Klaus Hargreeves, the Seance, Number Four is so very confused.
One moment he's clutching his siblings and saving the world (because apparently they're un-disbanded), because his thirteen-year-old brother who's actually fifty-something and born on the same day as him and Klaus is, what? Thirty? (It's hard to tell when you're busy getting high, like, all the time).
Oh, and his dead ghost brother who he could see while he was dead (because Klaus can see dead people because his family it so fucked up, like, you don't even know) Is now not dead.
Hell, he's a little kid now! Ben's a little kid.
And he's supposed to be travelling into the past, and from whatever the fuck Five said, he's supposed to take the place that a past self had been before, or something (he doesn't really know).
He's never been to Italy, dammit!
Like, what the actual fuck?
On another note, he could be in Spain.
Klaus slaps himself; who the fuck cares where he is?
"Where the hell are we?"
Ben, apparently.
Klaus shivers, a sudden desire to get high as fuck hitting him. Granted, his tiny little pubescent body does help- it's all in his head now, because his body wasn't hooked on anything when he was this age.
"I-I don't fucking know!" Klaus cries, his voice becoming higher pitched in his distress. "I took German, not whatever the fuck that is!" He gestures vaguely to a couple speaking to each other.
Ben sighs. "Whatever. I'd bet Italy- somewhere in Europe, at least."
"Nice, that's great, narrowed it down to a fucking continent! Progress, am I right?" Klaus quips sarcastically, before immediately regretting it. It wasn't Ben's fault Five fucked up. Klaus shouldn't jump Ben because of it. Five, on the other hand…
Ben glares at Klaus. "Well, it's better than saying that we're inside a damp, dark warehouse in the middle of who-knows-where, held by foreigners who speak who-knows-what, because of who-knows-why!" Ben snaps, before sighing. "Anyways, when are the others going to wake up?"
Klaus blinks. Right, his other siblings were there. Bleck. An idea strikes him as he views the unpleasant image that is reality.
They're in a warehouse, two guards at the only exit, who knows how many outside. All windows are boarded. He and Ben are the only ones awake. Five might also be awake, it's hard to tell.
They aren't in a cell, these guys just put them smack dab in the middle of a room. Tied on wood chairs. With rope. Oh, boy, if only Luther was up.
Klaus begins rocking his chair back and forth, making sure it's not enough to knock himself over, but enough to make an obnoxious creaking sound with every motion.
"Che diavolo stai cercando di tirare, ragazzo!?" One of the guards spat, approaching Klaus.
"What the hell are you doing, Klaus!" Ben hisses at him. Klaus resists a grin.
"Something stupid," Klaus responds easily. Oh shit, I hope Five's awake, he thinks, Otherwise, I'm in for a world of pain.
The guard bends down to Klaus level, and Klaus immediately slams his head onto the douchebag's nose, knocking him out cold with the momentum of the chair.
"Che diavolo!?" the other guard exclaims, her face contorting into anger. "Tu piccola merda-!" A flash of blue, and she's on the ground.
Five grabs the gun and turns to Klaus. "What the hell were you thinking!? That was risky and stupid, what if I hadn't been awake!?" he hisses, as he searches the guards and picks up a few knives, and guns. Five approaches them and cuts Ben's ropes first with a knife he stole, then Klaus's ropes.
The boy hands a knife to Ben easily, muttering about how he doubts Ben will really need a weapon. Five turns to Klaus and hesitates.
Klaus rolls his eyes and snatches a knife, twirling it easily. "I still know how to use a knife, dumbass. Do you know how many bets I've won with these stupid tricks?" he brags, accepting Ben's knife.
And he has, it's also helped him fend off a few muggers and other lowlifes in alleys when he was homeless, but he's not going to say that. He hides his knives, which he's named Geraldine and Griselda, in the soles of his uniform shoes.
Five scoffs, and moves on to Allison, shaking her awake. He frees her, and she rubs her rope-burned wrists, scowling.
