It was dark by the time Theodore and Vanya stumbled back home with bellies full of burgers, brains full of strange comments planted there by Klaus ("Did you know, every time I close my eyes I see a diarrhetic hippo about to shit on my face? It's terrifying!") and worry about the possible LANE sighting at Griddy's which had everybody up in arms (Diego had dropped them all off at the bus stop and then sped off to the crime scene to investigate). In fact, there seemed to be a lot more LANE Keepers on the streets that night, particularly around their apartment complex; something which had Vanya's brain ticking through the different possibilities about the sudden increase in population.

"Go get ready for bed" Vanya instructed, ruffling Theodore's curls after she had shoved the door open. The damn thing was always sticking; especially when it rained which was ridiculous because they were up on the seventh floor.

"Mm" Theodore nodded tired & wary, as he shuffled off to his bedroom to change. No sooner had she chucked her keys on the kitchen table, did the lamp in the living room turn on.

CLICK!

"Lore!" Vanya cursed, flinching back at the sudden light. A gaudy vase (some long-forgotten flea market special) exploded in her fright, showering the floor in broken shards as her eyes were drawn to the smug (and slightly startled) visage of Number Five.

"You should have locks on your windows" Five replied as if his being there was the most natural thing in the world for him to be seated in their living room and sitting in the dark without their knowledge.

"We live on the seventh floor…?" Vanya mumbled, moving to clean up the broken vase.

"Rapists can climb"

"…You are so weird"

"Vera…? Wha…? Why's Don Fën…?"" Theodore yawned around his toothbrush as he returned, drawn to the living room by the shattering of porcelain. When he caught sight of his deer-in-the-headlights mother and smug uncle, he simple waved shyly at Five. He almost seemed wary of the schoolboy assassin.

Five had to smile at the choice of his nephew's pyjamas even as he (not so) patiently waited to be alone with his sister once again. An oversized Marvin the Martian t-shirt hung from one shoulder and revealed the circular birthmark which lay on his collarbone (one that he knew matched—or almost matched—Vanya's in design). He was amused to note that part of the hem had become tucked into the floral boxer shorts and rainbow-striped thigh highs that he wore were scrunched up around his calves.

"It's nothing, Teddy" Vanya soothed, "Just go back to bed"

Theodore glanced back & forth between the two adults, particularly eyeing up Five as if he was trying to figure out what he wanted. "…Okay" He nodded as he trotted back to the bathroom to finish brushing his teeth.

"Why're you here, Five?" She sighed tiredly as she moved to dump the shattered porcelain in the bin. At least until her gaze caught the dots of red on his sleeve with ease. "Is that blood?"

Shit. "It's nothing" He lied, shoving his bloodied hand into his pocket.

"…Hang on" Jumping to her feet, Vanya disappeared back into the bowels of the apartment for a moment, only to return with a first aid kit in hand instead of the vase.

Silently holding his hand out to Vanya, Five watched as her brows knitted together as she pushed back his sleeve and hissed in sympathy at the self-inflicted wound decorating his forearm. Her expression melted into something soft and focused as lithe fingers deftly stitched up his arm. If he closed his eyes, he could pretend that they were children back in the academy and she was cleaning him up after a particularly bad training session. But those days were long gone. Absently, Five knew that Vanya had some of the same training as their siblings (first aid, self-defence etc), but that still didn't explain the ease at which she wielded the needle and wrapped the gauze all these years later. It was something that made his heart clench to know she had become so deft at a skill not related to her craft, a skill that must've been born of necessity. Naively, he hoped it was because she was raising her son on her own and not for any other reasons.

"…Why're you here?" Vanya reiterated, her soft voice a stark contrast from the strong & powerful tone it had been earlier in the day

"Hm…" Five hummed, rolling the words around his mind for a moment. "I've decided you're the only one I can trust"

"Why me?"

