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[neverjoinyou]

Leave a message. I will hear you.

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[neverjoinyou]

"No, I..." Luke shakes his head. "I did, too. That's not just you. I think that's kind of part of being young. But hey..."

He leans back, watching Bill.

"Both of us... wanted out. We got out. And it makes sense that in our own very different ways, we've got mixed feelings about that. It's okay to miss something that wasn't all that great to begin with."

[tetractys]

"I'M GOING TO TRY TO BRING IT BACK."

He just can't deal with knowing he made the mistake. Knowing it's not out there any more, and should be, and that it's his fault. He's going to fix the things he did, or how bad he feels is going to drive him crazy. He has to get rid of it, he has to throw something at it to make it stop.

Is this the right thing to do? Maybe. Is Bill doing it for the right reason? No, absolutely not.

[neverjoinyou]

Luke feels something in him stop cold at that. This is not the discussion he'd thought they'd been having.

"Hang on," he says, rubbing a hand over his eyes. "Look, feeling bad about it is one thing, but... I don't know if this is a good idea."

[tetractys]

"BUT THEY'RE DEAD, RIGHT? AND WHAT HAPPENED WASN'T FAIR. AND I THINK I CAN FIX IT. ISN'T THAT GOOD?"

If he can't fix it, this is all going to immediately fall apart, because he has no idea how to grieve for things. He's bounced off Depression and got stuck in Bargaining.

[neverjoinyou]

Luke bites his lip to keep from responding 'no' too quickly. This is, he thinks, another phase of Bill's hurt. He's broken up with Ford because he might be using him. He wants to bring his world back because he might have made the wrong choice to destroy it. Okay.

"The... fact you want to is good," he says finally. "And you're right. It wasn't fair, and maybe it shouldn't have happened. But... it did. And it's just not as simple as undoing it. For one thing, all the stuff that was wrong to begin with... it'd still be wrong." He chews on that for a moment. "I'm not saying it's not a good idea at some point. I just don't think it's a good idea to jump into it without having a plan."

[tetractys]

"I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK, I JUST ..."

Luke's right, he doesn't have a plan. And everything that was happening there.. was still horrible.

"THAT REBELLION YOU FOUND, THEY DESERVE TO LIVE. AND WHO KNOWS WHO ELSE DISAGREED WITH WHAT WAS HAPPENING BUT WAS TOO SCARED TO DO ANYTHING? ALL THE POWER I HAVE.. I HAVE IT BECAUSE I WAS WILLING TO TRADE ALL THEIR LIVES FOR IT. WELL, I'M NOT WILLING ANY MORE, I WANT TO TRADE IT BACK."

[neverjoinyou]

"I don't think it works that way," Luke says softly. "Though it's... to your credit you're suggesting it. The thing is... The person you are today wouldn't exist if that hadn't happened. Just like I wouldn't be me, if I had stayed with Owen and Beru. So the person you are today wouldn't think to reverse it, if it hadn't happened to begin with."

Which is obviously not exactly what he meant, but he's trying.

It's a good thing I checked this, comment vanished :\ sorry

[tetractys]

"OH, I KNOW."

Bill looks ...haunted?

"I THOUGHT ABOUT IT A LOT! WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF I'D NEVER MURDERED EVERYBODY I EVER KNEW. I WOULDN'T EVEN BE 'BILL,' FIRST OFF. THAT NAME'S A PRETTY RECENT ONE. I WOULDN'T HAVE EVER LIVED SOMEWHERE WHERE IT WAS SAFE TO SPEAK MY MIND, OR BEEN ABLE TO LOOK UP TO SEE STARS IN THE SKY... I'D NEVER HAD LEARNED ABOUT THE UNIVERSE BESIDES THAT I DIDN'T LIKE IT MUCH, OR ABOUT MYSELF BESIDES THAT I WAS PRETTY PISSED OFF. I'D NEVER HAVE HEARD COLE PORTER PLAY PIANO. HEARD ANYBODY PLAY A PIANO. HEH."

Bill's eye finally opens back up again, weary.

"I WOULD HAVE DIED BEFORE I WAS EVEN ME. I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK IN TIME FOR THIS, KID. THAT'S A FORM OF SUICIDE, FOR THIS VERSION OF YOUR BUDDY BILL ANYWAY. I'M JUST GONNA TRY TO, EH-"

He makes a tired circle with his fingertip, counter-clockwise.

