William is holding Untitled's hand, being led along. He looks...confused, mostly.
Frostbyte doesn't notice them, for the moment. (Study, study, test tomorrow, study study...)
Untitled glances over at the hedgehog, a doubtful look on his glasslike face...he looks busy. Ah, well, this is important. The bot makes a synthesized throat-clearing sound, and rrms, "Pardon me...Frostbyte?"
Frostbyte flicks over to Untitled, curious. "Hmm?"
You say, "William! It's... good to see you again."
You say, "How are you?"
William says cautiously "Again?"
Frostbyte's attention returns, reluctantly, to Untitled.
Untitled holds up a finger to William, and synths, not unkindly, "A moment, if you'd be so kind. I'll be right back." He releases William's hand and walks over to Frostbyte, then leans in close...
Frostbyte looks slightly befuddled, and follows Untitled along.
Untitled whispers, "I don't know what happened, but he woke up in the Museum and stumbled into my Hall. He seems to be missing quite a bit of time, but isn't completely amnesiac. I suspect a recent backup restoration." to you.
You whisper, "How much time do you think he's missing? Do you think it's safe for me to talk to him? Tiskel said he backed him up - I would presume that he's still Strange-infected." to Untitled.
Frostbyte looks back to William, vaguely longingly.
William gives Frostbyte a friendly enough smile, although his brows have quirked in somoe bewilderment. Still, there is no sign of stress really about him.
Untitled shakes his head at Frostbyte. He gives William a reassuring glance, and quietly converses with the hedgehog for a bit longer.
Untitled whispers, "Clearly I've been out of the loop; I didn't know he'd been reinfected, and I've honestly never even heard of Tiskel. That said, I don't believe he's currently Strange. I've seen the way he behaves in both states, and though I don't know him well, he seems more like his uninfected self to me. Perhaps you'd be a better judge. At any rate...I'm afraid I'm not familiar enough with his history to give any educated opinion on his missing time, but he seems primarily familiar with Elysium and little else, if that's any indication." to you.
Frostbyte says firmly, "Let me talk to him."
Frostbyte looks to William, who is not wearing the glasses, he's guessing.
GrayZero flies down from Star City!
GrayZero hrms, quietly nods to those present.
William is not wearing his glasses, no. He does occassionally rub his temples "Hello?" he says. Not quite trusting, but at the same time happy enough.
Untitled bows slightly. "As you like it," he synths, agreeably enough. "We were on our way to the Nexus, though, by William's request. Would you mind continuing there?"
Untitled waves to GrayZero. "Hello hello."
GrayZero smiles. "Greetings." She glances towards William briefly, then returns attention to Untitled.
You say, "Not at all, Untitled."
Untitled bows slightly to GrayZero, and rrms, "You're welcome to come along too, of course!" He returns to William's side, and gently leads him onward through the mirror.
Transit Nexus
Echo waves to the group.
Frostbyte looks to William with a rather intense, rather positive ( ^_^ ) emotion for a moment before he calms himself a bit.
GrayZero raises an eyebrow. "Quite the busy crossroads. Greetings."
William looks around "Ah, yes. And, the gold door is home. Yes?" He pauses, murmurs something to himself in Italian.
Echo says, "Hey, welcome back, William. Hi, foxie."
Untitled pats the back of William's hand. "And here we are." He waves back to Echo, then cocks his head at William. "That sounds likely, if you're trying to reach Elysium...is that correct?"
You say, "William, do you know Camilla?"
Kayle pulls his attention out of the datasphere. "When'd all you lot show up...?"
William nods "I have met Camilla once..." He gives a cautious smile, touching his temples "You're...all very...um..."
You say, "Weird, yes."
You say, "And - have you met me before?"
GrayZero nods to the drone. "Greetings. First visit here?"
660066 bobs at GrayZero, "Yes, I'm quite enjoying it, too."
GrayZero smiles. "Excellent. Anything in particular that stands out?"
William nods "Yes, I think I have seen you about. You...through the glasses you were a runner, a tall, pale man." He thinks "I have been wondering where they went. Last I recall, I was talking to System and then I was in the Museum."
Frostbyte hmmms. He closes his eyes, and reaches back through several layers of his OS.
660066 says, "That everything tries to?"
Talia tilts her head to the side. "Do you remember being Toy'ed, William? You were shiny and rubbery."
You say, "I have some things you should see, but probably not right now."
GrayZero chuckles. "An interesting way of putting it."
Kayle notices William and smiles, but keeps his mouth shut. He doesn't want to heap yet more attention on the poor lad, after all.
