p class="MsoNormal"strongemspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"3 chapters again?! Have I lost my mind?/span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"strongemspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"No, I just REALLY wanted to get all our favorite siblings back together again. And that's about to happen. Get ready for LOTS of sibling moments ;)/span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"strongemspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -/span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe aroma of bitter, stinging coffee and sizzling eggs against pats of butter stirred me from sleep, forcing my stomach to rumble. My gown rustled against my skin, leaving little pricking sensations as the tulle underneath slowly fell away and revealed the indents it had created across my legs. My eyes were still attempting to adjust as I made my way into what had been Elliott's room and retrieved my clothes, folded up neatly in the corner, as I had left them. Spiders felt like they were crawling down my legs as I peeled my dress off and cast it to the ground, allowing myself to slip back into the emfar /emmore comfortable skirt and sweater I'd had on for the past couple of days. I guess I was just going to have to get used to not changing for a while; it's not like my brothers were any better./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWhen I emerged, Five grabbed the two mugs sitting on the counter behind him and passed one to me, the aroma of lemon and hibiscus wafting into my nostrils. Luther continued to scramble the eggs he'd started making, while Diego paced around the kitchen. For a moment, a sentimental smile crossed my face./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, no, I don't understand," Diego muttered, shaking his head. "They keep following me." My brows furrowed as I continued to follow his movements with my eyes/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Wait, who?" I inquired, unsure of what exactly I had walked into./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Those Dutch sociopaths," he snapped./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"They're Swedish, you idiot," Five corrected. "Hired guns paid to eradicate us before we do any more damage to this timeline."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, but why now?" Diego leered in our direction, causing me to squirm uncomfortably. He always had the gaze of daggers… no pun intended. "I mean, I'm…" He snapped his fingers, putting emphasis on whatever was about to follow. "…fine for three months until you showed up."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, I was here for a year and no one messed with me," Luther chimed in. I suddenly felt intense pressure on me as all three of my brothers looked in my direction, expecting me to speak up. I could feel the kid on my left staring with a desperate intensity, hoping I would defend him, while my two adult brothers in front of me pushed me to support their argument./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanTrouble was, I couldn't necessarily disagree with them./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well…" I trailed off, grimacing. I watched as Five's expression melted into one of disheartening, brutal betrayal, immediately causing my stomach to knot itself up with guilt. "Look, me getting fired had nothing to do with you; neither did anything that happened with Lila last night."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Lila?" I chose to ignore Luther's attempted inquiry for the sake of continuing my narrative./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"There's just never going to come a moment when I like getting punched in the gut repeatedly with brass knuckles, and those guys wouldn't have come after us without your influence. emHowever, /emI understand that this is bigger than you, and it's not completely your fault we're being tracked down and hunted." Thankfully, that seemed to help, and Five fell back into glaring at his brothers./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Even if it emwas /emmy fault, which it isn't, we only have six days until the end of the world," Diego threw his arms up slightly, frustrated at the diversion in the conversation, "and the closest anyone's gotten to Dad was that driveway at the consulate."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIn the background of this drama, Luther stopped stirring the eggs for no reason, his face falling slightly. I cocked my head slightly, waiting for him to say something as he slowly turned to look at the three of us, a sort of terror pervading the way he stared the three of us down./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well," he sighed, "that's not exactly true." Intrigued, Five removed himself from the doorway and moved to stand next to Diego. Meanwhile, I jumped on my opportunity and grabbed some plates from the cabinets, maneuvering past Luther do divide up at least some of the eggs for his other three siblings./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What do you mean?" Five and Diego continued to give Luther a stare-down until he relented and began to explain./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I saw him." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"I set down two plates at the table, prompting my brothers to make their way to the table and eat. Luther didn't have much of an issue with that, grabbing onto the pan he'd used to cook so he could eat right out of it. As I leaned against the doorframe, Five cast his eyes across to me, silently asking if I wanted to sit, but I shook my head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"When I first landed here—in 1962—I didn't know where else to go. It took me forever to even figure out I was in Dallas, and I couldn't find any of you, so I decided the best thing would be to get on a bus and try to go home." I shook my head; there wasn't a scenario where I saw that ending well. "The whole ride there, I kept trying to think of what I could say to him, but in the end, I figured it'd be best to just come outright with the crazy—that I was his son—and hope he believed me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"When I got there, he was hosting some sort of party, just like the ones when we were kids; he was surrounded by this big group of people, but I decided to go up to him anyways. He was talking about the end of the world, funnily enough. Anyways, I figured, maybe, once he'd stepped out of earshot, he'd talk to me, but the entire time, he just denied that he would ever even think of having children. He went on this whole tirade, and at the end of it, I couldn't think of anything to say except… that I took a bus; that's when he told me and 'the stench of failure that encircled me' to get out of the house."