"What happened?" she questions in the demanding tone which meant that if the answer wasn't to her satisfaction someone was going to get hurt.
"Five fucked up, so we're now in who-knows-where, at who-knows-when," Klaus snitches eloquently, before being cuffed graceless by Five.
"More accurately, we're in what I think is an alternate dimension, in Italy, we were captured by someone- not sure why, Klaus did something stupid and got lucky, and everyone needs to wake up before people catch on," Five explains, as he ruthlessly shakes Diego. "I think we should go by our numbers. Whoever they are, and whatever they're doing, it sure as hell isn't legal."
When Diego wakes up, he attempts to headbutt Five, but the boy easily backs away before Diego could.
"What the fuck?" Diego blurts intelligently once he's out of his sleep-induced haze.
Allison wrinkles her nose before explaining everything to Diego. Diego arms up with a bunch of knives, complaining that they weren't balanced properly. Allison just grabs a gun and hides it in her uniform skirt.
She crosses her arms, cocking her hip aggressively at the boys' skeptical looks. "I know how to use a gun," she snaps. "Don't think you're the only ones who kept in shape."
Diego smirks, hands up. "Never said I did," he says, remembering the fight with Hazel and Cha-Cha.
Ben eyes Vanya and Luther's unconscious forms. "Why didn't you wake them up?" he asks, gesturing to the two, and suddenly he and Five have everyone's attention.
Five shrugs, gently shaking Vanya awake. Ben looks pointedly at Luther's lax figure.
"You really want me to wake him up?" Five says, and Ben glares. "Fine," he states as he stabs Luther's thigh.
"WHAT THE HELL!" Luther roars.
Vanya's startled out of the haze of sleepiness with a flinch. "Wh-What happened?" Vanya stammers, curling in on her self guiltily.
She remembers.
Allison softly explains the situation as the others tease Luther in the background.
"Um, a-about before…" Vanya whimpers pitifully, garnering her siblings' attention. "Th-The things I did...to Pogo. Mom. The world. I-I'm sorry. I lost control, and I-I was so angry! I-I'm so sorry. Pl-please don't k-k-k..."
Her family gazes at her in guilt, easily figuring out what she was going to say.
"We're siblings, Vanya," says Ben softly, "We wouldn't kill you. No matter what," he tells her earnestly, "And we won't let anyone hurt you," he says pointedly, giving Luther a sharp look, also warily glancing Five and Diego.
Five sighs, exasperated. "We won't make another series of stupid mistakes leading to something like that. Although you did the deed, it was our fault; we lacked common sense and...empathy. You loaded the gun, but we pulled the trigger. I'm sorry, I won't let it happen again," Five tells her. "And, while we're at it, I should've included the group. I should've used the team. I can't do everything on my own-I sure as hell couldn't stop the apocalypse on my own," he says to the family.
Diego looks down. "I-I should've seen something like that coming. I should've known not to follow Luther, but I was..." He hesitates. "...consumed by Eu-Eudora's death, and revenge. I-I'll stands by you, from now on," Diego promises with unwavering determination in his eyes.
"I was being an idiot, drowning myself in drugs, alcohol, and hot-dogs while the world was busy ending," Klaus says, and everyone blinks, not expecting Klaus to apologize- not really blaming him in the first place. "I should've been attentive, and even though I started pulling myself together near the end, I should've gotten my act together earlier. I should've been there for you when we locked you up- I know what it's like to be trapped." Klaus shudders, eyes flashing with something his siblings other than Ben hadn't seen before. "I'm sorry," Klaus apologizes.
There was an empty silence as almost everyone feels a weight off their shoulders. The siblings turn to look at Luther expectantly.
"I..." Luther starts, before sighing. "I fucked up, bad. I mean, there's a big list. I made everything about me and the damn moon, I blamed you guys for dad's death, I tried to be the leader...when it clearly shouldn't have been me.
