Participants:
| Scene Title | I Know The Rules |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | To course-correct the flow of time, Hiro recruits Magnes. To make sure Magnes doesn't make it worse, Hiro recruits Quinn. |
| Date | September 22, 2010 |
Jittetsu Arms
With the city pitching head first into the fall season, the sun is sinking slower and slower, night creeping its hours longer like a leak. There isn't much in the way of electricity, at Jittetsu Arms, and so Hiro never tries to schedule these meetings at night, but the shadows are lengthening, dictating that this meeting might be reasonably brief. But maybe not. Time is complicated, and discussing time is even worse, somehow.
The string web has been re-erected, at least in some of its glory. It's changed since the last meeting, in subtle and incomprehensible ways, dangling photographs, clips of newspapers, even tokens that seem relevant at least to the workings of Hiro Nakamura's brain. There is also a thread, one he is currently working on as he waits, pure white and zigzagging, interconnected, through the sagging map of time. Five identical cranes are clipped to its sharper corners, the contents within folded out of sight, although one may see the suggestion of photograph or meeting request. He's currently attaching the crane to where it hangs next to a newspaper article about a bridge collapse in Los Angeles.
There two people who were sent similar tokens, white paper folded into birdshape. It cited the time, it cited the place, but differ in that Magnes' contained a picture of Jensen Raith, grainy and grayscale, with the caption: He will need you. He has needed you.
Quinn's lacked this detail. Watch Varlane, instead, is scrawled indecisively on the page.
The front room of the store is empty and stripped of anything — swords, cash register, employees, customers, though the front door hangs open. It's the backroom that contains the string web, the dressing screen, and the time traveler that tries to bend a paperclip back into shape so that he can finish his task.
Quinn hadn’t been sure what to think when she’d found the paper crane, placed in almost inconspicuously in her apartment – she hadn’t even really noticed at first, and might not have thought much of it at first under normal circumstances. But now, it’s regarded with suspicion and unease, after the tale she had heard from Elaine.
But when she had unfolded it, what she had read had surprised her more than anything else could. Watch Magnes, something she'd already spent the last several days - weeks, really - doing in one capacity or another. Only, now, left on the crane for her, she knew it carried some sort of weight she hadn't previously felt. Anything involving Magnes, particularly this, was definitely something she couldn't afford to pass up, for anyone's good.
That had led her pretty easily to Jittetsu Arms, at the indicated time, curiosity and restlessness painted across her face as she steps into the empty storefront, her brow furrowed as she looked about the seemingly abandoned room. "Hello?" she calls out as she steps out, arms folded across her chest. "I swear t' God, if this is some kinda prank someone decided t' pull, Imma find a way t' blind them," she grumbles, hands slipping into the pockets on her skirt.
Catching sight of teh door to the back of the building, she begins towards it, hesitantly peering through the portal. "Hello?" she calls out again, frowning as her eyes settle on the web of string web, and finally, the man within.
When he got the crane, he had no intention of going on any journey without first discussing it with Elaine. Right now it's purely an information gathering mission. Magnes is wearing a plain white t-shirt at the moment, with a picture of the character Cheese, and the brown words under him saying: I Like Chocolate Milk. He's wearing that ornate damacus steel saif sword in its scabbard, strapped to the black belt around his blue jeans. He's not even about to try being caught with a gun with everything going on, so a sword and his ability will have to do for now.
He flew the whole way, and when he enters Jittetsu Arms, his gravity-feelers are already extended, ready for invisible ninjas and unwelcome speedsters. When he entrs the other room, he spots Quinn's form, the strings, and then… Hiro Nakamura. "Hiro? It's been… over a year. I haven't seen you since Japan. What's Quinn doing here? What's this all about? I'm not doing anything crazy without telling my girlfriend…"
Hiro does not, presently, have a sword. The loaded string swings back and forth when he releases it, crane clipped by what passes for its neck, its wings and tail akimbo, by the time he's turning to give Quinn a considering once over. "Please, come in," he invites her, which is around the timely moment that Magnes' thudding feet hit the ground outside, and come tramping in through the store. Hiro pushes his own sleeve back to take a glance at the time — he'd made sure to arrive early, this time, pleased to have hit that mark, but there feels like there's someone lacking. Not in reference to postcog nor precog, but didn't he send a crane to—
Oh. That was next week. Or will be next week.
"Hello Magnes," is a patient greeting, coming to stand more towards the centre of the elaborate string web. "It has been a year to you." It's to Quinn that he adds, "This is not a prank. Your instructions and explanations are the messages I have sent you, but I can provide the details you will need for when you go back in time."
Magnes' arrival - and questioning - is about as reassuring as Hiro's assertion that this is not some sort of elaborate prank. The fact that he is there, and in fact Hiro Nakamura at all sets that worry to rest - and brings numerous others to her mind, Quinn furrowing her brow. "I think I know why I'm here, Magnes," she replies worriedly, though she doesn't elaborate. Her attention is largely focused on the large string web, a worried expression on her face.
