SONG: As We Stumble Along - The Drowsy Chaperone

We had been with the masked kidnappers for a couple of hours before they eventually had us both turned with our backs to them, probably so we wouldn't be able to see their faces. They hardly touched me, seeing as they apparently had orders not to, but they continually attacked Klaus in some way, asking the same questions over and over again. We, of course, could not give them any answers seeing as we knew absolute dog shite about what they were asking. The lights had gone out plenty of times as my emotions got the best of me, and at one point a lamp burned out entirely. Every time they'd flicker, I earned myself a slap to the face, and eventually just gave in to the torture they were putting Klaus through, letting my head fall and just staring at my lap. Every type of torture they did kept continually getting worse and worse, and closer to murder.

"This is getting us nowhere," the man said, "Why can't we just do something to her? They'll never even know."

"They will know. They know everything-"

"Well, would they prefer us keep her unharmed, or get Number Five?" he asked. The room went silent as the woman was probably just thinking about it and I sat up straight.

"I wouldn't do anything too drastic if I were you two. Lights aren't all that I'm connected to," I said, looking down at the multiple restraints on me before I got an idea. God, I'm such a knob. Why didn't I think of this sooner? I watched as blue light emitted from every piece of uncovered skin around me and the restraints began to burn up, until one was entirely off and I lifted my hand.

Until I felt yet another sharp pain in the skull and was once again knocked out cold. Great. I'm an idiot.

When I came to, I was wrapped in something completely different and there was light coming through the windows. I heard Klaus beside me... Making some... Pretty detailed noises, and looked over to find one of them choking him with what looked like a charging cord.

"Number Five! Where is he?!" the woman yelled.

"Don't... Stop... I'm almost there," Klaus choked out. I looked down to see a tent in his towel and instantly looked away, not even wanting to think about what kind of things he was into and the pleasure he took away from that pain.

"Is that a..." the woman trailed off.

"Yep," said the man, and they unwrapped the cord from his neck. Klaus coughed as he caught his breath and I looked over at him as he glanced at me, though only for a second. As soon as he realized I was awake, he looked straight back to the front.

"Ah, there's nothing like a little... Stranglin' to get the blood flowin', am I right?" he asked. Blood and sweat were dripping down him as he laughed.

"What is so funny, you asshole?" the man asked, moving forward to slap him, causing him letting out a shout of pain.

"Well, for one... You spent the last ten hours... Beating me senseless, and... You've learned absolutely nothing," he laughed.

"Alright, so different tactic," the man said. Next thing I knew, there was a cord around my throat, but it didn't get tight due to Klaus continuing.

"I mean, nobody tells us shit. The truth is, I'm the one person in that house nobody will even realize is gone, and she doesn't even live there! You assholes kidnapped the wrong people!" he laughed like a psycho when he was finished, earning himself yet another slap, to which he put his head down with a whimper, "Ow, I'm sorry, okay?"

"Please make him stop talking!" the man said at the same time. I felt the cord unwrap from around my throat and looked over at him.

"Klaus, look at me," I whispered, but he didn't. He just kept his head down, "Klaus-"

"Yeah, I don't want to look at you right now," he finally said, "Honestly," he looked up, "If anyone here knows anything it'd be you, seeing how good you are at keeping things... Hidden," he finally glanced at me. The people behind us were silent as I tried to glance back at them without turning my head too much, but I couldn't see them. I looked back at Klaus.

"I know as much as you do," I said.

"You sure? It seems like you left out a lot," he said, causing a whirlwind of emotion to rise in my throat before I simply looked forward instead of at him, keeping silent.

"Let's waterboard him," I heard the woman and didn't even look back as I simply squeezed my eyes shut, listening to the noises of torture they were putting my boyfriend through. I doubt he even still wanted to be that.

I saw as my skin lit up blue once again, though this time the chains stayed solid. They were heavier too–maybe concrete, but I couldn't tell. Eventually, I heard Klaus gurgling the water beside me and looked over at him, watching him trying to slurp up every last drop of water they were trying to torture him with. I knew Klaus was crazy, but this was brilliant. They finally pulled the rag of water away from him and he just smiled.

"Ah! Oh, I needed that," he breathed out.

"Come on!" the man shouted as Klaus continued talking.

"I was," he burped, "So parched,"

"Are we trying the girl?" the woman asked.

"Yeah. Yep. Go ahead."

Once again, the cord was wrapped around my throat, though this time, it was tight. My back was pulled fully against the back of the chair as I felt my oxygen cut off and gasped for air.

"Hey, Hey! Don't touch her! Stop!" I heard Klaus try to move beside me, only making the grip tighten.

