Thea wasn't quite sure of the events following the previous night. The memories were scrambled within her head, a cacophony of shock, adrenaline and the dregs of leftover fear. The mixture wasn't good for her mental health and so Thea was quite sure she'd passed out before somehow being brought back to Elliott's home.

She'd woken up to the sound of somebody hissing and groaning in pain and for a brief moment, she lay there, bleary-eyed and looking up at the ceiling in a daze. That was, of course, until the sounds properly registered within her mind and Thea shot up, so fast that she tumbled off of the sofa she'd been laid on.

"Fuck," she hissed.

"Thea?" a male voice called out and she slowly looked up from her position on the floor and into warm, brown eyes.

"Diego?" she whispered before recognition settled in. "Diego!"

She scrambled towards her brother, Diego meeting her halfway and their hands met in the middle, squeezing in relief at seeing each other again after the worry and fear of the previous night.

"I was so scared, I thought I'd lost you," Thea said, letting the air in her chest release in one big whoosh. The relief was like a weight lifted from her chest, making the air around her easier to breathe.

"Heh, it'll take more than this for me to kick the bucket, sis." Diego's voice was a little strained but he smiled at her like everything was alright and to Thea, that was enough.

At the sound of hissing, Thea turned wide eyes toward the wound on her brother's exposed stomach and then trailed upwards to the woman who was perched above him, metal pincers in her hands. She was slowly dabbing a piece of cotton onto the sore wound, her eyes glancing briefly towards them both before she focused again on her task.

Thea struggled to remember the previous night but the one thing that did stand out was that, somehow, Lila had known where they were. She'd been there, right at the perfect moment to rescue Diego and carry him off to safety.

Had she brought Thea, too? But how? How had we even gotten home in the first place? Thea paused for a moment and looked around the room with a sudden thought.

"Where's Five?" she asked in slight alarm.

"Ah, glad to see somebody's missed me."

All three of them turned to face the direction of the dry retort, only to be met with Five's scowling face. The boy narrowed his stare onto Diego, particularly at his wound before his face relaxed a little, becoming its usual arrogant smile.

"So you're still alive then."

"Five!" Thea said in happiness and rose to her feet, much more steady this time.

Five opened his mouth to greet her back – as well as berate her for last night, if his frown was any indication – but he was stopped short when his body was suddenly picked up and pulled into a crushing hug.

"Ah, I'm so glad we're all okay," Thea commented with a blinding grin. It made her face lighten up, the blue in her eyes sparkle brighter as all her previous anxieties fled at once.

When she was met with only silence from above and a muffled snicker from behind her, Thea pulled back to look up at Five inquisitively. When she saw his face, she blinked innocently. She cocked her face to the side.

"Five?"

The boy was wide-eyed and quite evidently flushed – his youthful face twisted like he wasn't sure whether to snarl or hide in embarrassment. It was only when Lila tried hushing Diego's snickers that she realised with a start what the problem was.

Oops!

It must have been awfully frustrating for somebody of his age to be held like such a child – and so easily too, even for someone as petite as Thea – and so she muttered a soft apology. She loosened her tight grip and allowed him to fall back onto his own two feet.

Though, the bright smile refused to leave her face.

Five hurriedly brushed down his crumpled uniform and coughed awkwardly to hide his reaction. "Right, well," he purposely avoided her eyes and instead focused on Diego – the easiest target.

"What happened to you?"

It was a poor attempt at changing the subject but Diego took the bait easily, scowling as he recalled the events of last night.

"I got shanked," he muttered bitterly. "By Dad."

Thea's mouth opened in a little 'o', blinking in shock at the news. When Lila prodded at his wound with a little too much pressure, Diego's eyes widened, a whine leaving his throat before they rolled into the back of his head. All too suddenly, his body had fallen limp.

Thea automatically tensed, ready to intervene but the girl's words stopped her short.

"Oh, he finally fell unconscious. That'll make this much easier."

Opening up her mind and allowing herself a quick scan of her brother's mind, Thea found that Lila was right, Diego was only unconscious. His brain was still abuzz with activity, only it was mellowed out, no direct thoughts or emotions jumping out at her. It was better than the alternative, which was pure blackness. Nothing.

She could still feel Diego there, just barely out of reach from reality. That was good enough.

While her walls were down, Thea couldn't help herself and gave in to the temptation, ignoring the voice in the back of her head telling her it was wrong to just invade a stranger's privacy so blatantly.

