☂
HER BLOOD ON MY HANDS
"I gotta go, okay?"
☂
Hazel groaned in his seat. He and Cha-Cha were now sitting back at the doughnut shop. Their eyes were puffy. Their hair was a mess. And they were tired. Really, really tired. Cha-Cha held her cup of coffee in sadness. She stared at her doughnut, as only a small bite was taken. It was chocolate and had white sprinkles. "I hate sprinkles." She commented. "Maybe I just hate doughnuts. Why are we here again?" She turned to Hazel, who also looked so sad.
"Refill?" Agnes asked behind the counter. A coffee holder in hand. She wore the same pink uniform she wore on all her workdays.
"God, yes, please." Hazel answered. Agnes smiled at him. "Thank you." Agnes walked over to Cha-Cha. Her smile fading as the assassin said nothing, but sit there in frustration. She refilled her cup anyway. The woman chuckled and walked away. Helping other customers around the place. "The world is ending. All this, all these... people, they'll be gone and they have... just... no idea." Hazel said solemnly.
Something clicked in Cha-Cha's mind. It showed, because she lifted up her head. "This is not about a broken contract!"
"What?"
"Five, son of a bitch. He's trying to change the timeline. That's why the girl is helping him, too." Cha-Cha explained.
"So we're not only going to kill him." Hazel caught on.
"We're gonna end the world." Cha-Cha finished. Hazel sadly looked at his doughnut. But wouldn't heir commissioner know? And if they did, why would they send them to stop the one person who was trying to save the world? "Come on, let's get back to what's his name." Cha-Cha got up. Heading for the door. Hazel leaned back in his chair
'My life sucks so much, right now.'
***
"Klaus."
"Klaus."
"Klaus."
He heard the voices in his head. Coming to bother him once again. He saw their faces. They were wrinkling, and their hair was white, and their eyes looked dead and blind.
"Klaus!"
"Go away! Dad, let me out!" A young Klaus screamed, as he was sitting, terrified, in the corner of mausoleum. He saw them scream. He saw them reaching out for him.
"Klaus!"
"Dad!" He yelled. The man never came.
One of the ghosts reached out. Almost touching his face. He yelled in a high pitch. He was traumatized. Like a child hearing gunshots for the first time.
Klaus screamed as he had duct tape over his mouth. His eyes open, but he could still picture the memory.
"Klaus." Ben said. Sitting behind him. "Klaus." He kept groaning. He and Y/N were now sitting in the motel room closet. Y/N was still unconscious. She couldn't hear Klaus's muffled cries. "Breathe." Ben urged his adopted brother. "You're in the worst of it now. Just try and stay calm." Klaus heard a button click, and the sound of whirring began. It sounded like... a vacuum cleaner? Ben and Klaus looked towards the door. He started screaming through the duct tape.
The woman with the vacuum continued her work. She had headphones in her ears. The music blasting, but she heard what sounded like screaming. She shrugged it off. Thinking someone was 'doing it' in the next room. Klaus continued screaming. But he knew that the woman wouldn't notice. "She can't hear you." Ben said. Y/N began twitching her fingers.
The woman bent down. She saw a nail on the floor. She looked towards the vent. Hazel must've closed it, but he didn't exactly see it fall, or stick into the screw hole. She put the nail on the table. Again, shrugging it off.
"You know what the worst part of being dead is? You're stuck. Nowhere to go. Nowhere to change. That's the real torture, if you gotta know. Watching your brother take for granted everything you lost and pissing it all away." Ben said. Klaus's cry's stopped. He was sniffling now. "And watching your sister," Ben turned to Y/N, who was slowly waking up. "Endure so much pain, that she doesn't care what happens to her."
Klaus calmed down. But he still wanted out. He wanted a new life. But he couldn't start right now. Not right now.
***
The police, and medics, and fire trucks reached the MeriTech lab, which had been burned down unexpectedly. Looks like Lance would be out of a job. Detective Eudora Patch walked out of the lobby of the building. She walked to her partner, Beeman, who was observing an arm prosthetic. "It's creepy, huh?" He asked.
"That's the understatement of the year." She answered. He chuckled. "Did you find anything?" She looked at the trays of evidence. Nothing seem to catch her eye.
"Well, the fire inspector says that the speed of the blaze indicates that an accelerant was used. Oh, and, uh... we... found this." Beeman held up and piece of what looked like fabric. But it looked like the shape of a dog's ear. If this was true, then Cha-Cha's ears of her helmet had burned off.
