and began to think of where she might go. The way she handled the trench situation was the way she handled most time traveling situations. She was an expert at time traveling and not some silly fool who just went on joy rides through time. She decided to go to the present before time traveling again.

Present

Veloris waited for school to finish, nearly falling asleep listening to her mumbling psychology teacher. After class, she ran home, ignoring any friends who said hi. She had time for them later. Heh, she thought as she realized that she had made a funny. Once at her house, she opened the door. It wasn't a very livable place. But then again, she didn't really live there, she lived at different times. But what there were in her house were many, many costumes for different times. Even the times before the Native Americans slaughtered the elves and countless other beings. Veloris looked through them and decided that she wanted to visit the Kreyans. The Kreyans were an ancient civilization of hawk-people. With the wings of a hawk, the limbs of a human, and feathers surrounding most of their body, the Kreyan were interesting people. They also had faces that looked like hawks but they could speak like humans. She would visit them. Veloris put on the uniform of a homo sapien messenger. Before they were expunged, they had peace treaties will the Native Americans.

January 6, 2200 B.C North America

Shaking away the feeling of nausea, Veloris stood up and walked towards what she thought might be a Kreyan village. There were straw huts and mud huts. Some people liked mud huts while others favored straw huts and the Kreyan people thought there were many other better things to argue about than which type is better

April 12, Saratoga Springs, Present Day 9:30 AM

Juniika loved museums. Any kind of museum. History museums, art museums, "natural history" museums...She still couldn't quite figure out the difference between natural history and regular history. She thought she did. Natural history was just history that happened by itself, nature. Regular history involved things humans did. Though, why were there so many exhibits about humans in the natural history museums if humans weren't doing anything...she might have gotten it wrong.

It didn't really matter, humans or not, she just loved museums. So much information, so many stories, all in one place. All right in view for everyone to gaze at. It didn't matter what it was, the fact it was there just made her want to see it. She had to see it.

She knew nothing of horse racing. She was on her way to a city called Albany to see a bigger museum, but when she stumbled into this little town and found a whole museum for horse racing, she just had to go and see. She loved it. They had trophies and pictures and displays, even a game that made it feel like you were riding a race horse! She admitted, horses had a charm to them, but this whole museum made her even more in awe of them.

Like what she was looking at now. She'd listened to the tour guide talk about the race track across the street. It was supposed to be one of the grandest tracks in the world. champions raced there. And many of them lost. Apparently, the track was under some kind of curse or jinx because a lot of really fast horses lost at that track.

Like Man O' War. According to the stories, Man O' War was a big, brilliant chesnut horse who is still regarded as the best horse the sport has ever seen. But, one day in August, he came to Saratoga and was beaten. The story she heard, though, made it seem like bad luck beat him rather than another horse. And the more she looked at these pictures, the more she felt they just couldn't tell the story. They were too primative, too fuzzy. There had to be a better way to see Man O' War.

There were better ways to see Man O' War.

April 12, Saratoga Springs, Present Day 10:04 AM

The track was closed this time of the year. It didn't open for racing until the summer. She still caught humans gazing at it wistfully, though. There was racing going on elsewhere and there was a big race due in Kentucky.

So, she'd have to be careful.

Juniika carefully made her way around the track until she found a part where she could climb the fence without attracting a lot of attention. She made her way onto the track property, finding herself on the backstretch area of the track. She walked up to the rail and climbed onto the sandy track and looked around. Coast looked clear.

She concentrated her energy, causing the jewel under her shirt to glow, and released the transformation spell. She could feel the restraining spell release and her front paws hit the sandy track. She bounced and trotted around the track gleefully. No wonder the horses loved it so much. She wanted to look at it a bit longer, but she had other things to do and she needed to do this before someone wandered by. Humans could be skiddish creatures, she didn't want to upset anyone.

Juniika braced herself up inside the starting chute and started bounding down the backside of the track. As she built up her speed, faster and faster, the jewel around her neck started glowing again. She didn't really need the running start, but it was a trick she used occasionally to help her get through warps faster or focus.

Plus, she just wanted the feeling of running on this surface.

As she charged down the backstreatch, she could feel the warp taking place. She focused on the bend up ahead and the barn area behind it. She pushed herself faster and faster, readying herself for the fencing up ahead. When she reached the fence, rather than take the turn towards the homestreatch, she jumped the rails...and disappeared.

August 13, Saratoga Springs, New York, 1919 10:04 AM

As soon as Juniika felt her feet hit the ground, she started focusing her energy back into the transformation spell and changed back. Master had drilled her on this more times than she could keep track. She couldn't risk startling someone.

Now on two feet again, she quickly made her way back off the premises, taking a quick look around to make sure she hadn't just gotten in trouble. The only person she saw was someone who'd been sitting under a tree. It looked like he jolted a bit, then dozed back off.