"Back in time? Alright, I seriously can't do that without telling my girlfriend. She's nice, you'd like her. She'd probably remind you of… er, well anyway." Magnes looks a little awkward, clearing his throat, then looks down at his sword briefly, and up at Hiro. "Where's the Kensei sword? I heard it was Adam Monroe's first, but I guess we can get into that story after whatever's going on here. What's wrong with Raith?"
There's a snaky kind of slit of a glare sent Magnes' way, agenda shuffled around as haphazard as the words that fall out of the young man's mouth, but no real tension, just as the string web has slack and give. Hiro breathes in. One thing at a time. He doesn't talk about swords. Or redheaded women. "You will have a day to tell your girlfriend, and otherwise prepare yourself. Both of you." In case Quinn has a girlfriend! Or more likely, that she will be given the opportunity to prepare herself. "Tomorrow, I will send you back a few years in time to confront Jensen Raith.
"His history is in danger of being altered beyond repair, which will cause ripple effects in the present that drastically alters the world. You must stop that from happening," is directed to Magnes, and then to Quinn, he adds, "and you must make sure he does not make things worse while he does. History is delicate when you do not belong there."
Quinn does have a girlfriend, one whom Hiro has already sent back in time, though he may not realise it. She scowls at him for a moment, arms crossed across her chest as her eyes slowly move over to Magnes. "Raith? I've met him once Kinda intense, but a good guy," she muses, before letting out a long sigh. "He knows you pretty well, Magnes," Quinn remarks with a lighthearted grin as she finds something to lean against, eyes moving between the two. "But really, going back in time? I can barely throw a punch. From what I've heard… are you sure I should be going back?" For someone who's not met Hiro, she doesn't really seem that disbelieving of the idea.
"I'm an experienced time traveler, I know the rules." Magnes straightens his shirt, possibly thinking over a few questions. "Alright, we need to know a few things." He steps up a bit closer, eyes glancing over those strings, taking mental notes, possibly looking for the 'symbol'. "Will we be needing jackets or coats? What year will it be so we can wear period appropriate clothing? And in case we need money, we'll have to get cash that's not too new."
" — on't walk away from me when I'm yelling at you!"
The sudden shout ringing through Jittetsu arms comes from a small-framed teenager who was not there a second ago. Standing with a blank stare on his face, lips parted and eyes wide and — most importantly — face flushed red with anger, Rhys Bluthner is brandishing a royal blue umbrella soaked with rain at a wall. Black slacks and a chalk white suitcoat make him look a little monochromatic, but literal blue suede shoes help pop some color back into his attire. Blinking pale eyes wide, Rhys whips around and swings his open umbrella behind his back, staring at Quinn, Hiro and Magnes with lips slowly parting.
"Oh— I— " there's a sheepish smile that looks a little forced as Rhys Bluthner stares at Hiro. "Hi. Ah— Hello!" Sweeping on ehand over his unkempt hair and getting it out of his face, Rhys clears his throat noisily before proclaiming. "Everything is under control," he explains with a nod of his head before looking back at Hiro and trying to determine are you the one I was yelling at, or have we not argued yet.
He still has some shouting left in him.
Hiro's hand is dipping into the interior of his jacket by the time Rhys Bluthner is popping into existence, going still and wary and mute. He is always surprised by how loud the postcog can get, when Hiro himself is of similar small stature and incapable of truly yelling. But then, Rhys gets to that state so much easier. That might have something to do with it.
"This is my friend, Rhys," he introduces. "These are the ones you told me to get. On September twenty-two." Just in case.
A white envelope is extracted from an inner pocket, held out for Quinn to take, unsealed. "This is the money you will need," he says. Egyptian pounds are impossible to really get an idea of how much they are worth, unless you're familiar with the going rate of Gineih, or with even what it looks like. "And you should dress, only, for warmth. You are going back to 2007. In some ways, your leap through space will be a larger gap than the one in time.
"But not in the ways it matters."
Quinn almost jumps up from her perch when Rhys makes his appearance, looking surprised and even a little ready to be scared - his claim of everything being under control is met with another amused yet sceptical grin, Quinn shaking her head. She frowns, though, at a few things, namely the fact taht her question has seemingly been skipped over. The envelope is taken, some of the money pulled out, and her eyes narrowed as she looks it over. "I've, uh… never seen money in this. What in the world?" And then she looks back up, quirking an eyebrow. "2007's not that long ago either. I think I was, uh…" she drifts off for a moment, befire shaking ehr head. "What do you mean, a larger gap in space?"
