Chapter Nineteen:

"Will I ever meet my dad?"

Lotus was eight, and she sat across from her mother, watching the women's movements. She was little but she noticed the changes in the her mom, almost all of them.

"I don't think so, flower."

Lotus' nose scrunched, "I don't like when you call me that."

Though of course, the small child didn't know that she didn't have a dad. She didn't know a lot, especially that the women blamed her deteriorating health on the child, her child. The women was doing fine, until Lotus' sixth birthday.

"I think it's nice." A smile grew on her lips. "It suits you."

"Why is my name Lotus?" The little girl asked, twirling a piece of her growing hair around a finger. The women's smile faded, replaced by a hate that had been evolving over the years.

"Your grandmother liked the name."

"Why don't we ever see Grandma and Papa?"

The women stood up, pushing herself off the ratty old couch. Their apartment was beginning to fall apart, everything had holes in it and smelt of stale rain.

"They don't want to see me." She steadied her voice, but in truth they didn't want to see Lotus either. It was amazing how parents told their kids that they'd support them no matter what, only to discard that every idea when a challenge or surprise arose. Lotus had been a very big surprise. "We're doing ok on our own right?"

"Why don't we live with them anymore?"

She was surprised she remembered, considering her parents kicked her out after a few years of having the baby. Of keeping it, even when someone offered to pay a rather large amount for her.

"That's enough of your questions." She snapped, watching as the eight year old stared up at her. "Go to your room, you've had plenty of playtime today."

"But I just started—"

"I said go to your room!"

Lotus frowned, tears welling in her eyes. That had been the day their relationship began crumbling. "I want to finish—"

The women bend over so she was staring into the child's matching green eyes, she grew to hate how Lotus looked just like her. " It made sense though, considering she didn't have a dad to look like. "What did I tell you?"

Lotus kicked the legos in front of her, sending them flying around the room. She glared back into her moms eyes, "Why can't I just play for a little while longer—"

"Stop asking so many questions!" The women yelled, that made Lotus jump. The small girl huffed and stomped off towards the room that they shared. She slammed the door just and tears escaped her eyes, she hated when her mom yelled at her.

Something shattered and Lotus sprang up, gasping as her eyes widened. She was still at the Academy, in a random guest bedroom, the walls unnaturally white.

"There's a family meeting going on downstairs." Klaus stood in the doorway, just as he had done the night before. She rolled her eyes and flopped back down onto the mattress.

"Well then, I'm sure it can carry on without me."

"C'mon." He whined, "You've been spending the most time with Five, you must know things that we don't."

"Your brother's a secretive prick, even when the world is at stake."

"The world's ending in three days." He rambled, "Now we really gotta rush."

He grunted, holding a hand to his stomach. Lotus frowned and dragged herself out of bed, she slipped on her shoes and walked over to Klaus.

"Want help?"

He shook his head, "I'm fine."

Lotus went silent, not wanting to argue. She had no idea what time it was but it seemed like it was early in the morning. Klaus kept making weird noises from next to her but she refrained from asking if he was ok because he'd just tell her that he was. He was leaning over as they walked, and when they reached the staircase he grunted with every step. They walked into the living room, the Hargreeves children all clustered around the bar area.

"Hey, Lotus." Allison gave her a warm smile, "How are you?"

She gave the women and weird look, "Good?"

Allison walked over and pulled her towards the group which consisted of her, Diego, Luther and now Klaus. Luther was the first to speak, after staring at each individual person first.

"So the world is ending in three days."

"Three days?"

"That's what Five said." Lotus walked over to a a bar stool and jumped up on it, she swivelled back and fourth as the conversation continued.

Allison took a sip from the coffee cup she was gripping in her hand, "But can we trust him? I don't know if you've noticed, but Five's a little—" She whistled and circled a finger around her head. Lotus snorted, earning a small smile from the women.

"He was pretty convincing." One of the guys said, "I mean- if he wasn't trying to stop the apocalypse, those lunatics wouldn't be chasing him."

Klaus flopped down onto a couch, "That's why they were chasing him?"

"Yeah."

"But what did Five even see?"

Luther moved so he stood facing everyone else, "Uh, apparently we all fought together against whoever's responsible." He paused meeting Lotus' stare, maybe she was the only other one who knew their fate. "Okay. So here's the plan, we go through dad's research—"

"Woah, woah. Wait, what happens?" Lotus asked, an amused smile on her face as the big guy glared at her.