"Get that over to the lab immediately." She advised. She then noticed something in the distance. "I'll be right back." She walked down the side walk, to see a plumbing van. It was covered in ash and dust. There seemed to be a message on the wind shield, but from it's backwardness, it was written from the inside. She then saw what looked like a match holder, stuck on the wind wipers. It was almost like someone put it there. She walked to the side of the van, looking through the window. She could see the message clearly now.
'YOUR BROTHER SAYS HI'
"'Your brother says hi'." She said to herself. She remembered what Diego had told her. About his missing siblings.
"My brother and sister. Been missing since yesterday. I need to find them." She could hear his words clearly.
"Son of a bitch."
***
Luther and Diego walked into the Argyle Public Library, where supposedly, Five and Y/N were hiding. "Let's split up." Luther stated.
"Wow. Good thinking." Diego said sarcastically, and went the opposite way of Luther. They reached the second floor, but saw none of their siblings. They reached the fourth floor. Nothing.
"Anything?" Luther asked.
"No."
Luther sighed, and turned around walking back down the stairs. "You wanna know why I left?" Diego asked abruptly.
Luther turned around. "What? What are you talking about?"
"Why I left the academy."
"Yeah, 'cause you couldn't handle me being Number One." Luther said. Actually being serious.
"No. Because that's what you do when you're seventeen. You move out, become your own person, grow up."
"Oh, yeah. You're a real grown-up." Luther mocked.
"At least I make my own decisions. You've never had to hold down a job. Pay bills." Diego leaned on the handle bars. "You ever even been with a girl?"
Luther looked at him. Looking almost hurt. "I..." Diego laughed at his silence. "I don't know what you're talking about--"
Diego chuckled. "Look, you wanna blame me, blame us for leaving... that's okay." He said truthfully. "But maybe you're asking yourself the wrong question. Maybe it's not about why we left. Maybe it's about why you stayed."
"I stayed because the world needed me." Luther said. Walking closer to him.
Diego scoffed silently. "You stayed because you couldn't let go of the way things used to be. The academy. Dad. With Allison. Your friendship with Y/N." Luther turned away and leaned on the handle bars. "Dad's dead. Mom too, now. We're orphans again, dude. And things are never gonna go back to the way they used to... be." Diego heard a woman laughing in the distance.
"Do you ever stop talking?" Luther asked.
"Where are his parents?" They both heard a woman say.
"Wow, that was easy." Luther said.
"I'm gonna call security." Diego and Luther walked down the hall to see Five. Sitting in the corner, snoring, with a mannequin under his arm, and an alcohol bottle in his hand. There was a bunch of stationary around him. His hair and clothes were dusty from the debris of the MeriTech building. A bunch of equations written in black were posted on the stone pillars.
Diego looked at the boy in shock, while Luther was in utter confusion. "Is he, um...?" Luther started.
"Drunk as a skunk." Diego smiled.
***
"Leonard wouldn't I mean, I can't even imagine." Vanya spoke with Allison. They were sitting in one of the most eccentric bars in town. Courtesy of Allison.
"Uh, I get it. I don't wanna believe it either, but why would he tell you he's going to work, then he's letting himself into your place?" Allison reasoned.
"To use the bathroom, like he said?"
"Or to creep around." Allison was very concerned for her sister.
"He wouldn't."
"Rifle through your stuff? Maybe steal something? I mean... Jerk off on your Mr. Snuggles teddy bear?" She thought of at least a billion reasons.
"No! No, stop." Vanya took a sip of her drink.
"Look, I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but sometimes, men are unredeemable shits." Allison reminded. Only the perfect men, are the rare ones.
"Well, maybe, but... I like this one." Vanya said. Allison looked down. All she really wanted was for her to be happy. "I know it's weird, 'cause we only knew each other for a few days, but... Leonard felt real. Like he saw something in me no one else did."
"I know the feeling." Allison chuckled softly. "God, I haven't felt like that since I was a kid." She took a sip of her drink.
"Luther?" Vanya asked.
Allison chuckled. "Does everyone know?"
"Well, I'm the last person who should be speaking for everyone, but... I always suspected. And, of course, Y/N would bet on it. You two were so close." Vanya said. Trying to cheer up her sister.
"Yeah, well, he's not speaking to me, either." Allison played with the rim of her glass. "Here we are."
Vanya held up her glass. "Yay, sisters?" They both chuckled.
"Yay, sisters."
They clinked their glasses.
There was hope, after all.
***
Hazel and Cha-Cha walked into their motel room. Until Cha-Cha realized how clean the room was. "You idiot!"
