Timeline Hopper

by MP7 BOSS

A young marine joins the halls of Valhalla and is presented with a choice, enjoy eternity or become the first and only Timeline Hopper to save and stabilize other worlds. Will this backfire as a mortal is given quasi immortality like a bad SLAP round or will he be the one true protector of the multiverse?

Foreign languages

May 21st, 2025

Undisclosed Location Northern Pakistan

1130 Hours

The desert was not known for being calm or forgiving towards anybody within the hot humid confines of the endless dunes however at this current moment in time it was quiet and in a strange way peaceful, as peaceful as one hundred- and seventeen-degree Fahrenheit degree heat with a eight five percent humidity could really be. However, what the climate lacked it made up for blissful silence along the vast majority of the dunes until you stumble upon one of the few villages that dot the sand, this particular village was rather special as the village rested on a rather large lush oasis filled with palm trees and shrubbery that provided the peoples within the necessities to live with some left over. The general calm was lost as you entered the village and the sounds and smells of a fairly large village filled your senses with a plethora of intriguing, delicious and not so delicious smells that would send a delirious man from the long trek across the sand to tears, the sounds of children running and playing with scattered shouts as they got underfoot of adults followed by the resulting laughter of the carefree. Of course, not all the sounds would be as heartwarming like the sounds of goats bleating or screaming or the sounds of camels roaring indignantly as they refused to stand with their saddlebags full to the brim with goods, or perhaps the most grating of noises to the human and animal ear…. the sounds of machining and yelling coming from the second to largest portion of the village which thankfully was on the far side it still caused the sounds to echo and reach the ears of those in the market on occasion. However, there was a new noise slowly coming from over the dunes that wouldn't be heard by those who should fear the noise until it was far too late.

May 21st, 2025

1st Battalion, 2nd Marines Task Force

UH-1Y Venom callsign "Dogma"

Private First-Class Brandon "Frost" Dahl

1145 Hours

The noise was that of a helicopter squadron loaded to bear with three separate squads of fully armed U.S Marines flying low to the ground to avoid detection of any possible anti air defenses or spotters that could radio ahead to their target, the load roar and whine of the blades kept the soldiers from making much meaningful conversation even if they wanted to as they closed in on their drop off point. Inside one of these cousins of the Huey helicopter was a young PFC who was taking deep calming breaths meanwhile the rest of his squad was visibly calm on the outside, the young man's shooting glove clad hands gripped tightly onto his old reliable M16A2 as the helo thundered towards their objective and certain battle. This young soldier was Brandon Dahl and this was his first combat deployment and the first battle he would ever have fought since his younger days of schoolyard fisticuffs, as he tried to take calming deep breaths he would be nudged by his close friend and fellow rookie Ralph Crane who keyed his radio to be heard over the whine of the engines. "Hey y'all lookie here! Apparently, Frost can show emotion!" his loud proclamation caused smiles to take hold of the squad's faces and brought light before the moments of darkness they would only endure once they stepped off the helo. Of course, not to be outdone Brandon would retort over the communications system with a quick statement, "Yea I was thinking about having to see your fugly ass naked in the showers after this mission!" Even though the laughter couldn't be heard the sight of the soldier's shoulders shaking with laughter could be seen even the hardass Staff Sergeant chuckled softly before gaining a serious look, Brandon could see the seriousness of the man and could tell that what was to come would be difficult so he hazarded a question over the comms. "Sergeant! What kind of resistance can we expect sir? The briefing only vaguely covered what we might be facing."

