Hellfire On The Other Side

Chapter 13

It was late at night and Clara finally got to the grave. She stared at it, Facilier's face still on it. "Defeated by a frog, a frog that used to be just a waitress. Pathetic. Facilier was a pathetic villain" Clara muttered. "Well, to be fair, I didn't expect her to use her tongue to snatch the talisman out of my hand," says the voice of Facilier. Clara sighed, she took out her dagger as a safety precaution. "We need to talk," she said, mustering up all the courage and confidence she had. Facilier's soul appeared next to the grave. "Make it quick," he says. "Your father's expecting me soon." Clara's hand clenched around her dagger when he mentioned her father. She still was afraid. "First of all, talking about my father, what all does he know? And to continue that question, what do you know? About me," Clara asked. "He only knows that you ran away. But of course, he suspected that he ran away to New Orleans to find Shane. That's when he found out how to get me out of the Soul Realm," Facilier explains. "And as for you, Clara Frollo, Shane's told me as much about as I asked. No more, no less." "What did you ask Shane? And if my father suspects I'm here, then, is someone coming to check?" Clara asked. "All I asked is if you're on the same side. He said no, but that it doesn't get in the way of your friendship," says Facilier. "And your father doesn't need to send any more to check on you. Cause he's got me, and I'm always watching Shane." Facilier phases through Clara, sending a chill up her spine. Clara bit her lip, "That's the original reason why I wanted to speak with you. Shane has his secrets, and maybe I should leave them alone but I am no good guy and some might include something to do with me. I want to know them and as you said, you are always watching him." Facilier laughs. "Oh, you're a curious one, ain'tcha? Well, for starters, I'll tell you the real reason why he wants to be a good guy. It's not to change the Facilier name for good. It's because he wants to set the Friends free. They're an unstoppable force of the supernatural, and they're extremely dangerous. He thinks he can tame them, but he's wrong. If the Friends get set free, it could mean the end of our world." "Well, that makes complications for me. On one hand, it's a basically evil thing to do and I've been trying to convert him for who knows how long and the on the other hand, well there are some I would spare. If I could do that, then no reason to stop him. Maybe he'll finally decide to be evil instead of good," Clara said. She stopped and looked at Facilier, "Here is another question though, if it's the end of the world, why did you want to do it? What would it mean for you? And what will it mean for Shane if he goes through with it?" "Well, villains rarely want to destroy the world. It's always world domination with us. A few violent acts here and there, a bit of manipulation, and that's really it. Shane wants to be able to show the world that voodoo isn't bad. He's gonna start by freeing the captive souls in New Orleans, then go around the world and do the same. But death doesn't discriminate between the good and the bad. He doesn't know what he's really doing," says Facilier. "Then why don't you stop him? Evil or good, I am pretty sure my father wouldn't let me do something that would end up getting myself killed. If I learned anything, villains don't do things for no reason. what your doing is letting him do it. What is in it for you Facilier?' Clara asked narrowing her eyes. Facilier gives Clara a blank stare. "I'm dead, Clara," he says sternly. "So was my mom, but look at what happens when someone is dead. You still can't get them out of your life. And dead as you may be, you sure as heck don't act like it. A person shouldn't be able to talk to someone who is dead." Clara said before sighing, "You know what, forget that. I got what I originally came for and now for this question, what is the exact reason my father took you from the Soul Realm? He hates voodoo, why not just come after me? What can you do to help him?" Facilier suddenly appears behind Clara. "You're no threat to your father. If Shane was completely out of the picture, he would have gotten you years ago. But he sees Shane as your guardian, and therefore, a threat. There's not much he can do against Shane, so he decided to seek my assistance," he explains. Clara turned around and faced Facilier. Her hand so tight of her dagger it almost hurt. "What do you mean, get me?! I had to be eighteen to pledge myself to the church and up until my birthday I was going to do it..." Facilier cackles as he rubs his hands together. "You should've listened to Shane," he says. "If your father actually trusted you, he would have been a lot nicer to you growing up. He wouldn't have beaten you or broken your arm. He wouldn't have constantly sent guards after you. You see, he doesn't want you to find out the truth!" "What truth?!" Clara practically yelled. She hated being taunted or others bringing up her... incidents with her father. Shane mentioning them was bad enough, she didn't need his father doing the same. "What are you talking about?!" "Sorry. Gotta go. If I run late, your father's gonna be suspicious. And that won't look too good for you, will it?" says Facilier, as his soul disappears. "No! You...." Clara screamed. Turning back to his grave she angrily said with gritted teeth, "You better not tell anyone we talked or where I am! Not my father! Not Shane! Not anyone you son of a..." Clara stopped herself noticing the sun was going to come up soon and she didn't want to be seen here.

