"So," she started. "Prophet isn't your actual name, is it?"
Klaus looked at her and shook his head. "No, it isn't. My real name is Klaus."
"Klaus"
"And what about you? What's your name?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. How rude of me to not properly introduce myself. I'm Juliet."
"Juliet. That is a beautiful name."
"Thank you," the room filled again with silence. "I'm sorry, but I can't help but be a bit confused at how after over 40 years, you still perfectly fit my father's description of you? To be honest, I thought I was seeing a ghost at first."
"Do you want the long version or short?" Juliet rested her elbows onto the table and placed her chin in her hands. "The long version, please. My father was the king of making stories longer than needed, and I have been missing a lot since he passed. "
"Well, to start at the beginning, on October 1st, 1989, 43 women around the world gave birth to children with special powers. Seven of those children were adopted by a ridiculously wealthy and very heartless old man who trained them to use their powers in an attempt to prevent an impending apocalypse. In 2002, my teleporting twat of a brother got into a bit of a spat with our father and decided to teleport through time despite the old geezer's orders. He ended up getting stuck in 2019, where he had lived 40 years alone in an apocalyptic wasteland before a crazy blonde woman hired him to be an assassin for this organization called The Commiserable or something, which is basically in charge of maintaining our timeline. During his time with them, he decided he had had enough and wanted to play superhero again and transported himself back to 2019 during our father's funeral and told us we had a week to prevent the apocalypse from happening. Now, back then, my family was a massive wreck, so of course, we didn't listen. Fast forward to the apocalypse; it turns out we caused it by being just like dear old dad and ignoring and abusing our sister, Vanya, who ended up blowing up the moon. To reverse what we had done, we all traveled back in time with our brother, but the dumbass dropped us into different periods of time in Dallas, and when we finally met up, we had our own new lives. Allison was married, Diego got himself thrown into the looney bin, Vanya was on some farm saving a woman and her child from society's heterosexual hell, and I, as you may already be aware, had my cult. While I was here, I tracked down your father and tried to convince him not to enlist in the military in a last-ditch effort to save his life. Unfortunately for me, all that I ended up accomplishing was freaking him out, which ended up with him showing off his rather strong left hook, your bastard of a great uncle's fault, by the way. In the end, I couldn't stop him from going off to war. So I decided to go back and team up with my brothers and sisters and prevent yet another apocalypse, which, by the way, also ended up being our fault before returning home to 2019. So the gist of it is, everything that happened here 50 years ago wasn't even a year ago for me."
"Wow…. that's... a lot to take in." Juliet stood up and walked over to the mini-fridge in the corner, putting out two water bottles, handing one to Klaus. They both opened their bottles and took a sip. Juliet leaned against the wall, still trying to process everything she had just heard. "But then… how did you know my father was going to die in the war? Hadn't you just met him before he enlisted?"
"Oh, I met your father before then; after he enlisted. It's a bit complicated. You see, there was a magical briefcase that I stole from two well-dressed assholes that had kidnapped and beat me in a dirty hotel room after failing to murder my family. After I escaped, I was just minding my own business when all of a sudden, it transported me back in time to where I met Dave. We spent a year fighting together in Vietnam. We were in the trenches, taking heavy fire. I thought we both had dodged the bullets, but I was wrong. I called for help, but my cries fell on deaf ears. It was too late. I held him as he died." Klaus slowly took off the chain that Dave's military tags hung from and held them out to Juliet. "There are his tags. I've held onto them ever since that day."
Juliet walked forward and took the tags from him. She ran her fingers lightly over the engravings before handing them back to Klaus. She then sat down next to Klaus and reached up around her neck, and removed an identical chain with identical engravings, resting them on the table. "You said he died in the trenches in Vietnam, but my father wasn't in the Army. He was a Marine, and he didn't die."
Klaus picked up the military tags that Juliet had placed on the table. He gave her a soft smile as he put them back around her neck, giving her cheek a soft brush with his thumb. "I guess fate dealt him a new hand of cards this round. I'm not going to lie, that deep inside, I'm hoping something I said had something to do with that decision."
