16 years ago...
The children all waited behind their chairs at the table for Reginald to approach, as they did every day. The man finally came into view, pausing for a moment, before ordering everyone to "Sit."
The children rushed to their seats and dove into their meals. Reginald sat at the head of the table, opposite Vanya, and Luther and Allison were sitting across from each other. Eleanor was sitting between Klaus and Ben and across from Diego and Five.
"Hey." Diego thought to himself, for only Eleanor to hear and she smiled before responding back with a simple "hi."
The pair always engaged in telepathic conversations during meal time, partly to help Eleanor practice her ability, but mostly because it was the only time the two could talk to each other without anyone else hearing.
"How's the food?" Diego asked, engaging in their usual small talk.
"Same as always." Eleanor said with a shrug as she smiled to herself.
"So, I was thinking maybe after bedtime we can sneak onto the rooftop again. There's something I need to talk to you about." Diego thought nervously and Eleanor looked up at him questioningly.
"Sure. What do you want to talk about?"
"I want to do it when we're alone." He said quickly, referencing everyone else in the room. The boy had a silent victory at the facts that his stutter didn't translate to his head voice.
Wanting to know more, Eleanor tried to read his mind, but Diego stoped her, being all too familiar with the feeling.
"Hey Princess, I know what you're doing." He thought with a smirk and she let out a small laugh with a blush, catching Hargreeve's attention.
"Number Eight, is there something you wish to say?" He asked, annoyed and Eleanor aggressively shook her head while Diego smirked to himself.
"No, it's nothing. I was just...uhhh...choking on some food...and I-I was trying to cough it up." She lied terribly as she went to fake cough in an attempt to further sell her story.
Reginald decided not to press her on it further and she took a big gulp of her drink in relief.
Eleanor then looked around the table, reading each her siblings' minds out of boredom. She first looked to Vanya as she saw the girl playing with her food.
"I wish I could just go upstairs and practice my violin. I'm not even hungry." Vanya thought to herself, boring Eleanor so she looked to Ben next.
"My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are intimate." Ben read to himself before quickly flipping the page of his book. Eleanor recognized the line from one of his favorite plays, 'Romeo and Juliet.'
She smiled before then letting her mind travel to Klaus, as she took a bite of her meal. "Just act natural Klaus, act natural." He assured himself and Eleanor instantly looked down to see that he was rolling up a joint. She quickly slapped it out of his hands, while giving him a stern look.
"Owe, that kinda hurt." Klaus thought to himself as he rubbed his hand. Eleanor gave him a sympathetic smile before looking at Allison and Luther making googly eyes at each other.
"Allison, stop blushing. You're embarrassing yourself." She thought, only making her blush more. Eleanor playfully rolled her eyes before Luther's loud thoughts entered her mind.
She eventually looked to the boy as he stared intently at the girl. "God Allison is so beautiful. I wish I could just..." Luther began and Eleanor quickly stopped listening, not wanting to know anymore.
She finally looked to Five, with concern written across her features. Diego noticed and caught her attention.
"Ellie? What is it?" He mentally asked, but she ignored him as she read Five's mind.
"I can't wait another minute." Five thought before slamming his knife in the table, catching everyone's attention.
"Number Five?" Reginald asked before glancing down at his meal.
"I have a question." Five said angrily.
"Knowledge is an admiral goal, but you know the rules. No talking during meal time. You are interrupting Herr Carlson." Reginald exclaimed, referencing the song playing softly in the background.
"I want to time travel." Five said shortly, but Reginald immediately spoke up.
"No." He said, only aggravating the boy.
"But I'm ready. I've been practicing my spatial jumps, just like you said." Five elaborated, before standing up and suddenly appearing beside his father.
"A spatial jump is trivial when compared with the unknowns of time travel. One is like sliding along the ice, the other is akin to descending blindly into the depths of freezing water and reappearing as an acorn." Reginald explained simply before taking a sip of his wine.
"Well I don't get it." Five admitted through gritted teeth.
"Hence the reason you're not ready." The elder Hargreeves stated, as the boy looked to Eleanor.
She merely shook her head 'no,' urging him not to press their father further on the issue, but to no avail.
"I'm not afraid." Five declared proudly.
"Fear isn't the issue." Reginald began as he continued cutting his food. "The effects it might have on your body, even your mind, are far too unpredictable."
Although she didn't have the best relationship with her father, Eleanor couldn't help but agree with him on this. Time travel was just too dangerous right now and she couldn't risk losing her best friend because of it.
Reginald put his utensils down, finally looking at the boy. "Now, I forbid you to talk about this anymore." He ordered, but Five looked at him and then Eleanor before running out of the academy.
