25 November 1963
WHOOSH!
Crashing to the wet ground, his chin smacked painfully against the concrete in the back alley of some side street. A quiet groaned hissed out from between his teeth as Five rolled back up onto his haunches, nose scrunching up at the feeling of wet socks as the dirty puddle water splashed up against his ankles. Five could honestly say it wasn't the worst landing he had ever hand (and he had had quite a few of those, especially in the beginning. He still shuddered whenever he thought of a certain mark in a particular corner of his bedroom from where he had landed halfway through the low-bearing wall).
WHIR!
Scrambling to his feet, Five quickly turned to watch as the familiar blue vortex spat him—and only him—out onto the other side. He could still feel the ghost grip of his brothers' fingers on his own, but there was no one there but him. "Luther! Diego! Allison! Klaus! Theodore!" Five cried, staring up at the pulsating vortex as it zipped shut with a whir and a whoosh, taking the last remnants of his family with them.
Before Five could fall further into despair, he suddenly noticed the most eery of silences that had engulfed the street at the mouth of alleyway, reaching his ears. The unwavering silence puzzled him and it drew him out to the main street, with confusion pulling at his brow & a deep sense of wariness (one born from years with death hanging over his head) that had settled in his bones. Nose scrunching up again at the feeling of wet socks squelching inside his shoes, it didn't take long for the time traveller to reach the main street where he found a most confounding sight that puzzled him to no end.
Corpses—both human and not—lined the abandoned streets, windows were boarded up, piles of ashen rubble towered in sporadic clumps and fire & smoke billowed out from the broken & abandoned cars around him. Some sort of military-looking vehicle sat upturned on its side whilst an unexploded missile had parked itself halfway through the window of a well-to-do coffee shop. The bullet holes plastered into the building nearby told Five of the travesty that had taken place here and high above, the sky had been painted in reds so familiar that it made his stomach turn.
Just like before, a single headline from a lone surviving newspaper told him of the horrors that had happened there before his arrival and he rushed to read it. Working it free from the rubble that had encapsulated and protected the yellowed paper, Five hoped that it would give him at least a little bit of insight as to what had happened here. "What the hell did we do now?"
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 1963
THEY LIVE AMONG US: THE ALIEN INVASION
"UNITED NATIONS' ULTIMATUM IGNORED BY SETRAKUS RA"
"At 12.15 (EST), Secretary-General of the United Nations, U. Thant, spoke on the radio from the United Nations Headquarters to the whole world. The Secretary-General's voice was steady and firm as he announced, "We are at war with Mogadore"
"…Millions of listeners were overcome with emotion…and a hush fell upon the world as Mr Thant spoke with a moving and deep sincerity in a deep, emotional voice…"
"I am speaking to you from the Headquarters of the United Nations" Said Mr Thant, "This morning a United Nations Ambassador handed the Mogadorian Government the Final Note stating that unless we heard from them by eleven o'clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from our planet, a state of war would exist between us"
"I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT NO SUCH UNDERTAKING HAS BEEN RECEIVED, AND CONSEQUENTLY, THIS WORLD IS AT WAR WITH THE MOGADORIANS. YOU CAN IMAGINE WHAT A BITTER BLOW IT IS, THAT ALL MY LONG STRUGGLE TO WIN PEACE, HAS FAILED"
"…And yet, I cannot believe that there is anything more or anything different that I could have of done, that would have of been more successful in this endeavour…"
"SETRAKUS RA WOULD NOT HAVE PEACE"
"Up to the very last moment, it would have been quite possible to arrange a peaceful and honourable settlement between Mogadore and Earth, but Setrákus Ra would not have it…He had evidently made up his mind to attack Earth and the Lorics who have sought asylum here and although, he now says that he presented reasonable proposals regarding the hidden Lorics which were rejected by the United Nations, which is an untrue statement"
"…The proposals presented to the United Nations never included such an ultimatum and although this was announced in a Mogadorian broadcast, Setrákus Ra did not wait to hear any further comments on them, instead he ordered his troops to descend upon the global frontier, early the next morning…His actions convincingly show us that there is no chance that this man will ever give up his intention of using force to gain his will…He can only be stopped by force"
"WE WILL STAND WITH YOU"
"Today, we are assisted by the Garde—the Lorics whom had sought asylum on our shores many years ago—and a mysterious faction known simply as 'The Umbrella Academy' who will fulfil their obligations and go aid in Earth's United Army…So bravely resisting this wicked and unprovoked attack upon our people"
"WE HAVE A CLEAR CONSCIENCE"
"We have a clear conscience; we have done all that anybody could have done to establish peace…This situation however, in which no word given by Mogadorian's ruler cannot be trusted, and no people nor country can feel itself safe in the fact that its actions have become intolerable…And now, we have resolved to fix it"
"At a moment such as this, the assuredness of support that we have received from the world are a source of profound encouragement to us…and I know that you will all continue to play your part full of calmness and courage"
"THE UNITED NATIONS HAVE MADE PLANS UNDER WHICH IT WILL BE POSSIBLE TO CARRY ON THE WORK OF THE NATIONS IN DAYS OF STRESS AND STRAIN, WHICH MAY BE AHEAD OF US…THESE PLANS NEED YOUR HELP"
"…You may be taking your part in the fighting services or as volunteers in one of the branches of Civil Defence…You may be engaged in work essentials in the maintenance of the life during the times of war…in factories, transport and public utilities…So it is of vital importance that you should carry on with your jobs…"
"FOR THE GREATER GOOD, WE WILL PREVAIL!"