Juliet fell silent once more. She reached down and tucked her father's tags into her shirt before looking up at Klaus with a smile. "Klaus, would you like to join me for dinner tonight? I'm making lasagna, and I think I'll be able to process this more with a hot meal."
"That would be lovely," Klaus replied.
"Alright, well, let me just lock everything up for the evening, and we can be on our way."
Juliet lived in a small white house not very far from the paint shop. What would have been pegged as very tacky decor where Klaus was from seemed like something out of a movie, and he adored it. Juliet had left him to make himself at home in the kitchen after stating very clearly during the drive here that she had a zero-tolerance for back seat chefs. Klaus slowly made his way around the room, examining each piece of decor. Finally, he stood in front of a wall covered in old photographs kept in antique frames. He leaned in to get a closer look at the people in the images. He easily recognized Dave. He reached out and gently touched the glass, his fingers outlining the picture of Dave's face. He didn't think it was possible, but Dave looked even more handsome after returning from the war. Klaus felt a warm sensation take over his body as he saw how Dave looked at his daughter. He could tell that he was happy. After all, Dave often spoke about how much he wanted to become a father. His eyes then fell to the young woman in the photo. She looked almost identical to Juliet, except for the eyes; she had her father's eyes.
"Dinner is almost ready. " Juliet called from the dining room. "You can wash up in the main bathroom. It's just down the hall and to your left."
Klaus peered into the dining room at Juliet, who was still busy adding the final touches to their meal. "Will do. Are you sure you don't need any help?"
"I'm sure! You're my guest. Just relax!" She smiled.
Klaus nodded and headed off the bathroom to get himself ready for dinner. After he had finished washing up, he made his way to the dining room. He entered just as she placed the plates of lasagna on the table. "Perfect timing."
"It all looks and smells amazing."
The two sat down at the table and began to eat.
"This lasagna is amazing!" Klaus exclaimed. "I'm so happy you didn't let me help now. I'm sure I would have messed something up."
"Why, thank you. I'll have to give you the recipe later." Juliet smiled as she took a small sip of her water. "So, Klaus. I'm still a bit confused about this whole time travel ordeal. Like, I understand the series of events, but not so much the time travel."
"To be completely honest, I don't understand it much either. Five, the one that does all the bending of space and time, has tried to explain it to me before. I always end up zoning out, and Five's words end up being replaced by the lyrics of Time Warp from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Five hates that song."
"Five?"
"Oh, yes. My brother, Five. My dad had given us all numbers instead of names, you know, to dehumanize us as much as possible. They were assigned based on how useful he saw us. Our robot mom ended up giving us proper names in the end, though. Five opted out, hence his name still being a number."
"And you said there were seven of you? And you all have powers?"
"Yes, Luther is super strong. His body is like a gorilla, literally has monkey DNA, but all that manpower didn't leave much room for brainpower. Diego likes sharp and shiny things; he is basically a crow with excellent aim. Allison can rumor people, which is just basically mind control and manipulation. Five, as you already know, can teleport and time travel. Ben can release these mighty and merciless alien tentacles from his body. And Vanya… I still don't fully understand since her even having powers is brand new information. Basically, she can blow things up, and it has something to do with sound. Again, all very new."
"And you?"
"Oh, I dabble in the dealings of the undead. See them, talk to them, harness them into existence. I even allowed my deceased brother Ben to possess me so he could hit on a chick from my cult he had a crush on"
"I see…"
"But enough about me and my weird and unusual existence. I feel like I have talked way too much about myself. What about you? What's your story?"
Juliet looked over at a picture of her and her parents that hung on the wall. Klaus followed her gaze and smiled. "Such a beautiful family," he said. Juliet turned her attention back to Klaus and nodded. "We really were close. We used to go on all of these adventures together, not anything too crazy, maybe a different city, or the beach. I remember my favorite adventures being the ones we would have in our living room. We'd pretend we were in a jungle looking at all the different wildlife or visiting other planets and meeting aliens. We'd make silly food like spaghetti and marshmallows and pretend it was alien food. Thinking back, it was quite ridiculous, but I treasure the memories for sure."
