The sun is barely above the dunes when Artemis gets up the next morning. Her stomach is in knots. Nerves and excitement tangling together in the pit of her stomach and boiling together into a horrible combination that is making her sick. If  everything goes well, they will be well on their way home. If not, she doesn't even want to think about the possibilities. 

Familiar arms wrap around her from behind. "I can hear you worrying." 

This causes even the slightest smile to cross her face. "Stop it. That's not even possible." 

"It's true," Alex insists. "I could hear you worrying from across the room." 

Artemis turns in his arms. "And what was I worrying about?" 

Alex gives her an obvious look. "A blind and deaf person could tell what you were worrying about. And you shouldn't." 

"How can you say that? How aren't you worrying right now?" 

Alex rubs her arms reassuringly. "Because worrying will do nothing." 

Meg had a hard time sleeping that night. She would toss and turn. Her mind was filled with all the possibilities if they made a mistake. No matter how hard she tries to clear her mind so she can get some rest, sleep escapes her. 

The door to her room opens. She rolls over to see who could possibly be coming to her room in the middle of the night. Apollo enters her room without being invited. "I can hear you tossing and turning from my room." 

"Sorry," Meg mumbles. 

Apollo doesn't answer. He sleepily stumbles towards her bed and sits on the edge of it. "I know that that you're worried about tomorrow. Worried you did something wrong. You were the same way during finals in college." 

Meg doesn't answer at first. She knows he's right. She also knows he's as tired as she is and it's entirely her fault. She reaches a hand out and gently tugs on his shoulder. Apollo tiredly falls back on the bed beside her. The two of them slowly fall into a dreamless sleep side by side. 

Val wakes up early the next morning. She wanted to do some final checks before they attempted to do a time jump. She could only repair the technical systems to much, especially without knowing what modifications were made to the engine. So with only so much to do to check the technical systems for. But she realized something she's sure no one else has thought of. They have a kennel for Mars on the Flight Deck. But they don't have anything like that for Centurion. And lately their flights and landings have been any thing but smooth. someone has to make sure their newest crew member survives the journey. The teen immediately gets up and gets to work. Without a kennel to put Centurion in, she decides to do the best she can at padding his room. She fathers as much as she can and covers all the walls in his room. Centurion watches her the entire time. Never getting in her way, but definitely curious about her actions. 

When she's done she takes a moment to look over her handy work. It's not pretty, but it's better than nothing. "What're you doing?" Val jumps at the sudden voice. Turning towards the source she is met with her cousin. 

"I am trying to make sure he doesn't break his neck during the flight," she explains. "Since we don't have a passed kennel for him like we do for Mars, this is the best I could do." 

"Creative," Will comments. He glances around the room. "Not exactly pretty. But it's creative." 

Val rolls her eyes at his words. She knows he's just trying to rile her up. And she's not going to take the bait. "Someone had to do something. Are you ready? Or did you need something?" 

He shakes his head. "I'm good. I think the others are getting ready." 

Artemis and Alex pull themselves from their embrace and get ready. The others will be looking to them today. They need to show confidence. Even if they aren't feeling any. They leave their room to join the others after getting dressed in their flight suits. 

Meg blinks awake and stretches. Despite not getting a lot of sleep last night she is feeling well rested. "Good morning." Meg's eyes snap open at the sound of the voice. "Took you long enough to wake up." The owner of the voice chuckles and now her drowsy mind recognizes it. She rolls towards Apollo and playfully smacks his shoulder. This only causes Apollo to chuckle even more. 

"Shouldn't you be getting ready? In your own room?" 

Apollo nods. "Yeah, in a minute. There's something I wanted to ask you first." 

Meg looks at him curiously and gestures for him to continue. 

"Do you really think this will work?" 

Meg becomes completely serious at his words. "Yes, it'll work." 

"Really?" Apollo clarifies, hope slipping into his voice. 

Meg sighs. "It'll either work or kill us." 

There's a single beat of silence. "What? And you didn't think that was important information for us to know?" 

The mechanic groans. Pulling herself into a sitting position she running a hand through her hair in frustration. "No, I didn't think you needed to know because there's nothing nay of us can do about it. This is literally our only option. It's this or we stay here. This or we die anyway." She looks at him seriously. "So you tell me, is it better to think that we are actually going to beat the odds and get out of this? Which would you rather have?" 

Apollo sighs. "Okay. I guess I understand. You were right to keep it to yourself." There is a pause then pollo sits up with a groan. "We should get going. They'll all be getting up soon." 

With the entire crew now awake and dressed, they meet in the meeting room for what they hope will be the last time before going home. Artemis looks around the room at the others. Carefully concealed excitement shines in their eyes. She takes a deep breath before addressing the group. "I know that we have all had to handle some challenges since we landed," she pauses to take breath. 

