☂
START OF THE TRIAL
"Dead!"
☂
Leonard Peabody opened the door to his late grandmother's cabin. Vanya followed behind. He set the house keys on the oak wooden table, as Vanya looked at all the things inside. It was cozy and safe, like the warmth of one's bed. The windows and door was a bright tree green. The white flowy curtains framed the windows. There was a desk right next to the entrance on the left side. A few hundred books were set side by side on its shelf. "Oh. Wow." Leonard closed the door. "This place is so nice." She said with astonishment. "Whose is it again?" She put her stuff down.
"This is Grandma's place. Lots of pinched cheeks, right..." He stood in the middle of the small living room, then pointing down at the carpet. "Here." They chuckled. He walked towards the fireplace. A picture of his young self and his father holding fishing rods stood on the neatly carved stone. Neither of them were smiling. It was almost like happiness never existed in the Jenkins' family. And perhaps, that was true. Probably still is.
He stood uncomfortably. A disturbed look took over his face. "You okay?" Vanya asked.
"You spend your whole life trying to forget about the crap you went through as a kid. You know?" He face was deep and in focus. A depressed cloud was set in the atmosphere. "And then, the second you step back in, you feel just as insignificant."
"Yeah, I know." Vanya said softly. She contemplated in her brain whether was the best for a relaxation. "You know, we don't have to stay here. We can just..." Leonard turned to her. "Get a shitty motel or something."
"No." He spoke. "It's perfect for what need to do."
"Which is what, exactly?" She asked.
"We need to find out what you're truly capable of." He said. "Oh, my God." She sighed heavily.
"Remember what you said the day we met? Practice makes perfect."
"Yeah, this is a little different than chord progressions. I mean, if I do..." Her mind racked in red alert and disturbance. "Look, I can't even say it. I can't wrap my head around it. There's--"
"Vanya." He started. "You've spent your entire life feeling less than your brothers and sisters, only to discover you've had this in you the entire time. You owe it to yourself to discover what that really means. Okay?" He watched a small grin appeared on her face. She nodded. "Clear your mind. Focus." He walked towards one of the green windows. "Where better to do that than here?" He moved the curtain out of the way, and pushed the windows open.
The birds chirped happily. The air was clear, and the smell of fresh grass was strong. The cabin had strong bones. The black roof now faded. The pure green trees made shadows around the cabin. A lake was set across the cabin. Everything was surrounded by forest and nature. A perfect place. Perfect enough to hide a dead body. He had Vanya Hargreeves tightly wrapped about his finger.
And he was too excited to let go.
***
"I'm leaving." A serious face sat on Hazel's face as he looked down at Agnes. He believed that he loved her. He believed that she was the one. He knew that he himself was still a good person. Because if he wasn't, then he would've killed her instead, and smile at his mess. "I want you to come with me."
"Where?" Agnes asked.
"Anywhere. It doesn't matter to me." He said, as birds chirped and sang in the background like a cliché love story. "Let's just fly away, like those warblers."
"Is everything okay?" She asked in a soft tone, tilting her head.
"Sure, everything's swell." He said in a bit of a sarcastic tone. His mood transparent.
"No, it isn't." She chuckled softly. "Customer service, thirty-two years. You... You learn a thing or two." She sighed.
"It's just work."
"Oh."
"It's a new assignment." He explained. "Corporate. We're supposed to follow orders, no questions asked, but..." He stopped.
"But what?" Agnes asked with curiosity.
"I don't want to."
"Oh."
"Not anymore. I'm done playin' their games. I'm ready for a change. I think you are, too." Hazel said as he shifted his weight on both feet. His lower back slightly leaned against the trunk of the small blue car, as if he was a another young guy in high school with a leather jacket and gelled hair.
Agnes looked down to her feet. Taking a few seconds to process. She looked back up to his face. "Okay." Was all she said.
"Really?" He asked. His mind swarming with doubt a few seconds ago.
"Yes, really." Her hands held each other's fingertips, as her heart beat fast, and she could hear it. She wondered if he could, too. "I mean, it-- it's like what you said. 'Life is short, and if you wanna do something, you just gotta... go for it.'"
Hazel looked at the ground. He shook his head as his eyes turned red. "You have no idea, uh... how happy that makes me." He sniffled.
"Sure. Sure, I do. How did you partner take it?" She asked.
"Oh... Oh, I haven't told her. In the years we worked together, she's never taken a sick day. Her job's her life. I wouldn't know where to start."
"I mean, it wouldn't be right to just disappear." Agnes said.
Hazel hesitantly nodded his head. "Okay, I'll try." Knowing that Cha-Cha was a beast when it came to betrayal. "You better be packed and ready..."
"Okay." She smiled.
"...When I come get you. We leave in the middle of the night. Two stowaways."
"Okay." She laughed.
"Assuming you still wanna do it. I understand--"
"Hazel."
"Yeah?"
"I've never been more sure of anything in my life." She said confidently and honestly.
"Okay."
She suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck, and they leaned into each other for a kiss. Hazel lifted her up from her waist and slowly spun her around. He finally set her down. She was flushed, as she straightened her waitress apron. "Okay, I just..."
Hazel cleared his throat. "Sorry."
She walked slowly towards the back door of the doughnut shop. Hazel looked down, smiling. The woman laughed. "Okay." She waved her hand. "Bye." As the door closed, Hazel walked to the front of the car, and got inside. As he drove away, he didn't notice Cha-Cha, standing at the front of the shop outside, watching the whole scene go down.
Like I said. She was a beast.
Definitely not listening to 'Today Was A Fairytale' right now.
***
"You can do this, Klaus." Ben said as he walked down the alley. Graffiti painted all over the walls. "Luther needs you."
Klaus walked in his tye-dye palm tree sleeveless shirt. He shivered, but he was sweating immensely, like he had a fever. He sighed. Ben was staring at him in concern, and confusion. His hands in his jacket pockets. Klaus groaned as he leaned forward. Placing an arm over his stomach. "I just... Oh, I just..." He put his hands on his knees. "Ugh. This is... this is pointless. I... Aah. I'm goin' home. I... I have to go home. I'm so dope sick." Ben stood in front of him, stopping Klaus in his tracks. He chuckled. "You know I could just walk through you, right?" He walked through his dead brother.
"I'm well aware." Ben said annoyed.
"Ta-da!"
"But you need to keep trying. Help Luther."
"He could be anywhere right now, doing God knows what." Klaus turned to Ben. "You know what? This is probably a good thing." He walked forward. "The big guy needs a life, and tonight he's out experiencing the real world!"
"He's not ready for it." Ben said.
"Well, who is? Was I? Were you?" Klaus continued on, but stopped as he saw Ben's eyes change, into sadness and small shock. "I-- I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know you weren't ready to die violently at a young age." He put a hand on his face. "Oh, sobriety isn't easy." He looked back to Ben. "What? Why are you looking at me like that? It's not my responsibility. I-- I didn't sign up to save you or him."
"You're right. You didn't. But if you were in trouble, there is nothing in this world Luther wouldn't do to save your scrawny little junky ass." Ben said, raising his voice to Klaus's tone.
Klaus squinted his eyes, sadness etched on his face. "Damn it..." He muttered. Looking up at the sky.
***
Diego kicked the front door of the academy open as he held Five's legs, while Allison held his head. Y/N pressed a towel from Harold's house against Five wound to stop the bleeding, but not hard enough to push in the shrapnel. "We should have taken him to the hospital." Allison commented.
"A kid with a shrapnel wounds might raise some questions." Five said quietly and in pain.
"Yeah, well, so does the murder shrine and tracking board in Harold Jenkins' attic." Allison said, as she and Diego laid the boy on the bullet filled couch.
"Could've made up a convincing story. He's my brother. He's got two left feet, and he's knows for tripping every few seconds, no matter how flat the ground is." Y/N said with a hint of sarcasm. She removed the towel. Only to see more red flood from his side. "There's too much blood loss. We need to get the shrapnel out." She looked towards the front corridor to see woman with blonde hair, and a pink polka-dot skirt walk by. She walked away, like she was in a trance.
"Y/N, where are you going?" Diego asked. He looked towards Allison, who shrugged her shoulders.
Y/N kept walking. She stared at the woman like she was a miracle. "Mom?" Grace looked towards her.
"Oh, Y/N. Lovely to see you." She said with a smile.
"What..." Y/N saw a line on her forearm. She gently grabbed it, to see stitches along the line. "How are you walking around right now?" She asked.
"One foot in front of the other. Why? How do you do it?"
Y/N just shook her head with teary eyes and hugged her.
Diego decided to walk towards the scene. He stopped. "Mom?"
***
"We've been to seven bars, three strip joints, and a laundromat." Klaus evaluated as they walked down the sidewalk. "Luther's not here. Can we go home now?" He complained.
"Would he give up on you?" Ben asked.
The two heard women laugh at something in the distance. "Uh..." They turned their heads towards them.
"That's the biggest hairy guy I have ever seen." A woman said.
Klaus and Ben looked at each other. Ben shrugged. Now or never.
So Klaus walked into the club, with invisible Ben by his side. Techno music played, as people with light sticks and costumes danced in the neon lights, drunk off their asses. Klaus ground and tried blocking the noise out with his ears. "God, this is torture!" He groaned. He started to wonder why he even did what he did all those years.
"I can't hear you!" Ben yelled. Their eyes scanned the large hallways for anyone big and hairy. They stopped in their tracks when they did. Let's just say, all was well today. "Holy shit." They said in unity. Luther, without his coat on, or even a shirt, danced, with a giant smile on his face. "Do you think he knows?" Klaus asked, yelling over the noise.
"I don't think he cares." Ben said.
"Come on." Klaus hurried towards his brother. "Luther!" He yelled. "Luther!"
