Vinnie didn't entirely understand how other dimensions worked, or what this other version of himself was doing here, but it was nice to think that there was a version of him who hadn't gone through the torture that he had. He still had nightmares about the Condemned Corridor, and he probably would for the rest of his life.
He'd been forced to relive every single one of Cavendish's deaths, over and over and over again, countless times. It had felt like he'd spent an eternity just watching his failures being pushed back in his face again.
What had hurt more than that was that Mr. Block had piggy-backed into all of the memories. He'd watched all of the memories, including his memories of how he'd been feeling at the time. Vinnie had always worn his heart on his sleeve, but there were just a few things that he held close to his chest, and it had almost physically hurt for his captor and torturer to so cruelly and forcefully learn about the feelings that he held so tightly to.
Vinnie was in love with Balthazar. He'd been intrigued by the stick in the mud since their first interaction, when Vinnie had brought Balthazar on that rebellious snack run. That intrigue had turned to admiration when Balthazar had been willing to look past Vinnie's questionable behavior and see his good nature and dedication.
Vinnie had worked with other agents before, and they all thought that he was nothing but trouble. They thought that he was selfish, lazy, a glutton, and a completely useless agent. Balthazar had actually been his last chance, though he hadn't ever told him as much. He'd still seen those negative sides of Vinnie that he just couldn't seem to shake, but Balthazar still liked him. He still treated him as well as he knew how, and it had been a great feeling.
He didn't know exactly when his feelings had grown from admiration to deep affection. All he knew was that when Balthazar died the first time, Vinnie had felt lost, depressed, and like he didn't even want to try to figure out how to live without his partner and friend. It really hadn't taken long for him to decide that keeping his job didn't matter nearly as much as getting his friend back.
Sometime after the fifth or sixth death, when Vinnie realized that this was probably going to be his life now, he found himself wondering just what he was doing this for. What made Balthazar so special that Vinnie would go to such lengths to keep him around? He found himself thinking about Balthazar's work ethic, the goofiness that he tried so hard to hide, and that smile and laugh that made butterflies flutter in Vinnie's stomach.
Balthazar was amazing, and Vinnie felt like even if he wasn't cut out for being a time-traveler, it would have been worth it to have this man as his partner. And that was when he realized just how he felt about him. And the more times he saved Balthazar's life, the stronger those feelings grew.
Mr. Block had seen all these same memories. He'd been in Vinnie's head. He claimed that he'd done it just to find his motives. But he knew Vinnie's motives. The only reason why he kept on going was to torment him, and it had worked.
When Mr. Block wasn't invading Vinnie's mind and memories, he was left completely on his own in a limbo out of time. He had felt like he'd barely even existed. The only reminders that he was still real was the pain in his shattered mind, and the aching of his head from exposure to the too bright lights.
Balthazar had saved him, even if he'd used methods that Vinnie wasn't completely comfortable with. Maybe it made him a bad person, but he couldn't help but appreciate that his partner cared enough about him to go to all this effort just for him.
He didn't like thinking of the fact that Balthazar was a killer, but before he'd been tortured he'd thought that his partner would never care about him as much as he cared, and he was fine with that. Now though it was clear that Balthy cared a lot, and it was touching.
His work and saving the world was everything to Balthazar. He'd literally given his life to be a time traveler. When he was given the chance to keep his job, Balthazar had instead stuck by his side. He'd gotten rid of Mr. Block, and then dedicated all of his time, energy, and resources to demolishing the B.o.T.T.
Vinnie didn't know a whole lot about the start of this whole fight. His mind had been in a very bad place back then. Half the time he had barely understood that he was no longer in his prison in the corridors.
Balthazar had done so much to help him. Vinnie knew that his partner felt like he hadn't done enough to save him from his mind. He knew that Balthazar felt guilty every time Vinnie woke up from a nightmare and had a panic attack, but he didn't blame his partner at all. Balthazar had already done far more for him than he had ever expected.
Balthazar had taken the massive back areas of headquarters and he'd made it a comfortable home. The spacious rooms and halls were good for walking through when he was feeling claustrophobic and needed to remind himself that he had the freedom to move. The rooms were all dimly lit or had adjustable lights.
Vinnie couldn't believe that Balthazar felt like he hadn't done enough for him. He didn't have to inconvenience himself with the lights. Vinnie could have just gotten over his newfound hesitance to wear his shaded glasses. He didn't know where his discomfort came from, but Balthazar didn't seem to think that it mattered too much. He'd just installed the dim lights and kept the glasses on hand just in case he changed his mind.