This of course drew gazes towards their squad leader who sighed and keyed the mic which allowed his gruff voice to be heard, "The most we can gather is at least forty armed Taliban, machine gun nests and possibly one or two technicals. Keep your heads on a swivel and shoot to kill marine!" The assessment of what lay before them quieted the lingering chuckles and the stony faces returned just as the helicopters started banking out of formation to head to their designated drop zones, Brandon pulled his goggles down and checked his weapon's mags just as the first signs of resistance showed their ugly heads in the form of small arms fire and RPG's whizzing by the small but fast aircraft. As the deluge of fire erupted the door gunner let hate fly from the right-side machine gun spitting hot 7.62 NATO rounds from the muzzle, bullets pinged and ricocheted off the metal body of the aircraft before the doors were thrown open and the ropes attached as the Huey was put into a hover. Both door gunners were now providing continuous covering fire as Brandon and his squad rappelled from the belly of the chopper and as Brandon grabbed the rope and slid down the chopped suddenly banked to avoid an RPG, "OHHHHHHH SHIIIIIT!" he screamed as he slid out the door but thanks to his relatively quick reflexes, he grabbed ahold of the rappel rope and slid in a semi-controlled descent before slamming onto the ground with a loud thud. He groaned out in pain before rolling onto his stomach and heaved himself up as the Chopper dropped the ropes and hauled ass away "Good hunting boys, Dogma will be back in 30 mikes" the chalk leader announced as the three relatively undamaged helos sped off having completed their part of the mission. Immediately gunfire could be heard all around the village as the marines encountered opposition. Brandon himself got his winded ass up off the sand rallied with his squad next to one of the partially collapsed hut walls just as his position started taking fire "Fuck me that was way too close!" he cried out before flicking the safety off of his weapon and looked to his squad lead who was already handing out orders, "Sanchez, Gonzales I want you two to get up high and provide supporting fire with that 240! McKinley, Crane, Polanski I want you three moving up the left and distract these fuckers! The Rest of you with me let's move out!" the man was in his element leaving Brandon thankful that he was under the command of someone who knew what they were doing. Suddenly the hair on the back of his neck stood up and just as he felt something off a grenade landed in the sand next to them, acting out of instinct he dove for the grenade and chucked it as far as he could, not a moment too soon either as the grenade detonated midair sending its deadly payload everywhere but intended.

He got a small nod from his lead before he shouted "Dahl on three I want you lay down some cover fire for Sanchez and Gonzales!" Brandon only nodded and as three was yelled he popped around the window he hadn't noticed before that was right next to him and started to fire, hot brass ejected past his face as he laid down semi-automatic fire down on where their position was taking fire from, whether or not those rounds were connecting with their targets who was to say but even so the splashing of multiple rounds against the stone walls sending shrapnel and dust over their attackers made them cease fire long enough for the two marines to book it to the next building which thankfully provided an overlook of their position. Just as they got into the building Brandon's mag ran dry and he ducked behind the wall once again while calling out "Reloading!" whilst taking the empty magazine tossing it in his mag pouch and pulling a fresh one from his vest to shove into his gun and dropped the bolt. The long training had taken over as he moved closer to Crane and clasped his shoulder "Hey man you be safe! Don't make me come bring you back from the dead!" Crane only smirked and shook his head as Brandon once again provided covering fire for the three-man team to move whilst the loud belching of machine gun fire came from the support team's position making the crossing much easier. Now it was time to advance through the town and clear it out.

Brandon took deep calming breaths as he continued to shoot and move bunny hopping with his comrades as they moved further and further into the village, the amount of resistance was a lot stiffer than they had anticipated and it showed as the soldiers were quickly running out of ammo. Their current location was just about one hundred and fifty meters from their objective when a call came over the radio that chilled his blood, "Man down! Man down! Crane is hit I need a medic over here!" Brandon looked to his squad lead who was already figuring out their location before he looked over and saw Brandon's stony face and beckoned him over, he would sprint over to him and come to a stop before his sergeant. "Dahl take McCormick and get those three back with the main force!" Brandon only nodded before sprinting to the medic who was currently firing over a half wall and slid next to him in a crouch. "McCormick you're with me! Staff wants us to get Charlie team back here! Let's move!" McCormick only nodded and went to move only to be thrown back as he took a round to the plate carrier, for a moment all Brandon heard was silence and then he roared in anger as he let loose a few rounds fly at the general direction of the fire as McCormick was dragged to better cover. He then moved to McCormick who looked a little shook up but otherwise fine as he checked himself and his plate carrier. "I'm good! No penetration or breakages help me up!" Brandon grabbed him by the hand and dragged him up to his feet as they made ready to move and once, they had proper covering fire they ran, bullets still whizzed by them as they crossed the street from their current location and thankfully they got to safety when they did as a shell detonated right where they were.