"Because you're—" His first reasoning for trusting her was because she was ordinary. But Vanya wasn't ordinary anymore; in fact he'd argue that now, she was the most extraordinary one of them all. "—Because you'll listen"

"I—" Vanya went to reply only to cut herself off sharply as her head jerked over towards the bay window where something caught her attention. Whatever it was, was beyond Five's senses but it must've been something particularly concerning because even Theodore, who had retreated to his bedroom maybe fifteen minutes before had returned with a sleepy look of fear plastered across his face.

"Vera…?" Theodore whined pitifully from where he remained in the doorway, "What was that?"

"…" Vanya didn't reply, she simply rose to her feet, quiet as a mouse and drifted over to the window on whisper-quiet footsteps. (Father would've been proud).

"What?" Five demanded, eyes jumping between mother and son. His voice sounded almost harsh and screeching on the ears in the suddenly too quiet room. He found himself wanting to whisper, to not break the tense atmosphere which had befallen the apartment. He felt like he was back on an Umbrella Academy mission, waiting in the wings for the action to begin.

Over at the bay window, Vanya cautiously peered through the curtains and out into the illuminated street where a few people of the nightlife still wandered. At least, that's what she expected to see. Instead she found herself confronted by throngs of navy-clad men huddled beneath the street lamps. Some were scouring the nearby streets and demanding answers from passersby, whilst others mobilised into units and knocked on every door in the street. And all of them were armed to the teeth and circling their apartment complex.

"Shit" Vanya cursed under her breath as she pulled back from the window. "Five, d'you Blink here?"

"Huh?" Five blinked, caught off-guard by the sudden question; in particular, by the seriousness of her tone and the severity at which his answer seemed to matter.

"Did. You. Blink. Here?"

"…Obviously"

"Dammit Five!" Vanya swore, running a hand through her hair in exasperation.

"What?"

"You can't do shit like that anymore!"

"Vanya, you're not making any sense!" Five replied getting to his feet.

BZZT!

"Lore!" Everyone jumped as the sound of the buzzer ripped through the quiet apartment. Tensions had risen to the point that it was almost suffocating and Five, who had no idea what was going on (only that whatever it was bad and somehow his fault. It couldn't have been those dummy local hires, could it?).

"…Attention occupants of Broadview Apartments…!" A chipper voice echoed through the speaker. "…A dangerous LANE has been spotted in the area…Please remain calm whilst the LANE Keepers complete their search…"

"Vera…!" Theodore whined, shuffling nervously in place.

"Right" Vanya nodded, leaping into action, "Teddy, go cover up your birthmark. Put a sweater on or something"

"O-okay" Theodore nodded jerkily before quickly retreating to find something that would cover up the circular mark on his skin.

"And you, Five—" Vanya then marched over to her brother and hoisted him off of his feet with ease.

"Wha—Vanya! What're you doing? Put me down!" Five struggled against her strong grip. He blamed his lack of reaction on his sudden surprise at being swept off of his feet by his youngest sister. But as she frog-marched him back over to the bay window, he caught a glimpse of the same goons as before (only several more) mobilising down below.

Shit. Vanya was right, it was his fault for bringing them here.

"—Need to get in there and shut up" Vanya lifted the lid on the bay window seat and shoved him inside without nary a thought. One moment Five had been siting in his sister's living room preparing to tell her about his jaunt in the apocalyptic future and now he was being shoved into a little cubby hole as more LANE Keepers made to storm the place and possibly harm his family.

WHOOSH!

"Okay, what the hell is going on?!" Five demanded as he Blinked out of the cubby hole and reappeared behind his sister, just as Theodore returned wearing a jacket zipped up to his throat.

"—Lore!" Vanya jumped when she almost walked straight into her brother. "Dammit Five! Can't you just do as you're told?!"

"Hmpf!" Five huffed irritably even though he could see the worry in her eyes (she had never sounded more like Luther or Father than in that moment). Below them, the sound of hurried heavy footsteps thundering against the stairs and the thump-thump-thump of furniture toppling over reverberated throughout the surrounding apartments as the floors below were ransacked by the LANE Keepers.

