Chapter Text
3
‘Exploration’
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Five woke up the next morning with no recollection of ever falling asleep and he wondered how long he’d been out. He was usually an early riser and prided himself on his diligence to keeping to a schedule, but he supposed whatever damn medication those people had practically shoved down his throat at the hospital had managed to fuck with his sleeping schedule. A slight interference, but no matter. He wouldn’t be taking anything to alter his mind while here. He had to be on high alert at all times since he still wasn’t sure about the Others’ intentions. He had to utilize as much time as possible toward figuring out how the hell he got here, who these people were, and how the hell he was getting back.
When he was actively working as a temporal assassin for the Handler, Five had learned to trust no one but himself. He fought by himself, for himself, and made his way up the ranks toward becoming one of the best assassins in the field by not trusting anyone. That’s why he had to assume that the people here, his “Other Family”, must have some kind of ulterior motive. What exactly that motive was, however, was still unclear, but he also didn't know them well enough yet.
So, since he appeared to be stuck here indefinitely, he wasn’t just going to play the role and do nothing. No, he was going to take every opportunity he had to study these people and get to know them to the point where he could discover their true objective and figure out why he was sent here. Ideally, his power could start working since it was going to be a pain to have to walk everywhere, but this world was different. There was no Umbrella Academy and they didn’t have powers. Five would need to take this all into consideration in case there was a problem and he needed to defend himself.
And as he went to roll over in bed to chance a glance at the clock, Five was surprised to feel another presence in the bed.
Quickly shooting up from the comforter, he blinked his eyes to see Dolores watching him with that same smile she’d always wear back in the apocalypse. The kind of look that was reserved just for him, though in this context, it was still a bit jarring for Five to come to terms with. That Dolores was alive.
“Jesus- what the fuck..”
“Oh come on now, don’t be so shocked, darling. I was just simply trying to make you feel better. Don’t you like it when I lie in bed with you?~” Dolores winked, sticking her tongue out in a cheeky expression that had Five turning from her to hide the sudden flush to his cheeks.
What was he doing again? Oh right, the time.
He ignored her in favor of more pressing issues and saw that the clock read a blaring 10:23 a.m. and he turned to see the soft light of the morning filtering in through the thin curtains. The sight alone was proof enough that he’d overslept.
Dolores continued to say silly things in the background but Five blocked them out as he moved his eyes lower on the desk and saw there were two pills and a glass of water sitting on a dish, as well as a neatly scribed note with perfect cursive handwriting that he instantly recognized as Mom's. Well, at least some things hadn’t changed.
Still, Five ignored the note and proceeded to walk to the nearest bathroom to flush the pills down the toilet since he very clearly wouldn’t be needing them. In doing so he had also reminded himself that he still hadn’t gotten the chance to reacquaint himself with this dimension's Mom. He wondered what she’d be like here, no doubt less metal and wiring.
Five walked back into the bedroom with a newfound determination to explore the ever-living hell out of this place to learn about all its secrets and quirks.
“Dammit, Dolores. Why didn’t anyone wake me?” He grumbled, trying not to pay too much attention to the way Dolores was practically tangled in the bedsheets and staring up at him with an innocent expression.
“Well someone’s rather grumpy this morning. And don’t think I didn’t see what you just flushed down the toilet. Bad boy..”
“Bite me.” Five glared and Dolores took it as an invitation to proceed.
“If you insist~”
Five felt his face heat up embarrassingly at the alluring tease in Dolores’ voice, and he turned his back once again, this time to face the closet door as she laughed behind him, her voice muffled through the silk of the bedsheets. Geez, this woman...
After his hospital stay, Five’s ‘Other family’ had brought him some random old clothes from what he assumed was his closet here since any traces of his previous Umbrella Academy uniform didn’t exist. Even though he didn’t particularly enjoy wearing that old uniform all the time in his original dimension, it still felt weird trying on other clothes. Though, he supposed not having to wear that damn thing every day could be refreshing. Since the Umbrella Academy didn't exist here, then no shit his clothes wouldn't earlier. Regardless, he slid the closet door open to see what this alternate dimension Five’s taste in apparel was like.