Brandon was quickly growing tired and was down to only a few mags of ammunition when he heard over the radio "All callsigns be advised we have enemy reinforcements incoming! We are pulling back to Rally Point Charlie, move your asses Marines!" The call was a sobering one as clearly the op was deemed too much of a risk and it was time to get the fuck out of dodge but any movement would be done in a fighting retreat as the main forces drew back. Brandon would glance to McCormick and with an unspoken word they raised they raised their weapons and moved into the building, moving fast but clearing every room until they reached the building where the three-man squad had been sent to provide support. "Friendly's coming in!" Brandon called out and made his way in only to see Crane barely having any color to his normally tan skin whilst Polanski rendered aide and the rest of the five-man team popped rounds out of windows and fired at any enemy fighters that they saw, Polanski raised his eyes and beckoned the two men over to which Brandon rushed over and yelled over the gunfire, "We have to move Polanski! I will grab him you fuckers just cover my sexy ass!". Polanski simply nodded as Brandon looked at Crane who was looking at him weakly to which Brandon gave him a tight smile before grabbing his hand and pulling him up and over onto his back into a fireman's carry. "LET'S GO WE ARE OSCAR MIKE!" Polanski cried out and just as they were leaving the room a RPG blew a hole in the wall where they had been taking shelter.

"Cutting it way too god damn close! Let's get to the rally point! "McCormick called out at the mostly unhurt procession moved from cover to cover bouncing quickly as they had been cut off from the main force, just as they turned a corner machine gun fire erupted around them to which Brandon screamed in pain as a round tore through his leg but he kept on running. Looking around he noticed that everyone was still on their feet even if Polanski and Sanchez had taken a round to the arm, the stone-faced men ran and ran until finally they drew closer and closer to the rally point in which they saw was under a wholescale attack by the reinforcements, regardless if they didn't join the main force they were dead anyways so with guns blazing they cut a path through the unaware insurgents and bust through the blockade. However, as they took four steps through the building that had been standing between them and the relatively open area chosen as the rally point the loud roar of a DSHKA would tear through the building catching Brandon through the side of his face with shrapnel from the rounds disintegrating against the stone.

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE!" Brandon roared in irritation as he heard the rest of his team pouring fire through the window's cutting the gunner in twain whilst the driver was disposed of with a "controlled" burst from Gonzales and McKinley. "New plan we are taking that fucking technical! We won't make in on foot! Move to that god damn truck!" Someone called out and Brandon could not disagree with the order as the men piled into the truck with Brandon setting Crane down in the cab as he and the others piled in where they could fit. Brandon taking the gunner's spot whilst Sanchez sped like a demon towards the rest of the marines to which Brandon suddenly realized they needed to call out they had acquired the wheels or end up a statistic of friendly fire. "1-1 this is 1-5 be advised we have acquired an enemy technical and are enroute to the rally point from the northwest!" he called out into the mic before turning the turret towards the left and firing upon a group of insurgents moving towards the fight when a gruff voice called over the radio; "Roger that 1-5! Be advised the rally point is under heavy fire from RPGs and techincals!" Brandon groaned loudly before calling back"Roger that 1-1, 1-7 is in desperate need of medical! SANCHEZ GET US TO THE GOD DAMN RALLY POINT! GONZALES FIND ME AMMO FOR THIS FUCKER! We are going to take the pressure off the rest of our boys oorah?!" "OORAH!" The captured technical sped towards the main force and the sight of the insurgents swarming towards the rest of their brothers and sisters in arms filled the men with rage where they as one took aim and began firing at targets of opportunity with everyone holding a rifle aiming at infantry and Brandon firing at the other technicals using the 12.7x108mm rounds tear apart the vehicles with one exploding as a round hit the gas tank, the resulting fireball drawing any attention that might've gone elsewhere to the overloaded truck but thankfully that bought enough time for the other marines to fire back as Sanchez gunned it and after hitting a makeshift rampart braked to allow the others to get out.

