CARLA RETURNED TO THE HOUSE IN THE EARLY HOURS OF THE MORNING, tears prickling her eyes, feeling utterly hopeless and alone. She crawled into Klaus's bed, before letting out a quiet sob, and soon succumbing to sleep.

     Pogo, upon hearing someone enter the house, gently pushed open the bedroom door, and saw Carla lying in bed, cheeks glistening with tears, curled up into a ball.

     Pity twisted deep in his stomach, and he eyed the pink gloves covering her hands. He frowned deeply, before letting out a sigh and gently shutting the door behind him.

     She woke up at around midday, crawling out of bed, her ribs burning. She went down to the kitchen, making herself a mug of coffee, adding too much sugar, and also fumbling around for some painkillers before taking two to ease her pain.

     It didn't take long for Carla to be dressed, leaving through the window like Five had done in order to avoid meeting anyone. She was ready to set out again, looking for Klaus as best she could.

     "Hello, have you seen my brother?" Carla asked a woman walking down the street, "He's quite tall, and has this large coat, and a goatee-"

     "No, sorry," the lady said with a sympathetic smile, before walking on.

     Carla approached a man, "Hi, have you seen my-?"

     He walked on, not even sparing her a glance.

     She ran a hand through her hair, beginning to feel desperate after two hours of looking around again. Stumbling slightly, she walked down the main street, peering into various shop windows for any sign of Klaus.

     Suddenly, a small bang and flash of orange light made her spin around. From over the top of a building, she saw the top of a mini explosion, dark smoke curling up into the sky.

     If anyone were to be involved in an explosion, it had to be Klaus.

     She ran down the road, turning right, and halting when she saw a figure crouched down on the other side of the street. He was wearing dark green clothes, and his skin was dirty, but she would recognise that birds' nest of hair anywhere.

     "Klaus?" Carla asked quietly, before saying louder, "Klaus!"

     The man looked up, tear tracks staining his face, and upon seeing Carla a new wave of emotion hit him, "Carla?"

     "Klaus!" she yelled, before running across the street. Klaus staggered to his feet, before opening his arms just in time for her to crash into him, the pair spinning round, both sobbing each other's name.

     For Carla, it had been just over twenty-four hours, the longest she had been separated from him (apart from when he had been in and out of rehab, of course), especially when she knew something had happened.

     She had feared the worst, that the two masked figures took and killed him, but she could see in his eyes it was so much worse. Klaus set her on her feet, but still clung onto her body, shaking with sobs.

     For him, it had been far longer since he last saw her.

     "Carla," he choked out, "God, it's good to see you."

     "What happened?" Carla pulled away, looking in concern to see his blood-stained hands.

     Klaus just shook his head, before breaking down again, and Carla wrapped her arms around him, "Hey, it's okay. You're okay."

---[]---

     Eventually, the pair managed to get back to the Academy, Klaus telling her what had happened, and Carla swore she felt her heart break.

     Klaus was always the one who was laughing, who could make Carla feel happier, and she couldn't even begin to imagine what it must have been like for him.

     For Klaus to finally find someone he felt happy and safe and loved around, just to lose him. She also filled him in on the attack, her being pushed from the first floor, and Luther seemingly having the torso of a monkey.

     Carla was sat on Klaus's bed, eyes squeezed shut tightly as she tipped more tablets into her hand, swallowing them dry. Klaus was rummaging around for a top, after having a bath, clearly still lost in his thoughts.

     There was a knock on the door, and the pair turned to see Five standing there. She hadn't seen him since before the attack on the Academy.

     "Nice of you to show up," Carla muttered, and Five's eyes quickly darted over to her, eyebrows furrowing.

     "Sorry, I was... busy," he said lamely, "I, uh, I heard about the attack, and I'm sorry you were hurt. The reason Hazel and Cha-Cha were there was for me."

     He was genuine, she could see from his features that the thought of Carla being hurt pained him.

     Carla's tongue darted out to wet her lips, and she glanced down at her clasped hands, "Was there any more information on Meritech?"

     Five sighed, averting his gaze, "It was burnt down. The whole building."

     She looked up at him, "Shit, Five, I'm sorry."

     "Yeah, well, nothing you can do," he said coldly, before turning to Klaus, "You okay?"

     "Yeah, just... long night."

     "More than one from the looks of it."

     "Yup," Klaus pulled his shirt on, letting out a groan.

     Five looked him, "Don't remember the dog tags."

     "They belong to... a friend," he held them gingerly.

     Five, clearly suspecting something, shoved his hands into his pockets, "How about that new tattoo?"

     Klaus let out a breathless laugh, "Y'know, I don't even remember getting it. Like I said, it was a long night."

     "You did it, didn't you?" Five said slowly.

     Klaus sat down next to Carla, "What're you talking about?"

     "You know, I can recognise the symptoms, Klaus," the boy stepped forward a few steps.

     Klaus exchanged a quick glance with Carla, "Symptoms of what?"

     "Jet lag, full body itch, the headache that feels like someone shoved a box of cotton up your nose and through your brain," Five fixed him with a cold stare, "You gonna tell me about it?"

