Chapter Seventeen:

"Neat trick, isn't it?"

Five was still staring at Lotus, frozen in the air. Her fingers were brushed up against his shoulder, her expression fearful as her focus was set on him. Her green eyes sparkled in the sun. He broke his gaze and turned, a familiar women with white hair stood on the road smiling at him.

"Hello, Five." She grinned, heels clicking on the gravel as she made her way over. "You look good, all things considered."

He watched as she stopped in front of him, "It's good to see you again." He huffed.

"Feels like we just met yesterday. Course, you were a little bit older then. Congratulations on your age regression, by the way." The Handler's eye's landed on Lotus who was frozen next to him, "I see you've wasted no time meeting girls."

"She's not a girl. She- She's like me."

The Handled shrugged, "You were very clever. Threw us off your scent."

"Ah, well I wish I could take credit but I just miscalculated the time dilation projections. And well, you know, here I am."

The women didn't seemed to be impressed, "You know your efforts are futile. So why don't you tell me what you really want?"

He frowned, "I want you to put a stop to it."

"You realize what you're asking me to do is next to impossible, even for me. What's meant to be is meant to be."

"What about survival?" He asked moving his blazer to reveal a gun tucked away in his belt, he took it out and loaded it. Pointing it at her with a smile.

"I'll just be replaced." A wicked grin set upon her face as she stared the barrel down, "I am but a small cog in a machine. This fantasy that you've been nurturing about summoning up your family to stop the apocalypse is just that, a fantasy."

The smile fell from his face as he stared at the women. Her grin never wavered, "I must say though, we're all quite impressed with your initiative, your stick-to-itivness. It's really quite something." She paused, "And that's why we want to offer you a new position back at the Commission, in management."

He chuckled, letting the gun drop to his side. "I'm sorry, what?" Could she really be telling the truth?

"Come back to work for us again. You know it's where you belong."

Five pursed his lips, contemplating the offer. "Well, it didn't work out to well the last time."

She raised a finger, "But you wouldn't be in the correction division anymore. I'm talking about the home office. You'd have the best health and pension, and an end to this ceaseless travel." Her finger poked his noise, he swatted it away and she continued. "You're a distinguished professional in schoolboy shorts! We have the technology to reverse the process, I mean- you can't be happy like this."

Five shifted his gaze to the ground, looking at anything but the Handler. In truth, he was happy, as happy as anyone in his situation could be despite what he let on. Yes, he was 58 in a 13 year old's body but at least he felt good. His back didn't hurt and his feet never ached, he felt lighter and could eat whatever he wanted. He had his family back and met someone new. Five wasn't entirely sure if he wanted his body back, he didn't want to be the oldest.

"I don't want happy." He finally said, stealing a glance at Lotus who was still unmoving.

The Handled laughed, seeing his little glance. "We're all looking for happy." She reached over a thin finger and touched Lotus' hair, a long strand of brown hair came falling down in front of her face. Her eyes landed back on Five, "We can make that happen. We can make you yourself again."

He sighed, "And what about my family?"

"What about them?" She was growing annoyed, he could tell as it wasn't meant to be hidden.

"I want them to survive." And he really did, despite everything else. He missed them dearly while he was away, growing old without them and all alone. Well not really all alone, he did have Delores.

"All of them?" She took a look around and rolled her eyes, "Really?"

"Yes. All of them."

"Fine. I'll see what I can do. Do we have a deal?"

Five reached a hand over before stopping, "Wait a second."

He rushed over to the scene that was frozen in front of him. A gun was on the road, one Hazel has discarded as a van barrelled towards them. He picked it up and removed the cartridge and threw it out into the field before dropping the gun. He walked back over to The Handler, pausing yet again. She groaned, another roll of the eyes. The bullet that had been aimed at him was still hung in the air, racing for Lotus' neck. He plucked it with two fingers and moved it far away from her or from being able to hit Luther. He took a step so he was standing back where he started, in front of The Handler and beside Lotus.

"And Lotus."

"Excuse me?"

"She survives as well." Five looked at the frozen girl, he raised a hand and tucked the loose piece of hair behind her ear. Her hands were still outstretched, she had been trying to save him. His hand graced her arm until it found hers and he pressed it against his face, breathing in the fresh air.

"Fine." The Handler's voice was sharp, "The girl survives. Along with your family."

Shit, he thought. She snapped him from his daze and he dropped his hand and stepped away. What a stupid thing to do, to show emotions. But he wanted to feel some sense of normality, of what could be if the world wasn't ending. He took a deep breath and grabbed the women's hand, taking one last look at the scene around him, and one last look at Lotus. Feelings swirling within him that he shouldn't of felt, that he never got to experience in his teenage years. He had a job to do, and he would finish that first. He had no time for whatever it was he felt, he may never.

"You have a deal."

They shook hands and the world around him warped as him and The Handler disappeared.

This had not been apart of the plan.