"What?"
"You didn't put the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door!"
"I did! I know I..." Hazel looked at the door knob. "Shit!" He then decided to actually put the sign on the door. He walked over to the closet and opened the doors, to see Y/N and Klaus still tied to their seats. Klaus was whimpering, while Y/N was getting ready to pounce. "Oh, my God, they're still here." He looked at Klaus. "Hi." Hazel pulled him out while Cha-Cha pulled Y/N out.
Klaus and Y/N started murmuring through the duct tape on their mouths. "What're they saying?" Hazel asked. Cha-Cha ripped on the tape off their mouths.
"Oh!" Klaus groaned, while Y/N kept a straight face.
"What are you sayin'?" Cha-Cha asked.
"You guys are scarier without the masks." Klaus joked. Cha-Cha slapped him. He groaned.
"That's no way to say hello to your old friends, is it?" Hazel asked.
Klaus's chest was covered in dry blood. His eyes were tired and had giant bags. He was still sweating from the pain and stress of this brutal interrogation.
"He's not coming. He never will. Besides, he has more important things to deal with. Basically, we don't matter at the moment." Y/N spoke. Cha-Cha pulled out her knife and stabbed her in the gut. Right when her streak of dried up wounds were about to break, a new wound had appeared. She groaned as the cold metal touched her red blood.
"Can't we call it a night? We already gave you what you wanted. Just, please... please let us go. Please." Klaus begged tiredly.
"Well, technically, we want your brother. Is your brother here now?" Cha-Cha asked.
"Uh, he..." Klaus looked at Ben, who was sitting in a styled pose on the sofa. "You're gonna have to be a little more specific on that." He chuckled. Cha-Cha slapped him again. "Ow! Y/N told you already. He's not coming. No one will."
"Well, Number Five knows now. We left him a message. And when he comes for you, we'll be ready." Cha-Cha said. Hazel turned Y/N's and Klaus's chair towards the door. He then closed the blinds. Only a faint glisten of moonlight coming through.
"This..." Klaus sobbed. He suddenly heard the whispers again. His heart began to race. The memory was in his head again. He could remember it clearly.
Reginald opened the door to the mausoleum. Klaus laid on the stone floor. His uniform was covered in leaves. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Number Four."
Klaus sat up on his knees, he was tired, and still very much terrified. "Can I go now?"
"Have you overcome your fear of the dead?" The man asked. The boy nodded his head. "You must become the master of your own life, Number Four. Or it will become the master of you."
"Please, I wanna go home." Klaus begged. Tears brimming at his eyes.
"Three more hours." Reginald suggested. He back away from the doors and closed them.
"No! Don't leave me." He sat back in the corner. His knees to his chin. "Go away."
"Klaus."
He began seeing the dead beings. Their eyes were gone. They were just pale faces with hair. "Dad!"
"Klaus!"
Klaus panted. More sweat covering himself. The memory faded away, but he was still terrified.
"You went there again, didn't you?" Y/N asked softly. Life, slowly drifted away from her. Ben looked to her. Even though she couldn't see him, he still watched her everyday.
"No, no, no, no..." Klaus whimpered. He gasped with each breath he took.
Hazel and Cha-Cha sat in the corners of the room. Guns in their hands, as they thought Five was coming. They were wrong.
Klaus kept hearing the Russian woman, as she walked around.
***
The receptionist ate a cup of soup. The door opened, and closed. He payed no attention to the customer. Detective Patch cleared her throat. He looked at her for second, and then back as his stupid bowl of soup. "I have reason to believe two wanted criminals are in this motel."
"Just two?" He asked.
"I'm gonna have to take a look around." She says.
"Mm... This is a pay-by-the-hour kind of place. My customers, they don't get four-star digs, but... they do get complete privacy, from me... and from the man." She rolled her eyes. "Hm. Pardon me. Wo-man."
"That's bullshit."
"They're your rules, not mine. Think I ain't read the Constitution?"
"I don't think you can read." Eudora mocked.
"Come back when you have a warrant." He walked into the back room.
She leaned on the counter. Waiting until he was fully inside. She looked over the counter and saw a telephone. She grabbed it, put the phone to her ear, and dialed the number of the boxing gym.
***
"Hit him! Come on!" The boxing coach encouraged. He heard the phone ring in the background. "Come on!" He turned around and answered it. "Fighting Line Boxing. Al here."
***
"I'm looking for Diego Hargreeves." Eudora spoke.
"Not here."
"Tell him Detective Eudora Patch called."