“Please don’t be little boy clothes, please don’t be little boy clothes.” He chanted softly before swinging the door open, and boy was he surprised to see how much damn clothing was shoved in here. I mean these people did live in a freaking mansion so he guessed this dimension’s Five must’ve been spoiled as hell. How annoying.
Five proceeded to move his hand through the rack of shirts, not used to seeing so much color in what was supposed to be his wardrobe. He’d happened to notice a pattern as he was looking through the different pieces of fabric, and it wasn’t a good thing. His findings resulted in copious amounts of various pastel-colored button-downs, along with the familiar, yet equally dreadful, schoolboy shorts like he was forced to wear in his old uniform. It looked like a damn unicorn threw up in there and Five had to stop himself from lighting the whole closet on fire because all of ‘his clothes’ were just putrid.
He made sure to make a mental note to go clothes shopping at some point while trapped in this dimension because Jesus was this dimension’s Five some kind of church loving frat boy or some shit? Oh god.. did the Other Hargreeveses go to church on Sundays? This Five was not about to get all dressed up for that. Hell no.
It was safe to say that Five still had to get used to all of these changes. Right now, his Other family just thinks he has amnesia when in reality he just doesn't know anything about this alternate dimension, but once the novelty of his little ‘amnesia’ wears out, he’d better be well adapted or hopefully have an escape plan ready to go. He knew he couldn’t just play the amnesia card forever, which made his plan to dig around the house a lot more integral since he refused to act nicer just to fit the stupid role.
Shaking his head just at the thought, Five pulled something from the rack without much thought as if he could even be bothered to care what he looked like anyway, and went back into the bathroom to get dressed. Dolores pouted at his need for privacy because apparently the Other Five just changed in front of her like some kind of stripper. But as much as Five wanted to get to know this Dolores, he felt awkward knowing that the real Dolores was still at that department store in the other dimension. Even though they’d said their goodbyes, his feelings for her hadn’t vanished. That meant he had to be extra careful when around this Dolores because the sex appeal was unreal with this one...
Five also made sure to grab something with long sleeves in order to keep his tattoo covered since who knows what someone would say if they saw it and he really didn't need the Others asking questions or getting all anxious about him having a strange umbrella tattoo. Jumping to conclusions and thinking he’d joined a gang or some shit would only make his life here even harder.
He briefly wondered if Dolores had makeup or something that he could use to cover it up better. He’d remember to ask her about it later, but for now, he took one last glance in the mirror, feeling satisfied enough with his appearance, and stepped out of the bathroom and back into his room.
Dolores clapped upon his arrival, seemingly in approval of his choice of dress for today, and Five wondered if she had always been this playful. Maybe the eternal dullness of the apocalypse in his dimension had just made her more cynical.
“Ooh wow! You look absolutely dashing, my love! Spin around for me~”
Five only sighed and chose to flat out ignore her obscene request. Even though she was still Dolores, he had to warm up to her little changes just as much as everyone else’s.
“Dolores, you stay here, okay? Oh, and remind me, do the Others-- I mean-- my siblings, um do my siblings know about you by chance?” He questioned, genuinely curious since his siblings hadn’t once mentioned Dolores in the hospital or on the limo ride and even he knew how odd it was that a grown woman was so close with a child (or at least in his case, someone with the youthful appearance of their childhood self). Then again, they could’ve just forgotten to mention Dolores or maybe they purposely didn’t bring her up... Or, maybe Dolores was just a hallucination all together and only he could see her, like Klaus with Ben. Well, regular dimension Klaus and Ben, that is...