William blinks at Talia "No, not at all...I am not a toy. What is 'rubbery'?" He says, pausing "System said 'Do you want to live forever' and I said yes - then I wake up, and I'm in the Museum. What should I see, sir?"
660066 says, "It's a wonderful place, don't get me wrong, .""
You say, "Memories. Thoughts. But they're dangerous for you now."
Untitled bows slightly. "I should probably get back to my Hall for now. I've been out and about so much lately, I haven't been putting in a fair share of exhibit time." He looks to Frostbyte, and rrms, "If William needs any assistance getting home, would you mind showing him the way?" He looks over at William, smiles softly, and whispers something in his ear.
Talia sighs. "Alright, do you remember Squeak? He's rubbery. As in made of rubber."
Talia steps down and does a sort of all-over shake, fur settling back into position so it no longer sticks straight up.
GrayZero frowns a bit, shakes her head at William's words before returning her attention to the drone. "Oh, certainly I didn't expect you to be disparaging this place. It is indeed a challenging one, but one that is quite rewarding once you've begun to see how it works. She rather outdid Herself in Her design."
You say, "I'll lead him home, Un."
660066 tilts at GrayZero, "Who did?"
William nods as Untitled whispers, quietly enough, and his tail flicks back before he looks at Talia and says "Squeak? I fear not madam." A tentative smile goes to Frostbyte.
GrayZero smiles. "My reputation evidently does not precede me enough." A shrug and a rueful grin, then, "She is commonly called Puzzlebox, and is the one that makes this all possible."
Untitled nods to Frostbyte, and synths, "Thank you...it's MOST appreciated." He smiles over at GrayZero, and rrms, "We keep meeting in passing. We'll have to rightly talk again someday, mm?" With that, he waves to the rest of the group, and departs.
660066 says, "You personify the system?"
---
You say, "William, I know this is a bit strange, but... You've missed much."
William looks across at you "I have?" he says tentatively "Ah...why?"
At the dock is a sleek black boat of smoothly lacquered wood, empty, bobbing infinitesimally on the slow ripples of the river.
Frostbyte joins you on the steamship. "It's a very long story - much too long for me to explain with words, or even with pictures."
You say, "So don't worry about it. When I learn how to tell the story properly, I will tell you."
You walk down to the dock and embark on the steamship, which gouts dense black smoke as it carries you across the glassy water and disgorges you on the far shore.
You say, "You can... but not yet. I'll just need you to listen to the whole of my story, once I've written it."
You say, "And one other thing."
You say, "There is a man, named Tiskel."
William pauses "One other thing?"
You say, "He looks more or less like this:"
Frostbyte instantiates pencil, paper, sketches Tiskel's face, along with a rough image of his body and _arm_.
GrayZero pages, "I really must apologize for Truman. He's quite dedicated, but he does have a certain lack of subtlety in these matters." to you.
William waits, curious, a faintly bewildered look on his face which intensifies, until he examines the diagram "Ah? Yes?"
You say, "You know him?"
In a page-pose to you, GrayZero smiles. Well, as much as one can smile without being present, anyways.
You page-pose, "Frostbyte sends positive vibrations." to GrayZero
William shakes his head "No, not at all, I fear. Should I?"
You say, "No. If you give him the chance, he will seduce you, rape you, and addict you to him with drugs a thousand times more vicious than opium."
You say, "I know that's not a very nice thing to hear at the end of a day as confusing as the one you've had - but he is the only thing in the Mess that is a genuine danger to you, specifically."
You say, "Avoid him, and please don't trust him."
William's mouth opens in utter horror "I...I wh...I what? He would...do what?" He is utterly appalled "I...me? I...oh...I will. I mean, certainly - I must. But why?"
Frostbyte sighs. "Keep going - let's discuss this more over some tea."
---
William says "This is where I eat and...sometimes where I sleep. There is a couch I can use, as well."
Frostbyte sips his tea quietly. "I'm sure it suits you." He lowers his cup, looks you in the eye, and sighs, a little wistfully.
William says "Well...it was nicer when I had my own room, but that was...in Italy. Here I stay with the understanding that I shan't get in the way of the Throne and Jeremy." He pauses "Are you well?" William has, probably, made tea. He's reasonably good at such as well.
You say, "I'm well enough. Let me explain to you what happened."
You say, "You recall that you were... possessed, yes? Though you can't remember the time you were posessed."
William nods "Yes. I do. I recall it, because everyone reacts to me as though I am some creature."