With a casual glance in Lila's direction, Thea brushed against her mind, trying not to draw attention to herself as she did so.

However, when dark eyes met her own for a split second, Thea abruptly pulled back and firmly shut down her mental shields, constructing her face into a perfectly friendly smile fast enough to avoid suspicion.

Lila smiled back crookedly, hopefully, none the wiser to Thea's quick-trip into her mind. Before she could ruminate further on the matter, a wince from her right gained her full attention. She watched as Five pressed a spare cotton gauze from the table against the side of his neck.

"What happened?" she asked, moving toward him and gently removing his hands to get a better look.

The wound looked like a scratch mark, as though he'd been clawed by a cat. But these look much too wide and deep to be made by a household pet...

"Did you cut yourself shaving?" Lila asked from the sofa, her attention still mostly on the man beneath her, only glancing up briefly at them both.

"Let's just say I ran into an old family friend," Five muttered, his smile rueful.

"Who?" Thea asked quietly, gently patting the cotton against his skin.

She pursed her lips at the rawness of the gash, turning to grab the bottle of antiseptic Lila had been using and dribbling some onto a fresh pad. She walked back to Five to replace it over his scratch.

"Take a wild guess, Z. Who else in the family has nails sharp enough?"

"So you've found Allison already?" Thea said in a poor attempt at humour.

It seemed to work because Five's scowl softened into a smirk. "Not quite. Think more hair."

"Luther?"

Five's smirk was stretched fully across his face now, amused at her playfulness.

"Smaller."

"As small as you?" she teased and yelped when he flicked her forehead in response.

"It was Pogo, Z. Well, I guess it wasn't our Pogo. He attacked when I got too close, ran away before I could stop him."

Thea listened as she continued dabbing his wound, pulling it back to see that it looked much better now, less red and swollen.

"Don't irritate it further, okay? No scratching." She gave him a pointed look, ignoring his cocked brow. "I don't care if you're older than me, Five. You still act like a child, sometimes. No. Touching."

"Whatever you say, Mom."

Thea scoffed, "Please do not call me that ever again. It gives me the creeps."

"What? Don't like the thought of being so old? I guess I can understand, it does have it's downsides."

"Please refrain before I start thinking you have mommy issues," she shot back, a sarcastic smile on her face.

"Don't we all? Or would it be daddy issues, too?" Five drawled, a brow risen in challenge.

"Wow, I feel called out," she deadpanned.

"You said it, not me."

"Shut up," she flicked his nose.

"Make me," he said with that infuriatingly arrogant smirk plastered on his face.

Before Thea could rise to the challenge – or more accurately, take his bait – Lila's voice snapped them both from their little bubble.

"Wow, I can practically feel the tension from here," she commented, staring at them both intensely.

All of a sudden, Thea felt a little embarrassed at being caught so riled up in her and Five's banter. For them and their family it was normal but to have forgotten so easily that a stranger was in the room was jarring. Five coughed.

"Is he going to be okay?" Thea asked, purposely redirecting the topic of conversation.

Lila stared at her for a moment longer before looking back down at Diego, the intensity of her stare disappearing.

"He'll be tip-top in no time."

That was a relieving thought and Thea smiled again. Five walked over to the board full of Elliott's work – all of his predictions and conspiracies pinned up across the walls. Thea moved to sit on the scuffed armchair that sat across from the sofa where her brother lay.

She watched Lila work for a few minutes, her mind strangely blank until she came upon one persistent thought, one that refused to leave her alone.

"What did you do?"

"The pain...it's gone."

Diego's astonishment from last night had continued to plague her and as she ruminated on it further, Thea was still none the wiser of just how she'd managed to stop his pain.

The bleeding hadn't stopped at all, in fact, the entire situation looked just as perilous as ever. If Diego hadn't gotten help, he most certainly would have died. So then, what changed? What exactly did I do to make him act so calmly?

She concentrated more on that moment – her entire mind had clouded with sheer panic and grief; the feeling of uselessness had been overwhelming. Almost empowering...

Thea's eyes widened as another thought came to her.

Did I somehow...cancel out the pain?

Her first reaction was denial. Of course she hadn't done anything like that. When had that ever been apart of her powers? But then...well, then came the creeping sense of familiarity.

