To be honest, I wanted to write something like this since Chapter 2, but feared that it would give too much away. But I think we're at a good time to explain a few things, no? Also, I should make it very clear that this doesn't advance plot or anything, so you don't have to read it. It's just for adding details and also because César's mind fascinates me.

So without any further ado, I give you… César Salazar…

César has been called many things in his life. A genius, insane, crazy, that creepy guy, the know-it-all… But the one thing that he's never been called is "good brother" or any variation of it. And to be honest, it's never bothered him before. That's just the way things are, he'd always think. Just as there is no such thing as 100% certainty in science, César Salazar is not a perfect brother.

He takes a gulpful of the alcohol, making a face as the bourbon hits his tongue. No matter how many times he's done this tonight, he just can't seem to get used to that taste.

"I bet you're a riot at parties," his drinking buddy remarks. His voice is dripping with sarcasm and César realizes a little belatedly that he must be speaking out loud.

"But you… You don't understand," César says. He hates that his voice is slurred and that he feels like he's slowly losing grip on his body. He hates the feeling of loss that comes with drinking. It's why he's always avoided reasons to drink like the plague. But tonight… Tonight…

"No, I'm pretty sure I understand just fine," his buddy tells him. "You, my friend, have a serious brother complex."

"Rex is just…" César stops, trying to come up with the right word. But his brain is foggy with alcohol and he just can't quite seem to grasp the word. "Rex is just… Rex. And when I first held him in my arms, I knew it then, you know?"

"Oh gods, I'm going to hurl," his buddy grumbles lowly.

"The design schematics for this world are messed up. How the hell can anything be accomplished when we as human kind doesn't have the optimal design? We are flawed. The only was to fix it is to redesign it."

"Redesign the human kind? Wait, you learned all of this when you first held Rex?"

César grins. "Exactly. My first attempt was Zag-RS. But she was too flawed. She just didn't get it. And Alpha... Oh man, Alpha was a mistake."

"Wait... I think I heard about that. Didn't you destroy the MIT labs? And…"

"And I was expelled."

"Is that what it was? I thought there was a bit more than just that. Something like being forbidden to work in labs or something?"

"They have no power over that. They just made it so that I can never graduate." César shrugs. "But who cares about that? Rex, man. Rex."

His buddy sighs. "Okay, I'll bite. What about your brother?"

"Did you know that he's never seen mom and dad happy? Because the world, you see, ended two months before he was born."

"No, I'm pretty sure the world is still here."

"It ended…" César looks down at his drink. "Before that moment, everything was happy. Everything was fine. We were a family that most people dreamed about having. Then the phone call came in and they shut down the labs. Mom and dad were out of jobs. It was the first time I've seen them yell at each other. And you know what's sad? I actually think Rex wouldn't have turned out the way he did if it wasn't for that moment."

"If he had caring parents, you mean?"

"Except it's not just their fault. It never is…" César takes a swing of bourbon and grimace at the taste. Faintly, in the back of his mind, he wonders if this really is a good idea. Should he really trust this person next to him and tell him everything? But right now, the usual firm control he has on his body and mind is gone and all he can do is clutch tightly to the bar stool so he doesn't fall off.

"I wasn't there for him either," César continues. "When we were much younger, Angela was convinced that I was trying to kill Rex."

"… Excuse me?"

"See, one night, Rex wouldn't stop crying. And mom and dad weren't going to do something about it, so I just… smothered the sound by placing a pillow over his head."

"Uh…"

"Angela walked in and freaked. She tried to get my parents to care about it. They did for a while. But really distractedly. Like they could care less, you know? But Angela cared. She kept a close watch on me and Rex after that. So when I was taking care of Rex and he got a little banged up and started to bleed…" César stops for a second, lost in the memory. He can still remember Angela's face, rage and concern all rolled into one. The way she pleaded with her employers to care about their sons. The way Rex cried, becoming more frightened by Angela's anger than the pain.

"I think that's the first time I realized that I can't fix humans. I can redesign them all I want. I can invent Zag-RS and Alpha and any other AIs, but I can't fix humans. I don't know how to make it so that they won't cry. I don't know how to make it so that they won't bleed. And worst of all, I don't know how to make it better once they've been hurt or broken."

Some guy in a green suit walks into the bar and slides into the bar stool on the other side of César. But by now, César's on a roll and he barely notices. He's stuck in the past, and there's plenty of alcohol in his system, and he can't stop now. It feels like someone's ripped open a Band-Aid that's just been keeping the blood in instead of stopping it, because the blood is pouring out, thick and red.

"So I stopped reaching out to Rex. I pulled away from him. And I think I helped mold him into the cold person he is by doing that. I didn't realize it until too late, but he started to rely more and more on those he shouldn't trust. He actually thought that he could trust that third-rate lab hack. It's what broke his arm. And that's the first time he went to Holiday Hospital."

