Summary: They are five, and they are one, and they believe that they will always be together. But, just because one believes something, does not mean it is always true. RobStar and BBRae, if you squint.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nada. Zilch.
Countdown
By guardyanangel
They began with five. Of course, the numbers expanded to far greater than that in the end, but they began with five, and so it is with five that we begin.
The five are not just five, but one, bonded together by time and circumstance. They are the five-who-are-one, far closer than previously believed possible, and yet somehow they still know so little about each other that it is almost heartbreaking. Nonetheless, the five grow and learn alongside each other, supporting each other when the world seems to leave nothing else for them to stand on. The five become best friends and, in some cases, lovers, and together they are one family made of five very different beings- the alien girl, the masked boy, the half-robot boy, the green boy, and the half-demon girl. They are five, and they are one, and they believe that they will always be together. But, just because one believes something, does not mean it is always true.
The first seen is the first to go, and when the alien girl is gone they are no longer five but four, and there is something aching, something gaping that simply rips at the four's hearts, just as painfully as the alien girl's life was ripped away from them. Suddenly they are no longer one, not when they are four. There is a part missing and it is all they can do to keep its absence from destroying their lives. They cling on to being four, feeling that perhaps if they hold on tightly enough together they will become one again.
The second seen is the second to go, and when the masked boy walks away the four are now three. The three find it unsurprising that the masked boy can so stoically go away- he was never the same after the alien girl was gone. When he leaves with nothing more than a few brief, parting words, the three accept it with tired sadness and wonder why they are not surprised, why they have seen this all happen before. The three begin to drift apart slowly, and are not surprised to find they do not care.
The second-to-last seen is the third to go, and when the green boy departs with, they are no longer three, but two, and the departure is nowhere near as painful as the first was, which is painful in its own right. Stunningly, the two realize that they have grown used to saying goodbye. There should be heartbreak when the green boy hitches the backpack onto his shoulder and states he is going to find his family, then make his own way, but the two cannot even find the emotions left to bring tears to their eyes, and they gently say farewell.
The last seen is the fourth to go, and when the half-demon girl is locked away the two has now, somehow, become just a solitary one. The one is still human enough to ache when the half-demon girl is jailed for her safety and that of others, for she had never recovered from the departures of their friends, especially that of the green boy's. As the one stares into her wild purple eyes before leaving her in the white room, he twinges with the slightest of guilt, all the while knowing it is for the best, that there is nothing more he can do for her. The one is now alone, and he leaves the lonely.
The third seen has yet to go, and the others who know of the five-who-were-one ask him why he does not leave the tower. If he knows them, then he answers with a sad smile that he is home. If he knows them well, he will tell them additional things. Things about the advancing technology, about the better, younger heroes, about how he feels like a zero out in the wide world. But no matter how well he knows them, he does not tell them that he hopes one day to again see the alien girl blossom with life, see the masked boy return, see the green boy smile truly, see the half-demon safe and sane. He does not tell them that he hopes to become one of the five-who-are-one, just as they were when they began.
A/N: K, well that little plot bunny has successfully been written out of my head now. Yay! Anyways, the bolded words are supposed to form a downward, diagonal line, but if not, I hope there's still a pretty cool effect there, even if your browser is different from the one I've written this on.
Hope all is well, and may you have a Merry/Happy *insert celebration here*! :D
Much love,
Guardy