Juniika giggled a bit, but continued over the fence again so she could go in through the entrance gate and be a bit less suspicious. And figure out how she was supposed to alter her clothing for this time period.

March 14, Feudal Era, An Unknown Lord's Manor:

After what seemed like years of combat, Blackjack had finally slain the netherworld monster prowling the manor. Corpses were strewn everywhere; the monster spared neither knight nor peasant. Only one remained alive; a squire who called upon every ounce of courage to help this mysterious platypus combat the even more mysterious monster. During the skirmish, the boy had endured a serious bite to his upper left body, blood was slowly seeping through his chain mail.

"You've endured a great wound on my account," Blackjack consoled, "and for that I'm very greatful. Let me treat your wound, for if left alone, an otherwise treatable puncture could turn fatal."

Before the lowly squire could consent, however, a dark aura emanated from behind him. From out of the pitch black came the sinister magician (whom Blackjack came to learn was called 'Masquerade,') to deliver the boy a swift death by means of a silver dagger. The boy fell to his knees, instantly and remorselessly slaughtered.

Blackjack gripped his axe with both hands, crouching into an aggressive stance.

"Masquerade!" he cried, "That boy was no threat to you or your cause! Yet, the innocent and uninvolved still remain victim to your twisted games!"

Masquerade raised a somewhat flamboyant hand up to his sparkly mask, "Oh simmer down, Ducky. You've completed my latest task, so you get some of your memory back. What're you so upset about?"

He couldn't contain his rage. With a bloodcurdling battle-cry, Blackjack charged full-force at the villain. Though his hand was strong and his strike fierce, it would prove useless, as Masquerade would swiftly teleport out of danger, re-materializing on a high-hanging chandelier.

"Ooh, such ferocity!" he mocked, "Our time for tussling will be here soon, but I'm not quite done playing with you yet..." And with a snap of his finger, a shimmery white aura manifested around Blackjack's head, and dissappeared almost as quickly as it re-appeared.

"I've restored some more of your memories; namely, another technique you've mastered. Man, you musta been a pretty violent fellow! Anyways, your next memory lies in the distant future! It's a biggie, so you'll probably need some help to get to this one!"

Blackjack was miraculously able to contain his anger, "Help, you say? And pray tell, is this manner of assistance to take the form of more helpless victims?"

Masquerade scoffed, "Hehe, come on now, I'm not that bad, am I? Nah, the people you're looking for...well, they're a lot like you!"

Before Blackjack could get another word in edgewise, the half-crazed magician dissappeared in a fit of laughter. Sighing, both due to reluctance and apprehension, he tore a hole in space and time, stepping into a time far further down history than where he currently was.

Present Day, 21:00 hrs

Blackjack materialized near a fountain in town square. Despondant, he lay his axe down in the cobblestone, placing himself in the fountain. The water was correspondant to the weather, cool, but in a relaxing way.

"Assistance from ones who resemble me..." he pondered, resting his body, mind, and soul in the fountains waters, "His words perplex me. In what way or ways could this manner of help resemble me?"

January 6, 2200 B.C North America 16:20

Veloris had arrived at the village. She had been to Kreyan villages many times before and knew their customs fairly well. Though, not as well as other peoples customs. The Kreyan people were kind of strange. They greeted by doing what we now call "the hokie pokie." So when a Kreyan female approached her, Veloris put her right foot in, then out, then shook it all about. Then she turned around and faced the female once again. In Kreyan villages, females were the rulers. Roles were basically switched here. So Veloris did not have to disguise herself as a male. The Kreyan would be delighted to see a female messenger. A good thing was that the Kreyan never demanded a message, they waited until the messenger told them in due time.

The Kreyan female lead Veloris to a small gathering by a fire. The Kreyan were cooking. What they were cooking was buffalo. The Kreyan people loved buffalo. And it was a darn good thing. Buffalo was very common in North America before the humans decreased their numbers so greatly. Another Female banged a pot. It was ceramic. It is known to Veloris that the Kreyan actually invented the kiln, they made ceramics often.

"Attention, my people! We have a guest with us today. She is a messenger of the Other Lands!" There was much cheering. Apparently the female was the leader of the birdmen. "Let us share our feast in hopes of good news and in spite of the bad!"

And so they ate. Veloris was handed a huge piece of buffalo meat, and as was tradition, she dug in without silverware of anykind. All their faces were covered with meat. The first time she visited the Kreyan, Veloris wasn't so sure she'd like buffalo, having never tried it before. But it tasted very juicy and she preferred it over chicken and beef. The feast was coming to an end, and the pot was banged once again. This time in honor of an elder Kreyan man. Veloris smiled. She knew who he was. He was The Storyteller. One of the most honored people in Kreyan culture.