***
"I think I found his brother and sister." Al scavenged for a pen. "Tell him to meet me at 4535 Calhoun as soon as he can."
"Uh, hold on, hold on."
***
"I, uh... I could use some backup." She admitted.
"All right, lady. I'll let him know you called." The man hanged up. Eudora sighed. Hoping he'd actually tell Diego her message. She moved the phone back in its original place. Making sure it looked like she had never touched anything in the first place.
***
Diego and Luther walked down ally. Five was in Luther's arms. Delores in his arms. "Well, we can't go back to the house. It's not secure. Those psychopaths could come back at any moment." Luther said.
"My place is closer. No one will find him there."
Five suddenly belched, and woke up abruptly. "If you vomit on me..." Luther complained.
"You know what's funny? Aah! I'm going through puberty." Five scoffed. "Huh. Twice. And I... I drank that whole bottle, didn't I? That's what you do when the world you love goes bye-bye. Poof, it's gone. Y/N's gone now, too. Somewhere... far, far away. She probably hates me now. She probably hates all of us. Not that we did anything, but she probably has her reasons. What are you guys talkin' about?"
Luther sighed. "Two masked intruders attacked the academy last night."
"They came looking for you and Y/N. So I need you to focus. What do they want?" Diego asked.
"Hazel and Cha-Cha." Five slurred.
"Who?" Diego turned around.
"You know, I hate code names." Luther complained.
"Ah, the best of the best. Except for me, of course."
"Best of what?" Luther asked.
"You know, Delores always said she hated when I drink. She said it made me surly--"
"Hey!" Diego yelled.
"Hm? Yeah?"
"I need you to focus. What do this Hazel and Cha-Cha want?" Diego asked. All Five did was give a drunk smile. "We just wanna protect you guys."
"Protect us. We don't need your protection, Diego. Do you have any idea how many people I've killed? No." Diego looked at Luther. "I'm the Four frickin' Horsemen. Y/N's like Cruella De Vil mixed with Natasha Romanoff. The apocalypse is coming." He had a sudden pain in his stomach. He turned his head around, and vomited onto the concrete ground.
Luther kept his head up. Ignoring the the sounds of Five vomiting. Diego scoffed, as he turned his head around. This was gonna be a long night.
***
The Russian woman began sobbing a pleading. Only Ben and Klaus could hear her. Y/N was sitting uncomfortably in her seat. She waited for anyone to speak. Hazel and Cha-Cha were still in their corners. Waiting.
The woman suddenly looked at Klaus. A large gash so harsh that he could see her skull.
"Oh, Jesus." Klaus grimaced.
"It's happening, isn't it?" Y/N whispered. She'd always knew his fear of seeing the dead. Of course, there was nothing she could ever do, but she was always there. "What do you see?"
"S-Someone. I- I don't know. They have a- a- a large gash on their head." Klaus whispered back.
"Okay." She groaned as she sat up. "I need you to focus. Just... just focus. Okay, Klaus? Focus."
"No, I... I can't. No, no, no." Klaus began to hyperventilate.
"Look at her. At how she's looking at them." Ben spoke. "She's one of their victims. We can use this." Klaus looked at the poor woman. "Go on. You haven't been this sober since you were a teenager, since you decided to keep the ghosts at bay. This is your chance, Klaus. To control them, learn their secrets. Try to talk to her." Ben said.
"Just try talking to them. Like your having a conversation with a stranger." Y/N said. Hazel and Cha-Cha looked at each other in confusion. They would've told them to be quiet, but they really just wanted to know what all the fuss was about.
"Hi... Hi!" Cha-Cha looked at Klaus. "Hi, uh..." The dead woman looked at him. "What's your name?"
"Zoya Popova." She answered. Her accent manifesting as she did.
"Oh! That's a lovely name." Hazel looked at him in confusion. Was he going crazy? "And can you tell me what happened?"
"What happened is if you don't shut up, I'mma cut your tongue out with a grapefruit spoon." Cha-Cha scolded.
"Zoya Popova." Klaus says. A serious look on his face.
"You're doing it, Klaus. You're doing it." Y/N murmured. A proud smile on her face.
Cha-Cha looked to Hazel in confusion, and shock. They knew that name, and Klaus knew it, too. Why? "What did he say?" Hazel asked. "Zoya Popova?" Cha-Cha answered in question.
"Old Russian broad, short, with a limp." Klaus laughed. Cha-Cha looked at him. 'Psychopath.' She thought. "Oh, she's really pissed at you guys." Klaus whistled. Ben and Y/N smiled at him. He was doing it.