Her mind flashed to another time she'd used something similar on Diego. Inside full grey walls, when Five had ratted him out and the needle had been so close to entering his skin. That fear within Diego's eyes had driven her to put him to sleep, to command him into oblivion. To escape the reality of the situation.

If I follow that train of thought...then, is it so ridiculous to think I could somehow...shut off his brain's ability to register the pain?

Despite her powers concerning the mind, it wasn't like Thea understood everything about her abilities.

Similar to others like Ben, Klaus and Five, who all had powers that concerned realms far from their knowledge, Thea couldn't quite possibly ever know enough about the human mind to fully understand her power. She was sure not even Reginald himself knew everything there was to know about the complexities of the human brain.

I need to look at this differently. From another angle. So far, it's been understood that telepathy and mind control were my essential abilities.

Unlike Allison's rumouring, she had a much broader scale available to her when it came to a person's mind. Thea liked to dub her sister's power as 'brainwashing', as it essentially forced the victim to follow Allison's commands, and while Thea could do the same, hers was a more...persuasive touch.

She wasn't quite sure how to explain it, but unlike the battering ram that was a rumour, forcing the victim to follow demands – Thea was like a fine crafter of dolls, nimble fingers tying each and every string of the puppet's limbs before carefully making them dance to her tune.

At least, that was the way their father had explained it. What was it he'd said that one time?

'Both control the mind and warp it.'

'Make them both puppet and canvas, Number Zero.'

Blue eyes brightened at the sudden shot of inspiration.

W arp it...warp their minds. Warp their perception of reality. Make them my canvas and let them experience the world at my will.

Thea had been thinking about it all too shallowly. She'd been taking the face value of her abilities and disregarding – no, ignoring – the limitless potential beyond that almost begged to be used.

I can't think surface level anymore, I have to think further, I have to push harder.

If she could make Diego believe that he wasn't in pain, essentially cancelling out his brain's ability to register the hurt - muffling the signals running from his nerves and into his consciousness, then what else was available to her?

Her mind suddenly flashed to a day filled with rain– of arguments and fighting brothers – of a broken statue and a heart to match – she thought of the anger, that overwhelming anger and sadness she'd felt staring at the decapitated granite of her dead love – she remembered the thrill of punishing her brothers – such thoughtless brothers – of making them suffer the same pain she did –

Thea blinked, reeling from the sudden flashback to that day. It seemed like it had happened decades ago but she recalled it just as vividly as yesterday. Their father's funeral. Diego and Luther's fight. Ben's broken statue.

...Thea's emotional snap as she put them both under the same pain she'd been feeling.

I did a similar thing so long ago...and yet I never realised the potential. But then again, why would I?

Thea Hargreeves was a girl with too much power. She had been born with more power than she'd ever wanted and no ambition to ever further it.

Unlike Five, who'd fought and thrashed against every restriction their father placed upon him. His ambition and determination strong enough to force the matter - his desire for more becoming his driving force into discovering something new.

Unlike Five, Thea hadn't ever wanted to push herself.

She supposed she and Klaus were much too similar in that matter. Klaus' descent into substance abuse were actions of a desperate man, one who'd do anything to run away from the ability he'd been born with.

Thea – who'd had enough of keeping unwilling secrets, of splitting migraines and invasions of privacy. Thea, who had been horrified to realise that she was enjoying, revelling in her ability to manipulate anybody around her – had slammed the door firmly shut. She'd refused to even think about pushing herself or discovering some new ability - a new way to give herself any more power.

Children shouldn't have this much dominance over others. Over life itself. Over free-will. Innocence, in the overwhelming presence of power cannot stay uncorrupted for very long.

But things are different now... she thought with an unfamiliar sense of resolve.

If this cage I've unknowingly encased myself in can be broken, if I'm able to reach whatever it was I was supposed to reach so long ago...will it help me better protect my family?

That was the ultimatum Thea faced. Was her venturing where she'd been so scared to go as a child – to face that daunting idea of wielding power she may not be ready for – was it worth it for the slim chance of helping her family survive the oncoming apocalypse?

Thea already knew. It wasn't hard for her mind to reach an answer when her heart had made its decision long ago.

Of course, it is. I'd take any risk to keep them safe.

"Five, I want you to take me shopping," Thea had said, rather suddenly.

"What?" he asked, dumbfounded by her demands.

"I need new clothes. You promised you'd get me some," she reminded him.

