Vincent (to Eep & Mouse): Check in with me as soon as you two are able. 'Til then, sleep sweet!
Mouse (to Vincent): Hey little brother, I just finally woke up.
Vincent (to Mouse): Hee hee. It's alright, hun. I didn't expect you would be up and about bright and early. How are you and Eep holding up?
Mouse (to Vincent): I feel a little foggy about things & stiff like I've been sleeping on hard floor for weeks... but, I think I'm okay.
Vincent (to Mouse): So, about yesterday... What do you remember?
Mouse (to Vincent): It's weird... I remember being grabbed by a weird guy & then, a whole bunch of other stuff, but it couldn't be possible. I mean, it's only been one day. And, why is Otto fully grown?
Vincent (to Mouse): Dear me. I was afraid of that. Sweetie, what I'm about to tell you is going to sound a little crazy, but I promise it's true. You've been away for 4 months, but not from our reality. You've only been gone about a day from good ol' West Piedmont.
Mouse (to Vincent): So, all this stuff I'm remembering is true? I was really kidnapped onto an airship by Mister Smythe? Otto could talk? You really are an airship Captain? Otto & I really did try to escape on the back of a clockwork whale?
Vincent (to Mouse): Le sigh. You know, someday, SOMEONE is going to believe them when I say I'm an airship captain. Remember when you had those extensions put in your hair a little while ago? I'll wager they're not still there. I'll bet it looks like you've got about 4 months worth of growth on your roots as well. I know you can handle this sweetie. Please try not to freak out...
Mouse (to Vincent): I uh, took the extensions out so I could weave them into a rope. That's how Otto got off the ship.
Vincent (to Mouse): I noticed. You also set the ship on fire and sunk it. So, I'm asking you again, now that you know that wasn't a crazy dream... How are you holding up?
Mouse (to Vincent): Well, now that I know I'm not insane... better. Though, I do feel a little dizzy. And, the next you tell me something ridiculous, I promise I'll believe you.
Vincent (to Mouse): That should wear off as you get used to being back. You and Eep will both probably feel like you have vertigo for a day or so. Hee hee. Honestly, it's FAR easier when people don't believe me. :-P
Mouse (to Vincent): Well, that's good to hear. I feel like I went on a really long, intense rollercoaster & then stopped very suddenly.
A couple hours later:
Mouse (to Delia, Ripper, & Leon): Hey, I wanted to apologize for Vincent freaking out yesterday. I hope he didn't worry you too much.
Ripper (to Mouse): No worries! I'm glad to see you're okay.
Leon (to Mouse): I got out my pads and hockey stick just in case there was trouble and I had to go all voodoo Harry Dresden on somebody's ass.
Delia (to Mouse): Oh, its alright. I figured there was a reason he couldn't get a hold of you. If there was real cause I figured he'd say so. It actually led to Robert and I having a conversation about how he's still a pretty sweet kid underneath the perv facade.
Mouse (to Delia): Yeah, you know how he is, so incredibly melodramatic. (to Leon) While I appreciate the gesture, everything is fine... I just have a brother with an overblown sense of the melodramatic.
Delia (to Mouse): Yes, well, he's 21. And he wouldn't be Vincent without it.
Leon (to Mouse): This we knew. Still, after the crap I've been through lately…I could use a good fight. Maybe Eep and I should switch jobs.
Mouse (to Leon): heehee, I think Eep would rather be boiled in oil then attempt to deejay in front of people.
Leon (to Mouse): While the twisted part of me feels like that would be funny to watch, I'm not mean enough to actually do it. Besides, he glowers enough as it is. Being a doorman and bouncer seems like more social interaction than he usually likes!
Poppy (to Vincent): Honey, I'm sure you have a ton of questions for me, and I'll be happy to answer them all. But I wanted to let you know, I've received a package for you & Mouse from the Davenports.
Vincent (to Poppy): Ah. We were told to watch for that. Honestly, Poppy. I don't even know what to say. There's a part of me that feels like I should be outraged you didn't tell me. But, really, I think that part of me just wants to feel that way to assuage the guilt I felt for ending things between us. And it's not like I was 100% honest about who I was. Even if you DID already know.
Poppy (to Vincent): I'm sorry, Vincent, I was under strict orders not to until our time streams synched up. I was actually unaware of our past history until you met me with the Davenports. It's a bit confusing to explain. I am sorry, honey, for putting you through all of that, but believe me when I tell you it was necessary.
Vincent (to Poppy): Don't worry about it. If anyone understands, it's me. Time travel really, REALLY fucking sucks sometimes. But, I really wish you'd explain it to me...
Poppy (to Vincent): Oh, alright, if you insist... Klaude programmed me to covertly watch over you & Eep with the thought that Smythe would try again. There was a backup program installed into my matrix for the eventuality that I was sent to the wrong time/place. If that was the case, I was to essentially be a human girl that wanted to be with you, thus the emotional impulses to be your "girlfriend". Once, it was determined that you had made contact with me in the other dimension, my initial program & perimeters were reset. So, I am now once again myself, so to speak. And, I should apologize for not being able to stop Smythe when he came for your sister. There was a miscalculation in my analysis that did not factor in your sister, as the Davenports were unaware of her existence or connection to Eep.
