The lanky, blue-robed Time Cop loomed over Kahli, holding their unfurled scroll and ink dipped quill with a threatening fervor.

"So, miss, what all do you know about Time Law?"

Kahli's eyes darted around nervously. She wondered with an absolute frustration why her system hadn't somehow made this a [checkpoint] on its own considering that she was essentially caught between the prospect of either telling the truth, that she had no idea about Time Law, or doing a complete act of faith and using [Tale Teller] to attempt to lie her absolute face off. At least she wasn't alone for this decision, she could hear and indeed smell Froufrou squelching from her purse. "I, uh, um, I, uh-"I

"Please speak up, miss. I seem to be having trouble hearing you."

Kahli made up her mind. She was not going to play along with Time Cops. It was difficult enough to get any sort of help from law enforcement when they were just trying to oversee one small area of Nomachiato. These Time Cops had to, what, oversee multiple timelines? Law enforcement in the fourth dimension? Kahli didn't think they'd be as formidable as they seemed, although they were probably fishing for evidence.

"Miss, you need to talk to me, please."

"Look, okay, this is what I know about Time Law. You want to know what I know, right? That's what you're asking?" Kahli said, suddenly feeling a strength well up inside her chest that she'd never once felt when speaking with figures of authority.

"Yes, please, miss."

"Alright," Kahli cleared her throat. It was time to really dig deep into the recesses of her mind and find some straws to grasp at. Something, anything to convince this Time Cop, and indeed the other one that was currently similarly harassing the Supreme Time Protector, to leave them alone. She decided to borrow some of her actual personal history and misrepresent it a little in order to give the appearance of truth. This was far from Kahli's first time doing such a thing, [Tale Teller] [skill] or not. "So, here's what I know. It all started when I was a very, very young tauman."

"Really?" The Time Cop sounded impressed. "Usually, we don't see people learning about Time Law until they're much, much older, and indeed have already gained a [class] related to time, such as [Time Manipulation]."

"Yea, well, I don't know much about the [Time Manipulation] [class] other than the fact that it's quite cool and I'd really love it, but regardless let me answer your question. So, I was young and I went to this special event for little taumans one day where we got to see the greatest wonders of the sciences. A lot of it was, inexplicably, about robots and robot-tauman hybrids. I'm not really sure why that was or what the big deal was there, and in fact I honestly found it a little disturbing, but still there were interesting things there for me other than just the transtaumanism. Tucked way in the back of the fair - that's what I was, I remember, it was some sort of a high budget public access science fair kind of engagement - but tucked way in the back was this great little exhibit about time travel, time control, and of course there was a panel on Time Law. It was pretty sparse, and I didn't learn much other than the fact that Time Law existed, but that was my very first introduction.

"After that, I didn't learn officially of Time Law until I stumbled on a rare scroll while wandering haphazardly through a mountainside cavern. On that scroll it did foretell that Time Law was something I needed a great understanding of. Thankfully, that scroll was right next to a huge library of texts on, you guessed it, Time Law. So I read, and I read, and then I read some more about it. Now? Now, I know Glumborchiq's Timality Tortoise by heart. I can recite the five giblets of time disambiguations. And I know how to accurately plot the time trajectory of a cluster crime based on the flutterby effect." Kahli crossed her arms and smiled. "I rest my case. Anything else you want to ask me?"

"Certainly..." said the Time Cop with a cough. "Erm, well... Awfully glad to hear you're so well learned. That being said, I also have to ask you if you know how fast you were going through those timeline scenarios back in your nested [checkpoint]? Surely you did see the signs of the times when you entered the nested [checkpoint], didn't you?"

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Kahli did not respond at first, because she knew not how to. Truthfully, she had no idea what the Time Cop was talking about. Were they implying that there was a speed limit to scenario viewing and selection? How on Nomachiato was Kahli supposed to ascertain that? There had been no signage or anything, as far as she could tell. Sure, this Time Cop said that there were 'Signs of the Times,' whatever the hell those were, but still - it was hard to understand the impetus for this line of questioning, and that is exactly what she said to them, bluntly and point blank.

