Timequake

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my OC(s)

Chapter 3

8 September 1591 – Taki's POV

The next day, we took a ship from the port at Ise heading for the Black Sea, with the intention of docking at Ankara. I could tell that my new friend was not used to such monotonous travel, as he seemed to be examining his handheld calendar critically with almost alarming regularity. Why is he so impatient? I thought to myself. Thanks to the daylight, I could see him more clearly, as I had only been able to glance at him under the cover of darkness, but the Sun illuminated his whole form. OK, he's a bit large and quite tall… shame about the lack of hair, though. My mind speculated as he turned to look at me with a solitary raised eyebrow, his wearable eyepieces, his "spectacles" or "glasses" as he called them, turning darker amidst the Sunlight. Keep it together, Taki – he could be possessed, you never know. Maybe he's an agent of Soul Edge. I reminded myself to remain composed and professional in my task. Finally, after a lengthy silence, I got to hear his voice again – this time, it was much clearer and more assertive than his previous intonations.

'Do you mind telling me what the hell this is all about?' He finally asked me like he was accusing me of his recent troubles. If he tries anything, then you know what you have to do. I lectured myself mentally.

'Soul Edge.' I looked at him right in the eyes (as much as I could see of them) and gave him his answer.

'Soul… Edge?' He repeated uncertainly. 'What is that, some kind of medieval talent show?' He asked as I groaned.

'No. It's an evil demonic sword… correction – a pair of evil demonic swords, which must be destroyed.' I clarified with mild annoyance. 'A pair of swords which many men have sought for various reasons, believing them to grant them great power… but not the power they have in mind.' I could see his face shift slightly as he processed my words.

'You mean it possesses them.' He responded with just a hint of fear, which I liked seeing in him.

'Well done.' I allowed myself a smirk behind my mask. 'Looks like you're not so dense after all.'

'OK, that makes sense.' He said to me. 'Next question: what do I have to do with this? One minute I'm at home in the future, trying to appease my family, the next I'm here in the past feeling more out of place than a Nazi at a synagogue. I don't know what the hell's going on, but I want it to stop.' The man in strange colours replied with extreme annoyance, almost anger – but he was not hostile.

'I'm afraid I can't help you there, Rudy-san.' I replied with a hint of sadness. 'That's something you'll have to work out on your own.' He looked at me with an expression that could melt the Polar Ice Caps, and I could feel my beloved Rekki-Maru vibrate almost imperceptibly. It was responding, not to any kind of evil presence, but to his rising anger and frustration. He seemed to realise that there was nothing he could do about his current predicament and proceeded to head for the other side of the deck. 'Where are you going?'

'I need to find a place where I can take a leak on this barge without getting my dick sliced off.' His reply, I have to admit, made me chuckle just slightly, as I found his annoyance amusing and humorous.

'There's no leak here – this is a strong and sturdy boat… and who's Dick?' I asked him.

'Don't you medieval ninja Ghostbusters ever pee?' He asked back as he left to do his business.

8 September 1591 – Rodolfo's POV

It was near dark when we finally arrived at the port at Ankara, the capital of Turkey, the border between Europe and Asia. I could feel the locals glancing at my face as I passed them by, unsure as to what to make of me, as they had never seen somebody so ethnically ambiguous before. I didn't have the courage to clarify I was technically multiracial – half white, half Latin, all Mediterranean – so I let them continue gawping at me. I didn't find out until later that it was customary to conceal one's face due to the largely Islamic majority running the city. I had heard stories about what these people do to nonbelievers, but I was not in too much of a hurry to find out the truth. I don't like religion for the most part, it tends to fuck people up. I thought to myself. I had to remind myself that when I returned to the present, I would have to look up books on time travel in my local library, and not just science fiction – this was as real as it was going to get. I opted to stay the night at a local inn, where I was graced with women from a nearby harem, who were all too eager to please their guest. This isn't right. My mind admonished. You're better than this, Rodolfo. It added sternly. For the first time in my life, I could see the real Muslim culture, not the stereotypical demonisation of Islam that most propaganda sources tended to feed the people of the 21st Century. My host entered with what appeared to be a cup of tea and a slice of cake. He smiled understandingly, knowing that I didn't speak his language, instead communicating with hand gestures and facial expressions, for which I was eternally grateful. I thanked him for his hospitality with a thumbs-up – he examined my gesture for a moment before mimicking it. Despite the multitude of attractive females, I couldn't bring myself to take advantage of them, and more pressingly, my mind seemed to be focused on Taki – at least I could speak to her, thanks to my Japanese-language lessons from my college years. After being shown to my quarters, I collapsed on the bed and fell fast asleep without another word.

30 October 2021 – Rodolfo's POV

As luck would have it, I found myself landing on the floor of the off-licence, complete with my newly purchased items. The clerk ran to my aid as he looked at me sympathetically, giving me my things before escorting me out. Reaching my house, I headed for my bedroom and collapsed onto the king-size bed, sleeping until the early afternoon.

31 October 2021 – Rodolfo's POV

Waking up just after midday, I decided to make myself useful by heading into the town centre, which I absolutely hated because of its large and empty plaza being a breeding ground for scuzzballs and chavvy zip-heads. Nevertheless, I was able to brave my way through the ghost town, entering a bookstore in the local shopping precinct, looking for some books dealing with time travel… needless to say, my escapade did not go very smoothly – in fact, it went something like this:

'I can't seem to find any books on time travel. Do you know where I can look?' I asked an assistant.

'Yes, sir – in the science fiction section.' Came the reply, droll and polite.

'I think I'm going to need something a bit closer to real life than science fiction.' I responded.

'I'm sorry, sir, but time travel is not known to occur in the real world.' He tried to reassure me. If he had known what I had gone through over the past 48 hours, then he would be screaming the truth at the top of his lungs.

