His Only Reason

An Eight-Piece Puzzle

You left as soon as Lila mentioned melting flesh - you didn't have the energy to sit around and watch that happen. Instead, you went to the bedroom, sitting down and pulling out the crumpled paper. 

You stared at the words 'Experiment #9' until your vision turned blurry and the letters turned into gibberish.

He must have experimented on me in order to give me this power. My own father. And there was only one reason he could have given me these powers. You didn't want to admit it, even to yourself, but you had to. To spy on whoever he wanted me to.

You felt power buzz behind your eyelids and fingertips, but pushed it back quickly when Five knocked on the door and entered the room. You sighed tiredly as he sat behind you quietly.

"How did you know?" Five asked, and you looked away.

"Oh, hey. It's nice to see you too." 

"Come on. We were just together ten minutes ago." You felt his fingers grip your chin, and he turned your head so that you were facing him, sending your heart racing. You swallowed hard, focusing on his nose.

"I don't know what you're talking about," you lied, hoping he would let it go.

"Yes, you do," he said softly. "Come on, (Y/N)."

"It's a long story," you admitted after a moment. "One I'm still trying to figure out. But... Dad is somehow even worse that I thought he was."

Five looked at the ceiling, sighing.

"Didn't know that was possible," he said under his breath. "What did he do?"

You shrugged, staring at the ground.

"Experimented on me while I was in a coma. Presumably made me spy on people. You know, the usual."

"What?" he asked, turning his whole body to face you. "What do you mean?"

"He... gave me a new power," you said slowly. "I can find people, see them and their surroundings, hear them, that sort of thing." You fished the monocle out of your pocket, showing it to him. "As long as I have this handy little tool."

"How did you figure this out?" he asked, clearly still bewildered. It was odd to see Five confused, and you found it quite amusing.

"Found some of Dad's old notes. Turns out he's experimented on 9 people, so far. The last one fell into a coma and apparently still hasn't woken up."

"Well, shit."

"Tell me about it," you muttered, fiddling with the monocle. "And I know that this could be really useful, and could probably help us find our siblings, but... I'm selfish. I hate the power because Dad gave it to me, and it makes me not want to use it. But I will."

Five stared at you, and you turned to face him, nervous.

"What? I know this probably makes me seem really weird-"

"I'm just wondering how you're not breaking down right now," Five admitted. "You don't have to use your power if you don't want to. I admit, it would be helpful, but we have other leads right now. Don't use it unless we talk about it first, all right? This could be dangerous." He stood, holding his hand out and pulling you to your feet. "I'm serious, (Y/N). Be careful with this. We should probably go track Klaus down."

You nodded eagerly at the mention of your favorite brother, and you walked into the living room, where Lila was still tending to Diego's wound.

Five sighed when he saw his brother.

"Oh. He isn't dead."

"You sound disappointed," Lila observed while you shoved Five, annoyed.

"Oh, to see you?" Five fired back. "Always." He grabbed a cup of coffee and walked over to the wall, leaning against it and pressing a paper towel to his neck.