The quarter dropped into Janus' palm as the woman walked past him and away. He dropped the coin into his pocket. His eyes were fixed on a spot down the street. He had seen someone standing there while time had been stopped. Normally he wouldnt have given it a second thought, but this person had been moving.

Janus made no move to approach. He'd been lured too many times by similar things. He wasn't exactly in prime condition right now anyway, having just escaped from one of the Titans. He couldnt remember which one. He was aware that his clothes hung loose and that he looked like skin and bones, but that couldnt be helped.

Janus caught sight of the man again. Pale blonde hair, a dark gray hoodie, and black pants with green seams were all Janus could make out from this distance. The man was watching him openly.

Janus turned and started walking, heading toward a more populated street. He moved with a quick stride, taking long steps. There was no way this wasn't a trap. He needed to get out of here.

At a busy intersection, Janus stopped and looked around casually. The man was still following. When Janus looked at him, he cocked his head slightly to one side, grinning broadly. A couple of his teeth seemed sharper than should be natural. His eyes were mismatched bright green and deep brown.

The light changed and Janus picked up his pace as he crossed the road. He glanced back numerous times to see if the man was following. He always was. And he wasnt being stealthy about it, even though the street was packed with people and food vendors shouting their goods.

That put Janus even more on edge. His stomach grumbled, but he ignored it. He had to lose his tail. The next time he glanced back, the man had stopped, head tilted, looking thoughtful. His eyes were focused on a waffle stand.

Janus bolted, taking advantage of the distraction. He went a few blocks, arriving at a small park, before he looked around. The man was nowhere to be seen. Janus relaxed and slumped into a bench. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and rubbed his eyes. That had been close.

The bench shook slightly and Janus sat up instantly. He scrambled to his feet when he saw the blonde man perched on the back of the bench. He had a plate of waffles in each hand. He had a dorky grin on his face as he watched Janus.

Janus took a hesitant step back. His silver and gold eyes flicked nervously around them. He could run, it was open enough. He wouldn't get far, but he could run.

Before he could decide, a plate was thrust in his direction. "You want?" The stranger's voice was melodic. He had an accent that could only be described as silvery.

Janus eyed the plate suspiciously. He said nothing, silently trying to decide if it was worth the risk. He was starving, hadnt had anything to eat for several days... or had it been weeks? The waffles smelled good...

The stranger sighed a bit. "I mean, you clearly get enough to eat, but I can't help being an enabler."

Janus hesitated a bit more before accepting the plate. He ripped off a small chunk with his fingers and put it in his mouth carefully. He expected poison, so he was surprised when all he tasted was waffle. His mismatched eyes met those of the stranger, who smiled cheerfully.

After a moment of looking between the waffle and the stranger, Janus sat down again slowly. "Thank you..."

The stranger grinned broadly. "Oh, you're welcome! Anytime! That'll be twenty five dollars and a thirty percent tip."

Janus regarded the stranger with a flat look, trying to decide if he was serious or not. He eventually turned his attention to the waffle. "Not likely."

"Well alright then. I guess I can lower myself to giving to the homeless for free, just this once."

Janus bristled and fell silent once more. He picked at the waffle, half expecting to feel the effects of some kind of poison any second. He felt uneasy being so close to someone he didn't know.

The stranger raised one hand to his face. A small spider sat there. The stranger made several clicks and a few other sounds that shouldn't have been possible. He seemed to think this was normal, other than the occasional grin at Janus.

Janus set aside his plate, still mostly untouched. He had lost all desire to eat, despite the gnawing hunger. He stretched and slid to the edge of the bench, preparing to leave.

The stranger pulled out a handgun. Janus didn't recognize the model, it wasn't like anything he'd ever seen. He jumped up as the stranger spun the gun around with one finger through the trigger guard.

A choice.

The gun stopped, the stranger pointing it at his own skull.

No time to flip a coin and follow routine. Time lurched to a stop so suddenly, Janus could instantly feel his heartbeat in his temples. He'd have a terrible headache in a couple hours.

The stranger smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Ah, there it is..."

Janus could tell this man wasn't going to shoot himself, but he didnt release the time. "What do you mean 'there it is'?" He demanded.

It seemed that the stranger had been expecting this. Janus hated it when random people expected him stopping time.

The stranger gestured at Janus with his gun. "What do you mean 'what do you mean'? Tu hablas ingles, si?"

Janus almost shot back a snappy retort in rapid Spanish, but held his tongue. Instead, he glared. "You're acting like you were waiting for this. Like you expected this. What do you want with me?"

The stranger gave Janus a look of obviously mocking surprise. "Ooh, snappy. That time of the month? Do forgive me." His eyes glittered mischievously and he smirked.

Janus bristled. He automatically rubbed his fingers over the tattoo on his right palm. He never shifted his glare away from the man. He didn't dare.

