Author's Note: Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! When we left off last time, Pilate had just given the order to crucify Jesus and Penny was hauled off to prison for disrespecting Pilate. Let's see what happens as our trio continues their adventure through "THE Pivotal Moment in History."

Roman Praetorium in Jerusalem, Friday 7 April A.D. 30, 6:30 AM

Suddenly, the crowd began to sweep past the spot where Mary, John Mark, Mr. Peabody, and Sherman were standing. They began to lose each other in the crowd.

"Mr. Peabody!" Sherman yelled.

"Sherman, grab my paw and don't let go!" Mr. Peabody replied. "Follow me! We have to get out of this crowd!" Mr. Peabody pulled Sherman until they found a breakup, but they realized they had lost John Mark and Mary in the crowd.

"Mr. Peabody!" Sherman cried. "We have to save Penny! We have to get her out of prison!" The boy was on the verge of a panic attack.

"I know, Sherman, I know!" Mr. Peabody replied, desperately trying to think. He could count on one paw the number of times in his life when he felt absolutely helpless and this was one of them. "Pray Sherman!" He commanded. "Pray as hard as you can! Dear God, help us save our friend! Show us how to find Penny! Guide our steps Lord." As these words left his lips, Mr. Peabody locked eyes with a centurion across the courtyard, standing with one of his soldiers. Mr. Peabody had never seen the man before in his life, but the centurion seemed to recognize him and waved him over. Mr. Peabody was hesitant at first, but then he heard a voice behind him.

"Go to him. I healed his servant," the voice said.

Mr. Peabody whipped around, but there was no one there. "Sherman," Mr. Peabody asked. "Who said that?"

"Said what Mr. Peabody?" Sherman answered. Mr. Peabody was now very confused, but the centurion was still waving them over, so he decided it best to do as the voice said.

"Peabody! Sherman!" the centurion greeted the two as they walked up to him. "It has been years since I saw you last! I guess you saw what happened to Jesus, I wish there was something I could do for Him after what He did for me."

When he said this, some of the gears began turning in Mr. Peabody's head. "Did He heal a servant of yours a few years ago, by chance?" Mr. Peabody asked.

"Of course! Don't you remember?" he asked, then seeing the confusion on the dog and boy's faces, "No, I guess you don't. Well, that WAS a few years ago. Yes, when my servant was sick, you told me that Jesus could heal him. You, along with Sherman and Penny, brought me to Him and He healed my servant. You probably don't even remember my name, do you? I am Claudius and this is one of my soldiers, Hadrian," he explained. Of course, Mr. Peabody didn't remember being a part of the healing of the centurion's servant, but he decided to play along. A look of recognition came across his face.

"Oh, of course! Claudius!" Mr. Peabody exclaimed. "It's all coming back to me now. It is good to see you again, though I wish it were under better circumstances. Yes, we were here when they chose Barabbas over Jesus. I still don't understand why they would choose a murderer over an innocent Man."

"Neither do I," Claudius replied. "What is the world coming to when we execute innocent men and let murderers run free? In fact, Hadrian and I were just about to head down to the prison to release Barabbas now." Mr. Peabody suddenly got an idea.

"Claudius," Mr. Peabody began. "You may not be able to help Jesus, but you may be able to help Penny."

"Oh?" Claudius asked. "How is that? Where is she anyway?"

"That's the thing," Sherman continued, realizing Mr. Peabody's plan. "She's in prison herself. Pilate just had her arrested for being rude to him. She didn't mean any harm, she was just upset about Jesus."

"Yes, so we were wondering if we could accompany you to the prison and perhaps find and release Penny," Mr. Peabody finished.

"Oh, Governor Pilate," Claudius said with a chuckle. "What a hothead. He does this all the time. Throw people in prison on trumped up charges, I mean. I think it's his way of expressing his frustration at being assigned to this province. Of course you can accompany us. Follow me." And they headed for the prison.

