pullmeoutalive | Insert "Welcome to Night Vale" joke here

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Insert "Welcome to Night Vale" joke here

[ Doctor Impossible knows all about alternate timelines, parallel dimensions, and the existence of other worlds. Even before he was trapped in the multi-demensional crossroads from hell so ironically called Haven for who knows how long.

A lot of things happened in Haven. A lot of terrible things, a lot of strange things, and... maybe some good things.

One good thing in particular- named Cecil.

The universe where Cecil's Night Vale lay had taken some finding- he'd run across a few mentions of it in other continuities, as an idea, or a series of books, or, in one instance, a podcast. He was used to sifting through the mire to find what he really wanted, and when he did, when all the tests were done and he was 100% sure, he fired up his trans-dimensional gateway and took a walk.

He was still somewhat surprised when no one was panicking at the hole in reality that had just appeared in the middle of town.

Well then. ]

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[ Home sweet home. Cecil is where he was born to be - according to the stone tablets down at city hall - in the Night Vale Community Radio Station. He's leaning back in his chair, gesturing with a mug of coffee that's mostly gone, and broadcasting in a voice that's calm and content. ]

...This has been traffic.

Listeners, I'm just now getting a report handed to me by an intern - thank you, Asia. Let's see... It says that a hole in reality has just opened in the middle of town, on the street right in front of the Ralph's. Well, this is going to affect the flow of foot traffic through the area, that's for sure. If you aren't used to taking traffic detours through alternate dimensions, you should probably avoid that area, at least until that hole disappears. If it disappears.

The trans-dimension hole is being described as, "swirling," "a hole," and "kind of not completely there," and witnesses are saying now that a stranger to Night Vale has just stepped out of that hole of space and time. They are describing him as, "a man." They are saying he is walking down the center of Ouroboros Road and that he is carrying with him a long staff that is glowing ominously.

...Huh.

Oh, uh. A new traveler is here in our Night Vale, listeners! Who is he? And what does he want with our sleepy desert town? Could this strange traveler be related to the one seen in Night Vale almost exactly one year ago, who fell in love, was surrounded by hooded figures, and then vanished, presumably forever, just as suddenly as he arrived? Is this a coincidence? Is anything ever a coincidence?

More on this new stranger, his strange glowing staff, and his strange fate as the reports come in.

The Sheriff's Secret Police announced this week that...

[ The broadcast continues. On. And on. And on. ]

[ It will disappear, because he has the good sense to close it behind him. The last thing he needs is some poor person stumbling their way into his subterranean lab and getting vaporized by the security robots.

Strangely, he decided to come through in street clothes- no cape, no mask- but the Power Staff rather makes him stand out anyway.

Not that he much cares, since he's sort of on a mission right now, and hearing Cecil on the radio is enough for him to start asking directions to the station and make his way down there. ]

[ No worries there, because that voice on the radio isn't stopping any time soon. ]

...And we all don't remember any of it.

An update has just been handed to me about the hole in reality, and the traveler who arrived through it just a short while ago.

The hole is closed now, witnesses say, and foot traffic has returned to normal. The traveler is listening to the radio, and he's...

He's... asking about me.

Uh. [ Cecil clears his throat. ] Reports say he is headed towards the station. Listeners... I think I have to leave you. I think this story... is my story. I think this traveler is someone I know.

I have to leave you listeners, but I will be back! Even if I end up in another place or time. Even if I become trapped there for what feels to me like months, but to you, listeners, is only three minutes. I will be back to you again, Night Vale! Right after...

The weather.

[ Cecil flicks the switch to the microphone off, and another switch, a tape of the weather report on. He takes off his headphones and then he is leaving the station, and he is heading to where the reports are saying there's a man, a traveler with a glowing staff. Someone he had hoped, but not expected, he would see again... Months after Haven, after everything he remembers, most of which he would rather forget. Except for one thing, one person. He is standing in the parking lot behind the station, and there is that person. There is... ]

Jonathan?

[ Usually he's always one for an entrance. The grander, the better, but there's something that seems right about just standing there in the parking lot of Night Vale's radio station, leaning slightly on the Staff, a smile on his face. ]

Hello Cecil.

