"Are you going somewhere, Darling?"
The sweet words stopped them both in their tracks, Thea and Five turning their heads towards Mrs Malkins who was stood in the doorway of the foyer, staring at them. Thea cursed under her breath and with a pointed look at Five, she turned to smile sweetly at the older woman.
"I've just heard some devastating news, Melissa," she said with false sadness. She moved closer to the woman and took her hands into her own, cupping them as she stared into her eyes imploringly.
"My brother has returned after being missing for so long – don't you remember when I told you of my lost family?" At the nod from Mrs Malkins, Thea went on. "Well my sister has just been found but she's in the hospital! Oh, it's so awful, Melissa, I must go and see her at once!"
Am I laying this on too thick? Why do I sound like a maiden from the victorian era?
She took a peek at Mrs Malkins but was surprised to see her wide-eyed, the woman evidently riveted by her fake story. She clutched onto Thea's hands tightly. "Well, then we must go, my dear! I will drive you there at once."
"No!" she said before she could stop herself.
Quickly masking her panic into a face of vulnerability, Thea moved closer into the woman's space and allowed a thumb to stroke her clasped hands, slowly. "I mean, I can't ask that of you, Melissa. Please, would you allow me the afternoon free to go and reconnect with my loved ones?"
The woman looked a little reluctant to let her go and so, with pursed lips and a furtive glance in Five's direction, Thea swallowed her pride. Her expression became shy, a touch of embarrassment colouring her cheeks and she bit her lip.
"Perhaps...I mean, maybe afterwards, we could have dinner together? You, me and Edward..." Thea turned her face away from the woman as though abashed by her words.
Five was staring back at her with a brow raised and Thea grimaced back, continuing her act with whatever remained of her shredded pride. "I'd really enjoy...a night to ourselves. Just the three of us."
She spoke just vague enough that her words could be easily mistaken as something else – a talent she'd quickly learnt while employed as a fake seer, people just loved being told what they wanted to hear. Thea glanced over at the woman and was relieved to see she had taken the bait easily. Her light green eyes were darkened in desire and her red-painted lips were turned into a coy smile.
"Of course, Darling. I'm sure Edward will be...thrilled to hear of your idea. I certainly know I am."
Thea was struggling to hold her smile and so with a final parting goodbye – pressing a polite kiss to the woman's knuckles for good measure – Thea quickly walked toward Five and out of the door before Mrs Malkins could leave her dazed fantasies.
"Can you jump us upstairs? The third floor," she asked her brother after guiding them toward the abandoned alleyway beside the Emporium.
Without a word, Five took hold of her hand and the two disappeared from sight, only to reappear in Thea's temporary bedroom. The room was lavishly furnished and smelled heavily of perfume and incense. Five coughed at the heady aroma in the room, moving toward the window and opening it to let in some fresh air.
"What the hell, Z? Have you missed Klaus so much you've resorted to getting high from incense sticks?"
"Oh, ha-ha," she muttered sarcastically. She was moving around the room as quickly as she could, packing everything she felt would be necessary.
It didn't amount to much, only a couple forms of identification the Malkins' had procured for her and a wad of cash she'd kept hidden in case of emergencies. If the world was truly going to end then she didn't see the point in hoarding all of the meaningless crap she'd collected over the year and a half spent here.
She turned to Five once she'd finished only to pause when she saw his face. "Why're you giving me that look?"
"What look?"
"That look!" she said, pointing an accusatory finger his way.
"I'm not doing anything," he denied.
"Yes, you are! It's your 'I'm superior to you and I think you're an idiot' look. I saw you give it to Klaus all the time as kids!"
Five stared back with a single raised brow. "I can assure you that I have no such look. You're imagining things."
Thea stared back at him for a moment before breaking into a smile, her laugher coming easily at their usual back and forth. She pulled the boy into a hug, drawing comfort from his presence alone.
"God, I've missed you, Five."
The boy himself was confused at her sudden affection, though he wasn't stupid enough to not take as much as she was offering.
"I'll explain everything once we're somewhere private, okay?" Thea said softly.
She didn't give him any chance to ruminate on her words before she was grabbing a hold of his hand and smiling down at him, a brightness back in her eyes. "So, where to next, little brother?"
"First of all, I'm not your little anything," he said in a drawl. "Second, we're going to visit Diego."
