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Diego knew that he had no power in this situation. It was simple enough to understand. Everyone was weak, all trapped due to Father Reginald's machinations. The only one strong enough to stay standing, who had even conspired with that devil in the first place, was Allison.
"Allison, don't do it!" Five shouted.
It was futile, of course. Allison was a Hargreaves, after all. And if there is anything that that name represented, it was stubbornness, idiocy, and an unshakeable tendency to do the wrong thing in most situations.
"Wait!" Klaus shouted.
Yup, they were doomed. Everyone around him was shouting at Allison. Diego found himself joining in. It was funny. Sometimes, the only time the family was ever united was through conflict. That said so much about them, didn't it? Diego took another deep breath in order to shout, when he saw Allison's finger go closer and closer to the button. For the first time, the sight made Diego tired. His mouth slid shut. What if the timeline reset was for the best? What if everything would be over? What if- what if they were seperated.
Panic filled Diego's heart. He struggled to shout at Allison. There was no way they were going to be split after-
static.
Diego hated portals. He'd only been through them a few times (how he hated that statement) but he already wanted to avoid them at all costs. Diego gripped a knife close to his chest as he stumbled out of the most recent one.
He was alone.
The last time he appeared alone like this was in Dallas, and that was a shitshow. He was not going to do this again, thank you very much.
"Where the fuck is everyone?" Diego hissed out loud. "I'm not doing this shit again. Allison, I swear to God-"
Diego stopped his grumbling to examine his surroundings. He was in a dirty, disgusting-
"Alley? Are you kidding?" Diego grumbled.
This was certainly shaping up to look like Dallas. On his own, arriving in an alley...
He huffed before he realised something truly terrible. If it was truly like Dallas...oh no, he was not going to be stuck in the past again. He found himself running, racing out of the alleyway and into the sunlight. There were a few people loitering about. It looked okay, if a little technologically inferior. But it didn't look like the 1960s, which was a relief. He jogged up to the closest person.
"Hey. What's the date?" Diego asked.
"What?" The man responded.
Diego glanced at the paper the man was holding, his eyes quickly finding the date. 2005. It wasn't 2019, certainly, but it wasn't bad. He turned away and started to walk down the street.
"At least it's not too strange," Diego muttered to himself. "I need to find everyone else."
Unfortunately, Diego did not know where to start. He had no idea even whether people had arrived at the same time. Asking around would be fruitless, and it wasn't like he could blink to check places like Five-
Blink. Powers. Did he even still have them?
Diego paused, then took a sharp left into another alley. He quickly checked his person- he had five knives on him. Not bad. He only needed one for testing, anyway. He took out a knife and held it. Moment of truth.
He threw the knife.
The results were...interesting to say the least. The knife flew, certainly...except this time with a mini hurricane around it. It slammed into the wall with such force that part of the wall cracked to the extent that made him worry that the wall was going to collapse. Diego gaped. He leaned in to examine the wall. He frowned and went to grab the knife out. However, it was so stuck. Diego tried pulling with one hand. Then, two. Finally, he held onto the knife and put his feet against the wall and pulled with all his might. A strong wind picked up beneath his feet, and Diego flew backwards, the knife in hand, as the wall crumbled in front of him.
What. The. Fuck. There was no way that the timeline gave him a power upgrade.
Unfortunately, with said power upgrade, Diego was having trouble controlling it. No matter what he did, endless wind of varyingly and concerning power appeared. Honestly, it was getting annoying. Diego didn't exactly want to deal with paying for damages, so he did the next best thing: look for the old mansion. If everyone was separated, and if people wanted to meet up, the most logical thing would be to at least go.
However, when he got there, the building was gone. Instead, there was a mansion that looked nothing like their childhood one. For starters, it was modern. So much more modern than Diego had ever seen. Secondly, it was certainly luxurious. It looked like the kind of mansion that a billionaire would actually buy in a more modern context. The gardens were pristine.
Diego, however, saw that there was no door. The only thing that was there looked like some sort of technological pad. Awkwardly, he put his hand upon it. He felt a prick in his palm, then the entrance rolled down to reveal what was inside. And what was inside was the definition of luxury. It looked like Diego had arrived in some sort of living room, with many different rooms there from a kitchen to the indoor pool. There were couches and sofas surrounding the biggest TV, lots of gaming devices, shelves and shelves of books...oh, and weapons. Weapons lined the walls, surrounding paintings and beautiful wallpaper. And there were photos.
And the craziest part? It was photos from what happened since Five came back. Diego found himself walking around the room, examining each framed picture. One was Five, arriving before Reginald's funeral. Another was the funeral itself. One was Klaus with his cult. Another was Viktor ending the world. There was one of Five holding a bloodied axe, surrounded by bodies (when did that happen), and one of them facing off against the Sparrows. There was another with the Handler cleaning off blood from Five's face (when. did. that. happen.), and one with Allison screaming at a mirror. There were a couple of photos from Luther and Sloane's wedding. Another of Klaus dying. One of Luther dying. One of them all being used by Reginald's machine. The last one hurt.
The large floor also hosted some paintings. There was one with Luther, a red aura surrounding him and a huge morningstar in his hand. Another had Viktor, glowing white and holding his violin. Diego was there himself, surrounded by that stupid wind, and strangely enough, lightning, with six knives with him, three on each side. Klaus was also there in another, surrounded by what Diego assumed spirits looked like, a sword in his chest. Allison, the button-presser, was standing with a finger on her lips and a thin sword in her hand. Five was also there, surrounded by swirls of blue forming hourglasses and holding out a strange ring. Even Ben- not nice Umbrella Ben, annoying Sparrow Ben- standing on the deck of a ship with waves crashing around him, tentacles coming out of him. And finally, there was a single painting, the biggest, in the room. Seven hands, with gold dripping from them. Jokingly, Diego flipped his own hand around. There, he could see the small pinprick of blood that the pad must have taken. Certainly, it was a normal red colour, albeit with a tiny bit of gold from the lighting hitting the blood. He wiped it away.