[ There's a sort of terror thrill that goes through Cecil at the sight of Jonathan there, smiling, so familiar and so lost to him. A feeling that squeezes his heart like, 'It's happening again, here. That place. Haven. It's god-men and all its horrors.' And Strex has only become a terror of its own here in Night Vale. To have Haven in Night Vale... Geming, and Kite, and their Daniel, and all the rest...

He doesn't immediately respond.

And then he does. Then he closes the distance between them in long, hurried steps, and then he is hugging Jonathan tightly, and not letting go. Because whether Haven has come to Night Vale or not, whether Jonathan's arrival bodes the beginning of some sort of terrible end... It doesn't change the fact that Jonathan is here. He is here, and Cecil is glad to see him. ]

Hello! [ Cecil manages to laugh, manages not to choke, as he lets Jonathan loose to arms distance, but does not let him go. ] I... am not sure that this is real. It probably is not. But... I'm glad to see you again, anyway.

[ He was expecting a lot of things from Cecil, but a hug was not one of them. It's... nice, though, even if he can barely feel it. He laughs, and hugs him in return. ]

I should hope it's real. I spent a lot of time and effort trying to pinpoint your universe.

[ It warms him to hear it, that Jonathan has spent time, put effort into trying to find him again, but Cecil manages not to stumble over the words. ]

I'm sure my universe is as flattered as I am that you did.

[ And then he says because he can't resist saying it. ] Real or not, though... I missed you. [ His hands drag over Jonathan's sides under his coat, and then up, to drag over the back of his neck, thumbs sliding over his cheeks, the corners of his smile as if to make sure he's really there that way. ] I do not miss Haven, that home away from a much better home, but... I did miss you.

[ Even if he can't really feel it, it's hard to just stand there as Cecil runs his hands all over. He swallows, and licks his lips. And clears his throat. ]

... I missed you too, Cecil.

[ God, that tongue on those lips is distracting. But then so is that voice, and the words, and everything about Jonathan, honestly. ]

Thank you... [ His says, voice rougher than before, and forces his hands away before he does something like touch Jonathan's lips. Before he's not able to let go. ] For visiting me. And Night Vale.

...Night Vale. Yes. [ The words, the name of his town is like electricity, and it jolts Cecil awake. ] Welcome... [ He grins, irresistibly. ] To Night Vale.

This is your first time, Jonathan! You've never been here before, right? What would you like to see? Where should we start? Oh!

[ He looks behind himself, at the building he's just come from and its towering stone doors. ] This is the station! This is where I work. But... You knew that, right? You heard me. You heard my voice on the radio. You listened to my show.

[ Probably a good plan, or else he would have to do... something, too. ]

It seemed to be the logical conclusion, yes, that if your voice was on the radio, then you would be at the radio station.

[ a beat ] You didn't just walk out in the middle of your show, did you?

You are so smart. [ Cecil says, a little dreamlike, as if he had forgotten. Oh, he's missed Jonathan's logic. And Jonathan's everything. He has missed him a lot, the way you miss a familiar place from your childhood, or a debilitating infection, or a vital organ. Like missing a piece of something intangible, but precious. ]

Don't worry. I do that all the time. The weather is only two and a half minutes, but it will loop and play again and again until I decide to come back. I'm usually gone for an hour or two. No one seems to mind.

Well, I'm not going to tell you how to do your job.

No, not you. You wouldn't, Jonathan. [ StrexCorp, though. God, what has Night Vale become since Cecil left and came back again. There is StrexCorp now, Jonathan. STREXCORP here and worse than before. ...But that's a story for when Cecil wants to be in a bad mood. ]

Where should I take you? What would you like to see?

There is The Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex. There is Mission Grove Park. There is the Harbor and Waterfront Recreation Area. There is The Museum of Forbidden Technologies. There is The Whispering Forest. There is the Scrublands and the Sand Wastes.

...There is the Dog Park, where dogs and people are not allowed. But we could go there anyway, and antagonize the hooded figures we are not allowed to acknowledge, if you want to live dangerously. Re-education is an important part of Night Vale's culture too, after all.

