Carlos 

I was just doing some science, the radio playing as Cecil's voice gracefully playing over and filling the silence of the house. Updating on the horrors that were now risen upon the city of Night Vale. 

Then suddenly there was static mixed with Cecil's voice, slightly filling with concern and panic. But only slightly. 

"Um, listeners, there's just some technical difficulties here... wait, hold on....ah! There we-"

"Hello?"

The town seemed to fall silent all at once. 

It was the voice belonging to Kevin of Desert Bluffs. 

But yet, it seemed different. It seemed. . . younger, more youthful.

"Um... hello?" The voice repeats, sounding timid. Maybe even scared. 

"Hi!" Cecil suddenly realized who this was as the town seemed to remain tense in a feeling of uneasiness. The last time this happened... it didn't end well," Kevin, what on Earth reason are you cutting into our radio signal for?"

"I'm cutting into a radio signal? Who am I talking to?"

"Wait, Kevin, when are you?"

"When? Um... it must be... the 27th now."

"The 27th of?"

"July, duh."

"Let me rephrase myself. What year is it?" 

"1999."

Once silence, silence blanketed the city. I didn't quite understand why but I assumed there was reason behind it and continued on listening. 

"Kevin, I am speaking to you from Night Vale," Cecil went on," where is your family?"

There was hesitation.

"I'm not sure, I left them behind in Night Vale."

"Who did you leave behind? Why?"

"Does it really matter? I left for reasons that will never concern you, whoever you are, asking who I am and what year I'm in like you'd be in a different time. You're not my brother, my mother, or my sister, so I don't see it as any of your business."

"Kevin, whatever is in your mind," the radio host tried to prevent it, tried to stop what he knew was impossible to stop," whatever you're wanting to do: Don't do it. Go home, see your siblings and your mother. Don't turn yourself over to Desert Bluffs."

"What's so bad about Desert Bluffs?"

"They may not seem bad now, Kevin. But in 5, 6, 7 years they'll try to take you over in every way possible."

"As I said: What's so bad about Desert Bluffs?"

A tension filled the air, as for a moment silence seemed to suffocate the city, the sounds from the radio less comforting all of a sudden. 

"Kevin," it was almost like begging, I had never seen Cecil like that before. Or rather heard him like that, but you get the idea behind it," if you do what I think you're going to do, you won't have freedom. You'll have your radio station you'll have no control over. You won't be yourself anymore."

Without a clue as of what was to be said next, all sense of electricity aside our radios were all powered off in Night Vale. 

"And what if I don't want to be myself anymore?"

And there it was. 

The sound of defeat, the sound that there's nothing left. That there's no meaning to life, which there isn't in broad perspective. But there no personal reason for life, there's no will to live with what simply is. 

And who it was from. Cecil or Kevin, I wasn't sure. 

"Kev-"

"You don't even know me, you can't change my life, my mind. As much as everyone has tried, nobody has managed to, so don't think you can."

"I... I won't." 

Cecil sounded so... I don't want to say defeated, but that's what it was. Like he was trying to fight something and he just lost all at once. Lost everything.

"But just for further reference," Kevin's voice broke through," what is your name? I have a right to know."

"My name?" Cecil asked," Cecil."

"Really? I have a brother named Cecil, he-"

And the signal cut. 

"I know, Kevin," he seemed more desperate now than ever," I... I know."

There was a sigh followed by a moment of silence. 

"That's all the time we have for now, listeners," Cecil announced," stay with your loved ones, your family, your friends. Whoever you have, stay with them and Goodnight, Night Vale."

"Goodnight."

The radio cut out and I got a call from Steve Carlsburg. 

"Hey, Steve," I answered. I've never held anything against Steve. I'm still not entirely sure why Cecil does, but he does and it doesn't seem to be my business so I leave it alone as much as I can," what's up?"

"Do you know of anything that has happened to Cecil or Abby recently?"

"No, I don't. Why?"

