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❛ ᴛʜᴇ ʙ. ʙ. ᴇꜰꜰᴇᴄᴛ. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚ ▎❛ 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐎𝐍𝐄 ❜ ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴛᴡᴏ ᴡʀᴏɴɢs ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴀ ғɪɢʜᴛ ꒱
❝ I WOULD'VE GROWN UP TO
BE AN EMOTIONALLY STUNTED,
OVERGROWN MAN-CHILD LIKE
EVERYONE ELSE AROUND HERE ❞
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One of the hardest things Five Hargreeves ever had to do was pull himself away from his dead family members. He wasn't sure how long he'd lingered over their bodies— one in particular— but instinct told him that he wouldn't survive like this. He had to keep moving. That was the only way things would ever go back to normal— although, how could it now that he's seen this hellish future?
He shook his head to clear it. Five would've liked to bury their bodies but it was a waste of time and precious energy. He had no idea how scarce food was going to be and he shouldn't wait until he was hungry to look for some. He didn't plan on staying in the apocalypse long. He'd find a way to get back home soon; he had to, and he couldn't think about it any other way. The most important thing was to keep reminding himself that this was the future and because of this, it hadn't happened yet. It was preventable. Forcing himself to focus, he decided food was most important and shelter would be next— he could find it on the way if he was lucky.
-
Ten days into the apocalypse and nothing had changed. Five himself had, of course, but the scenery was still full of burning, ashy rubble from whatever had destroyed the human race. As far as he could tell, he was the only living person left on the planet. After living in a house with seven other children— albeit quieter ones than average— the heavy silence weighed on him as a reminder of where he was. Sometimes, his ears played tricks on him.
The wind could sound like laughter from a certain blonde member of the Academy or a flash in the corner of his eye made him turn, thinking he saw the telltale shields of her presence. But then he would turn and Five was reminded, again, of what he'd lost.
-
Nearly a month in— although Five was worried he'd lost count at some point since it was hard to tell the days and nights apart— and he could feel himself cracking. He spent most of his time trying to figure out how to get home and the rest scavenging for supplies. He was lucky, really (if you could call it that) that large portions of the library were still standing which provided a good shelter for him to live in and there was even a chalkboard that had amazingly survived somehow.
During his treks across town, he'd sometimes find himself humming familiar tunes that had once played on Alexa's record player and then he'd mentally smack himself for falling prey to such frivolities. As he searched for food he found other, less pleasant things— dead bodies being chief among them.
So when he saw a pale, manicured hand sticking up out of the rubble it hardly fazed him, except— the hand was almost too perfectly intact. This many days after the apocalypse, most bodies were beyond recognition. His interest piqued and he moved towards the object. After removing the cement blocks around the body, he discovered that the hand belonged to a mannequin like those in a department store.
Gazing at the painted, manufactured face, he couldn't help feeling the sheer relief that washed over him. It had been so long since he'd seen another human and even if this one was plastic and just as dead as the others, at least he could carry her around as a reminder.
-
Some days, he found himself talking to the mannequin, though mostly out of pure whim. He told himself that it was better to talk through the equations than figuring them out in silence as he'd always done with Alexa, but a part of him knew that the quiet had become unbearable. One thing he refused to do was give the mannequin a name. That would be a sure sign his sanity was going downhill, he told himself.
-
Five Hargreeves had never given much thought to his sanity, anyway. Almost a year later, he'd found a stash of alcohol that survived the destruction and had eagerly turned to it thinking that it might relieve the weight on his chest. What it actually made him do was throw up several times and mumble drunkenly to the mannequin.
"You know," he said in slurred thoughtfulness, "your eyes are kind of similar to hers. I mean, you're fake, obviously and she isn't, but you're more real right now, you know? I don't think I could call you by her name, though— but you should have one." He laughed, a strange sound in the dead world. "I never gave much thought to names, really. I mean, I never even had a real name myself. The nameless naming the named." He paused for a moment as a memory from what seemed like long ago suddenly flashed through his mind. "I think I'll call you Dolores. It means sadness, did you know?"
-
Dolores' personality was strikingly similar to another blue-eyed girl's and he often complained about both of them to the mannequin that sat next to him. They'd spent nearly ten years together and it seemed like no time at all but that's what happens when you're in love, Five thought. He snorted. He'd never believed in such emotions when he was younger but he'd been a fool. Sometimes he could close his eyes and remember bright blue ones that had always sparkled with amusement, quick to crack a joke or make any situation seem better than it truly was to buoy up their team.
He sighed and opened his eyes. Five glanced at the mannequin next to him. "You're a lot like her, you know? I should've told her before I left but I was a stubborn bastard about it." He snorted again. "I suppose I still am I guess, but here goes nothing."
He turned slightly to look into the plastic woman's blue eyes and imagined the once-familiar spark in them. Hesitantly, he raised his hand to place one of his fingers on Dolores' nose. Feeling both incredibly silly and shy at the same time, he gave a quiet "boop."
☂☂☂
Alexa felt gentle fingers brush against her own in reassurance but that didn't make her relax and her form remained tense as Hazel spoke: "hey old timer."
"Do you have my sister?" Five asked. "If not, would you like a margarita?"
When the man didn't respond the boy turned and twisted lightly out of the blonde's grip. "C'mon."
Alexa's eyes never left the man as he entered the house even as they made their way back to the bar where they'd been sitting previously.
"Are you here to kill me?" Five asked, too casually in Alexa's opinion (she was very glad she'd taken the action that she had.)
