𝙼𝙰𝚁𝙲𝙷 𝟸𝟹, 𝟷𝟿𝟼𝟹
―
THEY MADE IT TO THE FARM IN TIME TO SEE THAT THE ENTIRETY OF IT WAS COVERED IN SNOW. A large blue colored cloud was spiraling out of control from a barn. It was causing the sudden storm in March and it sent chills down their spines - all eight of them.
"Is there any possibility of snow falling in March?" She leaned over to whisper to Five, her eyes never moving from the blue cloud.
"Unless there was some other external force." He whispered back, also mesmerized by the cloud. "And it looks like we're about to meet it."
As soon as the car was parked, everyone stumbled out of it. The girl grabbed Five's hand as he pulled her out of the car and she began to wish she took her coat with her. She didn't remember winter very much since she was usually locked away, but from her memories, it was her favorite season pre-apocalypse.
"You think whatever's going on inside is causing the cold front?" Diego shouted.
"Better believe it." She commented just as a woman came barging in from the barn
She was blonde and pale. She was holding a shotgun.
"Get back!" She shouted, with her gun raised at them.
"Sissy!" Vanya stood in front of her siblings and Ella. "Sissy!"
"All of you, just get the hell back!" Sissy shouted and Klaus raised his hands as the younger looking girl took a step back, taking Five with her. He squeezed her hand to reassure her.
"Sissy! Hey! What's wrong?" Vanya asked.
"Carl." She sighed.
"What did he do to you?"
Sissy shook her head, "He's...he's dead. Harlan tossed him aside like a rag doll. Same way you sent those policemen flyin'. What did you do to him?"
"No–"
"Vanya, what the hell did you do to my son?"
"We don't have time for this, Vanya." Diego was courageous enough to stalk toward the barn, but Sissy didn't agree with that.
She pointed the gun at him, "Where you think you're going?"
"To help your son."
The girl's harm reached forward, cautiously, "Diego, she's going to shoot you. That's her kid. Stop it." She warned him.
"Look Sissy. I found my family." Vanya gestured to the group. "These are my brothers and sisters."
Sissy looked as if she may begin to cry before glancing at Vanya, "Were you lying to me this whole time?"
"Of course not." Vanya cried out. "Look, I didn't know who I was, but I do now. And we are not the monsters they say we are. We did not kill the president. We are not terrorists. We're not here to hurt anyone."
"Then...who are you?"
"The only one who can help Harlan." Vanya pleaded.
With that, Sissy let them pass and they all tumbled into the barn. Entering, they all saw a boy floating in the middle of the barn in a whirl of blue and orange. His body was convulsing and the girl's heart quenched. What was happening to him?
"Harlan!" Vanya called out.
The girl stayed back and held onto Five's arm, alarmed at how a boy, Harlan, – who was scared and confused – could use the power by accident. If he had Vanya's powers then he could be easily as destructive.
"Look, Harlan, I know you're really scared, but I can help you. I need you to listen to me, okay? Can you do that?" Vanya shouted over the wind. She looked over to his mom and she nodded and kept going.
Vanya's eyes turned white and she closed her eyes before walking through the storm.
As Vanya began to calm Harlan down, Klaus called out to them, "Uh...guys."
The girl turned around towards Klaus, who was near a set of open doors. She walked over to where Diego was headed, along with Five, Allison and Luther.
"What?"
"Who are they?" Klaus furrowed his eyebrows. He's seen a lot of things, but this was a first.
Two women stood side by side on the field, staring at them. It was kind of unnerving. It was only when the girl identified one of them being Lila did she swallowed in fear.
"One's the Handler, the other's Diego's girlfriend."
"Lila. That's my ex-girlfriend." He muttered.
Luther spoke up, "You know what? Doesn't matter. They both look angry."
"Our brother has that effect on people." Allison added.
"I'm gonna go and find out what they want. You guys stay with Vanya and the kid." Five straighten his back.
"Let's go." The girl said, stepping forward when Five grabbed her shoulder. Before he could issue a warning, she said, "I don't trust them. If you go alone, you're risking your life. I'm coming with you."
"I'm coming with you, too." Diego said.
Five relented and instead grabbed her hand, leading her into the field as Diego trailed next to them. They reached the edge of the cold front and where the snow ended and that was where they were met face to face with the two women.
"I love the smell of that fresh country air, don't you, darling?" "The Handler" as Five called her, asked her daughter.
"Makes me wanna vomit." Lila sneered.
"My, my." The Handler's eyes rested on Juliette Valendur. "You see, I didn't believe my own daughter when she told me that you were alive. Even little Fivey over here didn't tell me of your existence." And Five had good reasons to not tell her. He always suspected she knew more than she let on about his wife's "disappearance".
"Don't even know who you are." The girl raised an eyebrow, her voice unwavering and a bit impatient. "Glad to see you finally came back." She directed towards Lila and the woman had the least amount of shame to look down.
"What do you want?" Five asked.
"To watch you suffer." Lila quickly regained her composure and glared at him.
"What about me?" Diego asked, hopeful.
She looked at him with disgust, "You're not even worth my wrath."
"Easy." The Handler reprimanded. "We're here on official business."
"And what business is that?" Five asked.
"As Head of the Commission, I've decided to eliminate the criminals responsible for the assassination of the former Board of Directors." She said with a smile.
"Assassination?" The girl blinked. "I think it was your Field Agents trying to kill us twenty four seven instead."
"Plus, we didn't kill the board." Diego said with a chuckle.
"Uh, actually," Five swallowed, "That's not entirely accurate."
"Excuse me?" The girl's head swiveled around to Five. "What did you do?"