"Number Five!" Reginald yelled shocked, causing everyone to look at where the boy had just stood. "You haven't been excused! Come back here!" He yelled, but Five was already gone.
"Five! Wait!" Eleanor called after him as she too ran out of the academy doors.
"Number Eight! I forbid you from leaving!" Reginald ordered, but to deaf ears.
Eleanor chased the boy outside, a sick feeling brewing inside of her. "Five? Five?!? FIVE?!?!" Eleanor yelled out as she ran down the street, desperately searching for her brother.
After finding no sign of him, uncontrollable tears began to pour from her eyes as she fell to the ground. She soon felt two pairs of hands wrap around her and she looked up to see Diego and Klaus.
"What are you doing here?" Eleanor asked as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"We came after you." Diego said as if it were obvious.
"Did you find him?" Klaus asked hopefully, but Eleanor merely shook her head. The boy let his head fall, worried for his brother.
"We should probably head back." Diego said as Eleanor went to stand. The two boys each grabbed one of her hands, helping her up.
"We're going to get ripped a new one." Klaus sighed as he put an arm around the girl's shoulders. Eleanor walked slowly back to the academy with her brothers, that sick feeling never leaving her stomach.
"Hey don't worry, he'll come home. He always does." Diego said comfortingly, but Eleanor shook her head.
"He won't. Not this time."
~ Present day ~
Eleanor's car slowly pulled up to the now destroyed, Griddy's dinner. It's current state was a stark contrast to how she remembered her favorite donut shop. She cautiously stepped out of her car to find broken glass everywhere.
Eleanor looked through the shattered windows of the diner to the room, engulfed in an ominous darkness. She carefully opened the creaky door, frozen in shock at the sight before her.
"Sarah?" She called for her friend, as worry consumed every fiber of her being. The only sound was the pounding of her heart as she glanced at the ground littered with bodies...dead bodies.
"Eleanor?" A weak voice called out from behind her and she immediately turned around to find her friend lying limply on the cold wet ground below her.
"Sarah! What happened?!?" Eleanor yelled in shock as she rushed to the woman's side.
"I don't know. I'm here waiting for my donut one minute and the next these guys start threatening this boy and shooting the place up." The older woman said weakly.
"You're going to be okay." Eleanor said as she scanned Sarah's body, looking for where the bullet wound was.
"No I'm not, sweetheart." Sarah said grimly, causing Eleanor to stop.
"Come on Sarah, you're going to be fine. You have to be." Eleanor told her as a few tears slipped from her eyes.
"I'm sorry darling, I really am, but you're going to have to go on without me." Sarah said realistically, sending a shiver down the Ellie's spine.
"No..." Eleanor began but the woman cut her off.
"Yes honey, it's true."
"No..." Eleanor said again in disbelief.
"I'm sorry..." Sarah began, but this time Eleanor cut her off.
"No! You're not going to die because you...you can't! I can't lose you, not you too..." Eleanor cried as sobs wracked her body.
As she held Sarah closely, Eleanor got flashbacks to when Ben died all those years ago. She wept as she held his lifeless body in her arms, similarly to how she's holding Sarah now. The girl began to shake as the painful memories of her lost brother haunted her memories.
"Shhh, it's going to be okay." Sarah reassured her as her eye lids began to gently close. Eleanor was quick to shake her awake, desperate to hold onto her, even for just a little longer.
"You're all I have left..." Eleanor choked out, feeling guilty that even in her final moments, Sarah still tried to comfort the girl.
"That's not true, not anymore honey. You have your family again, you're real family." Sarah clarified but Eleanor aggressively shook her head.
"You are my family!" She said as more tears fell from her eyes. Sarah let out a pained laugh before holding the girl's cheek in her shakey hand.
"And you are mine, but you have a chance to reconnect with your siblings and finally be close with them again. I know how much the mean to you. Promise me you'll at least try to make things right Eleanor." The woman asked as a dying wish and Eleanor took a slow breath, knowing what was going to come.
"I...I pro-promise." She stuttered out. Sarah smiled to herself before allowing her eyes to close and the darkness to consume her.
Eleanor stared at the scene in shock, unable to move. "Sarah?" She cried out with a cracked voice, only to be met with a deafening silence. The broken girl held the older woman close, desperately wishing for her to open her eyes again.
Suddenly the sound of broken glass came from behind her, catching Eleanor's attention. She quickly levitated a gun to her hand and turned, pointing it at the stranger.
The man emerged from the shadows, revealing his face... Diego
A/N: Hey guys! I originally had this and the next chapter combined, but it was way too long so I just broke it up into 2 different one. Hope you enjoyed! :)