"…May God bless you and may He defend the greater good…For it is evil that drags us back to the trenches, for it is evil that we shall be fighting and we shall be fighting brute force, bad faith, injustice, oppression and persecution! And even the, I am certain that the greater good will prevail!"
"No…! No, this can't be right!" Five shook his head, furiously—stubbornly—denying the fact that his family—that everyone—was very likely dead and gone. Again. Denying the fact that he was very likely back in the wasteland of the apocalypse (not the same one as before, mind you, but close enough), forced to suffer through the injustices of a war-torn world all on his lonesome once more. It was enough to make anyone wanna tear their hair out.
"…And that's the last of them" A baritone rasped from across the way, catching his attention and pulled it over to an upturned pick-up truck and a seemingly pristine park bench.
Crouched where he was, Five was able to make out that the lonely street was not as lonely as he once thought; instead it was occupied by two people: a young man and an old man. There was one—the elder—whom was dressed in the old Commission fatigues and the other—the younger—who was barely dressed at all; both of which were just as white-haired as each other. The younger of the two sat on the bed of the upturned pick-up truck, where he bore no shirt but this did not mean that his torso was naked; instead it was covered in a multitude of silvery scars & ink black tattoos and a strange-looking guitar was slung over his shoulder. The elder of the two, on the other hand, was adorned in the stereotypical LA COMMISSION DU TEMPS ET DE L'SPACE uniform that was popular amongst the Corrections Department (just as he formerly was).
"Hm?" His elderly companion hummed from where he sat nearby, quirking a brow in question as fingers tapped religiously against the briefcase in his hand.
"The last of the shuttles just exited orbit" The young man explained, looking up from the small device in his hands. "It won't be long now"
"Well, you're right about that! There he is!" The elder huffed as he pointed out Five's crouched form. "Right on time"
"For once" The younger scoffed as both ashen men disembarked from their seats and made their way over to the schoolboy assassin.
Shit! Five inwardly cursed as he prepared to Blink out or retaliate some kind of attack. It was never good news when a Corrections Officer approached you outside of work.
"Hey, Old Timer!" The elder called to Five in greeting. "If you wanna live, come with me"
"Are the dramatics really necessary?" The younger sassed.
"Oh, let an old man have his fun, brat!" The elder retorted ruffling his companion's hair, much to his chagrin.
"Oi! G'off…!"
"…Hazel?" Five breathed as his brows furrowed in confusion, gaze roving over the elderly visage of his former colleague. "What—what the hell's going on here?"
"There's no time to explain—" Hazel replied, turning to point at the slew of looming dark shapes on the horizon. "—Those are warships, Old Timer"
"Holy shit—!" Five mouthed as he stared up at their impending doom. They had really done it this time. "What about my family?"
"Dead" The younger replied this time, raking a tired hand through snowy locks and pinning the schoolboy with a fond look that confused him. His heterochromatic eyes seemed almost wistful as he replied, "Like everyone else"
"And who are you?" Five quirked a brow at the young man, mentally trying to place where he had seen him before. Five couldn't say why, but there was something familiar about him.
"Not important" He waved off as he shoved his hands into his pockets, rocking slightly on his heels. "It's time for you to go, now"
"Go? Go where?" Five puzzled.
"Back" He replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, as he tilted his head questioningly in Hazel's direction. "You good to go? Got everything?"
"Yeah, we're all good, brat" Hazel nodded, drinking in the sight of the young man.
"Good, that's good" He hummed, pausing for a moment in contemplation before he turned back to Five with a small and secretive smile. "…It was good to see you again, Fën, really"
"Th—Theodore?!" Five spluttered, choking on his own spit in surprise. There was only one person who called him that and he had a hard time believing that this man was his twelve-now-thirteen year old nephew whom he had only seen mere moments ago. "How—? Why—? Wha—?"
"Smart one, isn't he?" Theodore spared a cheeky grin towards Hazel, before he turned back towards Five. A sad smile flittered across his lips as he moved to tuck a small device that he had been studying previously, into Five's breast pocket. "You'll be needing this, and you need to hurry up. It won't be long now"
"Theodore…?"
"Go"
"Theodore! Wait—!" Five protested, hand outstretched to stop the albino as he turned to leave.
"—GO" Theodore reiterated, tossing it over his shoulder as he willingly walked off towards his death. Five probably would've of moved to stop him, if Hazel hadn't pressed his hand firmly onto Five's shoulder, pinning him in place. At least, that's what he told himself. It had nothing to do with that fact that he was frozen in fear, watching his only remaining family member walk off to their death.
Bare feet padding against the war-torn concrete; over burnt bodies and around ashen scorch marks, Theodore made his way down the street to stand centre-stage in an area that had the least amount of crap covering the asphalt. Swinging the battered & beloved instrument around to his front, he made sure to amplify the sound as far as he possibly could—to destroy as much as he possibly could with his Legacies—as his fingers took to the taut strings with an unrelenting fervour. He strummed out a thunderous riff whose soundwaves roared across the mangled plains and destroyed all in its path. Lumen danced in his eyes and crackled beneath his skin like lightning in a bottle, just as the lightning that crackled high above in the heavens, responded in kind. It was almost beautiful, in a way.
"You can't save 'em if you're dead" Hazel softly reminded Five, as they watched the (fruitless) destruction from afar. It wouldn't be long now, in fact they could already see the head of the incoming missiles breaking through the atmosphere as the battleships prepared to fire down on them once more.
"…This better work" Five grumbled to himself like the old man that he truly was and as the world was engulfed in fire & ash once more, the time traveller took up Hazel's outstretched hand. The two disappeared in a flash of familiar blue, leaving behind a young man with a song in his heart, a world of smoke & ash and the destruction of a world. Again.
WHOOSH!