Vincent (to Poppy): Wow. Wouldn't it have been easier just to TELL me this rather than screwing with my head? And bruising the hell out of my ego, I might add. It's not like I wouldn't have believed you.
Poppy (to Vincent): I cannot say, honey, the Davenports had their reasons for not wanting you to know about me. I suppose it wouldn't be considered a covert operation if I went around telling everyone. And, I honestly didn't know that all of that stuff between us was going to happen... and, I was actually behaving as I was programmed in order for you to keep me around. I am sorry.
Vincent (to Poppy): So, what you're saying is that I shouldn't feel guilty for breaking up with you because the only reason you were with me in the first place is programming? Wow... I ... Ouch.
Poppy (to Vincent): For what it's worth, I really did believe I was in love with you.
Vincent (to Poppy): I'm not outraged, hun. Just a little hurt. I wasn't in love with you, Poppy, but I did have real feelings for you. I wouldn't have been with you if I didn't.
Poppy (to Vincent): Well, I am sorry that you are hurt, but I must say that your feelings are a bit of a curiosity to me... You broke up with me when you thought I was human & knew that I had strong emotions for you & yet you're telling me that you feel hurt now that you discovered that I did not have strong feelings for you & was simply programmed? This does not seem logical. Shouldn't you feel relieved that the person you thought you hurt is not, honey?
Vincent (to Poppy): I AM relieved you're not in pain anymore, hun, but emotions aren't ever as easy or clean as "logical."
Poppy (to Vincent): Oh. I have a lot to learn about human interactions.
Vincent (to Poppy): I'm beginning to suspect I do as well. Do me a favor, and advise your creators against using romantic entanglements as a method of infiltration next time, hmmm?
Poppy (to Vincent): As they are all spinsters, I'm sure they didn't understand the ramifications of their actions, but I'll pass the message on. Is this the point in the conversation where I should offer to give you a hug?
Vincent (to Poppy): I appreciate the gesture, hun, but... well, no thank you. (to Mouse) So. I spoke to Poppy.
Mouse (to Vincent): Oh, really, what did she have to say?
Vincent (to Mouse): Apparently, she was sent to keep an eye on Eep & I after our prior run-in with Smythe. If she arrived at the wrong time & place, she was programmed to try to stay close to us by ingratiating herself to me. She was programmed to have feelings for me. Now that our time lines have synced up, she's been reset and is "herself" again. I believe I may have mentioned that sometimes this traversing time and space thing really sucks.
Mouse (to Vincent): Once or twice. So, she's not in love with you, anymore?
Vincent (to Mouse): No. According to her, that programming has been wiped.
Mouse (to Vincent): Well, aren't you relieved? She was really broken up about you ending things with her.
Vincent (to Mouse): ... I know. I am. I'm definitely relieved she's not hurting anymore, but... Well, I still liked her. And, it's kind of hurts to know the only reason she had any interest in me was because she was PROGRAMMED to.
Mouse (to Vincent): Wow, you are just determined to suffer over this relationship, one way or the other, aren't you?
Vincent (to Mouse): Ha ha ha! You're right, hun. You're totes right. It was just a bit of a blow to my ego is all. And not one that I was expecting, I might add. Cut me a little slack. I just found out the first girl I slept with was a robot, and as the expression goes, "really not all that into me." :-P
Mouse (to Vincent): I love you, little brother, but there are more important things to waste your time on then beating yourself up over this. And, you can still like her... now, maybe you guys can just be friends.
Vincent (to Mouse): Hee hee. Ask me to spend weeks tracking a madman across an alternate dimension, and I know just what to do. Ask me about dating and apparently, I'm a lost and confused soul.
Mouse (to Vincent): Well, buck up, little camper. Be glad you found out now, I mean, what if you had fallen in love with her, gotten married and then, she revealed to you that she was a robot & it was her mission... I think this way is much better.
Vincent (to Mouse): Hee hee. What would the children have looked like?
Mouse (to Vincent): Probably like toasters with fabulous fashion sense? :-P
Vincent (to Mouse): Never would breakfast have been sexier!
Mouse (to Vincent): I know it's a blow to that delicate ego of yours, but I'd like to think simply that 'no mortal girl is good enough for you'.
Vincent (to Mouse): Heh. Regardless, someday I'd like to have SOME kind of relationship that isn't contrived or w/ a creep. Mortal woman/man or no. Ah well, speaking of relationships, is your beau up and about yet?
Mouse (to Vincent): Yeah, he went home to get a change of clothes, but he said he'll be back shortly. He almost asked me to go with him. He seems pretty determined to not let me out of his sight for very long.
Vincent (to Mouse): Oh dear... I'm not surprised. I think you're going to have a tall, smoke-spewing tumor for a little while.
