Luther stopped the car on a highway just outside of the city. I was in the back seat, and Five sat in the front with a surprisingly convincing-looking fake briefcase in the seat beside him. Five sighed.
"You know, I never enjoyed it." He said suddenly.
"What?"
"The killing. I mean, I was...I was good at my work, and I...I took pride in it. But it never gave me pleasure. I think it was all those years alone. Solitude can do funny things to the mind, and Mary could only save me so much."
"Yeah, well you were gone for such a long time. I only spent four years on the moon, but that was more than enough." I furrowed my eyebrows.
"I'm sorry, what now?" I asked.
"Luther lived on the moon for four years." Five explained. I nodded.
"Ok...just gonna...accept that as fact."
"its the being alone that breaks you." Luther continued. "You were lucky to have Mary."
"Believe me, I know." Five looked back at me and I gave him a small smile.
"You think they'll buy it?"
"Well, what I do know is that they're desperate. Its like a cop losing his gun, if the Commission finds out, they'll be in deep crap."
"Also, they'll be stuck here until they get it back." I added.
"I should hold onto it." Luther stated.
"Hm?"
"In case they make a move on you two."
"Ok, Luther, but be careful. I mean I've...I've lived a long life, but...you're still a young man. You got your whole life ahead of you. don't waste it." I found myself smiling at the image of these words coming from a teenage boy, and being told to a nearly thirty-year-old man. My amused thoughts were quickly cut short when a blue car came speeding over the hill. "Here we go. Mary, stay behind me at all costs."
"Whatever you say." I answered, half-heatedly. He turned around and looked at me
"I'm serious. I can't have you getting killed because you're stubborn. You haven't had the training that I've had yet, so you absolutely cannot try to hold your own against Hazel and Cha-Cha. Do you understand?" I rolled my eyes.
"I'm not a child, Five. You don't have to talk to me like I am." I got out of the car, followed by Luther and Five. The blue car drove past us, coming to a halt a little ways away. Five lightly pushed me back towards Luther, and for a brief moment, I put my hand over his on my shoulder, skimming my thumb lightly over his skin.
"If this all goes sideways," He whispered, "I'm sorry." I nodded.
"I know." He moved his hand, turning to face them and I backed up to stand beside Luther, who put a large hand on my shoulder. Five walked forward to meet them, both of them adorned in their ridiculous animal masks.
"The masks really necessary?" Five questioned. They took them off, throwing them aside.
"So where is it, kid?" Cha-Cha demanded.
"Wow, that's how you're gonna start. You know, we can get right back in our car and call it a day."
"You won't even make it halfway there." She pulled out a hand gun, and I started forward, but Luther threw his gigantic arm out, stopping me.
"You heard what Five said." he whispered.
"I, not that long ago, had about twenty visions of me not giving a crap about what Five said, and I really don't intend to start now." I tried again, but he grabbed my wrist, stopping me.
"I'm six times your size, do you really think you're gonna get very far?" I glared at him.
"By the time you took him out, he'd smash you precious briefcase to a pulp." Five said, presumably talking about Luther.
"Probably us too, right?" Hazel asked. "So how do we help each other?"
"I need you to get in contact with your superior so I can have a chat with her. Face-to-face."
"About what?"
"Well I don't believe that's any of your concern."
"Just don't tell her about the brief case." Cha-Cha negotiated.
"Fair enough." Cha-Cha walked to the pay phone that they had parked beside, and Five came back to us, leaning on the car.
"Five, I really don't like this." I whispered. He wrapped a reassuring arm around my waist and pressed his mouth to my forehead.
"What happens now?" Luther questioned.
"Now we wait." Suddenly, the sound of 'Ride of the Valkyries' filled our ears. I furrowed my eyebrows, pulling away from Five and looking behind us, as did the guys. An ice-cream truck appeared over the hill, which only made this already weird situation even weirder.
"Is that her?" Luther asked. I shook my head.
"Somehow...I doubt it." The truck passed us, revealing the driver to be Klaus, waving goofily, while Diego sat in the passenger's seat. "What in the world?"
"What the heck is he doing here?!"
"This is a set up!" Hazel and Cha-Cha started shooting and Luther stood in front of us with his arms outstretched, while Five wrapped his arms around my waist and turned around so that his back was facing the gunshots. And then he was gone. Within seconds he disappeared. The Ice-cream truck collided with Hazel and Cha-Cha's car, they were on the ground, and Five was gone.
"Five?" I looked around, but he was nowhere in sight. "FIVE!?"
Luther held up the briefcase.
"Come get it!" Cha-Cha ran forward and he chucked the case into the field, pushing me towards the car before going to get Diego and Klaus. I climbed into the front seat, trying to think through where the heck Five could have gone. That's when a vision started. I was back in the road again, still facing the other way, but I could hear Five and...her...talking.
"But you wouldn't be in the correction division any longer, I'm talking about...the home office. You'd have the best health and pension and an end to this ceaseless travel, and you know we have several positions that would be perfect for Mary. You're distinguished professionals in schoolboy shorts and a plaid skirt. We have the technology to reverse the process, as well as return Mary's memory to its future state. I mean you...you two can't be happy like this."
"I'm not looking for happy." He answered.
"We're all looking for happy. We can make that happen. We can make the both of you yourselves again."
"Not Mary."
"Not Mary?" She asked, "I remember a time when the two of you were inseparable. We had to make you a duo instead of individual agents because you both refused to not be together, and now you're saying you don't want her around?"
"This isn't her life." He told her. "If she's going to be with me, she'll be with me on her own timeline. But what about my family?"
"What about them?"
"I want them to survive."
"All of them?" She asked.
"Yes, all of them."
"Well...I'll see what I can do."
"Mary...Mary!"
"Wake up, shortcake!"
"Mary? Are you there?"
I snapped out of my vision to see that the car was moving, now containing Luther, Diego, and Klaus.
"What did you see?" Luther asked. I shook my head.
"I saw where Five went." I answered.
"Where did he go?' Klaus asked.
"Not important. He'd better enjoy it while he can because if we survive this apocalypse, I'm going to kill him!"
YOU ARE READING
The Burden of Knowledge (An Umbrella Academy/Number Five Fan-Fiction)
Fanfiction"Knowledge is a burden-once taken up, it can never be discarded".-Stephen R. Lawhead. Mary Burke was one of forty-three children from across the world that came into existence in a single day by some freak event. She was one of the lucky few howeve...