The stranger grinned and adopted a position that was almost completely casual, apart from the gun in his hand. "Well... I've been looking for you for quite some time now. I suppose you could say that I was waiting for and expecting this."

Janus took a wary step back. "What do you want with me?" He asked, repeating his most important question.

The stranger ignored the question. He twirled his pistol around one finger by the trigger guard. His eyes remained locked on the gun. "How much control over time do you have?"

Janus crossed his arms. He had half a mind to snatch the gun and shoot the man right there. "Enough."

The stranger raised an eyebrow and turned half of his attention to Janus. "Define 'enough'."

Janus didn't respond, earning a quiet sigh. There was no way he was going to tell a stranger everything about his power.

The stranger continued twirling the gun, but still kept a watchful eye on Janus. "You can stop it. I'm assuming you can start it. Can you turn it back? How far?"

Janus snorted. "Far enough to let you rethink following me," he muttered under his breath.

The gun stopped spinning. The stranger turned his full attention to Janus, eyes shining with curiosity. "So you can turn it back. Tell me how far you can go."

Janus hesitated, then sighed. He wouldnt be getting out of this. He reluctantly returned to his place on the bench. "It depends really..." he said slowly. "All of my control revolves around choices. I can only go back far enough to let someone remake a choice, but only if I've never left their side and it's only been a few minutes. The longest I've pulled someone back was fifteen minutes, and I almost passed out."

The stranger set down his plate of waffles on the bench. He hadn't so much as touched them. He seemed to slump slightly, reaching up and tugging on what seemed to be a large lizard scale on a cord around his neck. "Ah... alright... I suppose fifty-nine years is a bit much then." He gave Janus a small smile and stood. "Thank you for your time." He holstered his gun and started to walk away, leaving the waffles behind.

"Wait!" Janus called, his mind reeling slightly.

The stranger stopped and looked back.

Janus stood and cleared his throat awkwardly. "How... how major of a choice was it?"

The stranger shook his head. "Not so much a choice, but a mistake. Failure, I guess. I just feel like if I'd done something differently..."

"Close enough. Where did it happen? What was the date? If you know the exact time, that would be ideal, but I can try to drop us early morning if you dont know."

The stranger paused, then nodded to the abandoned waffles. "You might as well eat well I think," he said in a joking tone, walking back. "I paid money for those."

Janus eyed the waffles. He was very hungry. The glanced back at the stranger, then decided that if he was going to be pulling someone fifty nine years back in time, he should eat something. He picked up one of the waffles and took a cautious bite.

The stranger stood silently, watching as Janus ate. Janus could tell he already knew the exact date and time and was simply waiting for Janus to finish.

Almost the second the last of the waffle disappeared, the stranger spoke. "We were in the sixth realm. August third, '21. Probably around five pm."

Janus stood. He had no idea where that was, but was intent to give it a shot anyway. He nodded and put a hand on the stranger's shoulder. "This might be a little disorienting, but do try to not make us fall out of the Timestream, yeah?" He didnt wait for a response before he reached out with his right hand. He stretched his fingers, weaving them through the invisible threads of time. He twisted his wrist hard.

They jerked through a blinding tunnel of flashing silver and gold light, arriving on a vast, seemingly endless plane of cracked, black ground. The sky was filled with storm clouds. Flashes of blue lightning jumped from cloud to cloud. A large drop of rain landed on Janus' head.

Janus didn't have time to take in any more. He felt suddenly heavy, as if someone had dropped the world on his head. His legs gave out and he crumpled to the hard black surface. He was trembling from exhaustion and he struggled to keep his eyes open.

It was wrong. It was all wrong. He hadnt pulled them far enough.

The stranger knelt next to Janus quickly and Janus could see the heartbreak in his eyes. "Hey, you okay... I never got your name."

Janus shook his head. "Janus, and no I'm not. We didn't go back far enough."

The stranger glanced to the side at something Janus couldnt see. "Yeah... I know."

"I'm sorry. I failed." Janus almost slipped into unconsciousness, but forced his eyes open again. "I-I'm taking us back."

The stranger's eyes widened. "No! You're going to-"

He didn't get to finish before Janus wove his fingers into the Timestream and pushed hard. Gold and silver swirled and flashed brightly. It disappeared and Janus was dropped abruptly into unconsciousness.

-

Janus didn't wake up on a park bench as he had expected. Instead, he came to in someone's bed. He was alert in less than a minute.

Where was he?

He immediately ran to the door and tested it. It opened and he let out a sigh of relief. He wasn't trapped.

He stopped for nothing as he made his way to the door very clearly leading out. He saw no sign of anyone as he hurried out into the sunlight and down the street. He still felt tired, but he ignored it. He had to get back to Olympus.