"Oh, yes, yes, of course I know how fast I was going - though I must stress it was all for good reason - and of course I saw the signs of the times. How could you miss them? How could anybody? Dead obvious stuff. It's just, you see, I had a really good reason. I was in that nested timeline, and the time was so compressed you see that it looked like I was going really fast through the scenarios when in reality I wasn't. Actually, I even slept for a while before even opening up a secnario!"

"It's nice to hear you say that," replied the Time Cop. "It's so often that people will not even realize that there is a posted limit to the speed with which you are supposed to travel while in time [checkpoints], nested or otherwise. That being said I must request you to hand over your time license for our review. It's all part and parcel, as I'm sure you know."

Time license? Kahli looked down into her purse at Froufrou, who did little but squelch pitifully. This is absurd. I can't believe they just asked me for a license to use my [skill]. And to think I thought I was getting a [class] today!

"Miss? Can you please provide me with your time license?"

"Oh, you know what?" Kahli said with a laugh and a sigh as she rifled through her purse, pretending in the moment like there was anything and everything in there other than just her beloved Froufrou. "It looks like I actually left my time license in my time wallet. Can I just take a time rain check on that? And before you get into fussing at me, I'll have you know that it's, uh, time illegal to detain someone for not having their time documentation without, er, giving them the proper time to prepare said documentation."

Before Kahli could dig herself into a deeper well of lies and trickery, one of the Supreme Time Protectors sauntered up and interjected.

"Hey, who do you think you are, intimidating her like that?" asked the Supreme Time Protector of the Time Cop.

"Wh-what? I was just asking for her time license!" spat the Time Cop with disdain. "I think it's time we took you in, Supreme Time Protector. You're causing trouble and undermining my authority, and it's not the right time for that. Hell, it's never the right time for that."

The Supreme Time Protector laughed at the Time Cop. "Sure, go ahead, whatever. Do your worst."

The Time Cop signaled over to their partner. Soon enough, the two Time Cops were flanking the Supreme Time Protector.

"Alright, that's it, we're taking you in," said a Time Cop with triumph in their voice.

"Take me away, then, oh Cop of mine," said the Supreme Time Protector in a singsong voice.

With anger and frustration, both Time Cops quickly summoned up miniaturized ball lightning in their living wood hands and shot it from both sides out to electrocute the Supreme Time Protector, who immediately screamed five octaves higher than they'd be talking.

[Supreme Time Protector is unconscious]

With that, the Time Cops cackled and hauled his body off to Theseosus knew where by throwing it in the time buggy they'd arrived in. Right before jetting off out of this void, the senior Time Cop looked out the window of their vehicle and laugh, laugh, laughed.

"Do the Time Crime, Do the Time Time!" he said with a sneer as both Time Cops zoomed off into space, and then exploded into another dimension with a huge burst of green lightning.

Kahli rolled her eyes and walked up to the remaining three Supreme Time Protectors. "So, uh, which one of you just got arrested?"

"None of us," said a Supreme Time Protector. "Those Time Cops were idiots, even with small jurisdictions the responsibility of watching over four whole dimensions really is over their head. If they were smart, they would've tried to handcuff me - but then again, they aren't - and would've immediately realized that it was an illusory spell, not an actual version of me. Regardless, the important thing is, myself and my different versions of myself are here to help."

Kahli thanked them gratefully for the assistance, although none of the Supreme Time Protectors felt they were owed much credit and instead thanked her for her artful deceiving of the authorities when push came to shove. With that, they were adamant that they could work through their differences and disagreements with one another (which Kahli thought should've been fairly easy considering they were the same person) in order to help give her what she needed from them.

"So, Kahli, what do you say? Want us to give you the [Time Manipulator] [class]?"

Kahli looked into her purse at Froufrou, who was squelching in a particularly stinky manner that meant one thing, and one thing only - an unequivocal yes.