Penny's Prison Cell, Friday 7 April A.D. 30, 9:00 AM

"Great! This is just great! Stuck in a stinking jail! How am I gonna get out of this one?" Penny remarked cynically to herself as a rat scurried past.

"Girl!" came a gruff male voice from the next cell over. "You act very strange. Who are you talking to?"

"Oh, um, n-no one," Penny replied, instantly much more humble.

"Give me your bread!" the man demanded.

"Oh, is that what it is?" Penny asked as she looked down at the bread beside her. "I thought it was some sort of rubber ball." She passed the bread through the bars. "H-here, you can have it." The man took a bite out of the bread.

"You're the youngest prisoner I've seen," the man remarked. "Almost as young as I when I started. Why are you in here?"

"Uh, s-smarting off with Pilate," Penny replied.

"Smarting off?" the man questioned.

"Y-yeah. You know. Being rude," Penny explained. The man laughed.

"Good! Good girl! You have spunk!" The man chuckled. "You know why I'm in here?"

"N-no. Why?"

"Murder. I kill rude little girls!" the man answered.

"Oh. W-well i-it was nice t-talking to you. Enjoy your bread," Penny said as she moved over to the other side of the cell. "Peabody, what have you gotten me into?!" she muttered to herself. She heard footsteps from up the hall. What she saw was the most beautiful thing she had seen this whole trip. Coming down the hall were Sherman, Peabody, and two Roman soldiers, one of whom she recognized as a centurion. "Sherman! Peabody!" she called out. "Boy am I glad to see you!"

"Penny!" Sherman ran up to her cell. "We've been looking all over this prison for you! We were beginning to think we'd never find you!"

"So, Penny," the centurion began as he stood next to Sherman. "Sherman here tells me that you've been put in here to learn respect for Roman law. Is that true?"

Penny gulped, "Um, y-yes sir, t-that's right."

"Have you learned respect, Penny?" the centurion asked.

"W-well, um, y-yes sir, I sure have!" Penny replied nervously.

The centurion paused for a moment. "Let her out," he commanded the soldier beside him.

"Thank you very much, Claudius," Peabody thanked the centurion.

"Oh, it's no trouble, Peabody," the centurion replied. "Especially for three old friends."

"You better beware of her, centurion, she's a dangerous one," the man in the next cell over suddenly spoke up again. "She might call you a bad name!" he laughed.

"Quiet, you! Or I'll-" the second soldier commanded, but was cut off by Claudius.

"Halt!" Claudius commanded. "He's the one I'm here for. Let him out too."

"Out? You're letting me go?!" the man asked. "I thought I was to be executed."

"If it were up to me, Barabbas, you would have been," Claudius replied.

"Barabbas? Is that your name?!" Penny demanded.

"Yes! What of it?" Barabbas replied.

"You're the one they chose instead of Jesus!" she declared. "You're the one they chose instead of my Friend!"

"You're pretty close to Jesus, aren't you Penny?" Claudius asked.

Penny sighed and looked at the ground. "Not as much as I wish I was," she said quietly. She looked up at Claudius. "Do you know Him?"

"You don't remember either do you?"

"Remember what?" Penny asked.

"Oh, never mind," Claudius replied. "It's not important. He healed a servant of mine a few years ago. They say He is the Son of God."

"Baagh! There is no God!" Barabbas interjected. "So how can this Man be His Son?"

"But He is!" Penny declared, then more softly, "He really is."

"Whatever He may be," Claudius continued. "He's a good Man, and the world needs more like Him. That's why it's such a pity that He's…Anyways, I need to take care of this one," he motioned toward Barabbas. "Can you make your way out of here on your own, Peabody?"

"Yes, Claudius, we'll be fine," Peabody replied. "Thanks again for all your help."

"My pleasure. Come on, Barabbas, let's go. Jesus has taken your place," Claudius, the other soldier, and Barabbas walked away, leaving the time travelers, who began to make their own way out.