"Brother!" Luther said with a childish smile on his face. His arms open for a hug. He jumped down from the dance platform and lifted Klaus up with all his might, which took no effort whatsoever. He put him down. "Isn't this amazing?" He asked.
"Yeah. We need to get you home. Come on."
"Home? This is my home now." Luther said.
A woman with a neon purple fluffy hood walked towards Luther. "Where are you going? Come back." She heard one of her guy friends say. "Relax, I just wanna say hi." She said. She put an arm around Luther's neck. "Huge fan of the furries."
"See?" Luther said with a smile.
"Yeah." Klaus said in slight defeat.
"Have you ever tried one of these?" Luther asked, holding a flat circular pill.
"Yeah." Klaus said. He could see his old self in Luther.
"I've never felt so alive. But I'm so thirsty."
"Yeah." Klaus took the pill from Luther and threw it across the dance room. "Why'd you do that?" Luther yelled. "I have no idea." Klaus said. Luther and the girl continued dancing. Klaus stared in the distance where he threw that pill. His shoulders were stiff. He started to feel uncomfortable. He shut his eyes. The beat of the music affected his brain like drugs, only it was like a violent poison. A bloody war in a river. A sharp blade to the heart. Ben came to his side. "Come on, Klaus. You can do this. Stay strong. Don't give into temptation."
Klaus put his hands on the temples of his head. "No!" He started limping through the crowd. He heard rumbling. "No!" He heard his own screaming. He gasped as he stumbled towards a pillar. His hands still at his head. He heard screeching, like how you scrape your nails down a chalk board. He whimpered. Until he heard a voice. A small innocent one. The voice of a three year old.
"In life, you get lemons. And sometimes, those lemons aren't good. They're bad. And the only way to get rid of those kinds of lemons, is by destroying them."
Klaus opened his eyes. His eyes ran through the crowd of dancing, drunk, and high people. Then he saw the drug laying on the floor. He dragged his hands down his face. He would have to destroy his bad lemon. He started crawling on the floor like a baby before they start walking, or like a soldier, as they power through landscapes of mud and water. He started to get deja vu, as he saw soldiers run past him.
"Go, go, go!" A man yelled.
He heard sirens blaring. Bombs whistling. Helicopters flying. Gunshots. He heard himself. The version of himself that found true love. He wondered if he'd ever find it again.
"We need a medic here!"
"Dave!"
He heard Dave scream. He reached him, as he laid dead on the floor. His eyes were open. He put hands around his chest wound, and cried softly. In reality, he held the drug in his hand. His acid and sourness faded. He wanted to thank three year old Y/N for bringing back a long lost memory.
***
Five laid in his bed. An IV attached to his arm, as Grace tended to his wound. Y/N shot small amounts of air against Five's forehead to keep him cool while he was unconscious. Diego and Allison watched from the doorway, like parents who watched their young children sleep peacefully, and wonder what they will become when their older. Y/N walked towards the two, walking them a little ways from the room. "Anything?" She asked.
"There's no answer at Vanya's place. And the receptionist at her music school sad she was a no-show for her lessons today." Allison said. Y/N nodded her head, her face filled with worry. Diego started walking away. "Hey, you okay?" Allison asked.
"Yeah." He answered. He looked at Grace, then looked away. "I don't know, it's just surreal seeing her."
Y/N sighed, looking towards her. "I know. I just wanna tell her that I'm..." She stopped. Allison looked at her. Diego shook his head. "It doesn't matter. We have to go anyways."
"I don't know, Y/N." Allison started. "Five is laying there, unconscious. We need him."
"We can do this ourselves." Diego said.
"But you all did that already, remember? You all died." Y/N said annoyed, as she felt she'd been saying it forever.
"But you didn't." Diego said. "Who knows what you did in the future. Maybe you walked away. Again."
Y/N scoffed at him, feeling hurt. "That is a low blow, Diego!"
"Guys, enough!" Allison said, raising her voice. "We need a plan."
"Well, it's sounds like you have one." Y/N said, folding her arms.
Allison sighed. "I don't know. I'm just... I'm thinking I should go and see Claire before--"
"You can't run away from this, Allison." Diego spoke in a hushed voice. "That's what started this whole mess in the first place." He looked at Y/N.
"Wha--" She pointed at herself. "Okay, first of all, I had reason." Diego gave her a look. "One that I am not willing to share."
He rolled his eyes, then looked down. "Luther was right."
Allison looked away from Five with raised eyebrows, and turned to Diego. She scoffed with a grin. "I didn't think I would ever hear you say those words."
"Yeah, well... we gotta stick together." He said.
Y/N sighed. "Alright, well... where do we start, boss?" She joked.
Diego rolled his eyes again. "There's no other addresses in the file, but there is another relation listed. Jenkins' grandmother." He started. Y/N nodded her head. "She lived near Jackpine Road." He started walking down the stairs. The others following.
"You think he took her there?" Allison asked.
"It's a good enough place to start."
They walked towards the front door and opened the gate. Allison held the file in her hand. Diego began walking down the street, until he saw two cars slowly headed their way. "Nope. Come on, this way."
