FIVE SAT ON his bed, holding his love, Delores. Memories of him in the middle of the apocalypse came flooding back into his mind.
At this point, he felt isolated. Even though his family was there to help. He thought their help was no use at all.
They'd still be dead.
Suddenly, he heard a knock. He looked up to see Y/N by the door frame. "A penny for your thoughts?" She asked.
He sighed, "Everything is just not going according to plan. The world is about to end, and I still don't know how am I going to stop it. Not to mention, those two goons appeared, which makes everything worse."
"Well, it's easier said than done. But why are they chasing after you, anyways?" The girl questioned. She entered his room and sat beside the doll.
"I used to work with them when I was stuck in the future as an assassin; I had to kill people in whatever time they assigned me to." He explained and continued, "It was the only way I can survive then and to get back to you guys. I'm guessing my former employer found out what I'm up to. Now Hazel and Cha-cha are here to find me." He paused and looked at the girl, "And they might be after you, too."
"Why?" The H/C haired girl asked. She was utterly confused. Five shrugged, "I don't know. But they want you, too."
The girl sighed. Looks like I'm a fugitive again.
"Well, I must say, they have the most ridiculous names ever." She commented, trying to lighten up the mood. Which it did. Five chuckled silently with her.
Y/N's face became serious again, "But let me ask you this, when you were stuck back there in the middle of the apocalypse, were you there before you even got yourself there?"
"No." Five answered.
"Exactly." The boy frowned and gave Y/N a confused look. The girl continued, "Right now, you have some people that can help you do what you have to do. You don't always have to do anything on your own. You have us." She paused and placed her hand on his back, "You have me."
With that, the girl stood up and walked towards the door, she gave one last glance at Five and smiled, "Remember, when you need my help, just call my name, and I'll be there. Tomorrow's another day, I know you're going back to Meritech because I can constantly read your mind unknowingly, so I'm going with you tomorrow. Goodnight."
When Y/N left, Five had this new determination surrounding him. What she said got him motivated a little. He wondered why she didn't end up being a motivational speaker.
****
The next morning, Five was sitting on a chair in his room, tightening the last stitch on his open wound on his shoulder. He cut the thread and grabbed a kiddie-designed bandaid to put it on the wound.
After that, he dressed himself up into a new set of uniform. He put Delores on the bag along with a bottle of vodka. "Ready to go?" He heard Y/N by the doorway. She was back to wearing her own uniform.
"What happened to the clothes you took last night?" Five questioned as he put the straps on his shoulders.
The girl sighed, "They were dirty. Hence, I have no choice but to wear this crap again."
The boy hummed and opened his window. Y/N took it as a gesture that he'll be exiting over there. The girl would have gotten out there as well because it was quicker, but her ankle was still recovering. "Alright see ya later."
As the boy got himself out through the window, he saw Klaus was in the dumpster, digging through the pile of trash, looking for something. "Damn it, where's Dad's stuff?" He exclaimed as he threw some bags filled with trash out of the dumpster.
"Shut up!" Klaus said through thin air. Y/N was there, in her invisible form (like always), watching Number Four digging deeper and deeper through the stinky dumpster. She knew he was talking to Ben. She could hear the guy's thoughts.
“Hey Ben.” She greeted telepathically.
“Hey, N/N.. wait, where are you?” Number Six asked as he looked for her everywhere.
“Just by the dumpster where Klaus has been digging through.” The girl answered. Now that she realized she where she was standing, she couldn't help but notice the reeking smell of garbage. “Now that I realized it, I'm literally sucking in the foul smell of trash.”
Ben replied with a chuckled and ended the conversation there since he knew headaches can occur any time soon. "I'm trying to find whatever... priceless crap was in that priceless box so that Pogo will get off my ass!" Klaus blathered.
Five was climbing down the ladder as he watched and judged his brother. "I'd ask what you're up to, Klaus, but then it occurred to me.." He started and looked at Number Four, ".. I don't care." He finished.
"Hey!" Klaus laughed as he watched Five climbing down, "You know there are easier ways out of the house, buddy?"
The boy jumped off the ladder and looked at his brother, "This involved the least amount of talking. Or so I thought." He said to him as he started walking away.
"Hey, hey, hey, so.." Klaus stopped him, "You need any more company today? I could uh.. clear my schedule." He suggested, drinking from a flask.
"Looks like you've got your hands full." Five put up a tight-lipped smile, gripping the straps of his bag.