“Of course they know about me, silly! Technically I do work as a ‘maid’ for Mr. Reginald,” Five made a look of distaste at the mention of that man, and Dolores continued. “But he also lets me live here so that I can be closer to you, my love. Don’t you remember?~ It’s okay if you don't, though.” She tapped her head knowingly and Five felt kind of ashamed for being so oblivious to everything, but it’s not like he could help it.
“Oh, right. Of course, I remember.” He lied.
Dolores was studying him all of a sudden, and Five squirmed a bit under her intense gaze. She was much more direct in this dimension it seemed.
“Hmm…” She held a porcelain finger to her chin in thought, as her soft green eyes stared deep into his blue ones. “There is something different about you, Five.”
Five almost wanted to say ‘Yeah no shit. Same with you.’ But he held it back.
“Yeah, I got electrocuted-” Five started harshly but decided he should at least be nice to one person here, “I’m sorry my love, I'll try to be better.” Shit. What the hell was that? Seriously is this some telenovela now or some shit? Oh God...
Five was a bit surprised when he felt Dolores wrap her arms around him suddenly and he stiffened as she hugged him from behind. She smelled so nice. Five seriously couldn’t believe she was real .
“It’s okay, Five. I think you’ll always be perfect no matter what!~” She sang happily before exhaling and whispering into his ear, “And you do know that you can tell me everything when you’re ready.” Five froze a bit. Did she know he was a phony? Then Dolores pulled away from the hug and gave him a seductive wink before plopping herself back down onto his bed.
Five cleared his throat and looked away as he readjusted his collar. “Right.” Something about this Dolores... It was intriguing how flustered she made him. She also seemed to be a lot smarter than she let on, though he’d revisit that later. He still had other things to explore here.
Dolores was saying something in the background about wanting to sleep all day and not have to get dressed for ‘work’ as she tangled herself in his bedsheets once again, but Five was already heading out the door.
Standing in the doorframe, Five searched for the right words. “I’m going to go… reacquaint myself with some things in the house.” Dolores just nodded knowingly though he couldn’t see her expression as his back was still turned and his hands fumbled around his neck for a moment, feeling odd about his lack of neckwear since he was so used to wearing that damn tie.
“Okay, my love! Have fun and say hi to your mother for me. You’ll come visit me later, won't you.~” She stated rather than asked, and Five smirked before leaving the room.
Now, time to see what treasures this Other ‘Academy’ held.
In the original dimension, a few hours after Five disappeared:
“Did you hear that thunderstorm last night, Loreta? It kept my neighbor’s dog barking through all hours of the night, I tell you.” A middle-aged woman was speed walking down the sidewalk of her neighborhood, chatting with one of her friends.
“How couldn’t I, it was an especially aggressive one. My daughter Maddie would not stop speaking this nonsense that she saw a boy fall from the sky at one point. She insisted that she had seen the clouds open up and then a young man fell into our backyard. I told her it must’ve been a large branch or something being blown away by the heavy wind, yet she practically ran outside trying to prove me wrong. Tsk tsk.. kids these days..”
“Oh, my Heavens. She’s really gotten quite the imagination, hasn’t she?”
“Yes, well, thankfully Frank was there to stop her in time before she could get the house all wet from letting the rain in, and I even checked this morning just to humor her, but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary in our backyard.”
“That is odd... you let me know if Maddison sees any more ‘unusual’ things again. I know this great physician she could speak to-”
“Ah well I’m not sure that’d be necessary now Janet, but did you hear about Cynthia on Baker’s Street? She’s getting adult braces.”
The women kept walking down the neighborhood, gossiping about the idle rumors that plagued neighborhood life, and unbeknownst to them, a young boy stepped out across the street. His clothes were dirty and wet, and his eyes were wide and swimming with a mix of different emotions. There was shock, and confusion, wonder, and even acceptance. The boy had no idea where he was, or what he was doing here, but he knew if he kept a positive attitude he would find his way in no time. Though he wasn’t sure of his destination, it must be fate that he’d ended up here.
