"It's magnificent," Reginald exclaimed as you all walked into the dark entrance hallway of the backward Hotel Oblivion. The floor was like an optical illusion, shiny cube floor tiles glinting up at you as yellow lights shone from through the walls and unnaturally bright sunlight glared from the windows at the front of the hotel. You wondered briefly what would happen if you tried to go outside.
"You guys should've stayed here. It's way nicer," Ben commented, and you clenched your fists. How could he be saying things like that right after Klaus died? They might not have been best friends, but... Klaus tried with him. That's more than anyone else had done.
"Lila and I barely got out last time, remember?" Diego asked solemnly, holding his harpoon close to his chest and not looking up.
"But I'm here this time, and the numbers are in our favor," Ben said smugly, his expression its usual twisted grimace.
"Oh, right," you said, rolling your eyes. "Because scrawny Ben and his magic tentacles are going to help us more than Luther would have." Sloane let out a barely muffled sob, and you cursed yourself inwardly. Loss was still new to her. You had to remind yourself of that.
Ben sneered at you as Lila spoke. "Well, whatever the thing that got us was, it was strong, fast, and super pissed."
"Yeah, well, so are we," you muttered, and Oliver scoffed.
"You sure on the first two?"
"You were included in that," you snapped back, glaring up at him. "So you're only insulting yourself." He simply looked at you with a calm expression on his face, infuriating you further.
"Okay, enough," Diego said, giving you a firm look. "Whatever you do, do not ring this bell. Unless you want to lose a finger. Or a tentacle."
You snorted and looked at the small golden bell in question - one of the ones you tapped with your finger that made a sharp dinging sound. You used to love those when you were younger. Reginald, for some reason, used to have one on his desk. Klaus would sneak you in there to rifle around in your father's desk, and you would tap it, the fear of being caught exhilarating. You smiled slightly at the memory, turning to remind Klaus-
Oh. Right.
Your posture stiffened and you looked back at Diego, who was eyeing you with a knowing look. Your eyes darted away, and you cleared your throat nervously.
"Right. Don't touch the bell. Got it," you said quickly, trying to divert the attention off of you.
"I'll take my chances," Sloane said quickly, hurrying toward the bell.
"Don't!" Lila shouted, standing in front of her to stop her. You watched, raising your eyebrows. Why on earth would she ring the bell RIGHT after Diego said not to? Yeah, maybe she didn't have as much trust in your siblings as you did, but...
"Get out of my way."
"To take out this thing, we need to be in the right state of mind," Lila said rationally, glancing back at Diego. Her eyes landed on you next, and you bit your lip so hard it hurt.
"State of mind? Do you mean, am I angry?" Sloane asked, her eyes widening in disbelief as she raised her voice. "Yes, I am angry! I wanna kill whatever it was that hurt Luther!"
"And you think we don't?" you snapped, unable to hold back anymore. Sloane turned to look at you, a distressed expression on her face, and you felt a twinge of guilt. But only a twinge. "He was our brother. We knew him for thirty years."
Not really.
"But making stupid decisions and getting ourselves killed won't bring him back." If I had, he might still be alive.
Sloane looked at you, blinking hard to hold back her tears.
"And we didn't just lose Luther," you added, looking around at everyone else. Five watched you with a serious expression on his face, his hands stuffed in his pockets. Everyone else at least had tears in their eyes - but that was just Five. He didn't cry. He didn't register his emotions that way. "Klaus is gone too." You swallowed hard, lowering your eyes and wishing you hand't been so quick with your outburst.
"I'm angry too," Viktor said after a moment, coming to your rescue. You looked up at him and nodded slightly. "We all are. But we have to be smart about this."
"Yeah," Lila agreed, looking around and putting her hands on her hips. "When the time is right, we'll act."
You watched Five stride toward the front doors with a frown. What if he walked outside and got pulled into the Kugelblitz? He wasn't an idiot. He wouldn't-
"Don't even try it, Five," Diego interrupted your train of thought. "Doors won't let you out."
"So, what, we're stuck here?" Allison asked in disbelief as Five looked the doors up and down with a furrowed brow before returning to the group.
"Good observation, Einstein," you muttered, and Allison turned a hateful glare on you. The others just glanced at you curiously. You knew it might seem like you were being unnecessarily shitty, but they didn't know. They never would.
"You'll thank me later," she hissed, and you looked up with a frown. What the hell was that supposed to mean?
"This place is a test and a trap and a means of salvation, all at once," Reginald said, walking into the middle of the group and completely disregarding what had been happening before.
"Does anyone know what that sign says?" Viktor asked, gesturing to a small black card set up next to the bell. You squinted at the white writing - it seemed to be Japanese. That you couldn't read.
"Yeah, it says do not ring the bell," Diego replied firmly, still gripping his harpoon. "That's what that means."
"We get it, Diego. Bell bad," Five said, holding his hands out at his side as he came to stand next to you and Viktor. "What do we do? Does anybody know?"
Silence.
"Reggie?" Allison asked from where she leaned on a pillar apart from everyone else. "Reggie."
He didn't even turn to look at her, flipping through his small, worn book he had brought along. You rolled your eyes and rested against the wall behind you. You looked at Five thoughtfully, then quickly glanced away when he returned the gaze.
"I'm hungry," Lila said abruptly after witnessing the awkward interaction. "Does anyone fancy an unagi roll?"
"Sushi?" you asked, raising your eyebrows. You watched her walk past you before Ben blocked her, scoffing.
"How could you possibly eat at a time like this?" he asked incredulously.
"I don't know," Lila replied sarcastically, walking in front of him before turning to face him. "How can you be a dick at a time like this?"
"Oh, you'll-"
"Hey!" Diego barked, striding over and getting in Ben's face. "Back off, all right?"
"Oh, goody," you muttered dryly. "Should I get popcorn?" Your first instinct was to turn to Klaus, but you shut that thought down as fast as possible, clenching your jaw. Five frowned at you, stepping closer, but you refused to meet his eye.
Diego looked back at Lila, his gaze softening. "She's eating for-"
"Strength," Lila interrupted quickly, eyeing him. It struck you as odd, but you really didn't care enough to think about it. Your mind was spinning for a solution. Was it really too late to off yourself? Well, Five knew now, so he was sure to keep a sharper eye on you. You didn't want that, to be a burden, someone he had to take care of.
You watched dully as Lila grabbed Diego's arm and led him out of the room to have a chat. It looked like you weren't coming up with a solution any time soon. "Viktor, Eight, over here," Five said, jerking his head toward a cluster of chairs by the front doors. You eyed him curiously, and he sighed, clearly growing impatient. "Just come on."
You didn't understand why he was acting this way - frustrated with you. Fed up. Angry. It just... it made no sense. And it upset you.
Five's POV:
It was so hard to look at her. I couldn't. Not without thinking about what I had done. Not me - it hadn't been me. Yes, it was, but... a different version of me. Only a complete opposite of Five Hargreeves would instruct (Y/N) to die. Even if it meant saving the entire world.
Angry. I was so, so angry. Not at her. God, it was hard to be mad at her, no matter what stupid shit she did. I was mad at myself. But I couldn't talk to her about that. We didn't have the time. We'd get through this, we'd survive, and then I'd talk to Eight. (Y/N). It was weird to be able to call her that now. Now that everyone knew, because of me. It was like I was created just to fuck up her life.
I would always take care of my family. The majority of them were idiots who didn't know how to take care of themselves, much less planet Earth - even (Y/N) sometimes - so I had to fix everything. I had to make sure everything returned to normal.
But if that meant (Y/N) would die?
I'd watch the world burn while I held the match.