"Oh this? No, no. I can do this whenever." Number Four insisted, "I just--" He trailed off as he went diving back to the trash. "I just misplaced something. That's all."
"Oh!" Soon, he got back up with a half-eaten (possibly rotten) doughnut. "Found it! Thank God!" He exclaimed and unwillingly took a bite out of it. "Delicious."
"I already got company." Five replied.
"Really? Who?" Klaus questioned.
"Good day, sir." Y/N suddenly appeared. Number Four looked at her then at Five, grinning. "You and Y/N, huh?" He teased as he winked at him.
Y/N frowned. “Five, what the hell is he talking about?” she questioned through Five's mind.
“I have no idea.” He answered truthfully.
"You two a thing now?" Klaus tittered, his grin not leaving his face. The girl's brows furrowed. Klaus was being delusional. Again.
"I'm done funding your drug habit." Five rebuked. By then, he started walking away with Number Eight who had the look of aversion on her face. She really didn't like it sometimes when Klaus couldn't pull himself together and take things seriously for once.
"Come on! You don't–" Klaus started, "Maybe I just wanna hang out with my siblings. Not you." He muttered the last bit to Ben, "¡Mi hermano y hermana!" He shouted, "I love you! Even if you can't love yourself!"
The two of them ignored him and entered a random van. As much as Y/N liked being around her brother, Klaus, she needed a timeout from his silliness.
She settled herself on the passenger seat while Number Five started the engine and drove away.
****
They were parked a tad far away from the prosthetics industry. Five explained to Y/N what they were supposed to be up to on the way.
At this point, they were keeping an eye out for Lance, who had a tray of coffee as he entered the building. Until Five remembered that Delores was still in the bag.
The boy turned to the back and grabbed the bag to unzip it. Surprisingly, Y/N didn't seem to have a big deal about Delores being a mannequin. It was questioning, yes. But it wasn't weird to her. And she only realized that now. He must've been so lonely that time. She thought as she watched him open the bag where the doll was.
"Hey." Five greeted softly to Delores. Before he got the love of his life out, he took out a bottle of vodka and handed it for the girl to hold. She questioned why he had a bottle of vodka while they were trying to stop the end of the world, but who was she to question his own way of working?
"Sorry you were in there for so long, Delores." Five apologized as he got the doll out and sat it– or her– between him and Y/N.
"No, I'm not drunk. I'm working." The boy replied to Delores, "Yes, it's about the eye thing. This is the place it was made. Or.. will be made." He looked back at the building and sighed, "We just have to wait."
Y/N, on the other hand, was sitting there awkwardly. She was literally silent the whole time as they waited. For a second there, she was getting kind of jealous. But she reminded herself that this whole thing she was feeling wouldn't help.
****
Five held the glass eye in his hand as he watched the day go by. Many people were busy about their normal lives; Adults heading to work, kids playing ball or hopscotch, some were walking their dogs, and so on.
Suddenly, he felt dust falling off on his shoulder and everywhere in the van. He was confused and panicking.
He got out of the vehicle to see destroyed buildings and fallen debris all over. Some of them were in flames. This time, panic was taking over him. "No!" He exclaimed as he looked around.
He realized he was back in the apocalypse.
"Five!" Someone called out which turned him around. The voice kept calling out for his name in different ways.
"No!"
All of a sudden, he jumped awake by Y/N's hand on his shoulder. The boy breathed heavily as he woke up. "You alright?" The girl asked with concern. Five nodded.
"Luther wants to talk." She pointed out the window. Luther was knocking, calling out for him. Five was dumbfounded.
When Luther opened the door, Y/N immediately went to the back as she didn't want to be squeezed into the middle. Number One struggled to get in with his build. Y/N looked at him ridiculously, slightly judging him if he would ever fit in the door.
He grunted as he tried to get his head in. The girl sighed and leaned back against the window to her right. Luther started panting when he finally got in the van and closed the door, "You okay?"
Five looked at him, "You shouldn't be.." he trailed out as he wondered, "How did you find me?"
Luther simply pointed at the back to see Klaus holding Delores as he flirts with her. Y/N couldn't help but snicker. But when Five looked at her, she immediately shut herself up.
As Klaus looked up, he noticed the three of them looking at him. "Hey, a little privacy, guys. We're really hitting it off back here."
Suddenly, Five threw an empty can at him, which made Klaus laugh. "Get out! You can't be here!" Five shouted in rage, "We're in the middle of something." He said, referring to him and Y/N.
"Oh, like what? Were you two making out or something?" Klaus teased. This made Y/N sigh. "Any luck finding your one-eyed man?" Number Four asked to Five.