"Crashed," Apollo says, barely bothering to make any attempt to cover it up. 

Artemis glances at her brother. He grins back at her playfully. She ignores him and continues. "But we persevered because we worked together. I'm very proud of what we have done to get through this. And I hope you are too. We shouldn't get our hopes too high. Temper your expectations. And focus on your jobs. Now, let's go to the Flight Deck and try to go home." The crew takes this as their cue to be dismissed and all file out of the room until only Val Meg are left. Apollo lingers in the doorway. 

"Do you think we can do it?" Val asks, her voice almost a whisper. 

Meg keeps her eyes and dead down. "It'll take a miracle," she replies in a voice almost as low as the teen's. "And even then, maybe not." 

Apollo glances between the two before slipping out of the room silently. He knows the burden they carry. He knows they might need a moment to gather themselves before joining the others. The least he can do is buy them the time they need. Meg was right, sometimes it's best not to know. Which is exactly why he won't tell the others of their odds of success. 

By the time Apollo enters the Flight Deck Artemis, Alex, and Will are already seated int heir chairs. He assumes Mars is safely Lockes in his kennel as well. He takes his seat and starts working at his station out of pure habit, not even sure if Val has gotten these station fully functional again. To his surprise, the monitor lights up and starts responding to his commands as though it was never broken in the first place. Like they never crashed at all. Despite this, the reality that is isn't any other flight. This is only exaggerated by the fact that there is no joking, no teasing, no playful banter among the crew. Instead a thick atmosphere fills the room. The earlier excitement is replaces with seriousness as everyone focuses on their own tasks. 

Meg and Val enter the room and look for all the work as though there is nothing bothering them. Apollo knows better. But he also knows better than to say anything. The two take their seats and get right to working not eir stations. 

"Is everyone ready to go?" Artemis asks from her position in the pilot's seat. She doesn't get any answer for a few minutes. This could be because the others are filled with nerves about this trip and are stalling. It could also be because they are all taking their time at their stations, checking and double checking everything before giving her an answer. 

Slowly, one by one, each crew member confirms that they are ready to go and everything other station is ready for the flight as well. Meg and Val are the las tot vive their answers. No one but Apollo seems to notice the glance shared by the two women. He's suddenly wishing he hadn't pressured Meg into telling him their odds. Ignorance is bliss, or so they say. 

"Alright, prepare for take off then." Artemis flips a few switches and pushes a few buttons before taking a firm grasp of the steering controls. "Up up and away," she mutters to herself. 

There is an almost heart stopping moment when nothing happens. Then, with a rattle that echos along the entire ship, the ship lifts slightly, moves forwards a few yards then drops back to the ground. Fear grips Apollo's heart and he looks at Meg only to see her and Val already sharing a concerned glance. 

"Everything alright, Missy?" Apollo asks carefully. 

Artemis sighs and nods. "Yeah, I'm good. Just getting used to her again. " 

The pilot grips the controls agains and takes a deep breath. The ship shudders to life. Slowly it raises off the ground and moves forward, much smoother than the last attempt. When they becomes a fair distance from he ground Artemis pushes another button and slips another switch. The next moment the ship seems to bump or lurch and they find themselves in the time vortex. 

The ship shudders the entire time they are navigating through the swirling storming tunnel. The alone is enough to make Apollo, Meg, and Val seriously wonder about their odds. But the longer they are int eh tunnel the more it seems to storm. What appears to like lightning strikes out towards the ship. Artemis has to swerve repeatedly to avoid being hit. The ship shudders, rattles, and cream with every sharp movement. 

A loud crack sounds as a bolt of the bright electricity flashes straight for the ship. Artemis strains with the controls and jerks them away with barely a second to are. 

"Watch it, Missy," Alex comments without thinking. 

"I know what I'm doing," Artemis snaps. 

Alex takes a breath before responding. "I know, I jut meant-" 

"Do you want to drive?!" 

Alex's eyes widen. He wisely decides to keep his mouth shut. They continue to watch growing tension as Artemis struggles to keep full control of the trembling ship. The more the ship jerks around avoid the stormy tunnel, the more unsteady the ship seems to get. But Artemis doesn't seem to be bothered, or even seem to notice. Her grip stays on the controls. Her eyes stay trained on the protected window in front of her. Her sole focus is on navigating through the storm around them, regardless is the ship feels like it will fall apart at any moment. 

