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: Reviews make me happy :D And I'll write faster too! So, keep that in mind!

. . .

Chapter 1 – "Where We Stand"

"The past is the beginning of the beginning and all that is and has been

is but the twilight of the dawn. " ~ HG Wells

So many deaths.

Myka stared down at Mrs. Frederic's shriveled corpse on the floor of Leena's Bed and Breakfast. There was far too much change and Myka was really close to completely losing it. Artie had held up a pocket watch before and had acted like perhaps they could change things. They could have lost so much more, so Myka knew that they had to be thankful for those that they had. Leena had almost been killed; Marcus was going to do to Leena like he'd done to Steve. Luckily, Claudia and Mrs. Frederic had been there. Leena was safe, though understandably upset. Pete's mom was safe; they'd been seeing her in several hours.

Steve was dead.

Sykes was dead.

Mrs. Frederic was dead.

Marcus was dead.

Helena was dead.

The warehouse was gone.

She turned away, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. It was all she could do to hold it together. She breathed in deeply and then released it. Myka knew that she needed to keep it together. For herself and for the others.

"How are you doing?"

Myka turned and tried to give Pete a smile, but it didn't work. She couldn't try to make things feel like it was right as rain. It wasn't. They'd lost too much. "I'm…here…holding on," Myka told him. "I don't know how to help Claudia…"

"That pocket watch Artie has…" Pete started.

"I know," Myka interrupted. "I want to pull him aside and ask about it. I don't want to say anything in front of Claudia though. I'm afraid that it may get her hopes up…"

Pete nodded. "You're right…you're right…"

They both looked back. Artie, Claudia, and Leena were all talking near Mrs. Frederic's body. Leena was crying, Claudia just looked blank, and Artie…she wasn't sure. He looked a mix of things. She had a feeling that he was trying to hold on like she and Pete were. "Artie," she spoke up. "Can I…can I talk to you for a moment?" Myka asked. Claudia looked over at them for a moment, but Leena's gaze didn't move from Mrs. Frederic. Artie nodded and then headed over to them.

Myka and Pete moved a bit further and stood there in silence until Artie joined them. She kept her voice down as she spoke. "Artie, is that watch an artifact? Could it help bring back the warehouse?"

Artie nodded. "James left it to me. I had put it in his room."

"MacPhearson?" Myka asked.

Artie nodded.

"The room they store in the warehouse?" Pete questioned.

He nodded again. "I retrieved it from there when I heard about Jinks."

"What does it do?" Pete asked finally, his voice quiet like Myka's.

Artie pulled it out and held it in the palm of his hand. "The holder can go back in time. To try to fix things. The catch is…is that they can only go back twelve hours." He put it back in his pocket. "The person who goes back will take the place of themselves and will be the only one who remembered the original timeline."

"So, you mean you could go back and try to save Steve, HG, Mrs. Frederic, and the warehouse?" Pete asked.

"Technically, that's the idea behind it. But that doesn't always happen. You can't save everyone, no matter how hard you try." He paused for a moment. "We used to fight over this…having the power to change things… James left it with a letter telling me that I'd need it. I never thought I'd even think about using it."

"I think now's a time where it's okay to use it," Pete said.

"I agree," she said. Myka stopped and looked back over at Claudia, who was now sitting and just staring down at her hands. "We can't tell them." She was quiet for a moment. Myka looked back over at Artie. "You didn't hear Claudia when she saw Steve… You didn't see her there… If she knows about this, she'll want to go back and try to change things. If one of us did it, then she wouldn't remember that…"

"She's too emotional," Pete said. "She's not thinking rationally…"

"Are any of us?" Artie questioned. "We shouldn't mess with the past…or with artifacts…"

"We really don't have a choice," Myka pointed out. "The warehouse is gone, Artie… We've lost…too many…" He was clearly unsure what to do. Artie tried to keep all of them from using artifacts, but she was pretty sure he knew deep down that now was definitely the right time to use this artifact. Their intentions were genuine and pure. With the warehouse and Mrs. Frederic gone, how would they continue to save the world from rogue artifacts? Build Warehouse 14? And then who would look after it? Where would they build it? How would they keep something like this from happening there?

Myka was very sure that if they asked the regents, they'd be shot down. She didn't care. The regents had been wrong in the past and the very recent past at that. They worked with artifacts on a daily basis. They'd all almost been killed by artifacts, it was what had truly christened each one of them as warehouse agents. No, they were going to do this their way and they were going to fix the not so distant past.

"I don't think I can do it," Artie admitted. He held out the watch. "Would one of you do it?"

Myka and Pete looked at each other. "Whoever goes has to convince the other…" Pete said. He stared at her for a moment. "You'd be better…I think…"

"I think you could convince me if needed," Myka told him. She reached out and took a hold of his hand. "I'll go though… You sure?" It felt weird that she'd be leaving Pete behind. Sure, she'd really be seeing Pete soon, but it wouldn't be the same. Could she even tell them? Could she tell the Pete from hours past what their future would hold unless they fixed things?

"How does it work?" Myka asked after a moment.

Artie reached out and pulled her arm so that her palm was facing towards the ceiling. He gently placed the pocket watch. "You turn it back…up to twelve hours. It'll take you back that far. You have to make your decisions cautiously and wisely. We know how many lives are at stake."

"Ours," Myka said. "Claudia, Leena, Mrs. Frederic, Steve, Helena, Jane, and the warehouse…"

"Sykes…and you have to watch out for Marcus," Artie reminded.

"Not sure I would cry if we couldn't save Sykes," Pete retorted.

Artie frowned. "It was the regent's original plan. Jane's mission years ago had been to save him before the artifact corrupted him."

"Obviously they didn't get to him in time…"

"Just…keep it in mind," Artie told Myka.

She nodded. "You sure?" she asked. Myka looked back over her shoulder at Claudia and Leena, both were still mourning the loss of Mrs. Frederic. They'd lost so much. And now…it was going to be on her shoulders to try to fix as much as possible. She looked back at Artie. Pete squeezed the hand that he still held onto.

Artie gave her a nod. "Be safe. Be careful."

"Myka…" Pete started.

She smiled at him and hugged him before he could continue. "I'll be careful. You're going to be there with me…you're just not going to remember any of this." Suddenly she felt like crying. She forced herself to stay calm. It was easier said than done. She moved back and tried to keep her smile firmly in place for Pete. He needed the reassurance.

"I'll see you soon then," he said.

Myka nodded and looked down at the watch in the palm of her hand. She started to wind the watch, setting it back to the point where she was sure things started to happen. Back to when they had to zap the nano-bugs in their system. She figured that that would be far enough back and would still give her some time to convince Pete and Claudia to do what needed to be done as well as getting to the Janus coin and HG Wells before Sykes even knew about her.

Within just seconds of letting go of the winder, she watched as the world around her started to soften, sparkle, and then disintegrate. The past several hours flashed before her eyes, and then darkness started to settle over her.

. . .

TBC…