"You know where he is? What about the others?" she asked, eager for any information on their missing family.
Five shrugged his shoulders, nonchalant. "They're somewhere...it seems like we were all dropped here only a few years apart from each other. I got here last."
"Wait, if you already know where Diego is, then why isn't he here with you? Did something happen?"
Five turned his face away but answered, nonetheless. "I came to get you first."
Thea felt her heart swell and lowered her head to get a better look at his face, biting her lip to stop the coo from leaving her lips at his flustered expression. This is why nobody believes me when I say you're sweet, Five. You hide this part of you away.
She tightened the grip on his hand and didn't hold back her blinding smile, even as Five muttered his usual aggravations. "Let's go get him back then, shall we? Big brother."
Her only answer was the sudden displacement that came with Five's spatial jumps.
When she opened her eyes again, Thea was staring at a large, gloomy brick building that looked like it belonged in a horror game. Not that it was scary, only depressingly gloomy and held a sombre air about it. She read the sign and blinked in surprise at their destination, turning to Five for an explanation.
"Why are we at an asylum?"
"Our brother has gotten himself locked up," Five said with derision.
"For what?" she asked in shock. Sure, Diego could be a little feisty and was way too hot-tempered to deal with on the best of days, but to be locked up in an insane asylum?
"Apparently he was trying to stop the JFK assassination."
Thea felt like facepalming. "Of course he did.." she muttered, no longer surprised. "Are we planning on breaking him out? Or do you have a plan?"
Five stared back at her for a moment before looking toward the building. "Something like that." He began walking forward and Thea hurried to catch up.
"That didn't answer either of my questions!"
The two were sat in the dankest, dreariest room Thea had seen, the walls a horrible pasty off-white that did nothing to help the depressive atmosphere the entire building was seeped in. They had checked in, stating that they were here to see their brother. The receptionist had looked at them with sympathetic eyes, as though sorry that they were related to such a nutcase.
For once, Thea felt like agreeing.
She'd simply nodded her head. 'Yes, it's a shame isn't it. We're here to try and talk some sense into him', she'd said with a strained smile on her lips.
Both Five and Thea looked odd sat in the white room. Thea was much too overdressed in her golden ensemble, looking like she was supposed to be attending a gala afterwards while Five looked like he'd been pulled straight out of class before arriving.
Talk about sticking out. Things haven't changed since I first got here! I still stand out like a sore thumb! Only this time I'm less of a harlot and more like a glorified candlestick!
Five looked unperturbed by everything around him and was sat, leaning against the table like he belonged there, commanding the entire room. Thea decided to just go with it, leaving the details to him. Whatever plan he has I'm better just sitting pretty and going along with it.
Soon enough, the sound of the door opening and approaching footsteps were heard and Thea got her first real look at her brother. Her brows rose at the sight of his scruffy appearance and her first thought was looks like I'm not the only one who decided to let their hair grow out.
His beard was a little scruffy while his hair fell to his chin in messy waves. He was wearing an all-white outfit that was so vastly contrasted to their own attire that it was almost comical when he finally sat down across from them.
Well, don't we look just like the beginning of a bad joke. A schoolboy, an asylum patient and a woman cosplaying the goddamn-sun walked into a bar...
Shaking off such thoughts, Thea instead focused entirely on Diego, greeting him with a warm smile and reaching across the table to bring him into a hug. She ignored the cough from the guard in the corner of the room and let the hug linger for a while before pulling back with a smile.
"I'm so happy to see you! I've been looking all over, I promise, but I never seemed to have any luck," she was almost pleading with him to understand and Diego smiled wryly at his sister's tone.
"It's fine, Thea. No harm done, right? Besides, it's not like I was any better in finding you."
"How long have you been here?" she whispered softly, loud enough so only the three of them would hear.
"Got here...September 1st, '63."
"Oh..." she whispered sadly.
It wasn't as long as she'd been here, though, and it made her wonder if any of their other siblings had arrived before she had. She didn't want to even think about the possibility that they might have arrived any earlier than the sixties...
"How long have you been here?" Five asked, finally joining the conversation. "Here," he repeated, looking pointedly around the white room.
"Seventy-five days. Landed in the alley behind Commerce and Knox." The last words were said by both of them and Thea's eyes widened.
"Is that where we landed? I had no bloody clue where I was!"
Diego gave her a sympathetic look at her pained voice. He turned to Five. "What about you?"
