a mannequin and a boy • the umbrella academy ON HOLD

volume two, issue 15

"Dolores. Didn't see you there," Klaus remarked as he came up the stairs, a tired and weary expression on his face. He stood at the edge of the sofa for a moment, barely able to stand.

"Hey Klaus... where's Ben?" She asked, sitting up a little. She really missed her brother, and practically yearned for a 'hug' from the boy, even if he was a ghost.

Klaus began to tear up as he avoided her gaze, a sigh coming over him. "Dolores... I don't know how to tell you this..." He didn't have to. Dolores knew by the look in his eyes.

"He's... gone, isn't he? Officially dead." Klaus nodded, choking out a sob as he trudged to a bedroom, going to rest. 

Dolores's grief was short lived as she soon found herself going to meet Five, holding her tears back. She wanted to be strong, or at least appear so, for him. 

Five already had enough to worry about, and Dolores didn't want to contribute to that stockpile of worries.

Dolores stayed quiet as she watched the siblings bicker, and she stayed quiet on the whole car ride to the farm. She was stuck in the trunk with Luther, who really brought down the back of the car. Compared to him, she felt as light as a spirit, without even being in spirit form. 

"Stay in the car, okay? This will all be over soon," Five instructed as he came to the back of the car. The siblings went ahead into the barn, but he stayed back for a moment. 

Dolores's eyes looked glossy, and her face puffy, but as she looked at Five, she only looked at him with trust and love. With him, everything else faded, and all that remained was the two of them.

"Five. Please... be careful. I can't lose you again," Dolores told him, reaching out and taking his hand in hers. He rubbed circles on the back of her hand, avoiding her gaze. 

"I will be. Please stay here, I cant lose you either. I've done that... oh, five too many times? Maybe six?" He joked, his laugh empty but it was a solid attempt to make her feel better. 

"Maybe seven," she added, holding tight onto his hand, looking down at their locked hands. She smiled, looking back up at him. "Go save the world."

Five smiled, kissing her on the cheek gently before walking away. Dolores waited for a bit out of obedience but she got too curious. 

The girl stepped out of the car, noticing Five and Diego leave the old building to walk toward two suspicious figures in the field. She followed, keeping her distance and joining with Klaus, Luther and Allison. 

Bullets began to fire as about a hundred people in suits appeared, and Dolores took off in a run. She knew she could become a spirit, she knew she could avoid all of this, but she wasn't strong enough. The girl managed to trip, her body limp and weak as Klaus grabbed her, tugging her along into the barn. 

The barn started to shake as a big energy wave came tumbling into it, but it diligently held its structure. Dolores's body kept shifting in and out of spirit form as she tried to gather enough strength to do it, to be strong, but she couldn't.

Grief, pain, suffering, all of it was starting to take a toll on her. Even the image of Five in her mind couldn't get her to harness enough energy to just be transparent. 

She worked too hard for this. She went through death, multiple times, and seventy years in a doll just for it to all end like this?

"And who are you?" A voice asked behind the girl, and Dolores whipped around, a large hole in the barn revealing the same girl she saw with Lila just a few moments ago.

"Why do you care?" Dolores asked, standing up. Going from a limp mess on the floor to facing another enemy did take a lot of courage, but she did it. Not for Five. Not even for the world. But for herself.

Dolors spent too long under Reginald's control to be pushed around by some Cruella De Vil rip-off. 

"You must be Five's little girlfriend. Dolores, isn't it? Tell me, what can you do?" The Handler asked, a sinister grin on her face. Dolores gulped, retreating a bit. 

"The Handler, right? I heard all about you. The girl that could never settle nor have any sort of friends and family. Bet you're jealous of me and Five, right?" Dolores taunted, returning the same grin. 

"Oh, and here I heard you barely speak a word. Barely defend yourself. The bruises really speak to that reputation, girl. Who would be jealous of a sad, little... girl?" The Handler asked, stepping closer and closer with a taunting pout. Dolores's nose twitched as she stared back at her. "You mean nothing. You got yourself stuck in a mannequin for Pete's sake! Why should I be scared of such a pathetic-" The Handler was cut off by a short punch to the face.

Dolores never learned how to punch, of course, and she quickly retracted her fist, shaking it in pain. Not as much pain as the Handler was in, though. 

As Harlan's bubble grew, so did Dolores's fear, and she quickly fled the barn, leaving a reeling woman behind her. She felt quite proud of herself, of course, even if her knuckles were now lined in forming bruises.

She joined Klaus and the two of them walked into the barn Lila and Five were in. The tension in the room was thick enough to feel it as Lila held her knife in the air, posing a threat to everyone, especially Five.

Dolores stayed quiet as Diego coaxed Lila out of her craze, and even Dolores melted a bit at his words. 

"I know that we can be your family... if you just let us," Diego told her. Lila looked around at the people surrounding her, and made eye contact with each one, as if she was deciding. 

Dolores smiled softly at her when her gaze fell on her, and Lila smiled back, nodding.

Right before a couple bullets went right through the chests of everyone in the room, excluding Dolores, Five, and Lila. 

Dolores choked, feeling sick as she fell to her knees. She wasn't shot, of course, but the very sight of the dead bodies around her made her physically hurt. 

"Diego, no..." 

And then Lila was dead and Dolores had to watch the Handler pull the gun on her, a smile on her face. Dolores glanced to Five, knowing she already lost. 

"Now, Five, I'm gonna let you watch me kill all that you love, right before I kill you."

Dolores didn't even feel the gunshot as time itself reversed right before her, and even she reversed, too. All her memory of the last few seconds was gone, and she was back to Diego coaxing Lila, a soft smile back on her face. 

A blonde man came to the open door, shooting the Handler a few moments after she came into the barn. Dolores gasped, and Klaus covered her eyes for her. For being seventy five years old, it sure did feel weird to be protected by a guy who would normally be half your age at that point. 

The Swedish man soon left, and so did the only case they had that could get them home. Dolores lifted Klaus's hand off her eyes, observing the damage with a sick feeling growing in her stomach. Lila was gone, and so was the Handler. 

But there were still problems to be had, problems she couldn't even handle. 

author's note

okay I did this chapter in like an hour, but oh well. still one more chapter to go! and then the end of volume two. 

question of the chapter: what is your favorite ice cream flavor?

my answer: coffee ice cream, tbh. or bday cake ice cream. 

thanks for reading!