"Oh, shit," Hazel said, realizing his gun was out. He stowed it away. "Sorry, old habits die hard, though I can understand why you might feel that way."
Five gave Alexa a glance, probably reproaching her in his head at her unnecessary use of power but she didn't care. She was never willing to gamble with his life.
"Well, you attacked our house, tried to kill my family and kidnapped my brother," Five pointed out.
"Well, there's not much I can do about the past— don't forget I'm not the only killer in this room; you've got your own bloody history, pal. Speaking of which, that job you did in Calhoun, that shit's legendary. I can't believe I'm actually sitting here talking—" Hazel rambled.
"What are you doing here?" Alexa cut him off in a cold voice. Even after he put his gun away, her gaze wasn't exactly friendly.
"Well, I'm—"
Diego cut him off by kicking him in the back, causing the large man to topple over.
"Diego, stop!" Five exclaimed.
Their brother didn't listen, preferring instead to engage the man as the blonde woman and the boy watched. Despite her feelings for the assassin Alexa had, at least, felt reassured that they weren't going to be attacked and she sighed. "What an idiot."
Five nodded in agreement as he watched the two fight back and forth in front of them. "You know, before you kill him, you might want to hear what he has to say."
The boy's advice was unheeded as Diego drew out one of his knives, snarling at the man. Alexa knew she could put a stop to it if she really wanted to but that had been before she'd drained her power to protect the boy next to her and she definitely didn't regret her choice.
She took a casual sip of her drink as she watched them, slumping in her seat. "Is this going to take all day?" she complained.
Five smirked as he suddenly stood up. "I draw the line at biting," he said and he blinked to break the pair up, knocking his brother out. "Hazel, whatever you came here to say I'd suggest you say it before he wakes up."
"I left my partner, quit The Commission and came to volunteer," the man announced proudly.
"For what?"
"Help stop the Apocalypse."
She and Five exchanged amused looks as Hazel asked, "what on earth could be so funny?"
"Before I answer that, why d'you want to help us?"
"Let's just say I've invested interest in a doughnut shop."
"Well, I hate to break it to you pal, but you're a day late and a dollar short," Five said. "The fact that you're here right now means that without a shadow of a doubt the apocalypse is over."
Hazel gave him a confused look. "Really? How do you know?"
"The mark is dead. We found him this morning and you were the last known unknown left in the equation," the boy explained.
He let out a surprised breath. "Shit, really?"
"And if you're out the Hellrider ain't riding."
Hazel let out a relieved exclamation as he relaxed. "Alright," he said, laughing with disbelief. Alexa gave him an annoyed look as he joined them at the bar. The man helped himself to the leftover drink in the blender. "So now what?" he asked when he was done.
Five sighed. "You know, to be honest I don't know. I've been chasing this thing for so long, I. . . I never really thought about the day after." He shrugged. "What about you?"
"I'm done with all this madness," the man said. "Time to start over. You should do the same."
The boy nodded. "I'm going to live with Alexa after this but that's still easier said than done."
"I mean, think about it like this. If you never time traveled, you never got caught up with The Handler, what would have happened?"
Five glanced at his brother and then at Alexa. "I guess I would've grown up to be an emotionally stunted, overgrown man-child like everyone else around here."
"Hey!" she protested. "I'll have you know that I have a very successful life—"
"Are you a man, Lexa?" Five interrupted.
"Uh, no?"
"Then I wasn't talking about you, was I?" he asked, not unkindly.
She flushed. "Oh— right."
"Well, there you go," Hazel said with a nod to the woman. "You could've turned out like him (by this he meant Diego) or her, so you've got options. Now you can grow up." The man rose to his feet. "Good luck."
"Hazel," Five called after him. "One more thing before you go."
"Shoot."
"Which one of you was the trigger man for Detective Patch?"
"Trigger woman," Hazel corrected.
Five sighed. "That's too bad. That gun could've cleared my brother's name."
"Well, today's your lucky day, amigos," Hazel replied as he pulled two guns from his belt. "Take'em both. I'm done with this life."
☂☂☂
Not long after that, Diego groaned, signaling that he was coming to. "Good timing," Alexa commented.
"Good, you're up," Five said. "Ready for a drink now?"
Diego jumped to his feet and looked around. "Where is he?" he demanded.
"I let him go."
"You what?" their brother asked in disbelief, stepping towards them.
"Now that the apocalypse is over it's time for the fighting to stop." Diego didn't like that very much and favored to retrieve his knives instead as Five continued: "he didn't kill Patch. His partner Cha-Cha did."
"So what? They were both there that night," he snarled back in response.
"This half of the partnership gave me both of their guns which will clear you because their ballistics match Patch's crime scene. Hazel came here looking for a way out. He wanted a fresh start and he happened to have these in his possession the one thing that can do our family a little good, so it's time to move on."
Diego snorted. "Not a chance."
Five rolled his eyes. "Suit yourself," he said as he pushed away from the bar. "I am curious. Your girlfriend, Patch. What did you like about her?"
Diego gave him a confused look. "A lot of things. Cute butt, nice legs."
The boy sighed and his eyes flicked to Alexa's briefly before he asked, "anything a little more profound than that?"
"She believed in people," he admitted. "No matter how much shit and filth she saw on the streets she always saw the good inside."
"Well, I'm sure she'll be proud to know that you're killing Hazel and Cha-Cha as a way to honor her memory." Five shrugged at his parting words and left the room.