[03] Video

[kingpawn]

[ The video feed starts with Walt in a room in his Heropa home, an open box on the bed filled with Kaylee's things -- coveralls neatly folded and tucked inside, wrenches and other tools laid delicately on top...the whole process seems exceedingly painful for him as with each item he pulls out of the closet, the efforts become slow and labored. ]

I don't know who knew Kaylee Frye. If you didn't, you should have. I've never met anyone so genuinely cheerful and kind. She was the sunshine in this dark, cloudy world.

[ There's a very sad, forlorn smile. This feels more like a funeral, like saying goodbye to someone who passed away. And in some cases it's worse -- them vanishing to another universe, never to remember their time here, never to be seen again. ]

She helped me when she didn't have to. She cared when she shouldn't have. She took care of me when I couldn't take care of myself. And what did she expect in return? Nothing.

[ With a long pause, it's very clear Walt is trying to maintain his composure. A breath in and a breath out. ]

I hoped I was wrong. I hoped to god I was wrong. That her disappearance was only temporary. But it's been a few weeks, and there's been no sign of her returning. I will miss her. Every day I will miss her. I already do.

This world -- it's done nothing but take things away. From me. From everyone else. Can you honestly say you've gained anything from being here?

[ Walt goes to reach into the closet for one of the final items and his hand twitches back. The sadness in the lines of his face increases as he pulls out a wrapped present -- a card reading: To Mr. White.

That's when Walt can't hold it back anymore. He sits on the edge of the bed, pulls the square-shaped present to his chest and cries. ]

Comments

[khajidont]

Someone did, but it was months and months ago. If you wanted to find more people like you, you could always make one too. Not everyone will respond, because it's sort of private, but...

[Jaime frowns, considering how many people keep it a secret, and how many people wear it on their sleeve, as flippant with the information as they are with what they ate for lunch.]

There's bound to be a few people who'd want to talk. At least in private.

[kingpawn]

It's an idea. I might do that.

[ Because for as much as Walt hated the network, it would be nice to have an actual conversation with someone who died in their world. With someone who understands how jarring and terrible it is to be dragged back to life when you finally thought it was over. ]

But enough about me and my depressing, old man topics. How have you been? Did you find a new job yet?

[khajidont]

Oh, um.

[Jaime has to take a minute to switch topics. It seems tacky to start talking about his new job and his life so soon after the news that Mr. White is dead, leaving behind a widow and two fatherless children, but it's not like there's much more to say.

Maybe he can at least cheer him up.]

There's nothing that exciting! I graduated, so the guys at the garage stuck to their end of the deal, and I'm working there full-time now. You'll have to let me know if your car ever breaks down, 'cause I could totally get you a good deal on it.

[It's not the work he saw himself doing, but he's happy enough doing it. Without a family to provide for, isn't that enough?]

If you've got one, I mean. They're kinda hard to afford when we all come here with nothing, but I hear pharmacy work pays pretty well.

[In this world especially, it seems.]

[kingpawn]

[ Walt laughs, goodheartedly. ]

That's handy. I may have mentioned this before or maybe you already knew -- but Kaylee was a mechanic. She was my go-to-girl for car troubles. And trust me, I had a lot of them with my first car here.

But the one I drive now is newer.

[ Like brand new. Like paid for all in cash kind of new. ]

But the pharmacy is fairly decent as far as pay goes. I'm in a good spot monetarily because I have been supplementing my income through part time teaching at Xavier's and a few chemistry-related side projects. I'm hoping to be able to afford a nice house fairly soon. You know, on the off chance my family shows up. It would be better than cramming them all into the government complex shared with other people, too.

[khajidont]

Yeah, that sounds great. I know there's a couple of empty government houses around too, but I think there's something about having your own place, right?

[You can certainly have a lot more fun with it, Jaime thinks. He's lived in government housing for over a year now and doesn't really intend to leave, but the fact of the matter is, the houses are a little scary in a Stepford Wives kind of way. There's not that much room for changing things up, and they all look absolutely identical.]

You guys could even fix it up, make it seem more like home. Only... what sort of chemistry-related side projects are there? I didn't even know that was a thing. Are you working for someone else, or...?

[kingpawn]

[ Well the question about what sort of chemistry projects there are catches him off guard. ]

Well, there are...um...

[ He retreats to his ice cream, taking a few convenient bites. Can't talk with his mouth full. That'd be rude. ]

A lot. Of different chemistry projects. On which....one can work...

[ Stalling while he thinks up examples. ]

I mean chemistry is part of daily life, you know. Even the very ice cream we're eating comes together because of simple chemistry. You wouldn't be able to have the chocolate without emulsification.

Because otherwise things would just break down and not bind together. So....yeah.

[ Did that confuse Jaime enough to evade answering the question? Walt sure hopes so. ]

thank you for this tag, i love it so much

[khajidont]

Um... yes. I know that much, Mr. White, [Jaime says, smile faintly perplexed, eyebrows drawn together in frank confusion as Mr. White stumbles across what's supposed to be one of his hobbies. This sounds like something one of his chemistry teachers would say in an effort to make science fun (in your face, chemistry teachers, Jaime already thinks science is fun!), but it doesn't do a whole lot to illuminate what it is he does in his spare time.

Jaime jabs his spoon into his ice cream again.]

But you don't really have to lecture me about that. I have taken chem class, you know. If you don't want to tell me what chem projects you do, that's okay, you know.

hahaha. It's not Walt if he's not failing at life!

[kingpawn]

[ Bullet dodged!

Sort of...

Walt looks slightly embarrassed when Jaime calls him out on his very obvious diversion. ]

Oh, well. I just don't think they would be very exciting for you. That's all. I work with others to make pharmaceuticals that we hope will help out with a variety of different problems.

[ A nice way of saying he makes meth. ]

And I've been researching various counteracting agents as well, to a variety of different poisons. I just think we should be prepared just in case something goes really bad with this war.

[ And he thinks that's enough enlightening to not be quite so suspicious. ]

[khajidont]

I dunno, that sounds pretty interesting to me. I always figured that since we get so many people from worlds where science is more advanced than it is here, it'd be a lot better to use that to help people than... some of the other things people do. Making new medicines and stuff would last long after any of us get ported out.

[Or, at least, that's how he interprets Walt's words. It's the only possible pharmaceutical applications he can think of, though he would think of it more as a vocation than as a simple hobby.]

How does the medicine here compare to what you've got back home, anyway?

[kingpawn]

[ Walt smiles after Jaime's words. What a wonderfully optimistic kid he is. ]

Well, it's slightly more advanced. They use a lot of the same types of things. But the technology and medical achievements have done things that my own world has not. Like cure cancer, for example. Do you find it's the same way compared to your world? Or is your world even more advanced than this?

[ For some reason, Walt imagines he and Jaime came from the same type of modern world. ]

[khajidont]

Oh, no. My world's less advanced in most things except for space travel. This world sucks at space travel.

[Maybe in part because they have no aliens around here. Who knows? Either way, they've gotten really far with all this hologram and hovering business, but they can't seem to figure out how to send a guy up into space.]

I'm sure there are other ways that my world's more advanced than this one, but I'm not a scientist, so I don't really know all that cutting edge stuff.