Part 14: Telling Secrets

Update 14: Telling Secrets



So where's this hospital anyways?



Right. There. So let's not waste any time.



: Oh--Kori...
: The whole revision process not going too well?
: !! How did you know...?
: Didn't I tell you I can see pictures, too?
: What are you two going on about? Revision? Pictures?
: Forgive me, but it's none of your business.
: My, aren't we blunt?

Pot, meet kettle.

: C'mon, Ethan--let's get outta here.
: Y-yeah, okay.
: Ethan?
: Yeah?
: Shouldn't you keep trying...as many times as it takes?
: ...
: I mean, Ben's your friend, right?
: ...Uh-huh. (...She's right.)
: ...But...
: I don't know if you have enough Time to keep on trying.
: (...!)



Ethan: (That part of Dad's letter does concern me a little...)



And she's off.

: Quite an interesting chat you two had.



: Morris...
: So what's this "revision" you're doing for Ben, huh?
: Well...er...
: (Even if I told him, I doubt he'd believe me...)
: If you don't wanna talk about it, I'll stop asking... I was just wondering if you had a plan in mind to save our friend.
: ...Actually...
: (Should I tell him everything?)

So let's have a vote on this. Should we tell Morris or not?



No, that's not how this is going. Ethan has no idea where to go from here, and he knows it.

: Morris, there's something I need to tell you.
: Yeah? What?



*Question: Do you believe in paranormal phenomena?*
: What kind of question is that?
: For example, do you believe in a world where Ben was totally unharmed? What if there's a way to change THIS world into THAT one.
: ...I won't deny the possibility. But we have to consider the facts, too.



*Question: What if you could change the world?*
: Huh...? Is that even possible?



Yes, that question was a one liner. No, I don't know why it was made separate.

*Question: Can you keep a secret?*
: If you want me to, yeah. No prob.
: ...Okay, I'll tell you--and you alone--my secret.
: Never mind her. She apparently already knows it.
: What is it, already?
: I can change the past by...swapping out worlds, sort of.
: ...Just a tiny bit, though.
: Wha-a-at!? H-how do you manage that?
: It's a long story... (Should I just show him the Pen?)





Ethan: Huh? (Can he not see the Hollow Pen?) Er, well...yeah, something like that.
Morris: O...kay...then what?
Ethan: (That seems to have satisfied him, anyway.) So, um...first I have these flashbacks...

We fade to black, and when we come back...

: Aha. I think I got the gist.
: And you want to use this power of yours to change the current state of affairs somehow.
: I want to erase the reality where Ben gets into an argument with Aaron...
: I already tried it once, but this is how it turned out.
: Guess it didn't go too well.
: I have to really get to the heart of the matter if I want to fix it up.
: So you can change other people's lives. You're like a god, Ethan.
: (...!)
: No way--it's nothing like that!
: It's just that...if I don't...what'll happen to Ben?
: I want to make sure I help him out this time.
: Then we have to do some hunting.
: Huh?
: We have to hunt down some other points that can be changed.
: Your finger has to glow before you can do anything, right?

SHINING FINGERRRRR

: Er, yeah...
: (Morris is going to help me out! I'm glad I talked to him after all.)
: We gotta think of another way to get that finger of yours glowing.
: Er...yep.

I bet he's regretting going with the finger story now.

: So what have you already tried?
: Well...I opened a Hole in the Chronos parking lot. I wanted to try and keep Ben and Aaron from getting hurt...
: I see...
: But that didn't get rid of the fight itself.
: Oh...
: It just changed the reason for their fight. Not very helpful.
: ...Yeah...you're right.
: You've gotta get to the root of the problem and change that instead. So...any ideas?
: Um...



*Keep Aaron from leaving Chronos*
: I...could...try to keep Aaron from leaving the cafe?
: Keep him inside so he never meets up with Ben...hmm.
: Think it'll work, Ethan?
: Wait...no, that's no good. I never had any flashbacks from inside Chronos.
: Okay, so let's scrap that idea.

*Change Lucky's walking route*
: I know! I've had a flashback of Jacob walking his dog!
: I could pass Jacob a note, get him to take a different route...
: You could...but I don't know about that Jacob kid. I doubt he'd do much with a note from some stranger.
: Oh...
: (He's got something there... And I don't really know when that flashback is, anyway...)

*Keep Aaron from leaving Chronos, reprise*
: That won't work if you haven't had any flashbacks there.

*Change Lucky's walking route, reprise*
: We can't count on Jacob to follow through.

: ...Isn't there a better way?
: How about if I work off of my flashbacks, then?
: ...?
: I have these flashbacks of place and times where I might be able to open a Hole.
: I see what you're getting at, but I don't have those flashbacks.
: Oh, right...
: Can you take me to these places that look Hole-worthy?
: Sure. Come on.

So we have three places we can go that Morris will comment on. Let's take them in chapter-order. But first, let's talk to some random people.



: You mean you just found out? Duh! That is totally old news!
: But Vin hardly ever comes to practice or games or anything...
: Oh, 'cause he has an old injury. That's what the assistant coach said.
: Hey, how come you know all about this stuff, anyway?
: Well, maybe you've just been living under a rock!
: Hey! Just what do you mean by that!?
: (......)
: (Vin sure is popular...)

There's someone else you can talk to to find out that every student here today is part of the basketball team. You may have already guessed this from checking Vin's profile.



: Er...n-no, sir. I'm fine.
: Say, I didn't expect to see you in detention.
: Oh, no, I'm not.
: Ah, I see... Okay, time for a pop quiz!
: Huh?
: Let's see how you do! Question 1!
: Y-you mean...there's more than one?
: Finish this saying: "Don't fire until you see..."



I'm just going to be assuming Ethan's not an idiot for all of these from now on.

*Answer: ...the whites of their eyes*
: Bingo! Well done, Ethan! Now, onto question 2! What's the meaning of "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes"?



*Answer: Attack at just the right moment*
: Bingo! Fantastic job!
: Er, okay... Guess I'll be going, then.
: Have a safe trip home.



: I saw this place in one of my flashbacks, too.
: Wow--the school, too? Your flashbacks sure do get around.
: It's not like I have tons of them, you know.
: Still...is there anything you can do for Ben here?
: Hmm...
: ...Some way to prevent him from getting into that fight...
: ......... ...Hmmmmmmmmmm...
: ...I guess not...
: ...Next.



: But you've already tried something here, and it didn't work out.
: Right.
: Then why are we wasting time here? Let's move on.



: Not far from Chronos, huh.
: This is where I saw Olivia from a distance.
: Olivia? What about Aaron and Ben?
: They weren't in my flashback.
: Can you leave Olivia a message so she'll keep Aaron inside the cafe?
: I don't know... The refrigerator's nearby, but Olivia's kind of far away.
: Refrigerator?
: Yeah, the truck carrying the refrigerator.
: ...Aaaanyway... If this plan is bound for failure, we should just quit now while we're ahead.
: I think so, too.
: (I don't want my "corrections" to cause any other problems to crop up...)
: ...Then let's try something else.

After you're done the school dump and intersection, you automatically head here.



: (This is where our secret hideout used to be...)
: Hey, do you have any flashbacks for this place?
: Here?
: Yeah--this is where Shiloh used to be.
: The place where Ben...changed.
: If you can save Shiloh, who knows? Maybe Ben won't change.
: ......! That's it! Yeah!



: I have the flashback, but I can't open a Hole yet.
: Oh, yeah...? Well, shall we go in and take a look? The tree would have been further in, in the back room.
: Yeah! Let's check it out.