You say, "Let me tell you a story of something that you did - or the creature pretending to be you did."
William nods quietly, and puts his tea cup aside "Please go on."
Frostbyte instantiates a scrap of paper and a charcoal pencil, begins to sketch an image. His hand moves startlingly fast, but the images are all hard lines - vector graphics. It's your demon-self, next to Torque, with his arm.
You say, "This is Torque. He is an inventor who had some conflict with you that I cannot recall."
William is at first more fascinated by the way you draw, begining to reach out, pausing. Then he looks up "Torque," he says "And that is me?"
Frostbyte nods. "Or what pretended to be you. Whichever. Let's just call it you. He struck you with his mechanical arm, I believe, and your flesh polluted his arm."
Frostbyte draws another image, of Torque with a dramatically tortured expression, resisting his arm's attempts to kill him, a la Evil Dead.
William's eyes widen, rather dramatically "Ah - I...I tried to possess him?"
You say, "His arm was possessed by the same spirit that controlled you, and took on your memories, aspects of your identity - becoming, in effect, a monstrous copy of you."
William nods quietly, biting his lip.
You say, "When you were cured of the infection, it remained polluted. It looked on you as it's father, it's parent."
William gives an uneasy smile "And it was an arm? An evil arm?"
You say, "Until this."
Frostbyte sketches another scene, Torque hurling the arm in to the soup of Strange.
You say, "It arose, became a copy of you, shortly after you were cured."
You say, "And it missed you terribly."
William says nervously "But why, if it was evil? So there are two...two of me? One evil, one good?"
You say, "It loved you, in whatever way it knew how to love. It renamed itself, and shifted it's appearance until it could convince you that it was a priest from Italy - named Tiskel."
William takes a breath "Ah. So...that is why the arm..and the man that you warned me about. It...why would it want to..." He swallows uncomfortably "Rape me or whatever?"
William pauses "No, if it's a demon it's just...like that, I suppose."
You say, "It's very complex..."
You say, "Now, I have one more thing to tell you that will probably shake you up quite badly."
William spreads his fingers, places them on the table and looks across quietly "Yes?"
You say, "This has all already happened."
You say, "And... Tiskel succeeded."
William blinks. For a moment, there is only that reaction. Then, simply, he gapes.
Frostbyte sighs. "You're alive. You're safe. But... another you, another... time... he succeeded."
William says "But I don't remember that - I don't know him - do you mean...how does this work?" His fingers interlock.
Frostbyte instantiates another sheet of paper. "This is a bit complex to explain... But let me do my best."
Frostbyte draws a line. "Let us think of you, and your experiences, as a river."
William smiles "Certainly, the Greeks had a similar thought." But he stares at where you pulled the paper from, eyes wide.
Frostbyte nods, smiling. "This is you, before the plague.
Frostbyte extends the line, then stops it, and draws a double-dash, like so:
William nods "Yes."
You say, "This break is when you died and were reborn."
William says "As...as what though?"
You say, "Hmmm..."
Frostbyte erases the line after the double dash, and replaces it with a wavy line:
You say, "The wavy line is your Strange version."
Frostbyte branches the wavy line in to two. "This is when Tiskel was created."
William nods "I...I see." He seems a little dubious, but also fascinated, in a slightly sick way.
William pauses "I see. There were two of us then."
Frostbyte continues the graph of your life, highlighting the split of you and Tiskel, the de-waving of your line in to your old, non-strange self, your continued life. You and Tiskel orbit each other for a while, and then - both of you are wavy again.
Frostbyte goes back to an earlier point in your straight-line. He extends a dotted line it, forward in time, to today, where it becomes a straight line again.
William licks his lips "And at that point he...changed me back to a demon." He blinks, however, at the earlier line.
You say, "When you spoke to System, this other branch of the river was created. But it was frozen, waiting for it's time to thaw."
You say, "When you were violated by Tiskel, it was it's time."
William swallows "Ah. So...this me...that's why I don't remember. Because it never really happened _to_ me. What happened to...the other one?" He points at the demon-him.
Frostbyte sighs. He extends the line a bit forward - then draws an X through it.
William pauses "He's dead? But what happened? Can there only be one of us at any one time?"
You say, "...It's a long story. I'm not done, either..."
Frostbyte draws another dotted line from just behind the X, extending it forward, starts it in to a straight line.
You say, "He was also 'frozen'."
You say, "Tiskel did something with that frozen past. I'm not sure what."
You say, "So now we have Tiskel, some potential you, and - you."
William's lips part "Ah..._oh_."
