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Post by ParamountKeymaster on May 21, 2016 21:12:10 GMT -5
-- paramountKeymaster [PK] began pestering gantzGun [GG] --
PK: Hey man.
PK: It says you're offline right now, but... I figured I'd get in touch anyway.
PK: While it's on my mind.
PK: I hope you had a great Christmas. And again, I'm sorry about barging in on your party uninvited. ^^;
PK: All that aside, though, it's been a few weeks since we really talked about the situation at hand, and... Brendon tells me that the time to mobilize is fast approaching.
PK: So I think now is as good a time as any to talk things over. To more or less plan a course of action, and...
PK: Um...
PK: Address some tension that has yet to truly be relieved.
PK: There are a few things I need off my shoulders, let's just say.
PK: That said, I was wondering if you wanted to meet me at the café tomorrow for a chat.
PK: These are matters perhaps best discussed formally, after all.
PK: I'll have Pesterchum open for the rest of the evening. Let me know what works for you.
-- paramountKeymaster [PK] is now an idle chum --
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Post by gantzgun74 on May 21, 2016 21:41:40 GMT -5
It wasn't until the day of the originally intended meeting that Evan recieved his response.
GG: Sorry for missing you last night. I decided to hit the hay early you see.
GG: Still, it's interesting to hear that Beebo is getting us ready, given the holiday season I almost thought everyone would be calling this a time off... Oh well, I guess heroes never sleep.
GG: I know of a Cafe in the El Grande Mall that we can go to in order to talk. Meet me there in about.... An hour for this convo of yours.
GG: I'll buy the food if you buy the drink.
------------------------------------------------
After the night before spent with Yang, Alex had decided to take some time to gain some much needed rest and sleep in a good portion of the day. By the time he had awoke, Yang had long since woken up and was doing some daily exercise routine that kept her in shape. It somewhat reminded him of some of the things he used to do in his earlier days of Sburb. When he got up to check his messages, he found Evan's message and had decided to be quick to respond. After all, there was a lot that needed to be answered for, and a lot of things that needed to be done... He already had a fair idea what Evan wanted...
What he REALLY wanted.
So once he said his good-bye's to Yang, he had hurried to the cafe via void portal, waiting for Evan to show up. He had decided to sit on the rooftop of the building so as to get a better scope of the area and have a better chance of seeing Evan coming...
..... Sighing, the man pulled out his scroll phone and pulled up another App game, deciding to kill time until the agreed upon time.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on May 21, 2016 21:59:29 GMT -5
PK: Heh... No sweat. ^-^
PK: Sounds like a plan.
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For the sake of politeness, Evan had left the apartment early enough to arrive at the mall fifteen minutes ahead of time. Of course, not before spending a relaxing morning with his housemates. After that, pretty much everyone had gone their separate ways for the day. Patrick and Ace had once again dedicated themselves to a day of field research, albeit this time on the island. Jen and Darien were helping Toby track down any signs of Præt'nos. Kendall and Lagola were spending some quality time together who knows where. Andromeda and Aether were heading north to the recently rebuilt hot spring. Evan and Swift would be heading north themselves in due time. Just as soon as business was dealt with here.
Despite arriving ahead of schedule, it wasn't particularly surprising to see Alex already waiting for him.
Evan said his goodbye to Swift as they parted ways in the mall's parking lot. While she wandered off to peruse the stores, Evan smiled up at the thief perched atop the roof and whistled. "Yo!"
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Post by gantzgun74 on May 21, 2016 22:31:19 GMT -5
Alex heard the whistle a few seconds into one of his levels in the Kingdom Hearts game he had been playing, forcing him to pause and turn it off for the time being. Looking down, he noticed Evan near the entrance waving up to him, prompting the thief to chuckle at the sight. "Ah Evan! Good to see ya! Stay right there!!" A portal appeared near Evan's feet and another portal appeared behind Alex, which he fell back into-
He then appeared from the portal near Evan's feet backflipping and landing soundly on his feet, snapping his fingers to close both portals. "Boy you're early. I wasn't expecting you to show up for another five minutes..." The young man chuckled. "You're a lot like-"
.... The reality of what he was about to say struck him and he quieted himself. The smile took a blow, but kept itself up, more for Evan's sake then his own. "N-Nevermind. Shall we go in and get some food?"
