Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

[Current Timeline; Day 1 (April 1, 2019)]

The city still enveloped in darkness, a bit of fog, street lamps giving off a hazy, white glow in spaced intervals in the park. Diego sat on the far end of the worn, wooden bench, absently rubbing a hand over the sling of his left arm, empty left jacket sleeve hanging limply over. He watched Luther and Allison take a stroll around the track that encircled Lily Pond Park, the scant lighting caught on their outlines. 

Allison’s hand on her mouth, shoulders shaking, her soft chuckles carrying throughout the silence. At times they sauntered under a lamp, Luther’s gentle — but usual awkward — smile visible. But mostly their interactions remained reserved. They ambled close to the inside of the track, early morning joggers passed them on the outer once in a while.

Waiting at the park was the right call, allowing heads to cool, the last family yelling session just an hour ago lulled into a distant memory.

Diego scanned the rest of the park, right hand subconsciously moving from his injured left arm to brushing against a holstered knife. Still, it was difficult to relax completely after a month of being in survival mode. He glanced toward the direction of the Academy, wondering how much longer Five was going to take. His stomach growled.

It was the middle of spring, the grass green, the trees bloomed full, having already recovered from the harsh winter. Toward the left of the track, Klaus’ figure leaned over the lake’s wooden railing, shoulders hunched inwardly, left elbow propped up.

After the excitement of the time jump and arrival wore off, Klaus had slipped back into his miserable mood. He should see how he was doing, Diego thought.

Diego looked down to his right to check on Vanya, curled up on her side beside him on the bench, sleeping soundly, her jacket crumpled on her head as a pillow. Her long-sleeved plaid red shirt looked thin for the weather. It wasn’t overly chilly, the sun rising soon to bring warmth. Still he hesitated before leaving, scratching a hand on the side of his head. 

An irritated huff, before proceeding to wriggle himself out from his black leather jacket, laying it over his sister. His long-sleeved, black shirt kept him sufficiently warm anyway. A quick check around to make sure no one saw, as if being caught acting like a nice brother would ruin his reputation.

Diego walked over to the lake, taking the opportunity to stretch his right arm and back. Coming up to stand beside Klaus on the wooden railing that fenced the pond, he pulled out a knife from his holster; for no reason other than to have something to fiddle with. 

Klaus’s distant eyes observed the ducks gliding the lake, his fingers rubbing the dog tags around his neck. 

“Hey,” Diego said. Klaus startled out of his trance like a fidgety drug addict, though Diego knew Klaus had been clean for a while; just a normal Klaus reaction. Disoriented hazel eyes settled on Diego.

“Oh, hey Diego,” Klaus said with forced casualness as he leaned on his side against the railing. His fingers still held the dog tags, his eyes wandering awkwardly. Klaus gave an exaggerated smile. “I think the ducks are hungry. They’ve been giving me the stink eye for the last 15 minutes. Got any breadcrumbs on you?”

“No,” Diego replied. “Not something I usually carry around.” Klaus turned back around to lean forward on the railing. “Do you need to talk?”

“I’m fiiiine,” Klaus said dramatically, hand waving him away like a drunkard, before looking back up with a bit of a nervous smile.

“You’re not fine,” Diego sighed. “None of us have been fine for the last few weeks.”

“You can’t possibly understand,” Klaus said, waving a lethargic hand dismissively.

Diego gritted his teeth. He had lost someone too, Diego wanted to retort. Two someones, actually. Nevermind that his entire life had been upended just the same as everyone in the family, that they had all been desperately running for their lives — fighting their super-powered replacements and ubiquitous Commission agents left and right. They’ve all been living in the same hell together.

Diego breathed deeply to calm himself, remembering how Klaus had been just a couple of hours ago. All things considered, Klaus was taking it well, he had to admit. If it was him in Klaus’ shoes, he would probably have taken a more fist-to-Five’s-face approach.

Diego clenched his jaw. Why did Five have to be such an insufferable asshole?

A flicker of guilt over Klaus’ expression, and he dropped his gaze momentarily before looking toward the lake once again. “It’s just not fair,” Klaus finally admitted, gesturing with an exasperated hand. “Why can’t I have this one thing, you know?” He chuckled, mirthless. “I deserve it. I’ve been through enough shit that I should get a reward or something for putting up…,” his voice trailed, sighing heavily. Diego’s eyes softened.

“I just want to see him,” Klaus continued, “just for a moment. I miss, you know, things. Little things.” Then lifting both arms in the air, “Why does the universe have to suck so much?”

“We’re home.” He put a hand on Klaus’ arm. “And finally safe. No Sparrow Academy, and if Five’s right, no Commission hunting us down. We can make the best of our lives starting right now.”

Klaus chuckled again, dark and low, filled with resentment. “Are we home? Finally, Diego? You saw that dad’s still alive, what else is different here? I mean, Five’s not any good at this getting us home assignment, if you haven’t noticed.” Klaus kicked at a stone like a pouting child, sending ripples over the pond, disturbing the path of a few ducks.

“Not for lack of trying,” Diego said without much thought, surprising himself. It wasn’t like him to defend Five. In fact, it had been a cathartic family activity these past few weeks to blame things on their overbearing, arrogant brother. But Five’s tiredness earlier was definitely concerning. Actually, he noted, Five has been looking tired for a while now. 

Diego squinted, remembering the Sparrow and Commission attacks at the warehouse less than a week ago — how disoriented and sluggish Five looked when Diego went to get him. It had been worrisome how the blast itself hadn’t woken Five, how it had taken a few seconds too long to shake him awake.

And the time jump earlier, he realized, might have been too much for him.

“Sometimes trying’s not good enough,” Klaus said, gritted teeth, and there’s a deep bitterness in his tone.

“Hey…” He tried to catch Klaus’s wandering gaze. “Hey, it’ll be different this time. We’re a family now. We’ll be there for each other.” Running for their lives, in constant danger did have the unintended effect of forcing them to work together, caring for each other.

“We don’t have Ben.” Klaus said blankly.

“He’s with us, right here.” Diego turned to him, palm over his heart. Klaus’ eyes widened, mouth scrunching together, until giggles suddenly escaped him.

Diego huffed in irritation, shaking his head. That was what he got for trying. He turned back abruptly, wrapping his right arm over his chest and the sling and leaned forward on the railing.

“Sorry, I’m sorry. You’re right. But that was just…too sweet.” Klaus continued with the cheeky giggles. “I love you too, Diego.” Klaus’s arms wrapped around Diego’s shoulders, burying his face on Diego’s neck and fake crying for maximum effect. Diego pushed him off.

“Alright, ow, ow, that’s enough,” Diego said, holding his left arm protectively and feigning irritation, but a small smile crept up his lips; Klaus was doing better, that was good enough for now.

***

[Sparrow Timeline; Final Day (April 23, 2019)]

Diego peered around the corner of the laundromat building, right hand squeezing his injured left arm as it throbbed uncomfortably in the sling. He had taken the antibiotics and painkillers on schedule, he reassured himself. He watched his brother carefully in the small, dark street alley while trying to ignore the inner city stench of smoke and urine. Tired fluorescent lighting overhead glinted off puddles of rainwater on the ground.

Klaus wore a dark green hoodie over his head, calmly conversing with other dark-hoodied locals. Four of them — 2 leaned casually against the worn-down wall, the other 2 stood in front of Klaus, hands in their pockets, no tension in their stances. Good, Diego thought. No indications of hostility.

Aside from the exaggerated hand gestures, Klaus didn’t seem to stand out much amid the seedy company.

A small card was handed to Klaus. He let out a squeal and an excited little jump, then waved his goodbye. Diego eased back against the cold stone wall and crossed his arms as Klaus came around.

“I hope you found what you were looking for, because this is the last time you’re coming here.” Diego said.

Klaus jumped and twisted, eyes wide in apprehension until his gaze landed on his brother.

“Geez, you trying to give me a heart attack, Diego?” Klaus said, rubbing a hand on his chest. “Ease up on the ninja stalking, will ya?”

Diego pushed off the wall and fell into step beside Klaus, the two turning into the main sidewalk. Diego welcomed the more spacious, well lit area. A few people dallied through the streets, others sat smoking or conversing on apartment stairways and sidewalk railings, even though, in Diego’s estimate, it was nearly 4am. A few curious eyes flitted their way, but mostly the attention given to them was scarce. Diego kept himself guarded, his distrustful eyes scrubbing every nook and cranny of the neighborhood. “Five said not to go out alone.”

“Yeah, well he also grounded all of us 2 days ago, and that still hasn’t stopped anyone from sneaking out. Besides, I’m not scared of the little gremlin.” Klaus raised his hand in a greeting at a man wearing a big, black coat. To Diego’s surprise, Klaus received a waved greeting in return.

Diego let out a dark chuckle. “One, you are scared of the little gremlin, and two, I followed you not because of Five, but because your entire life has been one long chain of unhealthy decisions after the other. In other words, you’re an idiot and you tend to do idiotic things.”

“But I love being a disappointment! It’s kinda my shtick, you know?”

Diego curled his free hand on the front of Klaus’ shirt, pushing him up against the wall.

“Klaus!” His face scowled, and Klaus flinched. “We are being hunted down! If you get in trouble and end up in a ditch somewhere, we won’t know where to find you!”

“Okay, okay!” Klaus pried the hand off and pushed it away. “I’m done anyway, got what I wanted! God, you’re starting to sound just like Five, you know.” Klaus stumbled forward, splashing through some puddles, then settled on a walking pace.

Diego turned and pointed an annoyed finger. “Don’t…compare me to the little shit.”

“Mm-hm,” Klaus hummed, fingers gripping the card with both hands. Diego huffed and tilted his head.

“What’s on the card.” The question came out more as a demand.

Klaus abruptly stopped and turned to face his brother, bouncing on his toes and flicking the card against his other hand. “Speaking of me making great decisions, I need you to help me steal a car right now and then drive me to the next city over.”

Diego studied Klaus for moment. “You’re serious.”

Klaus’ eyes gleamed bright. Licking his lips, he appeared ready to burst. “I found Dave. He’s only an hour away.” 

Diego exhaled, running a hand through his short, dark hair. “Okay,” he said, eliciting a squeal from his brother. “But we have to tell someone where we’re going.”

Klaus clapped his hands, and gave Diego a hug, which Diego immediately pushed away.

They approached the dilapidated house that had served as their safehouse since the Commission attacked 2 days ago. Their previous residence — an abandoned warehouse — had served as a perfect home and hideout since the first day they had landed in what they had dubbed the “Sparrow Timeline.” That previous place had ample lighting and electricity, and a small, functioning kitchen with a fridge, stove, and cookware. They had even outfitted the place with a comfortable couch and mattresses. It was difficult leaving the place for this one.

A one story house, broken windows shuttered with cardboard. Termite infested sidings, occasional rats and cockroaches as house mates, the entire perimeter smelling of sewage. Grass and weeds hideously overgrown.

Diego shook his head, then gazed around, continually scrutinizing every inch of the dimly lit environment. Klaus sashayed right on in, oblivious as always.

They found Allison in the dark kitchen area, sleeping on one of only 2 dingy single mattresses that they had found in the house. Which meant the majority of them usually slept on the cold, tiled floor. They had decided that the safest place for their sleeping quarters would be in the middle of the house, all of them together. It allowed time to hear and react to an attack. 

Diego performed a quick check around the house, finding no Commission or Sparrows waiting in ambush. No one else was home, though. He asked Klaus for the card, then swiped a pen and notebook from the kitchen counter before returning to Allison.

A blue, faded, tattered blanket rested over Allison’s torso, inadequate in length, her socked feet sticking out on the bottom. Diego knelt in front of his sister, giving her shoulder a gentle shake. “Allison, hey,” he whispered. She looked tired even in her sleep, and Diego felt a twinge of guilt at waking her.

Allison’s eyes opened slowly. “Diego, what’s going on?” She sat up, pulling her legs in front of her. Diego’s boots sqeaked on the tiled floor as he adjusted his stance to comfortably face Allison.

“Where are Luther and Vanya?” He kept his voice low, aware that Allison was still half-asleep.

Allison rubbed her eyes, voice still sluggish. “They have a lead on Harlan. Luther wanted to help, so I stayed behind to watch the house.” Diego thought it might also be because Allison was the only one not afraid to go toe-to-toe in a shouting match against Five, in case their temperamental brother returned early from his errands and found that they had all disregarded their grounding. He was reminded of their first day at this timeline, Allison and Five immediately coming to verbal blows.

Allison’s eyes shifted to Klaus, who fidgeted impatiently against the breakfast table, biting his nails, legs twitching.

“Klaus found Dave,” Diego informed her with a half smile. “He’s only an hour away by car. We’re going right now.” He handed Allison a small piece of paper. “Here’s the address, just in case.”

Allison held the address, grinned widely, then stood and walked toward Klaus. “Oh my God! I’m so happy for you!” She enveloped him in a tight hug as they both giggled in excitement, her sleepiness chased away.

Diego had chosen a small car to hot-wire, inconspicuous and non-nondescript. Klaus was a fidgeting, nervous mess the entire ride.

“Oh God, I should have showered. This…this is going to be embarrassing,” Klaus said as he sniffed an armpit, then ran a hand through his short, curly hair. “And my hair is greasy, and I’m wearing my ugly hoodie, what the hell? Should I have brought a house visit gift? What am I saying? He’ll definitely remember me from 1963, and I definitely made a bad impression. At least my future-knowledge explanation will now hold weight, huh? But what if he doesn’t remember me at all?”

“You’ll enjoy this better if you relax.” Diego half smiled, keeping his eyes on the dark, empty road. “He fell in love with you once, which means for some incomprehensible reason, you’re his type.”

Diego continued to offer reassurances, but found that allowing Klaus to talk out his anxiety worked better.They rode in silence for the last 15 minutes, watching the sun paint the sky a hazy orange as it rose in the horizon. But once the destined street sign came into view, Klaus tensed once again, bouncing around the passenger seat like a caffeinated puppy.

It was a calm, suburban neighborhood, houses small and quaint. Dave’s light blue siding house presented a porch with a rocking chair overlooking a small, well-kept lawn.

“This is it, this is it.” Klaus lowered his head below the car window, fingertips gripping the sill, eyes peering out. “Do you see him? Can he see us if he looks out the window?”

Diego made a face. “He’s old, you know, don’t forget that.”

“I know!” Klaus growled, turning around to scowl. “I don’t care!”

Diego placed a strong hand on Klaus’ shoulder. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. The worst already happened in 1963, remember? It’s all uphill from here. You’re going to be fine.” Klaus nodded, closed his eyes and took a deep breath before reopening them. “Do you need me to come with you?”

“Yeah, yeah, that…that would be good. Thanks.” Klaus attempted a genuine smile, but it came out as a nervous grimace. “I…I can’t believe it. I’ve been dreaming of another chance to talk to him, practicing what to say just in case this would happen. Sometimes I practice with random ghosts, but they don’t always play the part right and I get annoyed and….”

Diego squeezed Klaus’ shoulders to stop the rambling, giving his brothers a few seconds to calm himself. Hazel eyes glinted gratitude, then a shy but genuine smile crept up. Klaus sputtered a nervous chuckle, twisting his hands together as he took a few deep breaths. Diego didn’t rush, giving his brother as much time as he needed; this was big for him, after all. 

And with all the terrible things the Sparrow Timeline had given them thus far, Diego was genuinely happy that at least one good thing was coming to his brother. Diego nodded and smiled encouragingly.

A flash of blue in the backseat.

“Time to go.” Five’s stoic declaration sat in the air for a few seconds, both Diego and Klaus staring mouth open at the uniformed teen, his arms sitting stiffly on his bare knees. The cuts on his knees and gash on his left cheek Diego remembered from the attacks at the warehouse a few days ago, but a new nasty, purple bruise graced the left side of his jaw. Though Diego would have liked to bask in the thought that someone had apparently landed a vicious uppercut at Five recently, he quickly pushed that aside to focus on the oncoming disaster.

“Hey, whoa,” Diego said, extending a hand out. “Wait a second, Five.”

Diego stole a quick glance at Klaus, seeing exactly what he had expected — mouth hung open heaving heavy breaths, and a desperate, pleading expression.

Klaus searched Five’s cold, green eyes, hunting for a trace of empathy he could latch on to. “W-wait, Five,” he stammered. “It took me weeks to find...I-I just need, like 10 minutes…”

“There’s no time. I’ve already calculated for our departure.” Five’s hands grabbed both their arms. 

The world dropped away, then asphalt was below their feet, street lamps above their heads, an empty, open road and a cool, soft breeze lapping on their exposed skin. They stood up from their crouches, Diego’s stomach twisting unpleasantly. Before he could orient himself, the floor dropped once again.

Asphalt below his feet, street lamps above, flash of blue light, kneading in his stomach. Repeat. Diego was going to throw up.

Asphalt below his feet, street lamps. “Wait Five!” Diego yelled. Flash of blue light. He fought his stomach to keep from vomiting.

Asphalt, street lamps. “Hold on, Five!” Flash of blue light.

Asphalt, street lamps. “FIVE, STOP!”

Diego’s vision swirled, and he tried to steady himself on the feel of hard ground below his feet. A soft, pained moan in front snapped him back to the present. Diego glanced up, seeing Five breathing ragged, eyes screwed shut, knuckles white from the deathly grips he had on their wrists.

“One more,” Five said softly. “Almost there.” Flash of blue light, tiled kitchen floor.

Diego retched immediately when they touched ground at the safe house, making a mess of the floor. Klaus stared at his hands, speechless. Five released his hold on their arms, stumbling to the kitchen island to steady himself, sweat glistening on his forehead.

Diego wiped his mouth. “You asshole ,” he seethed, heat coloring his face in anger.

Five placed a trembling hand on his own forehead, ignoring Diego’s building rage. “Wait here while I get Luther and Vanya,” Five instructed. Another flash of blue, and Five was gone once again.

Klaus sank to his knees. Allison came down and held him, whispering apologies in his ear.

Chapter Text

[Sparrow Timeline; Day 2 (April 2, 2019)]

Allison’s thoughts whirled with unrest. She tossed about, but heedful not to wake Vanya asleep beside her. The mattress was lumpy, but she supposed they were lucky to have something to sleep on. “Tomorrow is apparently dumpster pickup day in the city. People throwing away perfectly good furniture,” the boys had beamed after they had returned from their supply run.

The daylight streaming through the windows above didn’t help with her restlessness. The cold temperature in the warehouse didn’t either. Neither did the anguishing thoughts of the family she lost.

And in her exhaustion, the constant writing, writing, writing made for a hypnotic soundtrack. It sounded like determination, she thought absently - the scratching of chalk across cement sliding quickly and decisively. 

She sat up and stared at the building entrance, the brightest place in the warehouse, illuminated by sunshine beaming through the mostly glass walls in that area. They kept in the darker part of the building, lining up their 3 mattresses on the right side against the walls. She supposed they were like vampires now, keeping to the shadows. That was what life was like in this shitty timeline. 

Sitting in one place did not do well in distracting her mind, so Allison stood, careful not to wake the rest of her siblings, and followed the scribbling to the left side of the building in an open, square room. 

It was a small loading bay with just one gate, closed off; a locked red door beside it. The space was enough for maybe one forklift to have maneuvered in at a time. Paper strewn chaotically on the floor; pens, pencils, and chalk dropped and thrown with apparent disregard. Water bottles in the corner — some empty, — a can of instant coffee, and an empty, plastic water cup. 

Messy , she thought numbly.

Five stood scrawling on the far right wall, back toward her, drowning in possibilities, solutions, and theories that existed only in his own mind. A litany of numbers and letters indecipherable to Allison filled most of the stone walls up to Five’s reach. Some words and numbers encircled, some underlined, and some bolder than the rest, as if her brother had written over them multiple times for emphasis. “1963” caught Allison’s attention on the left wall, underlined with intensity.

“Five,” Allison called, hearing her vacant tone lightly echo off the cement walls.

Five kept his eyes fixed on his work. “Not now, I’m busy.” 

Allison strode over. Standing over his shoulder, she watched the hypnotic scribbling of her brother’s nimble hand. “Can you fix it?”

 Five paused, knuckles white as the chalk was gripped tighter. He took a deep breath, spoke with terse agitation ,“That’s what I’m trying to do,” then continued writing.

“That’s not my question!” Allison yelled, the rush of anger unexpected and quickening her breaths. Five paused again, hand hovering over the surface. “I asked if you can fix this.”

Her brother sighed and slowly turned, and she saw tired green eyes that narrowed for a fight. “It’s not that easy!” His hand gestured out in frustration, voice rising. “There are so many variables to consider, and…”

Allison shoved, and Five’s back collided with the wall with a thump. Five’s body tensed, jaw clenched. He breathed heavily through his nose as if upset at the need to respire.

“That’s not good enough!” Allison kept him pinned with her hands, leaning in with her weight. “I left my husband so I can be with my daughter! You have no idea how hard that was!”

No reply, Five’s silence and avoiding stare agitating the building resentment inside her. She grabbed hold of the front of his blazer and shook roughly. “Look at me!”

Five lifted his head and locked her gaze. She expected to see rage, venom, but instead saw a reflection of what hid behind her own anger — miserable despair — and was forced to recognize it within herself. Tears prickled Allison’s eyes.

Five clenched his fists on his sides. “What, Allison? What the hell do you think I’ve been doing? Did I do all this just to ruin your life?”

Allison’s breath shuddered, her pain demanding a fight. And so she acquiesced, voice lashing out in anger. “I trusted you, Five! And because of that I lost everything !” This world was unrecognizable, their lives wiped from existence. She already knew Claire was gone.

“Would you rather be dead, then?!”

“Yes, if I had the choice! I would have rather died with my daughter!”

Five’s breath hitched, mouth dropping open. Strong, unreadable emotions crossed his face.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Diego intervened, voice firm but surprisingly gentle. Five looked up, but Allison refrained from glancing back. She twisted her hands in Five’s blazer, felt his chest heaving and the pounding of his heart. She needed to hold on to this anger to stave off the misery.

A big, gentle hand rested on Allison’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay,” Luther said. Allison attempted to shrug off the hand, but Luther held firm, while his voice remained calm. “We’re all tired, let’s get some sleep, alright? We’ll talk about this tomorrow.” 

Diego appeared on her left, holding up appeasing hands, eyes flicking back and forth between the two. Allison took in a shaky breath, released her hold on Five, and allowed Luther to pull her back. She was guided out the room, trembling at a hopelessness slowly settling inside her.

“Come on, we all need sleep, let’s go,” Luther gently prodded, motioning also to Klaus and Vanya who had stood by the entry way with sleepy eyes and tired concerns.

Diego stayed beside Five. He raked a hand through his own hair. “You too, time to sleep and recharge.” 

Five’s eyes snapped to Diego, brows creased in some sort of distress. Diego felt a surreal urge to calm a wild animal.

Then Five dropped his gaze, exhaling loudly. “I need some air,” he said, voice low, airy, and trembling. It surprised Diego, and he tilted his head in concern.

Five disappeared in a flash of blue.

“Diego, you too,” Luther said, sticking his head back in the room after shuffling Allison, Klaus, and Vanya to bed.

Diego leaned against a wall and nodded tiredly. “In a minute.” Luther nodded back and stepped out of the room.

Diego scanned the walls for a moment, peering into his brother’s mind in search of his solutions. But all the math immediately shut his brain down, mentally pushing away any attempt to decode. His eyes caught on the water bottles and the can of instant coffee. He hadn’t seen Five eat since…he couldn’t remember if his brother had eaten at Sissy’s barn before they left. Had Five only been surviving on cold coffee?

But Diego lacked the energy to look out for any one else at the moment. Exhaustion kept badgering him to sleep. He shook his head; they needed Five alive and healthy to get them out of this situation.

Diego fetched the untouched sub sandwich labeled “Five” from the kitchen area in the back of the warehouse, placing it in the corner of the room with the water bottles and the coffee, where he knew Five wouldn’t miss it.

Diego climbed into the mattress on the floor he shared with Klaus, wedging himself against his brother to wrangle for more space. Klaus whined something incoherent and moved over an inch. 

Later, Diego awoke briefly to what his sleep addled mind thought sounded like desperation — each harsh stroke of the chalk striking heavily against the wall in unpatterned, incessant taps. Diego quickly fell back to sleep.

***

[Current Timeline; May 18, 2019]

She felt the warm afternoon sun on her face, and Allison closed her eyes momentarily to revel in the soothing glow. She shrugged off her blazer as she stepped out of the passenger side of the family van, taking the moment to gaze out over their quiet suburban neighborhood from the driveway, inhaling the spring air deeply.

“What do you think of planning a family beach vacation?” Allison asked, readjusting her purse on her shoulder and resting the jacket over her arm.

Luther shut the door and beeped the van to lock. “It sounds great, as long as you do the planning.”

Allison chuckled. “It’s always me who plans.” She reached for her keys and began to unlock the front door.

“If you don’t plan it, it’ll never happen. You know this family well enough.” Luther smiled fondly at the thought.

“Hmm, that’s true,” Allison admitted, swinging the door open. She was met with enthusiastic cheers from the small living room immediately to the left of the foyer.

“Whoo!”

“Yeah!”

Diego, Klaus, and Viktor sat on the floor around the glass coffee table, all grins and enthusiasm. Puzzle pieces spread in disordered clusters across the glass, an open box of pizza perched on the edge. 

“More help!” Klaus celebrated. Still wearing a black long-sleeved button-up shirt and name tag, it seemed Klaus had just come home from work. “We are in dire need of your support.” 

Allison smirked at her brother’s dramatics as she kicked off her high-heeled shoes, dropping her purse and blazer on the sofa. 

“Family activity, huh? I’m ready.” She positioned herself to Viktor's right, who held the puzzle box in his hand, which declared it to be a 1,000 piece set with a picture of a mundane street. Luther stationed himself at the head of the table closest to the entryway.

“I got the grocery store,” Diego said, motioning to the cluster of vaguely similarly colored pieces and the few connected ones in front of him. “Take this part of the sidewalk.” He pointed to the box that Viktor had held out over the table for them.

Allison grimaced. “No, I want the houses here.”

“I guess…I’ll take the cars on this side of the street,” Luther hesitantly declared.

The sun shone through the windows, brightly lighting up the area. Allison rolled up her sheer white sleeves. “Let’s do this, then.”

The activity progressed slowly, accompanied by various topics of conversation, snacking, and some unhealthy competition on who had completed more of the puzzle. Laughter and good-spirited teasing filled the room.

“No offense, Klaus,” Diego said, eyeing the picture of the street on the box, “but you picked the most boring looking puzzle in existence.”

Klaus gave a quizzical look. “I didn’t pick this. It was already here on the table when I got home. I thought you or Viktor bought it.”

“Then who…,” Luther trailed, then eyes widening. “Five? Puzzles don't seem at all like a Five thing.”

“Yeah,” Viktor said with a small chuckle. “Fun and Five don’t really go together.”

A loud stomping upstairs caught their attention, as each sibling tilted their head in that direction.

“Ah, speaking of, the little grump’s back from…wherever he goes out to everyday,” Luther said, shrugging.

“Be right back,” Allison whispered, lightly tapping Viktor's shoulder and giving a small nod toward Luther.

Five’s bedroom door was always open nowadays, the inhabitant coming and going and too preoccupied with solving world ending scenarios to care much about privacy. Or much of anything or anyone else these days.

Allison leaned against the door frame, crossing her arms, lips pursed as she watched her brother scribbling on the dry erase board like the mad man he was. Without an apocalypse looming anymore, she didn’t know how else to describe her brother's behavior if not a little (a lot) crazy.

She was at least happy to see him in casual clothes instead of the Academy Uniform that he still wore far too often even with the outfits that she and Viktor had bought for him. The jeans and gray hoodie complemented his physical age, though she didn’t remember getting the hoodie. Must have been one that Viktor had bought, she figured.

She had the distant thought that it was too hot today to be wearing a sweatshirt.

A stack of notebooks, papers, and folders covered his desk and part of the floor. His bed was made, but that wasn’t indicative of whether Five had slept in it or not; they knew he hadn’t been in his room all last night.

“Five, do you have a minute?” Her tone neutral, not wanting to aggravate his usual surly mood even more. Five released an irritated huff through his nose but kept on scribbling.

“I’m busy, Allison.”

A dark memory stirred, unsettling, like a nightmare remembered. Five’s response wasn’t as terse as back then, in a time she wanted to completely forget. Her breathing quickened, her heartbeat picking up pace as well.

She pushed it aside. They were safe, she reassured herself. Her daughter was alive.

“Claire’s birthday is in two months,” Allison continued, “and I got Patrick to agree to have her party here.”

Five’s scribbling hand paused, and Allison raised her eyebrows in slight surprise before proceeding. “There will be no other children at the party since she has no friends here. She’s excited to finally meet all her uncles. So I need you to be there at her birthday, do you understand?”

Five’s focus stayed on the board. “I’ll be there,” he replied finally, not sparing a glance. And then surprising Allison again with an added, “I promise,” before continuing with his writing.

A small smile crinkled on Allison’s lips. Honestly, she didn’t know if he would follow through. But getting a commitment was more than she thought she could get. She lingered a few moments, transfixed by the swift strokes of the marker across the board.

Whenever she had taken a peek in his room, Five would either be writing on the board like this or hunched over his desk transferring equations into his notebooks or otherwise scrutinizing notes. Or not be in his room at all.

Five groaned in annoyance, adjusting his stance to wipe an offending portion of the equation with the side of his hand. The movement shifted his sweatshirt slightly, exposing a portion of his collarbone. Dark and yellow patches of bruises spotted parts of his neck, the darker ones extending down to as far as Allison glimpsed.

“Five,” Allison called out firmly, striding toward him.

Five visibly flinched and stepped back, turning to face her. “What?” he demanded.

“You’ve got…” Allison started, reaching a hand to his neck. Five's right hand flew up and swatted her away as he stumbled back out of reach.

“What the hell, Allison!”

Deep breath , Allison reminded herself, reaching for the techniques she learned during her mandatory therapy sessions. Reframe . This was about Five, not her.

Allison motioned an open hand to the area around her own neck. “Did you get in a fight?”

“None of your business.”

That was too defensive, and Allison wondered distractedly if she should be worried. But her annoyance at being rebuffed overtook the concern. She crossed her arms and gave an unamused, piercing glare.

Five took a breath, then sighed. “It…it’s nothing.” He ran a hand through his hair. “What does Claire like?”

“What?” The unexpected change in tone and topic caught her slightly off guard.

“For a gift. What does Claire like?” He stepped forward, reclaiming his spot in front of the dry erase board as Allison stepped back to return the space.

“Oh, uh, she likes playing dress-up. She’s very girly. She also has a thing for unicorns.”

“Unicorns,” Five repeated as he resumed writing.

“Yeah, it might be a phase, but she asks for anything with a unicorn on it.” 

Allison’s attention was split between answering the question and observing. She realized she hadn’t been this close to him in a while, the proximity affording a good view of her brother. 

Aside from the bruises, she also noticed an unhealthy pallor to his skin. Up close, the tiredness in his eyes were obvious, along with the ever-present dark bags below, despite the energy he outwardly displayed. Allison wondered briefly if he hadn’t been eating and sleeping well, realizing she had yet to see him do either in the past couple of weeks. But that was also because he’d been in and out of the house. “You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

Five’s jaw visibly clenched, a tenseness gripping his body, scribbling taking on a stilted rhythm. “Are you done?” he said, unconcealed hostility bristling Allison’s nerves.  “If so, leave the room. Your incessant hovering is incredibly irritating.”

Allison huffed, patience gone, “Fine,” then stomped out the door. 

She paused in the hallway, grabbing the bannister, shook her head and sighed deeply. The warm, boisterous sounds from downstairs drifted through the house, lifting her spirits. She smiled and set back down the stairs to rejoin the activity.

Chapter Text

[Current Timeline; May 19, 2019]

“Klaus,” Diego called out, eyes scanning as he weaved his way through the living room, fresh from showering after his morning run and changed into a black short-sleeved shirt. “Hey Klaus!”

Viktor — ladle in hand and apron over casual weekend clothes —  turned from the stove as his brother entered the kitchen.

The windows were open — cheerful morning sunshine, fresh air circulating. Diego thought that the neighbors’ mouths must be watering from the aroma of Viktor's cooking.

“Oh, he’s out with Five,” he replied matter-of-factly as he placed the ladle down. Viktor reached for the lid, but hovered it over the pot for a few moments as he breathed in a whiff; eyes closed, face relaxing to an almost dreamy, sensual contentment.

Diego leaned against the wall beside Viktor, arms crossed and grinning. “Whoa, Bro, what did you put in that pot and how much do you want for it.” 

Viktor smiled and shook his head slightly at the playful tease, but the reddening of his cheeks gave away an embarrassed fluster. “It was...it’s Sissy’s recipe.”

“Oh,” Diego said simply, pulling back on the tease as he continued to observe.

“She taught me all her recipes,” he shrugged. “The smell always takes me back to the days at the farm.” There was a noticeable drop to Viktor's shoulders, averting his eyes to hide the emotions there.

Diego sighed. Their memories still held sadness and loss that refused to completely heal. He placed a hand on his left arm, feeling still the phantom pains of the injury. The wound healed well, he was lucky, but the association of that timeline infused the experience with a lasting bitter flavor.

Viktor grabbed the potholders, but Diego was quick to snatch them from him. “I got that.” 

He chuckled lightly as he watched Diego lift the large pot with ease.

“What?” Diego asked, feeling a little self-conscious.

“Nothing,” he replied, leaning back on the kitchen counter. “Just…you were always the same way with Mom, since we were kids. Always eager to help her in the kitchen.” He scrunched his nose at Diego with a warm smile.

Grace's smiling face came to Diego's mind. She was there waiting for them when they first came back, so beautiful and radiating her usual warmth like how he always remembered. Diego hoped she was doing well with Reginald.

“What are Klaus and Five doing, anyway,” Diego asked, changing the subject to distract from his own fluster as he placed the large, steaming pot on the dining table. “That’s a weird combo. Especially since Five never hangs out with anyone. Strange he would willingly choose Klaus.”

“Hey,” Viktor scolded. “Klaus is fun to be around.”

“Eh, I guess he has his moments,” Diego said. 

Viktor narrowed his eyes at him in a disapproving glare on his way to fetch the plates from the cupboards. “Well, Klaus was laying on the couch and Five just appeared in the middle of the living room and said,” Viktor schooled his face in a serious expression to convey the story, “‘I need you to come with me.’ And then poof, they were gone.”

“Ah, so it was kidnapping, terminator style,” Diego said, making Viktor chuckle again. A smile of genuine happiness fit him well, Diego thought.

Viktor placed the plates on the table, expression turning somber, and Diego felt disappointment at losing the smile. Viktor chewed on his lower lip, brows crinkling in thought. “Hey, about that last day in the Sparrow timeline,” and Diego was already waving a hand to dismiss the conversation, but Viktor kept on. “I wanted to apologize…for not having your back. You were right, I should know what it’s like to leave someone important behind.”

“Yeah, no, it’s fine. It wasn’t just you, I get that Lila is a touchy subject around this family.”

“I know, but…”

“Look, I do appreciate it,” Diego interrupted, firm but without anger. “But I don’t wanna be mad anymore, you know? And besides, I think Five was right — if she wants to find me again, she will.”

Viktor gave a small, sad smile and nodded slightly. “What did you need Klaus for?” he asked after a moment’s thought.

“Nothing important. He borrowed a jacket of mine for his job interview a while back and didn’t return it. I’ll just go through his closet.” Though he grimaced at the thought of rifling through Klaus’ closet of mysteries.

The front door opened, soft conversations drifting in as Allison and Luther returned from the library.

“Just in time,” Viktor called. “Lunch is ready!”

The new arrivals hurried to the dining room, Luther flashing a wide grin at the sight. “Ahh, yes!”

“I love weekends and Viktor’s home cooking!” Allison added, dramatically pressing her hands to her chest.

Soon, a flutter of helpful hands grabbed the silverware, cups, and drinks to help set the table.

Viktor watched the lively scene, a soft smile on his lips, a pleasant warmth in his chest.

***

[Sparrow Timeline; April 21, 2019]

Diego switched the bathroom light off then padded through the dark, narrow corridor at the back of the warehouse; pass the locked tiny office, pass the seldom used back entrance, pass the kitchen. He paused at the end of the corridor, yawning and scratching a hand on his elbow under the pajama sweatshirt as he looked over the main warehouse.

Dark, cold, and quiet; dawn still about a half hour away, though his siblings had all just gone to bed. Beams of pale moonlight shone through the windows high above; the hazy, chromatic shimmers of waking street life seeping through the glass walls at the entryway. The luminescence just enough for Diego’s adjusted eyes to perceive his surroundings.

Most likely the building was a bank repossession, and so they were careful with the use of utilities — a drastic change could get them flagged for squatting. The only light in constant use was in the back loading bay, where Five spent many non-daylight hours performing calculations on the walls and on any other writing materials he had somehow acquired.

Soft snores, slight shifting on the mattresses; but tonight the scribbling of chalk was glaringly absent from the ambient sounds Diego had grown accustomed to. He wondered briefly whether Five had gone out or had fallen asleep in the docking bay.

Diego kicked off his shoes and settled back down on the mattress, huffing as Klaus had yet again stolen his space, a leg and an arm splayed on his side. He shoved with sleepy irritation. 

Gazing at the moonlight touching the walkway above lulled his eyelids closed.

Diego felt it then — movement outside; gliding through the air, too intentional, too fast to be harmless.

“Get up!” he hissed as he shook Klaus on the shoulder, then kicked the mattress beside him where Vanya and Allison slept. “Get up!”

The girls shot up from sleep, alert in an instant. Allison rolled to the side to wake Luther.

Klaus sat slowly and rubbed the back of his hand over sleepy eyes.

“On your feet!” Diego directed with more urgency. The siblings scrambled to stand, shoving feet into shoes. 

Luther turned his head to Diego, body tense and alert. “It’s better we run.” 

A booming crash from the entryway, shattered glass flying. Wind howling from the darkness outside. Diego looked up to a window, seeing not a cloud in the clear, starry sky. A hostile storm was coming, but unnatural in its origin. The siblings pressed into each other facing the ruined entryway. 

Luther and Diego advanced, guiding Allison and Vanya to stand behind. Allison held Vanya’s hand, Klaus pressed against Allison’s other side.

Four Sparrows in maroon battle suits stepped through the broken glass windows; slow, deliberate; hungry lions scoping prey.

Luther narrowed his eyes. “Back exit,” he ordered. 

Diego moved past to lead the group, then stopped abruptly, eyes blowing wide. “Five!” He threw his sights to the other side of the warehouse, locked his gaze on the lit room. He wasn’t even sure if Five was there; surely Five would have heard the blast and would have come dashing out. But Diego couldn’t chance that his brother had fallen into heavy sleep.

“Go get him!” Luther instructed.

Diego nodded. “Go on, we’ll catch up.” If Five was there, then they could teleport out. If he wasn’t — well, Diego would need to figure that out later.

Diego crossed the warehouse floor, half expecting to be shot or otherwise attacked by the intruders. But the Sparrows remained rooted, menacing silhouettes coiled at the ready. An intense uneasiness needled in his mind at that.

He entered the room and turned right, scanning and quickly finding his brother in the far corner, sitting slumped asleep, one knee up and one leg stretched out.

“Five!” he called out, but his brother did not so much as flinch, chest rising and falling in even breaths. He crossed the distance and shook his brother’s shoulders. “Five!”

A soft hitch in Five’s breath, slight movement of his head, a twitch on his hand; Five was rousing too slowly for the urgency of the situation. Diego heard a blast, then the sound of combat, and he realized the feeling of uneasiness earlier — the Sparrows had laid a trap. The rest of the Sparrows must have entered through the back entrance; they were surrounded.

“Five, get up!” Five’s eyes opened slowly, and Diego’s impatience reached a peak. “Sparrows are here. We gotta fight!” He grabbed Five’s blazer and roughly pulled his small brother to stand.

Five stood and paled, eyes searching for focus. “Give me a second,” he said, waving a languid hand.

“Yeah, sorry, but we don’t have a second,” Diego said, softening his tone slightly but still imbued with the necessary urgency. He still clutched his brother’s shoulders in support, not convinced entirely that Five could hold his weight up.

The sounds of steel and other items crashing to the floor, voices familiar and unfamiliar shouting commands. Five’s eyes snapped to focus, lungs taking quick inhales.

“Yeah,” Diego acknowledged, “Like I said, Sparrows are attacking. We need to go.”

Five closed his eyes, clutched Diego’s arm like a life preserver, and breathed through his nose to steady his breaths. Patience was never Diego’s strong point, but he did his best to wait as his brother pulled himself together. 

When Five reopened his eyes, he wore the familiar look of steely resoluteness, then nodded to indicate he was ready. An unexpected relief came over Diego, giving his small brother a half smile.

The two hurried to the dark, moonlit warehouse floor, where 7 Sparrows were engaged in combat with 4 Umbrellas. A blonde Sparrow woman held a hand up as plastic crates flew across the building. A blast from a glowing Vanya scattered the projectiles, the air unsettled in a swirl of power that trembled the air; aggression permeated the atmosphere.

“Knife!” Five demanded, holding a tense hand out, sights still glued to the battle. Diego smacked the handle side of a knife on Five’s palm. Five teleported, the waves in space feeling angrier than usual.

Diego dove into the fight, setting knives in flight. One found the shoulder of a tall, female Sparrow flanked by a halo of screeching ravens. The Sparrow pulled her arm back and yelped in pain, clutching her injury, and Klaus wasted no time with a swift strike to his opponent’s throat. The ravens scattered in a spray of confusion before coalescing back into a giant wrathful ball. But Allison already had a wooden plank over her shoulder, readying her swing.

A tall, dark-skinned male Sparrow grabbed a heavy steel beam as if it weight nothing, swinging toward Allison’s head. A flash of blue light delivered a feral, angry Five, latching on to the Sparrow’s back, throwing off the man’s balance and veering the beam wide of its path. Diego noted that Five had already lost the blade he had given him.

Diego’s second knife took the footing of another female Sparrow, sending the small, lithe female sprawling. She rolled to an animalistic crouch, dark hair falling over one side of her face, snarling menacingly a few feet in front of him. “I’m tired of playing,” she growled.

“Diego, watch out for that one!” cried Five’s voice from somewhere. Diego plucked another knife from his holster, just as the Sparrow spat something toward him.

The warehouse suddenly quieted, the sounds of violence muffling to a mere whispering wind. Diego saw movement in his peripheral, and he quickly turned around…

And disorientingly found himself on a rooftop overlooking city streets. The place familiar, special, cherished. A gentle breeze blowing on his neck. The calming night sky bright with moonlight. 

It was their rooftop, he knew immediately. Calmed to a blissful contentment, his head turning expecting her to be by the stairway…

He thought he heard Five’s voice call his name from somewhere.

Then the jarring transition to reality, the environment twisted and morphed, and he saw the knife come down a second too late.

A burst of pain suddenly erupted on Diego’s left shoulder. He cried out, his voice drowned by the raucous sounds of battle throughout the echoing warehouse.

Bringing his right hand over his left shoulder, seeing a jagged, bloody cut through his gray sweatshirt.

Diego looked up, grimacing, sweat dripping from his face.

The female Sparrow stood in front of him, a devilish smirk on her lips, gripping one of his knives in her bloody hand.

Then a kick to his head as he fell in a disorienting thump. His arm twisted unnaturally when it hit the floor, sending a second wave of rippling pain; the knife dropped from Diego’s grip. The female Sparrow climbed on top of him, knife ready to descend again.

Luther’s hulking form suddenly appeared, expression fierce, large hands wrenching the Sparrow off from Diego.

Diego’s vision blurred, he heard himself groan. Skinny arms curled under his and dragged him away from the roars of violence. Klaus’ voice muttered clumsy, comforting words in his ears then stumbled around to inspect the wound with anxious hands that soon became wet with Diego’s blood.

Diego blinked up at the ceiling. A light flashed in front of his sight, replaced in an instant by Five’s face looming over him, uncharacteristic panic engulfing his small brother’s expression.

“Go, Klaus! Help Allison!” Five instructed. “I’ll get Diego away!”

“I’m okay,” Diego said, wanting to reassure his family.

“I got you,” Five muttered, reaching under Diego’s body to grip. “I got you.”

They jumped to the walkway high above. Diego gulped a lungful of air, nausea and pain coiling in extreme discomfort. Five assisted him up against the wall, anxious green eyes and nimble small hands checking his body thoroughly. Diego threw his head back against the wall.

“Your right arm still works?” Five asked, pausing and making eye contact. Diego nodded. “Good. Projectiles,” Five instructed, pointing to the fight below. “Don’t move your left arm. I’ll come back as soon as I can.” 

Five hurried to stand, then suddenly winced and fell on one knee, a hand clutching his side. Blood on his fingers, but no visible entry wound on his clothes; most likely Diego’s blood, then.

“Hey,” Diego said worriedly, eyeing the source of pain.

“I’m fine,” Five dismissed, eyes on the ground. “Got nipped a little.” He pushed up slowly, a small hiss of pain. Once he was firm on his feet, he released a long exhale through his nose. Exhaustion etched in his features, and Diego worried if his jumps would last long enough in battle. Five turned and gripped the thin, metal rail, gazing out over the battle below. “Everything’s gonna be okay,” he said quietly, then blinked away.

Diego popped a knife from its holster and observed the fight for an opening, trying to ignore the pulsating pain from his injury by focusing on the chaos below. He watched carefully; listened to the shouts, blasts, and thuds that echoed throughout the warehouse walls; felt each movement of kinetic energy to understand the flow and narrative of the fight.

Another of Vanya’s blasts erupted in the middle of the warehouse, weaponizing the flying wood planks, flinging the Horror back as well. Her power did not completely incapacitate; Vanya has had to sacrifice raw power in exchange for quickly learning control the past couple of weeks.

Close to the entryway, Luther chased the lithe Sparrow.

Allison missed landing a kick to the tall Sparrow woman’s stomach, then immediately was yanked away by Klaus. A loud crash, pieces of wood shattering as a large crate slammed in the spot where Allison had just stood. Allison picked up a piece of a wooden plank and Klaus snatched a metal rod, both sets of eyes glued to the tall, dark Sparrow striding his way toward them.

On the other side, a metal rod struck Five on the side of the face. Five touched his left cheek and came away with blood, the red liquid slipping down the side of his face. He blinked to focus. The man with the scarred, disfigured face grinned. Five stole a quick glance at the floating cube that had yet to attack, then blinked behind the scarred man, kicking behind the knees and bringing him down to the ground.

The blonde Sparrow woman was proving to be the most unpredictable and dangerous. Diego threw the blade, aiming for her neck. The knife lost its kinetic energy mid-flight in front of the woman, a smile too sweet on her lips. She looked up, tilted her head, brought her hands up, and the walkway Diego was on began to shake. 

Diego’s right hand grappled for something to hold as his world quaked violently, his bottom skidding around. Teeth gritted, wound painfully jostling. He was going to be forced to plummet to the ground…

The attack suddenly ceased, the woman placing a hand on a communicator in her ear, metallic black and silver watch glinting from her wrist.

Their leader, who appeared to be the tall, dark-skinned Sparrow, tapped the silver and black watch on his own wrist with his fingers a few times, narrowing his eyes as if listening to a communicator in his ear as well. “We have company. Orders are to retreat,” he announced.

An annoyed huff from Sparrow Ben, hesitating in his spot, as the tall Sparrow woman with sunglasses pulled his arm away as she passed by. “Let’s go,” she prodded with a composed annoyance.

The Sparrows darted out through the ruined entryway. The man with scars paused at the broken window, leaned an elbow on the frame, and turned halfway. “I hope you survive tonight. Looking forward to play another round with you.” A disturbing smirk on his disfigured face, before he walked out.

An uneasy silence filled the warehouse. The scattered siblings checked on each other with tentative glances, still unable to lower their guards.

Vanya tilted her head, eyes searching distantly. “The Commission already has us surrounded,” she announced.

Chapter Text

[Current Timeline; May 19, 2019]

Klaus lay sprawled on the sofa, a leg up on the armrest, the other dangling to the floor as he bathed in the early sunshine through the windows in the living room. Arms thrown out on the sides, the sheer, short-sleeved beige shirt keeping his chest airy and cool. Dressed perfectly for the warm forecast for the day.

“You’re up early on your day off,” Viktor greeted, an apron crumpled in his right hand as he plopped onto the armchair beside his brother.

Klaus released a long, dramatic exhale. “Just excited about a day off free from dealing with retail customers. You’re lucky, your customers are adorable kids.” He crinkled his forehead in thought. “Hey, we should trade jobs.”

Viktor chuckled. “Unfortunately, you have to actually know how to play the violin to teach. Allison said you’re doing great, though. She was out shopping last week, and said she saw you sweet talking several customers into buying house plants they didn’t need.”

Klaus brought his shoulders up and smirked an admittance, but then proceeded to pout. “Speaking of our self-appointed governess, this is all Allison’s fault.”

Viktor shrugged. “She’s not comfortable with the long-term rumoring. Besides, doesn’t it feel great not having to rely on dad or the Academy?”

“Eh, still much preferred being a freeloader like Five. Where is the little gremlin anyway? I don’t think he came home last night again. What do you think he does when he’s out, huh?” Klaus asked, lifting his brows multiple times in a scandalous gesture.

“Gross,” Viktor said, bobbing his head blankly.

Blue light flashed in the living room. 

Both Viktor and Klaus yelped as Five appeared in front of them — jeans pants, long-sleeved white crew neck shirt, sleeves pulled up to his forearms, the usual intensity in his eyes. 

“Whoa, yeah, see,” Klaus said, pointing at his temple as he began to sit up. “Precognition, that’s what I’ve been saying.”

Five instantly locked his gaze on him. 

Klaus flinched at the sharpness, involuntarily pushing back into the couch.

“I need you to come with me,” Five demanded, taking a step forward.

Klaus chuckled nervously. “Oh, ah, where are we going?”

Five rolled his eyes, then grabbed Klaus’ arm as he blinked both of them out of the house.

Viktor shrugged at the now empty living room and stood, straightening his apron and pulling it over his head.

***

The portal spat the brothers out on a paved sidewalk, Five stumbling a few steps before recovering, and Klaus landing roughly on his backside, breakfast unpleasantly somersaulting in his stomach.

A familiar irritated huff above him. 

Klaus lifted his head to see Five staring down the street, hands in his jeans pockets, working his jaw and impatience evident.

“You okay?” Five asked, the delivery not unlike a statement at a business meeting, that the question didn’t register immediately. So Klaus kept staring, a hand over the curls on his head.

At the non-answer, Five’s eyes shifted down to his brother, eyes narrowing slightly, “Are you okay?” this time with the proper tilt up in tone to signal a need for a response.

“Oh, oh yah.” Klaus shuffled to his feet. “I’ve had worse trips, that’s…that’s tamer than usual.”

A hint of sheepishness softened Five’s expression. “Sorry. I don’t have much time to fit this in my schedule as is.”

“Of course your schedule is important. It’s never about what I want,” Klaus muttered, pursing his lips and shifting his eyes away. “So, are we stopping an apocalypse, saving the world, the usual stuff?”

Five squinted his eyes at his brother and gave a sour, incredulous look. “I need help with finding a gift for Claire.”

A second to process the response. “Oh! That…was not what I was expecting.” He gazed around at the environment - rows of quaintly-designed storefronts lining small-town streets, a picturesque water fountain in the middle, a population of mostly families and teenagers strolling the walkways. Five had brought them to the outdoor mall.

“Allison says she likes unicorns.” A thoughtful expression, conveying the importance of the errand. At this, Klaus tilted his head and studied his brother for a moment, like an interesting new item on a store shelf. 

Five huffed at the delay and gave another eyeroll. “Just point me in a general direction. Then you can go.”

“Oh no, little brother,” Klaus said pulling himself to the task at hand, bringing an arm over Five’s shoulders as they began walking, giddy at the opportunity to help. “Big brother Klaus is here to help you, whatever you need. It is actually really sweet how you asked me for help again.”

***

A wide smile of encouragement on Klaus’ face as he held up two different types of unicorn pajamas.

Five studied each for several moments as he had done with the other items presented in the past hour, brows crinkled and hands in his pockets. “We’ll keep these in mind. Let’s keep looking,” he said as he headed to the next section.

Klaus lowered the items and released an exasperated sigh. For someone who was supposed to be in a hurry, Klaus thought, Five sure was taking his time to be picky.

***

They entered the toy store next door. Bright and colorful, fully stocked shelves of every variety, Klaus was sure they would find something that would meet Five’s standards of unicorn merchandise perfection.

“Ooh!” Klaus exclaimed, head turning to a pink princess section, while Five spotted a row of stuffed animals to the right.

The two marched to the opposite sides of the store.

***

“Eh, might as well be the favorite uncle,” Klaus decided, dropping a collection of princess accessories and girls glitter makeup in his basket. A quick exhale to relish the completed task, then an awkward wave at the little girl in pigtails who had been staring at him for the past 5 minutes, before setting off to check on his brother. 

A childhood memory of Five trying to temper his enthusiasm when Grace brought them to a toy store. 

Klaus smiled as he sauntered around a corner, finding Five dangling a white unicorn stuffed animal by its golden horn in front of his face, examining the toy thoroughly with narrowed eyes.

“Oh no, no, my dear brother, that’s not how you decide,” Klaus interrupted, dropping his shopping basket on the floor and picking up another unicorn from the shelf. Pressing the toy tight against his own chest with an exaggerated presentation, “You do this.”

Five acknowledged with a small sound through his nose, then squeezed the stuffed animal in the same manner, clutching on the pink hooves with both hands, expression serious and focused.

His eyes snapped up after a few moments. “This’ll do,” as if an hour and half hadn’t been spent this morning trying to decide.

Klaus reached around Five’s shoulders, pulling him in a tight side hug like a child would a stuffed toy. “Aww, it’s adorable, especially coming from the grumpy uncle.” 

Five furrowed his brows at the unpleasant description. “She hasn’t met me yet.”

“Allison tells her bedtime stories starring us! And apparently you’re the small, mean, and grumpy one,” Klaus said, scrunching his face to a sour look in an apparent attempt at imitation.

Five shrugged off the arm and pushed away, then flinched at the motion, muttering an expletive under his breath and bringing a hand over his side. Klaus steadied his feet from the shove as he raised a curious eyebrow.

“Got in a fight or something?”

Gift wrappers up ahead caught Five’s attention. “What?” he asked absently as he began to walk forward.

Klaus followed, shifting his eyes toward the wrapping paper section as well. “Your side.” A brief memory of Five similarly holding his side in the Sparrow Timeline, but his attention was quickly distracted by the sight of tiny fairy wings on display.