Klaus was using his powers.
***
Vanya opened the door to her apartment. Turning on the lights, and letting Allison inside. "Ah! I love your apartment." Allison complimented, as she took a seat on the couch.
"I'm sure it's smaller than on of your closets, but..." Vanya said, taking off her coat.
"No, really." Allison sat up. "I love it." She chuckled.
"I'm just gonna go check on things, make sure everything's in the right place." Vanya said, walking into her bedroom.
Allison looked at the chandeliers and all of the shelves and the walls. She admired the normalness. She wanted to be normal. She wanted to be like Vanya. "Do you have sweatpants?" Allison asked suddenly. "We are going to need... sweatpants." Allison giggled as walked into the small kitchen. Twirling around. She then opened what looked like a small mini fridge. She didn't see anything interesting. So, she closed the door, gasping, as she saw a small bowl. "Chocolate-covered raisins." She picked one from the bowl and popped it in her mouth.
"Oh, my God." Vanya walked out of her bedroom and into the kitchen with a vase of store bought flowers.
"Wait, what are those?" Allison asked.
"They're from Leonard." Vanya answered.
Allison picked up the notecard. "'I like you, and I'm not sorry.'" She recited. She scoffed and put the card down. "I don't get it." She chuckled.
"It's an inside joke." Vanya said. She walked over to her yellow telephone and dialed Leonard's number. The line began ringing.
"Hello?"
"Hey." She answered.
***
"I-- I got the flowers. Thank you so much." Vanya spoke over Leonard's phone.
"Oh, good." A tapping seemed to be coming from the sink, as he was pouring something. "To be honest, I was getting a little worried." He said.
***
"Worried, why?" Vanya asked.
"Well, I hadn't heard from you."
***
"And... it was a little bit awkward with your sister earlier." Leonard was dropping something into the sink.
***
"It's fine. She knows it was a misunderstanding." Vanya said. Allison was in the kitchen. Raising an eyebrow. Something was up with Leonard. And she was gonna find out what. "Do you wanna get breakfast tomorrow?" Vanya asked.
***
"Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that." Leonard answered.
***
"Well, I'll, uh, talk to you in the morning."
***
"Okay, bye." He answered.
***
Vanya hanged up the phone. A small smile on her face.
***
Leonard had a small orange bottle in his hands. One that seemed to be for medication. He poured the rest of the substance down the drain. He turned on the water, letting the pills dissolve.
Unfortunately, Leonard wasn't exactly the kind man Vanya thought he was. During his visit in Vanya's apartment, he'd taken her refill of nerve medication. He set the bottle on the counter. On that bottle, was labeled two very important words.
Vanya Hargreeves.
***
"She chopped my hands off, and let me bleed to death in the bathtub." An English man spoke to Klaus. His hands were literally chopped off. The insides of his hands were visible, covered in blood, as they wiggled around when he moved his arms.
A woman, Mandarin, spoke to Klaus as well. "Tā dài wǒ qù sì miào, gē pò wǒ de hóu lóng, kàn zhe wǒ liú xuè." (He took me to a temple, slashed my throat, watched me bleed out.) She showed the large cut on her neck as she spoke.
A woman with a pillow in her hands spoke in Farsi. "Oon too ataqam rakhneh kardi, balish ro royee sooratam guzasht, wa baham gaft kah bay khodam zahmat doa nakanam." (She crept into my room, put a pillow over my face, and told me to not bother praying.)
Even Sid was there. Jumper cables in his hands. "They attached jumper cables to my nipples and shocked me for hours."
Another man spoke. A man named Jan Mueller, who was covered in his own blood. "He pretended to have car trouble, and when I stopped to help, he ran me over. Uh... forward, reverse. Then he saw my wife waiting for me in the car. She ran."
"Just shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up. Everybody, just... everybody just shut up, please shut up. Jesus, you guys are worse than the drugs." Klaus whined.
"How could he possibly know about Zoya Popova?" Hazel asked. Putting his gun away.
"Maybe he guessed, I don't know." Cha-Cha answered, also putting her gun away. "Who cares? She's dead. You need to focus. That little psycho could show up any minute. Or do you wanna be docked pay again, go back and tell 'em we couldn't hack it, face those consequences? Pull it together, now!" Cha-Cha spoke. Hazel decided to go over to Klaus and Y/N and twists their chairs around.
"Swiss Alps, huh?" Klaus's chair was turned around. "Which one are you? Cha-Cha or Hazel?" He asked.
