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Shiloh straightened up, staring for a moment in shock at the Without a Doubt Hot Dad. He’d been addressed but he wasn’t pinned on the floor, there was no angry glare, no terse words and Shiloh squinted a moment before deciding that the ratio of hot dadness must be throwing off the typical death lead hatred for everything that he was definitely okay with this kind stranger, even if he wasn’t real or whatever. The bearded man even chuckled, which was odd considering Shiloh was fairly certain that laughter was something Caelius neither knew how to do or had ever experienced.

“Sure,” he said, rejoining their little group. He hadn’t seen anything worthwhile anyway, not wanting to stray outside of hearing distance of Liam. “Shiloh, by the way.”

Oh no. This was before the infamous 1999 incident Otto had read about. Damn, this meant he couldn't stay here forever, unless he wanted to die. That actually made him feel a bit depressed. He loved this boss way better than his own boss. Why couldn't they keep him, again? Why? Was it too much to ask to have a reasonable and non-mental man running things?

Kostya let be known the year the were from, and Otto did some finger math to calculate how old he would have been in 1999. His face scrunched up at the figures as he came to the conclusion he would have been 5 years old. If he hadn't felt like a kid before, he sure did now.

Otto was at least relieved Kostya made an attempt at explaining things this time, since Otto didn't like talking anyway.

Kostya quietly wondered how could their future be an alternate reality. How could one predict the result of one's life in fourteen years time? Anything could happen in that time-span: lives would end and begin anew, the world's landscape could drastically change.

And did, apparently: the idea of all previous hunters using only runics was... preposterous. There must have been a shortage of tablets, which did not seem likely given the stash they currently had, or.

There had been more hunters. ...Oh.

Pushing that thought away, the Russian nodded once at The Hottest Dad I'll Hit That If I Want To: A Soliloquy as he asked for a promise, revealing the key that looked an awful lot like the one he'd touched.

"Okay. Vhat is?"

Shiloh was skeptical of making promises to strangers even if they were extremely attractive father figures. However, the rest of his party seemed to have no problem readily agreeing and the Hot Dad did give of a rather trusting air so he gave in, nodding his head. He did after all have what seemed to be very similar to the artifact they'd touched and subsequently lost, so it was probably best to keep him in good favor.

That and the fact that he seemed to know something about this timey wimey bullshit, of which was currently boggling Shiloh's brain.

Was that a promise that he could keep? If Caelius asked him again to seek out this object of power, could he disobey? What would happen if he was sent on another mission with an unspecified artifact as the goal?

He wavered.

To hear that Caelius wasn't on his side? He was ruthless, yes. Unforgiving, and possibly blood-thirsty, again, yes. But... Perhaps it was just because they were in need of another power source, due to the absence of Merlin and Excalibur?

It troubled the Russian, but slowly, he nodded. "I promise, to best of abilities, if situation allow."

Kostya found it fitting that he be the one to touch the thing, and so he reached a hand out to do so, after the others said their piece.

Potential power? Shiloh wasn’t sure Caelius needed any more power, considering he had no problem throwing his weight around the island it was, but he tucked the stranger’s warning away carefully in his mind, it was definitely something worth noting. Not that he trusted Caelius any more than the man in front of them, but if Liam was right, he wasn’t real and it seemed foolish to place stock in an imaginary ally.

He silently thanked him though; the new knowledge gave him something to think about, and would keep him on his toes if they ever did make it back to their timeline.

“Thank you for you help, we’ll do our best,” Shiloh said politely and aloud, moving closer to their group.

Being violently dragged left sent a lurching sensation through Kostya's gut. The cave had been replaced by the broken down church, and it appeared as though they had returned to the right time period, and nothing had truly changed at all.

Kostya stared down at the key, stony faced. Hottest Dad Who They Would Never Ever Get Back Together With, Ever, Never Ever, had forbidden him from touching the things. He had made them promise to keep the key away from The Angriest Most Sullen Son That Was Formerly A Sun Alive, not directly, but...The implication had been clear. Anyone that wanted the keys for themselves was not truly on the side of Deus Ex.

There was a war in him; two opposing forces that struggled like starving animals: appease Caelius so that he could join the ranks of Death...or subvert something more sinister. The back of his neck prickled, the hairs there raising.

(The eyes, the eyes, the darkness had eyes--)

"Vell," Kostya said, after a moment,slowly tucking the key into a pocket where it wouldn't be touched. He peered at the other two members of the mission party. "Ve can return, da?"

They were whisked mercilessly from the world where Death leads are nice hot dads and thrown back into their own, into the dilapidated church and back to all the nightmares they were used to. Shiloh watched Kostya pocket the key carefully.

"It's your mission, so, it's your call, Kostantin," he totally butchered the name again, "But I'm not going to lie to the big honcho if it comes down to it. I know for a fact that's a death wish."

He hoisted Haruko's chains over his shoulder, remembering very vividly the immeasurable pain of drowning without water, the feeling that his very life force was being ripped cruelly from his veins. He wasn't eager to feel that again.

"Back we go," he agreed, looking from Otto to Kostya.