power lines / five hargreeves x gn!reader

Back to the start, of a kind

Y/n fell to the floor of their bedroom, hitting the soft carpeted floor. They were glad it wasn't dusty. It took a moment for them to adjust to their surroundings as they pushed up off the ground. This was their bedroom. Their actual- they were back at the Academy. Nothing in this room was dusty, actually. Grace must still clean it, they thought with a hum. They were, oddly enough, in their own clothes. Funny, Y/n didn't remember wearing that. As far as they were concerned, the last thing they were wearing was their uniform. And, upon checking, they discovered this was hung neatly in their wardrobe.

They looked again. The Sparrow Academy uniform.

They stumbled back onto the bed, a shock of pain radiating from their head suddenly and they squeezed their eyes shut. They felt like the world was spinning as a memory flashed through their head.

Those final few minutes. They remembered sitting on the grass with... Five. And talking... what had they been talking about? And they had gathered in a circle with their friends to return... to now.

But why were they alone, in their bedroom? Surely they should be with the others?

They looked outside their window. It was dark. They felt an odd sense of deja vu, as if this had happened before. Except this time, they were sure that it had. They opened their door, the hallways empty and quiet.

They made their way to Reginald Hargreeves' office and knocked on the door.

"Yes?" A voice came from inside. A familiar voice indeed.

Y/n stepped in curiously, and did a double-take upon seeing Reginald there. He seemed equally surprised to see them- so much so that he dropped the pen he was writing with to stare at them.

"Number Nine?"

Y/n gave a small smile, "Mr. Hargreeves."

"Come in, sit down. Shut the door behind you." He said, gesturing to the seat in front of him.

Y/n nodded, following his instructions. The office looked different. "What day is it?"

"The night of March 23rd." He replied, folding his hands onto the desk, "Would you care to explain where you have been for the past thirteen years?"

"In some other realities. For me, it's been about thirty years." The response felt automatic to them, "And other places." They added, "I... My Reality Incompatibility." They paused for a moment, processing what they had just been told, "It's March 23rd? Wait, what year?"

"2019." He responded simply. He raised an eyebrow, "Could you not simply leave? Did I not train you well enough? Did you learn nothing from your years here?"

"The rift dictated everything." They shrugged, looking away, "Even when I thought I was free, I was taken right back."

"Tell me about your experience there."

They hummed, "It sent me to several other realities."

"Is any of it worth my time? Was it worth yours?"

"Yes, actually. I learnt a lot."

He hummed for a moment before speaking. "Nine. I was approached by a version of yourself- though older than you appear now- sometime in 1960. In short, I was told if I took you in, I would get to learn of an upcoming apocalypse. Yet, due to your Reality Incompatibility, I never did. Do you have anything to report on those matters?"

"To my knowledge, there is no longer an upcoming apocalypse." Y/n answered, "Three have been successfully averted, and there should not be one occurring now."

He raised an eyebrow, "And did you have something to do with those matters?"

"In a way, yes."

He was quiet for a moment, before moving to unlock a drawer. From this drawer, he pulled out a thick book with a familiar cover. REALITY. He slid it across the desk towards them, "This appeared the instant you vanished those thirteen years ago."

Y/n picked it up. It was still so light and yet so heavy. They ran a hand over it, "Oh."

"Keep it. I have learnt all I can from it. I believe it may be of some use to you yet."

They gave him a small smile, "Thank you."

"The others are asleep at the moment. You should get some rest. I am sure that in the morning, they will all be very glad to see you again."

There was that feeling in the pit of their stomach that something was very, very wrong. But their memory was so blurry... how long had it been since that memory of them and Five? Was that from another reality? "Thank you."

"You are dismissed. Goodnight, Nine." He gave them a small smile and picked up his pen to continue working.

"Goodnight, Mr. Hargreeves." Y/n responded, leaving.

After showering and putting on some pjs, they sat on their bed for a while and tried to sort through memories. For some reason, they were struggling to recollect much more than those final memories, and were sure something was wrong. They were a little worried that if they fell asleep, they would lose those memories forever.

But they were tired, now. Too tired to stay awake. And so they crawled properly into bed and fell asleep for the next several hours.