Balthazar had filled all of the rooms with any furniture he could find, regardless of if it was useful or matched, just because Vinnie felt on edge when a room was too sparse. When he'd mentioned that silence unnerved him, Balthazar installed the sound system. He'd provided Vinnie with two different kitchens, just because he knew that he liked to eat and found it comforting when he was stressed.
Balthazar had even set up a ridiculously childish stuffed animal room, just for the times when Vinnie needed cuddles, and softness, but didn't want real touch. And when Vinnie's anxiety was really bad and he couldn't calm himself down, but he also couldn't handle being around Balthazar, he'd broken his own personal rules against time-travel and gotten Vinnie a loyal service dog.
He appreciated how much Balthazar had done just for his sake, but there were some aspects of this that he didn't like. Balthazar was now understandably overprotective. Vinnie wasn't too fond of the fact that he was kept away from practically everybody that wasn't Balthazar. He was barely allowed to interact with the other B.a.T.T. agents, because Balthazar barely trusted them.
It wasn't so bad though. Vinnie couldn't help but be nervous around anybody that wasn't Balthazar. If he ever felt fidgety and needed to get out and about, Balthazar arranged it and kept him safe and happy. He really did his best to give Vinnie anything he might want, with just a few exceptions.
One of those exceptions still made Vinnie's heart ache. He wasn't allowed to see Milo. They had fought about it so much, but Balthazar had put his foot down. He said that it was just too risky. In 2175 a surprising amount of the economy had relied on time travel. There had been multiple time travel agencies, all of them specializing in different things.
B.o.T.T. had focused on the traditional world saving stuff, but there had also been restaurants of sorts that had sold food from other time periods. There had been places that provided tours to people. Research groups and historians. There had even been free-lancers who could be hired to do basically anything.
The B.o.T.T. had been Balthazar's focus, but he'd wanted to take down all forms of time travel. He thought that it was far too much power that was too easy to abuse. Balthazar had made a lot of progress, but he also made a lot of enemies. He was also worried that he'd missed a small agency or individual, or even just a time-travel device that was locked in someone's basement.
Vinnie didn't think it was very likely that one of their enemies had access to some stray time-travel vehicles, and Balthazar even agreed, but a small chance was still a chance. Visiting Milo though magnified the chances of bad things happening. What if they went to see him, but there just so happened to be a stray time-traveler in his time and town?
Vinnie wanted to say that Balthazar was just paranoid. He'd begged and pleaded to just be able to give the kid a call, and finally Balthazar had reluctantly relented. He'd sent Brick and Savannah to the past to give Milo a communication device so they could call him.
They hadn't talked very long, but in those few minutes one of Balthazar's enemies had hacked into the feed and been able to find them. It had been an incredibly close call that day. Vinnie had been unharmed, but Balthazar had broken his arm and killed their attacker. After that Vinnie wasn't allowed contact with Milo at all, for his own good.
He understood it, but it still hurt. It was because of this that he was so eager to listen to the Dakota from the other dimension tell stories about Milo. It sounded like the kid was growing up. He was slowly pursuing a relationship with a girl at his school who could balance him out in some nice ways. Zack and Melissa were also thinking of getting together, which Vinnie was surprised about, but he was happy for them. They were all good kids.
Vinnie would have loved to be told about Milo all day, and Dakota had been more than happy to do just that, but then Balthazar returned to the room. He looked much less angry than before, but he definitely wasn't happy.
"Did you find him?" Vinnie asked.
"Yes, I suppose I did." Balthazar said. He came up to Vinnie and kissed his forehead. Neither of them really noticed the odd sound that Dakota made. "Don't worry, he's unharmed. He's here and wishes to speak with Dakota."
Vinnie's double relaxed, though there was a certain tension in his shoulders still. "At least he's okay."
Balthazar frowned worriedly. "But are you alright?" He asked. "Are you safe with your partner?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Dakota asked. "You know he wouldn't hurt me."
"I know he wouldn't want to hurt you." Balthazar said. "However, it's because he's me that I know that he would, in fact, hurt you, whether through obliviousness or because he has chosen what he felt was the lesser of two evils."
Dakota was tense for a long moment. Vinnie frowned. Before he'd started talking about Milo, Dakota had told him about what had happened between him and his Cavendish. He hadn't really told him everything, and Dakota's emotional angry rants about his partner, or quiet admissions of his own guilt, hadn't done a lot to let him know what was actually going on. He knew enough though.