"No." Five whispered.
"What's he talkin' about?" Luther questioned.
"Does it matter? It's Klaus." Five remarked. Klaus sat back beside Y/N as they talked about random things. "What do you want, Luther?" The boy sighed.
"Um... So Grace May have something to do with Dad's death." Y/N scoffed as she heard Luther. She went over in the middle of them and looked at the guy, "So you're accusing mom now?" The girl laughed.
Luther ignored her, "I need you two to come back to the academy, all right? It's important." He ordered.
"'It's important'. You have no concept of what's important." Five argued.
Klaus, of course, had his own world. "Hey! Did I ever tell you guys about the time a waxed my ass in chocolate pudding?" He laughed, "It was so painful."
Y/N rubbed her temples. As much as how funny it was, it wasn't the right time to joke around for her. She was somehow.. stressed. She got to overthinking things when they were having a conversation. And this wasn't the right time to do that as well. She thought.
So she lied herself down with her legs against the side of the van. She didn't mind have her skirt revealing anything. She was wearing cycling shorts after all.
"What are you still doing here?" Luther questioned.
"What? I-- What? I need an excuse to hang out with my family?" Klaus was offended.
"We're trying to have a serious conversation."
"What, and I'm incapable of being serious? Is that what you're saying?" Klaus concluded.
"Luther's got a point, you should get out." Five cut in.
"What?" Klaus sighed. The girl felt bad as he got out of the van in defeat. So she decided to come with him.
"Where are you going?" Five asked as she opened the door once again. She paused and looked at him, "I'm just gonna keep a look out for Klaus' reckless decisions and check if Luther was really up to something seriously 'important'." She air quoted, "I'll be back and still deal with this thing with you. Don't you worry, old man." She patted his arm with the back of her hand.
With that, she hopped out of the van without waiting for his response. "Hey, Y/N?" She thought she would've gone out of the van without anyone stopping her, but no, Luther just had to say something.
"What?" The girl sighed.
"Please sit properly next time, people could see up your skirt." He lectured. The girl rolled her eyes at him and held on to the car door, "Well, I don't wear shorts under skirts for nothing, Number One."
As the girl was out of their sight, Luther was still on about Five. "What the hell are you and Y/N up to?" He asked ignorantly.
"You wouldn't understand." Five stated as he looked up in front.
"Yeah? Try me. The last time I checked, I'm still the leader." Number One muttered.
"Well, last I checked, I'm 28 years older than you." Five spat back.
Luther stayed silent for a moment, thinking of something to clap back at him. "You know what your problem is?"
"Really hoping you'll tell me." Five smiled sarcastically.
"You think you're better than us." Luther looked at his brother, "You always have, and so is Y/N. Even when we were kids. But the truth is, you're just as messed up as the rest of us and Y/N just follows Dad's orders like a kiss ass. We're all you have. And you know it."
Five didn't mind the statement Luther made about him. What he couldn't stand, was about the thing he said about Number Eight.
"I don't think I'm better than you, Number One. I know I am." Luther scoffed as Five continued, "I've done unimaginable things you couldn't even comprehend."
"Right." Luther sighed.
"Just to get back here and save you all." Five muttered.
"And the people who are having a conversation here are just the two of us, don't you ever drag her into this." He sneered. He didn't know why he felt the urge to defend the girl, but he did, and he didn't regret it.
There was something about her that made him protective over her. And he couldn't figure out what it was.
Suddenly, they saw Klaus getting out of the variety store with a bunch of things bundled in his arms. He howled as he ran away. "Hey! Stop right now!" The security guard called out.
The guard was about to chase him, but Y/N stopped him, "I'm terribly sorry about my brother. Here," she handed some money enough for the things Klaus took with him, "keep the change if there is any."
With that, she chased him across the street. "Klaus stop!" She shouted as she kept chasing him. "Hey bitches!" Klaus yelled as they passed by the van. The boys in the van were just watching them with furrowed eyebrows.
"Now I'm starting to wonder if that was the wisest decision."
****
"I mean, do your really think Mom would hurt Dad?" Vanya questioned as they watched a footage of their father dying in a television. And Grace was there.
"You haven't been home in a long time, Vanya. Maybe you don't know Grace anymore."
"Or maybe you're just being a plain ignorant dude.." Y/N muttered but only only Klaus heard it, which made him chuckle.
"If he was poisoned, it would have shown in the coroner's report." Diego pointed out. The girl agreed with him since she also knows about these stuff.
