He looked down at you like his world was ending and he was helpless to stop it. Which had been the case a few moments ago, but now... they had a chance. They were going to live. You hadn't died in vain, at least.
You grimaced and moved your right hand in the air, the silver ring catching the odd golden light that now made up the pillars, floors, and ceiling of the odd room you were in. What a tragically beautiful way to die.
You had to know.
"Was this - did you...?" you couldn't speak full sentences anymore, your words coming out choked and pained. In the background, you could hear Allison arguing with someone. That didn't matter to you. Just Five's desperate face hovering above yours.
"Yes," he replied immediately, taking your hand and holding it tightly to make up for the limpness of yours. "Yes, (Y/N). And I would a thousand times over." His voice broke slightly on the last two words, and you felt your eyes fill with tears.
"I can't... remember," you whispered hoarsely.
Five's jaw tensed, and he seemed to be collecting himself before he spoke again, looking straight into your eyes. "(Y/N) Hargreeves, will you marry me?"
And then for some reason, you weren't so afraid anymore. You smiled as your eyes began fluttering shut, the dying word on your lips the only one you'd ever been able to say to Five Hargreeves.
"Yes."
___
There wasn't even a second to mourn. Allison's hand hovered over the button, but before she could press it, (Y/N) died. And everything went black.
___
Everything faded back into focus for the Hargreeves siblings. They looked around in confusion, blearily recognizing they were in an elevator very similar to Hotel Obsidian's. There was a dull dinging sound, and the elevator door slid open quietly.
Nobody said a word at first, a hazy fog settled over their heads.
What had just happened? How was everyone alive?
Viktor walked out first, everyone else following behind him, looking around the courtyard suspiciously. It was dark out - there were a few muted yellow lamps hanging from concrete pillars surrounded by trees. In the center of the small round courtyard sat a cement block with a metal replica of Reginald's head on top of it.
There were little pathways leading off from the main area, caged in by brush and greenery. It felt like a fairytale setting, and it definitely wasn't Hotel Obsidian anymore.
"Cool!" Lila was the first to speak, laughing as she looked around in awe.
Five strode over to the small statue, inspecting the words engraved on the plaque.
Obsidian Memorial Park
Graciously Donated By
Sir Reginald Hargreeves
This First Day of October, 1989
He eyed the words angrily, his eyebrows pressed together in annoyance and confusion. As he stood there, his final memories finally came back to him.
(Y/N).
Just as he was about to panic, Viktor spoke.
"Luther?"
Five spun around, his eyes narrowing. Hope bloomed in his chest when he saw Luther - he didn't really care all that much that his ape of a brother was back. But it meant that (Y/N) was there too.
"Oh shit," Luther said as Viktor ran toward him and embraced him. "You can see me?!"
"Yes!"
"I'm alive? I'm alive!"
"Luther's alive!" Klaus cheered, and Lila whooped and clapped her hands.
"Wait, that's not all, big guy," Viktor said, stepping back from the hug and waving his hands at Luther's torso.
"Huh?" Number One looked down at himself, his eyes going wide as he smiled. His torso was no longer large and hairy - his shirt fit nicely over a normal upper body. "Oh shit! My body!" He felt up his pecs appreciatively. "I look amazing."
"Luther's all svelt now," Klaus commented as Five looked in shock at his left arm, which had miraculously returned.
"Wait, I gotta show Sloane!"
"I got my arm back," Five said in subdued shock, looking around for (Y/N). "Eight!"
"This is so cool," Luther stammered out, grinning like an idiot. "Wait, wait, where's Sloane?"
"Eight?" Five called again, his heart sinking. No - she was fine. Luther was fine, and so was she.
"Oh, Sloane was, uh, she was... right behind me," Klaus said slowly, looking around with a frown.
"When Allison hit the button," Lila said accusatorially.
"She's gone too," Diego grumbled.
"Does anyone know where the hell we are?" Ben burst, looking around angrily.
"The hotel," Lila responded. Five strode around the courtyard, his expression darkening when Eight was still nowhere to be found. "Or at least this is where it used to be."
"I think the old man did it," Five said coldly, catching everyone's attention. "I think he reset the universe." He took a step back, frowning. "Eight isn't here. This is bad."
"Well, maybe she's just..." Klaus walked back into the elevator, peering around. "In here?" He frowned, and Five ran his hand through his hair quickly, struggling not to freak out. "Well, she always lives. She's like... me. Immortal." Klaus giggled at his own joke as Luther strode over to Five angrily.