Five shook his head, gaze landing on a blue wrapper. “Just a vindictive nutcase. It’s fine.”

It’s fine, casually like a mere scraped knee. But the way he held his side and gingerly walked to favor his right implied a slightly more worrying condition.

Especially the fading bruises on his neckline.

Klaus rubbed a finger on his chin as his eyes trailed Five’s exposed skin. He suspected the white, long-sleeved shirt obscuring most of the view was serving its intended purpose.

“Hey…Five,” Klaus began, a bit uncertain, “whatever kinky things you do in your spare time…that’s your business. But if you ever need advice on safety and boundaries…”

Five whipped his head toward his brother. 

Klaus took a defensive step back, but a surprising grin spread across his small brother’s face, hard, green eyes softening to genuine amusement. 

“Head predictably filled with idiocy,”  Five said, turning away to pick up a blue gift wrapper with patterned unicorn design.

Five had also brushed him away back then, his feelings reduced to nothing of importance.

Klaus’ smile faltered. It was a very normal Five thing to do, but still he felt a painful squeeze in his chest. “What does that mean? I’m, you know, over here actually trying to care.” He gestured an arm up in a fit of annoyance. “Something you’re fairly incompetent at.”

“I do care,” Five muttered, distracted with appraising the blue unicorn patterned wrapper in his hand.

Klaus shook his head and placed a hand on his hip. “You know, just to be perfectly clear, I’m still upset about what happened in the Sparrow Timeline.”

“About?” he asked without looking up.

“What do you mean ‘about’?”

Five sighed. “Everyone’s mad at me about everything that happened in the other timelines,” replying as he squinted his eyes at a price tag.

“You pulled me away from the love of my life."  A heartbreak that still penetrated deeply in his being. He never got another chance; Dave was already dead in this timeline.

“Oh, that.”

Klaus stopped and pulled Five’s shoulder to have his undivided attention. “That?” Klaus shook his head at the dismissal. "Wow. You know, Diego said I should have punched you that night.”

Five’s countenance remained unemotional, speaking matter-of-factly. “You wouldn’t have. You’re not like that.”

“Because Klaus lets everyone walk all over him?”

“I didn’t say that.”

Anger arose, and Klaus struggled to remain calm. “Well, it’s certainly inferred.”

Five pulled away from his brother’s hold, irritation on his face as well. “Look, I don’t need this right now.”

Klaus forced an incredulous smile, a hand on his hip, pulling his eyes to the ground as he shook his head, “You know what? That’s my line,” and snatched his shopping basket from the ground.

“Klaus….”

Five watched his brother walk away.

***

[Sparrow Timeline; April 21, 2019]

Windows shattered high above. Small, black devices sailed through the air - familiar to Five as he had used this same type of explosive to bomb a cruise line in a mission once, here now demanding payment for his sins. But it was coming after his heart, and that was too high a price.

“Get down!” he warned his family. The adrenaline he quickly channeled to his brain, kicking his mind into high gear. A mere second to protect only one of his siblings. 

Five scanned the warehouse, rapid flicks of the eyes - Klaus and Allison near the wall and already settling in crouches, Luther and Vanya worryingly exposed in the middle. Five whipped his head up - a collapse of the second level walkway could kill an already injured Diego.

He chose Diego.

Five materialized in front of his brother, their eyes mirroring the same anxiety. Five reached out, just as an ear-splitting explosion violently shook the walkway, propelling a wave of heat and pressure, snapping the thin rails that held up their strip of catwalk.

Their footing fell away, the swooshing air an alarming forewarning as the ground rushed up toward them. 

Diego flayed his uninjured arm, felt his heart plummet to his stomach as he helplessly swam the air.

Freefalling, Five poured his focus on grabbing his brother, locking his gaze onto Diego’s panicked face, desperately calculating the equation to jump two people mid-air…

The teleport sent the brothers crashing to the ground in the back of the warehouse. A drunken mardi gras parade of debris as all shelving in the warehouse fell, glass shattered, chunks of the wall fragmenting to the ground in aggressive thuds.

 Voices yelling, but sounding far away. The air vibrating with scorching heat. Floating embers, dust, smoke - memories of the apocalypse flooded Five’s mind, demons drowning his sanity in a prison nightmare. He clenched his fists, fought against the invasion on his thoughts, determined to keep planted in the present. 

He forcefully threw his attention to his family, taking deep, gasping breaths.

Luther standing tall, fierce eyes surveying the environment, clothes torn and disheveled but otherwise appeared unharmed. Allison and Klaus still huddled together against the wall surrounded by debris, condition unknown. 

Vanya unconscious on the floor.

Five’s heart skipped a beat, guilt squeezing his chest, dread swirling him down in a dark, bottomless chasm.

How feasible was a time rewind, he tried to quickly analyze. A sinking realization that the Sparrows were present until the last moment before the Commission attack; there was no safe moment to bring his family back to.

Looming silhouettes appeared in the smoky entryway. Masked soldiers assembling in the darkness, red glowing eyes like phantoms haunting the shadows. Guns drawn.

Stampeding boots echoing behind the walls — the certainty that the back exits were also blocked. Five placed a hand on his forehead and released a trembling breath. His family was in no condition to take on a Commission unit. Escape was the only option.

A groan from the ground. “You couldn’t have put a little more effort in making that landing gentler?” Diego complained.

Five turned to face his brother, who had pushed himself to sit against the wall, clutching his bloody arm, face sweaty and twisted in pain.

“I’m getting you out of here,” Five said, reaching out a hand, ripping his thoughts away from the rest of his family to focus on his tasks.

“Wait, the others…”

“I’ll come back for them.” Five’s tone held a finality that left no room for argument. He knelt and seized Diego’s uninjured arm in one motion, already calculating a long-distance jump for an alleyway.

***

Diego retched on the ground, pale with pain and nausea.

The alley was empty and dark, only one flickering street lamp, though dawn was starting to creep in, painting a pale, orange glow on the asphalt and buildings near the main street up ahead.

Five stood with effort, a trembling hand on the wall and heaving heavy breathes. Pushing down a small panic at the tremendous drain of energy that jump consumed.

Five reached in his pocket for a small piece of lemon candy, which he crushed in his mouth like a famished animal.

“Warn a guy next time, will you?” Diego said, still a little green, looking miserable sitting against the stone wall.

“Stay,” Five ordered, and Diego bristled at being commanded. “I’ll be right back.” 

A wince of pain, Five placed his hand on his side; a deep breath to strengthen his resolve. “I can do this,” he muttered, then disappeared.

***

The unrelenting hammering of bullets, deafening echoes off the reverberating warehouse walls. Luther gripped the large slab of metal in front of him, leaned forward in a defensive crouch, plodding ahead against the onslaught. Narrowing the attack angle as much as he could to shield everyone behind. 

He chanced a peek over his shield. The soldiers were within his reach, so he planted his feet and swung the slab, swiping several of the enemy off their feet.

A flash of blue in his peripheral, Five leaned over an unconscious Vanya.

Luther made eye contact with his brother, nodding to encourage, feeling relief at seeing an evacuation plan being executed; Five nodded back in acknowledgment before teleporting Vanya away.

Luther made sure to buy as much time as he could. 

He leaned into his next punch.

***

Hands over their ears and crouched behind a large crate, Allison and Klaus huddled closer, flinching at the barrage of bullets coming from the rear. Fortunately, large debris in the area provided some buffer and screen.

“Advance,” a robotic voice commanded, and immediately the gunfire from that direction ceased.

Klaus tentatively lowered his hands, wringing them together. “They’re coming! You’ve got to rumor them, Allison!”

“They have ear pieces!” she hissed. “Try to rip them out so I can.”

“Yeah,” Klaus nodded, “that’s…more complicated than it sounds.” He picked up a plank of wood, testing its weight. “Let’s just smash their heads in, simpler.”

Allison nodded back, picking up a wooden plank at her feet as well. Their gazes communicating encouragements, a deep breath to prepare. Then launched from their hiding place toward the oncoming soldiers.

Five reappeared, stumbling and falling on one knee, just as a gun swung over Klaus’ head, sending him to the ground. Allison jumped up to wrestle the gun from the soldier. More soldiers advancing from behind. 

Five shut his eyes and took a deep, trembling breath. His eyes snapped open, then he rushed through the group of soldiers, grabbing both Allison and Klaus and dragging them through a rip in space.

***

Vanya groaned as she stirred awake, her throbbing head pillowed on someone’s rather bony lap.

“Hey there, welcome back,” Klaus said with a pained smile, his hand on his head. “We have matching head wounds.”

Vanya blinked blearily. “Oh, that’s nice.”

She set her gaze above at the visible piece of jagged, rectangular sky lined by rooftop edges, then dragged her eyes down to the back windows along the claustrophobic building walls that surrounded them. Allison’s chastising voice the first present detail she properly processed — “If you don’t keep putting pressure on it I’m gonna do it for you…”

With a palm on the ground, Vanya slowly pushed up to sit, Klaus taking her other hand to assist.

They were in the shadows of a small alley, the sun having just risen. The air still cool and damp from a slight morning fog.

Allison on her knees examining Diego’s shoulder nearby. Diego’s gray, pajama sweatshirt soaked red and roughly torn, his head leaned back against the building, eyes closed and breathing through his nose.

“Is he okay?” Vanya asked, catching her siblings’ attention.

“Yeah, he’s fine,” Klaus reassured. “At least that’s what the tough guy keeps saying.”

“It’s going to need stitches,” Allison clarified, “but he’ll live.” Allison feigned a disappointed shrug; Diego squinted back, unamused.

Vanya surveyed the area. “Where are Five and Luther?”

“They should be here soon…,” a flash of blue light, bringing a grin on Klaus’ face, “ah ha! I may be developing precognition as a new power, just a heads up.”

Luther and Five appeared in front of the group, both falling to the ground in a weary heap. Five on his hands and knees, panting heavily, a bloody gash on his left cheek.

Luther down on one knee, arm resting across a leg, gray hoodie sweatshirt tattered by what appeared to be bullet holes.

“Oh my God, Luther, are you alright?” Allison exclaimed, rushing to stand.

“I’m fine” Luther said, wincing as he stood. He turned to ascertain their situation, narrowing his eyes disapprovingly at the well-lit main street up ahead. “We need to get off the streets.” His eyes fell on Diego, who was the only one still sat against the wall.

Diego was pale, teeth gritted, right hand holding a bloody piece of cloth over his left upper arm..

“You okay?” Luther asked.

“Worry about yourself. You look like shit.” Diego countered.

“You both look like shit,” Five said, standing with a hand against the wall, his arm across his face, the sleeve of his blazer pressed against the wound on his cheek.

Allison placed both hands on her hips. “You look like shit, too.”

“Can we please not argue about who looks shittier?” Vanya pleaded, a hand on her head and grimacing at a worsening headache.

“God, we all look like shit, okay?” Klaus said, throwing a hand up. “Everyone looks equally shitty. Can we get out of here now?”

Five pulled his arm from his face, inspected the blood on his sleeve with annoyance, then gestured toward the mouth of the alley. “Two blocks from here, to the right,” he said, still supporting himself heavily against the wall. “An empty house. I’ve checked it out a couple of times, no one lives there.”

The family regarded the open street, then exchanged looks; a mutual self-consciousness about their disarrayed appearance came around.

Allison sighed. “Well, let’s go then.”

Luther approached Diego and reached out a hand. Diego clasped it and pulled himself up, leaning against Luther for an extended moment before settling on his feet.

Luther squinted in concern. “I can, um, carry you if you’d like.”

“No, I’m fine, I can walk,” Diego said, assertive in waving off the offer.

The family plodded through the alley to the increasingly busier street.

Five lagged behind, trudging slowly along the walls, catching his breath every so often; watching his battered and weary family make their way through the streets of a dangerous world.

***

Ragged, exhausted, the siblings stood outside an abandoned, one story house. Klaus with a hand over his mouth, eyes wide. Allison shaking her head with her arms crossed. Vanya’s eyes squinted in a puzzled expression. Diego giving the house a dirty look. Luther sighing heavily.

Once a quaint, white house now had crumbling paint and rotted woodsidings; broken windows boarded up with cardboard; overgrown bushes laying claim to most of the front porch.

All heads swiveled toward Five, who stood in the middle of the group. 

“Are you kidding me?” Allison said with an incredulous grimace.

Five huffed. “It’s away from the main streets. Sits on a large lot, so it’s secluded. It’s the safest place for us.”

Diego groaned in annoyance, hand still clutching his wound. “Let’s make sure there aren’t any wild animals in there.”

***

Five stood against the wall beside an old, broken television, staring out into the dark house. A far off look on his face, a hand subconsciously on his side.

“Shut up,” Klaus said, stumbling along overturned chairs while shooing away at empty air. “I have a headache…not in the mood for any of you.” Hand nursing a bruise on his head, Klaus sauntered to a window and peeled off the duck tape that held the cardboard in place. “Can’t see a thing,” he muttered. 

Klaus chucked the cardboard aside, throwing light throughout what they supposed was the main living room. Vanya winced and shielded her eyes. Luther stood in the middle and inspected the area.

Dust in every corner and floating within the rays of sunlight. Peeling wallpaper. A foul musty, moldy stench. Discolored ceilings and walls. Chairs overturned, pieces of wood and furniture debris scattered on the floor.

Diego found a corner and slumped to the ground. “This place is a dump.”

Allison appeared in the entryway. “Hey, I found a mattress in one of the rooms. Super gross, but it’s something.”

“Got it,” Luther said, following Allison.

***

They gathered in the kitchen area, the tile floors much preferred over the moldy, filthy carpets.

Diego was sat on the floor, shirtless, Five pressing Diego’s tattered sweatshirt against the wound on his upper arm. “Ow, Dammit, Five,” he said, snatching his sweatshirt away. “I got it, okay?”

Five rolled his eyes, pulled his knees up and rested his head back against the wall. “You’re such a child,” he said as he gazed out over the room.

Vanya laying on the mattress, rubbing her temples, brows crinkled in discomfort. Allison kneeled beside checking her head wound. Five narrowed his eyes at a gash line and blotches of bruises running along Allison’s arm.

A second mattress plopped down on the floor beside where Klaus lay sprawled on his back, a cloud of dust billowing around. 

Klaus coughed and waved it off. “Luther, you brute,” he muttered, then sighed dramatically. “I miss my mansion. And I miss Elliot’s place.”

Luther dusted off his hands, shifting his attention to Diego. “You need to lie down and rest,” Luther pointed, “and that wound needs to be disinfected and stitched close.”

“I’m fine here,” he replied, terse with irritation, and Luther bristled at the tone. “And where do you see medical supplies?”

Allison stood, expression stern. “Hey, he’s just watching out for you.” 

“We need new clothes,” Klaus added.

Luther clicked his teeth in irritation. “Klaus, stop whining.”

“Can everyone please shut up, my head is killing me,” Vanya said.

Klaus chuckled with his eyes still closed, gesturing with a hand in the air. “Not happening, mi hermana. Everyone’s crabby and exhausted and in pain. I believe it’s about to get worse, actually.”

“After you’re done fighting,” Five said, voice strained as he stood, “start cleaning up the house and get settled. I have things to do. I’ll be gone for a while.”

Vanya sat up slowly, squinting, a hand still on her head. “A while? Wait, where are you going?”

Luther turned to face Five fully. “Five, no, we have to stick together right now.”

“I have things to do,” he repeated simply. “Go out only to get necessary supplies, always bring someone with you, and don’t loiter around. 

Allison placed one hand on her hip and gestured her displeasure with the other. “Five, that’s unreasonable! We already only go out at night as it is. We can’t be expected to stay cooped up in this…horrible house for how long it’ll take you to go running your own errands.”

“No, I have things going on outside. I have important things too!” Vanya said, eyes focusing with a steely expression.

Klaus raised his hand, sitting up against an elbow. “Me too!”

 Five shook his head incredulously. “Do you guys want to be dead? Is that the genius plan you’re passionately arguing for?”

Diego groaned as he stood, clutching the sweater on his wound tightly. “No, but we’re trying to make the best of this shitty life!”

“I am done,” Allison said, throwing both hands up and looking away. “This world is a shitty mess and I have had it.”

Luther approached Allison, placing a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged the hand off, a sadness came over Luther’s expression, a sting crossing his eyes at the reaction.

Five raked both hands through his hair. “If you idiots would just listen to me and not go out so much we would still be safe!”

Luther turned to Five, anger on his face. “We did listen to you. We trusted you to get us home. And it hasn’t happened yet!”

Five threw his hands up. “I WILL fix this! But I can’t DO that if I have to herd all of you like fucking cats! Running around the city in front of the enemy!”

“This is insane, you can’t expect to put us all under house arrest!” Vanya yelled.

“How do you think the Sparrows and the Commission found us!” Five said, exasperated.

Diego pushed off the wall, a little unsteady on his feet, taking a few steps toward his small brother. “What are you implying? That it was our fault we got attacked? They’re chasing you, aren’t they? This is your mess too, so don’t go around lecturing us.”

Five took a step back, eyes going wide. A few inhales through his nose, then steeled his expression. “Worry about each other for now. Stay put. Again, don’t leave the house unless it’s to get food and supplies. And as we’ve been doing, only go out in the middle of the night, not in broad daylight. Do you understand?”

“Five…,” Luther said with his authoritative voice.

Five shook his head and disappeared in a flash of light.

Chapter Text

[Current Timeline; May 19, 2019]

Allison pursed her lips in thought, tapping the pen on her notebook, pattering loudly in the hushed library like an anxious dripping faucet. “I’m thinking of retiring.”

Luther peered up from his book, shifting his eyes left to right, straining his thoughts for the proper response. He sat stiffly in a too-small wooden chair against the wall a few feet in front of his sister, feet together, arms close to his body as he held the book with both hands.

“Allison, you do what you want, what makes you happy,” he began, closing the book and placing it on a nearby desk to present his full attention. “You know I’ll support you 100%, and the rest of the family will too.” He leaned forward in the chair and took a deep breath. “But if you’re retiring so you can spend more time staring at microfiche all day, then maybe Hollywood is a healthy distraction for you.”

Allison snapped her eyes to the microfische display in front of her, pulling her hands away from the desk to her lap. An expression of guilt, like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

Luther sighed. “It’s been two hours. We should be getting back. We’ll come again tomorrow after I get off work.”

Allison took a breath to compose herself, then nodded her head. “Yeah, but let me just finish this last card. I’m almost done.”

Luther sighed, patience always long for his sister. “Okay, but it’s Saturday, and you know what that means.” He gave an encouraging smile. “We don’t want to be late for Viktor’s weekend home cooked meal.” A soft reminder of the warmth and happiness of her home.

Allison turned back to the reader, biting her lip slightly. Her vision flitting across the screen. 

Her eyes suddenly widened. “Oh my God, Luther, look!” A hand up to her mouth and laughing softly, eyes wet with held back tears.

Luther jumped from his chair, taking a spot beside Allison, leaning for a good view of the screen.

Allison began to read, a tremble in her voice. “Meanwhile in Dallas, TX, a rally to encourage the Black community to vote in the upcoming local elections took place. Local activist leader Raymond Chestnut gave a moving speech at the start of the event. The crowd then disbursed to pass out flyers and pamphlets…”

Luther could have sworn he could hear Allison’s rapid heartbeat amidst the hushed environment. 

He was supposed to be the strong one, the powerful one. But he could only stare in awe at Allison’s strength sometimes. She took charge of the family when they arrived in this timeline, bought the home they now lived in, encouraged everyone to stand on their own two feet. Poured that strength to each and everyone of the family.

And only let herself have a moment to cry in rare moments like these. Entrusting her times of weakness only to him.

Allison silently read the passage several more times.

A melancholy smile from Luther, conveying comfort to his sister with a gentle rub of her shoulder. “I’ll grab a Civil Rights Movement book you haven’t looked through yet,” he whispered. “Whenever you’re ready, we’ll get going.”

***

[Sparrow Timeline; April 23, 2019]

Diego had crouched on his knees swiping a rag at the sticky floor, grimacing at the sour stench of his own vomit. 

“How did that not get you sick?” he asked, glancing over at Klaus. His brother sat on the mattress, chin on fist and fingers fiddling with the dog tags around his neck. The defeated look on his face earlier replaced with an angry set to his jaw and an intense stare aimed at the unfortunate far wall. Slivers of light from the cracks of the boarded windows barely lit the area, shadowing him for just the right amount of brooding effect.

“I’ve had worse hangovers,” Klaus replied, an uncharacteristic edge to his tone.

“Don’t bother cleaning it up too much,” Allison said, pacing along the dimly-lit kitchen cabinets and fidgeting with her hands. “Five said we’re leaving soon anyway.” 

Diego stood up, smiling sheepishly. “Yeah, just don’t want it to stink up while we’re still here.”

Klaus rasped out a bitter laugh, swirling tension in the air with a languid flick of his hand. “Wow, Allison, I’m glad you picked today of all days to become Five’s minion. Has that always been a life dream of yours?” The bite in the words unusual for their normally carefree sibling, almost like someone else wore his skin; Klaus isn’t well practiced in finding a healthy outlet for his anger, after all.

It seemed to catch Allison off-guard, her expression starting and stopping between defensive and guilt. “Hey, look, I really am sorry. Five came back almost as soon as you two left,” Allison explained, to which Klaus rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I did delay it. I wouldn’t tell him where you were headed. You know, tried to buy you some time.”

Allison sighed and closed her eyes, rubbing her temples with both hands. “We yelled at each other for a good half hour. He was really, really upset about everyone not being here. Kept complaining that there was no time.” She dropped her hands and leaned back against the kitchen counter. “And he said I would see my daughter soon.”

“Of course, Allison, it’s always about you,” Klaus scowled.

Diego held up a hand, “Hey, it sounds like she tried,” but gave Allison a disapproving look all the same.

The familiar blue light flashed in the room, accompanied by an angry, high-pitched yelling. Five materialized clutching Luther and Vanya. 

Vanya thrummed with hysterical energy, eyes glowing an enraged white.

“I said let go! You have no right!” Vanya yelled. A small blast of energy released, a manifestation of her anger; controlled to not injure, just enough to pull herself free. It staggered her siblings back a few steps and rattled the windows and miscellaneous items on the counters. 

Diego searched quickly for any injuries. He half expected to meet Luther’s eyes as he glanced around, nodding reassurances at each other per usual. But Luther kept his focus on Five, big hands flexing into fists on his sides, glaring with barely held back outrage.

Five continued to back away, reaching the wall and sagging against it.

Vanya shook where she stood. “Harlan is important to me! He’s the only thing left of Sissy!”

The family loomed around Five in a semi-circle. Five straightened himself to face them with what appeared to be much effort. Tempers rose; exhaustion, resentment, and frustration peaked to a high cresting wave threatening to crash.

“We are leaving soon, and that’s final,” Five declared.

“Five, you can’t just make decisions by yourself!” Luther yelled, his hulking body seeming to get bigger as he tensed his posture.

Klaus laughed. “You’re wasting your breath, he doesn’t listen to anybody.”

“Look, Five, we’re a team! You have to listen to everyone!” Allison added.

“Hold up, Five,” Diego said. “I do need just a few minutes to let someone know that we’re leaving.”

“Like I said,” Five gritted out, “I already calculated for the departure.”

“I’m sure you could have recalculate for 10 lousy minutes with that big brain of yours,” Klaus sulked.

Five shook his head, eyes drifting closed. “The equation is too complicated…”

“You never take us into consideration before you drag us all through space and time!” Luther yelled.

Five pushed himself off the wall, shooting a look of anger. “I gave strict instructions not to leave this house! Last time I trusted all of you to arrive for a deadline, only 2 of you made it!”

 Five’s hand suddenly flew to his mouth, color draining from his skin. The siblings watched perplexed as their small brother stumbled to the kitchen sink and threw up.  

Diego had a short moment of satisfaction at someone else not having the constitution to withstand the string of spatial jumps, which was immediately replaced by a shot of concern at the realization that Five did not normally get sick while using his own powers.

The hostile air dissipated, and for the first time in a long while, Five finally held the attention of his entire family.

Five wiped his mouth, and received a terse “are you okay?” from Allison.

He waved the concern off with a dismissive hand, still looking a bit shaky. “None of this matters once we leave this timeline. This will all disappear. All of this will be rewritten.”

“Disappear? What does that mean?” Diego asked, a worry in his expression.

“It means what I said, idiot.”

Diego leaned closer to Five, speaking in a lowered voice. “Look, I’m serious, I need to let someone know that we’re leaving. It’s very important.”

Five shot him an annoyed look and clenched his jaw. “If Lila wants to find you again, she will.”

Diego pulled back in surprise.

“Lila?” Allison said. “What the hell, Diego?”

“Lila is my business, alright?”

“Yeah, your business nearly killed Allison, if you remember,” Luther growled out.

“Nearly killed all of us.” Vanya said.

Diego turned to Vanya and clenched his fists, feeling the sting of his arm in the sling, but anger overriding the physical pain. “So it’s okay for you to complain about leaving someone behind, but I can’t?”

“I never said that!”

“Stop!” Five’s hand gripped the kitchen counter behind him. “I don’t get it, do you not want to go home?”

“Of course we want to go home, but that’s not the point,” Luther said.

 “That’s the only point! Why do you idiots always get distracted with unimportant things? Do you want to go home or not?” 

Five gestured a hand toward Diego. “Do you want your lives back? Your existence?” 

Then to Allison, “Do you want to see Claire?” 

To Klaus, “Do you want to be safe and have a chance to build your lives?” 

To Luther, “Do you want a chance at a future?” 

And finally to Vanya, “A chance at happiness?” He lingered his gaze at his small sister for a moment longer.

Diego pursed his lips, tension manifesting as a sharp, involuntary head twitch. 

The how’s of time travel and the complicated chains of consequences through time eluded Diego. But Five was right - Lila had found him in this timeline, and she would find him again. But the anxiety of the situation still swirled him with unrest. He clenched and unclenched his fists again in an attempt to manage it.

“Five, all we're saying is…” Allison began.

“Just stop,” Five interrupted, strength visibly draining, holding a hand up and closing his eyes. “Stop holding on to stupid things and focus on what’s important — a timeline without the apocalypse.”

“They’re not stupid things,” Klaus pouted.

Five shook his head tiredly. 

Diego noted Five’s shallow breaths and the tremble in his brother’s hands. Flashes of moments came to mind — Five’s desperate writing on the walls, not seeing him eat or sleep, the delayed response when Diego had tried waking him during the attack at the warehouse. 

Had they been watching Five run himself to complete exhaustion all this time? He wondered if any of his siblings had come to the same realization.

“The Commission will still be after us,” Luther said.

Five shook his head again. “No Commission.”

“How?” Allison asked, uncurling her arms to lay on her sides, tenseness leaving her shoulders. “The Commission’s been chasing us whenever and wherever we go, right? How do we not have the Commission after us?”

“I told you, I’ve worked it out. You will be safe from the Commission.”

Five stepped forward, wobbled, but Diego was ready, shooting his good hand out to hold Five up by the arm.

“Shit,” Five muttered, losing strength in his legs. “Shit, shit, shit.”

“Hey, lay down,” Allison said, forehead creasing in concern as she took Five’s other arm.

“No, no…I’m fine. I just…need to sit.”

Luther scampered to grab a chair from the table, nearly flinging it to the kitchen island. Five sank into the chair, propped his elbows on his knees, then buried his face in his hands.

 “I’ll need a few minutes to recover from the jumps before I can do the temporal jump. But, shit, there’s no time,” Five said, voice partly muffled by his hands. “The departure is already calculated for. I need…,” Five picked up his head to glance around, “coffee.”

Diego and Allison bounded towards the kitchen counters. “Okay, we’ve got it,” Diego said. “Just relax there.”

Luther placed a hand on Five’s forehead, which Five immediately batted away with irritation.

Allison handed the coffee to Five -- cold water in a plastic cup with unstirred instant coffee. It looked utterly disgusting, but surprisingly Five didn't seem to mind. His hands shook as he drank, nearly spilling some. Diego caught Allison’s eyes, then both glanced over at Luther; all 3 of them seemed to be having an internal struggle whether one should step up and take control now that Five looked ready to fall over. 

Klaus sat back down on the mattress, eyes wide as he watched Five carefully, moving his eyes around his siblings to try to understand the new situation. Vanya observed with a pinched expression, as if unable to reconcile her anger at recent events and with her concern for her small brother at the moment.

Five finished his coffee in a few gulps. “Does anyone have sweets? Candy? Anything.”

Vanya produced a snickers bar from her jacket pocket.

“Yeah, that’ll do great,” Five breathed out.

Vanya walked over and handed the candy bar without making eye contact. 

Five grasped the offering but didn’t pull it out of her hand. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, a softness and sincerity in his expression. She brought her eyes up, still looking upset, but her anger had significantly lessened. She pulled her hand away without a word and walked back to where she stood earlier.

Five turned his attention back toward his siblings. “We’ll leave in 3 minutes. Get ready.”

Chapter Text

[Current Timeline; May 20, 2019]

The movie had long ended, the entirety of the main floor of the house in darkness except for a powerful white-bulb lamp illuminating the main living room where the siblings sat. Half-eaten bags of chips, popcorn bowls, an empty cookie tray, soda cans, and water bottles littered the area.

Viktor and Allison leaned against each other on the short sofa. Luther with a soda in hand on the armchair.

Klaus half-laying on the long couch, head on the armrest and a leg on Diego’s knee. “I mean, why would those Sparrows stay so long with Dad, that’s just weird,” Klaus said with lazy hand gestures, feeling the late hour of the night on his languid body. “They were all like, grown-ass adults.”

Allison stole a glance toward Luther, but her brother seemed unperturbed by Klaus’ careless words.

“I was the first one to get out of the Academy,” Diego declared with a proud grin, spilling some popcorn as he triumphantly held up the small bowl like a first place trophy.

“Nope, nope, technically, it was Ben who got out first,” Klaus countered.

Viktor’s smile faltered as an uninvited sadness brought flashes of memories laced with a bit of grief, a bit of regret. He glanced at Diego, who had subtly deflated, saddened eyes staring low.

Allison shook her head with a muted expression. “Uh-uh,” she warned, bending forward with a motherly finger wag. Viktor straightened his sitting position as he lost his leaning support.

“Not funny,” Luther chimed in with his fatherly lecturing. “Never going to be funny.”

“What? It was a little funny,” Klaus grinned as he stared at several heads shaking in disagreement. His lips pulled down in a pout. “Ben would have thought it was funny.”

A moment of silence in the living room. Diego’s lips lifted in a melancholy smile. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Well, if we’re really getting into technicalities,” Allison began, sitting back, steering the conversation away, “it was Five who got out before all of us.”

Klaus lifted his brows in realization. A collective “ahhh” around the room.

Luther smirked and pointed at Klaus. “She got you there.”

“Alright, Five wins,” Klaus reluctantly admitted, raising his palms out in surrender. “Our dear brother who may or may not be still obsessing about the timeline.” 

Diego shook his head at the exasperating thought, taking a sip from a soda can.

Allison slumped back and pinched between her brows. “God, I hope he’s not going to mess up the timeline again. I don’t think I can handle any more of Five’s time travel-related screw-ups.”

Viktor shifted his gaze up the stairs toward Five’s bedroom. “Shhh,” he warned, motioning the others with his eyes.

Luther lowered his head and raised his shoulders. Klaus placed a hand over his mouth.

Lines of light outlined Five’s bedroom door above, the door opened halfway, illuminating part of the darkened hallway.

“Is he even in there?” Allison asked in a lowered voice.

“Lights on,” Diego pointed.

“But he keeps a lamp on sometimes even when he’s not in,” Luther added. “I haven’t heard him all night.”

“He may be asleep,” Viktor suggested.

Diego lowered his posture and leaned forward. “Let’s keep it down, then,” he whispered. Klaus compliantly set his hands on his chest.

“But getting back to the topic,” Allison said. “Luther might have been the last to leave the Academy, but he was the first one to walk out when we got back to this timeline.” Her finger stabbed triumphantly in the air.

Soft applause all around accompanied by whispered cheers. Luther broke eye contact with the group, a bashful expression on his face.

“He was the one who declared that we were unadopting ourselves,” Viktor said with a half smile.

Klaus pushed himself up to a sitting position and raised a hand in protest. “No, no, I’m pretty sure that was me.”

“Yeah, but in essence it was Luther who declared it,” Allison teased with a slight tilt of her head. “You were just parroting.”
 
Klaus narrowed his eyes at his sister and pouted his lips.

“Okay, okay.” Luther gestured his hands out to pacify, still a little flushed. “Let’s not be mean about it.”

Diego smiled at Luther. He had come a long way in finding his own identity away from the Academy. They all had.

Diego sat back with a smirk, spreading his arms out on the sofa back. “What’s important is that we’re now completely free of dad.” Gesturing up his hands, “And we’re doing great. We’ve got jobs, we’re living happy.” A smug look on his face. “In your face, dad.”

“Yeah, like you’d really be able to say that to dad,” Allison ragged at Diego.

“I can,” Diego said, puffing out his chest. “I can call him on the phone right now. You wanna see me do it, I’ll do it!”

Allison shook her head and chuckled in dismissal, riling Diego up even more.

Luther picked up his coke can from the lamp table, raising it in the air. “To never going on dad’s missions again.”

Luther's declaration settled Diego down. Diego picked up his popcorn bowl for the toast. “To never being dad’s soldiers ever again.” Luther and Diego exchanged meaningful looks, Diego nodding his head and giving a knowing smile.

Allison held up her water bottle, her other hand slipping Viktor one as well. “To staying up late watching movies.”

Klaus raised a bag of chips. “And sleeping in when we want to. Well, on our days off at least.”

Viktor looked down to the ground and smiled softly, eyes reminiscing unpleasant memories. He spoke in a softened voice. “To finally having a life without dad’s shadow looming.” Allison smiled and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

“To our family,” Diego said, eyes filled with warmth, voice sincere. Luther, Allison, Klaus, and Viktor’s faces softened to tender smiles. “You guys are the best.” He set his popcorn bowl on the coffee table and gave Klaus an aggressive side-hug. Klaus frowned in an expression of pain.

Allison turned to Viktor, scrunching her nose in a smile, before suddenly pulling him up and dragging him to Diego and Klaus.

“Oh God, we’re not hugging again, are we?” Viktor said.

“Yes!” Luther replied.

“Too tight, too tight,” Klaus said with a choked voice, smothered under the hugging pile. “Watch the squeeze, Luther!”

They disentangle in chuckles and mild teasing, slumping back down on their respective places as the lethargy of the late hour took hold.

Amid the delirious conversations and sleep-deprived laughter, Viktor thought he heard two soft thumps sound upstairs.

***

[Sparrow Timeline; April 23, 2019]

Ankle deep in the hideous and overgrown lawn of the abandoned house, but for the Hargreeves, they might as well be enjoying a day in a picturesque park.

They stood in a circle beneath the morning sun, the pleasant combination of cool air and warm sunlight on their skins. For the first time since arriving in the Sparrow timeline, the siblings felt no fear over the exposure.

They were finally going home.

At least that’s what they hoped.

Glances exchanged, Allison with the brightest smile, but the discerning eye could observe hints of her eagerness faltering now and again.

Another promise from Five that all would be well. 

Allison had lost her daughter, lost her husband, lost her existence. But she was too stubborn to lose hope. 

She would be with her daughter soon, Five had assured.

“Please,” her thoughts escaping in a whisper, her stomach turning at the teetering unease. Five turned to her, the usual serious expression, tilting his head slightly, then a reassuring nod. 

Relief flooded her body. Allison breathed and smiled to herself and turned to her right.

Klaus lifted his brows and gave Allison a tight-lipped smile. The heartbreak over Dave still sat heavily in his heart, a regret that would steal his peace of mind for a long time, an insatiable longing that would haunt him for a lifetime. 

But they were about to leave the hellish Sparrow timeline. So he set aside the anger for later, shaking the nervousness from his hands before reaching for Allison and Vanya on either side of him.

Vanya gripped Klaus’ hand tight, her expression pinched, anger still thrumming within and manifesting as deep breathes and a cold, faraway stare. 

She couldn’t get herself to look at Five, couldn’t let go of the resentment. Didn’t want to accept that she had once again lost everything that could make her happy, no matter how hard she had fought for them.

She felt Luther’s big hand squeeze gently on her right. Vanya looked up at her towering brother, where she found an empathetic smile that helped ease the anger. She gave him a thankful one in return, sadness in her eyes.

Luther scanned the rest of his siblings, checking on each one. He lingered on Allison’s happiness for a moment.

The outrage earlier nearly forgotten, Luther’s full focus was on the situation at hand. Will there be threats waiting for them on the other side? Will they have their existence back?

Luther carefully rested his hand on Diego’s injured shoulder to complete the circle as his gaze shifted to Five.
 
Five’s brows crinkled in concentration, incoherent strings of numbers mumbled from his lips, his hands held by Allison and Diego on either side.

Luther tensed his jaw and fought against the rising anxiety — the brother they were putting their entire trust on…was visibly trembling.

“Uh, Five’s going to pass out,” Klaus warned. 

Five narrowed his eyes and attempted to scowl, but his evident exhaustion rendered the intent ineffective.

Diego was shifting on his feet, trying to determine if he could catch Five with one hand if he indeed would pass out. 

Five’s hand glowed, testing his power, then immediately swayed and stumbled on his feet. That finally caught Allison’s attention as she and Diego pulled taut on Five’s hands to settle him.

“You okay?” Diego asked.

Five sighed heavily and closed his eyes. “Stop bothering me, I’m trying to concentrate.”

Diego huffed at the retort, shaking his head and looking away.

Electric blue lights crackled and sprung from Five’s hands, thrumming through the contact with Allison and Diego, like reverberations of a soundless crashing thunder, buzzing and prickling the skin. The sensation pulled Allison and Diego’s gaze toward their hands that held Five’s, then glanced at each other, confirming the same experience with mirrored startlement.

A large, violent storm suddenly wailed overhead, sinister clouds raged around a vortex. The world darkened, the sun engulfed by the enraged heavens.

Diego thought it might have been his imagination, but the vortex seemed much larger than the first time Five had jumped them from an impending apocalypse.

The wind grew angrier, battering relentlessly. Diego crouched to lower his center of gravity, digging his feet in the overgrown grass, seeing his siblings doing the same.

Trees shaking, gripped by panic, branches flinging against the ground as far out as Diego could see.

Far, far out, as if the entire world had been ensnared by Five’s awesome power.

Five’s hand squeezed harder. 

Diego looked toward him - eyes shut tight, gritted teeth, tensed muscles, and distressed stuttering breathes. Five was clearly in agony.

Diego called out, “Five!”, but the storm smothered the sound of his voice. He peeked through the wind to see the rest of his siblings, attempting to telegraph his concern, but the effort to keep their footing amidst the temporal energy-induced hurricane appeared to hold all their attention.

Diego thought he heard Five scream as the portal swallowed their bodies.

***

Yelps and shrieks as bodies crashed onto the coffee table, then rolled off to the floor like a giant mashed ball of play-doh.

Diego made an agonized noise, mostly muffled by someone’s leg across his face. “Get off my arm you idiots!” he yelled at the heap of tangled limbs on top of him.

Various metallic items clanked on the floor in the surrounding area, as if stuck to the walls just before their arrival.

Luther hurried to his feet and began fishing each sibling out of the pile. Vanya, then Allison, then Klaus - each one struggling to orient themselves as they stood.

Five staggered to lean on the coffee table after being pulled, with Luther already eyeing the injured Diego at the bottom of the pile. Pulling Diego up as gently as his super strength allowed, Luther then checked him over by sight. Diego raised a hand to dismiss and nodded that he was fine, breathing heavily through his nose.

The sound of a throat being cleared called attention, seeming to reverberate in the familiar hall of the Academy.

The siblings spun in unison toward the fireplace, greeted by the sight of Reginald with his hands resting on top of his cane, Pogo and Grace standing on either side.

Diego whirled behind him to gaze up at the second floor banister, half-expecting silhouettes of their super-powered counterparts posing in front of the windows.

But the second level sat empty, the Academy eerily still. Through the large windows was darkness faintly lit by the stars and the moon. It was the middle of the night, and all the lights in the main floor were on for their arrival. 

Their father had been expecting them.

Pogo had a hand on his own cane at Reginald’s right, professional in demeanor, but an unmistakable warmth in the butler’s eyes. Pogo caught Vanya’s gaze, her eyes glistening in barely held back tears. Their caretaker whom she had murdered in a different time gave her a half-smile and nodded an affectionate greeting.

Reginald scanned the visitors in his living room, then lingered his gaze on Five, brows wrinkling in concern. 

“Welcome home. You’ve had a tough journey,” Reginald said, and Luther was surprised at the note of pride in his tone. Allison narrowed her eyes, because it didn’t sound like their father. It didn’t sound like home. She didn’t want to hope too early.

Klaus wondered if this version of their father would let him be a freeloader at the house.

To Reginald’s left stood Grace, hands together, perfect hair and impeccably dressed in her pink floral tea dress, a welcoming smile and genuine joy in her expression.

“Mom,” Diego said, a hand on his injured arm, brown puppy dog eyes melting in tender adoration.

“You’ve made it back,” Grace replied. Diego’s heart warmed in his chest at the loving cadence to her voice.

Reginald lifted an eyebrow at Allison, who continued her distrustful stare. 

“Dad?” Luther said hesitantly.

Reginald shifted his gaze to the rest of his guests, straightening his back as his expression became stern.

“All of you look like you’ve just swam in a marsh and dried yourselves by rolling around the grass. And you smell like you’ve been living in the dumpster. Grace, please have them bathed and changed into their training suits as soon as possible. I want them in the training room in one hour.”

The familiarity in his cold gaze, the condescending tone. Allison’s lung’s expelled a sigh of relief, the tightness in her chest easing, giving permission for a bit of hope to sneak into her heart.

Klaus was now sure he would get kicked out if he asked to stay. 

Five chuckled softly, closing his eyes at the amount of energy that small action consumed.

Grace swiveled her head to Reginald with a smile but made no reply.

“What? No, look, we’re not…,” Luther began, but stopped when Vanya placed a steady hand on his arm, a smirk on her lips. Luther relaxed, realization settling over his eyes. He looked to Allison.

“Let’s go,” Allison whispered an impatient encouragement.

Luther straightened his hulking body into a confident stance. “Sorry dad, but we’re not staying. We don’t live here anymore.”

Diego and Klaus both shot him a look of pride.

“We’re unadopting ourselves,” Klaus said, then quickly added, “Oh, but don’t actually unadopt us. I could use the inheritance when you’ve kicked the bucket…”

Reginald huffed a small, unamused chuckle.

“Klaus!” Diego yelled, and Klaus flinched.

Allison rolled her eyes and tried to look annoyed, but couldn’t help the small quirk of a smile on her lips.

“Okay, nevermind,” Klaus quickly added. “Uh, goodbye, old man.”

The siblings marched toward the exit, cautiously at first, then grew in confidence with each purposeful stride.

“Number Five.” Reginald’s voice cut through the ambiance, an imposing call that caused Luther to inadvertently flinch at the familiar tone.

The group stopped in their tracks and looked back, their father’s authority ingrained in their core. Diego irritatedly shook off the trained reaction.

A realization that Five had made no move to leave. Still leaned on the coffee table, right hand crossed over his middle holding his left side.

“Wha…,” Klaus said, a slight shake of his head, hands gestured out in disbelief. Five was ruining their cool walk-out moment.

Five lifted his tired green eyes, then exhaled deeply. “I need to discuss a matter with him.” He spoke slowly, a sluggish huskiness to his voice. “I’ll be out in a little while.”

Grace tilted her head and gave Five a pitying look. Pogo gave him a compassionate smile.

“Five, come on,” Luther said, impatient, gesturing toward them, while Diego shook his head at Five to discourage him from staying.

“I said I’ll be out soon.” Five nodded up, indicating for them to leave. “Go on ahead.”

Luther squinted his eyes in thought for a moment, before hesitantly nodding his acknowledgment. “Let’s go,” he addressed the family as he again lead the way.

The siblings took a last look at Five, then swaggered their way to the exit, heads held high, smirks on their lips.

A discreet half-smile twitched up on Five’s mouth.

“Ohhh, I can’t believe we just did that,” Klaus said, hands over his mouth as he paused at the door.

“Shh, later,” Allison chastised, pushing Klaus from the behind, but couldn’t stop the wide smile that bloomed on her face.

Diego was the last to step out the door. He looked back again, concerned eyes searching for Grace. 

Their robot mother gave him a warm, parting smile.

He gave a melancholy smile in return, and hoped silently that Grace was happy at the Academy.

Chapter Text

[Current Timeline; Day 1 (April 1, 2019)]

In the dimness just before dawn, Five spotted his family resting at Lily Pond Park. They had waited for him, the unease floating away at this assurance. A warmth in his chest settled, a quiet happiness at the comprehension.

He subconsciously thumbed the metallic black and silver watch on his wrist before approaching, then shoved his hands in his pockets, raising his nose slightly to breathe in the cool dews of morning air. It didn’t smell like the city yet this early, didn’t yet smell of exhaust and smoke and stress. Pleasantly serene, not dead.

Five began to walk closer, the forms of his siblings becoming clearer in the darkness. Vanya sitting on the bench with Klaus, her head resting on his shoulder. The other three sprawled on the grass; untroubled, at ease. Allison nestled against Luther’s arm, while Diego lay by himself a few feet away, arms and legs out like a starfish.

Diego lolled his head to the side, noticing Five’s approach.

“You’re back.”

Luther and Allison sat up, eager expressions, but Five merely walked past and sat on the grass beside Diego.

Allison and Diego huffed loudly. Klaus scratched his chin. Vanya blinked lazily a few times.

Luther finally voiced out everyone’s question. “So what did Dad say?”

Five looked up toward Allison. “Claire?” he asked, Allison raising a brow momentarily before settling into a genuine smile, eyes misting over.

When they had walked out of the Academy, the first thing Allison had done was find a pay phone to verify her daughter’s existence.

A tenseness eased from Five’s chest. “Good,” he said plainly, releasing a breath.

Diego propped himself up with an elbow. “Five,” he said, prolonging his name in a slight admonishing tone for the intentional delay.

Five twiddled thoughtfully with a blade of grass between his fingers as he stared toward the Academy, lit by outside lights in the middle of one of the busiest streets of the city. The home he had longed to return to for as long as he could remember. 

A sorrow momentarily smothered his lungs. He might be mourning the loss of a dream, Five wasn’t sure. “He just said to not mess with the timeline.”

Five wished he didn’t have to lie.

Diego narrowed his eyes at Five, tried to get a read. 

Klaus and Vanya slumped back on the bench. Luther and Allison shifted their sitting positions for more comfort. Diego sat up all the way.

Luther scratched his head. “So what now?”

“My place is too small to fit everyone,” Diego replied.

“My apartment then. Temporarily, of course,” Vanya offered. 

Vanya’s bed was too small to fit another. She had one couch, so the other three would have to sleep on the living room floor. But she was sure no one would mind. It was a luxury compared to their lodgings in the Sparrow timeline.

A cool, gentle breeze swept by. Vanya wrapped her arm around herself as she snuggled closer beside Klaus, trying to keep warm.

“Right,” Diego said. “Since Allison’s home is in California, and the rest of you are basically homeless.”

Allison took a deep inhale. “And then what? We just scatter like before?” They had been separated for years in Dallas, Allison thought. Then they had been forced to stay together for two weeks as they had tried to get home.

A contemplative silence followed.

Luther stared at the moon. Big and lonely in the heavens, surrounded by scattered stars. He had the urge to gather the stars, keep them close together.

Diego laid back on the grass with a dramatic exhale and closed his eyes, hand traveling to his injured shoulder. Images of the past three weeks crossed his mind, like a nightmare that he had awakened from. 

Of dead bodies and close calls. Of the two women he couldn’t hold on to, one dead and another possibly lost. Of a friend he wasn’t able to bury, and of a brother he lost a second time. All heavy, overwhelming. 

Diego opened his eyes, looking around at all his siblings. In less than a month they’ve managed to become a family. And there was real comfort in that, a safety he could depend on. And with that thought, the weight of it all suddenly didn’t seem unbearable. 

“I want to stay with everyone,” Vanya declared, which drew the heads of her siblings in her direction. 

She wore the confidence that was gifted to her by the love of her life; the woman she had to leave behind. And she had been growing into it more and more, allowing her inner strength to bloom naturally.

It was time she became the person she was always meant to be, Vanya determined. A different sort of power stirred inside of her, and she smirked a fearless smile.

“Let’s just buy a house,” Allison said. “I’ll still be spending time in California for my daughter, but it would be nice to have a home to return to here.” Allison turned her head to Luther, the two exchanging encouraging nods, hopeful looks in their eyes.

Klaus smiled. He liked that, a home to return to. Somewhere he could finally feel safe and welcomed, with people who truly cared. It would be perfect if he had Dave, he thought. But he wasn’t meant to have perfect. It would take time to come to terms with that, but he was ready to try.

Klaus felt Vanya’s warmth on his shoulder, saw his family in front of him. And he thought happiness didn’t have to be perfect. He tilted his head to rest on Vanya’s.

Hesitant rays of sunlight peeked over the horizon, hazy orange saturating the waking sky. Warming the chilly morning air, the light creeping up on their bodies like a soothing blanket.

Five watched the surroundings become visible - early morning pedestrians crossing the busy streets, the sounds of honking cars, birds flying overhead, the chatters of life - as if the world suddenly came to life before his eyes. He felt a lump stuck in his throat at the atmosphere, some kind of elation that he could not yet revel in.

His gaze traveled to his family, seeing the peaceful calm that had settled over their bodies and expressions.

How long had it been since they weren’t running from a fight, not hiding in abandoned houses, not fearfully slinking around in the cover of night?

They radiated it now in their expressions - the hope for a better tomorrow. 

Five closed his eyes,  felt their presence, felt that same hope and peace.

He thought, for now, it was okay to stay here in this moment with his family. 

Just for now. Tomorrow he would go back to work. 

An apocalypse was waiting for him again.

***

[Current Timeline; May 20, 2019]

Upstairs, Five sat beside his bedroom door, arms dangled atop his knees. Back of his head resting on the wall. Glazed, weary eyes staring up at the shadows on the ceiling cast by the sluggish orange glow of the desk lamp.

“Well, if we’re really getting into technicalities, it was Five who got out before all of us.”

Cheerful conversations drifted to his ears. Like the days in the apocalypse where he often heard his family’s voices, always too far away for him to reach.

“God, I hope he’s not going to mess up the timeline again. I don’t think I can handle any more of Five’s time travel-related screw-ups.”

Logic said to shut the door so he could keep working. But he wouldn’t, because he loved to hear it. The happiness, the carefree days. The blame assigned to him for their miseried memories and lost loves. 

He was working on making it permanent, the carefree happiness part.

He had been sitting unproductive for too long, the programming documents scattered carelessly at his feet. So he forcibly shifted his eyes to the dry erase board. 

The sharp angle prevented him from actually seeing his writing, but he could picture it in his mind. Studying the Aeternalis coding was impossible when he was in this state, but he could always work on equations. A natural function of his mental processes.

He calculated in his head, and still listened to the voices below.

“To never going on dad’s missions again.”

He should stand and get back to work, but the emotions were too strong tonight.

Left hand lifted to run his fingers through his hair, but stopped halfway through the motion, the hand clutching his scalp.

“To our family. You guys are the best.”

He wasn’t sure what exactly kept him frustratingly tethered to the floor  - a mishmash of sadness, guilt, loneliness, fear. Overwhelming his thoughts, pulling him lower to drown in that dark sea of anxiety.

Irrelevant, he chastised himself. It just needed to stop.

“Oh God, we’re not hugging again, are we?”

How he wished to keep them here in this bubble of untroubled contentment. But preparations needed to be made on their part as well.

Five had put it off too long, and the day loomed frighteningly closer, like a shadow creeping up to destroy everything he loved.

Again the crippling anxiety. Quivering through his veins. Coiled in his belly, squeezing his chest as he heaved each inhale through his lungs. 

He roughly thudded his head twice against the wall, both hands now clutching his hair.

She would be mad at him for doing that. 

He buried his face in his knees, hands clasped over his head. Took a deep breath and held it for a while, expelling it slowly to keep himself calm.

She was right. He was falling apart.

Chapter Text

[Current Timeline; May 28, 2019]

Luther grabbed the van keys from the keyholder by the front door, stood waiting for a few moments, paced around the hallway, then headed back toward the stairs.

He saw Allison finally coming down, dressed in her burgundy v-neck summer blouse paired with capri pants. She made eye contact, shook her head.

Luther’s brows crinkled. “Aren’t we leaving for the library?”

Allison sighed, twirled her hand up toward Five’s bedroom. “Five’s calling for a family meeting.”

“What about?” Luther asked.

Allison shrugged. “No clue,” she replied as they both made their way to the main living room.

Still in pajamas, Klaus staggered down the stairs, running a hand over his groggy eyes. “Oh man, I really wanted to sleep in today.” 

Klaus half laid himself down on the long couch, head sideways on the armrest, feet on the floor.

Diego plopped beside Klaus with an annoyed huff, in jogging shorts and plain blue t-shirt, a leg restlessly bouncing up and down. 

Viktor took his seat on the small sofa, feet apart, hands resting on each leg, eyes gazing about trying to riddle out the whole affair. Allison sat beside him, gave a small smile of greeting, then turned forward and released an unenthusiastic sigh.

Luther took the armchair as usual.

A stack of folders on the coffee table, a sudden curiosity at finally glimpsing into his reclusive brother’s mind. Luther leaned forward, narrowed his eyes to read a few of the column of labels: “Diverter 1”, “Installation Procedures”.

A blue flash, and Five appeared in the middle of the living room. Wearing a dark-blue long-sleeved crew neck tee, hands in the pockets of his khaki pants. Gaze on the floor, eyes narrowed in thought. 

The siblings exchanged quizzical glances.

Diego impatiently twirled a knife. “Hey yo, Five, can we get this started?”

Allison glanced at her nails, resisting the temptation to have her thoughts wander to planning her day.

Five’s eyes slowly lifted, studied each of his siblings for a moment. “I require your assistance.” His words were forceful, but his eyes betrayed a faint hesitance. “I have a plan and it’s foolproof, meaning so long as the fools follow my simple instructions, they can’t mess it up.”

Diego gave a tight-lipped, unamused smile at the insult. He gestured his knife-wielding arm out. “Well? Spit it out, then.”

Five exhaled through his nose.

Each sibling leaned forward in their seats. 

“We can destroy the Commission once and for all.” Bluntly delivered as Five’s eyes stared ahead.

Groans all around, heads tilting back, bodies slumping back into the sofas.

Five pursed his lips into a thin line.

Klaus laid his head back down. “You know for a second there, I was actually hoping he was announcing, like, opening up a family restaurant.”

