∽☂ ∽

"𝐖𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐀 𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐈𝐂𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄"

∽☂ ∽

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐑𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐒 as Lila ran towards an abandoned building. She picked up a wooden stick and smashed the door's window as Five watched everything carefully from a distance.

She unlocked the door, reaching the doorknob through the broken window, and walked inside the building slamming the door behind her. It didn't take long enough for Five to run to the same broken door. He looked inside the building before teleporting.

Lila ran in some hallway while Five jumped behind her. She turned around as Five put his hands in his pockets.

"What's your game, crazy lady?" He mocked her.

"Who cares? You said if you saw me again, you'd kill me." Lila smiled sarcastically and put her arms out.

"Oh, I remember." Five smiled back.

"Well, come on, big talker. Let's get this done." Lila went straight to the point.

"All right."

Five used his power to jump behind Lila but she was quick enough to understand where he was going and what he was doing. So she kicked him right in the face as Five grunted while she chuckled running away proud of herself.

Five checked his mouth to see if there was any bleeding before running after her even though he really couldn't care less about his safety. So Lila ran but Five managed to catch up with her by running behind her. But he just jumped once again rather than run past her.

Lila ran until Five stopped her by teleporting right in front of her. He kicked her right in the face not once, but twice. They started fighting each other but when Lila dodged one of Five's punches, she was able to make her result equal to Five's. She kicked and punched him which resulted in him falling down on the ground.

But he just got up and continued the fight. He kicked her in the chest and they both backed away from each other a bit. Lila put her hands on the table and did a cartwheel so that she could end up on the other side of the table.

But when Five ran to the other side of the table to her, she disappeared. Like into thin air. But not for long.

"I'm waiting." She smiled as she stood on the other side of the room leaning on one of the walls like she wasn't in a rush. Five looked back and forth- at the place she was and where she went- before teleporting right to her.

But when he tried to teleport to the same place where Lila was, she was gone. Again.

She laughed as she was on the other side of the room leaning on the wall with her arms crossed on her chest. "Fed up yet, Five?"

Five just stared at her with pure confusion on his face. How was she doing this? He looked around him before picking up a metal tube he found.

He teleported where she was once again and hit with his stick a junction box that was installed in the wall rather than Lila.

He thought he was going to hit Lila, but she was gone. But Lila appeared right behind him and tried to kick him in the face. But he still dodged it.

He kicked her in the legs and she fell on the floor on her back crying out. Five came up to her and put his foot on her neck. But Lila kept her hands on his foot in order to prevent him from crushing her completely.

"You're better than I thought." She managed to say.

"And you are entirely average." Five grinned at her as she continued to slightly choke. "You can come out now." He said in a higher tone.

The sound of the heels rithmically clicking along the floor was instantly heard as The Handler came from her hiding spot with a cigarette in her mouth.

"Well done. You figured it out." She said walking closer to him.

"Well, it wasn't very hard." Five replied not taking his gaze off Lila on the ground. "She fights like every one of you commission drones."

"Hmm. No matter, here we are. Together again. I've gotta ask..." The woman took the cigarette out of her mouth and put it in between her fingers. "...did you miss me, you little shit?"

∽☂ ∽

"𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐆𝐎, 𝐘/𝐍, 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐒𝐄𝐓𝐔𝐏." Luther reasoned as he, Diego, Vanya, and Y/n were back at Elliot's. They were discussing if they should go to the supper which their father invited them to.

It seemed too good and easy to be true and since Luther was always interested in their father more than any of the siblings, his initial thought was this was some sort of trap.

"Maybe. But we should go anyway." Diego reasoned as he put on his shirt. "What do you think, Y/n?"

Y/n heavily sighed at that crossing her arms and leaning on the chair. "We need to talk to him about the timeline and how we can change it. I know it might seem suspicious that it's being handed to us on a silver platter just like that, but we have to go. We don't really have a choice here. Given the situation we have, you know?"

Diego nodded at Y/n happily since she was on his side. "Thank you."

But Luther shook his head refusing to believe the girl or Diego. "Yeah, says the guy who's already been stabbed this week once."