"He left you, and that hurt you." Vinnie said. It wasn't a question. They all knew it was the truth. "He didn't trust you, and you're mad at him, but blame yourself."
Dakota sighed. "Yeah, I guess so. I know it's not my fault, but I can't help but feel like if I were a better partner then he wouldn't feel the need to leave me behind."
Balthazar was quiet for a long time, and Vinnie knew that he was trying to rein in his anger. Finally he sighed tiredly and pulled away from Vinnie. He scooted closer to Dakota and pulled him close into his arms. He ran his fingers gently through Dakota's curly hair. Vinnie just watched, more than willing to share his Balthazar with a Dakota that needed him just a little bit more at this moment.
"I told your partner that I would let you decide whether you want to talk to him or not." Balthazar said. "I'll hold true to that, but I don't think you're in any state to face him right now."
Dakota looked awkward at Balthazar's touch, and Vinnie knew why. It had taken him a long time to get used to Balthazar's soft affection, and he thought that probably would have been the case even before his time in the Corridors.
Eventually Dakota sighed and relaxed into Balthazar's hold. Vinnie watched his partner treat Dakota with just as much care as he treated Vinnie with. He wasn't jealous at all. Why would he be jealous of himself? He knew that Balthazar was just treating Dakota just as he would treat Vinnie.
"Tell me how your partner hurt you." Balthazar said quietly. It was the tone that he reserved for Vinnie when he had his nightmares. "Tell me how I hurt you."
Dakota didn't need any more coaxing. He just curled against Balthazar and started talking about what he and his partner had been through. He went into more specifics than he had with Vinnie. Dakota even explained some seemingly small things from before the abandonment.
Some of the grievances were things that Vinnie and Balthazar had already talked about. They were just about the times that Balthazar hadn't taken him seriously, or when he'd called him lazy, selfish, and gluttonous. It sounded like Dakota and his Cavendish hadn't had any such discussions, and it was really weighing on him.
"Cav is great, but I feel like no matter how hard I try, I'm never good enough for him, and he knows it." Dakota said after he had tired from his ranting. He looked exhausted, even though it was still fairly early in the day. Vinnie knew how emotional he got when he was tired, and how hard it was to sleep when he was upset. It was a painful cycle, and one that Balthazar knew how to handle well.
Balthazar didn't talk a lot. He just muttered practically meaningless reassurances and validations as he held Dakota close. He encouraged him to let himself rest, and eventually Dakota began to doze off, though he tried really hard to remain awake and aware.
"I wish I could talk to him." Dakota said. "I know if I just told him what was wrong, he'd understand, but every time I try he says or does something that makes me feel like I can't tell him anything."
Vinnie rubbed his hands along Woof Woof's fur. His dog whined and looked up at him. She didn't seem too confused about there being two Vinnie's, but she seemed conflicted about which of them to help.
He took a deep breath. He was nervous, but that was nothing new. He felt like Dakota needed more help right now, and it had been a long time since Vinnie had been able to help anybody.
"I can talk to your partner." Vinnie said. He expected Balthazar to object, but his partner smiled his way and nodded.
"I think that's a great idea, Darling." Balthazar said. "And if you want I'm curious about just why our new friends are in our dimension in the first place."
"You can just ask me." Dakota muttered. Balthazar shushed him.
"Nonsense." Balthazar said. "You have other things on your mind. I don't want to make you feel like you're being interrogated, or that our only interest in you is what information we can get from you."
"But you don't mind making Cav feel that way?" Dakota snorted. Balthazar just smirked.
"I won't interrogate him." Vinnie said. He had enough interrogation for a lifetime. "But if he's willing to talk, I'll see what I can learn." He nudged Woof Woof towards Dakota. He stood up and stretched. He hadn't gotten out of bed yet, and his body was not happy about being up and about.
"He's in the meeting room." Balthazar said. "Be careful."
"I'll be fine." Vinnie assured him. "He won't hurt me. He's still you." He left the room and walked down the halls. The meeting room was just outside of the homey area that Balthazar had set up for him. It was probably the one part of the actual headquarters that he spent a significant amount of time in. This was where Balthazar did a lot of his work, and Vinnie liked to just sit with him and enjoy his company.
Vinnie unlocked the door to the room and stepped in. He immediately saw Cavendish pacing around anxiously. Vinnie couldn't help but feel the urge to help calm him down. He had never liked to see him stressed.