"Wait, but the car is back that way." Allison said.
"Trust me, okay? Come on." He said. Y/N rolled her eyes. "You know, you have become very see through this past week, you know that?"
"Wait, what is going on?" Allison asked.
"They're here for me." Diego said plainly.
"Of course they are." Y/N said dryly.
"Y/N, shut up." He turned back to Allison. "They think I did something."
"What do they think you did?" Allison asked.
"Kill someone." Y/N answered.
"Y/N!" Diego yelled. The police lights went off. "I hate you." He said.
"Did you?" Allison asked.
"No, no, no, of course not, okay? Why would you ask that about me, anyway?"
"I mean, you do carry knives with you everywhere."
"Good point."
"Yeah, okay, we're gonna have to split, okay? I'm in charge."
"No, you're not."
"No, I'm not. But right now, I am. Hey." Y/N and Allison looked at him. "Remember. Vanya needs you."
"Don't do anything stupid, okay?" Allison said, putting a hand on his shoulder. She started walking away, but Y/N didn't follow, as she was pulled back from her arm. "Take care of Allison, okay? You might just be one of most sane people among us." Diego said. Y/N sighed, knowing what he was feeling.
"Hey." She said. Diego looked at her. "I was there. When she died. It isn't your fault." Diego looked down, shaking his head. "I know I'm not the one that killed her, but I didn't save her."
"Murdering and saving are two very different things." She said. As Y/N spoke to him, a cop was standing right behind Diego. "You need to let her go, Diego." Diego shook his head. His face stiffening. "You need to let her go." She grabbed his arm and pulled him close. "You need to believe, that she will always be with you, no matter where she is." She said into his ear. She closed her eyes, and pushed her brother back.
Cops swarmed around him, as the cop grabbed his wrists and bounded them with handcuffs. "I expected better from you, Chuck." Diego said, as he saw Beeman get out of his police car with a gun from the corner of his eye.
"I got orders. Don't make this harder than it already is." He looked to Y/N, who was standing a few feet away from the scene. She nodded her head. "Diego Hargreeves, you're under arrest on the suspicion of the murder of Detective Eudora Patch."
"Rodriguez, I thought we were friends."
"You killed a cop, asshole."
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you."
Diego slipped a knife from his back and dropped on the floor, spitting on it. "Use that against me."
Beeman watched as Diego Hargreeves was taken away. He then put his gun away, and walked towards the girl who stood in the middle of the street. "I did what you asked."
"It's only right." She looked to him. "Don't hit him like last time."
"That was Eudora. And he deserved it."
Y/N chuckled. "Some things change. Sometimes completely." She sighed. "I have to go. My sister's missing." She started walking away.
"Maybe I can help." He said.
"I'm afraid you can't. It's beyond you." She answered.
"How beyond?" He asked.
She looked down in thought, then looked backed to him. "To the Moon."
"We've already accomplished that."
"It's just a metaphor Beeman." She started walking towards the car, where Allison was.
Chuck sighed. Another cop walked up to him. "He's secure."
"Alright, let's go."
***
Y/N got into the car. Allison hadn't even turned on the ignition yet. "What's wrong?" Y/N asked.
"I think you should stay here with Five." Allison confessed. Y/N looked at her in bewilderment. "Allison-"
"I heard what Diego told you." Allison said. "I am not your responsibility. You need to take care of yourself."
"You think I care about what happens to me?" Y/N asked. Her eyes glazed by her tears.
"I think you want to. But I also think that you feel that the moment you do, someone else will die." Y/N looked away from her. "Five needs you, and I know you guys aren't good-" Y/N looked at her, annoyed. "Have never been good, but he's hurt for crying out loud."
"He can take it like a man. Oh, wait, he is one. An old one, too." Y/N reminded.
"Yeah, but he'll be alone."
"He has Mom."
"That's not the same thing." Allison sighed. "Five, came back... unexpectedly. You did, too. And so far... you're the only one who can understand him. Y/N, he came back in his child body, and you and I both know we were never treated like normal little kids, even when we were little kids." Y/N leaned her head against the head cushion on the seat. "Maybe he got a second chance, I don't know. All I know, is that you need to be there for him, and he might not know it, but he needs you."
"Why am I so significant?"
"Only God knows."
***
"Look, I ju-- I don't think I can do this." Vanya said, as she and Leonard stood on the wooden dock, by the foggy lake. A boat barely visible in the distance.
"I know you can." He said. "Vanya, you've seen what people with power can do. They can stand up for those who can't defend themselves."
"Yeah, and at what cost? I watched everything my brothers and sisters could do ruin their lives."
"They're full of holier-than-thou bullshit." He said. Vanya looked at him confused. "Like you said. That's what ruined their lives. And that's not gonna happen to you. Okay? Just try and move the boat." She looked at the boat with the small lantern sitting on it. She closed her eyes. Steadying herself. "Is anything happening?" She asked. "Keep trying."
