Elaina and Five found a car outside of Elliot's place and hot-wired it, Five taking over the driver's side as they quickly drove to Sissy's farm in search of Vanya. It wasn't long into their drive on the gravel road that a familiar blue car began to drive past them.
"Vanya?" asked Elaina as Five and said-sister slowed down their cars and stared at each other.
"Yup," confirmed Five as he pulled the car over.
They both skidded to a stop and threw their respective cars in park as everyone hopped out.
"What are you guys doing here?" questioned Vanya.
"Looking for you," answered Five.
"We're going back to 2019," added Elaina as they all met in between the cars.
"What are you talking about?"
"Look, I don't really have time to explain right now, but we found a way home." Five pulled out his synchronized watch and looked at the time. "Alright? We have 30 minutes to leave." said Five as he and Elaina began walking back to their car.
"What about my friends? I can't just leave them here." asked Vanya, making the two teens stop and turn back to her.
"V, you really don't have much of a choice in this, alright?" stated Elaina as they reapproached Vanya.
"Doomsday will happen if you don't come with us," stressed Five.
"Okay, then I'm bringing them with me," defiantly countered Vanya.
"They belong to this timeline," tried to reason Five.
"Says who?" snapped the woman, gaining a surprised look from the teens. "Sissy deserves a life where she doesn't have to pretend to be someone she's not. And Harlan? There's a name for what he has. We can get him the help that he needs."
Elaina sighed. "Vanya,"
"Look, a mom and her eight-year-old son are not gonna screw up the timeline, Five!" shouted a frustrated Vanya. "They're insignificant,"
"No one is insignificant," retorted Five as he stepped up to Vanya. "I'm sorry, alright? But we can't take that risk."
"They have to stay," frowned Elaina from behind Five as she looked at her sister in sympathy. "Come on, sis. We don't have much time," she said, nudging her head towards the car as she and Five started walking back to its direction.
"Why do you get to decide?" accusingly questioned Vanya to Five. "You're the reason we're stuck here in the first place."
"Oh, no, sweetie," spun Elaina on her heels to face Vanya with her index finger pointed. "I love you, Vanya, but don't take it there. If it weren't for him, we'd all be dead, thanks to you."
Vanya simply stared for a moment before saying, "They're coming with me,"
Five scoffed softly as his eyes narrowed in irritation. "Vanya, do not test me right now," threatened Five as he walked directly up to Vanya.
"That's funny," smiled Vanya, though no humor reflected in her eyes as she got closer to the boy. "Cause I was about to say the same thing," she said, the iris of her eyes turning white as her skin paled.
They both started up their abilities: Vanya's white violin was shining through as an orb of white shimmered at her chest while Five's hands clenched his into fists by his sides, a vibrating blue energy radiating off of them. The two stared down at each menacingly, showing no signs of backing down.
Elaina watched from the sidelines before looking down at her watch and letting out a deep breath. She walked up to the pair and looked between them.
"Either you two break it up, or I'll break it up myself," warned Elaina as she held her hands up in between Five and Vanya, a light purple tinge slowly coming from her hands as her eyes narrowed dangerously at them, shifting from brown to purple.
Vanya then began to power down. "Fine," she stated.
"'Fine', what?" asked Elaina as her and Five followed suit and dropped their powers.
"I'll be there, but I need to say goodbye first," said Vanya.
"Oh, Vanya, we don't have the time," exasperatedly said Five.
"Well, it's either that or I'm not coming," said the woman in a final tone as she turned away to her car.
Five scoffed and was about to say something before Elaina cut him off.
"We'll take it," she called after Vanya, earning a frustrated look from Five. "This was the only way we got her to agree. So agree, dammit!" harshly whispered Elaina, getting him to sigh.
He looked over to Vanya's direction. "The alley," he said in defeat as he and Elaina walked to their own car. "Don't be late," he said, opening up the drivers door as Vanya nodded and got in her car.
Five began to angrily mutter a bunch of unintelligible things under his breath as he turned the key of the car and started the ignition, driving off.
Elaina watched Five from her seat with a small, entertained smile. "You know, I get the feeling you aren't too happy with how that went."
"Oh, really? What gave that away?" sarcastically replied back Five with a matching sarcastic smile.
"Call it a hunch," chuckled Elaina, clearly amused. "Hey, at least we got her to go. She knows the time limit and the location. Vanya has always been responsible, she'll show. "
"Well, she better," said Five as he glared at the road. "I'll be extremely livid if we miss out going back to our timeline because of something as simple as meeting a deadline."
"Trust me, you won't be the only one," agreed Elaina as she leaned back in her seat, stretching her arms up in the process.
'...Birdie... Visit Birdie...'
Elaina could hear that persistent voice whispering in the back of her head again. It was almost like a subconscious thought, but a little more noticeable. Elaina stared up at the roof of the car as she heard her thoughts get more and more persuasive. After all, why wouldn't she want to see Birdie? How rude of her to not even think about saying goodbye to the woman that took her in and provided for her. Elaina needed to see her.