"Hey." He grabbed Number Five's jacket, yanking him toward him. "I don't care about any resets, all right? I want my wife back. Where is she, Five?" His words were rushed and harsh, and the smaller boy looked up at him with eyes of fire.
"I'll tell you if you tell me where mine is." His voice broke on the last few words, remembering his final conversation with (Y/N). They were... married. He had promised her a lifetime with those words. He had to give her that. If he didn't...
He would. Luther was alive. So was (Y/N). She just wasn't there yet.
"Now take your hand off of me."
"Not until you give me an answer," Luther growled, shaking him roughly and getting in his face.
"I have more important things to do, like look for Eight! Screw this." Five tried to spatial jump away, but nothing happened. His eyes widened in delayed realization. "Something's wrong," he said slowly.
"That's right. You're about to get your ass kicked."
"Yeah, kick his ass," Diego said eagerly, clearly hoping to see a fight. He hadn't fully realized that Eight wasn't there.
"No, you idiot. I can't blink," Five said dubiously.
"Yeah, right." Everyone began testing their powers out, their expressions turning shocked and dismayed when nothing worked.
"How do we get 'em back, you idiots?" Ben snarled, clearly frustrated.
"That doesn't fucking matter," Five spit, his expression turning malicious as he strode toward Ben. "(Y/N) is missing. We need to find her, now!"
"I... I need to find my wife," Luther said slowly, before hurrying off.
"No, Luther, you can't go! You were just dead five minutes ago! You're fragile!" Klaus exclaimed, but he ran off anyway. "I gotta go after him!" Klaus chased after Luther quickly. Five watched them go in disbelief.
Luther went to search for a woman he'd known for a month rather than his sister. Shaking his head in disbelief, Five turned back to the others. "We have to find (Y/N). She could be in trouble," he said, his expression firm.
"I'm out, bitches," Ben said instead, raising his hands and backing away from the group.
"Wait, no! We should stick together and figure this out-" Viktor exclaimed, but he was already gone.
"Diego," Five said urgently, turning to look at Number Two. He looked back at Five, his frown serious.
"We'll find her," he said decisively. "She... has to be somewhere." He looked down at Lila, who nodded back at him decisively.
"Nobody touches that little shit," she said with a determined smile, and Diego smiled a little bit.
"We'll look for her, Five. Don't worry." They turned and walked off together, but it did little to calm Five down. He rubbed the spot between his eyebrows as a headache came on, already picturing the worst.
What if she didn't exist in this world?
When he looked back up, Viktor was looking at him in shock. They exchanged a tense glance for a moment before Five strode off hastily to search for (Y/N).
He tore through the dark streets, looking up in fury at the glowing signs on every towering skyscraper that read "Hargreeves Real Estate" "Hargreeves Financial", Hargreeves everything.
He turned to the first man he saw. "You. Where can I find Reginald Hargreeves?" Surely he would lead him to (Y/N).
But the man ignored him, giving him a disgusted glare. Five's jaw clenched, his murderous urges returning for a moment. He tried to ask many others, but they all ignored him.
"Shit!" Five hissed through his teeth when he came to a dead end. A single streetlight glowed down on the dark street as he spun in a circle, red-hot panic flooding into his brain. "Shit!" He shouted louder, tearing his hands through his hair desperately as he looked around. To his surprise, the world became blurry and distorted. It took him a moment to realize he was crying.
Five Hargreeves didn't cry.
He dropped to his knees, every moment he'd every shared with (Y/N) flooding his mind at once.
Confiding in her when they were kids. Her trying to protect him from Cha-Cha and Hazel and getting injured in the process. Dancing at the Luther's wedding together. Her painting his nails at the end of the world. The memories lost any sense of organization, stretching from the time they were eight years old until present day.
"No!" he shouted, his voice cracking with desperation and a broken heart. He slammed his fists into the concrete, turning his knuckles bloody as he sobbed, leaning down and pressing his forehead into the cool cement. "(Y/N)," he sobbed hopelessly, remembering the blood staining his hand, her loving eyes, her sad smile right before she...
She was dead. She was dead and he'd done nothing to stop it. He couldn't save her.
Everything he'd ever done had put her in danger. And now she'd had to pay for it. She had died saving him, even though he was the last person to deserve saving.
He slowly lifted his reddened eyes, his hazy vision honing in on a glowing red sign hovering just above him.
"Hargreeves Banking".
Five would kill him. If it was the last thing he did.
A/N
Phew! Almost done! One more chapter and then you'll have to wait until next season. Shouldn't be too long though (;