Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Note: Happy 2014, everyone! Hopefully this year has started off well. This chapter kicks off season four. The opening episode had the gang in a race against time to find the astrolabe and rewind the timeline so they could keep the Warehouse from being destroyed. The first part of this chapter takes place in the airport waiting for their flight out. The second part details Claudia waiting for the reset after a cave-in forced the gang to leave her behind. The third part is after the episode ends and it features an appearance by HG. :) After losing Christina, I think HG would know exactly what Claudia was planning to do even if the others hadn't quite figured it out yet. And I think she would have found a way to get to Claudia to try and talk her out of it before the regents carted her off. Enjoy!
What Remains
They were a fairly somber group as they sat in the terminal waiting for their flight out of Rapid City. For the most part, they were too in shock to say anything. So much had happened in the last two days, far too much to be processed at the moment.
Finally a voice on the intercom said that their flight would be boarding soon.
"That's us," Pete said, straightening up in his seat.
"Where's Claudia?" Artie asked as he looked around the small terminal.
"She said she was going to the bathroom," Myka told him.
"That was fifteen minutes ago," Pete pointed out.
"I'll go find her," Myka said quietly.
She pushed herself to her feet and headed toward the sign marking the nearby women's restroom. The door pushed open into silence. The restroom seemed to be completely empty save for the lone figure bent over the row of sinks. Claudia. Her hands were clutching the countertop so tight that her knuckles had gone white. She lifted her face and in the mirror Myka could see that her eyes were red.
"We're boarding in a minute," Myka said simply. Claudia nodded before looking back down. Myka turned to leave, but Claudia's voice stopped her.
"How do you do it?" Claudia asked. Her voice was hoarse. She looked up and met Myka's eyes in the mirror. "How do you just... keep going?"
"Because I have to," Myka said simply. "Because if I don't... I'll fall apart."
"What does it matter?" Claudia asked angrily, turning around to face Myka. "The Warehouse is gone. People are dead. It doesn't even matter anymore."
"It does matter," Myka insisted. She marched up to Claudia so she was face-to-face with the younger girl. "It matters because we have a shot at changing that. Maybe we can't save Steve. But we might be able to save HG and Mrs. Frederic and everyone else who is dying right now without hope. We can make sure that Steve didn't die for nothing."
"He'll still be dead," Claudia said bitterly.
Myka reached out and grabbed Claudia's forearms in a tight grip.
"Listen up, Claude," she said fiercely. "You are not the only one who has lost someone in all of this. We are all hurting. But if we don't do something, a lot more people are going to die. Our only chance here is to work as a team. And that includes you. So right now I need you to get a grip and get your head back in the game. Got it?"
Claudia was totally silent. For a moment Myka worried that she had pushed too hard, that the hurting girl in front of her was going to shatter completely. But then Claudia's jaw tightened and she forced a nod. Myka eased up her grip on the younger girl's arms.
"Now," she said, a bit calmer this time. "Let's go get on that plane."
"Okay," Claudia managed.
"Okay," Myka repeated. She released her grip on Claudia's arms. With a final look to be sure the younger girl was behind her, Myka turned and headed toward the door. Claudia took another second to mentally steel herself before heading after Myka.
The bathroom door swung shut behind them.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
There wasn't really much to do in the darkness. Claudia played Angry Birds for the first hour before beating all of her remaining levels. The depth and rock blocked her internet connection, meaning that she couldn't update her app. She only lasted thirty minutes with Fruit Ninja before becoming completely sick of it. Then she tried listening to music for a while, but when she reached the third song that reminded her of Steve she finally gave up. She pulled up her collection of e-books to try some reading only to see that the book at the top of the list was a digital copy of her Wells collection. Claudia swallowed hard and put the phone away.
She recited all the elements on the periodic table in order of their atomic number. That was too easy, so then she said them all backwards. Josh would've been proud. By that point, her leg was really starting to hurt. Claudia was pretty sure the sudden weight of the rubble had cracked her tibia. It had definitely snapped something in her ankle. Only adrenaline and barely-repressed anxiety had kept her from truly feeling it until then.
It was around hour five that the rock walls started closing in on her. All of the memories of being trapped in Russell's closet as a kid suddenly came rushing back. The light on her phone helped with the darkness, but it also served to highlight how small the space truly was.
