... YAYYYYYY UPDATE! Thank you for reading my lovelies! c':

I know it's been FOREVER and I'm so sorry about that ... But I always read all of your reviews and I love all of you so much!

I've been so busy with "Between Dream and Reality," I haven't been focusing on my other stories at all ... D:

But here! Here is an update for your viewing pleasure! And I hope you enjoy it as much as the others!

NameUnimportant: Oh, believe me; there will be apple pie. XD

packed-a-punch: Oooh I like the idea of doing something with Tank! I love him. C: And I'm so glad you enjoy my writing! It makes me so happy to hear that people enjoy my stories! C': … And I agree! Tank is a total badass. I adore him!

Bu11etB1iss115: Hahaha yayy I'm glad you like it! And yes … Gah I have so many things to finish! Hahaha! But don't worry; I will finish them all, if it's the last thing I do! C:

LazyMongoose: YAYYY! I'm so glad! I can't believe people are hearing about my fics through other people … o.o … That's so flattering! *blushing* I have a lot of fun writing this story, so I'm glad people have so much fun reading it! I can't wait to make ze doc play zombies again … XD … It was so glorious the first time … And indeed, torturing characters is the most fun way to write! X'3 … and … I love you a lot for this review! *huggle*

WickedIntentions: I have so many ideas for this story, and so little time to write! Hahaha … And I'm still trying to finish BDAR! … But oh goodness, there will be much more Richtofen playing zombies in the future … and plenty more lulz to go around … XD … I love my dearest! Hope you are doing well! C: Hopefully you will have plenty more lovely chapters to read!

Flipnotes: Yayyy! I shall write it! And YES I'm so glad people love the way I'm writing him! He's so amusing to me … XD … Especially making him see "himself" in the game … oh gosh. Totally not done with that! X'3 There shall be SO MUCH MORE!

M3D1C101: Hahahahaha! I'm so glad you liked it! c':

Rose of Dusk: Yay! It makes me happy to hear you liked it! :'3

Decepticon-silverstreak: HAHAHAHAHA OH GOSH … … the doctor playing with himself … hurr hurr hurr … …

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Between Two Realities
A "Between Dream and Reality" Spinoff

CHAPTER SIX

des Doktors neue Kleider
"The Doctor's New Clothes"

When our burgers came, my mouth was watering so much I had to swallow three times.

"Dude, Kitty," muttered Jake. He was sitting beside me in the booth, giving me a disgusted look. "Control yourself."

Across from us, the doctor was silent; but his expression was worth a thousand words.

"Shut up," I snapped at both of them, glancing at the waitress. She was staring at me, too, obviously worried about my mental health. I sighed. "Look," I grumbled, suddenly fixing her with a serious face. It made her take a step back. "I haven't had real food in weeks, okay?"

She nodded nervously, setting down our plates. Then she gave me a very unconvincing grin, and quickly stumbled away.

"Alvays making such a vonderful first impression," muttered Richtofen, snide as usual.

I scowled at him.

"Damn, you guys fight like cats and dogs," Jake said, pointing out the obvious. He lifted the bun from his cheeseless burger and slathered it with ketchup. "Shove some food in your mouth and relax." Then, taking his own advice, he smashed the bun back on top of his burger and took an enormous bite.

As Jake chewed, Richtofen wrinkled his nose, staring at his plate. "I shtill do not undershtand vhy zhey are called hamburgers," he grumbled, his accent pronounced. He prodded his burger with one long finger. "Vere zhey invented in Hamburg? Und if so, vhy are zhey such a … shtaple American foodshtuff?"

"Oh my god, Richtofen," I hissed, trying to spread mayonnaise on my toasted bun. "Just eat the damn thing." I was so excited about my burger that my hands were actually shaking. I knew I had to control myself, so I was trying to take my time; but the longer the delicious aroma wafted up to my nose, the hungrier I got.

If that was even possible.

This did not go unnoticed by the doctor, who regarded me with a curious look as I reassembled my burger. "You vere not shtarving at ze cinema," he noted, lifting a sweet-potato fry to his mouth. He sniffed it delicately. Then he nibbled the end.

"I know," I muttered, nibbling one of my own fries. Maybe that would take the edge off of my hunger. But the minute the crispy, warm-salted sliver of sweet-potato touched my tongue, I moaned. Literally moaned. "Holy shit," I mumbled, grabbing five more and stuffing them into my mouth. It was like eating happiness.

Richtofen snorted. "How ladylike."