She sighed. "But I don't--"
"Think about how you want the boat to move."
She groaned. "Okay, but what? Do I-- Do I... Do I stare really hard? Am I supposed to point my fingers? Is...?"
"I don't know. There's only one way to figure it out."
She looked back to the boat. Her eyes glued on it. She raised a hand, hoping something would happen. She squinted her eyes. Leonard stared at the boat as well, feeling his heart beating out of his chest. And then she started giggling. "I ca-- I can't. I can't."
"What's funny?" He asked.
"What's...? I look and I feel ridiculous. I have no idea how they did this stuff with a straight face.
I--"
"It's because you're not used to it, that's all. If you kept trying, maybe you would--" She looked at him, wondering where his tone came from. She watched as he looked away. "You are so invested in this."
He scoffed. "I-- I'm just trying to help you, Vanya. You can't just give up that easily." He chuckled. "I'm sorry. Ah. Maybe you're right. I think we're both tired. So... why don't we go back and relax a little bit, okay?"
"Yeah, that sounds nice."
"And, uh..." He went to hold her hand. "Later, maybe we can grab some dinner?" She nodded her head. "I know this great little spot in town."
"Yeah."
They kissed each other, not knowing that the end was near.
***
Hazel walked into the motel room with a bag of Chinese food. "Cha?" He called. He placed the bag on the counter by the door. He heard nothing. So he sat at the small circular table, and wrote a note about him leaving with Agnes, but he couldn't. He crumbled it, and threw it in the trash can. Then he noticed a burnt paper in the trash can. He grabbed it, and saw the remaining words that looked as if they came from a type writer. But what caught his eye, was the name.
'HAZEL'
He looked into the distance. She burned it, because she was careless, and at the same time, not at all. He grabbed his message from his pocket, and placed the burned one on top of it, aligning the words together.
It was a set up.
He remembered when he walked out of the room to the vending machine. That's when he got his message. She must've gotten one, too. Of course she did. They were falling into a hole with their mission. He noticed a taxi pull into the parking lot. The sliding door opened. He saw Cha-Cha. He was quick. He closed the blind, and hurried to the bathroom. He turned on the shower, and closed the curtain. The perfect trick. He closed the door. He looked at the window. Cha-Cha was headed for the door. She cocked her gun, and slowly opened the front door. Hazel was gone. She was nervous. Nervous. Her occupied hand pushed back the bag of food.
Hazel hid himself behind the curtain like a child, though it worked. He peeked out, watching her steadily approach the bathroom door. He watched as she kicked open the door, and shot at the shower curtain.
She was going to kill him, because she knew that partners never left each other. She was mad. But in reality, she just didn't want to be alone. Especially in death. And even if she was going to die, then she'd gladly drag him down with her.
She heard no body collapse. So she opened the shower curtain, to see nothing but hot water running. Then she looked up at the wall, to see a message from the Commission. Hazel's message, which was held up with duct tape. It was a set up. She was hit in the head, by the butt of a gun.
He was careless, and at the same time, not at all.
***
The music continued to pound. Klaus stood up. Klaus picked the pill up in his hands. He saw the man with an old-fashioned hat look at him, and walk past him. He walked towards Luther. He was mad. Also, 'cause he wanted his girl back.
"Oh, shit, Luther." Ben said. "Help him, Klaus." Klaus waved his hand, and started running towards the man. "Luther!" He pushed through the crowd. "Sorry, sorry, sorry." He then jumped on the man's back, keeping him away from his brother. "Get him off me, guys!" The man yelled. "Luther!" Klaus yelled. But all Luther did was laugh. "Luther, help! Ow!" He fell. The side of his head smacked against the hard flat concrete ground.
A bell tolled.
'You will never know the cost of saving someone, until you actually save them.'
Klaus laid on the dirt ground. His eyes closed. His shirt, the only thing in color. His eyes opened slowly. He looked up at the colorless sky, as the colorless birds sang. He moved his joints, and held his head. He could've sworn he had just fell on hard cold ground. He got up, and looked in the distance, and sighed heavily. He stretched his arms, and turned around. "Oh. Yoo-hoo!" He waved to a little girl who rode her bike down the dirt lane. "Hello." He said as she got closer. She wore a white linen dress, with a long striped flannel. She had a sun hat over her head. Colorless daisies sat in the basket of her bike. She looked up at the man with a casual, and obvious annoyed look on her face.
"Almost didn't see you." She said. "You blend right in around here. So pale and all."
"Hmm." Klaus nodded his head softly.
"They don't have any sun down there?" She asked.
"Down there?" Klaus asked with a surprised look on his face. "Where am I?"
"Where do you think?" She queried.
"I'm not sure. I'm agnostic, so--"
"Doesn't really matter." She cut off. "You can't stay here."
"Why not?"
"To be blunt, I don't really like you all that much." She said, honestly.
"Mm." Klaus frowned. "Yeah, me neither. But wait a minute. Aren't you supposed to love all of us?"