"DO THE SAME THING I DID TO KILL THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE, BUT BACKWARDS."

aahh I was gonna ask you but I kept forgetting

[neverjoinyou]

Oh, Bill.

"Okay," Luke says slowly, trying to parse all the potential pitfalls of this but knowing he can't possibly game out the whole disaster. He's not smart enough. He's not sure anyone is that smart. "Okay, but... You realize this has a lot of ways it can go wrong, right?"

<3

[tetractys]

"YEAH. I'M GOING TO HAVE QUENTIN HELP ME, HE'S RESTORED A WORLD BEFORE. ... AND HE PROBABLY WON'T LET ME PULL THE TRIGGER IF THE SPELL'S JUST GOING TO EXPLODE THE UNIVERSE."

Probably!

[neverjoinyou]

"Probably," Luke says, one eyebrow slanted.

[tetractys]

"HE'S A SMART GUY, AND HE'S AS CLOSE AS WE GET TO SOMEONE WHO'S DONE THIS BEFORE."

[neverjoinyou]

Luke does not think talking Bill out of this would help. Then again, he's been in a smiliar position before and should be wary of plans labeled "Bill," but here's the thing:

This really doesn't feel like last time.

He thinks it's ill-conceieved, he thinks it's probably for the wrong reasons, but it's not bad-hearted. It's not, on its face, wrong as far as Luke can see.

"Okay," he says again, lips pursed briefly in resolution. "What can I do?"

[tetractys]

"I DON'T KNOW. I JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU, I GUESS. .. YOU HELPED ME FIGURE OUT I DON'T NEED THE POWERS, YOU KNOW."

They're fun, but-

[neverjoinyou]

Luke smiles.

"I'm glad you did. Thanks. What I'm saying is... If you want to keep me informed, I'd like to know how it goes."

Both to keep an eye on things, and because yeah... he cares.

[tetractys]

"YEAH. I'LL TELL YOU WHEN THERE'S ANYTHING TO BE SAID. IF."

Bill appears to suddenly remember something.

"OH, SOMETHING ELSE. ME AND A COUPLE OTHER INMATES ARE TRYING TO BUILD A RADAR TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY OTHER, EH, ANY AUTHORITY SHIPS CHASING US, I GUESS. SEEING IF THEY'RE IN COMMUNICATION RANGE."

It's a good idea in theory. In practice, trying to herd Entrapta's eccentricities and short-sightedness and Jasper's inability to separate her emotions from her work has been a trial.

[neverjoinyou]

Luke chews on that for a moment.

"Okay," he says finally. "Can I ask about motive? Or is that the sort of thing I don't want to know?"

[tetractys]

"WELL, AT THIS STAGE, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. IF WE KNOW FOR SURE THEY'RE CHASING US, WE'LL PROBABLY DECIDE WHAT TO DO AFTER THAT. BUT I DON'T LIKE THE IDEA OF IGNORING THIS WHOLE 'STOLEN SPACESHIP' THING UNTIL IT COMES BACK TO BITE US."

[neverjoinyou]

Luke nods because that actually sounds… right, and he feels dumb for not thinking about it. “And when you say ‘us’...?”

[tetractys]

"WHOLE SHIP!"

Bill gestures around, tired but frustrated.

"I MEAN, WE'RE ALL CONTRABAND AT THIS POINT. THE ADMIRAL TOOK THE SHIP AND KIDNAPPED US, AND IT KINDA BUGS ME THAT NOBODY SEEMS TO THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT..."

[neverjoinyou]

It's the correct answer. Luke doesn't know if Bill knows that--it's probably a better sign if he doesn't.

"They might, and might just... forget about it, what with everything else," Luke points out. "Who knows about this so far?"

Because we've been down this road before, Bill. Of people who are clearly affected not being looped in.

[tetractys]

"ENTRAPTA, JASPER, MEOWTH, AND ME. AND YOU."

He's letting you in on it from the beginning now! It's ... progress ! (?)

[neverjoinyou]

Okay. All inmates--of course. Luke nods.

"At what point," he says, "do you think it's important for the rest of the passengers to know about this?"

[tetractys]

"UHHHHHH."

Never.

[neverjoinyou]

Luke frowns.

"I'm not saying I'm going to go announce it," he says, because, you know. Trust. "But it goes back to... things that affect everyone. And making choices for other people."