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on May 21, 2016 22:47:24 GMT -5
Evan smirked at Alex and gave him a playfully sarcastic golf clap for his stunt. He then chuckled at Alex's comment and stated, "Yeah, I figured since I was the one who offered, I'd be the one to meet you, but... heh, I guess I should've seen this coming."
His smile turned gentle and sympathetic, his gaze momentarily shifting as he shrugged. Alex didn't need to finish that remark. Evan understood.
"Yeah, man." Evan stuck one hand in his coat pocket and pushed the door open with the other. "Let's get some good ol' caffeine and tiny sandwiches."
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Post by gantzgun74 on May 21, 2016 23:09:05 GMT -5
Alex chuckled and let out a breath, the two walking into the cafe... No more words were needed at that point... AT least, none right now...
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It took no time, as usual, to find a booth they could converse at all on their lonesomes... The Thief had wanted to be sure no-one would listen in, citizen, time-traveling jackass or otherwise, but given the sheer public nature of the cafe, throwing a barrier was a detrimental act that would have cost the cafe money. And far be it for him to get in their way of earning money...
Still, he'd have to keep the conversation away from strategies for the time being, at least until he knew the place was secure... And if not, he would surround himself and Evan with a barrier to prevent anyone from listening in...
"Yes, a ham and cheese with some fries, also no ice in the Pepsi please." Alex told the waiter simply before handing off the menu and sitting back in his chair, looking upward...
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on May 21, 2016 23:21:08 GMT -5
"I'll do a bacon and turkey, no onions, and a caramel macchiato." Evan handed over his menu and took a sip of water. Once the waiter had left them to their own, Evan gave Alex a light grin.
In all fairness, there was no easy way to approach this. The last thing Evan wanted to do was rush into such heavy matters, considering what happened last time. Plus, given their conspicuous location, the prospect of accidently revealing important information to passersby was not lost on him. He had no doubts that Alex could hide them from unwanted eyes and ears, but for these reasons and more, Evan decided it best to start out slow and work his way up to more serious matters.
Besides, what kind of friend would he be if he only talked business with Alex?
"So! Christmas is over, everyone's making their returns... Heh... Seems like it comes and goes more quickly every year. How'd yours go?"
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Post by gantzgun74 on May 21, 2016 23:35:44 GMT -5
Alex looked to the man sitting before him, his expression somewhat unsure and reaching for things to say. Bringing up Christmas had been a good conversation starter, but it wasn't the thing they most needed to say and both of them knew it.......
Still...
"Things were...." He considered everything, the time spent with the Undertale cast, the confusion but reward of talking with Prishe, the GEMS showing up at one point, just everyone being there to enjoy everyone else's company... And of course, the time he spent with Yang after that... ".... I'd say... This Christmas really.. MADE UP for the lack of Holiday Seasons I've had during my time off-island."
The wording only showed the tip of the iceburg to how depressing that must've really been.
It likely brought to mind what Beebo said, that the Sburb players would have to watch their entire world, their entire universe be destroyed... and only escape with what few survivors they could bring along. If memory served, all this kid really had left was Lizzie and this other player that came from his timeline that Evan had heard of but never met.
The wording was small and meek but the smile Evan remembered from back during the Christmas party said a lot.
"Like... More then you could really imagine."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on May 21, 2016 23:52:52 GMT -5
Evan gently smiled and nodded, leaning back in his seat. "Yeah, I bet..."
It very likely was more than Evan could've imagined, but he certainly took it upon himself to empathize. After everything Alex had been through, a holiday had to be an enormous breath of fresh air, and being surrounded by friends old and new was undoubtedly a source of comfort and joy. Had he been in the same position, Evan would've certainly felt the same way; given what he knew of his alternate self's plight, such isolation and torment was not a feeling he would've wished on anybody.
The more he pondered this, the more evident it became that Evan was getting frustrated with himself, though he did his best to maintain his grin and pleasant tone.
"Mine was pretty good too... I guess. Nice to have some time to not worry about anything. Ahem... How, uh... How's Yang doing?"
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Post by gantzgun74 on May 22, 2016 0:05:02 GMT -5
....
An expression of uncertainty was likely Evan's response to the blush that his question prompted. Alex's body was sitting his butt on that chair, but his mind was stuck somewhere several hours earlier... When he regained his wits and noted the odd expression, the young man looked down, looking a bit shamefaced. Then took a moment to clear his throat. "She's uh... She's good. She's doing very good."