The Storyteller sat in the middle of the group and put his hands up to halt the cheering. "I see we have a messenger among us today." The old man smiled at Veloris, approving of the fact that she was a female messenger. "The more the merrier! For today, we shall hear a brilliant story..."

Veloris wondered what story he'd tell this time, he always had a different one. And all his stories were great. Everyone got at attention, waiting for the story. Story time was holy to the Kreyan. And so, the old sage began, "Once upon a time, there were three people. Their name's were Human, Time, and Karma. Time and Karma were brother and sister and as such, couldn't be more different. Karma was irrational, making unjust and unequal decisions. Time was patient and never made any decision fast enough to be worth making. Human tried and tried to stand between Time and Karma and prevent them from causing conflict with one another. Human was a silly fool and didn't realize the futility of his move. Time, who wanted peace, gave Human the power to travel through time and space. Karma got jealous because she thought the two were teaming up on her. Karma decided to manifest herself in time so that Human could never ignore her. Thus is how Human's actions began to provoke a karmic response. Time and Karma were forever bound together, and Human could no longer fathom how to rip them apart. Human decided to forget his time travel powers, for it brought great sorrow that whenever he went back and changed something, the present would change as well. Thus is how Human lost his time traveling powers and Time and Karma became raveled forever." The old sage nodded and continued, "But there will be a time when Time teaches more humans about time travel. These beings will be able to see the karmic affect for themselves. These people will be Time's Players."

Veloris stared at the old sage. Was his story true? Was she one of Time's Players? What is a karmic affect? Veloris was confused. The man had said "some people," did that mean... that there were more people just like her...? Veloris needed time to think about this. Luckily, she had plenty of time.

April 12, The Urubamba Valley, Peru. 1467. 16:23

Darren felt very out of place among the ancient Incan tribe. Most of them wore animal skin, and very little of it in the warm April weather. It was a good thing he didn't plan on staying for long. It was more of a curiosity thing, and Darren didn't particularly care if the ancient tribe found him odd. It wasn't like they'd last much longer anyway....

He walked down one of the many staircases into the more central area of Machu Picchu. This place was amazing, he had to admit. The structure itself was unique, and there was no roof. It opened up to the pale blue sky of midday. The air up here was crisp and untouched by any form of technology.

When he reached the central area, he put his hands in his pockets and watched. What he saw confused him initially. They weren't dancing around a fire, telling stories, or anything of the sort. They were actually all cowering in fear, faces turned up toward the sky. Darren followed their gaze, still confused, and heard a soft thwump in the distance. He didn't see the source of the noise yet though....

Thwump, thwump. The sound was getting louder, and it was made by something big. That much Darren could tell. He glanced over at the Inca all huddled in the middle, cowering. A sharp scream from one of the higher points of Machu Picchu caused Darren to jerk his head toward it. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened.

Surrounded by a ring of light from the sun it was blocking, was a huge flying beast. It had an almost human looking face, but it's eyes were huge and red, and there were massive horns coming from its head. One Incan woman screamed and shouted, "Supay!"

Darren wasn't sure what that meant, but he was sure it wasn't friendly. He ducked behind the wall he was near, and watched the beast. It had landed on one of the towers, its taloned feet digging into the stone easily. It reached for something from a platform near it. What was it here for? The beast blocked the sunlight again, and Darren could make out a small human form in the monster's grasp. That was a child!

Even selfish Darren was shocked by the scene. The Incan people had sacrificed one of their children to this monsterous deity! He was apalled. The same woman who had screamed "Supay" was now on her knees, sobbing. Darren forced himself to look away when the monster lifted the young girl to its mouth...

August 13, Saratoga Springs, New York, 1919 4:00 PM

Master always said playing dumb was one of the best tactics she could use. It excused her from any sudden errors. It allowed her plenty of room to ask whoever many questions she wanted. And it made humans a bit more accepting of her. Humans were definately pack animals, though, and if they saw a human female who seemed lost, it trigged something. Especially in the males.

Like right now. She had been standing outside the entrance gates of the track, looking completely helpless. Not really an act, the only knowledge Juniika had to horse racing was that tour in the museum, which didn't exactly prepare her for a visit to a track in a completely different time. Luckily, she didn't have to worry. A man walked up to her, introduced himself as Johnny Greenman and, upon hearing that she knew next to nothing about racing, offered to show her around for the day.

Right up to the big race, where Johnny was more than happy to oblidge Juni's request ("Funny little name of yours...June was a little too boring for you? ) to go to the paddock to see the big horse.

"Big Red. Right there, the fastest horse around."

Juniika was right. The pictures really didn't do him justice. Man O' War certianly looked the part. He looked like a monster compared to some of these other horses.

It really made the eventual results impossible to beleive.

"So, you're going to put money on him," Juniika asked.

"Of course, I'd have to be a damned fool not to! Nobody can touch him. They can't even get near him. Why wouldn't I bet on him?"