"Oh, don't worry, me and him are gonna have words." Diego said.

Luther looked at Y/n knowing that she was on Diego's side. He knew that he wasn't gonna get any support from her so he glanced at Vanya. "Would you tell him that he's nuts?"

But Vanya just shrugged at that. "I'm thinking like Y/n. I think we should go."

Y/n smirked at Luther as if to say "Told ya". But he ignored her.

Luther put the last bite into his mouth and looked at Vanya unbelievably as Diego stared at him. "See?"

"Vanya, of all people, you should hate dad the most." Luther still tried to bring Vanya to his thinking great state of mind.

"Well, he's right there." Y/n pointed at him and Vanya looked at her confused since she didn't really know the context.

"Come on, can he really be that bad?" Vanya asked to which the siblings just scoffed.

"Okay, well, let's see." Luther got ready to explain everything to her. "He isolated you from the rest of the family."

"Kept you hopped up on pills." Diego added.

"And he brainwashed you into thinking you had no powers." Y/n finished for the boys.

Vanya stared at her siblings and blinked in confusion. "Jesus, this guy..."

"Yeah." Luther was starting to think that she might think the way he wants for her to think.

"I mean, come on, I have to meet him." She smiled and chuckled. Which was kind of unexpected for the old Vanya.

Diego and Y/n smiled and looked at Luther with looks that said "We told you so".

Luther glanced back and forth at the two. "You two already know how this is gonna go. Dad is gonna play all his little mind games on us, get into our heads, and he's gonna turn us all against each other. You watch."

"Luther, we're not 12 anymore." Y/n scoffed.

"She's right. We're grown-ass men." Diego looked at his sisters. "And women."

But Luther sighed at their team-up. "Hey." Diego leaned in. "We can handle him. Wanna know what's different this time?"

"What's that?" Luther sarcastically asked.

"You got me." Luther looked at Diego confused at what he meant as he looked at the girls. "We go in there as a united front. No more "Number One", "Number two" bullshit." He sat down next to Vanya on the couch. "From now on, it's...Team Zero."

"Team Zero?" Luther and Y/n asked at the same time.

"Team Zero."

As Diego said that, Luther, Vanya, and Y/n smiled at the fact that he was being so nice and showing his soft side and reassuring them that it's going to be ok.

"All the way." He spread out his arms with fist thumbs for Luther and Vanya to do the same but they just watched in confusion.

Y/n chuckled under her breath to that. "All the way."

∽☂ ∽

"𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐕𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐓 𝐀 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐍𝐎𝐒𝐄." The Handler remarked looking down at Lila as Five kept pressing his foot on her neck while she gasped and grunted.

"You know, planting her in a psych ward, taking advantage of my simpleton brother, that was smart." Five fakely congratulated her.

"Well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." The woman simply answered as Lila choked softly.

Five thought he connected some dots. "She's your-"

"Daughter. Yes. And she's my only one, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't crush her windpipe." And as The Handler said that, Five hesitently took off his foot of her neck.

She cried out and panted as she stood up and came closer to Five to glare at him. "I am going to enjoy killing you someday."

"Lila, darling, would you give us a minute, please?" The Handler fake nicely asked as Lila turned around at her.

"Yes, grown-ups need to talk." Five agreed as he looked at The Handler and sarcastically smiled at Lila.

She rolled her eyes and walked away throwing away some pan off the table and sitting on some other huge box at the other end of the room.

"What is it that you want?" Five immediately turned to the woman.

The Handler lit her cigarette out. "Do you like jazz, Five?"

"I'd rather lick a cheese grater." Five almost cut her off glaring at her.

"Aww. Jazz is like a beautiful woman." She started walking away from Five and around the table and talking her usual monologue. "Complex, emotional, hard to please. She doesn't just give it to you...she makes you work for it."

"I'm really hoping that you're going somewhere with this." Five put his hands in his pockets and leaned in.

"Under my leadership, the commission would sound more like...jazz." She whispered and mimicked a soft jazz rhythm.