"Well, I don't need a report to tell me what I can see with my own eyes." Y/N rolled her eyes at Number One.
Come to think of it, she doesn't know what is it with him that made her drown in annoyance when he makes a comment. Sometimes she just wants to sedate him so he couldn't do anything for a moment.
"Videotapes can be misleading, ya know." Number Eight chimed in. "People tend to tamper with these things when they can. For all we know, this thing could be a loop or cut."
"Maybe all that low gravity in space had messed up your vision." Diego remarked at Luther as he watched to footage. "Look closer."
And they did, "Dad had his monocle. Mom stands up. Monocle's gone." Diego described while they were watching.
"Oh, yeah!" Klaus exclaimed in realization. The girl wasn't surprised.
"See? She wasn't poisoning him." Y/N piped up.
"She was.. taking it." Diego chimed, "To clean it."
All of them were confused. Well, except for Diego and Y/N. The girl wasn't paying attention that much. She was just zoning out into nowhere, giving herself ideas on how to stop something that was more important than the old man's death.
"Then where is it?" Luther questioned before he continued, "No, I've searched the house, including her things. She doesn't have it." He recalled.
"That's because I took it." Luther and Allison looked at Diego in disbelief, "After the funeral."
"You had the monocle this whole time? What the hell, Diego?" Allison glowered.
"Give it to me." Luther demanded as he held up his palm to him.
"I threw it away."
"You what?" Luther questioned in annoyance.
Vanya, Klaus and Y/N stood there, watching the three of them argue about a worthless accessory. Klaus was bored, Vanya was worried they would start a fight again, and Y/N was starting to wonder if she just wasted her time coming here.
"Look, I knew that if you found it on Mom, you'd lose your shit," Number Two remarked, "just like you're doing right now." He pointed out.
Number One was fuming, "Diego, you son of a bitch." Diego was already in his fighting position, getting ready for him to throw his fist at him
Y/N suddenly chuckled. They all looked at her, "Funny how you called Diego a son of a bitch." he folded her arms and continued, "since he's your brother, does that mean you're a son of a bitch too?" Klaus' mouth formed an 'o' as he laughed at Y/N's sudden conclusion.
"Hey. No. Calm down." Vanya chimed in, "Look, I know Dad wasn't exactly an open book. But I do remember one thing he said." They all listened to her intently, "Mom was, well, designed to be a caretaker, but.. also a protector."
"What does that mean?" Allison asked.
Y/N sighed, "It means, she was programmed to intervene when someone's life was in jeopardy." She explained.
"Well, if her hardware is degrading, then.. we need to turn her off." Luther suddenly suggested.
Diego became protective all of a sudden,
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. She's not just a vacuum cleaner you can throw in a closet. She feels things I've seen it!" Diego defended.
"She just stood there, Diego, and watched our father die." Luther argued.
"I'm with Luther." Allison said. Y/N just watched the whole scenario in front of her impatiently.
"Surprise, surprise." Diego snarled.
"Shut up." She sneered.
"Vanya?" Y/N looked at her sister, waiting for her to choose. "I-I don't--"
"Yeah, she shouldn't get a vote." Diego muttered. Y/N smacked the back of his head in annoyance.
Vanya blinked, "I was gonna say that I agree with you."
"Okay, she should get a vote." Number Two turned to Klaus, "What about you, stoner boy? What do you got?"
Klaus looked at them blankly, "Oh, so what? You need my help now? Oh, “Get out of the van, Klaus!” “Well, welcome back to the van.”" He ranted. Y/N rubbed her face in frustration. Since when did I even care about this whole situation?
"What van?" Allison questioned.
"It doesn't matter." Y/N mumbled as she regretted ever going here just to talk about this whole thing.
Luther scoffed, "What's it gonna be, Klaus?"
"I'm with Diego, because screw you!" He hissed. Diego pointed at him proudly, "And if Ben were here, he'd agree with me."
Klaus suddenly looked at an empty spot and hissed. Diego held up three fingers, "That's three. To two."
"Vote's not final yet."
"What?" Diego looked at Allison. "Five's not here. The whole family has to vote. We owe each other that." Luther agreed with Allison by nodding.
"Besides, Y/N hasn't even voted yet." Luther followed. They all looked at the girl who was lost in her own little world.
Number Eight snapped herself out and glanced up at them, "Yeah, I haven't thought about it, yet. I'll tell you when Five's here to do so." She lied. The truth is, she just didn't want to vote.