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI sighed, eyeing Luther with sympathy. He hadn't expected any sort of 'I love you' or 'good to see you, son'—he just wanted someone who would believe his story./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"That's pathetic," Diego scoffed, shaking his head. Even after his brother opened up, he still felt it necessary to mock him; Dad really had done a number on their relationship./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, well, at least he didn't shank my ass," Luther quipped as he resumed shoving eggs down his throat./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, bro, he shanked your heart." I momentarily glanced to my left and smiled as Elliott entered the room, just catching the tail-end of the conversation. It took me a second to register exactly what Diego had just said, but once I did, I snickered, unable to help myself./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Is that my bathrobe?" Elliott asked, making his presence known to the rest of my family. Luther stared at him for a solid three seconds before glancing down at the article of clothing he'd donned, and he shook his head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No." Elliott didn't really seem to believe him, but he took it anyways, likely because Luther's massive size made arguing with him slightly intimidating to newcomers. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Look, who cares what he shanked?" Five snapped, bringing us back to the purpose of the conversation. "He knows something about time travel."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Um." I laughed as Elliott raised his hand, a child lost in the middle of class. "Wait, why don't you just do your thing and, uh, time travel us out?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanMy brothers and I exchanged a glance, before Five's eyes completely fell away. He let out a loud sigh and got up from his seat, making his way over to the pot to pour himself more coffee. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Anyone care to explain?" He seemed to be avoiding the events of the past altogether. Though it caused that aching sensation to return to my chest, I decided to be the one to start things off./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"First time he tried, he got lost in the apocalypse," I muttered, tapping my fingers against the side of the mug to distract myself./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Second time, he ended up without hair on his balls." My eyebrows shot up as I shook my head and rested my forehead against my fingers. Why did Diego have to phrase it like that?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Last time I tried, I scattered my family across three years in Dallas, Texas, possibly triggering a doomsday." The trembling regret in Five's voice rang loud and clear. "Any more questions, Elliott?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Uh, no," he answered quickly, stepping down,/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You're missing the big picture. Dad is the ringleader of a sinister cabal that's planning to kill the president." My eyes rolled all the way back into my head, fed up with Diego's bullshit. This fascination with Kennedy was just a distraction from the bigger goal, and although wanting to save a man's life was honorable, the possible consequences it could reap just weren't worth it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"A cabal?" Luther blinked at his brother, distracted./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Ignore him," I barked, pointing to the back of Diego's head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Look, the way I see it, we only have one option."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, yeah? And what's that?" Luther challenged./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's time to get the Umbrella Academy back together." Despite the dire circumstances, a smirk crawled onto my face. I could feel energy spreading all the way down into my toes and fingers, causing a bubbling sensation—not the same as when I built up a charge./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hell yeah," I encouraged. "Family meeting."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Okay, then. Can one of you get Allison?" Luther refused to look up from his eggs now, intriguing Diego. He leaned forward, offering his brother an almost taunting smile. Meanwhile, Five and I met eyes and shook our heads. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You two still a thing?" Even Diego seemed a little weirded out by the thought of that. "Do we need to talk?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, she's married," Luther responded shortly. My heart tapped a strange sort of beat, releasing a few short, strained breaths. Allison was married, again… and we'd missed it. Sure, the first wedding had been an… interesting family reunion, but nonetheless, I'd loved meeting Patrick, which was just an awkward thought now, for several reasons./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Allison hadn't known we were all in Dallas, so it wasn't her fault, but it still hurt, deep down./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Whoa, dude, that's rough."