Years of time looping had taught Angel that even if things went horribly, it wouldn’t do any good to hurriedly go back and retry too soon. It’s always better to stay and gather information while you can, which saves energy and lowers the number of times one has to jump.

Yes, it was cruel, and Angel had always acknowledged that. Even if someone close suffers, it still isn’t the time to loop back. This time, though, she hesitated just a little. She knew she could go back right now to where she started in this world. She knew she could save Damien.

But she didn’t. There were just way too many uncertainties.

Who was this person who had saved her? He did seem friendly to Angel, but what if that was just on the outside? Was he somehow linked to the shooters at the school? If she went back now and messed up, then there’s no saying if even she could survive.

So Angel stayed. She looked away from the gruesome scene and played along with the act. She let Arthur embrace her, and she hugged him back, fake tears rolling down her cheeks. Her period of grief over Damien’s state ended just moments after it started. And together, Angel and Arthur left the basement and back into the eerily cheerful sunlight.

Outside, Angel continued to ponder what Arthur’s true intentions were. It was likely that he and the shooters were connected somehow since both were after Damien. Had Damien done something illegal in the past, and his pursuers were simply special forces tasked to eliminate him? Angel shook her head, removing that idea from her head. Damien doesn’t even know a thing about time walking. How could he have done anything?

The duo arrived at the carriage Angel saw earlier, and Arthur motioned for Angel to get in.

“I really want to give you time to recover, but I’m sure you’re dying to get back home. Don’t worry, I’ll get you back as soon as possible.”

Angel was surprised. When was the last time she thought about home? It had been such a long time that she had forgotten what her home even looked like. But Angel hid those thoughts and put on an eager expression. “Really? How are we going back?”

Arthur smiled after seeing Angel’s enthusiasm. “I have a time machine hidden in the forest. With it, it’ll be quick and easy.”

Arthur hastily headed away to the horse stalls on the other side of the cabin. To him, Angel was only a lost child, and it was his job to find a lost child’s way back home.

Angel sat back in the carriage and continued to think as she studied the piles of bags and hunting equipment. Arthur did mention he was some sort of an overseer of this timeline, and although this was a time-travel-free zone, it wasn’t unnatural for him to own a time machine. However, if it was true that he was an overseer for the Empire here, then it would be likely that he has a strong opinion against time traveling, especially her own usage of timeline cherrypicking. Whoever he was, Angel knew she had to stay vigilant in case he decided to attack her out of nowhere.

Arthur came back with his two horses and attached them to the carriage. He hopped on, took the reins, and the carriage drove off down the road towards the town.

As they rode through the settlement, Angel investigated the locals. It looked like none of them were time walkers. That was a relief to her. It would be a much larger hassle if they were teamed up with Arthur. In addition, none of the villagers even cared about his presence, as they only glanced over for a moment and returned to what they were doing without greeting him.

When the carriage left town, it turned left in a four-way intersection. That led them into the dense forest on a rocky road. Angel focused on the path as much as Arthur did, keeping track of each turn they made.

“By the way, how did you get involved with that kid, anyway?” Arthur asked from the front, breaking Angel’s concentration.

“I—” Angel stopped. If she told him she was the one who searched for Damien, it might lead to suspicions. “First, who is he?” She asked instead. If she could find why Arthur was treating Damien so harshly, she might be able to help him get out of that situation.

“Well…I guess I can tell you he’s a criminal,” Arthur replied, but Angel could tell he was holding something back.

“Just a criminal?” If anything, the standard protocol to deal with a regular criminal was to turn them into jail, not to torture them. There was definitely something deeper.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“I’m not lying when I’m saying he’s a criminal. His biometrics matched someone on the record, so I couldn’t just let him roam free.”

“You know, it will be pretty bad if I tell anybody that you’re dealing with a criminal on your own instead of sending him to prison.”

Arthur was taken by surprise by that statement. “Wow, you know quite a lot for someone your age. How old are you, anyway?”

Angel ignored him and didn’t even bother to tell him how rude that question was. “So, are you going to tell me about him or not?”

“Okay, okay, you won. This is a bit confidential but I guess I have to tell you since you did get involved.” Arthur took a breath and hesitated before continuing. “A short while after I got this job, I received this from the higher-ups,” he explained, then held up a small metal pellet in his hand so that Angel could see. He immediately put it back into his pocket before she could get a good look at it.

