Title: The Past is the Beginning
Author: Shannon – shannyfish
Disclaimer: I do not own "Warehouse 13" or its characters, Syfy and other people do. This is merely for entertainment purposes only.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: My take of the aftermath of the Season 3 Finale – "Emily Lake" & "Stand"
Warning: Season 3 Finale Spoilers. Seasons 1-3 are fair game.
Author's Note: Okay! So thanks to one of my FANTASTICAL reviewers, they pointed out the fact that I may want to look at the timeline for the two episodes! And I did! So, thanks for that! Also! Reviews make me happy :D And I'll write faster too! So, keep that in mind!
. . .
Chapter 2 – "The Lattimer Factor"
"History is a race between education and catastrophe" ~ HG Wells
Myka found herself sitting. It took her moment to realize where she was and even then she wasn't entirely sure. "Wha-where…" she mumbled as she took in her surroundings. She was on the airplane with Pete… He looked as confused as she was.
She hadn't gone back far enough. Yes, at this point going forward she could still attempt to keep Jane, Leena, Helena, and Mrs. Frederic safe…but what about Steve? She couldn't bear to see Claudia's face. The haunting scream still echoed through her brain as she thought about when Claudia had discovered Steve in the hangar. The look on her face… She couldn't go back to that.
"You okay, Mikes?" Pete asked.
She turned to look at him again. She couldn't stay here. The only comfort she had was to know that they'd have a chance to save Steve…and that Pete would be there when she wound the clock back further. "I'm…I don't even know what I am right now," she admitted. Myka could feel the pocket watch in her hand. She held it tight.
"We're going to get there and find the place," Pete told her. "We'll get HG back and save the day."
"No…we haven't saved the day yet," Myka said as she opened her hand and looked down at the watch in her hand. It felt like the weight of the world rested there. "We didn't save Steve…" she admitted quite sadly. She could feel tears welling up at the thought of his lifeless body, eyes staring, and Claudia's scream.
Pete stared at her for a second. "You know we tried… We didn't know the plan until it was too late to really do anything. It wasn't our fault…you know that right?"
Myka turned to stare at him. "I can't get his face…and Claudia's scream out of my head," she admitted.
"We're going to get the bastard… You have to know that."
"What if we could go back and prevent things?" she asked. Myka turned her attention back to the watch. Artie didn't really give warnings. She wondered if she could hop back further. Pocket watches, well antique ones, had to be wound everyday. What if she could go back further? She knew that Artie didn't like to encourage using artifacts, but maybe he was just trying to be safe? She had to risk it…
"Is that…an artifact?" Pete asked.
"Yes."
"Myka, you snuck out an artifact?"
He sounded shocked and from the look on his face she was pretty sure that that was definitely what he was feeling. It was true; she had pretty much been a stickler for the rules. Working with Pete and working as a warehouse agent had forced her to adapt. "I'll explain later," she said with a small smile.
"What?"
"Well," she said as she stared back at the watch. "I'll explain earlier…" Myka started to wind the watch. She looked back over at Pete when it was about time to stop winding. "We're going to save Steve… It's going to be okay this time."
"My-"
Pete's words faded and soon he faded as well as the darkness enveloped her again.
. . .
"Old Chum! Welcome to the Pete Cave!"
Myka blinked. The Pete Cave. She had thought she'd ended up farther back, but she wasn't going to complain. They could still save Steve. She'd just have to act fast to ensure that everyone was safe this time around. She wasn't sure how the watch worked…could you just keep going back? She pocketed the artifact and tried to remember what she'd said before. Did she need to remember everything? It was Pete, would he really notice?
"Mikes?" Pete said as he looked at her. "You're speechless! I know! It's absolutely wonderful, isn't it? I'm forgiven, right?" he asked her with one of his bright and charming smiles.
"Forgiven? What for?" she asked. Myka was really still trying to figure out exactly where she was. It was confusing and disorientating. She supposed that at least she wasn't driving…as phasing into that would have surely caused a car crash.
Pete stared at her. "Is this a trick?" he asked. "You…you were just mad at me because I didn't back you…" He paused. "You were and my mom were arguing…remember?"
"Oh!" Myka spat out as the memory came back. She remembered now, she was supposed to be pissed off at him. But she really didn't think she had the time. "Bottom line, Jane and regents are wrong," Myka said. It was time to act. They had a lot of traveling to do. They needed to retrieve the Janus Coin (which she needed to figure out how to get the key for the regent vault), retrieve Emily Lake, hijack Steve, and then lure Mrs. Frederic and Leena into the warehouse. It was going to take Pete and Claudia…it was going to take a lot, but she knew they could do it.
"You know, sometimes you confuse me," he said as he entered the Pete Cave a bit further. "One day you absolutely adore my mother and then the next you're all pissy."
Myka made a face at him. "Look, I already knew about your Sykes board," she said. "We need to get down to business. Serious business."
Pete turned to her. "But my Sykes board IS business…" He pulled the festive sheet that had been covering it. "I mean…look at it! I took a lot of time doing it!"
"Claudia's going to be in here at any minute, and when she gets here…we need to focus," Myka told him. "Why don't you get one of your cream sodas out and have a seat?"
"What? How did you know…" Pete started.