Cavendish whirled around when he heard the door open. His eyes widened when he saw him. "Dakota." He rushed forward and pulled Vinnie into a tight embrace. He was surprised, but he instinctively returned the hug.
"Thank goodness you're here." Cavendish said. "I was starting to worry." He stepped back and eyed Vinnie carefully, clear concern in his eyes. "Where are your glasses?"
Vinnie blinked and brought a hand to his face, even though he knew that he hadn't worn his glasses in ages. "They're…uh…" It shouldn't be hard to tell Cavendish something so simple, but Vinnie was thrown off. It had been so long since he had heard Balthazar speak to him with his urgent, commanding, 'we have a job to do' voice. He'd almost forgotten what it was like to be on the receiving end of this tone.
If he was still talking this way to Dakota, it was no wonder that he felt like his partner was frustrated with him all the time. When Cavendish sounded frustrated about everything, why would Dakota think that he was the exception?
"Never mind," Cavendish said before Vinnie had the chance to answer. He sounded like he was in a hurry, but Vinnie didn't know if this was how Balthazar had always been before he'd forced himself to change. "We'll find your spares when we get back home."
"Uh, Cav, can we talk?" Vinnie asked.
"Of course." Cavendish said. "I know there's a lot that we need to talk about, but it needs to wait for just a few minutes."
"Why?" Vinnie asked. Cavendish took Vinnie's hand and pulled him close as he stared at his watch.
"Because our way home was going to open in just a few minutes." Cavendish said. "I was afraid that I would need to leave without you."
Vinnie frowned. Maybe he should tell Cavendish that he wasn't his Dakota, but this seemed like the best way to get answers from Cavendish. He'd also be able to save Dakota from hearing Cavendish's thoughtless words.
"You'd really leave me behind again?" Vinnie asked.
Cavendish looked pained. He gave Vinnie's hand a reassuring squeeze that reminded him so much of what Balthazar might do. It wasn't that Cavendish didn't care, he just hadn't been given as much reason to show it as Balthazar had.
"Dakota, I'm sorry." Cavendish said quietly, but urgently. "I thought we'd moved past this, but I suppose I was wrong. That's my fault, and I'm sorry. We'll talk about it, but we need to get out of this place before one of us gets hurt again."
Vinnie jolted. "D-did you get hurt?" Balthazar had said that he wouldn't lay a hand on him.
"No, no, I'm fine." Cavendish said dismissively. He fidgeted with his watch. "However, I don't think either of us are safe. We may not have gotten the answers that we were looking for, but hopefully we'll have learned enough for Mr. Block to be satisfied."
Vinnie felt like his insides froze. He had just been hearing things. His anxiety and memories were messing with him. Usually he hated when it happened, but it was so much better than to even consider the possibility that he'd actually heard correctly.
"W-what?" Vinnie shook and he watched as a portal opened just in front of them. His mind felt blank and he couldn't resist as Cavendish pulled him through. It was only as they stepped into the other dimension did Vinnie find his will to move again. "Wait! Cav, I'm not-" He turned to go back through the portal, only to see it close and vanish. Vinnie felt like he was going to be sick. "No!"
"You two are back early." Vinnie felt like he forgot to breathe as he heard a voice that haunted his nightmares. He slowly looked back over his shoulder, only to meet the irritated gaze of Mr. Block. A man who was supposed to be dead. A man whose death had weight on his conscience even while he was relieved that he didn't have to be afraid of his torture again.
Vinnie knew he needed to breathe, but it felt physically impossible. His ears were ringing and his head was starting to ache a little bit. His face felt weird. Mr. Block was still talking, saying something about danger, or information, or something along those lines, but he couldn't really understand any of it. All Vinnie understood is that Mr. Block was right there.
Logically he knew that it wasn't his Mr. Block. That man wasn't coming back. This was Cavendish and Dakota's Mr. Block. He hadn't tortured either Vinnie or Dakota, but he was capable of doing so, and it was clear from the irritated look on his face that he was slowly getting edged to that point.
Vinnie's chest hurt and darkness was starting to creep on the edges of his vision. He thought he might have heard somebody say his name, but he barely processed it. He only saw Mr. Block, who was looking increasingly more annoyed.
He wanted to run. He wanted to grab Cavendish and keep him safe from the clear threat. He wanted to go back to bed and wake up from this clear nightmare.
Vinnie made a keening sound as his legs gave out beneath him. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he collapsed. He was unconscious before he even hit the ground.