"Oh, I was just wondering." He explained," it was just all of a sudden she got in a mood and won't explain why. Maybe Cecil said something on his show, that would've just ended, right? I just got home so I wasn't able to listen and with Janice sleeping she can't tell me anything."

"I see, yeah it could've been," I suggested.

"Well I'll figure it out, I figured I'd give asking you a shot, but I'm pretty sure Janice is waking up, so I'll let you know what I find out."

"Alright, sounds good, Steve."

"Yup! Take good care of Cecil, I'll talk to you later."

"Will do. Bye."

Cecil drove up to our place and after a minute he was inside and you could see the emotion welling inside of him just waiting to come crashing down.

It was as simple as he took off his shoes in silence, and sat on the couch and as soon as I was next to him in attempt to comfort him, he fell apart. 

Kevin 

"Today on our schedule, listeners," I started off my show after the simple intro I do that people often enjoy taking comfort in as they work harder and harder each day," we start off with our public announcements. Strex-"

"Hey, who's there?"

I froze.

I knew that voice. I don't know where I knew the voice from. It wasn't anyone of Night Vale. Not anyone I knew, at least, and I knew nearly everyone there. Of course, it wasn't anyone of Desert Bluffs. 

But yet I knew this voice. It seemed familiar. Like when you hear it you'd feel at home, like everything was right with the world.

"Um, hello," I suggested to put in," may I ask who is rudely just coming into my program?"

"Oh, um, sorry..." The higher pitched voice meekly apologized," I'd leave but I don't know how I got into the system in the first place. Sorry. Um... Cecil."

"Cecil? You're not Cecil of Night Vale."

"No, I... I think I am. My name is Cecil and I live in Night Vale. Um... sorry. I was just trying to call my brother and um... yeah, sorry."

"No, it's fine," I tried to be nice. This obviously wasn't Cecil, or at least not him in this time," Cecil of Night Vale, when are you in time?"

"Um... July 28, 1999."

July of 1999... What happened then? Nothing important I don't believe. 

"Oh, um... sorry, Mom and Abby are calling me. I'll be back maybe?"

He left. 

"Well, listeners," I stated," with that... out of the way let's just go to the wea-"

"Kevin?"

It was the Cecil I knew. 

"Cecil, you're back?"

I could sense confusion in his next statement, it remained obvious. 

"Back? I never left. You just came into my program."

"No, you just got into mine. You were in it before, too."

"What are you talking about? No I wasn't."

"Yes, I was talking to you just 30 seconds ago."

"No, you weren't."

"Well not you now," I managed to reason with him about that," you 17 years ago. When you were 15."

"When?"

"You came over my server. 1999. July the 28th. You were trying to call your brother?"

Silence. 

"Oh. Yeah, I remember that a little. Mom and Abby called me down to help move some things out and when I got back nobody was there. You never said that was you."

"Well no, you never asked."

"That was first thing I asked."

"Aside that," I changed the subject a little bit," When are you speaking from, Cecil? What's the date? For me it's September 30, 2016."

"It's the same for me." The fellow radio host told me," god, that's weird. Has any other signals cut through your show before today?"

"No, not at all," I answered his silly question," has anything with yours? That's a silly question, Cecil."

It seemed hesitant. Like he was deciding whether he should lie about it or not. 

"I, um... no, not recently. Just once a while back," he told me," I was just wondering because technology when placed with time is a weird thing, you know?"

His voice seemed to fade as if he wasn't the perky, happy, little gay radio host Night Vale knew and loved. 

"Cecil, are you okay?"

A question I normally wouldn't ask, but something seemed wrong. He seemed like he wasn't happy. 

"Yes, Kevin, of course I'm fine," it could've fooled a town. Either of Desert Bluffs or Night Vale would believe that. But I didn't. For some reason I knew it was a lie, I knew he wasn't saying something that was going through his mind that for some reason I effected and for some reason I triggered it in whatever way possible to change and alter his mood perception to this degree.

But I didn't push it and we continued to talk and as he said, the younger version of Cecil never came through. 

Yet something was wrong with the radio show host and for some reason I had the urge to know what it was.