And that wasn't her only problem. The air was beginning to get thinner. Claudia suddenly realized that if the others failed, she wouldn't last long enough for them to come back for her. She would die in the tiny space. That was when the tears started. Strangely enough, the fact that she was completely alone actually seemed to help. Claudia screamed and sobbed and punched the rock around her until all of her energy was finally spent. Then she collapsed against the dirt floor and waited for the end.
After what seemed like an eternity of staring hopelessly up at the rock ceiling, Claudia pulled her phone back out to check the time. She had synced a timer with the pocket watch as soon as they landed just in case the group had to split up. It said there were only twenty-eight minutes left. Time for desperate measures.
"Look," Claudia said hoarsely, looking back up at the rock ceiling. "I know I probably don't have much credit with you. I don't know if you're even listening right now. Hell, I don't even know if you're real. But if you are... If you're there... Please just let them make it." She swallowed hard before adding, "Please don't let me die down here."
She looked back down at the timer, watching the seconds slowly tick away. Twenty-seven minutes. They were running out of time. Twenty-six minutes. They weren't going to make it. Twenty-five. Twenty-four.
Claudia closed her eyes.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Claudia was sitting cross-legged on her bed. In front of her was the open case holding the metronome. She stared at it in silence as the wheels in her brain tried to turn out a plan. She had the metronome. The saving of the Warehouse had distracted everyone enough for Claudia to smuggle the artifact up to her room. Now she just needed to find Steve's body.
A knock on her locked door pulled her out of her thoughts.
"Go away, Leena," Claudia said tersely. She didn't want to talk.
"I'm not Leena," a familiar British voice said.
Claudia leaped off the bed, skidding over to the door and quickly unlocking it. She swung it open to see HG looking back at her. The former agent smiled.
"Hello Claudia," she said.
"Are you... you?" Claudia asked carefully.
"I am no longer a hologram, if that's what you mean," HG said. Claudia reached out and poked HG's shoulder just to be sure. "You see?"
That was all it took. Claudia launched herself at HG, wrapping her arms tightly around the inventor's neck. HG stumbled back a bit at the force of the hug. But then she smiled and wrapped her own arms protectively around Claudia.
"I've missed your hugs," she admitted fondly. Claudia's arms only tightened further.
"What are you doing here?" Claudia asked, finally forcing herself to pull away.
"I came to see you," HG said.
"Do the Regents know?" Claudia asked. She suddenly looked worried.
"They know," HG assured her.
"And they're okay with it?" Claudia asked skeptically.
"More or less. Apparently my actions today have earned my release from my former prison. They are allowing me to rejoin the world."
"Seriously?" Claudia was starting to grin. "Does that mean you get to stay?"
"Not here, I'm afraid," HG admitted. "They still don't trust me near the Warehouse. I will be given a new identity and sent somewhere else."
"But you'll still remember who you are," Claudia clarified.
"So it would seem."
"Where are they sending you?"
"I'm not entirely sure. But I'll find a way to let you know."
HG's eyes drifted over Claudia's shoulder to the open case with the metronome. Claudia seemed to realize where she was looking. She shifted ever so slightly to the side so that she stood between HG and the metronome.
"I'm going to use it to bring Steve back," she said firmly. "And you can't stop me."
"I haven't come to stop you," HG said quietly. "Or to take the metronome. I just want to talk to you for a moment."
"So talk," Claudia said stiffly.
"May I come in?" HG asked, motioning at the room. Claudia hesitated a moment before moving back so HG could enter the room. The inventor closed the door behind herself. She noticed that Claudia had once again positioned herself between HG and the metronome. This was going to be more difficult than she had thought.
"I know you don't want to hear this," HG began, "but I know how you feel."
"Sure you do," Claudia scoffed, crossing her arms.
"I may not have known Steve for more than a moment," HG said, taking a step toward Claudia, "but I know what it's like to lose someone you love. I know how badly it hurts, that it feels like your heart will never be whole again. I know how it eats you up inside until the only thing left is the drive to somehow bring them back."
"Then you know I have to do this," Claudia said fiercely.
"I know that I can't stop you," HG told her. "So I'm not going to try. But I want you to promise me something."
"What?" Claudia asked warily.