"That was just a biometric scanning device. Each of us overseers get one, but of all the criminals they added in, one was different. ‘Find this person and send him back to us, dead or alive,’ they said. When I found you two in the forest after sensing a small disturbance in the time-plane, it reacted. There was no doubt that boy was that high-profile criminal I had been ordered a long time ago to find.

“I’m sure many other overseers like me had received the same order, and the higher-ups never said this information was classified. But just to be sure, I haven’t told any time walkers of this, not that I meet many anyways. Still, I think I trust you, so please stay quiet about this, okay?”

Angel nodded. “Don’t worry, and thanks for the clarification.” She understood where Arthur was coming from but was that really who Damien is? Was he actually a wanted criminal? From what he looked like, he had never done anything in the past to even get the Empire to even look in his direction. Was it something he would do in the future?

Angel thought about the new information as they traveled down the road to the time machine. The entire ride took thirty minutes before Arthur slowed the carriage to a stop on the side of the unpaved path. He jumped out of the carriage and held out a hand to help Angel down as well.

“We’ll need to travel by foot now. It shouldn’t be a long walk, but would you like me to carry you?” He was worried that Angel still hadn’t recovered from the accelerated healing he had given her.

Angel hopped down onto the grass and shook her head. “I think I can walk by myself now, but thank you.”

It was only a short walk through the forest, with a couple of turns that could mess with anybody’s sense of direction if they weren’t paying attention. Angel, however, was noting down every turn and every landmark they passed.

Arthur stopped at, well, there wasn’t any particular way to describe this place other than it being in the forest. That made it the perfect hiding place for such an important vehicle as a time machine.

But as soon as they arrived, Arthur became tense, and a silent curse escaped his lips. He crouched onto the ground and started picking branches away in panic. That was probably where the time machine was hidden, but why was Arthur in such a hurry? Was something wrong?

Little by little, gleaming metal was revealed. This was as far as Angel would go, so she started preparing for an excuse to hold out on leaving the time period. But it seemed she didn’t need to do that.

Arthur sighed and leaned back, sitting down on the ground. “Who… I swear, I kept it as hidden as possible… I even set it to camouflage…”

Angel shifted her weight and twigs crushed under her left foot, bringing Arthur’s attention to her. “Ah, I’m so sorry… It looks like the time machine has been damaged.”

Angel acted shocked. She squatted down, looking sadly down at the ground. Arthur hurriedly tried to comfort her. “But don’t worry! I have a backup time machine! How about we go back to town to get some food and rest before we head there?”

Angel looked up at him with hope written all over her face. “Really?” She asked softly.

“Yes, really,” Arthur replied, standing up and helping Angel up as well, “Now, just stick close to me.”

It took a while to get back to Arthur’s cabin, and along the way, Angel started to become hungry, realizing she hadn’t had a meal in a long time. When they arrived at their destination, she was relieved she would be getting her meal soon. Arthur led her into the house and took out a loaf of bread and some preserved meat from a cabinet as Angel sat down behind a table. He then made for the door again, taking a chunk of bread with him.

“I need to head out to take care of some matters,” he told Angel, obviously talking about Damien. “I do have some… suspicions… so if I don’t come back within five minutes, go head to town, okay?”

Angel nodded. Did this have something to do with his time machine being damaged? She had her own suspicions as well, but for now, she focused on filling her stomach.

It was only three minutes since Arthur left when the door opened again. It wasn’t Arthur, though. Angel stood up from her seat and faced the door in a defensive position.

The newcomer was a woman. As soon as she opened the door, she ran at Angel, yelling at her. “We missed our chance to get Damien, but we for sure’ll get you!”

She dashed at such a great speed that Angel was almost too late to react and start running. It was certain that this woman was one of the attackers at the school shooting, although she didn’t look like a young teenager anymore.

Within that instant, Angel knew she had to jump. If her principle of not rewinding even when things go horribly wrong was one of the top philosophies she learned through her travels, then there is one exception. When it comes down to life or death, then that is the time to go back.

Thankfully, she was able to regain her stamina in her time awake, and she would be able to send her consciousness back to when she woke. She closed her eyes and concentrated, pinpointing her destination. Now it only required a jump.

A faint aura started to surround Angel. The woman was just an arm’s reach away. A man appeared in the doorway, yelling, “Quick! We’ve already got the big man! Get her before she escapes again!”

And those were the last events before Angel tripped, falling to the ground, unconscious.