Chapter Text
Prologue:
A flash of blue light brightened the mildly lit study at precisely 11:55 p.m., causing the normally unflappable Reginald Hargreeves to flinch in his desk chair. “What is the meaning of this?!”
Pogo, who was also in the room standing by the door, decidedly had a less composed response, and jumped up in shock before leaning against his cane for support so he didn’t fall over.
On the floor in front of the ornate wooden desk, a dark haired man in his thirties laid bleeding out on the Kashan carpeted floor. Holding the man’s hand was a little girl around the age of six or seven. The man’s other hand gripped a black briefcase and another bag. The man’s eyes opened from being squeezed shut and his green eyes met the once again stern gaze of Reginald.
“Hey old man,” The man ground out through clenched teeth, “it sure has been awhile since I’ve seen you. Unfortunately, as you can see, I don’t have a lot of time to catch up.” While speaking the man rubbed his thumb over the back of the little girl’s hand. She blinked matching green eyes clear of tears, and also looked up at the white haired man wearing a monocle, sniffling away another sob that choked in her throat.
“Just who do you think you are to appear here in my home?” Reginald stated, keeping in mind the location of his gun under his desk. Even he could not deny that the intruder did not seem like a foe, in fact, he seemed rather familiar. Regardless it was always important to stay on guard.
“Come on, you don’t recognize me even a bit?” The man said with a smirk, but quickly grimaced as he adjusted a bit on the floor. It appeared that he was wounded in many areas, as he was covered in blood. “Normally, I would make you work for it, but I’m running out of time. It’s me, Five. And this,” he tightened his grip on the little girl and his eyes softened as he looked at her, “is my daughter Anastasia”.
Pogo made a noise in his throat at the dual admission and the only sign of disbelief Reginald outwardly gave was a slight widening of his eyes. “Am I just supposed to assume that you are telling the truth? Number Five is currently sleeping in his bedroom downstairs.” (It is important to note that while Reginald thought that to be a fact, a thirteen year old Number Five was most certainly not in his room. In fact, he instead was down the hall in a decidedly different bedroom, and was sleeping in Number Seven’s bed, next to the owner of said bed. But some things are better left unknown to those that make the rules).
The older Number Five, if he remembered correctly, knew there was very little time for such pettiness as revealing that the young him was probably not where his father thought, took a deep breath to prepare for the slew of words he was about to say.
“Listen old man, there’s no time for this. I am Number Five from the future. Yes, I can time travel. No, it does not go well the first couple of times I do it. Yes, you are right that there will be an apocalypse. No, in the original timeline, the Umbrella Academy does not stop the apocalypse, so I had to rearrange some things. I would love to stay and explain everything to you, but I don’t have the time.” Five finished in a rush, and was pleased to see that dear old dad seemed to be taking him seriously now.
“Shit hits the fan in my timeline, and I had to get Ana out. So I brought us back to now, because she’s going to change the timeline. I told her the big events that need to be changed and she knows what to do. No, she will not be giving you all of the information you want, and you will not hound her.” Five glared at Reginald as he stated this part.
In truth, bringing Ana back to be under the care of his father wasn’t his first choice, far from it. However, he knew that there was one key event that would change the entire timeline and would most likely prevent the apocalypse. This event was something that Five had explained to Ana in detail. It would need to be changed within a couple of days from when they landed. The problem with Five’s plan, and the real reason that he had brought Ana to this timeline in the first place, was that when she changed this event then she would likely not be born due to her conception happening in a whole different time continuum. While Five expected that he would still have children in this current timeline his young self was on, the circumstances on the conception of the children would be different, therefore causing a different child to be born.
“Why would I want to have another child to care for?” Reginald asked haughtily, but personally was taken by surprise at the word’s of this supposed (who seemed to be the real deal) Number Five.
In almost all situations, Number Five was not one to beg. But he knew that he was dying and he wanted to make sure before he took his last breath that their little girl would be okay. He promised to make sure she would be okay. And so Five would resort to begging.
“Please, dad.” Five implored, showing a rare vulnerability toward anyone who wasn’t his girls. “I need to know she’ll be safe. She has powers, too. She-” and then he changed gazes from being locked with his father to looking in his daughter’s eyes, “you’re so strong and so bright. And we’re so proud of you and I’m sorry I couldn’t take care of you better, but I need you to keep being my strong little wolf, okay?”
Ana nodded her head, covered in honeyed brunette locks that also had some dried blood on them. “I promise, daddy.” She croaked through a tear filled voice. “I love you and mommy so much, I.. I don’t want you to leave me.”
Pogo, who had been watching the entire exchange, came further into the room. He could see how this older Master Five was similar to the younger Master Five. He had much love for all of the children, and was saddened by the circumstances of this visit from one his charges.
Reginald, not one for much outward emotion, did feel a twinge of compassion for the boy and girl ruining the carpet in his office. He also started to wonder at the power’s mentioned. “Very well, she will be allowed to train and join the Umbrella Academy if her powers are sufficient enough. Regardless, we will not throw her to the streets. I will set her up in the children’s hall with the rest. You have my word.”
With that statement Five, who knew his father was many things, but stood to his promises, felt his adrenaline leaving him fast. Unless he wanted to bleed out on the floor in front of his daughter it was time to jump back to his own timeline and clear the way for his younger self to fix his mistakes.
He let go of the briefcase and the bag filled with all of the important information and things his daughter would need, and used that hand to reach up and brush Ana’s hair out of her face, one last time. “I love you, little wolf, and that will never change. I know you’ll miss me and your mom, but don’t forget we’ll always be close by. I might not be the same, but I’m still essentially me and if you do everything we talked about, it will all work out, okay? It might not be today, or tomorrow, but some time soon.” Five smiled through the pain and moved his hand to wipe at the tears dripping down his daughter’s face.
Ana gave him a watery smile and repeated back their phrase, “Not today or tomorrow, but sometime soon. I’ll love you always daddy” Reaching down quickly, Ana hugged her dad, and he just closed his eyes through the pain and returned her embrace. They both released each other after a moment.
With a flash of blue light, Five Hargreeves-who had lived through more than most, including an apocalypse, becoming a time jumping assassin, and much more- was gone.
Downstairs, a young Five Hargreeves- who would never live through an apocalypse and now had an unwritten future- twitched in his sleep before wrapping his arm tighter around Number Seven.