“What a lovely day for a walk.~” He hummed to himself before dusting off a bit of dirt from his clothes. He wouldn’t let this predicament ruin his day.
After attempting to navigate his way around this new house, Five came to find the hallways to be entirely too confusing. This was Five’s first critique of the Other Hargreeves’ mansion.
Sure, the Academy back in the original dimension was a labyrinth in and of itself, but it was an orderly mess that Five found rather nostalgic than annoying. It was cramped yet spacious at the same time, and it was messy and homey. The hallways looked like they were randomly jumbled around, like whoever was incharge of the floor plan decided to let their two year old daughter draw up the final draft. And yeah, maybe some staircases seemed to go on for entirely too long, but it didn’t bother Five when he could just jump around through time wherever he desired. But now that he was trapped here and seriously lacking in the ‘powers’ department, he was forced to walk down every hallway one lousy step at a time, and go up and down every staircase like some barbarian.
Granted, Five still had to test his powers to make sure they weren’t gone for good, but in his current state, the best he could probably do was fart himself forward .1 second in time. Instead of dwelling on that issue, he busied himself with further exploration.
The mansion was set up so that the first floor held the foyer and main entrance, which were pristine with marble floors and high ceilings with accompanying chandeliers in every room. There was a grand double staircase that led to the second floor, and to the right of the entrance was the dining room which led to the kitchen. Five had yet to explore that place, he’d only saw it for a split second in passing when he’d first arrived here. When he’d feigned fatigue earlier, he’d also managed to take note of some type of parlor room or family room to the left which held great plush couches and glass table tops from what he could tell before he was brought up the large set of stairs.
The second floor, where he currently was, occupied most of the bedrooms and guest rooms. Five’s bedroom was down a long hallway, all the way in the back. He was at least a bit grateful for the adequate separation between rooms in this dimension’s house. At the Academy, their rooms were all crammed right next to one another, and when they were younger, he always found it annoying when his siblings would just barge into his room without knocking just because it was convenient. Here, on the other hand, they each seemed to have their own hallways as well as their own bathrooms. Five was an old man so he liked having his own space. Well, sharing with Dolores was certainly fine too.
As he kept walking, he managed to stumble across what looked like Reginald’s study, and for a second Five hesitated if he could go inside or not. Back in the other dimension, they weren’t allowed to step even one foot inside his personal quarters so Five almost thought there’d be a force field of a well-hidden line of trip wire to halt his passage, but this world was different. Fie had nothing to worry about.
So fuck it. What did Five care if that old fat knew he’d been snooping around in here? What was he gonna do? Hit him? Five highly doubted that given his brief encounter with this dimension’s Reginald the other day. So, Five did some exploring.
Similarly to Reginald’s study in the other dimension, this one was overflowing with papers and books. Five also noticed a few certificates and plaques that hung from the walls honoring his graduation from college, grad school, and scientific achievements. And since there didn’t seem to be a monkey Pogo in this dimension, Five had to wonder what exactly his father’s choice of study was if it was no longer educating primates.
As he peered closer at some documents, Five came to understand that the Reginald in this dimension, while not being as sadistic and cold, was still a very successful scientist. Instead of being known for his cerebral advancements of chimpanzee intelligence, the trophies and plaques that were displayed throughout his study displayed achievements in the psychological field. Boring, but useful he supposed.
Looking elsewhere, Five decided to familiarize himself with the towering wall of books that Reginald had situated behind his desk. Even Five was a bit surprised at just how many novels the man had in his personal collection, even some that he himself hadn’t had the pleasure of reading yet. Just to spite the man, he stole a promising one from the shelf and hid it beneath his clothes to read for later. Maybe a refresher of Vonnegut’s ‘Slaughterhouse-Five’ would come in handy.
And so, Five continued to explore.
~ ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝟝 ~