Marek couldn't believe it! Lord Oliver had somehow managed to capture Lady Claire again. He had been captured shortly after leaving her himself and had been a prisoner with Professor Johnston in the fortress of La Roque ever since. They were being forced to make Greek fire, a weapon of fire so powerful that not even water could douse it, by William Decker, a former ITC employee who had gone insane from too many transcription errors from excessive time travel and had now allied himself with Lord Oliver. He was holding them hostage, telling them to make it and he would guarantee they had a nice cushy life in the castle. But he wasn't letting them get back to the future. He'd even taken Marek's marker so they couldn't use it to return. If De Kere, as he now called himself, couldn't go home, no one could. He was just as bad as Lord Oliver. And now the jackanapes had Claire all trussed up like a sacrificial lamb, ready to hang her from the battlements if her brother didn't surrender.

"Dammit!" Marek screamed.

Edward came running over to the window. "What is it?"

"It's her! It's Lady Claire. I just delivered her to Arnaut for safekeeping. How did the English get her?"

"It's history," Edward stated apologetically.

Marek frowned. "Then history will change," he declared, going against everything he had previously believed. He would defy everything for this woman, even his beloved history. He grabbed a torch and a shield, and ran out of the armory. "Oliver," he yelled, "release Lady Claire. Bring her down to me now or by God I will destroy your arsenal!" He mimicked tossing his torch into the massive stores of gunpowder behind him.

"No!" Edward screamed behind him.

"Go on," Marek told Edward, "Get out of here." Professor Johnston and the other knights who had been standing guard ran away. Someone fired an arrow and it caught Marek's shield, spinning him and almost making him drop the torch.

"Hold your fire!" Lord Oliver screamed. "My God, he'll kill us all! Bring her down!" He motioned for Lady Claire to be released.

Decker stepped forward. "No," he screamed, "do not touch her! My Lord, if he drops the torch, he then kills her too. He will not do it."

"Back off De Kere! Or Decker or whatever your name is. I will blow your arsenal to hell!" Marek screamed. They stood at a standstill, but Decker kept edging slowly closer to Marek. Marek knew he would call his bluff. Marek quickly sized up where to throw the torch to cause the least amount of damage so they wouldn't all die and how much time and distance he'd have to leap before the explosion. He made his decision and he threw the torch into the room. Everyone ran in different directions, but the explosion was so powerful it knocked them all off their feet. Several knights even died and some were knocked unconscious against the stone walls.

"Oliver!" a male voice screamed from below. Marek stood to his feet and saw Arnaut standing in the courtyard calling out Lord Oliver. A stream of French knights were pouring out of the ground behind him into the fortress. Marek noticed Chris and Kate climbing up behind them.

"Arnaut!" Claire screamed in relief.

"Kill her!" Oliver shouted to the knights guarding Claire.

"Claire!" Arnaut stood stunned to find his sister here in such dire straights. He motioned for a couple of archers to kill the knights that were immediately threatening her life. One of the knights swung around as he was shot and cold-cocked Claire, knocking her unconscious. Then all hell broke lose and everyone was fighting: English versus French, Oliver versus Arnaut.

Marek wove his way through the pandemonium to Claire. She was his only concern. He had to save her. He climbed the battlements just as she was coming to and she started to scream at his approach. "Shh, it's okay," he reassured her. "It's me." She began to cry with relief and kissed him again. Marek kissed her quickly back and began to untie the ropes that bound her hands and feet. The knots were thick and intricately tied, not easily undone. Were these knights or sailors that had done this?

All of a sudden Claire let out a piercing scream as she looked over his shoulder. Marek spun around to find Decker lunging at him with a sword and narrowly missed being hit. Decker turned around and lunged again, but Marek rolled out of the way. He had no weapon so he had to knock that sword out of Decker's hands. Marek stood up and ran at Decker, tackling him around his mid-section like a football player and they tumbled down the stairs, knocking both temporarily unconscious.

Marek started to come to just as Decker was starting to moan. They both struggled to their feet, but Decker was quicker to respond. He grabbed a battle-axe and began to swing it at Marek. Marek still didn't have a weapon and had to keep dodging Decker. This could only last so long. Decker finally knocked him off his feet and had him pinned against a railing when he raised his battle-axe and dropped it, chopping off Marek's left ear. Marek heard Claire screaming from somewhere far away.

"My ear," he screamed in pain as he clutched the side of his head, "my ear!" Then the puzzle pieces finally fell into place and he finally realized what this meant. He was the one-eared knight on the sarcophagus! He did have a history! One that had already been written in the pages of time and it was with Lady Claire! "It's me!" he shouted with joy as he looked at the blood that coated his hands. Decker swung the battle-axe at him again, but Marek fought with renewed vigor. He rolled out of the way and grabbed a sword from a dead knight. He spun around and fought Decker, parrying against his blows until finally he ran him through with the sword. Decker groaned and slowly sank to the ground.

"Marek," Chris yelled up at him, "where's your marker?" Marek began to search his shirt and neck. "Did Decker take your marker too?" Of course! Marek turned back to Decker's body and began to search his clothing for the marker. He found it and ran back to the railing, tossing it to Chris. "Come on," Chris yelled, "let's go!"

"You go," Marek motioned him away.

"No! Come on! Let's go home!" Chris screamed at him. Claire had finally been able to free herself from her ropes and came running up to Marek, throwing herself at him. He hugged her to him and was again shocked as he realized where he knew her from. He had met her in a dream once. Marek pulled back and looked into her eyes streaming with tears. She cared for him as much as he cared for her. He smiled.

"No," Marek yelled down to Chris, "You go with out me! I am home," he whispered into Claire's hair as he held her close. He had finally found his amazing woman and he wouldn't have to give up anything. Everything he was, everything he had ever done in his life up till now had been for a purpose: for this.

"Goodbye Marek," Chris yelled before running away. "I'll miss you."

Marek kissed Claire for all he worth, taking her breath away. He pulled back and grinned down at her. "Hello," he said as if seeing her for the first time.

She smiled back at him. "Definitely a fool," she said. Marek laughed. They would have a wonderful life—his future and her history. And they would make them together.

Disclaimer: these characters are not my own. I borrowed them from Michael Crichton. Any dialogue is taken directly from the movie version.