p class="MsoNormal"strongemspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Season 3, babes! It's happening! (Did we really ever doubt it, though?)/span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"strongemspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - /span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanSilence. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanOn any other day, loud noises would have woken me up, but this time, it was the complete opposite. It was almost like the tone served as a lullaby, keeping me from rising and trying to fight through again. If it stopped, that meant Vanya must have calmed down./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanGasping, I sat up suddenly, trying my best not to fall back down./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanVanya! /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Everything was calm, and nothing had exploded. Which one of us managed to get through to her? I glanced around, finding Allison, Diego, and Klaus all collapsed on the ground beside me, so it couldn't have been any of them. Maybe she'd just run her course through it, and somehow managed to bring herself back down./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI shook my head, brushing away that thought. Once Vanya got going, it took an outside source to break her trance; while I didn't have enough evidence of a pattern to back that thought up, one explosive incident was enough with Vanya. A lack of repeats was the goal here./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanRight as I closed my eyes again, attempting to get the pounding in my skull to slow down, the pattering of the pads of feet against linoleum tile forced them back open again. Though I had almost no strength to hold my limbs up, the moment I spotted who was coming for us, I managed to at least push myself up onto my knees./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Are you okay?" Vanya asked, bringing herself to a halt in front of her four weakened siblings strewn about on the ground. Upon hearing their sister's voice, Klaus, Allison, and Diego stirred, managing to, at the very least, lift their heads./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Vanya?" Allison groaned, squinting as her eyes opened to the bright sunlight./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Physically or emotionally?" Even when he'd been beaten into a pulp, Klaus somehow managed to lighten the weight of what we'd just been through. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt took me a moment to completely process that it was Vanya standing in front of me, only a bit dazed with no visible injuries, smiling at us like she knew exactly who we were. Her brown eyes held a certain depth to them, one that only came with wisdom and memories. Was it possible…?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You're alive." Diego's eyes lit up, staring at Vanya with a soft expression, flooding with relief. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Did we save the world, or what?" Klaus muttered, pressing a hand against the side of his head. I noticed some dried blood coming down from his ears, causing me to reach up and peel some from my own skin. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I think so," Allison whispered, wiping some of the red liquid dripping down from her nose. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Building's still here," I reasoned, taking a glance at the in-tact walls… which just happened to be littered with blood stains from the bodies that had been thrown against it. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanMy heart soared as Vanya extended her hand down to me, offering help up. I still towered above her as I got back up onto my feet, but the way she stood up straight and proud made me completely forget that for a moment. She'd been imbibed with the new and reminded of the old, yet somehow, it didn't look like any of it would weigh her down. Vanya was finally getting some of the happiness she deserved. Overwhelmed, I reached forward and pulled her into a hug, flooded with relief. This wasn't the sister I'd known, but I hoped she'd be even better than that one./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAs we pushed away, Diego glanced down at the watch Five had given him, and upon spotting the time, his eyes widened. The way he looked at all of us made it seem like he expected the rest of us to know exactly what was going on, but when I took a glance at my own, I just saw the time. We'd stopped doomsday, hopefully, and all we had to do was get back to the rest of our siblings… and then, somehow find a way home, but we could worry about that once all seven of our minds could be put together./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Kennedy's a few minutes away." Without waiting for any of the rest of us, Diego shot up to his feet and made a mad dash for a window he could see the motorcade from. "I can still save him."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShit… I should have known… /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, Diego, wait!" I cried, reaching out to try and grab his arm. He immediately shook my off, determined to complete this mission he'd set for himself. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanDetermined to stop him, I immediately moved around Vanya and followed him, catching up right as he pulled open the shade. Below us, oblivious crowds of cheering citizens and visitors waved their American flags and eagerly awaited the president's arrival down the street they stood by. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I still have time to stop Dad before Kennedy makes his final turn." Diego wasn't thinking this all the way through. If he saved Kennedy, the repercussions on the future could be disastrous./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThis time, I managed to get a hold on Diego and pull him back./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, no, where are you going?" I hissed, attempting to get him to come down from the crazy currently fueling him. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Look, you saw explosion. You saw the tapes, Mina. According to you, the explosion causes doomsday. We're safe now. He doesn't have to die." I rolled my eyes, scoffing at the fact he'd tried to throw my warnings back in my face. Did he seriously think that logic would work on me?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, no, Diego—" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemBang!/em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Before I could stop him, Diego marched out the door, slamming it shut behind him, and I heard his heavy boots storming down the staircase. I could run and catch up with him, but he was stronger than me, and if I did anything to tackle him, or otherwise halt his movement, he could easily throw me off and keep going. If I built up a charge and shocked him, everyone down there would see it, and there was no reasonable way to explain a freak flash of lightning./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI sucked in as much air around me as I could, gripping the window sill until my knuckles matched the paint color. My eyes refused to remove themselves from the dark dot sprinting across the grass, heading straight for the knoll he'd been so obsessed with since he'd arrived. Somewhere deep in my mind, I registered that Klaus, Vanya, and Allison joined me, but I was too damn focused on my brother. I hated that I wanted a man to get shot, but I feared what would happen if Diego actually succeeded more. Sure, he'd feel that pride he'd been so deprived of in our childhood, but beyond that? The cosmic and timely repercussions would no doubt immediately weigh him back down./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanMy heart lept right up into my chest as the famous motorcade rounded the corner, sputtering closer and closer to certain doom, one way or another./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's happening again," Allison sighed, looking away from the window pane./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, Jackie," Klaus whined./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanEverything slowed as Diego came within arm's reach of Dad. He tackled him to the ground, and the umbrella in his hands went tumbling across the knoll./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"emspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"Bang!/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Blood and brain matter went flying against the car's leather seats and pavement, as the crowd scattered and screamed, covering children's eyes and trying to find the nearest hiding spot./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanDad hadn't raised the umbrella, yet the bullet was still fired. They were completely unrelated./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHorrified, I buried my face in Klaus's shoulder, unwilling to watch the panic and fear for another moment. I couldn't even begin to imagine what Diego was going through, but in the moment, I was just angry with him. He deliberately put the future of humanity at risk, all because he thought he could prove something to a man that could never be won over. All in the name of fueling his own, stupid ego./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanOnce the outside noise died down, Klaus and Allison grabbed onto me, signaling that we had to leave. Reluctantly, I agreed, and followed my three siblings down toward the car. Despite my wishes, we actually waited for Diego, who slammed his door shut and refused to utter even a sigh as I drove us back toward Elliott's. The four of us were the only ones there, so I could only hope Five and Luther would come back from wherever they were. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe clothes I wore felt as though they were suddenly made of cinder blocks and sandpaper, clawing at my skin and begging for freedom. Exhausted, I made my way into what was once Elliott's room and started to dig through drawers, not really feeling up to driving back home. He didn't really have any tops I liked, so I simply settled for stripping off my sweater and wearing the bra underneath—it's not like anyone would mind, anyways. All of us were too tired to say shit. Thankfully, when digging through Elliott's closet, I found a pair of pants that could mostly work and a long, black jacket to throw on over top. The pants cut off around my calves, but they'd have to do for now./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemBang!/em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI jumped and threw open the door at the sound of extra footsteps, overwhelmed when I spotted my remaining two brothers coming up the stairs. Five and I connected eyes as he entered the living room, but the moment I smiled at him, he scoffed and turned away, focusing back on whatever he and Luther had been talking about. I could feel my heart suddenly weigh my entire body down as I watched him take extra efforts to completely ignore me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHowever, I couldn't blame him. I hadn't been there before he needed me. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"strongemspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - /span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanSilence. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanOn any other day, loud noises would have woken me up, but this time, it was the complete opposite. It was almost like the tone served as a lullaby, keeping me from rising and trying to fight through again. If it stopped, that meant Vanya must have calmed down./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanGasping, I sat up suddenly, trying my best not to fall back down./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanVanya! /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Everything was calm, and nothing had exploded. Which one of us managed to get through to her? I glanced around, finding Allison, Diego, and Klaus all collapsed on the ground beside me, so it couldn't have been any of them. Maybe she'd just run her course through it, and somehow managed to bring herself back down./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI shook my head, brushing away that thought. Once Vanya got going, it took an outside source to break her trance; while I didn't have enough evidence of a pattern to back that thought up, one explosive incident was enough with Vanya. A lack of repeats was the goal here./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanRight as I closed my eyes again, attempting to get the pounding in my skull to slow down, the pattering of the pads of feet against linoleum tile forced them back open again. Though I had almost no strength to hold my limbs up, the moment I spotted who was coming for us, I managed to at least push myself up onto my knees./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Are you okay?" Vanya asked, bringing herself to a halt in front of her four weakened siblings strewn about on the ground. Upon hearing their sister's voice, Klaus, Allison, and Diego stirred, managing to, at the very least, lift their heads./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Vanya?" Allison groaned, squinting as her eyes opened to the bright sunlight./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Physically or emotionally?" Even when he'd been beaten into a pulp, Klaus somehow managed to lighten the weight of what we'd just been through. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt took me a moment to completely process that it was Vanya standing in front of me, only a bit dazed with no visible injuries, smiling at us like she knew exactly who we were. Her brown eyes held a certain depth to them, one that only came with wisdom and memories. Was it possible…?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You're alive." Diego's eyes lit up, staring at Vanya with a soft expression, flooding with relief. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Did we save the world, or what?" Klaus muttered, pressing a hand against the side of his head. I noticed some dried blood coming down from his ears, causing me to reach up and peel some from my own skin. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I think so," Allison whispered, wiping some of the red liquid dripping down from her nose. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Building's still here," I reasoned, taking a glance at the in-tact walls… which just happened to be littered with blood stains from the bodies that had been thrown against it. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanMy heart soared as Vanya extended her hand down to me, offering help up. I still towered above her as I got back up onto my feet, but the way she stood up straight and proud made me completely forget that for a moment. She'd been imbibed with the new and reminded of the old, yet somehow, it didn't look like any of it would weigh her down. Vanya was finally getting some of the happiness she deserved. Overwhelmed, I reached forward and pulled her into a hug, flooded with relief. This wasn't the sister I'd known, but I hoped she'd be even better than that one./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAs we pushed away, Diego glanced down at the watch Five had given him, and upon spotting the time, his eyes widened. The way he looked at all of us made it seem like he expected the rest of us to know exactly what was going on, but when I took a glance at my own, I just saw the time. We'd stopped doomsday, hopefully, and all we had to do was get back to the rest of our siblings… and then, somehow find a way home, but we could worry about that once all seven of our minds could be put together./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Kennedy's a few minutes away." Without waiting for any of the rest of us, Diego shot up to his feet and made a mad dash for a window he could see the motorcade from. "I can still save him."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShit… I should have known… /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, Diego, wait!" I cried, reaching out to try and grab his arm. He immediately shook my off, determined to complete this mission he'd set for himself. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanDetermined to stop him, I immediately moved around Vanya and followed him, catching up right as he pulled open the shade. Below us, oblivious crowds of cheering citizens and visitors waved their American flags and eagerly awaited the president's arrival down the street they stood by. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I still have time to stop Dad before Kennedy makes his final turn." Diego wasn't thinking this all the way through. If he saved Kennedy, the repercussions on the future could be disastrous./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThis time, I managed to get a hold on Diego and pull him back./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, no, where are you going?" I hissed, attempting to get him to come down from the crazy currently fueling him. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Look, you saw explosion. You saw the tapes, Mina. According to you, the explosion causes doomsday. We're safe now. He doesn't have to die." I rolled my eyes, scoffing at the fact he'd tried to throw my warnings back in my face. Did he seriously think that logic would work on me?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, no, Diego—" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemBang!/em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Before I could stop him, Diego marched out the door, slamming it shut behind him, and I heard his heavy boots storming down the staircase. I could run and catch up with him, but he was stronger than me, and if I did anything to tackle him, or otherwise halt his movement, he could easily throw me off and keep going. If I built up a charge and shocked him, everyone down there would see it, and there was no reasonable way to explain a freak flash of lightning./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI sucked in as much air around me as I could, gripping the window sill until my knuckles matched the paint color. My eyes refused to remove themselves from the dark dot sprinting across the grass, heading straight for the knoll he'd been so obsessed with since he'd arrived. Somewhere deep in my mind, I registered that Klaus, Vanya, and Allison joined me, but I was too damn focused on my brother. I hated that I wanted a man to get shot, but I feared what would happen if Diego actually succeeded more. Sure, he'd feel that pride he'd been so deprived of in our childhood, but beyond that? The cosmic and timely repercussions would no doubt immediately weigh him back down./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanMy heart lept right up into my chest as the famous motorcade rounded the corner, sputtering closer and closer to certain doom, one way or another./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's happening again," Allison sighed, looking away from the window pane./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, Jackie," Klaus whined./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanEverything slowed as Diego came within arm's reach of Dad. He tackled him to the ground, and the umbrella in his hands went tumbling across the knoll./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"emspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"Bang!/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Blood and brain matter went flying against the car's leather seats and pavement, as the crowd scattered and screamed, covering children's eyes and trying to find the nearest hiding spot./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanDad hadn't raised the umbrella, yet the bullet was still fired. They were completely unrelated./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHorrified, I buried my face in Klaus's shoulder, unwilling to watch the panic and fear for another moment. I couldn't even begin to imagine what Diego was going through, but in the moment, I was just angry with him. He deliberately put the future of humanity at risk, all because he thought he could prove something to a man that could never be won over. All in the name of fueling his own, stupid ego./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanOnce the outside noise died down, Klaus and Allison grabbed onto me, signaling that we had to leave. Reluctantly, I agreed, and followed my three siblings down toward the car. Despite my wishes, we actually waited for Diego, who slammed his door shut and refused to utter even a sigh as I drove us back toward Elliott's. The four of us were the only ones there, so I could only hope Five and Luther would come back from wherever they were. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe clothes I wore felt as though they were suddenly made of cinder blocks and sandpaper, clawing at my skin and begging for freedom. Exhausted, I made my way into what was once Elliott's room and started to dig through drawers, not really feeling up to driving back home. He didn't really have any tops I liked, so I simply settled for stripping off my sweater and wearing the bra underneath—it's not like anyone would mind, anyways. All of us were too tired to say shit. Thankfully, when digging through Elliott's closet, I found a pair of pants that could mostly work and a long, black jacket to throw on over top. The pants cut off around my calves, but they'd have to do for now./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemBang!/em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI jumped and threw open the door at the sound of extra footsteps, overwhelmed when I spotted my remaining two brothers coming up the stairs. Five and I connected eyes as he entered the living room, but the moment I smiled at him, he scoffed and turned away, focusing back on whatever he and Luther had been talking about. I could feel my heart suddenly weigh my entire body down as I watched him take extra efforts to completely ignore me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHowever, I couldn't blame him. I hadn't been there before he needed me. /span/p