"Can we discuss this in a few minutes? By the way, you're going to want to thank Claudia for stocking your fridge," Myka added.
Pete did as was suggested and retrieved a cream soda. He wasn't going to argue when it came to cream soda. "How did you find the Pete Cave?"
"You showed it to me."
"No…"
"But…" Pete tried to counter, but just looked confused.
"Well, I suppose one of us has to be productive," Claudia said as she entered the 'Pete Cave'. "I have already started to decrypt the file… Want to know what I've found out already?"
"Did you follow us?" Pete asked.
"She's known about the Pete Cave!" Myka snapped at him. Was he not listening? She'd stated that. "She's been stocking your cream soda! Thank her!" she said and gestured towards Claudia.
"Thanks…" Pete said slowly.
"How did you know that?" Claudia asked. "I was sure that you didn't know about it."
Myka held out her hand towards Pete. "Where's the remote for the door?"
"It's mine…that's why it's called the PETE Cave," he told her.
"Give…me," Myka told him slowly and sternly. She knew that neither one of them knew what was at stake. She was just going to have to bring them up to speed. She wasn't sure if this would be breaking the cosmic continuum or anything, but she needed them. She couldn't just have them there for moral support. There wouldn't be anything changed if she couldn't tell them things.
Pete slowly and obviously reluctantly handed it over.
Myka pointed to the chair. "Pete. Sit." She turned towards Claudia. "Don't leave." She held out the remote and clicked the button. She listened as the metal roll garage door started to shut. She turned to see that Claudia was now perched on the arm of the chair Pete was sitting in. This was good; they were both in one place and now obviously paying attention to her.
"I have to tell you both something…and I need you to trust me and to not ask a lot of questions," Myka said as she moved so she was standing in front of them both.
"Okay…" Pete said.
"I'm not sure I can promise on the no questions part," Claudia said.
"I already lived this day…and tomorrow," Myka said. "Let's just say that everything goes to hell and leave it at that for now."
"How?"
"An artifact," Myka responded and pulled the watch from her pocket. "MacPherson left it for Artie."
"YOU used an artifact?" Pete asked.
"Pete! This is serious! People died! People we love and care about!" Myka snapped and felt like stamping her foot against the floor in hopes of keeping his attention.
"Who?" Claudia asked.
She really didn't want to scare them. What they needed to do was important and they needed to act fast, but perhaps it would be easier to answer this question now. "We lost Steve…and Helena…Mrs. Frederic…and the warehouse. The WHOLE warehouse. They tried to kill all of us…and Artie, Leena, and Jane."
"What? Steve… Why would they—" Claudia said and then her voice trailed out.
"This is the plan," Myka said quickly, trying to refocus before Claudia could dwell on things. "We have to figure out how to get the key to the regent vault from Jane. We need it in order to get Helena back. At least the Helena we know."
"What does that mean?" Pete asked curiously.
Myka sighed. "No more questions. Not until we're in the car." She swore Pete was like a small child. "We need to get the key. We need to go to Elk Ridge to get the Janus Coin from the Regent Vault. We need to go to Cheyenne, Wyoming to get Emily Lake…which is actually HG Wells. I'll explain that part in the car," Myka promised. She knew it was a lot. It was still a lot for her. "Steve is undercover, but if we leave him in place…they're going to kill him." She watched Claudia's face. She knew that Claudia would be fully on board to get Jinks back and to keep him alive.
She took a moment to catch her breath. "We're going to have to hijack Steve, possibly against his will. Somehow we need to figure out how to keep Jane and Artie here and then get Leena and Mrs. Frederic here as well. If everyone is INSIDE of the warehouse, I think we'll be okay. Sykes won't be able to complete his plan without Steve and HG."
"They seriously destroyed the warehouse?" Claudia asked in shock.
"All that was left were those huge metal supports," Myka told her.
"And Mrs. F died because the warehouse was destroyed?"
Myka nodded.
"How are we going to get the key?"
Myka looked at Pete. "I know she's your mom…but we need it. She won't give it to you willing…"
"I can be sneaky…like a ninja!" Pete said and then did some random karate motions along with their own genuine Pete sound effects.
Myka tilted her head and just stared.
"What?"
"Do you ever watch yourself in a mirror?" she teased.
Pete got up from the chair. "Just wait… I'll get the key."
"If not, if you could distract her," Claudia suggested. "Maybe I could get a hold of it…"
"She's going to be pissed at us either way," Pete pointed out.
Myka shrugged. "At least people will be saved…the warehouse will be saved…"
"Yeah, let's just go with the whole 'we were trying to avoid a major catastrophe' line," Pete said. He took a long chug of his cream soda before setting the can down on the table beside the chair. "Let's do this!"
Handing over the remote back to Pete, Myka just hoped she'd done the right thing. She honestly wouldn't be able to do everything on her own. She knew that it wasn't necessary, but how could she get the key from Jane? Sure, she could try the truth route, but would Jane really believe her? Would Jane give up the key with that truth revealed? With the fate of so many and so much at stake? Myka liked to think that anyone would give it up, but she honestly just couldn't chance it. Not with so much at stake.
Pete clicked it and the door started to roll up. "I'm going to get that key," Pete told Myka with complete confidence. He headed out and then turned before he got too far. "I'll be back!" he said in his best Terminator accent.
. . .
TBC…