The girl scoffed. "Where'd you get that idea? I need you so I can pick and choose. And you don't rub me the right way."
"Wait." He whispered. "So you... you made us? You made me?"
"Well, I made everything else, so I must've made you." She said. He laughed. "Why? Do you have another idea?" She asked.
He shrugged. "Maybe. A couple. I don't know." He went to touch the colorless daisies.
"Well, then, keep them to yourself. Time is flying, so hurry up. He's waiting for you." She looked into the distance.
"Who is?" He asked.
She pointed. He looked. Towards a small old house, where are large old water tower stood right behind it. Klaus smiled, and looked back towards the girl. "Dave." She put her hand down, and looked to him. She grinned softly. He ran towards the little old house. "Dave! Dave!"
He opened the the door, and rushed inside. "Dave?" It was a barber shop. Pictures of 60s men with their gelled hair were hung on the walls. The colorless seats were thick and glossy. Even the lights from the ceiling were old fashioned. The only sound was the man talking on the old fashioned radio. He sighed. No one was there but him. He looked around. The room looked foreign to him. He walked towards one of the seats, and sat in it. Which was exactly what he was expecting. He looked up at the ceiling. A large black piece of fabric wrapped loosely around his neck. He sat up in confusion. He sighed. A towel was wrapped around his face. "Oh! Oh, yeah. That feels so nice." He said as his chair spun around. Though, he didn't want him to see his face just yet.
"What in God's name took you so long?" Reginald asked. He walked towards the counter, as Klaus depressingly removed the towel from his face. "Dad."
"I expected my son who can conjure the dead to have brought me forth days ago." He said. His monocle over his left eye as always.
"Oh. Yeah, well, you see... It's complicated. You know, I... I tried. I--" Reginald carelessly placed the wet shaving cream over his cheek, then his mouth, and onto the other cheek. "...did, but--"
"You were poisoning yourself."
"Well, what do you expect? You'd just died. I was beside myself with grief."
"Don't you dare try to use me as an excuse for your weakness." He continued dabbing the cream.
"Oh, right, well, yeah, you had nothing to do with it. Locking me in a mausoleum with corpses when I was thirteen? No, you're right, it's irrelevant." Klaus whined. Reginald sighed as he started shaving his son's face with the straight razor, until he was stopped. "Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah. Careful, Dad."
"Don't worry. You're already dead." Reginald reminded.
Klaus's eyes wandered the room. "Oh. Well, that's a relief."
"You children like to blame everything on me."
"Well, you were a sadistic prick. Not to mention the world's worst father."
"I just wanted you to live up to your potential." He said truthfully. "You and your sister especially. You're my greatest disappointment, Number Four. You only scratched the surface of what you were truly capable of. If only you'd focused."
"Wait, wait, wait. What... What potential? Which sister?" Klaus asked.
"No, instead, you pump yourself full of poison because you're afraid." Klaus sighed. "Afraid of what? The dark?"
"You know, I suggest you get down off your high horse there, dear Papa." Klaus started. "You never had our best interests at heart. Look at your precious Number One. Luther found all the unopened letters he'd sent you. He knows that you sent him up to the Moon for nothing."
Reginald stopped shaving. "That was foolish of me." Klaus looked to his father. "I should have burned it all." He sighed.
Klaus laughed. "That's your takeaway. Oh, wow. Yeah, course it is." He stopped laughing when Reginald tilted his head harshly to shave the other side. "Not an ideal solution, I confess. But I knew that the world would soon need him, need all of you, and I had to do what was necessary." Klaus looked at him in confusion. "Is he okay?" He finally asked.
"Do you care?" Klaus asked.
"Everything I did, everything I put you through, it was to prepare you, all of you, for something bigger than yourselves. You never understood that."
Klaus sighed. "We were--" He squinted his eyes, and held Reginald's hand back. "We were just kids. Little kids."
"You were never just kids. You were meant to save the world." Reginald said in a low voice, and continued shaving.
"Wait, wait. So you knew... knew all about this? About the apocalypse?"
"I knew that I had to bring you all back together, one way or another. The fate of the world depended on it."
"Wh-- What? What are you saying?"
"The only way to get you all back together was something... momentous." He hinted.
"Wait. You--" Klaus watched as Reginald drew his straight shaver metaphorical across his neck. "No. You don't mean... you killed yourself?"
"Not quite." Reginald started. "That's why I had to bring Marie back home."
"Wait, what? Marie? But you... You told all of us not to call her that anymore. You even stopped calling her that, yourself." Klaus said in complete confusion.
"And you asked why, all those years ago." Reginald looked into his son's eyes. "It is time I told you why."
"Oh, Christ, you could never do things the easy way, could you? You couldn't have picked up a phone?"
"Would you have answered?" Reginald said. "Now, listen to me, Number Four. What I'm about to say is of great importan--" He disappeared. Time had slipped away. There was not enough time. And soon enough, Klaus heard the music again. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I can't... No, I can't... I can't go back. I can't go back!" He cried. "No! Wait!"