It was suddenly little wonder why his friends would sometimes call him 'Worse Thief'; those series of expressions, whatever they implied, were certainly not subtle in the slightest... But then again, that had always been a weakness of Alex's. He'd never been one for sneakiness. It was his female self, Erin, however that showed it best; being loud and energetic where Alex was self-contained and in control. "We got to uh... Have a lot of fun at the party." And the night following that...
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on May 22, 2016 0:19:54 GMT -5
"Well, good..." Evan's eyebrow and the corner of his mouth raised slightly as he took in Alex's embarrassment. Confused as he was, Evan was considerate enough not to question the matter. Plus, he was also a little too trusting and... let's say wholesome to assume anything.
Although, seeing Alex's adorable bashfulness got Evan thinking of what could've easily made a cute little anecdote. "I enjoyed the party too, dude. I tried to talk the rest of my family into meeting you guys, but... eh, another time, I guess. Heheh... Christmas day, you shoulda seen 'em. Kendall gave Lagola this big rabbit plushie... Man, everyone was just gushing, it was the cutest thing."
He chuckled a little at his comment, took a sip of water, then politely drew the conversation away from himself and back to the people with actual problems. "H-How about Evelyn? I... didn't get to talk to her after..."
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Post by gantzgun74 on May 22, 2016 0:37:09 GMT -5
...... Alex let out a breath, looking unsure of how to answer, which likely caught Evan's attention.... After a moment, the man let out a sigh and looked to Evan, giving him the straightest face he could manage. "I... Don't know all of the details but.... She actually left in quite the huff yesterday." What-? "I was downstairs at the time, so all I could really tell you was that I heard some shouting. By the time I went upstairs to investigate, Erin was already flying off out the window." A grunt exited the man's mouth as he pulled out a scroll to look it over. "Erin promised to keep me updated... But so far, I haven't heard from her at all.... I hope those two are okay."
... The man saw Evan's concerned expression. "BUT... I trust Erin's judgement, and I trust her capabilities. They.... SHOULD be okay." He hoped.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on May 22, 2016 9:25:21 GMT -5
"Oh..." Evan sunk a little in his seat, casting his dejected gaze at the table. That was just what he was hoping not to hear. He knew his female counterpart was in a bad enough shape as it was physically and mentally, but he couldn't help but feel like he had unintentionally made it that much worse.
"Well... good..." At least Erin was looking out for her. Didn't make Evan feel any less guilty, though... "I-I just... You know I didn't mean any harm, but... I think I was flaunting my relationship a little too much at the party. Given what Evelyn's lost, it had to be salt in the wound. I just... don't want her to do anything rash. I wanna help her... but I think I'm just hurting her."
Of course, his desire to help was probably making things worse in and of itself. It only took his and Swift's combined presence to make Evelyn storm out of the room. If he hadn't bothered, maybe she wouldn't have had to go through that heartbreak all over again.
It wouldn't have been the first time his presence and his desire to be involved made someone uncomfortable.
...........................
Well, he had to start somewhere...
"On that note... I..." Evan held his breath, then let out a sigh and leaned his arms on the table. "Maybe I've been a little insensitive. N-Not intentionally, mind you, but... I get it, okay? I might be a carbon copy of the guy you knew, but... I'm just not the same guy. I didn't go through the same physical and emotional trauma that he... or really all you guys did. In that sense, this whole ordeal with the game was really none of my business. Plus, being around a version of Evan Anders who doesn't remember any of the things you and he did together has to be awkward on some level... maybe even a little unfair..."
He looked up at Alex, his expression serious yet heartfelt. "Bottom line... if I stepped out of line in any way, I'm really, truly sorry."
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Post by gantzgun74 on May 22, 2016 13:50:51 GMT -5
................... And now came the true meat of the issue..............
Evan noticed a void bubble surrounding the booth-
"....... I lost the game in my timeline, Evan. A game that caused so much suffering, so much heartache, that promised so much and yet couldn't deliver, on account of one stupid misstep, on account of one person turning into a murderous psychopath due to it." Alex looked away as he spoke, seeming wistful. "Maybe we had it coming.... Or maybe the game itself just decided we were completely unworthy... Either way... I'm not sure you can fathom it. Starting the game is one tragedy.... But can you imagine what it feels like to LOSE?"