“Five…,” Allison began, summoning more patience and adopting a softened tone. “We have a second chance to make better lives for ourselves. To live as better people. And to become a family.” 

Klaus cupped his hand by his mouth and whispered, forehead furrowed in compassionate concern, “She means stop obsessing with the Commission.”

“She means stop obsessing with the Commission,” Diego bluntly said out loud. 

Klaus gestured up his hands and shrugged his shoulders at his tactless brother. Diego responded with a mirrored reaction.

“Hey guys, can we just all pay attention?” Luther scolded.

Five lingered his stare, grinding his teeth. The family took notice and, like school children caught misbehaving, obediently settled down. 

“The apocalypse is still coming,” Five said matter-of-factly.

Allison blinked, twitched her head quizzically, lips curling inward. “And how do you know this?”

“For as long as the Commission exists, that is their end goal,” Five replied.

An unmistakable displeasure in Allison’s eyes, voice slightly terse. “Didn’t you say there’s no Commission and no apocalypse in this timeline?”

Five’s head flinched in her direction, but simply replied, “I need your assistance.”

Viktor shook his head, “Five…,” a lack of belief in the intonation. Five stared back and tensed his jaw.

Allison straightened her back and gracefully settled her hand on the armrest. “Did you lie, Five?” A straightforward tone, accompanied by a strong gaze. 

Five broke eye contact.

A tense silence arose in the atmosphere. Klaus placed a hand on his mouth. Viktor gawked in worry. Diego grinned, tapping the knife on his palm.

Luther interjected. “Okay,” he said, hands out in an appeal, making pleading eye contact with everyone. “Okay. We’ll help you.”

Klaus exhaled in relief. “Sure, Fivey, just uh, I want to make sure it doesn’t cut into my weekly yoga class with Viktor?”

Viktor mouthed him a disapproving “no” and faintly shook his head.

“Where is it?” Luther asked, trying to keep the conversation focused.

Five’s body visibly eased as he pulled out a photo from his pocket, “There’s a building in the city,” handing it to Luther to pass around.

“Whoa, are you sure that’s the Commission headquarters?” Klaus said, tapping heads with Diego as they inspected the photo. A blue, mid-rise building in the middle of a high-traffic city street. The name “Merkley” displayed in dimensional lettering on the top corner, along with a logo of a pocket watch overlapping at the end.

“Wait a minute, that’s the Merkley Clockmakers Company in downtown,” Diego said.

“The Merkley building, yes. But that houses only the accounting arm of the company.” 

Allison tilted her head at the photo. “Isn’t that a big coincidence that the Commission main headquarters just happens to be in the same city as us?”

“It isn’t the main headquarters, it’s merely a gateway to a secondary Commission base. Also, no it isn’t a coincidence that it’s located close to the Academy.”

“What do you mean secondary base?” Viktor asked.

Diego raised a hand. “Hold up, what does the Academy have to do with it?”

“You don’t need to know that. I don’t want you to lose the information you do need due to data overload. 

“In other words, we’re on a Need-to-Know basis.” Diego scoffed. “Who are you, Dad?”

“Hey, Diego, no.” Viktor chided softly, shaking his head. Diego huffed in annoyance.

“We will install a diverter on the main Aeternalis computer located on that base, and on two additional backup computers, and then install bombs at strategic locations. The bombs will blow in a specific order programmed by someone offsite.”

“Wait, Five,” Luther said. “What’s the diverter for? And why does it have to be in a certain order?”

“The information you will need is here in these files.” Five gestured in front of him to the documents on the coffee table.

“Just overview, okay Five?” Klaus said. “Just simple overview of everything. Say it in simple language that we mere mortals can understand, alright?”

“We’re just a little confused, Five,” Viktor encouraged. “Just so we can get our bearings.”

Five nodded reluctantly. “The secondary Commission base can be accessed through the Merkley building. Our mission is to destroy said base.”

A long pause of silence.

“Okay, too simple, buddy,” Klaus said.

“No, I like that,” Diego said, bobbing his head, a half-smile on his face. He had forgotten how much a mission had excited him.

Five placed a hand on the back of his neck. “There are numerous fail-safe systems throughout the Aeternalis Network, but we can bypass all of them by following a specific, sequenced plan.”

Luther made eye contact with Allison, a silent discussion on how to proceed. Allison released a weary exhale, then nodded to Luther. 

“Alright, Five,” Luther said. “We trust you. Just tell us what to do.”

“It will be this Friday night. You have 5 days to prepare. Your assignment this week is first, memorize the base schematics. Get to know especially the 4 target locations. Second, study the diverter installation procedure for the computers. Third, memorize the timeline and escape routes. And lastly, prepare your body and minds for combat.”

“Okay,” Diego nodded. “Okay, we can do that.”

An expression of relief on Five’s face, a small twitch of a smile. “We will go over the plans once everyone is on the same page.”

Diego leaned forward, held his hand straight out. “Alright, bring it in. Team Zero.”

“Study these documents,” Five interrupted, gesturing to the folders on the table, then disappeared in a flash of blue.

The group deflated.

Viktor’s expression saddened. “Do you think this is really the Commission? Or…”

“Or Five’s hallucinating a problem that isn’t there?” Klaus finished, chewing on his lower lip.

Allison shook her head.  “Five believes it’s real.”

Luther rifled through a folder. “These documents look legit.”

“And Five knows the Commission well,” Diego added. “He’s never been wrong about them before.”

Allison rolled her eyes and shook her head. “So he lied about this timeline being safe.”

“Yeah,” Luther nodded, then sighed. “I’ll talk to him.”

“No, I’ll do it,” Allison said as she stood.

Klaus and Viktor motioned a panicked, silent protest to Luther, who looked back with an oblivious expression. Diego just sat and smiled in amusement.

Luther’s eyes finally cleared in comprehension. “Oh, they’ll be fine,” he whispered.

***

The door to Five’s room was open, as usual. Allison leaned on the door frame, taking a moment to organize her thoughts as she surveyed the room.

Efforts to clean up was evident - his bed was made, papers pushed into stacks against the wall, books and folders in piles beside the desk.

Five was sitting on his desk facing the left wall. A folder opened in his hands, but his eyes were staring through the papers with a distant gaze.

Allison sighed. She reached her hand to the opened door, tapped her knuckles twice to catch his attention.

A subtle flinch, a faint gasp. His ostensible composure could have fooled most people, but not at this moment when his sister was paying attention.

Five’s vision shifted to his peripheral to Allison. “I didn’t lie, Allison,” he said in an impassive tone. He slipped his hands from the files to his lap as he turned his body to face her. “The Commission is off our backs. And last I checked, we’re not living in the apocalypse.”

Allison lifted her brows, tried to keep her tone neutral as well. “But the apocalypse is still coming. Your words.”

“We’re safe right now. The mission is just one little thing we need to get through, the final part of the plan to guarantee our safety.” A troubled look in his expression, followed by a heavy sigh. “And then it’ll all be over.”

“Still, you should have told us.” She might be a little hard on him, she thought, but she wanted to make her point.

Five ran a hand through his hair, a weariness coming through his movements. “I know. I’m just trying to fix everything.”

Allison rested her head on the back of the wall. “You have to stop making that promise. You can’t fix it anyway, Five.”

Five tensed, distress crossing his eyes, gaze locking on Allison. “What?”

She shrugged her shoulders, released a heavy exhale. “Time stole my husband from me. Can’t be fixed, right?” 

Five swallowed, shifting his gaze to the side. A long silence followed, the two siblings retreating into their own thoughts.

Allison allowed the heartache to linger for moment, Ray’s warm smiles and gentle eyes flashing in her mind, before pulling herself back to the present.

She observed Five, his eyes on the floor. There’s guilt there in his expression, and exhaustion etched on his face.

She came to smooth things out, Allison reminded herself. She straightened her stance, softened her tone. “Hey, it’d be nice if you could join us in the kitchen for a meal sometimes. Or just sit down and spend time.”

Five lifted his head, a thoughtful look, then a nod. “After we get through this mission.”

Allison gave a satisfied smile. “Good,” she said softly.

Five turned back to the files on his desk. 

A small item on the nightstand caught Allison’s attention - wrapped in blue unicorn-patterned gift wrapper. 

She smiled at the sight, before turning away.

***

[Sparrow Timeline; April 21, 2019]

Five materialized inside a gas station restroom, stumbling, shoulder colliding against the tiled wall. Rubbing alcohol, a white cloth, and a mini sewing kit dropped from his hands.

Bloodied fingers rested on the wall, eyes closed, forehead pressed on the cold tiles. Five waited patiently for his body to recover strength, grimacing at the stinging pain on his side.

Muffled sounds of car doors slamming, honking horns, and conversations from outside. A reminder of the time of day, the world bustling and alive. Five pushed off from the wall, groaning softly, and staggered to the door to twist the lock. 

He turned and slid to the floor. The supplies he had picked up were scattered near the sink, but felt miles away from where he now sat by the door.

That last jump completely spent the small energy reserve he had gathered while resting at the abandoned house with his family. His head lolled down to his shoulder as he stared at a mundane corner.

The small restroom was clean and well-kept, but undeniably still smelled like a bathroom. But much better than anything in the entire abandoned house.

Of course his siblings would hate the new house. Five sighed, recalling the absolute abhorrence on his family’s faces upon seeing the property. 

Five shook his head. He would have given anything to find a place in that condition in the apocalypse.

He wondered if any of his siblings would have been able to eat cockroaches or drink dirty water to survive. Five determined they would have probably died of starvation within the first few days.

He dragged himself to his knees and crawled to fetch his medical supplies, then slumped in a corner, leaned his head back with eyelids drooping heavily .  

The attack at the warehouse earlier today replayed in his mind — blinding flashes of energy, the shattering of wood planks, the warmth of blood on his fingers.

Wincing, Five slowly shed his blazer, taking a long inhale as his shoulders achingly stretched back. 

The clang of a metal beam striking someone’s head, the pummeling of fists against flesh.

He lifted his vest and shirt, peering down on a bloody, jagged knife wound on his side. 

The Sparrow with the deformed face never even touched him. Five had just joined the battle, the dimly-lit warehouse thunderous with violence and power. 

He had seen the events clearly, a smirk on his deformed face as Five had tried to dragged the blade against that scarred body. Five had felt the searing pain, had felt his own skin tear and bleed in the same area, dropping the knife at the unexpected attack. He had stifled a scream, and had fallen on one knee clutching his side.

A deafening explosion, the blazing heat. Relentless gunfire.

The memories echoed too loudly along the tiled restroom walls. 

He rubbed the back of his hand on his eyes to focus before dipping the needle in the alcohol. He fumbled with the threading through the needle’s eye.

The wound wasn’t deep enough to be life threatening, but that power had scared him. It meant that the Sparrow could have wounded any of his siblings at any time. 

But the man had kept his distance from Five’s siblings, targeted Five, had waited for Five to engage him in battle.

And Diego’s injury…

Five shook his head. He had no doubt that the Sparrows were instructed to hold back. He had kept a close eye on the floating Cube especially, which never even attacked. And Five already knew the answer before his thoughts could ask why.

It was a message from their father.

The Sparrows could take the Umbrellas out at anytime, the message said. An overblown, dramatic invitation, and Five was desperate enough to accept. 

Five winced as the needle pierced his skin for a first pass.

***

Another knock on the bathroom door as Five splashed water on his face, tilting his head to his shoulder to listen.

A man’s irritated mumbling, then footsteps walking away.

Five sighed. He had been in the gas station bathroom for long enough. 

Five grabbed a paper towel and patted his face dry, tilting his chin to study the gash on his left cheek — raw and wide, but not deep, so the bleeding had stopped. It still stung with every movement of his face muscles. One good thing about him not smiling often, he supposed.

He looked far from presentable, looking just as exhausted as he felt. His facial bones prominent as his cheeks had sunk in. He realized he was hungry. His family must be hungry as well. 

Five slipped his jacket back on, straightening his clothes and tie. The white shirt still looked too crumpled, and there was nothing to be done about the blood on his shirt that wouldn’t wipe off, which was mostly Diego’s.

He threw the bloodied rag and his other supplies in the trash bin, then turned the water faucet off, gripping the edges of the cold, grimy sink.

He worried of Diego’s wound. Of Vanya and Klaus’ head injuries. The lack of food and medical supplies.

They had left their provisions in the warehouse. They would have to send out for supplies in broad daylight.

A stifling fear crept in Five’s stomach.

But Luther was there.

Five shut his eyes, desperately seeking comfort in that thought. He needed Luther to be Number One right now. Needed someone to take care of everyone while he was away. Diego and Luther usually did, but Diego needed looking after as well.

Five looked up to the mirror, felt hatred at the face that stared back. The person tasked with stopping the apocalypse and saving the world. Couldn’t even properly save his family.

A yell of frustration, raw, consuming, slamming his hands down on the sink. Allowed himself to drown in the spiral of emotions, in that overwhelming despair.

An anvil tied to his body, dragging weights on his feet. Guilt and discontent swirling a storm inside his chest. Suffocating.

For a while, he listened to the echoes of his gasping, trembling breaths. Grew angry at the wretched sounds that came out of him.

He harshly chided himself, forbade the luxury of falling apart. So he closed his eyes, breathed through his nose. Disowning any emotion that rattled his composure, pushed down into the depths of a darkness within him.

When he reopened his eyes, the familiar apathy stared back.

His father was calling for him. Maybe with an offer for a way out.

At the moment, Five would give anything for a way out.

One last glance at the mirror: Calm. Emotionless. Pushed aside his pain. Pushed aside his fears. His sadness. Weariness.

Let his demeanor turn stoic and composed.

Chapter Text

[Sparrow Timeline; April 21, 2019] 

The chimpanzee butler slid open the door of the study. “Number Five here to see you, sir.”

Reginald paused in his writing and lifted his head. The books and paperwork were neatly shelved and piled throughout the office, but a sense of constant use had suffused throughout the room - busy and orderly, his father’s personality colored the place.

A surreal scene for Five, observing a sketch of a longed-for memory or a figment of a wishful dream; he had mostly lost the ability to distinguish between the two in the apocalypse.

Five stood at the entryway with his hands in his pockets, keeping his expression blank as he tried to ignore the pain on his side.

Reginald placed the pen down and closed the journal in front of him. His brows twitched in thought as his eyes traveled to his butler. “Pogo, are all my Sparrows in the training facilities?”

“Yes, master Reginald.”

“Good,” he replied with a soft exhale, shifting his gaze to Five. Reginald stood, grabbed his cane, and walked around to the front of the desk. “That is all. My guest and I have important matters to discuss. Please leave us.”

The butler bowed, a distrustful eye on the dangerous guest.

The loss of the usual warmth in Pogo’s expression struck a regrettable loss within Five. But as usual, he had no time for sadness, so Five breathed deep and pushed the emotion away.

Pogo limped away with his cane. 

“You were expecting me,” Five stated, gazing back at his father.

“I sent my Sparrows to deliver the invitation in person,” Reginald acknowledged with a nod.

Five’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You could have killed us.”

A small smile on Reginald’s mouth. “I’m sure you realized rather quickly that they weren’t there to kill.” A casual tone, a contrast to Five’s rigidness. “Although I do apologize for the Commission soldiers, I assure you that was an unforeseen element. Though I knew you would have no trouble escaping their grasp.” A hint of pride twinkled in Reginald’s eyes with that last line.

Five tensed his jaw, still cautious of the Commission’s relationship with his father. “You want something from me, I’ll entertain it. But I’ll need you to stop coming after my family.”

“Come,” Reginald beckoned, walking through the doorway past Five. “I have a proposition for you. Have a drink with me.”

***

[Current Timeline; May 30, 2019] 

Diego’s fist sped toward Viktor’s face, with Viktor shifting to the right as he swatted the punch to the left.

The small living room beside the foyer bathed in afternoon sun streaming from the bay window, the coffee table moved to the side to make room. Klaus laying on the sofa disinterestedly observing, still in his black long-sleeved work clothes.

“Keep your body straight,” Diego instructed, grasping Viktor’s arms lightly to indicate balance. “And keep your movements small, not too big and sweeping.” Diego demonstrated a quick block with his hand.

“Okay,” he acknowledged, panting, the back of his hand swiping the sweat from his chin. “Just…so many things to think about.”

He was tiring, Diego observed, so he straightened out his stance to give his brother a breather. “You’ll get the hang of it. Remember, you’re small, make sure you’re re-directing more than blocking.”

Viktor tiredly nodded, still trying to catch his breath.

Diego turned to Klaus. “Hey Klaus, you need to get off your butt, man. Go out and run with Luther and Allison in the mornings if you’re too tired after work. It’s been a while since we’ve seen any action, and this mission’s gonna kick your butt if you don’t prepare.”

“I am preparing,” he pouted, burrowing himself further in the cushions. “I’m resting my body. Very important.”

Diego shook his head.

Viktor wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel, just as Five’s teleport sounded somewhere in the house. Scurrying footsteps followed, then more successive sounds of teleporting.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Five groaned, possibly in the kitchen. “George! If you don’t get back here, I’m going to kill you myself!”

The three siblings glanced at each other, baffled and curious, then headed toward the kitchen area.

They found Five on his hands and knees peering under the white marbled kitchen island between two barstools.

“Five!” Viktor said. “What are you doing?”

“Gotcha!” Five exclaimed, then banged his head under the island as he stood. “Shit.”

Looking like a sulking teenager, Five stood in the middle of the kitchen in his khaki pants and long sleeved navy shirt, holding a mouse in one hand, cradling the back of his head with the other. Diego couldn’t help but grin.

The mouse was very cute actually, Diego thought, as it blinked and spied its surroundings in Five’s grasp, nose twitching, possibly planning further mischief.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Five answered Viktor, narrowing his eyes at Diego’s grin and projecting his irate mood.

Five turned to his left toward Klaus, who had come around the island and was peeking into a box of donuts. “And don’t touch that! That’s not for you!”

Five swiped the two boxes of donuts from under Klaus, carefully balancing them in one hand as his other still held the rodent.

Diego and Klaus shrugged at each other. 

“I’m not even gonna ask,” Viktor deadpanned, both palms out, as Five walked out of the kitchen. Klaus and Diego chuckled.

Five continued muttering a one-sided conversation with the mouse all the way to the stairs. “Why can’t you be more like Luna and Rory? Do you really prefer to be kept in the cage all day?”

***

[Current Timeline; June 2, 2019] 

Diego helped Allison unpack the takeout food from the bag as Viktor and Luther set the table.

“Klaus home yet?” Allison asked.

Diego glanced up at the wall clock. “Should be home any time.”

“I’ll set a plate for him,” Luther said, heading for the cupboard.

Viktor held up a finger. “One more for Five.” 

Allison raised her forehead in surprise. “Five’s home?”

“Yeah, but he’s sleeping,” Diego replied. “I went up there to ask him something about the mission just now. But…fast asleep.”

“It’s not even night time yet,” Allison said.

Viktor glanced up in thought. “He’s been sleeping all day the past couple of days, I think.”

Allison placed her hands on her hips. “Really.”

“I’ll just set food aside for him,” Viktor said.

***

Allison quietly opened Five’s bedroom door, the room dimmed by the light curtains, seeing her small brother curled up in a light blanket. His hair mussed in his sleep ;breathing soft, even breathes.

She smiled, gently closed the door, and joined her siblings for dinner downstairs.

***

[Current Timeline; June 3, 2019 - Mission Day] 

Viktor tugged at his black shirt under his black leather jacket, then scuffed his black boots on the hardwood floor with a few taps.

The anticipation had even made him giddy, something he would be embarrassed to admit to, as the long daylight hours had lumbered through to nightfall. A distant memory of his childhood remembered, sitting alone by the stairs, a jealous and lonely ache in his heart, observing his siblings suiting up. A childish desire to belong that he thought he had long ago left behind.

And here he stood among his siblings, the long ago wish of a lonely child granted, as they gathered in the living room awaiting Five. A small breath of a chuckle accompanied the wistful musing of a past life that hadn’t crossed his thoughts in a while.

“Ready for your first official family mission?” Allison asked with a warm tone, head tilting lightly to the side.

Arms crossed, leaned on the side against the wall. Even though Diego was the one wearing a suit, Allison still presented as the most stylish of them all. A form fitting black leather jacket, off center zipper, and a longer billowing back. Stretchy business-like pants and pointed boots completed the all-black ensemble. The boots appeared comfortable, but posh enough to be found in the pages of a fashion magazine, and Viktor wondered if she wasn’t worried about getting them ruined in a fight. 

Allison really was the very image of strong, confident, and lethal femininity.

Viktor had just pulled together anything resembling black and stealthy from his closet.

“I just feel a little anxious,” Viktor replied, clutching the zipper edges of his jacket. “Like I’m about to take a test but I haven’t studied.”

“Alright, pop quiz.” Diego said, crouching and fiddling with his black gloves. “The building has 6 Levels. Where are the objectives located?”

Viktor answered immediately, back straightening on attention. “The Network hubs are located on Levels 2, 3, & 4. The Infinite Switchboard is on Level 5, and the main power source is on Level 6.”

Diego nodded, a proud grin playing on his mouth.

“Who is going where?” Klaus asked, wearing a vest that failed to cover his midriff, with a sleepy expression that said he would much rather be napping than going on the mission. Though he secretly absorbed as much of the information as he could, reminiscent of his childhood slacker days of last minute cramming.

Viktor turned toward him, posture still on attention, like a child reciting in a spelling bee competition. “You and Luther will go after the network hubs on Levels 2 & 3. Allison and I will head to Level 4. And Diego and Five will target the main power source on Level 6.”

“Where to after that?” Luther followed up, standing in the middle of the living room with his black turtleneck and jacket, brows furrowed as he scrutinized the answers for accuracy.

“We rendezvous on the west wing of Level 5, then head to the Infinite Switchboard. Five does his thing, while we all stand guard and take care of any problems that might arise to make sure he finishes his work. That is top priority. As soon as that’s done, our liason will trigger the bombs starting from Level 2 every 30 second interval. Once the bomb on the main power source is triggered, it will cause a chain reaction that will destroy the entire base. So we need to head to the back exit as quickly as possible once the sequence has been activated.”

Diego tossed a glove at Viktor’s face. “You were always the nerd.”

Viktor furrowed his brows. “Being book smart and actual practical application are two different things. Especially if it means going on a mission.”

“You’ll be fine,” Luther reassured. “Allison’s your partner, and she’s actually a great fighter.” Luther looked to Allison and gave her a proud smile, which she returned with a practiced modest one.

“And besides,” Diego added, “you can always just make things go..." he popped his fingers up and puffed air through his lips in a gesture of explosion.

"I’m not supposed to attract attention like that, Five said.”

Klaus yawned loudly, stretching his arms over his head. “Don’t sweat it. It’s all about looking dangerous.” Though Viktor thought Klaus did not at all look dangerous laying lazily on the couch with his black vest barely covering his torso. But he didn’t think Klaus would look dangerous even if he wore Diego’s usual all-black hero outfit. “Just ask Diego over here," he pointed his thumb with a mocking tone.

“Hey,” Diego said, standing and pointing at Klaus with one hand, and slinging his gym bag over his shoulder with the other. “I told you how important it is that I change into stealth appropriate clothes after we go through the checkpoint! Wearing a suit is going to ruin my fighting style!”

“Here we go again,” Allison said, rolling her eyes.

“Five said not to bring too much extra stuff,” Luther chided, which earned him a Diego scowl.

Allison looked up toward Five’s room. “Speaking of, where is Five anyway?”

***

Fifteen minutes passed.

Five’s instructions had been to be ready before 10pm, and as Luther checked that the wall clock read 2 minutes past, he glanced around the room to see who else shared his thinning patience.

Snuggled in the couch was Klaus, trying to steal a nap before the mission.

Diego sat munching on a power bar, which he had pulled out of his bag with a huff of annoyance. It had been a few hours since dinner, Luther noted, and he himself already began to feel a bit hungry.

“Is he even up there?’ Allison asked with an impatient sigh.

“I don’t think so,” Viktor answered. “Haven’t heard anything.”

Allison glanced upstairs, straining to hear any indication of their brother’s presence.

As if on cue, the fwip of Five’s teleport sounded in his room above, then possibly the sound of a book angrily slamming on a desk. Soft, anxious footsteps, followed by a few moments of silence.

The siblings exchanged quizzical glances.

“Someone should go get him,” Luther suggested.

Diego scoffed. “Yeah, no, not me.”

Allison looked around the room. “Someone should.”

“Viktor,” three voices proclaimed in unison as they turned to bully their smallest brother.

Viktor tilted his head. “Something’s wrong, I think,” and was met with curious gazes.

Another fwip, and the room quieted.

“Did he just leave again?” Luther asked, slight gesture of disbelief with his hands.

Allison placed a palm on her forehead and shook her head in growing annoyance.

Diego leaned back against the wall, absently twirled his knife in the air to relieve the restlessness.

Twirl up, catch. Twirl up, catch. Twirl up…the knife suddenly hurled itself to the metal railings of the living room stairs, whizzing dangerously between Luther and Viktor.

“Holy shit!” Diego exclaimed.

“Diego!” Luther, Viktor, and Allison yelled in unison.

Klaus quickly sat up, rubbing his eyes and hurriedly tried to shed the sleepiness. “What…what’s going on?”

“It wasn’t me!” Diego stared perplexed at his knife stuck on the side of the railing.

The house shook forebodingly. Several small objects clanged somewhere, and he flickered his gaze around as he felt random objects whizzing in different parts of the house. It felt suspiciously like -- the side effects of Five's time travel.

“Are those the silverware?” Viktor asked, taking a step toward the kitchen.

The sound of thunder clapped upstairs.

Their heads snapped to Five’s room, where light flashed chaotically behind the door.

Diego bolted up the stairs, always quickest to action. The other four took a glance at each other before following behind.

Diego reached Five’s room and wasted no time slamming the door open.

Only to see Five disappear in a flash of light.

He gritted his teeth, unappreciative of wasted time and effort, and absently took note of the mess in the room which he vaguely attributted to the disturbance earlier.

“He’s gone,” he said, turning toward his siblings and shaking his head.

“Gone?” Allison said, incredulity pinched on her expression. “What..what do you mean gone?”

Allison, Viktor, and Klaus crashed down on the sofa with loud huffs, while Luther and Diego leaned back against the wall.

“He left, I saw him leave.” Though Diego couldn't make sense of the magnetized storm just before. Five hated time-travel, avoided using the ability for anything less than a world-ending scenario.

Could be related to his spacial abilities. Diego honestly didn't understand the intricacies of his brother's power.

Luther shook his head. “What the hell is Five doing?”

“Running around by himself again”, Allison replied with an eyeroll.

Klaus glanced at the clock that read 10:04pm. “Is the mission cancelled? Can I go back to bed?”

But the house shook again. Everyone stilled and held their breaths.

The same energy tugged on the knives under Diego's suit jacket. Pots, pans, and silverware clanged and rattled in the kitchen. And above, the same flashing lights in Five’s room, bright and blazing now that he had left the door open.

They gazed around, then at each other, wondering what to do with the situation.

Then Diego shot up the stairs again, two steps at a time. The intense energy died down as soon as he reached the door.

This time he found Five, standing over the desk, leaning with hands pushing down against the tabletop. Expression miseried, distraught. The formal suit he wore rumpled as if he’d been in a tussle.

He looked up at Diego; lower lip swollen and bloody; and blood stains - was that in the shape of a handprint? - on the collars of his white dress shirt under the suit vest. 

And within his aged green eyes - a tumultous storm of sadness, loss, heartache; overwhelming Five as he visibly struggled to contain the intensity, his hands trembling with the effort.

And something seemed to be shimmering on his face...

Five immediately attempted to school his expression, fumbling the transition slightly at first with his face twisting through different emotions, until it came to something that Diego thought would be passable as 'slightly distressed'.

Five inhaled a deep breath. “Let’s go.” Curt and deliberate as he grabbed his backpack and cut past Diego to exit his room. And by the time he had reached the main floor where the rest of the family had been waiting, an apathetic scowl had set on his face, if a scowl could be described as such.

He huffed, annoyance exuding from his aura, and set the backpack on the ground to do a quick check of the contents.

Viktor gave him a pointed look. “What was that about?”

“None of your concern,” Five snapped. Viktor rolled his eyes.

“You’re late,” Luther chided.

Five shot him an irritated look. “Why, thank you, Luther for the very important update.” Luther clenched his fists and tensed his jaw.

Klaus mouthed ‘Bad day?’ at Diego, who furrowed his brows at Five in slight concern.

Allison leaned toward Viktor. “Looks like another fun time with our delightful brother,” she whispered with a purposed lack of subtlety.

Still crouched over the backpack on the floor, with his siblings towering around him, Five gritted his teeth, a strained expression on his face that told he would be seconds away from exploding.

The flourescent lighting glimmered off Five’s cheeks and neck with each aggravated twitch and irate jolt of his head, a curiosity that Klaus couldn't resist to poke at. “Yo short stuff,” he began, gesturing toward Five, lacing his words with slight playfulness. “I think you’ve got some glitter on your face. Were you hanging out somewhere you shouldn’t have been?” 

Five gave an incredulous look and spoke with a biting tone. “I don’t hang around trashy places like you do, Klaus.”

“Oh,” Viktor simply said.

"Oh," Klaus said in genuine surprise.

“Look,” Diego said, holding out a hand as if that would be enough to calm Five, “we’re doing you a favor here, least you can do is try not to be an asshole.”

“How long is this mission going to last again?” Luther said to Allison. “I don’t think I can deal with this for longer than a few minutes.”

“Fuck you, Luther. Do you think I enjoy putting up with your daddy issues?”

The siblings stilled. Mouths agape. Watching Five seethe at Luther like a feral cat.

Luther huffed and crossed his arms, Allison copying the action beside him. The atmosphere tensing like a rubber band tautening to its limit.

“Hey,” Viktor interjected, holding out his hands to placate. “Let’s cut him a little slack. He looks like he’s having a rough day.”

Five took a sharp inhale, the tension in his body draining away, and turned slowly to Viktor.

Viktor gave him a small smile.

His eyes lowered to the ground in response to the kindness. He took a few deep breathes, then gazed at each of his siblings. “I…,” Five began, but lost his words, blinking his eyes a few times and carefully taking in his surroundings as if just awakening from a dream.

“Are you okay?” Luther asked, tone still stern as the contentious moment still lingered inside of him.

Five and Diego’s gazes locked, and reflected there in Five's eyes for a moment, the same distraught look as earlier. Diego didn’t think Five was okay at all.

Five nodded slowly. “I’m…sorry about my outburst." Forcing the words out, a noticeable quiver in his voice that he tried to suppress. “And I do appreciate your participation in this mission.”

The tensed line on Luther's lips quirked up into a smile. With a calmed expression, he nodded, which seemed to put Five slightly at ease.

Five turned to Klaus, who flashed him a wide, delighted grin. Five blinked his eyes a couple of times at his brother.

He took a moment, tried to make it subtle by turning away his head, to hide the fervid emotions in his eyes.

Then a calming breath, his chest involuntarily shuddering, before finally standing and slipping on the backpack. “Is everyone ready?” Five asked, determined gaze regained. “Let’s get to the van.”

Chapter Text

[Sparrow Timeline; April 21, 2019] 

“Time-Space manipulation requires precise calculations.” 

It wasn’t an inquiry on the function of his powers, Five realized. Rather, a conclusive statement arrived at after decades of theoretical analysis.

Five looked up from the drink in his hand, attempting to read Reginald’s intentions. The two sat at the bar at the back of the main foyer of the Academy, evocative of their last conversation decades prior; for Five, merely 3 weeks ago. 

A soft jazz tune swayed in the background. The offer for drinks worked well to calm the discussion, showing Reginald’s skill at diplomatic hosting.

Five shook his head slightly. “It does afford a margin of error, though too much could be…” his eyes dropped momentarily to his drink as he swirled the contents, before returning his gaze to his father, “...rather hazardous to my health.”

Reginald’s face betrayed none of his thoughts, keeping an emotionless exterior. Not really cold, Five assessed. Rather, a mask to keep intentions or emotions behind. 

Reginald’s eyes narrowed slightly in thought, accompanied by a twitch of his head, thinking carefully before speaking. This conversation was important to his father. Five pushed away the nerves that bubbled up in his chest.

“Quantum calculations are extremely complicated.” His father spoke slowly, subconsciously tapping a finger on his glass, curious eyes studying the boy in front of him. “You can come up with the equations and perform the calculations, and mostly in your head.”

“Mostly,” Five replied. If he wasn’t struggling as he waded in these strange waters, he would be basking in that compliment.  “But it requires numerous trial and error to arrive at the correct solution. Writing out the equations is much more conducive to categorizing the different avenues I’ve taken and retaining a paper trail when I have to backtrack. Which is quite often, as you can imagine. But yes, I can perform the calculations in my head when the need arises.”

A slight upward twitch at the ends of Reginald’s mouth, eyes brightening as he straightened himself on the stool. An uncomfortable feeling settled over Five, like he was a lab mouse being observed.

“The dexterity of your mind most likely rivals that of a supercomputer.”

Five blinked in confusion, but his need to appear self-assured clamped on the words before a question could escape from his mouth. He continued his confident gaze instead.

Reginald tilted his head ever so subtly, eyes glistening anew in mild amusement. Five bristled under Reginald’s observant gaze.

“Why have you been attacking my family?” Five asked, gripping his glass tight, terseness and impatience creeping into his tone.

Reginald lowered his eyes to the drink in his hand, tapping a finger on the top of the glass, thinking through his words. “Because your family’s mere existence here could change the timeline in catastrophic ways. I need to contain that disaster until I have set my plans into motion.”

Reginald reached for the wine bottle and began to pour in his glass. “On that note, I would like to interject that I am in need of your assistance.”

Five took a deep breath, exhaling slowly through his nose as he studied his glass, then looked up with only his eyes. “Back then, you gave me advice that proved to be extremely useful, so I am inclined to consider your request.” Seconds, not decades. It had saved his life and his family’s, but he thought it safer to not let his father know how truly indebted they were. “But you do know that my family's safety cannot be compromised.”

“Oh, I am sure you will more than consider my request. Because it aligns with your own goals,” he replied, the amused little smirk returning to the old man’s lips.

Five straightened himself, the need for more information drawing him in. “You have my attention.”

Reginald reached over to pour more drink into Five’s glass as well. “We will destroy the Commission once and for all.” Reginald looked up, eyes observing his guest. “The entire organization, from top to bottom. Which will result in the apocalypse being permanently averted, and you and your siblings no longer being pursued through timelines. I believe the saying goes: it’s an offer you can’t refuse.”

This time, Five couldn’t help the surprise from appearing on his face. His father knew of the Commission’s goals, knew of his family’s predicament. And was planning on destroying said organization. His father’s play at omniscience was cause for caution.

Taking a sip of his drink, Five forced his demeanor back to calm. “Pardon the side commentary, but the plan sounds rather ambitious, if not outright impossible.”

Reginald placed both hands on his lap, a satisfied expression on his face at finally having his guest’s full interest and attention.

***

[Current Timeline; June 3, 2019 - Mission Day] 

Sleeping neighborhoods and darkened parks sped past the windows as the Hargreeves' 7-passenger van drove through the late night suburbia streets.

Diego twirled a knife across his knuckles, right leg bouncing up and down. Car rides always made him restless. 

Viktor drove carefully, turns subtle and stops from a comfortable deceleration that a baby could be rocked to gentle sleep during the ride. Luther was in the front passenger seat, Allison and Klaus in the middle, while Diego sat in the back with Five. The seating was unusual, Five usually took shotgun or drove.

Five hadn’t said a word since the house, and it wasn’t like him to be quiet. It was too dark to see much of anything in the van, but once in a while a passing street lamp illuminated Five’s face, that ridiculous glitter shimmering on his skin. He stared vacantly out the window, unblinking, still as a deer in headlights.

After a few minutes, more lighting made its way into the vehicle, drawing various shapes of light in the darkness, an indication that they were already passing midtown, leaving the slumbering suburbs behind.

It was a mere 15 minute ride to downtown, but any amount of sitting was too long for Diego.

Allison hummed a quiet tune that blended pleasingly with the soft drone of the engine.

“Oh, Luther!” Klaus suddenly groaned, a second before the smell of rotten eggs hit Diego’s nose.

Allison fanned her hand in front of her face. “Quick, the windows!”

Diego began to gag, quickly rolled his own window down.

“Oh God, mine’s stuck!” Klaus said in overdramatic panic.

The smell was relentless, so Diego looked over at Five’s window, which remained closed. “Five, can you...your window…” Diego said, climbing over Five as he rolled it down himself.

Five stayed quiet, still staring out, didn’t complain about the bustle and being shoved. 

“Sorry!” Luther said from the front seat. “I’m a little nervous.”

The fresh air swooshed in, Five took a deep breath, savoring the cool, night air. The wind breathed life into his eyes as they grasped for the passing scenery. Body relaxing, expression softening, relief flooded over him. A small, sad smile crept over Five’s lips.

“I’m hungry,” Klaus complained. “Can we stop by a drive-thru to get some burgers?”

“I second that,” Diego said, raising a hand from the back seat.

Five’s chest heaved in a trembling breath, then he quickly swiped at his eyes.

The relative darkness still made it difficult to clearly see. Five must have been wiping the glitter from his face. Because he couldn’t be crying, Diego thought. 

Five regarded the passengers in the car, then locked gazes with Diego. His eyes widened, quickly turned away toward the window as if caught doing something he shouldn’t have been, curling in slightly.

“No, we don’t want to be late,” Luther said.

Viktor shook his head. “I feel like I might throw up if I eat something heavy now.”

“Yeah, I guess we don’t want Luther getting any more gassy than he already is,” Diego said. “We’d all be dead before we even get started with the mission.”

Allison turned to Klaus. “Hey, we’ll eat afterwards. At that 24-hour Denny’s in Midtown. On me.”

Cheers erupted in the car.

Five had sat back, looking around the van. A light lit his face, showing an expression of fondness there.

That old sap, Diego thought.

Soon the bright city lights met them, late night businesses and the lively streets giving a vibrant welcome. 

In the shadows Five trembled, hand clenched tightly at the edges of his suit jacket.

***

The sleepless city, its street lamps inviting evening bar hoppers and late night street dwellers to rove its illuminated pavements. Making an 11pm cloaked mission near impossible.

Still, it did allow the Hargreeves to camouflage within the nightlife population.

Diego flicked a pebble from the rooftop. It bounced off the head of a drunken man with a lady hanging on each arm down below. The man clutched his hat and spun to search his surroundings. Diego grinned in his mischief, then gazed at the Merkley office across from the building on which they stood.

It struck Diego on how much brighter everything was than the suburbs. Their rooftop - his and Lila’s - had been dimly lit, bestowing an ambiance of romance to a secret place of their own, relying only on the enchanting stars and sensual moonlight for visibility. Oh, and that one adjacent building, he remembered - the lone rooftop with a floodlight across from them that had lit her lovely face like so…

His head tilted at the phantom memory smiling at him.

The reminiscence brought a longing ache to his chest. He shut his eyes and clenched his fists on top of the ledge barrier, unable to decide between anger or sadness.

“It’s nice up here,” Allison said, taking in the cool, night air as a small breeze swept by. A pleasant distraction to the yearning that usually struck her at this time of night, sleeping on one side of the bed, the weight of the stifling loneliness taking up the space beside her. 

Luther’s reassuring hand came to rest on her shoulder. She held it, giving it a grateful squeeze as she looked up with a melancholy smile. 

He smiled in return and gazed out toward the lustrous skyline. Narrowing his eyes, Luther could almost glimpse the angel floating away, disappearing in the clouds the way she usually had done.

Viktor also leaned against the ledge of the building roof, with the barrier edge coming up to his waist, eyes trained upward at the stars. Decades ago, were these the same stars he and Sissy had sat under, surrounded by the spring grass? The smell of hay, the sounds of horses in the barn, her voice telling stories revealing her amazing life. Did he ever get to tell her how brave she was? 

He clutched his chest. No, he didn’t think so.

Klaus crinkled his nose at a vague, unpleasant memory of falling off a rooftop. He glanced to the left at something that caught his eye. On the far corner ledge sat a middle-aged man in a business suit, covered in a soft glow, shoulder’s hunched, feet dangling over the empty air.

Curious, Klaus approached. “Hey there, buddy,” Klaus greeted.

But the ghost was still like a calm sea, a vacant stare at the world below.

“I guess you already jumped, so I don’t have to worry about you then.”

Trapped in unpleasant memories, it continued its mesmerized stare. Klaus wondered what played behind its gaze, what prevented the ghost from looking away. Were the scenes such beautiful memories? Or so horrific that it kept him entrapped?

Klaus sighed, took one last lingering look, then walked back to Viktor’s side.

Five was on his knees, back toward the ledge, organizing the building schematics on the ground. Another breeze blew, and Five climbed on the papers with his hands and knees, muttering curses all the while.

Diego had turned and leaned back, elbows resting behind on the barrier ledge, his open suit jacket softly billowing on a breeze. An amused smile on his lips as he observed their perpetually stressed brother.

He remembered Five’s worrying behavior in the van.

Diego shook his head, there was no way Five had been crying. In any case he was glad that Five had cooled down from his outburst at the house, but now he was very much on edge. With all of his reassurances of the simplicity and ease of the mission, Five sure acted the opposite.

Diego casually kicked off the barrier and strode toward Five, kneeling beside him to assist in holding down the documents.

Five sat back, the frustration visibly easing, but didn’t look up from the papers in his hands to acknowledge the help.

“You’re welcome,” Diego said pointedly. 

Five’s split, bloodied lip tensed in a line. “Thanks,” he mumbled, and Diego’s forehead raised. Even though he knew Five had calmed, he still expected more of the usual ill-tempered mood that he normally smacked everyone with.

A palm over his eyes, Five took a deep, shaky breath.

Diego clicked his tongue and turned his head away at the realization that their fearless leader may still be a plan misstep or a poorly worded suggestion away from exploding at someone.

“Can you call the family down here?” Five said in a wearied breath without looking up.

Viktor was pointing at something below, Klaus crouched at his eye level beside him. A loud snort as Allison perceived the indicated source of amusement, followed by laughter all around.

“Hey!” Diego’s voice, deep and commanding, caught the family’s attention easily enough. “Meeting time.” The family gathered around. Luther stood at attention, hands on his side. Viktor rubbed his hands together at the anticipation tingling in his fingers, while Klaus hopped a few times to relieve the same feeling. Allison sauntered up, smoothly shifted her weight to one side and crossed her arms. 

Diego grimaced in annoyance and gestured with his head toward the paperwork being held down.

“Oh,” Viktor said.

“Right,” Luther added, as each of them found a paper edge to sit on.

Allison tilted her head at the documents. “Hmm, that building over there doesn’t match these.”

“The time-space field doesn’t activate until you enter the building,” Five explained, pulling the backpack close to him. “Not to sound too science fiction cliche, but it is bigger on the inside. The Technical Engineering and Technology Control headquarters is actually located in a different plane altogether. You cannot physically cross over without wearing a proper ID badge, at least without force opening the gateway from the inside.” Five pulled out 6 thick, blank metallic cards on lanyards from the bag. “Otherwise, you’d just find yourself in the Merkley building when you enter through the door.” 

Five turned to Diego. “The receptionist’s name is Margaret. Your job, Diego…”

“I know, I got this,” he reassured with a smirk, holding both palms up. “Turn on the charm and distract her while Allison, Klaus, Viktor, and Luther swipe their ID cards.”

“Yes, only you and I have legitimate identification cards. We removed the flags on the files and activated yours. But the rest have the wrong name and picture. You just need to keep her eyes off her terminal while everyone swipes their cards.”

“So, wait,” Diego said, a wide grin forming. “Does this mean I really am a Commission agent?”

Five blinked his eyes a few times at Diego, “No,” then distributed several small plastic baggies without a pause, leaving Diego gesturing his hands in disbelief. "The black strips are the explosives. You know what to do with those."

“These are the diverters, one for each team,” Five said. “I’ve compiled the pertinent instructions with pictures for those of you who didn’t study.” He looked pointedly at Klaus, who pulled his hand to his chest and mouthed ‘ Moi ?’ with all innocence.

“The other items,” Five continued, “are synchronized watches that control the communication ear pieces. They’re preset to our transmission wavelength. Double tap the microphone icon on the bottom left of the display to turn your mic off and on.”

Viktor slipped the earpiece on - about the size of his thumb, the black and silver device wrapped around behind the ear, with a silicone-like piece that sat comfortably just outside the ear canal.

Diego tightened the watch around his wrist. Metallic black, lines of silver, a square face displaying digital time. And random teeny tiny numbers and symbols in the corners of the screen which he couldn’t make any sense of except for the microphone that Five had indicated to them.

He glanced at Five’s wrist, which wore the identical black and silver watch. 

But he had always worn that. Diego couldn’t recall since when. But aside from that, something strangely familiar about the fancy timepiece crept at the edges of Diego’s memory.

“This is a little complicated,” Luther said, shaking the items in both hands, a bit of anxiety building with the last minute instructions.  “We should have gone over these details at home.”

Five’s shoulders hunched inward. “Sorry. I wasn’t in the proper mindset back then.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Diego said, not too unkind, but Five made no retort and immediately dropped his gaze, busying himself with rolling up the schematics.

His voice was quieter when he spoke again. “We will enter as field operatives, but once we get through the checkpoint, we’ll acquire white lab coats to wear, which is standard dress for most everyone other than higher management and cleaning crew.”

“The time of day here and at the secondary base is synchronized. Even though there are workers there around-the-clock, most still work during the day, so by this time the place has thinned out considerably.”

Diego sat back on his hands, impatient with the extended debriefing. Allison shrugged and looked away. Luther gazing around, vacillating somewhere between building stress and confusion. Klaus had a troubled smile on his face, couldn’t decide whether he should look confident or be genuinely worrying about something. Viktor began fidgeting nervously with his hands again.

Five pulled out the gun from the bag and slipped it in his back holster under his suit jacket. “There are 3 outside entrances into the base, and the one we’re using is only used by those monitoring the Academy, but it all ends up in the same entrance.”

Luther shook his head at the weapon. “I thought you said no guns are allowed in this particular Commission base.”

“I’ll just need it at the checkpoint,” Five said, then added a thoughtful, “Just in case.”

Five’s eyes were a little too wide, a little too overwhelmed when Diego caught his gaze.

Diego huffed in frustration, again realizing that Five had most likely shared just a fraction of the stakes and dangers of the mission. He had a bad feeling that there would be more trouble than they had prepared for.

“That’s it,” Five said as he stood and stashed the bag in the corner of the rooftop. “We enter the building at 11pm, which is in 15 minutes. The mission will last 2 hours and 36 minutes. Afterwards, you can all go back home and sleep on your beds.”

“That’s oddly specific,” Viktor said.

Diego rolled his eyes at the mention of the time table. He was pretty sure that Five had acquired Luther’s annoying penchant for overly-planning and micro-managing during their teenage mission days.

***

The street where the Merkley building sat was quieter than the rest of the bustling city, with mostly office buildings of the 9-to-5 nature occupying the avenue.

A large group strolled the sidewalk, some holding take out bags of food, a few stumbling drunkenly, others talking louder than the rest. Six of them peeled away from the crowd and spent a few moments chatting by the railings on the front steps of the building.

Allison leaned back against the railing, Luther standing stiffly beside, while the other four sat on the steps.

When the vicinity had cleared for a moment, Diego tapped on Five’s arm, then gestured his head toward the front door. The rest continued their casual conversations as they ambled to the entryway.

Five clutched the keycard against his chest as he stared at the card reader beside the thick iron handles of the glass building door, breathing slow, steady breaths through his mouth. Diego waited impatiently on his right.

For all his ridiculously confident 2 hours and 36 minutes declarations, Diego thought, Five looked nervous as hell.

Allison glanced toward them, furrowing her brows at the delay.

Diego casually scratched his chin. “Five,” he said, soft but stern in tone. “Come on man, let’s go.” Two people standing outside a darkened building was not something that could be passed off as casual and normal if they were observed.

Five swiveled his head to him, took a sharp inhale. His mouth moved to say something, but whatever it was he simply swallowed down.

Diego read it in his expression anyway.

Diego swallowed nervously, tapped the knives under his suit jacket for reassurance.

Five closed his eyes, took a moment to breathe. When he reopened them, all traces of nerves and fear had vanished, replaced with the familiar mask of stoic composure and determination. 

He reached out and swiped the card on the door.

Chapter Text

[Sparrow Timeline; April 21, 2019] 

“Do you know where the four major Commission bases are located?”

Five’s brows wrinkled in confusion. “I am aware of the 3, and I’ve only been to 2 of them.”

“Ahh, yes. I have heard of your time spent at the Biological Engineering Labs at the tertiary base.”

Five stiffened, giving Reginald a cautious look.

“I know everything.” Another omniscient smile from Reginald.

A few moments of silence sat in the air with that admission, before Reginald continued. “Each Commission Headquarters is located in a different different era; well, technically adjacent to them since they are outside of time. The Main Headquarters, which houses the back office, records, and HR management, is located in the 50’s. The Secondary headquarters — the Technical Engineering and Technology Control hub — is located in the 60’s. The 70’s holds the Tertiary Headquarters, the aforementioned Biological Engineering Labs.”

“You mentioned that there are four.”

Reginald acknowledged with a nod. “The principal headquarters that oversees the entire Temps Commission - Aeternalis. Located roughly a thousand years in the future. In the main timeline.”

Five kept his breathing even, his heart beat slow, as he absorbed the fantastical information as matter-of-factly as he could. The implication that the ones manipulating the events of the timeline are from the future was simultaneously logical and terrifying.

One side of Reginald’s mouth quirked up slightly as he relished in the moment as one who just revealed a long-held secret. 

“Tell me, what makes the Commission so powerful and feared?” Reginald’s question interrupted Five’s thoughts. Five took a moment, each pondered answer mounting deep anxiety in his stomach. 

Time travel, the best assassins, unlimited resources...

“There are many,” Reginald voiced the thoughts out loud. “But their ability to see a threat before it becomes one I would say makes the top of the list. They can see everything before it happens.”

“The Infinite Switchboard,” Five said, eyes widening.

Reginald nodded. “A marvelous communications matrix, gathering information from different timelines and sending the data to Aeternalis to be parsed by an army of the most advanced supercomputers. The internal framework and design is beyond anything humans are capable of replicating. It has multiple fail safes and backups to prevent a network interruption. And the underlying programming language that runs the network, impossible for the human mind to comprehend, is all at once marvelous and staggering in its complexities.”

Reginald fetched the monocle from his pocket. “Back then, you quoted Homer to me. It is also my understanding that you’re fluent in multiple languages, with you and your sister Allison being the most proficient in learning languages amongst your siblings.”

Five nodded hesitantly, flicking his gaze to the monocle in Reginald’s lap as his father subconsciously rubbed the frame with a thumb. “You had us learn languages as part of our curriculum. I was young when I…disappeared. But yes, that is correct. I also learned a few the last couple of years during…,” Five shook his head slightly before finishing, “…when it was necessary for me to do so.”

“Overtly, your talent is space-time manipulation,” Reginald said, a growing enthusiasm evident in his tone. “But I would be more inclined to say that your greatest power is your mind. Your neural foundations are developed far beyond the current human evolutionary stage, and your cognitive load in relation to your logical-mathematical mind is astounding - just the sheer spatial intelligence it takes to visualize and manipulate those types of equations…,” a glint of fire in his eyes, “you are simply unmatched.”

Five continued to stare, unsure of how to handle the bizarre excitement coming from his father and the outpouring of praise.

Reginald leaned forward, palms on his lap and a genuine smile on his face. “I believe you have the ability to not only master the Aeternalis programming, but you can also bypass the securities on the fly and reprogram the underlying code of the Aeternalis Network itself.”

Again, Five accepted the information like a machine accepted raw data to be sorted later. Instead, he boiled it down to the important information at the moment: his father wanted him, needed him for something. He could use this opportunity bargain.

[Current Timeline; June 3, 2019 - June 4, 2019]

Margaret winced as a particularly sharp beam of fluorescent light seemed to have pierced her retina and stabbed straight through her brain into her occipital lobe. 

She rubbed her eyes and groaned at the obnoxious ceiling lights.

“Headache again?” the guard sitting on a stool by the internal gate said, a warmth softening his usual severe expression, his short-trimmed, salt-and-pepper beard and mustache molding around an empathetic smile.

Margaret paused her typing and swiveled her chair to her right, batting her pretty lashes at him and smiling in sweet displeasure.

“Sam, the only reassurance that gets me through this hostile lighting environment on a daily basis is that I’m sure somewhere in some timeline, an equally angry office worker, considerably more resourced that I, has already spearheaded the necessary research that will prove how extreme amounts of fluorescent lighting degrade eyesight and cause miniscule brain damage that lead to frequent headaches and migraines.” 

Her vibrant eyes wandered to the ceiling for a moment, her nimble fingers waving off dozens of extraneous thoughts, “Among other things.”

“And once the indisputable results are published, it will be followed, of course,” she continued, finger pointing for emphasis, while Sam nodded in amused sincerity, “by a class-action lawsuit on the lighting manufacturers, causing the vile company to file for bankruptcy.” Her sights wandered to the ceiling again, ideas bouncing around with her eyes. “Which will produce an echo through all timelines, of course, causing a ripple effect of destruction of said company in every universe.”

“So,” she said, her unblinking, matter-of-fact eyes engaging Sam’s once again, “invest in candles, because a fluorescent lighting apocalypse is coming.”

Margaret turned back to her computer, a satisfied smile settling on her lips brought on by the temporary comfort of her speculative scenario.

Her relationship with the fluorescent floodlights they called building lighting wasn’t always so adversarial. During her early days with the Commission, she would stand outside to stare at this giant illuminated dollhouse, mesmerized by its striking transparent walls and enchanting lighting, before stepping inside the building to begin her work day.

Sam chuckled, then pressed a button on the radio on his shoulder and spoke into it. “Eleven PM check-in, nothing unusual to report in the lobby.”

“Copy that, lobby,” a voice replied through the static.

Sam placed the magazine face down on his knee and brought his attention back to Margaret. “You know, you really should look into other career paths within the company.” He sat up a bit to straighten his back. “You’re definitely suited for something else. You always complain about being bored here anyway.”

She sighed as she typed on her keyboard, preparing the perpetual weekly reports for HR. Yes, Boredom was the bane of her existence. But still, she thought, safe and bored were better than bloody and dead.

Blood on the white floors, gunshots echoing, distant screaming.

She breathed and shook away the intrusive memory. 

“There’s nothing wrong with having a stable job,” she replied. “Besides, I quite enjoy spending all my evenings with you, Sam.”