"WE NEED A MEDIC!" Sanchez screamed out hoarsely as Brandon turned the gun towards the enemies and began firing in earnest with Gonzales feeding whatever ammo they had in the truck into the gun, a haggard group of medics sprinted to the truck and pulled Crane out of the cab to being providing aide to stabilize the young soldier whilst the squad leader for Brandon's group ran over and noticed the blood running down the leg of the young private. "Private get medical!" "Negative sir! If I let off theses fuckers for one moment we are fucked! Wrap a tourniquet around my leg but mind my sack!" He snapped back after screaming out a challenging roar that mostly got lost in the cacophony of gunfire but unknown to the young man his roar had caught the attention of beings that had long been resigned to the fact of no warriors joining their halls. No other words were spoken as the squad leader tied the tourniquet around his leg making him grunt in pain whilst bullets pinged off of the shield surrounding the gun. "All units be advised Dogma is approaching the LZ get ready to get the hell out of there!" However that was background noise to Brandon as he continued to engage targets his hearing becoming nothing but ringing as the helicopters swung around the outskirts of the village with the door gunners adding another hate dispenser to the mix, marine after marine falling back until all that was left fighting was Brandon's squad to which they had exhausted most of their ammunition with the DSHK being on the last four belts of ammo. "MARINES FALL BACK TO THE HELO WE ARE LEAVING!" Brandon had gone pale from the blood loss but he did not let off on the gun until the last belt ran dry and he hopped off and limped slash ran after his squad when all of a sudden someone screamed out "RPG!" the loud whoosh of a rocket flying past them but no explosion as thankfully the round was a dud but it had managed to damage the chopper on the tail from the sheer force of the impact causing some sparks to fly and liquids to begin dripping from the battered metal so as the marines started piling in the pilot called out "WE NEED TO GO WE ARE LOSING HYDRUALICS! WE WILL NOT SURVIVE THIS IF WE STAY!" Brandon thought for but a moment as he snatched ammo from a loose bag and stuffed them into his mag pouch and hopped off the helicopter. "DAHL WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" McCormick yelled out; however, the helicopter had begun to take off and with one less body the weight and someone laying down more fire and providing a slightly easier target it made it easier to take off. "I'M PROVIDING AN ESCAPE JUST GO GO!'" "PILOT TURN THIS BIRD AROUND!" Brandon idly heard his CO yelling over the radio as he raced back to the technical and speedily loaded the main gun before letting bullets fly as the young man was being quickly boxed in. "IF we go back we all die!" the scared voice of the pilot called back as the helicopters flew as fast as they could away from the fight. "GOD DAMMIT DAHL!...Give them hell Marine Oorah to ashes" the resigned voice of his squad leader came over the radio to which Brandon simply screamed out "OORAH! COME ON YOU FUCKS ILL TAKE YOU ALL WITH ME TO MEET THE GODS!" Unintentionally keying the mic as he continued to fight on even as RPGs rattled the truck as they impacted within feet of the beat-up truck, the mic remained stuck on the open air capturing the final stubborn moments of the young marine.

As the choppers flew to safety, I would resolve myself to my fate praying to Odin and Thor to give me the strength to take as many of them with me before I died, rounds pinged off of the metal in front of me drawing my attention back to the very angry mob of enemies pushing towards me. I had been firing the mounted gun so long it had made my arms numb with the vibrations and rounds had begun to cook off making me chew through that ammo that much faster, as soon as the gun ran dry I would curse loudly and then spring out of the truck just as an RPG impacted the front causing the entire thing to explode in a dangerously beautiful ball of fire. However, I could not stay idle too long as I heaves myself up and took cover behind the closest rock and took a steadying breath before popping out and pop rounds down range at the advancing foes, clearly they had thought that the RPG had taken me out but I was not going to die on anyone else's terms but my own.