"…Teddy, can you sort that out?" Vanya nodded to Five, looking more worried than he'd ever seen her.

"Uh huh" Theodore nodded jerkily in acknowledgement as he shuffled over to his smallest uncle.

"What?" Five blinked as he found himself face with the boy who stood only a few inches shorter than himself.

A slight hum filled the air and when Theodore opened his mouth, a haunting & alluring melody floated out. "…Tender shepherd, tender shepherd watches over all of his sheep…"

"—Wait—!" Five interjected, flabbergasted panic colouring his tone as the song began to pull him under.

"…One say your prayers and two close your eyes, and three safe & happily, fall asleep…"

No sooner had the word 'asleep' fallen from Theodore's lips, did Five's eyes flash a loralite blue before he slumped forward into his nephew's arms, fast asleep. Gentle snores fell from his lips as Theodore tried to both, keep his uncle somewhat upright and drag him over to the bay window seat to shove him back inside. It was certainly a mission and a half to keep the seat propped open and unceremoniously shove Five inside. Let's just say, he'd probably wake up tomorrow with a few bruises dotted about.

"How're you going over there, Teddy?" Vanya asked, pulling a nearby throw blanket around her shoulders. She had yet to change out of her funeral attire, but it was just another layer of protection however flimsy.

"He's so…heavy!" Theodore grunted, trying to keep both the lid open and shove his uncle inside.

"Remember what we practised?" She replied, peering out of the peephole.

"Oh yeah!" Theodore brightened before a low humming fell from his lips. As the sound of audible white noise (much like the 'monster voice' he used when he was younger) filled the apartment, Five began to float making it much easier to stuff him inside the bay window seat.

KNOCK KNOCK! BANG!

Just as the door was shoved open with so much force that it crashed against the wall, Theodore slammed the seat lid shut and sat down on top of it, trying to appear as casual and as natural as possible."Can—can I help you?" Vanya stammered, using a nearby throw blanket to wrap around her shoulders in an attempt to further hide her own mark.

"Ms Hargreeves?" The faceless Keeper greeted in surprise, immediately recognising her from her books.

"Yes?" Vanya nervously shifted in place as she pushed aside by a second Keeper who made to search their apartment.

"You live here?" The first Keeper sounded almost suspicious.

"Yes…" She nodded, at a loss for where this conversation was going.

"Then why is the apartment listed to the Harrisons?"

"…I—I have an obsessive ex" Vanya half-lied, eyeing up the second who seemed to be following a tracker of some kind. "What's going on?"

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!

"Just a standard search, ma'am" He reassured her as his partner searched the apartment. Furniture was toppled, cupboards ransacked and bedrooms rifled through. In this day and age, there was no such thing as privacy. "Nothing to be concerned about"

"And who's this?" The second Keeper bent to greet the quiet boy in the bay window.

"Uh, that's—that's my son, Theodore" Vanya replied, now worried that the two Garde had become far too separated for her liking.

"Bit late for a school night, isn't it?" He peered over his shoulder at her.

"Uh, y-yes, but we've just come from my father's funeral"

"Uh yes, of course, our sincerest apologies" The first apologised.

BEEP BEEP BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP!

The beeping of the device in his hand picked up, and Vanya now suspected it to be a tracker; one of the Mecha-bugs which burrowed in deep to your skin and transmitted a signal to the Keepers, wherever they may be. It was a piece of Mogadorian technology (not that the Keepers would ever admit that) and just like the elvish race, was known to be quite brutal in its applications.

The second Keeper silently met the first's gaze and a concise nod was shared between them. It was calculating, it was cold and even though no facial expressions could be seen, their body language was more than enough. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know what was going on. Whatever Five had been doing before coming here, had been bad enough that he had been tagged; which meant that he had also involved himself with the LANE Keepers previously. Vanya wasn't sure if she wanted to strangle him or not for putting not only her, but her son in danger. But right now, they had bigger problems to deal with.