'...Go to The Bird's Nest...'
Elaina brought her arms back in as she sat upright in her seat. "Five, since we got a little bit of time to kill, do you think I can stop by Birdie's very quickly? Just to say bye?"
Five rolled up to a stop sign as he turned over to look at Elaina with a look of disbelief. "You're joking, right?"
"Please?" she shrugged innocently. "I'll feel like complete shit if I don't thank her for helping me out."
Five blinked several times. "You're not joking. I don't believe it," he exasperatedly rubbed his face. "Elaina, please, not you too." he muttered into his hands.
"Look, I know what's on the line, Five. I also know that we have..." she looked down at her watch. "...25 minutes til we have to leave and we're practically around the corner. I promise I won't even take five minutes." the girl practically begged.
The boy brought his hands down and merely looked at her before pulling out the watch from his pocket again. He watched its tiny hands ticked away as he took in the time. Five looked back up at the street he was on and sighed before turning his gaze back to the girl.
"Pretty please, my love?" she pouted, batting her lashes.
Five twisted his lip to the side in aggravation as a car honked behind them, signalling them to move from the stop sign. Five looked back and shot a dirty look to the car before moving forward.
"Fine," he grunted. "Only because you won't see Birdie after this," stated Five as he turned down the side street that led to the bar. "I'm sure you also want to say goodbye to the kid too?"
Elaina jumped at the question. For some reason, Tony hadn't crossed her mind when she thought about the bar. Almost like he wasn't associated with Birdie for a moment there in her mind. Her mind flashed white and she got a brief stinging pain in her head the more she thought more about it.
"Ah..." hissed Elaina as she brought her hand up to rub her temple.
"You okay?" concerned, Five asked as he saw the slight discomfort on her face.
"Yeah," she groaned. "Just a little headache. But yeah, of course, I'll say bye to him too."
Five nodded as he turned the street corner, The Bird's Nest started to come in view. "Okay, make it quick. You have to be back at the alley--"
"Within the next 20 minutes, I know," intervene Elaina with a roll of her eyes. "I'm just going to let them know that we're going back home and be out."
"Do you want me to wait for you?" asked Five as he came to a stop.
Elaina looked at the bar before turning to Five and shaking her head. "No, it's okay. Make sure everyone else is there and the briefcase is ready. I'll be there soon." she said, leaning into him and placing a quick peck on his cheek as she opened the door and ran out.
"20 minutes!" he called after her as he took his foot off the brake and drove off.
Elaina waved after him as she took a deep breath in and turned to the bar. She was a little surprised to see the CLOSED sign on the door, which was odd for the middle of the week and what time it was. She peeked in the window and saw no one was in, she shook the door handle to find it locked.
"Birdie, it's Elaina!" called out the girl as she knocked on the door. "I don't have much time, so please open the door if you hear me," she shouted, knocking again.
Elaina anxiously bounced on the balls of her feet as she waited. After waiting for a minute and having no luck, she looked down at her watch and sighed, starting to walk away back towards the road.
"Elaina?"
Elaina stopped at the voice. She didn't turn to face it's owner as she continued to face the road.
"Tony," she said cautiously, his name slightly burning as it rolled off her tongue. "Where's your mom?"
The teenaged boy leaned against the door frame as he watched Elaina's back tense. "She'll be here soon. Today's been a busy day for her."
"Do you know when she'll be back?"
Tony scoffed as he crossed his arms. "I might know, if maybe you could actually turn around and face me,"
"Boy, you're lucky I'm even talking to you," she placed her hands on her hips, still facing forward.
"You're right, I messed up last time you were here. Lo siento," he apologized to her, taking a couple steps towards her. "Just know that that kiss meant a lot more to me than you think,"
"I don't have time for this," she quickly stated, lifting her hands up. "Look, if she's not here I'm leaving. Just tell her, 'thank you' for everything and that she's such an angel in this condemned world, will you?"
"You make it sound like you're leaving forever," calmly pointed out Tony as he got even closer to her.
Elaina could feel him nearing her as she quickly turned around and glared at him, making sure to keep distance between them. "Stay there," she ordered, seeing that Tony had managed to get only a couple of feet away from her. "Thanks to you, I've been awkward around Five,"
"What, you didn't tell him? Starboy can't handle the competition?" snarked Tony as he gave her a playful smirk.
"It's not a matter of competition. It's a matter of you keeping your head connected to your body," she snapped. "But that doesn't matter now. I only stopped by to say goodbye. My family and I are going back home, so yes, it is a forever thing."
"So you came to say bye, but not to me," pieced together Tony as he nodded his head with a frown. "I thought we were tighter than that, Els."