"STILL ALIVE ASSHOLES!" I screamed out in Farsi before crying out in pain as a sharp pain erupted in my shoulder as a particularly sneaker fucker got the drop on me but all that earned him was a mid-distance lobotomy as I fired while dragging my weapon effectively dumping an entire mag into him, with a quick mag change I was back to fighting becoming more and more overwhelmed as I took more rounds, my breath was coming in short gasps as I had taken a round to my lungs and the running to various bits of cover to buy myself as much time as I could and eventually I ran out of rifle ammo and resorted to my pistol. The beat up M9 feeling comforting in my hands as I popped a ballsy young insurgent who hoped to catch me off guard "Don't you jam on me baby we aren't done yet!" I wheezed out as I backed up further and further until I took a round to the knee making me groan in pain as I went down into a forced kneel, rounds impacting all over my battered chest plate and breaking through just as I fired my last round in my magazine making me cough violently and wheezed falling to my back even as I loaded my last magazine and shakily aimed and fired at the slowing tide of enemies. They knew I was done for and now where waiting for me to exhaust my last few rounds and once my weapon clicked empty I let out a tired wheeze and tried to push myself up which I barely managed to do as multiple broken bones and blood loss took its toll on me, the remaining insurgents walking forwards with one in particular standing out as the entire op had been to kill or capture this fucker. What he had done made my blood boil as the countless children he had forced to their deaths and young girls to be raped and provide him more numbers for his cause, I made to draw my knife which only drew a laugh from the man as he strode up to my kneeling body. "Defiant to the very end, aren't you? If you were one of my soldiers, we would sing your praises infidel but you are not. Tell me before I kill you what drives you to fight with such ferocity?" I wheeze and spit a glob blood filled saliva at his feet which drew another chuckle from the man no monster as only a monster would prey and abuse on the weak like he did. "I fight so that my brothers and sisters may live to see their families monster! I fight so that I may join the gods in Valhalla and be one with the legends of old!" each word was labored and strained as I stood up to my feet looking more dead than alive as my uniform had been stained red from my wounds and the surrounding lackies raised their weapons but he merely raised his hand stopping them from gunning me down. "You are a brave warrior young one, misguided but brave as only Allah will be judging you and I do hope you have made peace with that but enough of this"

As he drew his weapon and lifted it up everything moved in slow motion as suddenly all around me the world erupted in gunfire and the various men around me were cut down it appeared that my final fight had lasted long enough for help to arrive in the form of another squadron Hueys and a Cobra, as the world descended into chaos I channeled the very last bits of my rage, stubbornness and adrenaline into a last ditch charge that had me barrel towards him even as he fired his weapon with wide eyes I did not stop until I bowled him over and sunk my knife into his neck. "We both shall meet our Gods today monster but will yours look upon you favorably?" With those last words leaving my bloody lips I rip my knife across his neck ripping his throat out with the serrations causing the supposed second coming of Allah to die in a puddle of his blood, I then collapse next to him and stare up at the early afternoon sky tinged black with lingering smoke breathing shakily as I prepared to meet my gods when all of a sudden, a helicopter passed over my gaze making the approaching dark disappear for just a brief moment. I then saw the face of my squad leader looking down at me causing me to give him a tired bloody smile as I lifted my bloody gloved hand to which I felt enclosing my hand as the faces of my squad briefly filling my vision, I knew I was going to die and I was at peace with that and now that I knew I wasn't going to die alone or have my body defiled I felt a sudden peace fill my body. "Hey Sarge you look like hammered shit" I wheezed out with a shuddering breath as the numbing cold started to set in, "Crane… Did Crane make it?" I murmur trying to stay there as long as possible. "He's alive and in treatment….. you did a fine job son you should be proud." The normally hard as rocks man tearing up and getting choked up as I nodded weakly and took my last shuddering breath "Good…. Tell him he better wear that cocktail dress to my funeral..." and with that I felt my self slipping and then I was standing next to everyone with a bewildered look, my pain and tiredness no longer bothering me as I saw Sarge laughing with a choked sob as I watched my squad mates grabbing the mic on my shoulder and turning it off before grabbing my weapons as four men walked over to me well my body and slowly lift me up onto a gurney to carry me to the Huey they had apparently set down since it was deemed safe enough with the air cover of the Cobra It was strange watching this as I had expected to be lifted up to join the halls of Valhalla but just as soon as I thought that I heard the sounds of flapping wings followed by the sounds of soft footsteps making their way up behind me.

"You fought valiantly warrior, are you ready to join the hallowed halls?" a distinctly feminine voice rang out and I didn't need to turn to know it was a Valkyrie and as the helicopter took off carrying my body away I would turn to the quite frankly gorgeous redhaired woman wearing traditional norse woman's armor that exposed nothing but left little to the imagination as it hugged her curves but I would shake myself and meet her stunning green eyes with a nod. "Take me home"

AN: So yea I know this is waaaaaaay over due and I know this chapter will be hot dog water but I needed to get this chapter out, writer's block and my own general laziness companied with the lack of income I was not able to work on this as much as I wanted to. Now that said I am changing this from a Harry Potter story to a Mass Effect story to start off with, eventually I will bring our protagonist to HP but for now I want to do something I have been playing a lot lately. Thank you all for your patience and stay classy. MP7 is running and gunnin!