"I did what I had to do to get our family home." Five defended. "Until somebody reneged on our deal." Five gestured with his head to the Handler.
"Somebody wouldn't have reneged if somebody could've met a simple deadline. Alas." The Handler tucked her hands into her pockets, unapologetic.
"You set me up to fail."
Something about Five's statement made her look at the Handler a little closely. Now thinking about it, Lila looked awfully familiar. Not just because they spent months in an asylum together, but something deep in her mind.
"You set yourself up to fail, friend. You know, you're the one who dragged them all into this mess. Even your wife." She gestured to the girl. "And she didn't deserve it, did she?" Five looked to the ground before glaring back at her. "You dragged her and your siblings. Kinda the running theme of your little life, isn't it?" She taunted.
The girl squeezed Five's hand. She didn't blame him.
"Dude, I can't believe you killed the board of directors." Diego whispered harshly. "You have no idea how messed up the Commission is right now."
Now this set up alarms in the Handler's head, "Messed up? Who's saying that?"
"Everybody. Even the janitors think it's going to shi–"
"Well, I find this all very ironic. Don't you think so, Mrs.Hargreeves?" She smiled at the girl. "You had so much potential. Could have even been my protege. But now we're back to where we last met. Aren't we?"
"Mrs?" She blinked in confusion. Hargreeves? Wife?
"Oh, right. I forgot. You were going to file for divorce after your little side mission."
"What are you talking about?" Five voiced Ella's same question.
"She knows." She chuckled. "Well, hopefully she will know. With the whole...amnesia thing. Truly a blessing for me and for you, little Five. You got to keep your little facade of her."
"I wouldn't count it as a blessing." Five bit back. "And don't talk about her like that."
"Oh, but for me, it was." She chuckled. "You see...she was too smart. Too much cookie cutter until she wasn't. Digging through things. Looking for things. She hardly kept a low profile like you had told her to. And just when things are about to go sideways, she disappears. Ever wonder why she did that? Especially with the meeting she had with the family department." She smiled as Five twitched - he didn't know that Juliette was going to file a divorce.
The girl knew she was twisting the story. That wasn't why she disappeared. She didn't choose to. She didn't do it.
Someone else did.
Someone else wanted her gone.
And she had her suspicions on who did it.
"Just a little information before your inevitable end." She sighed, knowing that the doubt she planted in Five would cause him to get sloppy. "Enough of this. The point is, all of you are going to die today. Hmm?"
"Oh. Well, I don't like your chances." Diego said. "Eight of us, two of you."
"You know, you're right. Let's change that." She snapped her fingers and thousands of Commission agents appeared in blue flashes. Some of them were wearing masks, in suits and holding weapons.
The girl saw red in the corner of her eyes as her anxiety picked up. She looked to her hands and everything began to crash down before her.
No, no, no, She begged herself.
"So what do we do now?" Diego asked, still looking into the crowd.
"Well we got two choices. Fight and die now or run and die later. Either way, we're food for the worms."
"Preference?"
"Wouldn't mind a few more minutes breathing air through the old windbags."
Five looked over to the girl, only to catch as she looked to her hands. Shit.
"All right. Let's get this over with shall, we?" The Handler lifted up her watch and a red handkerchief from her pocket. The moment she dropped it, it was over.
"Run!" Five shouted, grabbing the girl's arm and pulling her along.
The Handler grinned wickedly, watching as the three ran – one slower than the others because of her impending visions. Blood was crawling up her legs, slowing her down, but she kept running. It was an illusion, but it didn't feel like it. Once they had gotten far enough, she dropped the red handkerchief. With a battle cry, the Agents flooded the field and chased after the ones responsible for the Commission's demise.
Bullets were fired at them and they were lucky enough to not get shot at. Allison, Luther and Klaus ran back to the barn too. They all had incredibly bad aim if they hadn't been shot yet. Everything seemed to slow down in the girl's mind. She could hear talking, but didn't hear it. She felt herself moving, but it felt like a dream.
The house ahead of them was covered in red.
She was pulled behind a tractor that was on the field. They kneeled down, catching their breaths. The girl put her hands on her head – the bottle caps were popping again. She hit her head against the ground, trying to get out of it. She couldn't die now. She couldn't be hopeless now.
I have to survive. I have to survive. I have to survive.
Five grabbed the girl and brought her close to him. He mumbled reassurances to her, hoping to calm her down. It wasn't her fault she was like that. It was someone else's.
"I'm out of fuel." He muttered after he tried to blink out. "I'm too tired." He put a hand on the girl's head as her breathing began to slow down.
Diego looked up and knew they didn't have much time before the others came, "Go. Take Ellie with you. I'll cover for you."
"Diego, what are yo–"
"Go!" Diego shouted.
Five didn't argue the second time and instead took the girl's hand, lifted her to her feet and pulled her along to the house. She seemed to recover from her episode, but when the sound of bullets began to peer through his ears, he knew they didn't have long. They ran to Sissy's house as Diego stood in the line of fire. They pushed through the front door and that's when the gunfire reached the house.
Five pushed the girl in front of him, getting her into the house before pulling her underneath the table. It only worsened as everything began to shatter around them. Lights, dishes, windows, wood. Five kept her down on the ground, his body covering her. She put her hands over her ears and her head to the ground as Five kept guard around her.
Five never thought he'd meet his end so soon. With all the time travel, he had forgotten that the one thing he couldn't cheat was death. But he needed to at the moment. Not when Ella needed him. Not when Juliette needed him. He'd die one hundred horrible deaths if he could get her out alive.
