Five's the first to leave. He runs away that day at dinner and isn't in his bed the next morning. The days turn into weeks, and the weeks turn into months, and he isn't present at their 14th birthday. It doesn't go unnoticed. Nobody says anything, but the rebel who was the only one to oppose Reginald is gone, and moments of rebellion become silent affairs.
Ben is the next to go. He doesn't leave like he wanted to, he's killed. He's killed on a mission from overworking, and he doesn't wake up. All of their hearts broke a little, but they still followed the rules, continued after their day of grieving as though nothing happened, but the disappearance of Five and the death of Six has changed the Academy in ways that cannot be reversed. It's what shatters them beyond repair.
The week after Ben's funeral, Vanya packs a bag. She's only fifteen, but she isn't the same, not after Five vanished. She sleeps on the foyer door if she isn't caught, and she leaves the lights on in case he comes back. Ben was the only other person who tolerated her, and now he's gone, too.
So she packs a bag, and the next morning says her goodbyes. She hugs Mom and Pogo tightly, gives Allison a brief hug, and Klaus one too. She and Diego share a look and a small smile, and that's their goodbye. Luther and Reginald stand and watch with disapproving looks on their faces as she holds her tiny suitcase in her hand, her violin case on one shoulder, and walks out of the door and onto the street, with one final look at Five's portrait. And she's gone.
It's quieter than it normally is with the three high numbers gone. 5, 6 and 7. In order. Gone. One missing, one dead, and one moved out. They share looks that evening at dinner. One of them is next, one will be the next to leave, and it won't be long. The Academy is crumbling. They have to pull double their weight on missions, with one-third of their team gone.
It happens sooner than they think, worse than they think. It isn't just one leaving the next morning, it's two. Klaus and Diego both climb into a taxi that morning. Diego doesn't let anybody see his tear as he gives Mom one last goodbye, and Klaus doesn't let anybody see the drug money he has hidden in the bottom of his suitcase. They both give tight hugs to Allison, she sheds a few tears.
Like before, Luther and Reginald don't say or do anything. They just watch with scowls. Luther shakes his head at them, to which Diego gives him and Reginald both the middle finger, Klaus laughs and does it too. Then they're gone, too, and there are only two left.
They all know Luther will never leave. He couldn't even if he wanted too, and they're sure Allison won't leave Luther either, but when they hear on the news three weeks later that Allison's left too, and she's auditioning for movies and TV shows, they're pleased. It's over, they know.
It's just Luther, the Umbrella Academy is over. Luther never leaves. They never hear anything from him, until Allison's wedding. He and Reginald show up, but he's still there.
He barely speaks to any of them, and when he does, it's telling them how unloyal they are, and they have nothing to say to him other than asking him why he cares so much. They don't speak of their past. Klaus and Diego speak the most out of any of them. It's not often, but Diego's heart stops when they announce they've found a dead druggie on the police radio. They get each other out of sticky situations. Diego saves Klaus more often than either care to remember. Klaus and Allison have spoken a few times, but it's always been brief and over the phone. Allison has a reputation, and her druggie brother isn't going to help her maintain it. Ben and Klaus are together constantly, though he's a ghost only Klaus can see and Ben is powerless to do anything to stop Klaus poisoning himself with drugs and booze.
Vanya speaks to them almost as little as Luther does. She wants to, but she fears they'll reject her all over again, so she doesn't. She still sends a prayer for each of them every night.
One for Luther, that he's doing okay at the Academy, that he will find the courage to leave and make a life for himself.
One for Diego, that he's safe and happy and has somebody to care for him, somebody who listens as Mom did.
One for Allison, that her newest film is a success, that Claire is happy and healthy, that Allison is enjoying her life.
One for Klaus, that he'll break free from the drugs and the addictions, that he'll manage his own power and escape his own demons, that he's under a roof tonight, that somebody knows where he is.
One for Ben, that he's happy in his afterlife, that he's enjoying whatever comes next, that he can never use his power again if he doesn't want to.
Vanya makes all five of those prayers, and only when she comes to pray for Number Five, does she let it all out.
She prays for him, that he's safe and alive, that he has somebody with him, that he found a new life, that he has the freedom to be as smart as he likes without hindrance from Reginald. She's selfish enough to say a prayer that he remembers her.
She remembers the day he left. The day Ben died. The finality those memories held. It was the same the day she left. She hated every day she spent in that house, she'll never heal the emotional scars, but she wishes she'd savoured the moments that mattered more. Ben bidding her goodbye on the way out for a mission. Klaus laughing and smiling at her when she covers up the tiny giggle at what she overheard. Five, sitting and reading with her in comfortable silence as she played, or him reading something to her or complimenting her on her violin playing in his own subtle way. The one time Allison painted her nails for her. Sure, she escaped, they all did, but they're more shattered now from each other than they ever were.