"And what about the board of directors?" Five asked.

"Well, that's where you come in." She bopped his nose with a smile.

"Nope. No, it isn't." He shook his head.

The Handler leaned back and then forward smiling at the boy. "In exchange for the assassination of the board, I'm willing to get you and your family out of this timeline and back to 2019 where you belong." She walked around him and he turned around at her.

"And what about World War III that's due to kick off in just a few days?" Five reminded her.

"Once you and your siblings are gone, that goes away." She simply replied as if it was nothing.

"And the apocalypse when we get back to 2019?" Five still didn't let go.

"That too."

"I distinctly remember you telling me that that apocalypse had to happen, that it was supposed to happen." Five said not breaking his look off the woman and squinting his eyes.

"Back when I was toeing the company line, but once I'm in charge..." She walked behind Five and stood there mimicking that same soft jazz rhythm. She got close to Five's ear. "...we can riff..."

"Jazz." Five finished the sentence and she backed away walking in front of him once again.

"Exactly."

Five turned away from her and put his hands on his neck thinking about the deal and if it was worth it.

"What about the board of directors, hmm?" He turned back to her again. "I mean, nobody knows who they are."

"Correct." The Handler was leaning on the wall. "But once every fiscal quarter, they get together for a board meeting."

Five instantly got more interested. "Where?"

"The question is when. They meet somewhere in the timeline but never in the same place twice. The exact location and date of these board meetings is the most closely-guarded secret in the commission." The Handler explained to the boy.

Five turned away from her and leaned on the table. "But you know where it's gonna be, don't you?"

The Handler stood up and started walking towards Five. "Would I be any good at what I do if I didn't?"

Five leaned on the table and crossed his arms on his chest. The Handler got so close to him she was inches away. Five took a couple of seconds to think and respond as the woman stared at him with a mischevious smile.

"I need some time to think about it." He started walking away from her.

"Fine. But remember doomsday's right around the corner, and the way things are going, I'm your only option. Well, for you I am but I was before for Y/n." The Handler purposely intended that last part since she thought that Y/n probably didn't tell him.

Five stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, didn't she tell you? I hired her in the beginning when you came here to this timeline to kill you but then I didn't need her anymore. We had agreed that if she did it, she could leave you and go to any timeline and save herself." As she explained Five walked closer to her slowly not believing what he heard.

"No, that can't be right..." He said to himself softly.

"Oh, but it is. Of course, you can pick if you want to take her with you." She finished and evilly smiled at him.

He was just in shock. He opened his heart to her and trusted her while she just lied to him the whole time. He wanted to get away from the commission but turns out, she was not done with the work with them. It broke his heart into small pieces.

He exhaled sharply and stuttered what he wanted to say before teleporting away from the woman before he broke down in front of her.

∽☂ ∽

𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐔𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 outside looking at the invitation that everybody from the siblings got, making sure that he was at the right place, before walking inside. He walked up the big glass stairs trying to get Y/n off his mind and focus on getting as much information from dad as possible. He made it to the elevator and pressed the buttons for it to come.

He didn't wait long before the elevator dinged and he got inside. He pressed the right buttons but before the doors could close, Y/n walked inside and stopped the doors from shutting.

"Hey." She slightly smiled looking at him.

But he just glared at her now with the known informatiob she tried to hide. "Hey." He said sternly.

Y/n furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Is something wrong?" It didn't feel like the usual Five to her.

"No, everything's just fine." Five replied in the same tone not even looking at her.

Y/n looked away and stood next to him waiting for the elevator doors to close as a million thoughts in her head ran around.

But the doors didn't close yet. "Wait up." Diego walked inside the elevator and the pair looked at him.

"Hold it." Allison also ran in.

"Hey, everyone." Klaus walked inside all drunk and with a flask and sunglasses with Vanya following him from behind.

"Excuse me." Luther was the last one to get inside. So he was in the middle.

"Good. We're all here." Five said as the elevator dinged.

They headed up to a very high floor so it took a while to get there. But while they were there, Luther grunted softly and...farted.

