Thea and her siblings had made it to the Icarus Theatre just as the music began to play. Luther was at the front of the group and before he could run any further, Allison stopped him to show her notepad.
Thea and I have to go alone. Vanya will listen.
Thea nodded her head in agreement. She and Allison were the only two that could realistically get through to Vanya right now. Thea knew her sisters didn't have the best relationship, but she agreed to Allison's plan anyway, hoping that once Vanya saw that Allison didn't blame her for her injury, it would calm Vanya down.
Luther didn't agree, "Allison, I can't let either of you do that, all right? She's beyond reasoning."
"You hear the music?" Diego shouted, "It's started, we're wasting time."
Luther turned to Allison, "Do you honestly think she's gonna listen? After everything that's happened?"
Thea put a supportive hand on Allison's arm and turned to Luther, "It's our only option. We refuse to let you go in, guns blazing, and hurt Vanya without trying to reach her first." Allison nodded with a determined glare towards Luther.
"We don't have time for this," Klaus mumbled.
Luther gave both girls a stern look before sighing, "Okay."
Thea sent Luther a grateful smile, knowing how hard it was for him to let them go like this. She tugged Allison and they both ran up the steps towards the theatre hall.
Allison and Thea walked hand in hand down the theatre aisle, not caring if they were disturbing those sitting down. They both gazed in wonder at their sister on the stage, who looked to be in her element.
Thea grinned at Vanya's amazing violin skills, always having believed she would've made it big someday. Allison had a look of wonder and astonishment on her face, not knowing Vanya possessed this level of talent.
Vanya noticed her two sisters watching her play and smiled at the two. Thea let go of Allison's hand to give her sister two thumbs up in encouragement.
Vanya began playing her solo piece and Thea was rooted to the spot, entranced by her performance. She'd always loved listening to her play as a child - Vanya was the one that had gotten Thea interested in classical music - and so she could appreciate just how difficult the piece she was playing was.
Allison and Thea were so entranced by their sister playing that they didn't see Luther and Diego run across the stage until Vanya had stood up and thrown them away by a force of bright energy.
The crowd began panicking and screaming, running out of their seats and out of the theatre. The orchestra playing behind Vanya tried to do the same, but a flick of her bow sent another wave of energy, forcing them all back down. They reluctantly continued playing, watching Vanya in fear.
Vanya now stood at the front of the stage, continuing to play her violin as she glowed a bright blue. She threw another wave of energy and Allison and Thea ducked for cover. Allison had gotten closer to Luther and Diego, while Thea was hiding behind a seat nearer the exit. She popped her head over the seat and shouted towards where the others sat, "What the hell was that?"
Nobody replied, and Thea saw the three of them talking and pointing towards the stage. Luther shouted over to Thea, "The violin. It's her lightning rod!"
Thea looked at Vanya and understood what he meant. Vanya was using her violin to create more noise and power it up, to then use that energy as a force. Thea tried thinking of a way to stop Vanya without hurting her.
Before she could take any action, men in masks that Thea recognised from the bowling alley came in shooting. She took further cover under the seat from the bullets that hit dangerously close. The orchestra ran away at the sight of the armed men, and Vanya continued to play.
Five spatial jumped into the aisle without warning, "What's with all the lollygagging?"
Thea heard Luther shout for Five to get down but didn't think twice as she tackled him into the seats opposite her, shielding his body with hers. They were both now closer to Luther, Diego and Allison.
Five looked at Thea in shock and gratitude. She hadn't even flinched at the thought of getting shot, only for saving him first. "Thanks," he said breathlessly. Thea gave him a quick kiss to the forehead, "Anytime, little bro."
Thea looked up at the other three, "What's the plan? And where's Klaus?"
"He's supposed to be the look-out!" Luther shouted back at her, trying to be heard over the sound of gunshots.
Thea rolled her eyes, muttering, "Of course he is."
"Five...what the, I thought you bailed on us?" Luther accused.
"I had an errand to run," Five said casually.
"Do you know these guys?" Diego asked.
"Yeah, I do."
"And?" Diego asked impatiently.
Five looked at them all, "We're screwed."
Thea shook her head, "I don't care how many there are, we have to do something." She turned to Five and gave him a considering look, "How do you feel about me hitching a ride?"
Despite the situation, Five smirked at Thea's question, knowing what she had in mind, "Anything for you," he responded.
"Thea? Five?" Luther questioned, never understanding how the two seemed to understand one another without effort.
Thea turned to Luther, Diego and Allison. "You three think of a plan to help Vanya, while Five and I take out as many of these guys as we can, got it?"
Luther opened his mouth to retort but Thea gave him no chance, and turned to Five, offering her hand. Five grinned mischievously before spatial jumping them both away. They reappeared next to a masked man, who Thea immediately jumped on, wrapping her legs around his waist while her hands went to his temple. She let her mind take over his own and controlled his body, shooting the other masked men around the hall.
