Chapter Text
Another flash of light. A sudden wave of fiery hot, dry air that took away his breath and left his tongue heavy in his mouth. Five stumbled, nearly falling, before standing up straight, knees shaking. Fear. That was all he could feel. His entire peripheral vision was filled with flames and destruction, nothing like the world he had just been in before the time jump.
No. He thought, mind racing at a rate that gave him a terrible headache. He didn't want to accept what, deep down, he knew was true.
He shook his head, eyes shut tight as his headache got worse. He turned on his heel and began to run back in the direction he had come from, hot air burning his face, eyes stinging.
There was the academy. Destroyed. Burned to the ground. His heart nearly stopped. No… no no no no!
He took quick, panicked breaths, his throat drying painfully within a few moments. He squeezed his fists, trying to push backwards in time like he had just pushed forward moments ago. It was in vain, some force was stopping him from going back.
“Shit!” He yelled out, eyes shut tight. His headache was becoming unbearable as he realized his unfortunate situation. He was stuck in the future, not a single sign of life to accompany him. Five willed himself to calm his heart rate some, taking shaky breaths, a hand over his heart.
He shook his head, walking up the destroyed stairs that he had known whole merely minutes ago. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Everything he had ever known - gone. All of it. He trudged through the rubble, some still flaming, scanning the ground for anything - anything - living.
His breath caught in his throat when he laid his eyes on an ashen hand sticking out of a crumbled stone slab. Five walked forward, holding his breath, and slowly bent down, trembling. He lifted the stone slab, grunting at the weight of it, and managed to tip it, the slab hitting the ground carelessly. He was almost afraid to look down. He held his breath and convinced himself to look.
He shook his head, barely able to believe what he was seeing. It was a body, singed and darkened with ash and dust. A tugging in the back of his mind led him to kneel down, taking the hand into his own, smaller and trembling, non-deserving of all that they had witnessed. He turned the hand over, hardly stopping a cry from escaping his mouth, his worst fears confirmed. Printed on the wrist, faded and worn, was a tattoo. The same tattoo he sported on his own wrist, along with all of his siblings.
He dropped the hand, stumbling back to his feet. He looked around, heartbeat loud in his ears, searching. Searching for more clues. For any idea on what had happened to cause the destruction that he saw before him.
He wandered cautiously around the rubble, trying to ignore the older, charred bodies of his siblings. The burnt stench of the corpses was only worsened by the suffocating heat, and Five had nearly gagged several times at this point. With his arm covering his nose and mouth, he came across another body. Interestingly enough, this one seemed to be holding something within the palm of its hand. Five kneeled down to retrieve whatever was in its grasp, but nearly jumped out of his own skin when someone - something, perhaps - groaned. He jumped to his feet, eyes wide and heart racing, scanning the landscape wildly to try and find the source of the groaning.
Movement in the corner of Five's vision caught his immediate attention, turning to look at it full on. A battered figure, half buried in rubble, struggled to stand up, pushing slabs of stone and bricks off of himself. He got to his feet, brushing off the dust and debris that had gathered on his clothing and skin.
Five could hardly believe what he was seeing. In front of him, a few feet ahead, was a living person. A survivor of whatever terrible thing had happened here. His name was caught in the back of his throat, as if Five was afraid of drawing attention to himself. The survivor shook out the dust from his curly hair, then stood up straight and took in the sight of his surroundings, cringing a bit. His eyes laid on Five, who was gazing back, eyes wide.
"Wait wait wait… Five?"
The two stared at each other, both in awe at the other's appearance. It was then that Five finally found the courage to speak.
"Klaus."