(no subject)

[evowhisperer]

(Let's just start with this post and have new threads for each scene, shall we?)

Comments

Two Cesars walk into a bar....

[pineapplesalmon]

It was late, and Caesar was hungry. While the first was no surprise--Caesar tended to stay up late when a project particularly grabbed his interest--the actual realization that he was hungry was actually a bit of a surprise. Then again, he had forgotten to eat lunch as well, so that probably had something to do with it.

He didn't want to disturb the rest of the house by cooking, and he didn't feel like rifling through the fridge, so off he went to Furman's. Caesar would order something to eat and drink, then brainstorm for a bit. His current project was nearly finished, so he needed to start thinking about his next one.

When he arrived, Caesar started heading to the back of the bar where he usually hid. It was quieter, away from the other patrons. There was a nice booth table where he could settle himself down for a few more hours of work.

Except when he got there, Caesar was surprised to find someone passed out in his booth. He was even more surprised, and actually quite stunned, to find himself being the one occuping it.

Was he having an out of body experience? Hmmm. Caesar brought his hand up to his chin in thought. Normally, if he was on Earth, this would be far more alarming. Here, however, it was far more curious. If he was dead, then he'd just come back in a week. But he didn't feel dead (how did dead feel like, anyways?), and he interacted with the world around him just fine. People had noticed him on his way to the back of the bar, after all. Still, there was some possibility--

--well actually there was another possibility that was far more likely, considering Nautilus. Ben was from an alternate Earth. It was very possible that if Ben was from an alternate Earth, then it could be theorized that his double could exist in his world. Or on another Earth.

This other him could also be a dillusion from... something. Well, there was one way to test that. Caesar reached forward and shook his doppelgänger.

One of them said 'ow'.

[evowhisperer]

Waking is disorienting and uncomfortable. Considering that from the moment his senses kick in Cesar can tell that Something Is Off, this is perfectly understandable.

The worktable he's fallen asleep at is at the wrong height. Or maybe it's the chair--normally it's never this soft. There are people in his lab speaking to each other at some distance, and no one usually has any reason to go into his lab but him, these days. Why would someone wake him?

Opening his eyes doesn't help the situation at all. Sparing a glance to take in the fact that he's in a booth, of all places, he looks up at whoever it was that shook him--

... Huh.

"This is unusual."

Behold the master of complete understatements. Eyes never leaving the double in front of him, Cesar puts a hand flat on table's surface. Bracing himself? Checking his coordination?

"Am I awake right now, or is this a dream?"

And the other one ducked.

[pineapplesalmon]

Caesar dropped his hand from Cesar's shoulder and took two steps back after the man spoke. It wasn't in a panicked sort of way, but he wanted to get a better view of his counterpart. So that's what he looked like when he first woke up after falling asleep on top of his work.

His own eyes didn't leave Cesar's form. Caesar wondered if the other him had just Awoken. It was likely with his question, but Caesar would've had the same question himself had he been awoken. ... How odd.

"You'll realize you're not dreaming if you work through some reality checks," Caesar stated, tilting his head slightly. "I'll explain things once you're done."

It's what he would do if in the same situation. To put them on a more even level, Caesar sat down across from him. He also took the liberty of ordering two bottles of a beer he knew was good. They were going to need them.

XD

[evowhisperer]

Well, if he insists. Cesar brings his other hand up on the table with the first, giving them a lingering look as they meet. Then he looks away, taking in his surroundings. He's in a restaurant of some kind--or maybe it's a bar? It's late at night, apparently, and he's never seen this place before in his life.

His double is still there when he looks back at him, sitting across the table. That's no surprise, but Cesar studies him regardless. Does he look that at ease, too? He doesn't feel that relaxed. He thinks about that for a moment, and after a beat, he rests his elbows on the table, tugging a nearby menu closer.

"Furman's Bar?" he asks out loud. Well, that's one question answered. "Where's that?"

[pineapplesalmon]

Ah, so he was completely new to Nautilus, then. Caesar had suspected as much, but the question confirmed it. He'd need the full explanation.

The robot came with the two bottles of beer, and Caesar took them both. He then offered one to Cesar.

"You're going to need this, because what I'm going to tell you is going to make you think you're dreaming again," Caesar gave as an answer. "And don't worry--you'll like it." Cesar was him, after all.

"Welcome to Nautilus. Think of it as some sort of interdimensional hub that exists on a higher plane of existence. You've Awoken, like I have, and many others from Earth and from other worlds entirely."

There. That should be enough to get some questions.

[evowhisperer]

Cesar takes the beer that the bar-tending robot just handed his nearly identical look-alike, not glancing at it as he listens to interdimensional hub this, and parallel universes that.

He takes a big drink.

(It tastes perfect, and this little confirmation of his copy's words just piles onto everything else, and his head kind of hurts, now.)

"Assuming that neither of us are, in fact, dreaming," Cesar says, pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand. "Is it safe to assume that the term 'Awoken' is metaphorical, and used to denote the arrival of a person to this plane?"

[pineapplesalmon]

"It is," Caesar replied after taking a much smaller sip of his own beer. "We're one of many Awakened here." Noun. That was how they were referred to. "Although I've never heard two of the same person Awakening before. It's rather curious. Theoretically, of course it was bound to happen eventually, but it's interesting that it hasn't happened before."

He leaned back for a moment, thinking. That only lasted a moment before he came to a decision. He reached into his jacket's pocket, pulled out his datapad, and quickly tapped away at the screen. Caesar handed it over to Cesar after Lelouch's Guide was on the screen.

"This introductory guide was compiled by a long-time resident. I found it very useful."

[evowhisperer]

"May I?" Cesar asks, raising his eyebrows at Ceasar as he takes the datapad. Ceasar, being Ceasar, will probably know that this is far less of a polite pleasantry than it is a request to completely ignore the doppleganger in front of him while he reads through the guide. This is, of course, what he promptly does, and the booth lapses silence while he reads.

After a time, Cesar leans back, scratching his head while he stares at the guide. "I have to admit, I'm exactly not sure where to start. Communications device? 'Bending'? Locally contained environmental regions sampling each geological seasonal pattern? The Gates? What did it mean by being unable to control one's actions around them?"

Poor Cesar. He's holding the beer close, but he doesn't take another drink, and it looks like his brain is about to hurt itself, trying to accommodate the sudden overload of information.

[pineapplesalmon]

Caesar drinks his beer and waits as Cesar reads through the guide. He'll need something to occupy himself in the meantime. The scientist knows better than to disturb the other when he's trying to process everything. Perhaps he's overloading himself with information, but he knew that he was able to handle it, so this Cesar should be able to as well.

He'd have to ask about differences in their Earths later. Right now, this was a more pressing issue.

"Bending is a whole discussion in of itself. I'll speak to that after all your easier questions have been exhausted. It's complicated.

"Communications device: you arrived with something that now connects to the network. Phone, Datapad, something else. You'll find it somewhere on your person.

"Each district has its own distinct weather pattern. It's odd, but you get used to it. I can really only explain it by 'that's just the way Nautilus works'. ... I've been trying to explain things that happen in Nautilus with science, but I'm fairly certain that Nautilus is just laughing at me.

"The gates are like dimensional gateways, ones that you can only open by Bending. You can pass through them to return home, like the guide says. I can show you what the Northern District gate looks like later, as that is the one you passed through--you just don't remember it. You'll return to the exact moment of time that you left when you do pass through it.

"And what it means is exactly that--it'll be like watching a movie, only you'll be inside yourself and watching things happen. Our Unawakened selves are, in a way, separate from us. We can't affect the outcome or their actions no matter how much we want to."

[evowhisperer]

While Ceasar talks, Cesar checks his pockets. Almost at once he produces a small phone, and he inspects it for a moment, before putting it down on the table. He's not even going to try and think about how it appeared, or why, or how it got into that pocket.

Having a sizable attention span, Cesar stays quiet and focused on the explanation. The effort this takes comes with a price: a faint line appears between his eyebrows, and while it might not be obvious to the casual observer, a fellow Ceasar Salazar might notice that the edges of Cesar's carefully mild calm are fraying. Cesar is stressed. Ordinarily this entire universe would be like a dream come true, but Cesar doesn't have time for this.

... Or--does he? Understanding of those last points is coming uncomfortably slowly, and with everything he knows he should be doing at that exact moment, and the way his head just keeps pounding, it's hard to clear his mind enough to really figure anything out.

Focus, Cesar. Find a way home, then take a break. The first step to doing that is to clarify the last point he still truly doesn't understand.

"Though they're separate and currently out of each other's control, it's still possible for the Awakened versions of us that are here to reunite with their left-behind Unawakened selves, correct?" Cesar lifts his gaze from his drink, telling himself that the crawling feeling in his stomach is hunger, not unease over the alternative.

"I have some extremely sensitive experiments I've left behind," he adds, as though it might somehow help. "I feel it would be best if they continued with both parts of my mind there on call." Ceasar did mention time travelling back to the moment of his departure, but that wouldn't mean a thing if he couldn't control his own body.

[pineapplesalmon]

Caesar's eyebrow goes up at 'extremely sensitive experiments', but he doesn't ask about them. He wants to, but he doesn't. Even if this is just another one of himself, privacy is privacy.

Especially since the man seems at least mildly distressed by all of this. It was understandable, Caesar supposed. If he left in the middle of something sensitive, left in the middle of something anything, he'd be wanting to go back to it immediately. The sensitive nature of whatever Cesar had been working on would've made it all the more urgent. Caesar knew there were some things he'd rather not have anyone know or touch, so the concern was more than a bit valid from his perspective.

It was actually a bit surprising that he wanted to return immediately. Well, more than a bit surprising, actually. Caesar wasn't focused on that quite yet, instead focused on the concerns that Cesar had first.

He'd put a reassuring hand on the other man's shoulder, but he couldn't reach it. Instead, Caesar leaned forward and reached across the table just enough to place his hand on the other man's forearm. When he spoke, he kept direct eye contact, wanting Cesar to understand what he was saying.

"Yes, it is possible to return to your time," Caesar's voice dropped slightly lower, more comforting, concern knitting his brow. "But you being here won't diminish the capabilities of your Unawakened self."

He paused for a moment, thinking. "I understand your concern in leaving things unfinished, but you really don't have a choice in the matter right now. Until you learn how to Bend at least at a beginner's level, you won't be able to visit. You'll need Bending to open the gate."

Hmm. That probably wasn't very reassuring. "Things will be fine. Trust me on this one. When you can, you'll go back to your time, and things will continue from there. You'll pop back in Nautilus eventually, too."

This was all very worrying, now that Caesar thought about it. It was almost like Cesar didn't want to be in Nautilus. This place was an amazing opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. How could Cesar pass that up, even for a bit of important work? It could wait. For Nautilus, it could wait.

((OOC: Let me know if the touching of his arm isn't okay, and I'll change it!))

[evowhisperer]

The crawling feeling has subdued itself into a knotted tangle that he can't quite parse out. It's a relief to find out he probably still has some trace of himself left back in his world capable of continuing his work in his absense. And even though it sounds like he's trapped here, 'bending' sounds simple enough; it should only be a little amount of time before he can return, and that's even more good news. Everything should be fine. Why, then, does the idea of not being back in his world right away still sit so wrong with him? He's not abandoning anything. He can take a break, no one will even notice he's gone. It's not like he misses the never-ending work and the empty labs.

Except to some degree, he does. Not the lab, per se, but the sense of moving steadily towards a goal of somday ending what he helped start. It's given him purpose, and that in itself has been a lifeline for more months than he's paid attention to, now. It's been so long since he's had to deal with anything but the consistently overwhelming workload given to him by Providence, that moving back to an old mode of boundless curiosity is tentative, like visiting an neglected childhood friend.

First things first.

"Pop back into Nautilus? Am I likely to return here after going back to my world?"

Caesar's Lab AFTER the "Incident" at Furman's....

[pineapplesalmon]

And the arrive rather noisily to the front porch of Caesar's lab; it was a house converted to a lab. The second they had hit the bitter cold, Caesar had wrapped his arms around himself. A quick explanation of where they were going, and then they were both off running towards the lab. Yup. It was cold, especially being soaking wet.

Caesar, shivering like mad, quickly input his code to unlock the door, and opened it quickly, ushering his double inside. The lights turned on automatically, showing that they were on the first floor catwalk of an expansive lab, the basement being the vast majority of it. It had looked perfectly ordinary on the outside, but on the inside, the walls were metal and... well, it looked like his digs at Providence, just a little. There was not a single thing related to nanite research that was out in the open, however.

He pointed towards a compressed staircase in the corner. "A-Ahh. There's towels and changes of clothes up there."

[evowhisperer]

Metal walls, automatic lights, large open spaces, everything important all tucked away... Cesar can't tell if the similarities between this lab and the labs at providence reassures or depresses him. It certainly reminds him that he has work to do, and that while he should take the time he needs to do it properly, he really shouldn't waste a moment more than he needs to in learning to bend enough to return home.

Cesar puts those thoughts from his mind. First things first: he's lost feeling in most of his extremities, and warming up is his top priority. Without missing a beat--Caesar can either lead the way or follow him, but he'll have to hurry--Cesar heads towards the indicated staircase.

[pineapplesalmon]

Only after locking the door behind him did Caesar quickly head after Cesar. They were cold, but safety still counted for something. When they reached the top of the stairs, Caesar walked past the other elder Salazar towards the room that was his spare bedroom. Sometimes he crashed here when he didn't want to wake the others but had enough energy to make it up some stairs instead of sleeping in his cot.

The closet was opened quickly, and he grabbed a rather fluffy towel, throwing it underhanded to the other before taking one for himself. He unzipped his survival jacket, his numb fingers fumbling with it, and manged to shrug it off. Then he grabbed the bottom edge of his shirt and pulled it over his head. Caesar started working on his boots next. There was no reason for him to be embarrassed with stripping in front of the other man--they both knew what he looked like naked in the mirror. As he did so, he continued to shiver.

Oh. Oh. Oh. He was cold!

[evowhisperer]

Once again, footsteps close behind him probably clue Caesar in that he has a very, very cold shadow on their way in. As soon as he spots the closet, he stops crowding: there is where everything he needs is.

The towel is caught more by letting it land on outstretched arms, rather than by any actual dexterity. He spends a few seconds scrubbing what remaining moisture he can off himself through his jacket, before abandoning the towel off to one side and working his boots off. The laces are bitterly cold, and still wet. It takes him longer than he wishes it would, and when he finally succeeds, his fingers feel thick and uncoordinated from the constant changes in temperature.

Silence reigns as this Cesar catches up to the other in peeling off his outer layers of clothes. In spite of his effort with the towel, this Cesar has a hard time of getting them off, which isn't surprising considering how thoroughly soaked this one got back at Furman's. In spite of all this, he manages.

Wordlessly, Cesar dumps the clothes off to the side and wraps the towel around himself like a blanket for warmth. Standing around shivering in his remaining undergarments is not the way to go, so he closes the distance between himself and the closet, and grabs the first cloth that comes to hand.

A suit.

Cesar returns the suit to its previous place and grabs the second set of clothes that comes to hand, and this time he hits jackpot: a survival jacket. Now for everything else...

"I'm borrowing your clothes, for a while," Cesar announces redundantly, not turning around.

[pineapplesalmon]

Caesar had been slightly luckier in the amount of soaking that he had received, so he wasn't quite as chilly, but still chilled. He strips down to his boxer-briefs and goes over to join Cesar at the closet, his own towel wrapped around him.

There's a momentary embarrassment when Cesar picks up the suit, but he puts it back, and Caesar's shoulders relax again. Good. He'd hate to have to explain to him the exact nature of how he came into possession of the suit.

The fact he was going to be borrowing his clothes was already implied, so Caesar didn't comment directly on that, instead pulling out some underwear for the both of them, "Might as well just go straight to pajamas, considering how late it is. You're going to be here for a while, so you should try to get your circadian rhythm adapted as soon as possible. I'll make dinner afterwards."

He pulls out two pairs of pajamas at that.

[evowhisperer]

"We're going to sleep, soon?"