"Tell us where Number Five is!" the woman shouted.

"This is... The weirdest foreplay... I've ever... Been a part of," I croaked in between breaths.

"You guys are crazy," I heard the man as the woman let go of the cord and I dropped my head down, inhaling and exhaling as deep as I could to gain my breath back, "Can we talk? Privately," the man asked the woman and they made their way somewhere else in the room we were in, which looked like some hotel room, by the way.

"I didn't lie to you," I finally said to Klaus in a hushed tone, "And I don't know anything about Five either."

"What's your name? Real name," Klaus said. I looked up to see him looking at me in expectancy.

"I was born as Luce Lancaster. I haven't used that name in five years. It's not horrible to change your name," I said.

"Well, why'd you change it?" he asked. I opened my mouth to try and answer, though closed it as I searched for the right words. It was a difficult subject to approach in general, but from the time I met him, I felt like I could be open with Klaus.

"To scrub away as much of who I used to be as I could."

I heard screams of patients around me, and thuds on doors as I slowly made my way to the front doors of the "hospital". I felt as though I wasn't even in control of my own body. I had just been playing with a flame seconds ago--at least, it felt like seconds. But when they barged in with needles I just... They were dead and bleeding on the floor within seconds and the door was wide open. Wide open for me to walk through, and the flames to follow, engulfing the rest of the facility with it.

People ran around like madness, shying away from me and the blue glow that absorbed me inside it. I watched bodies burn to a crisp and wanted to scream. To stop the scene around me, but all I could do was step through it. It wasn't until I was outside and the cool air around me whipped at my skin that I was back in control, turning towards the building that was up in blue flames. People ran out, but not many. Most were trapped inside, or already dead.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, staring at the floor.

"-It's driving me crazy. The bitch won't shut up!" I heard Klaus in a stressed-out voice beside me and looked up at him.

"I said I was sorry, okay?" I said, assuming he meant me and slightly offended about it.

"Not you," he said simply.

"Hey, watch your mouth," the male kidnapper said and I chuckled about it, looking down.

"I forgot," I said softly, glancing at Klaus through the corner of my eye.

"What did I say about eyes front?" the man said, causing me to straighten up and stare forward, as did Klaus.

"Klaus, if we get out of here-"

"If we get out of here, you and I are going to talk, then you and my family are going to talk, and then, unless the small chance that I can forgive you for lying to us is there, we're done," Klaus snapped. It was the first time he had actually ever snapped at me, and I didn't know what to do or say. I had noticed that he was frustrated, but so was I.

"I didn't lie to all of you," I said, making him chuckle.

"Vanya-"

"Five."

"Wow, what a dick," he muttered. I sighed, looked forward, and then sucked in a deep breath. The silence was deafening, apart from the mumbling coming from our kidnappers in the corner of the room. I couldn't handle it any further.

"As we stumble along," I began singing to the song from the Drowsy Chaperone, a musical I loved right after I moved here, along with a few others, "On life's funny journey. As we stumble along, into the blue."

"Hey, shut up," I heard the man from behind me, "We're trying to think, here," I didn't care.

"We look here, and we look there. Seeking answers everywhere. Never sure of where to turn or what to do," The bunny-masked woman walked over, throwing some duct tape over my mouth. I grinned, letting myself heat up as my face burned straight through it, "Still we bumble our way, through life's crazy labyrinth," I felt a sting across my cheek as she slapped me, though I quickly recovered, "Barely knowing left from right, nor right from wrong," she let out a groan and made her way back to the man, "And the best that we can do is hope a blue bird will sing his song, as we stumble along," I looked over at Klaus, who was watching me, "Should I keep going?"

"Hell yeah," he smirked. I looked back towards the front of the room.

"It's a dismal little world in which we live. It can bore you till you've nothing left to give-" I stopped as they wrapped a cord around my neck once more, which I easily burned through, "Seven overrated wonders, seven underwhelming seas. Six excruciating continents. Antarctica. Oh please!" They tried the wet towel, which sizzled until it too burned up, "Yet, you mustn't let it lick you, this planet, oh so bland. Keep your eyeball on the highball in your hand," They kept coming at me with things that burned and melted upon contact until I felt the seat heating up as well, making me smile, "As we stumble along! 'Cross life's crowded dance floors! As we push and we shove, we live and we learn."

"Shit, the chair. Quickly, do something!" I heard the woman as they noticed my deal with the seat.