"What was he talking about, 'three old friends'?" Penny asked once Claudius was out of earshot.

"It's a long story," Mr. Peabody replied. "I don't completely understand it myself. But if I were to guess, based on what he has told us, I would say that at some point in our future, we will travel back a few years from this point and meet him. It's not a complete theory, but it's the only thing that seems to make sense."

Penny shrugged and then asked, "Mr. Peabody, do you know where Jesus is now?"

"Well, yes Penny," Mr. Peabody answered. "But I really don't think you want to see-"

"Please, Mr. Peabody!" Penny begged. "I need to see Him!"

"Well, alright," Mr. Peabody relented as they left the prison. "Come on, it's this way." And the three took off running.

Approaching Calvary, Friday 7 April A.D. 30, 12:45 PM

"I haven't run like this since I was training for the Olympics!" Peabody panted.

"Why's it so dark out here?" Penny asked as the three ran through the city gates on their way to Calvary. "Was I in jail that long?"

"No, you weren't," Mr. Peabody replied. "It's still the middle of the day."

"Then what happened to the Sun?" Penny asked.

"'It was now about the sixth hour and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour,' Luke 23:44," Sherman explained.

"What?!" Penny asked.

"It's going to be dark until 3 this afternoon," Sherman translated.

"Oh," Penny replied as they came to a crossroads. "Which way do we go?"

"Up that path," Mr. Peabody pointed. "It's not far. They're at a clearing at the top of the hill."

"Then there's still a chance!" Penny declared as she took off up the hill.

"Wait, Penny, wait!" Sherman called.

"Hurry!" she called back. "We might still be able to stop it before-" A crash of thunder and a voice crying out cut her off as she crested the hill and saw the three crosses, their victims already hanging from them.

"My God! My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Jesus cried out. Penny fell to her knees.

"Oh, no. No," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Wait!" Sherman called out as he and Mr. Peabody crested the hill. "Oh Penny," he whispered when he saw the scene. He also began to tear up as He kneeled down on her right side and Mr. Peabody kneeled down next to him.

"Why?!" Penny began to sob. "Why are they doing this to Him? He didn't do anything wrong!"

"I'm sorry, Penny," Mr. Peabody simply answered as his eyes began to water, not wanting to explain the theological implications at such a time as this.

Calvary, Friday 7 April A.D. 30, 2:45 PM

"I thirst," Jesus muttered from the cross. One of the executioners put a sponge on His spear and dipped it in a bucket of what smelled like sour wine. He then brought the sponge to Jesus' mouth, who took a sip before refusing the rest.

"Can't we do anything?" Penny asked through her tears. Sherman just gave her a sad look. "Oh, Jesus!" Penny was now bawling.

"Father," Jesus muttered. "Into Your hands I commit My Spirit."

"Noooo!" Penny cried.

"It is finished," Jesus sighed before His head fell limp. He was now dead.

"Please," Penny whispered. "No."

"Penny, brace yourself," Sherman told her. She turned to see Sherman and Mr. Peabody were now lying flat on their stomachs.

"Brace for what?" Penny asked through her tears.

"Earthquake," Sherman simply replied.

"But I don't feel an earth-" Penny was cut off as the ground underneath her began to tremble. Sherman pulled her to the ground as the time travelers covered each other as best they could. All around them they could hear the screams of those who had not foreseen the quake. After what seemed like an eternity, but was only about a minute or two, the quake subsided and the three slowly stood to their feet. Penny saw one of the executioners also standing and picking up a spear. She watched his actions, but suddenly wished she hadn't. He walked up to Jesus and plunged the spear into His side. When he pulled it out, blood and water poured from Jesus' body. This proved to be too much for Penny, who promptly turned around and threw up.

Author's Note: Well that was sort of a depressing ending, wasn't it? But don't worry, the best part is yet to come in tomorrow's exciting conclusion to THE Pivotal Moment in History! Until then, please review and God bless!