The girl reached up and brought him down with her to the floor, not allowing the fact that he was willing to take a bullet for her. The two laid flat on the floor, Five more or less on top of her. She kept an arm around his shoulders and his was planted around her waist. Their heads were to the floor and the only thing Five could say was three words and seven letters. He apologized for every wrong he has ever done. For being a horrible friend at first. A horrible husband later on. He went on and on about how he could have done better. How he didn't blame her for wanting a divorce at the time. But most of all that he loved her.
And this time, she heard.
She heard his words.
And it was like Reginald said.
However, if you truly wish to do this, if you have the powerful will, then allow yourself to enter the deepest parts of your mind. It may need a trigger for you to do this. Whether that be putting yourself in a situation where you have to remember or taking quiet time to remember.
She needed to remember now. Because if she didn't, she'd die not knowing. She'd die without ever knowing. She'd die when so many other people needed her.
It was like those shots in movies when the character has a vision of everything in her life. She saw her mother, her friends, her first musical, the day she created her band, the first piece of music she wrote, the first time they played at a club, their hangouts, a boy with blond hair, her pink hair that she dyed when she was fifteen and the faithful day that she ended up in the apocalypse. She saw the first day she found Five. She saw Five as he grew up. She saw their argument, their teasing, their taunts, their loving moments. She saw the piece of paper she signed one faithful day. She saw as they grew up and became their older selves. She saw their time at the Commission. She saw the argument. She saw the day of her disappearance. She felt the pain in her heart, the feeling of being transformed into her younger self. She felt the needles piercing her skin and the shocks radiating through her body. Then she hear Lila, Diego and then everyone else who came along.
She remembered the look in Five's eyes when he saw her again.
And the dots began to connect with every word, sentence, events.
The girl wasn't Ella Hills.
Ella Hills was only a figment of her mind that protected her, but she felt Ella say goodbye to her as she left her body and mind – leaving it unlocked for her in her sorrowful farewell. Tears welled up in her eyes as she said goodbye to the once peaceful mind she knew and entered the void of everything she was hiding from.
She hadn't noticed that she was crying, sobbing really, as Five brought her close to him, wishing he could stop it. But she wasn't crying out of fear: she was crying because she was mourning. Mourning herself, the pain she went through, the fear and anger that festered in her and how much time she had left Five. She mourned her entire life.
This was the cost of being Juliette Valendur.
The gunfire then ceased, in a sudden turn of events. The two of them stayed on the ground for a moment, wondering if it was a trick. The both of them raised their heads from the ground, sitting up slightly. Glass shards fell from their backs and heads, some lightly cutting them.
"Five." Juliette turned to her husband. "Is it over?"
"I don't know." He crawled out from underneath the table, not noticing the arrival of his wife. He let out his hand and she took it, standing up from her position. He looked at her face, observing cuts from shards of glass that had cut her skin.
But Juliette wasn't looking at him. She went to the door and glanced outside to see thousands of bodies on the ground. She didn't think they were taking a nap. However, the only unharmed ones were the Handler and Lila as they stood in a force field. It fell and it was then that Lila stood up, a white light similar to Vanya's glowing in her chest. She flew up and then powered herself up. Before Five knew it, Juliette had thrown them on the floor just as Lila's energy surge ran across the farm.
"Shit." The both of them murmured. They held each other close, Juliette was almost cutting off his circulation.
A large bang hit the house and she held on tighter when she felt the house shake. Five stood up, assisting "Ella" to her feet once more. They went over to where Luther had crashed into the roof of Sissy's home.
"Luther, you all right?" Five asked.
"Oh, I think I swallowed my tongue."
Five sighed, almost comically, "Luther, if you swallowed your tongue, you wouldn't be talking you big moron. Come on, on your feet."
Luther stumbled, but corrected himself, "What the hell happened? What was that?"
"She must've redirected Vanya's energy wave–"
"But how?" Luther asked. "How did she redirect the energy–"
Juliette knew exactly how, but she couldn't voice it as something began to happen. Five looked up, his eyes widening as he noticed the roof about to collapse on his brother. He called out a warning as he shoved his brother out of the way and the bricks fell on top of Five instead. Juliette cried out before she ran to the pile of rubble and began to pull the bricks off him in a rush.
"Five!" She shouted out, but no response.
"Five!" Luther shouted as he began to pick up bricks along with "Ella". "Five, can you–"
Juliette turned her eyes to see Lila standing near them, but she ignored the traitor and went back to tossing bricks to the side.
"What are you?" Luther asked.
"Someone who wants to kill your brother." She admitted.
"Well, that's understandable. Diego can be a lot to handle." Luther stood up.
"Yeah, I was talking about Five." She said, looking at "Ella" who was still picking at bricks.
"Him too." Luther nodded. "But unfortunately, they're family, so you're shit out of luck."
The two fought, Luther being caught by surprise, as Juliette finally got to where Five was and pulled him out as best as she could. She laid him down on her lap and captured his face in her hands. She leaned down listening to his heart, which was beating, and his breath, which was low but there.
She almost laughed – it was like the first time they met.
It wasn't until Luther was thrown out of the house – literally thrown – that she turned her attention back to Lila. The woman turned to her old friend, watching how she coddled the assassin who murdered her parents, and walked towards her.
"Ellie." She said, "I'm so sorry."
"Don't give me that. If you were, you wouldn't have left me alone. You would have taken me to the Commission where I would have lived in ignorance's bliss. I thought you were my friend, but you were only there for Diego. You only tagged along to get into the family. You never were my friend, were you?"