He began to explore the floor above, which had some bathrooms and seven rooms. He had a peak in each one, though it looked like each room was already assigned, considering the numbers plated into the door of each one. Each room seemed to be designed to the intended occupant. Diego especially loved his room. Yet, there was no sign that anyone else had been here. Strange. He went two floors below, which basically was the training room floor. Weapons, places to train, gyms...it was certainly obvious. Finally, Diego checked the very top floor, which seemed to be for parties, with a rooftop pool, barbecue and other 'fun' facilities.
Seriously? Diego thought, I'm the first one here?
Part of Diego thought that maybe everyone was arriving at different times. Kinda like Dallas. But that could be years in-between everyone, which was insane. Diego was not going to wait that long again.
He went back into his room and opened the cupboards. There were fresh clothes- and in his style, too. Without hesitation, he grabbed them and headed to shower.
He felt good after changing back into some clean clothes. He went to the lowest level and got himself stocked with knives and guns. Perfect. He went around the mansion again, but there was still no sign that any of them had been here. Not even Five, and Five was meant to be the smart one. Diego huffed. He found the storeroom and got himself a backpack and began to fill it with essentials. It looked like he was going to have to search for all his siblings on his own.
Unfortunately, it appeared that he needed money for that. As the incredibly intelligent man that Diego was, he decided to search the house for some cash. He eventually found himself on the top floor again, looking for even a bit of- oh.
He had pressed a random button on the wall, and turns out that it was a fucking vault. Bars of gold, yeah, and so, so, so many jewels. Diego needed to be inconspicuous though, so he gathered up as much cash as he could that was laying around and put it into his depressingly empty wallet. Finally, he went to the kitchen and wrote a quick note, using a magnet to attach it to the fridge.
Hello, Diego here. Looks like you dumbfucks forgot to check this old place. It looks pretty good here. I'm looking for y'all if you ever come round this place.
Satisfied, Diego left the house.
Diego had no idea what to do, or where to start. Part of him thought that his siblings were all deposited around the world, and that's why he couldn't figure it out. He got so desperate that he looked at some newspapers, but everything was about this dumbass kid named 'Percy Jackson'. Nothing of use. Diego huffed, flopping onto a nearby bench.
"I need some fucking help, stat," Diego groaned.
"My spawn."
"WHAT THE F-"
"QUIET!"
Silence. Diego had toppled over the bench, and he hopped away to the nearest alley, nursing his foot.
"I'm going insane," he sighed, "After everything, my mind can no longer take it."
"You are not going insane. To suggest so is an insult to me,"
"Okay, my imaginary voice has pride. Great." Diego rolled his eyes, hopping up and down the alley, holding his foot.
"Pride is a damsel in distress-"
"Blah blah, no one cares," Diego sighed, "Okay, imaginary voice, maybe you can help me out. I need to find my siblings,"
"Your siblings? You have no siblings who are still alive."
"Stop being such a downer," Diego pointed to nothing, "We're Team Zero!"
"That is the stupidest name I've ever heard."
"Shut up, you're in my head, you're meant to support me," Diego shot back.
"I am real-"
"Prove it."
Thunder boomed.
"See, that doesn't prove anything, voice." Diego hissed. "You know what? I'm going to call you Thunderdaddy."
"Thunderdaddy."
"Yes, Thunderdaddy." Diego smirked, "That'll teach you to try and tell me that you're real!"
"THUNDERDADDY."
A thunderstorm appeared in the sky.
"Gee, maybe you are real then. Even better." Diego said sarcastically. "So, Thunderdaddy-"
"I am not Thunderdaddy-"
"-have any ideas?" Diego asked. "I'm looking for any of my siblings, all with the last name Hargreaves. Luther, Allison, Klaus, Five-"
"Five."
"Yes, yes, I know, dumb name. There's lore behind that one," Diego coughed, "Anyway, there's also-"
"No. I think I know where Five is."
"You do? Really?" Diego asked hopefully.
"I will consult."
Silence.
"What the fuck..." Diego whispered.
"Go to Waterland."
"Huh?"
Diego had thought he had heard the last of the voice. After that strange incident, Diego had taken to going to different coffee shops in hope that Five would be in one of them. The kid/old man was obsessed with them. There had to be a chance. Unfortunately, he had failed thus far. Diego had bought too many coffees at this point. Diego was sitting underneath a tree, eating a donut, when Thunderdaddy had returned.
"That is where you will find your brother."
"How do you know?" Diego questioned.
"I am a god."
Diego started laughing, "Oh, so now you joke."
"No. I am Lord-"
"Lord Thunderdaddy? Yes you are," Diego smirked.
Diego could hear Thunderdaddy groaning. Still smirking to himself, Diego decided to give Thunderdaddy a chance.
"There is your brother. Be grateful."
"Thank you." Diego said sincerely, "...Thunderdaddy."
A chuckle. "You're welcome, my son."
Diego blinked. Must be an old man thing.
All thoughts melted away when Diego heard the unmistakable voice of Five, and saw him in the sunset. Five was with a couple others his own age at the gates of Waterland.
"Five?" Diego called.
Diego had been playing with his knives earlier, but he slid them away. He rushed towards Five and grabbed him into a hug. Diego could practically feel Five's eye roll, but it didn't matter. Part of the family was reunited, and that's what mattered most.
"Get off me," Five hissed.
Diego smiled. He had missed his brother.