     "Your pals, who broke into the house and they couldn't find you? They took me hostage instead," Klaus said bitterly.

     "And in return, you stole their briefcase," Five let out a small chuckle.

     "Yeah," Klaus nodded, "I thought there was money in it, or I could pawn it, y'know, whatever. And then I opened it."

     Five briefly stopped his pacing, "And the next thing you knew you were where? Or should I say when?"

     "What difference does it make?" Klaus groaned.

     "Okay," Five picked up the pacing, "How long were you gone?"

     "Almost a year," Klaus breathed.

     "Do you know what this means?" Five said eagerly, taking a step towards them.

     "Yeah," Klaus nodded, "I'm ten months older now."

     "No!" Five said impatiently, "This isn't any sort of joke, Klaus. Hazel and Cha-Cha will do whatever they can to get the briefcase. Where's it now?"

     "Gone," Klaus said simply, "I destroyed it. Poof."

     Five's face darkened, "What the hell were you thinking?"

     "What do you care?" Klaus replied with a raised tone.

     "What do I care? I needed it, you moron. So I could- so I could get back!"

     Carla instantly bristled, not liking Five's tone of voice, especially when directed at Klaus, who had been through so much.

     "I could start over!" Five added.

     Klaus wearily got to his feet, "Just-Just..." he walked towards the door.

     Five glared after him, "Where are you going?"

     Klaus was halfway down the hall, "Interrogation's over. Just... leave."

     Five made to shout something after him, but Carla spoke first, "Leave it, Five."

     He turned to her, clearly angry still, "Do you know how much that briefcase could have helped us?"

     "And can you not see how damaged Klaus is? He's clearly been through hell, and the last thing he needs is you berating him," Carla snapped, standing up from her position on the bed.

     The boy rolled his eyes, "He'll get over it."

      Carla glared at him, a disgusted look on his face, "Are you serious? You're really putting aside Klaus's feelings like that? You don't know what kind of shit he went through!"

     "Well, in four days he wont need to worry about it, will he?" Five said, voice raising in volume, "Because we'll all be dead!"

     "So that's it?" Carla hissed, taking a step towards him, "You're just giving up because you don't have that briefcase?"

     "It's not like I can do anything!" Five shot back, "My only lead is now burnt to a crisp!"

     She glared at him, "So now that means you can be a dick to everyone? Newsflash, Five, the people around you are more than just pawns in your little apocalypse obsession!" Carla gestured wildly towards their surroundings, before a flash of pain shot up her ribcage, and she hissed, stumbling back a step, before sinking down onto the bed, holding her head in her hands.

     Her gaze was fixed on the floor, and she felt the bed dip down next to her as Five sat down. There was a long silence, filled only by the repetitive ticking of the clock. Carla let out a shaky sigh, "I'm sorry."

     "No, I, just- just don't, okay?" Five said, "I'm just pissed that the briefcase is gone. It means Hazel and Cha-Cha will try to get it back, maybe by coming back here, and it also means I've lost yet another chance of saving the world."

     Carla glanced at him, feeling weary and sore, before an idea struck her, "Wait a second... I survived the apocalypse, right?"

     Five, unsure as to where she was going, slowly nodded, "Yeah..."

     "So that means I was there, I know what happened, right?" she couldn't hide the excitement from her voice, "I must have told you!"

     "You don't think I thought of that?" Five said, harsher than he meant, and he sighed when he saw Carla avert her gaze, clearly humiliated and feeling a bit upset. Now he felt like shit. "Look, I just meant that if you told me what caused the apocalypse during the apocalypse, then I'd have a much clearer idea of what to do now."

     Carla looked at him, "Why didn't I tell you? Did you not ask?"

     Five stared at his hands, debating whether or not he should speak up, "You were... pretty shaken up, to say the least. You were clearly traumatised."

     "Oh," was all she managed to say.

     "It was two months before you even spoke to me," the boy said, "And the day after our one year anniversary, I tried asking you what happened."

     She turned to him, "What did I say?"

     Five swallowed thickly, "You had a meltdown; shaking, crying, glowing skin."

     "Glowing skin?" Carla asked, frowning, "My skin doesn't glow."

     "Well, it did then," he said simply, "And I almost died."

     He averted his gaze, and if Carla was looking at him, she would have seen the tears building up in his eyes, the shaking of his clasped hands, the tremble of his lip as he tried to keep his emotions in check.

     Carla, however, was lost in her own thoughts. She had almost killed Five? What happened in the future that was so bad? It must have been awful. But Carla had faith that they could do something, anything, to try and stop the apocalypse.

     However, the most pressing matter was that Hazel and Cha-Cha would be after the briefcase that was now destroyed.

     Carla had to sort that out, make sure the pair didn't come back to the Academy any time soon. Their last victim was Grace, and who knows who it could be next?

     She looked at Five, and the boy couldn't help but smile slightly at the fire in her eyes, a sight he had sorely missed, "I know that look, Carla. It is most definitely your scheming face, and I want in."

    Carla grinned, "Five, you know me too well."