Because he's about to lose.

And there was the twist in the play. She was acting dumb. Genuinely, in a way. She really did know very little about horse racing or going to the track and her knowledge of horses in general still needed work. But, she had the benefit historic fact. Of already knowing what was going to happen. How she used it was up to her. That was what her master told her.

This fellow had been pretty nice to her all afternoon. She felt she could do him a favor.

"But...What if he does?"

Johnny gave her a very amused look. "What?"

"What if he loses the race?"

"Pigs would fly for starters."

"And then what?"

"Well...Considering how they bet him, the odds of the other horse would be pretty big."

"So, wouldn't it be worth it to put at least a little money on another horse? Not a lot, even if Man O' War just runs laps around them, you won't lose a lot." Juni looked at the program in her hands, scanning it for Upset's number. She'd learned that from Johnny, they go by number. She searched for him in the paddock and said. "What about him? If Big Red's in a bad mood or unlucky, maybe he'll be lucky."

Johnny was laughing at her, making Juniika worry a bit. Not a lot, this wasn't a matter of life or death. It was just a bit of gambling. Juniika still didn't understand this human need to gamble, but she wanted to do something nice for him. She never really got to see if he took the bait, though. She got too wrapped up in the race.

Watching the race had been the whole goal of this trip, but once she saw it, Juniika couldn't stop cringing. It was a wonder that horse didn't get hurt during that mess and he still almost won.

Meanwhile, Johnny was in shock. But, before, he never got a chance to figure out how that girl picked the right horse, though. He turned around to talk to her and she'd just...disapepared.

April 12, Saratoga Springs, New York, Present Time, 4:00 PM

Juniika felt her paws land heavily back on the ground. Before shifting back, she was able to confirm she was in the right time when she heard a car driving through nearby. She also became aware of a startled whinny very close by. She turned her head and noticed a horse peeking it's head out of the stall.

They're already here...? They don't race here for another three or four months.

Forgetting to shift back for a second, Juniika walked carefully towards the stable and the horse inside it. The horse, in turn, eyed her suspiciously, but seemed to settle down. She stopped in front of his stall door, causing him to back up for a second, then stick his head out again and gingerly touch noses with her and nicker a bit.

"What's going on over there?"

Only then did Juniika realize she was in a bit of a spot and bolted into the trees nearby, shifting back to her human form before making her way back to town again. She still needed wanted to see that big museum in Albany...

Present

After she heard the old mans story, she had excused herself to the lavatory and shifted back into her own time. The Kreyan wouldn't mind that she was gone, they were used to human messengers running away. She was now in her aprtment surrounded by many uniforms once again. She needed time to think. Was the old mans story just a myth or was it true? If it was true, was she a Player of Time? Were there more like her? Veloris thought it might be cool meeting more people like her and going back in time with them. Ever since she discovered her time traveling ability, she had been relatively anti-social. Who could blame her? It was fun seeing the past. But since no one knew of her powers, everyone believed she was just a loner.

Veloris went outside her house and down a few streets to a coffee shop. On her way there, she saw many people. She was in Corning, New York. Was it possible that any of these people had powers like hers? Veloris highly doubted it. She pushed against the coffe shop door to get inside, sat down and ordered something. She just wanted something warm to drink and had nothing at home. She sipped the coffee and watched the people around her. And listened. Veloris often listened to other epeople's conversations. Not because she was nosy, but because it gave her information.

"Jimmy said... and then she... but Gloria... at the mall..."

"exam tomorrow... gonna fail... grounded..."

The bits and pieces she picked up were usually worthless, but every once in a while she'd get somethinig decent. Not today though, just silly human conversations. A man sat next to Veloris. He needed to get a hair-cut. Desperately. His hair was all in his eyes, and not like he meant it to be that way. The man also looked as if he got dressed in the dark, or perhaps had a pet monkey dress him. Veloris tried not to laugh. The man spoke to her. "Good day, how do you like Corning? I'm new here and don't know all the hot spots yet."

Hot-spots... well, Veloris didn't reall know any "hot-spots" but she tried her best. "Well, there's the Corning Museum of Glass, it's very neat. And not to far away from that is a Museum of Western Art."

The man seemed very happy. "That's great! I love museums. Glass has alot of history. History is just fascinating." The man said, shaking his shaggy hair around as he spoke. Veloris was glad he liked history. Too bad he didn't have time traveling powers... or did he? Veloris doubted it.

"History is a grand thing. So many mysteries. It's such a shame we will never know of certain mysteries. If you could go back to any time period, which time would you go back to?" Veloris asked out of pure curiosity. She asked people that question alot. It's where she got many of her time traveling ideas.

"Hmm... I think I'd want to go see Nostradamus. His prophecies are very interesting. And as utterly vague as they all are, most have come true. Perhaps it's because of how vague they are." The man chuckled and Veloris smiled. Perhaps she should go pay this Notradamus a visit.

