[video; psychic bridge ii to the walkabout]

[neverfeltthatway]

[Armin asks around who'd like to be involved with the psychic bridge ahead of time - though for now he avoids asking those Travelers who are here from the first time around on this jaunt. As many as 38 investigators from the jaunt are willing to join him in talking with the walkabout-side folks.]

This is Armin, from the jaunt on Mars, trying to get in touch with anyone on the walkabout.

What's going on on that side? Where are you? Is everyone all right?

Like I said, we're on a Mars colony on this side, and it looks like the colonists are going to try and steal a herd of cattle from the oppression corporations in charge, rationing all the food and keeping most of the people in poverty. However, that's not our greatest concern.

This is a place we've been to before, long before Moebius. More than that, this is a time we've been to before. The Arcana have sent us back the Travelers' timeline - or their own, or liminal space's, however you want to look at it - and placed us within the original jaunt. Some of our number are even infiltrating as other Travelers from the first time around - both those investigating and those infiltrating.

We think they may be attempting to revive one of their own number - one of the dead Arcana that would still be alive at this point in the timestream. That's just speculation, at this point - as far as I know, nothing is confirmed - but it seems to fit. What we should do about it, on the other hand, and about this whole situation... may be harder to figure out.

Comments

[thornsofmalkav]

I don't think it's that hard to figure out, Armin. We do what's best for the world and disregard whether or not it'll be what the Arcana need to do their thing. We've finally got a jaunt off from doing Jaunts strategically, so let's run with just doing the right thing.

And, like, Erebus is cartoonishly villainous enough that, like, screwing them over is probably the right thing.

[neverfeltthatway]

The Martian side isn't hard to figure out. Of course we're going to do whatever is best for the world and the colonists. [He says it like it's obvious - like he didn't think to mention it because there was never any doubt in his mind that that's what they were going to do.]

It's whether we do anything about what the Arcana are trying to do that may be difficult to figure out. [Working through the problem the jaunt has set before them is the usual way they influence the Arcana, but that doesn't mean it's the only way they could try to do so.] Or if we can use what they've done as a way to influence other things for ourselves - and whether that would be a good idea.

[thornsofmalkav]

I mean, I think I already accidentally influenced Joscelin. In a weird recursive way where I inspired him to become the guy who inspired me... to become the person who just inspired him.

[neverfeltthatway]

...Do you think that means that we can only fulfill our present while we're in the past, we can't actually change it?

[He is sure Thorne will know more about theories of time travel than he does.]

[seestheworld]

[Wait what.]

Erebus?

[neverfeltthatway]

The name of the company.

It... means something else to you? [That much isn't hard to tell.]

[thornsofmalkav]

Yeah. Erebus.

[rustyhonesty]

Hey, Armin. We're back in the Pogemon world, except in the past, apparently. And currently on the Pogemon side of things.

[neverfeltthatway]

Jean. [He tries to hide it, but Jean knows him well enough to hear the relief in his voice.] How far in the past? As I recall, it wasn't too long ago in that world that people started Traveling between them.

...Are Eren and Mikasa over there?

[rustyhonesty]

Apparently this is the first time humans appeared on their side.

Yeah, they're both investigating so they might say something too.

[crouching_sin]

Like was stated before, we're in the Pogemon world. Everything seems all right - for now we're just focused on getting to the mountain and surviving in this forest. And making sure no one runs off, because some people here have clearly never been in a survival situation before.

As for your situation... I'll admit others here would have far more of an idea about the Arcana's motives. Still... which Arcana would be alive at that time?

[neverfeltthatway]

Do you have enough people who do have survival experience that you should be all right?

I think Hierophant dying started this round, so it's nothing to do with him. But... Star and Fortune are probably still around? I find it likely it's one of those.

[crouching_sin]

Possibly, though I think some of them are Pogemon right now.

... Hm. Star would be dealing with hope, and Wheel of Fortune would be dealing with change and luck.

[bite_the_hand]

Armin! [The relief in his mental 'voice' is quite obvious.] We've been fine so far. What about you? Are you okay? That, uh, time thing sounds bad.

[And confusing. Eren's trying to hide how much trouble he's having wrapping his head around the concept. Armin, however, knows him well enough that the confusion is both easy to hear and was probably expected.]

[neverfeltthatway]

Eren. [Eren knows Armin well enough to hear the relief in his voice.] You're all right. ...Mikasa?

And I - we're not sure if it's bad yet or not. But it's more complicated, and it definitely raised the stakes. I'm - I'm all right, though, right now.

[bite_the_hand]

Mikasa's okay too. She's annoyed she got stuck as a cat-rabbit again, but getting turned into Pogemon's the worst thing that's happened to us here. [The worst so far, anyway.]

[Eren's voice takes on a more serious tone as he shifts focus to the Jaunt's problems. Time travel aside, the situation Armin described is far too familiar for Eren to be comfortable with. The elite hoarding food while the common people starve, cattle as a power symble... It's enough like the division between the inner and outer Walls to bring his old anger at the Sina nobles back to the surface.]

Bad and complicated are normally the same thing. Figures the damn Trumps would pick someplace that needs our help that much to pull this kind of shit. Do you need me to come over there?

[seestheworld]

Judging by the clothing styles, we're probably in the 1960s, or whatever the equivalent is in Pogeworld - so about thirty years before the first Pogemon Jaunt, give or take.

[Granted, they could also be having a serious retro fashion period, but judging by the reactions of some of the 'wild' Pogemon, that seems unlikely.]

[neverfeltthatway]

...So that would be before either knew much of anything about the other world, right? Maybe even before they knew the other world existed?

[seestheworld]

Based on the way the Infiltrated humans who got pulled over are acting, it's definitely before the human world knew of the Pogemon world. The Pogemon who aren't Investigating seem pretty bewildered, too.

[levelthreehooligan]

Hail, Armin.

I don't suppose you've seen Felih, at all? [There's a distinct note of concern in her mental voice, she's mostly concerned as all of his support system is on the other side of the walkabout.]

[neverfeltthatway]

Yeah, he's on this side - but he's infiltrating, I'm afraid

[dragoonrouge]

[Q'uila pipes up at this point, sounding just as concerned as Pinya]

Thank you for letting us know Armin. If at all possible, could you let us know if anything drastic happens to him? We would be most appreciative.

Pinya, we'll just have to wait till the end of the Jaunt and go straight to him.

[The is a hint of restlessness at that]

[shiromadoushi]

Heeeeh, you guys are on Mars? Sounds pretty cool! Literally! [[is he the first one to make that joke yet, is he, is he~]]

So how does a time paradox work when there are multiple worlds? Would it just cause the timeline to split, do you think?

[neverfeltthatway]

Yes - at night, it gets very cold. [Sorry Bakura, Armin isn't the best at detecting humor - and he's even worse at responding to it.]

I'm not sure how time works with the split. However, there have already been some things from our past as Travelers that we've fulfilled by being here. So I think this might still be the original timeline, and not an alternate one.

[shiromadoushi]

But if they do succeed, they'll have caused a paradox because they wouldn't come back to save someone who didn't need saving because they already had been. Or are they maybe planning on kidnapping that person to the future... but they they would have caused their own problems...

Reviving the dead is always tricky to start with, that sort of thing normally makes all sorts of problems or just destroys the world. Though that may have just been part of who that game was trying to revive...