Meg's anxiety rises with every shudder and jerk. Even though she was never a particularly religious person, she finds herself praying to every power she can even think of that the ship will hold together long enough for Artemis to help them land. She isn't even asking for them to get home. Landing anywhere safely would be more than enough for the mechanic. She doesn't realize it now, but maybe she should be more specific in her prayers or wishes. Sometimes getting exactly what you ask for is not as good as it sounds. 

Apollo glances around the room after a particularly hard shudder rolls through the ship. His eyes take moment to pause on each crew member. His heart clenches a little more seeing each one, the panic rising on their faces. No one is going to voice it out loud. But for their sake, he must. 

"Missy," Apollo says, doing his best to project confidence and authority, "I think it's time to try to land." 

Artemis shakes her head. "She can hold a little longer." 

"No. Land, now. Before it's not an option anymore." 

Artemis glares at her bother. He isn't phased. "Now Missy." 

The pilot lets out a growl of frustration but relents. She flips a switch then turns the controls. Slowly the ship moves with the controls. There's a jerk, a rattle, a blinging light  then they emerge from the storming tunnel. The constant shuddering of the ship slows some. 

An almost audible sigh of relief passes around the room. It is clear that everyone was tense during their journey some of them weren't even sure they would make it this far. Maybe even doubting they would, even could, make it this far. The tension in the room lifts slightly, the air is only slightly less suffocating. 

But it's a victory. And a victory, any victory, is important to celebrate right now. They are alive, and that alone beat the odds. 

After they have all take a moment to sigh in relief that they are actually alive, they look out the window to see where they are. That's when they realize they may have celebrated prematurely. Instead of the endless glass and steal towers of their time, the horizon is far from man made. Lush green trees and ferns stretch as far as their eyes can see. the sky is a brighter blue than they have ever seen in their time. The sunlight is bright and warm, bringing life and light to everything it touches. What looks like a beach or a lake glistens in the sunlight. Everything about this place says it is alive and real. Nothing is artificial or am made. One thing is very clear: this is not their time. Nowhere close. 

Artemis searches for an area open enough land to land. Regardless of when they landed, they need to land. The crew is silent while ohs searches, none of them are willing to risk her anger right now. After a few tense minutes of searching, Artemis comes to a conclusion. Despite the dangers, she steers the ship to land on the beach. With a rough bump the ship touches down. 

"One of your smoother landings," Apollo comments, only half joking, in an attempt to lighten the mood. 

The others hold their breath for her response. There is a single beat of tense silence where time seems to stand still. Then something happens that shocks all of them. Artemis laughs. "Thanks, Sunny. I needed that." 

Apollo smiles. "I know. Now, shall we see where we landed?" He starts to unbuckle his harness so he can leave and get a good view outside. 

"Hang on," Val says. "I can pull up the information from here." Apollo falters at his niece's  words. He had almost completely forgotten that they could even do that. Their computer systems had been down for so long he had gotten used to not relying on them, or even using them at all. 

They wait a few minutes while Val taps away at her station. "How's this even possible?" Val mumbles to herself as she continues to tap away at her station. 

"Val, what's wrong?" Alex asks. 

Val scrunches her brow in confusion. "Somehow we've gone even further back in time." 

"What?!" 

Exclamations of disbelief and even outrage echo around the room. The shock of these words setting in quickly. The blood drains from Meg's face when this news settles in. Apollo watches the chaos unfold with this family. His eyes seem to effortlessly slide between Meg and Artemis who seem to be struggling with this information the most. 

"Alight, enough!" Apollo calls above the chaos. The room falls silent. And it stays silent for a few ringing moments. 

"How could we possibly be even further in the past?" Alex asks, a lot calmer now. 

Apollo looks to his sister. "Missy, is there any way you had the ship in reverse?" 

"Had it in reverse?" Artemis scoffs. "It's a time ship, not a car." 

Apollo rolls his eyes. "Sarcasm isn't going to help us right now." He takes a deep calming breath. He knows the others  need a calm voice of reason right now. And he seems to be the only one able to manage that. "It doesn't matter how we got here. What matters is that the engine and ship held together for a time jump. And no one got hurt. We should count out blessings, take advantage of this opportunity. Rest, and take our time to look into it." 

Alex sighs. "Apollo's right. We need to be smart. And sitting here arguing and speculating isn't being smart." 

There's another moment of silence. "Alright Sensible Siblings. What do you suggest?" Meg asks, her tone dripping with sarcasm. 

Apollo rolls his eyes. "Let's take the rest of the day to get some more information." 

"Wait," Artemis says firmly. Everyone turns their attention to her. "You said we went further back in time. But you didn't way how much." 

Everyone now slowly, one by one, turns their attention back towards Val. The teen doesn't answer. Her eyes glance between each of the others lazily, never holding anyone's gaze. 

"Val?" Meg asks. "When the hell are we?"