Klaus sat up quickly as he gasped. "Stay!" Everyone stood around him. Not dancing. But concerned, and confused, and mostly annoyed that the vibe was killed. He sighed, as he heard people murmur.
"Who do you think this guy is, anyway?"
"I don't know..."
"Luther." Klaus started walking. Luther. Luther!"
"Bouncers kicked him out." A man said.
***
They laughed as they left the little shack. "No, I know it wasn't much. It-- It's good, though." Leonard said. His arm around Vanya's waist, as she had hers around his. They walked back towards the car. "No, it was delicious." She said. "It was nice to have some downtime."
They heard men laugh. "Fellas." Leonard said to them. The men drank their beers on their car. "Good evening. We're-- We're heading out, so if you don't mind..."
"I'm actually pretty comfortable. You comfortable?" One of them men said to his friend. "Oh, I'm just peachy. Thanks for askin'."
Leonard chuckled. "You guys are funny. Uh, I'm sure you can find another car to drink your beer on." He walked towards the man closest to him. He crushed his beer can, and threw it against the car windshield. "Ah..." Leonard squinted his eyes he pinched his nose. "We like this one." The man said. "But, if you want, we'll trade you the car for the girl."
"Okay." Vanya started. "Get off the car and leave us alone."
"No problem!" The man said, as he slapped her butt.
"Hey. Don't touch her." Leonard said, pointing a finger.
The man laughed. "You gonna do somethin' about it, sweetheart?" As soon as Leonard was punched in the stomach, it'd started to rain.
"Hey! No!" Vanya yelled. The man behind her held her back. "Whoa, whoa, whoa."
The man behind Leonard held back his arms, and the other man punched him in the face. "Leonard!" She yelled. Punch to the stomach. Again to the face.
The man holding Vanya pushed her against another car. "Stop it!" Thunder rumbled. "Leave him alone! Stop it!" Leonard fell to the ground. The man smashed his fists against his spine. They started to kick him. "No!" The man holding Vanya joined the beating. "Com on, you piece of shit!" One of the men yelled at Leonard, who was close to being unconscious. They kept kicking. "Help!" She yelled. She started to hear metal scratching. She ran towards the man, but he pushed her back. And suddenly, a large powerful ball of water was unleashed from within her. The men were slammed against brick walls. Another car, and a van. Vanya didn't care what had happened. She went down to Leonard. "Leonard! Help! Help! Help!"
'Erase the true nature of the monster brought last.'
***
Cha-Cha sat against the air conditioning pipe. One of her hands was handcuffs to the pipes. A piece of duct tape over her mouth. Hazel stood over her. Waiting for her to wake up. And she did. She was startled. At first, she noticed she couldn't speak, then she saw the handcuffs. "Cha-Cha, I know this will be hard for you to understand, but I want out. I'm done. I quit." She watched his face as he spoke. Unashamed. Motivated. "We've together for a long, long time. We're good at what we do. We can kill anyone. But when I got the order to kill you, I knew I couldn't do this anymore. I'd appreciate it if you would accept my wishes, and... we can go our own separate ways." When she didn't make any movement, or muffle, he removed the tape from her mouth. She still said nothing. "Aren't you gonna say anything?"
"This world is ending, and here you are, only thinking about getting your dick wet." She said.
He sighed. "Man." he turned away.
"What? You think I ain't know about you and your dried-up doughnut whore?"
"Hold on. Hold on. This isn't... I'm-- I'm in love. Okay?" He yelled. She rolled her eyes. "And I have no intention of letting it go." He watched as she said nothing. But he was a grown adult. He never even remembered being a kid. "You know what? I don't need to justify my choices to you. This is my life. Not yours."
"You won't have a life in three days, shitheel. You and your whore will be dead, just like everyone else. So be sensible here. We have a great job. The best job. We get to visit exotic places, meet new people, and then kill 'em. We got it made, asshole. You just need to wake up and smell the coffee. We're gonna find the briefcase, get it back to the Commission, and then go back to the way things were, okay?"
"I don't wanna go back to the way things were." He said. She tried her best to keep in her anger. "Three days left." She said.
"Well, I'd rather have three days left with her than three-thousand with you, you coldhearted bitch."
"Okay, then shoot me!" She yelled. He cocked his gun and aimed at her head, but he didn't pull the trigger. "What?" He asked. "Shoot me. Because if you leave this room and I'm still alive, I'm comin' after you and your ugly slut. And when I find you, there'll be no speeches. No last words. I'm just gonna kill you." His hand began to shake. "But first I'm gonna kill her, in front of you, real slow. So you can feel every ounce of her pain." He wanted to cry. She chuckled as she heard the rattling of the gun. He sniffled.
- Wake -
- From your sleep -
- The drying of -
"Do it!" She yelled. His hand shook violently. He felt the guilt drown his heart, like he was shooting at a child.
- Your tears -
He exhaled sharply, and put his hand down. "So long, partner."
Unsafe.