Drawing herself up, Vanya quietly closed the door and locked them inside. The LANE Keepers, who had moved to finger their weapons, now appeared far more wary of the Hargreeves pair. "Ma'am, you are aware of the punishments for harbouring a LANE, correct?" The first asked, fingers hovering over the hilt of his weapon. Vanya had no doubt that he would be able to quickly draw it and fire in the time it took for her to make it across the room to her son.

"Yes" Vanya nodded, her gaze jumping from both wandering hands to the seat where Five lay, hidden. She could only hope that his snored could not be heard through the wooden paneling.

"Then you are aware that harbouring such a fugitive could land you with jail time or worse?"

"Yes" She nodded. Across the way, she noted how Theodore's toes & fingers had curled around the edge of the seat as if preparing himself to launch himself across the room if needed.

A concerto began to build in Vanya's mind. The click of a firearm's safety being turned off, the beating of her son's panicked heartbeat pounding in time with her own and the crackle of the Keepers' radio static built to a crescendo. The sound of her neighbour's cats yowling in protest, the thumping of feet against the stairs as other apartments were searched and the snores of her hidden brother mingled with the creaking of the old building played as the mezzo-piano accompaniment. The song rushed through her veins, it thrummed in her blood and Vanya let it fill her up like a dam waiting to blow.

Reaching its chorus, Vanya's hands snapped out with a flicker, the blanket dropping to the floor and pooling at her feet. Before the Keepers could so much as flinch, two tentacles of solid lumen flowed from her hands and latched itself onto the two faceless men. The pair were lifted clean off of their feet as her Legacy latched onto their internal life cores. Her eyes burned with power, her blood singing in triumph as an almost manic and vengeful grin spread across her lips. Absently, Vanya tried to keep the intensity of the light down, so as to not alert any of the other Keepers outside.

"…Whey, what a broken little thing! A Keeper who keeps no LANEs in his lil' steeple…" At some point Theodore had left the bay window and had made his way over to them, intent on helping his mother before she ended up killing them. So encompassed by the pull of her own song, Vanya didn't hear the hypnotic words of her son's own song but she did feel the hum of his voice and the pound of his words as he Sung the Keepers, blinding them with falsehoods they would believe to be truths (and hopefully, in turn, their comrades too). "…There are no LANEs in his steeple…"

Sunken eyes washed a loralite blue and with great restraint, Vanya set the men back on their feet. They moved towards the door like drunken men, mumbling half-hearted apologies and taking the tense atmosphere with them. And just like that, it was over.

It was almost another hour later when Vanya had calmed down enough to check that all of the LANE Keepers in the area had finally left. It was another half an hour more, before she deigned it safe enough to pull Five from the bay window seat and in that time Theodore had returned to bed (much to his chagrin) because he still had school in the morning. That had been part of her reasoning, another part was that she had detected a beeping noise from within her brother—that of the Mecha-bug—which she suspected was still active inside of him.

Theodore's Rumour would only last for so long and if they didn't want another repeat of tonight then that tracker bug had to go. Which was why Vanya had stripped her brother of his Umbrella Academy uniform (a feat much more achievable now that he was unconscious), lain him out in her bed and with the aid of Youtube, was able to locate and extract the mechanical bug from his neck with a little bit of difficulty. She had to admit that she took a rather vindictive pleasure in breaking that thing apart; first with her own powers and then in the blender for good measure.

It was odd seeing her elder brother so young and vulnerable like this; especially as she had redressed in him in a spare change of Theodore's pyjamas. The tie dye shirt (which was too big on her son) was also equally as big on his uncle and made him look much younger than he appeared to be. The emoji-patterned pyjama pants, however, brought a smile to her face if only because she could have never in a million years picture Five wearing something like that. With a tired yawn, Number Seven eventually donned her own pyjamas and crawled in beside her brother, just as they had done a decade and a half ago. Some things, it seemed as Vanya pulled her snoring brother close, never changed.