"Compared to my childhood, it doesn't seem ridiculous at all. It seems like your parents cared a lot for you."
"They did. And then, when I was sixteen, my mother got really sick, really fast. It was so strange. We didn't even see it coming. She was perfectly fine and healthy one day, and then a few days later, she was gone."
Klaus reached out and gave Juliet's arm a comforting rub. "I'm sorry. That must have been rough on you."
Juliet smiled and gave him a reassuring nod. "I'm fine now, but back then, it was definitely hard on both my father and me. A lot changed after that; There were no more adventures, and the house became quiet. My father and I ended up becoming distant. But I mean, I was sixteen; it was bound to happen around that age at some point, right?" Juliet let out a soft sigh before changing the subject. "Anyways, I ended up becoming more active in school. I joined a lot of clubs, had my first boyfriend and my first heartbreak. A pretty normal and uneventful academic life for the most part."
"I wouldn't know. Despite technically being highly educated, I didn't have a traditional education."
"Were you homeschooled?" Juliet asked.
"I mean, in a way, I guess it was. My daily schedule was more like breakfast, then basic academics. After lunch, Dad would lock me in a chamber with the spirits of the undead. And then after a usually disappointing dinner, I would have German with my robot mother."
"What was that like?"
The two continued to share stories back and forth of their childhood as they finished their meal, enjoying each other's company.
"This was lovely," Klaus said as he helped clear the table. "Please allow me to at least help with the cleanup."
"Absolutely not," she refused, "Not when we haven't even had dessert." Suddenly, Juliet pulled out two bottles of wine from behind her back. "Now, are you a red wine or a white wine kind of a guy."
"I'm an every wine kind of guy."
"Perfect."
It didn't take long for Klaus and Juliet to fall to the influence of the wine. He ended up telling her all about the Umbrella Academy and their adventures. With each passing moment, Klaus's retelling of the stories became more detailed, and his gestures more theatrical. Juliet hung on every word, completely in awe of the life Klaus had lived. "It sounds like something straight out of a comic book! You guys must be so famous back home." Klaus's smile faded a bit as he looked down into his wine glass, giving the remaining liquid a slight swirl before downing the last of it. "We were... in another lifetime, not this one. Now, I'm just a personified walking ouija board with a drinking problem. I mean, it's not like I wasn't like this before. Not much has changed in terms of my whole overly confident and self-destructive ways, but at least I had a period in my life where I actually made a difference. Now I have nothing."
Juliet could see the sadness in his eyes as he spoke. Without uttering a word, she placed her wine glass down on the wooden coffee table and cuddled close to Klaus, resting her head on his shoulder. "But, you have made a difference."
"How?"
"Truthfully, I only pursued you because of everything that happened after my mother passed. You see, that's when he started talking about you. At first, he would just casually bring up a strange encounter he had before he enlisted, but as years went on, it became more frequent, and then that strange man got a name; Prophet. It wasn't long till books about Destiny's Children started appearing on the bookshelves, and newspaper clippings were posted on the fridge. I was the only family he had at this point, so I stayed with him despite believing he was slowly losing his mind. I helped take care of the paint shop and dealt with customers as he aimlessly looked out the window; I could only assume he was looking for you. Every Wednesday, we would close the shop at noon and go up and have a picnic on the grass where you used to live. To be honest, those outings were my favorite with him. It was like I had him back, even if it was only for a few hours a week. He would always read to me from the same book. It was his favorite."
"Dune?" Klaus asked, hopeful that Dave didn't just avoid the book after he had mentioned it to him. Juliet gave a soft chuckle.
"Why am I not even surprised that you knew that?"
There was a moment of silence between them. Klaus took a moment to process everything she had just said, clearing his throat before finally speaking. "I'm sorry if your father's interest in me put a strain on your relationship, I-"
"No, no, no. Do not apologize. I went on a bit of a tangent. You have nothing to apologize for. I thought my father was losing his sanity. Just by meeting you, now I know my father wasn't going crazy. Everything he said to me wasn't coming from a deteriorating mind; it was real."
