This might not be a Dream

Now clean and dressed in the t-shirt and jeans, Tzeitel gave Nine a fierce hug and briefly tried to smooth the cowlick before he left with James. She looked at her best friend, a bit wary. Her last conversation with Klaire had not been great. Klaire had been worried about Tzeitel drinking. Well, Tzeitel had not drank since then, Klaire could probably smell that Tzeitel had been sober for a very long time. Tzeitel still wanted to drink though, and was not eating enough. “Uh, hi.”

Klaire stared at Tzeitel in silence and it was easy to tell the dog eared woman had been through a lot since her disappearance from the realm and time with Tzeitel and everyone else. Her eyes had coldness to them, a hard edge like sharpened blades and that happiness within seemed…gone. There wasn't much light left in this dangerous gunner.

“Hello, Tzeitel,” She replied in a calm tone before crossing her arms. “Are you here without…Ami? The twins? Are you…okay?”

Her voice became strained the moment she spoke of the twins. Even now they were a painful subject for her.

Tzeitel wanted to give Klaire a hug but the hardness kept her back. Her eyes were wide with worry and confusion, brimming with held back tears. “I don’t understand any of this… Ami was in the next room, I was-” The warning pulse of a headache from thinking about what was happening when Tzeitel was brought through. She switched to the subject of the twins. “The twins miss you, they haven’t stopped looking. Lotus made these charts that take up entire walls…” Tzeitel was worried about her goddaughter, both her god children, all her kids. She did not even know if they were here or back home.

“So none of them came here…just like Nine said.” Klaire let out a deep sigh and slumped into a chair. “I have to find us a way back…I just have to..”

Tzeitel took a few cautious steps closer to Klaire. Usually Klaire knew what to do, where to go. Either Klaire did not know or was keeping Tzeitel in the dark about any plans. Both of these possibilities alarmed Tzeitel. “We all need to get back.” Tzeitel fidgeted with the jeans pockets. “What can we do?” Tzeitel studied Klaire's face. “What happened? How long have you been here?”

“I’ve been here for years,” Klaire said as she looked back up at Tzeitel. “I’ve tried to find a way back, but there just…I haven’t found any answers and those things don’t ever stick around long enough to answer questions. Hell, I doubt They even speak words. They’re monsters, killers…nightmares.” She didn’t know what to do, didn’t have a plan or answers and this had been stressing her out for years.

All Klaire had been able to do was create a type of bullet that had liquid light in it that would injure the creatures, but that was it. The only one she’d ever killed was the one she’d faced when she first arrived in Converge, but that one had been young…at least it had seemed young. She wasn’t sure.

“I have to get answers…” She whispered and looked toward the door.

“And how do you plan to get those answers?” Nine asked as he stepped back into the room. “You go into that forest, live in it, and what have you found? Nothing? It’s pointless…”

“It’s better than just accepting my fate here!” Klaire snapped.

“I haven’t accepted my fate. I’m just not obsessing…” Nine shrugged and crossed his arms. “You’re not the only one that wants to go home.”

Klaire let out a growl and stood up. “You’ve become too comfortable here, boy.”

Nine only frowned at her.

“Please don’t take off already.” Tzeitel would have to be blind to not read what Klaire looking at the door meant. Klaire was acting a lot like she did when they escaped together, restless and wanting to keep moving. Tzeitel did not even consider using her pheromones, Klaire would be able to tell what she was doing and it probably would make her leave. Tzeitel never used her power against her best friend. “You’re both looking for answers in different places. If we work together we can figure it out faster… I need to get back to the kids, we all need to get back.”

“Yeah, mom’s right,” Nine said with a smile. “Besides, we…” He stopped speaking when there was a knock at the door. Walking to it, he opened it up to reveal a pink haired girl with a unicorn horn. “Umbral! What are you doing here?” He asked. “Did I forget something in town again? At the hospital? I mean, I know I helped a lot of patients and I forget things sometimes, but you could have called.”

“Oh, no, it’s not…no.” Umbral said with a small smile. “I’m looking for Klaire. Is she here?”

“Yes, what is it?” Klaire asked briskly. “Are They in the city again?”

“Not as far as I can tell…hm?” Umbral’s eyes fell on Tzeitel. “Hello, miss. I’m Umbral.”

“I’m Tzeitel…” Tzeitel said, wondering if Umbral ever stabbed anyone with her head.

“It seems a lot of new people are here today.” Umbral said with a soft giggle. “There are others at the registration building.”

“Right,” Klaire blinked, remembering now. “Colt and Piritta are here as well. Apparently they were pulled from our same timeline, I’m assuming.”

“That’s awesome!” Nine clapped his hands together. “We can meet up with them when I take you and James to the registration building, mom.”

“We could make it a trip.” James said as he finally returned, now dressed in jeans and a simple t-shirt. This seemed to be all Nine had to offer to either him or Tzeitel. At least they fit.

“Colt?” Tzeitel stiffened. “What about the kids? Has Ami showed up- she looks just like me but thirteen.”

“No children have shown up,” Umbral told Tzeitel.

Tzeitel did not know whether to be relieved by this or not. If Ami was home where she belonged she should be safe with her older brother. But if she was here and had not been found… there was no telling what kind of trouble Ami could be in. Tzeitel’s shoulders slumped and she glanced at Klaire, wondering how she had lived without knowing for years. It was agony.

Klaire’s ears folded back as she nodded in understanding, that haunted flash in her eyes. “Well, if we must, let's go.” She said.

Umbral smiles. “Cool! Let's go! Also, Riley wants to see you Klaire. He's at the hospital mental ward.”

“Riley is here?” James asked, blinking.

“Yes, but…he seems to be from a time where everyone died.” Umbral explained with sadness etched on her face.

“Riley… Riley messed with a bunch of alternate realities and shit…” Tzeitel frowned. She was wondering if it was the speedster’s fault somehow that they were here. She moved a little closer to Klaire.

Klaire made her way to the door. “Well, get shoes on and lets go.” She told them and stepped outside to wait.

Umbral nodded and smiled at the others. “Yes, I will leave that to you, Nine.” With a polite bow, she stepped outside and began to speak with Klaire.

Nine turned to Tzeitel and James. “Yeah, you two could use some clean shoes, huh?”

“I think my shoes got left behind…” Tzeitel said, frowning after Klaire.

“That’s why I have extras and socks!” Nine chimed and got them for both Tzeitel and James. “You shouldn’t bother Klaire much, mom. She’s not going to open up if you push her…”

“She does seem haunted…the loss of Lotus and Leon has obviously affected her greatly…” James said with a soft sigh as he pulled on socks and some boots that Nine gave him. Tying them up, he went outside to wait with the others.

“I’m not going to push her. Just… she’s my best friend.” Tzeitel sighed as she put on the socks and shoes. “I’ve always tried to be there for her. She doesn’t have to be alone anymore.”

Nine stared at Tzeitel and smiled sadly. “The thing about Klaire is that she’s always been the strong one, right?” He asked with a shrug. “It’s how she is and I don’t think there’s anything we can do aside from try to be there. Come on.”

Grabbing Tzeitel’s hand like he used to as a child, Nine took her outside where they met up with everyone else and began to make their way toward where the others were. It wouldn’t take long.

Tzeitel held Nine’s hand and tried to smooth down his cowlick. She was anxious.