Part 24: Only you can prevent vacant lot fires

Update 24: Only you can prevent vacant lot fires





Ethan: (Their names are missing. They're not even students here.)



All these new portraits only appear in this scene as far as I remember. The effort is nice, but it's a pain to clean.

*Conversation: Ashley*
: Ashley!
: Wh-what do you want? We're in the middle of class here.
: Sorry about that. Listen, where's Vin?
: ...!
: He passed away. Now stop asking me such awful questions. Goodbye!

And away she goes.

*Conversation: Emily*
: Hey, Emily.
: ...

She runs off too.

Gym Teacher: Hey, you there! Yeah, you! Get back to class, now!
: Yes, sir...
: (She can't mean...is Vin really DEAD dead...?)

Nah, she was speaking metaphorically about his basketball career. No? No.

: (And Ben...and Morris, too? Did they all die in that fire...?)



I wonder where our destination is.
Random note: Aaron's hanging around in the park looking for dropped change. I have no idea why.



Pretend to look surprised for me.

: Of course. In the newspaper archives, right?

I think after all the times we've been here in the past few days, Sara's come to expect us here. Of course, that's not true in this timeline, but still.

: What would you like me to look up for you?

*By event*
: (It would have been before the lightning strike...)
: It would be ten or so years ago now. There was a fire at a secret hideout--no...
: A fire in a vacant lot. Are there any articles about that?
: One moment, please...
: There's one match. I'll copy it for you.




: (So it was arson after all... And Irving was probably behind it, too.)
: (The fire happened at about 3:30 PM on January 20, ten years ago...)

Let's clear up our flashbacks.



And now to fix our problem.









On another note, I may have been wrong about how the Pen's limit decreases. It may actually just have a static maximum decrease every chapter, and I was just horrible at noticing it between chapters 1 and 2. I'll probably go back and correct myself once this is all over. One thing first, though.



Remember how Vin fell off that ladder way back when? We're fixing that now, too.

*Examine*
: (This ladder must be where Vin hurt himself.)

That's all he says as he reties the string. In an awkward moment, this is the first time I realize you're only able to make one change per Hole. I can reach the fire from here, but I can't interact with it. Glad I didn't fix the fire first! So I close the Hole, and reopen another one at the fire.



*Examine*
: (If I could only undo this fire somehow...!)

And with that, the fire's out. So we close our Hole.

===



===



: (What happened to Vin and the rest of the gang?)
???: Well, hello.





Jack: Good job. You've "undone" the fire at the vacant lot!
: You're the one who started it!
: That wasn't me.
: Don't be ridiculous! If not you, who was it?
: Irving.
: What are you talking about?
: My name is Jack. I'm not Irving.

With the sound of footsteps, our third player enters the game.



: Well, if it isn't Kori!
: Kori, wait! It's not him! It's not Irving!
: THAT Irving has already vanished, you mean?
: Bingo!
: Huh...?
: You look utterly perplexed. Allow me to eludicate.
: Let's say...I know. Imagine I have a million dollars here.







Ethan: ?? (What's he going on about?) If you send a million dollars five seconds into the past... But that money is there five seconds ago, too.



Let's be a disappointment to Jack Irving.

*Answer: You'd have two million dollars*
: Hmph. You're dumber than you look.
: Say that again!
: Try it, then, if you think it'll work! You'd be a multi-millionaire in the blink of an eye.

Still being a disappointment.

*Answer: Who knows?*
: Now, now. You're not even trying.

Okay, fine.

*Answer: You'd still have one million dollars*


Jack: See? All you have to do is use your noggin once in a while.
: Permit me to explain.
: Why does it remain one million dollars? In short... What you place in the past vanishes when it reaches the moment at which you put it there.
: It's true that there'll be two million dollars for those five seconds in the past...
: But once that "moment of placing" is reached, it ceases to exist. That's what's happened to me and Irving.
: So that means... He...no longer exists?
: At the moment he escaped through the Hole, the man called Irving ceased to exist...
: (So...is all this over?)
: And now... ...it's my turn. Jack's turn.
: !?
: !
: The man who's been ordering me around is gone--at last!
: I couldn't stand having such a close resemblance to him...
: And now you've become Mr. Twombly--is that it?
: Heh heh...I suppose that wasn't very nice of me... But what choice did I have? I didn't want to be Irving anymore.
: Why, you...!
: One's enough of anyone. Who needs two of the same person? I've surpassed him in many ways.
: And now that I have my freedom, I intend to prove to you how far I've come!
: So I'm terribly sorry, Kori, but I'm not Irving anymore.
: ...Same difference.
: You're cute when you act all tough! But listen, Ethan...
: ...What?
: Don't think I'm done avenging my mother's murder.
: Huh...?
: Where's Irving? I thought he went off to save her.
: Yeah, that didn't work out.
: How so?
: He saved me and his mother from that bus accident, all right.
: But it wasn't long after that that his mother died in an accident.
: !! You're kidding...! (Just like Mom and Dad...!)
: I was a fool to believe his empty promises.
: ......
: And so the curtain falls on the pitiful tale that was Irving's life...
: Now it's time for Revenge Part Deux--Revenge: The Return! Wait until you see what I have cooked up for you...
: Wh-what!?
: Heh heh...heh heh heh... Wah ha ha ha ha ha! Farewell!

And after chewing the scenery more than just a bit, he's gone.

{Soundtrack: Silence}

: Hey!
: Jack...



: What do we do now, Ethan...?
: I think we should see if anything else has changed. I've got to check in on Vin and the gang, too.
: I'll do some looking around myself--see if things are how I remember them.
: Okay. Let's be in touch if either one of us finds anything.
: Sounds good. Bye.

And off she goes.

: (What's up with the gang--and with Ashley?)

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