"...I got here this morning," Five admitted and avoided their shocked stares.
"Wow...lucky," Thea couldn't help but mutter, wishing she'd only been stranded here for so little amount of time.
Diego turned his eyes to her, a soft expression on his face. "What about you, sis?"
Thea bit her lip and glanced quickly at Five before staring down at the table. "I got here on Valentine's Day...1962."
Five grunted at the date, his face twisted into a scowl and Diego whistled lowly. "Man, that had to suck."
A smile curled her lips at her brother's ineloquent words and she swallowed the sadness at her own time spent alone, instead concentrating on the bigger issue. "That's not important right now. Five found me," she sent a smile his way.
"What's more important is finding the others. What if they've been stuck here longer than me?" she asked in mounting worry.
Diego's eyes narrowed as he took her words in, realising that one of their siblings had to have gotten here first and likely much earlier than the rest. Thea didn't stop her rambling.
"You guys don't understand, Klaus is no good on his own! I'm seriously worried about him...and Ben-" she choked up just saying his name, remembering that split second before they'd time-travelled when she'd promised to see him again. "Ben could be out there and have no idea what to do! And oh god- what about Vanya!?"
Thea had seemingly gotten herself into a panicked frenzy. These were worries that had continued to spiral throughout her mind while alone in the world, the driving force behind her continued search for them all despite the lack of results.
Five and Diego came to the same decision and took hold of one of her hands each. They sent a narrow glare the other's way at being copied but focused on their upset sister instead.
At the calming touch of her family, Thea calmed down a little, enough to feel embarrassed at her little meltdown. I've been stranded in time with nobody by my side and only now I'm finally reunited with my family. I think I deserve at least a small breakdown.
"Thea, calm down," Diego said. "We'll find them okay? They're big boys and girls, I'm sure they're doing just fine."
Five said nothing but the warmth around her hand was much appreciated. "I know, I'm sorry. I'm just worried about them...I know Allison and Luther can look after themselves well enough but it's the other three I'm most worried about."
Five and Diego shared a look which Thea caught. She rose a brow. "What? What's that look for?"
"Well..." Diego trailed off, his expression awkward.
"Have you considered that Ben might not be here?" Five got straight to the point, holding back nothing.
Thea blinked a few times, his words registering only a few moments later. "What...I don't- why wouldn't he be here? He travelled back with us, didn't he?"
Five pursed his lips, glancing toward the guard standing in the corner of the room to make sure they weren't listening in. The last thing they needed was to be locked up beside Diego.
"I don't quite know the schematics on time-travelling with somebody who's already dead."
Wincing at his blunt words but knowing that Five wasn't being intentionally hurtful, she tried wrapping her head around what he was saying. It was true that Ben was only around because he had anchored himself to Klaus. But Klaus had travelled back with them, right? So Ben should have followed...
Wait, Ben hasn't even died in this timeline, so shouldn't he be alive? No...technically he hasn't been born yet, either, so maybe that cancels it out? God, why is time such a complicated matter...
She sighed, giving up on trying to understand it right now. She would handle whatever situation was thrown her way once she found her twin. She'd confront the problem head-on, just like she did everything else. Right now she needed to concentrate on the siblings in front of her, most importantly, the one wearing all white and locked in a bloody mental asylum.
"Okay, let's leave that until we actually find everybody else," she said, final.
Five and Diego just nodded their understanding, wanting to move the heavy topic onto something a little lighter. Diego paused before turning to Five. "Wait, how did you even find me?"
Five scoffed and brought out a ripped piece of newspaper from his jacket pocket. He spread it flat on the table so that all of them could see it. Thea's eyes widened in shock at the mugshot of Diego, his hair still short and wearing the outfit she remembered him in last.
It's the weird kink outfit with all the straps...not exactly easy to forget.
"Disturbed man with multiple knives arrested outside 1026 N. Beckley," Five drawled. "That's Lee Harvey Oswald's house. Care to explain?"
Diego at least had the decency to look a little embarrassed at his mugshot being printed in the newspaper, his eyes darting her way before he leant back to stare directly at Five.
"Let's just say that the Dallas Law Enforcement has not been supportive of my attempts to stop the assassination of..." he peeked behind him before lowering his voice, "John F. Kennedy."
"That's because it hasn't happened yet," Five said as though Diego were stupid.