"Yes, it would be interesting to see him... I must be off. So long, stranger!" She said.

April 13, Schylerville, New York, 9:20 AM

Juniika had found she could earn money by doing odd jobs for humans. At first, it was a trick to find it, but now that she'd been around humans more and knew how to look for it, it wasn't too hard.

Rural humans were very helpful for this. Humans that live in the city seem to be left gittery and don't trust others easily. Rural humans could be very laid back and, if it seemed like someone needed help, they would offer you some.

Which was how she ended up with her current job of looking after this man's farm and animals for a couple days while he went somewhere to settle some other business he had to attend to. She'd met him as another museum in Saratoga, one about the military and war. She ended up talking to the man that owned this farm and, when she asked if he knew of any odd jobs, he said he had one for her.

By the sounds of it, there was some kind of family emergency that would force them all to be away from the farm for several days. So, he gave her a list of everything she had to do, had a friend come in to check on her to make sure everything was alright, and went on his way. When he got back, he would pay her and then give her a ride to Albany so she could see the museum.

She had just gotten done taking care of the animals and letting them out into their pens, so she decided to just sit on the fence and look around. It was a wonder to her why humans wanted to live in those cramped cities. There was so much room here. It was so quiet and calm and it just made you feel safe.

"Looks like they aren't giving you any trouble, are they," she heard a voice next to her say. She looked over and saw the friend he was talking about, Mr. Erikson, come over to lean on the fence next to her.

"Well, I have a way with animals." Her curiosity getting the better of her she asked, "so, why did Mr. Adam have to leave? He never told me."

Mr. Erikson looked a little uncomfortable, but told her, "well, his father died the night before he met you."

"Oh, dear." Humans were such pack animals, death could be a very jarring thing for them to deal with. Now that she thought of it, he did seem a bit preoccupied when she talked to him.

"Yeah, he needed to go out of town for the wake and the funeral and then he needs to take a day or two to make sure the will and everything's going to be in order."

"I see." Juniika had no idea what a will was supposed to be, but she didn't want to ask. Humans could become very nervy and sensetive at times like this and it made it harder to get information. She's have to figure out later.

"It shouldn't take too long, though, they had a lawyer set it up and everything, so it should be all set. He'll be back soon and get you to the museum." Mr. Erikson stepped away from the fence and continued, "when you're done here, go ahead and come over to our place for breakfast, alright?"

Juniika nodded and looked back out that the couple of horses eating in the field together. Rural humans really were nice to be around.

June 10th, Echo Desert, 2321 BC.

Dante Bendarus started his search through time for a mystical object. Back in London, he heard about a mystical object which was found in a Desert in Egypt once known as "Echo Desert." This object apparently could tell when Time was changed, and that meant that if Dante could get his hands on it, he would be able to tell when and where people have been Time Traveling. Dante walked through Echo Desert, spotting a Temple in the middle of a sand-storm. The Temple was huge; at least one hundred feet tall with a doorway so large a Giant could fit through it. Dante cautiously pushes against the door, slowly opening it despite it's enormous size. He squeezes inside, looking around and getting a gut feeling something was wrong. He pulls out both of his pistols while cautiously walking around. The Temple was just one large, open space. With a Necklace on the other side of it. Dante could tell because that was one of the few sources of light, and it was concentrated on the Necklace. Quietly, he walked towards the Necklace. Trying to watch out for traps and other, rather unknown dangers.

A few minutes later, Dante walks up the Alter steps and grabs the Necklace. That was rather easy.. Then, he heard a howl. Turning around, he watched as a giant, sandstone sphinx and two statues of Anubis started slowly walking towards him from the Doorway. Dante growls, quickly stuffing the Necklace in his pocket and walking forward towards the abominations of God. The statues of Anubis grind to a halt, however the Sphinx continued to approach. Quickly saying. "How dare you defile the Temple of Anubis! You must be destroyed!" Dante leaps to the side as the Sphinx tries to crush him alive, it's paw creating a footprint in the stone floor. Dante then leaps onto the Foot, watching as the Sphinx lifts up it's paw to try and bite him. He leaps off of the foot and onto the Sphinx's nose, shooting it several times and kicking it afterwards. The nose falls off as Dante leaps on top of the Sphinx's head. The Sphinx roars in pain, the Temple begins to collapse. Dante dissapears, as he travels through time to avoid getting crushed..

Current Day, Boston, 2008.

Dante marvelled at the Necklace, it was a beautiful thing indeed. He put it on, watching as he could see every Time Traveller in Boston. Going in and out of Time over and over and over again. Dante was amazed; he could even tell when and where they were going if they were close enough. He smiles sadistically as he looks towards the sky. "God, thank you for giving me this Gift for with which I shall smite down the Errors of your Creations." It wouldn't be long before Dante would begin hunting down and killing many, many Time Travellers..