Klaus nodded but remained silent, unsure of how to respond.
"And if I understood everything correctly about the whole timeline fiasco, it seems to me that the only reason I'm sitting here on this couch even talking about him to you is because of you. Without the butterfly effect of your time in the 60's I wouldn't be here. If you think about it, in a way, you're sort of like-
"Oh my god! I'm sort of like your unofficial dad!"
"I mean, I was going to say…." Juliet paused as she looked up into Klaus's eyes. The sadness had disappeared, and the light that sparkled when he had talked about his family returned. Juliet placed her head back on his shoulder and gave his arm a tight squeeze. "Actually, that's exactly what I was going to say. Now you can't say you have nothing; you have me."
Klaus rested his head on top of hers and let out a small, happy sigh. "That's right. Now I have you."
The two sat there in silence, enjoying the comfort of each other's company. It wasn't until Klaus took notice of the soft snores coming from the woman clung to his arm that he realized she had fallen asleep. Very carefully, Klaus maneuvered himself out of Juliet's clutches and picked her up. She was a bit heavier than he expected, but Klaus had never been one to commit to strength training fully. Even his smallest sister, Vanya, could easily take him down in an arm-wrestling match, and she got all her strength from playing the violin. As he carried her up the stairs, on every step, he thanked some higher power that the woman laying limp in his arms did not inherit her father's 6 foot 1 stature.
Klaus placed Juliet into her bed and covered her body with the blanket, to which she quickly grabbed and snuggled. Klaus brushed a piece of her loose hair back against her ear and watched her for a moment. Klaus had no idea what was going to happen when he started his journey, but he would have never guessed he would have ended his first full day in Dallas getting drunk with Dave's daughter.
Klaus made his way back downstairs to the living room. He walked over to the picture of Dave in his military uniform, hanging on the wall. "I'll take care of her like she is my own." He then placed one hand upon his heart and the other in the air. "This I swear to you, Dave."
Klaus woke up the next morning to the smell of hot coffee and bacon. He slowly sat up and wiped the sleep from his eyes. Despite spending the night in a rather costly hotel room his first night, he had definitely preferred his night on the couch. He arose from his spot and stumbled his way into the kitchen.
"Now Butterfly, I know it's my first day as a new father, but shouldn't I be making you breakfast?" he mumbled as he leaned his body against the door frame. A sleepy smirk pulled at his lips as Juliet turned around to greet him. He couldn't help but be mildly amused by her ability to have a bit more energy than anyone should first thing in the morning, especially after how much they had drunk the night before.
"Morning! Did you sleep, alright?" She asked. Klaus, still quite sleepy, gave her a small nod. "I'm glad to hear that. Feel free to help yourself to a cup of coffee while I finish up making breakfast."
Klaus had never particularly been the biggest fan of the bitter taste of coffee, but it always did do wonders for him the morning after a night of drinking. Klaus lazily pushed himself off the wall and walked over to the counter. He picked up the coffee pot and poured the hot, dark liquid into one of the mugs that were set next to it. He enjoyed the warmth of the mug in his hands as he slowly sipped the beverage; to his surprise, he didn't hate it. It was a lot better than the shit Diego would buy from the convenience store down the street; Dawn and Betty were a lovely couple, but God, their coffee sucked. He wondered if it would pass the test of Five's rather selective palate. He smiled to himself as he thought about his siblings. He wondered what they would be doing right now. He was a bit surprised at how much he missed his family at that moment. He had only been gone for only a day and a half. Klaus was then pulled out of his daze by a small wave of Juliet's hand in front of his face.
"Earth to Klaus, everything okay?"
Klaus grinned and walked to stand next to her. He rested his chin on her shoulder and wrapped an arm around her small waist. "Yes, sorry. I was just thinking about my brother Five. He's a massive coffee snob, and that is putting it lightly. I was pondering about whether or not this would pass his coffee critiques."
"Well, it's from a little local brewery down the road from the shop. We can always pop by there to pick you up a bag or two to take home as a souvenir if you'd like." Juliet offered while feeding him a piece of finished bacon.