"I was." She nodded. "I would have liked to meet you under different circumstances." Juliette's eyes welling up almost made herself cry. She looked so young. "But unfortunately you're coddled next to the man who murdered my parents."
Juliette quickly stood up, slowly putting Five down on the smooth ground, "Yeah well...I also married him." She planted her feet in front of him. "And as much as you want to kill him, I know much more about the situation than you do. I want you to listen to me."
"I'm not listening to anything you have to say. He needs to die. He needs to pay for the lives he took. He took my life as much as he took my parents." She demanded. "I don't want to hurt you, little one."
"I spent my time at the Commission doing my job, but it was only when I discovered the truth about you, I disappeared." She explained, not waiting for permission. "I discovered the truth about your parents and who you were about two years after you were taken by the Handler."
"You're lying."
"Then explain why she told me that it was a blessing I forgot everything." She gestured to her head. "I had forgotten what she had done to me after I found out she kidnapped you. I was going to save you wh–"
"You're LYING!" Lila kicked her leg up to hit her side, but she already saw it coming and blocked it.
"I'm not!" She shouted back, defending herself as Lila kept throwing punches and kicking. Not once did she throw a punch back.
Lila's furry only pushed her further. She couldn't see that "Ella" had no use for lying as it only angered Lila. She punched her again and sent her flying across the room. She hit her head, but got back up, not ready to give up. Lila blinked behind her, pushing her to the ground – her face slamming against the ground.
It wasn't a fair fight and even Lila knew that.
"I would never lie to you, Lila. Why would I?" Juliette defended, holding her side as her face ran with blood. "And as much as you want to, I can't let you hurt him. I would never forgive myself if I let you." She had no energy to stand up.
"Then I have to make sure that you are in now shape to stop me." She grabbed her shirt and pulled her up. "And I'm sorry. I really believed that you were a sister to me."
Lila then summoned Luther's strength and tossed her out of the same hole that Luther created. Juliette landed on the ground. The air was knocked out of her and she felt herself blacking out. Her hand came to her side and she hissed as she made contact with the skin below her ribs. She must have broken a rib and maybe even her tailbone. She turned on her back and began to wait for air to enter her body again.
She had to get up. She had to protect Five. Lila was capable of killing him with the amount of anger she was harboring. Juliette began to cry as she tried to get up, but was incapable of doing so. She couldn't protect him because she was unable to.
No, please, no. I just got him back. Please.
"Hey, hey, hey!" A voice shook her by her shoulders. "Ellie. Ellie! Come on, get up."
"Klaus?" She whispered.
"Yeah, it's me. Come on. Let's get going."
"Five." She muttered. "We have to help Five. He's unconsciou..." She began to slip into the sweet remains of sleep when Klaus shook her awake.
"Don't go dying on me. Five is okay. That little old man can survive anything. And one, I don't know if the girl on the bicycle is going to let you back. She'd like you more than me. Two, Five would never let me live afterwards. Do me a favor and don't die for a few more hours." He put her arm around his shoulder and lifted her up as she muttered an "okay" before hearing her hiss and curse under her breath. "Got hit hard, huh?"
"Lila. It was Lila. She sucker punched me through the wall." She groaned, leaning into Klaus. "Thank you, Klaus."
"What's family for?"
As they both walked (Juliette limped), "You know...uh...when I was in the apocalypse, I always thought you'd be a hipster brother–in–law that I'd drink with whenever Five pissed me off."
"Well, if we get through this, I am treating you to the best brandy I can find in my father's reserve." He chuckled before realizing something. "Brother–in–law? You mean–"
"Yep. Turns out, I did have the hots for him." She joked, referencing back to the day in the hair salon. "Definitely grew up hot."
"I knew it!" Her smushed his face against hers. "Ahhh, finally, an in–law that I love. No offense to Patrick, but he definitely didn't like me, but you know, Raymond wasn't bad. Met him in jail."
"Of course you did." She was able to smile before wincing from the sharp pain.
They had made it around the house in time to hear Diego shouting for help. When they reached around, they spotted him trapped underneath a tractor that had fallen. He sounded hurt and desperate enough for Juliette to pick up the pace as much as she could.
"What took you so long?" Diego snapped.
"Not dying." Juliette muttered, letting go of Klaus, but still leaning on him. She would be good in a few minutes. Her adrenaline would be the best painkiller for now.
"Well, we're here now. Do you wanna stop complaining?" Luther rolled his eyes.
"Or we could just leave you here." Klaus said as he allowed Juliette to lean on him. "Honestly, you should have chosen a better girlfriend. Even Five chose someone better and he lived through an apocalypse."
"What he said." Allison chuckled before crouching on the ground, holding onto Diego's trapped leg.
"Does everything in this family have to be a discussion?" Vanya commented and Juliette nodded, although she didn't see.
Luther lifted up the tractor with Allison assisting and they were able to get Diego out from underneath. Even Juliette joined in the sigh of relief to know that Diego was still capable of walking.
"Okay, good, we have this solved." Juliette held onto her side. "Where is Five? He was in the house, but I have a feeling that Lila got to him already. I don't know if he was conscious. Lila was super pissed off. She thinks...she knows that Five killed her parents. I tried to tell her what actually happened, but she didn't listen. She threw me through the hole in the wall because I tried to stop her from murdering my husband."
"Husband?" The two, Luther and Allison, asked in sync.
"Later." She said, "But she has the strength of Luther. She can blink like Five and probably mimic anything else. It's her power."
"Yeah, that bitch just rumored me so I couldn't breathe."
"And destroyed like half the farm with a shock wave. So unoriginal." Klaus shook his head, but turned his head back to Juliette, making sure she wasn't passing out. "Why couldn't she have, you know, made herself into a worm? None of us can do that."