It's not a protest, but simply--surprise. Cesar looks around the room as though for a clock, or an explanation of some kind, before simply nodding. He's not one to question his host's sleeping habits, but considering that it's him--well, perhaps this Caesar is more tired than he looks. Cesar knows he personally isn't nearly as tired as he usually needs to be before he'll tear himself away from work for sleep, but he can make an exception for one night. Besides, on the off chance that there really are differences in their time zones (which there aren't at first glance), he really should get off on the right foot with them.

Cesar puts the survival jacket back where he found it and takes the offered underwear, as well as the pajamas.

[pineapplesalmon]

"Not yet, but it is after nine, so why change clothes twice?" Caesar shrugged; it was just being practical. "We'll probably spend the rest of the time talking besides when we're eating, although I wouldn't mind showing you around the lab if you're interested."

He had seen the time when he picked his datapad up and could figure out the approximate amount of time that had passed without looking at it. So it was definitely after nine by now. There was plenty for them to do and speak of here, so he didn't see why they needed to go anywhere else.

With that said, he turned away from the other and worked to dry himself off better before changing out his undergarments. Caesar then put on his pajama bottoms.

[evowhisperer]

"Perhaps we should see the lab once we're done talking?" Cesar suggests, also changing into the clean, dry clothes. "Talking first would probably cut down on a lot of questions about what projects we've both worked on, and what the differences between our respective worlds are."

Caesar isn't the only one who's been curious, after all.

[pineapplesalmon]

"I would most definitely be interested in trading information," Caesar replied, a bit more cheerful now that he was in dry clothes and working on drying his hair with the towel. "There's also timelines to consider. People here can be taken from different parts of the same timeline. I'm still from the earliest point, even though I went home once. Six and I are both from around the time he lost his memories. The others are ahead of us."

Not Agent Six--just Six. Caesar had dropped the Agent portion after some time in Nautilus because of a number of reasons. Even if Six didn't remember those reasons anymore, he still felt that they were important enough that it applied.

((OOC: Setting this a bit in the future after Caesar goes home for the first time; Holiday and Sqwydd have both gone home to get blasted into a future time, too. |D Just makes things easier for explanations.))

/edits forever sob, sorry about the spam.

[evowhisperer]

"Six? As in, Agent Six?" He turns around as he buttons the pajama's shirt, giving his copy a bland look of interest.

"Do you mean to say that there are more people from our world here besides us?" The question is vague and apparently obvious, but it serves its purpose, which is to invite the information he really wants to know: who else is there? Black Knight? Rex? Caesar said something about different times, so what about people who aren't around in his time, like Rylander? Or perhaps even--something in his chest aches at the mere possibility, and he crushes his own hope for it ruthlessly before it even gets underway--their parents? No, that's impossible. Cesar finishes the last button, wrenching his thoughts towards more productive things, such as paying attention to Caesar's reply.

[OOC: Kk!]

1/2 |D No problem! They just condensed into a few replies on gmail.

[pineapplesalmon]

Caesar smiled wider; he knew the exact purpose behind that second question, and thus answered the question that wasn't asked. "Yes, Agent Six." Caesar didn't elaborate as to why he had dropped 'Agent'. "I live in the house next door to this one with him, Rex, Dr. Holiday, and--" his face grew amused "--quite a few pets."

He walked over to pick up his datapad as he continued to speak. "Two of Rex's friends, Circe and Sqwydd, also are here, but they don't live with us."

2/2

[pineapplesalmon]

Caesar's expression fell, then, and he glanced away from his other; there was another question that wasn't asked that he knew was on his double's mind--how could it not be? He had been trying to ignore it, but it needed answered. No use letting Cesar get his hopes up.

"... those that are gone can also end up here, but I haven't seen any indication of... our parents. It's still possible, but it's been months since I arrived. Rex has been here for well over a year."

He couldn't say 'dead'. Caesar still couldn't say it. The fact that they weren't around anymore still hurt too much. But there was something that--his chest ached, but--something was different now. He finally had someone else that could understand his pain, that remembered their parents. He wasn't alone with that anymore.

1/2

[evowhisperer]

Caesar's initial declaration is met with a look of visible surprise, and not much else.

"Ah... That's interesting."

His tone is so mild, it's conspicuously flavorless, and Cesar wishes (not for the first time) that he was better at simply letting these tense subjects slip by unnoticed.