What would I like to see? I came here to see you.

... I admit I hadn't planned much beyond that.

Oh. [ Cecil answers, and is lost for an answer after that. Lost in the words, the warmth, the echoing of Jonathan's words, 'I came here to see you.' ]

You could see my apartment. [ He answers, voice deeper, and then gives himself a sharp mental kick. ] But.. That would... be a waste of your time here in Night Vale.

I would show you inside the radio station, but... That is probably not a good idea right now, either.

...We could go to the diner. The Moonlite All-Nite Diner. If you want.

[ Ugh Cecil don't make suggestions like that in that tone of voice. You've got him all distracted for a second. ]

I, ah-- the diner is fine.

[ You're very distracting all the time, Jonathan. That's something Cecil hasn't forgotten. ]

Okay! [ He answers and waits for Jonathan to lead before remembering. Night Vale. His Night Vale. Right. ] Oh, uh... Hm.

You don't mind walking, right? Of course you don't, you... walked here to the station. But. I've been walking more, since coming back from Haven. Since my employers here began paying me in scrip not redeemable at any local gas stations and I have no way to use my car.

[ He loops his arm under Jonathan's, and pulls him into a walk. ] Luckily for us, the weather's nice. [ By which he means less blisteringly hot than usual. Only extremely hot, and not blistering. ]

[ Just as the cold doesn't bother him, neither does the heat. So really, it's just Cecil's proximity, their arms looped together, that makes his cheeks go a touch red. ] Nice for a desert, I suppose.

[ Yes. Keeping the conversation centered squarely on the weather is a good idea. ]

[ Must be nice to not be able to feel things like oppressive heat, or an arm looped under yours. And by nice I mean awful. ]

Cold for a desert. Although even cold weather like this, I never really need a coat. Which is disappointing. [ Not that he was able to take that coat from Haven with him, anyway, but. It's the principle of the thing. ] ...Except, of course, for when we get the occasional government sponsored snow storms. But... We don't get those very often, anymore. Or government sponsored anything, really.

They were only cold half the time, anyway.

I have to say, from what I've discovered in looking for your universe, for this particular Night Vale, it's... an interesting place. Different, by a lot of standards, but at the same time, not.

[ he would have come to visit anyway, just because the place was an oddity. But he found he didn't care much about the science or the logic or anything behind the workings of the town. Not with Cecil here. This Cecil, his Cecil. ]

But if you ever need a vacation to somewhere colder, I do have an arctic base.

I think I've had enough cold to last me at least one human lifetime. [ After that winter in Haven. How many months did that last? Way too many. ] But if you have an underwater base, I'd like to visit that one, sometime.

...Or the arctic one, I guess. We don't have to go outside. [ Stop being distracting Jonathan. This is your fault, these thoughts Cecil is having. You stop it. ]

So! [ He says as a distraction away from the distraction on his arm, walking very close to him in a way that's painfully nostalgic and familiar. ] Did you, um. Did you see other Night Vales, also? While you were looking for this one?

I have an island base, if that works.

[ but no, they don't have to go outside. Really, they don't even ever have to leave the--- wow okay. They are both very clearly distracting each other.

Not that he's really all that surprised. ]

Sort of. The multiverse is a funny thing.

Mm. [ He hums, distracted by the idea of an island somewhere. Of being someplace like that with Jonathan.

But Night Vale's nice, too. Being here, like this. Walking down the street with Jonathan towards the diner, past average citizens of Night Vale while the weather is still playing on the radios they pass, his show still going on. Under the iron grip of the ominous corporation he works for, wondering when the next strange experiment will begin, how they will avoid death next. It's familiar. Mundane. This is nice. Just talking to Jonathan about multiverses, or science, or... whatever. ]

How is that?

Any one universe has endless different timestreams, because every decision has an impact, every influence will create something new, but outside of that, there are endless other places. Places where you and I and Night Vale have never existed, and places where we exist solely in fiction. I've heard your voice come out of the mouth of an actor, I've seen my exploits printed and sold in bookstores.