"Hazel." He answered.
"Jan Mueller. Remember him?" Klaus asked. Cha-Cha was confused. While Hazel was looking so sad.
"God. I can't believe you've killed so many people, you don't even remember them. Maybe you should've made a list." Y/N mocked.
"Swiss Alps. Him and his wife were coming back from a ski trip." Klaus specified.
"I remember. Forward. Reverse!" Cha-Cha said.
"Yeah, that's it! Yeah! And his wife... escaped down an alleyway. He says to say thank you." Klaus said.
Y/N started laughing wickedly. "Oh, you guys are so screwed now!" She said groggily. She could feel it. She was fading away. It was only a matter of time, now.
"What's he talking about?" Cha-Cha asked.
"I don't know."
"He was so grateful to you, Hazel, for having spared his wife. You know, there may be hope for him yet. Don't you think?" Klaus asked with a laugh.
"Bathroom, now!" Cha-Cha said to Hazel. She walked to the bathroom. Hazel following behind.
Ben was sitting on a chair. A grin appeared on his face. "Nicely done." He said, as if he was a mentor. He was proud. Just like any other mentor should be.
"Thank you." Klaus said.
***
"Sit." Cha-Cha spoke harshly. Hazel took a seat on the covered toilet. "You told me you shot the wife in the alley. Now I'm hearing that you spared her?"
"Come on. Don't be ridiculous. You think I'd do something like that? I just... I was bored. I thought I'd give her a head start, make it more exciting." Hazel explained.
"Exciting? Wait, so... the kid in Tokyo, did he really get lost?" Cha-Cha asked. Hazel turned his head away. "Aw, Jesus, Hazel!"
"Jan says you're a real mensch, Hazel." Klaus spoke in the background. He then saw Cha-Cha walk over with duct tape in her hands. "He said you were such a great-- No. No! No!"
***
Detective Patch look at her clock. It was getting late. It was either now or let the victim die. She stood there for a few seconds. Maybe Diego was right. Just for once. Try it his way. "Screw it." Screw the warrant. Screw everything.
***
"Oh..." Klaus's words were now muffled.
"Shut up!" Cha-Cha said. Walking back towards the bathroom. She slammed the door closed. Allowing Klaus to quickly turn his chair around. Moving his feet. This was his chance. For him and Y/N.
***
Eudora walked down the hall. She looked around. Nothing suspicious catching her eye.
***
Klaus moved towards the wooden table. He looked towards Y/N, who was now drifting to sleep. He groaned, looking towards Ben, then looked to Y/N. "What am I supposed to do? She can't see me." He said. Klaus rolled his eyes. He then moved back over to Y/N. Kicking her hard in the leg. She shot up. Awake.
***
The detective looked down the hall of motel doors. She started looking through the windows.
***
"What the hell is goin' on with you lately? You're just not..." Cha-Cha snapped her fingers. "Especially on this job. You're distracted!"
***
She kept walking down the hall. She saw nothing. She was tempted to turn around.
***
Klaus heard footsteps. So did Y/N. "Not yet, Klaus. Not until they're close. You hear me? Not yet."
***
"I thought we were in this together. For the long haul." Cha-Cha said.
"We are." Hazel answered. She looked away. "I'm sorry."
***
She walked passed Hazel and Cha-Cha's motel room. Until Klaus let out a muffled scream. She couldn't hear anything. He looked towards Y/N. She had no ideas. Klaus looked at the table, and back at her. He sighed. "Klaus don't you dare!" She whispered harshly. But it didn't matter. He started thumping his head on the table. Besides, it seemed like the 'Klaus' thing to do. He groaned as he felt his skull would crack open at any moment.
***
Eudora stopped, as she heard thumping. She turned back towards the motel door, and pulled her gun out. She then saw a cleaning lady with her head phones on. She asked for the key card the room as she mouthed the words. She gave her the key card, and thanked her in silence. The woman suddenly began running away, as she saw her gun, and her badge. She'd been in that motel room before. Who knows what was happening in there.
Eudora went close to the door, as the thumping continued. She inserted the keycard.
***
Klaus stopped his actions. He laid his head on the table. Sobbing. "It's okay, Klaus. It's okay. We'll get out of here. I promise. You know why? Because I will beat them. We're getting out of this place." Y/N murmured. Holding onto life as best she can.
They suddenly heard the door lock click. The door opened slowly. When Y/N saw her badge, she felt relieved. Unless she was a vigilante like her idiot brother with a false badge. She'd seen him from time to time.