((I kinda needed something to give me an Excuse to find you all in the first place. I just realized this. It would also give you all a reason to band together. ^^;))

April 12, The Urubamba Valley, Peru. 1467. 16:30

Darren had just about enough of watching these wierd rituals. No wonder Machu Picchu was such a mystery! No one would believe the truth, even if they did know it. Darren himself had seen it, and hardly believed it. He vanished from the soon to be ancient ruins just as the monster devoured the child.

Current Day, Times Square, New York.

Darren found himself in the middle of crowded Times Central, breathing heavily. That scene had affected him more than he'd expected. He shook his head to clear his mind and joined the crowd walking in various directions to get home, to work, or to some kind of party. He wasn't entirely sure where he was going, but he needed to do something to clear his thoughts.

He walked into a nearby Starbucks and ordered a Latte before sitting at one of the small cafe tables. The warm scent of coffee was relaxing, and he was finally starting to get his wits back. After he'd finished his latte, Darren started toward his small apartment. The streets of New York were always bustling no matter what time it was, and Darren once again became just another face in the crowd. He pulled his leather jacket around him to stop the shivers that weren't really caused by the cold.

Once he'd reached his aparment, he sat in his favorite armchair, and flipped to his favorite channel on tv. The History Channel.

Present Day

Blackjack let himself be immersed in the fountains waters. He pondered in the tranquil evening what the wizard could possibly have meant with his parting words.

"Aid from those who resemble me...could such aid come in the form of those who share my species?"

Ridiculous, he concluded, as what could a handful of rgular platipi do? As far as Blackjack knew, there was nothing really redeeming about them, and taming one would really prove ineffective. Even with a trained platypus, he still couldn't train it to travel through-

"That's it!" he exclaimed, jumping from out of the fountain, "The aid I seek comes not from those who look like me, but rather, from those who share my gift of time travel!"

He soon realized, however, that deciphering his riddle and solving it were two entirely different battles. Hefting his axe, he continued on into a back alley. He needed a place to sleep, and a dark and secluded alley seemed like the place.

It was clearly evident that our friend Blackjack has never been accustomed to the knowledges of modern life.

April 16, Albany, New York, Present Day, 12:50 AM

This "New York State Museum" was better than she even imagined!

It was huge! A guide told her that some parts of it weren't really a museum, they were libraries and "archives", some of them visitors couldn't go into. But, even with that, the musem itself was still huge.

And it was like they had everything! They had a lot of really nice displays about the animals. There were all kinds of machines from different time periods and displays that showed what it was like to live in New York City during different times. They even had a display with all these little stuffed animals that, apparently, were from a human TV show and one of those big carosel rides on one of the upper floors. She spent hours roaming all over the place, reading everything and staring at all the different displays, but one thing kept catching her eye.

The longhouse.

She went all over the museum, but found herself coming back to area that was supposed to be a life-size replica of a longhouse. The humans that originally lived around here ages ago used to live in these houses. Standing inside it just felt so cozy and warm- the display itself wasn't like that, but just looking at it made the house seem inviting. And seeing all those little human young sitting around and listening to the story.

It peeked her curiosity. She was starting to wonder if she could find one of these longhouses. If she could get into the right time period and find some of these Mohawk people....

April 16, Washington Park in Albany, New York, Present Day, 7:00 PM

The trouble with cities was that Juniika had a hard time finding very secluded places to shift forms so she could use the time warps. The park offered some places that were far away enough from people. She really wanted to go back to that museum again. It peeked her curiosity about quite a few things. But, the foremost of those was that longhouse. She'd never gone back to see the native humans from this area and now that she had an idea of what she wanted to see...

After finding a clump of trees to hide her, Juniika quickly shifted forms and hopped into the time warp.

April 16, Mohawk Territory in New York, 1520

Juniika paws landed with a soft thud. She was about to shift into a human form, but decided to take a chance and leave it alone for now. There shouldn't be a lot of people here. And she had a feeling that, whatever she conjured up for a human would still look suspicious to them. The museum made it look like they were fairly close knit, they'd know a stranger when they saw it.

There was nothing around anyway. She was in the middle of a forest with no trace of civilization around. It actually made it feel like she was back home. No people, no cars, no buildings, no nothing, long before people started building everything around here. Except her own home was more tropical than this place with all the evergreens and that stubborn nip in the air that was leftover from winter.

She lifted her head up, sniffed at the air a bit, then made her way through the trees. It was getting dark. Hopefully, it would help her get a better look.

