Making sure Fargo and Trailer stayed against the door, and away from the artifacts deemed dangerous enough to reserve a spot in the Dark Vault, Claudia paced back and forth across the limited floor space between the taped off circles surrounding said artifacts. The two boys patiently watched as she crossed back and forth in front of them.
"First things first. Aliens, bad," Claudia lifted a hand and started counting with fingers as she started listing the facts, "Dark Vault, bad. No electricity, bad. Doug, good," she met his gaze briefly and smirked when he flushed, "Very good. Now, what we need to do..." she came to a stop and pressed a hand to her forehead, "is stop walking in circles."
Propping herself up against the metal door on one shoulder next to Fargo, she crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. She was staring at her feet when he heard her mumble, "I'm sorry.."
"You're sorry?" He cocked his head to the side and his brow furrowed in confusion, "What are you sorry for?"
"This! I mean, this whole thing is out of control, and you wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me," Claudia shook her head and started pacing again, "And I don't even know how I got you here, or if you wanted to be here in the first place, and now there's aliens -"
Doug stepped in her path so she either had to stop walking or collide into him. She stared at him for a beat before taking a breath to finish her thought.
"I'm not sorry," he interrupted her before she could continue, "There's nowhere else I'd rather be. And besides, if you think about it, this is pretty awesome. Y'know, aside from the whole might die thing, but still."
"That seems to be our M.O. doesn't it?" Claudia shifted so she could loop her arm through his, "Consider this my request for a death threat-free date next time."
Fargo froze momentarily at the mention of a date. Before he could come up with a witty response, any response at all, she leaned in to quickly kiss him on the cheek. She bounced away from him, resuming her pacing while carefully avoiding the artifacts surrounding her, seeming to think out loud while coming up with a game plan.
"Okay, so. There's a neutralizing station just around the corner from here. We drown the radio in goo, the aliens go poof, we save the day!" Claudia slightly spread her arms away from her body and waggled her hands for emphasis.
"I always did want to be the hero," the pair stepped in front of the door to the Dark Vault, preparing themselves to leave the unlikely sanctum. Doug looked at his companion, "Ready, Birthday girl?"
Claudia slipped her hand into his, intertwining their fingers. She raised her other hand to the door, pausing to turn and return his gaze,
"Ready, Fargonator."
Slowly creeping out of the Dark Vault, Claudia and Fargo made their way down the passageways with Trailer slinking behind them. The beams of red energy still flew above them, and they could hear what had to be massive beings making their way around the Warehouse, causing the ground beneath their feet to shudder. The dog gave a low, frightened whine as a shelf behind them exploded, artifacts spilling across the walkway. Reaching a crossroads of the shelves, Claudia hesitated and peeked into the wide center corridor.
"There's a goo station a few aisles left of here," her statement came out in a breathy rush, the only indicator of her nerves, "Shouldn't be too hard to get there and end this. Stay here and I'll - "
"No, no, no. I'm going with you," Fargo cut her off with a wave of his hands, "I got us into this, I can't just sit here and watch you clean up after yet another one of my messes." He straightened his back and didn't back down from Claudia's scowl.
Her frown deepened slightly as she mulled over his words. Giving a short nod, her expression softened as she accepted his determination.
"Well then, now or never. Let's get this over with."
Turning back towards the main aisle, she inched out into the open, leading the way towards their destination. They kept a slow but steady pace, stopping only to crouch down and shield their heads when artifacts and debris threatened to collapse around them. Claudia was so focused on moving forward, she didn't see the stray blast of red energy heading her way until she felt Doug yank her backwards. Stumbling over Trailer, they landed in a heap of tangled arms and legs. Extracting herself and rolling off of him, she lay flat on her back for a moment and taking a deep breath. Her nose wrinkled and she turned her head towards Fargo, who hadn't moved from his spot on the cold concrete.
"Do you smell burning hair?" Her eyes widened as soon as she spoke, and her hands flew to her head to slap out a smoldering lock.
Doug shifted so he could get to his feet, then held his hand out to haul Claudia up next to him. The force of momentum caused her to pitch forward against him. With his hands on her hips to steady her, she reached up to encircle her arms around his neck and lightly pressed her lips to his. Pulling back, she gave him a wry smile.
"Just wanted to make sure I got to do that at least one more time," she gave him one last kiss before letting go of him and faced reality again.
As they finally reached the neutralizing station, Claudia let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She planted the radio on the floor and grabbed the hose, aiming it towards the offending artifact.
"Might want to cover your eyes, Dougie," she warned while clamping her own eyes shut and squeezing the trigger. When nothing happened, she cracked one lid open to peer down at the radio. It remained untouched on the floor, with the hose hanging limply above it. She watched as a single drop of goo dripped from the hose and landed on a speaker with a fizzle of purple mist.
"That.. is so not what I want to see right now," Claudia shook the hose as if it could sense her frustration. Throwing it down with a defeated sigh, she fought the urge to stomp her feet.
"So!" Her hands came together in a sharp clap, "How about that plan B?"