Magnes squints his eyes at Rhys, a new face. A choir boy? He offers a polite nod, then looks over at the money when Quinn takes it out. "That's Egyptian money. And when he says a larger gap in space, he means the distance in time in which we're going through, will be comparativly less significant." Then, he just points at Rhys. "He's not going, no kids."
"Excuse me!?" Suddenly Rhys is doing that thing where he gets loud quickly again, "K— Kid? I'll have you know— " one hand clutches into a fist in the air, "I'll have you know." Both of Rhys' brows shoot up to his hairline, lips creep into a frown and he swings his umbrella around again, folding it closed before huffing out a frustrated breath.
"First of all I'm management, I don't— go back in time," the mud on his suede shoes says otherwise, admittedly, but this was Rhys' fault. "S— Secondly," he blusters in a huff, "secondly mister time travel expert I— I'm— " speechless, which is amazing, normally Rhys is completely full of one verbose thing or another.
Suddenly, the red-faced young man holds up one hand, palm flat towards Magnes and looks to Quinn, eyes falling shut then slowly opening. "You are going back in time to Vietnam, we have reason to believe that Benjamin— " Rhys cuts himself off, squints at Quinn and then flicks a quick look to Magnes — hand still out — before looking back to Quinn again.
"Egypt, sorry, right. Ah," blue eyes flick over to Hiro, and only then does Rhys slowly lower the hand from Magnes' direction. "You'll be going to Egypt with the purpose of ensuring that Jensen Raith makes contact with a man named Kazimir Volken. Forces are conspiring to prevent him from connecting with Kazimir in Cairo, thereby preventing Jensen from ever joining an organization called the Vanguard," elaborated on for Quinn's benefit. "This would cause some… well, disastrous ripples in history."
There is a nod to Magnes from Hiro, indicating that he is correct in his interpretation of the time traveler's more cryptic phrase. And theeeen Rhys is starting up, for all that he blessedly keeling over into thoughtful explanation. Still. Hiro vanishes from his position, only to appear at the postcog's side, placing a hand comradely on slender shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "You will not have to throw many punches, Robyn Quinn," Hiro says, addressing the girl directly. His hand falls from Rhys' shoulder, a sideways glance to the teenager.
"At least, that is the intention."
She is kinda sort giggling at Rhys' display at first, clearly highly amused by his reaction to Magnes' designation of him as a kid, but it comes to a quick stop when he begins to explain exactly what is it that they are going to have to do. "Egypt?" Quinn repeats, looking again surprised as she eyes the money in hand. "That's like- wow, I don't even know." A pause. "I know someone from Egypt, she was still around there then. I hope I don't, like… bump int' her or something. That'd be kinda awkward." It's random musing, Quinn parsing the information as it comes.
Quirking her lips, her attention is turned back up to Rhys, tehn Magnes. "I really have no idea what you're talking about," she confesses, known nothing of the secret battles having been waged in New York in the past. "What's the big deal about the big deal about the Vanguard? An' are we protectin' this Kazimir guy too?" She leans back against her spot, finally looking over to Hiro and frowning. "Things don't always go t' intention," she states in an uncharacteristically flat manner. But still, a smile creeps back, the musician looking a little relieved. "But still, that's good t' know."
"Alright, this is… completely surreal, but I understand what we have to do." Magnes frowns at Quinn, quickly shaking his head. "Of course we have to protect Kazimir! That's not even up for debate." He places a hand on the hilt of his sword, apparently ready as ever. "I have to discuss this with my girlfriend, but I'm sure she'll understand. We'll fix time, and everything will happen the way it should have."
A sharp inhale whistles up Rhys' nose in the gathering of patience— either for the two people in front of him, or maybe for Hiro just beside him, when that bright eyed stare cuts resentfully to the left, both hands gripping the handle of his umbrella. "The big deal, sister, is the unraveling of history. And if that's not good enough, you should ask our resident precog what a mess the future will turn out to be." A pause, defined by the fluttering of rapid blinks, before he amends, "Not that she'll tell you."
"If you accept your mission," Hiro formally cuts in, back straightening up as if expecting his beam us up, scottie any second now, "then return to this place the same time tomorrow. And come prepared."
"No open toed sandals," is Rhys' contribution, lifting a hand, finger pointed for the ceiling, shaped eyebrows raised. "And I'd look into organic sunscreen — watch the dimethicone levels. In fact I can probably bring some for— " And as abruptly as he appeared, Rhys is vanished possibly back into whatever section of time and space he came from. The tick of a smile from Hiro indicates no cause for alarm: that was him.
"I mean, like, who's this Kazimi-" And then Rhys disappears, leaving Quinn a little dumbfounded. "All my warm shoes are open toed sandals," she grumbles, shaking her head at Hiro. "So, like, if this stuff happened in the past, we don't really have a choice on showin' up, do we?" She rubs her head, sighing. "I feel like I watched Back to the Future too many times."