umbra || f.hargreeves (1): COMPLETE

Part 3: Apocalypse

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Number Nine's P.O.V

Five and I took our places next to each other as each of our siblings walked in one by one. We all patiently stood there as dad made his way to his seat. He paused for a moment, and I noticed his gaze on Vanya. "Sit." He announced and we quickly sat down one by one. 

I nervously looked at Five, who then gave me a reassuring look and held my hand below the table. He then turned his attention to dad, a look of annoyance placed on his face. Vanya could immediately pick up what he was doing and I shake my head at her. 

Five slammed his knife on the table, making everyone's attentions turn to him.

"Number Five?" Five gave dad a smug smile, "I have a question." 

Dad didn't bat an eye. "Knowledge is an admirable goal, but you know the rules. No talking during mealtimes. You are interrupting Herr Carlson."

Five pushed his plate away. "I want to time travel." This is it.

"No."

"But, I'm ready!" Five pushed his buttons, and I could already tell this isn't going well. "I've been practicing my spatial jumps, just like you said." He warped beside father.

"See? Even Number Nine has too. Right, Nine?" Five looked at me for support, and I sighed. I warped beside him and looked down at my feet. Dad still didn't bat an eye at us.

"A spatial jump is trivial when compared with the unknowns of time travel," Dad started, "One is like sliding along the ice, the other is akin to descending blindly into the depths of the freezing water and reappearing as an acorn." He finishes, taking a sip of his drink.

Five looked dumbfounded. "Well, I don't get it." I hesitated for a while before speaking up. "I do." Five furrowed his eyebrows and glared at dad. 

"Hence, the reason you're not ready."

I nudged Five with my elbow, telling him to go on but stopped when Vanya shakes her head at us. "I'm not afraid," Five took my hand in his, "We're not afraid."

"Fear isn't the issue. The effects it might have in your body, even on your mind, are far too unpredictable. Now, I forbid you to talk about this anymore." Dad hissed at us. I bit my tongue, avoiding myself to shout at him. Five looked at me, then back at him before pulling me with him outside the front door.

"Number Five! You haven't been excused! Number Nine!" Dad shouts at us, "Come back here!"

We made our way out the front door and pushed ourselves out the gate. I pulled back at him. "Are you sure about this, Five?" I asked, concern filling my voice. 

"Of course! Let's show that old man he's wrong." He paused for a moment, and his gaze softens. "Do you trust me?"

Five stretched out his hand, giving me his famous grin. I didn't hesitate to grab it, and both of us immediately used our powers to warped through each time period. From the day after tomorrow to years. And lastly, the...

"W-where are we?" I asked, my voice quivering. "Five?"

"I-I thought we... This isn't the future!" He looked around, fear taking over him. "Come on!" He ran back to where the academy supposedly is, and I followed his tracks. The academy was gone. Everything was destroyed. "Vanya! Ben!" Five desperately shouts. 

I quickly tried to warped back and saw that Five was doing the same thing. But, each time we did, our powers weren't working. "Come on! Come on!" Five growls. "Shit." 

"No... N-no." I felt myself panicking and my electric powers going out of control. Five quickly turned to me. "Nine?"

"F-Five, this... This isn't right! Where are we?!"

Five hugged me, not caring if the electricity hurts him. "Nine, I'm here. It's okay. Just breathe."

"Everything will be okay. I'm here."

~

Everyone went silent as Five and Nine left. Grace smiled at them, "Would anyone like dessert?" No one answers her. "I'll fetch the cupcakes." She says, turning around to go away.

"Dad..." Vanya starts, "What will happen to-"

"Hush, Number Seven. Your siblings had decided to leave and none of that is my concern." Reginald states, wiping his mouth with his handkerchief. "Now, if any of you wants to say something, don't even bother."

"This family sucks." Klaus loudly drops his utensils on his plate and stood up to storm into his room. Ben sighs and followed his brother.

Vanya stares at Five and Nine's empty seats. Her only friends are gone. "I don't wanna eat anymore." She mumbles before standing up and heading straight into her room. 

Grace came back with a tray full of cupcakes. She smiles at Reginald and at the remaining three children. "Who wants cupcakes?"

~

Still Number Nine's P.O.V

I gasped. "Five, look. I-is that..." In the remaining of the academy's rubble are corpses, and by the looks of it, it was our siblings. But, why do they look so much older?

"Ah shit. Nine, don't look." Five covered my eyes and I felt hot tears beginning to form. "I think we're in the future." "But, why does it look like this? Why is everything destroyed? Why is..." I stammer my words, and I cling to his chest. "Is this the end for us, Five?"

"Nine, look at me. Hey, look at me." Five wiped my tears with his thumb. "We'll find a way out of this together. I promise you that." He kissed my forehead. 

"Come on. Let's see if we could find any evidence here."

I nod, wiping my eyes with my sleeves. "Okay."

We scavenged the area around our sibling's corpses. I noticed Luther, or Luther's old self, holding something in his hand. I pulled out something round in his hand, and it looks like a prosthetic eye. I called out to Five.

"What is it? Did you find anything" He asked me, and I showed him the eye, "A prosthetic eye?"

"I found it in Luther's hand. He must've pried it out someone's head when he was fighting or something. This could be one of our leads to why this had happened." I told him, giving him the eye. He examined it, "There's a serial number on it."

Five hid the eye in his pocket and sighs. "It's best if we scavenged for food and shelter before planning everything to get out of this hell hole." I nodded. "Five?"

He stopped in his tracks. "What is it?"

"I'm scared." He walked up to me and wrapped me in his arms. "I know. I am too. But, we will get out of this together, okay? Trust me."

I hugged him tightly, "I trust you. Always."

~

Edited: December 22, 2020