Right Back Where We Started
closed plotted starter for @thedavekatz
An idea to begin a thread based upon the unexpected change in military branches (let’s go, marine, which was stated by a superior in TUA S2) and the time which Dave enlisted (that wasn’t supposed to happen yet, which Klaus stated in TUA S2) was born, so here we are on another adventure! Edit: Some mentioned things took place in the show itself, and it was also mutually decided to have Dave be the age he was in season 1 in this AU.
Landing in the 1960s in Texas with Ben, separated from all of their siblings, had been unpleasant for Klaus in nearly every sense of the word. He’d been thrown in jail, created a cult that he spent more time running away from than sticking with, got into a bar fight, stole a truck to escape and, after trying and failing to stop a much younger version of Dave from enlisting in the army, he relapsed and had too much to drink. All he needed was a temporary escape from the pain of being talked down to by Dave’s uncle and from being punched in the face by Dave himself. Thinking he’d never be able to save him no matter what year or timeline he was in, no matter what he did, he lost all hope and reunited with his siblings to prevent yet another apocalypse that Vanya seemed responsible for, but that went south, too, and Ben stepped in. Upon rescuing her, Number Six’s ghost had permanently disappeared, gone into the light forever.
Fueled by sadness, Klaus returned to his own timeline with Luther, Diego, Allison, Five and Vanya, assuming that things would be back to normal ... but Reginald was very much alive, and Ben had not lost his life...? He’d gone to the dark side and apparently was apart of The Sparrow Academy, whatever that was, and Reginald informed them that he knew The Umbrella Academy would fail and that it no longer existed. Had never existed.
After several days of wallowing in his own guilt in a cheap motel with cheap booze, Klaus couldn’t stop thinking about his conversation he’d had with Dave in Texas before he left. When they were previously on leave together in Vietnam, before that fateful night that claimed his life, Dave told him when he’d enlisted ... and the date he signed up was wrong. It wasn’t supposed to happen yet. He cursed himself for not trying harder. For not staying behind despite his cross uncle. For running away.
You never come off that hill, Dave, and you do love me. You just don’t know it yet.
He couldn’t let him die. If he could prevent it, then he’d do everything in his power to do so. He wouldn’t lose him. Not again. Not this time. But how would he find him? What if he wasn’t in Vietnam since the date he’d enlisted was wrong? Return to Dallas. To that specific year. Ask the civilians. In a small town like that, surely they’d know something.
In the evening, when he’d sobered up enough and was certain Five was asleep, he stole the briefcase and set it to the correct year and place and opened it. Oddly enough, he ended up where he did previously in Dallas and checked a newspaper to confirm the timeline and location. As planned, he asked any and every civilian he’d encountered if they knew Dave Katz and where he went. Many said he used to work at the local paint shop, but, after hours of searching for information, he finally got a lead - he’d joined the marines.
The marines? That wasn’t supposed to happen either.
Unsure of what to do next, he garbed himself in his military clothing from the Vietnam war, despite it being from the army, and took a chance using his knowledge of when Dave signed up. He had no way of knowing if he’d find him, but he’d keep time traveling until he landed in perhaps another tent full of military personnel.
It took several failed attempts, but he refused to give up. I’m not losing you again. With one final frustrated time travel, he made it into foreign territory. He’d crash landed in the middle of the desert among a group of marines he hoped. Fortunately, for him, it seemed like there was currently some downtime as his last visit to a war zone was immediately active.
Coughing as the scorching sand clouded around his face and went up his nose, he lifted his head and glanced at the seemingly startled men and asked, “Are any of you David Katz, or do you know if he’s here?”