We only see each other at Weddings and Funerals
Winnie stared at herself in the mirror. Her room hadn't changed in so many years, and standing back in it was beyond nostalgic.
Her walls were still splattered with paint and pictures. Her bed was still a girlish pink and filled with teddy bears. Her art works were still... strange.
Honestly she didn't know why she had painted a purple horse-monkey hybrid, but there it hung; right above her desk. She probably was going through a phase.
That or it was because of Klaus. He used to have the most unfortunate dreams and wanted her to paint them. Anything to help her brother, she supposed.
Everyone had settled into a sad atmosphere. The accusation of Winnie stilling hanging over everyones heads.
Suddenly a funky beat was heard through her walls. Her eyes lit up in glee as she immediately recognized the song. It washed away anything negative.
"Children behaave!"
Winnie giggled to herself and put both hands besides her face. The song brought back some gleefully memories and she tried not to squeal from giddiness.
"Oh Luther, you big sap." Winnie giggled.
—
"No Im telling you! This is our song!" Small Klaus insisted.
It was another midnight excursion of the Hargreeves children. All of them adorned in thrown-together outfits and sleep deprived grins.
They had journeyed to the neighborhood music store when Allison suggested that they all try to find their own record. Kind of like a scavenger hunt.
Things spiraled out of control when Winnie indiscreetly handed Ben an album called "I want your sex."
This prompted Five to make the family friendly decision that they only try to find one record to fit them all.
Now they were all stuffed into the biggest listening booth they could find to listen to their top picks. It was Klaus's turn to go.
"Take on meeeee!" The record player wheezed.
Winnie was hopped up on the seats and was rocking out to the hit. Klaus was still busy trying to convince the others that it was the best.
"Guys listen its going to be a classic in a few years!" Klaus said.
"Its not classical?" Vanya called from the back.
"Its weird." Luther told him.
"Yeah.. I still think we should go with Madonna." Ben agreed. He held his album close to his chest, as though he were protecting it from abuse.
"Bon Jovi- Bed of Roses!" Winnie interrupted boisterously. She hopped off the seats and plonked down into the middle of her siblings.
Diego laughed at her but continued to fight with Klaus over his choice.
"And why would that be a song for our family?" Five asked knowingly.
He hooked his arm around the girls throat and pulled her back from the center of the group. A dopey grin settled on her face as she looked up at him.
"Because you know I would lay you down on a bed of roses." Winnie said with a sly smirk.
Five rolled his eyes at the girl and slapped his hand over her mouth. He gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek to make his next words seem less harsh.
"Shut up."
The Hargreeves children continued to bicker and laugh over their choices. Winnie still tried to talk despite the hand over her mouth and Ben wouldn't let up on Madonna.
"Guys!" Luther tried to get their attention. No one heard him over the ruckus.
"Guys!" He shouted louder.
Finally did he catch the attention of Klaus- who smacked Five, Ben, and Diego on the shoulders. They smacked him right back, but it did the job of shutting everyone up. Vanya and Winnie were already quiet.
The music had stopped a long time ago, but no one noticed. That didn't seem like what Luther was getting at though.
"What?" Five asked.
"Wheres Allison?" Luther finally got to ask.
A cacophony of noise sounded from the siblings as they all looked inward of themselves. They may have been a giant mass of bodies- but Luther was right. Allison really wasn't with them.
"Mmi fjlfd ogdsv." Winnie said. Luther gave Five a look so he lifted up his hand in mock surrender.
"I said- Shes over there." Winnie repeated. She pointed out the window of their listening booth across the store.
Allison was by herself with a pair of bulky headphones on. She was swaying and rocking out by herself.
But that didn't last long.
The next thing she knew, she had the full force of the Umbrella Academy + Vanya behind her and pulling off the head phones.
Winnie, Diego, and Ben all crowded together to try and hear what Allison was listening to. A big smile spread across all of their faces.
They passed the headphones back to the other Hargreeves children, until everyone had finally heard what Allison was listening too.
She shuffled anxiously on her feet. She didn't think they would notice her gone, but now she was on the hot seat.
