Sorry for taking so long. Much more to come, and more character development, I believe.

I was not planning on seeing the place again. All I had thought about before going back in time was stopping the apocalypse. But now that I was here, I managed to forget my priority for a moment.

The open concept place was exactly as it had looked a year ago (which I guess is now) with cracks lining the grey walls and plushy, colored beanbag chairs scattered around the coffee table in the center. The old television set was broadcasting a reality show.

The three other members of the Time Association were watching me with shock from the chairs. I must have surprised them beyond belief.

Surveying the rest of the room, I sucked in a breath. There was a real, live (well, not really) pizza sitting on the adjacent kitchen's counter.

"Would you like some?" Artemis asked, the perfect host. Apparently he had noticed me salivating.

I shook my head despite my growling stomach. There would be time to eat later.

"I presume you would like to tell us why you're here," Artemis added. Always a step ahead.

"Yeah," I said. And I told him my story.

Everything from the demented societies bent on destroying the world to the disastrous meteor strike. After I stopped to take a breath, one of the others butted in from the couch.

"How is all that possible?" Percy Jackson, I realized after scanning my memory.

I stared at him. "You think my story is crazy?" I said. "But your magical magic stuff isn't?"

"It's how I see it," he replied. "Like how you probably think mythology is, uh, a myth."

I didn't even try to decipher that sentence. Mythology?

One of the others seemed more shocked. I couldn't forget his name. Harry Potter. It was true. "How could anyone let that happen?" he whispered. He was probably referring to his wizard folk. Please.

The last boy swore under his breath. "And I seriously thought I'd live to see twenty." I struggled to recall his name, but it wouldn't come.

"You all could really raise your expectations," I snarled. "This can't be the worst news."

I turned back to Artemis, who was, to my annoyance, smiling slightly. "So, can you people help?"

Artemis seemed to ponder my – and the future's – predicament. Finally, he said, "In a moment. I believe I know exactly who you need."

I didn't understand what he meant, but I followed him upstairs anyway. Synapses fired in my brain. I began to remember the events that had taken place a year before.

There was a… alien of sorts. I didn't know what to call her. I remembered her slamming into me as the flock and I were leaving this place, apparently thinking we were the enemy or something. I didn't like her.

But I remembered her as Artemis led me up the cramped stairs. And her three companions.

"Those girls aren't here, are they?" I asked. Surely he would know what I meant. It had happened seconds ago in his time.

Whoa. Time travel is complicated.

But he knew who I meant. "Of course." He glanced at me. "Is there a problem?"

I gritted my teeth. "Not at all."

We reached to top of the steps. Artemis led me to the bedroom on the farthest side of the hallway. I had been in this room before.

It was where they had kept the time device.

I fingered the present-day one around my neck. Did they have theirs from the past?

My unspoken question was answered by the sight that awaited me inside the room.

A blonde girl with striking grey eyes was sitting on the bed next to another girl with an old-style dress on. Both of them whirled when Artemis opened the door.

An older-looking teenager with poufy brown hair was sitting on a white swivel chair. She was obviously Hermione Granger. I rolled my eyes at the insanity of it all.

And then there was the last person in the room. The one that was not at all human.

She had short, fiery hair and sharp features. I noticed she was holding the past version of the time machine in her hand. But that was not all. She was about three feet tall.

I stared at her. One eye was hazel and one was blue.

"What is she doing here again?" she asked. Her glare could cut diamonds.

"This is a Maximum from a different time, Holly," Artemis replied. "And there is no reason to believe she is untrustworthy."

"Paranoia can save lives," I murmured. It was true.

The girl – Holly – looked surprised. But she shook her head angrily.

"Artemis," she said. "If this – whatever it is – is real, we shouldn't get caught up in it."

Whatever it is? He'd told her that we were bird kids? As soon as we'd left?

"Holly," he stressed, "it is a new situation now. The world ends in less than a year. She came back to fix it."

Holly seemed shocked at the news. The three other girls were more than stunned.

"How?" asked the grey-eyed girl.

"It's complicated," I replied icily.

"We need to contact the Lower Elements and anyone else who can help," said Artemis. "Somehow, they miss doing something in the future. We must make them aware of the danger."