"What happens the first time around?" Diego glared.

"Uh, we die." Luther mumbled, barley audible for his siblings to hear.

"I'm sorry, you what?" Lotus raised her voice.

"We die."

"We what?" Allison shouted, "What the hell?"

"Yah!" Lotus jumped down from the bar stool, "What in the world!"

Klaus' laugh echoed from where he sat, when everyone turned to look at him he only shrugged and winked at Lotus.

"Is it just us?" Allison questioned.

"It's everybody."

"In the house? The whole planet?" Diego chimed in, "Be more specific."

"Like everyone. The whole world. Everyone dies." Luther replied, "It's the apocalypse."

Footsteps sounded and a voice floated towards the group, "Hey—"

Allison was the first to turn, "Hey." She repeated.

Vanya stood in the doorway of the living room, a man standing behind her.

"What's going on here?"

"It's a—" Allison pursed her lips, "A family matter."

Vanya let out a laugh, "A family matter? And you didn't even bother to include me?"

The women's eyes landed on Lotus and she shook her head, "Why is she here? If it's a family matter."

Diego stood up straighter, "She has information about Five."

"Don't let me interrupt." She raised her hands as in defeat. Allison took a step forward, "Wait— I'll fill you in later when we're alone."

"No- please, please don't bother." Vanya turned and began walking out, "Because I won't."

"Vanya, that's not fair."

Lotus sucked in a breath, her mother's voice sharp in her mind.

Nothing in this life is fair.

"Fair? Nothing is fair about being your sister. I have been left out of everything, for as long as I can remember. And I used to think that it was Dad's fault, but he's dead. So it turns out you're the assholes."

Because if it was, I never would've had you.

Allison made another attempt to stop her sister, but the look the man behind her gave Allison made the women stop in her tracks. Lotus pursed her lips, the tension buzzing in the air. Everyone felt it, it was undeniable.

"I'm gonna go find Vanya and explain." Allison said, but Diego shook his head. "There isn't time. We need to figure out who causes the apocalypse."

"How does it start?" Lotus pondered out loud, "There's so many possibilities. Nuclear war? Asteroids?"

Luther perked up at that, "Yes but I'm thinking this is about the moon."

"What?"

"The moon, right?" He turned and shared a look with his family, "I mean, Dad must of sent me up there for a reason. I was giving him daily updates on the conditions, I sent field samples— the first thing we need to do is find his research."

"Hold on." Klaus snapped, pointing a finger when Luther opened his mouth again. "Hold the phone! We all died fighting this thing the first time around, remember?"

Diego flicked a blade from his shirt, "Klaus shockingly has a point. What gives us a win this time?"

Lotus crossed her arms, "Five." She said, grabbing everyone's attention.

"You're still here?" Diego questioned.

Her temper flared as she extended her hand and flash him her middle finger, "Hell yes I am."

"Wow." Klaus whistled, "She bites back."

Lotus rolled her eyes, "Last time you didn't have him, right? You guys weren't together, don't you need the full force of whatever this superhero thing is supposed to be to win? Isn't that how all those movies end?"

"But where is Five now?" Allison questioned.

She frowned, "We don't know. But he has plans for fixing it, maybe that's what he's doing now."

"I'll be back soon." Diego sighed taking off towards the front doors, "I'm going after Hazel and Cha-Cha."

"Wait— right now?" Luther asked.

"Hell yeah. I'm losing light by the minute."

Lotus rubbed at her eyes and brushed past Diego and into the hallway, "Where are you going?"

"Don't know." She called back racing up the stairs, she heard another voice call after her but she was already out of ear shot. She didn't stop until she reached the room she had slept in, shutting the door with a thud. She ran a hand threw her oily hair, she couldn't remember the last time she had a shower.

There was two doors on the far wall, she walked over and swung one open. It was a closet, filled with linens and a few blazers that matched the one Five had been wearing. She huffed slamming it shut, she moved over to the next one and smiled when the door opened to reveal a tiny bathroom, equipped with a shower. She shut the door behind her and turned the water on, stripping down until she felt the cold air cover her skin. Lotus stepped under the flow of water, feeling it hit her back with a cold sharpness before burning from the warmth of it. She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the cold tile, remembering things that were long forgotten.

"Why now?" She mumbled.