You say, "Tiskel, you should understand, is NOT you."
William nods "He's...he's something made from me, but not me?"
You say, "He is derived from you tangentially, but he is profoundly NOT YOU."
You say, "He is... Well, the best metaphor really is that he is one of your children."
You say, "But at the same time, that is just an approximation."
William blinks, sharply, colour rising in his cheeks "Ch...children. I...see. I never thought to have...children, I mean...uh...don't worry about that though. He's...isn't that incest or..." William sighs, softly "So it's all...strange, it's very strange."
You say, "Very, very Strange."
Frostbyte sighs. "You're taking this much better than I had dared to hope."
You say, "Now, let me tell you my plan."
Frostbyte draws a rounded box around the line from the beginning of your frozen lifeline to your 're-stranging'.
You say, "I believe I can take this other-you, and copy his memories. Plumb the depths of his river, and return those pearls of experience to you."
William pauses, shoulders, turning a little rigid "I...do you think that's a good idea?" he says nervously "Won't...I remember bad things? I mean, it's easy to listen to things in hear, this place is safe."
Frostbyte sighs. "I know it's a lot to ask of you... But trust me. You were growing stronger, wiser, better prepared to handle this strange and surreal Mess."
You say, "It'd be good for you to have those experiences back."
William shifts "How does it work? It seems like magic. I don't...quite understand. And does that mean he's still me, just...possessed? Why are you helping me?"
Frostbyte looks away gently. "I... I'm not sure how it works either. It's... it's complicated."
You say, "I'll try to explain how it works, if you wish."
You say, "I can only go by metaphor, however."
William pauses,then shakes his head gently "So much today already, I don't think I can...take in any more.
William adds "But...why are you helping me? Are we friends?"
Frostbyte nods softly. "Yes."
You say, "Very much so."
William smiles "So we met somewhere along this...line of events and know each other?" he guesses "And we get along - although you are a hedgehog?"
Frostbyte nods. "I don't want to discuss it further until I've returned the memories in question to you.
William pauses, then says "I'm sorry to push - you do seem tired or distressed...do you need to rest at all? I can try and find the couch."
Frostbyte grits his teeth. "I love you." Somewhere on the muck, Squeak came back.
William's hand stills in the air "..." He is silent, breath taken in between his teeth before he says "You do?" The words are not cold. They are cautious, perhaps, and a little worried - for you "You are - wait, you know about me being...uh...that I can feel things for other men?" Yes.
William's behind everyone else in what must be common knowledge.
Frostbyte circles a portion of the lifeline. "We met here. I became your tutor, I - I taught you science, and maths, and the nature of the world, and we - we became very close," he whispers weakly.
Frostbyte circles another portion. "Here, you were infected with another virus, similar to what infected you prior, but - wholly benevolent. Almost pure love. It gave you the strength to handle the world outside and all of it's madness."
You say, "It's what the bear faerie was talking about earlier."
You say, "And - and with that strength you were so beautiful, William! You were growing and thriving in to such a vibrant and strong young man... And then everything went so wrong, so fast. But it's not too late to reclaim it!"
William says slowly "You taught me things? You're my teacher?" They must be self-evident truths, given your presence, but of all things, William seems sad "I'm sorry. This must be very hurtful -" His voice trails off at your emphasis and he regards you with maroon eyes.
Frostbyte looks away. "I'm so sorry. None of this is your fault. I shouldn't have - burdened you with so much so fast."
You say, "I promise you, I will fix this."
You say, "You deserve your days back."
William reaches across tentatively to pat your shoulder "I'm...I feel bad, because I don't know you," he says, definitely awkward, before he offers, cautiously, nervous "Do you want to stay? Are you...well?" His fingers find spines and he pauses.
Frostbyte touches your hand softly. "I know you don't know me," he murmurs softly. "I just want you to be stay safe, and rest, and be careful. I don't want anything bad to happen to you again."
You say, "When I've found your memories, I will bring them here to you."
William says, still awkward "You look so alien. I'll stay here then."
You say, "We're all just people, really..."
William nods slowly, although for him, the strangest people have merely had darker skin "You're a man?"
Frostbyte nods. "Yes."
William licks his lips "And you love me, and that doesn't worry you?"
Frostbyte smiles. "I've loved many men."
You say, "None as much as you."
William tentatively touches the spines again, then raises his fingers "Thankyou, I suppose. No, that sounded cruel. It seems odd, hard to remember things are allowed here. I need to think about all of this though."
Frostbyte smiles, and nods. "Take care, William. I will see you again, I'm sure."