"And when we finally leave the bar, and we see that morning star, we pull our boot straps up and homeward turn. Then we stumble-" I stopped as something was thrown on me that felt hot as lava and I let out a scream, hearing sizzling all around me. Heat had never bothered me, not since the face accident, but this felt like a different kind of pain. Like acid almost. I screamed and shook in the seat, trying desperately to move away from the substance. I could hear Klaus shouting beside me, trying to get them to stop.

"What the hell was that?" the woman asked.

"It-It's just water," the man said. They went silent as I let out a few deep breaths, looking down at my arms to see them singed red-similar to a sunburn or first degree burn.

"Guess we know her weakness then."

It was madness. Water had never affected me like that before. I'd swam in plenty of pools and been to the ocean enough to know that wasn't normal. All I could think was maybe... Because of my power? I looked up as I quivered in pain, feeling a familiar stinging on my cheeks where the faint scars were. All the blue around me was gone, replaced by a silence so thick you could cut it like cheese.

"Wankers," I mumbled, rolling my shoulders back. The man threw the remaining bit of the water on me, though this time it just felt like plain water, rolling off my skin and honestly, it felt good on the burns. I felt a sting on my head as the girl smacked me before hearing their footsteps in the opposite direction. I looked over at Klaus, who was staring down my arms before looking up at my face, but his eyes were searching my face, not my eyes.

"You have... Things.. On your cheeks," he observed.

"Scars, Klaus. They're scars," I said, looking away.

"How'd you get them?" he continued.

"When I was eight... I got emotional and... Well, things get out of hand when I get emotional," I mumbled in answer.

"Why were you really put into the mental hospital?" he asked with a bit of edge to his voice, to which I shut my eyes as I could almost hear my mum's ear-piercing screams in the back of my mind.

"I... Knew about the Umbrella Academy. And I wanted to be a part of it, so I told my parents and my dad... He just didn't understand and I got so mad. I didn't mean to hurt anyone, but I was just so angry. My mum was rushed to the A&E. She has third degree burns down her entire right side--ones that she'll never fully recover from. Dad thought I was a monster," I answered truthfully, looking at Klaus, "I didn't realize it then, but I know he thought it. He was right... That's why I tried so hard to," I paused, taking a deep breath, "To change who I am. I just wanted to be normal."

Before he responded, I watched the masked people make their way back to us, holding Klaus' parka in hand. Oh, how badly I wanted to just collapse into that parka and into him. He turned to look at what I was looking at, clearly uncomfortable by the fact that they were now going through his things.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait-"

"Let's see," the woman said as she dug through the pockets.

"What are you doing? That's mine. That's my personal stuff."

"Oh, what do we have here?" she took out a baggy of even more drugs.

"Let me see that," the man said before the woman tossed the bag to him.

"Where do you even get the money?" I breathed out, shaking my head.

"Hey, no, no, no, no, no. Be--be careful with that. It's-it's-it's my... Asthma medication."

"Now we're getting somewhere," the man said, throwing down the baggy and stepping on all the pills until they were crushed to pieces, much to Klaus' dismay.

"Klaus. You don't need it," I tried to reason with him, knowing this would be where he lost it. I remembered how angry he was at me when I flushed the last baggy he had.

"We can have a conversation. We're adults," he begged, not even listening to me.

"Okay, you want more?" the man in the bear mask asked, throwing even more drugs to the floor and crushing them as well.

"No! No!" Klaus cried, "No, no, no! Stop! Stop! Please, listen. Listen, I can... I can get you cash. Amputee hookers, whatever. Hey, just, please..." Klaus continued to beg and cry while the man grabbed what looked like marijuana chocolate. He opened it, picking off a piece and sneaking it under his mask to take the bite.

"Chocolate. Mm-mm-mm! You want a piece?" he asked the woman, handing the chocolate bar to her.

"Not until they're high as kites," Klaus whispered to the wall from beside me and I looked to where he was looking.

"Hi, Ben," I whispered to where I hoped Ben was standing.

"Stop, he's my ghost brother, not yours," Klaus snarled, though I couldn't tell whether he was joking or not. I felt a chill go up my spine, indicating that his brother was actually there with us.

"This could all be yours for the low, low price of telling us everything," the woman in the bunny mask said, waving the drugs around Klaus.

"Klaus, I will literally buy you more... Asthma medication-But you can't give in to these twats and their tricks. If you can withstand-" I was unable to finish as the woman elbowed me in the face, knocking me to the side with a grunt.

"Okay, fine," Klaus gave in to them and I frowned.

"Klaus, you don't need to-" before I could finish, I felt a sting on my cheek as the woman who had previously been taunting Klaus with drugs slapped me hard in the face, her nails slicing into my skin.

"Shut up, let the man talk," she said. I didn't even respond, too shocked by the harshness of it to think of something to say.