"And this needs to happen now?" he asked, looking at her as though he thought her priorities a little skewed.

Normally she would agree, but not only did she want to speak to him in private, but she was in a desperate need of a change of clothing.

"Unless you want me to be arrested anytime soon for suspected murder," she said sarcastically, waving her hands over the dress she wore.

The fabric was ruined, the ends caked in dried blood and the gold bled to crimson. Five's eyes narrowed.

"I suppose you're right. Though if we're going out, you'll need to do something about the blood."

Thea picked up the scissors from Lila's makeshift medical table and made quick work of carefully cutting the hem of her dress. With a steady hand, she was able to do a passable job. While up close the frays were obvious, at a passing glance it was straight enough to go unnoticed.

After washing her hands from the blood, she looked almost normal.

"You look fine now, can't you just-" Five began but Thea cut him off quickly.

"No. I need new clothes. Now."

To make her intentions clear, she stood beside him and linked their arms together, refusing to budge on her demands. Five sighed, truly put-upon but began walking toward the stairs anyway.

He threw a glance behind them toward Lila.

"Keep the idiot from escaping until we're back." He looked pointedly at Diego.

"Aye, Aye!" Lila shouted back.

The two of them made their way down the staircase and out of the door and were greeted by the blinding light of daytime. It was nice weather outside and so Thea felt a little more comfortable with her bare legs.

It was still very early in the morning if the lack of crowds was any indication, with some stores not even open yet. They must have only gotten back from their father's place in the early hours of the morning if it was already approaching regular working hours.

"If you were hoping to be spoiled today, then I'll have to sorely disappoint. Money was the last thing on my mind when attempting to save us from certain doom," Five said dryly, eyes keeping a lookout as they walked.

They were getting a few odd looks from the people they passed, but Thea chalked it up to the odd pair they made and less to do with any suspicions on their part.

"I have money," she assured him. At his sceptical look, she dangled the small money purse in her hands and explained. "I earned quite a bit during my time at the Emporium. Rich people have more money than common sense."

He snorted. "I should have known you'd con some poor devoted fools of their riches."

"It's not my fault men are so easy to mislead, you know. They see one pretty woman and suddenly revert to their caveman ways."

"Can you blame them?" Five asked, looking her way. Thea huffed.

"I suppose not. There's been a time or two where I've felt particularly lascivious around a pretty woman, myself."

"Oh? Care to elaborate?"

"Shut it, old man. I'm not fulfilling your weird fantasies."

"Well, it was worth a try," he shot back, smirk unabashedly shameless.

Thea slapped his arm in reprimand.

Honestly, no wonder nobody believes me when I say you're a menace, they don't see just how much you've grown. Old man, indeed.

"Do you have anywhere in mind?" he changed the subject, looking around the street they were currently on for a clothes store. "I'm sure you understand when I say that fashion isn't my forte."

"I've just realised that I haven't seen you in a different outfit since we were thirteen. Thirteen, Five," she stressed, surprised at the sudden revelation.

"I'm content with it staying that way," he said quickly, the edge in his tone a very clear warning at the look she was sending his way.

Thea's gaze was scrutinising his entire body, critically judging the Academy uniform that held such awful memories for her.

"Isn't it itchy? Too tight?" she asked, aghast. "I remember it being awfully restricting."

"It's fine," he drawled.

"Maybe for you, short-stack."

"Hey! I can assure you the disappointment I feel at my current form is immeasurable."

Thea hummed, pausing to lift his chin so that she could get a proper look at him.

"I don't know, Five. You were pretty cute as a kid," she teased, winking at his narrow glare. She laughed loudly as he began walking again, dragging her along by the arm.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," she huffed between laughs. "I'll leave your cute uniform alone, alright? You and your little shorts," she tacked on to further tease him.

Five shot a withering glare her way, not pausing in his march toward the nearest clothing store.

A woman leaving the store quickly moved out of the way at the sight of Five's fury, watching with unease as Thea continued to cackle at his behaviour. She hurried down the street at a quick pace to avoid being around them any longer.

"Hurry up and choose something," Five huffed, finally pausing in his march. "Looking good won't help us stop the apocalypse."

She waved away his impatience but followed his wishes regardless, her hands making quick work of sifting through the racks of clothing. She hummed a tune as she swiftly disregarded certain items, her eyes landing on a particularly pretty white skirt.

"Do you planning on revealing the real reason you wanted me to take you clothes shopping?" Five said lowly.