"That is quite an idea, but then I'd have to get everyone a nicer gift than just a cheap airport keychain, and it just seems like… you know... a lot…"
Juliet let out a soft chuckle. "Well, if you change your mind, just let me know. Speaking of home, when are you heading back?"
"I leave bright and early tomorrow morning, at seven o'clock."
Juliet tried to hide her disappointment at his answer, but he noticed how the corners of her lips slightly twitched to maintain her smile. He gave her waist a comforting squeeze, and she turned to face him, giving his fluffy hair a light pat.
"What a pity that you couldn't stay longer. What else are you planning to do while you're here?"
"I only really had visited your dad's grave on my list of things to do. Maybe I'll pop by one last time; say a final farewell today at some point"
"I have to fill in for Tom at the shop this morning, but if you'd like, we can meet for a late lunch."
"That would be lovely."
"Well, breakfast is ready. Let's eat!"
After breakfast, Klaus drove to the paint shop with Juliet before hailing a taxi and visiting Dave's grave for the final time on this trip.
He sat cross-legged on the grass, drinking from the bottle of Orangina that Juliet had picked up for him.
"So, you had a daughter," he said as he ran his fingers through the dry grass. "She looks just like her mother, lucky girl."
Klaus slowly leaned back until he was lying completely sprawled out across the grass. "I feel like there is not much more I can say. It's nice to hear that I could still be a part of your life even after everything that had happened; that I still meant something to you. However, there is only so much a one-sided conversation with a piece of rock can do. It's not like you can reply, and I don't think I have the strength, both physically and emotionally, to conjure you back from the dead. You're finally at peace, and as much as I miss you, I'm done being selfish." Klaus closed his eyes and felt the breeze softly brush over his face. He listened to the sound of the birds chirping in the far off distance. He focused on his breathing, trying to allow himself to accept that this was the closest to closure that he would get. For Klaus, this was all he needed; this was all he was ready for. Without realizing, in the peace of it all, Klaus ended up dozing off.
When Klaus awoke, he sat up and gave his arms a quick stretch. He sleepily stared at Dave's tombstone and let out a sigh. He reached forward and let his fingers graze over Dave's name one last time before letting them rest on the words 'loving father.'
"I will protect her with my life. I promise."
Klaus stood up and turned around slowly, saying his final goodbye before making his way down to the cemetery's gate.
Klaus decided to do a bit of wandering around the area, as he had only gotten a small taste of back then. Everything had changed completely. The hair salon that Allison used to work at was now replaced by a hipster-esque cafe. Next to it was a small pharmacy. He decided that it was probably in his best interest to pop in and pick up some Tylenol as he could feel the onset of a minor headache creeping into his head. As he was browsing the aisle of painkillers, he heard a familiar voice call out his name.
"Klaus? Is that you, my brother?"
When Klaus turned around, he saw a fragile older gentleman standing in front of him. If he had not called him brother, Klaus would not have recognized the man now standing in front of him. It was Ray. Klaus had always considered Ray family even after he and his siblings had returned to 2019. He was filled with such relief at the fact that Ray had felt the same way despite them only knowing each other for such a short time. Without a moment of hesitation, Klaus wrapped his arms around his brother-in-law's body. It was then when he realized how sickly thin Ray had become with age. "Ray, my brother. It's been far too long."
"Much longer for me, I'd say. You haven't changed one bit." he chuckled softly, giving Klaus a quick look up and down while lightly squeezing his shoulders. "How have you been? There aren't any pending apocalypses I should be made aware of, are there?"
"No, no. My trip is more personal than business." Klaus answered with a smile.
"So… is Allison with you?" Ray asked as he tried to subtlety look around to see if she was there. Klaus felt sorry for his brother-in-law. It was painfully apparent by the look on his face he was hoping she was seconds away from turning the corner. "No, she didn't come with me."
Ray looked back at Klaus and gave a weak smile. He crossed his arms and gave them a small rub as he continued the conversation, trying to hide his disappointment at the reality that Allison hadn't come. "Oh, I see. Is she doing well?"
"Yeah, she is."