Five spatial jumped onto another mask and stabbed him in the neck, repeating it again with the next. When the man Thea was controlling got shot, Five jumped over to her and grabbed her hand before jumping her to another man, who she again took control of and let loose.
Allison, Diego and Luther were watching the two in shock, never realising just how well the two worked side by side. Sure, the two had always worked well in team-training as kids, as Thea's power complimented Five's and Klaus' the best, but they'd forgotten just how in-synch the two were.
Klaus ran into the theatre hall trying to warn the others of Cha Cha's appearance outside but stopped short when he saw Five teleporting around the room stabbing masked men and Thea controlling one as she sat upon his shoulders, shooting wildly at the others.
Klaus heard footsteps behind him and a mask raised his gun to shoot, but nothing happened. Klaus turned to see Thea glaring at the man.
She waved one of her hands, the other still controlling the man beneath her, and the mask near Klaus turned his gun on himself, falling to the ground in seconds. Thea put both hands back on the mask she was wrapped around, and he let out a scream before falling to the floor, dead.
Thea turned to Klaus, "Where the hell have you been?"
More gunshots were heard, and Thea turned back to the theatre hall, where up in the stands, more masks were arriving. She huffed in frustration and pushed Klaus behind the seats. "I gotta take care of these, but stay where it's safe, okay?"
Before Klaus could stop her, Five jumped over and left with Thea, them both reappearing in the stands and taking out the multiple masks.
'We need to do something. There are too many for them to handle.' Ben told Klaus in a panic.
Klaus watched his sister up in the stands and wanted nothing more than to be able to protect her. But what good could he do if all his power allowed him to do was see the dead?
Without realising, Klaus' fists began glowing a bright blue, and Ben felt himself become tangible. Klaus noticed the glow and looked down at his clenched fists in fear and shock, not knowing what the hell was going on.
Klaus' jaw almost hit the floor when he saw Ben's form glow blue. Ben wasted no time and lifted his shirt to let the monsters under his skin free, tentacles shooting towards the masked men and killing them all efficiently.
Thea heard the splat before she saw what happened. She had just finished taking down as many masks as she could with the man she controlled, when she saw a tentacle wrap around the head of the mask in front of her, dragging him off of the balcony.
Thea shot her gaze down at the theatre seats and saw her Klaus shaking, his fists glowing blue, while a tangible Ben stood in front, tentacles shooting out of him and killing all the masks in the hall. Thea stumbled at the sight of Ben, not believing her eyes. She gripped the bannister as tears came to her eyes and Thea shouted out for Five.
Five had seen Ben and knew what Thea wanted. He took her hand and jumped them both down to the floor below. Thea didn't waste a second as she ran towards Ben, not caring that the tentacles were still out, she trusted Ben could control them and wouldn't hurt her.
As she got closer, Ben pushed his shirt back down, having killed all the masks.
Thea didn't even consider that Ben might not be physically here and that she might only be able to see him, as she jumped into his arms without missing a beat, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. She cried into his neck in disbelief,
"H-how? What's- what's going on?" she sobbed.
Ben's arms tightened around Thea at her question, not quite believing he was holding her after so long. He ran his hands through her hair and shushed her cries, placing a kiss on her head.
'I'm not quite sure, love. I think it's something to do with Klaus' power. Like when I punched him.'
Thea pulled away from his neck before smashing her lips against his, kissing him with all the passion and love she could muster. Ben kissed her back just as hard, smiling into the kiss when he felt Thea shiver. Ben knew it wasn't the time to be smug, but he couldn't help it when Thea still reacted the same to their kisses after all these years.
Thea pulled away, panting for breath. Her eyes roamed all over Ben's face, taking in every inch of the boy she loved. Ben stroked Thea's cheek lovingly, 'As much as I hate to, we need to keep moving, love. You're still in danger.'
Thea came out of their little bubble at his words, remembering the situation they were currently in. Only a minute or two had passed since she'd ran into Ben's arms, but it felt like hours. It always does with him, nothing else seems to matter.
Ben started becoming transparent again and Thea looked at him in horror. He gave her a smile, 'Don't worry. I'll come back. I promise, love.'
Thea nodded at his words, knowing he was right. She had to focus and help her sister. Thea knew Ben was around all the time, she'd been speaking to him for the past few days but seeing him had taken her breath away.
Thea turned to Klaus, whispering "Thank you." Klaus nodded, sending her a fond smile.
Luther, Allison and Diego came over to where the twins stood, Five jumping in next to Thea. "You okay?" Five asked in concern.
