Part 26: Cornered

Update 26: Cornered





: !!! Wh-what!?
: You did, didn't you!
: No--of course I didn't!
: But the police told me--off the record, so to speak...
: They said...you might be the killer.
: !!
: You lured Ashley to Chronos...
: ...and then...you killed her. They even have proof!
: But I didn't! I didn't kill her!
: ......
: Please believe me, Vin...
: .........
: Vin...
: ...It's no use... I don't believe you. I can't.
: But...I didn't do it!
: What am I supposed to do? I can't change the way I feel. ...And I feel like I can't believe a word you say.
: ...Vin...
: ...I never want to see your face again.
: But, Vin...!
: Don't you "but, Vin" me!
: ...
: The next time I see you, I'm calling the cops. Got it?
: (...Vin...)



So I guess...we try and save Ashley again? Or something?



: Huh?
Police: Ethan Kairos?
: ......!! (What if they haul me in? How am I supposed to save everyone?)
Police: Wait! Where are you going?

And we get kicked back to the town map. Right now, if we try and go anywhere but where we're allowed to, we get that scene again. No matter...



...where...



...we go...



...they're always...



...one step ahead. Except for two places. The first, interestingly enough:



: Did something happen here?
: What's it to you?
: Well...
: Eh? Wait a second... Are you Ethan Kairos?
: Huh?
: That note on the envelope... You know about that, right?
: (What the...)
: You do, don't you!
: ......!!
: (What if they haul me in? How am I supposed to save everyone?)
: Wait! Where are you going?

The second is a little unexpected.



Hi, Emily. Nice to see you're not dead.

: Emily...
: D-don't come any closer!
: ......



: Y-you killed Ashley, didn't you?
: Huh?
: Everyone says so!
: She showed up at Chronos and you...you stabbed her to death...
: No! I didn't!
: B-but they say they have evidence!
: I'm telling you, it wasn't me!
: Ashley...she was so young...and it was so sudden...
: (All I did was write Ashley a note...)
: (Is that what got me into this mess?)
: Help! Someone, help me!
: Emily...
: D-don't kill me...please!
: Okay, okay--look, I'll stay put. Could you just tell me one thing? Please?
: ......
: (Since the note didn't work...)
: Did Ashley have her cellphone on her that day?
: Cellphone...?
: Now that you mention it... When she went to Chronos, she'd tried to call me on her phone, but she didn't have it. She just went straight there.

The way this is worded, there's no way for Emily to know that. I'd assume this was something they discussed beforehand.

: Did she drop it somewhere?
: She said she did. But then, right after that...
: Poor Ashley...!
: I know this is hard...
: Stay away from me!
: Oops--sorry.
: I-I've got to get out of here!

She runs off.

: (So Ashley didn't have her phone...)

If we try to go back to the library...



And so begins our frantic hunt for the one place that we can run and not get chased by the po-po. Imagine a few more shots of the ones I noted before. This time, our destination is:



: Wow, things sure have gone from bad to worse, haven't they.
: What should I do?



: How do I keep them all alive...?
: Ethan...
: Maybe...maybe I just can't.
: C'mon, Ethan!
: ...I...
: Ethan...
: Are you going to give up--and let Jack win?
: ...Jack...
: That's right--Jack. He's become Jack Twombly now.
: Which means...he must have done something to Mr. Twombly...
: He would have had to. I don't know what he did... but I know the real Mr. Twombly is gone.
: Mr. Twombly...how could he do that to you?
: We've got to think about a way to save everyone.
: Uh-huh...
: We can do this, Ethan.
: I know... Thanks, Kori. I'm all right now. Let's start brainstorming.





: Yeah. I wrote it on the envelope.
: What envelope?
: The one for my birthday present...
: Oh, yeah--that envelope. The one she dropped when she bumped into Kori the student.
: Right. The one with money in it.
: And now Jack's using it as evidence against you.
: So we need another way to keep Ashley safe.
: We need a way to keep the two of them away from Chronos... Can we call them, get them to go somewhere else?
: Well, Ashley said she lost her cellphone. She dropped it somewhere that same morning.

You may remember this being mentioned all the way back in Chapter 1.

: (Hang on...cellphone?)
: (Was it the one I saw earlier?)
: What is it, Ethan?
: I might actually be able to find that phone of hers.
: Huh?
: We'll have Ashley call Emily on her own phone. She'll tell Emily not to come to Chronos.
: But can we pull that off?
: Maybe... I have to stop off at my house first.
: I'll come, too.
: Huh?
: It's not safe for you to be out alone at a time like this.

Now, we can stop by Ethan's house with Kori.



: Okay. Thanks, Kori.
Police: What's going on over there, you two?
: I, uh, I saw someone lurking in the bushes! Over there!
Police: What!?
: He ran that way!
Police: Thank you, miss. I'm on it!
: Hurry--don't let him get away!