She usually slept terribly at nights anyway, disturbing images haunting her dreams, so a night shift suited her well. Lately, she had repeatedly dreamed of an explosion in the building, waking with the blast still ringing in her ears and her skin hot from the flames that had been speeding toward her.

She undid the top button of her pink blouse under her gray suit, feeling uncomfortably warm again with the memory.

“Right back at ‘cha,” Sam said with a fond smile, “I enjoy being used as a sounding board for your wild assessments and scenarios. Nights here would be pretty dull otherwise.”

“Aww,” she cooed with warm delight without looking up from her screen, “I love you too, Sam.”

The front door opened. The glass doors had showed no one in the streets on the other side, an indication that visitors were dropping by from another timeline. And to confirm, the time shield warped and flickered for a moment as it permitted the barrier breach.

***

The small, red LED dot on the card reader turned green. Diego reached for the door handle and stepped into the empty blackness that lay beyond the glass doors.

 A whispered whoosh in his ears as the air shifted, and he lost his center for a moment - like when Five had dragged him through a teleport before. He blinked as the darkness flickered oddly…

…and opened his eyes to a spacious, well-lit lobby. The gray concrete walls of the building were now glass, with stars and the moon visible in the night time sky. 

A surreal feeling, having his environment ripped out and replaced in a literal blink of an eye. He took a moment to work through the disorientation, hands dumbly on his side, feet cemented to the floor.

A cool breeze grazed his cheeks; but no, they were indoors - that was the air conditioner keeping the place comfortably cool. 

“Stop looking like a tourist and pull your jaw off the floor,” Five quietly berated, a quick shove to Diego’s arm with his shoulder as he walked past.

Diego jolted out of his stupor, “Uh, right,” and jerked forward to follow his brother to the large reception desk area to the immediate right of the lobby entrance. 

Five scanned the environment with quick flicks of his eyes, then glued his sights to the stern-looking security guard manning the weapons scanner and internal gate that would grant them access to the rest of the building.

Distant conversations quietly echoed through the building. The fingers of the receptionist clacked on the keyboard. And Diego set his sights on Margaret.

Brown hair pulled back in a loose bun, round glasses. Pretty, with light make-up but bold, red lipstick. Five had described her as a sexually repressed librarian type.

Diego crinkled his forehead, realizing what a strange thing that was for Five to say.

The success of the plan hinged on two assumptions: One, that the receptionist would lack the cleverness required to catch on to the deception. And two, that Diego could wield enough charm to bewitch the target.

Wait.

The mission relied on Diego’s flirting ability.

Diego blinked twice in another bout of puzzlement, as he couldn’t fathom Five coming up with such a plan.

The receptionist paused her typing as they came close, with a slight look toward Five that was either curiosity or pity, he wasn’t sure. It was easy to sometimes forget Five’s child appearance - who at the moment appeared a bit worse for wear.

Margaret’s gaze shifted to Diego, lingering for a moment. She took a subtle sharp inhale and bit her lower lip. 

Diego’s eyebrow twitched up, a half grin forming as he swaggered a bit more ruggedly crossing the distance between them.

The phone in front of the receptionist beeped. “Front desk, this is Margaret….Yes, Dr. Johnson. Would you like for me to send you a report for your department’s attendance for the year?”

They came to stand in front of the long, blue-gray lobby desk that took up the length of half the reception area. Margaret made eye contact, covered the receiver with a hand, and pointed at the card reader in front of her terminal. “Check-in here, please,” she instructed in what seemed to be her usual spiel, then moved her eyes to the storage bins beside the internal gate by the security guard. “Guns go inside the bins. Grab the bin number. You’ll get it back when you check out.”

She returned to her phone conversation. “It’s no problem at all, Dr. Johnson…You too, sir.”

Margaret hung up the phone, placed her hands together on the table in front of her, and stared expectantly.

There was a flutter in Diego’s chest, but not because of the pretty lady in front of him. Instead, it was the sudden shining of his spotlight -  the arrival of his critical role to play in the mission - that brought an unexpected…well, hesitancy. (He wouldn’t call it stage fright. Diego didn’t get stage fright.)

He glanced at the main objective - the card reader. Lifted his eyes back up to his mark - the receptionist.

And he wondered again, who could have possibly decided to stake the success of the mission on him competently hitting on the receptionist?

He glanced at Five and found the glare of impatient green eyes.

Stop overthinking! Five’s panicked look screamed in silence, eyes wide and teeth gritted. Thinking isn’t your strong point!

It jolted Diego back, his scattered thoughts coalescing to finally focus. He returned his sights to Margaret.

Margaret raised a brow…

…at the two suspicious field agents faltering to scan their ID cards at check-in. 

Five stiffened at this realization, tearing his sights toward the security guard, as though the guard would reach for his gun and murder him at any moment.

The guard had barely given a glance before returning to his magazine.

Margaret’s eyes glinted, Boredom chased away. Red lips puckered playfully to an amused smile.

 The challenge sparked Diego with energy, while the familiarity of the game finally put him at ease. He leaned smoothly against the desk, face inches from his mark. “Hey Margaret,” he purred in the smoothest bedroom voice he could muster, pulling one side of his mouth into a seductive half-grin. “We’re here to see Dr. Meyers…”

Her eyes twitched with the barest look of unimpressed incredulity, almost as if she had fended off an eyeroll. But Diego was not to be deterred. He locked his gaze tightly onto hers, confident of the effect of his brown, puppy dog eyes, as his gaze wandered to her nose, then sensually down to her red lips.

She remained still and, for a brief, heart-stopping moment, seemed to display an immunity to Diego’s charm. 

But then her throat bobbed as she swallowed, her face flushed a lovely pinkish shade.

Confidence surged through Diego, that half-mouth grin now wide and assured as Margaret tucked loose strands of her long bangs behind her ears. And though the tightness of her jaw gave the slimmest hint of annoyance, her fingers lingered over her face as if subtly attempting to hide behind her hands.

She was undeniably flustered, Five realized as he released all the breath his lungs had been holding. He finally trusted enough the control of the situation to Diego as he pulled his eyes away to check his watch, then turned toward the front doors.

Five felt temporal energy waft in as the door opened, a moment before Allison, Klaus, Viktor, and Luther stepped through the lobby entrance.

The guard sat up on attention, scanning the four newcomers and the growing late-night visitor list.

Five felt his heart rate shoot up again.

Undercover agent types picking up equipment for their upcoming missions shouldn’t be unusual; in fact, even more likely than the smartly dressed active fields agents, who normally preferred their usual weapon as they quickly jumped in and out of the timeline for their kill.

But Five had to dreadfully admit, having 6 agents at once in the dead of night, regardless of agent types and convincing back stories, could be more than a little suspicious. And save for Allison, who strutted with her easily summoned calm confidence, his three other siblings had dumbfounded expressions plastered on their faces.

Five glanced back at Margaret, noticed her hand under her desk, and he knew it was hovering over the security alarm switch.

He grit his teeth as his gaze flicked back and forth to his family, the security guard, and the receptionist’s hand, his own hand twitching beside his holstered gun.

Shooting them down was supposed to be a last ditch scenario! He knew the risks: even in the extremely unlikely event that he was able to kill the receptionist and the guard before one of their fingers could flip the switch of their respective alarms, the guard would still have to check-in with the security department every 30 minutes. And even before the check in, any number of employees or visiting agents could find the suspiciously empty reception desk and call it in.

The burden of decision weighed the gun down heavily on his side. 

No, he couldn’t.

This wasn’t how it played out, the lobby personnel were alive, the security hadn’t yet been triggered by this time. Was he doing something wrong?

Then, a smile quirked up Margaret’s lips. Her hand pulled away from beneath the desk.

Had she tripped the alarm? Five eyed the security guard for a radio interaction, but no instructions seemed to have come in. Relief and perplexity interwove inside Five, like discordant colors churned on a painting dish.

“Check-in here, please,” Margaret addressed the newcomers with a practiced smile, pointing at the reader again in front of her terminal, before slowly setting her eyes back at Diego.

Allison returned the smiled as she led the group behind Five and Diego. “Just here to pick up some decibel bombs from Section 3R.”

Diego rubbed his ID card between two fingers, then casually swiped it on the reader. A picture of him with longer hair came up on the display on the small reader, which he assumed mirrored the terminal facing the receptionist that she was currently inspecting.

Margaret blinked her gaze to her terminal, then peered up through her lashes at Diego, a small smile lifting her pink-dusted cheeks. The siblings held their breaths. 

“I like your haircut, by the way,” she said, blush deepening as she tapped into her terminal. “Ah, and yes, Dr. Meyers hasn’t checked out yet. I’ll let him know you’re here.” Her hand went to the microphone on the stand. 

A beep sounded on the terminal as Klaus scanned his ID card. He winced at the picture of a well-built Asian man that popped up on the display.

Margaret’s eyes blinked and made the barest move to glance at her display screen.

Diego quickly laid his hand on top of Margaret’s that held the microphone, his grin a little tighter. “Oh, no need. We’re a little early. Might pop in the cafeteria before then.” He had successfully re-secured Margaret’s attention.

Another beep as Viktor scanned in.

“Oh, try the lump crab cake,” Margaret said, then licked her bottom lip. “It’s delicious.”

Allison swiped her card, then ducked out of the way for Luther’s turn.

“I’ll make sure of it,” Diego breathed as he leaned in closer to her face.

Five wasted no time swiping after Luther, then released a relieved breath. He’d never been happier seeing his youthful image as it settled on the screen

Margaret pulled her hand away from Diego and narrowed her eyes at Five.

“Hydrogen Peroxide,” she said.

Five turned his head suddenly to meet her eyes. “What?” he asked, a little too hastily.

“What?” Margaret responded, startled by his abruptness.

“What?” Five repeated automatically.

Margaret motioned to her own top as she kept her eyes on Five’s. “The blood.”

Five tucked his chin in to gaze at his bloody shirt. “Oh.”

“It helps get the blood out.”

Five stared for a second too long before finally acknowledging the advice. “Thanks.”

Diego let go of Margaret’s hand and stepped away, their gazes lingering until he finally turned his back.

Margaret’s eyes shifted toward the departing agents, hastily imparting instructions. “Ah, guns in the bin. You’ll get it back when you check out. Remember to grab the bin number.”

Allison turned, walking backwards as she held out her palms. “Gun free, we know the drill here.”

Five watched the guard closely as his siblings walked through the scanner and into the central lobby. He breathed out as Allison gave him a small nod. 

“Just me,” Five acknowledged the instruction, lips stretched wide in what he thought to be a smile, wiggling the gun in his hand for display before dropping it in the bin.

Five glanced back as he entered the main lobby, seeing Margaret still watching Diego’s departing back. Blushed cheeks and a smitten smile, like a love-struck teenager. 

Then her gaze shifted to his, eyes turned sharp with a perceptive smile.

Hydrogen peroxide. Her words echoed in Five’s head.

They had been lucky. 

Margaret was actually too clever.

Chapter Text

[Current Timeline; June 3, 2019 - June 4, 2019]

No first timer could really step into the Technology Base main lobby without taking a moment to marvel at the visual spectacle.

Bright silver open stairways zigzagged upwards to the highest floor. Elevated walkways encircled the outer rim of each level, the gleam of the silver metals harmonizing with the all glass interiors to create the slick, polished composition. The entire building brightly lit by demonstrative lighting to proudly announce that its designers were the most talented in-house engineers and architects the universe over.

Five shook his head at the row of his gawking siblings. “Let’s go,” he instructed, marching ahead, with each one jerking forward in staggered awareness of the team’s advancement. 

The last to notice, Klaus ran to catch up like a straggling stray cat.

Around the spacious, circular lobby they traversed until they reached a small, unlocked room directly behind the main staircase. This room was actually a long, narrow, sterile-white hallway, with two rows of hanging hooks embedded across the entire length of the left wall and crowded with hanging white lab coats.

Allison led the group toward the coats, while Diego idled by the entrance for a moment to scan the area before joining his family.

The coats were a simple white, collared with three outside pockets. Finding a length his size was difficult for Viktor, already having inspected several. He paused to curiously study the small symbol embroidered above the left chest pocket of each coat: a vector grid curved down in the middle, two rotating, intersecting arrows hovering over the depressed area. He thought of asking Five what it meant.

Five stood by the door frame, rumpled suit with that bloody handprinted collar still partly visible under a lab coat much too large for his frame, observing his family enrobing with a far off look. Viktor was struck with how un-Five-like his brother appeared. Even in the most frantic times, Five always presented as primly attired, with a near compulsive habit of straightening his tailor-made clothes.

Allison held a coat against her clothes, then grabbed a much smaller one, shoving it toward Viktor. “Here, try this,” she said.

Viktor slipped the coat on and inspected the length approvingly, then sought out Five again, this time catching his focus. Five held the gaze for a moment, seemed to ponder its meaning, before dropping his eyes and turning away to stare out the door.

Viktor tilted his head slightly. He hadn’t considered much what Five thought and did these days. While the family had grown closer, Five had drifted away, creating a sizable gap that would need more than an invitation to a family game night to narrow.

“If you’re ready, let’s get going,” Luther instructed.

Viktor shrugged. There would be plenty of time to sort things out the day after.

***

The occasional lab coat-wearing employee crossed the lobby from the elevators to the cafeteria, but for the most part the main lobby remained clear. Luther and Allison shifted in place in impatience, while Five leaned against the near wall. Klaus and Viktor caught each other’s eyes and shrugged.

Allison sighed. “Isn’t he done yet?”

Luther peeked inside the room. “Still changing.”

“He can’t do this mission without his super cool hero outfit, don’t you know?” Klaus explained, earning a chuckle from Viktor.

Diego stepped out in his all-black mission gear, flinging the white coat over his shoulders and smoothly sliding his arms in each sleeve.

“I mean, if he was just going to cover it up with the coat anyway…,” Viktor said with a cheeky smile.

Diego joined the group and thrust his hand to the center.  “Let’s go Team Zero,” he declared with superfluous enthusiasm.

Luther and Klaus stared, Allison and Viktor shook their heads.

“Oh, come on,” Diego whined. With snickers and snorts and tentative acquiescence, all hands eventually united.

Klaus motioned his head toward Five, “Guys, we better get going before fearless leader starts lecturing,” who still leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets, observing with a stern gaze.

Armored by their freshly acquired corporate camouflage, the team paired off to their respective assignments - Luther and Klaus toward the north staircase, Allison and Viktor to the west elevator, and Diego and Five to the east side.

***

Diego stood with a foot outside the room, restless attention split between monitoring the corridor for any incoming unwanted company and keeping an eye on his overstrung brother. 

His back turned from Diego, Five hovered over a complicated console that reminded Diego of the Infinite Switchboard back in Commission Main Headquarters, but instead of plugs and switches, the interface consisted mostly of clear buttons with sporadically allocated switches along a horizontal workstation that continued up along the wall. Five alternately fidgeted on his watch and punched seemingly random buttons in front of him. 

Diego reached inside the lab coat to pluck a knife from its holster. It had been six minutes since Five had said he needed just a second and pulled them both in this room.

He spun the knife in his hand in quick spurts. “What are you doing?”

Five kept his focus on his work. “I’m tapping into the communications network.”

“How important is this side quest?” It wasn’t in the plans, at least not in what Diego could recall. Admittedly, he mainly focused on his own parts and might have missed details he deemed unimportant.

“I need to communicate with our outside contacts!” Five snapped.

Diego met the abrasive reply with a sharp gaze. “Alright.” Even if Five couldn’t see the glare he was giving him right now, Diego made sure it could be felt through his tone.

Five stilled, ran a hand through his hair, then breathed as if it was the hardest thing for him to do at the moment. “It’s just…,” he began with a milder, but still strained, tone, “it’s taking a bit longer to find the frequency.” He pressed a hand against the wall in front of him, glaring at the uncooperative switches, his other hand pattering his restless fingers against the lab coat on his leg.  

Diego almost groaned. He did not sign up to be the emotional support sibling, but the whole mission relied on Five getting them through this. He took a quick glance to the outside corridor before stepping toward his brother. “Alright, calm down,” he said, though his voice came out more annoyed than he intended. Best thing to do was to get Five thinking of the next step. “What does that mean exactly?”

“Most likely…,” Five slowed with a thoughtful pause, “the liaison isn’t in place yet.” His hands clenched and unclenched, taking in a breath with effort.

Diego placed a rough hand on Five’s shoulder and shook him to attention, “Hey, hey! Look at me,” catching Five’s flustered eyes when he turned around. “One foot in front of the other, alright? What can you actually do right now?”

Five shifted his head to the side in a pondering gaze. “I can…I can automate the scanning. It should connect on its own.”

“Okay, then,” Diego nodded, letting go as Five pulled toward the console.

Five tapped his watch a few times, then punched sequenced keys on the control panel. A greenish wavelength of some sort animated on the terminal display. He fidgeted in place and ran his hand through his hair once more.

Diego crossed his arms. “You’re losing it.”

Five swiveled his head toward him, his face scrunching in perplexed aggravation. “What?”

“You have a to-do list a mile long and you’re about to have a nervous breakdown trying to handle it all,” Diego said with an assured stance, projecting the confidence he had in his assessment.

“That’s not why I’m…,” Five muttered and closed his eyes.

“You don’t think I’ve noticed how squirrelly you’ve been?” Diego pressed, but kept his tone nonaggressive. “During the briefing on the roof, in the van, back at the house? You’re so tightly strung that I can’t tell if you’re about to throw a tantrum or have an emotional breakdown.” Diego spoke his next words slowly, unconcealed insinuation in his tone. “Unless…there’s something else about this mission that you haven’t told us that’s making you so strung up.”

“Look,” Five said with an exasperated breath, “I already know we’re going to succeed. I just have to make sure….” His voice trailed, and Diego impatiently gestured his hands to press for an answer. 

“Make sure of what?”

Five rubbed a hand on his forehead and closed his eyes. “Make sure everything happens the way it should.” The edges of Five’s lips tightened, and a subtle pain twisted on his face, as if the admittance was difficult to say out loud.

“Hm,” Diego hummed in comprehension, noting his theory to be correct - it was the pressure and unchecked anxiety. He clicked his tongue, “Sit down,” then glared at his brother when Five didn’t heed the instruction. “Sit. Take a breather. We’re ahead of schedule anyway, right?”

Five checked his watch. “Yes…”

They both sat against the wall opposite the control console, with Diego intermittently monitoring the entrance with a glance. Five’s thumb tapped his leg repeatedly, the other leg bouncing in impatience.

“Hey, we’re good, okay?” Diego reassured again. “Like you said, you already know you’ve got a detailed plan that guarantees success. And after this, we hit up Denny’s at Midtown for some burgers. It’s as simple as that.”

Five sighed heavily, then pressed his palms against his eyes. 

Diego plopped his arms on top of his knees. “Well, can I help with what you need to do with the Infinite Switchboard?”

Five shook his head, as Diego had expected of his stubborn brother.  “I’m the only one who can code into the Aeternalis network.”

He had no idea what that meant, but that never stopped Diego before from pressing on. “Why just you?”

 “I learned the programming code.”

 “One of us could have learned that also.”

Five shook his head tiredly. “No one else can do it. I’m the only one smart enough to.”

“Yeah, isn’t that typical,” Diego grumbled with a stilted tone, flicking his head away with an irritated huff. Arrogant superiority was a Five trait that Diego had no patience for.

Five kept his sights to the floor. When he spoke, it was in a surprisingly hushed tone. “During that time, I have to be mentally sharp and focused. I can’t make a mistake on the programming.” He breathed in a shaky breath, voice quieting to a near whisper. “Insanity wasn’t an option.”

Diego frowned. “You hearing voices again? Or… you know what, nevermind.” They always knew Five wasn’t all right in the head, but it was a harmless quirk than anything else. On the other hand, the perfectionist part of that confession, another typical Five trait, was where the current problem was rooted.

Diego encouragingly squeezed his brother’s shoulder. “Look, I’m gonna be honest with you. Watching you silently freak out is making me freak out. You need to pull it together, man.”

Eyes still lowered, Five thoughtfully nodded, thankfully appeared to absorb the clunky inspiring speech.

“And hey, you know, we’ve got this,” Diego continued in the most reassuring tone he could muster. “Our very capable siblings are finding the network…places…to plug in the drive…things…and install the explosives, while we go plant the bomb on the main power source. Then you do your thing with the Infinite Switchboard, we dodge a few explosives, and we’re outta here.” 

A troubled look came upon Five’s face, hands wringing together with a hitch in his breath. He turned to Diego, but couldn’t seem to keep eye contact. “Diego….I want you to know. You had every right to be angry with me. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. She didn’t want you to know yet.”

Diego raised a confused eyebrow.

“Communications established,” intoned a robotic voice from the terminal console.

Five jerked up to a standing position, struck his watch with violent taps of his fingers, then placed his point finger on his ear piece. “Finally, what took you so long?” he breathed out with evident relief, shoulders unwinding and expression relaxing.

***

[Sparrow Timeline; April 21, 2019]

“About the situation of my family…,” Five began, but was cut off by a small chuckle from his father. 

Reginald peered straight into his eyes with a knife-life gaze. “This world is of your own doing, you know that, don’t you?”

A long time dread that had been whispered in Five’s ears, its truth affirmed in a simple statement.

That everything was his fault.

A storm brewed inside of Five — frustration, anger, sadness. He ushered the emotions behind him, forcefully locking them away. Clenching the hand on his side, fingernails digging into his palms, he had to remind himself to breathe.

“Is that so?” There was a slight quiver in Five’s voice, an emotion escaping from its imprisonment.

A predatory look crossed Reginald’s eyes briefly before locking onto Five, hidden quickly away by the mask of casualness. “I can only discuss it from a theoretical standpoint. When you traveled back from your original timeline, you overcompensated for your family.” Reginald hummed in thought. “Now that I’ve learned more about you, I understand why you left such a large margin of error, even though you did so subconsciously: it was better to encompass everything about your family than chance leaving a part of them behind.”

“I don’t…” Five paused and took a breath, admitted something very personal. “I don’t know how to take the timeline alteration data into consideration.”

“I didn’t think so. Such a shame. You basically have the power to recreate the entire world to your whim and desire. But alas, even with your powerful mind, the minute details of the cosmic universe are still beyond logical comprehension after all, human or otherwise.”

The look crossed Reginald’s eyes again, a lion that just found its prey. “To put it bluntly, you inadvertently erased your family’s existence when you took them out of time. I searched for you and your siblings 30 years ago. Even after I had already adopted my Sparrows. You were never born, nowhere to be found. You and your family are currently a paradox.”

It was beyond what Five understood of his powers, ushering in a sudden feeling of hopelessness as his egregious ineptitude was laid bare. Why did he even bother using his time travel ability if he would never understand how to properly use it? Like a child playing with a bomb, his foolish naiveté could destroy the world.

“My family…” Five struggled to find his words. “I mean, my mistake…can it be fixed? I would like to give back their lives, give them their chance at happiness. I cannot… my family’s safety, their chance at happiness cannot be compromised.”

Reginald gave a look of pity. It could have been insincere, Five wasn’t sure. Having to grapple with the heartsickness made it difficult to get a proper read on Reginald.

“I will help you with the equation to give your family back their lives,” Reginald offered. “But the mission will require a team to accomplish. If we move forward, I will not have my Sparrows anymore. I know you cannot make the full and necessary sacrifice that I am willing to make. So that is why I’m offering you everything.”

The fog was still thick in Five’s mind, but he was no stranger to bad deals, knew he had to poke at the holes. “Why…why would you be willing to erase your current life? To trade away what you have? Not to mention that you’re dead in the original timeline. It would mean we would be your children again. What about the Sparrows? You’d lose your family now.”

Reginald huffed a small, incredulous chuckle. “Part of the deal of course is to make sure I do not lose my life again when the timeline is reset.”

Five wondered if they meant so little to their father as well? Would he have dealt them away for a different set of children if he was given the opportunity?

“My Sparrows are powerful,” Reginald explained after watching Five’s apparent inner turmoil. “But I lack someone with your mental aptitude. Your mind is the missing key to taking down the Commission once and for all. And your siblings’ fighting power will suffice for the task. Even I see the obvious advantages to this arrangement. Surely you do as well.”

Reginald brought his hands together on top of his cane, twisted his head this way and that to check his surroundings, then leaned back on his chair. 

“I love my children.” The tenseness on Reginald’s expression disappeared, his eyes broadening to show a surprising sincerity, taking Five slightly aback. “I did my best in raising them, giving them a good home. Getting the best care takers until they were old enough to care for themselves. The best private education money could buy. Servants at their beck and call. I gave them everything that I thought would make them happy and be beneficial to them.”

Logically, this was regarding the Sparrow Academy, but this man was the only father Five had ever known, so the words spoke to him as echoes of his distant childhood.

Reginald lowered his eyes. “But I have given my life to one mission, and in extension that is their mission as well. I trained them for that. You know what that is, don’t you?”

“To save the world,” Five answered without hesitation.

Reginald looked up and held Five’s gaze. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “No, it is not to save the world.”

The correct response eluded Five, and he wondered for a moment if this was a test he was supposed to clear.

A sadness softened Reginald’s usual sharp eyes. “That would imply that the world has yet to be destroyed.” 

Five’s eyes widened, breaths quickening. Images of an empty world crashed into him. 

The desolate, gray landscape devoid of life overlaid over the Academy walls. 

The choking odor of rotting corpses polluting the air. 

The deafening silence of a devoid world roaring in his ears. 

That despair of loneliness crushing his lungs.

Five knew his hard fought composure had fallen away, and he failed to keep the anguish from his voice when he spoke. “The mission…is to bring everyone back to life.”

The sympathetic smile that Reginald gave was laced with grief. “Yes, because the world has already been destroyed. All life has been taken. Husbands, mothers, sons, daughters…no one is here anymore.” 

Reginald cleared his throat from a lump that seemed to have formed there. “Happiness…,” he spoke with a reminiscing tone, “love…,” a twinkle lit his eyes, “poetry,” a subtle smile quirked up his lips, “music…,” head tilting to listen to a sound far off. “Everything beautiful about your world, everything she loved, is gone. The entire world has already been destroyed. And I made the decision to bring everyone back to life, same as you. You and I are not trying to save the world. Because my Sparrows are already dead. Your family is already dead. We are trying to change reality, what already is. Not what will be.”

The reality of a dead world, of his dead family, of living a lifetime alone in hell. Five’s reality, for decades only known to him alone, always cursed to bear alone.

“Our perspectives are different from everyone else’s,” Reginald continued. “You’re the only one who understands that we cannot fail. The world cannot stay as it is. But for as long as time has only one path, for as long as the Commission still holds power, that is our actuality.”

The terror of the nightmare still remained, intermingled with a disquieting relief, because the thought of his torment finally being understood had always been such a preposterous delusion that his father’s words were hard for him to believe. He squeezed the glass in his hand to stop the trembling.

“I seem to have failed the first time around,” Reginald admitted, “but you have kept the hope alive and given me a second chance. For this, I am in your debt and gratitude. So yes, I am willing to give up my family to achieve this mission. I am willing to give up everything, so that they could live. So that everyone could live.”

Reginald leaned forward, a new eagerness gleaming in his eyes. “I have spent the last 60 years researching the potential of your ability, awaiting your return.”

Chapter Text

[Current Timeline; June 3, 2019 - June 4, 2019]

From the stairway, Klaus gazed up at the upper floors. Having vast spaces of the building visible all at once through the glass walls made Klaus’s vision sway a bit and his legs feel a little wobbly. He relied slightly more on his grip on the railing as he and Luther made their way up to the 2nd floor.

Klaus thought they should have just taken the elevator, but Luther had convincingly stated that it was just a floor up, and the trek on the open stairway would give them the opportunity to survey their route. So Klaus had just shrugged and given in like he always did.

Luther diligently scanned the visible floors. A lab tech in a white coat was the only one walking the halls on the 2nd floor, the tech’s full attention caught on the thin, clear glass he held in his hand. The man entered a room at the same moment as Luther and Klaus stepped off the stairs and onto the main hallway.

Luther breathed a sigh of relief.

From where they were currently located, the room that housed the network hub appeared as a tiny white door on the other side of the long, circular hallway. Luther grimaced at the distance and anxiously studied the empty hallway as they began to traverse their path.

He turned his head to check on his brother and noticed Klaus fidgeting with his dog tags. 

Luther’s stiffened jaw soothed to a softer outline. “You know, everyone acts like we’re all okay now,” he said carefully, “but it’s only been 2 months since we got out of that Sparrow Timeline.”

Klaus’s eyes still wandered about, fascinated by the panoramic view of the building through the invisible walls. “Nobody wants to really think about that time much.”

“Hm, you’re probably right.” Luther scratched the back of his head. “But still, I want to make sure you’re, you know, okay?”

Klaus’s fingers stilled on his dog tags. Then he smiled at Luther. “Aww, since when have you gotten so sweet, big guy?”

Luther scrunched his face in a look of disapproval at the jab. 

Two lab techs exited into a hallway a few rooms from where they stood. Luther gestured a hand toward Klaus to still their conversation, then straightened his posture, eyes ahead with stiffened strides.

Similar to the other lab tech that Luther saw earlier, these two had their attention buried in the clear glass held in each of their hand. One gazing intently at it, the other constantly tapping and swiping the glass with a finger.

Luther scooted to the far right of the hall to give plenty of room for the two to pass.

Klaus waved and smiled.

Luther’s eyes widened.

The employees curiously looked up, one’s gaze turned disinterested and returned to staring at his thin glass, the other trained crinkled brows toward Luther and Klaus until they passed by.

Luther checked behind him and watched the employees disappear into another room.

Once they were alone in the hallway, Luther slapped Klaus’s arm. “What was that?”

“Ow. Just trying to be friendly! How would I know being unfriendly is the norm here?”

Luther huffed out his anxiety. “Just…don’t do that again.”

“Okay, okay,” Klaus whined, rubbing his arm, as Luther set his sight back to the door at the end of the hallway. Luther lengthened his strides.

The silence buzzed. Klaus alternately rubbed his hands and twiddled his fingers, his roaming gaze snatched by each shiny segment of the building architecture all around them.

“I guess it’s a little strange how I kept chasing after Dave.” Luther startled at his brother’s voice breaking through the silence, and Klaus gave a nervous chuckle at the reaction. “Any version of him that I could.”

Luther’s expression turned sincere. “You loved him.”

“The way it ended. You know, the way he just…died.” Klaus raised his arms in dramatic fashion that had Luther nodding in sympathy. “He couldn’t talk. He was in so much pain. No, ‘I love you’, or ‘I’ve had the time of my life with you.’ So, I guess that’s why…I kept chasing any version of him that I could.” Klaus chuckled awkwardly, trying to lighten the heaviness in his words. “To hear what he had to say.” He shook his head. “Do you know what I mean?”

“No, I mean yes, I get it. I think…it was all taken away too fast.” Luther’s eyes stared off and narrowed, his words slowing with consequential thoughts. “And everyone needs…some sort of…closure.” 

Klaus cocked his head. “Are…we not talking about me anymore? Is this about you now?”

Luther’s eyes snapped back. “N..no..no, I mean, I ended my relationship of my own volition.”

“Wait, what?”

“Oh, uh…”

Klaus gasped, placed one hand over his mouth while the other pointed an accusatory finger at his brother. “The blonde Sparrow that you kept having eye sex with that first day! Did you hit that?!”

“What? What is eye sex?” he sputtered, eyes wide and flustered. “She…she was the enemy. And we couldn’t really do much in street alleys and….” He cleared his throat. “I mean, we couldn’t really do anything about the relationship. So we just…let it go.”

Klaus clasped his hands over his heart and gave a long look of sympathy before shrugging. “Guess everyone was just desperately trying to find something good in that Timeline.”

“Yeah….”

Luther turned his head to check the area once they reached the end of the hall, then poked the microphone button on his watch. “We’ve located the second floor objective,” he said, unnecessarily cupping his hand on his cheek over his ear and mouth.

“Stand by,” came Five’s voice over the ear piece. “I’ll relay the information to our liaison and let you know when to proceed.”

Klaus leaned against the wall and blew out a huff.

Luther stared at the door. “Perhaps if we had met at a different time, under different circumstances. Maybe if she wasn’t a Sparrow.”

Klaus raised his brows. “Hm?”

“Oh, nothing. Just something she said while she was dumping me.”

“Ohhh, you got dumped. Sorry about that.”

Luther shook his head. “No, it was mutual, really. Just…like I said, the situation, you know, we both decided it was for the best.”

“Uh-huh, okay big guy. The situation was she was trying to kill us.”

“You should be able to unlock the door now using your ID card,” Five’s voice informed them, as Luther scrambled to cup a hand over his ear and mouth.

***

Five lowered his hand from the earpiece as Diego pressed the “6” button on the elevator controls.

“Those two haven’t messed up the mission yet?” Diego joked.

A troubled look crossed Five’s expression, and he lowered his gaze. “Not yet,” he softly breathed out.

“I was kidding,” Diego reassured, wondering if he had inadvertently increased Five's anxiety with his attempt to lighten the mood. 

Five responded with a slight nod as he stared ahead at the elevator doors.

“So,” Diego began, straightening the collar of his lab coat, “we’ll just stroll through the hall and look like we belong.”

Five shook his head. “Unlike the other levels, the 6th floor is completely empty at the moment. Only a few labs and offices are located there to begin with, and all of them apparently only operate during regular office hours.”

“That’s good, then.”

“That’s bad. Being caught on this floor would instantly flag us as suspicious and trigger a full department security alarm.”

“Well, we just won’t get caught.”

Five sighed again, and Diego was starting to think that Five had a storage full of gloom and pessimism hidden somewhere in that suit of his. It was starting get on his nerves. But still, Five had calmed significantly since they’ve made contact with the liaison, so that was at least progress. 

“That level gets swept by guards much more frequently than the other floors due to the main power source located there,” Five said, licking his bruised, split lip as he looked toward Diego. “Which is, of course, our target.”

The elevator door slid open to a large, empty, circular corridor; glass-walled on the inside track, but gapped for the zigzagging open-aired stairways that connected all levels. The building’s translucent roof sat atop the floor, climbing in a crystal spiral and refracting the moonlight at the edges.

Diego performed a quick visual scan of the area before the two began making their way toward the other end of the circular hallway. 

“Wait,” Five suddenly instructed, holding an arm out in front of Diego to halt his stride. Five’s eyes narrowed and traveled left as he held a hand on his communicator. “Two guards incoming from the east stairway.”

A quiet echo of marching boots. Their heads snapped toward the stairs. Five’s eyes darted to the office beside them. He grabbed Diego’s arm and blinked them both inside the locked room.

Diego could think of just a few things he hated more at the moment than teleporting with Five. He cradled his stomach, keeping still in the darkened room, bottling up the urge to moan out his nausea as he implored the queasiness to work its way out of his body.

The sound of nearing boots jerked him back to attention, lifting his head to see Five’s outline sneaking toward the small window that allowed some light in the office.

Diego crouched under the window while Five tiptoed, two sets of eyes peeked above the bottom sill. Two guards approached, the brothers flinching out of sight until they marched past. 

They watched as security strolled down the hallway, checking for locked handles here and there. Diego smirked, noting that the routine of sweeping the floor had become a habit for the guards. Soon the patrol had cleared the area and headed down the stairs and out of sight.

“Alright, let’s get going,” Diego said as he opened the door, but Five’s hand shot to his earpiece again.

“Yes sir,” Five responded, tone stiff and formal. “We’ve already initiated the first three assignments. Things are progressing as planned.” 

Must be the organizer, Diego inferred from Five’s rigid stance and stiffened shoulders, a sharp contrast to the casual demeanor he had when speaking with the liaison.

Five’s shoulders uncurled as he seemed to breathed out a relaxed breath, but kept his hand on his earpiece. “Got it,” he said with a looser tone, then turned toward Diego. “We only have a few minutes before another team sweeps through.”

“Waiting on you,” Diego shrugged as they continued to their destination.

***

Crouched in front of the hard drive, Klaus shifted his eyes back and forth at the picture diagram in his hand and the corresponding connectors on the front of the computer. “Hey, I was thinking.”

“What is it?” Luther responded from behind the monitor, keeping his focus on attaching the black strip of explosive to the back of the terminal.

The door was shut, the area still, with only the occasional beeps and blinking lights emanating from the equipment around the room.

Klaus fished out the thumb drive from the clear bag. “In our timeline, Sloane was never adopted by dad.”

“So?” Luther peeped.

“So! She’s not one of dad’s trained soldiers. She’s not going to be trying to kill us. She’s a normal person!”

Luther pulled his head from behind the computer, seeing Klaus insert the drive in the slot. Klaus grinned as the small device lit up.

“And…,” Luther said, raising a brow, “she also won’t know any of us. I mean,” his eyes lowered with a tinge of melancholy, “she won’t know me.”

“Liaison said data redirection is proceeding normally.”

“Copy that,” Luther acknowledged, cupping a hand to his ear.

Klaus gave a sympathetic smile. “You could always re-introduce yourself, start off on the right foot. You like her, don’t you? Even when she was trying to kill us. Just imagine,” Klaus gestured at an imaginary sky toward the ceiling, “if she wasn’t trying to kill us. She would be the perfect woman for you.”

Luther breathed a forlorn sigh as he pressed the small button to arm the explosive. “But…we don’t even know where she is. For all we know, she could be in Greenland.” Both narrowed their eyes for a second to ponder that scenario. “There’s no way for us to find her. We don’t even know where to start looking.”

“Oh, what heartbreak ,” Klaus dramatized, pulling his arms across his chest. “To know your soulmate exists, but unable to find her.”

“She’s…not my soulmate.” Luther sighed once again.

“Aww, you don’t know that, she could be. You could court her, you two could get married, she’ll take your last name, and she’ll be…Sloane…Hargreeves.”

“Huh,” Luther said, bobbing his head. “We don’t even know if her name is Sloane in this timeline.”

“It probably is.”

“Why?”

“Ben was Ben in both timelines.”

“But that’s because Grace named us. And she named Ben…Ben, both times.” 

They found themselves staring in silence for a moment. 

Luther sighed.

Klaus dropped his eyes, tried to smile, but managed to look miserable all the same. “This sucks,” he breathed out with a small, cheerless chuckle. “I…I really miss Ben.”

“Me too,” Luther gently said, placing a comforting hand on Klaus’s shoulder.

"I mean, he was so annoying, you know?" Klaus said with another chuckle. "And wouldn't stop talking. And always trying to ruin my fun."

They allowed the silence to stretch on for a bit more, recollecting memories behind their eyes.

"I know," Luther uttered softly.

They pushed the large cart holding the terminal back against the wall, careful with the explosive now attached to the back of the computer.

Luther cupped a hand over his ear piece and mouth. “The bomb is installed. Heading for Level 3.”

***

[Sparrow Timeline; April 21, 2019]

Luther splattered on a puddle on the ground as he strode through the street, wetting the bottom edges of his oversized green overcoat. 

He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, narrowed his eyes to observe the area, taking a long inhale of the damp air.

It was the main street near the city center. Usually congested with traffic during the day, with throngs of the overworked population bustling on the sidewalks. But it was calm at 3am — the serene hum of the occasional car passing lazily by, streetlamps giving the environment a mellow glow. The night life conversing on the sidewalks, a few pedestrians ambling by.

He could always find her if he roamed long enough, as if an attractive force pulled them together. But tonight he had walked too far into the city and still found no sign of her.

His gaze searched the area, his hands clenching and unclenching into anxious fists. 

A figure caught in his peripheral, and he lifted his eyes to the opposite side of the street.

The same scene as that first time they met alone. Sitting perched on top of a lamppost, head tilted slightly, blonde hair wafting in the gentle breeze. 

The angelic Sloane.

Luther allowed a car to pass by before striding across the road to stand in front of the lamppost, looking up toward the Sparrow. The lamp lit his features; Sloane’s shadowed above it.

Luther communicated his unhappiness with a slight shake of his head, tensing his jaw. “Was it you? Did you rat out our hiding place to your family?” he yelled upwards.

She blinked once, a disappointment crossing her expression.

“Hello to you, too, Luther.” Her soft voice a contrast to Luther’s boisterous one, speaking just enough to be heard.

“You must have followed me back after our last meet up,” he continued to accuse.

She shook her head, gave a slight eyeroll. “Your warehouse wasn’t exactly a best kept secret. We’ve known for a while. Yes, we were instructed to follow you, study your movements and habits. Fei did most of the intelligence gathering, but yes, we’ve all been following your family around. Did you really think I just had a crush on you?”

“You should have told me.”

She chuckled in frustrated disbelief. “Don’t act so surprised. You are literally right now yelling up to the enemy in the middle of the main street. You and your siblings have absolutely no stealth sensibilities.”

“Will you please come down here and properly talk to me then?” he requested, voice still tight.

Sloane glided down, graceful as a floating bubble, palms glowing beside her body. 

“For the record, it wasn’t me,” she said, toes delicately touching ground.

They both drew closer, yielding to the natural magnetism of each other’s presence. Sloane’s expression softened to her usual gentleness. “I made sure to only repeat information that the family already knew,” she said.

Silky hair, smooth skin, supple lips. Luther subconsciously licked his own lips. “You still tried to kill us,” he said as matter-of-factly as he could, but the anger was already slipping away.

“If you hadn’t noticed, you’re all still alive! Trust me, if we wanted your family dead, you’d be dead.” She was upset, a quiver to her voice, and she dropped her eyes and shook her head to hide it.

She shifted her gaze away, and Luther realized her anger wasn’t directed at him. The sight softened his heart.

He felt the force he couldn’t resist, his fingers gently touched her cheek.

She flinched away, still refusing to make eye contact.

“Whatever this is, Luther, we have to end it. This is the last time, let’s not see each other anymore.”

“Is that how you feel or is that what you’ve been told?”

“Fei is just looking out for me. She’s my sister. And you know she’s right. You know this isn’t just dangerous for me, but also for you and your siblings.”

Luther huffed a frustrated sigh. “Can we please just…put everything away for now and just spend some time together?”

She put forth a brave expression, but there was deep hurt in her eyes.  “We can’t pretend we’re not enemies. We can’t ignore reality and pretend everything’s okay between our families.”

Luther gestured his hands in dissatisfaction. “I mean, you said it yourself, even with the shittiest circumstances, we still made a connection. That must mean something, right?”

He noticed drops of rain fall on her cheek, and he reached out and rested a palm on the side of her smooth face.

Soft, brown eyes finally met his. “Perhaps…if we had met at a different time, under different circumstances. Perhaps as different people. Then maybe…”

The sound of flapping wings echoed close by, a black bird flying off from a nearby building.

Sloane whipped her head from the rooftop back to Luther. “You should go.”

She turned to leave, but Luther grasped her arm gently. 

The rain fell harder, her hair darkening with the wetness and sticking closer to her head. There was a longing in her eyes that mirrored his, but she shook her head faintly to plead it away.

Luther leaned in for a kiss in defiance of her silent request. She flinched, pulled her arm free. 

And Luther let her go.

“Luther, next time we see each other will be on the battlefield. If dad says the word, we won’t hesitate to kill your family. I won’t hesitate to kill you.” Her eyes were almost unbearably sad as she said her next words. “Please forget about us.”

He had always learned to accept his situation in life, always had been the good soldier, the good son. This moment might have been when he started to truly change.

Because Luther suddenly hated everything that had led to this point. Reginald, the apocalypse, the damn Commission, the incompetent time-traveling. All of it.

He lingered at Sloane’s disheartened expression, then nodded in acceptance. “Goodbye Sloane. Please be happy.”

“You too, Luther.”

He stood in the rain as he watched her float away, the reflection of her power on the raindrops outlining her figure with an iridescent glow.

***

Reginald allowed the seconds to tick by, patient slow taps of his fingers on top of his cane, giving Five the time he needed to calm down.

Five breathed slow breaths. An issue of great importance needed to be negotiated, and so he steeled his will and faced his father. “I have a condition as well,” he presented his demand. “My brother, Ben, our Ben I mean, he died at the age of 16 in our timeline. I want him to survive.”

Reginald’s expression shifted to inexpressive. “That would be impossible.”

Impossible. The word ignited a terror inside Five, a terror like traversing a dark, harrowing road leading to an inevitable disaster. His first reflex was to fight, twisting the intrusive emotion into anger that he could utilize. 

“No! If we can come up with an equation that will guarantee your survival, then we can do the same with my brother!”

Reginald thumped his cane to the floor. “While my demise is on the outskirts of the timeline, you know very well that his death is embedded too deeply within it. You will more likely erase your family’s existence in your attempts to bring your brother back to life!”

“That’s not acceptable!” Five stood and shattered his glass on the bar top. Fire pumped through his veins, fueled by his intense desperation.

Reginald rose to meet him on even ground. “Acceptable or not, it is the truth of the matter, and you understand that very well!”

“No!” he yelled the word again, refusing to accept any answer to the negative. “This is non-negotiable! There must be a way!”

“Don’t be stupid, boy!” Reginald countered, striking his cane to his stool. “You have to accept that you cannot fix every mistake you’ve ever made!”

Five gasped, the truth spoken out loud struck like a lash, the fire in his blood ran cold. The anger mellowed, turned inward in the familiar hatred, reverting back to the feeling he knew too well.

Guilt. Wretched, overwhelming guilt. Twisting on his insides. Making it hard to breath.

“No,” Five muttered, shaking his head as he lowered to his seat, “no,” unable to admit the undeniable truth, unwilling to let go of this particular hope. He stuttered an inhale, watching his failings play in his mind with unseeing eyes, spoke in nearly a whisper. “If I hadn’t left..if I had been there in that mission...”

Reginald settled back in his chair and sighed. “I apologize, I might have been too harsh.” Patient slow taps of his fingers again on top of his cane, until Five could regain his composure.

Five swiped at his eyes, sniffled, then spoke with a resigned tone. “What do you want me to do?”

Reginald nodded with a satisfied expression, but spoke carefully like one would to a distressed child. “You will need to master the Aeternalis programming in order to take over the Infinite Switchboard and help in disabling the system. You will also assist me in perfecting the equation of the time jump that will reprogram the world.”

Five took a deep breath and nodded.

“You will be required to coordinate the information relay during the mission, among other things, with someone inside the main headquarters. Someone who is familiar with the main headquarters and is just as motivated in destroying the Commission.” Reginald smirked. “I do believe you have a shadow that has been sticking close to your family that might fit that description.”

Chapter Text

[Sparrow Timeline; April 22, 2019]

Five focused intently on the projections of numbers in front of him, hands stilled and hovering over them. Slender black bands wrapped around his wrists, maintaining a quiescent blue glow around its edges.

Reginald roamed on the other side of the circular holographic projector in the middle of the room, a hand on his chin, his other on his cane, wrists wearing the same bands as Five’s. His eyes narrowed as he tapped a few times on the projected calculations, moving the numbers around, then resumed his thoughtful stance.

A brilliant discernment flashed familiarly across Five’s eyes. He stepped forward, double tapped the air as his bands glowed a greener hue, indicating the detection of the movement of his fingers. A virtual ten-key input appeared in front of him. He typed quickly, then pressed the enter key.

The entire console luminesced green, and Five’s expression softened in relief. “I think I may have a viable equation for the timeline stabilization.”

Reginald lifted his head, eyes sparking with eagerness as he walked around the console to stand beside Five. Scrutinizing the projected calculations, then nodding, expression easing in the same manner as Five’s had. “Incredible, it definitely is a good foundation. Let’s input both the Divergence and the Merge calculations, then do a trial run to test for compatibility.”

Grace came to stand by the doorway, prim and proper but a bit meek, holding a tray of food. “I thought you two could use some refreshments.”

***

In the corner of Reginald’s study, he sat sipping his tea as he stared at a one inch stack of calculation printouts in his hand. Five observed impatiently for his reactions, drinking from his own coffee mug.

Reginald sighed. Five uncomfortably leaned back in his chair.

“Is there a problem with the calculations?” Five asked. “The base equation is functional, we’ve both verified it, and I thought the computer was able to solve the rest of the outlying equations.”

Reginald raised his eyes, a twitch of a disappointed smile on the corner of his mouth. “As you know, within my Sparrows and your siblings, certain abilities are able to weaponize external forces. Manipulating kinetic energy, gravity, and sound are such examples that you have seen. Your ability, however, is of the type that generates that energy within yourself.”

“Yes, we already know all of this,” Five said, drumming his fingers on the table.

“Which, unfortunately, is also a drawback to your power, failing you frequently enough when your body is unable to create the required energy. This of course presents our greatest obstacle.”

“I thought you said my innate ability would be able to accomplish this task. Are we wasting our time here?” The exhaustion of being awake for 36 hours straight working on the calculations with Reginald had waned his patience thin, and he didn’t really much care with being polite at the moment.

“Normally, you cannot generate energy when your physical body has reached a certain limit. However, you have already breached that limit with regards to temporal energy.”

The barn, Five thought. When he had rewound time. He was at death’s doors, blood had drained from him so much that he knew his body was going into shock. His lungs were punctured, and he actually felt his heart slowing, with the rest of his internal organs on the verge of completely failing. The pain had been excruciating.

It was not something he liked to remember. And yet Reginald was right, his body hadn’t been in any condition to generate temporal energy at the time.

Was that what Reginald was referencing? And again Five was left to wonder how Reginald always knew too much.

“Then what is the problem?”

“The equation is much more complicated than I had anticipated,” Reginald said, glancing at the document printouts.

“You haven’t given me a straight answer yet.” Exhausted and sleep deprived, he could not be responsible for the violent reaction he would have if his efforts were all for nothing.

Reginald examined the equations in his hands, brows creasing in a hint of worry, before he shook his head to clear his expression, straightening his posture, that assured smile returning in an instant as if banishing all uncertainties from his mind.

“You need to be able to apply the calculations precisely and generate the required temporal energy at the same time. Reprogramming the timeline using your abilities will require more temporal energy than you have ever generated before, but I am confident that it is within your potential. However, it will be extremely taxing on your body. I will be blunt - the agony will be extreme.”

“I can handle it,” Five said with no hesitation, coating his words with as much confidence as he could. No stranger to pain, he was confident he could endure anything, and ignored the skittering of his heartbeat in his chest.

“I’ve no doubt,” Reginald said. “My biggest worry, though, is if you can keep a clear head while in such intense pain.” Reginald studied Five’s expression for a moment, “Without losing consciousness during the process,” then tilted his head. “What is your pain tolerance?”

“Very high,” Five confidently declared, while mentally cursing the uneasiness that coiled in his stomach.

“That’s what I thought.” Reginald beamed pride in his expression, something Five could always garner from his father more than any of his siblings. Something he had always craved like an addiction. But at the moment, the sentiment was merely part of a dream that he had already long ago mourned.

“If you don’t mind,” Reginald continued. “I would like to test your endurance to the process, which will also serve as a way for you to have your body be acquainted with the…discomfort.”

Five swallowed to clear his throat before replying. “Of course.”

***

[Current Timeline; June 3, 2019 - June 4, 2019]

“This way,” Allison instructed, with a tug on Viktor’s shoulder to point him to the left. They veered from the larger corridor to a smaller, empty hallway. Only after verifying the lack of corporate citizens in the area did they slow their brisk pace.

Viktor still panted, heart still thumped in his chest.

“We’re clear for now,” Allison encouraged with a calming tone. “Save your energy.”

Viktor nodded, and a silence fell over them as they walked.

With a cocked head and worried scrunch to her face, Allison continued to glance at her small brother. “So,” she said, infusing her voice with a bit of energy, “for Claire’s birthday, the theme will be princess. Everything princess.”

Viktor’s tight shoulders loosened as he chuckled. “Alright, I’ll be looking for pink decor then.”

Allison’s lips curled in quiet satisfaction.

“How are you doing, by the way?” Viktor asked suddenly. 

Allison blinked in surprise at the question. “Doing well. As well as can be.”

“Luther told me about the times you two spend in the library, and…”

“He told you?” Allison stopped and planted her hands on her waist.

“He’s…,” Viktor placated with a hand out, “just worried about you.” 

Allison rolled her eyes, but Viktor leaned in to capture her gaze inside the depths of his sincerity in the way that Viktor always could. “And I think he’s a little scared that he might not be enough to support you. He loves you, just like all of us do. He’s just asking for help to make sure he’s handling it the right way and giving you the best advice.”

Allison's expression softened as she slowly lowered her hands.. “Yeah, I suppose Luther’s always…well-intentioned.” 

“He’s sweet,” Viktor acknowledged with a nod.

They rounded another corner, going deeper into the level, and thankfully still managing to avoid any unwanted encounters.

“So, are you really okay?” Viktor followed up after a little while.

Allison brought her hands together and played with her fingers, then sighed in surrender. “It’s just, I asked him. I asked Ray if he would come with me to the future. And he chose the movement over me.”

“But you didn’t stay for him either.”

“I have a daughter, Viktor.” Allison flicked a hand up. “Also, Five said if we stayed the world would be destroyed, so there was that.”

Viktor nodded, but bit down on his lower lip.

“If it wasn’t for Claire,” Allison continued, “and if it wasn’t for the apocalypse, I would have stayed. I would have fought with him. I would have changed the world for the better with him.” Allison tightened her mouth. “So, it hurts. It hurts to know that he loved the movement more than he loved me. While I would have given literally everything else up for him.”

Viktor's brows furrowed in deeper thought.

“I love him so much, Viktor. So much that sometimes I get so angry about everything. About all this time-travel bullshit.” Allison’s eyes widened at a realization. “Oh God, I’m sorry, Viktor, you also lost someone in time.”

Viktor looked up, tried a small smile. “It’s alright.”

“How are you doing?” Allison had turned slightly toward Viktor as she walked, gesturing her hands out in an effort to communicate her full attention.

“I miss her, of course.” Viktor sighed. “I’m angry also. I’m angry that I never got my chance to talk to Harlan in that Sparrow Timeline. I’m angry that I don’t even know what happened to Sissy. At least Ray is in the history books and in old newspapers. Sissy…just disappeared. I have no idea if she’s still possibly alive, or if Harlan is still alive. And where they could be.”

“It must have been terribly painful for you,” Allison said, making the extra effort to empathize.

Viktor took a quick inhale. “Harlan was alive in the Sparrow timeline. If I could have just talked to him….if I could just ease a bit of this ache, you know?” He sniffed. “But I couldn’t even have that.”

They walked in silence, Allison recollecting memories of a true love and imagined futures, Viktor daydreaming of a warm home and a safe place for his heart, until they found themselves in front of the locked door of their objective.

“You have a problem with the network room,” Five’s voice said through their earpieces. “Someone’s in there doing a check on the system. Male, mid-40’s, medium build. You should be able to take him out."

Allison quickly tapped the microphone button on her watch. “What? Can’t we just wait it out?”

“He just started, it might take a while, and the security on your floor will be heading to your wing in about 15-20 minutes.”