I tried to say "shut up," but it just came out as "mmphgshhh." Guess there were too many fries in my mouth. Luckily, Jake was too focused on his own meal to comment. That was the magical thing about good food: Suddenly, all the wise-asses were quiet.

Well, all except the doctor.

Now, he was picking up his burger, the tips of his long, thin fingers squishing into the bun. He lifted it to his lips, testing a small piece of meat. I fought the urge to laugh as he chewed his tiny little bite. This was the man who laughed at death and enjoyed the feeling of blood on his face. Wasn't he brave enough to chomp down on a burger?

He noticed the mocking gleam in my eye and scowled.

I swallowed down my giant mouthful of fry and took a sip of sweet tea. "Just suck it up and take a real bite," I said, raising my eyebrows.

"Vhy don't you?" he countered, glaring at my unbitten burger.

I reached down and lifted my cheddar-bacon aioli to my lips. Then I opened wide and took a bite that rivaled Jake's.

"Nice," said the guy in question, giving me an approving look.

I could feel a warm dribble of grease trickling down my chin, but I didn't even bother wiping it away. Instead, I chewed triumphantly, savoring the meaty, tangy flavors. If the fries were like eating happiness, this was like eating satisfaction. God. I forgot how delicious food could be.

Richtofen made a noise of disgust at my graphic display. I swallowed down my giant bite and grinned, victorious.

"If zhat vas some perverse attempt to appetize me," he grumbled, "You failed."

"Oh, that had nothing to do with you," I sighed, gazing at my burger with adoration. "That was me dying and going to heaven."

The doctor rolled his eyes. "If only," he muttered.

.

Now that my stomach was full, the world suddenly seemed so much brighter.

I hummed as we left the restaurant and walked down the sidewalk of the shopping center, heading for the department store.

"You seem chipper," noticed Jake, smiling at me. He crooked his elbow, and I slipped my arm through it, grinning brightly.

"I am, I am," I said, sing-song. "God. I feel so good right now."

Richtofen grunted, striding along behind us. "You are like a child," he muttered.

"Best way to be," I acknowledged, twisting around to smile at him.

He scowled.

"Guess we better hit Belk or Macy's first," Jake said, mostly to himself. "Gotta be something there he'd wear."

"Good idea," I agreed. "I was thinking probably a classic look, maybe black blazer or something."

Jake hummed, thinking. "I've got good taste," he said, shameless. "We'll get him dressed well."

"I vill not vear anyzhing else so ugly," added the doctor, picking at his sweatpants and shuddering.

We headed straight for the men's department at Belk's, picking through the dressier stuff. I figured keeping it simple was the best option; no over-the-top ties or bright colors. Jake found a nice gray dress shirt, approximately sized, and I found a long black blazer. We herded Richtofen into the fitting rooms where, after an excruciating nine minutes of boycotting, he finally tried them on.

"Well?" asked Jake. From my spot just outside, I could see him standing in front of the doctor's cubicle, raising his eyebrows.

There was a long moment of silence.

Then, finally, he spoke. "Zhis is acceptable. But ze shirt is tight."

Jake dashed out to get a bigger size, snatching up some slim-fit pants on the way back. "Here, try these, too," he said, tossing them over the door.

Another long silence as Richtofen hopefully did as he was told.

Then, irritated, "Zhese trousers are unacceptable," he growled. "Zhey are so small und," he paused. "Confining."

"Too much information," I grumbled to myself.

Jake was back on the hunt. He pulled three more pairs of pants, a vest, and another shirt, for good measure. It was a struggle, but he finally found a fit. Then, going on that, Jake made a mini-wardrobe for Doctor Richtofen: Fitted black blazer, black vest, and two pairs of pants to match; then three different shirts to mix it up. One was gunmetal gray, another slate blue, and the third was a deep, silvery green.

Since Jake seemed excited about playing tailor, I let him. He was paying, anyway; less pressure on me. We stopped by the underwear to get a set of boxer-briefs, a few pairs of long black socks, and some undershirts. And then, most excruciating of all: The shoe department.

By the time we were done, I was exhausted; probably more exhausted than the doctor himself. I was definitely more exhausted than Jake. As we walked down the sidewalk, he chattered away, making it obvious that he was still pumped.

"I vant to vear my new clozhing," interrupted Richtofen, snatching the bags from Jake's arms.

I frowned. "Guess we better find a coffee shop or something where he can change," I muttered.

We headed for the local Starbucks, ushering Richtofen toward the restrooms. Luckily, it was handicapped-equipped, making it big enough inside for a tall, testy Nazi doctor to change clothes. I ordered a latte while we waited for him to come out, sitting with Jake at a window seat.