1550, Salon, France 17:00

Veloris had traveled back into the time of Nostradamus. She was wearing peasants clothing. No one ever questioned a peasants presence, it was always thought that they wanted money and nothing more. Veloris had used this to her advantage many times before and will continue to use it as long as it is useful. She was in a dark alley. Dark alleys were her favorite places to start out at, because no one could see you. She had gotten the address of Nostradamus from one of those sites that talks about UFO's, the paranormal and prophecies. Those sites have been useful to her before, but she just hoped that person really knew what he was talking about.

Veloris walked a few blocks, to a house. The house was white, with a bit of peach. According to the site, this was where he lived. Veloris soft-footed around the house until she saw a window that revealed light. She walk softly up to it and peeked in. No one was watching her. Veloris saw six children. Nostradamus' children. Nostradamus had 2 other children from his first marriage but they had died from the plague along with his wife. He had remarried and no had six children. But were these six his children or were they someone else's? She hoped she got the right house. Before the children could notice her, she walked to another window. This one was more dim, only one or two candles was lit. Veloris walked softly to it and peeked in. There was a man there, and he was writing vigorously. The man got up and walked out of the room, Veloris ducked. He was probably visiting the lavatory. Perfect, thought Veloris.

Veloris tested the window. It was open. Back in these times no one thought another might steal from them, because people seldom did. Veloris opened it as quiet as she could, and slipped inside. She went over to the papers he was writing. Because of the ime travel gift, she could read it. They were predictions. Veloris wondered how he got them. If the were true. There was no way to know. Veloris looked upon one of the papers.

Today, one will see my writing, and only one. They will come from another time and view my speculations. I will never see them, nor will you.

Veloris' heart skipped a beat. She backed up a bit. He knew she was here. He didn't know who she was but he knew she was here. And he knew she came from another time. Veloris slowly went back to the table and read more.

In the late 20th century, the gods will trust more with the shiftings of the world. They will bestow upon few the gifts they will need to save the world. Or destroy the world. In the 2st century, this will be tested.

Veloris stared. Save the world? Bestow gifts? Was it referring to her, to Time's Players? How was she supposed to save the world? And how the hell was she supposed to find more of her kind? Knowing Nostradamus would be back soon enough, Veloris opened the window quietly again and slipped out. She soft-footed back to the alley so no one would see her disappear. And then she did.

Present

Veloris had alot to think about. First, apparently, she had to find more of her kind. But how was she supposed to do that if she didn't know where they were? It would take an utter coincidence to have them both end up in the same place, at the same time, doing similar things. It would take even more of a miracle to know that they could bend time as well.

Present Day, Present Time. Manhattan, New York.

Darren yawned as the light from the window faded. The only thing keeping him awake right now was the pale blue glow from the television. The history of the American Revolution was on, and that was something that had always interested Darren. He'd visisted Colonial America mulitple times during their revolts, and found it fascinating. The odds were so against the Americans to win, but they did.

A segment of the Boston Tea Party came on. The colonists disguised themselves, and went on a raid, destroying barrels and barrels of British tea. Darren hadn't actually visited that particular event, but thought it would be kinda cool to be part of a revolt dressed as a Mohawk. A grin spread across his face, and he vanished from his apartment.

December 16, 1773. Boston, Mass. 18:52.

Darren found himself on the outside of a small crowd of men. He guessed that there probably around fifty or so, and they were all talking in hushed tones. Some were excited, others frightened, but they were all eager. Darren looked at himself, and realized he didn't fit in. He examined the others, and walked into a nearby tent. He found the disguises the rest were wearing, and joined the other young men dressed as Mohawks, a grin across his face.

This was going to be fun. He could feel the excitement hanging in the air around the small group. They were gonna teach those Redcoats a lesson about messing with the American people. Darren soon figured out that American pride was around longer than the actual country...

April 16, Mohawk Territory in New York, 1520, 7:55 PM

Juniika had caught a whiff of smoke some miles away and loped along to follow it. When she saw something in the distance, it made her run even faster. The village! She'd found one!

As she got closer to it, she slowed down to a walk. It was surrounded by a fence. How was she going to sneak up to one of the houses inside if she had to get in the fence, too? She carefully padded up to the opening of the fence and noticed there weren't even any people outside right now. All the smoke was coming from the longhouses. Wow, they looked even better in person! She could hear voices inside, but they sounded a little...odd.

She carefully stuck ner nose towards a small opening, then peeked inside. It was almost exactly like the display. All the people sitting around, listening to the person talking. The little ones were sitting there, too, but they were wiggling around and getting antsy like human children tended to do. But, there was another difference. They were speaking a different language. Of course, the museum had them speaking English for visitors could understand what they were saying and hear the story. Here, with no English-speaking humans to cater to, they spoke their own tounge and she couldn't understand it. The scene was still nice to watch, though. It really did look nice in there...

