Back in Klaus's room, he rummaged through the bookshelves, looking for one of his hidden bottles of alcohol. He crouched down, pulling off half the items on the shelf before going to another one, repeating the same pattern. On the fourth and final shelf, he had finally found the bottle he was looking for, letting out a sigh as he pulled it out from behind a few books. "I know you fancy yourself a spiritual guru, so this is gonna be hard to hear," Ben said as Klaus took a swig.

"You need serious help," Ben finished, glancing over at him. "Oh Klaus, don't do this! Klaus, do do this, but not like that! I can't even take a piss without you nitpicking at my aim," Klaus sighed, mimicking his brother's nagging over the years. Ben was trying to hold back his anger and frustration, but now, he was again reaching his breaking point. "Well, without me, you'd be dead in a ditch somewhere," Klaus paused, a realization crossing his mind. And with that realization, he knew that Ben would get pissed when he said it out loud.

But frankly, Klaus did not care.

"You know, I just realized who you sound like," He said before taking another sip, this time from a crystal glass partially filled with the alcoholic substance. "Who?" Ben questioned. "Dad," Ben stared at his brother in disbelief, surprised that he was comparing him to their asshole of a father. It hurt him a little as he remembered Reginald and his abusive tactics that eventually led to his demise.

"Don't say that," he said, still in shock. "Daaaaad!" Klaus dragged out as Ben continued to protest and told him to shut up. "Sixteen years in the grave, and you finally turn into your father!" Klaus teased. Ben could not hold his anger back any longer. Without warning, he ran towards Klaus, hoping to knock him to the ground like when they fought on the country road. But instead, he ended up entering the former junkie's body, making him convulse and protest. Ben was inside him for a split second before breaking through to the other side of the room, leaving Klaus a shaking, crumpled-up mess on the floor.

"Wha-What d-did you j-just do?" Klaus shuddered as he fell onto his knees. "I-I think I was... inside of you," Ben said, shocked by what just happened. "I'm sorry, we've caught you in the middle of prayer," A voice called out from the door. Both the Hargreeves siblings looked over their shoulders in shock to see Jill and Dave. Klaus's mouth dropped with surprise. He didn't expect to see Dave again, especially after the incident at the diner a few days prior.

"Dave?" He smiled at his former lover before standing up. "Could you give me a moment? I'll be out in a second," He said before shutting the door, letting out a shaking breath at the thought that he might be able to convince Dave not to sign up for the war without his homophobic uncle in the way this time. He quickly changed into a light yellow and purple shirt, along with some jeans and boots, glaring at Ben through the mirror as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Remember what I said-" "I know, I know! Now, shut up!" Klaus said before walking out the door, seeing Dave with his back pressed against the wall, waiting for him. "Should we get going?" Klaus asked. "Sure," Dave answered, unsure about where they were going. The two men walked out of the mansion and into the backyard, where a few followers were cleaning the pond. "So, how did you find me?" Klaus questioned.

"I found this pamphlet with your name on it," Dave explained, handing him the pamphlet in question. A follower came by, a few leis of flowers resting on her arm. She pulled one off and placed it around Klaus's neck before handing one to Dave and walking off as the two continued talking. "I want to say I'm sorry for the other day," Dave sighed, remembering when his uncle told him to hit the eccentric man.

"Phfft! Don't worry about it. It's good for the ego to take a punch every now and again, I say," Klaus shrugged it off. "Yeah, but still, that's not the kinda guy I am," He looked back at Dave with a small smile, assuring him that he knew that. They walked down a stone path leading to another part of the property. "So, the other day, you said a bunch of stuff about the war and about my uncle. How do you know all about it?" Dave asked. "Oh, that's easy. I'm a prophet. It's all right there in the pamphlet," Klaus answered.

"I mean no disrespect. But this stuff isn't real," Dave said. They came to a stop as Klaus claimed that it was real, and that was how he knew pretty much everything about him. Dave began to grow weirded out but demanded proof. "I know your favorite food is a plain hamburger with two pickles," "Everybody loves a good burger," Dave replied.

As they continued walking, Klaus continued to drop facts about Dave right on top of him. His favorite song, as well as his favorite book, Dune. "Ha, You're wrong. I've never heard of Dune," Dave said smugly. "Well, you will. And you'll love it, trust me. And you're welcome, by the way," Klaus threw his empty bottle of alcohol toward the trees, smashing it on impact. "What else do you know?" Dave continued to question, not in the least bit convinced.

"I know you feel like an outsider in your own family. You hope that being a soldier will prove something to them and prove something to yourself. And I'm here to tell you, Dave, that it's not going to work, and you're going to end up wishing you didn't," Klaus's voice became softer and softer. "You have no idea what you are talking about. I'm joining the military because-," "Because it's the right thing to do," Klaus finished, making tears form in Dave's eyes, and he contemplated why he even came there in the first place.

He turned around on his heel, starting to walk away. At that moment, Klaus had to tell him what would happen the day he would die. "Dave, listen. February 21st, 1968, in the A Shau Valley, you take fire trying to hold hill 689, and... you never come off that hill, Dave. That's that," Klaus tried to keep his composure, but the flashback of having Dave die in his arms made his heart break. "You're lying. You're some con artist!"

With no other option, Klaus took off Dave's dog tags from around his neck, holding them by the chain from his clenched fist. "These are all I have left of you," He said. Dave took the tags from his hand, wanting to see if this was true. To his surprise, he saw his name, birth and death date engraved. He looked up at Klaus with wide eyes, and the supposed prophet nodded, assuring him it really was his tags.

"Even if I believed you... which I don't... this is what I signed up for. It's an honor to die for my country. That's what you peaceniks don't understand," Dave quivered. "But you don't have to. You still have time, Dave-" "I already enlisted!" He blurted out, both shocking and confusing Klaus. That wasn't supposed to happen yet. "The other day after I saw you, my uncle took me to the recruitment office. He made me sign up. I ship out next week, so save these for the next dumb kid you're trying to recruit," Dave explained, dropping the tags into Klaus's hand before walking off, this time not turning back.

Klaus felt his entire body quiver in sadness. He had lost Dave, and this time, there was no way he could save him now. He blinked away tears as he stared down at the dog tags. What have I done? Now he might die sooner than anticipated. "This came for you, Prophet," The voice of Keechie said, making Klaus look up and shakily take the envelope from his hand. But Klaus continued to stare at the dog tags, watching them shake as his body trembled harder than ever before.

A/n: Sorry I haven't been updating the story as much, I'm back in school now, and I'm not thrilled about it. I'm going to try to update this throughout the week, but updates might be a tad bit slow.

With love,

Dusk ☔💖