'Come on, there must be some theories about the plausibility of time travel and multiverses, or is that too highbrow here?' I half-joked, half-snarked.

'Your best bet, sir, is at the town library.' He answered. I realised there was nothing else I could do about the situation, and there was no way I was going to find what I needed here, so I thanked him and left, trudging through town to the local library, which, thankfully, was vacant, seeing as the schools wouldn't close for another 3 hours or so, and I would've had to endure legions of screaming kids with vile mothers who spent their days watching shitty daytime TV instead of actually being mothers. After an hour or so of searching, I found the book I was looking for: "Time Travel: Fiction or Science?" by an author whose name I couldn't even pronounce in public for fear of getting lynched. The librarian in charge of checking out books looked awfully familiar, like I had seen him before. He looked at me and smiled.

'Somehow I knew you would pick that book, Signor Gasperini.' His reply was cryptic and confident at the same time. I jumped back in disbelief – he looked like the same man who I had inadvertently rescued back in the past, complete with green attire.

'How do you know my name?' I asked.

'I know because we have met before… I've also got the answers you seek to your predicament. Come to my penthouse suite later tonight, and we'll talk then.' He replied.

Sure enough, that evening, I was on my way to see someone who could either help me with my current situation of involuntary time tripping, or a complete whacko who was just taking the piss… or both. Number 1, Emerald Suites… is this guy the Riddler or something? I sighed as I took the express elevator to the penthouse suites, reaching the luxurious apartment in question. The door opened before I could knock on it. If I had any semblance of sense, then I would have turned around and walked the hell out of there, but the fact that I was willing to listen to someone who may or may not have been a nutcase showed I didn't. Against my own judgement, I entered the place, admiring the expensive ornaments before coming face to face with the man from the library, complete with Oriental appearance, but he didn't look like Taki – if I had to guess, then he was probably South Korean.

'Sit down, please, Signor Gasperini.' He said to me. I didn't sit down. In fact, I had more than a few choice words to say to him.

'What the hell is going on? Who are you?' I asked, sounding like a protagonist from a crappy 80s action flick.

'Of course… where are my manners?' He smiled. 'My name is Hwang.' He said simply. 'Did you… bring the book with you?'

'Yes, it's right here.' I replied, showing him the hardcover manuscript. He motioned politely for me to sit down, and I eventually did with some reluctance. 'Hwang… I need answers. I keep going back in time to the early Renaissance where I'm working with a chick in red Spandex named Taki – she says we need to find a weapon called Soul Edge… why?' Hwang perused the book carefully, written in a multitude of languages… until he eventually came to the answer he was looking for.

'I think this explains your predicament, Rodolfo.' He showed me a picture of two people on opposite ends of a graphic depiction of a historical timestream. 'Temporal counterpart theory – better known in layman's terms as "time twins".' I glanced at him like he had just asked me to teabag a goat in public on the Sabbath.

'Time… twins?' I repeated incredulously. 'What the hell are you talking about?'

'When one person is in mortal danger or requires assistance beyond their means, their counterpart from the past or future is brought in to assist them. That's not the only theory which seems to apply here. The timestream hypothesis seems to be in practice as well.' Hwang replied. He could tell by the look on my face that I was struggling to buy what he was selling. 'It seems that the past, present and future are all occurring in parallel, all at the same time.'

'Does it have anything to do with that sword?' I asked, even though a part of me already knew the answer to my own question.

'Yes. I'm afraid so. Soul Edge is an extremely powerful weapon… not only can it corrupt souls, it seems to be able to warp reality as well.' Hwang replied courteously. 'I was in search of it, or rather, my historical counterpart was, believing it would aid in defending the Motherland.'

'Motherland?' I asked curiously.

'Korea.' Hwang clarified.

'I hate to break it to you, Hwang, but Korea's split in half – it's a real shithole up North, and a futuristic semi-utopia down South.' I responded sympathetically. Hwang looked at me for a moment before laughing semi-humorously. 'Seriously, though, why did Taki stick me with this gig?'

'Trust me, Rodolfo, if she were to "stick" someone with something, as you so eloquently put it, then do you really think she'd have chosen you?' Hwang asked. 'I'm sorry, but there's no alternative. You must help her destroy the sword.'

'What if I don't? What's going to happen if Soul Edge remains intact? Surely someone else will destroy the sword?' I asked, hoping against hope.

'Eventually, but by then it might be too late.' Hwang replied. 'You must go to the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens when you return to the past, and seek help from two sisters named Sophitia and Cassandra… and watch out for a young man named Siegfried, for he seeks the weapon for his own imaginary vendetta, and his mind is already corrupted… and if you find me in the past, then try to stop me from taking it.' He looked at me with an expression of utmost gravity, and I knew that he was deadly serious.

I returned home that night – how appropriate that such a mission of a world-threatening magnitude featuring a weapon that was pure nightmare fuel would be assigned to me on Halloween of all nights. Realising I might not see the 21st Century for some time, I decided to pack some essentials that could help me get through this bizarre quest, including a modified electric razor with solar panels attached to it, my glasses, some clothes and an old relic of a handgun, which was bequeathed to me when my maternal grandfather, Salvatore Pontecorvo, passed away a few months before my 18th birthday – it was a Mauser C96 "Broomhandle" in the original 7.63*25 Mauser cartridge, complete with some stripper clips and a fancy wooden holster which doubled as a shoulder-stock (I can still remember receiving the gun as a birthday present). Loading the heavy hand-cannon with some effort, I engaged the manual safety and holstered it, carrying cocked-and-locked in case I needed to come to a certain medieval ninja Ghostbuster's aid. I could hear a rumbling sound accompanied by that all-too-familiar flash of green lightning… and braced myself for the inevitable.