WITCH. five hargreeves [1]

seven. what happened to ben?

EDITED MAY 20, 2021

It's been months since Five and Eight had disappeared. The house was a wreck, since Eight was the only one who made the house feel like a home. But with her gone, everyone was just arguing any chance they got.

They took their disappearance hard, especially Vanya. Luther seemed unbothered at first, but everyone could notice that he was kind of annoyed since Eight and Five weren't there bickering with him. Even if they were complete asses at times, their powers were very helpful during missions. Diego, oh Diego, he took it really hard. Out of his siblings, Eight was his favorite. She had helped him with his stutter then. Allison and Eight were not that close, but she still missed her, with Eight being the only girl that was on the spotlight. Klaus missed Eight and Five as well, even if he didn't show it. Eight once stood up for him when Reginald called him an "absolute failure."

Then there was Ben. Poor Ben was really hurt when Eight left him. The pair were best friends, and he often cried to sleep. He would always stare at the unfinished book that was on his bed stand, the one that Eight was reading. He missed her, her snarky comments, her sarcastic remarks. Just, her.

Then there was Vanya. After Number Five and Number Eight disappeared, Vanya always left the lights on for them. She was afraid that if they  returned home late and the house was dark, then they would leave again, since they would not be able to find them. Vanya would also leave their favorite snack, a peanut butter and marshmellow sandwich, out for the both of them. Every night, after dinner, Vanya would always wait at Eight's room with her violin. Each night that led by just gave her a sense of disappointment.

Eight promised that she would hear Vanya's violin after dinner. Vanya sighed, looking down onto the bed her missing sister once occupied. Tears were falling down from her eyes. "Eight, you liar."

-

45 years ago, apocalyptic time

Dust and smoke engulfed the pair. Eight heaved a few coughs and started looking at her surroundings. The ground was covered in rubble. The establishments they had seen previously were now destroyed. There were fires everywhere, and what looked like cars were now rusty pieces of metals on the ground.

Eight looked at Five, her face full of shock. But something important crossed her mind, making Five glance back at her. They were thinking of the same thing.

The Academy.

They instantly looked behind them and ran on the sidewalk. They ran until they couldn't feel their legs anymore. But it didn't matter, they needed to see the academy. They both came to a halt when they saw what was left of the academy. The only thing that they saw were two gate doors with the symbol of an umbrella.

"Ben!" Eight yelled, tears now freely flowing down.

"Klaus!" Five yelled.

The pair called for everyone, but it was no use. Nobody answered.

They both started walking to the ruins of the home, just hoping that they would see someone who was alive. Eight saw a bunch of burnt books, furniture, papers, and kitchen appliances. Eight walked to the other side of the academy, looking for more things. Something, someone Eight saw suddenly made her sob out loud. Five took notice of this and walked towards her direction.

Eight let out a loud sob and fell down to her knees. Five put his hand on her shoulder as Eight was crying over Luther's dead body. He looked much, much older. His whole body was covered in ash and dirt. Luther and her didn't get along all the time, but still. She still cared for him.

Another thought came to Eight. "W-what about the others?" she asked shakily. Five helped her get up, holding her hand. They walked around, trying to find the others. Eventually, the pair did. They were all situated at the same area.

Alison, Diego, and Klaus were in there. The both started crying as they saw the lifeless bodies of the people they lived with. Eight couldn't find Vanya or Ben. A part of her was broken, but a part of her was also grateful. Eight didn't know how she would react when she finds Ben's body.

They situated themselves next to Diego, hand in hand. All they could do was cry. All they had was each other, everyone was now gone.

-

"I don't think Eight and Five are dead." Klaus stated, sitting down on Ben's bed. He looked up, his eyes sore from crying. Ben sniffled a bit and decided to ignore Klaus.

"Don't give me hope, please." Ben croaked out, now starting to sob again. His whole body was starting to shake from crying. Klaus could only look at his brother with pity. Ben and Eight were the best of friends, and it pained him to see Ben like this.

"I can't conjure them. I don't think they're dead." Klaus stated. Ben looked up from his book, glancing at Klaus. "Whatever... Klaus. They had been gone for a year. I'm going to sleep now." he stated and turned off his night light. Klaus sadly looked down on Ben and the state he was in.

Another person had lost hope.

-

40 Years Ago, Apocalyptic Time

The pair had been together for five years now. They were both Eighteen, and drastic changes happened to them already.

To start off, Eight had found a manequin and named her Delores. They thought of her as a friend in this mess. At first, they thought that what they were doing was crazy, but as time went by, it was pretty normal for them to have conversations with her. They had also found out the exact date that the apocalypse had happened. Since the start, Eight was helping Five with the equations, as of now, they hadn't done anything yet.

Her hair had grown much longer, but Eight decided to cut it using a metal stick she had found. Even though it was constantly filled with dirt and ashes, Eight still managed to look good.

Eight and Five both sat on the library, looking down at the bottle of wine that was in their hands uneasily. They couldn't find water anywhere for days, but they had managed to find a decent bottle of wine. The pair were never brought to alcohol before, but wine was the only thing that could help them stay alive.

As the pair were able to drink from the bottle, they felt some sort of sense that they were relived.

"You know.." Eight spoke out. "I never considered any of you as siblings. Maybe Ben, but you were just like... friends to me you know?" she muttered, taking down a huge gulp out of the bottle. "I never called Hargreeves 'dad'. That asshole." she started to laugh. Five felt sort of relived when Eight said this, since it would be weird if Eight saw him as a sibling, since he had liked her.

"Vanya?" Eight muttered, looking at a book she saw on the ground. Five had looked aher in utter confusion. "What?"

Eight took the book and blew the ashes off. The words were now readable.

"Extra- Ordinary : My Life as Number Seven by Vanya Hargreeves."

Eight opened the first page. "Dedicated to Eight, Five, and Ben. I miss you."

Tearing up, Eight looked at Five. "B-ben? W-what happened to Ben?"