A voice next to him broke him out of his thoughts. She looked over and noticed a young male human staring at her in shock. She suddenly remembered that she forgot to shift after coming here. Also becoming aware of the male's weapons, she started carefully backing away from the house. The male kept saying things to her, but she couldn't understand what he was trying to tell her. And considering how humans tended to react to her like this, she didn't think she wanted to, The male must have realized his words were falling on deaf ears, because he started shouting out to someone, causing Juniika to turn around and bolt...straight into the fence behind her.

Ow, ow, ow! She let out a whimper as she shook her head and pawed at her sore nose. She was pretty sure she didn't break it, she didn't realize how dark it was out here with no fires or anything to light the place. She had to find the fence opening so she could-

"Hello."

Juniika threw her head up with a start. There was an older woman standing there, looking at her. The rest of the people starting coming out to see what all the commotion was for. She noted for younger males with weapons, but they seemed content to let this older female take charge of things. She watched them chatter amongst themselves, including the older female turning around to talk to some of them. Juniika let out a nervous whimper, which the older female seemed to hear.

"Don't worry, I told them you won't hurt us."

"You....You can understand me..." Even as a dog, Juniika could talk. It had taken some time to learn to speak like a human at all, since her own pack "talked" with howls and barks and their own sounds.

"I have my ways...My grandson saw you. It did not sound like you could understand him."

Juniika gulped a bit, as much as a dog could, and carefully made her way towards them. A couple of them backed up a bit, but the woman didn't budge. She just stood there, then put her hand out when she got within arm's length and put her hand on her head.

"You came to visit us. From another time, yes?"

"Um...Yes....How did you know?"

"I was telling my people about those that are gifted with the ability to travel across many springs. When I told them of these people, I don't think they were quite expecting you."

By now, a couple of the children had wandered over to get a closer look at her. One started playing with one of her paws.

"Yes, my master taught me."

"And who is this master?"

"Someone who lives very far away from here. I come from very far away myself." How else was she supposed to explain the South American rain forest? Or a person from England? Especially since England would eventually cause a lot of trouble for these poor people?

"Do the others come from there as well?"

"I haven't met any others that can do this yet."

"Then I am sure you will soon."

This visit was a lot more than she barginned for. Others? There were others?

Present

Pondering how she would find other Time manipulators and what she should do, or whether she should do anything at all was giving Veloris a headache. It seemed like no matter where she went recently, she was being lead to do something. Or maybe she was just paranoid and no one was really telling her anything at all. Whatever the case, Veloris had a searing headache. So she walked outside of her apartment again and down the street. She didn't pay much attention to the people this time, why should she? It's not like someone is just going to poop out and say "Hey! I can time travel!" Veloris nearly laughed at the prospect.

Veloris walked down to Vitamin World and opened the door. The clerk looked bored. Not many people ever came to Vitamin World. Veloris walked down an aisle and looked for the ibuprophen. Aha, she had found it. Grabbing the bottle of ibuprophen, something had caught her eye. There was a pack of coal with the heading "Use this to relieve stress now!!!!!!" With so many exclamation marks, Veloris highly doubted that the stuff actually served its stated purpose. But she had used coal many times. She took the coal and bought this as well. She would use it once she got home. She brought her purchases to the clerk. She rung the items up with a bored expression, put the stuff in a bag and handed back to Veloris. Veloris thanked the lady and walked back to her apartment.

Veloris took two ibuprophen and took the coal out of the silly package. She remembered her first time Time-traveling. She Time-traveled to the Boston Tea Party. What a surprise it was... The first time she went to the Boston Tea Party, she had just watched, as it was such a large surprise and she was in her normal clothing. She had went back nearly four other times playing other insignificant roles. Veloris didn't want to take a large role on, she still didn't completely understand all her powers. But she was a veteran at Time-traveling, just a cautious one. This would be her 2nd time going as an Indian attacking the ships and throwing tea overboard. That's where the coal came in.

Veloris took the coal and made markings on her face with it. Native Americans liked to make tribal markings and symbols using coal among other things. She went into the "livingroom" where she had left her Indian costume. It was a male Indian costume as there weren't any women who took part in the Boston Tea Party. So she made herself look as much like a boy as possible, tying her hair back. So far, no one had ever found out she was a girl when she didn't want to be one. But you never know. She put on the entire Indian costume. Now she was ready. Veloris watched time spin, feeling that nausea again.

December 16, 1773. Boston, Massachusetts 19:10

Veloris had arrived just in time and stood up to takeher place in the ranks of rebels fighting because of unfair taxes. There were three leaders, three groups. Veloris had arrived during when they split people into groups. She was to be in Leonard Pitt's group. So she walked over with the rest of that group. They were getting ready to assault the ships.

All three groups boarded their respective ships at the same time. And everyone started pouring as much tea as they could overboard. It was so much fun. Veloris often came here when she was feeling down. To see such a childish yet mature act was just envigorating. So Veloris pushed tea into the water, trying not to laugh girlishly.