[Well, since Watanuki had bailed, Shadow had to do the honors of explaining stuff to... well, mostly Natsuno. Tsubasa seemed to know what was up anyway.
Then he had a lovely little dinner with Erhard...
That should have been plenty of time for Watanuki to do his doings, so now Shadow is going to track him down. Where the hell are you noodle man]
[COFFEE. The drink of MEN. MEN WHO DON'T WANT TO SLEEP!
Also, avoiding Syaoran is totally valid]
There you are. I've been looking for you. [He'll help himself to some coffee too, thank] It seems like Nirrti didn't much care for what you told her at the trial today.
She didn't, but it needed to be said. Remember that talk we had on Thursday? I didn't come to those conclusions by myself, and neither did she. She needs to unlearn them as well.
Somehow I feel like chipping through that falsehood she's wrapped herself in will take a bit longer than it did with you. [sip] But it's a start. [a small pause] ... She really likes you, doesn't she? In her... own way.
She's told me that she feels a kinship to me. We're not exactly alike, but I can see the similarities. I was born in a modern enough of a time that my strange gifts just got me strange looks, but if I had been born a few centuries earlier...
[He very well could have been another Nirrti, lost to a mob that didn't understand him.]
... Yes. [Shadow drops his head a bit, ears droopy] I've been reading about how humans have treated people who are 'different' throughout history. Sometimes they would even sacrifice people they knew to be innocent, to try and avert the disasters of famine or disease. But sometimes, even in modern times... [Shadow looks into his coffee] I know you know my story. Which means you know what fate befell my creator. [there must always be someone to blame]
[Shadow shakes his head] I wouldn't want you to. Things happened in my timeline the way they did for a reason. But it's just... another example. Of how someone who only ever wanted to help people can be turned into monsters under the right circumstances.
[He makes a thoughtful noise as he nods his head. Yes, there are many examples of that. Watanuki understands it quite well. He has had angry customers in the past, after all.]
He will live on in your memory, too, so he's not truly gone.
[Shadow looks down into his coffee again. He misses the professor, and Maria. But it wasn't his place to mess with those sorts of things]
... Your friends are the same way, you know. I know you miss them. And... that's what Nirrti wants too, right? Someone to be her friend, even if she won't call you that.
I feel like that's going to be difficult. Her last memories as a human were clearly pretty terrible, and if my math is right, she's spent something like 300 years stewing in her delusion.
It's going to be difficult, but not impossible. After all, if everyone's efforts can keep me from hating the person who murdered me, then I think we have the right group to help her.
[he grumbles] You're never going to let me live that down. But I guess that's fair. I did murder the fuck out of you. [he grumbles again, resting his head in his palm and stirring his coffee] I have eaten so much crow the past few weeks... I can't believe Sora and Takumi may have had the right idea all along...
Let's just say I have a long memory and plenty of salt to go around.
[He says that with a smile, though. Shadow has firmly ended up in the category of 'Watanuki's favorites', so it's ok. A little shooting can be forgiven, if used for prodding.]
Hero-types like them tend to be right. The universe is ultimately balanced, but tends to favor 'good'.
Oh. Good. He’s definitely the least annoying of the other three. ... Not that that’s a hard bar to clear, given his competition is Sonic and Amy, but... [ Shadow sips his coffee] He’s not very bright, but his heart is in the right place. I fear his time traveling nonsense is going to get him hurt one day, but he’s dead set on protecting his time.
He is an interesting one, to be sure. I was torn between picking him and you, but ultimately decided on you because he probably would have broken under the strain of the murders and trials. You're tougher emotionally.
You’re probably right. He’s naive, inexperienced. It seems like the only real suffering he’s experienced was erased from our timeline. [ And having seen the events of that timeline... thank god, tbh. Shadow has enough problems without someone like Mephiles existing in his general direction
But... wait....]
Choose between him and me? Silver was brought in by the machine? [ No one told HIM... but in retrospect, the Foundation may have wanted them kept separate for various reasons ]
Oh, no. Silver was in the test game that Lambdadelta used to show us how the rules worked. I could have taken Pieces from that too, but ultimately I did not.
That’s good, then. So he’s back where he belongs? [ Sigh ] I understand what the Foundation is trying to do, but their machinations are leaving worlds without key players. Just because one person has never saved THEIR version of Earth doesn’t mean other planets aren’t defended by single individuals.
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After Trial!
Then he had a lovely little dinner with Erhard...
That should have been plenty of time for Watanuki to do his doings, so now Shadow is going to track him down. Where the hell are you noodle man]
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And he might also be avoiding Syaoran, but details.]
Ah. Hello, Shadow.
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Also, avoiding Syaoran is totally valid]
There you are. I've been looking for you. [He'll help himself to some coffee too, thank] It seems like Nirrti didn't much care for what you told her at the trial today.
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[He very well could have been another Nirrti, lost to a mob that didn't understand him.]
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[He won't mention the details, because that's rude. But he knows the story.]
And...as tempting as it may be to try, I wouldn't be able to help him. I'm sorry.
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He will live on in your memory, too, so he's not truly gone.
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... Your friends are the same way, you know. I know you miss them. And... that's what Nirrti wants too, right? Someone to be her friend, even if she won't call you that.
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[He says that with a smile, though. Shadow has firmly ended up in the category of 'Watanuki's favorites', so it's ok. A little shooting can be forgiven, if used for prodding.]
Hero-types like them tend to be right. The universe is ultimately balanced, but tends to favor 'good'.
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[Hopefully there's no Sonics at the Foundation.]
You know, I met another hedgehog once. ...well, 'met' is a bit of a stretch. I saw him, but he didn't see me.
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He tilts his head and quirks an ear ]
Another hedgehog? Pink, or silver fur?
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But... wait....]
Choose between him and me? Silver was brought in by the machine? [ No one told HIM... but in retrospect, the Foundation may have wanted them kept separate for various reasons ]
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That’s good, then. So he’s back where he belongs? [ Sigh ] I understand what the Foundation is trying to do, but their machinations are leaving worlds without key players. Just because one person has never saved THEIR version of Earth doesn’t mean other planets aren’t defended by single individuals.
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