They were in a part of the shop that was mostly empty and so they could speak without worry of being overheard.

Thea continued looking at the skirt in her hands, turning to the full-length mirror as she held it against her body. "Hm?"

"Z," Five stressed, the nickname sounding particularly exasperated.

Finally turning his way, Thea couldn't stop the smile at seeing him leaning against the clothes rack with his hands in his pockets, a haughty expression on his face. His overall appearance looked so out of place surrounded by the bright colours of women's clothing, yet he somehow retained his cool demeanour.

"Okay," she said softly. "I brought you here for a couple of reasons. And yes, one of them was genuinely because I needed new clothes."

At his urging look, Thea sighed, suddenly feeling a little anxious. She split half of her attention to the rack in front of her while speaking in a low tone.

"Last night, after we split up, I somehow found Diego bleeding out on the ground. I didn't know it was Dad's doing at the time, but I panicked." Her voice was even, but it was obvious, even to Five, that the event had shaken her up.

"I didn't know what to do and there was so much blood-"

She took a calming breath, reminding herself that Diego was alright and currently sleeping safely at their 'base'. She paused her movements and turned serious eyes to Five.

"I don't know how I did it, but I managed to stop Diego's pain."

"What exactly do you mean?" he asked slowly.

"I wished, begged for somebody to stop his pain, I was worried he was going to fall unconscious and we all know how terrible that is when bleeding out...I'm guessing that in my desperation, I unknowingly managed to," she pursed her lips, looking for the right word to explain her thoughts, "block - or maybe numb would be the right word?"

She shook her head. "Essentially I cancelled out his brain's ability to register the pain he was feeling."

Five was silent for a moment, pondering what she'd just told him. Thea could practically see the gears in his head whirring at full speed. That brilliant, wonderful mind. If anybody can tell me how to make use of this, it's him.

"You acorned," Five summarised.

Thea's expression was deadpan, "Huh?"

Five waved his hand, trying to explain. "Remember the day I disappeared? And Dad made that big speech about descending beneath the ice and 'reappearing as an acorn'?"

She didn't need much reminder, after all, it was a day etched deeply within her memory.

"Okay, so I acorned. But now I'm left with a million other questions," she sighed. "I know the causes are different, but how did you do it? Realise that you could push your spatial jumps further?"

Five pursed his lips, taking her question seriously like she'd hoped. He was the only one that could offer useful information on this topic, as out of all those with further potential, he was the only one that had tried.

"I knew I wasn't satisfied with only jumping distances. At first, I think I was just trying to push myself, see how far I could actually jump in one go," he mused.

"And then Dad called it 'spatial jumping' and the realisation that what I was doing was jumping through spatial matter, and not just from place to place, really sunk in."

His explanation made a lot of sense and suddenly, Thea realised that Hargreeves had done the same thing with herself. She recalled the brief words she'd remembered earlier on, the specific description he'd given her power.

"Dad said that I was able to 'control and warp' the mind...that I could make somebody a 'puppet' and a 'canvas'." She paused before expanding. "I think he was trying to hint at something even back then, but I was too ignorant to really listen."

Five snorted. "You and me both."

Thea laughed, "I guess that's one thing we have in common, huh? Too much pride to take suggestions."

"Taking a hint is easier when it's said by somebody likeable," Five drawled, smiling when Thea giggled in response.

"Yes, I can agree with you there. He certainly did make it easy to hate him, didn't he?"

"Maybe it was for the best I skipped out on him then," Five said with sarcasm.

Thea ignored the pang of hurt that went through her at his words, knowing that he was only joking around.

"You're so selfish, Five. With one less child it meant the rest of us got the brunt of it."

Five patted her on the arm, condescension dripping from his smile. "There, there."

"Don't think I won't hit you," she threatened without any real heat. They both knew it was a total bluff.

The boy turned his gaze onto the clothes in her hands. "Are you almost done?" he asked pointedly, returning their conversation into more normal realms once again.

"Nope! Shoes next," she grinned and dragged Five towards the footwear section, ignoring his pathetic groan.

As she flicked her gaze across all of the options, admiring the abundance of bright colours and choosing a few to try on, she decided to bring up her next point. But first...

"If I wanted to test out some ideas, you know, regarding anything new I might be able to do...would you mind helping?" her voice was uncharacteristically vulnerable and Five easily picked up on it.