When he looked back to Evan... The amount of difficulty he seemed to be having was notable.... "We lost everything... And then we lost any hope of taking what was left and rebuilding it. All that was left of the world were... Dream Bubbles. An infinite expanse filled to the brim with ghost versions of us. Hundreds of millions of other timelines where we messed up and died, with the Dream Bubbles being the only amount of Afterlife that remained." .... AND HE SPENT HOW LONG IN THOSE BUBBLES?? "I spent YEARS in there. It was... Sobering... And... It instilled with me the mindset that the game is completely unwinnable... And even if it wasn't, that it was completely unfair. Because really... What was the POINT OF IT if all that's going to come out of it was destroying our galaxy and leaving us incapable of doing a damned thing about it? And, heaven help you if you travel far enough in to achieve God-Tier.... Cause then..."
"You will likely have a very long eternity to stew over your own loss."
............. So... This was how the thief saw the world... The Cruelty of it all was... Amazing.
"... That's why I lashed out at you before Evan." ? "I never once expected, at all, to come across this island in Paradox Space... In it, I saw... Possibility. That life could go on. I'd been so miserable before.... And now? Now I could live my life again... Starting the game again, to me... Well..."
He understood.
The idea sounded paramount to reawakening pure unadulterated hell.
".... Was there... Really something wrong with just wanting to leave it lie? Was there something SO WRONG with my want to just... Let it go and move on? To rebuild my life and just live it through?" He was actually near tears now....
Many often told him that Paradox space was filled with possibilities, that one could achieve anything if they believed hard enough and worked hard enough for it. To believe the possibility was possible without a shadow of a doubt made achieving it inevitable in the end. Maybe... Maybe this wasn't a matter of giving up. Maybe it was simply a matter of Alex just... WANTING it to finally be over.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on May 22, 2016 16:34:59 GMT -5
"..........................."
Okay, this was not the direction Evan was hoping to go.
As Alex explained himself, Evan's gaze remained mostly on the table, only occasionally looking up at the thief to shoot him a sympathetic gaze. What he was saying... it made sense, absolutely, but it tore Evan up inside to hear it. He never could bear the sight of someone giving up, no matter the reason. And while the things Alex had been through were undoubtedly traumatic, Evan still refused to believe that there was no hope. He refused to accept this utterly depressing fate.
The things Alex said... they made Evan feel... frustrated.
Less at Alex and more at himself.
"I know."
Evan looked Alex in the eye, still completely serious but approaching this topic as gently as possible.
"Brendon told me everything. Or at least... everything that he's aware of. I understand the hardships and the heartbreak the game causes, even if I have no firsthand experience with it." He took a sip of water and leaned back again. "I've dreamt on Prospit every night since my birthday. I've seen bits and pieces of you guys' game in Skaia's clouds. The other night, I... I saw my alternate self. He was... standing outside his house... looking up at a troll that seemed bent on attacking him. Just... standing there. As if accepting his fate."
Noting the look in Alex's eyes, Evan raised a hand and continued, "I've always been of the mindset that there's always hope, no matter the circumstances. From the start, I've been acting on that optimism, and I'm sorry, but I can't claim to be wrong for doing so. My initial motivation was to help Forsaken at her request, and Kendall was giving me the thumbs-up, which was enough to convince me that things would turn out for the best." He took a deep breath. "However, I'm willing to admit that I was wrong for blindly taking on the task and expecting everyone and everything to fall into place no problem. I had no idea what the game actually entailed, what its purpose was or the extent of the damage it had caused. No one had bothered to explain it to me until Brendon finally gave me the exposition dump, and now that I get it, yes, I was extremely naïve at the time. I'll own up to that."
His big brown eyes looked down again as he caught his breath. He could only hope he was explaining himself as logically and maturely as possible.
"Again, I'm... so sorry about instilling any sense of obligation. Because I get it, dude. I get that after that whole ordeal, you'd just wanna relax and find a more positive outlook on life. But... I... I don't know if I could bring myself to just give up." He paused, then he let out a scoff. "Oh, who am I kidding? The game was apparently enough to crush my alternate self's spirits. Heck, the ordeal on Mt. Bonsai was enough to leave me nearly catatonic for two days straight!"
Evan covered his face with his hand, his voice dying down to a mumble. "I'm sorry... It's just more of my misguided optimism..."
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