Thea turned to her family, tears still in her eyes, but a happy smile on her face, "I'm fine, just-just emotional." Thea turned to the stage where Vanya still played, "What are we gonna do to help Vanya?"
"We surround her," Luther instructed. "All right? We come at her from all angles."
"So it's a suicide mission," Klaus muttered.
"Yeah, but one of us could get through. It's the only chance we've got," Five pointed out.
Thea immediately volunteered herself, "I'll do it. Allison can't talk, but I can still try controlling her if things go wrong."
All of them agreed, knowing what Thea said was true. Out of all their powers, only Thea and Allison's could be used to help Vanya without hurting her, and Allison couldn't speak. Allison gave Thea a reassuring nod.
With that, they all ran to their perspective sides, slowly walking towards the stage from all angles. Thea made her way behind the stage, so she was waiting behind Vanya.
Her job was to wait until the other's had tried tackling Vanya before doing anything herself. She didn't like the idea of physically handling Vanya but knew it was their only choice, with Thea being plan B.
As Vanya continued to play, the ceiling of the theatre was beginning to crumble. The waves of energy she was emitting were rocking the whole hall, making it difficult to stand. Vanya was glowing a bright white. So bright, it was difficult to even see her anymore, her whole body was shielded by a glow.
Thea heard Luther's shout and saw all her siblings run out towards Vanya. Vanya saw them too, and with a harsh flick of her violin bow, they all flew into the air. They were hovering, connected to Vanya's energy by a thin, white string.
Thea saw Allison and Klaus panic at what was happening, while Luther, Diego and Five were struggling, trying to find a way out. Thea stumbled from her hiding spot behind the stage towards Vanya.
Vanya was no longer playing and was watching her siblings writhe in pain as the energy was slowly sucked out of them.
Thea slowly walked towards her sister, reluctant to hurt her, but knowing that this person right now was not her Vanya. This wasn't her sister who she loved. This was someone out-of-control who was lashing out, and Thea knew she had to stop her. To save her siblings, to save the world, but most importantly, to save Vanya from herself.
Thea was right behind Vanya now, and her hands trembled as she raised them towards her sisters temple. Her eyes watered, and she made eye contact with each of her suspended siblings, their desperate eyes encouraging her to finish it.
Thea looked at Klaus, who was watching her back, his gaze terrified, and she felt her resolve strengthen.
Thea's hands cradled either side of Vanya's forehead from behind, "It's okay," she whispered. "I love you."
Before her sister could lash out at her, Thea sent a wave of high voltage electrical signals to her brain, sending her into shock and collapsing. Thea cried out as her sister fell and caught her before Vanya's head could hit the floor.
She heard the grunts and coughs of her other siblings as they fell to the floor, now out of Vanya's control.
Through all the commotion, none of them had noticed Vanya let out the last beam of energy which had smashed the ceiling dome and shot into the sky.
Thea cradled Vanya's head in her lap, smoothing her hair from her forehead lovingly. She hadn't wanted to hurt her but sending her to sleep wouldn't have worked.
It took the brain a while to shut down and go into rest mode and this is why Thea never used it on missions, as it took too long and was unpredictable.
The others came running up onto the stage, crowding around Thea and Vanya. "What happened?" Luther asked.
Thea sniffled before looking up at them all, "I overwhelmed her brain and sent her into a mild seizure, but she'll be fine. It sent her into shock and she collapsed."
Luther and Allison were shocked at Thea's admission. Diego's face was grim as he looked at Vanya, while Five and Klaus were both happy to have ended things for good.
Thea stiffened at Luther and Allison's expressions. "She's fine. It was better than killing her, wasn't it?" she asked snappily.
Luther stuttered out a reply, "I-I know, we're not mad, just in shock. I think."
Allison nodded along, sending Thea a reassuring smile. She pointed to Vanya and Thea understood what she meant. Allison was just worried about their sister.
"We did it. We saved the world," Luther whispered in happiness and disbelief.
Allison took Vanya from Thea's hands, and Thea ran over to hug Klaus in relief. "I'm so glad you're okay. I love you," she whispered desperately. Thea had been terrified of losing her brother.
Klaus hugged Thea back, moving them from where the others were crowded around Vanya. "I love you too. So much."
Klaus let himself enjoy being able to hold his sister. Klaus had been sure he'd never see her again when Vanya had been draining them of energy, and the thought scared him more than dying did. He wouldn't have cared if the world had ended, if only he could've stayed with Thea, it would have been all right.
Klaus rested his head on Thea's and looked up towards the stars, noticing a rather large object in the sky. He squinted in confusion but let out a shaky breath when he realised exactly what is was.
"Uh...guys?" he called out.
Thea pushed back from Klaus to look at what he was pointing to, as did the others. "You see that big moon rock coming towards us?" he asked.
From the smashed ceiling dome, the siblings could all see a large piece of rock hurtling towards them at an alarming speed.