Mouse (to Vincent): Well, I certainly don't mind his company. But, he's going to have to go to work, eventually and, it's going to be a little odd if he makes me go with him.
Vincent (to Mouse): Hee hee. I should say so. Hopefully, he'll back off in a day or so. He feels guilty.
Mouse (to Vincent): Well, would you kindly talk some sense into him? I keep telling him, it's not his fault.
Vincent (to Mouse): Hun, I've been telling him that for weeks. You weren't dealing with him while we were looking for you. Yeah gods. Imagine this, now add 100% more anxiety, a lack of food, and no steady access to cigarettes.
Mouse (to Vincent): Geez, how did you not sedate him?
Vincent (to Mouse): An immense amount of self-control.
An hour or so later:
Mouse (to Wanda): So, have you gotten a handle on this twittering thing?
Wanda (to Mouse): LOL I'm not sure. I don't quite see the appeal yet. Both Eep & Robert use it, tho, so there must be something to it.
Mouse (to Wanda): Just think of it as being social without leaving the comfort of your own bedroom.
Wanda (to Mouse): Well, where's the fun in that? No wonder Eep likes it. Speaking of my roomie, has he been holding up with you lately? I haven't seen him for ages.
Mouse (to Wanda): Yeah, he & I have been cuddled on my couch watching movies.
Wanda (to Mouse): Awwww! Hee hee. You guys are too cute! I'm sorry if I made things awkward for you guys at first. I totally lack tact. The boys are used to it, but I tend to scare off newbies.
Mouse (to Wanda): I felt like I was behaving like a teenager when we first started dating, so it's completely okay.
Wanda (to Mouse): Ha! Well, we all do sometimes. If we're interesting anyway.
Vincent (to Eep): Hey stud. Are you still harassing my sister?
Eep (to Vincent): I'm not harassing her!
Vincent (to Eep): Yes, you are. She's fine, hun. She'll continue to be OK. Everything is fine. It's not your fault. You really ought to give her some time by herself to process everything that happened, you know. Go the fuck home. You're being obnoxious. Trust me.
Eep (to Mouse): Am I bugging you? I can go home if you want me to? (to Vincent) Yeah. Yeah.
Mouse (to Eep): I like your company & I'm happy you're here. But, you have been sort of like super glue all day. I'm really okay, I promise and it's not your fault, at all. I love you. And, unless you plan on moving in with me. I think I could really use a little time on my own to get acclimated to all the crazy stuff that just happened.
Eep (to Mouse): Jesus. Yeah. You're right. Shit. I was just... I'll give you some space. Sorry. Lemme know if you need me.
Mouse (to Eep): I just need an hour, so don't go too far. I expect that I would like more cuddling & doting after my freakout moment.
Eep (to Mouse): Oh. Uh, yeah. OK. Um, I'm right next door if you need me. Just text or bang on the wall or something.
Mouse (to Eep): Thank you! I swear I just need an hour to wrap my head around everything & then I'll be fine.
Eep (to Mouse): I know. You're right. I'm sorry. Guh! I've been... Well, whatever. It's been a hell of a time, hasn't it?
Mouse (to Eep): Yeah, I'm still adjusting to having 4 months of memories squeezed into my head. If I think about it too much it makes me dizzy.
Eep (to Mouse): Yeah. Fucking tell me about it. Uh, lemme know if you have any questions. I dunno if I'll be able to explain it like Vincent. But, I had it happen to me too a few months ago, so I know how it feels.
An hour so later:
Mouse (to Eep): So, I uh, apparently offered to go back & help take down Smythe... well, actually Otto & I did. Are you going to be okay with that?
Eep (to Mouse): Oh. Uh, Wow... I'm not sure I'm surprised. I mean, when we finally found you, you'd already set the ship on fucking fire. And, I kinda guess I can't fault you. When the Captain asked me if I wanted to stay after I was shanghaied. That was before you and I met, um, when she asked me if I wanted to stay to help, I said yes.
Mouse (to Eep): Really? You are amazing.
Eep (to Mouse): Ha! Not really. YOU are fucking amazing. I was actually pretty useless the whole time. Thank God Vincent was there...
Mouse (to Eep): Actually, Otto & I had spent a month devising a very clever plan of escape... and it fell apart, so we were winging it. And, did you really punch one of the henchmen in the face & fire the bee cannon at the giant koala? Vincent told me you did all of that, which sounds pretty amazing to me.
Eep (to Mouse): Uh, well, yeah. Kinda. I punched a guy and I DID fire a bee canon, but I did a shit job of it. Mostly I just got in the way.
Mouse (to Eep): Geez, you are crap at this! How am I going to make slightly flirty comments to you, if you don't take the compliments?
Eep (to Mouse): Oh. OH! I didn't realize that you were trying to, um... Uh, sorry. Thanks.
Mouse (to Eep): No, it's my fault for trying to be subtle... So I think I'm done with my freak out alone time, if you want to come back over here.
Eep (to Mouse): Heh. Yeah. I'm not smart enough to pick up on "subtle." I'm on my way over now.