Allison was the first one to notice it. She sniffed and covered her mouth and nose with her blazer.

"Oof." Vanya, Five, and Y/n said in unison. So they all covered their noses with their hands.

"Luther!" Klaus waved his hand in front of him.

"Oh, my god." Vanya muttered to herself.

"Sorry, I'm nervous."

The elevator dinged and so did the doors opened. And as soon as they did, everyone got outside as soon as possible.

"Nasty. I'm choking!" Five complained.

"Jesus Christ..." Y/n said under her breath.

As they went outside of the elevator, island music played softly over the speakers. It really kind of looked like a Hawaiian-themed setting. But as soon as Five got to the table, he took manners into his own hands.

"All right, when dad gets here, I'll do the talking, okay?"

"I've got a few questions for him myself." Diego protested as he made his way down the stairs and to the table.

"Hey, we don't wanna scare him off, all right? He might be able to help us stop doomsday, get us home." Five still tried to prove his point.

"No, Five, we need to figure out why he's planning to kill the president." Diego still continued to argue with Five as the other siblings just watched.

"This is a matter of like and death, you imbecile."

"Hey, calm down you too." Y/n held her hands out as she went to stand next to Five. "Diego, Five's right. Our first priority is finding our way back home and stopping the end of the world from ever happening. The assassination of the president is not our priority right now. "

Y/n looked at Five with a sympathetic look, while he just glared at her and looked away. Y/n looked down at her feet and crossed her arms as they both stared in separate directions. She felt like something was off and different about him. But she decided to try to focus on dad.

"Okay, yeah, maybe we should take turns talking. Yeah?" Vanya tried to calm the three of them down while she took something off some other table. "Here, whoever has got this conch shell gets to talk."

"Vanya, we don't have time for a debate, okay?" Five said all frustrated.

"Maybe I should lead." Allison came to Vanya after taking off her sweater. "We all know I'm a better public speaker than the rest of you." She said as she took the conch shell from Vanya.

"Okay, daddy's girl." Diego mocked her.

"Oh, jealous, number two?" Allison tilted her head.

"Hey, no more numbers. No more bullshit. We're Team Zero." Diego walked up to Allison from around the table. "We're all Team Zero."

"Uh, Diego. You don't have the conch." Luther smiled from across the table.

Diego smiled and put up his finger in the air pretending to actually care about that. Then he snatched the shell from Allison's hand and threw it to the wall, smashing it into pieces.

"Classic." Allison looked away from Diego and sighed as Diego put his hands out to show how smart he is which was pathetic.

But their shenanigans were interrupted by their dad walking through the doors with books and notebooks in his hands. He walked across the room and past the siblings not even glancing once. When he walked inside the dining room, he didn't make eye contact with anyone and marched right to his seat wanting to get straight to the point.

The sibling's eyes went wide as they saw their father all in glory for the first time alive together in a very long time. They followed with their eyes as he walked and sat down with him at the table.

"Not only have you burglarized my lab, set my chimp loose, conned your way into the Mexican consulate, repeatedly stalked and attacked me, but you have, on numerous occasions, called me..."

Klaus pulled his chair back so he can sit down and grunted as he sat down with a drink in his hands. "Hey, Pop. How's it hangin'?"

"...dad." Reginald finished his sentence. Five looked at Klaus before staring back at their father trying not to break his gaze. Y/n also continued staring at her father, sometimes looking back and forth at Five.

"My reconnaissance tells me you're not CIA, not KGB, certainly not MI5, so..." He put his pen down on the table and his fingers together. "...who are you?"

The siblings thought about how to answer that question. It was a very open-ended question. Where should they start? Most of them opened their mouths but nothing came out of them until Five spoke.

"We're your children." Reginald glanced at Five across the table. "We're from the future. In 1989, you adopted us all and trained us to fight against the end of the world." Reginald looked over at the siblings very slowly not believing Five. "Called us the Umbrella Academy." Klaus put up his drink as a "Cheers" to that.

"Why on earth I would adopt seven-"

"Eight." Allison corrected him. "One of us isn't here."