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I can handle it." Luther's chuckle made me think anything but./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'll get her," Five offered, setting his mug down. "Can you get Vanya without, uh, squeezing her to death?" The reminder of what happened in 2019 made me feel uneasy; even if Luther had interacted with her and hadn't harmed her, I still didn't trust it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I've got Vanya," I piped up. "Can you get Klaus, too? I've just got a really long drive." Five nodded./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanBefore he jumped, the thought of our family finally coming back together took over my mind, and a big, stupid grin overwhelmed my face. I tried my best to fight it back down, but it vigilantly managed to break back through./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Mina? You good?" Even as I looked to Diego, it wouldn't go away./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"She's just excited." Though I didn't look back at him, I could hear the smile in Five's voice. "I'll be back soon." Right as he blinked away, Elliott spoke up./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Wait! D— What should I do?" With Five gone, he turned to the rest of us. I, however, was more concerned with getting ready to head out in the stolen car. Lila had walked me through how to hotwire it at one point, so thankfully, I wouldn't be lost now that she wasn't here./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI pushed aside the thoughts that came rolling in at the recollection of her name, choosing to focus on the task at hand./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Prepare for company," Diego smirked. With that taken care of, I slipped on my shoes and headed toward the door./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Luther, you went to go see her right?" He nodded meekly. "If I give you a map, can you show me where it is?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, sure." Thankfully, he remembered the exact roads to take, all the way to a farmhouse a good three hours from here. Jesus Christ…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"All right, I'll be back at some point." I whipped around, pointing an accusatory finger at my two remaining brothers. "Don't destroy the place while I'm gone."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanBefore either of them could get a protest in, I turned on my heel and sprinted down the stairs, jumping into the car and starting it up. Carefully, I unfolded the map Luther had marked up for me and set it against the dashboard, allowing me to take a glance at it without having to completely remove the road from my view./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI made it all the way to the corn field where Five and I had found her, when dread started to crawl across my skin, forming tiny, little goosebumps on the surface. The last time I'd seen Vanya, things hadn't gone so well. I could hope she'd let things go, but Vanya's emotions were a powerful force, meaning they were likely still heavy on her mind. Would she even want to see me again? /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanGod, I hoped so… I didn't know what I would do if she never forgave me. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanRight as I was approaching what felt like the edge of the known universe, I made the final turn, and the dirt roads turned into a patted-down driveway. Perfectly-trimmed grass swayed in the breeze behind fences, further drawing my attention to the large, slightly decrepit barn and bright yellow cottage just off to the left. Clothes danced back and forth on a line, strung up to dry after a day of laundry. When I opened the door and got out, a few chickens squawked loudly at me, causing me to jump a little./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAll of this seemed so… domestic. It just felt weird, considering no one in our family ever really got to have a life like this. Part of me felt bad that I would be ripping Vanya away from it, if she would even come with me, but I'd make sure she could at least come back one more time. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWith trembling hands, I approached the front door and rapped it gently a couple times before stepping back, rocking back and forth on my heels. I could hear voices and scuffling from inside, but it was a while before a tall, blonde woman in a striking, yellow sundress answered the door, eyeing me suspiciously./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Can I help you?" Strangely, it felt as though her words were meant to come off as slightly hostile. It caught me off-guard, causing my purpose for being there to completely leave my brain for a bit. I started to form words, but it wasn't until I cleared my throat that I was able to get anything cohesive out./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Uh, I'm… I'm here to see Vanya?" The woman didn't relent, even a bit. "I'm her sister, and I just—there's a family emergency, and we need her." My eyes widened as she crossed her arms./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Am I just supposed to believe, after everything she's been through, that the first person who shows up at the door is—"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThankfully, right then, Vanya stepped into view behind the woman, her eyes flashing with style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Mina?" With the familiarity established, the woman backed off, her posture immediately melting into something far more friendly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Says she's your sister… is that right?" Vanya nodded, smiling as she made her way over to me. "I'm sorry about that, just now," she quickly apologized./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I get it," I shrugged. "You just wanted to make sure she'd be safe and sound." The three of us stood there a moment, an awkward sort of tension radiating between the two women. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""I'm Sissy," she finally introduced, sticking her hand out for me to shake. I graciously took it, though I was still unsure as to why she and Vanya seemed so stiff around each other./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Mina Hargreeves," I replied. "I'm really sorry to do this, but I need to steal her for a little while. Is that all right?" Sissy waved her hand dismissively./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Absolutely." Without another word, Sissy turned and closed the door, perhaps a bit too harshly. Immediately, I turned to Vanya, launching into an explanation./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry about yesterday. I know Five and I should have been honest with you, we were just worried." Vanya didn't say a word. "Five's off getting our brother Klaus and our sister Allison; Luther and Diego are already back at Elliott's. The only person we're missing is you—and without you… we're not as strong." I gently reached out and placed a hand on her arm. "We emneed /emyou, Vanya."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanSomething still seemed off about her, but she silently gave in, following me all the way back to the car. The worry of what was going on with her continued to nag at me, and although I tried to hold it back, I couldn't help myself./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Is everything okay?" I asked, stealing a glance at her for a split second. Vanya let out a long, drawn-out sigh, then she finally spoke./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Sissy and I… we…" She trailed off, but when I looked at her again, the way her eyebrows moved immediately tipped me off to what happened. My jaw dropped a little, a smile cutting through over everything else. I hadn't known, but I didn't want to focus on that part—after all, this wasn't about me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, my God, Vanya! Holy shit, that's so sweet. You and your farm girl." A deep blush crept up her cheeks. "What's so bad about that?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"She's married," Vanya answered without hesitation. My eyes widened as my joy dribbled away. "Her husband, Carl… he was a real asshole this morning. I tried to stand up for Sissy, but she just snapped at me."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI didn't have experience in a situation like that, but that didn't mean I didn't feel bad for her. From the sounds of it, Vanya was finally opening herself up to love, but the reality of the time we were stuck in got in the way of her ability to be with Sissy./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThat part I understood too well…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAs cautiously as I could, I reached over and squeezed her hand tight./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm always here, if you ever need to vent." Vanya remained silent for another moment, before she spoke words that made my heart soar./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Thanks, sis."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"strongemspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"No, I just REALLY wanted to get all our favorite siblings back together again. And that's about to happen. Get ready for LOTS of sibling moments ;)/span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"strongemspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -/span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe aroma of bitter, stinging coffee and sizzling eggs against pats of butter stirred me from sleep, forcing my stomach to rumble. My gown rustled against my skin, leaving little pricking sensations as the tulle underneath slowly fell away and revealed the indents it had created across my legs. My eyes were still attempting to adjust as I made my way into what had been Elliott's room and retrieved my clothes, folded up neatly in the corner, as I had left them. Spiders felt like they were crawling down my legs as I peeled my dress off and cast it to the ground, allowing myself to slip back into the emfar /emmore comfortable skirt and sweater I'd had on for the past couple of days. I guess I was just going to have to get used to not changing for a while; it's not like my brothers were any better./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWhen I emerged, Five grabbed the two mugs sitting on the counter behind him and passed one to me, the aroma of lemon and hibiscus wafting into my nostrils. Luther continued to scramble the eggs he'd started making, while Diego paced around the kitchen. For a moment, a sentimental smile crossed my face./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, no, I don't understand," Diego muttered, shaking his head. "They keep following me." My brows furrowed as I continued to follow his movements with my eyes/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Wait, who?" I inquired, unsure of what exactly I had walked into./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Those Dutch sociopaths," he snapped./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"They're Swedish, you idiot," Five corrected. "Hired guns paid to eradicate us before we do any more damage to this timeline."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, but why now?" Diego leered in our direction, causing me to squirm uncomfortably. He always had the gaze of daggers… no pun intended. "I mean, I'm…" He snapped his fingers, putting emphasis on whatever was about to follow. "…fine for three months until you showed up."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, I was here for a year and no one messed with me," Luther chimed in. I suddenly felt intense pressure on me as all three of my brothers looked in my direction, expecting me to speak up. I could feel the kid on my left staring with a desperate intensity, hoping I would defend him, while my two adult brothers in front of me pushed me to support their argument./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanTrouble was, I couldn't necessarily disagree with them./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well…" I trailed off, grimacing. I watched as Five's expression melted into one of disheartening, brutal betrayal, immediately causing my stomach to knot itself up with guilt. "Look, me getting fired had nothing to do with you; neither did anything that happened with Lila last night."