With a rare, genuine smile he nodded his head. "Sure thing, Z."

She grinned and with that worry placated – for now – she moved onto her next problem.

"I think Lila is hiding something," she said bluntly, getting straight to it.

"Why's that?"

"Earlier on, when Diego fell unconscious, I was worried about him so I checked his mind and, well..."

"You decided to take a peek at hers, too?"

Thea's sheepish grin was answer enough and Five chuckled. "Okay, so what's made you suspicious?"

"It wasn't exactly anything incriminating...in fact, it was the complete opposite."

At his inquisitive look, she tried explaining herself. "Remember how I taught you to keep me out when we were younger? How to help shield your mind?"

"You said to cut off my train of thought the minute I was conscious of thinking," he replied. "Either that, or focus on something mundane, instead. Recite the alphabet or Pi."

Thea nodded. "Exactly, the first means that I can't hear what you're actually focusing on unless you accidentally let it slip, and the second just irritates me enough to put me off," she laughed.

"They'd both be completely useless if I pushed enough, of course, but I obviously don't go around doing something so rude. And painful."

"Of course," Five agreed dryly. "And Diego's friend? She was doing the same thing?"

"The exact same!" Thea said in frustration. "Her thoughts were too organised for any normal person. Even while focusing on Diego's wound she was thinking of completely random topics."

"I mean, Diego did break her out of a mental institution," Five suggested with a sceptical tone. Thea shook her head.

"No, I've heard people who are genuinely crazy, or at least those with mental instability. Lila's thoughts were perfectly calm and mundane. Too normal and pure. Suspiciously so," she stressed.

"When she realised my attention was on her, her thoughts suddenly turned to reciting the alphabet...in Greek."

That and she somehow knew exactly where we were despite being a complete stranger.

Five's scepticism had turned into real contemplation by now and she left him to ruminate on it a little further while she pulled on a pair of boots. She took a short walk in them, feeling if they fit comfortably and when she sat back down, Five met her gaze.

"I'll keep an eye on her. If she's suspicious, it's more likely to be connected to me than anybody else."

Thea just nodded her head in agreement. She didn't think she'd made any enemies during her time here - unless disgruntled old men she'd conned out of money counted.

"What will you do if she is somebody important?"

"Get rid of her, obviously," Five said with confidence.

"I'll leave that to you then. Want me to keep tabs on her thoughts, anyway?"

Five shook his head. "Only if necessary. Can't put it past someone to be able to detect something like that."

Thea opened her mouth to refute that point but paused, remembering the way Lila's attention had turned to focus on her after entering her mind. She pursed her lips, disgruntled with the thought.

"Fine," she agreed. "But if it comes down to it, I'm not above frying a few brains."

Five chuckled deeply. "There's my Z, homicidal, just how I like you."

"You flatter me," she smiled sarcastically.

"Nothing but the truth," he smiled back.

Thea jumped to her feet, arms laden with her chosen outfit and shoes. "Well, looks like we're done here. I'll go pay for these and meet you outside, okay?"

"Sure."

They parted ways and Thea swiftly entered the queue, making quick work of paying for her clothing, refusing a bag with a polite smile before carrying the unpackaged purchase out of the store. She rose a finger towards Five, indicating she needed a moment before slipping into an abandoned alleyway and changing into her new clothes quickly.

The sheer top was easy enough, the neckline modestly cut and it's sleeves puffy at the ends. It was almost see-through, the starry pattern hiding enough of her body to keep it respectable. It was tucked into a white pleated skirt that had cute red hearts dotted along the bottom. To clinch the entire outfit together and give it the sixties aesthetic Thea had been hoping for, her feet were adorned in a pair of knee-high white, platform boots. The heels were thick and added at least a few inches to her height.

I feel like a magical girl from an anime!

Her hair had been left in the high ponytail she'd decided on last night, only a little tighter and brushed this morning. She was still adamant on either cutting it or finding a way to make it more presentable, though.

But I suppose those are materialistic worries when the world could very well end in less than a week...

Once she was done, Thea smiled widely at the refreshing feeling. She felt a hundred times better after finally ridding herself of the dress that had drawn so much attention. She looked down and did a little spin, giggling when the skirt flurried in the breeze. She felt much more like the old Thea – the one that was bright and confident, not weighed down in jewels and kept as a possession.

