a mannequin and a boy • the umbrella academy ON HOLD

volume two, issue 4

Five had finally managed to track down two of his siblings, and even brought Diego home with him (along with his psycho girlfriend). Well, if you'd call Elliot's rundown building 'home'.

What Five didn't account for was Elliot. He was a little surprised when the man held a gun to the three guests, but not intimidated or afraid. Since Five had handled people like this before in a heartbeat, he could handle Elliot, but he wasn't expecting it, either.

"Where did you get the film?" Elliot screeched as he neared the group, his grip on the rifle getting tighter. "'The Frankel Footage'. The truth, this time."

Five looked over at the man with a peculiar expression, as if he had gears turning in his head. There wasn't much to think about, of course, but Five wasn't counting on Elliot being so bold, even after Five exposed his ability to him.

"You know this lunatic?" Diego asked. Five sighed, dismissing the whole dilemma.

"New acquaintance. He's harmless," the boy explained, studying Elliot.

"Are you sure about that?" Lila asked.

Lila was new, and apparently, Diego's new girlfriend. They met in the insane asylum, and it made sense that she was there, but Five also wanted to know how. He didn't trust her, that was for sure.

"Are you or are you not an enemy of the people?" Elliot asked, even louder this time. He got more intense while Five grew more calm.

Diego looked to Five, both amused and cautious.

"Such an open-ended question, yeah."

"Really depends on the people."

The two siblings spoke together, much to Lila's confusion, but it made perfect sense to the them.

"You move one more muscle, I will blow your brains out." Five had a hard time taking the very ordinary person seriously, especially with that checkered blazer. Then again, Five wore the same high-knee black socks all the time, so he couldn't really comment on fashion.

Five tensed his jaw, though he was still amused. "You want to take this or should I?" Diego asked, readying his hands.

"No, I got him." In one swift motion, Five was lifting Elliot's gun to the ceiling right as it went off and took out a light fixture. Diego helped by grabbing the gun from Elliot, and all it took was two seconds to render the man helpless.

Lila sputtered, even if there was a smile on her face from perhaps amusement or bewilderment. Five completely forgot to tell her about their powers, but now she knew, right? At least that meant Diego never screwed up during the time he was alone.

One egregious tying up session later and Elliot was sitting in a chair, unable to move or speak. Five set up a projector to play the tapes Hazel had given him, standing up and studying every motion of the tape.

"They're so cute. I love old couples." Lila commented. Five didn't want to distract himself, but he couldn't help but think about it.

If he could ever get a normal life after saving the world again, and maybe grow old, could he do so with Dolores? They'd already be an old couple, of course, but it would be like a fresh start for the two of them.

He could imagine her laughing even if his snarky remark was mean. He could see her crying as the two flushed a fish down the toilet, deciding they definitely weren't ready for kids. He knew that once he did propose, he would be ready to spend his entire life with her, again.

This time, they'd finally to share every memory together. They'd laugh, cry, talk, everything they could both do, and when his time finally came to die, he'd know that their time would be just like Hazel and Agnes's. Short, but good.

The whole idea was uncharacteristic of Five, and seemed too far away.

He couldn't be normal. That's unrealistic. But if it was difficult to finally relax, at least he had Dolores to go through it with.

He needed to find her soon.

"I'm always so proud of them for not murdering each other." Every time Lila spoke, it became more clear why she was in an insane asylum.

"Why are we watched this?" Five quickly shushed Diego, going back to focusing on the tape.

The four watched as the old couple explained where they were at what time.

It was the exact day and time that Kennedy got shot, at the same place.

Five explained how he got the tape to them, communicating some of his thoughts aloud as he did so, but something struck him that he didn't bother communicating: was older him on that tape? Or would it be younger him, just with an older appearance? Time travel is weird.

Five noticed him immediately, even if he was forty years younger, but still rewound and stopped the tap on the exact moment he saw him.

Reginald Hargreeves, standing on the grassy knoll, on November 22nd, 1963.

"This can't be."

"Okay, you gonna fill me in, boys? What..." Five tuned out her questions, more focused on approaching the screen.

"No, that's impossible."

"Clearly, it's not."

"What... what is it?" Elliot asked through the cloth that bound him.

"Dad," the two answered.

Five moved out of the way of the light for a second, but that second let him catch a glimpse of something. Or, someone. He thought that maybe the image was just fogged, or the glass, but as he gazed at the difference in light beside his father, he could clearly make out a face.

She was almost transparent, and deathly pale, but she was certainly there, whether it was in spirit or human form.

Standing there beside their father was an alarmed girl, who appeared to be prepared to run at any moment.

And that girl was Dolores, standing on the grassy knoll as President Kennedy got shot.

authors note
oh guys this took soooo long- just kidding, I was procrastinating, but I'm proud of the ending of the chapter so I'm not complaining.

Question of the chapter: do you play any sports?

My answer: cross country and track :) so just a lot of running lol

Five's chapters are gonna get better as they draw closer to meeting!

thank you!