"That's not good," Luther stated unnecessarily.
"So this is it, huh? So much for...saving the world," Klaus said dejectedly, holding onto Thea even tighter at the thought of their impending death.
One hand was wrapped around Thea's waist, while the other grabbed Dave's dog tags that hung around his neck. Thea unknowingly mirrored her twin, as she rubbed the small tentacle on her wrist in anxiety.
"If only Sir Reginald could see us now," Diego said. "The Umbrella Academy. A total failure," he finished disdainfully.
Luther tried reassuring them, "At least we're together at the end. As a family."
The twins clung to one another tighter at his comment. They both knew if they were going to die, they'd want to be nowhere else but with the other.
"This doesn't have to be the end," Five spoke up. At their questioning looks, he explained, "I think I have a way outta here. But you gotta trust me on this."
At once they all disagreed but Thea saw Five's serious expression and knew he had a plan, "Anything," she said. "You know I trust you, Five."
Five nodded at Thea gratefully but the others still weren't convinced.
"Well, then, we might as well accept our fate, because, in less than a minute, we're gonna be vaporised," Five argued.
"What's your idea then?" Diego asked.
"We use my ability to time travel. But this time, I'll take you with me."
"You can do that?" Luther asked, unsure.
Five shrugged, "I don't know. I've never tried it before."
Diego was convinced, "What's the worst that can happen?"
"You're looking at it. A 58-year-old man inside a child's body, so there's that." Five said sarcastically.
"I'd rather be 13 than dead," Thea pointed out.
They all agreed, if it was their only option then they had to take it rather than give up. Luther asked for everyone's consent and turned to Klaus, "What about Ben?"
Klaus turned to the space next to Thea and at Ben's nod, he agreed, "Yeah he's in."
Thea lit up at Ben's agreement and sent a loving smile to the spot next to her, "If it works, we'll be able to be together again," she whispered.
"Okay great. Luther, grab Vanya," Five instructed.
Luther picked up Vanya bridal-style and the rest of the siblings stood around them. "Wait, should we be taking her?" Luther asked.
Thea and Allison gave him matching glares for even thinking of leaving Vanya behind. Luther tried explaining himself, "I mean, she's the cause of the apocalypse. Isn't that like taking the bomb with us?"
"The apocalypse will always happen," Five pointed out. "And Vanya will always be the cause unless we take her with us and fix her."
Thea nodded her agreement and so did the rest of her siblings. Luther understood and was honestly pleased they were bringing Vanya, even if he'd been worried about it before. He didn't want to leave any of his siblings behind, but he also didn't want a repeat of what had just happened.
They all stood in a circle and linked hands. Thea squeezing both Klaus' and Five's hands tightly. Next to Five was Allison, then Luther who held Vanya and then Diego who held Klaus' other hand.
Five looked up toward the falling moon rock and concentrated on what he wanted to accomplish. Travelling with so many people at once was something he thought impossible. Time travel wasn't like spatial jumping, which in comparison was as easy as breathing by now. But it was now or never.
As Five concentrated, a blue glow began covering the siblings. It was a similar colour to the mist that appeared when Five spatial jumped. The wind began to pick up, whipping their hair wildly around their heads. A portal appeared above them, one that Thea recognised from Five falling out of the day he returned.
Electricity crackled around them all, and the wind roared in their ears. "Hold on, it's gonna get messy!" Five shouted over the deafening noise.
Thea turned to look at Klaus in reassurance, but her gaze was caught by the figure that stood behind him. Ben had one arm on Klaus and the other rested on Thea's shoulder. He caught her gaze and sent her a smile that put Thea at ease. Don't worry, it said, we're going to be just fine, love.
Thea smiled at Ben in gratitude and looked back at Klaus. Her eyes widened as they met the gaze of a much younger version of her brother. Klaus' eyes held the same shock, and Thea quickly looked down at her body only to see she had become smaller too.
Thea checked Ben next and saw he was already looking back at her, his face young and back to how Thea remembered him as a young teen. Looking around, the rest of her siblings were giving one another the same looks of disbelief. They all looked like their younger teen-selves, now matching Five.
Thea turned back to Klaus and Ben, amazed at their appearances and they both grinned back at her. 'I love you' Ben mouthed to her. Thea squeezed Klaus and Five's hands in response and Five squeezed back. He concentrated harder, his face pinched in pain.
'I love you too' Thea mouthed back.
The building shook and rattled dangerously as the outside turned to dust from the raging fire. Five let out a final shout before all the Hargreeves children disappeared into a cloud of blue mass, zapping out of the collapsing theatre hall, seconds before it was consumed in flames.
That's the main storyline finished! The next few chapters will be flashbacks of their childhood to give some more bonding for Thea and the others~