Provoking Alternate Time Lines (M|M cast version)

Back to the past

Before one of the guards could launch their spear at Peter, Liz lifted her left arm in the direction of those in front of her and directed the other one behind her towards the naked one. Long sparks shot out of both of her hands. Andy, Giovanni, Peter, Rodolf and Sasha were confused as they watched the patrol in front them lose consciousness. None of them had yet to notice the threat.
Slightly jealous, Andy commented, "Those are quick reflexes."
Seeing Liz' right arm behind her, Sasha turned around and spotted the naked guard. "How did you know about the one behind us?"
Peter was grateful that he didn't have to fight and not surprised by Liz' reaction time. "What happened to your powers? That was so cool."
Rodolf said to himself, "I feel weird. Also a little nauseous."
Forgetting that the others were there, Giovanni added, "Me too. Like I was taken apart and put back together."
Andy replied, "It could be a time travel effect. I feel fine though."
Liz responded to all of them, "I can't answer anything right now. We need to find the man. I know where he is."
Liz moved swiftly in the direction of the town. The others followed her believing that she knew where to go. 

Andy and Sasha were convinced that something had happened that they had somehow missed. They refused to believe that Liz could both notice a threat and react to it significantly quicker than them without having been given an advantage. The two of them asked Liz questions along the way about what Liz knew and how she knew it. Peter also suspected that Liz had been given extra information and asked her a few questions, mostly about the change in her abilities. Giovanni and Rodolf walked behind the other four not sharing the same concerns. The two of them felt that they knew things that hadn't happened and that the desert was a giant déjà vu. Rodolf wanted to talk about it but Giovanni was the only one who seemed to relate and for some unknown reason to him, the thought of having a conversation with Giovanni bothered him. Giovanni also wanted to talk about it but could tell that things were somehow worse between himself and Rodolf. He tried to determine the reason by reading Rodolf's mind but could hear only partial phrases and failed to receive any visuals. He tried to get into the minds of the others but failed to hear or see anything clearly. He kept the problem to himself.

After a few minutes, Liz couldn't handle the questions anymore. Part of her wanted to answer them only to make the questions stop while another prevented her from responding. She knew that she had requested to be sent back alone for a reason and that even if they could handle it, they would only ask more questions. She reminded herself that they had to complete their mission first. That she had to return them all to their time safely. Afterwards, she could consider telling them what had happened whether it meant the whole story or an abbreviated version. A very abbreviated version.
Liz said, "Let's hurry." She turned her walk into a run.
Andy and Sasha immediately ran behind her and Peter adjusted quickly out of habit. It took Giovanni and Rodolf several seconds to realize that if they didn't run as well, they would lose the others. Unhappily and with difficulty, Giovanni and Rodolf moved faster to keep up with them.

The group travelled in the same direction for nearly fifteen minutes. When Andy or Sasha asked Liz a question, Liz ran faster. However, Andy and Sasha easily kept up and continued their interrogation. Peter stopped adding his own questions because he knew that increasing her pace was one of Liz' ways of avoiding something. Eventually, Liz realized that Giovanni and Rodolf were falling behind so she slowed to a halt to allow the two to catch up.
Liz said to Andy and Sasha, "Stop asking questions! Please!"
Andy and Sasha nodded their heads to show that they agreed even though they still wanted answers.To distract herself, Liz thought about the missing sandstone pyramid and the buildings at its sides that the group had passed the first time through the desert. Instead, they had recently passed by an empty area and almost black ground which reminded her of what she had seen when travelling with Hugo. She wondered what it meant. Meanwhile, Peter noticed that his white shoes were slightly dirty from clay residue and tried to clean them. Andy and Sasha couldn't focus on anything other than their questions for Liz so they tried to answer them themselves in their heads.