"Find Steve," HG said. "Use the metronome. Try to bring him back. But if that fails, I want you to promise me that you will stop. That you will walk away and let him go."
"No," Claudia said. Her eyes were steely and her jaw set, making it clear that she would not back down.
"Claudia, listen to me," HG said, taking a step forward. Claudia quickly took a step back, careful to keep herself between HG and the metronome. "I know the pull the Warehouse can have. But I also know where this will take you. I wasted years of my life trying to find a way to bring back Christina. I got one of my colleagues killed. And when that failed, I tried to end the world! I know what this will to do you, Claudia. And I cannot sit here and watch you destroy your life the way I destroyed mine."
"If you had the chance to have her back, wouldn't you take it?" Claudia asked fiercely. "Look me in the eye and tell me that you wouldn't try to save her!"
"Not like this," HG whispered. Claudia turned away, a frustrated hand running through her hair. HG decided to try another tactic. "Alright, forget you. Forget how badly you want this. What about him? Would he want you to destroy your entire life trying to bring him back? Or would he want you to move on?"
"You didn't know him!" Claudia yelled. "You have no idea what he would've wanted! I am bringing him back and that's it!"
"And what if you do?" HG asked, her tone rising to match Claudia's. "What if it takes you ten years and you destroy half the world in the process?! Do you think he would want that?! Do you think he would even be able to live with that hanging over his head?!"
"Don't you dare lecture me!" Claudia shouted angrily. "You of all people do not get to judge me! Not after what you tried to do!"
"That is exactly why I have to stop you! I will not let you make the same mistake I did!"
"I am not you!"
"No," HG admitted, her tone quiet once more. "You're not. But you could become me if you continue down this path. So either you promise me right now that you will try this once and then let it go, or so help me I will take that metronome and I will smash it right here."
Claudia's eyes widened as she realized just how serious HG was. Her eyes darted from HG to the metronome and back again. They both knew her fledgling self-defense skills were no match for HG's kenpo.
"If it was you," HG continued gently, "would you want him to spend his life trying to get you back? Or would you want him to live?"
Tears began welling in Claudia's eyes as she stared at the metronome.
"What if it doesn't work?" she choked.
"Then you find a way to move on," HG told her.
"What if I can't?" Claudia asked, looking back up. A tear ran down her cheek and was quickly followed by another. "What if I can't let him go?"
In answer, HG reached out and pulled Claudia into a tight hug. She was mildly surprised when the younger girl reached up to return the embrace. Claudia rested her head against HG's shoulder as a small flood of tears began trickling down her cheeks. HG held on to her as tightly as she could. They both know there was nothing she could say to fix what had happened. The only thing she could do was be there.
Claudia clung to HG for a long time. Even though she meant to bring Steve back, at that moment he was still dead. And that had caused a storm of emotion that needed to be let out before she would be able to think straight enough to try and bring him back.
Finally she ran out of tears. She pulled away and wiped her eyes with the heels of her hands. HG watched her closely, concern clear in her eyes. Claudia looked over at the metronome and let out a deep breath.
"Okay," she said quietly, her voice a bit hoarse from crying. She looked back up at HG. "I promise."
HG let out a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding.
"Thank-you," she said sincerely. She looked past Claudia's shoulder at the clock on her nightstand. "I have to go. The Regents will be getting impatient."
"Okay," Claudia said. Her voice was slightly stronger now. HG leaned forward and pressed an affectionate kiss to the younger girl's forehead.
"I love you," she told Claudia firmly. "I'll find a way to let you know where I end up."
"You better," Claudia warned, a hint of a smile on her face. HG smiled back.
"Be careful," she said. "And good luck."
"Thanks," Claudia said quietly. HG gave her a final parting smile before turning and heading for the door.
It wasn't until it closed firmly behind her that Claudia finally uncrossed her fingers.
Hopefully you guys liked this chapter. If you did, please leave me a quick review. It'll make my day.
And now for some logistics. I managed to keep up with this story until Christmas because I had gotten ahead on it while I was still in school. But this was as far as I got. I do have every intention of finishing this story. But at the moment I'm enjoying Christmas break with my family, and I don't know how much writing I'll actually get done. So for now I'm going to go back to updating every three or four days and then we'll go from there.
In other news, does anybody know yet when season 5 is supposed to start?