"I've had so much coffee today," I noted, sipping. "It's awesome."

Jake sighed. "Man, I'm so sick of coffee," he grumbled, running a hand through his sandy hair. "Never should've taken that job at the Bean."

"But they pay you decent, right?" I asked, concerned. "I mean, you've got great perks, from what I hear. I'm jealous."

He shrugged. "Yeah, but it sucks when something you love starts to annoy you. I can't even smell coffee now without getting stressed."

I reached over to rub his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Jake," I murmured consolingly. "Maybe it'll get better.'

"I dunno," he muttered. "Guess I can hope."

"I enjoy zhis fabric," said the doctor, suddenly beside us. "It feels so smooth."

I turned to look.

My jaw dropped.

Holy shit. Talk about cleaning up nice. It was like looking at a European clothing ad. The blazer hung elegantly on Richtofen's broad shoulders, while the vest cinched tight around his chest like it was made for him. Underneath it all, he was wearing the gunmetal gray shirt, which was silvery in the dim light of the Starbucks.

I didn't dare look any lower. I could see the fit of his pants from the corner of my eye, and I didn't want to give him any material to harass me with later.

He ran long fingers through his dark hair, still slightly wavy from the way it dried, and arched a black eyebrow at me. "Acceptable, ja?"

My throat was oddly dry. I swallowed, not trusting myself to speak.

His green eyes glittered at me, missing absolutely nothing. As the slow, sinister grin spread across his lips, I felt myself start to panic. Fuck. So much for avoiding harassment.

"Vell, zhis is certainly intereshting," he murmured, pulling up a chair. His eyes never left my face.

"You look good, man," said Jake, beaming, shamelessly proud of himself. "I knew I could dress you like a champ."

"Und how do you zhink I look, Kazhleen?" asked Richtofen, still staring at me. "Do I look gut?"

The corners of his lips quirked.

Fuck my life.

"It's nice," I muttered, staring at my coffee as I lifted it back to my mouth. I took a sip, swallowed, and glanced back at him. I grimaced. "You look nice."

He made a noise of satisfaction.

"Jesus, Kitty," said Jake. "It's that hard for you to give him a compliment?"

Without warning, I slammed my cup on the table. It was made of paper, so it wasn't threatening at all; but my glare felt terrifying enough to make up for it. "Jake, he's fucking Doctor Richtofen," I snapped, standing up and knocking over my chair. A couple of people stared at me. "This isn't a joke. This isn't some game." My heart was pounding. "You just played dress-up with a sadistic genius from Nazi Germany."

"Kitty," Jake muttered, glancing around the room. "People are looking at you."

The doctor just watched, fascinated.

I pursed my lips and grabbed my latte, glaring at the people closest to us. They looked down, pretending not to notice. Then I jerked away from the table, giving Richtofen's chair a wide berth. I could feel his eyes on my back as I stormed out of the Starbucks, breathing hard.

This wasn't okay. It just wasn't.

My breath clouded in front of me as I stalked down the sidewalk, putting some space between myself and my strange new reality. Why did this have to happen to me? Wasn't life hard enough already? My eyes pricked with tears and I blinked them back, so frustrated I wanted to scream.

Black Ops Zombies. It was a goddamn videogame; a mode in a videogame, with fictional characters and a ridiculous plot. It obviously wasn't real. But then, suddenly, it was. I managed to survive the zombies and make it home, only to have a nightmare follow me back.

But that wasn't what was bothering me. I'd already accepted the fact that he was stuck here, that I was stuck with the responsibility. No; something else was making me panic, frantic with terror and self-loathing. Something much worse.

My chest tightened against the cold but I kept walking, walking as fast as I could, trying to escape.

I knew it was no use. But the farther I walked, the longer I could avoid the truth.

Because no part of me wanted to admit that I'd just been attracted to the doctor.

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HURR HURR HURR ...

Oh Kitty. Poor girl. I know it's gotta be hard to be attracted to a murderer. *sigh*

But for real real. Just think about how badass the Doc would look if he cleaned up and got all dressy. BADASS.

... ... ... badass I say ... ... ... !

... Not sure what's gonna happen next ...

But later ... Maybe Tank should somehow find his way to the future, too? ... :D?

KEEP THE SUGGESTIONS FLOWING! You guys have such great ideas! They inspire me so much! c':

Ze Doctor Says: "Zhis does not amuse me. MY VOICE IS NOT ZHAT HIGH-PITCHED. ... ... not all ze time ..."