"Uh... So the third-rate lab hack is...?"

"Van Kleiss. I can't believe they'd still let him get a job after what he did, let alone with children. He's working at a high school right now. At Rex's high school, no less." César glowers before finishing off his glass.

His buddy quickly orders him another glass, and César continues with his story.

"Before that moment, Rex still trusted me. But something happened in the hospital and while with Van Kleiss. Because Rex… he changed after that. Before, he used to tell Angela and me about how he's going to be a successful scientist too, because that's what Salazars do. He used to draw a lot. Schematics and designs and diagrams… All for the purpose of becoming a better scientist. But after that hospital visit…"

César accepts the new glass of bourbon with gratitude. He wets his lips with the alcohol, body shuddering at the taste. He's just never going to get used to this, isn't he?

"He no longer reached out to me. At the time, I thought it was a good thing. I thought I'll be fine with that. In fact, it's better this way for everyone involved. I'm not meant for human contact anyways! I'm just going to end up hurting Rex, and Rex is better off with other people who can be human for him." César buries his face in his hands. "Ah… If only I had reached out to him then. If only I could've been a good brother to him…"

"So that's the start then?" his buddy asks softly. "That's the beginning of Rex Salazar the legend? One visit to the hospital?"

"Yes." César gulps down the glass, not caring about the taste anymore. He wants to forget. He's buried all the feelings down in his heart and letting them out felt so freeing…

"So what changed?" His buddy is giving him a curious look now. "Why do you care so much about your brother now? You were at a place mentally where you couldn't accept human interaction. And yet now, you crave to be able to reach out to him. But why? What changed?"

César mulls over this. What changed? Everything changed. Wasn't that obvious? Everything that he thought he ever knew, this entire universe, turned on its head and shook and shook and shook until César couldn't figure out what was up and what was down. Until César realized that he didn't have to hide from his brother in fear that he was going to hurt him. "I overheard Rex talking."

"On the phone? With a friend?"

"To his diary. He was recording his thoughts because he was scared out of his wits. He was having blackouts. He was having moments when he would wake up and realize that there were holes in his memory. He was losing his mind and no one around him cared. No one reached out to him. Hell, at that point, I think he didn't even know how to reach out and ask for help. He must've been so alone, trying to figure things out by himself..."

"And I realized…" César absentmindedly rubs his temples. "I realized that I can fix that. I realized that humans are flawed and imperfect, and I can't fix their design, but I can come up with a solution to some of them. I can find out how to stop someone from losing their memory. I can help them regain it if they do lose it. It's a simple enough algorithm. All I have to do is recreate what I did with Zag-RS and Alpha except for the human mind. I can help Rex."

"But you're not allowed to conduct researches."

"Legally and officially, I'm not. But there are plenty of people who go behind the government. The Consortum was just convinent, because they shared my vision. They fund my research and I will cure Rex. And that will do it, I thought. If I can find the cure to Rex's memory problem, he's going to accept me again. We're going to be able to be the family we used to be, and I..."

César doesn't even realize that he's crying until his buddy hands over a napkin to him. "I'm not usually like this," he mumbles, wiping away the tears and trying to remember how to control himself. "But damn it, it's Rex."

"Yeah, yeah. I hear you." His buddy's voice is gruff, but he doesn't joke about it. Not anymore. He gives César the time to gather himself.

"I messed up," César mumbles. "I thought that the research is all I need to piece my family together again. I thought that's all I needed. But then yesterday, Rex opened up to me. He actually looked me in the eye and told me that he needs my help. He's the frightened little boy, who's scraped his knee again. He came to me, to make things better. To make him better. That's why... That's why..."

"And that's why you called me," his buddy concludes with a grin. "In order to help your brother."

"That's right. I tried some other people first. But everyone ran the other way when they heard the name Rex Salazar."

"Well, yeah. Don't you know what your brother have done?"

"No, I don't. And don't bother telling me now, because I doubt I'll remember anything come morning. But eventually. Eventually, I'd like to know. I'd like to know, but I want it to be him telling me. I want to hear it from him." César takes a deep breath. "Black Knight suggested that you might be the only person who'll agree to this job. She cautioned me though. That you're kind of..."

"Crazy? Oh please. If I wasn't, I wouldn't have taken this job." His buddy replies easily with a shrug. "Don't worry, Mr. Brother-Complex. I'll make sure that little Rexy is safe, especially from himself. I've been meaning to look more into this guy anyways. And if I get paid for it, then it's even better for me."

"Thank you," César says, digging the heel of his palm into his eyes. "I can't thank you enough."

"Now, do you have a way back or do I get paid extra to take you home?"

"I have a way back."

"Good. Good. Then I leave the tab to you. Great doing business with you, Mr. Salazar."

"Likewise… Gatlocke."