"Are you Diego's brother and sister?" Eudora asked in a whisper.
"Yeah." Y/N answered.
"I'm Detective Patch."
Klaus muffled his words, as he moved his head towards the back. She pulled out her knife and untied the ropes of Klaus's chair. He groaned from the freeness of his wrists. They stung. She was about to untie Y/N, when she noticed she was bound by chains, and not ropes. She looked at the girl sadly.
"It's okay. Let me go. It's okay." Y/N said. The detective nodded. Y/N looked towards Klaus, who was heading for the vent. The door to the bathroom suddenly opened. Hazel stuck out half his body, and one of his arms with with his gun. They shot and each other, but he retreated back inside. Klaus tripped over the corner of the bed from the noise.
"Police! Drop the gun, or you're going down!" She yelled. Y/N admired her fire. She saved people. At least she had something to live for.
Hazel stuck his hand out and threw his gun to the floor. "I'm coming out. Don't shoot." Hazel said. Klaus grabbed his coat. Y/N was confused, as she saw only Hazel come out from the bathroom. Where was Cha-Cha?
"Hands behind your head, asshole." She demanded.
"Okay. Just don't shoot."
Klaus gasped at the actions happening in front of him. He focused on getting out. Even though he wanted to help Y/N, she was pretty well committed into sacrificing herself, so he changed his mind, pulling the vent cover off.
Hazel went on his knees. His hands behind his head.
"No, no, no, no. You don't understand. There's two!" Y/N yelled.
Klaus grabbed the brief and crawled to safety.
"What? What are you talking about?" Eudora asked her.
"There's two of them. One's a woman. She could be anywhere! She could--" And Y/N, was cut off by the sound of a single gunshot. The woman gasped. It struck straight into her heart.
"No." Y/N murmured. Eudora fell to the ground. "No! No! Damn you, bastards! You bitch!" She yelled constantly. The chains rattled. Almost as if she would break free.
The two assassins ignored her curses towards them. They picked their weapons back up. Hazel pointed his gun at the woman. Making sure she was really dead. He saw blood pool around her.
"Hazel." Cha-Cha called. He looked to her, as she was looking towards the vent. "Couldn't have gone far." Hazel said. Dismissing the fact that their briefcase was supposedly safe and sound in there.
"That's not the only problem." She said.
It suddenly clicked in his head. "The briefcase."
"Who cares about your damn briefcase?! When this is all over, I'm going to kill you oh so slowly, your gonna wish I'd kill you faster." Y/N said. Her words sent a chill down Hazel's spine.
"What about the girl?" Hazel asked, with a bit of a stutter.
"Bring her with us. Knock her out if you have to." Cha-Cha answered. Then running down the hallway afterwards.
He turned to Y/N. His heartbeat raced, as he believe his sudden fate would be caused by the girl. He swiftly punched her in the head. Knocking her out. He pulled out a key. Unlocking the lock, and letting the chains drop. He pulled her unconscious body over his shoulder. Speed walking out of the room.
***
Klaus sat on the bus. The briefcase clutched his hands. His blue towel was still wrapped around his body. He was his coat so comfortably. His pain was over. But he would never forget. He laughed in glee. He then looked at the woman across from her. He winked her. She smiled back. But in her mind, she thought he was crazy. Klaus started caressing the briefcase. "Oh! Please be money." He flipped it around. "Only money. Or... treasure. Diamonds."
The woman across sat uncomfortably.
Klaus suddenly unclicked the briefcase, and in a flash of blue, he was gone.
The woman's hat flew off. She grabbed it and put it back on. As she was about to look at Klaus again, she saw that he wasn't there. She looked under the seat. Thinking that he'd crawled under. He wasn't there. But she just shrugged it off, and went back to enjoying her night on the bus.
***
Luther placed a sleeping Five on Diego's bed. Diego placed the mannequin on the stool by its neck. Having no idea that its name was actually 'Delores' and that she had a brain. He walked over to Luther who was watching the boy sleep. He looked so peaceful, yet he was so vicious everyday.
"Funny. If I didn't know he was such a prick, I'd say he looks almost adorable in his sleep." Diego said.
"Well, don't worry. He'll sober up eventually. Be back to his normal, unpleasant self." Luther said.
"Yeah, I can't wait that long. I need to find out what his connection is with these lunatics before someone else dies. And Y/N's. She's been with Five most of the time. She must know something. Wherever she is." Diego says.
"All that stuff he was saying before..." Luther started. Diego suddenly heard thumping. It sounded like footsteps. "What do you think he meant by that?"