"If she can do everything we can, she might as well just be one of us." Vanya concluded.
"She is one of you guys. Born on the same day and with the same remarkable abilities." Juliette explained. "I figured it all out when I was back in the Commission. It was why the Handler sent me on a wild goose chase that almost killed me and sent me here. But that's a story for another time."
"So there are more out there." Vanya nodded in realization.
"Are we surprised? Dad never told us the truth about anything." Allison admitted.
"But she's not our biological sister, right?" Diego asked with worry lacing his tone.
Good grief, Juliette thought.
"Okay, so" Allison ignored Diego. "If she can mirror our powers, that means anything we throw at her, she can match right?" She looked at "Ella" and she nodded.
"Lila can only mirror one of our powers at a time." Klaus mentioned.
"You sure about that?"
Juliette began walking to the barn, the only place that she could think of that Five and Lila would be there. She limped, but kept going. The others were right on her heels. Before they entered the barn, they could hear fighting – grunts and weirdly, the sound of metal crashing into someone. She let out a sigh of relief – they were both alive.
"The Handler gave me the kill order." Five put a hand in front of Lila. "She came on the job, which she'd never done before. You're Commission. You know execs never go on jobs, b-but that day in London, she was there. Ask yourself why."
"Stop trying to muddy the waters." She sneered.
"I never realized what she was up to at the time, but now it all makes sense."
"What?"
"She never cared about your parents. She was looking for you."
Lila's mind went back to what "Ella" had said, "Why?"
Diego entered the barn with the others behind him, "Cause you're one of us."
Lila kept her knife with her, defending herself, as she noticed the rest of them. Juliette caught sight of Five and slowly began to move towards him. Lila swirled around, catching eye of her. She put her hands up, showing no sign of any weapon on her.
"The Handler stole you, LIla." Diego walked to her. "Just like our asshole father took all of us."
Lila disagreed, "No, it's not the same thing."
"You're right. Because our parents were murdered. Listen to me, Lila." Diego tried to reason with her but Lila, for so long, had tried to convince herself that the Handler wasn't who they all said she was. "You were born on October 1st, 1989. The same day as the rest of us."
"No. Stay back." She felt cornered.
"He's telling the truth, Lila." Juliette said and Lila turned around, her knife pointed at her.
"Go on! Tell me the truth, then!"
"I discovered something wrong with files I was putting away one day. It was a file on a hit that supposedly never happened. The names were Ronnie and Anita Pitts and they had a young daughter. But she wasn't killed on that day. She just disappeared from the timeline completely. It wasn't flagged because it was on "override", something that can only be done by a superior. Nothing was adding up so I dug deeper." She kept her eyes on Lila the whole time. "The Handler kept tabs on me, once she noticed I was looking through stuff. Told me to stop. I didn't, obviously. The day I went missing was the day I thought I figured out where the child was, but it was planted by the Handler. There's much more, but in the end, I stole a briefcase and went to West Berlin, 1989. By the time I got to the house, the Handler was already there. She told me to drop whatever I thought I was doing or else she'd ensure that Five would never see me again."
Five's heart sank.
"I got into a fight with her and she disappeared with a briefcase. I thought it was over and was going to go and try and find you, but when I touched the briefcase, it exploded. She replaced mine with a faulty one. It sent me back to 1961, which wasn't her intent, and I lost all my memories. She tried to kill me. That is how I ended up here. Trying to save you from the woman who murdered your parents."
"No." Lila shook her head, in denial. "It's not true."
"Why would I lie?" She repeated and Lila knew that she wasn't wrong. She never was.
"You're lying!" Lila screamed.
"Lila, stop." Diego tried to calm her down.
"I trusted you." She said, trying to push down her tears. "I got you a job. I even introduced you to my mother and then you took off on me!" It was hypocritical. She knew that. She knew she had done the same to "Ella" and she was surprised she hadn't tried to hurt her yet.
"Because I needed to save the world!" Diego explained. "She's using you, Lila. The Handler."
"You're wrong. She raised me. She loves me."
"Yeah, you know what?" Luther said and Lila looked over to him. "Love shouldn't have to hurt this much." Lila gagged. "All right, I tried."
"He's right." Five squeezed Juliette's hand, an apology. "We have to kill her."
Five was going to walk to her, but Juliette pulled him to her. He looked at her and the plea in her eyes was the only thing keeping him planted on his feet. He didn't know it, but he thought for a moment that she looked a lot like Juliette.
And he wouldn't.
"Hey, Lila." Diego's voice turned soft and Juliette was reminded of the many times where the cold and arrogant Five spoke to her like he couldn't imagine hurting her. "Truth? She's dangerous and you're scared of what she'll do with all that new power. That's why you dragged me to the Commission. Because I know what it's like to love dangerous people. Difference is..." He looked at everyone, including Juliette. "They love me back."
"Shut up."
"The only thing she loves is power. Now, the minute she can't use you, she will turn on you and deep down, I know you know that."
"You don't know me, Diego."
He took a step forward, the knife pressing against his chest, "Don't I? I know we can be your family if you just let us. Ella has been your family since the beginning. Why don't you let us be your family too?"
And in a sudden turn of events, Lila looks around, almost hopeful, as she realized that the people around her, even the ones she betrayed, were smiling at her. A tear fell down her cheek and she felt as if, for one of the first times, she was given a chance for a true home.
One that Juliette tried to give her before.
But the fantasy wasn't reality.