"I'm glad to hear," Ray let out another sigh before looking down at his feet, "crazy times those were, last time we met."
"Ray, would you like to grab a coffee or something? We could catch up. It's only been a little less than a year for me, but I'd love to hear about how everything went down after we left."
Ray reached out his hand and rested it on Klaus's shoulder. "I would. I really would."
The two sat in the cafe for a couple of hours, sharing stories about what had happened and how their lives had changed since their time in the '60s. Ray had remarried two years after Allison had gone. From that marriage, he had two daughters and one son who were now all spread out across the country, living their own lives with families of their own. Ray had lived a very happy life for the most part. He lost his wife to a heart attack six years prior, and the following year was diagnosed with prostate cancer. While he lived his life with no regrets remarrying and starting a family of his own, he thought about Allison and the life they might have had every day and wondered if he'd ever be able to see her again. While Klaus had only met Ray three times when he was last in Dallas, it felt he had known him for much longer. The way that Ray opened up to him about everything, without holding back, he wondered how their relationship might have turned out if things were different, how all of his sibling's relationships would have turned out. Would he and Ray have heart-to-hearts like this? Would he have gotten on well with Vanya's lesbian lover*? What would his relationship with Harland have been if their only interaction wasn't preventing him from pulling a Vanya? He even found himself curious about Diego's ex from that time, even though the first and last time he had met her, she tried to murder them, which resulted in them trying to adopt her.*
"Oh, hey, Klaus! There you are. I was looking for you. I'm lucky I noticed you from the window on my way by"
"Oh, hey, Juliet! I'm sorry, I lost track of time. Please join us." Klaus pushed over in the small cafe booth and made room for her. She smiled and sat down next to him.
"Ray, this is my daughter, Juliet. Juliet, this is my brother-in-law, Ray." Juliet looked at Klaus and then back at Ray, who seemed utterly unphased by the introduction Klaus had just given.
"Don't worry. You learn quickly that there are no answers that will make any of this make any sense."
Juliet let out a small laugh and nodded, "Best to just enjoy the mystery and accept it for what it is."
"Time travel, yes. My siblings, even more so. Our relationships, though, easy as pie. Ray was married to my sister Allison back in the '60s but didn't return to the future with us all, so now he is older than Buffalo Wings, cassette tapes, and zip codes. Juliet here is the daughter of a former flame of mine that recently passed. A man who would have originally died before she was even an idea if it hadn't been for my meddling, therefore making me her indirect father via the butterfly effect. See simple."
Ray and Juliet both looked at each other and gave a little laugh at Klaus's explanations of their relationship.
"Wait, is that why you called me butterfly this morning?" Juliet questioned.
"Ding ding ding, she's a smart one, isn't she? Another trait I'm definitely going to be crediting to your mother. Your father was a gem, but not very quick. Oh, hey! I have a crazy yet brilliant thought. Let's all go back together."
"What?"
"It's a great idea!" He turned to face Juliet. "You can meet my family! I'm sure they would be so excited to meet you. I did put them through a lot of shit the past few months. I think it would make them so happy to meet you rather than just hear that I met you."
"I don't know…"
"And Ray. You can see Allison again. She recently got a new hairstyle, but you know, she's still a stunner; completely from an objective standpoint, of course, she is my sister after all."
"I'm in," Ray said with zero hesitation in his voice.
"Even Ray is on board."
"I mean, I have the shop. I have to be there…"
"Can't Tom hold down the fort for a week or two? He seems like a competent young man." Klaus took her hands into his and gave her his best puppy dog eyes. "Come on, butterfly. Please. Do it for your dear old papa."
When Juliet looked into his eyes, the words left her lips before she could even further debate it with herself, "Okay."
"Okay?" Klaus repeated, unsure if he had heard her correctly.
"Yes. Let's do it!" Juliet said with excitement radiating from her voice. "I've never done anything so spontaneous before, and this just seems, it just seems right. I just need to make some calls."
Klaus clapped his hands excitedly.
"This is going to be amazing! The whole family together once more. We must celebrate!" he looked around the table once more with the biggest grin on his face.
"Pie?"