"It's not going to happen, not on my watch," Diego said. He had moved forward to lean over the table, his shaggy hair falling into his face while his dark eyes stared directly into Five's like he was challenging him to refute his claim.
Thea simply watched her brothers argue over the matter, a little distracted by the sudden thought she had while looking at Diego's appearance.
Holy shit! I don't know how I didn't notice until now, but he looks like Sirius Black! She squinted her eyes to blur his face a little. The wavy shaggy hair...the scruffy beard and the dark complexion! It's totally him! Especially considering he's rambling nonsense about revenge and murder plots.
She focused back into their conversation, a little embarrassed to be distracted so easily. All this time alone had dampened her senses, which was inevitable when you spent the good part of a year and a half entertaining idiotic rich people and daydreaming of a forgotten time. She chose not to point out her little epiphany, knowing that neither of her brothers would understand the reference.
Ahh, Klausy I wish you were here. You'd appreciate my never-ending pop-culture references...
Five had gotten just as close as Diego and now both brothers met in the middle of the table, their faces inches apart so that their words remained private.
"Listen to me very closely, you gibbering moron," Five practically hissed. "You aren't going to do a goddamn thing."
"Oh? And whys that?" Diego challenged.
"Because we have to stop the apocalypse."
"No shit. But we know that doesn't happen for another sixty years."
"Not that apocalypse," Five denied. "This is a new one."
At Diego's disbelieving stare, Thea chimed in, leaning forward herself so that her face was just as close to theirs. She honestly thought that them all talking like this was far more suspicious to the guard but with a mental shrug, joined in anyway.
"He's telling the truth, Diego. Well, actually I don't know if he is, I haven't seen the apocalypse... but when has Five ever lied? And about something like this?"
Diego stared at her, likely taking her words a little more seriously. Five explained a little more, wanting to stress just how serious their situation was. "I've seen it. Nuclear war in ten days' time."
Thea had thought that that would be enough to convince her brother of the looming countdown that was upon them, once again, but she was instead met with incredulous laughter. She stared at Diego in shock, wondering if his time locked inside this institute had truly started to get to him.
"Why are you laughing?"
Diego ignored her and instead stared at Five, a smug yet disbelieving expression on his face. "And I'm the one they locked up here?" He laughed again. "Fine, I'll play along. What causes it this time?"
Five scoffed, "Oh, I don't know. Maybe some loony-tuned asshole with a hero complex who tried saving the president and screwed everything up?" his voice was dripping in sarcasm as he glared across the table.
"So you're saying it worked?" Diego asked, completely ignoring Five's point and instead only focusing on the part regarding his 'heroic deed'.
Five scoffed, absolutely disbelieving of the idiot sat in front of him and Thea knew he was seconds away from losing his patience. Diego was too busy congratulating himself for a job well done – or 'did'? God, time travel was confusing – to notice the ticking time bomb sat in front of him.
"Okay, I'll help you."
"Thank god," Thea whispered, thinking her brother had finally come back from whatever delusions he was having.
"After I save Kennedy," he added, stubbornly.
Well fuck, never mind then.
She glanced at Five as Diego continued muttering about travelling even further back in time to kill Hitler with a bloody butter knife, of all things, and winced at the absolute fury on his young face. What was even worse, was when Five's expression changed into the perfect mask of calmness, hiding all of that anger under the guise of a perfectly normal, albeit cheeky, young boy.
He turned toward the guard in the corner of the room, an uncaring look on his face as he brushed down his blazer jacket. "Guard! My brother is plotting an escape. The bars of his room have been shaved down."
As he spoke, Five stood from his seat, his hand curled around Thea's as he pulled her close to him and away from the table. Just in time, too, as Diego practically launched himself across the table to grab him, murder on his face.
"You little shit!"
Thea was confused at how rapidly the situation had escalated, wondering what was going on. How the hell are we supposed to get him out now? She turned to Five for an explanation but the boy just patted her arm condescendingly.
The guards wrestled Diego onto the table while he struggled and Thea felt horrible at how roughly they were treating him. "Please, be careful won't you? Don't hurt him!"
They ignored her and one of them even brought out a needle, ready to sedate Diego who was thrashing like crazy.
"This is for your own good, Diego," Five said nonchalantly, unfazed by the scene before them.
"Five, what the hell? I thought we were going to get him out?"