"I choked Vanya, I locked her up, hell, while everyone else was doing stuff, I got high and got l-laid." Luther laughs wryly. "...I'm just like him, aren't I?"
Diego blinks. He looks contemplative for a moment, before speaking. "I think you were, but...well, second chances right?"
"Yeah," Allison agrees steadfastly, "It's never too late to be better." She pauses, before smiling softly. "And, I think that goes for all of us."
The group couldn't help the smiles growing on their faces, and a warm feeling in their chest.
"Wait, isn't anyone gonna make a big deal about Ben being not dead?" Klaus blurts.
"No," Vanya says.
"Ahem," Five coughs pointedly. "I think that if we're done, we should go. We've stayed far too long."
Luther winces as he moves, pointedly ignoring Five's smug look.
The siblings agree and promptly leave.
They were hiking up a dirt trail when the clouds darkened and water fell from the skies.
"Hm. Just our luck," Five huffs, annoyed.
Luther scoffs. "Yeah. So, what's the plan?"
Klaus blinks. "Oh, so now you ask us?" he quips. This was the first time Luther had asked the team for help, rather than asserting his own plan in a show of dominance.
Ben slaps Klaus's head. "At least he's trying. It's proof of change, isn't it?" he says strongly.
"Ben's right, guess," Allison agrees. "You don't have to forgive him, but lay off and let him prove himself."
Diego frowns but stays silent. That's the best they'd get from him.
"I say we figure out where the hell we are. And what year it is," says Five. "Try to get a good layout of what we've got."
"Should we split up?" asks Diego.
"No," Luther says, "I don't think so. Last time, we were always splitting up, we had no idea where the hell anyone was and what they were doing. This isn't our territory." Luther hesitates momentarily. "But, it's not my call."
"Luther, shut up, you're right," Klaus blurts suddenly. "We dunno shit. And, I dunno 'bout you guys, but I have a shitty sense of direction." He clasps Ben's shoulder. "Benny here used to guide my sorry ass wherever."
Ben nods vehemently, not ready to part from his brother.
"Mm, it'll be slower than it would be if we split up, but considering the circumstances and what just happened, I don't think we can afford to be too far apart." He glances at Ben. "I don't think we really want to be separated, anyways."
"So, it's settled, then!" Allison claps her hands together. "Everyone agrees? Vanya? Diego?"
"Y-Yeah," stammers Vanya, not used to being included.
"Sure," Diego agrees easily.
The group walks in familiar line formation. Normally, Luther would be in front, with Diego to his left, just slightly behind him. Allison would be just behind Luther, and Klaus would have the same positioning, except being behind Diego. Five would be behind Allison, and Ben would be parallel to him. At the time, Vanya would be practising her violin at the house with Mom or observing alongside Sir Reginald Hargreaves. The higher numbers were always slightly behind their predecessors, so they would "remember their place," as Reginald would put it.
Except, this was different: This time, Five was leading the group. Allison and Vanya were walking behind him, with Ben and Klaus behind the girls. Luther and Diego were bringing up the rear.
If only Five was an adult. Then, the Academy would look like children on a field trip.
Vanya was making herself take as little space possible. Allison frowned.
"It really isn't your fault," Allison tells her sympathetically. "You didn't purposely do anything inherently wrong. You made one mistake- losing control when I visited you. And you tried to own up to it. Luther choked you and locked you up, and we let him. We've been hurting you, for nearly your whole life. Whether we meant it, or not."
"I-I know," Vanya admits, "But, it was still me!" She insists emotionally, slowly increasing volume. "It was me who caused the apocalypse. I did that. I tried to kill you- I tried to kill everyone. It was still me who killed Pogo, and it was me who killed Mom! Whether I meant it," Vanya repeats Allison's words quietly, "or not."
"No," Five says abruptly, inserting himself into the conversation. "It wasn't. Look, I came back to stop the apocalypse. It still happened. Wanna know why? Because I was a dick to my sister, and I let others hurt you. Look, apocalypse or not, Mount Vanya was due for an eruption," Five tells her.