She left the graveyard in a hurry, put her dagger away in her cloak and went to Tiana's Place. As she entered she saw Tina and Charlene. they noticed her and saw she was muttered angrily in french, her french accent was thicker than normal. Tina stands up. "What's wrong, Clara?" she asks. Charlene motions Tina to sit back down. "It's best not to ask," she says. Clara glanced at Charlene, "Where is Shane do you know? Or a bar? I need alcohol, now!" Tina and Charlene glance at each other, then at Clara. They're both too afraid to answer. "Fine, don't tell me where the alcohol is, can you at least tell me where Shane is? I am exhausted, I didn't sleep at all last night, and I am so frustrated that I was muttering in french and if Shane hasn't told you, I only do that when I am really, really, really annoyed or frustrated." Clara explained. Charlene and Tina continue to stay silent. Eventually, Charlene fesses up. "Shane's not here," she says. "Of course he's not." Clara starts to pace some, muttering more in french. "You did what?!" Clara looked behind her to see her mom, who spoke french. "Clara, tell me I just heard you wrong!" Roma said coming up to her. Clara rolled her eyes, "Most likely, you heard me wrong, I was muttering nonsense," she lied. "Uh, Clara? There's a little bit more about Shane. We know exactly where he is, but he told us not to tell you," says Tina. "He's in Paris isn't he?" Clara asked. Charlene chuckles awkwardly. "He is good at doing stupid things," she says. The restaurant is nearly silent. No one utters a sound. The mood is extremely tense. "That idiot! And out of all the days, now he does it! There is nothing in Paris that he should need to go back for! Charlene! You are his girlfriend! Why didn't you stop him?!" Clara said trying not to yell. Charlene started cowering in fear. "I don't know! All I remember is that he said something about his plan! I swear!" she squeals. Clara bit her lip. "I should have just ended all of this years ago! I had an opening! I should have just jumped when I had the chance and I wouldn't have had to deal with this!" Tina walks over to Clara. "Okay, that comment was just unnecessary," she says. "If there's one thing I learned, it's that you never give up. Clara, do you trust Shane with your life?" Clara gave Tina a look, "He was the one who grabbed my arm when I did jump. So in a way, yes. Oh, and to make this clear, no one mentions to Shane what  I said about that. We promised each other never to mention it again as long as I didn't try again, same with him." Roma tried to put her hand on Clara's shoulder but Clara moved slightly away from her. "Alright, then. Looks like Shane is willing to do whatever it takes to help you," says Charlene. "He's made many sacrifices in order to get stronger. And he did it all for you. He may not have been able to say or hear your name during those four months, but he cares about you, Clara. You're his best friend, and I don't think he'd be able to forgive himself if something were to happen to you." Clara rolled her eyes. "I know that, and that's what kills me. How much he cares for me. No one has ever cared for me like that, not even that one." Clara said pointing to Roma. "But when you care for someone that much, well, something bad is going to happen. it's unavoidable, and I should know. Especially now..." Clara bit her lip and sighed, "But change of subject I guess, Char, since I care about Shane and stuff, I guess I should get to know you some more, so... later, once I'm calmed down. You want to come with me to get some clothes? I also have no idea where the stores are here so some help would be... much appreciated." Charlene smiles. "Y'know what? I'm thinking about maybe adding some of your style into my wardrobe. After this whole ordeal is done, I'm down for some clothes shopping," she says. Clara gave a small smile, "Thanks, and uh, Tina, do you know any places I can stay for now? Shane said that I should ask you and sometimes, on very little occasions, he is worth listening to..." "Of course! I have a spare room just upstairs. Lucky you! You get to wake up to the smell of fresh pancakes every morning!" says Tina. "Thanks, um, I'm going to take a quick walk to calm down. Then we can go shopping I guess Char." Clara said. "I need to talk to you..." Roma said before Clara could leave. "Fine, but let's not talk here and please make it quick." Suddenly, Clara's phone rings.

"Uh, Shane is calling... that's not normal..." Clara said quietly looking back to Charlene and Tina. Tina and Charlene walk over to Clara. "Maybe something's up," says Tina. Charlene checks her phone. "I got a text from Shane," she says. "It says, 'Clara is gonna get a phone call from me. When she answers, no one says anything, because I'm gonna put it on speaker, and I want you to do the same. And make sure Roma is there.' This must be part of his plan!" says Charlene. "Answer it, Clara," says Tina. Clara looked down at her phone and she remembered what Facilier had said. "You see, he doesn't want you to find out the truth!" "We sure this isn't a trick?" "As Shane would put it, 'It's a trick of sorts.' And if something really is going wrong, we'll be there for him," says Charlene. Clara nodded, "Well, let's get this over with..." Clara took a deep breath and clicked, answer.