Juliette watched as the Handler put a round of bullets into her family. Each of the siblings fell to the ground, bleeding from wounds that bullets had torn through. Juliette fell backwards as the Handler put five rounds into her stomach, chest and neck. She hadn't meant to, but her body had protected Five from being hit. If she was able to, she would have done it either way. Her body hit him as she fell backwards, taking him with her.
He was quick to recover, holding her as he watched life begin to drain from his body. He didn't get to react – cry, scream, yell – when the Handler emptied her clip into his side. His body fell backwards, but his hand next left Juliette's hand.
Lila opened her mouth in horror as she caught sight of Diego's dead body in front of her. Her voice trembled as she called out his name, putting her hands over his chest, "Diego, no..." She sniffed as the Handler smiled.
"Aww." The Handler pouted.
"It's true, isn't it?" Lila looked up at the Handler. "What Ella said. Isn't it?" She stood up, slowly. "You murdered my real family and took Juliette from hers."
"Darling, I need to know that we can get past this," She ignored her questions, but answered it all on her own. "Be a happy family again. Hmmm?"
"They're my real family." She stepped over Diego's body. "Do you even love me?" She asked, standing in front of her.
The Handler didn't answer, but it was her eyes that told her the truth. The cold lifeless, loveless eyes that told her that she didn't love her daughter. She loved power more. She hardly cared for the last 20 something years of her life when she put a round of bullets through her torso just as Lila was about to stab her in the chest. Lila collapsed on the ground.
The Handler just sighed and said, "Que sera, sera."
Five gasped and his eyes shot open as the last part of his body fought the inevitable. The Handler glanced back towards the dying man and smiled, "Oh good. You're still alive. Lucky you." She walked to him and stopped in front of him, looking down as if she was talking to a child. "You got to see how this all played out." She rolled her eyes as Five's hand held onto his wife's hand. "Oh yes, you also got to see how your little wife should have gone. Yes, I admit my plan was a bit... complicated, but so worth it."
Five choked on his own blood as he thought of Juliette, alone and in despair.
"If only she had stayed...gone. Mentally or physically. But I finally got my revenge on that little pip squeak. Finished her off myself. If only she hadn't died once again trying to be a noble steed."
And the Handler took pleasure in his terrified state, knowing that he would die with his dead wife in his mind. She lifted her weapon, but Five only thought back to Juliette. Her smile, her laugh, her hopes and dreams, her lessons and words of encouragement.
Seconds, not decades.
He caught an idea that almost didn't become reality when the Handler was suddenly halted in her steps. Multiple shots shot through her back and out her torso. The Handler slowly turned around to see Axel, the last Swede who hadn't been killed, raising a gun at her and firing even more into her chest.
The Handler dropped dead.
Five watched as Axel, who soon caught sight of the boy, before aiming at him. Five closed his eyes, quieting the world around him, knowing he deserved this and more for what he had done in his life.
So much can happen in a few seconds. One could overthrow an empire, one could fall in love, one could stop an apocalypse.
He had thought it stupid, but now, it didn't seem so idiotic. He held on tight to Juliette's hand, that had gone limp (he did not know when, but his heart whined and ached) and allowed her voice to replay in her mind. He listened to her voice, telling him what to do. If he could do it...
He felt pain as his hands began to radiate blue waves. It took a a large amount of effort, but Five was able to lift his head and force himself onto his feet, watching as time ticked backwards, seconds only. His hand stayed connected with his wife's, pulling her along as he ran in slow motion as he pulled the clock back. The bullets came out from all the members of his family, bringing them back to life. Pain was pulling through his body, yet he pushed through it.
He stopped at the end of the barn, letting time resume.
"I know that we can be your family." Five touched his chest, ensuring that he was, in fact, alive, before turning to see Juliette.
She was holding her head and nearly fell, but he grasped her arm. She leaned back onto the wall, confused on how she didn't notice when Five jumped to the other side of the room. Or why he brought her with him. Either way, her head hurt like a thousand elephants pounded on it. Like potatoes stuffed in it.
She's alive, is all his thought. He didn't deserve such happiness in his life. Five would have never known that Juliette had come back in another time, but now he would.
"If you just let us."
Five was on time when the Handler came in with her weapon, He snatched the gun from her hands and, instead, pointed it at her. She raised her hands and turned her eyes to Lila.
"It's true, isn't it?" Lila asked. "What Ella said." She didn't get an answer. "Answer me! Is it true?"
The Handler had gotten caught, yet all she could muster up was a sigh, "Well–" She would not be able to give her excuse when she was shot dead on the ground. Five pulled Juliette behind him just as the body hit the ground and Axel came in, seeking revenge for his brothers death. There was silence in the barn as they all stared at the dead body on the ground.
But that was when Lila saw her opening and ran for the case on the ground. Luther shouted a warning, but it was almost too late as Juliette went for the case at the same moment as Lila. Her hand touched it, but Lila was quicker and snagged it. It was only a split second where Lila's eyes met Juliette's – the latter full of sorrow to see someone who she cared for once again leave her – and told her the lie she had told before.
I'll be back for you.
If Juliette truly wanted to, she could have grabbed the case and disappeared with Lila.
But she needed to stay. Her family was there, her husband was there, her sisters and brothers were there. Her future was there.
Lila disappeared.
And when she felt Five's hand on her shoulder, like she had done many times before, she knew that she made the right choice. And when Five pulled her back and used his weapon to point it at Axel, she knew that she wouldn't have chosen anyone else. Axel looked at Five in peculiarity, debating whether or not he should go through with his plan.
But Five went with peace. He threw the weapon down, an act of resignation.
"Enough." He said.