"I-I..."
"Look, if you still blame yourself, look at it this way; if you blame yourself if you think you did it, then you get to live with it, and we get to live with the fact that our li- our sister hates herself because of us. If you don't blame yourself, great. That's great because nobody else will. There's nobody else on Earth who knows what happened, except us. And we don't blame you." Five sighs. "That's all."
"He's right, Vanya," Allison agrees softly. "You can't blame yourself about hurting us without hurting us, so why bother?"
"But it's not just about you guys!" Vanya blurts passionately. "Look, sure. Maybe I was going to explode no matter what! B-But, I still tried to cause the- the apocalypse! No matter how mad I was, I should never ha-have brought the rest of mankind into it! I shouldn't have killed Mom and Pogo! It doesn't matter if I was pushed to it, I killed the only two people who were always kind to me, who didn't betray me!" Vanya rants emotionally. "It doesn't matter, because no matter what, I'm still a murderer," she seethes lowly.
There was silence as the three slowly realize that they stopped walking.
The ex-heroes realize that Vanya had never killed before. The rest of the Hargreeves were used to it. Klaus was constantly surrounded by death, Allison had rumoured people into suicide, Ben and Luther did what they had to on missions, and it had become second nature to Five and Diego; just another part of their jobs.
But Vanya, she had always been pure, innocent, naive. It was why, as children, Allison enjoyed manipulating her, Five liked her company, Ben was nice to her, Klaus and Luther avoided her, and Diego both loved her and scorned her because of it. Vanya was normal, just a civilian. She had never killed anyone before.
She wasn't supposed to kill anyone.
They were supposed to protect her from that.
The siblings knew at once.
This was on them.
Slowly, Diego approaches Vanya. He falters momentarily before speaking. "I-If you're a murderer," he begins softly, "what does that make us?" A moment of silence passes before Diego pulls her into a hug.
"Aw, man," Klaus whines weakly and fidgets as if resisting something before shrugging. "Dammit, I can't help it," he says, before joining the hug. "C'mon, guys, bring it in."
Ben smiles approvingly, joining. Allison lets out a giggle before unabashedly joining.
A grateful sob is released from Vanya at the warmth of family engulfing her. She felt something...new. Like she found a missing part of herself. Like she was whole again.
"Aw, sis, it's okay," Klaus giggles comfortingly. "This is awesome."
"Hey, Five, don't be an old grump- join us!" Allison encourages teasingly.
Diego snorts.
Five scoffs and stands awkwardly. He pauses before hesitatingly approaching the group. Just as it seems like he's going to join, he pulls away. "Yeah, no."
Allison rolls her eyes and drags him in forcibly.
Nobody comments about the fact that he could've easily teleported away, or physically stopped her if he really wanted to.
"Luther, you gonna leave us hanging?" asks Ben lightly
Luther falters. "I-uh, I thou-"
"Shut up, and join, dipshit," quips Diego, somewhat insensitively.
Luther rolls his eyes and quickly joined.
"Dude, you do know that no matter what, you're still gonna have to join in on the group hugs, right?" Klaus sighs mockingly. "Jeez, you kids never learn."
"He's right, Luther," agrees Ben.
"...Yeah."
There was a comfortable silence as the now-children held each other. Five pulls away after a bit.
"I think we got a little sidetracked," he says, as close to sheepish as he could get.
The others ignored him.
Yes! First story, guys! Honestly, I sort of lost control near the end. Originally, this was going to involve way more mafia stuff, but, oh well. Sibling bonding/fluff and hurt/comfort works too.
SO, how was it? Anyone have any ideas? Constructive criticism, feedback is all heavily encouraged and appreciated! I'd love to improve my writing and this story, and I will never be able to do that without you guys!
Please, leave a review. I promise I will read, cherish, and consider every single one with care.
Thanks for reading, guys!
Edit: Added and corrected some stuff.