Allison groaned, “Fine,” gathering her hair with a tie. She turned to Viktor, her pontytail swishing to the side. “Ready?”

Viktor took a deep breath as he rolled up his sleeves. “Sure, why not.”

***

“They’ve got trouble?” Diego asked as he leaned on his left shoulder by the door that Five stood in front of, using the delay to keep an eye on the empty halls.

“Nothing Allison can’t handle,” Five replied, finally turning his attention to their own assignment. ID card in hand, his eyes narrowed and shifted to the left in a way that Diego had already recognized meant Five was listening to the liaison in his earpiece.

“Viktor can hold his own, too, you know.”

Five’s eyes clicked back to his brother. “Viktor?”

“Been giving him lessons,” Diego smirked proudly.

“That’s good,” Five said as he swiped the card to unlock the door, “I’m glad,” accompanied by a soft exhale to release lingering unease - Five wasn’t as comfortable instructing Allison and Viktor to engage as he had conveyed.

Diego gripped his knife, lowering his head and peeking around the opening as Five nudged the door open. 

The entry revealed a brightly-lit room, with a giant metallic cylinder-like structure situated in the middle that stretched from floor to ceiling, bordered by strips of luminescent neon blue-green light throughout its frame. At first, the outside walls of the cylinder appeared to be clear glass lit by decorative lighting, black metallic poles supporting the upper cylinder cap, but soon Diego realized a bluish-white energy field of some sort encompassed the structure instead of having any actual walls.

“The power source for the entire base,” Five informed. 

Diego puffed a snicker through his nose. “Looks like a shiny oversized soda can.”

“It’s capable of generating up to 25,000 MWh per day.”

“That sounds like…that’s a lot. I mean, yeah, I have no idea what that number means.”

Five smiled. “That can power a small country.”

Diego hummed in thought as he studied the structure. “Why do they need it to power a building?”

“They don’t. It also powers the briefcase network.” Five frowned. “This is the final step in the plan, the final bomb to be triggered. Which will be the catalyst for an explosive chain reaction throughout the base, likely to take out a large chunk of this area of time.” His eyes widened, breaths quickening and shallow. “Also, it will eventually knock out the briefcase network once the energy cycles through and depletes, completely disabling the Commission’s time travel ability within a couple of minutes.” 

Five remained still, staring somewhere far off, mouth slightly agape.

Diego tilted his head in worry. “You okay?” He wondered if Five was having yet another anxiety attack, and was assessing his need to intervene. “Hey Five,” he called again, this time grasping Five’s shoulder.

Five’s eyes snapped back to focus with a stuttering gasp.

“Breathe,” Diego simply said, watching his brother’s flustered green eyes shuffling about. Diego lowered his head to his eye level, holding his brother’s gaze to usher him back from where he had been. Five seemed to recover quickly, nodding at Diego with an assured expression, but unsteady breaths still conveyed his struggle.

Diego almost missed the condescending, confident know-it-all that they all knew their brother to be. Almost. He took a lingering look at his brother, before taking a step toward the structure, flipping the knife in his hand.  

“Alright, then, just gotta cut through that small, red disk to the left of that oversized light can, right? Yeah, I studied.”

Realization hit Five a second late, but he still managed to snatch Diego’s arm. “Idiot, the place is netted with laser beams that will trigger an alarm.”

“What? You didn’t say that in the mission documents.”

“I did, it clearly said, ‘Determine a projectile path through the netted beams,’” he said rather condescendingly, his face twisted in annoyance, and no, Diego decided he didn’t miss that at all.

“Well, how was I supposed to know what netted beams meant? That isn’t in any normal person’s vocabulary.”

Five huffed and hit the light switch by the doorway, darkening the room, giving way to the cylinder’s greenish-blue glow to illuminate the entire space. His fingers fetched a flour-filled clear pouch from his left pants pocket, unsealing it, then took a sampling of the substance to his palm. He blew a puff toward the center of the room, and where the dusty substance diffused, criss-crossing red beams of light appeared.

Five dusted his hands on his lab coat and held an open palm up toward the lasers. “Netted beams,” he said matter-of-factly. “Your job is to disable the security net without touching the lasers so we can plant the explosive inside the power source.”

“That’s impossible,” Diego protested, hands on his hips, scrunching his brows together at the obstacle course in front of them.

“No it isn’t. It’s why I chose you for this specific assignment.” He pointed through the beams. “Look, the lasers are wide enough from each other, we just need to determine a path that your knife can travel through to disarm the alarm.”

Five’s eyes narrowed and traveled left. “It’s alright, I know,” he said, shifting to a milder tone, as he mindlessly handed the flour pouch to Diego and headed toward the back corner of the room. “I said it’s alright, don’t make a big deal of it.”

Diego half listened to the one-sided conversation as he grabbed a big clump of the substance and proceeding to scatter it across the room.

“Look, I’m sorry,” Five said, one hand on his earpiece, the other gesturing as he conversed. “It was sort of a last minute thing.”

The dust billowed like a low cloud, manifesting the sharp, red lines that criss-crossed through the flood of neon blue-green light. All that was needed was a DJ to drop the beat and they could be in a neon night club.

“He doesn’t have his communicator. But he’ll come online later.”

Diego moved calculatingly across the room, tip-toeing, squatting, turning his head this way and that, intently scrutinizing for a path in the complicated webbing that he could direct his knife through.

“I thought you said you hated spoilers.” 

Diego noted a bit of cheekiness in Five’s tone.

“Everything’s going to work out.”

Diego stilled and squinted at a spot through the room, then grinned at himself.

When Five returned to Diego’s side, Diego leaned casually on the wall, rolling the knife over his knuckles.

“What’s going on?” Diego asked.

“Nothing,” Five replied with a dismissive shake of his head. “Have you found a viable projectile path yet?”

Diego smirked, wriggling his knife in his hand. “Yeah, easy as pie.”

***

Viktor caressed his bruised knuckles, flinching at a particular tender spot, as he sat on the floor with his knees up at the west corridor of Level 5. Of course Allison did most of the fighting, but he was proud of his contributions. He smiled at the thought of telling Diego after the mission about the couple of punches he managed to connect.

Allison stood beside him against the wall, checking her nails, appearing ready for a photoshoot instead of someone who just finished with hand-to-hand combat, when Diego and Five arrived for the rendezvous.

“Luther and Klaus not here yet?” asked Diego as he settled in front of them.

Allison shook her head and looked toward the stairway. “Should be arriving soon.”

Viktor checked his watch. “Wow, we’re almost an hour ahead of schedule.”

“I know,” Five spoke with an irritated tone not directed at them, a finger on his ear piece. “I already know that.”

Diego caught Allison’s questioning eyes mirroring his own.

Allison turned to Five. “Is there a problem, Five?”

Five sighed, swiveled his head in search of something, then nodded at the upper floor across the building. Diego followed his gaze, but saw nothing there except for empty hallways, high ceilings, and glass walls.

Five turned to face his perplexed siblings, and an unmistakable fear flashed across his eyes, which he quickly hid away, tightening his jaw and breathing through his nose to harness his emotions. But Diego had seen enough anxiety attacks today to be able to see behind his brother’s mask.

“Get ready,” Five warned. “Luther and Klaus triggered department security.”

“What?!” three flustered voices exclaimed in unison. Allison kicked off the wall, Viktor stood hastily up, Diego reached for his knives, as the three siblings stood on high alert.

Luther and Klaus appeared on top of the stairway soon after, Klaus’ conversational voice echoing lightly in the empty halls.

“Hi guys!” Klaus grinned with a carefree wave of his hand. His smile gradually fell as he noticed his siblings’ vigilant stances.

“What’s going on?” Luther asked as they approached the group.

“Five,” Diego said, “we have to get out of here.”

Five shook his head, tone worryingly impassive. “There’s no way out. The elevators are already shut down, security is coming up on all 4 staircase wings blocking our exits.”

“What?” Luther said.

“What the hell?” Diego said.

Shuffling boots thumped like a far off drum line marching closer, its sound calling from all directions as the sleek walls compounded and redirected the foreboding echoes.

The siblings crouched for combat, while Five stood untroubled. Or perhaps, Viktor thought, resigned.

They were surrounded in a matter of seconds, 2 guards blocking the halls in each  direction.

“Alright, 6-on-6, shouldn’t be a problem,” Diego said, clutching his knife as he creaked his neck from side to side.

Five lifted his eyes across the building once again to that same spot, before setting his attention back to the situation at hand. “The security nets have been deployed. We’re already captured.” 

Again with that unaffected tone, which was nearly enough to drive Diego to bursting irritation if it wasn’t for their dire situation at the moment. “What? Five!”

“Don’t worry,” Five informed them once again, “everything will be fine.”

Viktor straightened his stance. “No point in keeping a low profile now. I got this.” 

White glow emanated from his aura, accompanied by an amplified high-pitched hum, familiar signals for his family to get down.

A large blast of energy boomed out from Viktor’s small frame, but as quickly as it was released, it dissipated, as if absorbed by the very air around them. Criss-crossing white beams of light appeared amid the remnants of aural energy, like a giant glowing spiderweb that had ensnarled its prey.

“Dampeners,” Five intoned, as they all scrambled back to their feet. “Like I said, we’re already captured.”

The visors dropped over the guard’s faces. A hissing of air came from somewhere above.

Diego’s vision blurred, his legs promptly losing strength, and his body crumpled to the ground. Before he blacked out, he peered through his weakened haze to see his siblings all laying unconscious on the hallway floor.

Chapter Text

[Sparrow Timeline; April 22, 2019]

Five was taken through the halls toward the private training center. A familiar path for Five, along with the distant sounds of grunts, thuds, and strikes against training pads echoing through the halls. He briefly wondered if his old individual training room still had the punching dummies that his father had enjoyed watching him pulverize. 

Probably not in this timeline, he thought.

They had taken a longer route, one that went around the perimeter of the center instead of cutting through, and Five suspected he was being kept out of sight from the Sparrows. 

He was led inside one of the larger group training rooms, but instead of the obstacle courses he remembered, a large, transparent half sphere - a dome - sat in the middle of it, about the size of the living room of the abandoned house where his family was currently taking shelter. A long, two-tiered gray and black desk stood in front of the dome, with 3 monitors laid out side-by-side on the second tier displaying visual data, and multitudes of buttons and switches on the first tier within reach of two swivel chairs. 

“This is a temporal energy dampener,” Reginald said, leaned with both hands against his cane. “I designed it especially for your abilities. It should be able to neutralize your power and prevent energy from leaking outside the dome.”

Five wondered if this was meant originally as a prison for him, or a cage for experimentation. Possibly both, he concluded.

Pogo arrived a few moments later, holding a small, black and silver box, sleek in design and no bigger than Five’s hand, six wires protruding from the device.

“We are going to perform a trial run of the equation,” Reginald said, taking the device from Pogo.

Five furrowed his brows. “But it isn’t ready. We’re not even close to completing the Lazarus calculations.”

Pogo secured the device on Five’s side using a band around his waist. Five winced as the band applied pressure on his wound, tightening his jaw and holding his breath to hold in a groan, but nonetheless a small whimper escaped through his nose. Pogo inclined his head toward him and gave a scrutinizing gaze.

Reginald paid no mind to Five’s discomfort and began to tape the ends of the wires on Five’s temples, neck, and hands. Cold metal ends met his skin, especially unpleasant when it touched his neck.

“The base equation should suffice. This device will create a feedback loop into your body, tricking your power into believing that the energy being generated is being applied to the greater outside forces.”

Five inhaled a shaky breath, clutched his hands to mask the trembling. Reginald caught it all the same.

“Do not be afraid,” Reginald said. “I am confident in your abilities.”

“I’m not afraid,” Five declared.

Reginald nodded approvingly. “Pogo, please escort him into the dome.”

Pogo led Five to the center of the sphere, hobbling on his cane, allowing too much time for reflection, however much Five wanted to put away his thoughts at the moment. He dropped his eyes to the floor and sighed. No matter how high and wide, how ample the space inside, how the transparency still allowed eyes to see past the walls, Five couldn’t shake the unsettling claustrophobia.

Pogo looked out to watch his master fiddle with the console in front of the sphere. Reginald worked with eager hands and quick fingers, eyes bright and alive. When Pogo turned back to Five, he saw attentive green eyes watching him.

“Reginald has always been so consumed with his work, hasn’t he?” Five inquired, the question sounding like an attempt at small talk.

Pogo seemed to consider the comment before responding. “I’ve known Sir Reginald since the day I was born.” Those unfamiliar, distrustful eyes narrowed. “His obsession has always been with you.”

Pogo turned and walked out of the dome, leaving Five by himself.

It was disquietingly serene inside the transparent sphere, the kind of calm before an impending violent storm. Soft clacks of Reginald’s cane sounding far off, murmurs of a conversation between Reginald and Pogo, a quiet electrical hum in the air.

Five took the opportunity to silence his hammering heart, to slow his breathing, unhappy with himself for allowing the dread to take over so much of him already.

He looked up and saw Reginald had stopped speaking to Pogo, head tilted slightly, pondering eyes directly gazing at Five. Pogo and Grace stood on either side of him in front of the console, a brilliant man with two of his creations ever supporting the pursuit of his ultimate dream.

Reginald leaned into the intercom. “This will be a good test run.” Five flinched at the sound of the booming voice within the dome. “If you lose consciousness in the middle of applying the calculations, with how much temporal energy you created, you could unleash chaos in the universe, and possibly destroy it. This, however, is a safe environment. You have no need to worry.”

Reginald flipped a switch. Electrical energy buzzed inside the dome, prickling Five’s skin. He tensed at a high whistling noise in his ear.

“Do not be alarmed. Everything is just being prepared.” Reginald nodded at him. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Five was exhaling quivering breaths through his nose, his heartbeat hammering in his chest. Yes, he was no stranger to pain. But he never once enjoyed it.

He returned an acknowledging nod at Reginald, then looked over at Pogo and Grace. Pogo’s eyes projected an unsympathetic stare that brought an ache to his chest. Grace gave him a sweet, hollow smile.

He felt alone, (scared), as if the world gazed at him like an animal in a cage expected to perform tricks for an expectant audience.

He put away his weariness, his pain, and all irrelevant emotions. Breathing deep, he ran the unfinished calculations in his head, then balled his hands into fists in front of him.

To save the world, he reminded himself. To save my family.

***

[Current Timeline: June 4, 2019]

A distant banging ushered Diego to consciousness.

He pried his heavy lids open, then groaned as his stomach turned with a sick feeling.

The guards, laser nets, the gas - he remembered they had been captured. Moving gingerly to a sitting position, and thankful that the nausea began to abate once he was upright, he let his eyes wander to assess his environment.

Glass walls surrounded him - a rather claustrophobic rectangular prism serving as a transparent prison. 

Turning his head to his right he saw Viktor still unconscious on the floor inside his own glass cage adjacent to his. He performed a quick visual examination, releasing a soft breath of relief when he saw no visible injuries on his small brother.

Further to the other side of Viktor was Luther, pressed against the front of his glass containment, banging his fists with all his might like a gorilla in a cage.

That was where the banging came from.

On the other side to the left was Five, also still knocked out on the floor in his own containment unit. It made sense, he thought, that the two smallest of the group would have been most affected by the gas.

Five began to stir with a soft groan as his head subtly shifted on the ground. His eyes, though, remained closed. Diego’s gaze wandered to Five’s shackled wrists. No one else had their wrists shackled.

Further to Five’s left was Klaus, sitting in the middle of his unit meditating in a yoga pose. Allison was sat in a corner of her unit, a hand clutching her head through her hair.

None of them were wearing their white lab coats anymore. Diego’s hand went to his ear, then down to his wrists, realizing that their communicators also had been taken. He wasn’t surprised that his knife holster was gone as well.

Beyond that, he assessed that they were in a large, empty room with gleaming white walls. On the left wall of the room was a sleek, metallic door with what Diego recognized as the familiar card reader mounted beside it.

Diego pushed himself to his feet and began to inspect his unit, tapping and pushing against the glass walls.

“This cage is solid as a rock,” Luther informed him, fidgeting about with stress-induced energy.

“Everyone okay?” Diego asked.

"I think Allison has a headache,” Klaus added, standing and gesturing in her direction. Allison looked up and opened her mouth, but no sound came. “And aside from the two sleeping beauties, it seems we’re all right as rain.”

“That’s a good thing,” came Five’s raspy voice from his cell, pulling himself up slowly to a sitting position.

Luther, who had begun pacing, stilled to attention and moved against the glass closest to his siblings. “Easy in, easy out, huh?”

“It’s fine,” Five reassured, staring out into the white room, lethargy lingering in his body.

Luther gestured a hand out to their surrounding in disbelief. “You keep saying that, but this is nowhere near fine.”

“Hey, you guys are the ones who triggered security,” Diego countered. “Of course it would be the two of you.”

“It wasn’t my fault!” Luther declared. “It was Klaus being overly friendly to a group of scientists on the 3rd floor! I told him to stop waving at everyone!”

Klaus scrunched his face in thought. “Hmm, I really thought we talked our way out of that one.”

"It’s alright, we’ve already won,” Five commented.

Allison shook her head, attempted to speak once more, but only mouthed in silence again.

Klaus collapsed his back against a glass wall. “You know, optimism is a great trait to have, positive vibes and all that. But we really gotta work on bringing yours down a notch, Cinco.”

Luther took a deep breath. “Alright, let’s figure out what’s going on. We appear to be stuck in indestructible cages of some sort.”

“Well, for Allison it seems to be a soundproof cage,” Diego said.

“Probably for Viktor as well,” Five said, turning his hands to observe the shackles on his wrists, the iron chains jangling as he moved. Dark and shiny, blue glowing threads of light spiraled around the edges of the metallic bands clasped on his wrists. “The cages and restraints are most likely tailored to dampen each of our abilities.”

Viktor sat up slowly in his containment unit and mouthed “What’s going on?”

“Morning, sunshine,” Diego teased.

A sharp beep sounded from the entrance, and the metallic door slid open with a soft swoosh. All eyes turned in that direction.

Three men, one in a white lab coat, the other two wearing the dark uniform of the security department sans face masks, stepped through the door.

The lab-coated man pushed his glasses up his nose and inspected the room, his gaze taking a few moments to scan each prisoner. 

Diego eyed him carefully. Though the man’s leadership position in the building was evident by the flank of security guards, he neither stood tall nor radiated authority in his demeanor. His round, amber eyes seemed too benign for that. Fidgety hands and quick movements implied an intention to complete this current obligatory task so he could move on to the next.

The man’s eyes settled on Five. “Ah, good,” he mumbled as if ticking off an item from his mental checklist, then began to move in that direction. The two guards took two quick steps to keep up before settling back on his sides.

They stopped in front of the row of containment units. Klaus moved to the back of his cell, Viktor looked on with a confused expression, and Allison, Luther, and Diego narrowed their wary eyes at the man with the white coat.

The man pulled a small device out from his pocket, “Let’s see now,” fiddled with a switch, and then pressed a red button.

Sparks buzzed through each of the cages. Searing pain shot through Diego, his body tensed as he let out a scream, his voice joining the cries of his siblings. The ordeal lasted a mere few seconds, but enough to knock Diego to his hands and knees.

Panting, Diego lifted his head to check on his family. All were down on the ground as well, except for Luther who managed to stay somewhat upright on one knee.

The man approached the front of Five’s unit, the guards unholstering their firearms. He swiped a card on a reader on the cage, and the front glass wall de-materialized.

Five scrambled to a sitting position, attempted to scoot further back as the two guards entered his unit. They grabbed Five’s shackled arms from either side, pulling him up roughly. Five’s eyes searched around him, and there was real terror there. Diego felt the strong urge to try to comfort.

“It’s alright, Five, we’ll figure this out,” Diego said, pressing against the glass wall to catch his brother’s attention.

“It’s, it’s okay, I think,” Klaus said as well, but the complete lack of confidence in his statement made the situation seem even more dire.

The other siblings also stood pressed against the walls of their units worriedly observing the proceeding.

Diego and Five’s gazes met. Five’s eyes held on for a second, before he blinked his eyes twice and lowered his head as he was dragged out. Once he was outside his unit, Five raised his head, and that terror was gone.

But it wasn’t, because Diego could see it quivering behind the mask that Five put out - his green eyes flicking subtly about, his body tense, and his breathing faintly hitching with every other breath. If Five was trying to keep them from worrying, he only succeeded in worrying them more.

Five was brought to the center of the room in front of the containment units, facing the entrance. The guards lifted Five’s hands up, and like powerful magnets, his shackled hands attached to a metal vertical beam above his head. The beam retracted just enough to stretch Five up until he stood on the tips of his toes.

“Pardon us,” the man in the lab coat said, “our department isn’t really an interrogation center. We only have the basic configurations and tools.”

The man fiddled with the small device once more, then pressed the red button again.

A loud buzz, sparks came down from the metal beam. Five’s body stiffened, his mouth tore out a pained cry. Lasting only a few seconds, Five’s body sagged once it was over, panting and swallowing hard a few times.

“Oh, no no no,” Klaus muttered, both hands clutching his head. 

Viktor looked around at his siblings with a panicked realization. Allison’s eyes widened, her head turned to the right to catch Luther’s eyes. Luther could only gaze at Allison for a moment before he had to return his sights to Five, his mouth pressed in a thin line.

“You alright, Five?” Luther called out.

Five lifted his head toward his siblings, his facial expression tense. “I’m fine. I told you, don’t worry, you’re going to be alright,” he reassured, then bravely faced forward again.

The man pushed his glasses up once more. “Sorry, just making sure this thing’s working. I’m Dr. James Lanzo, by the way. We already  know who you are, so we’ll start with the obvious questions: Why are you here and who sent you?”

Five stayed quiet, still staring ahead. Viktor had a flash of memory, of their father berating Five for something he had done as Five remained stubbornly still and stared ahead. Viktor wished he had more time to process these childhood flashbacks of Five.

Dr. Lanzo sighed, then pressed the red button.

Sparks shot down again, this time much longer, eliciting a longer howl from Five, his back arched and head thrown back.

He whimpered once it was over, head and body sagging down. 

“Hey, okay, hey!” Diego shouted in a commanding voice, low and grainy. “We’ll tell you what you want!”

“Diego!” Luther exclaimed, while Allison made gestures of frustration.

“We don’t even know why this mission’s so important!”

“I’m with Diego!” Klaus proclaimed as Viktor unsuccessfully mouthed his opinions.

Dr. Lanzo took a disinterested glance at the bickering siblings, then returned his attention to Five. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to endlessly torture you. I actually don’t have the stomach for such things.” The siblings quieted when he spoke, hanging on to every word and action. “But if you don’t answer my questions, I’m afraid someone who has specifically requested for you will be getting the answers from you soon.”

Dr. Lanzo waited a few moments, tapping his point finger on the controls, then huffed air through his nose in disappointment. “Like I said, I don’t really have the stomach for this.”

He held up the device, shook his head in apparent regret, and pressed the button.

Five rasped shallow, rapid breaths through gritted teeth, determined this time to hold in his scream, body visibly trembling at the effort. 

The doctor observed with a thoughtful look, hovered his thumb on an ominous switch, then clicked the trigger.

Five threw his head back as a jarring scream tore out of him, sending bolts of ice through Diego’s bones as he helplessly watched. 

“Stop, dammit, stop!” Diego cried, beating the glass wall in front of him with the sides of his fists, the room filling with a clamorous uproar as the siblings yelled desperately for mercy amidst the horrific screams of their small brother.

And it stretched on, Five’s body convulsing violently, his shackles jangling as he pulled against it, his cries becoming more and more despairing.

A push of a button, and the agony ceased.

Five panted hard. Face flushed red, sweat dripped from his messy-haired head down to his bloodied collar, his bruised split lip quivering, and his small body still trembling in his rumpled suit with the lingering after effects.

“Oh my god,” Klaus breathed out, while Diego yelled out obscenities at the doctor.

A sharp beep came from the door, and all occupants of the room turned to see as another guard entered. 

“She’s here,” the guard announced. “She wants him brought to room 402.”

“Oh thank god,” Dr. Lanzo muttered, then turned back toward Five. “Well, our time was shorter than I had anticipated. Now I can get back to work.” 

The two guards undid Five’s connection to the above metal beam, keeping the shackles on his wrists. Five’s legs gave out for a moment as he came down, the guards quickly supporting his weight.

Five glanced at his siblings. “Sit tight,” he said, voice a bit raspy. “I’ll be right back to get you out of here. You’re going to be alright.”

“Oh, I don’t think you’ll be back,” Dr. Lanzo said.

“We’ve already won,” Five responded, and managed a small grin. The doctor crinkled his nose, then gestured his head for the guards to take Five away.

“It was nice meeting all of you,” Dr. Lanzo said with a polite nod of his head, speaking to the prisoners like an aristocratic host bidding his guests farewell. “I hope you have a nice rest of your evening.” He seemed to ponder his words for a moment, scrunched his face in awkward realization, then turned hastily around and walked out the room.

The doors slid closed, a foreboding uneasiness filled the now silent room.

Diego swiveled around toward Luther’s direction, arms gestured out wide, spewing up aggressive fire. “Why the hell wouldn’t you let me give them the information!”

Luther instinctively squared up, chest puffed out. “There were other ways! We could have tried distracting the doctor! Or come up with something!”

“Oh, you were just going to let them torture Five until you could come up with a perfect plan?!”

“No, but we also couldn’t endanger the mission!” Luther declared, and that Number One voice he used riled Diego up more.

“We don’t even know anything about the mission. Only Five does,” Klaus interjected, but was thoroughly ignored.

“There is no mission anymore!” Diego yelled, throwing his arms up. “Look around you, the mission has gone to shit!”

“Oh god, it’s over isn’t it?” Klaus fretted as he sat in the corner of his cell. “Like, no way out trapped. We’re all gonna get tortured, and we’re all gonna die.”

Those words finally caught the two’s attention. “No one’s gonna die,” Luther and Diego said in unison, holding reassuring hands out toward Klaus, Allison, and Viktor, then looked at each other once they realized they were mirroring.

“And no one’s gonna get tortured,” Luther said with a nod toward Diego.

“Except for Five? ‘Cause he’s already being tortured,” Klaus said.

Viktor banged on his unit to catch their attention. No sound was made, but the siblings caught the motion. He mouthed something, the worry radiating from his eyes.

“Viktor asked what we’re gonna do,” Klaus said, sounding more and more miserable by the moment.

“Look, we’re gonna…we’re gonna get out of here and save Five,” Diego said.

“And we’re going to complete the mission, then go home,” Luther supplemented.

“Allison asks how we’re gonna do that.” Klaus motioned a lethargic arm toward a very frustrated Allison banging on her unit as well.

Luther and Diego glanced at each other again, both desperately trying to turn gears in their heads.

“When they open our cells,” Luther began pointing at the space in front of him which apparently represented his idea, while the rest of his siblings hung on to his every word, “we’re going to fight with everything we have. Allison,” he pointed at Allison, signing his instructions with gestures as best as he could, “Rumor, kick, punch, whatever you have to do. Viktor,” he pointed at Viktor, “explode.” Luther accompanied the instruction with an exploding gesture of his hands. “Diego,” pointing at Diego, then shook his head, “you know what to do. And Klaus,” pointing at Klaus, “uh, scratch, poke someone’s eye out, whatever you do.”

Each sibling nodded as they were instructed.

“Allison says that’s a terrible plan,” Klaus said. “What if they do that torture button thing again and we’re all splat on the floor when they open the door? What if this thing,” he said, gesturing at the top of their cages, “releases gas that knocks us out again? What if they just start shooting with guns?”

“Look, that’s Plan A, alright?” Luther defended. “That’s Plan A.”

“Viktor asks what’s Plan B.”

Luther looked to Diego for help.

“We’re not alone in this mission,” Diego began. “The liaison was watching the cameras, right? And he should have informed the Organizer by now. I’m sure they’re going to send help.”

“You really believe that?” Klaus said. “Oh, and that was Allison’s question.” And Diego suspected Klaus was just making that up now, because there was no way Allison understood what he had said.

Viktor slapped his hands on his cell and mouthed again, “I’m worried about Five.”

“I’m worried too!” Klaus piped in, fidgeting with hands that ached for something to do.

“Well, yeah, me too!” Diego yelled angrily.

“Me too!” Luther yelled, then pointed violently at an aggressively gesturing Allison. “And Allison said you need to calm down!”

“I am calm! You’re the one yelling!” Diego kicked the glass of his containment, roughly scratched the top of his head with both hands, then yelled out in a roar of frustration.

Allison rolled her eyes, lips thinned in an infuriated line.

“Yeah, real calm,” Klaus chastised and sighed.

Viktor clasped his arms close to his body and sat in the corner of his cell.

The minutes ticked by like water dripping from a leaky faucet. No one seemed to be interested in them at the moment, and no news about Five made the situation truly unsettling. The waiting and silence gave too much time to think, too much time to reflect on what they had just witnessed.

Diego paced his cell at twice the speed that Luther was pacing, the scene of his small brother stiffened, shaking, and convulsing persistently imaging in his mind. Five’s horrific screams still running cold through his spine.

His siblings were surely haunted by the same distressing visuals - by Luther’s near panicked expression as he paced; Allison’s stomping and throwing her hands about in raging frustration; Klaus with his head held with both hands while muttering denials of worse-case scenarios; and Viktor shrunk in on himself in the corner, eyes wide in disbelief and hands over his mouth.

Viktor lowered his hands down to his lap, eyes still wide, and moved his mouth.

“No,” Klaus responded. “No, Five’s not going to die. That little bugger’s like a cockroach. We’re gonna…we’re gonna figure something out, right? Figure something out.”

A beep sounded at the entrance, the faint chirp resonating like a clanging bell to the distressed siblings’ ears. All feet scrambled up to readiness.

The metallic door slid open, Diego’s heightened alertness along with the tension of the situation slowed the passage of time, creating a dramatic reveal in his mind.

Primly attired, straightening his spotless tailor-made suit, wearing a smug, discontented expression on his face.

Oblivious to the fact that his siblings had been sick with concern over him the last 20 minutes or so.

Five did say he would be back for them. Diego huffed in irritation, knowing that Five would likely roll his eyes and remind them of that fact if they voiced their ordeal.

“What do you say we get out of here?” Five said, nonchalant as as an invite to a stroll around the park.

He crossed the room and swiped the card on the reader of Viktor’s unit first.

“Are you okay?” Viktor asked as he stepped out.

“I’m fine,” Five replied matter-of-factly without even making eye contact, turning away to release the rest of his family. Viktor flinched at the cold dismissal of his concern.

Luther’s brows furrowed as he processed the new situation, then crossed his arms as he stepped out.

“You’re welcome,” Five responded to the posture, that last word laced with sarcasm.

They gathered in front of him, Allison’s hands on her hips, Luther’s arms still crossed, Diego’s lips thinned in a line, Klaus and Viktor with twin looks of disbelief.

“What?” Five said with a sour grimace, making his impatience known.

“You know how worried we were about you?” Allison said.

Five scoffed - actually scoffed - at them, as if what transpired was nothing, as if their concerns were something to be derided.

“Yeah we get it,” Diego said with irritation, “you’re a tough guy," then spoke in a milder tone. "Glad you're okay, though."

“We don’t have time for this,” Five said, then placed a finger on his earpiece and spoke through the communicator. “I have the idiots. We’re moving out. Headed for the Infinite Switchboard room on Level 5. Make sure to give me a clear path.”

Five slid his hands casually in his pockets. “Like I said, no time for stupidity. We have a mission to complete. Let’s go.”

Chapter Text

[Current Timeline: June 4, 2019]

They moved through the halls quickly, Five leading with a brisk pace. They bounded up the stairs two at a time and maneuvered the empty hallways with purposed steps.

Klaus took the opportunity to catch his breath once they entered an elevator on level 4, leaning over on the handrail. “Hey, shouldn’t we be a little more stealthier?”

“It’s fine, security isn’t aware of our escape,” Five replied to the elevator doors, not bothering to turn toward Klaus.

“But I’m sure someone will check in eventually and figure out we’ve escaped!” Luther asserted.

Five scoffed. “As long as their boss is distracted with her toy, no one’s going to do anything with us yet.” Five’s eyes narrowed and traveled left, his hand going to his ear piece. “I’ll handle the Infinite Switchboard first, then I’ll send them to pickup the package,” he snapped at his contact.

Viktor, leaning back on the wall, tilted his head. “Why didn’t you pick up our communicators?”

“I didn’t have time to grab everyone else’s. I only had the opportunity to take mine.”

The elevator dinged to signal the arrival to the 5th floor, and Five bolted out into the hallway as soon as the doors slid open.

“Do we have to walk so fast?,” Klaus complained. “Even with that little setback, we’re still, like, 15 minutes ahead of schedule. And when I say little setback, I mean getting gassed, imprisoned, you getting tortured, then getting rescued.”

Five took a second longer than expected to answer the question, his steps slowing, allowing the rest to catch up to his side. “There’s a package you need to pick up from section G while I work on the Aeternalis network, which will take up the extra time we have. You can’t pick it up until I’m within the last few minutes of my task, though.”

“What package?” Allison asked, settling beside him.

“What do you mean, that’s not in our plans,” Diego interjected.

“I would have appreciated a briefing on this before the mission,” Luther protested.

“It’s a last minute addition. Use your brains, will ya? We got caught, so of course that alters our plans.”

They rounded the main corridor, then turned left, and were greeted by a large, open, rectangular entrance that led into a room that housed the Infinite Switchboard. The room was not too large, crowded by an enormous monitor reaching high and wide like a movie theater screen, taking up most of the back wall. Two protruding consoles built into the walls sat on both of its sides. The steady hum of electrical equipment buzzed around the white walls and floors

An overload of information crowded the monitor’s display - moving bar graphs, shifting pie charts, flickering scatter plots, line graphs, number tables, and scrolling lists of names and places. In the top right hand corner of the screen, visuals of seemingly random places throughout the world cycled through, like someone impatiently changing channels on the remote.

Five strode up to the screen, regarding the overall set-up with a discerning eye. The control panel came up to his waist, extending more than two arms length wide; keypads, switches, and buttons were arranged in clean, aesthetically pleasing rows and sections. Gone was the anxiety-filled Five of earlier; here he displayed a calm confidence for the task at hand.

Diego and Luther peered over on each side of Five’s shoulders, inspecting the input panel with a mix of curiosity and confusion - a good bit of the labeled keys displayed unfamiliar symbols.

The strange input variables didn’t seem to bother Five any as he chose a section of the panel with considered attention and deliberate movements. A hand to his ear, a tilt of the head, “Let me know when I have an all clear,” listening to the voice through his communicator.

Luther squinted at the complex arrangement, then looked behind him at the rest of his siblings, who all stood gawking at their pristine surroundings. Allison made eye-contact, a silent inquiry on the progress. Luther replied with a half-hearted “I guess” shrug.

“Alright,” Five spoke to his contact. “Reprogramming the UI for the Infinite Switchboard.”

The keypad pattered at lightning speed; symbols, numbers, and letters flew across the screen. Five’s eyes narrowed in concentration, flickering across the display, processing and manipulating what seemed to be an enormous amount of data.

So of course his siblings thought it would be an opportune time to bother with questions and comments.

“So, uh, Five,” Luther began, Five immediately meeting it with an exasperated sigh. “What exactly is the Infinite Switchboard?”

Diego puffed up his chest and smirked. “Oh, I know this. It’s like a TV where you can spy on anyone in the world at any time in history.”

Luther crinkled his brows. “Really? Can it see, like, when I’m taking a dump? But that’s invasion of privacy.”

“Luther, no one’s going to look you up taking a dump,” Diego said, faintly shaking his head with a look of disgust.

Five released an irritated huff through his nose. “The Infinite Switchboard you very briefly got to see at main headquarters is extremely limited in capabilities,” Five informed without looking up from his task. “It is only a one-way user interface for looking up information. The terminal here at the Technology base, with its system of computers, is an active participant in the network, actually gathering the raw data from all timelines and sending the information directly to the Aeternalis network. Which means, this end point theoretically has the ability to gain command access to the main network.”

Viktor scrunched his face, attempting to understand. “So is that what you’re doing right now? Gaining access to the main network?”

Five’s lips twitched up in a subtle smile, a pleased twinkle in his eye. Viktor had always been a great listener and always had been quick on the uptakes, even with faced with such alien words and concepts as networks and computers. “Simply put, yes. But first I have to reprogram the user interface to make it intuitive.” Five’s voice took on a patient tone, reminiscent of conversations with a young Viktor a lifetime ago. “This way I can use the system without having to re-code at every requested action. Then I will establish command access of the main network, which will only take me about 10 minutes. After that, I’ll just need probably 15 minutes to hack the network and start programming the virus.”

Luther’s and Diego’s eyes glazed over at the information. 

But Klaus’ eyes, though, snapped into focus.

“Hey,” Klaus interjected hesitantly, joining the group. “You said this can look up anyone and anything at any time?”

“If you know how to input the person of interest and navigate the UI, then yes,” Five replied half distracted.

Klaus bit his lower lip. “So…do you know how to input the person of interest and navigate the UI?”

Five blinked his eyes in a moment of thought. “The UI is extremely complicated, built for robots, really,” he explained, still tapping away at the keypad. “The UI that the Commission uses is basically a dumbed-down version, which limits it’s capabilities as well. I would surmise that Aeternalis doesn’t want the Commission to have access to that level of power. But the interface I’m programming right now would unlock the full capability of the Infinite Switchboard in this end point.”

Klaus’ heart raced.

Allison’s breath hitched.

Viktor rubbed his quivering hands together.

Diego’s eyes grew wide as realization dawned. 

“Five,” Diego said, finally breaking the anticipation. “I need to find someone in the timeline.”

Allison clutched the edge of her jacket. “I need…I need to see Ray. I want to see Ray,” she said, her voice taking on a desperate tone.

“Sissy and Harlan,” Viktor said, sounding a bit panicked as well. “I need to find out what happened to them. I need to. You don’t understand.”

Five kept his focus on his task, eyes continuously flicking up and down to the input buttons and the screen. “There’s no time,” he replied matter-0f-factly.

Luther placed a hand on Five’s shoulder. “Five, we do have time. We’re still running 15 minutes ahead of schedule, right?”

Five paused, turning halfway to face Luther. “No, I told you. You have another assignment. You need to go back and retrieve an item in Section G within the final few minutes of the completion of my task.”

Luther glanced at each of his distraught siblings, then back at Five. “Hey, that wasn’t even in the original mission plan. It can’t be that important.”

Five rubbed a hand on his forehead and temple. “There is no value in chasing the past. Concentrate on securing the future.” He brought his hand down and sighed. “Yes, the item is important, so you need to start setting-off in a few minutes to retrieve it.”

Klaus released a surprising dark chuckle. “And seeing the love of my life isn’t important?”

Five gestured a hand in frustration. “It’s the past! It has no value! What can it do for you now?”

“It’s important to me!” Viktor yelled.

“I said no,” Five declared firmly, turning back to the console.

Klaus inhaled a shaky breath. Mesmerized by the slender, emotionless fingers typing on the control panel; by the cold, brilliant green eyes consumed by the task at hand; and stunned by the oblivious devastation Five’s simple declaration had caused his family.

Over and over the universe had yanked Dave away.

Losing him the first time was unbearable, sinking him to the depths of misery. No matter how he had tried to distract himself, no matter how much he had lied to himself, that pain had been the most persistent ghost that had haunted him throughout all timelines to this day.

Again and again he was denied happiness.

Like a giant wall that slammed in front of Klaus’s path, Five’s commands were impenetrable. No way around, no way through, snatching hope away just as it was within reach. Even though beyond the wall was something that Klaus craved like a drug to ease the constant ache, this was another punishment from the universe, and he had to take it. Had to turn around and let it go, right?

But without drugs and alcohol and Ben to help through the hard times, the prospect of facing the emptiness frightened him.

And he finally deserved something good, didn’t he?

So this time Klaus gritted his teeth, and held on tighter. Allowing anger to fill his body, fueled by the moment in the Sparrow Timeline when Five had stolen the opportunity away. Five’s stoic declaration then, with those cold, green eyes devoid of empathy, mirroring that demeanor now.

He reached for Five’s shoulder, turned him around to face him, and in the same instant, swung his other fist, breaking through the impenetrable wall, clocking Five in the mouth.

Luther eyes widened, mouth dropping agape. Both Viktor and Allison had a momentary concern, but steeled their expressions. Diego cocked his head and grinned.

The momentum of the strike tossed Five’s head to the side. And he kept it there, holding every part of his body still, staring at the far end of the room in thoughtful disbelief.

Reminiscent of their playful subterfuge game at Meritech, but Five felt the anger through this punch, struggled to wrap his head around that.

Klaus shook his hand and hissed, a flicker of guilt crossed his expression. He caught Diego’s gaze, who grinned like a proud parent and gave an encouraging nod. So Klaus firmed his determination, turning to battle the fearsome dragon that guarded the treasure of his desires.

Five shifted his eyes to his family, lightly held the back of his hand over his mouth, wiping the blood from his now split lower lip.

Allison’s eyes held miseried desperation, fists clenched on her side, fighting for composure. Still as broken as she was in the Sparrow Timeline.

Five thought he had already fixed that.

Viktor sobbed openly for the family he left behind, raw with pain.

Five wondered why time hadn't healed that heartache yet.

“Five, look at me,” Klaus implored.

And Klaus, the easy-going brother, the one who barely knew how to get upset, was still angry, the anger carried from the final day in the Sparrow Timeline. Five licked his newly cut bottom lip, feeling it throb with the force of his brother’s rage as he swiveled his head to his left to comply with the request.

Klaus shook his head and smiled cheerless. “Man, just, don’t do this to me again.” He gestured to the rest of the family. “I mean, give us a break, will ‘ya?” he said with a humorless chuckle.

Luther gave a fierce stare. Diego’s lips thinned in a disapproving line.

Once more, his family stubbornly clung to meaningless matters. Five could drag them kicking and screaming to a safe future, as he had been doing these past few timelines.

So his family could live miserably for the rest of their lives.

Five took a sharp inhale, the realization hitting him like a frying pan to the head. He had been wrong, all this time - the past and the present were just as important as the future. His siblings kept reaching for the past because they couldn’t move forward, their miseries chaining them to discontentment and heartaches.

There were so many thing he didn’t grasp about being human.

“I need this, Five,” Allison said as firmly as her turbulent emotions allowed. “Don’t make me have to rumor you for it.”

Five lowered his eyes, straightening his suit, a somber smile on his lips. He resolved to properly save them this time.

Diego twitched his head. “What the hell is so funny?”

Five lifted his eyes. “Give me 5 more minutes to finish the UI programming. Then you can knock yourselves out with the Infinite Switchboard. In the meantime, work out the order of who gets to go first.”

Allison’s hands came up to her mouth to smother a gasp. She caught Luther’s gaze, who gave her a smile. Viktor exhaled in near disbelief, excitement filling his heart. Diego lightly punched Klaus’ shoulder in triumph.

Jumbled emotions rippled in his chest, but Five kept his feelings detached from his mind in order to finish his task. And as he listened to the eager mutterings behind him, sensing the invigorating hope that his decision gave his family, Five’s fingers tapped away on the keypad in silent acceptance.

***

“Go to this field, then input the information here,” Five said, finishing up the instructions. 

Luther raised his hand.

Five sighed. “Yes?”

“I…what if I don’t know her name or any previous locations?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean," Luther explained, sheepishly rubbing a hand on the back of his head. "What if I don’t know anything about her in this timeline?”

Five puffed air through his nose with a hint of a smile in understanding. “This button right here will cross-reference a search through previous timelines.”

He waited for Luther to acknowledge with a nod, then turned and slipped his hands in his pockets. “So, who did you decide is going first?”

Klaus raised a hesitant hand. “Me.” He looked around at his siblings momentarily, receiving encouraging nods all around. “’Cause I’m the one who clocked you,” he said sheepishly. “Sorry about that, by the way.”

Five’s mouth quirked up in a half smile, shaking his head slightly. “It’s fine,” he said, gesturing with his left hand toward the console.

Five stepped away and walked slowly to lean against the wall beside the entryway. A hand in his pocket, one hand on his ear, then leaned out to look outside the entryway.

Chapter Text

[Sparrow Timeline: April 22, 2019]

Reginald twisted his hands on the handle of his cane, intently watching the boy in the dome. So young and small, still outfitted with the Academy youth shorts, eyes flitting about and breathing a bit unsteady, projecting a nervous energy like a trapped mouse. A smile curled up on Reginald’s lips at that visual impression, for it was such a juxtaposition to the awesome power that resided inside the little mouse - the potential to manipulate time and space to his will. 

Reginald breathed in that awe-inspiring insight like greedy lungs inhaling fresh air after a rainfall, reveling in the arrival of the moment of his life’s work’s destination.

Five’s eyes focused on his glowing hands in front of him, compelling the wind to commence its dance inside the dome, the faint breeze rustling his bangs.

The stage was set, the curtains drawn.

Five’s intense gaze shot forward, and the wind exploded violently around him, the edges of his blazer fluttering about in the unnatural storm. His slender body swayed, then took a step back to widen his stance and shut his eyes tightly, squeezing his fists tighter.

The tenacious fighter, no matter how much against him the odds were stacked - the perfect catalyst to make the improbable probable, or even yet, to make the impossible possible. Reginald breathed out in exhilaration.

“He’s nearing his limit,” Reginald said to Pogo, glancing at the visual data scrolling on the monitor. “We will see him breach it soon once he applies the next part of the equation.”

Five gasped suddenly, head jerking upward, eyes widening as his lungs seemed to have forgotten to bring in air.

Pogo’s brows crinkled in concern.

Reginald smiled, “There.” He leaned forward and spoke calmly in the intercom. “Breathe, my boy.”

A sudden heave of air, Five inhaling with such intensity that his body convulsed momentarily. Silent whimpers unable to escape from his agape mouth, stunned and jolted.

“The pain might be too much for the boy,” Pogo whispered beside him.

“No, temporal energy still flows steadily from him. He will acquaint and adjust.” Reginald smiled with all certainty. “I believe in him. You will see. He is extraordinary.”

Five roared a groan of torment as he fell on one knee, his right hand steadying himself on the ground, his face pinched in agony.

Pogo glanced at Reginald once again.

Reginald hummed in thought, then squinted at the data on the monitor: the calculations were stalling in application. 

He leaned in the intercom again. “Concentrate on the equation.”

Five acknowledged by attempting to pull his feet under him, panting as he pushed up to stand, but trembling with effort as if his limbs were made of weighted lead.

Then a scream tore out of him, raw and suffering, head thrown back. He collapsed back down on his knees, his cries resounding throughout the room.

Pogo turned to Reginald, horrified concern painted on his face. “You must stop this!” 

Reginald kept his lips pursed, focus glued on Five, his hands gripping his cane tightly. “He can do it. I have faith in his strength.”

The torturous screams carried on, desperate and anguishing, Five’s body stiff and twisted where he sat on his knees.

“Don’t let go of the temporal energy,” Reginald sternly instructed. “Tame it, control it, bend it to your will!”

Pogo slammed the end of his cane to the ground. “Reginald!”

“No, he will be the one to save the world!” he responded with ludicrous certainty, then grabbed the microphone and brought it to his mouth. “Do not let go!”

But the glow faded from Five’s hands, and he fell forward on all fours, catching himself on the ground, his screams subsiding into near-sobbing whimpers. The wind calmed inside the dome, the temporal energy dissipated.

Reginald breathed heavily, stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the panting boy on his hands and knees. “No,” Reginald said, shaking his head. “No. It’s too much for him.” Reginald’s vision reeled for a moment, his hand shooting out to the desk in front of him to steady himself.

Decades of planning, a lifetime of hoping. Stolen away just at the cusp of triumph.

The room stilled in stunned silence, listening to the coughs and pants of the suffering boy. Five looked so fragile, so breakable now, whimpering like the bruised and battered child that he was.

A deep hopelessness settled inside Reginald, opening his eyes to the delusion that he had lost himself in for nearly a century - Five wasn’t the strong, indestructible warrior he thought him to be, not the savior of the world. The boy was devastatingly just…human.

Reginald’s eyes moved about, chasing an invisible hope to cling to, a hand on his forehead, unable to accept the failure.

Pogo sighed. “You will just have to think of another way,” he said in a calming tone.

“There is no other way!” Reginald yelled, the hand that was on his forehead flying out, an uncharacteristic hysteria in his expression, taking Pogo aback.

“Would you like for me to check on him, Reggie?” Grace asked.

Reginald slammed his cane on the console, the end breaking through metal and meeting wires, sparks flying over the control panel. 

The unnatural smile remained on Grace’s lips, hands unflinchingly clasped over each other in that doll-like politeness, as she waited patiently for instructions.

A few moments passed before Reginald responded. “Do what you must,” he instructed, shoulders sagged, despondent eyes staring at nothing. He turned to leave.

“Wait,” a weak voice called out. Reginald looked back, seeing Five up on one knee. “I can do it. Give me another chance.”

Reginald gave a hollow stare. “You have already exhausted your powers.”

“I can do it now that I know what to expect,” Five declared with pained but determined eyes. 

Reginald was caught in that intense gaze, ferocious like a blazing green flame, looking out of place in that small, battered body.

Five indeed was breakable, easily harmed. But that breathtaking determination projecting from his eyes held his true power - the willingness to give everything to protect, to save. In front of Reginald was the fiercest fighter, the most resilient survivor.

That stubborn Optimism roused in Reginald’s mind. Could it be, it whispered in his ears, like a devil on his shoulder validating his delusions and desires.

Yes, Five was stronger than he could ever imagine.

The hope that had been completely extinguished a moment ago suddenly rekindled in Reginald’s chest. He breathed deeply, grasping that fire like a knight’s spear, readying again for the war ahead.

A hand on the ground and down on one knee, glaring through sweaty bangs, Five nodded at him with an assured strength.

Reginald reflected that confidence in his smile. “Alright, let’s try again.”

***

[Current Timeline: June 4, 2019]

Fidgeting hands, restless legs, eagerness and nervousness seemed to emanate from Klaus and absorbed by his siblings who formed a semi-circle around him, the tangling of emotions becoming palpable in the room.

Klaus bit his lower lip, eyes flitting across the screen, then glanced at Viktor, who gave him a small smile and an encouraging nod.

He pressed the arrow to highlight the Name field. “Like this?” he asked no one in particular at the group surrounding him, a hesitant giddiness to his tone.

“Yeah, looks like it,” Diego reassured. “Put in Dave’s full name there, and his known locations there.”

A deep breath, and finally, the press of the button.

It was a strange sensation seeing your memories projected in a different angle from how you remember. Like being half-awake in a vivid dream - relishing the moment, knowing the outcome, but not permitted to be a participant.

The scene was inside a green mobile shelter, the bottom flaps of the tent pinned up halfway, allowing more light to permeate and air to circulate. Unusually quiet and empty at this time of day except for two soldiers.

The tilt of his blond head, the confidence in his blue eyes, the lustful lick of his lips. Klaus had almost forgotten how good Dave looked in that uniform, sweaty bicep flexing with every swipe of the rag over the rifle, blue eyes intently watching him.

He had only been a few feet from Dave at that time, picking through the food rations with a sour expression, when a strong arm had wrapped around Klaus’ waist; Klaus glanced back at him with a different look of hunger.

“Can I get a little taste?” Dave had breathed deep and sensuous in his ear, and even now his voice still sent a chill through his bones, the whispered words reverberating through the captivated room through the speakers in the walls, immersing everyone in the bewitching moment.

Fast forward, rewind, scrolling through Dave’s life as one would speed read through an engrossing book.

Peeking into Dave’s young life — sweet, innocent, unassertive, a fledgling before its first flight.

Getting lost in their time together in Vietnam— his Dave, strong, protective, oozing with charm and self-confidence, a fully matured bird of prey. The siblings considerately turned away at the most private moments.

Klaus’ time allotment ticked loudly in his head, heart beating anxiously as he sensed it slipping away too fast.

He closed his eyes and breathed, fingers trembling over the controls as he prepared to march toward his most haunting nightmare. Though he had already replayed it a thousand times in his mind, the masochist that he was.

Klaus flinched at the chilling gunshots, heart hammered at the unnerving screams. The image of warm, nauseating blood flooded his body with frightened dread.

He braced himself to relive that horrific moment that had drowned him in helplessness, that had torn his heart from his chest. But this time, detached as an omnipotent observer, he saw something else.

Wailing on top of his dying love. Gunshots and explosions quaking the air. Cupping Dave’s face with his bloody hands. Just before the light in Dave’s eyes extinguished - Klaus saw it there. A twitch of a smile on Dave’s lips, meant only for him. A sad twinkle in his loving blue eyes. Silent messages of love.

He had missed it the first time around, not present in all the times he had replayed it in his mind. Because the memory had always been wrapped in a bubble of overwhelming grief; anguish had blocked everything else from Klaus’s consciousness.

So he had chased for it through timelines, an unuttered message that he had lost. But time and again it slipped from his hands, time and again he grasped empty air. 

And now in the unlikeliest place, immersed in his darkest moment and surrounded by his family, it found him at last, landing daintily on his hands like a flower petal that had been lost in the breeze.

Thank you for loving me, Klaus. Please live and be happy. I love you.

He placed a hand over his mouth as he watched, tears flowed from his eyes.

When his time on the Infinite Switchboard was over, he stumbled two steps back, felt two different arms wrap around his shoulders on both sides, bodies pressing against him. His family providing any comfort and support they could give.

***

Viktor’s hand trembled over the green Enter button. 

All the nights wondering, pondering possibilities. Daydreams of a life of freedom and happiness. Nightmares of death and suffering. The unknown an unrelenting disquiet that throbbed and ached from his core.

Was she still alive? Did she die happy? How had Harlan fared in life? Did they make it out, did Sissy get to live the life that she deserved? 

Was it worth leaving her behind?

All the stories he had told himself, the lies to ease his mind. Longing to have the answers, at the same time wanting to run away from the trepidation of finally knowing.

The click of the button sounded like a hammer strike to his ears.

Sissy’s bighearted laughter echoed in the room a second before the accompanying visual caught up. The warm sound sang in Viktor’s chest, and he gasp at the mix of comfortable contentment and aching longing that familiar resonance brought.

Sissy positioned a simple cake on a little white island in front of Harland, one small, blue candle in the middle. A red balloon was tied on one of the chairs in the unfamiliar kitchen.

A calm, contented expression rested on Harlan’s face, maybe even a smile glinted in his eyes. He must have just turned another year older, and Viktor breathed out an air of sadness for missing out on the special day.

Viktor smiled through tears when Harlan blew out the candle.

He moved through their lives quickly, impatient to get to the end, but also savoring every moment he had missed.

Cozy movie nights, mother and son cuddling on the sofa in the small, darkened living room.  A home filled with love. 

