His Only Hope

Beginning of the End

"Those speeches you two made last night," Diego said with a smirk, shaking his head mock-proudly. "Wow."

"Brought me to tears, you big softie. (Y/N)'s, on the other hand..." Lila began laughing at her own words.

"How do you know my name?" you repeated, crossing your arms over your chest and holding back panic for some unknown reason. It wasn't the end of the world that they knew your name, right?

Bad choice of words.

"Oh, come on," Klaus said with a wide smile and a laugh. "Five only used it about 50 times in his speech last night. Don't you remember, kiddo?"

You turned to Five slowly, a threatening expression on your face. His mouth opened and shut, and he raised his hands in surrender.

"I have no recollection of that."

"I especially liked the part where Five referred to us as a family bound by destiny and love," Viktor said from where he sat on the armchair, spreading his hands with a smile.

Lila hopped off the couch and spread her arms to hug you and Five as you walked into the middle of everyone, but Five walked to the side. You, however, couldn't dodge and found yourself wrapped up in her arms. She squeezed you, and you groaned.

"Okay, I've got a headache," you mumbled, and Lila ruffled your hair before releasing you. You stumbled to Five's side.

"It was the booze talking. In the light of the day, you're all still deplorable," Five said with a fake smile, tucking his hands in his pockets.

"And your day's about to get worse," Reginald began.

"Great," you sighed, walking over to sit on the circular chair Ben and Klaus were on, leaning against Klaus. Your mind was still spinning from the fact that everyone knew your name - something that had once been so personal was now basically free to the public. Klaus wrapped his arm around you with a happy sigh as Reginald spoke again.

"The Norse had seven sleepers," he said gravely, as though he expected you all to understand what the hell he was talking about.

"Well, guess we're doomed," you mumbled, yawning as Klaus snickered.

"The Blackfoot, seven stars," Reginald continued as though you hadn't spoken. "As a boy, I heard the legend of the seven bells. All these stories are the same. The village is under threat by flood, by fire, by a night that never ends." You glanced over at Diego, who had the same dubious face as Lila. She was laying with her head on his lap. Adorable. "A shaman brings his disciples to a sacred cave. He tells them if they can ring the seven magic bells, the village will be saved, and all will be restored just as it was." You and Klaus exchanged a concerned, slightly disgusted look.

"Reggie?" Lila asked from her spot on the couch. "Can we get a little less Brother's Grimm, and more 'what the hell does this have to do with us?'"

"Please," you muttered.

"There is a truth to these myths. None of you can deny what's going on around us. All of existence will be gone by the end of the day, but whoever or whatever wove together space and time, they left a way to put things back together if the universe ever faced total annihilation." You sat up, narrowing your eyes at your father. 

Could he be right?

"There is a portal in the universe," he continued. "I built this hotel around it, and on the other side... is the answer." 

Klaus leaned against the center of the chair, his eyes wide.

"And... we're supposed to what?" Luther asked slowly, and you glanced over to where he sat on the other couch, holding  Sloane's hand. "Just stroll in there, ring some bells, and fix this shit?" 

"Sarcasm aside," Reggie said accusatorially, "you are mostly right. Except for the guardian."

"Guardian?" you asked, frowning.

"What kind of guardian?" Viktor asked.

"Kinda guardian that does this." Diego raised his hand, revealing his two missing fingers. He'd strapped some sort of leather contraption to his hand, making it appear like he had his fingers back. "He had a sword," he added, and you raised your eyebrows. 

"It is a force to be reckoned with," Reggie admitted.

"See? Yeah. This is where you lose me," Luther said, putting his hands up in defeat.

"This is where he loses you? I checked out at the sacred cave," Lila said, scrunching her eyebrows together.

"Why would the builders of this 'back door' need to have a guardian?" Viktor asked, clearly confused.

"Ah!" Sloane exclaimed eagerly. "To protect it from people who want to use it for nefarious means!"

"Correct, Sloane."

"So it's gonna take all of us to defeat the thing protecting the bells," Allison explained from where she sat on the bottom of the coat rack.

Five scoffed, leaning forward in his armchair. "You're actually buying his crap?"

You winced, closing your eyes briefly. For the millionth time, you reminded yourself - he didn't know. If he did know, he would freak out. Probably stick to your side like glue, and then not agree to Reginald's plan anyway.

So all of you would die in the end, anyway. It was a lose-lose situation if you told him. If you told any of them. 

"How is a guardian and bells any crazier than time-traveling briefcases and assassins with cartoon masks?" 

A muscle in Five's jaw ticked.

"Actually, she's got you there."

"Thanks for the input, Luther," you said sarcastically, just as Ben stood and walked in front of Reginald.

"I'm in."

Diego stood abruptly, knocking Lila onto her back on the couch. "Ow."

"Me too." He stood in front of Ben and Reggie, glancing back at the rest of the group. "But I think some of us should stay back." He looked down at where Lila sat on the couch. "Like Lila."

"Uh... or you can stay, and I can go," Lila argued, standing up quickly.

"No," Allison interrupted, and everyone turned to look at her. "This is much bigger than all of us. Nobody can stay back."

"You, my children, are all that stands between us and oblivion. Are you ready to go?" Reginald asked expectantly.

"Well, I say we vote," Viktor piped in, and you bit your lip anxiously, trying to tally up everyone who would agree to the plan in your head whilst also wondering if it was okay for you to vote in favor of it. Could you really risk the rest of your family members when you could solve the whole thing yourself?

But what if that didn't work? What if Lila was wrong, or what if the time wasn't right, or...

No. You were just being selfish. You had to do it. But...

"This isn't a democracy," Ben interrupted your circling thoughts. "Dad's calling the shots." He sneered at Viktor, and you rolled your eyes. 

"Okay, Hitler. You realize you can't force us to come, right?" you asked, leaning further back in the chair. Ben glared at you.

"I'm with Eight and Viktor. We vote," Five said.

"The world is ending, and you want to count hands?" Reggie asked, appalled.

"You're asking us to risk our lives," Luther replied, frowning. "I think it's only fair you give us time to discuss it." He waited, and when Reginald simply stared at you all in disgust, he raised his eyebrows expectantly. "Privately."