Chapter 7.
… On Earth ….
"So, like, where is he?" Julie asked dully.
Runo tapped the phone unconsciously. She sighed softly. "He said he's gonna be 'there' in an hour and a half. It's time… but maybe his clock's running late…
"No. HE'S running late. Anyways, like, I thought gentlemen never forgot."
"But guys do," Runo said dryly.
"Runo! Do something! Call him or I don't know… just DO something! I've been sitting here for like an hour. Do you know how hard it is for me to keep still?"
"SHUT UP!" Runo bellowed. "This is just as annoying for me as it is to you! Chill, and just get off my case!"
"Whatever, don't need to yell," Julie said, half-scared.
"I'll give you a ring when he gets here. In the meantime, go find something to do, and stop whining."
Runo cut off without waiting for an answer. She crossed her arms. "Goodness, how can one girl be so annoying…?" muttered Runo.
She sat in one position for next half-hour, thinking. Many weeks back, Alice leaked to Runo she wanted to be more useful. That was all; she said nothing else pertaining to that phrase. Runo questioned her, but Alice refused to open up. Her casing persisted staying cold, so leaving Runo in the dark. Runo now tried to decode the meaning. She wasn't sure but she felt like she had a slight linking to what Alice said. Ever since Dan had gone, she felt… useless? Was that it? Maybe this was what Alice meant. She'd already figured it out, apparently.
It clicked. She knew Alice. Alice was completely dependent on being there for them. She knew Alice thrived for the feeling she got from it. She knew Alice thought it was the only thing she could do. Runo was the only person Alice confided this to.
And when that feeling wasn't present, Alice would do something about it. No matter how scared she felt. Runo slapped her palm to her head. "That girl underestimates herself way too much." She mumbled.
So I guess it would make sense Alice went on a 'journey'. I know why, but to where? She racked her brains, desperate for the answer. Right, this is where Klaus comes in, but where is he…? Ugh… this is all Dan's fault, that idiot… okay, focus Runo, focus… find Alice then kick his butt to the Doom Dimension… ugh, I sure picked the right one… idiot.
Her metal train embarked. A growing motor sound reached her ears. For a second, Runo stood slow, confusion grasping her. She then rushed out to her balcony realizing it was Klaus. She waved at the incoming jet wildly. A fleeting thought suddenly occurred to her. How was going to get into it? There was certainly no space for it to land anywhere…
So it seemed, that problem already had an answer. Stopping a few feet above her balcony, a rope ladder descended down, hitting the floor. Quickly getting the idea, Runo scampered upwards, rather cat-like. She was sorely reminded of Shun, doing this. "Oh boy…" She rolled her eyes.
A blast of conditioned air hit her face. It was not all. Runo found an ecstatic Julie clutching onto her tightly. "Runo! It's been like, so long!" A bewildered Runo recovered herself, proceeding to unlatch herself from Julie's death grip. "We just talked on the phone," she stated. "Yeah, but like, that's different. We haven't seen each other in FOREVER!"
"True,' she said smiling. It stepped to a frown. "Where's Klaus?"
Julie's dizzy smile decreased. "I don't know… That butler guy said he was busy. So I just waited. I had some Q's to ask."
"What?"
"Questions, duh."
"Oh, well you aren't the only one. I have to ask him some stuff too," said Runo seriously. "Come on, let's do some snooping around. He's gotta be around here somewhere."
"Good luck, I tried looking."
"Maybe you didn't try hard enough. Come on." Runo said irritably. She pulled Julie to her feet and snuck to the nearest room. Luckily, nobody was to be seen. The place was relatively quiet, excepting the booming sounds of the engine. Runo pushed her ear to each door, listening for someone sounding like Klaus. She made Julie do the same. "Two heads are better than one, so GO!" Runo said lowering her voice.
Luck did not bestow itself to Runo so far. But Julie was an exception. She motioned for her to come over. Runo thread lightly to Julie's current spot. "Klaus?" she whispered. Julie nodded. Their ears pressed to the cold metal hard, for the sake of curiosity.
"…she has to be found at ANY cost. Have you no answer yet from Doctor Michael? No..? Okay, try to ring Alice's line... make contact with the Gehabich household, by any means possible."
Another voice, quite feminine, was heard. It was somewhat whispered for Runo and Julie to hear.
A stretched silence pulled out. Klaus spoke, "Still no reply? Forget it, she must have departed her area by now, shown by the incessant lack of contact. Dismissed, Lydia, you may leave… however, keep a constant connection to her firm." he said. Julie detected he sounded more worried than normal under his suppressed cool.
Runo's heart again leaped to her throat. Every time the matter was brought up, lurches of worry piled on. She pressed against her ears harder. They turned red from pressure.
"Alice is not where she is, Dr. Michael is insistent on not giving any information relating to Alice principally. Alice's going is confidential, so meaning… she is where she shouldn't be, or… harmful to her. But why is it so? This is hardly like her…"
Julie and Runo strained themselves to catch Klaus' musings. Unfortunately they did so too hard.