He looked at her distressed face and tightened his hold on her arm. "We will, just not yet. We can't have him messing everything up because he's too focused on his idiotic crusade as a vigilante."
As he continued to lead her out of the room, Thea looked back at her brother who was now pinned onto the table like some kind of science experiment.
She could hear his distress and so with a muttered 'sorry' beneath her breath, she delved straight into his head and wrapped herself around his mind like a serpent coiling its prey. She took a defiant hold on his consciousness and commanded it to her will.
Sleep, she willed him. Demanded. Sleep now.
With relief, she watched as Diego's form slumped onto the table before he could feel the needle enter his skin. Thea only hoped that he'd forgive her rather forceful entry when they met next, as it had felt like a last resort.
We'll be back soon, Diego. I won't leave you here for long, not now I've finally found you.
"Now what do we do?" she asked once they'd reached the outside again.
The sky had darkened a little as evening rolled around. The air was crisp, a little cooler than earlier and Thea was thankful, for she no longer felt like she was dying from heatstroke.
Her hair was seriously beginning to drag on her last nerves, the length making it hang around her body like a veil which was certainly not comfortable in such humid weather.
"Now its time to visit the ape."
"Luther? You know where he is, too?" she saw the arrogant look on his face and scoffed. "Of course you do. Well, let's go. I don't like being separated like this for any longer than necessary."
Five took her hand but before they could disappear, Thea squeezed tightly. "We aren't leaving Diego there for long, you hear me? I don't care if I have to immobilise him, I refuse to let him rot in an asylum."
Her only reply was a roll of the eyes and a short nod before Five spatial jumped them away. They arrived outside of a dazzling – if not shady – looking bar, which Thea could hear the music thrumming loudly from inside.
She paused for a moment before they entered to tighten the walls within her mind, metaphorically locking them so that they wouldn't fail her. The last thing she needed walking into a place like this was to be hearing every single thought of those inside.
Especially if this is the kind of bar I think it is...as if I want to listen to men's sleazy thoughts voluntarily. Gross.
Five looked her way, a brow rose in question and Thea smiled back. "I'm all set. Let's go."
He hooked his arm around hers before escorting her into the bar. Thea squinted her eyes at the sudden drop in lighting, the table lamps the only real source of illumination other than the bright spotlights framing the stage. She eyed all of the patrons sat in the audience, sipping from cocktails and smoking their cigars, their appearances decked to the nines and let a rueful smile play on her lips.
"At least I'm finally appropriately dressed."
Five smirked at her comment and took a glance around at the looks being sent their way. It was a combination of incredulity at such a young boy entering an establishment like this and appreciation for the golden-haired beauty on his arm. Five narrowed his eyes, holding back the urge to wipe away their leery grins. By force, if necessary.
"I'll find you a change of clothes once we're done here," he promised her.
Thea hummed and took the seat offered to her beside Five. They were on the front row with a perfect view of the woman dancing on stage.
"I think I might want to cut my hair, too," she murmured softly.
"Whatever you want."
She smiled at him fondly for that.
They both continued to watch the woman on stage dancing, Thea ignoring her brother's conversation with a waitress when she came by to ask if they needed anything. Instead, she watched, almost mesmerised, at the woman swaying back and forth on the stage.
Her hair was flawlessly pinned above her head in soft ringlets and her skin almost glittered as the spotlight hit her perfectly. Thea wasn't sure if she wanted to be her or date her. Likely a combination of both, she thought in amusement.
Her musings were cut short, however, when a presence coming from behind them alerted her senses and a head entered from between their seats.
"She's too young for you."
The strong words were directed towards Five and the boy smiled wryly in response. Thea turned her head with a bright smile on her lips. "Luther!"
Luther's expression turned to shock at the sight of her, having not recognised her dressed in such fancy clothing. "Thea?"
"I'm so happy to see you," she said honestly. "How are you? I hope you know I kept looking for you guys all this time."
That was something she felt the need to say every time, horrified by the thought that one of her siblings might think she'd given up on them. Or simply not cared enough to try.
"Yes, it's nice to see you too, Luther," Five said instead, gaining their brother's attention again.
"What do you want?"
"For you to stop hovering like an ambition stripper and sit down with me," Five drawled and Thea stifled her giggle at his analogy, watching with mirthful eyes as Luther lumbered down into a seat beside them both.
"How long have you been here?" Five asked, straight to the point.