With a spring in her step, she walked back out into the street to meet up with Five, dumping her ruined dress and shoes into the garbage on the way. Five paused when he saw her new outfit, having not paid any attention to her choices while they were shopping.

"You look...good," he complimented.

"Could you say that any more lacklustre?" she complained with a pout.

"I apologise, I find it a little difficult to muster up the enthusiasm with the knowledge that every man will be eyeing up my sister."

"What are you, my father?" she asked sarcastically, sidling up to walk beside him again. They made their way back down the street to Elliott's home.

"We've already been over our collective daddy issues," Five said dryly and Thea snorted.

"Yeah, yeah. We're all fucked up and are low-key traumatised from our horrible childhoods. Blah, blah, blah. Save me, I tried therapy once and it was a crapshoot." She glanced his way, an amused smirk on her lips.

"Pity there's no therapy group for those trapped in the future until they turned old and wrinkly, huh?"

"I do so adore your sarcasm, little sister. It just brightens my day."

"Glad I can be of service," she said with a shit-eating grin.

Five smiled back just as feral, too much teeth for it to be anything friendly.

Before long they had made it back to Elliott's, but before they could spare a moment to think of what to do next, the man himself was leaning over the bannister and calling out to Five about something 'beeping like crazy'.

Five seemed to know what he meant by that because he quickly shot up the stairs, Thea hot on his heels.

Elliott was staring at a bulky monitor – so ancient looking that Thea almost cringed just thinking about having to use it – and telling Five that the 'atmospheric radar' had picked up on something.

Thea could only really make out the cone graph-like symbols with something spinning on it – feeling utterly stupid as she stared blankly, as though she was supposed to know what the hell it meant. Both Elliott and Five were looking at the monitor like the flashing symbols were perfectly understandable and she was inclined to simply nod along when Five said its purpose was to track sound waves.

Elliott turned around to ask them something more but Thea blinked when suddenly, the room disappeared around her and she was instead standing outside in a largely abandoned field.

"Oh," she muttered. "I didn't even see you move."

"Keep up, Z. We have a sister to find," Five said as he began pushing his way through the crops. Thea's eyes widened at the word 'sister' and a brilliant grin etched onto her face.

"Vanya! You've found her?" she asked. It could only be Vanya, if Five's earlier comment on tracking 'sound waves' had been any indication.

"Spot on," Five smirked and carried on pushing past the tall stalks.

It was kind of amusing to watch as he huffed, his tiny form barging his way through but Thea kept the laughter to herself. She didn't think he'd appreciate her amusement at his expense.

After another ten minutes of pushing their way through the crop field and getting smacked in their face by wayward stalks, Five had finally caved in and asked Thea to help them navigate their way to Vanya. Thea had done an admirable job in holding in her amusement and allowed herself to focus on everything around her, scouring for any thoughts nearby.

Soon enough she picked up on a light trail of consciousness – scattered thoughts of 'who were they?', 'too dangerous' and somebody named'Harlan'. It was enough for Thea to steer them in the right direction and before long, they both stumbled out from the crops to come face to face with their lost sister.

Five parted the leaves obscuring her face from view and Vanya stared back at them both with hesitation.

"Hello Vanya," Five greeted and Thea waved from beside him, a bright grin on her face.

"Vanya! I've missed you!"

When their sister didn't immediately jump up to greet them the two were a little taken aback, staring at the clear anxiety displayed on her face with mounting confusion.

"Vanya?" Thea asked again, softer this time.

She allowed the other's thoughts to filter in but was only shown images of a blonde, middle-aged woman and a young boy. Her sister's main concern was those two people and Thea cocked her head to the side.

"Are you okay?" she decided to ask, worried that maybe her sister may hold whatever had occurred before their time-travel against them. "We're only here to help you, I promise."

However, no matter what Thea said, Vanya's face didn't budge from its genuine perplexion.

"I'm not sure she realises what's going on," Five said lowly, glancing her way.

"What do you mean-"

"I'm sorry," Vanya cut into her reply, gaining both of their attention. Her brows were pinched together in confusion as her eyes took in their appearances. Her expression remaining blank as she roamed their faces.

"Who are you?"

Please check out the wattpad version of this story, if only to see the visual mood boards I often leave at the end of the chapters! It goes by the same name, just under the username 'vanillatsu' instead.

Also, I was thinking about writing a Five/Thea one-shot once this story is over with...we'll see ;)