Long, hot car rides, moving from place to place. The fiery determination to keep going.

 A quiet hospital. The loneliness of a son sitting by his dying mother. 

Grief.

An unfinished story. Harlan traveling alone on a bus. Still alive.

Viktor sobbed for the deep yearning for the family he could have had. But also a heavy weight lifted from his chest — the incredible relief of knowing, seeing the continuation of Sissy’s life unfold before his eyes. 

The deep pain of heartbreak of seeing how it ended.

And the ecstasy of hope - Harlan’s current exact location as a parting gift from the Infinite Switchboard.

“You go there, and you live a beautiful and wonderful life,” she had said to him in their last moment together, and he quietly promised to do just that.

Allison held Viktor after it was over, Klaus patted gentle strokes on his arm. Luther clumsily spoke words of comfort, while Diego rubbed tenderly on his back.

***

Allison ached to see her husband, as the desert thirsted for water; yearned to hear his voice once more, as the lost craved for food.

Her soul mate, who she had won over fair and square, who had taught her to fight for a purpose bigger than herself. Who had inspired her to be a better person.

Her final moments with her husband, she had asked with hopeful eyes: would he come with her to the future? (Please, love me enough to stay with me.)

His choice was not surprising, but crushing nonetheless. She had taken it with honor and dignity, as he had taught her, nodding with understanding. Even offered to erase her from his memories. She was proud of herself for handling it well.

But as time went on, as happiness became scarce in the Sparrow timeline, as nights became too lonely in their current timeline, the devastation sunk its claws deeper and deeper within her.

And so as soon as Viktor stepped away from the Infinite Switchboard controls, she wasted no time in hitting that green button.

She watched her dashing husband regally roll off the bed, stretching his arms up to greet the morning sunlight that spilled through their bedroom curtains. 

After a quick breakfast, he threw on his suit and began fixing his tie. He wasn’t rushing, but an urgency to his movements was apparent, an energy she recognized as being spurred on by the fire of his purpose in life.

He snatched the folder he usually brought to meetings and rallies from the coffee table, then stopped by a picture of him and Allison on the small stand in the foyer. With that grin of excitement, he pulled down on his suit to straighten it. “How do I look?” he asked, as if she were there.

His collar was slightly rumpled and folded over as it usually was, as he was often too preoccupied with the plans for the day, only managing to properly fix his tie. Her hands ached to reached through time and tenderly smooth out his clothes.

Ray’s smile saddened as his fingers tugged his collar. “I know,” he quietly said. “What would you say if I told you that I purposely never straighten my collar so you would always fix it for me?”

Allison took a sharp intake of breath, which trembled on its way out of her lungs as tears filled her eyes. Her heart ached as she watched him walk out of their house.

The kitchen was dark, a slow song filled the dining room. A plated steak and vegetables and a glass of wine sat on the table. Ray had a pop in his step as he leaned over the table to light a candle with a match, then shook the match on his hand to extinguish it.

He stepped back to admire his table setting, then began to dance slowly, smoothly, in that sexy way she remembered.

The familiar, captivating melody suddenly hit her - he was dancing to their song.

“Happy Anniversary, baby,” he whispered just over the music as he danced with an invisible partner, and she could see herself fit just right in front of his arms and his chest. 

They always loved to dance together.

He bustled through the doorway, nearly tripping on his feet. Expression beaming with some sort of excitement, making fists in front of his chest to control the brimming emotions. Bouncing around the living room for a few moments, as if searching for an outlet for his fluster. Finally, he whirled around and headed straight for their picture in the living room.

“Honey, we had a great rally,” he said, lifting the picture in his hand. “Tracy said he heard from his friend that we would be making the national papers. We also had TV news coverage! I think we’re really making a change, baby. I hope you can see that where you are. I hope what I’m doing now you’ll be able to see where you are. Or when you are, I mean. I hope you can feel me there, baby.”

A woman entered his life when he was older. Edith, who had a warm, kind countenance, but a fire in her soul, and Allison thought she would be filled with fierce jealousy, but instead she wished he could have someone to ease his pain. Edith was clearly interested, they were friendly and comfortable around each other. But he never took it to the next step. 

He never remarried.

Ray’s funeral was well-attended, filled with passionate speeches from those he had inspired. His accomplishments were well-honored, just as he deserved. 

He had lived a full, fulfilling life filled with blazing passion and purpose. Moved the hearts of many.

Ray wouldn’t have wanted her to spend hours combing through civil rights books looking for him. Wouldn’t have wanted her wasting time in front of a microfiche. Just as he had made the best of his life without Allison, that’s what he would have wanted for her as well.

No, he didn’t choose the movement over her, she thought it all wrong. What he did was make the ultimate, unselfish sacrifice: he gave up the love of his life for a chance to make the world a better place.

Her husband was a hero.

And most importantly, Allison knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was loved. Fiercely, passionately loved by the most wonderful man.

***

[Sparrow Timeline: April 22, 2019]

Fists clenched in front of him, Five reached for the first part of the foundational equation, and like a lash strike, the pain bit sudden and sharp. A heaved breath was sucked out of him suddenly, and he clenched his fists tighter to keep his focus.

The pain wasn’t too difficult to bear yet. He was caught off guard the first time, but now he was prepared.

Five grit his teeth as he began to execute the branching equations. And as the first time, the pain crashed as a tidal wave, the intensity threatening to drown his thoughts. Gripping focus on to the present situation, he tried to calm his breathing, tried to relax his stiffened body.

Bear it, he reminded himself.

He moved through the calculations steadily, fighting against the dread of the impeding agony. He was nearing the limit of his power, and the next part of the equation would roughly demand the energy however it could.

He wheezed in a gasp as the pain pounded on his body, but this time he remembered to breath, grappling through the haze to keep his power flowing.

Bear it, he commanded himself.

He pushed his mind to keep moving through the equations. Let his power build and build, numbers and calculations flowing forward.

And then the explosive agony slammed into him.

He arched his back, heaved for air, clutched his fists so tight that he felt his bones would break. 

It was a mistake, Reginald was right. He had already exhausted his power. He had nothing left to give!

And It was unbearable. Unbearable.

Numbers zipped through his mind like manic shooting stars. His power escaped his grip, and panic rattled his bones, matching the violent storm he antagonized inside the dome.

Focus!

Amid the familiar panic, memories of the dead world came forth. Of his family’s gray, lifeless bodies. And of all the times he watched them die.

No, it was bearable.

Bearable because he had a purpose. Bearable because he needed to save his family. Because he had a mission to complete.

Because he was necessary to save the world.

So gritted his teeth, bit down on the excruciating pain. And got the job done.

***

Five collapsed and vomited on the floor as soon as it was over. “I told you I could do it,” he grinned at his father, voice raspy and weakened from the screaming he had done.

“Well done, my boy,” Reginald responded, beaming a proud smile as he watched Five sprawled on the floor trying to catch his breath.

Pogo shifted in place beside Reginald. “What now, sir?”

“Now, we bring everyone back to life for good,” Reginald replied matter-of-factly, then turned to Grace. “Grace, take care of him. Lay him down to rest in one of the rooms. Give him ample food. He most likely has a headache as well, so take care of that with the necessary medicine. When he is ready, send him to my office so we can finalize the equations.”

Chapter Text

[Sparrow Timeline: April 22, 2019]

Five punched the final string of calculations on the virtual keyboard, Reginald hovering over his shoulder approvingly. Five held his breath as he waited for the simulation's completion.

The circular holographic projector in the middle of the room glowed green. Five dropped his hands on his sides and breathed out.

“This will work,” Reginald nodded, calmer than he had envisioned this occasion to be.  Instead of celebrating, he relished the moment, the irises of his eyes shining green as he watched the luminescing numbers scroll in front of him.

Five lumbered toward the table in the corner of the room, shoulders drooped down, slowly unwrapping the interface bands from around his wrists.

Reginald tilted his head. “Are you leaving now? I thought we could discuss once more the Commission infiltration that your family will be undertaking in the new timeline.”

Five sighed. “I’ve got a lot to do before the jump. I’m sure at least one or two of my siblings have wandered away from our safehouse.” He dragged his head up to look at Reginald, the weariness evident on his expression. “And the liaison still needs to be fetched.”

“Of course,” Reginald acknowledged, “but make sure to conserve your energy for the jump.” 

Five dropped the bands on the table, grunted a tired huff, and blinked out of the room.

Pogo settled beside Reginald, both still staring at the spot that Five had vacated, leaning forward on their respective canes in similar manners. “Sir, I apologize for overhearing, but if I may say, you may be putting too much confidence in the boy and his family. I don’t know exactly what you are planning, but it may benefit us more if we involved the Sparrows. The boy’s family have shown to be much less adept in terms of fighting ability than our Sparrows.”

Reginald released a small chuckle and turned his head toward his butler. “You are missing a key element, Pogo. As long as he is able to alter the timeline to my specificities, the mission to invade the Commission itself is fool proof. Would you like to know why?”

“If you don’t mind my asking.”

Reginald took a step toward the table and picked up the bands that Five had discarded, turning it over in his hand. “The boy is uniquely equipped to make sure the mission is a success. In fact, his talent is so versatile that he has more than one option at his disposal. He just needs to be prodded in the right direction. Lucky for us, his family is already pushing all the right buttons. Just a little tap from us is all he needs.”

***

[Current Timeline: June 4, 2019]

A sweet-faced woman with long, soft blonde hair sat by the window of a coffee shop, legs crossed, staring at a sketchbook in her hand. Dressed in a long-sleeved casual beige blouse paired with black slim stretch pants, Allison nearly didn’t recognize her until the woman tucked the strands of her hair behind her ears, revealing an unobstructed view of her familiar face.

“Wait, is that…?” Allison whispered, a hand lightly over her mouth to muffle her volume.

Diego’s eyes grew wide. “You're kidding, it’s the floaty Sparrow chick.”

Klaus quickly shushed the pair, while Viktor held a finger on his lips.

Luther, staring like a lost puppy at the monitor, was too immersed in the scene before him to take notice of his family’s reactions.

“Insanity isn’t an option!” Five’s quarreling voice rippled over from the other side of the room. 

Diego turned his head to see his brother with one hand on the communicator in his ear, the other gesturing in agitation.

Allison and Diego’s eyes met, with Allison’s still puffy from her emotional moment with the Infinite Switchboard, and in no mood to deal with whatever was going on with Five. She gestured her head in Five’s direction, a request for Diego to handle the commotion.

“It’s done, we’ve already won!” Five continued to argue. “You’re willing to risk all that?”

Diego strode to the other side of the room, clicking his tongue and squinting at the apparent tantrum being thrown.

Five, immersed in his conversation, was oblivious of his brother’s approach. “Well, it’s really none of your business, is it?”

Diego settled in front of his brother. “Alright, what’s going on?” he asked, hands on hips and a scowling expression.

Irritated green eyes darted toward Diego, then looked away as Five remained focused on his conversation. “What does it even matter to you?”

“Five!” Diego called again, trying to keep his voice low, but the annoyance of being ignored was riling him up.

“You’re such a pain in the ass, you know that?” The response wasn’t aimed at him, but Diego flinched at the words all the same. He shook his head, huffed in annoyance, and tried again with more assertiveness. 

“Is there a problem with the mission we need to worry about?” Diego asked. “If it’s important, I think we should know about it.”

Still faced away from Diego, Five fidgeted in place in apparent agitation, looking very much like a boiling kettle ready to pop its lid.  “There’s no more time! It’s too risky to delay the detonation!” Five said, voice now rising to nearly a yell.

Allison, Klaus, and Viktor turned their heads to check on the disturbance behind them, with Klaus waving two hands palm-downward to indicate a quieting gesture, Viktor subtly motioning toward Luther to plead for consideration, and Allison narrowing her eyes at them in warning.

Diego peevishly waved them off, a bit annoyed at being chastised on how to handle Five when he’d pretty much had the responsibility to do so this entire mission. He turned back and clutched Five’s shoulder. “Hey, I’m talking to you!”

Five placed a hand on his forehead, still ignoring present company, eyes widened, breathing heavily. “It’s not your fucking problem!” Five suddenly shouted, then after a short pause, ripped off his ear piece, “Fine!” and held it out to Diego.

Diego blinked a few times, dumbly staring at the communicator being offered to him.

Still without making eye contact, Five shook his head and released a breath through his nose. “She wants to talk to you,” he said through gritted teeth.

She? Diego absently thought, reaching for the offered piece and holding it up to his ear before his mind could fully process the situation.

An unexpected frantic voice came through the communicator, “Diego, listen to me, you need to go to section G,” the familiar tone and accent striking him suddenly, causing him to take a sharp inhale.

Lila.

Disbelief was the first emotion that came over Diego, flooding him with disorientation, and he tried to quickly wrap his head around the simple fact that this was indeed Lila speaking to him. It was followed immediately by elation that caused his heart to beat wildly, then relief that tried to calm.

Oh God, she’s alive, he thought, the immense relief nearly turning his legs to jelly. She’s safe.

“Lila?” He spoke softly, a slight tremble in his voice. “Lila you’re okay…”

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine. You need to go back, right now to Level 4, Section G, Room 402…”

“Wait, you’re the liaison?”

Fragmented flashes of Five speaking through his communicator came one after the other. She had been here with them all along. She had been so close and he hadn’t known.

“That’s not important right…”

“How long have you been in this timeline?”

How many days had it been that his heart had skipped a beat for every petite, dark-haired woman that had crossed his peripheral? How many anxious nights had he searched on random rooftops hoping to catch a glimpse of her in the city below? How much had he had to forcefully push the worry that she might not have survived the timeline alteration? And how close had he been to admitting that he had been lying to himself to think that she was still alive?

“Look, we’ll talk about that later. I don’t fucking care what Five says, I’ll delay the detonation. You need to RUN back to section G as fast as …”

She had been here all along. But why… “Why didn’t you contact me? Why are you with Five?” He turned to Five, and his eyes that were full of confusion suddenly narrowed and hardened. The hand still clutching the earpierce came down from his ear, pointing a finger at Five. “You knew all along that Lila was fine, and you sat there and watched me worry. Why…why didn’t you tell me?”

Five thinned his lips in a line, gaze that had been turned away now stared at the earpiece being pointed at him.

An anger began to well up in Diego’s chest as the complete scenario began to sink in. “Five,” he said in a tone demanding an answer.

Five kept quiet, eyes locked on the communicator in Diego’s hand, an annoyed expression on his face.

So Diego shoved, barely managing to hold back his full strength. “What in the hell were you thinking?!” Diego gritted out, grinding his teeth to keep his temper under control as he watched Five stumble back against the wall with the force of his push. He took a deep inhale through his nose, and pressed the communicator back to his ear

“Lila...”

“Diego you stupid idiot, listen to me! Go back and get…”

Five straightened his stance and shook his head, then snatched the ear piece from Diego’s hand.

“Hey!” Diego yelled, “I wasn’t done talking to her!”

Green eyes met brown, anger met anger. “You’ll see her after this mission. You can talk to her all you want later.”

Diego clenched his fists on his side, felt rage blazing throughout his body.

“Diego, your turn!” Klaus’s voice interrupted, throwing water to the flames. Diego turned to see the rest of his family gawking from the Infinite Switchboard, Allison’s hands on her hips, Viktor squinting a warning at the two, and Luther looking confused.

“I…apparently, I don’t need to have a turn,” he responded bitterly. Then a thought struck him. “Wait, I know what I wanna see.”

***

Five leaned back on the wall behind him and breathed, slipping his hands in his pockets as he watched the scenes on the monitor across the room, with Diego standing at the control panel.

One by one his siblings slinked out of their rooms, meeting together in a darkened hallway, then entering an unoccupied room that Five recognized as the one with the window connected to the fire escape ladder, which they had used to sneak out to Griddy’s plenty of times.

But he wasn’t in this memory, his siblings appearing to be in their mid-teens. 

Clacking of heels echoed in a distance, the kids’ heads jerked toward the hallway.

“It’s Mom!” Ben whispered as he closed the door behind him. The siblings stiffened, crouching as if readying for battle, but with panicked expressions on their young faces.

“She’s supposed to be charging right now!” young Diego said, rubbing his hands and looking more distraught than the others.

Luther signaled his hands for everyone to move away from the door. “She’s coming! She’s going to hear us!”

“No she won’t. Just hush,” Allison said, crowding with the others.

“She has super-hearing, didn’t you know?” Ben said to Allison.

Klaus gasped. “No way.”

“She’s going to come check in the room!” Luther spun his head around, then pointed at the corner. “Quick, get in the closet!”

Grace walked past the door, the clacking of heels growing loud, then disappearing to somewhere far off.

A moment later, the closet door reopened, out spilling the siblings, gasping and gagging with their hands over their noses.

“Oh, Luther!” whispered a unison of voices.

“I think I almost died in there,” Ben said, face scrunched with a sour look.

The Infinite Switchboard room filled with raucous laughter, Five’s current adult siblings doubling over with eyes wet with tears.

Five wasn’t in most of the memories they watched of Ben. Days missed, moments he could never get back, lost forever to him in time.

“Hey!” Allison exclaimed suddenly. “Remember when we were doing that press event in Paris?”

Diego snapped his fingers and pointed at Allison. “When that girl from the crowd threw her underwear at Ben.”

“Oh my God, I remember the face he made!” Klaus chimed in.

“She was pretty, though!” Diego added with a grin.

“I remember watching from the side.” Viktor said. “Ben didn’t know what to do with it! And wasn’t Luther trying desperately to salvage the interview?”

“Oh, we gotta watch that one.”

Five's attention was caught by Viktor's smile, curling easily on the sides of his mouth and lighting up his eyes as he watched a precious memory, lighter than he ever remembered it being. Five's gaze wandered from one smiling sibling to the other, and he could almost see the heavy weight that had lifted, the chains that had held them down no longer there. Huh, he thought. Something this simple was all they had needed all along.

And as Five watched his enlivened family take turns at the Infinite Switchboard control panel, as he listened to Lila’s chastising and pleading voice in his earpiece, a calmness that he knew to be unnatural settled over him. Was it sadness? Acceptance? He couldn’t tell. Maybe the gravity of his decision still hadn’t sunk in yet. 

He guessed that that was for his future self to deal with.

“Lila,” Five whispered in his earpiece, “please don’t tell them.” He listened for a few moments, then huffed a soft chuckle through his nose. “I wouldn’t have minded being around you longer either.”

***

[Sparrow Timeline: April 23, 2019]

A light fog hovered over the pavement, Lila slinking toward the wooden sign post, nimble and quiet as a cat in this dead of night. She had caught the glint of Diego’s knife once again, halfway embedded in the trunk of the wooded post. 

Grabbing the knife with a smile, she cradled it momentarily in her hands, holding it close to her chest, before gliding up the side of the building that stood directly to the right of the sign.

Diego’s back came into view as she pulled herself up from the top railing of the ladder, his form silhouetted by the city lights below as he stood close to the edge of the rooftop. In Lila’s crouched angle, the dark sky met the luster of the streets and houses along the line of Diego’s broad shoulders, his familiar, rugged stance shadowed over the glow of the panoramic view.

Lila bit her lower lip and took a quick, quiet breath.

Diego’s head shifted slightly down toward his slinged left shoulder, a small smirk on his lips visible in the moonlight — an indication that he had noticed her presence.

Casually, she stood. Adjusting the grip of the knife in her hand. With a soft scoff, she swung her arm in his direction, letting the blade fly.

Diego whirled to face her, the path of the knife altering mid-flight and embedding in the rooftop stairway wall with a soft thud.

A moment where they both smiled, listening to their quickening breaths. The familiar, reassuring warmth of Diego’s eyes. 

She moved toward him, and Diego's feet pulled forward as well, their growing want magnetizing, until they met halfway. Hungry lips met hers, strong hands clutched her shoulders.

She was breathless as they broke off, Diego’s brown eyes taking in her sight as if he hadn’t seen her in a lifetime; but it had only been 2 days since he had last “called” for her like this.

“So, how’s…,” Lila started, but Diego silenced her with a finger on her lips. His eyes still glistened in hunger, and she understood. They kissed again, his hands wandering away from her shoulder, and even his injured left groping every part of her body he could reach under her clothes.

They broke off again with gasps, and Diego recovered first. “Let’s go back to your place,” he teased with that mischievous half grin.

Her place, her own secret haven. Where she would stand in the middle of the small bedroom and angrily yell at the memory of the mother who had betrayed her. Where she would stare at the door that led to the outside world, encouraging herself to keep moving forward every day. Under the covers, where she would keep hidden all her fear and uncertainties for a new, unknown future.

Lila wasn’t ready for that, didn’t want to give him access to that place just yet.

She continued to stare at Diego’s brown eyes, the lustful fire mellowing inside of her, displaced by a deep anxiety. She held her smile to mask the sensation of the sudden emotional shift.

She shook her head. 

There was disappointment in Diego’s eyes, but still he nodded. “We could get a motel room again,” he suggested, not yet giving up, and turning on that charming smile.

Lila laughed. “You must be so horny right now.” No denial, because his lust etched on every trace of his face.

She kissed his lips, gently this time, in an attempt to quell that flame. “Not today,” she said. “This weekend?”

They sat on the roof’s edge and talked for a while, of misadventures, of their current plight in this timeline, of dreams of a brighter future. The night air became chilly, and Lila soon found that a black leather jacket was draped over her shoulders.

“You haven’t mentioned anything to your family, right?” she asked, keeping her tone even to hide away the hope in her heart, her head leaned against his shoulder

He brushed a strand of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. “You asked me not to.”

Lila swallowed a lump in her throat, attempted to hold a nonchalant smile. “Your sister still wants to murder me, so yeah, I’d rather not.”

“And you still want to murder Five.”

“Hm,” she hummed in affirmation.

His right arm wrapped comfortably around her when Diego whispered with disappointment that he had to leave. “I’ve gotta go find Klaus. The idiot’s been hanging around some seedy company lately." He scratched his chin, worry in his eyes. "He just might get in trouble and end up in a ditch somewhere.”

Lila watched him climb down the building, then grinned when he gave a big wave with his arm in the street below, before he disappeared around the street corner.

This was fine, she lied to herself. She was lucky to still have him, she thought. After following them to this timeline, all of them pursued by the Commission. It had been almost a month since their arrival. She would feel safer being close to Diego at all times. But she wasn’t ready. 

She wasn’t ready to face his family. Wasn’t ready to be tied down. Wasn’t ready to face her parent’s murderer once again.

She breathed in the night air, gazing out over the city; she was fond of deluding herself with the feeling of freedom while she stood on top of the world.

Chapter Text

[Current Timeline: June 4, 2019]

Viktor chuckled among his siblings as Klaus imparted another anecdote about his and Ben’s misadventures. Their time on the Infinite Switchboard had run out a few moments ago, the group now standing off to the side of the room while Five carried on with his task at the control panel. But the buoyancy in his heart remained as he basked in the emotional aftermath.

They were in the middle of a dangerous mission, Viktor knew, but they had time to savor this bittersweet happiness, flavored with grief, melancholy, and hope.

Diego glanced at the hallway once in a while, but his overall demeanor remained relaxed like the rest of them. They muttered on with tearful eyes and soft chuckles, comforting touches and smiles, and Viktor wondered how long until they would be running for their lives again as he looked toward Five.

At the Infinite Switchboard, Five shook his head, spoke with barely held back irritation. “Not now. Tell him I’m busy.” It caught the rest of the family’s attention as they paused their conversations. Diego’s eyes met Allison’s and Luther’s, all three crinkled their brows in mild curiosity.

The clacking of the keypad intensified, signaling the final leg of Five’s intricate task. “I said, tell him I can’t talk right now.”

The monitor on the top-right corner of the screen flickered to black. Then bewilderment struck the room as Reginald’s face appeared on the screen, lips pursed, eyes narrowed in displeasure.

Reginald’s authoritative voice boomed through the speakers in the walls. “You are never too busy when I request an audience with you. You have time to do the final check-in right now.”

Five stilled his fingers, closed his eyes, and exhaled heavily before looking up to the corner of the screen. “Raw data from all 3 data gathering hubs are currently being redirected to your team.” Five sighed, gave his father a displeased look as well. “But you already knew that. The bombs are in place and will be triggered once the reprogramming of the main IS server is completed. I am about one minute from completing the coding of the virus. And would have been done by now if you would have tempered your impatience. Our liaison will let you know once the virus has been triggered.”

Something cold ran through Luther’s veins, produced by a mixture of feelings he couldn’t disentangle to name each part. But he knew the amalgamation felt unpleasant, almost disgusting.

And it was induced by the sudden realization that all this time he had been following orders from his father.

He wanted to defy his father at the sight of him, had the compulsion to somehow assert his independence. It was irrational, he knew, but the thought of being his father’s good little soldier once again bowled him over with frustration.

But instead he remained speechless, and he chastised himself for not having the courage, for being the cowardly servant he had always been. He tucked his chin in, closed off his shoulders, and allowed the self-loathing to suffocate his lungs.

Reginald cleared his throat in a way that Viktor thought to be uncharacteristic of their father’s usually overbearing persona. “Very good. We will be monitoring the feed for any possible resynchronization or broadcasting interruptions for red flags. We are not out of the woods, yet. Do not let your guard down.”

“I won’t, father,” Five said matter-of-factly. “And we will not fail.”

Reginald nodded. The signal abruptly cut off, leaving the entirety of the screen to once again contain all of Five’s programming.

Five placed a hand on his other shoulder, shifting his back muscles. Flexing his hands open and shut, he crouched over the keypad once again. “Almost done,” he murmured.

Luther turned to look at Five apathetically punching keys at the control panel. Opening his chest and hardening his jaw, Luther narrowed his eyes at his brother

Diego continued to stare wide-eyed at the monitor that showed his father’s face just a moment ago.

When it came to missions, he was the most instinctive in grasping environmental information, the quickest to action when the unforeseen struck.

But twice now he had been blindsided with the unexpected, twice now he was caught having to take a moment to process the disbelief. Because they had come a long way as a family, and a betrayal of trust shook him harder than he expected.

Five had kept Lila’s survival a secret. And Five kept their father’s involvement in the mission from them as well. All in the name of “Need-to-Know Basis”.

The resentment simmered on his insides once again. He brought his eyes down to Five, and the communicator on Five’s wrist caught his attention, triggering a memory from the Sparrow timeline when they were attacked at the warehouse.

The attack suddenly ceased, the woman placing a hand on a communicator in her ear, metallic black and silver watch glinting from her wrist.

Their leader, who appeared to be the tall, dark-skinned Sparrow, tapped the silver and black watch on his own wrist with his fingers a few times, narrowing his eyes as if listening to a communicator in his ear as well. “We have company. Orders are to retreat,” he announced.

Diego pointed an infuriated finger at Five. “Hey!” His tone was aggressive, catching everyone’s attention except for his intended audience, as Five continued with his work at the terminal seemingly unperturbed. “The watches you gave us, they were the ones the Sparrow Academy wore to communicate with dad back in the other timeline. And you’ve been wearing one since we arrived in this timeline.”

“Oh no,” Klaus said, covering his mouth with a hand.

Allison pressed a hand on her hips. “Are you telling me that this whole thing is dad’s mission?”

“Five,” Viktor said with a confused tone. “How long have you been working for dad?”

But Five kept his focus on his programming. He then straightened his posture, “Ready to execute in 3, 2, 1,” and with the press of the button, the monitor flickered black and white before shutting off completely. Five turned around to face his siblings. “Let’s go, we have 6 minutes to get to the south exit before the explosions catch up with us.”

“Five, hey, we need to talk about this,” Luther said, but Five was already headed toward the door. 

“There’s no time.”

The siblings exchanged exasperated glances, Luther and Diego giving an angry huff, before they finally ran out the door to follow Five. They turned the hallway, then dashed to the direction of the back gateway exit.

Intersecting corridors every four rooms, rows of square fluorescent lighting on the high ceiling, shining off the white walls and doors in the internal halls of the 6th floor. 

A distant explosion sounded. “Section C and the first network hub is down,” Five updated as they ran. “The next explosion is in 30 seconds.”

“You should have told us that dad was coordinating this whole thing,” Allison said, still managing to communicate anger in her tone despite having to yell and being half out of breath.

Five kept his eyes trained at the far end of the hall, and Allison knew they would not receive a decent response from him until they had safely left the facility.

Five suddenly stopped, “Wait!”, holding up an arm to block progress, his other hand shooting to his earpiece. 

The siblings halted in their tracks. Diego and Klaus restlessly hopping on their toes; Allison, Luther, and Viktor fidgeting in place with the adrenaline still running coursing through their legs.

Five glared at the intersection up ahead. “Watch out, left corridor ahead. We need to get rid of them quick.” The siblings followed his gaze and held their senses on high alert.

Running boots echoed in the halls. Diego and Luther charged to the corner of the juncture. Five reached for his switchblade in his pocket. Allison and Klaus crouched into fighting stances. Viktor glowed white with a calm stare.

Two base security agents appeared around the corner, armed with assault rifles. 

Luther grabbed the gun from the closest agent within reach, gripping the man’s arm and throwing a punch to his face. The guard flew across the hall and crashed into the wall with the force of Luther’s punch, then wobbled back to his feet, eyes flitting about in disorientation.

Diego also grabbed the other guard’s gun close to him with his left hand and threw a punch on the man’s face with his right. 

Then realized immediately that the guard was as big as Luther. 

The guard smiled like a demon unperturbed, then headbutted Diego. Diego stumbled back, hand cradling his forehead.

“Go ahead,” Luther yelled to the rest of his siblings. “We got this. Get that door open and ready when we get there!”

Klaus gave a salute as he, Allison, and Viktor sped past. Klaus turned his head to look behind him. “You two should switch!” he helpfully advised, wagging his hands back and forth between them.

“Here,” Five said as he threw his switchblade to Diego in a soft arc, making sure Diego caught it before taking off in a full run.

With three big strides, Luther arrived beside his opponent, grabbing the man and tossing him over his head against another wall across the intersecting corridor. This time, the guard was knocked out cold.

Diego’s large opponent grabbed him by the shoulders, spun him around and rammed his back against the wall.

Diego gasped in pain, then quickly stabbed his opponent in the neck with the knife in his hand. He struck an artery, blood spurted like a fountain, spraying the man’s face, neck, and shoulders in disgusting crimson.

But the large man didn’t slow, and the grip on Diego’s shoulders increased in pressure. The man pulled Diego off the wall and rammed again. Diego let out a cry as pain shot through his back.

In the next instant, Luther appeared behind the big guard, grabbed him by the bloody chin and bloody neck, and snap-turned, killing the man instantly.

Diego fell to the floor on one kneel, trying to catch his breath and recover his strength.

Luther turned to Diego, stretched out an arm, offering a bloody hand in assistance. Diego gave a disgusted look at the crimson covering Luther’s hand, then pulled himself up with his own strength. He performed a quick mental check of his body.

“Let’s go,” Diego said, patting Luther on the arm.

Luther stared at his bloodied hands, half heartedly brushed the red liquid on his pants, then began running toward the exit as well

***

[Sparrow Timeline: April 23, 2019]

Lila gazed at the city lights below, its vastness exacerbating the loneliness of Diego’s sudden absence. She grazed a finger on her lips, musing at the memory of the warmth and wetness of the kiss just a few moments ago. Its presence still so strong on her being.

A squeak, like a shoe rubbed on pavement, cut through the serenity. Lila turned to where the sound originated, senses alert, adrenaline rushing.

Her eyes widened, seeing Five Hargreeves leaned against the roof stairway wall, hands in his pockets, one foot flat against the wall behind him. Floodlights from the adjacent building illuminated his poised features, body free of tenseness, even as Lila glared at him with a murderous stare.

Five’s eyes stared back, but though he communicated no hostility, Lila still drew her gun. 

“I’m not here to fight,” Five sighed.

“That makes one of us.” 

She fired.

The shot echoed in the night, the thrust of air rustled his bangs, the bullet embedding in the wall a few inches beside his right cheek.

He barely flinched. Still with that infuriating nonchalant lean, his unaffected gaze, while breathing out an unimpressed sigh. Lila gritted her teeth in annoyance.

Because Five knew - knew that Diego would never forgive her if she killed his brother. An irrational rush of emotions emerged from that thought - anger for Diego’s love for his family, resentment for not having family to love her in the same way, bitterness at the organization that stole her life - mixing with the maelstrom of yet unsorted feelings about the lying mother who betrayed her.

And the rage at this murderer in front of her.

“I come with a proposition,” he said.

Lila scoffed. “If you think I would ever listen to anything you say, then you’re a lot stupider than I give you credit for.” She smirked, her next words drenched in venom. “There’s only one thing I want, and that’s your head on a platter.”

She still had the gun pointed, still had her finger on the trigger. For a second, Lila indulged the weighing of consequences: would Diego really be that angry? Or could she somehow cover it up? (And was she being serious right now?) 

Oh, what she would give to wipe that composed confidence off Five’s face.

Five blinked unhurriedly, spoke in an even tone. “You hate the Commission just as much as I do. There’s a way to take them down for good.” He tilted his head slightly before continuing. “I thought you might be interested.”

The gun wobbled slightly in her grip. “What?” her confused response sounded dumber than she anticipated.

Five sighed again, and Lila caught the weariness in his eyes just before his gaze fell to his foot. “I need your help in taking down the Commission,” he said, and his inability to inject his tone with energy was apparent now. “The plan is sound. I wouldn’t attempt it unless it would guarantee success.”

She had misread his demeanor. It was lethargy, not calmness. Exhaustion, not nonchalance. 

She let out a small chuckle at the satisfaction of seeing Five apparently having a terrible time. Lila dropped her gun to her side.

Five raised his eyes back up, and she wasn’t quite sure if it was the trick of the floodlights, but there were dark circles under his eyes. His face was also sharper; gaunt, she would actually say.

“You can come after me after this mission, but not before,” Five said.

Lila walked toward him to close the gap. She nodded her head, “Commission, huh?,” and she couldn’t help but infuse bitterness into that despicable word. “Alright, little man, you got me listening.”

Five pulled his hands from his pockets and dropped his propped feet flat on the floor. Lila thought she caught a nearly imperceptible flinch.

“It’s Reginald’s plan, “ he said, finally properly facing her. “It will require myself, my family, and your help as well.”

“Wait a second, Diego hasn’t mentioned anything about this.”

“He doesn’t know yet,” he replied, strengthening his gaze to communicate an expectation. “And I’d like to keep it that way for as long as possible.”

Lila’s lips twitched in a sneer. She didn’t like threats, however small and subtle. Especially not from him.

Five broke his gaze and fiddled with his fingers. “I can handle the preparations anyway. I’ll let them know before the mission.”

“Which is when, exactly? You haven’t said,” she asked, crossing her arms in impatience.

“Two months from today.”

Two months. She didn’t think she would be able to bear two months of dealing with the insufferable bastard. “And, why not tell them? Wouldn’t it make things easier for all of us?”

Five straightened, and returned his hands in his pockets, reacquiring his cold stare. “That’s none of your concern.” 

She chuckled in an attempt to hold back the building infuriation, sheathing the gun in her back holster. Then she swung an uppercut over the left side of his jaw. 

She wasn’t surprised that it connected, just that there was no attempt to block or dodge. And the satisfaction of seeing Five stagger out of his know-it-all stance was deliciously gratifying, as well as knowing that the left side of his jaw was going to have a new, nasty purple bruise that he would remember her by for a while.

Five regained his footing quickly. He held a fist across his face on his jaw and spat out blood. He kept his gaze down and sighed heavily. “Did you get that out of your system?” he asked with a resigned tone.

She smiled. Maybe she could make this fun after all. “So, what do you need me to do?”

Chapter Text

[Sparrow Timeline: April 23, 2019]

Five and Lila stood facing each other on the building roof top. A clear night sky above, the moon and stars lightning up their features in luminescent outlines, the cool breeze ruffling their hair and wafting gently on their exposed skin. Observably, the scene was like a stolen moment between two lovers.

But the charged tension ran juxtaposed to the atmosphere.

“Essentially, I will reprogram the timeline from the moment of convergence,” Five explained, the back of his right hand lightly cradling the left side of his jaw; green eyes cold and undaunted, staring off to the side. “For you not to be affected, you’ll need to travel to Commission Headquarters with your briefcase during the change, then travel back up the timeline to meet me here.” His left hand rested in his shorts pocket, demeanor still unguarded.

Lila shifted her jaw, holding back the urge to punch his face again.

“It’ll just be a split second,” Five continued, “but you can’t be physically in the current timeline when that happens. You need to either hop on when I do that, or be outside of the timeline change, then return. Otherwise, you risk being a part of the change. I’m not sure how that would affect your memories and your existence. I will alter the timeline from the 60’s, so a roundtrip travel the moment I trigger it will have you appear in the updated timeline when you return. Our departure has already been calculated for. Just stick with the window of time I’ve given you and you’ll remain unaffected.”

Lila puffed an aggravated breath through her nose. Having no choice but to accept Five’s instructions felt like being captive in a cage against her will. “Where will our rendezvous take place?” she asked with an irritated eye roll.

“Just acquire the same apartment. I know where you live.”

She paused, shook her head, chuckled incredulously. “You’ve been keeping tabs on me.”

Five lowered his hand and lifted his head to gaze into her eyes, both hands now back in his pockets. “You manipulated my brother and tried to kill my family.”

Lila gritted her teeth but held her tongue. The monster before her was unemotional in tone, heartless in his core. There was no point in arguing that she still loved Diego. And that, unlike him, she didn’t actually succeed in killing his family.

***

[Current Timeline: June 4, 2019]

Allison, Klaus, Five, and Viktor sprinted through the empty halls, keeping a vigilant eye at the junctures for possible security presence.

As they careened around a corner, Five’s hand shot to his earpiece again. “Shit! She just blew the main energy sector! We have to move!”

The rumble grew louder for each nearing explosion, like a menacing thunderstorm in the distance prowling closer.

Viktor looked up in relief when the exit came into their sight. “There!”

The group came to a clumsy stop, Klaus nearly running Viktor over.

“Is this it?” Allison panted with an incredulous tone. They gathered in front of an ordinary back door with an unimpressive “EXIT” sign in green-lit letterings.

Klaus scrunched his nose. “Uh, Five, are you sure this is the gateway through a different timeline? It looks so…boring compared to everything else in this building.”

Five paid no mind to the side-commentary, quickly pulling the keycard from his pocket and sliding it through the reader. But as he punched the code on the keypad, the terminal lit with a red “ERROR” message.

“Lila!” Five yelled in his communicator. A few tense moments passed. “We don’t have a minute!”

Allison turned anxiously behind her, seeing Luther and Diego running at top speed at a distance. The sounds of explosion growling louder, like a roaring lion nearing its prey. Hot air blew through the corridors, heating Allison’s skin.

“Get that damn door open!” Diego yelled as they raced toward them, heat intensifying behind them for every second that passed.

Glass shattered violently somewhere in the building. Vibrations rumbled at their feet.

Five fidgeted in place, then punched the code again. The terminal reader lit green, and Five immediately grabbed and turned the door handle. The door flew open just as Luther and Diego arrived. 

The Hargreeves hurled themselves through the door like a giant ball of bodies, Viktor and Five nearly being crushed at the bottom of the pile amid the panic shoving.

Diego spun his head toward the inferno still rushing behind them. “Watch out!” he warned.

Diego pulled himself up to his feet and yanked Viktor and Klaus to the left, while Five grabbed Allison and Luther’s arms and blinked to the right side of the door. The flames blazed through the opening like an oversized flamethrower, scorching the air and searing hot on their faces. The siblings crouched with their arms over their heads, before the gateway closed a second later, sealing the raging fire away.

A stunned silence permeated the atmosphere, the sudden calm disorienting. They took a moment to catch their breaths.

One by one the Hargreeves stood on their feet, Allison and Klaus patting their clothes, Diego checking the environment.

Five pushed off the ground and stood, heart still pounding with adrenaline, skin clammy with sweat. His gaze flitted about as he panted, performing a mental count of his family, and noticed Luther and Diego’s eyes doing the same. 

Five swiveled his head to survey the surroundings also.

They had returned to the city street, but at the back entrance of the Merkeley building, the exit door a plain dirty-white hue lacking the modern glass sophistication of the entrance, the walls non-distinct gray.

The surroundings still dark, actually darker than before, with late night businesses already shuttered their lights for the night. The streets were quieter also, indicating the late hour; or rather, the early hours of morning.

Five closed his eyes and took a shaky breath, finally allowed relief to engulf his body.

It was over. It was finally over.

Luther had accounted for all members of the group, then turned his head to stare at the back exit door they had just gone through.

The mission was complete, but he couldn’t feel the usual elation, nor even the relief. He had been wrapped in nervousness at the start, but also eagerness for being with his family without their father’s domineering presence looming over them.

But after all that, it was just another mission for his father.

He turned toward Five, then strode aggressively toward him, “Hey, we’re not done talking,” he called out with a hostile tone.

The only acknowledgment that Five had heard was his jaw tightening and a short pause as he patted the dirt from his hands. He turned for the main street instead. “Let’s go.”

Luther grabbed the collar of Five’s suit. “I’m talking to you! Tell me, was this dad’s mission?” A question he already knew the answer to, like wanting to hear a criminal confess to his crimes before he could properly unleash his anger.

Five gave Luther an incredulous look. “Please take your hands off of me, Luther,” he replied with that off-putting composure.

Diego turned his gaze away with a huff, shaking his head in disbelief. “This whole time, you’ve been working with dad…”

Five turned his eyes toward Diego. “We were bringing down the Commission. That fact doesn’t have any bearing…”

Luther shoved Five a few steps back, then pressed a hand against Five’s chest, pinning him against the building wall with his big, bloodied hand. “You made a deal with dad on our behalf and you didn’t think we would have wanted to know that?!”

Five’s eyes narrowed and seethed. His gaze flicked around, catching Klaus’s eyes. 

Klaus bit his bottom lip and shook his head. “Yeah, look, Luther’s got a point there.”

Five’s jaw tensed in frustration, jerking his head back toward Luther and grasping at Luther’s hand. “Get off,” he said, pushing off and freeing himself as Luther allowed the hold to drop. 

Five brushed at his clothes, grimaced as he yanked his now bloody white collars straight and pulled down on his red-stained shirt and vest. “Dad had the resources to pull off the mission. And yes, it was his idea. We wouldn’t have been able to succeed without his help.”

“Five, it’s not okay,” Viktor said firmly, but much less combative compared to his aggressive siblings. “We agreed to this to help you. Not to help dad.”

Five took a step back, lowering his stance like an animal being cornered. “You know why? Because you’re all a bunch of children when it comes to dad!” Five shouted.

“That’s not even the only problem!” Diego said, shooting his arms out in frustration. “We didn’t know anything that was going on! You were the only one allowed to communicate with the liaison!”

Five shook his head dismissively. “That really has no bearing on…”

Luther stepped in front of him again. “He means you made us feel helpless.”

“What?” Five said, genuine confusion in his expression.

Luther’s jaw tightened. “Everything was all up to you. I was being chased by an inferno, and what do I see? Everyone panicking around you because you were the only one who could open that door. I kept thinking in my head, how was I going to shield everyone from the explosion if that door never gets opened. And everything else ! When we were captured, you seemed to have known about an escape plan and we didn’t…”

Five’s eyes widened for a moment, a small gasp escaping his lips, before dropping his gaze to the ground. “I’m not in the mood to be lectured right now,” he said with gritted teeth.

“Well tough, because it’s happening.”

Luther still loomed over his smaller brother.

Five pursed his lips in a line and huffed through his nose. “What are you still complaining about?” He gestured toward his family. “We won! No more Commission! That’s all that matters! Everything was for that!” He stuttered an inhale. “This is all we’ve ever wanted!”

Luther pointed an angry finger. “No, this is all you’ve ever wanted. The Commission is your past, your problem.”

“And it’s certainly not okay that you contracted us to dad on this mission without our knowledge,” Allison said, arms crossed and mouth tight.

Five shook his head. “You’re all unbelievable. Go home! Sleep in, enjoy your lives! I don’t have time for your idiotic complaints.”

A flash of blue light, and the family was left staring at the spot Five had just disappeared from.

“Well, that went badly,” Klaus said. 

“Of course, we can’t end a mission without a shouting match,” Allison said, turning away and taking a few steps to relieve the frustration.

Luther clenched his fists and breathed deeply. Diego kicked at a small rock. Viktor placed a hand on his forehead.

“I’m starving,” Klaus said, patting his belly.

Klaus’s words hung in the air for a few moments.

“Me too,” Viktor finally acknowledged with a tired sigh.

Diego crouched on the ground, flicked a pebble to the street, then looked toward his sister. “Allison said she’s paying.”

Allison puffed a chuckle through her nose. “Let’s go eat, then.”

***

[Current Timeline: July 16, 2019]

“Claire, honey, grab another gift to open!” Patrick’s voice called from the main living room.

“Okay daddy!”

Little Claire bounded excitedly down the hallway toward the sitting room, pink princess shoes pattering on the foyer hardwood floor, fairy wings flapping on her back as a cloud of sparkles trailed her path. Princess songs floated throughout the house from the main living room, casual conversations intertwined with the music.

The surroundings grew quieter as she approached the front entryway, the lively sounds of her birthday party fading behind her.

A blue light flashed from the gift room ahead, visible even from the hallway, and she slowed her steps and squinted at it in curiosity. She turned behind her to see if anyone else noticed, but all the adults were too busy talking to each other, so Claire continued forward. 

She lingered at the entryway beneath a pink birthday banner, her hand on the entrance frame, peeking inside the sitting room for the source of the mysterious magical light. 

In the middle of the pink and sparkly gold decorated room was a teenage boy wearing a fancy suit, kneeling on one knee and placing a blue gift box on the floor along with the stacks of other presents piled together. He lifted his head when she entered, his startled eyes widening slightly, but quickly turned warm at the sight of her.

He smiled such a sad smile.

Though dressed in formal attire, the boy looked rather dirty, with messy dark hair, and what could be a hand-shaped blood print splattered on his white-collared shirt under his suit vest. He also had dried blood on his swollen lower lip, like someone hit him in a fight a little while ago. He must have been having a bad day, Claire thought sympathetically.

His green eyes struck her as familiar, though, and it took her a moment to finally realize. She’d only seen him in pictures before, you see.

“Uncle Five?” she asked with a tilt of her head.

His smile brightened a bit more, but his expression became even sadder, as if the smile couldn’t reach his eyes. “Hey Claire. I’m…I’m so happy to finally meet you.”

She began to walk toward him, crossing the rays of sunlight that streamed from the bay window, her fairy makeup sparkling on her cheeks. “Mommy said you weren’t coming to my birthday.”

“I promised I would,” he said with a subdued tone, still kneeling on one knee but now turned to face her.

“Oh,” she said with a blink of confusion, then she caught sight of the gift box beside him. “Is that for me?”

His gaze dropped to the gift. A tiny smile quirked up his lips as he nodded, picking up the present and holding it out for her. “Yes. I hope you like it.”

She approached her uncle with excitement, noting the unicorn-patterned blue wrapper. “I do like unicorns. That’s a good start.”

He chuckled, and she thought it was nice to finally see his eyes happy. She grabbed hold of the gift, “I’ll tell mommy that you’re here. She’ll be happy,” and stepped toward the entryway, but her uncle grasped her arm gently.

“Wait. Don’t tell them I’m here.” Claire turned back with a puzzled look. “I can only stay a few minutes anyway,” he continued to explain, then placed a finger over his lips. “And also…can you can keep it a secret that I came today?”

She faced her uncle, head tilting once again. “Why?”

His eyes dropped for a moment, his throat bobbed as he swallowed. “Because I’m not supposed to be here.” His eyes were soft when he lifted his head. “Please?”

Claire nodded. “Okay. I guess I can do that.”

“Thank you,” he replied, then took a moment to regard her with his gaze.

Claire tucked her chin to look at her dress. “I’m a fairy princess.”

He laughed, quietly and unexpectedly, sounding nice and warm, not at all like how she had imagined her grumpy uncle sounding like. “You’re so much like your mom. You’re going to be so…” his voice trailed, breaking eye contact again to stare at her shoes, his face scrunching up a little like he was about to cry. “I wish I could see you grow up.”

Claire stepped toward him, dropping the gift to the floor, and gave him a hug, pressing her cheek against his and patting her hand on his back the way her mom usually did when she was upset.

He wrapped his hands tightly around her as well, inhaling a trembling breath. He was shaking a bit, she wondered if he was cold. She hoped her hug would warm him up.

“Claire!” They both startled as a voice called from the main living room. They broke their embrace and looked toward the entryway, his hands still gently on her waist. Cheerful music from her party drifted in, quietly beckoning a return to the safe and happy land. 

She didn't want to leave him in this lonesome world.

“Go on,” he warmly encouraged, “everyone’s waiting for you.”

She squinted at something on his face, brought her hand to rest on the side of it, and rubbed her thumb on his cheek. “Oops, got some glitter on you,” she giggled out.

He puffed a small chuckle through his nose. “It’s okay.”

Claire picked up the gift from the floor. “Come visit me again, okay? I have to show you my squishmallow collection. I named each one after my uncles.”

He paused, a tight smile on his lips and again that sad expression, then nodded hesitantly.

She began to walk toward the foyer, but lingered at the entryway. She turned back to wave goodbye. But she only saw a flash of blue and an empty room behind her.

She hugged the gift in her hands, before finally running back out to the main living room.

Chapter Text

[Current Timeline: After Mission - June 9, 2019]

Klaus lay on the couch in the sitting room, one foot on the floor, both hands resting on his chest. Still wearing his long sleeved black button down with his name clip, as was usual for him after a work day. Relaxing at his favorite spot in the house, staring at the white ceiling, letting thoughts bob serenely in the sea of his mind before being swept away by the ocean breeze.

Or was that the draft from the ceiling fan. Klaus shrugged, didn’t really care to contemplate too deeply into his thoughts.

The sun had nearly risen by the time they had returned from their mission and post-mission dinner last weekend, Klaus stumbling to his bedroom and promptly passing out. He had to call-in sick from work the next day. Should have taken a week’s vacation after the mission, actually, as he kept zoning out all through the rest of the work week.

Thoughts of Dave had distracted him. Klaus planned to visit the memorial, and maybe the historical museum, now that he could properly cherish his memories. And properly let go.

He really should thank Five for the time on the Infinite Switchboard. Whenever the grumpy little man came back home, that is.

Flashes of the exploding hallways and the panicked yelling of his family scurried through his head, the heat still hot on his skin.

Or that could be the summer heat seeping through the bay window right now. He squinted a scolding at the sluggish spinning ceiling fan.

The sounds of Five’s screams in that white room.

Klaus blinked a few times and scrunched his face, the unpleasantness of the memory souring a taste in the back of his throat. Though Five did seem fine for the rest of the mission. Still, he really should check up on his brother. Whenever he came back home, that is.

He crinkled his nose at the memory of the angry punch he threw, felt a teeny tiny tinge of guilt. Before that, Five had been telling them to…what was it? To pick up a package from Section G? They did complete the mission just fine, so he guessed the package wasn’t that important as Luther had said. But still, his curiosity nagged, and he resolved to ask Five whenever he came back home.

Whenever that could be. Five had been pretty angry at them when he popped away after the mission, but Klaus was sure he would get over it and come home sooner or later. Who could refuse free boarding after all?

He heard the van pull up the driveway, the shutting of car doors, and the beep of the locking mechanism. Luther and Allison entered the front door soon after.

“Oh, thank goodness, dinner’s here,” Klaus said as he rolled off the couch, his bobbing thoughts again swept away by the breeze.

***

[Current Timeline: Day 1 (Before Mission - April 1, 2019)]

Five watched his siblings stride out of the Academy, confident swaggers and heads held high. He couldn’t help a smile at the overt display of rebellious bravado aimed at their father.

The heavy door swung closed. Lonely silence permeated the Academy foyer. For an irrational moment, Five felt a sharp ache in his chest for his family leaving him behind so easily.

The moment was gone quickly, though, as he focused on the matter at hand. Turning his head toward the three sets of eyes intently observing, he realized his present company was patiently waiting on him.

Five swallowed, taking a deep breath before pushing himself off the table to stand independently. Wobbly legs, body weighted with lead, the familiar nausea from deep exhaustion unpleasantly swamped his body. The edges of his vision clouded; he attempted to blink it away. 

“You didn’t actually think that little speech would go over well, did you?” Five drawled, a sluggish smirk barely able to twitch up his lips.

Reginald crinkled his brows, watched as Five swayed where he stood.

Grace took quick, dainty steps and appeared by Five’s side in a moment. Pogo observed the situation, then quietly slid away.

“No, not particularly,” Reginald replied, words holding little meaning but for small talk. “I know my children well enough. But I thought it would have been rather fun for old times sake.”

“The years have mellowed you out, Father.”

Reginald gave a sincere smile. “Welcome back, my dear boy.”

Five took a heavy step forward. The world tilted, energy left his body completely. A small whimper escaped him as darkness engulfed his vision and submerged him into unconsciousness. He crumpled in Grace’s arms. 

Grace gently lowered Five’s limp frame to the ground. A compassionate smile as she tenderly cradled the small body, brushing the messy hair aside that had fallen over his eyes.

Pogo returned with a pillow.

“Put him down on the sofa for now,” Reginald instructed with a sigh. “Grace, make sure to have some food ready for him when he wakes up.”

***

Head nestled on a soft pillow. The susurrations of rustling papers. Soft footsteps and the quiet tappings of a cane.

Gently lead to waking by his senses, but sleep gently tugged, weariness anchoring Five at the edge of the subconscious.

In that land of restless sleep he frequented, he saw the familiar vision of his dead world - rotting corpses scattered in every pathway laid out for him; cities shattered into disarrayed debris; the gray, lifeless, barren landscape stretching as far as he could see; the pervasive sulfuric smell of smoke suffocating the air. And the sudden, familiar anxiety of impending doom crashing like a violent, frightening wave.

He jolted to awareness, heart thumping in his ears. His flustered sights landed on the entryway to his father’s study, the doors open.

He breathed in a trembling breath.

The area was quiet, peaceful, Grace’s soft hum drifting in the air from somewhere in the Academy, the familiar walking pattern of Pogo’s cane tapping in one of the distant halls. Five found himself laying on his right side on the sofa in the lounge area just outside his father’s office, temperature just slightly cool, a light blanket up to his shoulders.

Reginald came into view through the doorway, crossed from one side of the office to the other, attention entrenched in a pile of papers he held, unaware that Five had already awakened.

Five sat up slowly, carefully shedding the blanket. Body still heavy, he placed a hand on his throbbing forehead. Then exhaled slowly.

“Grace will bring up some food for you in a moment,” Reginald announced to the documents in front of him. He continued to busy himself in his office without a glance at Five.