"Children behavvvee!" The faint song lingered in the air. Allison couldn't have blushed darker.
"I think we all agree this is our song." Five announced.
"Really?" Allison asked. She was surprised beyond her wits that they actually liked the song she chose.
"Yeah." Luther agreed.
"Definitely." Winnie said, following A chorus of agreements from her other siblings.
"I think we are alone now by Tiffany. The Hargreeves song." Klaus finalized.
—
Oh how could anyone hate Luther? Despite him accusing her of murder, she couldn't help the overwhelming fondness filling her up.
All through the house her siblings danced to the familiar song. Diego jumped around like he always would. Klaus danced with Dads ashes and Vanya wiggled around on the main staircase.
Winnie even hopped around a little herself. A spunky little jig she learned from A drunken Irish man.
But just as suddenly as the song began- it cut off. A dark rumbling sound was in its place.
"Whats going on?" Allison cried. She ran out from her room and met Winnie along the way. Luther was just behind her.
"I don't know!" Winnie replied.
Allison tucked Winnie under her arm and the three siblings ran out towards the strange sounds.
The Hargreeves children all gathered into the courtyard where the apparent noise was coming from. what they saw was far from normal.
"What is it?" Vanya asked
"Don't get too close!" Allison tried to warn.
"Yeah no shit!" Diego hollared without taking his eyes off of it.
A strange cloud of blue light hung above everyone. Lightning shot through it in a strange display. Winnie sucked her teeth and stared at the cloud in guilty recognition, drawing the attention of Allison.
"What did you know about this too?" Allison shouted over the noise.
"Yeah.. well I mean I might've thought I was just painting womanly parts!" Winnie called back.
"It looks like a temporal anomaly! That or a miniature black hole!" Luther offered.
"Thats a pretty big difference Paul bunion!" Diego snarked unhelpfully.
"Why did you think THIS was womanly parts!" Allison cried at Winnie. Winnie shrugged with wide eyes.
"Out of the way!" Klaus interrupted, and shoved his way through the densely packed siblings.
In his arms was a bright red fire extinguisher. Winnie internally congratulated Klaus for his smart thinking.
Sadly, the puffs of the extinguisher did nothing. It didn't even help when he chucked the metal tube straight up into the blue electricity- where it disappeared from sight.
"What was that going to do?" Allison asked. She was already pushed to the edge by the ridiculousness of the situation and her little sisters mentality.
Lady parts. Seriously?
"I don't know!" Klaus snapped back. "Do you have a better idea?"
The blue lightning got so much more violent. It looked like the sky was ripping in half to a whole other universe.
"Whoa Whoa." Klaus shrieked. He quickly sprinted back to his siblings and captured Winnie into his arms like a Stress Bear to squeeze.
"Get behind me!" Luther told everyone.
"Yeah, get behind us!" Diego corrected.
As much as Winnie adored her larger and braver brothers trying to protect anyone in the face of Danger- she actually preferred neither of them get hurt because they put themselves in front of it. Whatever 'it' was.
"I vote we run!" Winnie screeched. Everyone ignored her.
Winnie opted to close her eyes instead and squeeze her brother just as hard as he was her. She didn't want to see what happened next.
Everything stopped. Everything from the movement in the air to the insufferable sound of the sky tearing up. It stopped.
What followed was a slight thump from the ground and when Winnie opened her eyes again- a boy was flat across the floor.
Klaus pulled her tighter and the whole family went to investigate the little boy. Luther walked in front of everyone shrouding Winnie from seeing the boy fully.
"Does- Does anyone else see..." Klaus hesitated as he looked at the boy on the ground.
Winnie was desperately trying to see around her much larger siblings. Finally she broke away from Klaus and scratched her way to the front of the group.
"-Number Five.. or is that just me.." Klaus finished his statement.
Winnie went slack and tumbled to the floor without a second thought. Effectively out for the count- and just by looking at this boy.
In front of the Adult Hargreeves (and Winnie) was a young Number Five.
He looked exactly the same as he did when he first disappeared, excluding the giant suit hanging off his frame. But everything else was there for the missing 15 year old boy.
"Shit." Five cussed.