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Lila?" I chose to ignore Luther's attempted inquiry for the sake of continuing my narrative./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"There's just never going to come a moment when I like getting punched in the gut repeatedly with brass knuckles, and those guys wouldn't have come after us without your influence. emHowever, /emI understand that this is bigger than you, and it's not completely your fault we're being tracked down and hunted." Thankfully, that seemed to help, and Five fell back into glaring at his brothers./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Even if it emwas /emmy fault, which it isn't, we only have six days until the end of the world," Diego threw his arms up slightly, frustrated at the diversion in the conversation, "and the closest anyone's gotten to Dad was that driveway at the consulate."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIn the background of this drama, Luther stopped stirring the eggs for no reason, his face falling slightly. I cocked my head slightly, waiting for him to say something as he slowly turned to look at the three of us, a sort of terror pervading the way he stared the three of us down./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well," he sighed, "that's not exactly true." Intrigued, Five removed himself from the doorway and moved to stand next to Diego. Meanwhile, I jumped on my opportunity and grabbed some plates from the cabinets, maneuvering past Luther do divide up at least some of the eggs for his other three siblings./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What do you mean?" Five and Diego continued to give Luther a stare-down until he relented and began to explain./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I saw him." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"I set down two plates at the table, prompting my brothers to make their way to the table and eat. Luther didn't have much of an issue with that, grabbing onto the pan he'd used to cook so he could eat right out of it. As I leaned against the doorframe, Five cast his eyes across to me, silently asking if I wanted to sit, but I shook my head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"When I first landed here—in 1962—I didn't know where else to go. It took me forever to even figure out I was in Dallas, and I couldn't find any of you, so I decided the best thing would be to get on a bus and try to go home." I shook my head; there wasn't a scenario where I saw that ending well. "The whole ride there, I kept trying to think of what I could say to him, but in the end, I figured it'd be best to just come outright with the crazy—that I was his son—and hope he believed me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"When I got there, he was hosting some sort of party, just like the ones when we were kids; he was surrounded by this big group of people, but I decided to go up to him anyways. He was talking about the end of the world, funnily enough. Anyways, I figured, maybe, once he'd stepped out of earshot, he'd talk to me, but the entire time, he just denied that he would ever even think of having children. He went on this whole tirade, and at the end of it, I couldn't think of anything to say except… that I took a bus; that's when he told me and 'the stench of failure that encircled me' to get out of the house."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI sighed, eyeing Luther with sympathy. He hadn't expected any sort of 'I love you' or 'good to see you, son'—he just wanted someone who would believe his story./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"That's pathetic," Diego scoffed, shaking his head. Even after his brother opened up, he still felt it necessary to mock him; Dad really had done a number on their relationship./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, well, at least he didn't shank my ass," Luther quipped as he resumed shoving eggs down his throat./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, bro, he shanked your heart." I momentarily glanced to my left and smiled as Elliott entered the room, just catching the tail-end of the conversation. It took me a second to register exactly what Diego had just said, but once I did, I snickered, unable to help myself./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Is that my bathrobe?" Elliott asked, making his presence known to the rest of my family. Luther stared at him for a solid three seconds before glancing down at the article of clothing he'd donned, and he shook his head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No." Elliott didn't really seem to believe him, but he took it anyways, likely because Luther's massive size made arguing with him slightly intimidating to newcomers. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Look, who cares what he shanked?" Five snapped, bringing us back to the purpose of the conversation. "He knows something about time travel."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Um." I laughed as Elliott raised his hand, a child lost in the middle of class. "Wait, why don't you just do your thing and, uh, time travel us out?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanMy brothers and I exchanged a glance, before Five's eyes completely fell away. He let out a loud sigh and got up from his seat, making his way over to the pot to pour himself more coffee. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Anyone care to explain?" He seemed to be avoiding the events of the past altogether. Though it caused that aching sensation to return to my chest, I decided to be the one to start things off./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"First time he tried, he got lost in the apocalypse," I muttered, tapping my fingers against the side of the mug to distract myself./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Second time, he ended up without hair on his balls." My eyebrows shot up as I shook my head and rested my forehead against my fingers. Why did Diego have to phrase it like that?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Last time I tried, I scattered my family across three years in Dallas, Texas, possibly triggering a doomsday." The trembling regret in Five's voice rang loud and clear. "Any more questions, Elliott?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Uh, no," he answered quickly, stepping down,/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You're missing the big picture. Dad is the ringleader of a sinister cabal that's planning to kill the president." My eyes rolled all the way back into my head, fed up with Diego's bullshit. This fascination with Kennedy was just a distraction from the bigger goal, and although wanting to save a man's life was honorable, the possible consequences it could reap just weren't worth it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"A cabal?" Luther blinked at his brother, distracted./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Ignore him," I barked, pointing to the back of Diego's head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Look, the way I see it, we only have one option."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, yeah? And what's that?" Luther challenged./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's time to get the Umbrella Academy back together." Despite the dire circumstances, a smirk crawled onto my face. I could feel energy spreading all the way down into my toes and fingers, causing a bubbling sensation—not the same as when I built up a charge./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hell yeah," I encouraged. "Family meeting."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Okay, then. Can one of you get Allison?" Luther refused to look up from his eggs now, intriguing Diego. He leaned forward, offering his brother an almost taunting smile. Meanwhile, Five and I met eyes and shook our heads. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You two still a thing?" Even Diego seemed a little weirded out by the thought of that. "Do we need to talk?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, she's married," Luther responded shortly. My heart tapped a strange sort of beat, releasing a few short, strained breaths. Allison was married, again… and we'd missed it. Sure, the first wedding had been an… interesting family reunion, but nonetheless, I'd loved meeting Patrick, which was just an awkward thought now, for several reasons./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Allison hadn't known we were all in Dallas, so it wasn't her fault, but it still hurt, deep down./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Whoa, dude, that's rough."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I can handle it." Luther's chuckle made me think anything but./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'll get her," Five offered, setting his mug down. "Can you get Vanya without, uh, squeezing her to death?" The reminder of what happened in 2019 made me feel uneasy; even if Luther had interacted with her and hadn't harmed her, I still didn't trust it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I've got Vanya," I piped up. "Can you get Klaus, too? I've just got a really long drive." Five nodded./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanBefore he jumped, the thought of our family finally coming back together took over my mind, and a big, stupid grin overwhelmed my face. I tried my best to fight it back down, but it vigilantly managed to break back through./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Mina? You good?" Even as I looked to Diego, it wouldn't go away./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"She's just excited." Though I didn't look back at him, I could hear the smile in Five's voice. "I'll be back soon." Right as he blinked away, Elliott spoke up./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Wait! D— What should I do?" With Five gone, he turned to the rest of us. I, however, was more concerned with getting ready to head out in the stolen car. Lila had walked me through how to hotwire it at one point, so thankfully, I wouldn't be lost now that she wasn't here./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI pushed aside the thoughts that came rolling in at the recollection of her name, choosing to focus on the task at hand./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Prepare for company," Diego smirked. With that taken care of, I slipped on my shoes and headed toward the door./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Luther, you went to go see her right?" He nodded meekly. "If I give you a map, can you show me where it is?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, sure." Thankfully, he remembered the exact roads to take, all the way to a farmhouse a good three hours from here. Jesus Christ…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"All right, I'll be back at some point." I whipped around, pointing an accusatory finger at my two remaining brothers. "Don't destroy the place while I'm gone."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanBefore either of them could get a protest in, I turned on my heel and sprinted down the stairs, jumping into the car and starting it up. Carefully, I unfolded the map Luther had marked up for me and set it against the dashboard, allowing me to take a glance at it without having to completely remove the road from my view./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI made it all the way to the corn field where Five and I had found her, when dread started to crawl across my skin, forming tiny, little goosebumps on the surface. The last time I'd seen Vanya, things hadn't gone so well. I could hope she'd let things go, but Vanya's emotions were a powerful force, meaning they were likely still heavy on her mind. Would she even want to see me again? /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanGod, I hoped so… I didn't know what I would do if she never forgave me. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanRight as I was approaching what felt like the edge of the known universe, I made the final turn, and the dirt roads turned into a patted-down driveway. Perfectly-trimmed grass swayed in the breeze behind fences, further drawing my attention to the large, slightly decrepit barn and bright yellow cottage just off to the left. Clothes danced back and forth on a line, strung up to dry after a day of laundry. When I opened the door and got out, a few chickens squawked loudly at me, causing me to jump a little./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAll of this seemed so… domestic. It just felt weird, considering no one in our family ever really got to have a life like this. Part of me felt bad that I would be ripping Vanya away from it, if she would even come with me, but I'd make sure she could at least come back one more time. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWith trembling hands, I approached the front door and rapped it gently a couple times before stepping back, rocking back and forth on my heels. I could hear voices and scuffling from inside, but it was a while before a tall, blonde woman in a striking, yellow sundress answered the door, eyeing me suspiciously./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Can I help you?" Strangely, it felt as though her words were meant to come off as slightly hostile. It caught me off-guard, causing my purpose for being there to completely leave my brain for a bit. I started to form words, but it wasn't until I cleared my throat that I was able to get anything cohesive out./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Uh, I'm… I'm here to see Vanya?" The woman didn't relent, even a bit. "I'm her sister, and I just—there's a family emergency, and we need her." My eyes widened as she crossed her arms./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Am I just supposed to believe, after everything she's been through, that the first person who shows up at the door is—"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThankfully, right then, Vanya stepped into view behind the woman, her eyes flashing with style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Mina?" With the familiarity established, the woman backed off, her posture immediately melting into something far more friendly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Says she's your sister… is that right?" Vanya nodded, smiling as she made her way over to me. "I'm sorry about that, just now," she quickly apologized./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I get it," I shrugged. "You just wanted to make sure she'd be safe and sound." The three of us stood there a moment, an awkward sort of tension radiating between the two women. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""I'm Sissy," she finally introduced, sticking her hand out for me to shake. I graciously took it, though I was still unsure as to why she and Vanya seemed so stiff around each other./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Mina Hargreeves," I replied. "I'm really sorry to do this, but I need to steal her for a little while. Is that all right?" Sissy waved her hand dismissively./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Absolutely." Without another word, Sissy turned and closed the door, perhaps a bit too harshly. Immediately, I turned to Vanya, launching into an explanation./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry about yesterday. I know Five and I should have been honest with you, we were just worried." Vanya didn't say a word. "Five's off getting our brother Klaus and our sister Allison; Luther and Diego are already back at Elliott's. The only person we're missing is you—and without you… we're not as strong." I gently reached out and placed a hand on her arm. "We emneed /emyou, Vanya."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanSomething still seemed off about her, but she silently gave in, following me all the way back to the car. The worry of what was going on with her continued to nag at me, and although I tried to hold it back, I couldn't help myself./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Is everything okay?" I asked, stealing a glance at her for a split second. Vanya let out a long, drawn-out sigh, then she finally spoke./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Sissy and I… we…" She trailed off, but when I looked at her again, the way her eyebrows moved immediately tipped me off to what happened. My jaw dropped a little, a smile cutting through over everything else. I hadn't known, but I didn't want to focus on that part—after all, this wasn't about me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, my God, Vanya! Holy shit, that's so sweet. You and your farm girl." A deep blush crept up her cheeks. "What's so bad about that?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"She's married," Vanya answered without hesitation. My eyes widened as my joy dribbled away. "Her husband, Carl… he was a real asshole this morning. I tried to stand up for Sissy, but she just snapped at me."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI didn't have experience in a situation like that, but that didn't mean I didn't feel bad for her. From the sounds of it, Vanya was finally opening herself up to love, but the reality of the time we were stuck in got in the way of her ability to be with Sissy./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThat part I understood too well…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAs cautiously as I could, I reached over and squeezed her hand tight./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm always here, if you ever need to vent." Vanya remained silent for another moment, before she spoke words that made my heart soar./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Thanks, sis."/span/p