Five sank to the cushioned back of the sofa and closed his eyes. Allowing the relief to wash over him at last, grateful that the universe was still in one piece after the time jump. Knew also that he had his father’s assistance to thank for that.

“When you’re feeling up to it,” Reginald continued speaking to various parts of his office, “come and give me a hand in sorting the coding documents.”

Five pushed up from the sofa, noted his legs had regained strength, and was relieved that his body no longer felt like a boneless jellyfish. The headache still pounded in his skull, though, but he was resigned to accept that as a manageable inconvenience. He wondered how long he had rested.

He stood for a moment at the entrance to the study, observing his father shuffling through various notes and folders throughout his quiet office.

“How long was I out?” Five asked, leaning against the door frame.

Reginald flipped a page from the notebook in his hand. “Almost an hour.”

The response dropped a heavy disappointment in his chest - his family wouldn’t have waited for him for that long. He shifted his head toward the window, noting the orange hue that had begun to peek through the horizon of the still darkened sky. 

He sighed, the thought of having to track down his vagabonding-prone family’s whereabouts today was wearing on his still exhausted state.

“That’s an extremely difficult time jump, and with your siblings as passengers as well. You must be completely deplete of energy,” Reginald said, attention now on an open folder that he had exchanged the notebook with.

“Yes, I am tired, but relieved now that we’re here,” Five said, slanting his head to rest on the wall where he leaned on his side.

Reginald finally lifted his head toward Five, eyes bright with satisfaction. “I knew you could do it, my boy. You were always the most talented of your siblings.” 

Five blinked his eyes twice at his father, then broke eye contact to stare at a random stack of papers on a table. The open display of pride was still something that gave him pause on how to respond. He was no longer a child, after all. “Please prepare the Aeternalis documentations for me, as well as the schematics to the secondary headquarters,” Five said. “I’d like to get started as soon as my family plant their roots in this timeline.”

“Well, they have the lives they’ve always had. Though I do believe the majority of them are…homeless. But you will need to take time to recover. We still have two months to prepare. As I recall, we both barely slept for the few days leading to the jump. I’m impressed that you managed to stay on you feet for as long as you did after the time jump.”

Five straightened upright, sliding his hands in his shorts pockets. “So you do remember our discussion in an alternate timeline. And our previous lives.” He cocked his head. “You haven’t told me how that’s possible.”

Reginald turned over the monocle in his fingers, rubbing the sides. “There are things that you do not need to know, things that are beyond your understanding. Just know that yes, I remember our conversations from previous timeliness. Both of them.”

“I will rest once the threat to my family has been eliminated. Not before.” Five spoke with a tone of finality. 

“Hm,” Reginald acknowledged, placing the papers in his hands on the main desk in the center of the room. “And regarding the little shadow, I trust she’s reliable?”

“Yes. I take full responsibility for her and will make sure she does her part.”

Reginald nodded, then gestured to the desk next to the standing lamp in the corner of the room, where a metallic black and silver watch sat. “On that desk is a communication device. You will only need the accompanying earpiece if we are to speak with each other. Otherwise, the messaging function on the watch will suffice for our daily correspondence and updates. You will need to wear it at all times.”

Five heard the soft clacking of heels, a familiar delicate pattern. Grace floated through the entryway a moment later with a tray of food, her pleasant smile cozying the room like morning sunlight.

“Hello there, sleepy head,” she greeted with an affectionate tease, “I made you some breakfast,” and placed the tray on a corner desk.

She approached Five on the way out, smiled at him so lovingly that Five inhaled a subtle intake of breath as warm nostalgia took him by surprise. Entering his space, she gently leaned forward, touched her forehead tenderly to his, “Make sure you eat all of it, alright?” and he wondered how such ease could come from such a simple gesture.

He watched her gracefully stroll out of the room humming that soft, melodious tune that accompanied those rare homely childhood memories. 

Five shook his head and swept away the pointless emotions. “I have to get back to my family,” he said, striding to the table where the communication device sat.

Reginald gestured toward the seats beside the table with the tray of food. “Eat first and regain the strength you lost executing the time jump. You are as anxious as ever.” A hint of amusement colored his tone. “It is, at this early stage of our operation, a rather profitless mindset.”

Five gazed at the food - golden french toast, cut fresh fruits, scrambled eggs, sausages, and tea and coffee.

He nodded his acquiescence.

***

Lila found the same apartment, fully furnished just like the first go ‘round. Went through the motions of setting up a new identity. Got her shopping done, restocked her food and supplies. And generally kept herself properly busy. 

That was important. Or else she would start feeling funny.

She stood in the middle of the small, homey kitchen area and stretched her arms, unwinding after a long day of cleaning, redecorating, and getting her new clothes in her drawers just right. Oh, and arranging her expanding shot glass collection on the shelf, which she was growing quite fond of.

She grabbed her tea mug, as well as the city food guide from the stack of mail on the dining table, then plopped down on the gray couch, setting her tea and the guide on the glass coffee table. 

She positioned the throw pillow to lie her head on the armrest. Limbs splayed out, a hand dangling and a leg grazing the floor. Making the most of her moment to relax.

“Sweetie,” her mother shook her head disapprovingly, “remember that femininity trigger’s a man’s chivalrous fantasies and lowers his guard, making them easier to kill.”

Lila pursed her lips in a rebellious pout, flopped her legs wider in the most unladylike manner.

“You’re dead, mother dear,” she growled, staring intently at her thoughts and at nothing at all. “Can’t tell me what to do.”

And as always, the memory of her mother ushered in the chaotic fog of unsorted emotions. She lay on the couch, paralyzed by the disquiet blooming in her chest. Like watching the turbulent winds above circling under an ominous gray sky as it slowly and inevitably built itself into a hurricane.

Lila shut her eyes, clenched her trembling hands, then sat up on the sofa grinding her teeth.

Gripping the edge of the sofa to help anchor herself, she threw her thoughts on Diego.

She wondered what Diego could be doing right now. “Probably up in his room doing push-ups before dinner,” she replied to herself, chuckling lightly.

Her hold on the sofa loosened, a relaxed smile found its way to her expression. 

She had been apprehensive in their first meeting after she had run away with the briefcase. Diego had stopped mid-stride, had sensed he was being followed. Then threw a knife, which Lila had curved back around with Diego’s power, hitting the wall behind him.

She had worn a casual smirk, but watched his expression closely, holding her breath for a crumb of a favorable reception.

And when his face lit up when his brown eyes found her, she felt she could float away at the immense relief.

But she was unsure of how to continue their relationship. Unsure if she had wanted to be there at all, had backed away from any of Diego’s physical advances.

Diego had also kept her at arms length, in a way. Had kept her away from his siblings, kept her from the family he had said she would have. 

Well, she was the one who had requested the distance initially. And she wanted Five dead, and Diego’s siblings hated her. Would have been a terribly awkward family dinner, she reasoned.

“A lot of people want him dead,” Diego had joked. She didn’t find it funny.

Diego never brought up Five again after that, likely for fear of scaring her away. 

When she had finally let him touch her, they found out that roof sex was extremely uncomfortable - they were a little overenthusiastic for the cold, rough floors, resulting in scraped knees and elbows. Back of the movie theater sex was better. Motel sex was trickier to even pull off - with their limited budget and lack of ID in that timeline. Office sex was great, the buildings having lax security and pickable locks.

But she never completely let him in either. Wouldn’t even give him her number, let alone the location of where she was staying. So they settled to contact each other by leaving a knife on a particular sign post.

He was patient with her, with those expressive brown eyes and considerate smile.

But all his affection could never put her fully at ease.

Diego would never leave her, would never hurt her, would never betray her. Because she would never give him the chance to.

Her stomach grumbled, interrupting her thoughts. A sudden craving for Thai food and sushi hit her with full force. She reached for the food guide on the coffee table.

Something unpleasant simmered inside her chest, as the disquiet began to whisper again. As it usually happened when the world became too silent. When her mind wandered away from Diego. 

Thoughts of Diego were the only things powerful enough to ward away the unwanted visitors in her mind.
 
But she shrugged it off and smiled to lift her spirits, determined to pull herself together, and brought the food guide up to her face. She read out loud, “Eat like a local. You’ll find the city’s best kept secrets…”

“Darling, I need to know that we can get past this.”

Her mother’s voice again, a distressing noise in her head.

Lila tried to ignore it, focused on the pamphlet.”…the city’s best kept secrets in unexpected places. The city center is actually a melting pot of…”

“Be a happy family again. Hmm?”

The purse of her mother’s lips at the question - an image seared into her mind. Her mother couldn’t even lie to her at that moment. Because they both knew the answer clearly.

She had no memory of the event, the moment erased by Five’s power. But seeing Diego’s blood, his bullet-ridden chest. Her own expression of grief. The fallen bodies of Diego’s siblings. The devastation so severe that it reached across timelines and scalded her soul.

“They’re my real family,” Lila gritted out in the quietness of her living room, her breaths quickening. The unpleasant thing in her chest swelled to near unbearable, began squeezing her lungs.

She threw the couch pillow across the room, screamed at the unwanted chaos of emotions.

She looked around, as if she could see the shadowy visitors if she tried. She felt that if she could identify it, call out its name, then she could put a collar on it, reign it in somehow.

Was its name Sadness? Grief, Loneliness, Fear? maybe Anger?

Yes, it was Anger, she decided.

Anger at whom? a voice inquired.

“At my two-faced mother! At the fucking Commission! At that murderer Five!” she yelled. She grabbed her tea and threw the mug at the far wall, shattering and spilling the contents. “Do. You. Even. Love me,” she growled at the nothingness.

The Anger boiled inside her, hot in her chest and in her stomach. The pungency of it made her feel sick. 

She ran to the kitchen sink and threw up.

Sometimes she wished she never saw the Infinite Switchboard footage of Five rewinding time. Not that she didn’t want to know the truth. Just wished the truth didn’t attack her so viciously all at once.

***

Two days later, she threw the pregnancy test in the general direction of the trash can, hitting the rim and clattering on the white tiled floor.

Diego would hate this, she thought, staring at her harried reflection on the fogged-up mirror. This was it - he would leave her now, tell her he never loved her, predictably betray her.

She gripped the edge of the bathroom sink and screamed again at the Anger.

***

The next day, Five knocked on her door.

Chapter Text

[Current Timeline: Before Mission - May 10, 2019]

Five paced the living room in Lila’s apartment, a stack of wrinkled papers clutched in his right hand, his left roughly raking through his unmoussed hair. “The bombs must go off in exactly 30 second intervals. This will give just enough time for each of the IS failsafe backups to send an all-clear through the Aeternalis network.”

On the sofa, Lila sat with both her legs tucked under her, a cup of coffee in her hand perched on her knee. Disinterested eyes wide and wandering, lips pinched in an expression of discontent.

“Detonate too early, and Aeternalis will be notified of a data-update failure,” Five continued. “Detonate too late, and the fake data we are sending through will loop. Both scenarios will alert the network of an anomaly and will give Aeternalis a heads-up, which is exactly what we’re trying to av-.”

A loud yawn interrupted.

Five’s expression pinched in disbelief. “Are you listening?”

“But you’re so dreadfully boring,” Lila moaned, placing her mug on the coffee table. She stood and stretched her arms. “We’ve been going over this same detail for 5 days straight.”

Five sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, before speaking with a milder temperament. “This is important.”

Lila casually walked around behind him. 

“You need to understand not only the basics of the mission,” he patiently explained, “but the intricate details in case we need to troubleshoot.”

“Troubleshoot?” she said, tone uncomfortably pleasant. She leaned in and whispered in his ear. “Can you remember the moment right before you pulled the trigger?”

An alarm rang in Five’s head, his eyes widening, a moment before Lila’s arm snaked around his neck, squeezing on the carotid arteries on both sides, her other hand applying pressure on the back of his skull. The papers in Five’s hand scattered as he grasped Lila’s arms.

“Do you remember the sound of my parents crying through their gags?” Each word dragged out, deep and menacing. Her breath warm on his ear. His back pressed firmly against her chest. Instantly, Five felt lightheaded. He instinctively opened a portal and teleported.

Lila somehow held on.

They reappeared by the door, and Lila readjusted her hold to cut off oxygen from his windpipe. 

“Do you remember the sound of the gunshots that killed them?”

Five’s lungs attempted to gasp for air in spurts, his hands yanking and raking against her arms. He knew, though, that Lila was well-trained, the chokehold was solid and cutting off the blood to his brain. He would not be able to escape it. 

Against his better judgment, he forced himself to calm down, lowering his hands to his sides. Lila wasn’t stupid enough to kill him, he thought. She needed him, just as much as he needed her.

He trusted in that, allowed his vision to grow dim, allowed his lungs to not be able to contract as it was used to. 

“Do you remember the smell of their blood?”

Because at the heart of everything, he conceded, all would be lost anyway without her willing cooperation.

“Do yo understand what you did to me, you piece of shit?”

A momentary thought of despair, that of course he needed her more than she needed him. He began to struggle again, but at that point it was too late.

In just a few seconds, his body began to sag. His legs gave out, and Lila lowered him to the ground. He was going to lose consciousness, his lungs still trying for air.

And then she just let go.

With a loud wheeze, the air came rushing painfully into his lungs. On his knees, one hand supporting from the floor, the other clutching his chest as he hungrily inhaled and exhaled.

“Ah, the store’s closing soon,” Lila said, as if conversing with a friend over afternoon tea. She snagged a light jacket from the coat rack by the door. “Need to grab some more snacks. If this study session is going to run late, I’m going to need more fuel.” 

She opened the door to leave, then turned her head back, a playful pout on her lips. “Oh, and don’t touch my pile, I’ve got that sorted already,” pointing teasingly at the stack of documents on the floor. “Be back soon!”

The door closed. Still breathing heavily, Five slowly laid his body down on the floor, careful to do so on his right side. He rested a trembling left hand lightly over his eyes. 

Exhaustion collapsed onto his body. He swallowed slowly, and this short interruption of air at the action had him reflexively heaving deep breaths as compulsory reassurance.

It was getting worse. Lila was getting worse.

***

[Current Timeline: Before Mission - May 15, 2019]

Five readjusted his grip on the straps of the backpack, then knocked on Lila’s door.

He heard a loud, drawn-out groan of annoyance from inside. “Just blink in!”

Five materialized inside the apartment, right in front of the door, seeing Lila in the kitchen eating breakfast at the table. She had one foot up on her chair, dressed in capri jeans and a simple navy blue t-shirt. 

The smell of bacon, eggs, and toast permeated the apartment.

Lila never offered him food. 

“Can’t wait to finish this mission,” Lila said with her mouth full, air tapping the fork in her hand toward the sofa area. “It’d sure be nice to get my living room back.”

Her tone was casual. Five eyed her warily. “I have something you might like,” he said instead, clutching the straps of the backpack before slipping it off his shoulders. It dropped with a heavy thud on the floor. “It’ll take a while to set it up, though. I’ll have to show it to you tonight or tomorrow.” Lila gave a disinterested shrug before digging the fork back into her plate.

Five turned to survey the living room. Indeed their mess had progressively multiplied as time went on, claiming more of the area daily like invasive weeds on abandoned land.

It was just how he left it two nights ago -  stacks of documents and folders all around, a computer and keyboard in the middle of the floor, labeled program simulation cartridges scattered about, and Lila’s empty snack packages strewn here and there. It was always easier to leave everything out and just pick up from where they left off than having to put everything away each time.

His eyes locked onto the documents at the foot of the armchair. He crouched down on one knee to sort through the pile. Dozens of pages of network configurations. Sitting on top of hundreds of pages of code. 

He sighed. With the same effort as dragging a dead body, he buried the anxiety as far away from his consciousness as possible. 

Lila stood from the dining table, snagged a buttered toast as an afterthought as she headed toward the living room. She sat on the couch, pulling her legs under her per her usual habit. “How would you know what I would like?” she said. Her tone still nonchalant, but eyes sharp and attentive.

Probing, examining, analyzing. But trying to pretend not to be. 

Lila’s subterfuge skills were indeed remarkable, and she would have succeeded in masking the behavior if Five wasn’t already so acquainted with such manner of deceit.

He half smiled and chuckled a breath.

“What?” Lila said, pausing her mouth mid-chew.

Five shook his head. “Nothing, you just remind me…sometimes.” Five dropped his eyes to focus on the papers in his hand. 

“Remind you of what?” But Five appeared to have moved on from the thought, attention engrossed with the contents of the documents. Lila glowered and chewed on her lower lip.

“Hey,” she called out, tossing a crumpled paper at his arm.

“Hm,” he hummed in acknowledgment without looking up.

“Of what?”

“Oh.” Five leaned back against the foot of the armchair, gaze wandering to the window with the view of the morning sun. “Of the Handler.”

Lila’s jaw tensed, her eyes narrowed.

Five pulled his gaze away from the window and straightened himself, left hand subconsciously traveling to the left side of his waist.

Lila observed the subtle movement, slowly chewed the last bite of her toast with a shadow of a contemptuous smile.

*

Five sat hunched against Lila’s living room wall, chin resting thoughtfully on his hand propped on his knee, the other holding an open booklet carelessly on his side. Gaze low with a far away stare. 

Lila sat on the floor at the foot of the sofa, tapping a pencil on her head. Short, wavy blonde hair a haggard mess due to all-day head scratching and hair pulling. Unrolled building schematics laid out in front of her. 

“Let’s go over it one more time,” Five said with a tired exhale.

Lila rolled her eyes in frustration. “I know Commission headquarters like the back of my hand,” she whined, grabbing the sandwich on the plate beside her and taking an annoyed chomp at it.

Five’s stomach grumbled, a reminder that he hadn’t eaten lunch. He looked toward the windows, seeing darkness already beginning to shade the sky.

“You need to have the floor plans of the Technology base memorized as well,” he said without glancing back. “You’ll be our eyes and ears, and I need you to be able to direct my family to the safest routes.”

“I could lead you right into an ambush,” she chuckled, patting the crumbs off her pants as she stood. “That would be rather amusing.”

Five swiveled his head to glare at the response. “That’s not funny.”

“What isn’t?” Lila stalked forward, stopped to loom over him, face contorting in a menacing manner. “Coordinating your movements to make sure your family dies during the mission?”

She grabbed the front of his shirt in a sudden motion, jerked him up, and Five flinched hard as his back was slammed against the wall, sending the booklet that was in his hand crashing to the floor. Her voice dropped to a low, sinister growl. “I think it’s only fair.”

His eyes shot wide, silently begged the universe to not let another night end with yet another fight with Lila. 

***

[Current Timeline: After Mission - June 9, 2019]

Diego lay flat on his back, the top half of his body halfway inside the cabinet under the kitchen sink. Some damp spots marked his navy blue work shirt, and by his feet sat his company toolbox. Bottles of cleaning solutions, dish washing soap, and a container of cleaning wipes had been cleared out from the cabinet and gathered to Diego’s right to make space for him to work.

Viktor stood over him, a hand leaned back against the counter.

“So the following weekend,” Diego spoke from under the sink, face obscured from Viktor by the counter, “we’re going to pay Harlan a proper visit, right?”

Viktor blinked in slight surprise, and recognized the kind support veiled as an innocent inquiry. He had set the plans into motion as soon as the mission was over, first rearranging his violin teaching schedule to make the road trip work, then researching the location that the Infinite Switchboard had given him. Even planned the eating and resting stops along the way.

Still, Viktor was aware that the excitement hadn’t completely sunk in yet; in a little over a week, he would finally reconnect with his lost family.

“Yeah, you’re coming with?” He already knew the answer. Allison was flying out for her pre-scheduled weekend visitation for Claire and had already apologized ahead of time. But Luther, Klaus, and Diego had all subtly expressed their desire to lend their support in small ways such as this.

“Of course, wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

At times, Diego’s subtle kindness was like an umbrella appearing suddenly overhead during rain - safe, warm, gracious concern; still and steady as it hovered above. Viktor bit the inside of his bottom lip as he remembered that Diego had been having problems of his own.

“Have you talked to Lila since the mission?” Viktor asked.

There was a short pause before a reply came. “Sort of,” he said with a groan as he twisted the wrench to tighten the connector. “I mean, not really. I tried to contact her the usual way, and she didn’t show. But she left a note on my knife that she would contact me.”

Viktor scrunched his face in puzzlement. “A note? On your knife?”

“It’s how we communicated with each other in the Sparrow Timeline.”

Viktor lightly chuckled. “You really should just get her number. We’re in the normal timeline now. You know, not on the run and not being hunted down and stuff.”

“Yeah,” Diego said with a sheepish little laugh, “working on that next.”

Viktor sighed sympathetically. “Relationship issues?”

“Definitely issues,” Diego said, sliding out from under the sink and sitting up, resting his arms on his knees. “But what kind of issues, I don’t know.” He shook his head in resignation. “I don’t know what she’s thinking. I don’t know what’s going on with her.”

He looked away, frustration evident on his face. Viktor couldn’t really blame him. The situation with Lila was messy. He remembered how angry Diego had been with Five when Lila was revealed as the liaison.

“I’m sure everything will be cleared up once you two talk,” Viktor offered.

Diego sighed heavily. “Yeah.” He gestured his hand to the pipe behind him. “That should do it.”

Viktor smiled. “Thanks. It’s great having a handyman at home.”

“Thank Jose for hiring and training him,” Allison teased, entering the kitchen with Luther, who gripped two large bags of take out food beside her, with Klaus giddily following right behind.

Diego’s faced brightened, “Hey alright, dinner’s here,” and began putting his tools away.

Allison placed a hand on her hips and raised a playful brow. “I don’t get a hello, welcome home Allison? My name is “dinner” now?”

“Hello, welcome home, Allison,” Diego deadpanned.

Klaus joined Viktor in setting the dinner plates, while Diego stood to wash his hands in the sink. 

“Welcome home, dear sister of mine who I am very grateful to for keeping me well fed,” Klaus flattered unabashedly.

Viktor lightly chuckled.

“Better,” Allison nodded, appraising the effort.

“So what are we having?” Viktor asked.

“It’s that new Thai place off Main Street. Heard good things about it,” Allison said as she pushed up her sheer beige sleeves and began setting the food out.

“Not as good as Viktor’s homecooked meals, I’m sure,” Luther beamed.

A small smiled slipped through Viktor’s expression at the compliment as he fetched a container and lid from the cupboard.

Diego stripped down to his black tank top, tossing his damp work shirt to the couch in the living room, before settling down at the dinner table with the family.

Viktor began filling the container with food. It caught Allison’s attention, and she twisted her head to look. “Is Five home?” she asked. A hopeful expectation laced her tone.

Viktor’s hand stilled, and he could almost hear the breaths held in the room as they awaited his response. “Oh, not yet,” he replied with forced nonchalance. “It’s just in case he does come home tonight.”

“It’s all good,” Diego said as he greedily collected the spring rolls to his plate. “I bring it to work for lunch every time he doesn’t show.”

Luther squinted thoughtfully. “It’s been 6 days.”

Silence sat in the air, pregnant with frustrations and annoyance at their wayward brother, and unspoken worries whispered in the back of their minds.

“Probably still upset about you guys ganging up on him after the mission,” Klaus finally said after a few moments, mouth full of noodles.

Luther slapped Klaus’s shoulder. “You’re the one who actually punched him.”

Klaus gestured a hand up in disbelief. “You’re the one who yelled at him, and..and shoved him, and ruined his expensive suit with your yucky bloodied hands!”

A peculiar memory flashed across Klaus’s eyes, his brows crinkling in thought. Didn’t Five have a bloody handprint on his collar before the mission? But then Diego spoke, “You know Five, comes and goes whenever he wants,” and the thought was swept away by a breeze.

“But the mission is over,” Viktor said, furrowing his brows as he scribbled Five’s name on a sticky note. “He shouldn’t have anything else going on.”

“Maybe he’ll come back in another 17 years,” Diego said, and all eyes in the room shot toward him.

Diego paused his chopsticks midway to his mouth. “Kidding.”

Viktor tacked the sticky note on the container lid, and the action brought an uninvited feeling. A childhood grief of a little girl leaving leftovers in the fridge some nights, a trail of peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches on the floor other nights. Tirelessly pleading wishes to the night sky, until that child eventually grew to resent the callous moon.

Viktor shook his head. They were adults now, making their own decisions. Living in their own home - a safe, comfortable place to now return to.

“Oh, we’re still on for tomorrow, right?” Luther asked in between bites.

“Weekend road trip upstate to hunt down your true love? Hell yeah!” Diego exclaimed.

Luther’s forehead creased in worry. “Can we not use the word ‘hunt’?”

Klaus thumped Luther’s back and grinned. “It’ll be the adventure of a lifetime.”

Chapter Text

[Current Timeline: After Mission - June 11, 2019]

The alarm screeched at 6:30am in the small studio apartment on the third floor of a mid-rise building. Sloane groaned in bed, eyes still closed as she patted the nightstand in search of the annoyance and promptly pressed the snooze button. Stretching her arms and legs out, the all too plush mattress and white and gray bedsheets enticed her to remain cradled in the comfort of slumber.

But as every morning, a whisper in her mind, like a tiny cheerleading devil on her shoulder, reminded her of a purpose - she was living the life she chose, having the freedom to seek adventures in a bustling city, and she was going to go out there and seize the day once more.

She peeked her big, brown eyes open, her sights meeting the rising sun through the wide glass windows, anticipation stirring in her chest. Her lips curled in an inspired smile.

She couldn’t wait to see what adventures life had in store for her again today.

She chose a casual maroon, short-sleeved, button down shirt from her closet, leaving the top three buttons unbuttoned to help ease the summer heat, paired it with black stretch pants for a more professional look, then grabbed a breakfast bar on the way out the door.

*

“A hot medium hazelnut latte with an extra shot of espresso, please,” Sloane recited with her easy, friendly smile. The start of her morning routine had already put her at ease, tasks lining up effortlessly in a mental list.

“Got it, I’ll call you when it’s ready.” The young, college-aged barista scribbled on an empty cup without asking a name. A regular in this shop, Sloane would start her mornings here to review her designs before meeting with clients or heading into the office.

She turned to survey the spacious seating area, noting it to be unusually crowded today, with a few extra people in booths than usual. Curiously, four people in two separate booths by the doorway ducked their heads simultaneously under their matching morning papers when she had caught them staring.

She squinted her eyes in bafflement, then shrugged, attributed it to possibly her new shampoo that seemed to give the waves of her long, blonde hair a bit more gaze-attracting bounce. Maybe. She turned instead toward the middle of the cafe in her preferred seating area by the large windows, spotting an empty table with high stools. A man who was sitting directly in front of that seat caught her eye. A big, strong, and very handsome man.

She felt heat rise to her cheeks as she swallowed a giddiness in her throat, before taking her seat facing the attractive stranger. She pulled out her sketchbook from her black attache messenger bag for something to do as she subtly stole a glance.

He was staring out the window, blue eyes apparently finding the most fascinating things, and she wondered briefly what his thoughts were like. A dark blue jacket over a white button down shirt complemented his broad shoulders, and dark casual jeans balanced out the dashing model look. There was a stiffness to his posture, though, a rather awkward discomfort to his expression, and she worried that he was aware of her gaze. If only Erica were here, she bemoaned. She really could use a great wingman right now.

“Luther,” the barista called, and the handsome man stood to pick up his drink. And as luck would have it…”Sloane,” her name was called at the same time.

Upon reaching the counter, she grasped her chance and smiled a greeting. “Good morning, Luther.” At this close proximity, she was struck with a familiarity about him, but couldn’t quite pin down what it was.

“Good morning, uh, Sloane,” he stumbled out in reply, staring at her with such adoring eyes as if reuniting with a long lost puppy, then awkwardly took a sip from his drink.

Sloane’s heart stuttered in her chest at the adorable shyness he exuded. “Hey,” she found herself speaking before overthinking could stop her, “would you like to sit with me at my table? It would be nice to have some company.”

Luther sputtered out his drink and coughed.

Sloane reached to place her hand on his arm. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I love you…Uh, I mean I would love to..oh shit.” Pure panic seemed to have flashed  across his expression, before he attempted to correct it, twisting his face into an awkward smile.

Sloane spoke a simple, “Oh.”

Luther took a deep breath and tried again. “I mean, I would really enjoy that.”

They continued blinking at each other for a few seconds longer, then turned to head back to their table at the same time, but Luther had swiveled so aggressively that he bumped her arm with the force of a shove. Sloane stumbled, the drink slipped from her hand.

“No!” She reached for the falling cup, suspending it in midair a foot from the floor, floating splatters and all.

She froze. Luther stared wide-eyed at the cup, then back at her.

After a short moment, she released it from her power and let it fall to the ground, her sights glued to the mess. Her father had always said to keep a low profile. Never let anyone see your ability, he had always warned. That crazy billionaire would take you away. Or the government will lock you up and experiment on you.

She only floated the cup for a couple of seconds, her panicking mind attempted to reassure. Maybe only Luther saw. Maybe he would keep her secret. She braved enough to raise her head, her eyes immediately locking gaze with the 4 people in the 2 booths by the doorway, their eyes wide and mouths agape.

Oh God, they had been watching her, waiting for her to slip up. Was she being surveilled all this time and hadn’t noticed? Her heart raced, air wouldn’t pull into her lungs. The devil on her shoulder yelled for her to run away, and her feet began to move without protest.

Her father had been right, she should have never left the safety of her small town, should have found a nice boy and settled down already instead of venturing out and chasing a dream in a strange and unfamiliar city.

“Wait!” Luther called from behind, his feet dashing behind her, nearing like a menacing shadow.

She darted through the busy street, cars blasted irate horns, audible shouts of pedestrians rang in her ears. She just had to get away - from him and from anyone else who might have seen. She needed time to figure this out, somewhere safe and quiet, somewhere not so noisy and full of hostile eyes.

Tires screeched, loud and angry. Her head jerked to look, a blue car spinning toward her filled her world. She averted her frightened eyes, her arms flying to protect her head as she crouched.

She heard the impact shatter the air, but never felt it.

Mumblings of a crowd slowly gathering, astonished gasps, concerned voices that barely registered in her awareness. She slowly peeked out from her arms, saw Luther’s big, confident back standing between her and the car. The trunk of the vehicle crumpled where his hand stretched out to block it.

“Is that Spaceboy?” a woman’s voice rang over the crowd.

Luther. Spaceboy.

She suddenly remembered a youthful version of his face on magazine covers that her friends had giddily passed around back in highschool.

Her mind stuttered, her thoughts looped with the string of unprocessed events.

*

After rushing out from their respective booths from the coffee shop, Klaus and Viktor took a moment to gape at the mess they had inflicted to the city - confounded drivers exiting their stopped vehicles to join the gawking crowd, frustrated morning rush hour traffic already backed up on the main street as far as Viktor could see, and the disrupted businesses that lined the streets with customers peering through the glass windows and walls to gossip of the commotion.

“Oh man,” Klaus said, placing a hand over his mouth.

“Allison, get Luther and Sloane out of there,” Diego instructed, then motioned his head to the wrecked blue car. “I’ll check on the driver.”

Allison nodded, then tugged on Klaus and Viktor’s arms to get them moving. “Let’s go.”

Luther was facing Sloane now, his hands clutching her upper arms, eyes worriedly checking her over. “Are you okay?” She didn’t respond, an expression of puzzlement cemented on her face.

“Come on, let’s go,” Allison commanded, patting Luther’s shoulder. 

They squeezed through the throngs of people with hurried steps, shoving away a few who had produced cameras from their bags, and made for the quieter streets on the other side of town.

Diego found the group in an alleyway two blocks from the chaotic clamor, Sloane already snapped out of her distress but still quivering slightly from the shock of the events. Diego and Allison nodded a greeting, before he settled against a brick wall, leaning back and crossing his arms as he observed.

“Oh my God,” Sloane repeated once more, both hands over her mouth, an unmistakable exhilaration beaming from her eyes.

Sloane had had no training, so it was a surprised to Diego that she had used her ability. Though Sparrow Sloane could definitely have easily lifted a car to save herself. He huffed at the imagery of Luther heroically protecting the damsel, felt a tinge of envy at the coolness factor.

“Are you alright?” Luther asked, a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“You’re the Umbrella Academy,” she said, eyes flickering around at each of them, post-adrenaline trembling her hands as she lowered them to her sides.

“And you’re an October 1st baby,” Klaus added with an amused tilt of his head.

“This is insane,” Sloane said, her grin bright and wide. Luther’s expression softened with relief at that sight. “Why are you here, right now, in front of me? I mean, what is going on? This is insanity. Pure insanity!”

“Well, it’s a long story,” Luther gently replied. “And yes, it is kind of an insane story.”

Insanity. For Diego, the word triggered a strange recollection from the mission. Five had yelled it out to the liaison - to Lila - while Luther had been watching Sloane’s life on the Infinite Switchboard:

“Insanity isn’t an option!” Five’s quarreling voice rippled over from the other side of the room.

Diego crinkled his brows in thought. Come to think of it, didn’t Five say the same thing earlier in the mission? In the Communications Room as he stressed over the delay in establishing contact with the liaison.

Five kept his sights to the floor. When he spoke, it was in a surprisingly hushed tone. “During that time, I have to be mentally sharp and focused. I can’t make a mistake on the programming.” He breathed in a shaky breath, voice quieting to a near whisper. “Insanity wasn’t an option.” 

Diego didn’t think much about it at the time, but now felt that he had missed something important with those words, as if an unknown treasure had slipped from his hand.

He shrugged, and resolved to just ask Five whenever he came back home.

Viktor approached Sloane with that calming demeanor of his. “I’m sorry that this is all so overwhelming for you.”

Sloane beamed an enthusiastic smile and shook her head. “No, this is the adventure of a lifetime!”

Luther caught Diego's eyes, and Luther exhaled out a big, relieved breath with a hopeful smile. Diego nodded a reassuring expression in return, genuinely happy that their little quest turned out well for his brother.

Diego joined in on the family introductions, all smiles, excitement, and warmth. And in the midst of it, he suddenly felt a disconcerting hollowness in his chest at Five’s absence.

***

[Current Timeline: Before Mission - May 15, 2019]

Lila pushed out suddenly, left fist swung. Five blocked with his forearm on reflex. She kneed him with a quick strike to his injured side.

Five yelled out, caught off guard by the burst of pain, and doubled over. White spots splashed in his vision, and he hastily shoved the pain behind his mind to manage it.

A blurred incoming kick came on his peripheral.

And Lila kicked empty air. She turned quickly, seeing Five with a hand on the sofa armrest, the other hand clutching his side. His body tense, face scrunched in pain, but eyes alert and trained on her. 

She smirked, composed herself, then blinked behind him. Threw a kick aimed at the injury again.

Five blocked it with both arms, had anticipated it, then in a quick motion struck an elbow to Lila’s nose.

Lila stumbled back, startled for a moment as blood dripped down her nose. Her face slowly twisted in anger. Balling her fists in front of her, she screamed out wrath. She crouched, then launched herself with an aerial punch to Five’s face. 

He ducked just in time, stumbling and recovering quickly, then blocked another strike.

A flurry of punches, kicks, and elbow strikes exchanged, thudding on walls, shattering a lamp, overturning chairs.

Until Lila’s kick found Five’s injury again.

Five grunted a cry of pain, fell to one knee, curling in slightly to protect his side. 

A roundhouse kick to his chest stole his breath and his footing, and Five found himself on his back, disoriented and gasping for air.

Lila quickly straddled him to pin him down, applying pressure on his injured side with her knee. 

Five’s breaths stuttered, hands attempting to push her off. 

 Lila panted heavily through her nose, hot anger thrumming through her veins, feeling euphoric satisfaction as she vengefully watched her parents’ murderer writhe in agony beneath her.

The image of her mother shooting her in cold blood crossed her thoughts.

Lila dug harder, cruelly grinding her knee on Five’s injury. 

The heartache of her mother’s betrayal squeezed her chest.

Five threw his head back with an agonized yell, body stiffened, his trembling hands desperately grasping for Lila’s legs.

Helpless frustration swamped Lila’s body, and she wanted to make him pay.

The frustration of being deceived by the only person she remembers loving.

Lila deflated suddenly, eyes widening, lightly shaking her head. It was that woman’s fault. It was the Handler who had taken everything from her. She knew this.

“Lila,” Five whimpered miserably. Warm liquid soaked through her dark jeans at her knee.

Lila looked down and released the pressure, pushing off from atop of him. Five curled in, groaning. 

Lila backed away. “Whoops, uh…” she said with forced casualness, “might have gotten a little carried away,” eyes studying him carefully.

Five lay on his back for a moment, bloodied right hand across his body clutching his side, breathing in ragged breaths. His eyes, though, were wretchedly despondent, which Lila found somehow uneasy to look at.

He shut those eyes momentarily, swallowed, then took a long inhale, before gingerly rolling over to his uninjured side. He placed a trembling left hand on the ground, arduously pushed himself up to a knee with a grunt. Another moment to catch his breath, then reached above him for the edge of the desk lamp to heave himself up.

Wobbly legs when he finally stood, biting his lower lip, face scrunching in pain, reaching out that trembling left hand to lean against the wall, the other hand still wrapped around his front.

“Shit,” he breathed out at the wall, “Do you have a first aid kit somewhere?”

The blood soaked through about a fourth of his shirt, painting a splash of dark color against the blue clothing. It reminded Lila of a time she had stabbed a target in that same spot a few years back. Randall Lewis, if she recalled, had bled out and died before the Commission clean up crew had even arrived.

“Lila!” Five said, raising his raspy voice, swiveling his head to glare at her.

She shook out of her thoughts and caught his eyes, which thankfully had regained the more familiar exhausted determination look. “Bath…bathroom,” she said, placing her hands in the back pocket of her jeans to compose herself. “In the bedroom.”

Five took another deep breath, lightly pushed off from the wall, and blinked away.

Lila surveyed the mess of paper strewn chaotically around the living room, the broken lamp on the floor, the chairs turned over. She winced in disappointment at seeing several of her shot glasses knocked off the shelf and shattered

She turned her head toward the bedroom as she heard the sound of a body colliding with the bathroom sink, some exhausted cursing, and the sound of the medicine cabinet behind the mirror being torn apart.

That unpleasant twinge in her chest wasn’t guilt, she told herself.

She had every right to hurt him.

Lila rocked on her heels for a few seconds, before she finally willed her legs to head to the bathroom.

Chapter Text

[Current Timeline: After Mission - June 25, 2019]

Allison was sitting on the couch fanning herself with a coil-bound presentation book, one of a stack of them on the coffee table in front of her - potential projects sent to her by her agent for review - when her brothers returned home from their cross-country road trip.

“Allison!” Viktor beamed with delight as he entered the door, gripping the shoulder straps of his backpack. Behind him were Luther, Diego, and Klaus, who playfully shoved each other through the entrance. “How was your trip?”

“Same old,” Allison replied, slipping her hands in the pockets of her loose pants as she met them at the foyer. “How was yours?”

“It was…,” Viktor began, barely held-back exhilaration glowing in his expression. “It was…great,” he settled on instead.

Allison huffed a little chuckle. “Well, go on and get changed and put your luggage away. Then tell me all about it over lunch.”

“I’m so hungry,” Klaus dramatically declared as he headed up the stairs, while Luther and Allison exchanged a silent greeting.

“Welcome home, Allison,” Diego said with a cheeky smile as he passed by.

Allison crossed her arms and gave an approving nod. “Welcome home, Diego.”

Viktor’s foot landed on the first step, but stalled, swiveling the upper half of his body to look behind him. “Hey Allison, did Five come home yet?”

The familiar awkward silence of held breaths filled the space once again.

Allison forced a smile. “No, not yet.”

Viktor nodded a look of disappointment. “Oh,” and continued on up the stairs.

*

Diego deposited his dirty roadtrip clothes into the hamper and changed into a fresh, black t-shirt. Passing by Five’s room on the way to the stairs, he tilted his head to peer around the slightly opened door into the bedroom, a habit that the family had subconsciously picked up since the mission almost three weeks ago. Expecting it to be empty per usual, his feet stilled at the sight of a small body sitting on the desk chair.

Diego approached the door with two quick steps.

It was Viktor, the desk chair turned around with the back against the table; a far off stare to the middle of the room, lost in dreamlike scenes playing behind his eyes.

The moment was a sketch of a memory, but with world weary adults playing the parts instead of bewildered children. Back then, how often did Viktor sit like this after Five had run off? But Diego as a child felt just as lost in his own helplessness and ordeals and didn’t have enough to offer solace to another. That young boy had walked away from his distraught sister without a second thought.

Diego was no longer that child. “He’s an asshole,” he said, leaning against the door frame and crossing his arms.

Viktor startled slightly, blinking his eyes clear before looking up to give Diego a small smile. “Yeah, he is.” Viktor had changed into a simple white shirt and a fresh pair of blue jeans. A small piece of paper rested in his hand.

“What’s that?” Diego asked, motioning to the item with his eyes. 

Viktor studied the paper, lightly turning it over in his hands. “Oh, I left Five a note before we left. In case, you know, he came home to an empty house. I wanted to make sure he knew we would be back soon.”

It irritated Diego, how a thoughtless brother and his empty room had taken away Viktor’s euphoria so easily.

Viktor seemed to have read Diego’s mind, sheepishly breaking eye contact to gaze at the empty bed. “I don’t know why, it’s just dumb,” he said, shaking his head. “I guess when we were kids, anytime I had something on my mind, or anything I was excited about sharing, I always went straight to Five’s room. I’ve just been thinking about that lately.”

“You two were close back then.”

Viktor tilted his head. “I actually haven’t thought about it in a while. We all grew up, you know. We’re not the same people we were. I don’t know why I’m thinking of that now.” He shook his head as he crumpled the pointless paper, then shot it in the trash can in the corner of the room.

Because the asshole left again without saying anything, Diego thought, but kept it to himself.

Viktor’s eyes suddenly flinched, brows scrunching together as a puzzling thought struck him. “Hey, do you remember during the mission when Five came back to free us from our cells? His clothes were…,” he blinked twice, “…did Five change clothes?”

Primly attired, straightening his spotless tailor-made suit, wearing a smug, discontented expression on his face. 

“What do you mean? He was wearing the same thing,” Diego dismissed, slanting his head to rest against the door frame.

But that couldn’t be, Viktor thought, because he recalled a moment when he had studied his brother’s appearance in the lab coat room.

Five stood by the door frame, rumpled suit with that bloody handprinted collar still partly visible under a lab coat much too large for his frame, observing his family enrobing with a far off look. Viktor was struck with how un-Five-like his brother appeared. Even in the most frantic times, Five always presented as primly attired, with a near compulsive habit of straightening his tailor-made clothes. 

“No, I’m sure he was…he was different, wasn’t he?” Viktor ruminated, wondering when Five had time to clean up, or where he found another shirt, but found it strange that he also had time to fix his hair and wipe off the blood…

“Hey,” Diego called, interrupting Viktor’s thoughts, “we better get to the kitchen before Klaus takes all the meatballs again.” He grinned. “And Allison’s dying to hear all about Harlan.”

As if on cue, Klaus’ lazy laugh drifted from downstairs, chased by the familiar scolding of Allison’s voice.

Viktor smiled, recognized Diego’s attempt at keeping cheerful thoughts on the forefront. “Let’s go eat, then.”

***

[Current Timeline: Before Mission - May 15, 2019]

Lila found Five slumped against the bathroom wall to the left of the sink, hissing through his teeth, shirt lifted as he peered down on a bloody wound on his left abdominal side. The first aid items and the suture kit were scattered around him.

She knelt down on one knee, squinting to examine the wound. Her shadow fell and blocked the fluorescent lighting from above. 

Five huffed in annoyance. “You’re hovering, get off,” he scowled.

Lila looked up, catching green eyes glowering below his bangs. Her brows furrowed together in puzzlement. “When did you get this wound?”

He breathed out, the tension in his body easing. “When the Sparrows came after us at the warehouse.”

Lila blinked her eyes, then shook her head in disbelief. “But…that was weeks ago.”

He broke eye contact, gaze wandering to somewhere to her left. His mouth opened to speak, “Um…”, then closed to swallow a hesitant gulp. 

Lila felt as if she was watching a forbidden scene, fascinated at seeing this vulnerability that she was sure no one else had been privy to.

“It’s…it’s not healing,” he said softly. “I don’t know why.”

Lila adjusted her position to sit on her legs, then reached for Five’s shirt. “Get this off so we can take a better look.”

She paused as Five distrustfully clenched tighter on his shirt. His sharp glare returned. “No, I got this,” he said curtly. “I’ve done this before.”

“Hey, relax,” she chuckled lightly, projecting casualness in her tone, accompanied by what she hoped was a disarming hand gesture and a gentle nod. “I can help.”

A skeptical twitch of his eyes, before warily loosening the grip on his shirt. 

Lila gripped the shirt, nodded reassuringly at his distrustful gaze for him to lift his arms. He closed his eyes as Lila pulled the shirt off, not too gently, eliciting a whimper from him. She gave a repentant shrug before throwing the shirt across the room, landing beside the bathtub.

Five slumped back with an exhausted sigh.

Lila inspected the wound, but clicked her tongue at all the blood obscuring the view. “Well, got to clean this mess up first so I can actually see,” she said, grabbing a face towel from the stack of folded ones beside the bathtub.

Lila glance at Five as the warm water ran over the towel.

He stared sluggishly somewhere off to the side, right hand wrapped around his front pressing a rag against his wound to slow the bleeding, the other arm listlessly splayed on his left side. His tired eyes held a discomforting expression of resignation.

She cleaned the wound quickly. The occasional subtle twitch of his fingers, the quiet hitched breaths - he was clearly making an effort to not cause a fuss. But the beads of sweat forming on his forehead was indicative of the pain he truly was in.

She tried to make small talk to lessen the tension, mostly narrating her actions, but he was too preoccupied with distant thoughts.

He was probably still angry at her, she thought.

She finally examined the wound. A little inflamed, and the stitching did rip rather viciously. 

Lila cleared her throat. “Well, there’s a few reasons why a wound won’t heal.” She reached for the suture kit and the alcohol on his side. “For you, it is a little infected, but not too bad.” She snipped the hegar holder a couple times and squinted at a hook needle. Five raised an eyebrow. 

“Just probably got infected recently,” she continued, then pointing an accusatory blade in his direction, “But more likely because you’re not getting enough nutrition. And also probably because of,” Lila cleared her throat again and lowered her voice, speeding through her next words, “repeatedtrauma.”

Five blinked his eyes and looked up, keeping his arms limp on his sides. “Come again?”

“Little runt, you heard me,” she said, playfully hitting him with a dry rag as she brushed off the guilt that had crept onto her expression. “Okay, yeah, that part’s my fault. But anyway, I’ve got antibiotic pills and a cream up there,” she said, motioning to the mirror cabinet. “Let’s get this sewed up first.”

She held her chosen tools up in her hands. “Oh, never actually done this before,” she cheekily grinned.

Throughout the stitching and patchwork, Five didn’t say a word, while Lila had chatted away, mostly to stave off the disquieting silence. But with every narrowing of his gaze, every purse of his lips - Five’s thoughts might as well had been indiscernibly screaming behind his eyes.

They sat side-by-side in silence on the bathroom floor afterward, Five with his left leg splayed out, the other with his knee pulled up. A hand on his side on the newly stitched wound, his other hand resting on his knee as he pondered at the far wall. 

Lila fiddled with the bloody face towel as she stared at the blood on the white tiled floor. The long silence made her restless, anticipating the return of the shadowy visitors that resided in the dark fog of her chaotic emotions.

But they never came.

The stagnant air was a bit chilly, the tiled floor and walls cold through her pants and against her back, especially at her blood-stained knee. An inconsequential thought passed through her mind that Five didn’t have his shirt on.

Five's uneven breaths were the loudest sounds - a deep, weary inhale here; a miserable, trembling exhale there; a resentful, angry puff through his nose.

Then a long, forlorn sigh.

“Will you quit brooding and just say it out loud?” she snapped.

He raised his eyes to the ceiling in response and faintly shook his head. “You can’t be this stupid, Lila.” The drag on his speech revealed his exhaustion, while the airy delivery laid bare his frustration. “If you kill me, then you don’t get your revenge on the Handler and the Commission.” But the slow enunciation made his anger clear.

“Hey, if it wasn’t for me, your stupid wound would probably be festering in a few days,” Lila defended, turning her body to face him.

Five swiveled his head to her and glared, raising his voice. “If I wasn’t worried about my partner trying to kill me every damn day, then I might have been able to pay attention to the fucking wound!” 

Partner. The word echoed in Lila’s ears for some reason.

Lila geared for an argument, glowering menacingly as their eyes locked, readying to counter the vitriol coming her way. 

Five took a long, trembling breath, and exhaled in waves. 

Lila immediately deflated. No, she realized, he wasn’t up for a fight. Instead, Five placed a hand on his forehead and lightly thumped his head back on the wall. “And fuck, we’re only 2 weeks away. How in the hell am I going to be able to go through the mission like this.”

Lila felt a bit sheepish for misreading, “Oh, you’ll be fine, you big baby,” and so she clumsily encouraged.

Five turned to look at her, adjusting his sitting position to relieve the pressure on his wound. He shook his head in slight disbelief, dispirited eyes near pleading. “I need to at least be able to defend myself so I don’t die before the mission is completed.”

“So you can impress daddy, you mean,” she poked a bit, hoping to prod his mettle back to life. “And here I thought only Diego had daddy issues.”

Both of Five's hands moved to his forehead this time, one still stained with dried blood, and he bent down and buried his face on his knee.

That unpleasant twinge in her chest peskily lurched. “Tell your family, then, that you’re not 100% physically ready. They have super powers, idiot, and are perfectly capable of protecting you.” She watched for a reaction, but Five remained still and quiet. “Jeez, you haven’t even told them about the mission, have you?” she said in an exasperated tone. “What the hell are you waiting on?”

Five took another deep, trembling breath, then finally spoke. “I promised them peace. I promised their safety from the Commission.”

Lila wrung the towel in her hands. “Well then, they’ll be happy to know that’s exactly what we’re about to do!” she said cheerfully, trying to inject some joy into the miserable creature in front of her.

“They look happy and carefree,” he said, voice growing quieter. “I’d like to wait for as long as possible before letting them know I lied.”

Lila placed a hand on his shoulder, then narrowed her eyes. His skin was cold as ice, a sobering reminder that he had just lost a lot of blood. He was probably ready to pass out. “You’re working on it. They’ll understand.”

“I don’t think they will,” he said so softly, and muffled further by his position, that Lila could barely hear.

Lila didn’t know his family well enough, but she was sure Diego would understand.

Something wasn’t right with Five. She pulled her hand away, hovering it over his shoulder, pondering on Five’s state of mind. Then sat back against the wall and fiddled with the rag again. She bit her lower lip. She needed this mission to succeed, she needed Five to succeed. Her goals were simple, and yet...

...she nearly messed it up with misplaced anger. 

But it was still salvageable. She glanced at Five again. Looking smaller than ever tucked in on himself like that. Red marks and bruises all over his pale skin, a nasty, yellow bruise around his neck from a few days ago when she put that chokehold on him. She has bruises as well, but not as bad as him. She had successfully been exploiting his injury in fights the moment she had taken notice of it.

And so skinny - shoulder blades sharp, rib bones prominent. She’d never fed him when he was over. It wasn’t a wonder why his wound wouldn’t heal.

They’re my real family.

She huffed through her nose. She hated the way the guilt wormed its way unpleasantly under her skin.

“Hey,” Lila opened. “I, uh, I didn’t realize, you know, that your wound was that bad. Of course I need you to complete the mission.”

He uncurled slowly and sat up. Slumped back against the wall and closed his eyes. “After the mission, you can have me. Not before.”

They’re my real family.

Lila swallowed, uncomfortable with the somber tone, felt she needed to lighten the conversation. “Alright, alright. I won’t touch you anymore before the mission.” She pointed a teasing finger at him. “But you better be ready afterwards.”

Five opened his eyes, still staring ahead, lips twitched up in a little smile. 

It was also the first time Lila saw his eyes genuinely relax.

She had made things very hard for him.

Chapter Text

[Current Timeline: After Mission - June 27, 2019] 

Allison found herself in Five’s tranquil room, hands in the pockets of her loose beige pants, leaning back against the white wall adjacent to the slightly open door.

Maybe it was the regretful memory of her and Five’s last conversation that brought her here. Maybe she just wanted to thank him for the gratifying time on the Infinite Switchboard. Or maybe she was actually starting to miss her brother.

He promised he’d be at Claire’s birthday party, she thought sulkily, but still with the tiny hope that he would return in time for the event.

Allison sighed as she looked to the desk, remembering the gift with the blue wrapper patterned in unicorns that she had seen last time she was here. But only folders and paperwork and an opened busy notebook laid on top now.

Still, she approached the table, checked the floor around it. Then inspected the small closet with his handful of shirts and pants hanging. Took note of the lone pair of sneakers Five owned on the closet floor. Poked inside the beige laundry hamper containing the long-sleeved blue shirt and pair of jeans she had last seen Five in. Explored the dresser drawers, chasing after a foreboding restlessness that built every second she searched.

Her head was under the bed when Luther walked in the room.

“Uh, Allison, what are you doing?”

Luther was dressed in his warehouse uniform - black pants and black long-sleeved shirt under a yellow safety vest. Allison blinked twice at him, then surveyed the rummaged room. The drawers of the dresser against the wall pulled out, revealing the neatly folded clothes residing within. The closet door flung wide open. The worn set of clothes she had thrown on the floor beside the small laundry hamper by the door. “I was just looking for…,” her voice trailed, because the superficial response was a mere placeholder until words could bring form to her growing unease.

Luther tilted his head in patient attentiveness.

“Luther…,” she began again, turning to her brother’s inquisitive face. “Five didn’t pack any of his stuff before he left. They’re all still here. Even his sneakers. He only owns one pair.”

“Well, maybe he was just so mad that he took off without packing. You know how he likes to go off on his own,” he shrugged, responding with the usual disregard on the topic, but this time Allison wouldn’t allow the dismissal.

“We’ve had worst fights before. He always stayed.” She nearly flinched at the sudden recollection her shouting disagreements with Five. Her troubled eyes caught Luther’s gaze. “He’s been gone almost a month, Luther.”

Luther’s brows crinkled, concern settled on his blue eyes, and Allison suspected her own expression mirrored his at the moment. “He’s Five, he’s okay, right?” he asked, more so to seek to ease the unpleasant worry that murmured in his chest.

Allison ambled to the closet and closed its door, then headed to pick up the worn clothes from the floor. Luther pushed the dresser drawers back in place, both distracted by puzzling thoughts as they moved through the motions.

Luther spotted the time on the desk clock. “I…I’m going to be late,” he said, interrupting the artificial calm. “You’re dropping me off to work, right?”

Allison snapped out of her thoughts. “Yeah, yeah, of course. Sorry, I wasn’t…thinking.” She shook her head. “You know, we really should get a second vehicle.”

