[Voice]

[thenightmarebegins]

A chance to return...

[A pause, along with the sound of water rushing behind him. Vincent has been coming to the Battle Dome ever since that announcement to go to the simulation of the place he wants to truly return to.]

I cannot help but still wonder what price will be paid for such a chance... and whether it's worth the potential risk.

[Not to himself, of course, but to the people and worlds involved.]

I suppose only time will tell for certain.

Comments

[gardeningaia]

...And someone taking the risk. But, it seems like there's enough people interested that someone will.

[ She's a little worried about that. Even if he's trustworthy, it's not like Bil's method here is exactly...tried and proven, yet.

And again, the issue of trustworthiness in the first place. ]

[thenightmarebegins]

It was bound to happen from the moment it was offered.

[Yes, it's partially because of the trustworthiness- or truly, lack of, along with that uncertainty about their competence.]

Something will fail, inevitably. I don't see how we could stop it... we can only repair the damage afterward.

[gardeningaia]

There might not be any damage still! [ She's wary, not pessimistic. ] Wouldn't it be nice if it could work? If we can do things like that...

[ She trails off on that hopeful note. She knows she's not willing to settle anywhere else, and that according to Bil returning to Gaia will mean a return to death for her. Either way, her heart sank a little after the announcement. But there's still Zack--and she's sure he wouldn't leave Cloud as he was then, but--maybe if someone who wanted a new life was with him, and he went back knowing what he does now, he'd have a chance at surviving. At living. And who knows what that might change.

Still, it's not really something she can encourage people to do with things like this, when they have no idea what will actually happen. ]

[thenightmarebegins]

If it does destroy all worlds somehow... it's not as if we'll have much to complain about anyway.

[See, he can see a bright side! ...Kind of. Vincent pauses a moment, almost hesitant to ask, but...]

...Would you choose a new life, on another world?

[gardeningaia]

Vincent, that's terrible. You're terrible. [ Said much more lightly than the words themselves would suggest, because she assumes he's joking.

In his own, weird Vincent way. (It's still a terrible joke.) ]

...I keep helping, don't I?

[Voice]

[mistlegacy]

I know what you mean. I'm almost sure there will be a catch...but it might be worth it, just to see home one more time.

[Voice]

[thenightmarebegins]

I wonder if we'll even be aware of any damage being done at all.

[He's actually more afraid of the situation where they go, it all goes well like nothing happened. Silent and undetectable problems are the worst kind in his opinion, they only fester and grow worse.]

Still, to return...

[Voice]

[mistlegacy]

You sound like you need to as badly as I do.

[Voice]

[thenightmarebegins]

We all left our lives behind us.

[Even if he's unsure what his life really is, or what it should be. Trying to fit in to it when everything is settled down is still strange for him. But to truly be back there, to be in her presence...]

[Voice]

[unseenspy]

I'm not sure if it's worth it either. I want to go home, but...I want to go home for good.

[Voice]

[thenightmarebegins]

[Yes, he knows that feeling well. It's rather cruel to let them see their worlds for so short a time and then take them away again.]

I would also prefer to ensure that this won't lead to a slow unraveling of the worlds... but... it's happening whether we want it or not.

...I might go.

[Voice]

[unseenspy]

...But then again...perhaps I should go. There are people there...

[Or more like otters who need him.]

Perhaps I should check on them, let them know where I've been. At least I could warn them that I'll be gone again...

[Voice]

[thenightmarebegins]

For the sake of those who are important... perhaps you should return. The chance to reassure them is more than most ever have.

[Vincent wonders whether he'll even want to speak with anyone when he returns, or if he'll just stay in that cave. It's not as if it's a very long time, after all.]

[iratus]

That would depend entirely on whether you can make effective use of it. A mere visit home would be entirely pointless otherwise.

[thenightmarebegins]

Effective how? I was told we cannot alter the past.

[And he's not sure at this point if there's anything that matters enough to change in the present. Geostigma is cured. The latest battles done.]

[iratus]

It is not the past I am concerned with, but the future instead.

[thenightmarebegins]

Do you believe we have any chance at truly affecting the future when we're there?

[Especially since it's only about a day's time... Though, he of all people is well aware how everything can be changed in an instant.]

[Voice]

[lostinmyway]

I assume if the Malnosso were forthcoming about the price of our visit, far fewer would choose to go. Honesty is not to the organization's benefit.

[Voice]

[thenightmarebegins]

[Is that Grune? It sounds like her, but Vincent picks up right away on something different.]

It never is... but even if they were truthful about those risks, some might still take their offer.

[There are people who are desperate to get home here, it wouldn't surprise him.]

[Voice]

[lostinmyway]

Yes--there are many here who would brave any danger for a chance to see their home again, and others who merely wish for a chance to see any place outside of Luceti. Both desires can be such that the loss of personal safety is but a small risk.

[Voice]

[thenightmarebegins]

I couldn't deny them that. Some that have lost their chance at life... deserve a new one.

[He's thinking one person in particular, of course.]

[private for reasons]

[yourhatred]

If I was a betting man, I would place all bets on being able to have no effect at all on our original worlds - if they even are our original worlds.

But to not take the opportunity is to never know. Rarely is there a truly winning position for us.

[private]

[thenightmarebegins]

Rarely. Especially where their experiments are concerned...

[There's always a catch. Always.]

Even if we may never know what influence we have... if any.

[Since how could they tell what happened in their future when they're back here again? Such effects can't be so easily measured anyway.]

[private]

[yourhatred]

But they know that many will go. Even if they will return having forgotten any influence they likely didn't have. Because any opportunity is better than none.

[He probably would, were it an option.]

Do you have the choice available to you?

[private]

[thenightmarebegins]

I have the choice... and I intend to travel to my world. I have reasons worth returning for.

[Although on some level he's aware that there's nothing he can do, but be there in her presence.]

Have you made your decision on the matter?