Diego held his hand up. Luther looked at him in confusion. They both looked towards the door. Diego pulled out one of his knives, and went up the stairs. He put his hand up. Telling his brother to be quiet. Diego grabbed the door handle, and opened it abruptly. "You throw another one of those goddamn knives at me, I'm pressin' charges." Al spoke. His old man voice shining through.
"What do you want, Al?" Diego asked. Putting his occupied hand down.
"I ain't your secretary."
"Yeah." Diego and Al walked down the stairs.
"Some lady called for you, said she needs your help."
"What lady?" Diego asked.
"I dunno. Some, uh, detective. I think she said her name was, uh, Blotch, or somethin'." He answered.
"Patch?" The man asked. Al shrugged. "She needs my help." Diego murmured. Kind of proud.
"She needs you to meet her at that motel, a dump on Calhoun." Al said. Giving him his notepad.
"When?"
"About half an hour ago. Uh, said she found your brother and sister." Al said, as he walked away. Diego looked at Five while Luther stared into space.
"Well, I get she found Y/N, but the other part didn't make any sense." Diego said. He then looked towards Luther.
"Klaus." They said in unison.
"Go. I'll wait here with..." Diego slammed the door. "...him." Luther looked towards Five. He then looked at Delores. Patting her on the head.
He was honestly more concerned for Y/N than he was for Five. She just came back. Did she really, really leave this time? Or did she run again?
Who knows.
***
"Klaus? Y/N?" Diego called out. The motel door was open. And then, he saw Eudora. He saw the pool of the blood around her, as she laid on the floor.
- This year's love, it better last -
- Heaven knows -
"No, no, no! Eudora! No, no, no!" He took his gloves off. Diego's eyes began to water. "Eudora!" He blocked out everything else.
- It's high time -
- I've been waitin' on my own -
He flipped a lifeless Eudora on her back. She wasn't breathing. She wasn't warm. She was cold as ice. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no..."
- Too long -
He began pounding his fist into the carpeted floor. Mad at how cruel the universe was to him tonight. How it took the woman he was still madly in love with away from him. Piece by piece, he began to unravel. There was only so much he could handle. First Klaus and Y/N, wherever they are, and now Eudora. Killed at the scene.
- And when you hold me like you do -
- It feels so right, oh, now -
Sweat covered his face. His blood was boiling. Diego gently lifted her head. Hoping her eyes would open, and this was all some kind of prank. Her skin felt cold. He sobbed. He sobbed, because he should've been there. He should've got the bullet in the heart. Not her.
- I start to forget -
- How my heart gets torn -
- When that hurt gets thrown -
"I was on my way. I was..." His voice was raspy, as he fought hard against the tears.
- Feelin' like -
"Why didn't you wait?" He wanted someone to blame. Someone to kill. He wanted to avenge her. She didn't wait. She didn't wait, because his voice kept going on and on in her head, telling her to try things his way. And she did. And she paid the price. Diego knew the only person to blame was himself, but he denied that. This Hazel and Cha-Cha. Whoever they are. He was going to find them, and kill them.
- I can't go on -
He heard sirens in the distance. He couldn't be there when they arrived, or he'd get arrested. Maybe that's what she wanted. Maybe she blamed him. Maybe she hated him so much, that he'd be in such deep regret, he'd kill himself. Or maybe she'd want him to run. Run far away, and move on, and heal.
- Turnin' circles and time again -
- Cut like a knife, oh, now -
Diego saw the lights from outside.
- If ya love me, got to know -
- For sure -
"I gotta go, okay?" He said in her ear. His face close to hers. He couldn't believe he was saying goodbye. Of course, they both said goodbye to their relationship long ago, but this was a true goodbye. It was an "I didn't get the chance to say I still love you" kind of goodbye.
- It takes somethin'... -
"I can't be here when they come, okay?"
- Than sweet, sweet lies, oh, now -
Diego pulled his hands from Eudora's face.
- Before I open up my arms and fall -
He stood up. Looking at her face one last time.
- Losin' all control -
He grabbed his gloves, and all the knives he dropped stumbling in.
- Every dream inside my soul -
He saw on bow of doughnuts on the table. But that's not what caught his eye. He saw a crumpled receipt. He grabbed it, and took off. Back into the darkness, where his soul would wallow, and his emotions would be nothing but pain and anger.
- When ya kiss me, On that midnight street -
- Sweep me off my feet -
- Singin' ain't this life so sweet? -
☂
Author's Note:
Goodnight, everybody.