"We were, until you kissed me!" she exclaimed with a 'are-you-serious' look on her face. "God, were you always this frustrating?" she mumbled to herself as she looked down at her watch. 15 minutes left. "Regardless, I'm here and I'm saying goodbye to you too. The two of you had become like family. So..." she sighed, looking up at Tony. "Thanks, for helping me out, but I'm still very upset at you."
Tony ran his hand through his hair, the smirking faltering as he spoke. "You were a great time, Els. Once again, I'm truly sorry. I never wanted to upset you."
As Elaina stared at the boy, she couldn't help the sad smile that lifted the corner of her lips as she playfully shoved him for old times sake. "I know. Just, next time you lay one on a girl, make sure it's consensual," she joked, walking away from the bar towards the street. "I'm gonna be late, so, goodbye Ton."
"You sure you don't want to wait? Mom should be here really soon,"
Elaina spun around, walking backward. "Sorry! On a very tight schedule. Please let Birdie know," she said before facing forward.
"No, Els, I'm sorry," quietly said Tony as his pupils enlarged, turning his eyes completely black. "Stop," firmly commanded the teen.
Elaina's feet came to a gradual stop as Tony's voice echoed in her ears and in her mind. The girl's eyes momentarily matched Tony's black ones as she completed the action, but the moment her feet stopped, her eyes went back to normal.
Elaina felt a sort of dazed fog in her mind as she shook her head. Her head snapped to her feet as she tried to march forward again, but they refused to move from their spot on the ground.
"What the hell is going on?" she muttered, attempting to pull at her legs. "I can't move,"
"And you won't move," Elaina's head snapped up to see Tony slowly approaching her with those Black eyes as he spoke. "Not until I tell you, you can,"
"Tony? This is you?" she exclaimed, her eyes widening as she looked at him. "You have powers? How-- What-- When--?" she couldn't find the right words as she was completely taken off guard, urging her legs to move as she tried to pull on them.
"It's a long story that'll be more than happy to tell you, but not now," stated Tony, his hispanic accent weakening as his words came out crisper. "Right now, the only thing you need to focus on... is the sound of my voice," he whispered, his voice floated to Elaina. "Stay still and don't speak."
Elaina continued to struggle where she stood until Tony's voice echoed in her mind. "Tony... you..." groaned as she tried to fight his grip on her mind, but she couldn't stop it. Her eyes changed back to black as she slowly took her hands off of her calf and stood up straight, obliging the teen's order.
"My, that was a lot easier then I wanted it to be," came a feminine voice from the side of the bar. "I was hoping for a little bit of a power struggle. Oh well."
"Glad to know you're pleased," retorted Tony as he looked back at the woman emerging from the shadows, his eyes going back to normal. "But here you go, Elaina Hargreeves on a silver platter. Just like you ordered."
The Handler appeared, a gleeful look on her face with her cigarette extender dangling in between her lips as she walked up to the two. She leaned forward with a snigger in front of the mindless black-eyed girl. "Not so fiery now, are you, you little rugrat?" The Handler pulled out her extender and blew smoke in the girl's face, letting out a small laugh at the lack of response. "Oh, the fun we're gonna have together," she cooed.
"I still don't get why you wanted her anyway," commented Tony as he watched the woman interacting with the girl. "It's Five that you're after, right?"
"Precisely. And Number Five is one of the greatest assassins the Commission has ever seen. An assassin with no qualms about his assignments, no hesitation when it came to pulling the trigger, and no weaknesses... until now," she stood up and faced Tony with a grin. "This girl is Five's only weakness, the one thing he truly values. Take that away and what do you have?"
"A pissed off killer?" shrugged Tony.
The Handler grin widened as she stroked Tony's cheek. "A distraught killer. One without his mind in the game," she walked around Tony and went behind Elaina, gripping the girls shoulders. "She's the leg up we need to destroy Five and his band of umbrella rejects. Understand?"
Tony looked at The Handler as his eyes drifted over to Elaina. Her expression was blank as she stared at him with her black eyes. He didn't look at her for too long before looking back at the woman. "Yeah, I understand," he sighed.
The Handler's grin softened to a smile as she stood upright, her hands still on Elaina's shoulders. "Remember. We're doing this for Lila."
Tony's lip jumped slightly. "I know, Mom," he nodded. "For Lila."
"Good boy," the woman smiled as she patted Elaina's shoulders and stepped away. "Let's get started, shall we?"
Tony nodded again, taking a deep breath in as his gaze switched to Elaina, the black taking over his eyes again. "Elaina," his voice echoed in the air. "Listen to the sound of my voice... Do you hear me?"
Elaina didn't look at Tony as her head slowly lifted up and down in a solitary nod. "I hear you..." she drawled out.
The corner of Tony's lip lifted in a crooked smile. "Beautiful. Now, this is what you're going to do..."
~.~
Oh Goddddddd. WHY?
I didn't like writing this 😩 But it had to be done.
What are you thoughts on what's happening?
Spanish phrase used in this chapter: Lo siento, meaning 'I'm sorry'.