Part 17: The Unseen

Update 17: The Unseen







Ethan: Thanks.



: And on your day off, too--sorry about that. You're always so busy with work...
: ...That's nothing for a kid like you to worry about.
: I'm sorry. What I wanted to ask you...
: Is it about your parents?
: Oh, er, actually, not this time. It's about the Hollow Pen...
: (Although... I wonder how much he even knows about the Pen...?)
: ...Well? What did you want to ask?
: (Hmm...how should I say this?)



*Question: Do we have any heirlooms?*
: I was just wondering, er...does our family have any kind of, say...heirlooms, for example?
: Huh?
: Er...
: Your coffee's getting cold.
: Oh! Oops.



*Question: Do we have any heirlooms?, reprise*
: So...I guess not, huh? Nothing you could call an heirloom?
: Beats me.

*Question: Do you know about the Hollow Pen?*
: (Can Uncle Derek even SEE the Hollow Pen?)



Derek: Huh?
Ethan: ! (So he CAN see it...?)
Derek: Well? What are you waiting for? If you wanna ask me something, ask me already!
Ethan: Oh...right. Sorry about that... (So...I guess...he CAN'T see it. That's what it looks like, anyway.)

Ethan takes the Pen back. It's the exact opposite of the earlier image, so not bothering to capture it.

*Question: Do you know about the Hollow Pen?, reprise*
: Uncle Derek, have you ever heard of the Hollow Pen?
: Nope. Never heard of it, don't know what it is. End of story.

And converge.

: Wait--is that what you wanted to talk to me about?
: Well, er...I mean...
: If we DID have some kind of a family heirloom... ...it might have gotten Mom and Dad tangled up in something.
: ...... Heirloom or no heirloom--that's got nothing to do with it.
: Your dad was a real pain. Always butting in on other people's business. Frankly, I'm surprised he didn't get into trouble earlier.
: ...I see...
: (I guess Uncle Derek doesn't think much of my dad...)
: Actually, speaking of trouble... Here, this might be news to you.
: Your parents were chasing after an old accident.
: What? What kind of accident?
: A traffic accident that happened about the time I was born. A high-school classmate of mine lost his mother in that accident.
: Your classmate?
: Guy by the name of Irving Onegin. No one knows where he wound up after high school.
: Irving... (Feels like I just heard that name somewhere.)
: Your folks were investigating that accident just before their little disappearing act.
: Thinking it over from a fresh perspective'll get you further than chasing down some heirloom.
: ......
: Now, I bet that accident is worth looking into...hey, you listening?
: (I remember now--Irving the shopkeeper. Wait a second...)



Shopkeeper: They said it was a birthday present for an upperclassman. Seemed pretty happy about it.

It's worth noting that this is slightly different from when we saw it before - Irving's got a different sprite here. Not sure why they did that, but...
I'm also curious to know if anyone noticed this as being off when it came up two updates ago.



Derek: What the--?! What's up with you?


This is the first time this track's come up, and it's very fitting for this part.

Ethan: That present...I shouldn't have it at all! (The clock--its reality was wiped out...that never happened!) It shouldn't even exist!
Derek: Present? Wh-what are you going on about?



: (I knew it.)
: (So why does that shopkeeper have that same memory...?)
: Irving... I know--his business card!



Derek: What's going on in there?
Ethan: Er...I'll be right there!



{Soundtrack: Silence}

: Looks like you didn't need to talk to me after all.
: What other people have to say is overrated. You gotta figure stuff out for yourself.
: You're a lot like your dad.
: ...Sorry.
: And look at this--your coffee is ice cold.
: I'm sorry. I went to get this.



Derek: ...Whoa!



Ethan: It's him...
Derek: ...! So he's back in town, eh...?
Ethan: He owns an antique shop near school... It's called "Aeon".



Ethan: Huh? Uncle Derek...you're going there now?
Derek: Looks like it.
Ethan: Then I'm going too!
Derek: No way--you stay put. Let me talk to him man-to-man. He's got a lot of...explaining to do.
Ethan: ...
Derek: You get me?
Ethan: ...All right. (Wonder what could have happened between those two...?)
Derek: Food's in the fridge. Help yourself.

And he runs off.

: ...There he goes.

And he comes back.

: Whoa!
: I nearly forgot the most important thing!



Ethan: S-see you.

And this time he's gone.

: (Irving, huh...)



: (Kori said I wasn't the only person with a Pen...)
: (Could Irving be another one? If so, he should have flashbacks like I do, too. Could...could Uncle Derek know about that?)

We can try to go somewhere else, but...

{Soundtrack: Silence}

: (Hey...the door to the study is open.)
: (Uncle Derek left in such a hurry he forgot to close it.)
: (Should I go take a look? Now's my chance to go in there... Uncle Derek might have some info on that accident my parents were investigating.)

Ethan will refuse to do anything else, so in we go.

: (Let's see...better be careful. Uncle Derek can't find out about this.)





: (Is there a reason I'm not allowed in here?)

We're going to be poking around from left to right, as I remember them.

*Phone on desk*
: (A cellphone with some animal hanging off it. Is this...Uncle Derek's?)

*Key on desk*





*Cabinet*
Unlocking sound, probably prompted by the Tiny Key.

: ...! (There we go. Maybe this'll have what I'm looking for.)
: ...Huh? It's a Kako High yearbook.
: (Uncle Derek said he and Irving were in the same class.)


Ethan: (Uncle Derek's young...but Irving looks way younger. Or maybe it's just that Irving is extra-old now.) I'd better move on--I'm just wasting time on this...

{Soundtrack: Silence}





Ethan: K-Kori...!? No, wait a second. It might be her mom or something... ...No, that's her full name, all right. It's her...it's Kori. (What's going on...? Better put this back. Between these two books, was it?)

There's a clinking sound.

Ethan: (...? Did something...fall in there?)





*Right bookshelf*


Ethan: (It's barely been touched... ...Wait...maybe it's not totally unused after all. If Dad never existed, maybe the investigation never happened. Huh?)



Ethan: (There's glue marks left behind in a spot marked 3/23, 35 years ago... If there WAS an article here at one time, that means the whole affair wasn't just erased. Could it be Irving's traffic accident--the one Uncle Derek was talking about? I'd like to see this article... Maybe I can find it somewhere.)

*Right cabinets*
: An old scrap of paper--what could it be? Something's written on it.



Ethan: "When the heir turns 17, the Pen gains a new Holder. This is likely because the Pen uses its holder's Time. The holder of the Pen expends some of his or her Time when using it. The same person cannot go on using the Pen indefinitely." (This is Dad's handwriting. Was he talking about the Hollow Pen? It said something similar in that letter I got earlier. "The holder of the Pen must have Time"--I remember that.)
Ethan: ..."Time", eh? (Does he mean, like...lifespan? Come to think of it, Irving doesn't look like he's the same age as Uncle Derek. And...neither does Dad... ...... I'd better keep a close eye on my Pen use...)

That's everything, so we duck out. As we do, there's the familiar sound of the world shifting around us.

: ...!! (Another flashback?)

===



===

: Wh-what was that!? (Is this the accident Uncle Derek was talking about--the one 35 years ago? I saw a bus, and...a person, looking out the window?)
: (But why would I have a flashback of the present? Did the part of the past dealing with the accident change just now?)
: (I've got to find out more.)