Finding the right one is like finding a needle in a haystack, as the saying goes, but it's not impossible. Least of all for me.

It is impossible, you mean. And that's why you, of all people, were able to manage it.

In all of the Night Vales you saw, were you in any? Did you find where where you were already there?

What about one of your worlds with me in it? Was I ever a super villain? ...I probably wasn't a very good one, if I was.

One or two, but... I didn't look at those too long.

Why not? I would have been curious about those ones. Weren't you?

Because I wanted this visit, this you, and this Night Vale, to determine the outcome of this trip.

[ It's a touching thought, that he might be more significant than not only every other person, but also every other Cecil Palmer, every imaginable version of himself. And Cecil can't say he doesn't understand. He would prefer this Jonathan to an actor or fictional words on a page, also. But if there is every possible universe out there, then somewhere there is a universe where the two of them were never in a place called Haven. Where they never suffered needless physical and emotional pain. Where they grew up together in the same world, where they shared experiences that weren't deeply rooted in terror or sadness. There is a universe somewhere where Carlos never came to Night Vale. There is a universe somewhere where Jonathan never met Lily.

Wouldn't Jonathan prefer a universe, a Cecil Palmer, like that? ]

...Outcome? [ Cecil echos quietly, trying not to assume that the 'outcome' of this visit is going to be anything other than a lunch together, ending with Jonathan returning back to his own universe again, to continue trying to defeat his enemies and take over that world of his. And maybe visiting again, sometime. That doesn't seem like too much to hope for, at least. ] I thought you were just here to visit.

I guess that really remains to be seen.

[ You're a big tease, Doctor Impossible. You're lucky you have a beautiful smile. ]

Oh? [ Cecil answers in a quiet question he doesn't really expect the answer to, isn't entirely sure he wants answered right now, anyway. ] ...Alright. [ It's a nice feeling. To hope, to have the luxury of hope, of time that isn't real or finite, of universes that are numerous and mostly impossible. His hand slips from Jonathan's arm to take his hand, and they're only a half a block from the diner by then, anyway.

The Moonlite All-Nite Diner is cold and dark inside, and not actually a diner. It's more like a crypt, if you had to compare it to anything, with stone seats and mossy hills, and moonlight painting white stripes across everything through dusty open stone windows. Which is strange. The moonlight. Considering it was a hot desert sun outside until just a moment ago.

But it is a diner in some ways. You can tell by the jukebox playing in the corner, and the straw dispensers on the stone tables that pull up in a spiral - you know the ones? You never even use a straw in your drink, but they have them in chrome dispensers on the tables anyway.

Cecil leads Jonathan to a corner booth and sits down, and he opens a menu even though he doesn't need it. Just for show. He gets the same thing every time, and the waitresses all know his order, anyway. ]

[ He's vaguely wondering if they should be doing that- the hand holding- because if he got his universes correct, there should still be a Carlos in this Night Vale.

But all that is quickly put out of his head because what the fuck even is this diner. ]

... What do you even get to eat here?

[ Jonathan this is Night Vale. This is Cecil post-Haven, in Night Vale. If you don't think you're as much of a public celebrity as Carlos... If you think what's happening right now isn't literally going to be the second half of his show when he gets back... What are you thinking? ]

There is a menu, you know. It's typical diner fare, but it's not bad for the price. [ Cecil says looking over his own menu. ...It's that stone tablet on the table. Sorry. Maybe Cecil should have mentioned that. And he's pushing it towards Jonathan now, anyway. And Jonathan speaks Japanese and probably a hundred other languages so. Modified Sumerian's one of them, right? ]

[ He really, literally has no idea. ]

I'm beginning to realize that I haven't even scratched the surface of this town of yours.

[ Let's be real here... he probably does know the language. Or at least enough of it. He's just trying to figure out who the hell chisels a menu into stone tablets in Sumerian of all things, and why.

He's also a little dubious on Cecil's definition of "typical diner fare", so he'll order the most innocuous-looking thing on the menu. ]

Is every place in town like this?

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Insert "Welcome to Night Vale" joke here

not apologizing for tldr ( I am tho )

never apologize

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