“I’ve been saving up money. I was thinking of getting a used car, you know, just to get around.”

They rushed down the stairs as they made their way toward the door. Allison squinted at the stack of mission file folders still on the living room lamp table as they passed, promised herself to find some answers to ease the disquiet in the pit of her stomach.

***

[Current Timeline: Before Mission - May 15, 2019]

Lila had had it with the sitting around. She rose to her feet and threw the towel in her hand to the side. “Well, I’m not staying here all night.” 

On her hands and knees, a rag in one hand and the spray bottle in the other, she made quick work of wiping the blood from the floor. She could deal with the whole apartment looking like a hurricane had torn through, but blood on white tiled floors was intolerable. At least not in her own bathroom, where she couldn’t walk away and leave the scene behind her.

Five watched with heavy-lidded eyes and limp limbs, still sagged against the wall without a shirt. His eyes blinked a few times after a little while, comprehension finally catching up, and moved his head slowly around to search for his clothes.

He struggled to pull the blood-soaked shirt over his head, wincing all throughout, then heaving an exhausted sigh once the task had been accomplished.

Though the shirt had begun to dry, Lila supposed it was still clammy as it settled on his skin, and probably smelled foul. She crinkled her nose in vicarious disgust as she put the cleaning supplies away.

Five laid his palms on the floor behind him, took a deep breath, then strenuously pushed himself up. Resting his back against the wall, he closed his eyes and swallowed with effort. Lila strolled up and chuckled. “It’d be so easy to kill you right now,” she teased.

He opened his eyes to scowl.

Lila smiled at the miserable attempt. “Yeah, not scary, little rat child,” she said. She reached for his right hand. His fingers flinched, and his eyes managed to shoot a wary look through all the lethargy.

“Oh my God, relax,” she placated with an eyeroll, pulling his right arm over her shoulders, eliciting a soft groan from Five, even though she had made the extra effort to be careful. She felt his body tense up against hers, felt the coldness of him through the clothes, whiffed the stench of his sweat and blood. “I know you don’t have the energy to blink right now.”

Five sighed in resignation.

“I’ll be gentle, promise,” she smirked, as Five allowed his weight to lean on her.

Lila nudged open the space around them.

It was…heavier blinking with a passenger, surprised to find herself panting a bit at the extra effort.

Five gingerly pushed off once they touched ground in the living room, disentangling their arms as he fumbled for footing. A hand on his wound, then another step back, eyes floating a bit in his head as he fought away the dizziness. Lila found herself holding her breath, as if she was watching someone stumble on an old rickety bridge and tottering too close to the edge.

Then his vision focused. He breathed out, weariness settling back into his eyes and onto his languid limbs. Lila exhaled, then thought it silly to had been holding her breath at all. She turned to survey the wreckage of their scuffle, hands on her hips and biting her lower lip.

An overturned chair in the kitchen, broken shelf and shot glasses on the floor, that lamp by the sofa that had fallen over, brown folders everywhere, loose documents covering every square inch of the floor and the tables.

And Five’s notebooks and loose notes, scribbled with weeks-long calculations, some torn, some bloodied, most cluttered and scattered every which way.

Lila closed her eyes, a slight shake of her head and clicked her tongue.

She glanced at the digital clock that lay sideways on the floor. It was already 2am. “Well, this’ll take all night.”

Five limped straight to his battered notes. He knelt on one knee, picked up a few of the papers. “You’re the genius who attacked me on top of the documents,” he said, speech still sluggish, and stared at his notes like a puppy had just died.

Lila raised her eyes up to the ceiling and sighed. Her conscience was being a prick to her tonight.

Five paused with a heavy exhale, closed his eyes momentarily, then sorted through the papers, a pattern that aggravatingly repeated a few more times until Lila finally shook her head at the sight. “Go take a nap on the couch,” she instructed. “I got this.”

“I’m fine,” he replied in a vacant tone without looking up, eyes glazing over at his task.

She stomped over and swiped the paperwork from his hands. “You’re not. And I need you to get better. You still have to re-run the code for the hack and finish the calculations for the gateway. I got this.”

Five blinked his eyes sluggishly at Lila, then gazed down on his bloody shirt. “I’ll make a mess,” he gestured his head toward the sofa, “on your couch.”

“Yeah, hold on,” she said. “That shirt is really nasty. Take it off, I’ll get you a sweatshirt to change into.”

Five dropped his blue shirt on the floor as Lila threw a gray sweatshirt hoodie on his lap.

She’d seen his body when she was cleaning it up, but under the living room’s brighter lighting, the red marks and bruises looked worse on his pale skin. “Hmm, those will all be nasty bruises by morning.”

Five peeked with an annoyed expression under the sweatshirt after pulling it halfway down his head.

“Yeah, yeah, my fault,” she responded. “If they notice, just tell your family you’re into some BDSM kink. No one will want to pry into it after that.”

A reluctant smile came up on Five’s mouth, expression softening.

Lila twitched her head, a small smile crept on her lips. “What is it, I sound like Diego, don’t I?” Lila said.

“No,” he chuckled, “that sounds like Klaus, actually.”

He had brightened, just like that. With the thought of his family, his eyes sparkled, life breathed into his spirit. And that was when something shifted inside Lila, the heavy, bitter anger transmuted into something else, something lighter.

“Sounds like a crazy perv,” she teased, then narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. “I think I like him.”

Five nodded. “Yeah. He’s…kind. He is his own brand of weird, but kind,” soft fondness lit his expression, “You two will get along great.”

Will, not would. A tiny detail of semantics that she somehow latched onto, taking her aback as it made her heart swell unexpectedly with hope.

They’re my real family.

Five tilted his head slightly at her, noticed her change of expression.

Lila let out an awkward chuckle, shrugged off whatever vulnerability had crept on her appearance, then sat up on her knees. “Get some rest first,” she said, patting the spot on the sofa beside him. “Recharge that super brain of yours. I’ll wake you when I’m done de-cluttering so we can go over the time-space documents again.”

He nodded an acknowledgment, made his way to the couch, then carefully laid down. He had turned his head and body away to keep pressure off the wound, right hand across his middle on his left side. 

Lila’s gaze lingered on him a bit, feelings rumpled and jumbled, but not in the usual violent, stormy chaos that roared in her insides. More like a plucking of random notes on a harp, with a discordant orchestra that wasn’t quite harmonizing. As if something beautiful lay beyond it, if she could only sort out the notes and figure out how they should go together.

She turned back toward the mess in the living room and began to collect random papers, then settled down with a large pile in her hands and began to sift and sort.

“I remember everything that day,” Five said, a hushed tone colored in sadness, slightly muffled by the corner of the couch. “Every second, every sight, every sound. I understand the gravity of what I did. And I’m sorry.”

Lila stared at his back, didn’t really know how to respond. Wasn’t sure if he needed a response. Maybe he did. 

But she let the moment pass.

The silence was unsettling, so she returned to sorting - the documents in front of her, her cluttered thoughts, and her tangle of emotions. But her conscience nagged at her to speak something out loud.

“Hey Five?” 

She half-hoped he would be asleep, silently urged the stillness to stretch on.

“Hmm?”

But the universe hadn’t been doing her any favors lately.

“It’s because you’re here,” she began, softly as not to disturb the tranquility. “The Commission, my mother. They’re not here, you know, for me to get angry at. But you’re here. So I get angry at you.”

“Hm,” he hummed a mere wisp of an acknowledgment, which made Lila wonder if Five was even fully awake. Either way she felt the need to explain. Because she owed him that, and to pacify her meddling conscience.

“I’m just dealing with a lot. And I kind of - dealt with it,” she laughed a little, lacking merriment, as the absurdity of her words hit her mid-speech, “probably not in the best way.”

She let her small chuckles fade, the words she had spoken floated in silent echoes in the quietness as she regarded Five’s body for a reaction.

He was small, she thought, slightly curled in on himself like that, as if protecting himself.

Of course. He wasn’t safe with her. Hadn’t been safe with her.

The tense outlines of his body had relaxed, the beginnings of slumber laying claim to him.

She wondered if Five would put a wall between them now, if his endlessly calculating mind was exploring a solution to their Commission problem that would no longer require her help.

She wondered how angry Five was with her.

And as the seconds ticked by, as the silence restlessly lengthened, she wondered if she would ever get an answer at all.

Would he let the moment pass as well? 

“It’s alright, Lila,” Five whispered, breathy with sleepiness.

Chapter Text

[Current Timeline: Before Mission - May 17, 2019]

Two blue lights flashed on the busy sidewalk of the city shopping district, Five and Lila reappearing side-by-side. A few pedestrians had blinked a double take at the pair, but the busy city life had all parties moving on to their next moment before thoughts of the unusual could be formed. Five limped on as he stole a glance behind him, while Lila casually strutted as if they were out on a stroll at the park.

“Naproxen, Tylenol, and Ibuprofen,” Lila grinned at Five, holding out the bottles in her hands “If you need something stronger, we’ll have to hit up a pharmacy in the middle of the night for some opioids. Should be easy with your powers, though.”

“Those will be fine,” he replied with a sigh as he slipped his hands in the pockets of his gray sweatshirt. They were both dressed a little too warmly for summer, but Lila needed the light jacket to shove items in. With Five, he just didn’t have anything else to wear at the moment. “I do have some money, you know."

“Why waste it?” Lila breathed in the energy from the afternoon rush hour that was starting to busy the streets - the activity of the building crowd, sounds of cars and chatter, and the sunshine that invigorated her senses. It really hit home just how soul sucking it was to be holed up in her flat for a stretch of days.

 Lila slipped the medicine bottles in the pockets of her dark green jacket. “Hey, you know maybe we should walk home.”

“You just enjoy seeing me suffer,” Five grimaced, his hand traveling to his wound.

“Well, true, I am a bit of a sadist,” she acknowledged, bobbing her head. “But really, I read about it once, sunlight has all these health benefits.” She tapped a finger for each bullet point, “Improves immunity, lowers blood pressure, helps strengthens your bones, and even betters...,” then gestured her hands vaguely on his body. “Your…grumpy mood. And you know, you are a bit pasty,” she added with an apologetic frown.

Five knitted his brows and shrugged in agreement.

Lila’s head jerked to a gift shop to their right, catching interest on the variety of mugs on display. “Oh, hang on, let’s check this out.” She yanked Five’s arm inside the shop, with Five stumbling along, and quickly maneuvered them through the quaint little shop to a busy shelf displaying novelty drinkware.

Lila held a mug in each hand. “Look at this,” she beamed, showing one that declared I don’t need your attitude, I brought my own overlayed over a smug looking cat, and another that said I do what I want accompanied by a drawing of a cat with its arms crossed.

Five blinked his eyes with annoyed disinterest, then caught something in his peripheral. He took two steps to his left and reached for an item on the shelf.

“Oh, no way,” Lila nearly squealed as she returned the mugs on the shelf, “This is you!” delighting in another that had Warning: Grumpy before coffee printed on it. She swiveled to her left to show Five, and saw him holding a puzzle box in his hand of an ordinary street. He seemed enamored by it somehow, a soft fondness sketched on his expression.

“How’d you manage to pick out the most uninspired puzzle in the whole store?” She spotted a box with an aerial view of Venice, Italy. “This one’s better,” she declared, snatching it from the shelf and waving it in front of him.

The picturesque image tugged on something inside Lila. She pulled the box close to her chest, running her fingers over the shimmering canals at dawn and the serene, waking streets. “I had a couple of assignments here before,” she reminisced. “Beautiful place. I’d like to visit it again someday without murder on my itinerary. One was a member of the mafia, didn’t mind that one much. The other, I had to beguile a hapless businessman before killing him. Kind of ruined the romantic atmosphere of the city for me.”

Five turned his head toward Lila, their gazes catching for a moment in shared understanding.

“I had a few hits there, also. It is a nice city, I agree.”

“Oh really? Huh, I wonder if we were ever there at the same time.”

“Maybe,” he said. A somberness shaded his face. “One of my marks there was a teenaged mother and her daughter.”

Lila twitched her head in slight startlement, and whatever emotion had tinged Five’s expression earlier vanished with her subtle reaction. A near vacant look came over his eyes, and being this close to him, the shift was almost jarring. “Hm,” he hummed in thoughtful comprehension. “It’s good that the Handler kept those types of assignments away from you.” A straightforward response, as if informing her that the sky was blue, lacking accusation, sarcasm, or any trace of resentment.

Lila realized how adept Five had become at pushing away his emotions.

She returned her attention to the puzzle box in her hand. “I should travel the world one day and make better memories. You should, too,” she said, holding out the box to him. “Take it home so you’ll remember to put it on your bucket list.”

Five’s sights lingered on the globe-trotting, adventurous Venice puzzle box, before dropping his gaze back down to the homely one in his hands. “No, this is the one I want.”

***

[Current Timeline: Before Mission - May 19, 2019]

Five pulled the long sleeves of his white crew-neck shirt up to his forearms, then hovered the marker over the dry erase board, staring with crinkled brows at scattered mission plans that unfortunately only his mind could properly follow.

Lila munched on her breakfast toast and slumped back into the sofa. “Good lord, how many times are you planning to go through the same sequence?”

Five took a bite of his toast as well, chewing thoughtfully at his notes on the board. “As soon as we enter the gateway, the fighting starts. Everything hinges on this moment going smoothly and exactly as planned.”

He turned, ran the hand holding the marker through his hair, then began pacing in front of the board. “Otherwise, the rest of the mission will become extremely dangerous,” he said.

“That’s so dumb, why don’t we figure out a way to sneak everyone in instead?” Lila suggested, mouth full with another bite of toast.

Five shoved the last bite in his mouth, patted the crumbs off his hand on his pants, then capped the marker, turning back to the the board. “There’s no other way, we can’t sneak in all 5 of my siblings without being noticed at the front check-in.”

He placed a hand on his forehead, massaged his temples with his thumb and forefinger and closed his eyes, then squinted again at his notes. “And I can’t cover all the floors by myself in the alloted time,” he muttered.

“Holy shit, Five,” Lila exclaimed, throwing her hands in exasperation. “You’re seriously entertaining the possibility of doing the mission by yourself? I mean, yeah, I guess, that’s a fantastic way to make sure the mission spectacularly fails.”

“No, I’m not. I was just…”, he backtracked, shaking his head.

Lila crossed her arms. “Yeah, yeah, you were just, mmhm.”

Five ran his hand over his face and exhaled deeply. “Look, the point is, we just have to make sure the lobby agent and the guard on duty don’t get the chance to call for building security.” He turned toward the plans again and aggressively tapped the marker on his jeans pants. “Just have to make a couple of quick kills,” but scrunched his face looking troubled with the thought.

“Alright, that’s it, this is an intervention,” Lila declared, throwing a throw pillow at his head, Five too engrossed in his anxiety to have had any chance of dodging. “Take a break before you go crazy.”

He gestured his hands up in disbelief. “I don’t need a break,” he said. “I need to make sure…”

“Look!” Lila interrupted, like distracting with a squirrel, pointing enthusiastically at the table in front of her. “Your coffee’s getting cold!” 

The strategy was surprisingly effective. Five’s eyes locked onto his coffee. 

Lila smiled at the small victory. 

He grabbed the mug by the handle and took a sip, as Lila patted the space beside her. “Anyway, you said you were going to show me something the other day,” she said, continuing her diversion, motioning to the black backpack in the corner of the living room.

The couch sank beneath with the weight of both of them when Five sat, so he leaned forward on the sofa, scrunching his eyes and groaning a bit as he placed a hand on his side, before taking another sip. He turned his head to Lila. “Oh, yeah.”

***

[Current Timeline: After Mission - July 2, 2019] 

He was always alert to it during his runs, so Diego immediately caught the glint of metal on the wooden post as soon as he had rounded the corner. Brisk strides toward the street sign, wiping the sweat from his brows with his forearm, before he gripped the familiar silver blade and yanked it out. 

He jerked his head around the area, and when he saw no sign of her, lifted his eyes to the gray, low-rise building closest to the sign. Squinting under his hand that shielded his eyes from the early morning sun, he searched for Lila on the rooftop, but the ledge made it impossible to see.

Diego circled around the building and found the fire escape ladder. He slipped the knife inside a hidden holster in his black running shorts, wiped his palms on his black t-shirt, then climbed.

Anticipation moved his feet and hands, a mix of anxiousness and excitement pounded in his chest. He paused right before the final step that would raise his head over the rooftop ledge, inviting the return of his frustrations to harden his demeanor while shoving away the pathetic neediness that threatened to drown away his anger. He scrunched his face in a macho grimace as he stepped onto the rooftop.

He turned into a puppy anyway once he caught sight of her.

Leaned forward against the ledge of the rooftop, wearing a loose, light-brown summer blouse paired with capri jeans. Her head twitched to the left, shoulders subtly raised, and Diego knew she had been made aware of his presence.

Lila turned around, her sights landing on Diego, and he could swear he saw longing in those brown eyes. Her throat bobbed, lips parted to speak, but pinched together again before a word could escape. She mimicked a smile instead.

“Hey,” Diego greeted.

A tiny spark of relief softened her expression. “Hey,” she replied back.

Diego waited to see if she intended to move, but her unusually cautious feet were cemented in place, so he went to her instead. 

He leaned beside her on the ledge. “How have you been?”

She seemed pleased with the simple conversation, a comfortable smile smoothing out her features. “Well enough. How have you been?”

“Good.” He took note of her dark hair that had grown a little past her shoulders. “Your hair’s longer. It…it looks good.”

“You missed it. I had a blonde thing going on for a while.”

They held their gazes for a moment, until the things unsaid became too noisy. “So, why didn’t you come to me when we got to this timeline?” 

She held her chin up, and it might have been the shade from the tall building behind them, but a haunted shadow seemed to have casted over her countenance.  “I’ve been busy.” 

“Uh-huh,” he said, allowing the hurt to seep in his tone. “Busy preparing for the mission with Five.”

Her gaze dropped to his chin. “Exactly.” The smile she continued to hold turned plastic. “Preparing for the mission with Five.” Her fingers clutched the edges of her blouse, her shoulders subtly squirmed. “It kept me busy.”

Diego worked his jaw. “You couldn’t spare a minute of your day to tell me? Do you know how worried I was about you? I didn’t even know if you survived the timeline change.”

She shrugged, drawing her gaze back to his. “Well, obviously I’m fine, so that doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Are you serious?” Diego clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to hold on to calm. “Do you know how many nights I spent on rooftops waiting for you? How fucked up I get when I see a large crowd hoping I’d find your face in there?”

He didn’t mean to bare his pain, but at this point he didn’t care. Anger and frustration filled him, but all he wanted to do was plead for clarity.

Lila took a step back, a hint of panic seemed to flash across her expression, looking like she wanted to run away. She swallowed a hard gulp. “I’m pregnant.”

Diego’s face scrunched in confusion. “What?” he spat out, a little too roughly.

Lila took another step back, and Diego finally recognized the guilt and fear twisted on her face behind her artificial smile. He grasped her arm, afraid she would run off. “Wait,” he said, looking down at her stomach, trying to process as fast as he could. She squirmed in his grip. “I said wait! Give me a minute!”

She stilled, eyes flitting about on his face. The fake smile already lost.

“You’re…” Diego began, then retracked and restarted. “Is it…is it mine?” One more information before he could tread forward.

“Yes, of course, idiot,” she said in a rush. “Whose else would it be?”

“We’re pregnant?” And it was probably the way he said it so gently, because her eyes became damp and relief flooded her face.

“Hey, hey,” he comforted, pulling Lila in against his chest, and her body instantly relaxed in his arms. “We’re going to be the greatest parents. Totally the greatest parents,” he rambled. “I’m going to be such a good dad, and you’ll be the best mom. Like, you’ll win the competition, Mother-of-the-Year and all that shit.”

She chuckled out a sob. Diego clutched her shoulders lightly and pulled her out so he could capture her eyes. “Is that why you haven’t come to see me?”

She chuckled out that wet laugh again. “Five said you’d be happy.”

Diego’s smile faded, his brother’s name shifting an uncomfortable tension in the air. “Where is Five anyway?”

Lila pulled away from his grasp, sights landing everywhere but Diego’s eyes, and was it the trick of the light that casted that dreary shadow over her face again? “He left…after the mission.” She shrugged, “I don’t know where he went,” and the lie was so blatant that Diego wasn’t sure if she even tried to hide it. But it was something he’d have to pry from her another time, because right now he was afraid she’d slip away again if he pushed too hard.

“Hey, why don’t you come over for dinner tonight? Meet the family? Uh, properly, you know?” 

Lila took another step back, away from Diego’s reach, unreadable emotions assailed her expression, before she settled on something resembling nonchalance. “Nah.”

Diego’s crinkled his forehead. “Nah?”

“Maybe another time. Not now.”

“Why not? Are you not feeling well? Do you have morning sickness?”

She laughed, pleasantly, the way she randomly did in the old days. “Yeah, that too. I’ll let you know when, okay?”

“Alright. Uh…” Diego said, placing a hand on the back of his neck. “Could I get your phone number? And address?”

She smirked, reached into her pants pocket, and pulled out a piece of paper.

He grasped it, feeling like he had just won a most valuable prize.

“Just don’t call me in the middle of the night,” she teased. “I need my beauty sleep.”

“Yeah, of course,” he stumbled out in excitement.

The sun shined on Lila’s face, that haunting shadow vanished.

“Listen, I've got to go,” she said after a moment.

“Oh, hold on.” Diego touched her stomach. “Hang in there, little man. Don’t be giving your mom a hard time.”

He looked up, seeing a genuine smile on Lila’s face. “It is a boy, right?” he asked.

Her eyes twinkled in fondness. “I don’t know.”

Diego felt it then, in that moment, that they were going to be alright.

“Well, see ‘ya around,” Lila waved her goodbye. And as she disappeared behind the ledge down the ladder, he realized that right now, watching her leave was the most difficult thing he had to do.

Chapter Text

[Current Timeline: Before Mission - May 19, 2019]

On his knees in the middle of the living room, Five unzipped the backpack, pulling out eight spherical objects the size of golf balls, which were some sort of electrical equipment, black and silver in color and sleek and shiny in design. The bottoms had a small indentation that served as a flattened portion so the spheres would sit on a level surface. 

Five walked around the room laying each out to form a large square. 

“You’ll still need to study the documentation,” Five said, pulling out a stack of paperwork from the bag.

Lila plopped down on the floor, tilting her head in curiosity as a smile quirked up her lips. “Just show me, I’m a quick study,” she said.

Five nodded and handed her a pair of wrist bands, which Lila slipped on each of her wrists. “It’s gesture controlled,” he instructed. “It’s intuitive, but like I said, you’ll still need to do a bit of reading to master it.” 

Five tapped his wrists together, nodding his head to encourage and confirm that she understood, then separated his hands quickly, opening up his palms to demonstrate.

Lila copied the action. The wrist bands glowed in blue lines of light when she tapped them together, illuminating the excitement on her face, reflecting off the irises of her brown eyes.

The spherical devices rose from the floor, hovering around the room as they gently buzzed, Lila’s fascinated gaze following. When her hands separated quickly, the video interface burst in the room, projected in clear holographic images.

Lila’s pulse raced at the exhilaration of seeing the room transformed by mere projection of light overlaid onto the real world. The morphing of the environment felt like a teleport, being transported to another world in a blink, minus the nausea and the unpleasant discordant feel that came with utilizing Five’s power.

She smiled widely, eyes flickering around to her new surroundings. “Now that’s cool,” she breathed out.

The video seemed to show a virtual image of the Umbrella Academy’s main living room. And to seemingly confirm her guess, she spotted the glowing words “Academy Living Room” floating on the left side of the room close to the ground.

“And the multiple angle feed will create a 3 dimensional image?” Five asked, and it took a second for Lila to realize that the voice came from the video instead of from the Five in front of her.

Reginald walked in front of the sofa, and Lila startled back for a moment before realizing it was a hologram. Five chuckled lightly as he took a seat on the sofa - or rather, on an invisible bench in the middle of the holographic Academy living room.

“Yes,” Reginald replied, stopping by the coffee table and placing both hands on top of his cane.

Lila sat up to her knees, but the movement of her hand shifted the scene to the ceiling.

“Draw one of your thumbs in like this if you want to move around without controlling the interface,” Five said, tucking a thumb in his palm to demonstrate.

Lila copied, grinning childlike enthusiasm at Five, then swiped her hand through Reginald’s image. Her hand slipped through the air, like failing to touch a ghost, the image retaining its life-like clarify with but only a mild flicker of the hologram.

“This is incredible,” Lila panted, turning to Five again. “I bet Diego would flip if he knew I had access to alien technology.” She beamed at him in excitement, while Five smiled in pleased contentment.

Five shifted his gaze to the corner of the room, where smaller scenes organized like angled books on a shelf were playing out, with tiny floating words labeled under each one.  “Do you see the small video interfaces in the corner of the room? You can bring them up simultaneously so you can monitor multiple feeds at the same time. Just aim your finger and flick it up.”

She did so, and another scene came side-by-side of the living room. The new setting was to the left of the main foyer, where Grace elegantly stood in her floral tea dress watching the demonstration with her perfectly poised expression.

“On the day of the mission, we will loop the surveillance footage for anyone watching the cameras,” Five explained, “while the true live footage will be diverted to a specific feed that only you will access in the main Commission headquarters. Once you master the controls of the interface, monitoring the entire technological base and guiding us through safe pathways during the operation should be an easy task.”

Lila played with the interface for a few more minutes, flipping through the cameras and controlling the audio feeds, glancing at Five’s impressed, dimpled half-smile for every new feature she unlocked and successfully wielded.

She paused after a while, a recollection crossing her thoughts, a burdensome matter that needed to be addressed. 

Lila gestured her hand like she was slowly catching a fly in front of her, which minimized all screens into the corner to reveal her own living room once again, then she swiped her other hand slowly from the middle and outward to mute the volume.

“Are you finished for today?” Five asked, glancing at the digital clock on the lamp table. “I’ll be back after lunch. I just need to buy a present for my niece when the shops open this morning.”

Lila didn’t respond, her excitement fell away even as she attempted to bring a smile to her expression.

Five tilted his head, then rose from the couch and knelt in front of her. “We still have plenty of time for you to practice with the interface. You did very well for your first time.”

“Five?” she said with a bit of hesitation, raising her head to catch his gaze.

“What is it?” Five asked, looking her over with slight concern creeping on his expression.

“I saw the footage on the Infinite Switchboard. When my mother shot us all dead. I know what you did.”

Five broke eye contact and swallowed. “Look Lila, I…”

“I should have said it earlier,” she interrupted, gesturing her hand up to silence him. “Thank you.”

Five released a breath, and gave a small, relieved smile.

“Do you think…,” Lila said, shifting to face him completely, “do you think she’s alive? Somewhere?”

“We saw her die, Lila. The Handler’s dead.”

“But…do you think there’s a chance we’ll see her again.” The end of her sentence lacked the usual tilt of a question, conveying her impatience for a response.

Five sighed and sat down on the floor from his knees. “Time is interconnected in the four dimensional spacetime, just as space is. Meaning, the past, present, and the future exists simultaneously, in the same way that space does too.” He flicked his slender fingers around the air in their vicinity. “We obviously can’t perceive all points in time due to our limited perspective. But the Infinite Switchboard was created to breach that limiting reference that a normal observer is confined in, while the briefcase network has the ability to reach in and alter the reality of time itself.”

She squinted her eyes, and Five thought he might have lost her in his explanation. 

“So yes, is what you’re telling me.”

Five shook his head, lowering his pensive eyes to the ground. “Maybe. Maybe we’ll see another version of her one day. Maybe she’s been using time to her advantage all along, and already had fail safes in place in case of her death. Maybe that’s how she was able to manipulate your timeline and raise you outside of a normal observer’s frame of reference. I don’t know to what extent she has played with time.” 

Five raised his head to lock her gaze once again, his eyes radiating with infectious determination, and Lila felt that resolve permeate the very air she breathed. “But I do know for sure,” he continued, “once we destroy the Infinite Switchboard, we take away the their ability to see all points of time. And once we destroy the power source, the briefcase network follows, and the Commission loses the ability to manipulate time altogether. So if the Handler is already dead, or if she were to die again, she would be dead for good.”

“Promise me, Five,” she said, clutching both his hands into hers, her fierce gaze holding his attentive eyes hostage, “if you do run into my mother, kill her for me. Kill her for me for good. And make sure she knows that it was me who wanted her dead. Let my name be the last thing she hears.”

Five nodded in sincerity.

***

[Current Timeline: After Mission - July 3, 2019] 

Sleep eluded her again.

Lila sat in her pajamas in the middle of the living room, drawn to a persistent visual echo from the past.

The overlaid projected white room hung over the dimly lit apartment like a memento of a haunting nightmare, Lila’s vacant eyes transfixed on an unmoving scene in front of her, legs pulled up where her hands were resting on each knee. The glowing words “Section G, Room 402” floated just beside her left elbow. Her left hand was clenched to keep the visual paused, the ghostly sapphire light on the interface wristbands illuminating on her expressionless face. The only sounds that dared to breach the space entrapped in that moment were the murmured buzzing of the hovering spheres and her own unnaturally calm breaths.

She tilted her head, chasing a nonexistent response. “What am I supposed to tell them, Five?” she whispered at the phantom memory in front of her. “How can I ever be around your family if I have to keep such a secret from them?”

A deep breath shuddered involuntarily in her chest. “What do I tell Diego?” Wetness prickled her eyes. “You’re such an asshole. Didn’t you think about any of that?” But there was no anger in her voice, only a gentle pleading. 

Her legs folded under her so her right hand could reach out to the ghostly visual, wanting to alleviate that heartbreaking pain on his face, still keeping her left clenched to keep the tragic moment hostage.

She knew he wasn’t really there, but her disappointment still struck heavy when her hand went through Five’s form curled up on the ground, his shackled arms pulled in tight against his chest to protect his bloodied body. The crimson that had leaked out from his suit from his damp right shoulder was striking on the otherwise white acrylic floor, eliciting an unpleasant turmoil within her.

Lila’s gaze shifted to the familiar red high heels on her immediate right, lifting her head to follow the bare legs to the fashionable red office skirt suit all the way up to the pompous black feathered hat. 

It charged her with fury - the sight of her smirking mother standing over Five, smoking gun in her perfectly manicured hand.

Lila pushed up to stand, eyes glued on the contemptible woman. “I hate you, Mother,” she growled out, glowering at the stilled image. “How can you keep taking away everyone I care about?”

She turned and snatched her mug from the coffee table, flinging it through the ghost of her mother and smashing against the opposite wall. It made her irrationally angry that the poised image remained untouched, her mother’s smirk still triumphantly formed on those hateful red lips. 

“Even after you’re dead, you still keep taking everything from me!” Lila screamed in inconsolable rage as she stood amid the frozen moment in time.

Chapter Text

[Current Timeline: After Mission - July 5, 2019]  

A warm Friday afternoon, the main living room chattered with activity. Luther, Klaus, and Viktor sat on the rug around the coffee table, puzzle pieces scattered on the glass top, and Allison was convinced that their move from their usual hang out in the sitting room was made so they could still continue to bother her after she had turned down the offer to join the game.

What were brothers for after all, she thought with a resigned sigh.

The boys were winding down after work, with Klaus still in his black long-sleeved button down work shirt, while Luther and Viktor had both changed into casual jeans and white and black t-shirts respectively, with Luther wearing a green jacket over his shirt. Allison preferred the comfort of her loose beige pants paired with a muted pink ruffled sleeve blouse when spending time at home, blending comfort and style as always.

Allison took a sip of her coffee as she stared at the contents of a folder in her left hand. She was positioned against the armrest of the couch where the lamp table was within easy reach on her right, half listening to her brothers’ conversations

“I’m surprised you’re not on the phone with Sloane again,” Viktor teased Luther as Viktor reached for the puzzle box for the image reference.

A sheepish little grin lit up Luther’s face. “She has a thing going on this evening.”

“Just invite her down here to hang out already,” Klaus said, plucking three puzzle pieces from the middle pile and placing them in front of him.

Allison returned the mug to the lamp table, behind the stack of file folders that crowded most of that space, exchanging the folder she had with another one before continuing with her investigative task.

“Mission’s over, we should just toss those,” Diego said as he sauntered from the kitchen, motioning toward the files with a half eaten granola bar in his hand.

“I’m trying to figure out where our missing brother went,” Allison replied matter-of-factly without bothering to look up.

Diego leaned back against the living room dividing wall. “He left because we pissed him off.”

“I thought he’s mad at Luther ‘cause Luther bullied him,” Klaus said as he hoarded more puzzle pieces on his side of the table.

Luther sputtered in offense. “Oh, again, you were the one who punched him! I just got his clothes…kind of stained.”

Klaus shrugged, clicked a few pieces together to form the quaint houses in the left corner of the puzzle. “Well, alright, he did already have a bloody handprint on his shirt before you added another one.”

“No, he didn’t,” Viktor said, piecing together half of the neighborhood grocery store. “His shirt was clean.”

Klaus stared at the distant subdivision in the background of the image, trying to recall how it connected to the fence and the trees of the main house. “No, I’m pretty sure he had blood on his shirt already,” Klaus countered. “Remember, Diego?”

“Yeah, he did.”

“No, he cleaned up. When he came back to free us from the glass cages, he was cleaned up,” Viktor continued to confidently assert.

“His shirt was clean before I grabbed it and got blood on it. I remember.”

“You can’t clean off blood stains that fast. I’ve tried, I know,” Klaus said.

“What?”

Allison attempted to keep her attention on the paperwork while her brothers carried on with their pointless argument. She did think it was a bit silly that everyone’s recollection of Five’s appearance differed. She thought his clothes were stained as well before the mission began, but refrained from giving her vote lest she be dragged into the conversation.

Though she did find it strange that Viktor and Luther were adamant about Five’s clothes being free of blood stains. She tried to recall the different moments with Five during the mission while squinting at the slow forming puzzle on the coffee table from where she sat, realizing that Klaus had taken too much of Luther’s pieces for Luther to have any hope of completing the road section. They had completed this same puzzle many times before, taking turns on different sections to keep the activity fresh. But it was used mainly as an excuse to spend time together, the actual game taking a back seat in favor of just enjoying each other’s company.

She glanced toward Diego, and was surprised to see him paying thoughtful attention to the conversation, his eyes tightly focused in either concentration or confusion, she couldn’t specifically tell.

Allison sighed and returned her attention to the tabbed sections of the folder, taking an odd interest in the numbered levels and lettered sections.

Level 2, Section B.
Level 3, Section F.
Level 4, Section G.

The images of Five during the mission was distracting, though, as she realized that there were times when Five seemed to have cleaned up.

“Well, he already had a split lip before you punched him,” Luther ceded.

“No he didn’t,” Klaus said with the same confidence as Viktor's assertion. “I remember that moment very clearly. It played out like an epic, slow motion scene from a movie.”

Allison opened the tab labeled Section G and thumbed through the pages…,

Level 4, Section G. Room 401, 4o2, 403…

…recalling the unpleasant moment that Five was tortured during the mission.

A sharp beep came from the door, and all occupants of the room turned to see as another guard entered. 

“She’s here,” the guard announced. “She wants him brought to room 402."

Room 402. Allison chewed on her lower lip. Five had escaped and returned to free them, and she wondered why he had wanted them to return to Section G. Did he leave something behind?

“What do you think you’re gonna find in there?” Diego asked as he shifted his attention to Allison.

“She’s been at those folders for two days,” Viktor informed.

“I’ll know when I find it.”

***

[Current Timeline; May 20, 2019] 

Five was scribbling aggressively on the white board again. Lila, in her usual spot in the living room sofa, could make out  “.22 caliber revolver” in bold letters, but not much else of his messy chicken scratch.

“Quick, quiet kills,” Five continued to mutter to himself. “Just smile and walk up to the desk. Would be safest to take out the one who’s armed. But that would give the attendant the chance to hit the alarm switch. And the attendant could have access to the gun anyway. Attendant first, then guard. Let’s hope the guard’s reaction time is just a half step slower.” He ruminated in that scenario for a bit, before a distressed grimace pinched his face. “Shit, shit, shit. Everything in that moment is dependent on that damn guard’s reaction time!”

The sputtering coffee pot caught Five’s attention as it bubbled a few hard-fought drops, then released a sigh of defeat. Five blinked to the kitchen and grabbed the handle of his coffee mug that sat beside it.

“Come on,” Five harassed the unfortunate appliance, thumping the empty mug impatiently on the counter.

“Yeah, I think that one’s already dead,” Lila yelled over without looking up from the large manual in her hand. “I’ll get a new one tomorr…”

A loud shatter crashed on the kitchen wall. “Piece of shit!”

Lila whipped her head to see Five had yet again smashed another coffee mug, both his hands clutching his head as he paced around the kitchen.

She stood quickly. “Oi! I told you to stop destroying my stuff during your emotional spirals!” She was the only one allowed to destroy her own things in her own emotional spirals, after all.

Lila shook her head and settled back down on her seat.

Five stomped toward the living room wall, then fell back against it, sliding down and pulling his legs up, arms resting across his knees. He shut his eyes and breathed heavily through his nose.

Lila looked up from the papers in her hand and sighed. “You do know that you’re on the verge of a complete mental and emotional breakdown.”

Five drew in a long breath, held it for a second to calm himself. “Thank you, Dr. Crazy, I hadn’t noticed.”

“Hey, just trying to be helpful,” she placated, raising a palm out, before continuing her studies.

The quietness amplified the rustling of papers in Lila’s hands, mingled with Five’s heavy breathing and intermittent sighs. 

And the ticking of the wall clock. Steady, unremitting. Speeding everyone and everything to the impending inevitability.

Five covered his ears with both hands, exhaled trembling breathes, then thudded the back of his head twice against the wall.

“Whoa, hey, we need that noggin of yours to pull off the mission.” Lila placed the papers beside her, pulling her legs up also to her chest.

“It’s too dangerous,” he said, taking a shaky breath, rubbing a palm over his eyes. “There’s no way to sneak them in. We’d have to force open the gateway from the inside. And you’ve seen the files for the building security. They’re strong, well-armed, well-trained. They’re nothing like main headquarters security.

“Of course, Five, main headquarters is just HR, files, and back office dreary stuff mostly.” 

“We will be chased. And it will be non-stop fighting until we clear all the floors. Then we’ll have to barricade ourselves in the fucking Infinite Switchboard room while I try to hack the damn network, and there’s just no time to get out safely.”

He wasn’t listening to her, she realized, trapped in his own worst-case scenarios. She walked across the living room to sit in front of him. “But it’s doable, right? That’s what you told me that time on the rooftop. That the plan is sound, that you wouldn’t attempt it unless it would guarantee success.” She had meant her words to be encouragement, and she worried it might have come across as accusatory instead.

“I was too desperate,” Five whispered, almost only to himself, as he stared at the floor. He placed a hand over his eyes. “We won’t all survive, it’s impossible. What the fuck am I doing? I’m walking my family in a trap.” His voice broke at the end, inhaled another shaky breath.

“Like you said, Five, as long as you can make quick kills at the front desk before they trip the alarm, then you’ll be free to force open the gateway from the inside.”

He shook his head. “Until someone else enters the gateway, or leaves the building. Even if we hide the bodies, they’ll see that the front desk is unattended. Not to mention the guard has to check in with the security department every 30 minutes. They’ll know. They’ll know, Lila. ”

She could almost see him drowning in his anxiety, suffocating in the dark fear of failure. She didn’t think he’d been sleeping well, if at all. He hadn’t been eating the food she’d set out for him today.

She exhaled wearily. “It’s late, we’re both sleep-deprived and overworked. It might do you and my poor, mistreated drinkware some good if you were to sleep on your own bed tonight instead of on my couch, since I don’t think you sleep anyway when you’re here. Didn’t you mention that your family was having a movie night tonight? Spend some time with them. Stop stressing, it’s not helping, and it’s not doing you any good.”

Five took a breath, then conceded with a half-hearted nod.

***

[Current Timeline; May 29, 2019] 

A light rustling in the living room woke Lila up in the middle of the night, her sights greeted by soft moonlight shining through the thin white curtains of her bedroom window. Cool comfort from the air-conditioned climate grazed her cheeks, and Lila was reluctant to slip away from being cozily tucked into her light blanket.

She turned her head to her nightstand, the clock glowing 3:44am.

Five probably hadn’t slept yet.

She slouched up to sit on the bed, white petite pajama shirt and gray sweatpants rumpled with sleep, as she blew away strands of hair over her eyes.

The bedroom door opened to the dark living space illuminated by the dim lamp on the desk beside the sofa. Five sat on the couch, still wearing that dark blue and green flannel over a white shirt paired with jeans he had worn all day. His back was toward her, leaned back on the armrest with his legs pulled up.

Lila sat directly in front of him, Five readjusting the documents on his knees as the couch sank with their combined weight. Lila pulled up her knees as well and held her legs.

“I’m studying the Aeternalis code,” he quietly announced without prompting, his gaze never leaving the papers in front of him. His thick brows a wrinkle on his strained forehead, his deep burdens entrenched in his somber green eyes.

Moral support required too much effort for her to conjure at 4am, so Lila remained silent, chin resting on her knees, curious how Five would continue unprodded.

He looked terribly worn-down, shadowed in the muted orange glow of the tired desk lamp, which accentuated the dark circles under his eyes.

Five shuffled a page to the back of the pile. “Stop staring. It’s weird,” he said in that hushed monotone, though Lila knew it was a mask for his anxiety.

His eyes moved back and forth as he read through the page. “I’m focusing on things I can control so I don’t spiral about things I can’t control.” He continued to speak in that quiet voice that blended with the tranquility of the dimmed environment.

Lila tilted her head slightly, tried to smother an amused smile. “Did you read that in a self-help book?”

Five sighed at the cheeky response, lifting his gaze to hers. “I have to master this code. Or else the whole of humanity gets annihilated.” Logical, matter-of-fact, resigned. His weary eyes searched hers, silently pleading for understanding or support. Probably both, since he was incapable of voicing his needs.

Lila scratched her head, momentarily broke eye contact to plan her approach to the situation. “So, have you slept at all the last few days?”

“Yeah. I think so.” Lila squinted skepticism at his response, and she was pleased at least at the shame that crossed his expression, however subtle. “Maybe.” 

“Did you eat dinner last night?” she continued to interrogate.

Five’s mouth moved to respond, then pinched together as he dropped his gaze.

Lila nearly rolled her eyes. “One day you’re going to randomly pass out like a frail Victorian maiden, and I’m going to make fun of you and say ‘I told you so’, you got that?”

His miserable eyes stared at the papers in his hand in front of him, his fingers grasping the edges a little too tightly.

“Five, you’re self-destructing. And frankly, sabotaging the mission like this.”

He rubbed a hand on his forehead and shook his head. “Stop being my therapist.”

“You know I’m right,” she pushed on, trying to effect some kind of reason into him.

His right arm slipped languidly down on his side, the papers fell to the floor. Distressed green eyes stared at the small, open space between them. His hand went to cover those eyes, as the two sat quietly in the dim-lit living room listening to Five trying to breath through another spiral.

It was chillier here than in her bedroom. She really needed to adjust the temperature setting at night, she thought. Her arms wrapped around her body, thought of how Diego always offered his jacket to her on those cool nights on the rooftop. She wondered if she could ask about how Diego was doing.

But not in Five's current state. The hand over his eyes was visibly shaking, along with the trembling breaths he kept trying to pull in and out of his struggling lungs.

She wondered if he was crying.

She found she could deal with his more volatile spirals, yelling at him to forcefully return his reeling mind to a place where reason could more easily infiltrate his senses. But these heartrending quiet ones that occurred when he had reached the limit of exhaustion she had to admit were difficult to watch, leaving her at a loss on how to alleviate his distress.

Lila sighed. “You’re stressing me out. Can’t be good for the baby.”

Five held his breath, swiped the hand over his eyes, then slowly dropped it to his side. “What?”

Chapter Text

[Current Timeline; Before Mission - May 29, 2019] 

The two still sat staring at each other on the sofa, Five slack-jawed with creased brows, Lila with a closed-mouth smile looking like a child caught with a hand in the candy jar.

“Oh shit. Yeah, I’m pregnant.”

“You’re what…?” Five wiped his palms over his eyes and sniffed before his gaze fell to her stomach. “How long? I mean, how far along are you?”

“Well…”

“You haven’t seen Diego in nearly 2 months,” he said, eyes flickering back and forth, like his mind was recalculating at rapid speeds in the middle of a mission suddenly gone wrong.

“I’m 3 months next week,” she replied matter-of-factly, still holding that impish smile.

Five’s eyes widened, and Lila waited as she watched his confusion morph into complete disbelief.

“Are you stupid?! How long have you known?”

Lila shrugged, “I found out a couple of days after we came to this timeline,” then straightened her back. “And who are you calling stupid? I know it was stupid to get pregnant. But you’re not allowed to call me stupid for it!”

“No, I mean…” Five looked away and shook his head, deflating a bit. “Why in the hell have you been picking fights with me? Geez Lila, I could have…you could have…”

“I didn’t care whether or not you killed the baby,” she interjected, her smile falling away.

Five’s shoulder’s dropped. “No.” He lightly touched trembling fingers to his forehead. “Don’t say that.”

“Hey,” she called to him, pulling his gaze back to hers. “I care now. But back then, I didn’t know what I wanted. I didn’t know what to do.” She bit the bottom of her lip and looked away. “And I was maybe looking for another excuse to hate you.”

Five closed his eyes for a moment and released a drawn-out sigh. “You haven’t told Diego.”

“No, and you better not tell him,” she said, wagging a finger. “I’m serious, Five.”

A pause of silence, Five’s eyes flickering around in the space in front of him, Lila waiting for him to process everything she had said.

“It’s why you haven’t gone to see him,” Five finally said.

She struggled to keep the smile on her face, “He’s an idiot,” but her emotions kept pulling the corners of her lips downwards. “He would make a terrible father.”

“You’re both idiots! You’re made for each other!” Five yelled. Lila flinched slightly and took a quick inhale. A hint of regret crossed Five's eyes, and he softened his expression and tone. “You have to give him a chance. Go see him.”

“He would hate it,’” she said, nodding her head to confirm to herself, that smile she desperately held looking so miserable. “He would hate it,” she repeated, her lower lip trembling.

“I can’t believe you haven’t figured out. That big stupid idiot loves you. He’ll be happy, Lila.”

She shook her head, wiped her eyes and sniffled. “After the mission. I can’t deal with that and this at the same time.”

Lila wrestled with every imagined expression of Diego’s flitting through her mind, as Five alternately studied her condition and contemplated the flecks of dust caught in the lamplight between them. Searching for something within Five’s shadowed green eyes, Lila was relieved to find it when he gave her a reassuring nod.

Minutes passed, both retreating into their own unsettled thoughts, before Lila finally took a deep breath, cleared her mind, and wedged her back against the couch. Five had reached down with a languid arm and had collected the papers that had fallen on the floor beside him.

“Hey Five…” Lila reached to her right and shook his arm, speaking the first words in a while that disturbed their pensive silence.

“What?” he replied, blinking his eyes a few times at her.

“I think I may have an idea.”

Five squinted and waited for her to continue, laying the papers on his lap.

“We just need to get everyone working keycards,” she said as if it was the most obvious plan in the world. Her heart pounded at the rendering realization.

“What are you talking about?”

She slapped his shoulder in sudden excitement, and Five stared at Lila as he grappled with her emotional shift.

“To get everyone through the lobby!” she exclaimed.

Five's eyes surveyed Lila’s face for a moment, slowly, as if puzzling out her inner thoughts. Then he broke eye contact, and his lips curled in a disappointed little smile. “That’s impossible. ID cards are issued from Aeternalis, not in any of the accessible headquarters.”

“No, it isn’t. There’s already one for you. It just needs to be reactivated and tweaked to remove the flag on your records. Remember, there’s onsite IT at main headquarters that do simple admin on the ID cards.”

“Yes, I’ve thought about that. But you’re needed at main HQ during the mission, and I still can’t get my family…”

“There’s already an ID card for Diego from when he attended the orientation,” she said with a smirk. Lila took enjoyment in seeing Five’s eyes widen at her revelation. 

“What? Really?” He sat up straight, clutching his left hand on the couch back for support.

Lila nodded. “The initial paperwork for him was approved to create a keycard and personnel file. It was never activated, of course, and is blank when it comes to details other than his name. But the file is there, it just needs to be tweaked and activated as well.”

Five’s gaze flitted absently around again, his right hand rubbing his chin. “There are no existing personnel files for my other 4 siblings.”

She placed her hands on his shoulders and shook him lightly. “Then let’s get them deactivated cards.” She held his confused gaze. “Look, have you ever seen how they sign in at the front desk?”

Five nodded, eyes narrowed in attentiveness.

 “Okay,” Lila said, pulling down on the sleeve of his blue and flannel shirt, “Several can be swiped one after the other, especially if they’re partners or part of the same team. We just need two legitimate cards…”

“….and we can sandwich everyone between mine and Diego’s,” Five finished for her, subconsciously tugging his flannel back on his shoulder.

Lila grinned giddy with excitement.

But after a moment, Five shook his head. “It would be too strange to have a group of 6 checking in.”

“Ahh, we can think about that later ,” she said, dismissing the potential problem with a wave of her hand. “What’s important is there’s a way to get past front desk without getting flagged.”

Five seemed visibly calmer now, the lines on his face relaxing. He uncurled one of his legs from under him and pulled it up, flinching slightly at the action. But he didn’t seem to give the pain any more notice. “How do we get all these IDs?”

Lila grinned mischievously. “How do you feel about going on a little mission with me?”

***

[Current Timeline: After Mission - July 5, 2019]  

A discordance sat unsettled in Diego’s chest with the conflicting recollections of Five during the mission, like when Viktor would begin to learn a brand new violin piece, disagreeable to his ears and uneasy to his state of mind.

Diego glanced at Allison again. Varied expressions of distracted puzzlement had been clinging to her countenance for a while now, her eyes fixated on the puzzles on the coffee table one moment, then flitting about in thought at another. Jaw stiffening as she chewed her lower lip, then mouth falling agape as she focused on lassoing strayed thoughts. Her bewildered gaze caught Diego’s, and Diego had the sudden realization that his expression probably matched hers at the moment.

Diego returned his attention to the jumbled puzzle image in front of Luther, pieces in the wrong places and struggling to fit together. He had the urge to fix it, to have it tell the complete story, so he pushed off the wall and moved to join the game.

The conversation had moved on to another pointless topic by the time he sat down on the floor with his brothers.

“I mean, really, though,” Klaus said, gesturing to Luther’s body with a blue puzzle piece, “if you saw another you, big hulking sexiness that you are, you wouldn’t hit that?”

“Uh, I don’t really know,” Luther replied, squinting his eyes at the vaguely forming street in front of him. “And I think you have one of my pieces.”

“Because I definitely would.”

Luther’s forehead raised at Klaus, expression vacillating between appalled and genuine surprise.

“I mean me,” Klaus patiently explained with a sultry grin. “I would definitely be doing the do with moi, you know what I mean?”

“Oh,” Luther simply said, subtle disappointment crossing his face.

Diego scooted next to Klaus, inspecting his pieces. “Yeah, all these gray ones are part of the road.” He tossed the strayed pieces in Luther’s pile. “And I think I would too.”

“You would do me?” Klaus grinned in excitement.

“No! I meant…” Diego vaguely gestured to himself.

“Okay, ew, I don’t really want to hear this,” Allison complained, waving off the unpleasant conversation from her immediate air space before returning her focus to the files in her hand.

“You can’t do you anyway. There’s some very bad side-effects,” Luther informed them.

“Side-effects to doing yourself?” Klaus asked in genuine curiosity with a tilt of his head.

Viktor looked up from his nearly completed grocery store. “What do you mean?”

“There’s this Paranoid Psychosis thing that Five said would happen if you ever get near another you.”

Diego snapped a few of Luther’s section together, children running down the the road that finally showed the path from the house to the grocery store.

“Para-what?” Klaus asked, connecting his finished section to the main street. “Well, I need to know this in case it happens. I need to be prepared.”

“I don’t know, it’s confusing. Like, both you’s start acting weird and paranoid and start talking crazy.” Luther squinted his eyes in recollection. “And you fart a lot and stuff. And then you want to kill someone, or yourself, I mean, kill each other. It’s supposed to climax into homicidal rage.”

Viktor clicked the grocery store into place at the end of the road. “So basically, like, you go insane?”

“Yeah, yeah, exactly. Insanity is the side effect,” Luther replied, bringing his completed section of the puzzle together to finally complete the image of the neighborhood. "Temporary, though."

Diego stood suddenly and stumbled backwards. “Insanity wasn’t an option,” he muttered as that same haunting memory played in his head.

Five kept his sights to the floor. When he spoke, it was in a surprisingly hushed tone. “During that time, I have to be mentally sharp and focused. I can’t make a mistake on the programming.” He breathed in a shaky breath, voice quieting to a near whisper. “Insanity wasn’t an option.”

Two conflicting memories of their brother’s appearance and demeanor.

"You alright?" Viktor asked, looking up to Diego with slight worry.

Diego wheezed in a deep breath as something horrific fell into place in his mind. Something still beyond his comprehension but within reach, calling to him behind a dark, shadowy door that he feared to open.

Diego whipped his head toward Allison and saw her brown eyes fully blown wide, filled with terrifying panicked realization. 

She had kicked open that damn shadowy door, Diego realized.

Allison clutched the folders tightly in her hand, shaking the paperwork in front of her face. “Oh my god.”

Luther pushed up to stand, reaching a calming hand toward her. “Allison, what’s wrong.”

“We left him,” Allison said with a near hysterical tone. “We left Five in the building!”

“What, what are you talking about?” Viktor said, body tightening as he sensed the building stress.

Allison shot up from the sofa, dropping the papers to the ground, panting with frenzied energy. “Room 402!”

“Allison, calm down.” Luther grasped her agitated arm.

She shook her head. “We have to see dad right now!”

“What’s going on?” Klaus said as he stood also, looking disoriented with the situation as he fidgeted with his hands.

Allison captured Klaus’s worry-filled gaze. “He’s dead! Five’s dead! We left him behind!”

“What?” Klaus said in a breath of confusion.

“What’s going on?” Viktor repeated again.

Diego clutched his head, trying to calm the swirling discordance in his mind. “I have to go talk to Lila right now.”

“Someone please tell me what’s going on!” Viktor pleaded, distraught eyes widened, standing halfway to his knees, the alarmed environment already seeped into his body.

Diego jerked toward the door. “Stay put, don’t go to dad yet!” he instructed, nearly colliding with the decorative living room plant on his way to the foyer. He hastily turned back and jutted a commanding finger toward his distressed family. “And keep Allison calm!”