- Today -
She leaned against the metal. Wishing he had shot her. "Hazel." She watched as he made no eye-contact, and grabbed his things. "Hazel, where the hell do you think you're goin'? Hazel, get back here!"
- We escape -
"Get back here! I know how to find you! You're dead! Dead!" She yelled. The neon lights lived in the afterlife darkness. He grabbed the last thing he needed, and held his hand up.
Goodbye.
"You and your ugly whore, you're dead! You're dead, Hazel! Dead!"
- Pack -
- And get dressed -
He stood on the sidewalk, wondering if she meant it. If at anytime, at any place, she would make her first strike. Her great kill.
Salvation.
He sobbed, and walked to the car.
Guilt.
- Before -
***
- Your father hears us -
Allison drove in the rain. She didn't mind the hard crashing of the water, or the pale lights that would annoy the usual banal people that had narcissism as a bad habit. She worried about Vanya. She remembered what Y/N had said. They had many things in common. Pain. Loss. One had told, and one had locked away.
Paranoid.
***
- Before -
Klaus and Ben walked down the sidewalk. Klaus held his arms. He shivered. His skin glistened with sweat. Ben. Hands in his pockets. Heaven. Out of time. A conversation that would never be finished.
Defeat.
- All hell -
He watched Klaus with careful eyes, as he felt as if Klaus might into a million pieces, like an empty vase, sitting in the middle of the street, in the cold Winter.
***
- Breaks loose -
She kissed him. Him, who would never be ready for the world. Who was high on the drugs, and swept off his feet like a little girl who falls in love. A love story. Fake. Used. Empty pleasure.
Illicit.
***
- And you can laugh -
Diego slammed his hands on the bench. Surrounded by bars. He might've gone insane. He knew he'd end up here again somehow. He'd thought she would've protected him. She didn't. He didn't want to let go. He wanted to keep the pain, because he deserved it. Because he was guilty. And as all lovers are, too late.
Madness.
He sat on the bench. He felt something poke his stomach. Squinting his eyebrows, he reached under his shirt. The Black Notebook. He saw something stick out of the top, barely. Pulling it out, his heart might've stopped. A folded square piece of vanilla paper. Smooth as the day it was first made. He opened it.
'ᎶᎧᎧᎴᏰᎩᏋ'
'ᏰᎧᏖᏖᎧᎷᏝᏋᏕᏕ ᎴᏒᏗᏇᏋᏒ'
He stayed confused. But he recognized the handwriting. Hard to read, but familiar. Girl writing. And the bottomless drawer. Full of all the secrets that held so many. How many?
Ten?
Hundreds?
Thousands?
He opened the notebook.
'Marie Hargreeves'
The name.
The name he was told to forget.
Why?
He turned page after page.
Terrified.
'EXPERIMENT GONE WRONG.'
'THE BUNNY LOST ITS HEAD.'
'THE CHILDREN WERE AFFECTED.'
'MUST BE CONTAINED.'
'NUMBER NINE MUST DISAPPERAR.'
Number Nine?
Who?
- A spineless laugh -
***
Five laid in his bed. Asleep. He healed. By second. The prosthetic eyeball sat on his night stand.
A figure opened the window of his bedroom. She climbed inside quietly. She was good at it. Could've made a profession out of it. She pulled up a chair, keeping it off the ground until putting it in the perfect place. She took a seat. Sending a soft and gentle wisp of air onto his face. He moved slightly, but un-awakened.
- We hope your -
She grinned softly. She healed. By second.
- Rules and -
Happiness.
***
- Wisdom -
Vanya sat in the waiting room. Her hands rubbing her eyes in tiredness and worry.
What had happened?
She wouldn't know.
Why did they do that?
She wouldn't know.
Was he okay?
She wouldn't know.
Was she okay?
She wouldn't know that, either.
- Choke you -
The rain.
The kicking.
The yelling.
- Now -
The energy.
The people.
Who screamed?
She wouldn't know.
- We are one -
- In everlasting -
Leonard holding his bleeding eye.
- Peace -
A doctor came to her. She looked towards him. He explained. She listened. Standing up, taking her coat. Wondering...
- We hope -
- That you choke -
- That you choke -
He looked at him. The feeling of crying. There was no more sadness left. Just darkness.
- We hope -
- That you choke -
She touched his shoulder. He turned his head. An eyepatch. Left eye.
- That you choke -
Liar.
***
Tears fell from her eyes.
If Vanya had died.
Would she care?
Yes.
If she had died.
Would she care?
Undefined.
She kept driving. Under pressure. Drowning in her sorrow.
- We hope -
Into darkness.
Alone.
- That you choke -
- That you choke -
Sadness.
☂
Author's Note:
That was a long one. Don't ya think? How did you like it? Happy Thanksgiving by the way! Happy Hanukkah!
- We hope -
You have an awesome day!
Oh, and warning to you all.
Things might get spicy???
I didn't say that.
Yes you did.
No, I didn't. Yes I did.
Anyway, stay safe.
Love you!