10

[asea]

Who: Walter and you
Where: Plaza
When: Afternoon
Style: Either
Status: Open

[Today, Walter breaks his typical routine by heading down to the plaza. Normally, he would check on Shirley first but lets her be, and goes out without the usual cape to boot. He doesn't appear nearly as tense, though his posture is still guarded; careful.

Upon seating himself in an outdoor cafe, a familiar waitress attends him.]

Hello there! Oh . . . you look a little different today. Waiting for someone?

[Walter stares, and she continues on on an assumption.]

Here's some water, free of charge. I'll be back once your girlfriend comes!

[But he came alone. And alone he is, sitting near a fountain with an untouched, full cup of water, across an inversely empty chair. If he had to answer why he's there, he wouldn't be able to supply a reasonable answer. There's . . . nothing else to do.

He just looks out of place. There's a nagging feeling in the back of his mind, and it's steadily beginning to irk him despite his otherwise cooler disposition.]

Comments

[asea]

[What she says certainly makes sense, though he has his reservations about the idea of being stuck permanently. There's living proof to suggest otherwise, unless . . . No.]

That doesn't make sense for the people from the future.

[zelda_hylia]

[Oh, Walter, don't start with Zelda on time travel.]

I know someone here from my world from an alternate timeline, and we have been able to exist together without any anomalies. If the Lamufao was destroyed and we survived it, time would most likely seek to repair itself by merging all of our timelines together. A new timeline would be born here.

[asea]

[He doesn't get it.

Isn't it supposed to be as simple as "they go back and everything is as it was"? The Merines returns to her people, so does the bandit, and he himself disappears. Yet if the coral is destroyed, something else will arise from it?]

. . . a new timeline?

[He doesn't like it.]

[zelda_hylia]

[If the coral never breaks down, that is how simple things will be. But there's always the chance that it will break down, and Zelda is not willing to risk it. She has to know how it works, she has to learn to operate it and stabilize it herself. Someone who hides all the information like Thalassino or the scientists can't necessarily be trusted to do so.]

Yes. It is one of many possibilities. We need to figure out how the coral works, how to keep it functioning. There are many people here that must return to their homeworlds. There are just as many people who must not or cannot. It will take time and persistence to unlock the secrets of this world. So long as we aren't sent home, time is something we have an abundance of. Of course, in the event that I myself get sent back, I have been leaving copies of this research in the possession of people so that it does not vanish with me. Progress can only be made if we build upon what we know, after all. Having to relearn everything after someone gets sent back is absolutely detrimental.

[She smiles at Walter.]

May I leave a copy with you?

[asea]

[It was mild interest before, but now that she's presented a good argument and unwanted consequences of ignorance, he gives her a rigid nod. His expression is more focused, held together by a newfound desire to do something.]

Who else has them?

[zelda_hylia]

[Ignorance is often bliss, but it always comes at a cost. Zelda doesn't want to worry people unnecessarily at this juncture (so little useful information has been uncovered after all, though it's not a total loss), so for the most part she's been talking only with those that she knows to be level-headed.]

Guy does, as do Zelos and Duke. I've been working on putting it into a form that can be distributed across the network, since copying it by hand each time is a bit cumbersome. Still, there's merit in that as well - digital files can be changed or erased entirely with ease. I will probably continue with both methods. It should only take me a couple days to make another copy. Where shall I deliver it?

[asea]

[He doesn't know any of those people. It's not at all surprising, so he files the names away for future reference.]

I'll pick it up; tell me when you finish. And if you installed some sort of security measure on the files, then perhaps . . .

[He's no technology expert. She'd need someone else for that.]

[zelda_hylia]

I'll leave you a message, then.

[She tilts her head at his suggestion.]

I am admittedly not that good with technology, but I know some people that are. I'll look into it once the information input is complete.

[Isn't teamwork nice, Walter? It makes you feel like you have a purpose instead of just being "that dead guy"!]

[asea]

[No.

With all that established, Walter stands, feeling that their business for the time being is done. If she doesn't have any last minute comments, he's out.]

[zelda_hylia]

[Oh, Walter. "Good day" is apparently still beyond him. That's alright, Zelda doesn't really mind it.]