"Okay, I don't... I don't know where Five is. I wasn't lying about that. But I can tell you that he's... Hasn't-Hasn't been making much sense since he came back," Klaus broke, and I just looked down at my feet. I had burned out majority of my power, especially since the water had been thrown on me. I felt helpless; like I just couldn't do anything.

"Elaborate," Bear mask man said.

"I-I-I--He's just-he's been acting like a-a-a lunatic. He's been sitting in this van in front of a-a lab or something, and... Looking for the owner of an eyeball. One of those fake ones," he spilled.

"That makes no sense."

"Hold on, just hold on. Tell us more about this eye, and why is it so important?" Bunny mask asked, making her way to the front of us and leaning against the little dresser drawer thing.

"It's not," I lied and she looked over at me through the eyes of the mask.

"Did it look like I was asking you?" she asked. I sighed and shut my mouth, looking down once again. I saw through my peripheral vision that she looked back towards the idiotic man sitting beside me expectantly.

"He said it had something to do with the end of times, or something," Klaus answered. He genuinely sounded distressed and honestly... In tears. I glanced over to him to see him looking just as I'd imagined--a wreck.

After that, the two questioned a bit more to find out where to go before deciding they'd throw us in a closet with duct tape over our mouths so we couldn't scream for help--or, we could, but it wouldn't be heard. I hated almost every second of it. The only part I enjoyed was being pressed up against Klaus, though I tried to move as far away as I could to make him comfortable. I was still unable to use my powers, and I didn't know how long that would last; maybe until the continuously stinging pain on my skin went away. His skin against mine felt cool against the burns, though, and it made it feel infinitely better. I wanted to just look into his eyes and ask him why the drugs were more important to his family and ask him if we could start over--this time with the entire truth, but I couldn't say anything, and I certainly could not look him in the eye. The one time I tried, I found him staring at me, though he instantly looked away when our gazes crossed.

So, I stayed staring down as low as possible, which happened to be his stomach before all was lost in a dangle of darkened limbs. Slowly, his breathing got heavier before his entire body began to shake and sweat started to roll off of him like a water slide. I heard soft mumbles escape through the tape, causing me to look up at him. He wasn't looking at me, he was off somewhere else. The mumbles turned into whimpers, before screams. I tried to say his name, but I was unable to due to the duct tape. I tried to lick my lips to get the duct tape wet enough to speak, but my throat was too dry. Instead, I pushed myself off the wall and into him, digging my face into his chest as I did when we would lay together and squeezing my eyes shut in fear; of what--I wasn't sure, but most likely rejection. His screaming stopped and his shallow breaths were slowing down until there was a click in the room and a whirring vacuum noise.

Come to think of it, it was a vacuum. The maid was vacuuming, now all we needed to do was get her attention and we were out of here. I backed up to look him in the eyes, both of our eyes widened to their extent before we both began screaming through the tape as loud as we could. The screaming went on for a while before we realized the maid didn't hear us and probably wasn't going to. I watched Klaus turn around to look at the wall before letting out a soft whimper as he closed his eyes and a single tear ran down his cheek. I wanted so badly to hug him and hold him and tell him things would be okay, but I couldn't, and I knew even if I could, the only thing he'd want would probably to be as far away from me as possible.

I pushed myself off the wall and into the closet door, trying to get it open, before pushing myself back and doing it again. It felt all too painful on my bare burned arms, but if I could potentially get us out of this entire situation, it would be worth it. Of course, after the sixth time the door still hadn't budged and I heard the vacuum shut off before hearing the front door open and shut and let my eyes close in defeat. I just wanted out of here so I could explain to Klaus how horrible I felt about the lies, but I couldn't, and at this rate I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to. I didn't even know if we'd be able to get out of this damned disgusting motel room.

I felt slow hot tears stream down my cheeks and mentally cursed myself for breaking my one-in-two-weeks rule, but I think this situation called for tears. I couldn't tell whether they felt good or horrible on my burns as my face was just numb and the only thing I could feel was the constant sting on my shoulder. I felt a chill go up my spine, though I couldn't tell if it was Ben trying to comfort me or just the fact that this room was freezing. I hated the fact that I was crying in front of somebody, potentially two somebodies, but I couldn't help it.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, but it was muffled into more of a whimper through the tape before the tears started rushing and I couldn't contain them anymore. All I wanted was to break out of here. I felt Klaus scoot himself closer until he was pressed against me, leaning down to place his head on my shoulder while I cried into him.

I don't know when I stopped crying, I just know that I had eventually passed out into the closest thing I could get to Klaus' arms in the past fifteen hours, and maybe for the last time.