Fatality | T.U.A

thirty. i should've killed you

She shouts as her back hits the mushy dirt but bounces back to her feet quickly to punch Five across the face. With her gun now forgotten or missing, she dodges Five's kicks and only returns with a fist of her own instead of a bullet. She wills her duplicates back, gasping as each one's strength returns to her but continues fighting back.

When he swipes her legs out from under her, she takes ahold of his schoolboy jacket and rips him off his feet. He yells as he tumbles away, giving her enough time to take out a dagger. His eyes widen when he catches sight of the glittering metal but he does not have enough time to move before she pins him down, the dagger at his throat.

"How else have you betrayed me, Five?" She asks through gritted teeth. "Stabbed me in the back, I know that much. What else? Probably left me to save your family right?"

He disappears from under her, making her growl only for him to land on her back. She rolls out from under him and hooks her leg around his stomach to toss him to the side.

They both quickly return to their feet, but she still holds the dagger. "If you think this little distraction will stop me from killing them, you're wrong."

"We don't have time for this, Margo—"

"Don't call me that." She extends the knife, but Five was waiting. He slams his palm into her wrist, catching the knife as it drops.

As he thrusts it towards her, she steps back, her eyes resting on the metal. "Now, I don't want to hurt you," he says with pursed lips. "But you have to stop."

"Why?" She asks. "Just kill me like you were going to. It would be less of an issue."

"You know, maybe the Handler was right," he chuckles darkly as he narrows his eyes. "You've always been so connected to the timeline. Maybe it really did get to you. Maybe I was right!"

"Right? To what, kill me?" She shakes her head and pushes down the emotion threatening to consume her. "I was helping you, you little shit! I was fixing your equations, protecting you from the Commission. I didn't kill your asshole of a brother in Vietnam. Looking back, I should've killed you then."

"Helping me?" Five scoffs. "You were telling the Commission on me!"

"Who the fuck said that?" She demands. "Wh-where did you hear that? Why would I do that?"

"Because the timeline fucked you over," Five replies. "Because working with time is dangerous and—"

Suddenly, she laughs. "The timeline fucked me over?" She repeated, scoffing again. "My timeline was fine, asshole. Only when I came here did someone decide to screw me over. You know, I went to that rally to keep an eye on your family. I should've killed them when I had the chance. You act so high and mighty—you're the one who screwed me, Five. Not the Commission. You."

He shakes his head. "You're lying to yourself, and you know it. Ever have pieces of time missing from your memory?" She frowns and purses her lips. "Ever think you know why you're doing something and then forget? That's time messing with you."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" She asks. "No, I don't just forget what I'm doing. I know the side effects of too much time travel."

"And what about all those missions you went on without me, huh?"

"What missions?" She cries out, holding her palms up. "Maybe you're the one who's gone insane. Who was it that promised to help you? Yes, it took me a mission to agree, but I promised I'd help. What, did you think I'm a spy? Really? Why would I spy for anyone but you—you're the only one I trust."

His knife falters. Bingo.

She jumps forward and knocks it from his grasp. She goes to turn it over in her palm, but it slips to the ground, almost as if it went through her hand. Instead, she steps on it and flicks her foot back, letting it slide far away and get lost in the grass of the empty field.

"I trusted you, Five," she says with clenched fists. "I told you who I was. I—" She watches him closely. "I promised to save your family from the apocalypse. I promised you I was on your side, and I betrayed the Commission—the only family I've known for years—for you. Why would I ever betray you?"

"You wouldn't even know if you did," he chuckles bitterly. "That's the thing with the effects of time."

"No." She bites her lip with a sigh. "I'm connected to the timeline. I know and can feel when it's being changed. The effects of time are noticeable. You only see it because you want to."

"You really want a why, Margo?" He asks as he stuffs his hands into his pockets. "Why I killed you in my timeline? I killed you because you're sick and it would only endanger my family. The fact is, I shouldn't be letting you live, but I am because I remember what it felt like to see you die, and I never want to relive that again."

He shakes his head as he takes a step back. "You are my friend, Margo, and I did trust you, even if I didn't show it. That's why it hurt so much to break it, but if you come after my family again, I won't hesitate."

"Neither will I," she says, trying to hold her head up. She feels something wet slip down her cheek.

"But, if you want to uphold your promise, not that I deserve it, there's a farm lady I'm going to help." He presses his lips together into a small smile. "And the Commission is coming to kill us all, so it's up to you. But either way, get help. The agent I know wouldn't have fumbled that knife."

She glances behind her to see the knife shining under the sun. She hears him jump away, leaving her all alone in the center of a lonely field.

When she takes hold of the knife once more, she flexes her fingers before looking out at the horizon. Thoughts swarm her head as a chill runs up her spine.

Then, it clicks.

X X X X

Bit of a shorter chapter but the last one was long so...

Hope you enjoyed!

-L