Clockwork, Steam, and Flux Capacitors

"I'm good, I guess," Marty says. "Whatcha need?"

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Alice blushes a little, unable to help herself. "Well -- I'd actually like you to pass a message onto Victor, if you could," she admits. "I know we had a rather awkward moment at Captain John's housewarming, but I really would like to see him again."

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Marty blinks, surprised. "You would? The way you two were acting, I was thinking. . . . Well, yeah, I can talk to him when I see him again." He grins a little. "You just missed him, actually -- he and Doc are doing something together in Chicago, or not-Chicago, or wherever it is they are."

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Alice blushes harder. "I know -- it's all my fault, I never should have kissed him," she says. "But the fact of the matter is, he really made an impression on me as a child, and -- I'd like a second chance at striking up a friendship."

Alice blinks now, shocked. "What -- really?" Then it turns to puzzlement. "What are you talking about?"

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Marty smiles at that. "Hey, nothing wrong with that. He's a nice guy."

"Yeah. And I don't know, something went wrong with Doc's PINpoint and he can't get back to Chicago," Marty attempts to explain. "So Victor took him through the portal he uses to get back to his room, only Doc came storming out of here a little while ago demanding to find a Place-Me-Quick. So I'm guessing something's gone screwy, but I have no idea what."

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Alice smiles back. "Yes, he is."

She tilts her head, attempting to take all that in. "So -- Dr. Brown and Victor are -- stuck here?" she says slowly. She thinks that's what Marty's getting at anyway.

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"Like I said, I don't know," Marty shrugs. He glances back over to the door he's standing by, which is ajar. "They're -- actually right in there, so -- maybe we could go ask them?" He's not entirely sure they can get in -- Chicago seems stingy about letting foreign entities in that don't come through the Rift -- but it's worth a shot.

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"Why don't we?" Alice says immediately. Portal into an entirely different universe? That's just up her alley. She knocks at the door -- only polite -- then opens it a little and pokes her head in to see -- well, it looks like a flat of sorts. Rather small, but cozy enough. And there's Victor, sitting on the bed nearby. "Hello?"

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Victor starts, almost but not quite falling off the bed. He turns to see -- "Al -- Miss Liddell?" he says, shocked. What's she doing here? How'd she find his door? Is this going to be another horribly awkward moment between them? (He really hopes not, one was enough.)

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Alice feels herself turning pink again. "You can call me Alice, if you want," she says gently, opening the door a bit further. "May we come in?" She tilts her head to indicate Marty, standing beside her.

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Victor nods -- he honestly wasn't sure what to call her. On the one hand, she's an old acquaintance, on the other, she's also from the 1800s, like him. At least now he's pretty much used to using first names. And ah, there's Marty, which might explain her sudden appearance. "Oh -- yes, you may," he says, standing up like a good host. "Please do."

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Alice walks straight in without preamble. Marty, however, hesitates briefly on the threshold. He sticks a hand in first and wiggles it. Nothing happens. He tries stepping inside, and gets the same result. He grins at the rather confused Victor and Alice. "First time I tried to get to Chicago with Doc, the PINpoint kept giving me an error," he explains. "I didn't know if I'd actually be able to get in." He looks around the little apartment. "So this is where you live, huh? Not bad. Kind of like my place at home -- only I don't have the little kitchen." Of course, Marty lives in a club/restaurant, so he doesn't really need one.

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"Oh," Victor says. "That's peculiar." He'd have thought Chicago would have loved to get another person stuck in it. (When DID he start thinking of a city like a person?) He smiles slightly at the praise. "It's small, but it serves my purposes fine," he nods. "Er -- if you're looking for Doc -- Dr. Brown, I should say -- he stepped out for a little bit. He'll be back shortly."

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"Everything that's happened to us is peculiar," is Marty's opinion. "But yeah, don't know what happened between then and now. Maybe the door portals are easier to use or something." He glances over at Victor. "Where'd he go?"

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"To get his things," Victor explains. "He's moving here, into the room next to mine."

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That takes Marty by surprise. "What? Why? Isn't he happy at the Conrad? I mean, I know he doesn't like that his room's in the basement, but he seemed to be dealing."

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Victor frowns and fiddles with his tie. "It's r-rather complicated -- I think h-he'd be better at explaining it," he admits. "Something to d-do with invisible Rifts. . . ."

He shakes his head and turns to Alice. "Er -- I a-assume you're h-here to see me?" he adds, feeling suddenly shy.

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"Oh Jesus," Marty says, facepalming. Of course it would be complicated.

Alice nods, feeling rather shy herself now. "Yes," she confirms. "I -- I rather missed you, Victor. Or Master Van Dort, if you'd prefer. I know we had a terribly awkward moment at Captain John's party -- I'm sorry again for just kissing you like that -- but--" She scowls, frustrated with herself. "I'm sorry, I'm having a little trouble with the words. . . ."

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Victor smiles encouragingly. "That's all right, I o-often have trouble w-with them myself," he says with a self-deprecating laugh. "And -- and Victor's fine."

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Alice smiles back, encouraged indeed. Especially by his willingness to be called Victor. "I think you speak fine," she says, chuckling as she realizes she's echoing her younger self from their first meeting. "Well, to cut to the heart of the matter, I'd -- I'd really like for us to be friends. I don't have many of my own back home, and I remember quite liking you when we first met. I still like you now. I want a second chance at having what we were denied as children." She finds herself blushing again. "You're not opposed to the idea, are you?"

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"Oh, no!" Victor says, feeling a funny warmth deep in his gut. "I'd love to be friends. I -- I like you too. I never had many friends myself, so. . . ." His smile falters a little. "I'm not sure how often we could see each other, or how we could correspond, but -- I'd like to try."

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Alice beams. "Wonderful. We'll work something out, I'm sure." She decides to risk taking his hand and giving it a quick squeeze. "You're such a nice man. I'm glad I got to meet you."

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