Axel looked at all of them, including Five, who was still holding his arms out in resignation. He'd heard of what happened, just from behind the door. Although ruthless, he wasn't heartless enough to tear another person from anyone else. Not like they had done to him.
Sometimes forgiveness and letting go of grudges was the best way of life, no matter the resentment in human hearts. And he was tired of seeking revenge after revenge. It was a vicious cycle. One that he would no longer be a part of.
Axel dropped his weapon, "Enough." He said in Swedish.
He turned on his heel, leaving the Hargreeves to themselves and their own blood filled hands. Juliette looked to her hands, surprised to no longer see the crimson color shedding on her hands. But she knew that it would only be a matter of time before it would manifest itself into something else to terrorize her.
There was no escape for her. Not yet.
She had been so distracted, she almost didn't hear when Diego had said, "Because I love her." He was talking about Lila. She almost didn't hear it, but she did, because Five touched her face, stroking her cheek. She fell on her knees, her entire being having lost energy, and luckily, Five caught her waist.
"Ellie!" Klaus came around to help her up, but Five stopped him. He stopped all the others too.
"I got it. You all go help Harlan." His word, as Juliette's, was nearly law. Klaus understood and so did the others. They all went down into the lower level of the barn where Harlan had fallen.
Juliette was breathing heavily as her body began to shut down from the exhaustion. She nearly toppled over fully, but Five caught her. Juliette couldn't help it when she fell onto his chest. She always felt comforted near him. Although unsure, he laid her over his lap. Her head was pressed against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Five ran his hand through her hair, completely exhausted himself.
"We did it." He whispered, hope rising in his chest. He couldn't believe it. "We did it."
Juliette couldn't help, but smile. She just smiled before placing a hand on his cheek, bringing his attention from the wall in front of him to her. She pushed back a loose strand of hair that usually fell whenever he was too active. She secretly thought that he never cut or style that specific strand because she liked to push it back. She always thought, too, that he liked it when she did it too.
Her eyes never left his green ones, just as beautiful as the last time she saw them, and gave him a soft smile. There was a spark in her eyes that caught his attention. Her brown eyes were always the most beautiful thing he's ever seen, besides her smiles, but the spark...it was a warm, but mischievous look that always told him that she was right there.
Five had studied Shakespeare for years due to his extensive education at the Academy, but he didn't know it would come in handy. Romeo had once said he suspected that his fate "hanged in the stars". Oddly enough, the spark in Juliette's eyes reminded him of stars – especially when the smog and ash cleared the sky when they were twenty and he saw her eyes twinkle in the reflections of her eyes.
He decided that if his own fate, if it even existed, hanged in the stars. Those stars were in the eyes of Juliette.
And all he saw was Juliette. Not an echo of her in Ella, as he had seen before, but the fullness of her. It was Juliette's eyes, smile, words and mind.
He could only stare at her, the clogs of his mind twisting and turning. It couldn't be. No, he had accepted that Juliette was gone and instead, he'd love Ella. Not as Juliette, but as Ella because no matter her name, he loved – loves – her. He'd never let her go, no matter what happened or who she was. The words he had left beforehand would be forgotten and he'd fill in the gap with words of sweet nothingness and totality. No, no, Juliette was gone. It wasn't possible. Or was it? It would have to take a–
She only chuckled lightly before smiling as she whispered, "Hi there, Genius."
Five wasn't an emotional person, hardly so, but those three words made him crack. He pulled Juliette – his Juliette – in and hugged her as if he never thought he'd see her again. He just cried out her name over and over again in small whispers almost as if he believed if he spoke too loud she would disappear.
She held him, too, joining in his sobs. They had both been broken by each other, not on purpose, never on purpose, but their small words and tears had begun to heal whatever it was that broke them.
He pulled back, only to capture her lips with his. Her hands went to his hair and ran a hand through it, her fingers entwining with the soft pieces. His hands went to her back and her neck, pulling her incredibly closer than before. The two are forever in that moment.
Call it what you want, but what they had was incomparable to any connection made by friends, foes, lovers and companions. They were the best of lovers in any time. Call it what you want because if their castle crumbled overnight, they rebuilt every time upon their arrival.
Juliette smiled.
There was a cost of being Juliette Valendur.
And how wonderful the reward was.
The world faded away, noises diminished, every star in the sky hid away, the only thing left was the two souls that had been made to be together.
Juliette and Five were finally together again.
JULIETTE AND FIVE STAYED HAND IN HAND EVEN WHEN THEY WENT TO GRAB A BRIEFCASE FROM DOT AND HERB. She smiled at the two, recognizing the two. It had made the transfer easier, knowing that the Hargreeves had someone sensible with them.
Juliette thought back to her "almost death" that Five had told her, although she didn't remember it. She held his hand tighter knowing that her husband had believed her dead twice then. It was two more than she cared for him.
It was nearing the end of sunset and she watched as the last of the sun left the world. She watched it slowly leave as Five came back from giving his siblings near to five minute warning before they had to get going. He didn't want to risk being stuck again.
"Juliette." Five said, startling her out of her daze.
"I'm okay." She nodded. "Just nervous. We always wanted to get home and now that we are...it's all weird."
He smiled, "I know, but I can finally give you what you want."
"And what is that, Genius?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, looking over at him.
Five grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles, "The life you always wanted." He gazed softly at her as his face fell, "I know that our life hasn't been the be–"
"And I wouldn't trade it for anything else." She pulled him in as his hand was still entwined with hers. "I didn't need anything back then and I don't need anything now. I meant it when I forgave you even if I was...different at the time, but everything I did was me. I forgive you and I know you forgive me. It's just you and I and..." She turned her head to the siblings who were rounding up, "some other passengers coming with."
He leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips, "You're always right, aren't you?"
"Well, when am I ever wrong?" She tilted her head, playfully.
"I guess I'll have to find out."
"As if."
He sighed, "Then I'll never be able to let you go."
She straightened out his tie before letting her hands rest on his chest as his arms circled her waist, "Good or else I would have had to find a way to reverse time and knock some sense into you."
"And what I would give for you to do that." His nose touched hers before he kissed her once more.
Soon, the siblings and married couple were united outside the empty house of Sissy's farm.
"Everyone ready?" Five asked.
"Let's do it." Luther nodded.
"Let's hope this doesn't mess up the timeline." Juliette breathed out. "What's 2019 like? I don't expect any flying cars, but..."
"Well, Ellie, there are a lot of idiots who try to make their cars fly so you won't be so disappointed." Klaus explained.
"That was one time." Diego rolled his eyes.
Juliette smiled and made a note to explain everything once they went back. There's a time for everything. Five was ready to power up the case when Klaus had them pause. They looked in curiosity as Klaus found his hat that had gotten lost. He flipped it around and placed it on his head.
"Fifty bucks if we leave him here." Diego bargained with Five and Juliette.
"Not a chance. He's one of the less annoying in-laws." She scrunched her nose at Diego, who looked shocked that she knew they were in-laws. Juliette just gave a playful wink before turning back to the group. He was definitely going to have to talk to her.
Klaus came back over and took Luther's hand before taking Vanya's. They all closed the circle and Juliette held onto Five's arm as tight as she could. They looked at the briefcase and then at each other before she nodded. They had to do it.
The briefcase powered up and she felt them get sucked through the blue portal. Before she could even blink, they were back in 2019. She didn't let go of Five even when he stumbled. He dropped the case on the table before bringing Juliette into his arms fully.
"Did we make it?" She asked, eyes squeezed shut.
"I think we did, my love."
When her eyes opened, she saw Five, Klaus, Luther, Allison, Vanya and Diego with her in what looked like a mansion. Her eyes settled on the chandelier, recalling one of Five's old stories.
"What day is it?" Luther pointed at the newspaper.
"April 2nd." Ella's eyes widened as she read the date next to Five, who picked up the paper. "Day after the apocalypse."
Allison seemed to breathe for the first time in years, "Wait, so we stopped it?"
"Oh my gosh, it's over?" Vanya asked with a smile.
"Did we actually succeed at something? That's incredible." Klaus cheered. "I don't know about you guys, but I need a drink."
"I'm in." Juliette nodded, walking over with Five on her arm. "Just one."
"Okay." He nodded.
"Yes." Luther agreed.
"In fact," Klaus chuckled. "I need several."
"I should go find Claire." Allison looked to the doors, but Luther pleaded with "one drink" and brought her over to the living room.
Juliette and Five entered behind Klaus. She smiled, but felt uneasy. She wondered if anything changed. She wondered if her older self is still in New York. Most likely not since her younger self ended up in the apocalypse...
"Why is there a painting of Ben over the mantelpiece?" Diego stared at the wall.
Juliette and Five stood next to Diego, seeing the picture of Ben Hargreeves, deceased, on the wall. It had once been a painting of Five, not as a memoriam but as a taunt that Reginald Hargreeves was always correct. But it was a picture of Ben.
"Didn't Ben..." Juliette's mouth couldn't finish the sentence.
"He did." Her husband responded.
"I knew you'd show up eventually." Everyone was startled and looked across the room to see Reginald Hargreeves standing.
"Dad."
"You're alive."
Reginald seemed unamused, "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Yeah. Y-yeah, you're right. I'm just happy that we're home...together again." Luther nodded, swallowing.
"Home?" Reginald questioned. "This isn't your home." He was looking over at Juliette. Although unamused by the others, he seemed surprised and possibly pleased to see her.
"What are you talking about? This is the Umbrella Academy." Allison vocalized everything the other six were thinking.
"Wrong again." Reginald stated. "This is the Sparrow Academy."
A crowd of footsteps reached their ears and when they looked up the balcony, they saw six shadows, looking down upon them. Another set of footprints came from the side of the room. He pulled their attention from the balcony.
It left all of them speechless.
"Dad, who the hell are these assholes?"
Juliette already knew that this was just the beginning.
novaspeaks: DUN DUN DUNNNNNN! Season 2 is offically DONE! (and with over 9k words). It only took like a month and I am so happy it is done. Thank you thank you thank you EVERYONE who is still reading and commented and liked every chapter and just thank you.
BUT NOW...season 3. Oh my gosh. There is so so much to write and to explore. There are so many questions for you all?
Is a different verison Juliette still there? Did she disappear? Did she die? Did she reach the apocalypse? Are Lila and Juliette ever going to reach forgiveness? Did Reginald do something? Why is he so keen on her? Are Five and Juliette going to live happily ever after? Are there more problems around the corner? What's with the divorce?
You all make your theories!
So what happens now? Well I'll tell you. Before ACT II, there will be an "Interlude" aka a little break where I will write a part of the past mentioned. I don't know which one I will write, but I do have an idea.
And then comes...ACT II, SEASON III!!!!! Love you all so so much. I will be writing AT LEAST the first three chapters of ACT II before posting any of them (and considering how fast I am at writing, editing, outlining and posting, it probably not take more than a week to two weeks. I am trying not to go MIA or AWOL (whichever it is) and I will NOT leave you all on a cliffhanger.
Love you so so much and I will see you all soon <3
𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 - 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