Julie shifted her feet abruptly due to discomfort. This sudden movement shocked Runo; the girl thumped her head against the dusty metal hard. Dazed, she fell on her bottom dragging Julie down with her.
Before either had time to think, Klaus snatched open the door. "What are you doing?" he demanded harshly. Runo blinked the hair out of her eyes. "Oh, Klaus. How nice to see you. Heh, we were just leaving." She pulled Julie forcefully to her feet. She flashed a watt-filled smile at him. "Don't worry, we can find ourselves around. Bye-"
Runo tried to scamper off, with an awkwardly staggering Julie on her tail. Klaus, though, managed to catch her first.
"Stop," he said calmly. "How much have you heard?"
"W-what do you mean? We were just passing, but Julie tripped me by accident-"
"Do not lie to me, Miss Misaki. You are stuttering, and on top of that, you and Miss Makimoto are blushing," he said, a slight yawn misting his features. "You wouldn't want to add another crime to the list, now would you?" Klaus smirked. Runo restrained the urge not to punch him. Julie looked to each in turn, her eyes widened slightly.
"To the first question, what have you heard?" he repeated. Runo could see the film of patience he wore was wearing.
"Observant, aren't we?" she said dryly. She grated her teeth against her dry mouth, searching for a quick solution to the increasingly obdurate situation. "Well… we didn't hear… much. We heard you talking to a lady. Something about Alice… I don't know. Like I said, we didn't hear much." She chewed on her lip, hoping he bought it. Klaus was their key to Alice. Annoying him was not a sensible option.
Klaus' water-green eyes flickered to her face. Her sluggish chewing surged. Rather like a cat observing its prey, Klaus pining gaze had that effect. He looked ready to consume her whole.
Klaus sighed. Runo's tense muscles subsided slowly. He spoke, "It is clear I am not going to get much out of you, Miss Misaki. Just to be keen on manners though, you should know it is impolite to sneak up on your host."
"Yeah, whatever, sorry…" Runo said sheepishly. She poked Julie in the ribs. "Oof! – I mean, sorry Klaus."
"Apology accepted," he said coldly. "Come along, I wish to discuss something with you. It is your business as much as it is mine."
Beckoning to them with a finger, he showed them in to his office. Runo and Julie silently obliged.
In the spacious room, Julie and Runo saw a small space cleared out for a tank; Sirenoid's. The mermaid beauty herself lay contently on a rock, dozing was what it seemed.
With his back turned to them, Klaus spoke. "I have reason to believe Alice is not in Moscow anymore."
Julie scoffed. "Duh, we know that! Like, why do you think we're here?"
Klaus ignored her. "Let me finish. It is a notion but could strike true. Alice is not in the whole of Russia."
The girls' mouths hung like trap doors. Shaking herself out of the demeanor first, Runo snapped at Klaus. "Well? Where IS she then?"
"I am not sure. The only few people she has close connections with are you, Julie, Marucho, Shun Dan, and your webmaster, Joe. The other brawlers, I feel, she does not seem to be very close to at all; Chan-lee, Komba, Billy, or Julio. Since the boys of your party are in Vestal, the next probable candidates are you and Miss Julie. But, in light of the recent information you have seeded, Alice has not made contact with either of you in a quite a while, am I right?"
"Yeah, she hasn't even texted me!" snapped Julie.
Again she was ignored. Klaus continued. "Alice has only three living relatives: her grandfather, uncle, and her aunt, Clara. My assistant, Lydia has managed to obtain Alice's aunt's phone number. She called…"
"And…?" said Runo eagerly. Julie looked at him beseechingly with equally large eyes.
"There was a reply. Miss Gehabich was very kind but… Alice is not with them. I'm sorry." For the first time, he looked slightly ashamed.
"So this would be where your machine thing comes in, right?" Runo said bitterly. She made sure to keep her head lowered.
"Yes, only…"
"Only what?" Runo said sharply. To the trained eye, you could see her eyes held the tiniest of droplets. Julie saw this, so making a mental note to reassure her later.
"The machine, as I said is in its beta-testing stage. It's… not quite stable."
"Great, now we find Alice with a half-done piece of junk?" Runo's humorless laugh filled the room.
"There is a chance it does work as planned and we find Alice."
A silent, down trod Julie spoke with hope, "You mean, there's still a chance?" Her eyes gleamed.
"A chance. Keep hoping…"
You guys probably want to kill me for not updating in so long... I'm REALLY sorry. I'm serious when I say: School is a killer of creativity. SO much homework... And thank you, shadowwing1994, I loved your review! And thanks for being one of the few who review. I was really happy you liked the previous chapter. I felt I made it too dramatic. Hopefully all of you would like this chapter. And Julie fans, I'm sorry for not putting much Julie in it. I'm not very good at doing her. Hopefully this chapter was lighter than the rest. Next chapter will feature Julie, Runo and Klaus again.
PLEASE review. I'd love to hear your opinions. This chapter took a while to write. Review and make me happy! :)