Luther's look was stern, if not a touch resentful. "A year, thanks to you."
"I'm sorry, okay? I know that couldn't have been easy but you're not the only one who's had to wait," he said with a pointed look her way.
"It wasn't Five's fault, Luther. We're lucky he managed to get us out of that situation to begin with," she pointed out, referring to the very close escape they'd made from the crumbling theatre.
Luther was having none of it. "I thought everyone was practically dead," he hissed. Despite his harsh tone, his face showed genuine upset and frustration at what had likely been a spiralling fear during his year alone.
There was a commotion from a few seats behind and Luther looked over with a conflicted expression. He hurriedly stood when another shout was heard. "Look, I gotta go. I'm sorry," he said, meeting Thea's stare with sadness.
However, Five grabbed a hold of his arm before he could go, demanding him to stay. Thea watched on, conflicted.
"I get it, okay? I know what it's like to be stuck in time, trust me, thinking that this is how you're gonna have to live the rest of your life...not knowing if you'll ever see the people you love again."
Five's expression was open and vulnerable as he spoke. He was being sincerely honest and Thea felt herself choke up a little at his words, feeling that same sorrow she'd felt back when Five had first returned to them and revealed how long he'd spent alone in the future.
"But Luther, you're not alone. We have to find the others because the world ends again in ten days and I have no idea how to stop it."
Luther stared down at him with a conflicted expression, his eyes distant like he was gathering all of his emotions into one place and dissecting the shocking news he had just been told. Thea waited with bated breath for her brother's words, knowing just how fearless he was in the face of danger.
You have the chance to really save people this time, Luther. We all do.
Thea had finally gotten around to seeing her brother in a new light after their adventures a couple of years ago and despite knowing all too well of his faults – he was still stubborn, a little selfish and most certainly idiotic – she could always rely on one thing: his sense of heroism.
"I don't give a shit."
...
..
WHAT!?
Thea's eyes widened at his uncaring, flippant tone and watched as his large form disappeared into the back of the bar where a group of men sat. The smoke from their cigars had obscured them mostly from view but Thea could still easily spot Luther's hulking form.
"What...he- I don't..." Thea couldn't wrap her head around what had just happened but she understood all too well the simmering fury that was boiling within her.
"That selfish bastard," she hissed like a cat whose tail had just been stood on.
Five scoffed, his face mirroring hers at Luther's surprising display of apathy toward a warning of the impending apocalypse.
'I don't give a shit'? That's great, I'm sure you'll give one when the entire world implodes you useless ape.
"How childish," Five drawled. His perfect mask had been restored and he no longer looked affected by Luther's outright rejection. Thea, however, was still spitting.
"And here I was, thinking that out of everybody, it would be Luther who would be the most willing to help."
"Forget about him, I'll figure something out," Five said with a wave. "But for now, looks like it's just you and me, Z." Thea was sure she heard him mutter something along the lines of 'only sane sibling I have' but shook her head, letting out a sigh at the situation they were in.
Rather than ruminate on Luther's harsh words and wanting to regain some of the positive energy she'd just lost, Thea turned to Five with a cheeky grin, knowing that what she was about to ask would set him off even further, though in a good way. More playful than true anger.
"Do you think I'd be able to pull that off?" she asked, pointing up towards the woman dancing on stage, the entire crowd's attention glued to her form. "I am in need of a new job, after all."
Five's glare practically screamed his displeasure at such a thought and he let her know so in as many words.
"Z, I'd rather let the world end before you set a single foot on that stage."
Thea's laughter was drowned out between the jeering crowd and the music playing, but she let herself do so freely, thankful for the tiny relief from the crushing weight felt by the impending apocalypse.
She pressed a kiss to Five's cheek, pulling back with a mischievous grin.
"Well, we can't have that now, can we? How about I settle for being partner to the wonderful Mr Five? Our objective: Saving the world!"
Five snorted at her silly words, especially at the use of 'Mr Five' but patted her head like she was a child.
"Whatever you say, Z."
I hope nobody is too out of character. I'm still a little rusty but I do believe that they would be a little different from season one, simply because they've all developed and grown during their time alone in this new period. Thea is a little kinder, more forgiving than before (almost losing your family to an apocalypse will do that) while others like Luther and Diego are affected in different ways.
Five is mostly the same simply because it's been like, a day for him. Ha.